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| Interdisciplinary Fellowship Program |
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Past
Fellows of CHCS Program |
Six graduate students completed the year as fellows for the Center's Interdisciplinary Fellowship Program in the 2000 - 2001 academic year. Those awarded 2000 - 2001 Fellowships were Lisa Angus (Behavioral Sciences and Health Education), Megan Benoit (Behavioral Sciences and Health Education), Alexa Dietrich (Anthropology), and Amy Fasula (Sociology.) Johnmark Opondo (International Health) receied a 1999 - 2000 fellowship that he defered to the 2000 - 2001 academic year. Matthew Dudgeon (Anthropology) participated in the program as a self-funded fellow. |
 Lisa
Angus "As a student of the behavioral sciences in the School of Public Health, I am part of a discipline that seeks to understand the causes and consequences of human behavior as it relates to health. I applied for the CSHCS fellowship because I wanted to learn more about the social dimensions of health behaviors. While that is not the kind of endeavor that can or should have a definitive end point, this past year has developed my understanding of the social context of health and has made me aware of many new directions for future work. While on the fellowship, I had the opportunity to take courses in anthropology, history, psychology, sociology, and women’s studies. Exposure to these disciplines and the content in these classes gave me a new perspective on the complex relationships between behavior and social context. In a Gender & Health course, for instance, we considered the impact of new reproductive technologies on women’s decision-making and attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood. And as part of a final project for a seminar on Community Psychology, I had the chance to review the literature on how social support and community cohesion relate to health and well-being. These and other courses not only increased my knowledge of topics such as reproductive and mental health, but also gave me news ways of thinking about health issues and new tools for investigating them. These new perspectives have already informed my summer job at the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, where I recently attended a meeting on unintended pregnancy. With the benefit of a year’s worth of training in the graduate school, I am able to ask questions about the meaning and usefulness of ‘unintended pregnancy’ as a public health concept and to envision interdisciplinary research that could shed light on the personal and political dimensions of reproductive intentions, decisions, or lack thereof. Like any well-structured academic undertaking, this past year has raised as many questions as it has helped to answer. One of the most interesting questions for me is one that arose at the last few fellows’ meetings of the year: What are the best ways to integrate public health and social science in order to develop compelling research and interventions? This question highlights the need for innovative methodologies and new ways of evaluating work that crosses disciplinary boundaries. The challenge to us now as past fellows is to do interdisciplinary work that combines the strengths of different disciplines and speaks to diverse audiences without being a serial articulation of different perspectives. In this sense, even though the fellowship year has now ended, the work and benefits of the fellowship are yet to come. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Center
for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Thanks also to my professors
and classmates in GSAS and to the other CSHCS fellows for making this
year such an enjoyable and rewarding experience."
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 Megan
Benoit "As a recipient of the CSHCS fellowship
I was afforded the opportunity to do what many students desire: enroll
in classes for the sole purpose of learning something new and interesting,
not because it is required or “strongly recommended.” I initially
conceived of the fellowship as a means of bridging the gap between applied
and theoretical disciplines, but have since come to view it as more
of a ladder. Theory and application do not exist in isolation
but rather on different levels of the same plane, a truth I discerned
as I explored issues of personal interest in greater depth. Enrolling
in a diverse set of classes within various departments of the GSAS also
provided me the opportunity to expand my breadth of knowledge in areas
such as psychology, sociology, and religion. Applying my behavioral
science orientation to novel concepts and issues merely glossed over
or unexplored within the public health curriculum, topics including
how religious orientation affects health in terms of dietary practice
and sexual activity, the ways in which people adopt specific roles and
interact with others in accordance with those roles, and the extent
to which individual psychopathology impacts the greater community, revealed
to me the importance of integrating practical skills with conceptual
understanding. Through this fellowship, I have had the opportunity
to delve into public health and examine it on a new, more personal level.
This experience has been as stepping stone for me, a means by which
I was able to explore my interests in greater depth and gain new perspective
on the ways in which I can most affect change in the world around me.
This fellowship awarded me many things: the opportunity for intellectual
growth, time to further solidify my career aspirations, and highly rewarding
personal interactions with faculty, staff, and students of diverse backgrounds
and orientations. After completing my MPH in December, I look
forward to taking the next step which this past year has already begun
preparing me, pursuit of my PhD in clinical psychology. The CSHCS
fellowship program opened doors for me and within me, an invaluable
experience from which I have grown a great deal."
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 Alexa
Dietrich "My fellowship year has been incredibly rewarding for two main reasons. First, and most importantly, I have learned the basic methods of epidemiology, which will enable me to understand and appreciate both the unique advantages and pitfalls of statistically based research. As a researcher whose home base is in cultural anthropology, I have found the cultural and linguistic immersion in epidemiology necessary to fully understand the orientation and goals of public health. Additionally, the biweekly seminar meetings have rounded out my exposure to public health beyond epi. I have also gained a set of skills that will hopefully allow me to contribute to research questions and projects for which both statistical and qualitative data are available and meaningful. While epidemiology and cultural anthropology are distinct disciplines, I continue to believe that they need not stand in opposition to one another, either in the field or in academic settings. Finally, learning about the history of epidemiology and
public health has helped me realize that far from being a monolithic
entity, its methods and approaches are constantly being tested and adapted
to an ever-widening range of health problems (for example chronic diseases
which require different research designs). I could not have truly
understood the dynamic nature of the discipline and the field without
this fellowship."
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 Johnmark
Opondo "I always wondered where in public health practice, and public health writing I would be able to incorporate my experiences as a District Medical Officer in post independence Mombasa, Kenya, as a relief worker in war torn Southern Sudan, and in managing reconstruction in rural Rwanda. I was always intimidated by the statement that without “the data”, your information from anecdotal sources or others were “just another point of view”, i.e. not worthy of any serious consideration. My experience during the fellowship year has opened a door to these ideas. Grounded in social reality, they may have some analytical power after all, especially when grounded in appropriate social theory and combined with the quantitative power of an epidemiological study. The enterprise of international health is fraught with so many complicated situations, that one’s strength is based in multiple approaches in trying to answer research questions, borrowed both from the social sciences, and the biomedical approach and multiple levels of analysis. Specifically, it has been refreshing for me to be introduced to critical Marxist analysis, and be able to apply that sort of critical thinking when examining the development and evolution of international health programs over time. The CSHCS fellowship year has renewed my enthusiasm in how to approach some of the really knotty problems facing the access and availability of essential public health to the people in far flung corners in rural Africa, and I am really ready to facilitate and transform the motto “health for all! and all for health!” into a reality, as I now proceed back into the job market."
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 Matthew
Dudgeon "As a third-year student in the department of anthropology, I began my year as a fellow in the Center for the Study of Health, Culture, and Society with very specific goals. My research has centered on gender and health, with particular emphasis on reproductive health. In the fall of 2001 I will begin my doctoral dissertation research in Guatemala, where I will work in two K’iche’ Mayan communities examining men’s influences on maternal and infant health. I am interested in how the Mayan cultural values shapes men’s influences and I want to look at how those values, especially for men, have changed since the violent civil war that so heavily impacted indigenous communities in Guatemala and which has only recently ended. My training in anthropology has equipped me to examine the systems of meaning that affect both men’s and women’s attitudes and behaviors concerning reproductive health. However, I want to link this more qualitative work with an epidemiological analysis of risk factors for poor reproductive health outcomes in the communities in which I work. I hope to investigate how outcomes such as low birth weight, infant mortality, and maternal morbidity are distributed differently and at the same time address the experiences of the real people who are affected by that suffering. My year in the department of epidemiology in the school of public health has provided exactly the kind of experience and training I’d hoped to receive. My core epidemiology and biostatistics classes have given me a solid grounding in the techniques of modern epidemiology, skills that I am already beginning to apply in my own research. Important classes and my thesis work in maternal and infant health have allowed me to explore multiple techniques for assessing key indicators of reproductive health. I have developed very rewarding relationships with both the department of epidemiology and faculty, who have totally facilitated my year in the school of public health. With the combination of training in anthropology and epidemiology, I feel uniquely and exceptionally qualified to begin my dissertation research in the fall." |
Amy Fasula "My year as a CSHCS fellow helped me integrate my interests in sociology, gender, and adolescent sexual health. My knowledge of sociological theories and research methods came to life in the applied setting of public health. I was able to bring abstract ideas about social systems and behavior to the level of people's lived experiences. I also learned practical skills on how to develop and evaluate public health programs. Along with the opportunity to take courses and earn a Masters in Public Health, as a CSHCS fellow I became part of the community at the Rollins School of Public Health. During my fellowship year, I had the chance to share ideas and build relationships with a variety of students, faculty, and public health practitioners. I learned about their different projects and interests, and got a better understanding about how my ideas and skills fit into the field of public health. My experiences as a CSHCS fellow have filled an important gap in helping me prepare for my dissertation on gender, power, and women's sexual experiences, and have laid the groundwork for my future career in sociology and public health.." |
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