August 04, 2021
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine
Vision:
The Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine will transform behavioral and person centered science and scholarship in 21st century medical education - facilitating improvements in the health and well-being of individuals, their communities, and especially the underserved.
Mission:
The Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine investigates and emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, and community factors on health, in the context of behavior, social, and societal forces. Our work integrates community partnership with principles and methods from the behavioral and social sciences and bioethics to promote health, especially for the underserved. This is demonstrated through:
- practice based teaching and training in bioethical and biopsychosocial aspects of health;
- conducting cutting edge interdisciplinary research and scholarship that generates knowledge leading to improvements in interventions, healthcare practice, and health outcomes;
- and service activities that support and advance our professions and improve health for individuals and communities.
Department Spotlight
Dr. Flynn selected as Chair for the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine
Heather Flynn, Ph.D. Professor for the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine has been selected as Chair effective September 1, 2021.
Dementia Caregiving and COVID-19: Moving Forward
Free Facebook Live Workshop, Thursday August 26, 2021 at 7PM Est.
BSSM Launches Community Rounds
Dr. Heather Flynn, Interim Chair of the Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine (BSSM) department at the FSU College of Medicine announced the inaugural Community Rounds event…
Gabriel named to editorial board
Joseph Gabriel, Ph.D., was recently appointed to the editorial board of the Bulletin of the History of Medicine beginning in January, 2022. It is a leading journal in its…
Hyde named president-elect for SCOLAS
Dr. Yolany M. Hyde is President‐elect for the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies (SCOLAS).
Dr. Flynn elected president of ISIPT
Dr. Heather Flynn, professor and interim chair of the the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine is president-elect for the International Society of…
Event: Adult day services for Floridians with dementia and their family caregivers: What to know and ask
Hear a panel discussion on this topic during a free Facebook Live event, Thursday, April 8th from 7-8:15 PM/EST.
Heather Flynn, PhD named Interim Chair of department
With the new year, the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine (BSSM) welcomes Dr. Heather Flynn, PhD in her new role as Interim Chair.
Outstanding Junior Faculty and Exemplary Staff Service Awards go to BSSM
Dr. Julie Sheffler with the Center for Translational Behavioral Science (CTBS) and Ms. Ute Horn, Executive Assistant to the department chair were recognized for outstanding…
Nair-Collins named to study group on the Uniform Determination of Death Act
Michael Nair-Collins,, Ph.D., a bioethicist and associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, today is a prominent national voice in any…
Event: Reducing Risk for Dementia: How to Make Physical Exercise Fun and Easy
Hear Wendy Barber, M.S., highly esteemed health coach and dementia care advocate, discuss this topic during a free Facebook Live event, December 10, 2020 from 7-8:15PM.
College welcomes Mina Jo Powell Chair in Neurological Sciences
Frank "Andy" Kozel will serve as co-director of the FSU Mood and Anxiety Center of Excellence, and as medical director of FSU BehavioralHealth at Apalachee Center.
Ennis receives NIH funding for medical marijuana study
Nicole Ennis received a $356,000 grant to assess the effect of medical marijuana on response time, attention, and executive functions in people 50 and older.
How starving public health fueled a COVID fire in Florida
Comments from Les Beitsch, chair of the Department of Behavioral Science and Social Medicine, were included in a recent Associated Press article about Florida's public health…
Meet the doctors who are helping decide the fate of the college football season
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, department chair Les Beitsch is one of the 15 panelists advising the ACC as the conference contemplates potential health and safety concerns of…
The Trajectory of Loneliness in Response to COVID-19
“There has been a lot of worry that loneliness would increase dramatically because of the social distancing guidelines and restrictions,” said lead author Martina Luchetti, an…
Kozel joins BSSM as Professor of Psychiatry
The College of Medicine has named Frank “Andy” Kozel the Mina Jo Powell Endowed Chair in Neurological Sciences. Kozel also will serve as a professor of psychiatry in the…
Beitsch makes the radio dial with Canadian interview
In spite of COVID-19 travel restrictions, Dr. Leslie Beitch held audience with our Canadian friends to the north when he was interviewed June 26, 2020 by guest host Greg Brady…
Beitsch weighs in on statewide policy issues related to resurging COVID-19
During the third week in June, Florida saw a record setting spike in daily reported new cases. This had many asking how bad can the resurgence become as the state continues…
Rust weighs in on proposed TTSI task force
Dr. George Rust, clinician, professor and Director of the Center for Medicine and Public Health, was asked recently for comment on a newly proposed task force that would…
Beitsch Appointed to ACC COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced its COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group, which includes one representative from each of its 15 institutions, including Dr. Leslie…
Flynn, Pickett Featured in Live Zoominar on Coping during COVID-19
While, “no sane person feels good during a global disaster,” during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are coping techniques that confer protective factors, offered Drs. Heather…
Media calls on Beitsch, Sutin and others in BSSM during the coronavirus crisis
As the magnitude of the coronvirus outbreak came into focus, the media has reached out to experts in public health to gain a perspective on the appropriate response to the…
George Rust and others share wisdom during the TLH COVID-19 outbreak
Dr. George Rust, Professor at the FSU College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Director of FSU's Center for Medicine and Public Health, shares his…
Dr. Rust's Mentee Receives FSU Funding
Dr. Rust's Mentee, Charles Fleischer MD who is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, was awarded a $20,000 First-Year Assistant…
Chuck Wells helps lead effort to establish Dale Mabry Air Field Museum
TCC's President Murdaugh has agreed to designate three acres of land on the southwest edge of the TCC campus as the museum's home site
Beitsch Provides Expert Testimony to Leon County Commission on Clean Needle Exchange Program
Leon County is set to become only the second county in Florida with a clean needle exchange program intended to reduce the transmittal of blood-borne infections and promote…
Norton-Brown Featured in the Tallahassee Democrat
In an article for the Tallahassee Democrat, Tomeka Norton-Brown, project coordinator for ACTS 2 wrote, "Caregivers are some of the strongest people I know. They’re dedicated,…
Beitsch co-author on AJPH Paper of the Year
Dr. Leslie Beitsch, Professor and Chair of the FSU College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine co-authored an article that was selected as one…
Opioid use during pregnancy: College of Medicine researchers share insights
College of Medicine researchers Samantha Goldfarb, Gregg Stanwood, Heather Flynn and Devon Graham shared insights from biomedical, clinical and policy perspectives on opioid…
Blue Wins Outstanding Mentor Award
Carolyn Blue, Senior Administrative Assistant in the Center for Translational Behavioral Science received 2019 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Tallahassee Future Leaders…
Rust's research tackles cancer disparities
The College of Medicine’s ‘What if?’ questions could help Florida communities tackle cancer disparities.
Flynn appointed to statewide Opioid Taskforce
Heather Flynn, professor and vice-chair at the FSU College of Medicine was recently appointed to the statewide Opioid Taskforce.
Martinez Hyde Wins Creative Writing Award
Dr. Yolany Martinez Hyde, assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine is the first woman to win the National Poetry Prize at the Los…
‘What if?’ questions could help Florida communities tackle cancer disparities
With an $800,000 grant, George Rust seeks to help Florida communities find out why specific cancer disparities exist — and then encourage them to do something about it.
FSU researchers receive NIH grant to examine Hurricane Michael impact on birth outcomes
Les Beitsch and Associate Professor of Geography Christopher Uejio will partner with researchers from Tulane University to examine how infrastructure damage and exposure to…
Jean-Pierre receives awards to advance fMRI/MRI discoveries
Dr. Pascal Jean-Pierre received a $48,000 grant from the FSU MRI Oversight Committee in March and a second award of $13,000 from the Council on Research and Creativity in May…
Gabriel co-editor of book, "Drugs on the Page"
Dr. Joseph Gabriel of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, along with Dr. Matthew Crawford of Kent State University collaborated to produce an important new work…
Rosado, Fernandez write children's book
Javier Rosado and Tatiana Fernandez wrote a children's e-book focused on stressors children from migrant families face.
Medical students get glimpse of rural medicine
First-year students from the Florida State University College of Medicine will board buses this Friday and fan out across North Florida and southwest Georgia to explore rural…
Alzheimer's caregivers invited to free training conference
The African-American Alzheimer's Caregiver Training Conference is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 29 at the Old West Enrichment Center in Tallahassee. The free Saturday…
Julia Sheffler, PhD Receives a Translational Health Research Seed Grant
Dr. Julia Sheffler was awarded $50,000 through the Clinical Translational Science Award (NIH Award Number UL1TR001427) for her project, "Early phase feasibility trial:…
CTBScience Directed Individual Studies Student Wins Prestigious Award
Celina Meyer, a DIS undergraduate student in the Center for Translational Behavioral Science (CTBScience) was awarded a 2019 Garnet and Gold Scholar Society IDEA Grant.
A matter of life and death
Most people are familiar with the term “brain dead” and its implications for taking a person off life support or for organ donation. Fewer people know the history and current…
Recent Visit by Dr. Piotr Nowak
On February 13, 2019 Visiting Scholar Dr. Piotr Nowak presented the lecture, “The Death of an Organism vs. Death as an Irreversible Loss of a Human’s Moral Status”.
Loneliness and seniors: A link to dementia
A recent study by Associate Professor Angelina Sutin has determined that loneliness has a connection to an increased risk of dementia in older adults over the age of 50.
Babcock named deputy secretary of DCF
Patricia Babcock, who served as co-director of the College of Medicine’s Center for Behavioral Health Integration since 2016, has been named deputy secretary of the Florida…
NY Review Cites Gabriel's Expertise on Costly Meds
It’s one of the nagging questions of our time: Why is medicine so expensive? In fact, that’s the headline for an essay in the Feb. 21 New York Review of Books in which…
Personality Type Could Shape Attitudes Toward Body Weight of Others
Research conducted by Angelina Sutin and Antonio Terracciano suggests that specific aspects of an individual's personality is directly related to their beliefs about others'…
Understanding a high-risk Alzheimer's population
Angelina Sutin received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. For the next five years, she’ll be studying midlife…
Dr. Flynn receives $3.25M grant to improve maternal mental health outcomes
A new grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration aims to improve maternal mental health outcomes by increasing screening rates and patient access to treatment…
Dr. Babcock featured in Fall 2018 FSUMED Magazine
Dr. Patricia Babcock's work this past Spring with the Florida Department of Children and Families' child protective services investigators is featured in the Fall 2018 FSUMED…
Dr. Sutin study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences
A new Florida State University College of Medicine study involving data from 12,000 participants collected over 10 years confirms the heavy toll that loneliness can take on…
Dr. George Rust, Director of the Center for Medicine and Public Health
Dr. Rust has taken over the Center for Medicine and Public Health from its Founding Director, Dr. Les Beitsch.
Support the ACTS2 SparkFSU Campaign
Support the African-American Alzheimer’s Caregiver Training program!
To search and apply for job openings within the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, visit the Florida State University Office of Human Resources>Browse Job Openings.
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Applicants are required to complete the online application with all applicable information.