CSDE will be hosting its annual “PAA 2026 Practice Talks” during our regular seminar time on Friday, May 1st from 12:30-1:30 in 360 PAR. This is an in-person only event. Please come listen to our trainees practice their presentations and offer them your good feedback and wisdom! Your time and insights will be appreciated!

Presenters

• Aidan Andronicos – Sociology
  • Cancer Death Disparities and Uranium Mine Waste on Indian Reservations
• Mingze Li – Sociology
  • Stratification of the Elite: Occupational Divergence among High-Propensity Rural-to-Urban Hukou Migrants in China

Discussant

• Julie Kim – Global Health

CSDE Affiliate Vedavati Patwardhan (EPAR) and co-authors recently published an article in Studies in Family Planning, examining the relationship between Indian women’s contact with a community health worker (CHW) and discussion of family planning (FP) with their contraceptive use. Drawing on data from over 306,000 women in India’s 2019–2021 National Family Health Survey, the authors found that traditional contraception use is high, particularly among married nonpregnant, non-sterilized women ages 15–49 years, and used singularly as well as concurrently with modern methods. Nearly 22 percent of women reported using traditional methods (18% exclusively and 4% concurrent with modern methods). CHW discussion on family was associated with higher traditional contraceptive use, reversible modern method use, and concurrent use. Recent CHW engagement was associated with consistent modern method use, switching from traditional to modern methods, and also discontinuation of modern contraception. Findings indicate that traditional contraceptive methods are not used by the most marginalized women - in terms of age or location - and demonstrate complex patterns of use. FP programs should consider all contraceptive method choices, and not solely modern methods, as potential outcomes of agency.

CSDE External Affiliate Holly Hummer (University of British Columbia) recently published an article in Social Forces comparing how women in the United States and Japan experience and evaluate childlessness. Drawing on 157 interviews with non-mothers across the two countries, Hummer finds that Japanese women were more likely to frame childlessness as increasingly normalized and attributable to entrenched gender inequalities, while American women more often described it as socially isolating and publicly contested, frequently drawing on moral logics to justify their non-motherhood. The findings highlight childlessness as a status whose meaning is shaped by cultural and demographic context — particularly women's perceptions of what it takes to be a "good" mother and how they interpret national fertility conditions.

CSDE is a member of the Association of Population Centers (APC).  Each year the APC publishes a resource guide about all member centers.  You might check it out and see what is happening elsewhere!

Please join the East Asia Center for a special public panel, "From Malthus to Musk: Searching for Population Equilibrium in East Asia", that will feature CSDE Director Sara Curran and three other scholars on April 30 from 3:30 – 5 PM, in HUB 337, University of Washington.

From Malthus’s warnings of overpopulation to Musk’s urge to boost fertility, the drastic turn of humanity’s relationship with population growth is one of the defining features of East Asian societies. . Nowhere have demographic shifts been more seismic in their speed, scale, and scope than in East Asia over the past century. Populations in this region now simultaneously exhibit the world's longest life expectancies and its lowest fertility rates.

How did East Asian societies arrive at this point? Can they return to replacement-level fertility? Echoing the historical contrast between East Asian and Western European demographic regimes, we debate the existence of a distinct "East Asian model" of demographic transition. Adopting a regional and comparative perspective, we argue that intense family competition and proactive government intervention—both operating within the context of deep-seated cultural traditions—have defined the region's current demographic challenges

CSDE External Affiliate Jamaica Corker (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) invites CSDE affiliates and trainees to World Affairs Council-Seattle on Thursday,  April 30 from 5:30 – 7 PM,  for an in-person discussion with Jennifer Sciubba, President and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, on “The Power of Population: How Demographic Shifts are Shaping Our Global Future.” From rapidly aging populations in some regions to growing youth populations in others, demographic shifts are quietly but powerfully transforming economies, security, and global influence. Drawing on her work at PRB, Sciubba will unpack the trends driving these changes—and what they mean for the future of nations, communities, and everyday life. CSDE External Affiliate Jamaica Corker (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) will moderate, and a complimentary wine reception kicks off the event from 5:30 - 6 PM. Individuals associated with CSDE are eligible for WAC Member Pricing, using the code CSDE2026

The 2026 Annual Meeting for the Population Association of America (PAA) is happening May 6th-May 9th, 2026.

Following tradition, CSDE is co-hosting a reception for affiliates, trainees, alumni, friends, and more! We will be joined by Population Center Studies and Training Center at Brown University, the Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center and the Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research at University of Michigan, the California Center for Population Research at UCLA, and the Center for Demography and Ecology and the Center for Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Please join us on Friday, May 8th from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, Landmark 4 Room. Refreshments and light appetizers will be served. Come enjoy some time with old friends and make some new friends too.  Register here and see the event flyer here: PAA 2026 Reception Flyer.

CSDE is hosting office hours to help you prepare data visualizations for PAA! Join CSDE Training Core PI Audrey Dorélien, 2026-2027 CSDE Seminar Chair Min Cha, and CSDE Training Director Jessica Godwin to get feedback and consultation on figures for your PAA oral presentations or posters. Both faculty and students are welcome!! Please sign up for a consultation slot here on 4/29/26 between 12 and 1 PM.

Heat is one of the most frequently examined environmental influences on population health, and a wide variety of data sources exist to measure exposure. This pre-PAA workshop, sponsored by the Center on Aging, Health, and Environment (CACHE), provides an overview of heat measures and examples of two, including hands-on experience with code available via the CACHE website. Participants will generate temperature exposure measures from publicly available data, as well as wet bulb temperatures. The Universal Thermal Climate Index data will also be demonstrated and linked to population data. Learn more and register here. This workshop will take place in St. Louis, Missouri on May 6, 1-5:30 PM CT . Please note you must be registered for PAA in order to attend.

Join CACHE on May 12 at 11 AM PT for a online seminar on, “Tracking the Mortality Burden Associated with Extreme Weather Events in the United States: Implications for Older Adult Health,” featuring Dr. Kai Chen of Yale School of Public Health. Extreme climate-related hazards, such as wildfire smoke, extreme temperatures (both heat and cold), floods, and drought, are increasingly recognized as major threats to human health and well-being in the United States. These events contribute to substantial premature mortality, which in turn imposes significant economic losses on society. However, the public often lacks clear, science-based information that captures the scale of these damages and makes them accessible across different regions. To address this gap, the Climate, Health, and Environment Nexus (CHEN) Lab at the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health recently developed a dashboard that attributes premature mortality in the contiguous United States to these extreme climate events: XToll: eXtreme-weather Toll Tracker. Register here. 

The CSDE Development Core is once again hosting its annual Grant Writing Summer Program (GWSP) to assist scholars (UW postdocs, researchers, and professors affiliated or planning to affiliate with CSDE, as well as other researchers in the Seattle area) in preparing applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Applications are now open and due May 15! More info here, and application page here. Note that the program is in person and meets once every two weeks, late June – mid Sep, on the UW Seattle campus. Final schedule is set based on the schedules of the selected participants.

Make sure to read all the FAQ's. Past participants report great success, and lots of support and even fun along the way. Applications are due May 15. Additional questions?  Contact goodreau@uw.edu.

CSDE collaborates with the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in a doctoral training program called the International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science (IMPRS-PHDS). This program is based in Rostock, Germany, but includes 12 doctoral programs in the U.S. and Europe. CSDE has one IMPRS-PHDS fellowship application slot available to current CSDE Trainees. The fellowship funding will support a one quarter research stay at the MPIDR, any time between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027.  Information about the program, the faculty, and partner institutions can be found here. Applications are due to CSDE by Tuesday, May 26. Apply here.

IPUMS released multiple data updates, including DHS data, IHGIS data, and CPS data.

IPUMS DHS has released standard variables from 112 new samples, including 34 new countries. The release includes data from the women, household members, births, and children units of analysis. Users can also now request IPUMS DHS data extracts programmatically using the IPUMS API and through our client libraries for R (ipumsr) and Python (ipumspy).

IHGIS has released tables and boundary files for population and housing censuses from Benin 2013, Niger 2012, and Sierra Leone 2015. We have also added a shapefile for Kenya 2019 locations (n = 3,838) to accompany previously released data. In addition, new linking variables in the IPUMS DHS release allow users to easily attach IHGIS data to DHS records.

IPUMS CPS has added the March 2026 monthly data. We have also updated the January 2026 monthly data to reflect a revised version of the file released by the Census Bureau that incorporates the 2026 population estimates. See the IPUMS CPS revision history for details.

The Population Association of America invites you to join an upcoming fireside chat with the NIH Director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, at the PAA 2026 Annual Meeting, on Friday, May 8, 2026, 1:30 – 2:45 PM in the Ferrara Theater (1st Floor) of the America’s Center.  This plenary session, “NIH and the Future of Population Research: A Conversation with the NIH Director”, will focus on broad issues shaping population research, such as NIH strategic priorities, funding levels, open science/reproducibility, new methods of inquiry/AI, science communication, and the future of social and behavioral research. Professor Will Dow (UC-Berkeley) will moderate.

The call for submissions for the Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2026 (WIC2026) “Demography and Human Capital” is now open! This conference aims to advance theories, data, and multi-dimensional demographic methods for modelling human capital formation and its dynamics over time, and to connect cutting-edge evidence to policy debates globally. Human capital – education, skills, health, and capabilities – is a central driver of demographic change and a key lens for understanding social and economic development.

The UW Middle East Center announces the 2025-26 competition for the Parvin E’tesami Student Support Fund. We invite applications from undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the University of Washington in all disciplines, including international students, who are engaged in the study of the Middle East and North Africa and who will be enrolled at the University of Washington during the 2025-26 academic year. The application deadline is May 5, 2026. Apply now: https://forms.office.com/r/yYvSmDbfUs

The undocumented immigrant population in the United States is changing and new data help tell that story. On Tuesday, May 5, 2026 from 10 - 11 AM PT / 1 - 2 PM ET, join the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) for a webinar on its new report, “Estimates of the Size and Composition of the Undocumented Immigrant Population in the United States: 2024,” and what the findings reveal about population growth, long-term settlement, and policy options. Forthcoming in the Journal on Migration and Human Security, the study offers one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date portraits of the undocumented population in the United States.

(read more)

The University of Washington is currently inviting nonprofit organizations to submit grant proposals for a practice-based UW course called Social Justice through Philanthropy, in which students develop critical thinking skills and practical knowledge regarding philanthropic giving in support of international issues.  The course represents a unique partnership between The University of Washington’s Law, Societies & Justice Department, and the Philanthropy Lab, a Texas-based foundation that promotes philanthropy education in universities and colleges throughout the United States.  This year, Social Justice through Philanthropy will be providing $75,000 worth of grants to international NGOs doing human rights, development, and humanitarian work. The $75,000 will be awarded through one $30,000 grant, two $15,000 grants, and two $7,500 grants in order to support five organizations in total.

This year, the students in Social Justice through Philanthropy have decided to focus their giving to organizations and initiatives broadly promoting five of the Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3, Good Health & Well-Being; SDG 4, Quality Education; SDG 5, Gender Equality; SDG 13, Climate Action; SDG 16, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. The deadline for proposals is May 6, 2026. To participate, please upload your application here as a single PDF file.

IPUMS will be exhibiting at the PAA 2026 Annual Meeting. Stop by their booth to talk with IPUMS research staff. Share any powered by IPUMS work on the PAA program so we can highlight your session and bring some specialty IPUMS swag for you. IPUMS also invites you to connect at these PAA events:

• Advances and Resources in Linking Full Count Census Data from IPUMS: Wednesday, May 6; 9:00am-2:00pm | America’s Center Room 103
• Harmonizing Geographic U.S. Census Data Across Time: Resources from IPUMS NHGIS: Thursday, May 7; 6:30-7:30pm | Marriott St. Louis Grand - Room L1
• The Future of DHS: Supplemental and Alternative Data Sources: Friday, May 8; 6:00-7:30pm | Marriott St. Louis Grand - Room L6

As a part of its Advancing Well-Being in the Arts Initiative’s Field Studies program, Wallace is interested in funding a small set of research studies that investigate aspects of how community-based arts organizations contribute to the economic mobility of their communities. “Communities” may include organizational staff, artists, audiences, program participants, local constituents served, and/or others as defined in proposals. For this RFP, the Wallace Foundation broadly defines and understands economic mobility, and pathways to economic mobility, as emerging through access to training and preparation, expanded social and professional networks, high quality jobs, as well as to basic needs such as safe neighborhoods, housing, health care, and food. However, we are eager to learn, through the studies to be funded, how arts organizations themselves conceptualize, define, and support economic mobility in their communities. To be invited to submit a full proposal, you must submit a 3-4 page letter of interest by May 12. Learn more here.

Studies in Family Planning is calling for abstract submissions for a special issue on “Rethinking Contraceptive Futures,” by June 30, 2026. This call for abstracts invites contributions that broaden and challenge traditional understandings of contraceptive use, access, and meaning. Contributions may engage explicitly with family planning debates but should foreground contraceptive practices and their evolving meanings within broader social and demographic paradigms.

The Northwestern Main and Advanced Causal Inference Workshop will hold its 15th annual meeting on Research Design for Causal Inference at Northwestern Law School in Chicago, IL. The  main workshop takes place Monday – Friday, August 3-7,  and the advanced workshop follows, Monday – Wednesday, August 10-12, with an optional machine learning primer on Sunday afternoon, August 9.

What is special about these workshops:

1. World-class speakers working at the frontier of causal inference research 

2. Stata and R Coding sessions with exclusive access to the dedicated repository

In person-registration is limited to 125 participants for each workshop, so hurry up and register for in person attendance!  There will also be a Zoom option, but attending in person is encouraged. Get more information and register now.   

Studies in Family Planning is calling for submission for a special issue on “Pandemic and Epidemic Impacts on Reproduction, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Family Dynamics: Longer-Term Consequences and Cross-Crisis Perspectives,” due September 15, 2026. The special issue aims to broaden the field by situating COVID-19 within a broader landscape of pandemics and epidemics with demonstrable implications for reproduction, family life, and SRHR.