Research Office News

Matthew Bakko, Joint PhD student in Social Work and Sociology has been selected for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars program.

The program supports and connects emerging scholars who are committed to bringing about meaningful change and building a national Culture of Health. Participants build the interdisciplinary skills and relationships necessary to extend their influence and impact, break down silos, address health disparities, and make our communities healthier.

His research will explore how new philanthropic and service delivery models and tools reconfigure organizations, engage with diverse communities, alter power dynamics and blur sector boundaries to affect the capacity building and social change process.

The Robert Woods Johnson Health Policy Research Scholars program supports underrepresented scholars, including first-generation, low-income background and students of color.

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari is Bakko's Institutional Mentor for the Healthy Policy Research Scholars Program.

Professor Edie Kieffer participated in a Congressional Briefing on Latina maternal and child health on September 27 in Washington, DC. A scholarly review featuring Kieffer’s research and that of 11 other authors was shared outlining five recommended national action steps ranging from creating more culturally competent programming to establishing a National Center for Latino Maternal and Child Health.  

Associate Professor Daphne Watkins was awarded a grant from the My Brother's Keeper Detroit Innovation Challenge to launch a Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Project for adolescents and young adults in Detroit.

Harvard Magazine features U-M’s Poverty Solutions, including the work of Associate Professor Luke Shafer. The article discusses Poverty Solutions’ funded work with the Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility. 

Professor Joseph Ryan has a long history working on juvenile justice matters and using data to help drive better policy. He advises the governor as a member of the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice. He’s also co-director of the Child and Adolescent Data Lab, a research center focused on using data to drive policy and practice decisions in the field. His work was recently highlighted by the University of Michigan Public Engagement and Impact project.

Professor Barry Checkoway received a grant from the University of Michigan Provost - Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. His funded project will prepare a new generation of civil rights leaders in ways that provide pathways into higher education for everyone, with special emphasis on first generation, low income and students of color.

Research Fellow Lisa Fedina presented at the International Family Violence and Child Victimization Conference on a Systematic Review of Criminal Justice System Responses to Stalking Victimization and on Understanding the Health Consequences of Sexual Violence.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline's recent study was featured in the Boston Globe article, “It can cost more for a checking account if you’re black or Latino, study says.” ‘‘If we care about racially disparate patterns in costs and fees and want to eliminate those in the financial system, our oversight has to include small and community banks where these practices are prevalent,’’ said Terri Friedline, a professor of social work at the University of Michigan who co-authored the report with Jacob William Faber, a New York University sociologist