Dr. Jill B. Hamilton is a tenured Professor and Emory's Senior Faculty Fellow for Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. A registered nurse for more than four decades, she also holds a Master of Religion and Public Life from Emory's Candler School of Theology — a rare pairing that lets her study the spiritual lives of patients with the same rigor she brings to nursing science.

Her research centers the dignity, faith, and lived experience of older African Americans facing cancer and chronic illness — how prayer, scripture, religious song, and storytelling become resources for coping, and how the social conditions of a life shape its health. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the NBNA Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, an affiliate of Candler School of Theology and African American Studies, and a member of Winship Cancer Institute.

“ You need a song to bring you through. — from her landmark study in The Gerontologist, 2013

1. 1976

   B.S., North Carolina Central University

   The foundation of a lifelong vocation in care.

2. 1982

   B.S.N. — UNC Chapel Hill

   Becomes a registered nurse.

3. 1989

   M.S.N. — UNC Chapel Hill

   Advanced practice and the turn toward scholarship.

4. 2001

   Ph.D. in Nursing — UNC Chapel Hill

   Mentored in cancer and uncertainty research.

5. 2001–03

   Postdoctoral Fellow — Oregon Health & Science University

   NRSA fellowship in the nursing care of older adults.

6. 2003

   Assistant Professor — Emory University & Winship Cancer Institute

   Named a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar.

7. 2007

   Faculty — UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing

   Tenured; builds a program on spirituality and coping.

8. 2014

   Associate Professor — Johns Hopkins University

   Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

9. 2016

   Returns to Emory University

   Tenured in 2017; deepens faith-based, community-engaged science.

10. 2021

    Master of Religion & Public Life — Candler School of Theology

    Bridging theology and the bedside.

11. 2022

    Professor & Senior Faculty Fellow for SDOH — Emory

    Leading the school's social-determinants agenda.

12. 2024

    Launches the NIH "ART" SDOH Training Program

    Contact MPI of a national research-training grant; named a FADLN Fellow.

• Hamilton, J.B., Sandelowski, M., Moore, A.D., Agarwal, M., & Koenig, H.G. (2013). You need a song to bring you through: The use of religious songs to manage stressful life events.

  The Gerontologist, 53(1), 26–38.

• Hamilton, J.B., Abiri, A., Nicolas, C.A., Grant, E.J., & Best, N.C. (2024). Black Appalachia's Oldest Old: Untold stories of experienced racism and coping with religious practices and beliefs.

  The Gerontologist, 64(5). doi:10.1093/geront/gnad143

• Hamilton, J.B. (2021). Social Determinants of Health: Using a holistic approach to cancer care.

  Journal of Cancer Education. doi:10.1007/s13187-021-02104-0

• Hamilton, J.B., & Sandelowski, M. (2003). Living the golden rule: Reciprocal exchanges among African Americans with cancer.

  Qualitative Health Research, 13, 656–674.

• Hamilton, J.B., Moore, A.D., Johnson, K.A., & Koenig, H.G. (2013). Reading the Bible for guidance, comfort, and strength during stressful life events.

  Nursing Research, 62(3), 176–183.

• Hamilton, J.B., Abiri, A.N., Nicolas, C.A., et al. (2023). African American women breast cancer survivors: Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Journal of Cancer Education. doi:10.1007/s13187-023-02296-7

• Baptiste, D., Turner, S., Josiah, N., … Hamilton, J. (2021). Hidden figures of nursing: The historical contributions of Black nurses.

  Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi:10.1111/jan.14791

• Hamilton, J.B. (2020). Strategies to enhance validity in qualitative research among community-dwelling African Americans.

  Qualitative Health Research, 30(2), 196–204.

• Advanced Research Training in Social Determinants of Health (ART)

  NIH / National Institute of Nursing Research · R25NR021371

  Contact MPI$765,0202024–2027

• Helping Older African American Cancer Survivors Cope

  NIH / National Institute of Nursing Research · R01NR009271

  Principal Investigator$826,2002006–2010

• Faith-Based African American Cancer Survivorship Storytelling Intervention

  NIH / National Institute on Minority Health & Health Disparities · R03MD13509

  Principal Investigator$156,0002019–2021

• Emory in Motion — Mobile Opportunities for Training & Innovating Nursing

  Health Resources & Services Administration · UK1HP47321

  Co-Investigator$999,8062022–2026

• Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (CTSA)

  NIH / National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences · UL1TR002378

  Co-Director, Community Engagement2018–2023

Selected from more than 30 funded research, training, and program grants. Full funding history available in her CV.

• Feb 2026

  New book — Using Qualitative Methods for Social Determinants of Health Research: Exploring Health Inequities — released by Routledge.

• 2024

  Awarded the NIH/NINR R25 "Advanced Research Training in SDOH (ART)" program as contact MPI ($765,020).

• 2024

  Named Fellow, NBNA Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN).

• 2024

  New book — Transforming Social Determinants for Global Health — published by Springer.

• 2023

  Received the ONS Award for Excellence in Cancer Education.

• 2023

  New book — Integrating a Social Determinants of Health Framework into Nursing Education — published by Springer.

Current leadership & affiliations: Senior Faculty Fellow for SDOH & Health Disparities · Affiliate Professor, Candler School of Theology · Affiliate Faculty, African American Studies · Member, Winship Cancer Institute.