The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars^® program is pleased to announce the selection of 19 new scholars who will engage in an intensive, two-year research program. The goals of the program are to better understand and act on the determinants of health that can reduce population health disparities, and encourage better health outcomes.

“As our nation struggles with identifying the best strategies to improve the health of our people, this incoming group of Health & Society Scholars will seek to answer questions critical to guiding future health policy,” said Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D., co-director with David Vlahov, Ph.D., R.N., of the national program office for the Health & Society Scholars program, and president of The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM). “This program is providing the opportunities for a new generation of interdisciplinary scholars who can help tackle important health and societal issues from a variety of perspectives.”

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). It is based on the principle that progress in the field of population health depends on multidisciplinary collaboration and exchange. Additional information on Health & Society Scholars and other RWJF Human Capital programs is available at RWJFLeaders.org.

Health & Society Scholars are selected based on their potential to contribute creatively to the field of population health, demonstrated openness to new ideas, demonstrated critical thinking skills, an active interest in interdisciplinary collaboration, commitment to a career consistent with the program’s purpose and goals, and quality of past research.

Health & Society Scholars for 2010–2012 (cohort 8) will serve in one of six nationally prominent universities: Columbia University; Harvard University; the University of California, San Francisco/Berkeley; the University of Michigan; the University of Pennsylvania; and the University of Wisconsin. Each year, the Health & Society Scholars program selects a new cohort of scholars who have completed their doctoral training and whose work shows outstanding potential to improve population health. The scholars receive an annual stipend of $89,000.

Starting in August 2010, the new Health & Society Scholars will begin work at their assigned universities, where they will be trained to rigorously investigate the connections among biological, genetic, behavioral, environmental, economic and social determinants of health. They will also work to develop and disseminate information to improve public health.

The incoming Health & Society Scholars join a prestigious group of past scholars whose research initiatives have led to studies and recommendations for improving health and health care in a variety of areas. These include the reduction of childhood obesity by limiting fast-food marketing; the influence of pharmaceutical advertising on consumers’ health care decisions; the effect of marital status on prenatal health care; and the importance of providing insurance coverage to ensure children’s access to medical services. Scholars must have a doctorate by the time they enter the program.

The Health & Society Scholars program 2010–2012 participants:

Jason Fletcher, who is on leave from his position as an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Yale University, will explore the intersection of biology and health policy by combining genetic and social science research questions (Columbia University);

Mark Hatzenbuehler, a clinical psychologist, will study stigma as it relates to population health with the goal of developing evidence-based policies and interventions that improve the health of socially disadvantaged individuals (Columbia University);

Cate Taylor, a sociologist, will consider ways in which the relationship between social arrangements and biological processes relates to health outcomes – for example, the workplace environments and stress response of women in male-dominated occupations and of men in female-dominated occupations (Columbia University);

Amy Non, a molecular anthropologist, will investigate the biological consequences of racism and other psychosocial stressors, particularly during early life stages (Harvard University);

Andrew Papachristos, who is on leave from his position as an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will study crime epidemics in U.S. cities, paying particular attention to the way violence diffuses among populations of youth (Harvard University);

Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer, a sociologist, will study issues of gender, marriage and family, and health, and the ways these influence employment, health, and sociopolitical attitudes (Harvard University);

Alexander Tsai, a general adult psychiatrist and recipient of a National Institutes of Mental Health Outstanding Resident Award, will study how antidepressant medication treatment improves outcomes for homeless individuals living with HIV (Harvard University);

Emily Jacobs, a neuroscientist, will study dopamine levels and their impact on women’s health (University of California, San Francisco/Berkeley);

Mark A. Pachucki, a sociologist, will explore the links between eating behaviors and health outcomes (University of California, San Francisco/Berkeley);

Aric A. Prather, a clinical psychologist, will explore how social pressures shape biology to influence adults’ susceptibility to disease (University of California, San Francisco/Berkeley);

Margaret Hicken, a public health scientist, will examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms linking stress exposure to Black/White disparities in cardiovascular disease (University of Michigan);

Aaron Mauck, a historian and ethnographer, will research disease management and the social and economic impact of type 2 diabetes on neighborhoods with elevated diabetes rates (University of Michigan);

Julianna Pacheco, a political scientist, will study how public opinion towards smoking bans is influenced by the passage of anti-smoking legislation (University of Michigan);

Andrew Deener, an urban sociologist, will study the unequal distribution of sustainable food sources and how low-income neighborhoods overcome this obstacle to gain access to healthier food options (University of Pennsylvania);

Amy Gonzales, a social psychologist, will study how technology may both contribute to and detract from social support and health (University of Pennsylvania);

Laura Tach, a sociologist, will study the health effects of housing policy and how these policies influence neighborhood health and resident health behaviors (University of Pennsylvania);

James Broesch, an anthropologist, will examine the role of culture and social networks in the production and alleviation of health disparities (University of Wisconsin);

Carolyn McAndrews, an economist, urban planner, and transportation engineer, will study how health, safety and environmental sustainability become part of socially just development (University of Wisconsin);

Emily Walton, a sociologist, will study how the characteristics and effects of racially and ethnically segregated neighborhoods influence individual health status (University of Wisconsin).

About the Health & Society Scholars Program
The RWJF Health & Society Scholars program is designed to build the nation’s capacity for research, leadership and policy change to address the broad range of factors that affect health. Additional information about the RWJF Health & Society Scholars program, including application information, can be found at RWJFLeaders.org.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org