In a nation confronting one the highest rates of traffic accidents in Europe, the simple act of crossing the street is a critical public health challenge. This issue is the driving force behind the work of Patricia Marga, a PhD Student in public health from Romania. Marga's research brought her to the University of Iowa this fall as an Obermann International Fellow in the Social Sciences. The fellowship was co-sponsored by CSSI.

A newly selected interdisciplinary team at the University of Iowa is launching a research collaboration to better understand how social isolation and disrupted sleep patterns contribute to reliance on AI chatbots—and how these interactions may pose risks to mental health. The project is supported by the Research Convergence Residency Program at the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI).