FSU sociologist earns early career award for work in population health

Patricia Homan, associate professor of sociology and director of research and strategic initiatives for the Public Health Program, was awarded the Milbank Quarterly Early Career Award in Population Health at the IAPHS Conference in September.

An associate professor in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy is the first Florida State University faculty member to receive an early career award for her work in population health from the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS).

Patricia Homan was awarded the Milbank Quarterly Early Career Award in Population Health at the IAPHS Conference in September.

“This is a huge honor, and I am thrilled to receive this recognition,” Homan said. “This would not have been possible without the wonderful mentorship and support I’ve received at FSU, which has enabled me to thrive as an early career scholar. I am especially grateful for my colleagues and leaders in the Department of Sociology, Public Health Program, and the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, who have made FSU such a special place to teach, research and serve.”

Homan is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, director of research & strategic initiatives for the Public Health Program, a faculty associate at the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, and a research affiliate at the Center for Demography and Population Health.

The award recognizes significant contributions to population health science by an individual who has received a Ph.D., M.D., or a comparable graduate degree within the past 10 years. It emphasizes contributions from multiple disciplines to address population health issues. The winner receives a $3,000 honorarium and up to $1,500 to cover conference attendance expenses.

Homan’s research focuses on developing theories and measurements for structural sexism, structural racism, and other forms of structural oppression, and examining how these forces shape health in the United States. Before joining the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy in 2018, Homan earned a doctorate in sociology from Duke University.

Homan’s other awards include the 2022 National Institutes of Health Matilda White Riley Early Stage Investigator Award, the 2022 Early Career Gender Scholar Award from Sociologists for Women in Society South, the 2021 American Sociological Association (ASA) Sex & Gender Section Distinguished Article Award, and the 2019 Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation Award from the ASA Medical Sociology Section.

For more information about the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, visit cosspp.fsu.edu.