Congratulations to Dr. Sunny Sinha for being awarded the Michael H. Agar Lively Science Award for 2018

Sunny Sinha, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Marywood University, was recently notified that her article “Ethical and Safety Issues in Doing Sex Work Research: Reflections from a Field-Based Ethnographic Study in Kolkata, India,” which was published in Qualitative Health Research 27:6, 2017, has been awarded the Michael H. Agar Lively Science Award for 2018.

The award announcement will be made in the June 2018 issue of Qualitative Health Research, and the article will be used as an open source. Qualitative Health Research (QHR) is a peer-reviewed monthly journal that provides an international, interdisciplinary forum to enhance health care and further the development and understanding of qualitative research in health-care settings. QHR is an invaluable resource for researchers and academics, administrators and others in the health and social service professions, and graduates who seek examples of qualitative methods.

In addition to highlighting the ethical and safety issues for researchers navigating the highly politicized, stigmatized, and criminalized environment towards the sex industry, Dr. Sinha’s article advocates the use of cultural biography as a non-stigmatizing, empowering approach to doing sex work research.

Dr. Sinha teaches advanced social work practice with individuals, social welfare policy, and global perspective in social work courses to graduate students at Marywood University. She earned her doctorate degree in social work from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and her master’s degree in social work with a specialization in Family and Child Welfare from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.