Message From the Chair

Welcome to Sociomedical Sciences! I am honored to be serving as the Interim Chair the Department of Sociomedical Sciences (SMS), a leader in the field of public health for the past six decades. SMS brings innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing the social determinants of health. We deploy methods and theories from a broad range of disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, sociology, history, ethics, behavioral science, and health promotion. We are committed to bridging theory and practice and to assuring that interventions to improve public health are based on the best, most cutting-edge science.

Our faculty, staff, and students bring a unique combination of knowledge, skills, and passion as they take on the social forces—such as socioeconomic inequality, stigma, and discrimination—that underlie so many of the world’s most urgent public health challenges.

Our students learn to design, implement, and evaluate public health programs and policies. Graduates from our outstanding master’s and doctoral programs are equipped with the high-level skills they need to tackle complex public health issues across various career trajectories that span community-based organizations, government, think tanks, philanthropy, academia, and industry.

Recognizing that the public health landscape is rapidly changing, our goal in the coming years is to foresee how the social sciences can uniquely contribute to achieving equity in health. For example, a clear priority area for growth is the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). SMS has the potential to lead such efforts given the relevance and methodological approaches integral to SMS. We are well positioned to address the syndemic nature of NCDs, including mental health and substance abuse, in both global and local settings, where social and economic contextual factors create and exacerbate the risk of disease progression.

A vibrant community of scholars and practitioners, SMS is committed to leadership in the complex and interconnected world of the 21st century. I invite you to learn more about us: our research, our programs, our people and our collective commitment to public health.  

Sincerely,

James Colgrove, PhD, MPH
Interim Chair of Sociomedical Sciences