Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies explained
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) is an interfaculty initiative at Harvard University that is closely affiliated with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The Center houses post-doctoral programs, including the David E. Bell Fellowship, and the Mortimer Spiegelman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Demographic Studies, and previously offered the Sloan Fellowship on Aging and Work, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program.
History
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies was founded in 1964 by the Harvard School of Public Health (now the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) under the direction of Dean Jack Snyder and director Roger Revelle with a mandate to address issues of population control. Over the years, the Center has addressed the following themes:[1]
- 1960s: Population growth, water resources, reproductive biology
- 1970s: Population and resources; migration
- 1980s: Health transitions in developing countries
- 1990s: Reproductive health, common security, and the global burden of disease
- Early 2000s: Well-being of the global poor; health in Africa
- 2008-current: Social and environmental determinants of population health; immigration; aging societies; health effects of workplace policies, youth, families and social mobility, and population dynamics of climate change.[1]
50th anniversary and symposium
As a celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Center for Population and Development Studies honored several individuals who played important roles in the development of the Center, including:
- Lincoln Chen, former director of the Center for Population and Development Studies from 1988–1996 and Taro Takemi Professor of International Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He was honored for his work as former Director of the Center, which included engaging the Center more directly in international policy research, as well as his work in the publication of several landmark global population books.[2]
- Mary Paci, daughter of former HCPDS Director Roger Revelle. She was honored for her work as a long-term member of the advisory committee of the Center and continued support of funding initiatives at the Harvard TH. Chan School of Public Health.[2]
- Sissela Bok, philosopher, ethicist, writer, and former Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Population and Development Studies.[3] She was honored for her work at the Center, including research that contributed to the field of ethics and population study, as well as the convening workshops and seminar series.[2]
In addition, the Center hosted a 50th anniversary symposium entitled "Reimagining Societies in the Face of Demographic Change," which concerned recent demographic challenges faced by communities in the 21st century, including a rapidly aging global population, women's health and declining fertility, and initiatives the Center for Population and Development Studies is pursuing to help address these challenges.[4]
Leadership
Social epidemiologist Lisa Berkman was appointed director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies by Harvard Provost Steven E. Hyman in October 2007. Berkman is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (formerly the Harvard School of Public Health). She was chair of the School’s Department of Society, Human Development and Health from 1995– 2008. She is noted for identifying the effects of social networks on mortality risks that helped define the field of social epidemiology in the late 1970s. Berkman also broadened the field with her investigations of how social conditions related to inequality, race, ethnicity, and social isolation influence health and aging.[5]
Previous directors
| Director | Term | Achievements |
|---|
| Roger Revelle | 1964-1976 | A trained oceanographer and natural scientist, he studied interactions between people and environments. He co-founded the University of San Diego, and directed the Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
| William Alonso | 1976-1978 | A demographer and sociologist, his research focused on demographic changes, in particular in very urbanized areas. He developed a mathematical model, connecting migration and the evolution of the distribution of the population. |
| Nathan Keyfitz | 1978-1980 | As a statistician and sociologist, he was a pioneer of mathematical demography. His later research focused on environmental and food security, sustainable development, the ethics of consumption, climate change, and poverty. |
| center|165px | David E. Bell | 1981-1988 | An economist, he served under President Truman and then as director of the U.S. Bureau of Budget and USAID under President Kennedy. His work focused on the intersection of health, population, and economic development. |
| Lincoln Chen | 1988-1996 | A medical doctor, he ushered in a new era at the Center by assertively engaging in a number of international policy research topics such as health equity, health transitions, reproductive health and rights, and global burden of disease. |
| Michael Reich | 2001-2005 | An international health policy expert, his research focused on economic, political and ethical issues in population policies and reproductive health, access to medicines in the developing world, and the neglected health problems of the global poor. |
| Christopher J.L. Murray | 2005-2007 | A physician and health economist, his work, including the inception of the Global Burden of Disease model, led to the development of new methods and empirical studies that strengthened the basis for population health measurement. | |
[1] Current work
Over the past 60 years, the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies has expanded its focus on overpopulation to examine relevant questions involving demographic shifts, resources, health, and the environment. The Center engages over 75 faculty members from multiple disciplines in order to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration. There are four main research focal areas:[6]
- Aging Societies
- Youth, Families, and Social Mobility
- Work, Policy, and Well-Being
- Population Dynamics of Climate Change[6]
Major projects
Current major projects of the Center include:
- Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI): This study follows and tests a cohort of Agincourt residents for HIV infection and cardiometabolic disease risk factors, then integrates that data with mortality data to study the drivers and consequences of HIV and non-communicable diseases in an aging population in Agincourt, South Africa.[7]
- Cognitive Function, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders in the HAALSI Cohort: This project furthers research conducted by the HAALSI team on the social and biological risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease & related dementias (ADRD) in an aging population in rural South Africa. The HAALSI Dementia Study following a cohort of 600 participants through two additional waves of dementia diagnostic evaluation, including an enriched cognitive battery, informant interviews, and neurological examinations.
- India Policy Insights: The goal of this project (also referred to as Burden of Disease and Deprivation in India across Micro and Macro Public Policy Units) is to improve precision public policy, public financing, and governance in India related to population health and development. The researchers aim to harness key population health and development data geocoded to multiple micro and macro public policy units, develop an intelligent public data and analytics platform to disseminate the findings in an interactive way, and engage multiple stakeholders in order to foster evidence-based policy discussion, formulation, and action.
- Work and Well-Being Initiative: This initiative is a multi-disciplinary, broad-based research and policy initiative designed to develop and implement evidence-based workplace change for worker well-being. The goal of the initiative is to provide a deeper understanding of worker well-being, and to identify the workplace policies and practices that enhance the lives of workers in the workplace and throughout their lives. The initiative's website features an Employer Toolkit that can be used to help employers create workplace conditions which foster the health and well-being of all workers in an inclusive manner.
Postdoctoral fellowships
- David E. Bell Fellowship: Named in honor of the late David E. Bell, former Harvard School of Public Health professor and former director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. the Bell Fellowship Program provides training for researchers and practitioners in the field of population and development. Bell Fellows examine a broad range of critical issues in the field of population and development studies from multidisciplinary perspectives.[8]
- The Mortimer Spiegelman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Demographic Studies is named after the actuary, biostatistician, and demographer Mortimer Spiegelman (1901–1969) who made exceptional contributions to public health. Spiegelman Fellows examine a broad range of critical issues in the field of population and development studies from multidisciplinary perspectives.
- The overarching goal of this project (also referred to as Burden of Disease and Deprivation in India across Micro and Macro Public Policy Units) is to improve precision public policy, public financing, and governance in India related to population health and development. The researchers aim to harness key population health and development data geocoded to multiple micro and macro public policy units, develop an intelligent public data and analytics platform to disseminate the findings in an interactive way, and engage multiple stakeholders in order to foster evidence-based policy discussion, formulation, and action.[9]
Notes and References
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/about-us/history/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: About Us: History
- https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1266/2014/05/POP_Spring.Summer2014.pdf Celebrating 50 Years: Commemorative Issue: 1964-2014
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/people_categories/visiting-scientists/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Researchers and Affiliates
- http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/05/managing-an-aging-populace/ Harvard Gazette: Managing an Aging Populace
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/people_categories/leadership/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: About Us: People: Director
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/harvard-research/research-focal-areas/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Research
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/harvard-research/major-projects/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Major Projects
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/postdoctoral-fellowships/bell-fellowship/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Postdoctoral Fellowships: Bell Fellowship
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/postdoctoral-fellowships/ Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Postdoctoral Fellowship
