Contested Illnesses Research Group
Brown University , Providence RI

Brian Mayer entered the PhD program in the fall of 2000. His coursework in environmental sociology, medical sociology, social inequalities, social movements, and qualitative methods culminated in qualifying examinations in medical and environmental sociology and social movement theory. Mr. Mayer has been involved with the Contested Environmental Illnesses research project for the last five years, in which time he coauthored many papers. He helped organize a conference on research ethics and CBPR. Mr. Mayer also became involved with a statewide environmental organization, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, while working on his Masters' thesis, which focused on the role of the precautionary principle in promoting alternatives to risk management policies in Massachusetts. This work was presented at professional conferences and published in a leading public health journal. Mr. Mayer continues to partner with the Alliance and has consulted on a field survey to assess Massachusetts residents' attitudes towards household chemicals and recently helped assess an initiative to adopt green cleaning products in Boston's public schools. This involvement with the Alliance led to the development of his dissertation research, which examines successful coalition-building between environmental and labor organizations. This research project has been funded by two grants from the National Science Foundation, including an NSF Dissertation Fellowship from the Sociology Program. His dissertation research is also funded by a university fellowship from the Brown Graduate School. In 2005, Mr. Mayer became a part of the Environmental Leadership Program and intends to develop a project to bring the leaders of several blue-green coalitions together as part of that fellowship. Through his dissertation research, Mr. Mayer plans to create a network for community organizations to share their experiences and to foster the formation of new coalitions.