Galen Joseph, PhD
Professor
Humanities & Social Sciences
School of Medicine

415-514-9421

Dr. Galen Joseph, Ph.D. is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a member of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Affiliate Faculty with the Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.

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Her research examines the socio-cultural and institutional dimensions of inequities in cancer care and translational genomics. As an anthropologist, she specializes in ethnographic approaches, and use a range of mixed qualitative and quantitative methods and community engaged research approaches. Her research program has primarily focused on: (1) Genetic Counseling Communication across Language, Literacy, and Culture; (2) Ethical, Legal, Social Issues (ELSI) Research in Clinical Adoption of Genomic Discoveries; and (3) Recruitment of Medically Underserved Populations into Cancer Clinical Trials. A new area of research examines the impact of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision on prenatal genetic counseling and training of genetic counselors in the post-Roe era. This research includes foci on the experience of genetic counselors facing moral distress due to abortion bans and restrictions; changing medical documentation practices to protect patients and providers; and the evolving training of prenatal genetic counseling students in states restricting abortion.

Key areas of interest include: abortion care post-Roe, genomic medicine, translational medicine, clinical trials recruitment, clinical trials education, health communication and health literacy, cancer, migration, globalization, and identity.

Education & Training

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  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training UCSF 2021
  • Post-Doc Migration, Globalization, and Citizenship Yale University 06/2001
  • PhD Cultural Anthropology University of California 06/1999
  • BA Anthropology Wesleyan University 05/1988

Websites

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Grants and Projects

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Publications (99)

Top publication keywords:
TranslatingCounselorsPatient NavigationNeoplasmsGenetic TestingPatient SelectionPrecision MedicineHealth CommunicationBreast NeoplasmsAccess to InformationCommunication BarriersHealth LiteracyGenetic CounselingNeoplastic Syndromes, HereditaryCounseling

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