CSDE Biodemography Lab Director and Research Scientist Tiffany Pan and the CSDE Biodemography Lab contributed to the biomarker data collection for Wave 2 of the Vietnam Health and Aging Study. Pan consulted on the study design, coordinated international biospecimen shipment, conducted in person training of lab staff at Hanoi Medical University, assessed the quality control of lab results, and collaborated on the dissemination of study findings. 

For the study, hair cortisol measurement was conducted directly in the CSDE Biodemography Lab at the University of Washington. This technique provides an integrated measure of cortisol levels over time, which may be important for studying stress response. Pan and the biodemography lab also supported biochemical analyses (conventional and multiplex immunoassays) done at Hanoi Medical University by assisting with assay selection, supplies procurement, laboratory training, and data processing. 

The multi-year Vietnam Health and Aging Study, led by Kim Korinek (External Affiliate, University of Utah) and Zachary Zimmer (Mount Saint Vincent University), aims to understand the long term effects of war exposure in Vietnam. Tiffany Pan’s biomarker data collection support was conducted in collaboration with CSDE Affiliate Melanie Martin also of the CSDE Biodemography Lab. These biomarker results were presented by Rob Tennyson (CSDE Alumni) at the Gerontological Society of America meeting, and a related manuscript is forthcoming.

To arrange a consulting appointment with Tiffany Pan, or any of CSDE’s scientific support staff, please use the CSDE Science Core Consultation Request form.

When: Friday, May 2, 2025 (12:30-1:30PM)

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

1-on-1 meetings: 223 Raitt Hall (sign up here)

We are looking forward to hosting Christy Erving from National Taiwan University on Friday, May 2 in Parrington Hall 360 and on Zoom. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Population Health Initiative.

Recently, scholars have attempted to bring voice to Black women’s interpersonal experiences with gendered racism by developing measures that capture their intersectional oppression. Missing from this small, but growing, literature is the nuance of life course dynamics which suggest that Black women’s gendered-racialized discriminatory encounters could differ in content and frequency at different points in their life course. Moreover, the strategies Black women employ to cope with gendered racism are potentially differentiated by their age and birth cohort. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this presentation will examine the various strategies Black women deploy to cope with gendered racism and the psychological health impacts of gendered racism across the life course.

Dr. Christy L. Erving is a sociologist and interdisciplinary health equity scholar. She is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology, a faculty associate of the Population Research Center, and an affiliate of the Center for Aging and Population Sciences as well as the Humanities, Health & Medicine Program at the University of Texas at Austin.  Dr. Erving’s program of research draws from theories, concepts, and perspectives across various disciplines to clarify and explain distinctions in mental and physical health by race, gender, ethnic, nativity, and socioeconomic status. Her most recent projects investigate the psychosocial determinants of Black women’s health across the life course, spanning early adulthood through later life. Her work integrates sociological theoretical perspectives with insights from other disciplines to ascertain how Black women’s gendered and racialized life experiences both negatively and positively influence psychological and physiological health. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Hispanic Studies at Rice University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington, with a minor in Social Science Approaches to Health and Healing Systems. Upon completion of her Ph.D., she was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently announced CSDE Affiliate Nora Kenworthy as a member of the 2025 class of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program. At a highly polarized time for many health issues, Kenworthy’s project, “Public Health in Polarized Times: Finding “Islands of Solidarity” for Effective Digital Public Health Campaigns in the U.S.” aims to identify, broaden, and deepen “islands of solidarity” around core public health values and messages. Her project will identify where Americans find common ground and purpose when it comes to their health, and work with institutional partners to develop, test, and refine digital messaging strategies to decrease polarization and build common cause in the realm of population health. Read more about the project and Dr. Kenworthy’s work here.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected young adults’ use of cannabis and other drugs, more research is needed to precisely estimate these effects. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) Focus, Charles Fleming and CSDE Affiliates Griselda Martinez and Katarina Guttmannova (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) and colleagues analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic affected substance use among young adults in Washington State using data collected annually from 2016 to 2021. Cannabis use steadily increased over time, with no major shifts during the pandemic, while the use of alcohol, cigarettes, and nonprescribed pain relievers declined, with cigarette and e-cigarette use dropping more sharply after the pandemic began. These trends suggest that while cannabis use remained resilient, public health measures and risk perceptions during COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to reduced nicotine use. Read the full article here.

Understanding the needs of youth eligible for extended foster care is an essential component of effective service provision for these young people. In a recent study published in the Journal of Public Child Welfare, CSDE Affiliates Kristian Jones and Emiko Tajima and Trainee Jon Torres (Social Work) examine this issue through analysis of focus group and interview data from conversations with service providers working with eligible youth. This study, entitled “Meeting them where they’re at: service provider perspectives on the needs of extended foster care participants” highlights a range of unmet service needs and suggests specific changes in the field of extended foster care. Read the full study here.