Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars Program was designed to build the field of population health by training scholars to investigate the connections among biological, behavioral, environmental, economic, and social determinants of health; and develop, evaluate, and disseminate knowledge and interventions based upon integration of these determinants.This award will provide Kristin Harper, Ph.D., a third year of support as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar (HSS) at her current site, Columbia University. The third-year award was designed for HSS scholars who make a major change in direction from their previous discipline and work, or scholars whose research requires longer time periods to complete, such as original primary data collection or community-based participatory research. This additional year allows scholars to gain sufficient training and experience to pursue their new career trajectory with success. Dr. Harper has expanded her previous training in population and evolutionary genetics to add the fields of nutrition, the epidemiology of complex disorders, and mathematical modeling including social network analysis. In addition, her major research project is examining the role of prenatal levels of trace elements in the development of schizophrenia, which requires primary data collection. In order to be competitive for a job position that will allow her to investigate socioeconomic health disparities by combining methods from the fields of genetics, nutrition, epidemiology, and social network analysis, this added year will allow her to complete her research applying these integrated disciplines.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $56,000.00

Awarded on: 2/22/2010

Time frame: 9/1/2010 - 8/31/2011

Grant Number: 66732