Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, PhD, is a systems-focused scholar and practitioner whose work advances how health care organizations translate structural capacity into measurable patient outcomes. His research and applied work sit at the intersection of chronic disease, health care delivery, and organizational performance, with particular emphasis on how complex systems shape access, engagement, and long-term outcomes.
He has collaborated with more than 50 hospital associations and numerous health care systems to redesign clinical processes, improve care delivery, and strengthen alignment between institutional strategy and patient-centered outcomes. His early work examining racism in medicine—including the development of the Racism-Focused Trauma Informed Care (RETINA) Framework and studies on algorithmic bias in clinical care—continues to inform his broader systems-based approach to healthcare transformation.
Kevin is the recipient of the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Supplemental Award from the Veterans Health Administration for research on algorithmic bias in chronic kidney disease care among Black Veterans. He has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 Leader in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum and as a New Connections Award recipient by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has also contributed to national efforts through the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Minority Health and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Health Equity.
His current work extends these foundations into systems performance, translational measurement, and AI-enabled healthcare delivery, developing frameworks that connect theory, methods, and real-world implementation. He partners with health care systems, academic medical centers, and public-sector organizations—including the Council of State Governments and federal agencies—to design scalable strategies that improve care coordination, workforce effectiveness, and patient outcomes across high-complexity populations.
