ASTOU COLY
(2003-5 Fellow)

I am a second year doctoral student in the department of Epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. I was born and raised in Senegal and came to the United States after high-school to pursue higher education. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Georgia State University and working in a neurobiological laboratory, it became clear to me that my calling was elsewhere. I was interested in participating in social change by informing the health policy development process with high-quality research. HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases epidemiology are my primary research interests because of their global social impact. Specifically, I am interested in the feminization of STD epidemics in African countries. Currently, I am contemplating studying the impact of HIV on the demographic and health patterns of high-risk women in sub-Saharan Africa.

After obtaining my MPH with a concentration in epidemiology from UCLA School of Public Health in 2001, I worked as a data analyst for Dr. Donald Morisky in the Department of Community Health Sciences. In that capacity, I was involved in a HIV prevention study among commercial sex workers in the Philippines, as well as, another health project studying adolescent health behaviors. Particularly, I was able to examine the relationship between sexual activity and selected health behaviors among adolescent immigrants living in the United States. Previously, in the summer of 2000, I worked with the HIV National Prevention Program in Dakar, Senegal. I participated in a research project that explored the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and the risk factors associated with both HIV and syphilis among Senegalese inmates. These work experiences not only increased my research skills but also deepened my interest in reproductive health.

As a Bixby fellow, I have taken classes in demographic theories and methods. As a result of my extensive coursework, I have been able to expand my knowledge of health issues beyond public health. At the completion of my doctoral studies, I would like to pursue a career with an international health organization focusing on HIV/AIDS and sexual health in sub-Saharan Africa. Along with research, I am fascinated by the possibility of teaching at the university level. I plan not only to teach and to conduct research, but also ensure that relevant findings are disseminated to aid advocacy for social and political change.

YASAMIN KUSUNOKI
(2002-6 Fellow)

I am a doctoral student in the School of Public Health in the Department of Community Health Sciences. I received a B.S. in Biology from Revelle College at UCSD in 1996 and received a Masters in Public Health from UCLA in 1999. Most of my research has focused on the reproductive health of adolescents and young adults, specifically focusing on individual-, familial-, and neighborhood-level determinants of the onset of sexual activity, contraceptive behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases. My dissertation is consistent with this focus but extends this research to explore the role of youth's romantic and sexual relationships. Specifically, I will provide a comprehensive characterization of young adults' sexual relationships and investigate the extent to which the characteristics of these relationships are associated with relationship-specific contraceptive method choice.

I have been working with Dr. Dawn Upchurch for many years as a data analyst and programmer on a number of research projects. Most of these projects utilize the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) in order to examine the influence of multiple social contexts on adolescent sexual behavior and STD/HIV acquisition. My extensive involvement in these projects has provided me with a great deal of substantive knowledge in the area of demography and in the application of numerous theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These work experiences have been instrumental in developing my interest in the ways in which demographic processes and contextual-level variables are correlated generally with health status and life experiences and specifically with fertility-related behaviors among adolescents and young adults.

In addition to my work experiences, my academic training has provided me with a greater understanding of demographic and social processes. Being a Bixby fellow has allowed me to learn about a variety of demographic issues and has enriched my experience at UCLA. I have taken courses on demographic theories and methods, women's reproductive health, and population change and have attended seminars sponsored by the California Center for Population Research on a regular basis. Upon the completion of my Ph.D., I intend to continue to pursue my current research endeavors and extend this line of inquiry to examine the ways in which youth's sexual relationships and the behaviors that occur within them influence subsequent union and family formation behaviors.

CLAIRE DYE
(2004-6 Fellow)

I am a first year doctoral student in the School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences. I received a B.A. in anthropology with a secondary concentration in women's studies from Yale University in 2000 and a Masters of Science in Public Health from UCLA in 2004. My interest in population and reproductive health began during my undergraduate education when I took a class on the anthropology of Latin America. In this class, we read several papers that examined the cultural and structural roots of high infant mortality rates in Brazil. This class prompted me to change my focus within anthropology towards the field of medical anthropology. For my senior thesis, I wrote about the effects of gender, race, and societal structure on the spread of the AIDS epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

After college, I worked for two years as a campaign manager and citizen outreach coordinator for the Fund for Public Interest Research, a fundraising organization for nonprofit institutions. However, I soon realized my true interest still lay in the areas of medical anthropology and reproductive health, and so in 2002 I enrolled in the UCLA School of Public Health. For my masters thesis, I examined the association between alcohol use and condom use at first sexual intercourse among a representative sample of American adolescents using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. I am currently interested in continuing my research on the relationship between substance use and reproductive health in adolescents, incorporating demographic and sociological techniques and theory on the effects of neighborhood, family, and social processes. Because I am just starting the doctoral program, I do not yet have a firm idea of what I will do for my dissertation. However, I look forward to incorporating the knowledge I gain from the many classes I have yet to take into the final product.

JENNIFER SIMMONS
(2004-5 Fellow)

I started my health career as a registered nurse in Belize, working in maternal and child health. Having exhausted the educational opportunities in my natal land, I emigrated to the U.S. in 1990 and obtained an undergraduate degree in nursing. I very quickly recognized the limitations of the nursing profession in impacting large population groups. Consequently, I diverted my educational and professional goals to public health and obtained an MPH in epidemiology from the University of South Florida. I continue to practice the nursing profession, working with high-risk neonates in a tertiary health care setting. This experience has presented ample opportunities for me to assess the determinants of fertility and mortality at the individual level within the maternal and child health population.

Initially interested in infectious disease epidemiology, I have narrowed my scope to the expression of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Central America and the Caribbean, with specific emphasis on Belize. The emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this region is a severe public health threat and has the potential to destabilize population structures and reverse demographic accomplishments. Population studies presented itself as a natural progression for my educational journey as it clearly illuminated the relational links between the epidemiology of the HIV epidemic and its demographic implications. The nations of Central America and the Caribbean have very youthful populations; this reality coupled with the primarily heterosexual transmission of HIV in the region has led me to focus my interests on the evolution of the epidemic amongst youths and young adults.

I have previously interned with the Pan American Health Organization in Belize, where I assisted in assessing the impact of the epidemic on productivity and its attendant economical costs to the country. Furthermore, I have worked as a Programme Manager, in a Community Based Organization, managing HIV health education interventions for high-risk youths in Los Angeles County.

My professional aspirations involve serving the people of Belize in managing and reducing the spread of HIV. Belize is especially vulnerable to this epidemic in that it has a small population and a fairly high prevalence compared to its neighbours. The Bixby fellowship is providing me with access to pertinent demographic skills and knowledge that are applicable to confronting the situation in Belize and the surrounding regions.

I am a doctoral student in the Community Health Sciences Department in the School of Public Health. As an undergraduate, I majored in Human Biology at Stanford University, an interdisciplinary program that examines the intersection between biological and social sciences in relation to the human body. I conducted my honors thesis on perceptions of diabetes among urban Australian Aborigines. Intrigued by the complex and multifaceted nature of health, I pursued a master’s degree in medical anthropology at Stanford. For my master’s thesis, I worked with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation on an HIV/STD prevention program for woman injection drug-users.

Public health strongly appealed to me as a field where I could put my knowledge and ideas into practice, integrating different approaches to improve the health of individuals and populations. A demographic perspective allows me to integrate the study of macro- and micro-level forces, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of health problems and the contexts in which they take place. Specifically, I am interested in the interaction of biological and sociodemographic processes that influence women’s health over the life course. In addition to coursework, my experience as an intern at the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch at the National Institute for Child and Human Development (NICHD) exposed me to a wide array of demography research and policy topics.

Through involvement in multiple research projects, I have acquired methodological skills while establishing a theoretical foundation in several substantive areas. I am currently working with Dr. Dawn Upchurch on a study looking at cumulative physiological dysregulation and menopausal symptoms among a sample of midlife women from the Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN). Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979, Dr. Michael Lu and I are examining if mothers who deliver preterm babies are at higher risk for developing maternal hypertension later in life. I have also used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) dataset to examine how gender differences of chlamydia prevalence among young adults are associated with health-seeking behaviors.

After completion of my degree, I plan to continue pursuing my research interests in reproductive health and women’s health over the life course. I hope to continue exploring the complex interactions between biological and sociodemographic processes and the health implications for women of different age groups.

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Dordt College in 2001 and a Masters degree in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003. During the MSW program, I completed a concentration in Social and Economic Development and a Research Specialization. After becoming exposed to development theories, I began to identify improvement of the public’s health as a key tactic for fostering development in Africa and preventing the spread of devastating illnesses such as the AIDS epidemic. I realized that a career in public health would be the ideal way for me to make a difference by influencing health policy through research.

I am currently a second-year student in the PhD Program at the UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences. As a Bixby Fellow, I have completed coursework on demographic theory and methods and attended weekly seminars at the California Center for Population Research. This exposure to population and demography has helped me to further specify my research interests by learning how to view reproductive health issues from a different perspective.

My immediate goal after completing my education is to work as a social and behavior scientist with an international health organization, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. In my research, I hope to integrate my background in social and economic development with my training in demography and community health. I am particularly interested in the influence of socio-economic factors on risk for HIV infection and other reproductive health problems. I would also like to further explore the interactions between population dynamics and economic development in Africa. One of my long-term goals is to design and implement demographic surveys to collect more accurate data on population indicators and health outcomes in Kenya. Another goal is to hold an academic position that allows me to teach, conduct research, and provide consultation services to African governments on incorporating demographic and health research in policy and planning. As I continue my coursework and research, I am confident that my doctoral training will adequately prepare me to make significant contributions to the field by using research to improve the health of underserved populations.

I am a doctoral student in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health. I earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a M.P.H. in Community Health Sciences from UCLA. Following my undergraduate study, I worked as a paramedic, and volunteered as a medical technician and patient educator at a free family health care clinic in Detroit, Michigan. I became involved with the patients and their medical needs, and learned to navigate the safety net system of healthcare for the poor in Southeastern Michigan. My experiences in these settings highlighted the interrelationships of health and social disparities, particularly relating to socioeconomic status, immigration, and acculturation.

Although my work in the clinical setting was rewarding, the limitations of addressing the health needs of a population through an individual behavior change model were clear. I chose to pursue graduate study in public health to receive training and research experience in addressing health from a population perspective. I earned my MPH in 2004, focusing on reproductive health promotion in the U.S. and in Latin America. As a Ph.D. student, I have worked with a broad range of population health issues in the U.S. and abroad. My current focus is on women’s reproductive health in Latin America , and in the application of research to improve health promotion programs and policies. My dissertation will examine how gender roles and social norms in Latin America affect couples’ sexual and reproductive decision making, with a specific focus on outcomes related to HIV/AIDS. In this project, I plan to analyze how gender and power dynamics at the level of individual couples and at the broader societal level affect sexual health outcomes.

The Bixby Fellowship supported my second year of doctoral studies, allowing me to finish my required coursework and make significant progress toward my degree. As a Bixby Fellow, my coursework has included demographic theory and methodology, families and population change, and women’s sexual and reproductive health, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. I also attend the California Center for Population Research seminar series, which provides an additional venue for learning about current demographic and health research. The Bixby Fellowship has given me a unique opportunity to collaborate with and learn from population scientists from a variety of academic disciplines, enriching my graduate experience at UCLA. Upon completing my Ph.D., I plan to pursue a career that allows me to combine sexual and reproductive health research with public health program work, focusing on Latin America. I look forward to involvement in new and promising areas of research, including the study of social networks and the enforcement of social norms, and the contexts of youth sexual behavior in urban Latin America.