Magaela C. Bethune, Ph.D.

Magaela C. Bethune is completing a Ph.D. in the Community Research and Action program in the Department of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University. Her research looks at the role of adolescent media use and engagement in the sexual socialization, behaviors, and health of youth and young adults at intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality. While at Vanderbilt, she has coordinated or collaborated on several research projects, including the Pathways to African American Success preventive intervention program with Vanderbilt's Center for Research on Rural Families and Communities, which promotes parent-child communication to reduce sexual risk engagement in rural African American youth. She also worked as the study coordinator in the Center for Health Services Research at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, evaluating the usability of a web-delivered, medication adherence promotion intervention for type-2 diabetes patients. Dr. Bethune will join the faculty at Loyola Marymount University as an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies, beginning in fall 2020.