This proposal requests continued funding for a unique and highly successful predoctoral research training program located in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University?s Mailman School of Public Health. This program aims to prepare students for research and teaching careers focused on the historical, social, cultural, and psychological dimensions of gender and sexuality as they impact on reproductive and sexual health and on the health of sexual and gender minorities, both nationally and globally. With the goal of strengthening this program?s ability to support highly qualified students during the dissertation phase of their training, we are requesting an increase from our current four to six funded training slots, the two additional slots to be reserved for students who have completed their coursework. Nationally, sexual and reproductive health indicators continue to lag behind those of other developed countries; gender and sexual minorities experience especially high rates of serious physical and mental illness. Globally, the burden of disease and death associated with HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and maternal and infant mortality represents an urgent problem. Trainees in this multidisciplinary program follow a theoretically and methodologically rigorous curriculum consisting of (1) disciplinary training in anthropology, sociology, psychology, or history comparable to that received by Ph.D. candidates in Columbia?s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; (2) a two-semester specially-designed course in the major traditions in social theory that undergird contemporary practice in the sociomedical sciences and its application to health-related research; (3) training in epidemiology and biostatistics; (4) a course in the biological bases of sexual and reproductive health; (5) a minimum of two additional courses specifically focused on contemporary theoretical approaches and substantive topics in gender, sexuality, and health; (6) an ongoing faculty-trainee seminar in gender, sexuality, and health; (7) a required course in research ethics; 8) a research apprenticeship supervised by program faculty; (9) doctoral research focused on a topic in gender, sexuality, and health. This program?s training faculty are drawn from the disciplines listed above plus medicine, epidemiology, social work, and public policy.
Nationally, sexual and reproductive health indicators lag behind those of other developed countries; gender and sexual minorities confront disproportionate physical and mental health risks. Globally, the burden of disease and death associated with HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and maternal and infant mortality represents an urgent problem. This proposal requests continued funding for a rigorous doctoral program that gives young scholars the methodological and analytical skills they need to address these critical public health issues.
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