Dr. Julia F. Hastings joined the University at Albany as an Assistant Professor in the Schools of Public Health and Social Welfare in 2012. Her scholarship concentrates on addressing disparities in health and mental health outcomes for underserved populations. Her research focuses on the interrelationships between race, mental health outcomes (depression), health conditions (Type II diabetes), risk and protective factors, and poverty. The research findings suggest ways for public health social work professionals to practice with awareness of cultural reality, appropriateness, and responsiveness. It is her goal to produce research that enhances health, lengthens life, and reduces the burdens of illness for racial and ethnic populations.

Dr. Hastings has published on culturally competent research methods within African American communities, welfare participation, depression, body weight, and Type II diabetes. Recently, she completed a NIMHD funded K-22 DREAM grant which utilized qualitative and quantitative research approaches to examine service utilization outcomes among low-income African Americans diagnosed with diabetes and depression in California and New York. In 2015, Dr. Hastings published a co-authored book entitled, African Americans and Depression: Signs, Symptoms, Awareness, and Interventions (https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442230323/African-Americans-and-Depression-Signs-Awareness-Treatments-and-Interventions). In 2017, Dr. Hastings was inducted as a Society for Social Work and Research Fellow.

Dr. Hastings' research grant portfolio includes funding from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), NIMH, the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the University at Albany, and several community initiatives.