Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Fariha Tariq, PhD candidate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has received an F99 Transition Award from the National Cancer Institute for “An In-depth Examination of Psychological Distress in Black Breast Cancer Survivors.” Psychological distress is an important component of cancer care, and can adversely affect treatment compliance, quality of life, and survival. […]

SBS doctoral candidate Nixon Arauz was one of the student researchers featured by VCU News for his work on racial disparities in the uptake of the HPV vaccine among Black and white Latinx men ages 18-34. he past, present and future came together in meaningful ways last month as academic achievement, diversity and historical reckoning […]

This Women’s History Month we’re featuring outstanding SBS alumnae, women in leadership roles, and students and faculty conducting research focused on improving women’s health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Brown graduated from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Ph.D. program in 2020. She is currently Assistant Professor at Drexel University’s College of […]

Savannah Reitzel, Ph.D. candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences program, was recently awarded a 2023 National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship. Her project, titled “THRIVE: Transformative Health and Reproductive Information for Incarcerated Women’s Empowerment,” seeks to promote health equity for incarcerated women in the US. The complicated healthcare system and the absence of […]

Nixon Arauz received the accolade for the dissertation competition. Nixon Arauz, a doctoral candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences program with VCU’s Department of Health Behavior and Policy, has been accorded honorable mention status in the 2023 Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs competition, administered by the Fellowships National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Ford […]

While much of the health research around men who have sex with men (MSM) involves HIV, these communities are at increased risk for other health problems including certain types of cancer, substance use and mental health issues. A new scoping review by VCU School of Medicine and Massey Cancer Center researchers finds that a specific […]

Young men with obesity are at risk for developing a host of health complications, including cancer, heart disease and cardiometabolic disease. To better understand the behaviors that contribute to obesity in this demographic and identify solutions, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center are testing a new lifestyle program aimed at promoting weight loss, physical activity […]

Nixon Arauz, Doctoral Student in the Social & Behavioral Sciences Program  at the School of Medicine Striving & Thriving at VCU talks to Nixon about his undergraduate STEM experience, how his culture influences his work, and what it means to be a STEM student. What does it mean to you to be a STEM student? […]

A grant from Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest collegiate honor society, is helping to fund Hannah Ming’s research. Hannah Ming was the first in her family to attend college. Now the VCU doctoral student is conducting research to better understand whether racism plays a role in poor outcomes during childbirth. (Kevin Morley, University Marketing) […]