Social Determinants of HIV

Predoctoral Fellowship in Social Determinants of HIV

The Predoctoral Fellowship in Social Determinants of HIV, is a research training program located in the department of Sociomedical Sciences (SMS). As an interdisciplinary program the fellowship provides funding to doctoral students pursuing their PhD or their DrPh in the Departments of Sociomedical Sciences, Epidemiology, Population and Family Health, and Biostatistics. This program prepares students for research and teaching careers addressing HIV structural interventions and social determinants such as structural racism, stigma, residential segregation, COVID-19, and other marginalizing structures, particularly as they influence HIV. 

Mission 

To provide training to the next generation of predoctoral fellows on the social determinants of HIV. This is the first NIMH grant multidisciplinary training program that brings together 20 faculty scholars from the Mailman School of Public Health, the HIV Center on Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the Columbia University School of Social Work, to implement a predoctoral training on social determinants of HIV.

This training program is designed to increase the pool of underrepresented populations, as such, 50% of the fellows enrolled in this training program are underrepresented minorities, individuals with disadvantages backgrounds, or people with disabilities. This training program is well positioned at Columbia University, as this institution serves as a leader on research, teaching and practice on social determinants of health, and HIV, and New York City, has some of the highest rates of HIV, particularly among racial/ethnic minority groups.

Program of Study

Predoctoral fellows must apply and be accepted to the doctoral program in SMS, EPI, BIO or POPFAM. Predoctoral Fellows complete both doctoral requirements

for their discipline (SMS, EPI, BIO, POPFAM) and those specific to the Fellowship Program.

Fellowship Requirements

The fellowship training program provides a combination of activities-involving individual, group, and peer learning to ensure Fellows have a strong knowledge, foundation, to conduct research on the social determinants of HIV. Fellows in the Social Determinants of HIV Fellowship Program are required to:

1. Participate in the T32 Seminar. This seminar integrates the training program by providing a setting to meet regularly. The purpose of this seminar is to highlight structural interventions designed to reduce the impact of HIV among underrepresented populations, professional development activities; funding mechanisms, diverse research careers for doctoral students in public health, and guest speakers who are experts in HIV structural interventions.
2. Complete (and receive a passing grade) other Required Coursework*
   1. Social Epidemiology [EPID P8471] – taken the first fall semester (Fall 2021)
   2. Social and Economic Determinants of Health [SOSC P8745]
   3. Seminar in Research & Professional Development [SOSC P8798] – taken every semester
   4. Research Ethics & Public Health [POPF P9630]
3. Attend at least 3 HIV Center Grand Rounds or Cross-Core Seminar (every semester), given by speakers at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)
4. Participate in the MSPH Office of Research Resources workshops on grant preparation.
5. Develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to facilitate progress through doctoral training
6. Attend at least one event held by the Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Culture annually.
7. Present to at least one scientific conference, workshop, or seminar annually.
8. Conduct doctoral research addressing social determinants of HIV
9. Submit an annual progress report & evaluations.

* Strongly Recommended: A biostatistics course in multilevel modelling

Fiscal Support

• Tuition & Stipend: Fellows will receive full tuition support from this training program and their participating department. Tuition support is guaranteed for five year, however, fellows are encouraged to apply for external funding so they can rotate off the T32. Fellows will also receive a stipend, the stipend amount is based on NIH budgetary levels for predoctoral students. Subsequent to the initial year, fiscal support for subsequent years (up to a total of five) is contingent on adequate progress towards meeting the requirements for your doctorate, and meeting the Fellowship requirements listed above.
• Conference Travel Support: Fellows can receive up to $750 per year to offset cost for attending scientific conferences.

Leadership & Contact

Director: Gina Wingood, ScD, MPH Email Address: gw2326@columbia.edu

T32 Program Director. Dr. Gina Wingood, ScD, MPH, the contact PI, is Sidney and Helaine Lerner Professor of Public Health Promotion, Endowed Professor, SMS, and Director of the Health Communication Certificate, MSPH, Columbia University. Dr. Wingood received her ScD from Harvard University at Chan School of Public Health and her MPH from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Wingood is an African American scholar and an internationally recognized expert in HIV/AIDS prevention and social determinants of HIV among African American populations. Dr. Wingood has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers and has served as PI or Co-PI on more than 20 NIH-funded grants. Dr. Wingood’s research has examined social determinants of HIV primarily among African American women, and she has conducted numerous randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy of reducing HIV risk behaviors and incident sexually transmitted infections among diverse African American populations, particularly women. During the 1990’s and early 2000’s Dr. Wingood's programs were amongst the most widely disseminated HIV prevention programs for African American women across the U.S. During the past 3 years, Dr. Wingood was elected as a Columbia University Provost Leadership Fellow, and she served as one of only 13 faculty from across Columbia University on the Tenure, Review, and Promotion Committee, which oversees tenure and promotion of all faculty and serves at the behest of the Columbia University Provost.

Funding 

This predoctoral fellowship is a T32 award supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), in its division of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Grant number: T32MH128395.

Current Fellows 

Dana Bezuidenhout is a PhD candidate in the department of Epidemiology. Dana has an MPH in Epidemiology (and a Certificate in Global Health) from MSPH, and a BA in Biology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. For the past four years, Dana has been working in South Africa for a research group investigating interventions targeted at early detection, diagnosis, and treatment retention of TB and HIV. As part of this research, Dana was involved in examining the social determinates of retention along these disease cascades. Specifically, they assessed how social determinants that impact HIV prevention cascades among adolescent girls and young women. Dana is interested in further examining social determinants of health to other infectious diseases like tuberculosis

Anubhuti Poudyal is a doctoral (DrPH) student in the Sociomedical Sciences Department. Her background is in global mental health, with a focus on the delivery of evidence-based, technology-driven interventions in low- and middle-income countries. Anu is primarily interested in understanding social and cultural factors influencing comorbidities such as HIV and mental health. As a T32 fellow, she intends to explore social determinants of HIV that influence treatment outcomes and medication adherence among vulnerable populations with comorbidities. During her doctoral program, Anu also wants to learn social network analysis to understand social structures and support systems that can positively influence health outcomes in low-resource settings. Before joining Columbia, she completed her MPH at Texas A&M School of Public Health and worked at the Division of Global Mental Health, George Washington University as a Senior Research Associate.

Betselot Wondium is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences. Bets graduated from the University of Maryland where he double majored in Public Health Science and Anthropology. Bets is interested in using a prevention science lens to identify and examine social and behavioral factors that frame experiences with HIV/AIDS, to the end of improving communication and redistributing resources to populations that have been historically excluded from access. As a doctoral student, Bets hopes to focus his research on the etiology of mental distress and foregone mental health care in black and immigrant populations. Prior to his doctoral studies, Bets worked as a Public Health Analyst at RTI International’s Center for Behavioral Health Epidemiology, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Safiya Sirota is a doctoral student in the department of Biostatistics. Safiya’s past research includes studying substance use patterns in the United States— historically and during the COVID-19 pandemic— and studying data literacy, specifically how people fall for misleading graphs. On this T32, Safiya will continue studying substance use and its connection to HIV and I will strengthen my understanding of quality health communication. Safiya looks forward to using her statistical skills to analyze the social determinants of HIV. She is also passionate about translating results into practical, digestible information that can be used to develop appropriate interventions. Prior to arriving at MSPH, Safiya received her BA at Wellesley College where she double majored in Mathematics and Psychology.