Student Involvement

• National Mentoring and Training Program
  • Pre-doctoral Mentoring Program
  • Current Mentees

National Mentoring and Training Program

The Mentoring and Training Program of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health offers opportunities for training and mentorship to aspiring and junior researchers in the United States. Our mission is to link promising young scholars with the resources they need to improve the reach, quality and methodological rigor of their research and to prepare them for careers in LGBT health and population science. We aim to foster the growth and development of the next generation of scholars in this exciting, interdisciplinary field by providing opportunities for additional coursework, assistance with independent research, and faculty interaction.

Our program links young scholars with training opportunities in the scientific study of LGBT population groups, with data resources from a growing archive of LGBT datasets, and with a nationwide network of expert faculty in LGBT health and population-based research who are available to serve as mentors to students who are accepted into the program. The Center coordinates the program and assists students to develop a mentoring agreement with faculty who have expertise in LGBT health research. Faculty who participate in the Center as mentors have appointments at universities and institutions across the country and represent a broad range of interests and methodological expertise in the study of LGBT population groups.

The Center collaborates with several academic, institutional and community-based organizations to offer additional training opportunities to students. Our data partner, the Inter-university Consortium for Social and Political Research (ICPSR), is an important resource. ICPSR is home to our archive of LGBT population datasets and a specialist in providing training in quantitative methods of social research.

Senior administrators of a number of academic institutions have expressed support for the Center's national mentoring program, including (in Boston) the Boston University School of Public Health, the Harvard University School of Public Health, Harvard Medical International, Brown University's School of Community Health, and Northeastern University's Bouve College of Health Sciences; and (outside of Boston) the Center for Research on Health and Sexual Orientation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the Lesbian Health and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing and School of Medicine.

For more information about the program, contact Dr. Aimee Van Wagenen, Program Manager for the Center or download a brochure about the program (PDF 414K).

Pre-doctoral Mentoring Program

Our pre-doctoral program involves young scholars early in their careers in LGBT research, providing help to students as they define their career goals, build their knowledge base about the characteristics of LGBT population groups, and hone their skills in the best and most innovative population-based research methodologies.

Pre-doctoral students selected for the mentoring program are provided the opportunity to be matched with an expert faculty mentor from the Center's nationwide network who will guide and assist them with a project in LGBT population research for a mutually agreed upon length of time. Such mentorship is expected to complement existing graduate training at students' home institutions through long-distance learning and interactions.

Students currently enrolled in a doctoral program in the United States who are engaged in population research with a focus upon LGBT health and/or same-sex families are encouraged to apply. Outstanding masters' students who are planning to pursue advanced doctoral studies and a career in LGBT population research are also eligible to apply.

Applications for the program are accepted on a rolling basis until February 15. Download the application (">DOC 91K; ">PDF 67K).

Current Mentees

Dr. Ilan Meyer (mentor) with John Blosnich (Phd student in Public Heath Sciences at West Virginia University). John's project, "Understanding risks, stressors and triggers of smoking in sexual minorities" will compare risk and protective factors for smoking in LGBT young adults as compared to heterosexual peers.

From left: Dr. Scout (mentor), Dr. Aimee Van Wagenen (mentorship coordinator), Zachary DuBois (PhD student in anthropology at the University of Massachusetts) and Dr. Conall O'Cleirigh (mentor). Zachary's project, "Biocultural Perspectives on Gender, Transitions, Stress, and Immune Function" examines stress and the process of transition for transmen.

Dr. Deborah Bowen (mentor) with Grant Farmer (PhD student in Social Psychology at the University of Connecticut). Grant is also mentored by Don Allensworth-Davies (not pictured). Grant is interested in researching gay men's perceptions of health by comparing perceptions of risks related to HIV to those related to other health conditions.

Jennifer Jabson (PhD student in Public Health at Oregon State University) with Dr. Deborah Bowen (mentor). Jennifer studies breast cancer survivorship in sexual minority women.

Catherine Maulsby (PhD student in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University) with Dr. Ken Mayer (mentor). Catherine is also mentored by Trish Case (not pictured). Catherine's project investigates the relationship between bisexual behavior, race, HIV risk and prevention behaviors among African American men who have sex with men and men who have sex with men and women in Baltimore, Maryland.

Corrine Reczek is a PhD student in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Corrine is mentored by Esther Rothblum. Her project, "Gender and Health in Gay, Lesbian and Straight Couples" compares the relationship dynamics that drive health behaviors in same-sex and opposite-sex long-term couples.

CJ Turett is an EdD student at Widener University. CJ is mentored by Emilia Lombardi. CJ's research interests are in transgender communities, transgender health, and the best practices for social service organizations who serve transgender people.