NPR quoted CSDE Affiliate Scott Allard (Evans School of Public Policy & Governance) on a study he authored, which found that that Washington ballots by Asian and Hispanic voters had were rejected at higher rates, compared to White Voters. Allard discussed how ballots are often rejected based on signatures – “We know that people with complex surnames, multiple middle or multiple last names may often shorten those names in everyday signatures … And if they do that, it may be that the signature that they put on their ballot is what they use every day, but it may not be what’s on their driver’s license.” This detail about signatures is not well-known amongst voters. Allard commented “I had no idea that’s what was being matched,” Allard said. “Most voters we spoke to didn’t realize that as well. And we even – we’ve talked to state legislators and other elected officials, and many of them weren’t actually aware that this was how it was matched either.” Read the full story here.
*New* Call for Concepts: Exploring Democracy, Environmental Justice, and Social Justice (Due 11/17/23)
Through its Higher Learning grantmaking area, the Mellon Foundation invites humanities-grounded ideas for research and curricular projects focused on any of three topics: Exploring Democracy, Environmental Justice, and Social Justice (further description below). Pre-proposals are due next Friday, November 17. Faculty are welcome to contact Liz Exell (lexell@uw.edu) and Lori White (lbwhite9@uw.edu) from the CAS Corporate and Foundation Relations Office, with any questions or if they would like to learn more about this opportunity. Learn more on the program page here.
Cultures of US Democracy:
Projects that consider the circumstantial conditions that enable US democratic practices to flourish, including how those can best be achieved, nurtured, and sustained within an increasingly complex and fractured society.
Environmental Justice Studies:
Projects that focus on specific systems (such as food, water, or health), ones that engage interrelated systems in a given community/locale, and ones that come at this topic through discrete analytical or disciplinary lenses.
Social Justice and Disciplinary Knowledge:
Projects that best exemplify how specific disciplinary or interdisciplinary fields of study are equipped to reckon with issues of social justice, given the particular investigative and analytical methods they deploy.
Eligibility and preparation of concepts:
As always, Mellon seeks to support institutions with a demonstrated record of excellence in the humanities, and we particularly welcome concepts from institutions that are minority-serving (MSIs) and/or have not received Mellon funding in the last five years. Faculty at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma in relevant disciplines with related project ideas are especially encouraged to apply.
Pre-Proposal Instructions:
Please submit:
1. A one‐page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach
2. CV (not biosketch) of the PI
to limitedsubs@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Friday, November 17, 2023. If given the go-ahead by the limited submissions review committee, registrations are due to the sponsor 11/30/2023. Other open limited submissions opportunities, as well as the limited submissions review committee review and selection process, are here: http://depts.washington.edu/research/funding/limited-submissions. Please feel free to email us at limitedsubs@uw.edu with questions or information on any limited submission opportunities that should be but are not already listed on that page. If you are interested in other private funding opportunities, visit the Corporate and Foundation funding opportunities.
If you are considering applying for this opportunity but have further questions or would like to learn more, please contact Andrew Storms in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations at as89@uw.edu.
New Research by Bulterys, Njuguna, John-Stewart, and Colleagues: Neurodevelopment of Children Who Are HIV-exposed and Uninfected
CSDE Affiliate Dr. Grace John-Stewart (Global Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, and Pediatrics) and co-authors published their research in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, titled “Neurodevelopment of children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected in Kenya“. Dr. Michelle Bulterys was the lead author on the study and conducted this research during her PhD in epidemiology at UW. Dr. Irene Njuguna was the project director and is an assistant professor in the Department of Global Health. Predictors of neurodevelopment among children who are HIV-exposed uninfected (CHEU) are poorly understood. Mothers with and without HIV and their children were enrolled during 6-week postnatal care visits across seven sites in Kenya between March 2021 and June 2022. Infant neurodevelopment was assessed using the Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool, including social, language, fine motor and gross motor domains. Authors used multivariate linear mixed effects models to identify associations between 1-year neurodevelopment scores, HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) exposures, and household factors, adjusted for potential confounders and clustered by the site.
At 1-year evaluation, CHEU (n = 709) and children who are HIV-unexposed uninfected (CHUU) (n = 715) had comparable median age (52 weeks) and sex distribution (49% vs. 52% female). Mothers living with HIV were older (31 vs. 27 years), had lower education (50% vs. 26% primary) and were more likely to be report moderate-to-severe food insecurity (26% vs. 9%) (p < 0.01 for all). Compared to CHUU, CHEU had higher language scores (adjusted coeff: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.39) and comparable social, fine and gross motor scores. Among all children, preterm birth was associated with lower gross motor scores (adjusted coeff: −1.38, 95% CI: −2.05, −0.71), food insecurity was associated with lower social scores (adjusted coeff: −0.37, 95% CI: −0.73, −0.01) and maternal report of intimate partner violence (IPV) was associated with lower fine motor (adjusted coeff: −0.76, 95% CI: −1.40, −0.13) and gross motor scores (adjusted coeff: −1.07, 95% CI: −1.81, −0.33). Among CHEU, in utero efavirenz (EFV) exposure during pregnancy was associated with lower gross motor scores compared to dolutegravir (DTG) exposure (adjusted coeff: −0.51, 95% CI: −1.01, −0.03). Lower fine and gross motor scores were also associated with having a single or widowed mother (adjusted coeff: −0.45, 95% CI: −0.87, −0.03) or a deceased or absent father (adjusted coeff: −0.81, 95% CI: −1.58, −0.05), respectively. Biologic and social factors were associated with child neurodevelopment. Despite socio-demographic differences between CHEU and CHUU, 1-year neurodevelopment was similar. Addressing IPV and food insecurity may provide benefits regardless of maternal HIV status. DTG use was associated with higher neurodevelopmental scores in CHEU, compared to EFV regimens, potentially contributing to a lack of neurodevelopmental difference between CHEU and CHUU.
Bourassa Quoted on Why Rent Prices are Leveling Off in Washington State
The Washington State Standard quoted CSDE Affiliate Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research on findings from their recent report that Washington’s rent prices are stabilizing. Bourassa said that while it is tough to identify the exact cause, growth may be slowing due to new apartments that were built in the last three to four years. At the same time, demand for rental housing is not necessarily growing. Bourassa discussed how this combination of rising vacancies and low demand means that “The market is saturated at the moment”. Read the full story here.
Request for Applications to Study Methods Related to Mental Health and HIV (Deadline 11/19/23)
The University of Washington Behavioral Research Center for HIV (UW BIRCH) invites pilot study applications for the Methodology Pilot AIDS Research Center (M-PARC) Award. It’s a one-year pilot award for methods research related to mental health and HIV. The maximum amount is $25K. Proposals are relatively short (2 pages of science) and due Nov. 19. Please reference the announcement on the BIRCH website. The purpose of the UW BIRCH M-PARC awards is to advance new methods in research related to mental health and HIV. Responsive applications will propose either a new methodological approach, or a novel application of existing methods. Proposed methods may be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods. We expect that this pilot work will lead to a larger extramural grant application. For more information about eligibility and guidelines, please download the full RFA .
CSDE Matching Support to Accompany Other On-campus Funding (Rolling deadline)
*New* Apply to Attend the Young Scientist Summer Program (Due 12/12/23)
The Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is currently accepting applications to its 2024 program. The program, which takes place from 1 June to 31 August each year, is designed for PhD students (ideally about 2 years prior to receiving their PhD) working on a topic compatible with ongoing research at IIASA and a wish to explore the policy implications of their work. Participants will be working under the direct mentorship of an experienced IIASA scientist in a unique interdisciplinary and international research environment. They will produce a paper (serving as first step towards a publishable journal article) and will get the opportunity to build up contacts for future collaboration within the institute’s worldwide network.
YSSP representatives Guillaume Marois (marois@iiasa.ac.at) and Jenan Irshaid (irshaid@iiasa.ac.at) of IIASA’s Population and Just Societies (POPJUS) Program particularly welcome applications of candidates interested in human-centered and population-based approaches to understanding drivers of population change, sustainable development, and wellbeing.
Please do not hesitate to contact them (Guillaume and Jenan), should you have any questions or require further information. They also encourage interested PhD students to reach out to us prior to submitting their application so that they may connect them to potential mentors within their Research Program and IIASA.
*New* CS&SS and CSDE Host Seminar by Dr. Barbara Entwisle on Health Disparities
Wednesday, November 8th, from 12:30PM-1:30PM Dr. Barbara Entwisle (Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Fellow of Carolina Pop Center, UNC) will be giving the CSSS Seminar with a talk titled “Numerators and Denominators in Health Disparities Research: What linked Electronic Health Record and American Community Survey Data Reveal.” Barbara Entwisle’s current research examines migration processes in relation to the life course, household dynamics, and community contexts in a variety of contexts. She is also leveraging linkages between electronic health records and data from the Census Bureau to study population health. The seminar will take place in 409 Savery Hall and on Zoom (register here).
We are excited to invite CSDE Trainees & Fellows to meet with Dr. Entwisle in a group from 11:00AM-12:00PM prior to the talk. This is a great opportunity to meet a senior researcher in demography and hear more about her research and career trajectory. The meeting will take place in Miller Hall Room 423A. Please email Jill Fulmore (fulmore@uw.edu) and Jessica Godwin (jlg0003@uw.edu) if you plan to attend!