Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health has named Crystal Wiley Cené, MD, as its first executive director for health equity, according to The News & Observer.
Dr. Cené is an associate professor in UNC School of Medicine's division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology. She also oversees a research program on health disparities.
In her new role, she will be responsible for health equity and lead an effort to make healthcare more accessible in North Carolina.
"Dr. Cené will collaborate with leaders to first understand the barriers to care and then lead a comprehensive research and data-driven approach with the goal of improving the availability of quality care for traditionally underserved groups," said Wesley Burks, MD, UNC Health's CEO and dean of the medical school, in a written statement cited by The News & Observer.
Dr. Cené told the newspaper her goals include making UNC Health an "anti-racist system."
Dr. Cené earned her medical degree from East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and her master's degree in public health from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.