Skip to content
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Call for Applications: CSDE’s Fall 2020 Lightning Talks and Poster Session

Calling all graduate students to submit abstracts for the CSDE Lightning Talks and Poster Session! Submit a brief abstract and information about yourself and your collaborators here by October 23rd. Applications are currently open for graduate students to present their research and receive feedback at this event and we would love to receive your submissions! This is a wonderful, low-stakes opportunity to practice your presentation skills.

What is the purpose of the session?

This session is a great opportunity to make new connections with faculty and students working in your area, and to improve your presentation and poster-making skills in advance of conferences. Many professional organizations and their associated conferences include space on their programs for posters or lightning talks (sometimes known as flash talks). So, this session is a great opportunity to prep for those upcoming events.

For example, the Population Association of America (PAA) includes space for posters and flash talks and this session is ideal for students who are prepping for a PAA Poster or PAA Flash Talk Session.  Or, many courses require a poster presentation for an end of the quarter requirement for a class, like some Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CS&SS) classes. But even if you just want to present a research idea and get feedback, this session can be  valuable!  Faculty attending the poster sessions find it to be one of the most rewarding, because it gives them an opportunity to meet students and talk about research.

 

What will the session look like?

Obviously, this year will be different (like everything in our lives right now) because everything will take place remotely. As always, the session will be split into two sections: the Lightning Talks and the Poster Session.

Each participant will prepare 3 PowerPoint slides: the first 2 slides will be a high-level summary for the lightning talk portion and the 3rd slide will be the “poster” that you’ll present as people circulate through breakout rooms. The session will take place on Zoom. Each presenter will have  2-3 minutes for their lighting talk presentation before we put presenters in breakout rooms and allow attendees to circulate.

 

Will there be judges?

Yes, there will be a faculty panel that will give all participants feedback on their slides and results and will determine a winner.

 

CSDE will recognize the best poster with an award and prize. Posters will be assessed based on the following criteria:

–   Relevance to demographic research or population health

–   Innovative aspects of the research project

–   Quality and appropriateness of research design and methodology

–   Effectiveness in communicating key aspects of the project

–   Overall design and quality of visuals, images and/or tables

How do I apply to participate?

You only need to submit a brief abstract and information about yourself and your collaborators on the project. Submit your application HERE. The deadline to submit an abstract is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23RD.

We will select up to 7 participants. You will be notified that you have been selected by October 30th.  If your submission is selected, you will be required to email your presentation slides to Maxine Wright no later than FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20TH.

The Lightning Talks and Poster Session will be held FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH from 12:30-1:30, Zoom link TBA. Please email mkw1208@uw.edu if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing your submissions!

Deprivation and Mortality in the United States, 1999-2018

At the CSDE seminar on October 9, Dr. Magali Barbieri will present “Deprivation and Mortality in the UnitedStates, 1999-2018”. The talk will explore the relationship between county-level mortality in the U.S. and social inequality, using data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the American Community Survey. Dr. Barbieri has a prolific research career focusing on mortality and cause of death information in high income countries, including many studies on within-country variability and, also, international comparisons. She has been integral in leading, building and maintaining the Human Mortality Database, where she is currently the Associate Director, and the United States Mortality DataBase, where she serves as the Director.

Register for Dr. Barbieri’s Zoom seminar here.

Afterward CSDE fellow Jessica Godwin will facilitate a graduate student discussion with Dr. Barbieri. RSVP by emailing her at jlg0003@uw.edu.

Spotlight on CSDE Affiliate, Melanie Martin

Dr. Melanie Martin is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington and CSDE’s Biodemography Principal Investigator. Her research examines biocultural influences on growth, development, and reproduction. Currently, she works with two ongoing studies of indigenous health across the life course: the Chaco Area Reproductive Ecology Program (Co-PI) and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project. Her research combines field research (focal follows, ethnographic observations, interviews) with laboratory analysis of non-invasive biomarkers and mixed-modeling approaches. Dr. Martin has published in several journals, including Nature Communications, PLOS One, American Anthropology, and American Journal of Human Biology. 

She also is training the next generation of biodemography investigators with a lab course focused on the linkage between hormones and behavior (BIO A 455) and several lecture courses about evolutionary biology and the human life cycle (BIO A 484), including BIO A 300 Evolutionary Biology of Women.  Her research interests are wide ranging and encompass behavioral ecology, biological anthropology, human reproductive ecology, medical anthropology, field research methods, global health, medical anthropology, maternal and child health, public health, and growth and development.  Recently she and colleagues proposed and successfully competed for a COVID-19 NSF Award to examine whether the virus can be transmitted via breast milk.

CDC Awards First Round of Firearms Research to CSDE Affiliate Rowhani-Rahbar and CSDE Alum Kravitz-Wirtz

After almost 3 decades, CDC announced funding for gun violence research earlier this year. The University of Washington’s proposal led by CSDE Affiliate Professor Ali Rowhani-Rahbar was awarded a three-year grant totaling roughly $1.5 million to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents.  UW’s award was one of 16 grants distributed across the nation. Rowhani-Rahbar’s team will spend the next three years investigating the context, antecedents, and consequences of handgun carrying among adolescents who reside in rural communities in order to inform culturally appropriate and community-specific interventions. Additionally, CSDE Alum Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz (UC Davis) was awarded a two-year grant to estimate the population prevalence and consequences of youths’ direct and indirect exposure to community gun violence to inform prevention efforts.