Ginger Jin Receives AAUW American Doctoral Fellowship.
Ginger Jin. Photo courtesy of Ginger Jin.
Ginger Jin Receives AAUW American Doctoral Fellowship
The $25,000 award from the American Association of University Women will support Jin’s 2026–2027 dissertation work focused on maternal health, health equity, and care delivery in safety-net settings, specifically prenatal care and telemental health care in Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Ginger Jin, a PhD candidate in the Health Services and Policy Research (HSPR) program at the School of Public Health, has been selected to receive an American Doctoral Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
The $25,000 stipend will support Jin’s dissertation research during the upcoming 2026 – 2027 academic year as she examines the provision of prenatal and telemental health services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
“The U.S. is experiencing a maternal health crisis, and FQHCs are in a unique position to provide prenatal and behavioral health services to pregnant and postpartum people,” says Jin, “but few studies have particularly looked into how services such as on-site prenatal care and telemental health have impacted pregnant and postpartum people—that’s where my dissertation will focus.”
Jin hopes to show that FQHCs can reduce barriers to care for pregnant and postpartum people as well as improve health outcomes and health equity in these outcomes.
“My dissertation will be among the first studies to evaluate the national and Massachusetts-level impact of these services at FQHCs serving medically underserved communities,” Jin says.
Jin first became interested in research while studying economics as an undergraduate at the University at Albany in Albany, N.Y., where she completed an honors thesis in health economics. She then went on to earn a Master of Science degree in biostatistics from the University at Albany School of Public Health. Jin worked as a biostatistician at Mass General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital before enrolling in the HSPR program at the School of Public Health in 2022.
“I looked into the curricula and program details, and that appealed to my interests because I had years of experience analyzing data and working with claims data—all these technical skills, but I lacked formal training in policy, research design and the mixed methods needed to become an independent researcher,” says Jin of her decision to pursue a PhD at SPH. “When I looked around for programs, this Health Services Policy Research Program actually stood out [because] I knew I was going to get the training that I needed, and I also believe that BU has a really powerful and strong network […] I feel that’s important, too.”
Jin joins a long legacy of graduate women to receive funding from the AAUW, which—since its founding in 1881—has awarded over $135 million in fellowships and grants to more than 13,000 students and organizations across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and 150 countries. The AAUW American Fellowships are the oldest non-institutional source of graduate funding for women in the United States and the American Doctoral Fellowship, in particular, aims to accelerate diversity, equity, and inclusion in academia by supporting the work of women pursuing graduate study in all fields, but especially those in science, technology, engineering, or math disciplines and those whose research focuses on gender issues, like Jin’s.
“I am very honored and grateful to receive this competitive national award,” says Jin. “Given the current funding climate, which has affected many graduate students, including those at BUSPH, I hope this may be inspiring for others seeking additional support through fellowships or grants, as well as those considering a research career or pursuing a terminal degree.”
