Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation Award
 

SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 SIMMONS AWARD

Nominations are being accepted for the 2011 Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation in Medical

Sociology Award. The award is given each year by the American Sociological Association’s Medical

Sociology section. Self-nominations are acceptable. Eligible candidates must have defended their doctoral

dissertations within two academic years prior to the annual meeting at which the award is made. To be

considered for the 2011 award, the candidate should submit an article-length paper (sole-authored), not to

exceed 35 double-spaced pages (11- or 12-point font), inclusive of references. This paper may have been

previously published, or may be in press or under review. A letter of recommendation from a faculty

mentor familiar with the candidate’s work is also required. Electronic submission of the paper (MS Word

or PDF) is required; please include the words “Simmons Award” in the subject heading. The letter of

recommendation should be sent directly by the recommender as an email attachment (MS Word or PDF).

The awardee will receive a $750 travel grant to attend the ASA meetings, attend the Reeder dinner as a

guest of the Medical Sociology section, and an award certificate. Deadline for receipt of all submission

materials is March 1, 2011. Please send all materials to: Sara Shostak, Department of Sociology, MS 071,

Brandeis University. Waltham, MA 02454; sshostak@brandeis.edu.
 
Year, Name, Affiliation at Time of Award, and Dissertation Title
2010    Kerry Dobransky, James Madison University, The Good, the Bad, and the Severely Mentally Ill: Official and Informed Labels as Organizational Resources in Community Mental Health Services.
2009    Marissa King, Columbia University,  The Evolution of a Socioeconomic Gradient for Autism
2008    Rene Almeling, UCLA,  Selling Genes, Selling Gender: Egg Agencies, Sperm Banks, and the Medical Market in Genetic Material
2007    Kristen Springer, University of Wisconsin, His and Her Marriage Today: The Impact of Wives’ Employment on Husbands’ Later
            Mid‑Life Health
2006    Joanna Kempner,  Princeton University.  “Not Tonight: The Politics of Gender and Legitimacy in Headache Medicine”
2005    Rebecca Utz.  University of Utah.  "Obesity in America, 1960-2000: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis"
2004    Jennifer R. Fishman.  Case Western Reserve University. "Manufacturing Desire: The Commodification of Female Sexual
            Desire. "
2003    Janet K. Shim.  UCSF. "Race, Class, and Gender Across the Sciences - Lay Divide: Expertise, Experience, And 'Differences' in
            Cardiovascular Disease. "
2002    Terri Winnick.  Indiana University. "From Quackery to Complementary Medicine: The Integration of Alternative Therapies in the
            American Medical Profession."
2001    Karen Lutfey University of Minnesota "Practitioner Assessments of Patient Compliance with Medical Treatment Regimens: An
            Ethnographic Study of Two Diabetes Clinics"
2000    Elizabeth M. Armstrong University of Michigan "Diagnosing Moral Disorder: The Discovery and Evolution of Fetal Alcohol
            Syndrome"
1999    Anne E. Barrett Duke University "Marital Trajectories and Mental Health: A Typological Approach to the Social Causation
            Hypothesis"
1998    Stephanie A. Robert University of California-Berkeley "Community-level Socioeconomic Status Effects on Adult Health"
1997    Timothy J. Hoff State University of New York-Albany "Conflicting Identities among Physician-Managers in a Changing HMO"
1996    Monica J. Casper University of California - Santa Cruz "Working on and Around Human Fetuses: The Contested Domain of Fetal
            Surgery, 1963-1993"
1995    Eric R. Wright Indiana University "Caring for Those Who Can't: Gender Network Structure, and the Burden of Caring for People with
            Mental Illness"
1994    Donald Barr Stanford University "Medical Work in Estonia: The Intersection of Professional and Bureaucratic Systems for Authority
            in Determining Professional Status and Rewards"
1993    Robin W. Simon Indiana University "Spouse, Parent, and Worker: Gender, Multiple Roles, Role Meaning and Mental Health"
1992    Shirley A. Hill University of Kansas "Mothers of Children with Sickle Cell Disease: The Management of Chronic Illness
            in Low-income African American Families"
1991    Karen A. Lyman Chaffey College "Stress in the Work of Dementia Care: A Comparison of Eight Alzheimer's Day Care Centers"
1990    Charles W. Hunt University of Utah
1989    Thomas A. LaVeist University of Michigan "The Political Empowerment and Health Status of African Americans: Mapping New
            Territory"
1988    Joan Fujimara Harvard University
1987    Debra Umberson University of Michigan "Parenthood & Social Integration: Implications for Psychological Well-Being and
            Risk-Taking Behaviors"
1986    Adele Clark University of California-San Francisco "Emergence of the Reproductive Research Enterprise: A Sociology of Biological,
            Medical, and Agricultural Science in the U.S., 1910-1940"
1985    Catherine Taylor McGill University "Good Death as Medical Success"
1984
1983    Renee Anspach University of California - San Diego
1982
1981    Robert Hernandez University of North Carolina "A Conservative Model of Selected Social-Psychological Processes Affecting Work
            Groups in Health Services Organizations"
 
This award was named the Best Dissertation Award until 1993; then, it became the Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation Award.