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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Don’t Forget to Acknowledge CSDE in Your Publications!

If you, your colleagues, or your students are active users of any aspect of CSDE’s infrastructure (computing, consultations, seed grants, matching funds, lab facilities, travel funding, or working groups), then please don’t forget to acknowledge CSDE when publishing reports, books, articles, websites, or GitHub repo.  This is an easy and most tangible way to show how our resources are supporting your research. You can find the acknowledgement language here and you can just cut and paste the text into your research products. If you have any questions about how and when to acknowledge CSDE, please let us know.

*New* CSDE Computational Demography Working Group (CDWG) Hosts a Principal Data Scientist from Microsoft (11/8/23)

On November 8th from 3:30-4:30 pm Austin Gross, a Principal Data Scientist with Microsoft, will join CDWG in person to discuss his experience of working at Microsoft. CDWG Will be Hybrid in Fall Quarter 2023. The discussion will take place in Raitt 223 (The Demography Lab) and on Zoom (register here). Austin achieved his PhD in Econ from UW and also worked during the degree program. He started at Zillow in year three of grad school and moved to Microsoft in year five. During his time at Microsoft, he has used his background as an economist to look at Bing auctions, Azure demand forecasting, how product changes impact customer usage, and generally to consult on causal analysis using both observational and experimental data. He lives in West Seattle with his wife and three children (13, 10, 7 years old). They generally enjoy playing outside at the beach or in the mountains, skiing, watching the Mandalorian, and playing with Legos.

*New* CSDE is Hiring a Program Coordinator! (Apply by 11/13/23)

CSDE is looking for a program coordinator! The Program Coordinator will contribute to the critical missions of CSDE to 1) Provide well-managed growth and sustained excellence in sponsored population research, 2) Promote CSDE faculty, staff, and capacities and build a community of scholars, 3) Ensure operation of a smoothly running Center team and its multiple, interdependent programs 4) Ensure fiscal and business compliance with UW/State/Federal guidelines, and 5) Support a thriving workplace through active human capital management. Learn more about the position here!

Hill, Chi, and Jones-Smith Examine the Link Between Food Insecurity and Tooth Decay in Children

CSDE Trainee Courtney Hill (Epidemiology) and CSDE Affiliates Donald Chi (Health Systems and Population Health, Oral Health Sciences) and Jessica Jones-Smith (Health Systems and Population Health) recently published their research in Plos One. Christy M. McKinney (Oral Health Sciences) was the principal investigator on the project and secured project funding from ARCORA and the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. The article is titled “Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and convenience store shopping as mediators of the food insecurity–Tooth decay relationship among low-income children in Washington state“. There are oral health disparities in the U.S. and children in food-insecure households have a higher burden of tooth decay. Identifying the mechanisms underlying the food insecurity–tooth decay relationship could inform public health interventions. This study examined how sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and frequent convenience store shopping mediated the food insecurity–tooth decay relationship for lower-income children.

Cross-sectional study data included a household survey, beverage questionnaire, and dental examination. The sample included 452 lower-income, racially-diverse, child-caregiver dyads in 2018 from King County in Washington state. The exposure was household food insecurity, the outcome was untreated decayed tooth surfaces, and the proposed mediators were SSB intake and frequent convenience store shopping (≥2 times/week). Causal mediation analyses via the potential outcomes framework was used to estimate natural indirect and direct effects.

Fifty-five percent of participants were in food-insecure households, the mean number of decayed tooth surfaces among children was 0.87 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.99), the mean SSB intake was 17 fluid ounces (fl/oz)/day (SD = 35), and 18% of households frequently shopped at a convenience store. After adjusting for confounders, household food insecurity and log-transformed SSB intake (fluid ounces/day) were positively associated with decayed tooth surfaces, but not at the a α = 0.05 level (mean ratio [MR] 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89, 2.88; p = .12 and MR 1.16; 95% CI 0.93, 1.46; p = .19, respectively). Frequent convenience store shopping was associated with 2.75 times more decayed tooth surfaces (95% CI 1.61, 4.67; p < .001). SSB intake mediated 10% of the food insecurity–tooth decay relationship (p = .35) and frequent convenience store shopping mediated 22% (p = .33).

Interventions aimed at addressing oral health disparities in children in food-insecure households could potentially focus on reducing intake of SSBs and improving access to healthful foods in lower-income communities.

*New* Basic Data Science Training Resources Available From NCI

Check out the wide variety of new cancer data science training resources from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)! Whether you are new to the field or a seasoned researcher looking to expand your data science skills, you’ll find basic resources, free courses, tips, and more in the new section. Learn more here.

*New* Webinar on “Responsible Design, Integration, and Use of Generative AI in Mental Health” (11/7/23)

This webinar will take place online at 9am (PST). Register here to attend. The Society of Digital Psychiatry in collaboration with JMIR Mental Health, a peer-reviewed, open access journal published by JMIR Publications. The ongoing advancement of generative AI (GAI) demands a thoughtful approach to ethical considerations of both its design and application. GAI models, demonstrating skills like language generation, image synthesis, and personalized mental health support, necessitate responsible application in mental health, requiring thorough scrutiny and guidance. In this webinar, participants will examine the evolving role of GAI in mental health. Their discussion will be led by two guest editors of the new JMIR Mental Health theme issue dedicated to this topic. They will explore recent advancements, emerging trends, and research opportunities. This webinar has been thoughtfully designed to provide a brief yet highly informative session, ensuring attendees have access to engaging, relevant, and accessible resources.

 

Apply for CSSS Autumn Travel Award (Deadline 11/7/23)

CSSS is delighted to offer a limited number of grants for graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral researchers working with CSSS faculty affiliates to cover expenses associated with presenting research at conferences and attending workshops or courses. Travel must occur between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024 to be eligible for support. Travel outside this time period will be considered with justification. See flyer here.