Courtney D. Cogburn

Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn is a tenured Associate Professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work and a faculty member of the Columbia Population Research Center. A pioneering scholar at the intersection of race, health, and technology, Dr. Cogburn employs transdisciplinary research strategies, drawing from psychology, social epidemiology, media studies, and data science, to advance the understanding and measurement of racism and its profound effects on racial health inequities.

Her work also explores the transformative potential of media and immersive technology in challenging structural racism and promoting health equity. She is the lead creator of 1000 Cut Journey, an internationally acclaimed virtual reality experience that immerses users in the life of a Black male encountering racism across the life course. 1000 Cut Journey had its World Premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and has been featured globally at academic institutions, cultural venues, and professional conferences, and has demonstrated measurable shifts in participants’ understanding and engagement with racism.

Dr. Cogburn’s current book project explores the health and liberatory power of imagination, with a focus on Black imaginative traditions. In this work, she bridges cultural analysis, public scholarship, and empirical research. This mixed-media project extends her commitment to connecting rigorous academic research and broader conversations at the nexus of technology, racial justice, health, and social transformation.

Her expertise has been featured in numerous major media outlets including Wired, CBS News, Forbes, BBC, NPR’s Science Friday, and Business Insider. She has delivered keynote addresses and talks at TEDx, the Institut des Amériques Congress (Lyon, France), and the Games for Change Summit, among others.

Dr. Cogburn serves as Board Chair for the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) and as an advisor to agog, a tech platform focused on values-aligned innovation. She has also advised major organizations, including Twitter, Meta, VR for Good, the American Medical Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination (Paris, France) on matters related to health, equity, and immersive technology.
She earned her Ph.D. in Education and Psychology and MSW from the University of Michigan, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Cogburn completed postdoctoral training at both the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
 

University of Virginia (BA)
University of Michigan (MSW, PhD)
University of Michigan and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (Postdoctoral)