MD – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
Residency – Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Biography: Dr. Thomas Elliott, a pediatrician, is interested in investigating community-based innovations in pediatric mental healthcare delivery to alleviate socioeconomic barriers to health in vulnerable urban populations. He aims to use academic mixed methods research and community-based advocacy to make mental health care access more equitable for Black youth.   

Dr. Elliott graduated with honors from University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During his undergraduate time, he worked as a Health Leads Advocate at Baltimore Medical Systems, where he connected patients with state and government resources to alleviate the social determinants of health. His dedication and experience as an advocate leader led him to becoming the site’s Program Manager and overseeing the integration of the Health Leads model into the clinical workflow, EMR systems, and quality measures. He received his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he was recognized by his Student National Medical Association chapter for his advocacy for community justice in medical curriculum through the Chapter Achievement Award and was also inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society upon graduation. Dr. Elliott returned home to Baltimore to complete his pediatric residency training at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he was heavily involved in the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the Johns Hopkins Hospital at large. His interest in vulnerable populations carried him to the Philippines for his global health experience where he participated in the “Helping Babies Breathe, Helping Mothers Survive” initiative, which utilized a train the trainer model to increase proficiency of neonatal resuscitation and post birth care of birthing women in rural areas with low medical access. In this program, he helped facilitate training sessions with community members and tailor the intervention to the needs of the community. Eager to make clinical changes domestically to help serve vulnerable populations, Dr. Elliott pursued further research training through the NCSP program to gain further community-based research and implementation mastery.  

As a scholar in our program, Dr. Elliott completed a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management in his first year of the NCSP program. He is involved in many pediatric mental health research and implementation projects. In his first two years of fellowship, he was involved with the Together for Wellness project, a state-wide multicenter initiative to create a digital resource hub of free online resources for mental and emotional wellness for all Californians. This initiative, co-led by California’s Department of Health Care Services and UCLA’s Center for Health Services and Society, brings together academic and community partners across the state to give input and feedback on a novel digital public mental health intervention aimed at prevention of severe mental health challenges. Dr. Elliott worked with the statewide youth stakeholder group sessions and website designers to infuse the website’s development process with youth voice and experiences, from the choice of resources available to the design of the website platform. Dr. Elliott will build upon this work in his third year through his qualitative project which aims to identify supports and assets in the communities of Black youth that supports their emotional and mental wellness, which will hopefully heighten the role of youth voice in the design and implementation of future projects. 

Dr. Elliott is working clinically at Saban Community Clinic.