The Resilience, Intersectional Stigma, and Empowerment (RISE) Lab is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how different types of stigma impact access to services, engagement with care, and health outcomes for people navigating substance use, mental health, and other challenges.

We focus on identifying the resilience strategies people develop and use to overcome challenges, and ways to foster strengths-based interventions that help individuals and communities thrive.

Through our research, we aim to empower communities, inform policy, and reduce health disparities.

Our Approach

At the RISE Lab, we employ an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach, collaborating with researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines, community partners who provide services, and people with lived experience of substance use, mental health, and other challenges.

By integrating both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we achieve a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues we study. Our team utilizes semi-structured interviews, focus groups, survey analysis techniques, advanced quantitative methods and visual tools such as photovoice—a collaborative research method that helps participants document their lives and experiences through photography.

Our commitment to participatory community-based research ensures that the voices and expertise of those most impacted are at the forefront of our work.

Our Research

We conduct innovative, rigorous research that not only deepens academic knowledge about complex issues but also drives real-world impact. Our focus is on three areas:

Intersectional Stigma

We investigate how various forms of stigma overlap and impact health, well-being, and social outcomes at individual and societal levels. These include internalized or self-stigma, interpersonal stigma, community stigma, and structural stigma (e.g., policies that exclude certain individuals from services).

Our research highlights the unique effects of stigma experienced by different groups, particularly people who use substances, and the need for tailored services as part of a person-centered approach.

Resilience

We explore ways individuals and communities can build resilience to help people overcome challenges. Our work seeks to understand how social networks and other factors contribute to resilience, and how they can be bolstered through interventions.

Empowerment

Central to our work is the concept of empowerment. We study how empowerment can be cultivated at both individual and community levels. Our goal is to develop and implement strategies that enhance the agency and well-being of people navigating substance use, mental health, and other challenges.

Our Events

In addition to presenting our work at research institutions and academic conferences, we organize public events so our findings reach communities impacted by the topics we study as well as the individuals and groups we partner with.

For instance, our photovoice project was displayed with captions in English and Spanish on large vinyl banners in Marcus Garvey Park during a community healthcare fair in Harlem on September 13, 2024.

Individual panels from the series were exhibited at NYU Langone on June 11, 2025, along with a project highlighting portraits and writing by participants in an art and storytelling group at VOCAL-NY, which operates a drop-in center in Brooklyn.

The photos and text highlight how participatory photography offers insights into the challenges faced by people who experience stigma and their suggestions for improving services and care.

Contact Us

To learn more about the RISE Lab, please contact Suzan M. Walters, PhD, lab director, at Suzan.Walters@NYULangone.org