PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – In March, PSTC faculty associates Mark Lurie and Abigail Harrison, along with several other faculty members from Brown’s School of Public Health, traveled to South Africa to convene the 5th annual SASH forum. Led by Lurie, associate professor of epidemiology, along with a colleague at the University of Cape Town (UCT), the SASH Program (South African Social Science and HIV Program) is an NIH-funded training and research collaboration between Brown University and the University of Cape Town.
In the country with more people infected with HIV than anywhere else in the world (7 million or over 18 percent of the South African population), SASH aims to train the next generation of African social scientists to address the HIV epidemic. SASH fellows are mentored by Brown and UCT faculty as they undertake an HIV research project focusing on social science.
“We wanted to really make sure they get their hands dirty in research, that they’re involved from the beginning process where you’re starting to think about what the research questions are, what do we already know, and what important information is missing,” Lurie said.
More than 50 participants attended the forum, with the collaboration between Brown and UTC crossing both borders and disciplines.
“That’s really the kind of approach that we need,” Lurie said. “A small narrow approach that is very bound by discipline is unlikely to be able understand and address the complexity of the health problem.”
In addition to Lurie, other PSTC faculty involved in the SASH Program include Harrison, Assistant Professor (Research) of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Omar Galarraga, Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice; Daniel Smith, Professor of Anthropology; Don Operario, Professor of Behavior and Social Sciences; and Stephen McGarvey, Professor of Epidemiology and Anthropology.
Learn more about the SASH Program here.