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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Rocha Beardall Selected as William T. Grant Scholar Class of 2031

CSDE Affiliate Theresa Rocha Beardall (Sociology) has been named one of seven early career researchers in the newest class of William T. Grant Scholars. In 2025, the Puyallup Tribe signed a memorandum of understanding with thirteen public school districts to guide curriculum development on tribal culture and history, as part of Washington State’s mandated Since Time Immemorial curriculum. Alongside this MOU, the Puyallup Tribal Historic Preservation Department (THPD) is recovering Puyallup children’s boarding school records held by outside institutions for over a century to reclaim tribal authority over their educational narrative.
With the Scholars award, Rocha Beardall will collaborate with THPD in a tribally governed research partnership. The Puyallup Tribe will determine the research priorities and approach, from questions and methods to data infrastructure and dissemination, while Rocha Beardall expands her methodological expertise in supervised machine learning and develops digital infrastructure to analyze boarding school records and support curriculum development. “For too long, others have decided what counts as knowledge about Native communities in public education, often getting it wrong or leaving it out entirely. I’m thrilled to develop skills that support Native nations in reclaiming that authority and ensuring their data, stories, and knowledge systems shape what future generations learn,” Rocha Beardall said.

CSDE Workshop on Introduction to the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center (NWFSRDC): Enabling Access to Confidential Microdata from U.S. Federal Government Agencies (04/22/26)

Join CSDE on Wednesday, April 22 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM  for a Workshop on the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center (NWFSRDC) network is comprised by Census-managed secure computing labs within top educational and research institutions across the country where qualified researchers conduct approved statistical analysis on non-public data. These data are collected by various government agencies (Census Bureau, NCHS, BEA, BLS, SSA, etc.) and made available to local researchers through agreements with federal statistical agencies.

This workshop will give a general introduction to- the data available in the University of Washington’s Northwest FSRDC, some examples of work done with different kinds of data, and the process of requesting access to this data. The workshop will be online only, and a Zoom link for online attendance will be provided upon registration. Click Sign Up on the Trumba event page to register.

Bratman Quoted by Smithsonian Magazine on Smells Disappearing Due to Climate Change

Smithsonian Magazine quoted CSDE Affiliate Greg Bratman (Environmental and Forest Sciences) in a feature on how climate change, pollution, and extinction are altering the planet’s olfactory landscapes. Bratman noted that the invisible olfactory environments in which humans are embedded are often overlooked. The Smithsonian feature tapped into the theme of a 2025 Harvard Radcliffe Institute Working Group, co-organized by Bratman, Lucia Jacobs, and Asifa Majid. During this working group, thirteen experts from a variety of disciplines gathered to consider climate change’s impact on olfaction, from the environmental ramifications to how these may affect our mental and physical well-being. Bratman’s contribution to the Smithsonian article was also highlighted in UW Today.

Data Science and Demography Training (DSDT): Applications due 04/24/26

CSDE is pleased to announce the availability of 12-month fellowships supported by the NIH Training in Advanced Data Analytics (TADA) T32 fellowship program. These Data Science and Demography Training (DSDT) fellowships begin mid-September 2026. There are three openings for the DSDT fellowship program this year. The fellowship program is available to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents.  The goal of the training grant is to provide rigorous training in advanced data science methodologies for the next generation of behavioral, social science and population health researchers or to
provide advanced demographic training for data scientists. More information is available here.   Applications are due Friday, April 24, 2026, by 5:00 PM PT. 

 

Apply Now to CSDE’s NIH Grant Writing Summer Program (05/15/26)

The CSDE Development Core is once again hosting its annual Grant Writing Summer Program (GWSP) to assist scholars (UW postdocs, researchers, and professors affiliated or planning to affiliate with CSDE, as well as other researchers in the Seattle area) in preparing applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Applications are now open and due May 15! More info here, and application page here. Note that the program is in person and meets once every two weeks, late June – mid Sep, on the UW Seattle campus. Final schedule is set based on the schedules of the selected participants.

Make sure to read all the FAQ’s. Past participants report great success, and lots of support and even fun along the way. Applications are due May 15. Additional questions?  Contact goodreau@uw.edu.

Program eligibility and costs (including one change from previous years):

  • Free: CSDE affiliates (UW and external)
  • Free: UW Faculty and research scientists (planning to affiliate with CSDE)
  • Free: UW-based post-docs writing K awards with one or more CSDE affiliates on their mentoring team
  • $7,500: Other researchers in the Seattle area
  • $7,500: Post-docs who are based outside UW, writing K awards with one or more CSDE affiliates on their mentoring team
  • Current graduate students are not eligible to apply.

 

 

Doctoral Scholarship in Sociology – University of Antwerp (04/20/26)

 

  • Department: Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Regime: Full-time (100%)
  • Position: Doctoral scholarship holder in the field of Sociology
  • Planned start date: September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter
  • Application deadline: 20 April 2026 (by midnight Brussels time)

 

Cohen Publishes Results of Community Intervention to Reduce Child Marriage in Nigeria

CSDE Affiliate Isabelle Cohen (Public Policy) published “A Big-Push Community Intervention Reduced Rates of Child Marriage by 80%” in Nature. Cohen and co-authors used a paired cluster-randomized trial in 18 communities to evaluate a locally tailored intervention to reduce child marriage in northern Nigeria. The study shows that the intervention decreased rates of marriage among adolescent girls from 86% in the control group to only 21% in the treatment group, demonstrating that a big push can significantly alter entrenched, normative behavior around child marriage. Although a key part of the intervention’s effect is a significant increase in girls re-enrolling in school, the authors argue that the intervention’s community focus reduces the likelihood of social backlash and contributes meaningfully to its success. Check out the policy brief that accompanied the publication of the article.

Call for Applications: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)- IMPRS-PHDS (Due to CSDE 05/26/26)

CSDE collaborates with the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in a doctoral training program called the International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science (IMPRS-PHDS). This program is based in Rostock, Germany, but includes 12 doctoral programs in the U.S. and Europe. CSDE has one IMPRS-PHDS fellowship application slot available to current CSDE Trainees. The fellowship funding will support a one quarter research stay at the MPIDR any time between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027.  Information about the program, the faculty, and partner institutions can be found here. Applications are due to CSDE by Tuesday, May 26. Apply here.