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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

*New* Limited Submission NIH R25: Research Experience in Genomic Research for Master’s Students in Data Science Training Programs

There is a new FOA from NIH to encourage encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on: Research Experiences for students currently enrolled in master’s degree programs in data science (including programs in statistics/biostatistics, mathematics, computer science or equivalent fields) to provide hands-on exposure to genomics data sets as a substrate for their analytical skills. Through this announcement, NHGRI hopes to attract such students to the genomics workforce. NHGRI also seeks to both encourage data scientists who plan to opt for a terminal master’s degree to join genomics research, as well as reinforce the intent of current master’s degree students who are considering entering a doctoral program with an eventual dissertation focused on genomic data science. This FOA is explicitly intended to support the entry of master’s degree students in data science into the genomics workforce. Applications are due to NIH on May 25, 2021. For more details click here.

*New* Call for Abstracts “2021 Managed Retreat Conference”

Building on the success of the 2019 conference on Managed Retreat, the 2021 conference will address a range of scientific, social, policy and governance issues around managed retreat (also known as strategic realignment and planned relocation). The conference, a major initiative of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, will bring together stakeholders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, together with academics, scientists, and community representatives, to help develop a common understanding of this complex issue, and move the needle toward equitable solutions. A major emphasis will be on issues of environmental justice, in recognition that the people most impacted by decisions around retreat have a key role in these conversations. Abstracts can be submitted here until January 31, 2021.

CSDE Welcomes Four More Faculty Affiliates!

CSDE’s Executive Committee is pleased to introduce four of our new UW Faculty Affiliates:

  • Paul Fishman– Professor, Health Services. Fishman is a health care economist with expertise in designing and conducting analyses of health service use and cost and the organization of health care systems with a specific emphasis on primary care. He is also an expert on the organization and management of large databases for use in health services research.
  • Jose Hernandez – Data Scientist, eScience Institute, University of Washington. Hernandez’s interests include the application of data science methods on sociological and educational data and building data tools to facilitate that process. His research combines theory and practice with data science methods to inform education policymaking.
  • Tracy Mroz – Associate Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine. Mroz’s research focuses on the impact of health policy and delivery system factors on access to and quality of post-acute care services for older adults and adults with disabilities. As an investigator with the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center and the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, she is leading studies on post-acute care in rural communities and therapy workforce.
  • Anissa Tanweer – Research Scientist, eScience Institute, University of Washington. Tanweer’s work focuses on human-centered data science, and incorporates a range of qualitative methods for studying the practice and culture of data-intensive computational work, including interviews, surveys, and participant observation.

These affiliates bring a wealth of knowledge and unique approaches that enhances our community of demographers and collectively advances population science. We look forward to supporting each of them as they pursue their research. You can learn more about their individual research interests by visiting their affiliate pages, linked above.

If you are interested in becoming an affiliate or you know of someone who should become one, you can invite them to do so by directing them to this page.  Affiliate applications are reviewed quarterly, by CSDE’s Executive Committee.

CSDE Affiliate Karin Martin and UW PhD Candidate Matthew Fowle Co-author Study on Restitution

CSDE Affiliate Karin Martin and UW Public Policy Doctoral Candidate and CSDE Trainee Matthew Fowle recently published an article in Sociological Perspectives examining restitution as a concept and a practice. Employing descriptive analyses of a national survey experiment and document review, they find that the common and strongly preferred conception of restitution is “direct,” entailing a convicted person compensating a victim for quantifiable loss. Evidence from Victim Compensation Funds (VCFs) in all 50 states demonstrate the widespread use of “indirect” restitution, through which funds from various sources are distributed to qualifying victims. They conclude that the divergence between common conception and widespread practice indicates a need for a revised notion of restitution. To read the article click here.

Join CSDE & NIH TADA for Webinar Featuring UW’s Bergstrom on Avoiding the Pitfalls of Selection Bias

The NIH Training in Advanced Data Analytics (TADA) Program at the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences is hosting a regular webinar series covering advanced data analytics and data science underlying modern behavioral and social sciences research, with presentations from experts showing the basics of data management, representation, computation, statistical inference, data modeling, causal inference, and various other topics relevant to “big data” and teaching for behavioral and social sciences researchers. On January 21st, Dr. Carl T. Bergstrom from the University of Washington will discuss some of the many ways that selection bias and related phenomena, from right censoring to the “Will Rogers effect,” can arise in medical research and beyond. He will draw from a range of examples, including recent studies on COVID-19. The presentations will be streamed live on Zoom, recorded, and archived on YouTube. To register, visit this link.