Archives: Affiliates

Daniel Enquobahrie is a Professor in UW’s department of Epidemiology, and an Adjunct Professor in Health Systems and Population Health. Dr. Enquobahrie’s research interests span cardiovascular/metabolic, reproductive/perinatal, and genetic/epigenetic epidemiology. His research focuses on (1) pre-pregnancy and early/mid pregnancy risk factors (and associated mechanisms) for pregnancy complications and outcomes, and (2) early life and developmental origins of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Jenna van Draanen is an Assistant Professor in the department of Child, Family & Population Health Nursing. The aim of Jenna’s research is to improve science and address health disparities through the rigorous evaluation of interventions and their methods of implementation. Her research agenda advances scientific understanding of the social forces influencing mental health and substance use disorders, which is done through a focus on the harms of socioeconomic marginalization and childhood adversity and in a way that includes the perspectives of people with lived experience. Jenna approaches her research with a life course perspective that ensures phenomena like childhood adversity are properly contextualized and situated with an understanding of the way adversities build over time and across generations, through the concept of linked lives. While her primary appointment is in the School of Nursing, she is an interdisciplinary researcher at heart, coming to the UW from a postdoctoral fellowship in Sociology at the University of British Columbia (in Vancouver, Canada), and holding a PhD in Community Health Sciences from UCLA.

Isabelle Cohen joined University of Washington at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance in 2021. Her research focuses on innovations and their potential to change the implementation of governmental and non-governmental activities and services in developing countries, using large-scale randomized control trials to rigorously evaluate new technologies and organizational methods. Her work also touches on many other important issues, including state capacity, taxation, education, financial inclusion, health services, and women’s empowerment. She has done research in a variety of countries, including Uganda, India, Peru, and Greece.

Isabelle holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.P.P. from the College of William & Mary, and a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William & Mary. Prior to beginning her doctorate, Isabelle worked as a Research Manager at the Centre for Microfinance at IFMR Lead in Tamil Nadu, India.

Dr. Vedavati Patwardhan is an interdisciplinary researcher focusing on women’s economic empowerment in low- and middle-income countries. Her research examines gender equity and inclusion in the context of agriculture, livelihoods, and health, and has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Health Economics, The Lancet Public Health, The Journal of Development Studies, and The Economic and Labour Relations Review. One line of her research focuses on the role of contextual and household-level factors affecting women’s economic participation. Other strands of her work examine the intersection of gender and health.

Currently, Dr. Patwardhan is a Postdoctoral Scholar with the Evans School Policy Analysis & Research Group (EPAR) at the University of Washington. Previously, she was a Research Consultant at the Center on Gender Equity and Health (GEH) at UC San Diego, and a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Dr. Patwardhan holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy & Management from the University of Washington, an M.A. in Global Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune, India.

Taylor Danielson is a Research Manager in the Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis Division for Washington State.

Dr. Waithaka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at George Mason University. His research focuses on intergenerational social and economic mobility during young adults’ transitions to adulthood, with a particular focus on the role of family capital (resources & processes) and public policies influence on young adults’ life outcomes. His research on young adults, both in the United States and in East Africa, focuses on educational attainment, economic engagement and asset development. He has taught a variety of courses including research methods, macro practice, poverty and inequality, human behavior and the social environment, and social work for social justice. He has practice experience in various capacities including non-profit consulting, survey research, program evaluation and being a community support worker for individuals living with disabilities. Dr. Waithaka is a graduate of Daystar University Kenya (BA), Washington University in St. Louis (MSW) and the University of Washington Seattle (PhD, MPA).

Michelle Lee is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Organizations at Queen’s University. Michelle’s research involves studying top executives and CEOs of public companies and involves large panel datasets including data from the Census Bureau. Her dissertation research studies how the social class background of executives affects their promotion likelihood and career outcomes. In doing so, Michelle’s dissertation research tries to understand whether inequalities from childhood may be perpetuated and affect later career outcomes. Michelle’s current projects include her dissertation projects, a study on how shareholder activism influences a CEO’s CSR policies at their next firm, and a project studying how pro bono at law firms affects employee retention.

Bridget Pavelle is a demographer and Senior Research Manager with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA). She received her PhD in public policy and sociology from the University of Michigan in 2013 and her MS in statistics from Iowa State University in 2008. In her current role, she works primarily with administrative data on projects relating to child and family well-being, food and cash assistance, and mental health and substance use disorder services. Her work involves program monitoring and quasi-experimental evaluation of a range of health and social policy interventions for clients receiving publicly funded services. She shares the results of her work through direct consultation with program leaders and policy makers, published research briefs, and presentations to research and policy conferences as well as various workgroups. Her work aims to support the welfare of and improve services for Washington’s most vulnerable populations.

Technology has an impact on our health. But what impact does it have on healthcare? This is the question that Youngjun seeks to explore in his dissertation. On the one hand, Youngjun sees the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) as an advanced means in the social service delivery system. But on the other hand, he understands that many caregivers will not benefit from such services because they lack internet access and computer skills.

To carry out his research, Youngjun draws upon theories on the digital divide, social support, and cognitive enrichment to examine the impacts of ICT’s on health and psychological well-being among older Americans. Specifically, he hopes to identify the influential factors in the digital divide among older adults, the benefits of the digital life on psychological outcomes, and the impact of cognitive stimulating activity on older adults participating in digital life.

For having been part of the Aging with Pride Study, the first nationally funded longitudinal study to examine the health and well-being of LGBT older adults, Youngjun hopes to push his research forward, so that it will contribute to the Grand Challenges for Social Work by harnessing technologies for social good.