Research Interests
epidemiologyinfectious diseasesnon-communicable diseasestranscultural healthglobal healthhigher educationHIV/AIDShealth issues of childrenadolescents and womenleadershiphealth care
Opportunities
Work Study Positions Available: No
Grant Funded Positions Available: No
Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No
Volunteer Research Positions Available: No
Biography
Dr. Gopal Sankaran is a tenured, professor of public health at West Chester University (WCU) of Pennsylvania. He joined WCU in spring 1989.
Dr. Sankaran’s education, training and experience span medicine, public health, and health promotion. He has consulted with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the National Smallpox Eradication Programme in India and the Global Programme on AIDS in Switzerland. He has worked with PLAN International and Childreach on international HIV/AIDS prevention and control, child survival, and reproductive health projects in program design, implementation, and evaluation. He has trained family practice residents from Pennsylvania and Delaware in Epidemiology and Community Oriented Primary Care. He serves as a guest faculty in epidemiology for graduate physician assistant students and previously for medical students at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Dr. Sankaran is an invited Adjunct Member of the Center for Evidence- Based Practice at PCOM.
Dr. Sankaran has received grants to research knowledge, attitudes, and practices of high school students, college students, and university faculty about HIV/AIDS. He has published several articles in professional, peer-reviewed journals, and made over 100 presentations at international, national, state, and local professional conferences on a variety of medical, public health, health promotion and higher education issues. He co-edited a book, HIV/AIDS in Sport: Impact, Issues, and Challenges and co-authored a book, Sexual Harassment in Sport. He has contributed chapters to the book, Women’s Global Health and Human Rights.
Dr. Sankaran is an invited reviewer/associate editor for American Journal of Health Behavior, Health Behavior and Policy Review, Health Promotion Practice, Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, and International Journal of Intercultural Information Management. In the past, he served on the Editorial Board of BioMed Central Public Health and reviewer for International Journal of Health Education. Currently, Dr. Sankaran has been elected to the Editorial Board of American Journal of Public Health for a two-year term.
Dr. Sankaran has served as an external reviewer of portfolios of faculty members going up for tenure/promotion at Yale University, Drexel University, Miami University at Oxford, and University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has also served as an external reviewer for doctoral thesis research conducted in the USA and India.
