The UW Population Health Initiative recently awarded CSDE Affiliate Michelle Shin (Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing) a Tier 2 pilot research grant to partner with a community health center and community-based organizations to increase vaccine uptake among children in East African communities in Washington State. East African communities, including Somali, Eritrean, and Ethiopian communities, face disproportionately high risk due to low rates of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccination driven by misinformation and systemic barriers. Neighborcare, a community health clinic, and Shin have identified that East African patients under age two have 60–69% lower odds of receiving at least one MMRV vaccine dose compared to peers. To address this, Neighborcare, the Somali Health Board, and Shin propose a tripartite partnership to develop a community-informed intervention by conducting a community-engaged needs assessment and co-designing a culturally responsive vaccine communication intervention.
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.
Swanson Honored with WWU Alumni Distinguished Service Award
CSDE Affiliate David Swanson (UC Riverside) has been recognized with the Alumni Distinguished Service Award by The Foundation for Western Washington University (WWU) & Alumni. These awardees were chosen from a community-wide nomination process and selected by the board. The Foundation for WWU & Alumni highlighted Swanson’s contributions as an internationally recognized demographer, prolific researcher, and higher education advocate. You can read more about Swanson’s accomplishments here. The Foundation also invites you to join the Alumni Awards ceremony on May 15.
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.
Traveling Histories of Abortion Published in American Historical Review History Lab
Two years ago, CSDE was very pleased to help support the Simpson Center’s “Reproductive Racial Capitalism and Global Histories of Abortion” conference. That conference has now produced an edited collection through the American Historical Review (AHR) History Lab., titled “Traveling Histories of Abortion.” You can visit the AHR site to read more.
UW Data Science & AI Accelerator Accepting Summer 2026 Proposals (04/26/26)
The Data Science and AI Accelerator pairs eScience Institute data scientists with researchers from any field of study to work on focused, collaborative projects. Collaborations may center on analysis of an existing dataset to answer a specific research question, an implementation of software for processing or analyzing data, data visualization tools, or tools for data interpretation. This program is centered around building capacity — helping researchers to learn the skills and tools they need to do their projects rather than providing people to write code for them. Projects for Summer 2026 must be received by April 26 at 11:59 PM PT.
If you are seeking professional software engineering support beyond the scope of the accelerator program, please consider UW SSEC as a partner on funded research projects in any field.
Unlike our previous Incubator program, the Accelerator program runs year-round, and proposals are accepted on a rolling basis for collaborations of variable duration (from 1 week to 6 months) and intensity (from sprints to slow burns).