• Royce Fellowship
Daniel
Coppersmith

Concentration 

Psychology

Award Year 

2014
Understanding Depression and Suicide in Ethiopia

Faculty Sponsor: Michael Armey

Psychiatric disorders are prevalent and disabling illnesses that affect all aspects of a country's development and wellbeing. Despite this, almost no resources exist for mental health in low-to-middle income countries. Depression and suicide are two of the most pressing mental health issues. Through the Royce Fellowship, Daniel increased the evidence base for depression and suicide in low-resource settings. He led a compressive data analysis and systematic review on depression and suicide in Ethiopia at the Department of Psychiatry at Addis Ababa University, one of the leading mental health research departments in the developing world. His project united faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, Addis Ababa University, and Brown University, and resulted in two publications adding to the understanding of these issues globally and in cross-cultural settings.

Daniel received the Fulbright Student Fellowship in 2016 to to research the epidemiology and prevention of youth suicide and self-harm, at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.