Research Office News

Clinical Associate Professors Dan Fischer and Debra Mattison, and Assistant Professor Anao Zhang are all members of Interprofessional Education (IPE) teams that won 2022 IPE Innovation & Excellence Awards. Fischer is part of the Effective Leadership Team. Mattison and Zhang are members of the Discharge Planning Simulation Team. Field Faculty Rosalva Osorio Cooksy had a poster as an Interprofessional Leadership Fellow. 

The awards were established to recognize and celebrate interprofessional education and practice across U-M’s health sciences schools, and were presented on Health Professions Education Day on April 5, 2022.

Professor Luke Shaefer has received the 2021 U-M President’s Award for Public Impact. This award honors individuals whose research and expertise tangibly address a major public-sector challenge.

Shaefer is a leading scholar of contemporary American social welfare policy and the inaugural director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions. He is co-author of the acclaimed book, “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America,” which helped lay the groundwork for current anti-poverty legislative efforts, including President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

“It means a great deal to me to be at a university that has an award like this honoring public engagement. I think it really lifts up the importance of this kind of work,” Shaefer said. “I’m deeply honored to be a recipient because I greatly admire the scholars who have received it in the past.

The School of Social Work has again been named the nation’s top social work school in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Graduate School rankings, which were published today.

Professor Lisa Wexler’s research is featured in an article on resilience, which is the April 2022 cover story of NIH News in Health. Wexler discusses how tapping into protective factors — including cultural traditions such as ceremonies, teachings and practices — can help build resilience.

Associate Professor Katie Maguire-Jack is editor of “Neighborhoods, Communities, and Child Maltreatment: A Global Perspective,” which explores a diverse range of research relating to the impact of communities on child maltreatment and parenting.

“‘Neighborhoods, Communities, and Child Maltreatment’ includes perspectives from around the globe on the critical role that communities play in families' lives,” said Maguire-Jack. “It delves into the meaning and impact of neighborhoods across different contexts, introduces innovative community-level maltreatment prevention strategies, and highlights advanced methodological approaches for studying these issues. It is my hope that this book will advance research and policy for effective child maltreatment prevention with an understanding of the importance of communities."

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari is a Woodhull Freedom Foundation 2022 Vicki Sexual Freedom Award Honoree. The award recognizes those individuals whose life and work embody the foundation’s mission and values, and who have made landmark contributions to the sexual freedom movement through education, advocacy, research and activism.

Kattari will receive the award in August 2022 at the Sexual Freedom Summit. “As someone who has been doing sexuality education and advocacy work for the better part of two decades, I am so honored that my work is being recognized in this way,” said Kattari. “We still have far to go to ensure that all disabled people, queer and trans people, people of color, older adults, kinky folks, those who are non-monogamous and sex workers are treated with justice in the realm of sexuality, basic human rights and access. I hope my work brings more attention to many of these topics, and encourages social workers to understand that affirming sexuality is an important part of our practice.”

Associate Professor Terri Friedline and Professor William Elliott spoke with the Guardian about the benefits of children’s savings accounts, which extend beyond saving money for college.  Research shows that these accounts positively affect the social emotional development of kids and encourages families to build other assets. “It’s not because they’re getting money in their hands, it’s more about understanding their kids have a better future,” said Elliott. “What assets give you is tangible hope.”

Associate Professor Terri Friedline was invited to share her research on overdraft fees with the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. Friedline is part of a nationwide movement to eliminate overdraft fees which are excessive, predatory, and punish lower-income people for not having enough money in the bank.