Image: Two Communication Studies PhD students, Andre Fedd and Rachel Bailey, have been awarded the 2022 Summer Doctoral Research Assistantship from the Graduate School! These assistantships are designed to benefit doctoral students by providing funding through the summer to allow them time to focus on their dissertations. Andre's dissertation is entitled "Communicating Social Support During Sex Talks: Testing the Supportive Sexual Communication Theory". He will examine how partners in intimate relationships seek, proffer, and process supportive messages about sex-related topics. This dissertation project aims to develop theory-driven research that is applicable to diverse relational and health contexts. Rachel's dissertation is entitled "The Human Genome Project as American Scientific Exceptionalism”. She considers the relationships among the U.S.-led Human Genome Project (HGP), Americanist ideology, and the political economy of biotechnology and health. Over the summer, she will conduct archival research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), attend two academic conferences to present and get feedback on papers affiliated with her dissertation project, and continue her dissertation research and writing activities. Congratulations to both Andre Fedd and Rachel Bailey, and we look forward to seeing you both defend your dissertations!
