School of Social Work News

Associate Professor Matthew Smith received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop and test the efficacy of a virtual reality job interview training program (VR) to help train adults with severe mental illness prepare for job interviews, as part of the supported employment method.

Sara Stein (PhD student) and Associate Professor Andy Grogan-Kaylor’s article, “23 Contributions to depressed affect in latina women: examining the effectiveness of the moms’ empowerment program” was published in Injury Prevention.

Tina Jiwatram-Negron (Curtis Center postdoctoral fellow) and Associate Dean for Research and Professor Joe Himle received a grant from the U-M SSW via the Curtis Research and Training Center for their New York City-based study which will develop and test an integrated, brief screening for a previously identified syndemic of intimate partner violence, HIV/STIs, substance use, and depression/self-harm among Hispanic/Latino women in the U.S.

Professor William Elliott III and Assistant Professor Kristin Seefeldt received a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. via the Wabash County Young Men's Christian Association Inc. (Indiana) to examine the impact of providing financial awards based on learning, college planning, and savings behaviors on academic achievement and school attendance.

Assistant Professor Cristina Bares’ article, “Nicotine dependence, internalizing symptoms, mood variability and daily tobacco use among young adult smokers” was published in Addictive Behaviors.

The U-M’s health science deans selected four faculty team projects to receive Interprofessional Exchange Research (IP-X) Stimulus pilot grants from the U-M Center for Interprofessional Education. All four projects selected include SSW faculty:

• Assistant Dean of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor Daniel Fischer and Clinical Assistant Professor Debra Mattison are co-investigators for “Caring for Complex, Underserved Patients: Interprofessional Education and Care Where it Matters Most”
• Associate Dean for Research and Professor Joe Himle is the lead investigator for “Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depressed Dialysis Patients”
• Clinical Assistant Professor Debra Mattison is a co-investigator for “Improving Contraceptive Care for Women with Breast Cancer: An Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Approach”  
• Assistant Director Office of Global Activities and LEO Adjunct Lecturer Katie Lopez and Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Professor Mary Ruffolo are co-investigators for “Michigan Interprofessional Consortium for Health-Global Action Network (MICH-GAN)”

Madel Leal (MSW‘17) was featured in the Michigan News video, “Research, education, service: How we spent our summer vacation.”

Janelle Goodwill (PhD student) interviewed with the University at Buffalo School of Social Work’s inSocialWork Podcast Series on her work with black men, media, and masculinity.