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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Population Reference Bureau Webinar on The Fertility Gap: Why Wanting Children Doesn’t Always Mean Having Them (03/25/26)

Despite global fertility decline, many people still hope to become parents or have more children. Yet wanting kids doesn’t always lead to planning for them, and planning doesn’t always lead to having them. Why does this gap exist?

Join the Population Reference Bureau for a timely webinar featuring two new studies that examine different dimensions of unrealized fertility. Luca Badolato (The Ohio State University) will present on “The Fertility Desires – Intentions Gap in the United States”, and Ester Lazzari (University of Vienna) will share her research entitled “Infertility and Unrealized Ideal Family Size”. This event is hosted by the Center for Public Information on Population Research (CPIPR) at PRB the Coordinating Center for the NICHD Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program. Register here.

Guttmannova and Co-authors Publish a Machine Learning Study to Identify Predictors of Alcohol and Cannabis Impaired Driving

 In a new article in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, CSDE Affiliate Katarina Guttmannova (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) and co-authors used machine learning to predict impaired driving among young adults in Washington. Data came from annual cross-sectional surveys of 18- to 25-year-olds participating in the Washington Young Adult Health Survey (2015–2022). For likelihood of alcohol-impaired driving, top predictors included alcohol use frequency, participants’ age, peak drinking quantity, age of alcohol initiation, full-time employment, and cannabis use frequency. For likelihood of cannabis-impaired driving, top predictors included cannabis use frequency, cannabis-related memory problems, simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use frequency, increased cannabis tolerance, and age of cannabis initiation. Two complementary machine learning methods yielded convergent findings on the most salient predictors of impaired driving, increasing confidence in their validity. These methods provide a flexible alternative to traditional models for analyzing high-dimensional data.

Rocha Beardall Analyzes Data on Heightened Risk to AIAN People of Fatal Police Violence In and Around Reservations

CSDE Affiliate Theresa Rocha Beardall (Sociology) published an article in PNAS on the heightened risk to American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) peoples of fatal police violence in and around reservations in the United States, and UW News posted an accompanying writeup. Rocha Beardall, along with co-authors Gabriel L. Schwartz and Jaquelyn L. Jahn, analyzed data on all AIAN people killed by police in the US between 2013–2024 from the Mapping Police Violence database. Fatal police violence against AIAN people is strongly concentrated in and around reservations: 73% of AIAN deaths occurred on or within 10 miles of reservations, despite only 39 to 51% of the AIAN population living there. Both structural disinvestment and unique policing models appear to put Indigenous peoples in harm’s way. The authors show that the types of officers responsible for fatal police violence in these areas (mostly federal, state, and tribal) differ dramatically from those of responsible officers elsewhere (mostly municipal and county), as do the reasons police give for stops in and around reservation

European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD) 2026-2027 (03/27/26)

The European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD) is an eleven-month, fully funded program that aims to provide students with a comprehensive and rigorous education in demography to pursue their doctoral studies. The EDSD provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of demographic change, population data, statistical and mathematical demography, as well as modeling, simulation, and forecasting techniques. The program’s coursework, taught by leading experts in the field, emphasizes strengthening the quantitative and programming skills of its participants. The program is offered in English and typically admits 12 to 20 students each year. The program is fully funded and free of charge, and students are expected to attend in person.

In 2026-2027, the program will be held in two locations: the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany (early September to late October 2026) for preparatory courses, and the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland (November 2026 to end of July 2027) for the core courses.

  • Application Deadline: March 27, 2026 at noon CET
  • Results Announcement: mid-May 2026
  • EDSD Start Date: September 1, 2026

The EDSD offers a unique opportunity for students to receive an exceptional education in demography and to network with leading experts in the field. If you are interested in pursuing a career in demography, the EDSD is the perfect program for you! To apply, click here.

Apply to Investigations in Disasters and Emergencies: Advancing Applied Learning in Disaster Research Response (03/27/26)

The University of Washington’s Center for Disaster Resilient Communities is offering a hands-on training program in environmental and public health disaster research methods and skills for up to 25 advanced graduate students and early career hazards and disaster researchers from across the United States. This training program aims to provide a launchpad for scholars to build on and carry out their own disaster and hazards research projects as well as opportunities for interdisciplinary networking and mentorship.
This fellowship includes a weeklong in-person intensive at the University of Washington Seattle Campus from July 27-31, 2026 followed by a year of online monthly workshops all of which include research and professional support from program faculty.
Please visit our program web page or view this flyer for information on eligibility, application instructions, and timelines. Applications will be accepted until March 27, 2026 (9 PM PDT) and will be reviewed based on the applicant’s experience in public health and disasters, capacity to implement skills and knowledge from the fellowship, and commitment to reciprocal and ethical research practices. Priority acceptances will be released by April 30, 2026. Need-based travel stipends are available.

Call for Papers: Demog-Crazy 2026 Award (04/01/26)

The Quetelet Journal warmly invites population scientists to submit an abstract for consideration for the Demog-Crazy 2026 Award by April Fools Day 2026. Authors of shortlisted abstracts will be required to submit their full paper by 1st July 2026.

Inspired by the spirit of Belgian surrealism, the Demog-Crazy Award celebrates and publishes a scholarly article in population sciences that initially amuses readers with its title and summary, but ultimately provokes thoughtful engagement and inspires further reading. The award underscores the idea that even research in demography that appears unconventional or absurd can yield valuable theoretical or methodological contributions.

Would your article stand a chance—or is it firmly not in the running for the Demog-Crazy Award? No problem! RQJ welcomes original contributions in the traditional empirical format, as well as papers adopting unconventional approaches. These include theoretical literature reviews, methodological studies, “data papers”, advocacy for heterodox or controversial perspectives, reports on negative results, replication of previously published findings, descriptive analyses of new data, studies using unusual datasets, mixed-methods research, and more. In all cases, your submission is most welcome!

Martin and UW Anthropology Host NW Evolution, Ecology, and Human Behavior Symposium

 UW Anthropology and CSDE Affiliate Melanie Martin (Anthropology) hosted the 9th Northwest Evolution, Ecology, and Human Behavior (NWEEHB) Symposium at the UW Pack Forest Conference Center on February 27-March 1.  This was the first time UW has served as host for this biennial, interdisciplinary gathering of regional human evolution and ecology researchers. The event drew 45 attendees from seven universities across the Pacific Northwest and Canada, including 26 graduate and undergraduate students. The symposium included workshops on computational methods and pedagogy, a student poster session, and talks spanning topics from hominin evolution and tool use to climate adaptation, reproductive ecology, and the transmission of cultural knowledge in contemporary societies. The symposium was supported by the UW Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE), UW eScience Institute, and the UW Department of Anthropology.

Hajat, Rowhani-Rahbar, and Schleimer Conduct Retrospective Study of Association Between Early Childhood Education and Interpersonal Violence 

CSDE Affiliates Anjum Hajat (Epidemiology, CSDE Development Core Director) and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar (Epidemiology), along with first author and UW Epidemiology PhD Graduate Julia Schleimer who led this work as part of her dissertation, published a retrospective cohort study of the intergeneration association between early childhood education and interpersonal violence in Injury Epidemiology. Schleimer, Hajat, Rowhani-Rahbar and co-authors used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and intergenerationally linked Child and Young Adult Cohort (NLSCYA). The authors linked Head Start availability in the mother’s birth county and self-reports by their children of serious fighting and assault conviction between 1988 and 2020. Maternal Head Start exposure was associated with 0.85 times the risk of serious fighting among offspring, with results driven by Black and Hispanic/Latino male offspring.  No reductions in risk of serious fighting were observed among other subpopulations or for assault conviction. Results of this study indicate that high-quality early childhood education may narrow disparities in interpersonal violence across generations, offering novel evidence on population-level and primary prevention programs to promote safety and wellbeing.