Brown School PhD candidate Peter Sun, whose research is focused on rural health disparities and the productive engagement of older adults, has received a Grand Challenges for Social Work (GCSW) 2024 Doctoral Award for his dissertation project.
Sun’s project titled, “Lifecourse Patterns of Productive Engagement among Rural and Urban Older Adults,” addresses the challenges presented in the Advance Long and Productive Lives category. The award comes with a $3,000 stipend and valuable mentorship to support research connecting dissertations with the communities studied. Sun is one of 13 social work doctoral students selected for the second cohort of doctoral awardees.
“Receiving the Grand Challenge for Social Work Doctoral Award enables me to connect with the rural communities and stakeholders represented in my work, develop interventions for reducing rural health disparities, and expand opportunities for productive engagement across the life course,” Sun said.
Sun had previously received an honorable mention and a $500 stipend in the inaugural GCSW Doctoral Award competition for his proposal addressing rural health disparities.
The fellowships, funded by a $100,000 grant from The New York Community Trust, work to broaden the pipeline of social workers equipped for and committed to tackling and surmounting the Grand Challenges.