PhD Student News

Peris Kibera Awarded the 2008-2009 Magnuson Scholarship

Peris Kibera is the 2008-2009 Magnuson Scholar from the School of Social Work.

The prestigious Magnuson Scholarship is awarded each year to one student in each of the six University of Washington Health Sciences schools. Selection criteria are academic performance and the student’s potential for contribution to research in the health sciences. The late Senator Warren G. Magnuson, in whose name the program was established, was committed to improving the nation’s health through biomedical research and was instrumental in establishing the National Institutes of Health, Medicare, and Medicaid during his long career in the U.S. Senate. 

Peris’ dissertation research focuses on institutional factors affecting participation of pregnant women in services designed to help prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child. The title of her dissertation abstract is Turning the Gaze to the System: Institutional Dynamics as Impediments to Participation in Programs for Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mother-to-Child.