Sociomedical Sciences

Department of Sociomedical Sciences faculty members are actively engaged in studying the social dimensions of health and disease in both theoretical and broad historical and structural terms. Major emphases include understanding the fundamental causes of social inequalities in disease and analyzing the politics and ethics of state and civil society’s responses to public health challenges, both domestically and globally. In so doing, faculty conduct research on a wide range of public health issues, including traditional challenges (such as cancer, tobacco and drug use, and the health of minority populations), as well as new topics emerging in response to societal needs (such as the social, behavioral and policy dimensions of HIV/AIDS and other emerging health threats, violence, sexuality, gender and health).

Our Centers

Six research centers function under the umbrella of the Department. The research developed by these centers provides an important focus for our research program.

• Harlem Health Promotion Center (HHPC)
• Center for the Psychosocial Study of Health and Illness
• Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health
• Center on Gender, Sexuality, and Health
• Columbia University Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies
• Center for the Study of Social Inequalities and Health