Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodists with its original campus in Newbury, Vermont, before being chartered in Boston in 1869. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and the Boston Consortium for Higher Education.
The Columbia University School of Social Work is the graduate school of social work of Columbia University in New York City. It is one of the oldest social work programs in the US, with roots extending back to 1898. It began awarding a Master of Science degree in 1940. As of 2018, it was one of the largest social work schools in the United States, with an enrollment of over 1,000 students.
Sir Cary Lynn Cooper, is an American-born British psychologist and 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.
Patricia E. Deegan is an American disability-rights advocate, psychologist and researcher. She has been described as a "national spokesperson for the mental health consumer/survivor movement in the United States." Deegan is known as an advocate of the mental health recovery movement and is an international speaker and trainer in the field of mental health.
Suniya S. Luthar was Founder and executive director of AC Groups nonprofit, Professor Emerita at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Co-founder Emerita at Authentic Connections Co. She had previously served on the faculty at Yale University's Department of Psychiatry and the Yale Child Study Center and as Foundation Professor of Psychology at the Arizona State University.
Leith Patricia Mullings was a Jamaican-born author, anthropologist and professor. She was president of the American Anthropological Association from 2011–2013, and was a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Mullings was involved in organizing for progressive social justice, racial equality and economic justice as one of the founding members of the Black Radical Congress and in her role as President of the AAA. Under her leadership, the American Anthropological Association took up the issue of academic labor rights.
Sandro Galea is a physician, epidemiologist, and author. He is the Robert A. Knox professor and dean at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is the former Chair of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Galea is past president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and an elected member of the American Epidemiological Society. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2012, chairing two of the organization's reports on mental health in the military. He formerly served as chair of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Community Services Board and as a member of its Health Board.
Vikram Harshad Patel FMedSci is an Indian psychiatrist and researcher best known for his work on child development and mental disability in low-resource settings. He is the Co-Founder and former Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Co-Director of the Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions at the Public Health Foundation of India, and the Co-Founder of Sangath, an Indian NGO dedicated to research in the areas of child development, adolescent health and mental health. Since 2016 he has been Pershing Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine of Harvard Medical School in Boston. He was awarded a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship in 2015. In April 2015, he was listed as one of the world's 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.
Michelle Ann Williams is a Jamaican-American epidemiologist, public health scientist, and educator who has served as the dean of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health since 2016.
Hortensia Amaro is a Cuban-American educator, and formerly Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University and Associate Vice Provost of Community Research and Dean's Professor of Social Work and Preventative Medicine at the University of Southern California. Amaro was born in Cuba and moved to Los Angeles, California as a child. From a young age, she recognized that there was a demand for public health services in her area, particularly by immigrants and minorities. Amaro assisted in the development and implementation of numerous treatment and prevention models as well as the creation and establishment of several clinical interventions and programs dedicated to substance abuse, mental health and HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention that target women and minorities.
Lisa A. Goodman is an American counseling psychologist known for her research on domestic violence and violence against women. She is Professor of Counseling Psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. Goodman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division of Counseling Psychology.
Catherine Panter-Brick is the Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University, where she directs the Program on Conflict, Resilience, and Health and the Program on Stress and Family Resilience. She is also the senior editor of the interdisciplinary journal Social Science & Medicine and the President-Elect of the Human Biology Association. She serves as Head of Morse College, one of Yale’s 14 residential colleges, and is Chair of the Council of Heads.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of people across the globe. The pandemic has caused widespread anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. According to the UN health agency WHO, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, prevalence of common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, went up by more than 25 percent. The pandemic has damaged social relationships, trust in institutions and in other people, has caused changes in work and income, and has imposed a substantial burden of anxiety and worry on the population. Women and young people face the greatest risk of depression and anxiety.
Arghavan Salles is an Iranian American bariatric surgeon. Salles is a Director of the American Medical Women's Association, a Special Advisor for DEI Programs in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a Senior Research Scholar at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research. Salles' research focuses on gender equity, well-being, and the challenges women face in the workplace. Salles works as an advocate for equity and inclusion and as an activist against sexual harassment. Salles is an international speaker who worked on the front lines and supported health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic through social media.
Daisy Fancourt is a British researcher who is an Associate Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London. Her research focuses on the effects of social factors on health, including loneliness, social isolation, community assets, arts and cultural engagement, and social prescribing. During the COVID-19 pandemic Fancourt led a team running the UK's largest study into the psychological and social impact of COVID-19 and established the international network COVID Minds, aiming to better understand the impact of coronavirus disease on mental health and well-being.
Eleanor (Ellie) Jane Murray is a British-Canadian epidemiologist, science communicator, and assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Murray created a series of multi-lingual, accessible infographics to communicate information about COVID-19.
Karen Fraser Wyche is a clinical psychologist and research professor whose work focuses on the development of gender roles, coping and stress responses of minority women, community resilience, and cultural competence in intervention settings. Outside of her clinical work, Wyche has been engaged in efforts to advance opportunities for minority women in academia by addressing barriers to their full participation. Wyche holds the title of Research Professor in the Department of Community of Policy, Populations and Systems at the George Washington University School of Nursing.
Jasmine Y. Zapata is an American physician and epidemiologist. She is the chief medical officer and state epidemiologist for community health at Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Her career includes work as a pediatrician, public health researcher, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, author, and her support for youth empowerment with a variety of initiatives.
Suicide prevention and intervention efforts in India are in the nascent stage. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide in India is a serious public health issue but it can be prevented with timely interventions that are based on evidence. Suicide prevention is also one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG3.4.2) wherein they have asked member countries to work towards reduce global suicide rates by one third by 2030. Notable steps taken by the Government of India include the decriminalization of suicide in the Mental HealthCare Act of 2017 and launching of India's first mental health toll free helpline KIRAN. Many experts have emphasised the urgent need for a national strategy for suicide prevention to be implemented that is multi-sectoral in nature.
Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Asian Americans is a growing topic related to trauma and racial psychology that requires more attention and research.