Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

International Open Access Week is observed annually in order to highlight the benefits of free and immediate access to scholarly research worldwide. Open access allows research scholarship to have wide-reaching effects, and grants colleagues the ability to freely share and use research. This year’s theme is “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” – an opportunity to consider […]

Every April, Cancer Control Month honors cancer survivors and those currently fighting cancer. This month of recognition focuses on cancer prevention and treatment as well as quality of life for those diagnosed with cancer and cancer survivors. Cancer Prevention and Control is a major area of research in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. […]

In keeping with the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month, this series highlights the importance and impact of mentoring partnerships between department faculty and their mentees. Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S. is a health disparities researcher who focuses particularly on the identification of early cancer detection biomarkers. Her past research includes identifying and addressing […]

In keeping with the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month, this series highlights the importance and impact of mentoring partnerships between department faculty and their mentees. Vanessa B. Sheppard, Ph.D. is a population scientist whose research focuses on reducing cancer disparities. She has prioritized work among racial/ethnic minorities in order to identify factors that […]

In keeping with the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month, this series highlights the importance and impact of mentoring partnerships between department faculty and their mentees. Kellie Carlyle, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed. specializes in health communication and health behavior theory; her research focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of health communication campaigns, media portrayals […]

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 […]