Chay Robert Rossing is a graduating senior on track for degrees in Philosophy with a Minor in LGBTQ+ Studies; Religious Studies; and French and Francophone Studies. Under research mentor, Dr. Dana Howard, Rossing is researching the ethical implications of embodied experience in healthcare research, policy, and practice while simultaneously considering the value of social organizing for healthcare research priority-setting and policymaking, using the AIDS advocacy from ACT UP chapters both domestically and through cross-cultural analyses.
What do you like about research?
I like research in philosophy, but particularly in bioethics, because it is vital for understanding the complexities in public health research and guiding ethical advancements in medicine. My research contributes to a healthcare system that evermore considers the implications of informed decision-making, social justice, and the overall well-being of individuals and society alike.
What have you learned or hope to learn about research?
I have now completed research in the Department of Philosophy as well as two theses research sections for both my Philosophy and Religious Studies degrees. In addition to continuing my theses' research, I intend to partake in an individual studies session this Spring with Dr. Lucille Toth to explore AIDS advocacy and medical humanities in France and the Francophone world to contextualize my prior research that has looked at these things here in the states. The thing that has been most critical to my success has been focus and clarity around my goals and construction of arguments as I develop them in my engagement with research concurrently. I also would like to see more clarity about the role of research in the humanities further invigorated at the university and would love to seem more undergraduate researchers doing their work in less orthodox disciplines to include research at the undergraduate level.
