James (Jim) Spilsbury, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, has been recognized with the 2020 John S. Diekhoff Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching. The annual award is presented to two faculty members who epitomize what it means to teach graduate students: to connect them with experts in their discipline, engage them academically in a forthright and collegial manner, and actively promote their professional development.
In addition to serving as a highly-regarded professor, he also is the Director of both the Master’s and Certificate programs in Clinical Research, and the Co-Director of the PhD Program in Clinical Research.
Dr. Spilsbury is an anthropologist who studies how children’s socio-cultural environment influences their health and well-being. His research is focused on both family settings and neighborhoods as key “ecologies” affecting children’s physical and psychological health and functioning, with a substantial focus on sleep and its impact on children’s behavior. He has also researched how violence in these environments influences child development. His research requires a multi-disciplinary approach, requiring expertise in multiple disciplines such as anthropology, psychology, pediatrics, social work, statistics, engineering, and public health. Jim has developed effective collaborative relationships with scientists across ǿմý and other academic institutions, as well as community-based agencies and organizations in the region and beyond.
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