CSSI researcher affiliate Cherrie Kwok, assistant professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, focuses her research and teaching on English-language literature from around the world, spanning the 19th century to the present. She examines themes of race, gender, and empire through the perspectives of writers from formerly colonized nations and modern reinterpretations of novels written during the height of the British Empire.

Ece Demir-Lira, CSSI researcher affiliate, studies how children's brains and environments work together to shape learning. Read the story from CLAS.

Isaac Petersen, CLAS researcher and CSSI researcher affiliate, draws on his experience as a preschool teacher to better understand behavior issues and improve early prevention efforts. Read the story from CLAS.

The Affiliate Research Studio provides CSSI researcher affiliates with office space in the Social Sciences Research Building to support focused research and foster collaborative connections. Participants receive a private office; opportunities for networking and collaboration, including facilitated introductions to researchers whose expertise aligns with their work; and proximity to CSSI staff, services, and programs. Through the Studio, CSSI aims to create a physical gathering point for affiliates and strengthen the social science research community across campus. Apply by Sept. 11 for the next eight-week studio appointment (Sept. 28-Nov. 20).

The Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI) serves as the University of Iowa’s hub for interdisciplinary social science research, connecting researchers through residency programs, writers’ circles, workshops, and social events. Those interactions lead to new research ideas, funded projects, and mentoring relationships, and, ultimately, high-impact social science research. The experiences of several affiliates illustrate how connections made through CSSI initiatives can grow into lasting collaborations.

The fall 2026 calendar for CSSI's Workshop in Methods series has been announced! The semester will kick off with a workshop on implementation science with Dr. Heather Reisinger. Other workshop topics include network analysis, programming using python, spatial data science and GeoAI, directed acyclic graphs, and data visualization in Stata. Take a look at the full workshop lineup.  

Three University of Iowa faculty members used this summer at the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI) to make significant progress on projects related to diabetes management, suicide loss survivors and perceptions of low-quality AI-generated images. They participated in CSSI's Summer Researcher-in-Residence program, which provides dedicated time, space and resources to advance high-impact social science research.

A new federally funded research initiative will explore how therapeutic group singing can improve communication, well-being, and quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s disease. Read the story from CLAS.

Colin Case, assistant professor of political science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a CSSI researcher affiliate, co-leads CampaignView, a free, publicly available database and research tool that sheds light on how primary candidates seeking seats in the U.S. Congress communicate with voters through their campaign websites. CampaignView includes more than 43,400 individual policy positions from more than 5,000 primary candidates, enabling researchers to compare candidates' positions on a wide range of issues like health care, immigration, and climate change. Read Colin Case’s researcher affiliate feature.

The Center for Social Science Innovation's (CSSI) Dissertation Completion Program provides structured accountability and dedicated workspace to help participants advance their dissertation research. Currently enrolled PhD students who have completed all required coursework and passed their comprehensive examinations are eligible to apply.