The College of Letters and Science at UC Davis has selected two projects for this year's L&S Unites initiative which grants up to $120,000 for research on cutting-edge multidisciplinary research. The funding supports two years of research for studies on psychedelics in context and critical health challenges.
L&S Unites is a UC Davis College of Letters and Science research initiative that leverages the interdisciplinary strengths in research from across Letters and Science and the broader UC Davis community to address current social, political, economic and environmental grand challenges as well as to explore innovative ideas and build the future of emerging research areas.
“At a time when the value of universities is being questioned, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate the real-world impact of our work,” said Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Letters and Science. “Our faculty bring diverse strengths and perspectives, and when combined, they are uniquely positioned to address society’s most pressing challenges. Through L&S Unites, we are investing in their efforts to deliver tangible benefits that reach far beyond the university.”
Psychedelics in context: sex, gender and reproduction from a multi-disciplinary perspective
Budget: $120,000
Principal Investigator:
Danielle Stolzenberg, Associate Professor of Psychology
Co-investigators:
David E. Olson, Professor of Chemistry
Manvir Singh, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Psychoactive plants have guided medicinal healing throughout human history but remain understudied because of their prohibition in the U.S. Even as scientists make breakthroughs in using psychedelics for new therapies and U.S. society moves toward their broader acceptance, this growing renaissance could result in exclusion, cultural appropriation and systemic inequity. Exploring how psychoactive plants have been in relationship with humans in the context of sex, gender and reproduction is central to any investigation of psychedelics as therapeutics for women’s health.
This research will use a mixed-methods approach — including systematic surveys and in-depth ethnographic interviews—to explore how the use of a specific type of psychedelic varies across gender, age and reproductive status among the Piaroa community of northeastern Colombia. The researchers will also we investigate the relationship between each psychoactive component of the psychedelic and reproductive physiology and the extent to which psychedelic-induced changes in the brain depend on women’s menstruation and reproductive status.
Critical health studies: California as imperfect health refuge
Budget: $119,132
Principal Investigator:
Meaghan O’Keefe, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Co-investigators:
Natalia Duong, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies and Science and Technology Studies
Mark Fedyk, Associate Professor in the School of Medicine Bioethics Program
Chris Hanssman: Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
Lisa Ikemoto, Professor in the School of Law
Antoine Johnson, Assistant Professor of African American & African Studies
Ming-Cheng M. Lo, Professor of Sociology
Emily Merchant, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies
Meaghan O’Keefe: Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Alice Popejoy: Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences
Na'amah Razon, UCD Health, Family Medicine
Tina Rulli, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Shannon Satterwhite, UCD Health, Family Medicine
Colin Webster, Associate Professor of Classics
Susie Zepeda, Associate Professor of Chicana/o/x Studies
California is increasingly becoming a place of refuge for people who can’t get necessary health care in their own states, including reproductive care, trans health care, and health care of all kinds for undocumented residents of the United States. Yet California has its own problems in health equity, stemming from growing inequality, systemic racism, threats to federal funding for state health programs, and the consolidation of hospital and insurance networks.
This project takes the form of twelve article-length research inquiries organized into three thematic clusters:
- “Histories and Communities of Care” examines how caregiving and advocacy communities have emerged and been sustained in California. The cluster will be led by Meaghan O’Keefe, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
- “Institutional Structure and the Human Experience of Health” considers how the policies, procedures, and environments of health institutions affect people and how people respond to those structures. The cluster will be led by Ming-Cheng Lo, Professor of Sociology
- “Reproducing and Classifying People” focuses on reproductive health care, genomics, and the intersections between them. This cluster will be led by Emily Merchant, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies.
This project leverages expertise from the humanities and social sciences to engage with the issues California faces as a health refuge. Doing so will create institutional pipelines for interdisciplinary collaboration within L&S and facilitate the translation of research in critical health studies into better health outcomes through practice and policy.
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