Jorge Benavides-Rawson

Background

Program: Anthropology Ph.D. 

Year of Entry: Fall 2015

Advisor: Alex Dent, Sarah Wagner

Current Research

My dissertation research examines the interaction of public health policy-makers, scientists, and the media as coproducers of international and global policies for epidemics and pandemics. To trace the coproduction of pandemics, I engage in multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, comparing diverse forms of knowledge production about Zika and Covid-19 in various locations of the United States and his home country of Costa Rica. My research combines theories and methods from the fields of medical anthropology and Science and Technology Studies (STS).

Education

M.Phil (Anthropology) 2020, The George Washington University

M.A (Medical Anthropology) 2015, The George Washington University

M.D. 2005, Universidad de Costa Rica

B.S. (Biomedical Sciences) 2001, Universidad de Costa Rica

Publications

2021 Faerron Guzmán C A, Montero-Zamora P, Bolaños-Palmieri C, et al. Willingness to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Potential Predictors in Costa Rica: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus 13(10): e18798. doi:10.7759/cureus.18798

2020 Edberg, Mark, Jorge Benavides-Rawson, Ivonne Rivera, Hina Shaikh, Rebeca Monge, and Richard Grinker. “Transnational Determinants of Health for Central American Migrants to the U.S.: Results of a Qualitative Study.” Global Public Health, June, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2020.1779329.

2019 Benavides-Rawson, Jorge, and Roy Richard Grinker. “Cultural Issues in Education for Those With Autism,” In The Sage Handbook of Autism and Education, edited by Rita Jordan, Jacqueline Roberts, and Kara Hume, London: SAGE

2018 Benavides-Rawson, Jorge, and Roy Richard Grinker. “Reactive Attachment Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnosis and Care in a Cultural Context,” In Trauma, Autism, & Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Integrating Research, Practice, and Policy, edited by J. M. Fogler, and R. A. Phelps, Switzerland: Springer Nature

2017 Alvarado, Maria Gabriela, and Jorge Benavides-Rawson. “From Dengue to Zika: Environmental and Structural Risk Factors for Child and Maternal Health in Costa Rica Among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Peoples,” In Maternal Health, Pregnancy-Related Morbidity, and Death Among Indigenous Women of Mexico and Central America - an Anthropological, Epidemiological, and Biomedical Approach, edited by David A. Schwartz, 665–82. New York: Springer

Distinctions

2020-21 Visiting Fellow - Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Science, Technology and Society

2020 National Science Foundation RAPID Grant (Co-PI)- Rituals in the Making: Funeral Practices Adapted to the Virtual during Pandemic Confinement.

2020 George and May Shiers Memorial Endowment Fellowship, George Washington University - Doctoral dissertation research award.

2016 Interdisciplinary Grant from The George Washington University. Milken Institute School of Public Health and Anthropology Department to study social determinants of health among Central American migrants in Maryland. PI: Dr. Mark Edberg.

2016 Lewis N. Cotlow Field Research Fund. Anthropology Department, GWU Research grant

1998 Academic Honors Full Scholarship - Universidad de Costa Rica

1997 4th Highest Score Nationwide, Admission Test - Universidad de Costa Rica