Go to List << Previous Next >>
Antwan Jones, PhD
Professional Bio
Dr. Antwan Jones, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and an affiliate faculty member of the Africana Studies program at The George Washington University. Dr. Jones received his B.A. in Sociology and African & African-American Studies from Duke University and my Ph.D. in Sociology from Bowling Green State University. While trained as a social demographer, his research examines various intersections in the areas of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and health. As an urban sociologist, he is particularly concerned with how socio-environmental processes affect the health and well-being of children and adults.
In addition to his research, he has held many prominent leadership positions within boards and organizations. He served on Bowling Green State University's Board of Trustees, the American Sociological Association's Advisory Board and the Society for the Study of Social Problems Board of Directors. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Capital City Area Health Education Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health care workforce and increase health care access in medically underserved areas in DC.
Project Description
While much research has been done on how neighborhood change affects obesity, very few studies have explored how an individual’s residential change relates to obesity. Using an urban sociological perspective, this study relies on panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess how residential instability affects obesity among adolescents. Using an individual-level, fixed-effects modeling strategy, this research also explores how the built environment of old and new neighborhoods is related to obesity through the access to active lifestyle structures such as recreational centers.
This project’s focus on residential instability has the potential to influence current public policy initiatives centered on improving the built environment through costly means such as building playgrounds and creating safe spaces for exercise in economically divested communities. However, research has recently shown that the children who live close to these amenities share the same risk of being obese as children who live far from them. This research will point to low-cost interventions (e.g., neighborhood orientations for adolescents) that might make these policy initiatives more effective. As a result, state governments can improve the health of adolescents as they transition into adulthood.
Why I Applied to New Connections
I was oriented to New Connections through former RWJF fellows and New Connections grantees. I applied based on their personal testimonies that the program and the foundation provide excellent training and networking opportunities that can help shape my professional career. Also, I was able to see first-hand how New Connections invests in its program’s participants. Before I applied, I attended the New Connections Symposium and participated in numerous webinars on topics critical to junior faculty success. Lastly, because working in academia can lead to being siloed in one’s department and discipline, I applied to New Connections to be exposed to multiple perspectives in an effort to create an interdisciplinary collaborative network for myself.
What New Connections Means for my Career
My participation in the New Connections program has provided me an opportunity to focus on the research that matters to me. By fusing my interests of neighborhood effects and child obesity, this grant allows me to establish a more viable and relevant research agenda. In addition, by securing this grant, I am more confident in applying for extramural funding. The deliverables from this grant will also broaden my research portfolio. Lastly, I hope to gain numerous friendships and collaborators in an effort to extend my professional network.
Research Interests
General research interests include 1) Urban Sociology, 2) Medical Sociology, 3) Spatial Demography and 4) Race/Ethnic/Cultural Studies. Specific research interests include 1) Childhood Obesity, 2) Adult Cardiovascular Illness and 3) Neighborhood Effects on Health
Discipline(s)
Sociology
Populations Served
The population of interest for this project is children and adolescents. However, because multiple moves are often associated with poverty, the target population would be children and adolescents in low-SES families.
Honors and Awards
Policy Research Scholar, The George Washington University Institute for Public Policy (2011)
Dissertation Fellowship, Bowling Green State University (2009)
Student Life Leadership Award, Bowling Green State University (2009)
Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges (2009)
Donald J. & Susan E. Adamchak Graduate Student Award in Demography, Bowling Green State University (2007)
Dean of Students Distinguished Scholar Award, Bowling Green State University (2006)
Paper Competition Winner, Racial/Ethnic Minorities Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (2006)
William Lawson Jr. Memorial Award, National Black Graduate Students Association (2005)
Presidential Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Bowling Green State University (2004)
Publications
Jones, A. 2011. "Income, homeownership and residential assorting among Latinos in the US." Forthcoming in Advances in Applied Sociology.
Jones, A. 2011. "Disability, health and generation status: How Hispanics in the US Fare in late life." Forthcoming in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.
Jones, A., Gulbis, A., & Baker, E. H. 2010. "Differences in tobacco use between Canada and the United States." International Journal of Public Health 55(3): 167-175.
Jones, A.2010. "Stability of men's interracial first unions: A test of educational differentials and cohabitation history." Journal of Family and Economic Issues 31(2): 241-256.
Jones, A.& Goza, F. 2008. "Rural, urban and suburban differences in coronary heart disease among Blacks and Whites in the US." Journal of Biosocial Science 40(6): 895-909.
Jones, A.2006. “Race and the ‘I Have a Dream’ legacy: Exploring predictors of positive civil rights attitudes.” Journal of Black Studies 37(2): 193-208.