Joint PhD Program News

Lauren Whitmer, Joint PhD in Social Work and Anthropology, has successfully defended her dissertation entitled "Ay Amiga, ¿Qué Puedo Hacer? Oh Friend, What Can I Do?: An Ethnographic Analysis of How Socio-Cultural and Structural Factors Shape Help-Seeking Relationships for Intimate Partner Violence in Lambayeque, Peru." Her committee included Beth Glover Reed (co-chair) and Richard Tolman.

PhD student Jay Kayser wrote about the overreliance of medication in the treatment of depression in The Conversation last week. “The U.S. health care system relies heavily on medication and other biomedical treatments for depression. But in fact there are numerous non-drug-based solutions for prevention and treatment of depression.”

Kayser also discussed his research with Michigan Public Radio. “There are alternative treatments out there that really can tap into someone's own abilities to be resilient and to recover from depression. Medication is an excellent option for many, but we kind of want to expand the conversation out to cover alternative approaches, too,” Kayser said.

Ramona Perry, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, has successfully defended her dissertation "Black During COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Adoption of COVID-19 Risk Reduction Behaviors among Black Adults." Her committee included Jamie Mitchell (co-chair) and Jaclynn Hawkins.

After graduation, Perry will be co-owner of an evaluation consulting firm.

PhD Student Irene Routté has recently received both the Lester P. Monts Award for Outstanding Graduate Research from U-M’s African Studies Center, as well as an honorable mention from the 2022 Bennetta Jules-Rosette Graduate Essay Award contest from The Association for Africanist Anthropology. Routté’s essay, “Will You Take Care? Bio-Space, Racial Assemblages and the U.S. Youth Refugee Resettlement Welfare System,” is an ethnographic case study of an unaccompanied refugee minor from Nigeria during his first year in care under the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement. This essay was also awarded the School’s Henry Meyer award.

Andrea Mora, PhD student Social Work and Developmental Psychology, is one of the Grand Challenges for Social Work's inaugural cohort of fellowship awardees. In addition to supporting policy and practice proposals, the fellowships also broaden the pipeline of social workers equipped for and committed to tackling and surmounting the Grand Challenges. Mora’s research proposal is entitled: “Build Healthy Relationships to End Violence: Protective factors for exposure to community violence and neighborhood-based sexual harassment among Latino/a adolescents in the U.S. and Mexico."

PhD student Joonyoung Cho and Assistant Professor Xiaoling Xiang’s research — on how volunteering can help lessen feelings of isolation — was cited in a New York Times article on managing holiday loneliness.

Nick Espitia, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Sociology, has successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Our Existence is a Political Issue: Examining the Political Participation of Undocumented Latinx Immigrants in the Midwest.” Katie Richards-Schuster served on his committee.

Espitia has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the department of social work at Oakland University.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline received the 2022 Doctoral Student Organization Faculty Award. “I'm humbled to receive this award from doctoral students —an acknowledgement of my contributions,” said Friedline. “It is a tremendous honor to play a small role in supporting the next generations of social work and social sciences scholars.”