At the CSDE seminar on October 9, Dr. Magali Barbieri will present “Deprivation and Mortality in the UnitedStates, 1999-2018”. The talk will explore the relationship between county-level mortality in the U.S. and social inequality, using data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the American Community Survey. Dr. Barbieri has been integral in leading, building and maintaining the Human Mortality Database, where she is currently the Associate Director, and the United States Mortality DataBase, where she serves as the Director.

Register for Dr. Barbieri's Zoom seminar here.

Afterward, CSDE fellow Jessica Godwin will facilitate a graduate student discussion with Dr. Barbieri. RSVP by emailing her at jlg0003@uw.edu.

Dr. Melanie Martin is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington and CSDE’s Biodemography Principal Investigator. Her research examines biocultural influences on growth, development, and reproduction. Currently, she works with two ongoing studies of indigenous health across the life course: the Chaco Area Reproductive Ecology Program (Co-PI) and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project. Her research combines field research (focal follows, ethnographic observations, interviews) with laboratory analysis of non-invasive biomarkers and mixed-modeling approaches. Dr. Martin has published in several journals, including Nature Communications, PLOS One, American Anthropology, and American Journal of Human Biology. 

She also is training the next generation of biodemography investigators with a lab course focused on the linkage between hormones and behavior (BIO A 455) and several lecture courses about evolutionary biology and the human life cycle (BIO A 484), including BIO A 300 Evolutionary Biology of Women. Her research interests are wide ranging and encompass behavioral ecology, biological anthropology, human reproductive ecology, medical anthropology, field research methods, global health, medical anthropology, maternal and child health, public health, and growth and development.  Recently she and colleagues proposed and successfully competed for a COVID-19 NSF Award to examine whether the virus can be transmitted via breast milk.

After almost 3 decades, CDC announced funding for gun violence research earlier this year. The University of Washington’s proposal led by CSDE Affiliate Professor Ali Rowhani-Rahbar was awarded a three-year grant totaling roughly $1.5 million to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents.  UW’s award was one of 16 grants distributed across the nation. Rowhani-Rahbar’s team will spend the next three years investigating the context, antecedents, and consequences of handgun carrying among adolescents who reside in rural communities in order to inform culturally appropriate and community-specific interventions. Additionally, CSDE Alum Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz (UC Davis) was awarded a two-year grant to estimate the population prevalence and consequences of youths’ direct and indirect exposure to community gun violence to inform prevention efforts.

Congratulations to CSDE Affiliate Associate Professor Rachel Fyall, recipient of the ARNOVA Research Award on Philanthropic Impact. ARNOVA is the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. Fyall was recognized by ARNOVA for her innovative work to develop new methodologies for evaluating advocacy and philanthropic impact.

CSDE welcomes and encourages graduate students to submit abstracts for the CSDE Lightning Talks and Poster Session! This is a wonderful, low-stakes opportunity to present your research, receive feedback, and practice your presentation skills. Submit a brief abstract and information about yourself and your collaborators here by October 23rd.  The session will take place on Zoom. Each presenter will have an opportunity present to the entire group and then share their results in breakout rooms to smaller numbers of participants.