On July 1, the UW’s Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology (CSDE) was awarded $2.9 million for a five-year grant from the Population Dynamics Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). CSDE was one of only three awards granted by NICHD’s Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program following a competitive selection process. CSDE received strong scores in all of its core areas, and was recognized for its outstanding science and technical research services and its innovative proposal for initiating and supporting new population science research.

In a recent paper on mental health problems among court-involved youth, affiliate Paula Nurius, Professor of Social Work, and colleagues consider these problems as a function of adverse childhood experiences. Their findings indicate that maltreatment during childhood is a strong contributor to mental health problems, though these effects can be moderated by social support. 

In an article published in the July issue of Global Environmental Change, Ann Bostrom and colleagues explore public support for carbon emissions mitigation and related actions to address ocean acidification and other global change outcomes. Bostrom, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and her colleagues found that support for carbon mitigation policies varies depending on the policy frame presented.

In a recent paper, affiliate Donald Chi–Associate Professor of Oral Health Sciences–and colleagues sought to determine the modifiable and non-modifiable factors that contribute to childhood obesity, and how this understanding can inform oral health professionals’ approach to dental caries (i.e. cavities and tooth decay) in children. The authors concluded that identifying common risk factors for obesity and dental caries can help to prevent these conditions and improve health outcomes for children.

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According to research by affiliate Adrian Raftery and colleagues, global temperatures are likely to surpass the 2 degrees Celsius “tipping point,” beyond which the effects of climate change will be severe, before the end of the century. Based on statistically-derived projections, Raftery, a Professor of Statistics and Sociology, and his co-authors find a 90% chance that temperatures will increase by 2 to 4.9 degrees Celsius this century. 

Affiliate Carole Lee, Associate Professor of Philosophy, co-authored a commentary on transparent reporting practices in academic journals that was recently published in Science. Lee and her co-author identify means by which journals could improve the transparency and reproducibility of published research, and contend that “open[ing] the black box of peer review” will necessitate investment and leadership on the part of publishers in order to ensure the effectiveness of their peer review processes.