Research Office News

Daphne Watkins was appointed as the Letha A. Chadiha Collegiate Professor of Social Work. Watkins is the founding director of the Gender and Health Research (GendHR) Lab, the Certificate Program in Mixed Methods Research, and the award-winning Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Project, which leverages technology to provide mental health education and social support for young Black men.

Watkins’ research focuses on how gender differences and health disparities influence the mental health of Black Americans, with the aim of increasing what we know about mental disorders and how they impact the health and health behaviors of Black men. She has built an interdisciplinary conceptual framework of mental health that integrates role socialization and intersectional understanding of the cultural positions of Black men given additional other social identities of age, education, ethnicity, social support, and life stress. Watkins is also a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor.

Associate Professor Shanna Kattari spoke with The San Diego Union-Tribune about sexuality and disability.

“I think, even something as simple as bringing up conversations around sexuality and desire with disabled folks is huge because it’s often something that’s not talked about at all,” said Kattari. “When people don’t see themselves in media, they don’t see themselves in the sex ed conversations that are happening (if they’re lucky enough to even be included in sex ed because a lot of young, disabled people are trekked out of classrooms during the sex education portion), then they don’t have the words, the language, the skill set to talk about needs and desires.”

Assistant Professor Anao Zhang has received the 2024 Avery D. Weisman & J. William Worden Award for New Investigators from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) for 2024. This award is presented to a junior scientist who makes outstanding research contributions in the field of psychosocial oncology. 

“I am humbled and honored to receive this year's new investigator award. I appreciate APOS supporting me in attending this year's annual conference. I look forward to continuing my research to advance health equity for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors, especially those from underserved backgrounds.”

Assistant Professor Ashley Cureton was recently selected to be a fellow for the LEAD Global Training Program of Washington University in St. Louis. This training program is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training Program. She will undergo an intensive 10-week summer training in the U.S. and Uganda to develop skills and experiences needed to lead multi-disciplinary, collaborative research teams focused on health disparities in low-resource communities.

"I am thrilled to be selected for this prestigious program which will enable me to gain more skills on how to engage in community-engaged mental health research in global spaces and build on previous global work in countries like South Africa, Zambia, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and India,” said Cureton. “I am confident that this experience will propel my future in a meaningful way as I design and implement school-based, mental health interventions and support for refugee and migrant populations, particularly for children and youth, in the U.S. and globally.”

ENGAGE Strategist Sonia Harb has been appointed board chair of the Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) in January 2024. MLPP is a nonpartisan policy institute that addresses poverty and analyzes the impact of state and federal budgets and policies on residents with low incomes. “Engaging community and supporting grassroots advocacy is near and dear to my heart and the work the League is doing in that space is transformative,” she said.

Professor Daphne Watkins’ book "Secondary Data in Mixed Methods Research" has won a 2024 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. The award recognizes excellence in first edition textbooks and learning materials. Works are judged by textbook authors and subject matter experts for their merits in four areas: pedagogy, content/scholarship, writing, and appearance and design.

Clinical Professor Julie Ribaudo was elected to a four-year term on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH), a nonprofit organization for scientific and educational professionals. WAIMH's central aim is to promote the mental well-being and healthy development of infants worldwide, taking into account cultural, regional and environmental variations, and to generate and disseminate scientific knowledge.

Associate Professor M. Candace Christensen has been named a Public Engagement Faculty Fellow by the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research.  The fellowship offers an opportunity for faculty members to consider how they can prioritize outward engagement in their scholarly activity and translate it into meaningful public impacts.

“My vision for who I want to be as a professional scholar in 5-10 years is to be exceptionally proficient at translating my own research, but also a guide, mentor, and leader for translating research into accessible, engaging, practical, and useful knowledge,” said Christensen. “The Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship will provide me with the mentorship, social networks, skills, and resources to achieve these goals.”