News

October 7, 2009 -- Two Mailman School of Public Health faculty members have been selected to receive the prestigious Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Sixteen scholars affiliated with major universities across the country were chosen from a national pool of applicants for their work on major challenging policy issues facing America today, as well as wide-ranging concerns about the nation’s health and healthcare system. Co-investigators Naa Oyo A. Kwate, PhD, assistant professor, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, associate professor, both in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, were selected to study the relationships among belief in meritocracy, racism, and health outcomes.

As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and healthcareof all Americans, RWJF created the Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research program to support talented researchers throughout the stages of their careers whose cross-cutting and bold new ideas promise to contribute meaningfully to improving U.S. health policy.

In their project, On the Content of Our Character: The Myth of Meritocracy and African American Health, Drs. Kwate and Meyer propose that, for African Americans, living in a culture that so highly values self-determination as represented in meritocratic ideology can lead to demoralization, unhealthy coping strategies, and higher rates of illness and early death. They also consider how meritocratic beliefs may be linked to political views about the role of government and the plight of the disadvantaged, and to disparities in health and well being.

“I am extremely proud of Drs. Kwate and Meyer and congratulate them on this most prestigious honor,” said Linda P. Fried, MD, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. “We greatly value their contributions to the field and look forward to their continuing research on these issues. I also want to convey our deep appreciation for the significant support by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Mailman School and its faculty over the years. Our collaboration has resulted in many highly innovative projects that broaden the public's understanding of critical policy issues related to the health and healthcare of Americans.”

A national advisory committee of distinguished experts reviews applications for this prestigious and highly competitive funding program. Members of the 2008 national advisory committee included Bruce G. Link, PhD, professor, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, For more information on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, visit www.rwjf.org.

About the Mailman School of Public Health The only accredited school of public health in New York City and among the first in the nation, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting millions of people locally and globally. The Mailman School is the recipient of some of the largest government and private grants in Columbia University’s history. Its more than 1000 graduate students pursue master’s and doctoral degrees, and the School’s 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as infectious and chronic diseases, health promotion and disease prevention, environmental health, maternal and child health, health over the life course, health policy, and public health preparedness. www.mailman.columbia.edu Contact: Stephanie Berger, Mailman School of Public Health, 212-305-4372, sb2247@columbia.edu