Alana Biggers, MD, MPH, FACP is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the My ESSENCE study. She is an internal medicine physican and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine where she received her MD degree. She also has a Master of Public Health in chronic disease epidemiology from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and completed a public health fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Biggers aims to improve heart health among people with type 2 diabetes through education on sleep, stress, and mind and body practices. Dr. Biggers continues to expand her role in the Chicago community by providing tips on healthy living through research, patient care and media outlets.

Veronica Womack is a scholar and practitioner of Inclusion and Identity. Veronica was born and raised in Chicago, IL and received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Howard University where she completed one of the first dissertations about mindful awareness among African American college students. Upon graduating she began an epidemiology-focused postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern and studied the association between discrimination and health behaviors in the Department of Preventive Medicine. She is an experienced facilitator and has implemented seminars in both corporate and academic sectors on ‘contemplative and critically conscious teaching’, ‘brave space’ development, self-care, identifying and dealing with microaggressions, co-creating inclusive mentoring spaces, and stress resilience. Her ongoing research initiatives pertain to gendered racial identity, authenticity, mental health among Black Americans, and mindfulness. Dr. Womack’s research and commentaries have been published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Sex Roles, and TIME magazine. She continues to share her knowledge with the next generation of psychologists as an Adjunct Professor at Governors State University and Lake Forest College where she teaches Mindfulness Studies and Social Psychology.

Dr. Searcy-Pate earned both of her graduate degrees (Master’s Degree and Doctor of Philosophy) in Clinical Psychology from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland) and Jackson State University (Jackson, MS). In addition, Dr. Searcy-Pate completed specialized training in child/pediatric psychology at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota), and Department of Defense (Sam Fort Houston, Texas). As a Child/Pediatric Health Psychologist and credentialed diabetes mental health provider by the American Diabetes Association, she works in collaboration with parents, schools, primary care providers, and/or specialty providers to provide assessment, therapy, and consultation services. Dr. Searcy-Pate's interests and expertise include general child/adolescent mental health, pediatric health complications, and stress reduction.