Her current work emphasizes training communities and students in health-equity advocacy. She has nationally recognized expertise in the areas of social inequities (e.g., racism), community-based participatory research, biological and sociocultural influences on health disparities and mixed-methods research. As a well-respected member of the local African-American community, Dr. Armstead contributes over 20 years of behavioral medicine research experience among African Americans in South Carolina. She is currently conducting research into community stress, psychosocial risk research and health equity analyses in African-American communities, including a study on “Twenty-First Century Stress Effects of Racism on Health." In addition, Dr. Armstead runs the University of South Carolina Health Equity Laboratory.