The eScience Institute’s accelerator program is looking for projects from any field that would benefit from collaboration on data intensive and AI approaches, such as machine learning, scalable data management, statistical analysis, data visualization, open-source software development, and cloud and scalable computing.  To be considered for spring quarter, submit a proposal by February 6th. Learn more and sign up for an info session on January 23rd here.

When: Friday, Jan 31, 2025 (12:30-1:30PM)

Where: 360 Parrington Hall and on Zoom (register here)

We are looking forward to hosting Patrick Greiner (Sociology, UW) on Friday, Jan. 31st  in Parrington Hall 360 and on Zoom. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Population Health Initiative. 

There is an increasing recognition of the need to curb carbon dioxide emissions as rapidly as possible to mitigate the most socially disruptive outcomes of global environmental change. As energy use constitutes one of the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions and, as a result, climatic change, growing attention has been centered on the development of new energy extraction and production technologies and infrastructures. Simultaneously, there has been a growing body of research that asserts behavioral and social changes that reduce energy consumption are also needed, and perhaps more urgently so, if global societies are to rise to the challenge of reducing emissions in a timely manner. However, because of conceptual and methodological challenges there is little consensus as to how much energy consumption patterns will need to change considering improving, more sustainable, energy production and distribution infrastructures.

To address this gap, I integrate the concept of power density into discussions of sustainable transitions and climate change mitigation. Using this concept, I illustrate how researchers and analysts can 1) calculate the power density that is necessary to support regional and global patterns of energy consumption, 2) evaluate the discrepancy between power density required to support that consumption and the power density that renewable energy technologies appropriate for the geography in question are capable of, and 3) use the discrepancy between those figures as a novel way of understanding and discussing energy inequality and justice.

CSDE is pleased to introduce three of our new UW Research Affiliates! Nicole Eisenberg, (Senior Research Scientist, Social Work) With expertise in prevention science, program evaluation, and international collaborations, her work has focused on understanding and measuring risk and protective factors and developmental outcomes in children and youth, extending the reach of preventive interventions and adapting them to new contexts, and the use of qualitative and mixed methods research. Kris (Pui Kwan) Ma (Assistant Professor, Family Medicine) studies primary care and behavioral health integration, health service disparities, dementia caregiving, Asian American mental health and cultural adaptations. The overall goal of her research is to improve equitable access and delivery of high-quality behavioral health and aging services in primary care, with an emphasis on racially and ethnically minoritized populations. Griselda Martinez’s (Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) research focuses on the etiology of substance use and internalizing mental health problems among ethnically and racially diverse populations, with an emphasis on Latinx adolescents and young adults. Learn more about each affiliate in the full story!

• Nicole Eisenberg – Nicole Eisenberg is a Senior Research Scientist at the Social Development Research Group and the Director of International Programs at The Center for Communities That Care. She has contributed to or led numerous projects aimed at promoting wellbeing and/or preventing behavioral health problems among children and youth. With expertise in prevention science, program evaluation, and international collaborations, her work has focused on understanding and measuring risk and protective factors and developmental outcomes in children and youth, extending the reach of preventive interventions and adapting them to new contexts, and the use of qualitative and mixed methods research. She has also worked collaboratively with communities to help them collect and use survey data for decision making and prevention planning.

 

• Kris Ma – Dr. Kris Ma is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at University of Washington, Seattle. She studies primary care and behavioral health integration, health service disparities, dementia caregiving, Asian American mental health and cultural adaptations. The overall goal of her research is to improve equitable access and delivery of high-quality behavioral health and aging services in primary care, with an emphasis on racially and ethnically minoritized populations. As an Asian woman and immigrant, she has witnessed firsthand the harms caused by significant service gaps for marginalized individuals. Therefore, she is committed to using knowledge and science to build better systems of care that meet the needs of diverse and marginalized populations. She has two main lines of research. Her first line of research is the integration of behavioral health services in primary care, with the goal of increasing patient access to evidence-based interventions that are effective in the treatment of mental health, substance use, and medical conditions. She studies workforce, payment, and cultural barriers to integrating behavioral health in primary care. Her second line of research is health disparities in older adults of color, including multilingual Asian American immigrants. Using community engagement strategies, she examines the systemic, cultural, and linguistic barriers to care and design culturally responsive interventions to improve the management of chronic diseases, behavioral health, and dementia in Asian Americans.

 

• Griselda Martinez – Dr. Martinez’s research focuses on the etiology of substance use and internalizing mental health problems among ethnically and racially diverse populations, with an emphasis on Latinx adolescents and young adults. Her program of research also aims to understand risk and protective factors for substance use and internalizing mental health problems that may inform areas of emphasis in interventions that support the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults.

Skeptics of cash bail reforms have cited a potential risk for community violence, particularly violence against women. A new study from former CSDE Alum Taylor Riley (Carolina Population Center) and Affiliate Avanti Adhia (UW School of Nursing) examines this relationship and finds no evidence that New Jersey’s cash bail reform increased rates of fatal violence against women. Researchers analyzed data from 2015–2019, comparing New Jersey to 21 states without bail reform, and found no significant changes in intimate partner violence-related homicides, pregnancy-associated homicides, or overall homicides of adult women. The findings suggest policies reducing pretrial incarceration can address mass incarceration without exacerbating fatal intimate partner violence. Read the full study here.