PRIZES

Dobin Prize in Community-Based Independent Work

CBLI offers prizes for community-based junior and senior independent work: the Dobin Prize is awarded annually to the best thesis or junior paper which involves extensive research in a community setting and provides recommendations, new information and analysis, and/or other resources useful to the community. The prize is named after Dean Hank Dobin, who was instrumental to the creation of CBLI during his time at Princeton.

Congratulations to the 2012 Prize Winners!

Allison Daminger, First Prize

Known and Un-known: An Ethnography of AIDS Care and Treatment Adherence in Guatemala

Based on data and observations collected during eight weeks of fieldwork at an AIDS clinic in the heart of Guatemala City, Allison’s thesis sheds new light on why AIDS patients may not adhere to prescribed treatments and offers recommendations that will enable the clinic to work with patients in a more collaborative and effective way that will improve their chances for survival. In the words of one professor, Allison’s thesis is a “work of superior anthropological scholarship . . . [that] makes original and significant contributions to medical anthropological theory and practice . . . its lessons are as relevant to AIDS care in Guatemala as they are to our understanding of pharmaceutical globalization and the impact of global health interventions in Central America and beyond.”

Cara Hampton, Second Prize

Called By Faith: Black Churches in New Jersey Respond to HIV and AIDS

The Second Prize this year goes to Cara Hampton, whose thesis explores the historical and contemporary Black Church, specifically in terms of its response to HIV/AIDS in New Jersey. Drawing upon her interviews with ministers, Cara’s work includes specific suggestions for a “clergy toolkit” being developed by the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation. This resource will benefit local churches and ultimately may be used more broadly as well, to educate and empower a community disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

Rachel Blake, Third Prize

Challenges & Implications of Implementing a Rotavirus Vaccination Program in Ghana

Rachel’s timely thesis examines obstacles that must be overcome in order to maximize the success of Ghana’s new rotavirus vaccination program. Her research combined literature reviews and interviews with an innovative field study on the feasibility of breastfeeding restrictions to improve the efficacy of the vaccine. Officials from the Ministry of Health in Ghana are taking Rachel’s analyses and recommendations into account as they roll out the vaccination program.

Helen Lopez, Honorable Mention

A Novel Comprehensive Self-Management Program: Meeting the Needs of Hispanic Diabetic Patients at the Women’s Health and Counseling Center

Helen undertook a comprehensive approach to developing a self-management program for diabetic Hispanic women, using national statistics and research into program models along with personal interviews with patients. Her work resulted in a series of recommendations designed to address the particular needs of patients at the Women’s Health and Counseling Center in Somerset, NJ.

2011 Dobin Prize Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Dean Hank Dobin Prize!

First

Joshua Franklin, Anthropology, Claiming the Right to Transgender Health in Brazil

Second

Sonia Porter, Anthropology, The Art of Aspiration: Crafting Life Chances at an Income Generation Project in Cape Town, South Africa

Third

Nelson Farayi Chiwara, Woodrow Wilson School, Challenges to PMTCT programs in resource-limited settings: Lessons from Makoni District, Zimbabwe

Honorable Mention

Léa Steinacker, Woodrow Wilson School, “Where have you been? No one ever asks us these questions, no one ever wants to know.” An ecological approach to the risks of female sex workers in rural Kenya

2010 Dobin Prize Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 Dean Hank Dobin Prize!

First
Alex Gertner, Anthropology, Pharmaceutical Care, Public Experiments and Patient Knowledge in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System

Second
Henry Barmeier, Woodrow Wilson School, Why is Government in the Garden? Case Studies of Resilient Co-Governance in Urban Community Gardening Programs

Third
Jessica Lanney, Woodrow Wilson School, Under One Roof: Integrating Affordable Housing and Family Homelessness Policy in Massachusetts

Honorable mention
Emily Hildner, Politics, Disaster Racism: Cultural Weapons of Resistance and the Politics of Black Empowerment in Post-Katrina New Orleans