2023 ANNUAL REPORT Advancing Research for the Health and Well-Being of All Families
Table of Contents Who We Are Vision, Mission, Story Director's Statement Highlights, Numbers, Engagement
1-2 3-4 5-8
Research and Methods
Grants: Submitted, Active, Recently Funded Advancing Research on Families, Family Research Scholars Program Scholar Features, Recently Funded Scholars Awards and Accolades Methodology Program
Teaching and Mentoring Graduate Student Grant Writing Program Student Research Awards Student Features
Community Engagement Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series Community Engaged Research Faculty and Postdoctoral Network and Steering Committee CRF Faculty and Staff Donors
9-11 12-14 15-19 20 23-27
28 29-31 32-34
35 36-38 39-40 41-42 43
Who We Are Advancing Research for the Health and Well-being of all Families. Our Vision
The Center for Research on Families (CRF) is unique in that it promotes interdisciplinary family research across the social, behavioral, and natural sciences to address pressing issues and systemic inequalities through family research and community-engaged programming. Our center epitomizes the land grant mission of UMass Amherst, to provide teaching, research, and public service for the benefit of families in the Commonwealth and nation, by supporting research collaboration across disciplines and contributing innovative and evidence-based solutions to address the challenges families face.
Our Mission
Promote, conduct, and translate high quality, substantive research on issues affecting families Teach, mentor, and support family researchers throughout their careers Engage with the community to improve family outcomes and inform social policy Advance social justice by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion through our research and programming
Our Story
Founded over forty years ago and supported by a generous endowment given in 1996 by Dorothy Dunklee Gavin ‘43 and Joseph G. Gavin Jr., CRF has a long history and deep roots at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2003, the original Center for the Family was transformed into today’s Center for Research on Families and has continued to grow in relevancy and presence within the campus community and beyond. CRF is supported by the following colleges within UMass: College of Natural Sciences, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Education, College of Nursing. Other support is provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, the Edna Skinner Fund, Dorothy and Joseph G. Gavin Jr., and many other generous donors.
What is Family Research? CRF recognizes that families take many diverse forms. We believe that families are best understood in the context of their social settings and through a lens of intersectionality, considering factors such as class, race, nationality, sexuality, age, and gender. Further, we view research from all disciplines as relevant to our mission. Some of our Recent Areas of Research and Outreach: Food as Medicine: Springfield Produce Prescription Collaborative The Greater Springfield Economic Security Hub Study Early Childhood Mental Health Mental Health Interventions for Immigrants Maternal Mental Health and Wellbeing in Black Women/Birthing People
Our Approach Research and Methods Methodology Consulting Academic-Year Seminars Summer Methodology Workshops Grant Support Analysis and Dissemination of Community Based Research
Teaching and Mentoring Faculty Family Research Scholars Program Mentoring and Engaging Faculty of Color Students Undergraduate Student Research Awards Graduate Student Research Awards Travel Awards Methodology Scholarships Methodology Mentoring and Training Community Engagement Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series Community Engaged Research Dietetic Internship Program Support Policy Local, State, and National
Director's Statement Over the past two years, the Center for Research on Families (CRF) has experienced strategic growth in programming, faculty and student development, and community engagement. For the first time in its history, CRF has secured multiple community-based research grants in partnership with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, Baystate Health, and WellSpring Cooperative. Funding for this research comes from the USDA and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These initiatives have resulted in new energy and innovation in CRF’s work; mentoring for women faculty of color, expanded student training, and integrative community-based research. This Annual Report highlights the work and achievements of the Center for Research on Families over the past year. At the onset of my directorship, I shared my vision for an interdisciplinary center focused on family research with a commitment to advancing faculty scholarship, training students, creating pathways for equity and social justice, and making good on community engagement and public service. Families are central to our institutional identity and our contribution to advancing family research occurs through interdisciplinary research, training and methodological consultancy, presentations and publications, and community-based action research. CRF has a long history of mentoring UMass Amherst faculty and students for research success and providing those we serve with the skills they need to succeed.
Dr. Lorraine Cordeiro
Our signature program, the Family Research Scholars Program is celebrating its 20th year in 2023. This competitive program selects six faculty from across UMass to engage in structured mentoring from senior faculty and peers. I have been fortunate to co-direct this program with Dr. Kirby Deater-Deckard, a renowned family scholar who provides a high level of research mentoring to our faculty. FY23 Scholars included Lili He, Aida Villanueva Montalvo, Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm, Favorite Iradukunda, Eleni Christofa and Cassandra Spracklen. Their research examines the impact of transportation on families; the application of food science techniques to s reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases; interventions to improve cultural sensitivity and nursing care for Black women; risk for and emerging cardiometabolic diseases among youth; the impact of COVID-19 on women’s labor participation, mechanisms by which DNA variants affect genes and Type 2 Diabetes risk; and broadening the capacity of genetic research through examinations of diverse population groups. A new CRF initiative focuses on mentoring and supporting women faculty of color at UMass Amherst. This year, I invited former scholars, Drs. Evelyn Mercado and Maria Galano (Psychological and Brain Sciences), and Dr. Airín Martinez (Health Promotion), as well as current scholar, Dr. Karine Fénelon (Biology), to be Co-Principal Investigators on our community-based research initiatives in Springfield, MA. Dr. Gabrielle Abelard (Nursing) served as my co-mentor for this group and used her expertise in psychiatric nursing to strengthen our engagement with formally incarcerated individuals and traumatized populations. These faculty represent the very best of UMass Amherst and contributed significantly to establishing trust with some of the most underserved communities in the Greater Springfield area. We are currently generating publications from our collaborative work. As an interdisciplinary center, CRF is well-positioned to be responsive and flexible in the current institutional and national climate. Our Center continues to provide an anchor for research and scholarly activity at UMass Amherst, while ensuring a safe space for mentoring, sharing ideas, research, growth and development. CRF will continue to be a strategic partner in advancing interdisciplinary family research.
I would like to invite you to join me in envisioning and implementing new policies and practices that remove barriers experienced by the most vulnerable members of our community, including Black and Indigenous colleagues, students, and families. Any harm directed at disenfranchised individuals and families violates their human rights, creates unnecessary hurdles in reaching their full potential, and adversely impacts our science. This work will not be easy, but it will show courage and allow us to make concrete progress towards ending racial and social inequities in academia and society. Please connect with us through our Tay Gavin Erikson Lecture Series, methodology training, and the many events that address economic, social, and environmental disparities in our society. In closing, I want to express my deepest gratitude to those who have supported CRF through the past year, especially our donors who share our vision, steering committee members who have so freely given their time and expertise, and our faculty, staff, and students. Most importantly, CRF benefited greatly from the support from UMass Amherst Deans; an endowment established by Joseph G. Gavin Jr. and Dorothy G. Gavin; and other donors such as UMass Alumna, Mary Ann Higgins. I am so proud to work with our CRF team: Gisele Litalien, Associate Director, has been instrumental as an administrator and we will miss her dearly when she retires this year Dr. Holly Laws, Methodology Director, and UMass alumna, who has strategically expanded methodology services and supported student development Dr. Kirby Deater-Deckard, who co-directs and brings invaluable mentoring to the family scholars program Dr. Alexandra Lauterbach, whose leadership of qualitative research and training of students was critical to the success of community-engaged research Dr. Bi-sek Hsiao, Research Fellow and UMass alumna, who recently joined our team and is advancing “food as medicine” initiatives in Springfield Steph Covelli, Financial Manager and UMass alumna, who has worked hard to ensure smooth financial operations Ellanjé Martin, Events, Communications, and Office Manager, and UMass alumna, who recently joined us and is already indispensable Graduate students and Methods staff: Eleni Kapoulea, Nathan Huff, Marielena Barbieri, Kristina O’Neil, Fiona Almeida, Stylianos Syropoulos and Dongwei Wang Undergraduate students: Abigail Verga, Patrick Eagen, Anshul Gupta, Chloe Belliveau and Olivia Capriotti As we look ahead to the 2023-2024 academic year, we are grateful to the UMass and surrounding communities who have helped us envision and promote community development, justice, peace, and wellbeing for all. With appreciation and respect, Lorraine Cordeiro
Director's Professional Activities Promotion to Full Professor Service Rudd Program: Advisory Board Member and Search Committee Member Elected Member, Faculty Senate Research Council Member, Interdisciplinary Institutes and Centers Working Group Member, TEval Department Team Member, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Collaborative Member, SPHHS Personnel Committee Member, Department Graduate Curriculum and Policy Committee
FY ‘23 CRF Highlights Through our three-pronged approach, these are a few highlights of what CRF has accomplished this year. 1) Promoting/conducting high-quality, substantive research on issues affecting families
Comparison between CRF rates and national rates for successful grant submissions
6 CRF Family Research Scholars (FRS) met biweekly to develop competitive grants through intensive faculty and peer feedback, targeted instruction on the review process, and methodology support. CRF received 31 applications and welcomed 6 new FRS for 2023-24. Scholars from past cohorts continued to revise/submit additional grants. 10 CRF Family Research Scholars and Directors submitted 14 grants totaling $21,666,740.
National Science Foundation
National Rates 28%
CRF Rates vs 61%
3 CRF Scholars and CRF Directors were funded for a total of $3,721,105. CRF has 16 active grants totaling $9,482,954. CRF Faculty Scholars success rates are 59% for NSF Grants and 35% for NIH grants. CRF’s Graduate Student Grant Writing Program: 10 students worked under the leadership of Dr. Rebecca Spencer on NSF, NIH, and Ford Foundation fellowship applications. Karl Lyn, Ph.D. candidate in W.E.B Dubois Afro American Studies received a Ford Fellowship of $27,000. Shivangi Baijpal, Ph.D. candidate in Kinesiology was awarded an American Association of University Women Grant of $25,000.
National Institutes for Health
CRF Rates 37%
National Rates vs 21.6%
2) Teaching, mentoring, and supporting faculty and student family researchers throughout their careers
3) Engaging with the community to address and inform outreach and policy on issues critical to the well-being of families
Dr. Cordeiro taught an undergraduate seminar on Family Research through the Honors College.
CRF partnered with Baystate Health in Springfield, MA, and Wellspring Cooperative Corporation on a three-year project (GusNIP) to improve access to fruits and vegetables among Springfield residents with lowincome and living with chronic diseases.
CRF awarded $31,750 in Student Family Research Grants and scholarships to 32 graduate students, and 1 undergraduate, and a total of $477,750 since inception.
CRF hosted 4 prominent researchers who presented live and virtual public lectures through our Tay Gavin Erikson Lecture Series.
CRF hosted a well-attended Student Research Forum that recognized 20 students. The event was attended by more than 40 faculty, staff, students, friends, and family members.
CRF partnered with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and facilitated 10 listening sessions and analyzed data for the Economic Security Hub Study.
CRF was awarded a $6,000 grant from Women for UMass to expand CRF’s capacity to award undergraduates.
CRF scholars were featured in news outlets including Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, GBH News, New England Public Media and many other outlets.
CRF provided 588 hours of formal advanced statistical and methodological consultation to UMass faculty and graduate student researchers, researchers at other universities, and community organizations. CRF and the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) advised new faculty in grant preparedness and in the application process.
CRF Grant Activity by the Numbers
14
$21,666,740
Grants Submitted in FY ‘23
Amount of Grants Submitted in FY ‘23
Total Grants Awarded since Inception
15
$9,482,954
6
Active Grants
Amount of Active Grants
224 $36,304,157
Total Grants Submitted since Inception
Total Grant Funding since Inception
73
Newly funded grants during FY ‘23
$8,026,708 Amount of newly funded grants during FY ‘23
Overall Programming CRF provided more than 1,000 people with over 3,200 hours of programming and services Engagement by College
CNS
SPHHS
SBS
EDUC
NUR
ENGIN
HFA
ISEN
CICS
Number of faculty & students served
137
57
48
15
11
12
9
9
6
60+
100+
150+
50+
40+
45+
Hours of services & programming provided
970+ 465+ 380+
Number of Faculty and Students served in each College/School CNS - College of Natural Sciences
9
9
6
12
SPHHS - School of Public Health and Health Sciences
11
SBS - Social & Behavioral Sciences
15
EDUC - College of Education
137
NUR - Elaine Marieb College of Nursing ENGIN - College of Engineering 48
HFA - Humanities and Fine Arts ISEN - Isenberg School of Management CICS - Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences
57
Grants by College Submitted FY'17 to date
CNS
SPHHS
SBS
$34,906,165 $76,427,873 $11,692,594
EDUC
NUR
ENGIN
$1,755,672
$2,641,261
$4,648,924
Submitted Research Grants Laura Attanasio (Health Policy and Management) National Institutes of Health - $458,780 Hospital Quality, Processes of Care, and Racial Disparities in Birth Mode for Individuals with a Prior Cesarean Lorraine Cordeiro (Nutrition) CRF Director and Holly Laws (Psychological and Brain Sciences) CRF Methodology Program Director Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts - $419,000 Economic Security Hub Lorraine Cordeiro (Nutrition) CRF Director USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture - $500,000 Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Produce Prescription Collaborative Lili He (Food Science) National Institutes of Health - $1,657,752 A Novel Approach of Age-grading of Mosquitos Using SERS and Machine Learning Models Joshua Kaiser (Sociology) National Science Foundation - $327,540 Collaborative Research: Mechanisms and Extent of Penal Inequality in the United States Airín Martinez (Sociology) National Institutes of Health - $3,106,260 The Effects of Structural and Interpersonal Racism on Social connectedness and social Isolation in Latinx Parent-Youth Dyads' Biopsychosocial Health
Mariana Pereira (Psychological and Brain Sciences) National Science Foundation - $1,534,786 CAREER: Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Maternal Sensitivity Krishna Poudel (Health Promotion and Policy) National Institutes of Health - $1,354,307 Development and Testing of an App-based Smoking Cessation Intervention for People Living with HIV Cassandra Spracklen (Biostatistics and Epidemiology) National Institute Health - $4,101,423 Analysis, Interpretation and Fine-Mapping of Genetic and Genomic Data from SingleMulti-ancestry Populations Amanda Woerman (Biology) Rainwater Charitable - $189,900 Gene Editing Therapeutics and Companion Diagnostics for the Treatment of Primary Tauopathies National Institutes of Health - $2,285,431 and $3,819,823 Untangling the Bidirectional Relationship between the Spread of Pathological Protein Aggregates, Sleep, and Circadian Clock Disruption in Neurodegenerative Disease National Institutes of Health - $438,353 A Novel Gene Therapy Approach to Prevent Alpha-Synuclein Misfolding in Multiple System Atrophy
Newly Funded Grants/Contracts Laura Attanasio (Health and Promotions) National Institutes of Health - $458,780 Hospital Quality, Processes of care, and Racial Disparities in Birth Mode for Individuals with a Prior Cesarean
Alicia Timme-Laragy (Environmental Health) National Institutes of Health - $2,743,555 Activation of Nrf2 during Embryonic Development: Mechanisms and Consequences
Lorraine Cordeiro (Nutrition) CRF Director and Holly Laws (Psychological and Brain Sciences) CRF Methodology Program Director Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts - $122,099, Sub-award Economic Security Hub
Amanda Woerman (Biology) Rainwater Charitable - $190,000 Gene Editing Therapeutics and Companion Diagnostics for the Treatment of Primary Tauopathies National Institutes of Health- $3,819,823 Untangling the Bidirectional Relationship between the Spread of Pathological Protein Aggregates, Sleep, and Circadian Clock Disruption in Neurodegenerative Disease
Lorraine Cordeiro (Nutrition) CRF Director USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture - $263,034, Subaward Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Produce Prescription Collaborative
Mariana Pereira (Psychological and Brain Sciences) National Institutes of Health- National Institute on Drug Abuse - $429,417 Neural Mechanisms Preventing Post-partum Relapse to Cocaine Seeking in New Mothers
Active Research Brigitte Holt (Anthropology) National Science Foundation - $793,815 Collaborative Research: Bone Strength and Physical Activity Over the Life Course in a Physically Active Contemporary Pre-Industrial Population
Jamie Rowen (Political Science) National Science Foundation - $500,000 CAREER: Thank you for Your Service: The Instrumentalization of Law through Veterans Treatment Courts
Linda Isbell (Psychological and Brain Sciences) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - $1,712,843 Emotional Influences on Diagnostic Error in Emergency Medicine: An Experimental Approach to Understand Diagnostic Failure and Facilitate Improvement for Patients with and without Mental Illness Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - $60,486 Risk Aversion, Fear of Malpractice, and Medical Decision Making in the Emergency Department
Jeffrey Starns (Psychological and Brain Sciences) National Science Foundation - $300,000 Effect of Visualization on Students’ Understanding of Probability Concepts in an Innovative Learning Module
Alexandra Jesse (Psychological and Brain Sciences) National Institutes of Health - $152,794 Electrophysiological Indices of Audiovisual Benefits to Speech Processing in Aging Adults Stephanie Padilla (Biology) Mass Life Sciences - $290,215 Development of Temperature Therapeutics to Improve Sleep in Menopausal Women Mariana Pereira (Psychological and Brain Sciences) National Institutes of Health- National Institute on Drug Abuse - $429,417 Neural Mechanisms Preventing Post-partum Relapse to Cocaine Seeking in New Mothers Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar (Nursing) National Institutes of Health - $732,144 Reducing Stress, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms via a Family-Centered Preventative Intervention for Immigrants
Alicia Timme-Laragy (Environmental Health) National Institutes of Health – $421,400 Developmental Toxicants and Congenital Pancreas Malformations National Institutes of Health - $2,743,55 Activation of Nrf2 during Embryonic Development: Mechanisms and Consequences Nicole VanKim (Biostatistics and Epidemiology) National Institutes of Health - $614,644 Physiologic Stress and Sexual Orientation Disparities in Risk for Type 2 Diabetes among Women Ning Zhang (Health Promotion and Policy) National Institutes of Health - $181,702 Burdens of Multimorbidity on Hospitalization and Mortality in Nursing Home Residents with Obesity
Advancing Research on Families Family Research Scholars (FRS) The Family Research Scholars Program, which began in 2003, represents the cornerstone of how CRF advances interdisciplinary research. Highly selective program prepares faculty to submit large grant applications Advances interdisciplinary research across a wide range of disciplines Increases evidence-based knowledge on the health and well-being of families that are disproportionately impacted by social injustices Significantly increases federal research support at UMass
Interdisciplinary Research Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Education, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Health Policy and Management, Health Promotion and Policy, Kinesiology, Neuroscience, Nursing, Nutrition, Political Science, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Sociology, Computer Science, Food Science, Biostatistics & Epidemiology
How CRF Supports Research Instruction on grant development, feedback and peer review, methodological support, in-depth consultation with national expert, course release, training in community engaged research, mentoring, and creating cross disciplinary relationships.
Family Research Scholars Writing Retreats for CRF Scholars Family Research Scholars 2022-2023 Directed by Lorraine Cordeiro and Kirby Deater-Deckard Aída Villanueva Montalvo, Assistant Professor, Sociology Mothers’ Paid Labor and Household Dynamics in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a High-Mortality Context Cassandra Spracklen, Assistant Professor, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Analysis, Interpretation and Fine-Mapping of Genetic and Genomic Data from Single-Multi-Ancestry Populations Favorite Iradukunda, Assistant Professor, Nursing A Community-Based Storytelling Program to Promote Maternal Mental Health and Wellbeing in Black Women/Birthing People Lili He, Professor, Food Science A Novel Approach of Age-Grading of Mosquitos Using SERS and Machine Learning Models Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm, Assistant Professor, Nutrition Obesity and Chronic Disease Development: Stressors, Mechanisms, and Mitigation Through Diet Eleni Christofa, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering The Impact of Bicycle Treatments on Adolescents’ Choice to Bike in Socioeconomically Diverse Communities
Dr. Michelle Jacob, Professor of Indigenous Studies in the Department of Education Studies at the University of Oregon, and an enrolled member of the Yakima Nation, led bi-weekly writing retreats for CRF Scholars. Dr. Jacob is a visionary and healer that has served as a mentor to several UMass faculty members and BIPOC faculty across the U.S. She promotes holistic approaches to health and well-being within Indigenous communities and among allies who wish to engage in decolonization. Inspiration for CRF’s collaboration with Dr. Jacob came from her book, The Auntie Way, which assists scholars in re-envisioning the academy. She provided a dedicated, intentional writing community using the approaches from The Auntie Way; strengthening networks of support for faculty, and applying kindness, fierceness, and creativity that are central to sustainable, meaningful productivity. All CRF affiliates are welcome to join these writing sessions.
FRS 2023-2024 The 2023-2024 Family Research Scholars have been selected based on their promising family related research. Achsah Dorsey, Assistant Professor, Anthropology Jungwoo Lee, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Karine Fénelon, Assistant Professor, Biology Amanda Paluch, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology Soonkyu Chung, Associate Professor, Nutrition Yuriy Brun, Professor, Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences
FY 23 FRS Scholars pictured left to right: Cassandra Spracklen, Lili He, Aída Villanueva Montalvo, Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm, Eleni Christofa, Favorite Iradukunda
Scholar Features The Impact of Bicycle Treatments on Adolescents’ Choice to Bike in Socioeconomically Diverse Communities Walk, bike, or drive to school? Every day, adolescents across the world, especially in urban communities, choose the mode of transportation they will take to their daily activities. What seems like a small decision is influenced by a variety of factors that Dr. Eleni Christofa, FRS ‘23, and her team seek to identify and address. Watching the city's transformation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece inspired Christofa to research how humans can efficiently interact with different modes of transportation. She witnessed how the city reformed, allowing athletes and tourists to move around, and providing insight into the interaction between humans, transportation, and equity. This inspired Christofa’s current research project, The Impact of Bicycle Treatments on Adolescents’ Choice to Bike in Socioeconomically Diverse Communities. Adolescents between the ages of 12-19 years old experience high levels of bicycle injury rates, which can lead to parents and adolescents having negative attitudes towards biking. Concerns about safety prevent adolescents, especially in urban communities, from considering biking as an option for transportation. Christofa’s research seeks to find a connection between bicycle “treatments”, safety countermeasures such as bike lanes and sidewalks, upon socioeconomically diverse communities adolescents’ attitudes towards bicycling. Pro-bicyclist attitudes can lower obesity rates and other health disparities within socioeconomically diverse groups at greater risk for chronic disease.
Eleni Christofa, (FRS '23) with students in her lab.
Christofa’s team uses bicycle simulations to measure the effects of safety treatments and observe how bikers would interact with others on the road. They also survey adolescents and their parents to observe how one's attitudes towards bicycling and bicycling safety impacts their decision to bike. Christofa says that working within the Family Research Scholar Program with a cohort of other researchers has broadened her experience and encouraged her to consider new research questions. The goal of her project is the “placement and design of bicycle infrastructure and educational campaigns that would promote pro-cycling behavior and encourage accessibility and health equity for all.”
A Novel Approach of Age-Grading of Mosquitos Using SERS and Machine Learning Models Mosquito-borne pathogens continue to be a major public health concern globally. Yellow fever re-emerged in Africa in 2016, and dengue, which impacts the lives of an estimated 390 million people annually, takes the lives of thousands (primarily children) each year. New threats such as chikungunya and Zika viruses, have emerged with global implications. Over half of the world’s population is at risk for mosquito-borne diseases and malaria infections still cause about half a million deaths per year.
Lili He
Family Research Scholar '23
The most substantial gains in the fight against these diseases have primarily been through vector control. However, these efforts are threatened by the evolution of resistance (both chemical and behavioral) to commonly used insecticides and prohibitive costs and labor. Thus, considerable effort has been made to explore novel ways of controlling mosquito vectors. We now know that only older mosquitoes that have survived the extrinsic incubation period of a vector-borne pathogen are able to transmit pathogens to humans. In order to stem the impact of mosquito borne pathogens, it is critical to have a tool to age mosquitoes to monitor and evaluate the intervention strategies.
Dr. Lili He, FRS ’23 Professor in Food Science and Department Chair, is a chemical analyst with a background in plant biology and food science. Her research focuses on development and applications of the most advanced and innovative analytical techniques in solving the critical and emerging issues in food science. She uses Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), a combination of Raman spectroscopy and nano-techniques. Her team has developed various SERS based techniques for food safety and food chemistry applications. In a grant proposal developed with the support of CRF’s FRS program, she is spearheading research on a novel approach to determine the age and infection state of mosquitoes, something no researcher has ever done before. Her team will establish a robust protocol for collecting SERS spectra of mosquitoes, identifying the biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to the variation of SERS spectra and establishing a machine learning model for predicting age and validate the model using wild mosquitoes. This research will have groundbreaking implications for aging populations of mosquitoes which will hopefully lead to new ways to control mosquito populations and prevent disease. By determining the age of these mosquito populations, researchers can control the mosquito population, alter their pesticide dose, minimize the risk of disease, and ensure that the mosquitoes are at minimal risk of transmission. Dr. He shares that working with CRF has greatly enhanced her project through the grant writing support and and by connecting her research to other disciplines.
A Community-Based Storytelling Program to Promote Maternal Mental Health and Wellbeing in Black Women/Birthing People Dr. Favorite Iradukunda, FRS ’23, Assistant Professor of Nursing focuses on an area of research that is personal and important to her, the disparities of black women in health care. Dr. Iradukunda looks at the intersection of culture, immigration, and health outcomes and works with African-diasporic women and birthing people in the context of maternal health inequities and examines how those disparities can be addressed. As an academic and nurse, she looks at the impact of navigating cultures in a new social and political context and to identify programmatic and policy solutions She wants to know “How can community research improve maternal health outcomes? How can health care workers and communities work together or merge efforts to make sure what is being found amongst everyone is congruent?” As a Black woman who has experienced bias in health care settings, Dr. Iradukunda is developing an intervention for maternal newborn nurses to address racial and cultural bias. Branching away from the typical computer-based training provided during orientation. Dr. Iradukunda is launching a novel community informed training. The goal is to better align what is happening in hospitals and health centers with the community.
Favorite Iradukunda
Family Research Scholar '23
“Coming from a place that has been studied a lot without consulting the community, I wanted to reverse the process. CRF aiding in that is one of the highlights of my career.” said Dr. Iradukunda. “The feedback I’ve received as I worked on my research was so honest and uplifting and it’s very helpful to be working with other people who aren’t in your field. CRF staff are very thoughtful, hones. They pay attention to where you’re at and where you will be. The institutional knowledge is excellent and appreciated.” Dr. Iradukunda hopes that her work is effective in reducing racial and cultural bias, as she expects that nurses encounter cultural differences such as language differences, different identities, that these trainings will reduce the stress and lack of preparedness to address these issues. There is hope that the project will serve as a positive collaboration between communities and health care providers to advance health equity.
Recently Funded Scholars Unlocking the Science Behind Tantrums: Adam Grabell's Newly Funded Grant Targets Early Detection of Mental Illness in Toddlers We have all witnessed a toddler's tantrum and perhaps wondered; is it simply a normal part of development, or could it indicate something more significant? Addressing this important question, Adam Grabell, FRS ’20, has recently been awarded a $428,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health which aims to examine the biological reactions of toddlers who already exhibit risk factors for mental illnesses such as anxiety or mood disorders, as well as those who do not. By monitoring vital signs such as heart rate, breathing patterns, and electrodermal activity, Grabell intends to identify key differences that may provide early indications of mental health concerns.
Grabell and his colleagues will put sensors on the kids' clothes and have them wear wristbands. “And now we're ready to answer this big question, which is, can this technology predict mental illness, can it predict tantrums before they happen?”, said Grabell in an interview with New England Public Media. Adam Grabell, (FRS '20) and his students.
If it works, he said, parents could more easily decide whether to consult with a doctor or just wait for their child to grow out of that stage. While there are other ways to diagnose mental health problems in children, such as consulting with pediatric psychiatrists, there are often long waiting lists and financial or geographic barriers. “And so, clinicians that we've interviewed have often talked about the need for more advanced tools that can be administered at home,” he said, “that can complement the arsenal of tools that clinicians already have.”
Neural Processes Underlying Temporary Cocaine Abstinence after Childbirth When a mother who is addicted to cocaine gives birth, there is unique a window of opportunity for treatment in the early postpartum period. Mothers have a strong motivation to care for their children and research indicates that this motivation competes with cocaine seeking behavior and significantly reduces cocaine use. Unfortunately, most cocaine addicted mothers revert to cocaine use within the six months following childbirth. To date, little is known regarding the neurobiological mechanisms by which maternal motivation can prevent relapse to cocaine seeking in new mothers.
Mariana Pereira, FRS ’17, Assistant Professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences, was recently awarded a 2-year, $429,417 National Institute on Drug Abuse grant to study the neural processes underlying the transient resistant to cocaine relapse in new mothers. Her research program explores the basis of cognitive, motivational, and affective mechanisms of parenting at the behavioral, neural, and neurochemical levels, both under healthy conditions and in the context of maternal neuropsychiatric disorders; emphasis on limbic-cortical-striatal interactions, mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, and animal models of depression and drug addiction.
Mariana Pereira Family Research Scholar '17
Relapse to cocaine use in postpartum women is a serious and tragic health problem that impacts the mother’s ability to care for her child, with life-long consequences for both the mother and child. By understanding the neurobiology contributing to this relapse-resistant state, her team will generate critical new knowledge of the natural neural adaptations that promote abstinence and may reveal new targets for potential therapeutic intervention to treat cocaine addiction. The proposed study represents the first preclinical attempt to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms.
Awards and Accolades Nilanjan Dasgupta (FRS '07), was recently awarded a new campus-level faculty honor, “Provost Professor” to recognize her exceptional achievement in research. Dr. Dasgupta also assisted on a study with National Academics on dismantling exclusion in STEM, and authored an article, with Share The People, sharing the results of over 25 years of research on educational environments. Dr. Dasgupta offers solutions on how certain features of educational environments can act as “social vaccines” to protect against social identity threat, specifically for femaleidentifying students, students of color, and working-class students in STEM classrooms. Lee Badgett (FRS '05), was interviewed by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, offering insights on issues in surveying trends for LGBTQ+ individuals. Maureen Perry-Jenkins, former CRF Director, was interviewed by Andrew Keen for a segment on Keen On, offering key takeaways on her book, Work Matters: How Parents’ Jobs Shape Children’s Well-Being. Tatishe Nteta (FRS '15), was featured on GBH News, weighing in on the effects of early voting in the recent Massachusetts primary elections and forecasting outcomes for the November 2022 election and in Commonwealth Magazine, where he shared thoughts on the decline in political debates nationally, attributing it to increased political polarization and more. Rebecca Spencer (FRS '11) was featured on MassAppeal, PsyPost, List 23, Knowable Magazine among other media outlets for her study on the impact and importance of sleep. Kirby Deater-Deckard, Co-Director of the Family Research Scholars Program, received two grant awards, totaling $124,420, and received the honor of Article of the Year in Child Maltreatment, for his article,” Change in caregivers’ attitudes and use of corporal punishment following a legal ban: A multi-country longitudinal comparison”.
Favorite Iradukunda (FRS '23), spoke at PEPFAR at 20, a global conference sponsored by the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the topic of AIDS Relief. Nancy Folbre (FRS ‘08), was cited in an article by Quartz, for her international research on unpaid care work. Folbre was also featured on How to Save a Country Podcast, sharing how feminist ideas, once considered subversive, have begun to help shape economic policy. Alicia Timme-Laragy (FRS '21), was elected to serve on the Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction Science Advisory Board. She was appointed by Charlie Baker, former governor of Massachusetts. Elizabeth Krause (FRS '12), has co-edited a special section on “Authenticities” in the Spring 2023 edition of Gastronomica, a peer-review journal of critical food studies. Jerusha Nelsen-Petermen, FRS ‘13 and Lorraine Cordeiro, FRS ‘11 and current CRF Director, and Lindiwe-Sibeko, FRS ‘15 published an article on “Building on Community Research Partnerships Training Students” in Health Promotion and Practice. The article was turned into a podcast by the journal.
Annual Research Forum and Awards Dinner September 28, 2022
Annual Student Research Forum and Awards Ceremony May 15, 2023
Methodology Program Methodology Director's Professional Activities Dr. Holly Laws
Served as a methodological collaborator or coinvestigator on several NIH-funded grants: Feasibility and Fidelity of a Gross Motor-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Cognitive Variables in Preschool-Age Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds. NIH/NICHD: R21HD108125. Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Sofiya Alhassan, UMass Amherst) Longitudinal Study of Sleep Physiology and Function Across Toddlerhood. NIH/NICHD: R21HD108913. Role: Collaborator (PI: Rebecca Spencer, UMass Amherst) Reducing Stress, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms via a Family-Centered Preventative Intervention for Immigrants: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial. NIH/NIMH: R34MH118396. Role: Collaborator (PI: Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, UMass Amherst) Promoting Community Conversations about Research to End Native Youth Suicide in Rural Alaska. NIH/NIMH: R01MH112458. Role: Collaborator (PI: Lisa Wexler, University of Michigan) EMERGE: Ecological Momentary Evaluation of Responses to Gain/Loss and Emotions. NIH/NIMH: R01MH128546. Role: Collaborator (PI: Kathrine Dixon-Gordon, UMass Amherst) Understanding Stress and Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities in Multiethnoracial Families. NIH/NIMHD: F31MD015680. Role: Mentorship Team Member (PI: Christina Rowley, UMass Amherst) Instructor of summer workshop on multilevel modeling for longitudinal, intensive longitudinal, and dyadic applications for the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at University of Michigan (June 5-9, 2023). Co-authored methodology support of multiple publications using dyadic and developmental methodological applications, including articles by former Family Research Scholars Dr. Rebecca Ready (Psychological and Brain Sciences), Dr. Sofiya Alhassan (Kinesiology), and CRF’s new Research Fellow Bi-Sek Hsaio, along with CRF Director Dr. Lorraine Cordeiro (Nutrition).
Dr. Holly Laws
Director of Methodology Program
Methodology Program Overview Methodology Consultation and Training Services CRF’s Methodology Program provides consultation for study design and statistical analysis. The program has a particular expertise in methods for analyzing nonexperimental data that arise in studies of families, developmental transitions, and intervention effects, using multilevel modeling structural equation modeling for the analysis of nested and longitudinal data. The CRF Methodology Program also offers a series of methodology workshops, seminars, and other training opportunities throughout the academic year and during the summer months. CRF’s program has expanded in exciting ways and continues to grow into a highly sought-after resource for family scholars. We are serving larger numbers of faculty and more external institutions have requested our expertise. CRF has also long served as a training ground for methodologists. In FY ‘23, CRF provided 588 hours of individual research and data consultation to faculty and staff from within and outside of the UMass community.
Internal Consultation (UMass)
External Consultation (Clients outside of UMass)
Collectively, the methodology team has provided 373 hours of support to UMass faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows this academic year. Consultations range from one-time meetings to weekly teaching sessions to support dissertation analyses and interpretation. Our consultation is often sought for advanced methods support of masters or dissertation theses, including support of advanced applications such as multilevel structural equation modeling, latent class analysis, and propensity score analysis. Several of these collaborations resulted in co-authorship on peer-reviewed publications for the Methodology director and members of the graduate consulting team.
CRF continues to gain national and international recognition as a resource for teaching conventional statistics to more advanced applications such as multilevel modeling for longitudinal or dyadic data analyses, and structural equation modeling. Some long-term teaching consultations include faculty at schools of social work from Ramapo University, University of Utah, and clinical and other psychology faculty from Michigan State University, Queens College CUNY Graduate Center, The Family Institute affiliated with Northwestern University, and Manhattanville College.
Some of the areas of study CRF Methods has supported this year include: Postpartum mental health of new mothers Trauma-informed teaching within middle school classrooms Dyadic processes in long-distance relationships Experiences of discrimination among trans individuals in distinct geographic/policy areas Physiological coregulation of mother-infant dyads
CRF Methodology Training Programs Over 200 people took part in CRF’s Workshops and Seminars in FY ‘23.
Methodology Seminars Methodology consultants conducted virtual methodology seminars to positive evaluations and with large attendance from UMass and external faculty and graduate students. Propensity Score Analysis, 12/16/22, Instructor: Dongwei Wang Moderated Mediation Analysis, 3/31/23, Instructor: Nathan Huff Multigroup vs. Moderation in Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis, 4/28/23, Eleni Kapoulea
Summer Workshops CRF’s Summer workshops in 2023 continued to garner interest from a national and international audience of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Stress Biomarkers: Who, What, Where, When, How?, 6/20-6/23/23, Primary Instructor: Jerry Meyer, Co-Instructors: Katherine Dixon Gordon, Lisa Troy, and Richard Hunter Introduction to Dyadic Data Analysis, 7/12-7/14/23, Instructors: Niall Bolger and J-P Laurenceau
Student Methodologists in Training We welcomed Eleni Kapoulea to the team. She joins Marielena Barbieri as our mixed methods consultants. Dongwei Wang continues as the longest serving member of the team, and Stylianos (Stelios) Syropoulous departed in the winter when he finished his Ph.D. and started a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston College. Nathan Huff also joined the team as a quantitative consultant in fall 2022. Welcome to our new graduate methodology consultants, and a fond farewell and best wishes to Stelios, who contributed so much to CRF Methodology Program.
New Projects This past year has brought many exciting expansions and successes for the CRF Methodology Team. For the first time ever, we are expanding into qualitative data analysis in collaboration with Alexandra Lauterbach. Alexandra began providing qualitative training and mentorship of analyses for the Women’s Fund Economic Security Hub (ESH Project). Second, CRF Methodology supported several federal grant applications funded this year, more than ever before.
Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub (ESH) Study In partnership with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM) This project was spearheaded by current CRF Director and community-based researcher Lorraine Cordeiro, but also involves direct support from the CRF methodology team to administer surveys in Qualtrics, conduct statistical analyses on survey results, and (a new direction) conducting qualitative analysis of focus group data with Alexandra Lauterbach’s guidance and mentorship. Through Dr. Lorraine Cordeiro’s leadership and years of community-based research expertise, CRF is making a positive research impact in the Springfield area, and by association, we are building bridges for other community-based researchers at UMass. See our Community Engaged Research Section (pages 36-37) for a full description of this study.
Mentoring and Engagement of UMass Amherst Students Through the ESH study, CRF was able to hire, train, and supervise graduate and undergraduate students to conduct and disseminate community-engaged research. . This training component of the ESH work increased the capacity of students to strengthen their methodological skills thus preparing them for academia and beyond. Holly Laws, CRF Methodology Director, provided mentorship and support to three graduate student methodology consultants; Nathan Huff, Marielena Barbieri, and Eleni Kapoulea, who provided primary analyses of the quantitative survey results (Nathan) and qualitative data (Marielena and Eleni). Dr. Laws also provided support and direction for analyses to Dr. Lauterbach, the qualitative methodologist and consultant on our team. Dr. Lauterbach supervised and mentored two graduate students (Marielena and Eleni) on approaches to and application of qualitative methods. The goal of the qualitative supervision and mentorship was to develop graduate students’ capacity to engage in high quality community engaged research; to ensure effective dissemination of research findings within the community; and to support the graduate students and the overall research team in the development and dissemination of new accessible and equitable methods for community engaged research. The methods team will generate manuscripts for peer reviewed publications with students serving as lead or co-authors. It is exciting for CRF to be engaged in community-based work at a larger scale than ever before, and the qualitative training and experience our team is receiving to support the analysis and interpretation is a new direction for CRF methodology.
New Consultant Spotlight Dr. Alexandra Lauterbach is an Associate Professor of special education in the College of Education. Within special education, Dr. Lauterbach’s scholarship centers on effective literacy instruction for students with high incidence disabilities, and effective professional development for teachers of such students. More broadly, Dr. Lauterbach’s research is dedicated to developing and applying innovative qualitative research methods, both to inform research and practice within special education and other fields. She has served as a qualitative consultant on projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, and had her own work funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and the Massachusetts Department of Education. Dr. Lauterbach’s research has been published in Learning Disabilities Quarterly, Journal of Learning Disabilities, The Qualitative Report, and the Annals of Dyslexia. She has used multiple methodologies in her own work, including phenomenology, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, and mixed methods, and enjoys teaching others about using a variety of methodologies in their own work. We are so delighted to be collaborating with Alexandra!
Federally Funded Grants
Dr. Alexandra Lauterbach Methodology Consultant
CRF continues to support several large-scale NIH funded grants, including a new NIMH R01 study by PI Katie Dixon-Gordon, examining emotional processes in the days after discharge from suicide attempts. Our ongoing work with PIs Lisa Wexler and Kalpana Poudel Tandukar, FRS ‘18 showcases how the multilevel modeling expertise CRF methods is known for can support success with federally funded grants. Several federal grants were funded this year for which CRF Methodology will provide analysis support. These include several collaborations with FRS Bekki Spencer, Laura Attanasio, and Sofiya Alhassan. Congratulations to the PIs and thank you for including CRF Methodology as a support for your research.
Methodology Spotlight Sofiya Alhassan, FRS ‘17 and Professor of Kinesiology, received a R21 award from the National Institute of Child Health and Development. CRF Methodology Director Holly Laws is the Co-Investigator on the award. The study, titled Feasibility and Fidelity of a Gross Motor-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Cognitive Variables in Preschool-Age Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds, is a pilot trial of a promising physical health intervention for preschoolers from underserved communities. Dr. Alhassan, (lead author) and Holly also collaborated on an article showcasing pilot findings from a physical activity trial for toddlers, which found that the intervention improved multiple health outcomes as compared with a control condition. Congratulations to Dr. Alhassan on a hard-won victory, we are excited for this study to be conducted and thank you for including CRF methodology in your work.
Sofiya Alhassan
Family Research Scholar '17
Teaching and Mentoring Training the Next Generation of Family Researchers
30
Grants Submitted since Inception (2018)
19%
Success Rate of Submissions since Inception
Graduate Student Grant Writing Program Students learn to defend their research, design, and communicate their research to a broader audience, while developing critical grant writing skills. “CRF's graduate grant writing program has significantly contributed to my success in communicating my research effectively to varied audiences, which has helped me to secure multiple grants and fellowships including the prestigious Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship.” - Karl Lyn, '23
Recently Funded Student Grant Writers Karl Lyn, W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies Ford Foundation Fellowship, $27,000 The impact of family influence on young Black people’s political identity formation
$543,984 Total Funding since Inception
Shivangi Bajpai, Kinesiology American Association of University Women, $20,000 Physical activity and heart rate variability as potential markers of health among informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s Disease and related Dementia
Student Research Awards The Center for Research on Families is committed to supporting family researchers at all stages of their careers. Our competitive awards program recognizes outstanding student research on issues related to families. This talented group of students represent a broad range of disciplines and were selected to receive funding that will serve to progress their research goals and bolster their analytical skillset. Since 2010, when the Student Family Research Awards Program began, CRF has distributed over $477,315 to 188 students in support of their research endeavors and disseminating their findings at professional meetings. In May 15, 2023, at our Annual Student Research Forum, CRF recognized 20 outstanding students for their research and participation in our graduate student grant writing program. Students and the faculty that mentor them enjoyed networking and refreshments.
Graduate Student Dissertation Award Recipients Marielena Barbieri Ph.D. Candidate, Developmental Science Psychological Influence of Discrimination and Stressful Experiences on Youth of Colors' Well-being
Grace Cho Ph.D. Candidate, Clinical Psychology Social Comparison as a Risk Factor for Suicidal Thoughts in Ethnoracially Minoritized College Students
Ragini Jha Ph.D. Candidate, History Sites to Sights: Ownership and Reuse of Historic Buildings in Colonial Delhi
Christina Bertrand Ph.D. Candidate, Developmental Science Development of Neocortical and Vagal Function in SelfRegulation Ages 10-15 and 18-19
Mélise Edwards Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience and Behavior Investigating the Role of Estradiol in E/I Imbalance
Manasa Kalanadhabhatta Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science Developing Scalable Mental Health Screening Tools for Young Children
Graduate Student Dissertation Award Recipients, Continued Karl Lyn Ph.D. Candidate, Afro-American Studies A New Generation: The Political Lives of Black Young Adults
Mousa Moradi Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering Pulse Oximetry and Skin Colors. Is There Any Connection?
Joshua Mogus Ph.D. Candidate, Environmental Health Sciences Assessing Pregnancy and Lactation as Sensitive Windows for Estrogen Agonist Endocrine Disruption in the Mouse Mammary Gland
Luz Maria Sanchez Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science The Politics of Transborder Reparations: Diasporic Citizenship and Peacebuilding in Colombia
Community Engaged Research Award Recipient Eleni Kapoulea Ph.D. Candidate, Clinical Psychology Intergenerational Differences in the Causes of Loneliness in Cambodian Americans
Undergraduate Research Award Recipient Charlotte Gridley Environmental Science Optimization of Lipid Uptake and Protease Activity Assays with Developmental PFOS Exposure using Zebrafish
Conference Registration & Travel Award Recipients
Khadijat Adeleye Ph.D. Candidate, Nursing Reproductive Loss
Sarah Dickinson Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience and Behavior Encoding of Social Representations in Medial Amygdala Aromatase Neurons
Arpita Biswas Ph.D. Candidate, Economics Gendering Displacement: Women’s Workforce Participation in the Aftermath of Forced Eviction
Lingsong Kong Ph.D. Candidate, Kinesology Are Habitual Levels or Changes in Accelerometer Measured Physical Activity Associated with Postpartum Weight Loss?
Anamika Sen Ph.D. Candidate, Economics The Impact of Austerity on Gender Inequality in Time Allocation in the United States
Methodology Scholarship Recipients
Left to right, Ph.D. Candidates: Shivangi Bajpai, Elizabeth Delorme, Yelim Hong
Student Features A New Generation: The Political Lives of Black Young Adults Karl Lyn, a Ph.D. Candidate in the W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies and 2023 CRF Student Dissertation Award winner, and recipient of a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, is digging deep into the political lives of Black young adults. With research in South Central Los Angeles, Lyn is investigating how Black residents, ages of 18 to 25, negotiate the limits and possibilities of their political agency – moving beyond conventional measures of politics such as voting or social movement activism to investigate the day-to-day ways young Black people confront and exercise power in their communities. Through interviews with Black young adults and observations in their daily social and recreational lives such as the urban local garden and community center, Lyn’s study uncovers how young Black residents leverage their everyday activities and interactions with one another to create sites of agency, belonging, and self-determination vis-á-vis dominant structures of society. Extremely conscious of his opportunity to “make a way out of no way and find a pathway toward higher education,” Lyn knows the staggering number of his peers who weren’t afforded the same chance – noting the countless instances where bright and talented young Black individuals were stifled by the oppressive structures of racism. Those experiences have shaped Lyn’s commitment to confronting systemic barriers and discriminatory practices that hinder Black communities from realizing their life aspirations. As a dedicated advocate for equity and justice, and researcher, he is constantly searching for new pathways toward a more equitable future for all. “The CRF grant has helped to cover some of my fieldwork expenses [in South Central Los Angeles], while also introducing me to a network of faculty, staff, and scholars committed to meaningful engagement with diverse communities across the globe to advance a socially just world,” said Lyn. Karl hopes that his research will provide new evidence-based insights that can create dialogue and actions toward equitable resources and support for marginalized communities.
Karl Lyn
Dissertation Award Winner
Assessing the Utility of Wearable Technology in Monitoring the Health of Women Caregivers for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia Shivangi Bajpai, a Ph.D. Candidate in the department of Kinesiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and CRF Methodology Scholarship Award winner, works in the EpiTech Activity Lab led by CRF scholar, Dr. Amanda Paluch (‘23-24). In the EpiTech Activity Lab, most of the focus is on improving methods of physical activity measurement and promotion. As aging is related to decline in health and increasing physical limitations, Shivangi is interested in understanding daily physical activity patterns among older adults that may help them lower the risk of chronic illness. Bajpai’s research project is focused on understanding physical activity and health among caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and related dementia - aiming to evaluate the role of caregiving on physical activity patterns and mental and cardiovascular health among older caregivers when compared to non-caregivers. Her research is personal; it is inspired by her mother, who has been a caregiver for her father for the past 18 years as he battles Parkinson’s disease. As his condition progresses into dementia and behavioral changes, Bajpai can see how it is affecting her family, especially her mother who provides full-time care. Long-term caregiving is known to be associated with chronic stress and high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, caregivers tend to ignore their own health due to high caregiving burden and lack of time for themselves. Taking time for engagement in physical activity, social activities, and routine health check-ups becomes challenging. “The CRF Grant Writing Program helped me refine my research idea and communicate my research effectively. In addition to writing, I received mentorship on research methodology which helped me refine my proposal and I’m so grateful for this opportunity, as it led to 2023-24 American Association of University Women International Fellowship for me,” said Bajpai.
Shivangi Bajpai
Dissertation Award Winner
“I would like to thank my mentor Dr. Amanda Paluch, Dr. Spencer, and the whole CRF team for providing me with constant guidance and support. CRF provides such amazing opportunities and resources for graduate students.”
Paying it Forward: CRF Scholar Mentors CRF Undergraduate Awardee CRF scholar, Alicia Timme-Laragy (FRS ’20-’21), was recently awarded two grants from the National Institutes of Health, $2,743,555 for Activation of Nrf2 during Embryonic Development: Mechanisms and Consequences and $421,400 for Developmental Toxicants and Congenital Pancreas Malformations. In addition to conducting her own research, Dr. Timme-Laragy is passionate about mentoring students. “This is my favorite part about this job. Undergraduate juniors and seniors are leading their own projects, getting onto papers, going to conferences, and presenting their work.” One of her students, Charlotte Gridley,’23, received our Undergraduate Research Award. Charlotte has been working on Dr. Timme-Laragy’s CRF supported grant which explores potential mechanisms by which embryonic exposures to PFAS impair the growth and function of the developing pancreas. Charlotte is working on identifying the functional implications that can occur below exposure levels that affect growth and morphometric parameters in the zebrafish. These experiments were not previously ones that had been conducted in Dr. Timme-Laragy’s lab. She is finding that exposure to PFOS can lead to lower activity of the digestive enzymes within the pancreas, which has important implications for health and nutrition during early life. Charlotte says, “We are hoping that this work will continue to deepen our understanding of how developmental exposure to PFAS chemicals impact humans. The zebrafish is very similar to humans in many distinct ways so what we are seeing in zebrafish could have direct correlation to what is happening to humans when we are exposed to these chemicals throughout the life course. Working with Dr. Timme-Laragy has developed my research skills immensely. She provides an excellent learning environment with constant support that really helps students to grow both as an academic and as an individual. My confidence in my research abilities has flourished throughout my time as an undergraduate in her lab.” Charlotte also assisted a graduate student and earned authorship on a manuscript published in Aquatic Toxicology investigating embryotoxicity of PCB11 metabolites (PMC9701526). Charlotte presented her honors thesis work at the national Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN where she received a 3rd place award from the Molecular and Systems Biology Specialty Section in the undergraduate research category. “The funding from CRF has supported my work by allowing me to start my master’s thesis research this summer and travel to a variety of different conferences. I want to say a huge thank you to CRF for this support. I am excited to pursue a Master of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology in the Timme-Laragy lab next year and continue my research on various PFAS chemicals and the effect they have on families.”
Community Engagement The Center for Research on Families conducts community engaged research, disseminates family research, and engages with the public through the Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series. Established in 1999 by Dorothy D. and Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. through an endowment in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson, the lecture series brings internationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus each year. The speakers, selected by Family Research Scholars, visit campus to provide a public lecture that highlights the importance of family research and its’ implications for public policy. In addition, guest lecturers provide intensive consultation with the respective Family Research Scholar. In 2022-2023, CRF hosted four prominent researchers who presented a hybrid public lecture from the UMass Amherst campus. The lectures were attended by over 150 participants from 15 institutions. TAY GAVIN ERICKSON LECTURE SERIES 2022-23 Black Women and Maternal Health Inequities: Addressing the Role of Racism – May 4, 2023, Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine; Founder and Director of the Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab – Consulted with Favorite Iradukunda, FRS ‘23 Seen, Heard, Valued – April 26, 2023, Dr. Katrina Hutchins, Founder and CEO of ReSource Solutions; Professor, Southeastern University – Consulted with UMass Black Women United Advancing Equitable, Risk-Appropriate, Patient-Centered Maternity Care – September 14, 2022, Dr. Anjali Kaimal, Professor and Vice Chair of OBGYN Clinical Operations, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine – Consulted with Laura Attanasio, FRS ‘22 Insights for Relationships and Health from Latino Culture – September 5, 2022, Dr. Belinda Campos, Professor and Chair, Department of Chicano/Latino Studies, University of California Irvine – Consulted with Evelyn Mercado, FRS ‘22
Community Engaged Research
Partnership with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM) The Greater Springfield Women's Economic Security Hub (ESH) The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM)’s mission is to “fuel progress toward gender equity by funding the most promising solutions, collaborating with results-oriented partners, and by elevating the collective power of local women to take charge, and to lead with purpose”. The Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub (ESH) was formed in 2020 and is focused on understanding obstacles to women’s economic security through community-engaged research and coalition building. Last year, the CRF team administered surveys and interviews in partnership with over 8 ESH community partners. This year CRF led 10 focus groups, with over 53 participants. This project explored novel approaches to returning data to the community, inviting discussion on research knowledge and data points, and generating new community-informed knowledge. This project developed new materials and inclusive approaches to address community-level literacy and numeracy barriers. Participants were compensated for their time and engagement. The sessions were led by Dr. Lorraine Cordeiro and co-facilitated by a team of UMass faculty and students. They discussed the cultural, personal, and community context of the results of the ESH Project and offered insights on data patterns which were analyzed by CRF’s Methodology team. Some of the findings are summarized here: Reviewing and providing feedback on previously collected data was a positive experience for participants, and led to them feeling appreciated, cared for, and grateful to speak about their experiences. Participants' experiences within the healthcare system, included positive and negative experiences including communication difficulties, finding the medical system convoluted, and financial strain. Stigma played an important part of women's experiences of food insecurity, and analyses found there was a relationship between food insecurity and health outcomes. Despite receiving aid in a few life domains (e.g., food, housing, employment, education), low-income women find it challenging to overcome obstacles to reach their goals because aid in some domains does not alleviate challenges overall. Familial support was a new and predominant theme; family support helped motivate participants, be it to continue with school and earn a degree or stay sober, and it enabled some women to maintain relationships with children. One participant stated, “Even if you had full-time employment, chances are you cannot get rid of that poverty especially without education. … It’s impossible to afford housing. I cannot take care of my kid, one of whom has a serious medical condition. Rent with my income is still hard to afford. All these things intertwine with each other.”
Community Engaged Research (continued) Mentoring and Engagement of UMass Amherst Women Faculty of Color CRF DirectornDr. Cordeiro engaged of a group of UMass Amherst women faculty of color in Phase 2 of ESH. This mentoring initiative was particularly important given that both the faculty and the research participants in Phase 2 were women from racially and ethnically minoritized communities. Racial and ethnic minoritized faculty are underrepresented in academia and their presence is essential to research, establishing diversity of learning, and acting as role models to students and faculty. Underrepresented faculty have a higher likelihood of using their research to address inequities in health, mental health, socioeconomic status, education, and other areas of society. This mentorship initiative allowed for faculty training in community engagement using the model of engagement proposed by the WFWM, which builds on existing relationships and infrastructure in the Greater Springfield area. It also led to an effective team with multi-lingual capacity for facilitating listening sessions and expanded UMass researchers’ relationships for their own future research. All mentored faculty served as Co-Is in this study. Going Forward WFWM will use the findings from this study to inform stakeholders and organizations of opportunities and challenges in the systems that support lowincome women and families. CRF and its community partners are seeking state funds to create initiatives around policy development and programming to address the top priorities listed by participants in Phase 1 and 2.
ESH Listening Group Facilitators: Karine Fénelon, Evelyn Mercado, Gorana Gonzalez, Bi-Sek Hsiao, Lorraine Cordeiro, Gabrielle Abelard, Kristina O’Neil
Food as Medicine Community Partnership Springfield, MA has some of the highest food insecurity rates in Massachusetts, with 2022 estimates ranging from 8.7% to 41%. Springfield residents also experience higher rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, compared to overall Massachusetts rates, with Black and Latine residents at a disproportionately higher risk than White residents. In FY ‘23, CRF partnered with Baystate Health and Wellspring Cooperative Corporation, the Springfield-based organization which runs the Go Fresh Mobile Market, to form the Springfield Prescription Produce Collaborative. The Collaborative was awarded $500,000 in grant funding by the USDA Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) for a three-year project to improve access to fruits and vegetables among Springfield residents with lowincome and living with chronic diseases. The program aims to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce food insecurity, increase use of preventative healthcare, and improve physical and mental health among participants. Produce Prescription Programs such as this are part of a national “food as medicine” movement, which recognizes the health benefits of fruits and vegetables in preventing and managing chronic disease, and the importance of leveraging the support of healthcare and local food systems. Dr. Lorraine Cordeiro serves as the PI of this study. Dr. Elizabeth Eagleson, a primary care physician at Brightwood Health Center in Springfield and a Co-PI on the project, is a key leader in our efforts to increase awareness among healthcare providers about the detrimental impact of food insecurity on health and to encourage the healthcare system to address structural barriers to health such as the limited number of markets selling healthful food, transportation issues, the high price of food, and unstable housing. Dr. Fred Rose, Co-Director of Wellspring Cooperative Corporation, is instrumental in guiding the project toward a sustainable model that harnesses policy initiatives such as the Healthy Incentive Program and partnerships with local farms and food vendors to stimulate the local economy. CRF serves as a research partner in the Springfield Prescription Produce Collaborative to evaluate the feasibility of the project and the impact on participants as well as on the healthcare systems and local food economy. Bi-sek Hsiao serves as a CRF Research Fellow for the project.
Interdisciplinary Research Members: The Menopause Research Group comprises researchers who come together each month to share their interests in women’s health and aging. Started by Lisa Troy (Nutrition), it includes faculty from multiple UMass colleges as well as Smith College. The members of the group study menopause, midlife, and aging in human, and animal models using a variety of methods, including secondary data analyses, questionnaires, fMRI, muscle biopsies, movement monitors, hormone levels, ambulatory hot flash monitors, and more. Members frequently collaborate on grant proposals and publications.
Sarah Witkowski, (Coordinator) Chair of Exercise and Sport Studies, Smith College Agnès Lacreuse, FRS ‘14Pyschological and Brain Sciences Christine Langton, National Institutes for Health Corinna Serviente, Senior Physiologist and Operations Manager in the Center for Human Health and Performance Emily Rothwell, Postdoc, Pyschological and Brain Sciences Lynnette Sievert, FRS ‘09, Anthropology Lisa Troy, Nutrition Lorna Murphy, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
The group uses their time together to present their work to each
Mark Miller, Kinesiology
other and sort through challenges. The members find that having interdisciplinary expertise and different points of view allows for a supportive and enjoyable environment that
Mike Busa, Director, Center for Human Health & Performance
nurtures ongoing and future research.
Nicole VanKim, FRS ‘20 Epidemiology Peteneinuo Rulu, PhD Candidate, Anthropology Stuart Chipkin, Kinesiology Stephanie Padilla, FRS ‘21, Biology Soonkyu Chung, FRS ‘24 Nutrition Sofiya Shreyer, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Faculty and Postdoctoral Network Sofiya Alhassan, Kinesiology Luiz Amaral, Spanish and Portuguese Studies Daniel Anderson, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Kathleen Arcaro, Veterinary and Animal Sciences Raphael Arku, Environmental Health Sciences Meghan Armstrong-Abrami, Spanish and Portuguese Studies David Arnold, Psychological and Brain Sciences Laura Attanasio, Health Promotion and Policy Ysaaca Axelrod, Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Lee Badgett, Economics and Public Policy Ian George Barron, International Education Annaliese Beery, Psychology, Smith College Joseph Bergan, Neuroendocrine Studies Angelica M. Bernal, Political Science Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, Epidemiology Jeffrey D.Blaustein, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Sylvia Brandt, Resource Economics and Public Policy Michelle Budig, Sociology Michael Busa, Center for Human Health and Performance Brenda Bushouse, Political Science and Public Policy Erik Cheries, Psychological and Brain Sciences Stuart Chipkin, Kinesiology Yu-Kyong Choe, Communication Disorders Eleni Christofa, Civil and Environmental Engineering Leda Cooks, Communication Lorraine Cordeiro, Nutrition Nilanjana Dasgupta, Psychological and Brain Sciences Matt Davidson, Psychological and Brain Sciences Kristina Deligiannadis, UMass Memorial Medical Center Katherine Dixon-Gordon, Psychological and Brain Sciences Gerald Downes, Biology Andrew Farrar, Psychological and Brain Sciences Sarah Fefer, Student Development Nancy Folbre, Professor Emeritus, Economics Maria Galano, Psychological and Brain Sciences Naomi Gerstel, Professor Emeritus, Sociology
Sarah Goff, Health Promotion and Policy Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm, Nutrition Adam Grabell, Psychological and Brain Sciences Devon Greyson, Communication Hal Grotevant, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Aline Gubrium, Community Health Education Sanjiv Gupta, Sociology and Public Policy Claire Hamilton, Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Susan Hankinson, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Krista Harper, Anthropology and Public Policy Mary Harrington, Psychology, Smith College Elizabeth Harvey, Psychological and Brain Sciences Katherine (KC) Haydon, Mount Holyoke College Lili He, Food Science Julia Hemment, Anthropology Brigitte Holt, Anthropology Favorite Iradukunda, Nursing Linda Isbell, Psychological and Brain Sciences Alexandra Jesse, Psychological and Brain Sciences Joshua Kaiser, Sociology Karen Kalmakis, Nursing Milann Kang, Women’s Studies Jane Kent, Kinesiology David Kittredge, Natural Resources and Environment Marsha Kline Pruett, Smith College Elizabeth Krause, Anthropology Emily Kumpel, Civil and Environmental Engineering Jacquie Kurland, Communication Disorders Youngbin Kwak, Psychological and Brain Sciences Agnès Lacreuse, Psychological and Brain Sciences Christine Langton, Epidemiology Laura Lovett, History Jennifer Lundquist, Sociology Tara Mandalaywala, Psychological and Brain Sciences Airín Martínez, Health Promotion and Policy Jennifer Martin McDermott, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Evelyn Mercado, Psychological and Brain Sciences Jerrold Meyer, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Mark Miller, Kinesiology Joya Misra, Sociology and Public Policy David Moorman, Psychological and Brain Sciences Jacqueline Mosselson, Educational Policy Research and Administration Jerusha Nelson Peterman, Nutrition, Framingham State University Melinda Novak, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Tatishe Nteta, Political Science Mark Pachucki, Sociology Stephanie Padilla, Biology Joonkoo Park, Psychological and Brain Sciences Fareen Parvez, Sociology Mariana Pereira, Psychological and Brain Sciences Paula Pietromonaco, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences J. Richard Pilsner, Environmental Health Sciences Krishna Poudel, Community Health Education Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Nursing Corinna Serviente, Post Doctorate, Kinesiology Sally Powers, Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences Marsha Kline Pruett, Social Work, Smith College Rebecca Ready, Psychological and Brain Sciences Katherine Reeves, Epidemiology Luke Remage-Healey, Psychological and Brain Sciences Heather Richardson, Psychological and Brain Sciences Jacqueline Rickson, Smith College Shannon Roberts, Engineering Dean Robinson, Political Science Gwyneth Rost, Communication Disorders Jamie Rowen, Legal Studies Lisa Sanders, Psychological and Brain Sciences Amy Schalet, Sociology Erica Scharrer, Communications Lynette Sievert, Anthropology Lindiwe Sibeko, Nutrition Rebecca Spencer, Psychological and Brain Sciences Cassandra Spracklen, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Jeffrey Starns, Psychological and Brain Sciences Richard Tessler, Professor Emeritus, Sociology
Alicia Timme-Laragy, Environmental Health Sciences Linda Tropp, Psychological and Brain Sciences Lisa Troy, Nutrition Laura Vandenburg, Environmental Sciences Nicole VanKim, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Aida Villanueva Montalvo, Sociology Ryan Wells, Educational Policy, Research, and Administration Lisa Marin Wexler, Community Health Education Brian Whitcomb, Epidemiology Jennifer Whitehill, Health Promotion and Policy Sarah Witkowski, Smith College Amanda Woerman, Biology SeonYeong Yu, Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies
Steering Committee Nilanjana (Buju) Dasgupta, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Kirby Deater-Deckard, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Sara Fefer, Associate Professor of Education Steve Goodwin, Deputy Chancellor Hal Grotevant, Professor Emeritus of Psychological and Brain Sciences Linda Isbell, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Karen Kalmakis, Professor of Nursing Lynnette Leidy-Seivert, Professor of Anthropology Airín Martínez, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Policy Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Shannon Roberts, Assistant Professor of Engineering Susan Shaw, Associate Professor of Community Health Education Lindiwe Sibeko, Associate Professor of Nutrition Laura Vandenberg, Professor of Environmental Health Wendy Varner, Director of Faculty Development
CRF Faculty and Staff Lorraine Cordeiro Director
Holly Laws Methodology Program Director
Stephanie Covelli Financial Manager
Fiona Almeida Marketing and Communications Intern
Kirby Deater-Deckard Co-Director Family Research Scholars Program
Gisele Litalien Associate Director
Ellanjé Martin Communications, Events, & Office Manager
Bi-sek Hsaio Research Fellow
Dongwei Wang Methodology Staff
Abigail Verga Marketing and Communications Intern
Student Methods Team
Marielena Barbieri Methodology Consultant
Student Research Team
Olivia Capriotti Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nathan Huff Methodology Consultant Anshul Gupta Undergraduate Research Assistant Stylianos Syropoulos Methodology Consultant
Eleni Kapoulea Methodology Consultant
Kristina O’Neil Graduate Research Assistant
Recent Donors David Arnold Joan D. Bero Marcia Bonica James E. Bristol Jr. Mary B. Bristol Dorothy E. Kelly Burnham Daria Caritano Mark S. Cavanagh Susan B. Cavanagh Rebecca M. Chambers/Spencer Adrienne K. Christo Miriam P. Clement Rika Clement William P. Clement Lorraine Cordeiro Steph Covelli Melanna Cox Jonathan Crowley Matthew Davidson Kirby D. Deater-Deckard Chad A. Dizek Jessica Dizek Judith Edmunds Conrad P. Ferrara Jean C. Ferrara Stephanie Flaherty Dorothy D. Gavin Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. Harriet K. Gilman James W. Gilman Irving Goldberg Harold D. Grotevant Marjorie H. Grout
Elizabeth A. Harvey Michele Hein Mary Ann Higgins Marjorie A. Hutter Christine E. James Michael J. Jenkins Joshua A. Kaiser Karen A. Kalmakis William P. Kalmakis Diane Keating Dorothy E. Kelly Burnham Palista Kharel Ezekiel W. Kimball Theresa A. King Olivia Tulie Laramie Patricia D. Lavoie Holy B. Laws Lynnette Leidy Sievert Susan Leschine Pamela B. Liebman Gisele Litalien Diane Lopez Tara Mandalaywala Catherine Manly Christopher Martell Airín Martínez Anne McSweeney David M. Mednicoff Dhara A. Meghani Joya Misra Mary L. Moffett Amanda Moore
Dorothy Morua-Fernandes Mariana Pereira Maureen Perry-Jenkins Sally Powers Sharon F. Rallis Angela M. Russo Aline Sayer David Sela Deborah Sidur Jean Smith Andrew Stephens Laura N. Vandenberg Wendy Varner Aida Villanueva Marguerite M. Walker Anna H. Weyher John A. White, IV Lisa M. White Amanda Woerman
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