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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Sofia Gruskin
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Professor of Law and Preventive Medicine, Director, Institute on Inequalities in Global Health
Email: gruskin@usc.eduTelephone: (323) 865-0826
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Personal Website: Link
Last Updated: January 4, 2023
Books
- Leading the Realization of Human Rights to Health and Through Health. Report of the high-level working group on the health and human rights of women, children and adolescents. (World Health Organization, 2017).
- Health and Human Rights in a Changing World (with M. Grodin, D, Tarantola, and G. Annas, eds.) (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013).
- Perspectives in Health and Human Rights (with M. Grodin, G. Annas, and S.P. Marks, eds.) (Routledge,Taylor & Francis Group, 2005).
- Health and Human Rights: A Reader (with J. Mann, M. Grodin, and G. Annas, eds.) (New York: Routledge, 1999).
Articles
- “Expanding the Role of Paralegals: Supporting Realization of the Right to Health for Vulnerable Communities” (with A. Wirya et al). BMC International Health and Human Rights, vol. 20, no. 8 (2020).
- “Reflections on 25 Years of Health and Human Rights: History, Context, and the Need for Strategic Action.” Health and Human Rights Journal, vol. 22, no. 1 (2020).
- “A Call for (Renewed) Commitment to Sexual Health, Sexual Rights, and Sexual Pleasure: A Matter of Health and Well-Being” (with E. Kismödi). American Journal of Public Health, vol.110, no. 2 (2020).
- “Twenty Five Years After the Beijing Declaration We Need to Reaffirm that Women’s Rights are Human Rights” (with R. Khosla et al). The BMJ Opinion (2020).
- “Urgent Call for Human Rights Guidance on Diets and Food Systems” (with K. Buse et al). The BMJ Opinion (2019).
- “A Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Journey: from Cairo to the Present” (with R. Brown et al). Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, vol.27, no.1, p. 326 (2019).
- “Human Rights and Legal Dimensions of Self Care Interventions for Sexual and Reproductive Health” (with L. Ferguson et al). BMJ, vol. 365 (2019).
- “Sexual Rights, Sexual Health and Sexual Pleasure: Meaningfully Engaging the Perfect Triangle” (with A. Usigli et al). Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 27, no. 1 (2019).
- “Police-Related Deaths and Neighborhood Economic and Racial/Ethnic Polarization, United States, 2015–2016” (with JM. Feldman et al). American Journal of Public Health 109, no. 3, p. 458 (2019).
- “We are Not Infertile: Challenges and Limitations Faced by Women in Same-Sex Relationships when Seeking Conception Services in São Paulo, Brazil” (with PGC. Carvalho et al). Culture, Health and Sexuality, vol. 21, no. 11, p. 1257 (2019).
- “Desert, Rainforest or Jungle: Navigating the Global Sexual Rights Landscape” (with A. Miller et al). Sexuality Policy Watch, SexPolitics: Trends & Tensions in the 21st Century – Critical Issues (2018).
- “A Meta-Narrative Literature Synthesis and Framework to Guide Future Evaluation of Legal Empowerment Interventions” (with K. Footer et al). Health and Human Rights Journal, vol. 20, no. 2 (2018).
- “In Transition: Ensuring the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Transgender Populations: A Roundtable Discussion” (with A. Everhart et al). Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 26, no. 52 (2018).
- “Assessing Changes in HIV-Related Legal and Policy Environments: Lessons Learned from a Multi-Country Evaluation” (with L. Ferguson et al). PLoS One, vol. 13, no. 2 (2018).
- "Quantifying Underreporting of Law-Enforcement-Related Deaths in United States Vital Statistics and News-Media-Based Data Sources: A Capture–Recapture Analysis” (with J. Feldman et al). PLOS Medicine, vol. 14, no. 10 (2017).
- "A Novel Methodology for Strengthening Human Rights Based Monitoring in Public Health: Family Planning Indicators as an Illustrative Example” (with L.Ferguson et al). PloS One, vol. 12, no. 23 (2017).
- “Killed by Police: Quantifying Misclassification in Vital Statistics and Validating Media-Based Demographic Data (Massachusetts, 2004-2016)” (with J. Feldman, B. Coull, and N. Krieger N). American Journal of Public Health (2017).
- “Engaging Human Rights in the Evolving Zika Virus Epidemic” (with J. Rasantham and S. MacCarthy). American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 4, p. 525 (2017).
- “Human Rights, Gender and Infectious Disease: From HIV/AIDS to Ebola” (with L. Stemple and P. Karegeya). Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 38, p. 993 (2016).
- “Monitoring HIV-Related Laws and Policies: Lessons for AIDS and Global Health in Agenda 2030” (with M. Torres et al). AIDS and Behavior, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 1 (2016).
- “No ‘Shared Governance’ Without Attention to Law, Broadly Conceived” (with A. Capron). American Journal of Bioetics, vol. 16, no. 10, p. 54 (2016).
- “Human Rights and the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women Living with HIV – A Literature Review” (with Shubha Kumar et al). Journal of the International Aids Society, vol.18, supplement 5, p. 17 (December 2015).
- “Men’s Violence Against Women and Men Are Inter-Related: Recommendations for Simultaneous Intervention” (with Paul J. Fleming et al). Special Issue, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 146, , p. 249 (2015).
- “Sexual Rights as Human Rights: A Guide to Authoritative Sources and Principles for Applying Human Rights to Sexuality and Sexual Health” (with Alice M. Miller et al). Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 23, no. 46, p. 16 (2015).
- “Sound and Fury – Engaging with the Politics and the Law of Sexual Rights” (with Alice M. Miller et al). Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 23, no. 46, p. 7 (2015).
- “Advancing Sexual Health Through Human Rights: The Role of the Law” (with Eszter Kismoedi, Jane Cottingham, and Alice M. Miller). Special Issue, Global Public Health, vol.10, no. 2, p. 252 (2015).
- “Air Pollution, Health, and Human Rights” (with Jonathan M. Samet). Lancet Respiratory Medicine, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 98 (2015).
- “Applying Human Rights-Based Approaches to Public Health: Lessons Learned from Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programs” (with Allison Smith-Estelle and Laura Ferguson). Etude de la Population Africaine, vol. 29, no. 1 p. 1713 (2015).
- “Is the Right to Health Compatible with Sustainability?” (with Daniel D. Reidpath and Pascale Allotey). Journal of Global Health, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 010301 (2015).
- “Reproductive Justice and the Pace of Change: Socioeconomic Trends in US Infant Death Rates by Legal Status of Abortion, 1960-1980” (with Nancy Krieger et al). American Journal of Public Health, vol. 105, no. 4, p. 680 (2015).
- “Searching for Justice and Health” (with Daniel Tarantola and Kenneth Camargo). American Journal of Public Health, vol. 105, no. 8, p. 1511(2015).
- “The HIV Care Cascade: Models, Measures and Moving Forward” (with Sarah MacCarthy et al). Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 19395 (2015).
- “Why History Matters for Quantitative Target Setting: Long-Term Trends in Socioeconomic and Racial/ Ethnic Inequities in US Infant Death Rates (1960-2010)” (with Nancy Krieger et al). Journal of Public Health Policy, vol. 36, no. 3, p. 287 (2015).
- “Climate Change and Human Rights: Roles, Responsibilities, and Action” (with Madhury Ray). Human Rights Defender, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 14 (2014).
- “Global Health Justice.” Review of Global Health Law, by Lawrence O. Gostin. Lancet vol. 384, no. 9947, p. 945 (2014).
- “HIV and Gender-Based Violence: Welcome Policies and Programmes, But Is the Research Keeping Up?” (with Kelly Safreed-Harmon et al). Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 22, no. 44, p. 174 (2014).
- “What’s Pregnancy Got To Do with It? Late Presentation to HIV/AIDS Services in Northeastern Brazil.” AIDS Care, vol. 26, no. 12, p. 1514 (2014).
- "Realigning Government Action with Public Health Evidence: The Legal and Policy Environment Affecting Sex Work and HIV" (with G. Williams and L. Ferguson). Culture, Health and Sexuality, vol. 16, no. 1 p. 14 (2013).
- "Identifying Structural Barriers to an Effective HIV Response: Using 2010 NCPI Data to Evaluate the Human Rights, Legal and Policy Environment" (with L. Ferguson, T. Alverson, G. Peersman, and D. Rugg). Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol. 16, (2013).
- "Human Rights in Health Systems Frameworks: What is There, What is Missing and Why Does it Matter?" (with S. Ahmed et al). Global Public Health, vol. 7, no. 4, p. 337 (2011).
- "The Impacts of AIDS Movements on the Policy Responses to HIV/AIDS in Brazil and South Africa: A Comparative Analysis" (with A. Nunn, S. L. Dickman, and N. Nattras). Global Public Health, vol. 7, no. 20, p. 1031 (2012).
- "Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? Moving Toward Assessment." PLOS Medicine, vol. 7, no. 9 (2010).
- "Rights-Based Approaches to Health Policies and Programmers: Articulations, Ambiguities and Assessment" (with D. Bogecho and L. Ferguson). Journal of Public Health Policy, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 129 (2010).
- "Using Human Rights for Sexual and Reproductive Health: Improving Legal and Regulatory Frameworks" (with J. Cottingham et al). Bulletin of the World Organization, vol. 88, no. 7, p. 551 (2010).
- "Human Rights in the Global Response to HIV: Findings from the 2008 UNGASS Reports" (with L. Ferguson, G. Peersman, and D. Rugg). JAIDS, vol. 52, supplement 2, S104-S110 (2009).
- "Government Regulation of Sex and Sexuality: In Their Own Words" (with L. Ferguson). Reproductive Health Matters, vol. 17, no. 34, p. 108 (2009).
- "Using Indicators to Determine the Contribution of Human Rights to Public Health Efforts: Why? What? And How?" (with L. Ferguson). Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 87, no. 9, p. 714 (2009).
- "Justice and Human Rights: Priority Setting and Fair Deliberative Process" (with N. Daniels). American Journal of Public Health, vol. 98, no. 9, p. 1573 (2008).
- "Health, Development and Human Rights." Australian Journal of Human Rights, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 1 (2008).
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Annenberg Media
September 19, 2023
Re: Thomas Lenz
Thomas Lenz was quoted by Annenberg Media about the United Automobile Workers union ready to go on strike. "Strikes affect the livelihoods of those who choose to stop working. To the extent those persons aren’t earning money to spend that means stores, restaurants, and other businesses might not be as busy. If a strike lasts a long time bills might not get paid as easily, if at all," Lenz wrote.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Mugambi Jouet
August, 2023
“Guns, Mass Incarceration, and Bipartisan Reform: Beyond Vicious Circle and Social Polarization,” 55 Arizona State Law Journal 239 (2023).
Edward McCaffery
August, 2023
"The Curiouser and Curiouser Case of Carried Interest" (with Darryll K. Jones), Arizona Law Review (Spring 2024).
Scott Altman
August, 2023
"Are Parents Fiduciaries," 42 Law and Philosophy 431 (2023).