Research Office News

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari has received the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) 2021 Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Award, which recognizes an individual in their early career who is making a notable impact in their profession. Her accomplishments reflect innovative scholarship, a rigorous approach to social work research and work that exhibits an emerging influence in the field.

“I am so honored to receive this award; as someone whose focus on community engaged research and areas that are often less explored in the field of social work, I am delighted that this research is being recognized for the impact it has on the communities with whom I partner. I could not have done any of this on my own, and am so appreciative for all of the labor and support these communities have provided to help make this research possible,” said Kattari.

Kattari will receive the award at the SSWR virtual meeting award presentation, which will be live streamed on Thursday, January 21, 2021, 2:30 – 3:30 PM, EST.

Field Faculty Rosalva Osorio and Field Instructor Meghan Thiel have been selected as U-M Interprofessional Leadership Fellows. The program provides faculty members with opportunities to learn from and work with health sciences academic and practice leaders, at both the university and national level, and equips them to be interprofessional educator scholars, effective leaders and change agents.

Professor William Elliott III and MSW student Sophia Nielsen write about reducing poverty and promoting economic mobility through Child Savings Accounts and other short-term and long-term education investments in College Promise’s latest newsletter.

Professor Trina Shanks and Patrick Meehan, Program Manager of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being, wrote an op-ed for the Michigan Journal of Public Affairs. They write: “As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines begins, the medical establishment faces a critical challenge: earning Black Americans' trust.”

Professor Daphne Watkins is a co-chair of a new task force, Advancing Public Safety at the University of Michigan. President Mark Schlissel and Provost Susan Collins appointed a 20-member task force that will examine what’s working and what needs to be improved with the university’s Division of Public Safety and Security. The task force is among several anti-racism initiatives that U-M officials announced last fall after the deaths of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police sparked national conversations around structural racism and policing. 

Assistant Professor Jamie Mitchell has been named assistant director of clinical research participation of the Community Outreach and Engagement program at Michigan Medicine’s Rogel Cancer Center. In this role, Mitchell will look to curate best practices for minority enrollment, providing a toolbox to help investigators consider diversity and inclusivity as they develop their trials. The role leverages work Mitchell is already doing to increase minority recruitment for aging-related studies.

“We as a cancer center community value research that represents more than just the majority population. We want to know our insights and discoveries apply to diverse populations. If we are having trouble recruiting diverse patients to our trials, having someone to think through issues strategically will help make it easier on researchers,” says Mitchell.

Assistant Professor Lindsay Bornheimer is presenting a "lightning talk" at the Department of Psychiatry's 31st Annual Albert J. Silverman Virtual Research Conference. She will be presenting her research on the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral suicide prevention-focused intervention tailored to adults diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

“Suicide death estimates are eight times greater for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders as compared to the general population and there is a paucity of evidence-based suicide-prevention approaches tailored for individuals with psychosis. This NIMH R34 study is gaining input from community stakeholders and experts in the field to modify a cognitive-behavioral suicide prevention treatment for individuals with psychosis. We will then test the preliminary effectiveness and implementation of this modified treatment in a randomized controlled trial with providers delivering mental health services and adult clients receiving care at Washtenaw County Community Mental Health,” said Bornheimer.

Danae Ross, Joint PhD student in Social Work and Sociology, Selected for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars Program. The Health Policy Research Scholars is a leadership opportunity for second-year full-time doctoral students from populations underrepresented in specific doctoral disciplines and/or marginalized backgrounds. The program supports and connects emerging scholars who are committed to bringing about meaningful change and building a national culture of health, which enables everyone in America to live longer healthier lives.

Ross’s research brings an interdisciplinary lens to the study of Black maternal/parental health. Her work centers on the physical and mental health of Black mothers and their infants in sexual and reproductive justice discourses. She investigates how anti-Black culture–particularly related to Black sexuality and parenthood–influences Black maternal/parental-infant lived experiences as well as health outcomes, standard medical recommendations, and health care policy relative to birth and breast/body feeding.