School of Social Work News
Katie Edwards Speaks with CNN About the Heartbreak of Shutting Down Clinical StudiesLast month, Professor Katie Edwards was featured on CNN’s “One Thing” to discuss the effects of federal cuts to health research. Edwards — whose research focuses on preventing and responding to sexual violence among LGBTQ+ and highly vulnerable populations — has had six NIH grants cancelled this year. During the conversation, she specifically detailed the gut-wrenching process of shutting down a clinical study.
“It's been, quite frankly, it's been really chaotic. I mean, I think we've been doing our best to manage this in the most ethical way, putting participant safety as our top priority. This is unprecedented and so no amount of training in your PhD or institutional resources are prepared for this onslaught of determinations,” said Edwards. “The analogy I can think of is if you have someone on an operating table and mid-surgery, you just say, okay, we're gonna leave, and you just leave them there. I mean it's really dangerous, especially when you are working with groups of people who you know are experiencing disproportionate burdens of violence, suicidality, mental health problems.”
“It's heartbreaking and it makes me emotional because I've devoted my life to trying to help kids who often don't have a voice and who are really experiencing some of the most adverse situations. And knowing that our interventions are working, and to see that they can just overnight be taken away, is it's really hard to bear because you feel really powerless.”
- May 29, 2025
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- Katie Edwards Pens Op-Ed for HuffPost on Catastrophic Cuts in NIH Funding
Professor Katie Edwards wrote a heartfelt op-ed for HuffPost on the effects of the Trump Administration's cuts to NIH funding. Edward’s research lab has lost six such grants in the last several weeks. “There is so much goodness, love and care that goes into our work — work that is making homes, schools and communities safe for people across the U.S., perhaps even for you and/or someone you care about — and if it is ended, the effects will be calamitous.”
- May 2, 2025
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- Katie Edwards Quoted in The Atlantic on NIH Funding Cuts
Professor Katie Edwards spoke with The Atlantic about the termination of hundreds of research awards made by the NIH. She said that grinding these trials to a screeching halt is “completely reckless.”
- April 3, 2025
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- The School of Social Work Welcomes Katie Edwards
Professor Katie Edwards focuses her research on preventing and responding to sexual and related forms of violence among structural minoritized populations using community-based participatory methods. Her current work is focused on program development and evaluation with Indigenous youth and communities as well as LGBTQ+ youth in online spaces. She helped establish the first Indigenous-led sexual violence prevention center, entitled Peaceful Means, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Edwards’ other projects include:
- Family Accepted Project Online (FAPO)
- IDEA3 ( Internet-Delivered Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act)
- Project LIVE (Love, Inclusivity, Values, Education)
- Promoting Resilient Youth with Strong Hearts and Minds (PRYSHM) Project
- Strong, Thriving and Resilient Men (STAR-M)
- Teen Connection Project (TCP)
- The Takini (Survivor) Project
- Wahwala Iyohlogya (Peaceful Means)
- Tiwahe Tewichaglapi (Lakota Family Acceptance Project)
- Supporting Survivors & Self—Indigenized (SSS-I; Miye na Wicakiya Oyate Wi Okiciyapi Kta)
“I am deeply grateful to be at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. What excites me most is that the School really walks in their DEI values. I remember when I interviewed here being struck by how much room there was for positionality and emotionality, and how intellectually stimulated and motivated I felt — those collective experiences made me confident that U of M was where I should be alongside my teams,” said Edwards. “I believe that with these values and the strong infrastructure will allow my teams and me to dream bigger and make more impactful change than we could at any other university in the world. I, along with my team of over 50 amazing staff and co-leaders, couldn’t be more excited, proud, and joyful to be here.”
Edwards joins the School from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she has served as Professor of Educational Psychology. She received her MS and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Ohio University, Athens.
- February 21, 2025
- Katie Edwards Quoted in CNN on NIH Funding Caps
Professor Katie Edwards spoke with CNN about the announcement of funding caps from the National Institute of Health and how that affects research at institutions and universities across the country. “These are funds that are used to keep, I mean literally, to help keep the lights on at the university,” said Edwards. “Without having sufficient funding, I don’t know how many universities are going to be able to continue to be leading research institutions in the world, quite frankly.”
- February 13, 2025
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