Paris Barnes
Finding optimism during challenging times is just one way Paris Barnes, MS, a senior training specialist with the PATIENTS Program in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), has been able to lift up the program and her colleagues.
University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, pointed this out Feb. 16 as he surprised Barnes with the news that she had been named UMB’s February Employee of the Month in a conference room filled with her colleagues.
“You’ve added a lot to the PATIENTS Program, which is doing incredible work that I admire,” Jarrell said.
Barnes assists with the creation, implementation, and dissemination of the PATIENTS Professors Academy (PPA). The free five-week training program is part of the PATIENTS Program, a community-academic research partnership that serves as a national model for eliminating health inequities faced by underserved populations and improving public health. The PPA, usually held once a year during the summer for 100 trainees, is designed to teach individuals how to make health care research more patient-centered and community-engaged.
Barnes assists with recruiting individuals to participate in the training and helps with the planning process, including working on graphic design and correspondence, seeking PPA alumni to facilitate the sessions, and collaborating with them to design the seminars. The program is open to everyone and attracts patients, researchers, health advocates, patient care representatives, and individuals in the pharmaceutical field.
“Paris firmly believes that our patient and community partners are experts of their lived experience. They have wisdom that can positively impact health care research,” said her supervisor, Thomas “Joe” Howarth, PhD, MS, lead training specialist for the PATIENTS Program who nominated Barnes for the award.
Howarth pointed out that she has created an opportunity to expand the number of patient partners who will lead the PPA’s seminars this year.
“She wants to elevate the energy and experience of our patient partners so they can be stronger voices in bringing patient centricity to health care research,” he said.
Barnes said that in the past, the PPA would ask previous teachers to lead the seminars. This year, she created and disseminated an application so that everyone who had participated in the PPA would have an opportunity to teach.
“I wanted it to be open so that everybody had a chance to share their story,” she said.
Barnes said her favorite part of her job is interacting with the PPA’s international students, some of whom participate from Iran, Tanzania, Nigeria, and China, for example.
“The PPA gives me a better understanding of what health looks like in other places in the world,” she said. “I can hear their viewpoints from their geographic location, and I get to better understand what maybe some of their struggles look like.”
She said one of the course topics that is her favorite focuses on health justice and inclusive excellence. “It just encompasses how we imagine a health system where justice is available to everyone and how we include all people in the excellence of the health system,” she said.
Barnes, who has worked at UMSOP for over four years and joined the PATIENTS Program in late 2024, also hosts the program’s podcast, “The Bridge: Your Health, Your Voice.” She said she has been able to change the approach to the podcast and add her own personality while keeping it focused on the PATIENTS Program.
Howarth said Barnes has continually stepped into roles when asked.
“She has become a positive member of the team, finding optimism during challenging times,” he said in the nomination form. “As our smaller team must work harder to sustain our mission, she has my trust in working with patient partners, bringing innovative ideas to the team, and embodying the UMB core values.”
During the Feb. 16 meeting, Howarth emphasized that he wanted to recognize how important Barnes is to the program.
“You’ve brought a lot of energy and resources to the team,” he said. “You make me look better all the time. Obviously, the work that you do resonates with the folks who are involved.”
In addition to her work with the PATIENTS Program, Barnes has served on Baltimore’s Opioid Restitution Advisory Board since its inception in 2025. The board ensures that funds from the Opioid Restitution Fund are spent on abatement efforts including programs, services, wraparound support, and resources that address substance use prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction.
For Barnes, who is a Baltimore native, this work is personal: Her late father used drugs.
“Witnessing the effects of the drugs gives me an entirely different understanding of why people use. People use drugs because it’s a neurological disorder where they have drug-seeking behaviors despite knowing that it’s not good for you,” she said. “So once I started understanding it wasn’t something that he could change, unless he was ready to change, it flipped my perspective on understanding the opioid crisis. I had to shift my thinking.
“That’s what drives the work that I do on the board. I want to make sure that my work humanizes the person. That allows me to create a space where we have solutions from people with lived experience who can help and benefit the entire community.”
Hillary Edwards, PhD, MPH, a director of research with the PATIENTS Program, called Barnes “a champion for Baltimore City and a champion for community engagement.”
“I just am so proud to have you as a creative collaborator and academic collaborator for the PATIENTS Program,” she told Barnes during the Feb. 16 meeting.
Howarth said Barnes has encouraged UMSOP to expand training for Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses, and is building partnerships across UMB’s schools.
“She believes those who suffer from the chronic disease of substance abuse are worthy of respect and a chance at a healthier life,” Howarth said.
Barnes, who thanked Howarth for his support, said she is grateful and humbled by the award.
“My work is going to impact people beyond my seat here, so I am going to impact people for as long as I can,” said Barnes, who received a certificate and $250 in her paycheck for the award. “I’m doing this work because it’s something I’m passionate about.”
— Jen Badie