Columbia Population Research Center: Bridging Disciplines around the World
The Columbia Population Research Center brings together scholars from a wide range of fields, including epidemiology, psychology, economics, sociology, social work, and public health. The common goal is to promote the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in Columbia’s backyard of New York City and in more than 50 countries in the developing world.
Researchers focus on four areas: children, youth, and families; HIV/ AIDS and reproductive health; immigration and migration; and urbanism. The research takes place under the direction of a steering committee comprised of representatives from the School of Social Work, the Mailman School of Public Health, Teachers College, and Columbia’s Departments of Economics and Sociology.
“The initiative for the Center came out of CUSSW,” says Dr. Irwin Garfinkel, the School’s Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems, who developed the idea with his colleague Dr. Jane Waldfogel, professor of social work and public affairs. Garfinkel is a co-director of the Center, along with Dr. Constance A. Nathanson, professor of clinical sociomedical sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health.
Students from across the University provide research assistance and attend seminars at the Center, while CUSSW students can use it to fulfill field placement requirements. Last year, five CUSSW students completed fieldwork at the Center, and three more will do so this fall.
“Students play a very important role,” explains Dr. Julien Teitler, associate professor of social work and sociology at CUSSW and co-director of two of the Center’s service areas: Computing, Data, Information, and Methodology.
The Center’s projects span the globe, often mirroring the interests of policymakers. Examples include a working group on Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing; the health challenges of Dominicans who migrate between New York City and the Dominican Republic; the social factors that shape married women’s risk of HIV/ AIDS; and land use and infrastructure decisions in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Center’s multidisciplinary and global focus has led to an unusually productive relationship with the School of Social Work. “It is very exciting to have a population research center at Columbia that conducts research in four domains that are so central to the social work profession,” Dr. Garfinkel explains.