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Affiliates in the News

digital media in the air

CSSI researcher affiliate Brian Ekdale peels back the surface of digital media

Thursday, February 6, 2025
This article is part of a new series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to discover how Brian Ekdale peels back the surface of digital media to understand people's experience and perception of the world.
city devasted by an earthquake

CSSI researcher affiliates investigate the link between the Peruvian government’s response to natural disasters and political violence

Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Sara Mitchell and Elise Pizzi, researcher affiliates in the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI), analyze how the Peruvian government’s response to natural disasters influenced political violence in the country.
police pulling someone over

Reckless Driving Isn’t Just a Design Problem

Thursday, January 23, 2025
Ever wonder what would happen if the police just stopped enforcing traffic laws?
woman on phone and computer

CSSI researcher affiliate Bingbing Zhang examines how media messages can promote scientific and political literacy

Thursday, January 16, 2025
This article is part of a new series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to learn more about how Bingbing Zhang studies the relationship between media messages and scientific and political literacy.
Aerial View of City

CSSI researcher affiliate James Wo connects city design to crime levels

Thursday, January 2, 2025
This article is the first in a new series that profiles CSSI researcher affiliates. These profiles reveal the person behind the research, spotlighting their personal and academic trajectories and what they love about conducting research. Continue reading to learn how James Wo connects city design to crime levels.
Students in a classroom

CSSI researcher affiliate studies equity in high school Spanish classrooms across Iowa

Wednesday, December 18, 2024
David Cassels Johnson, researcher affiliate in the Center for Social Science Innovation, examines how Iowa high school Spanish teachers accommodate and uplift heritage Spanish-speaking students.
Students studying on campus

CSSI researcher affiliate investigates how introductory STEM courses affect academic success

Monday, November 18, 2024
Nicholas Bowman, professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies in the College of Education, recently published a study examining the impact of STEM course placement on the short- and long-term academic success of undergraduate students.
Professional portrait of Patrick Barlow.

Patrick Barlow, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research Areas: Survey Research; Program Evaluation; Psychometrics; Medical Education; Text Analysis
Professional portrait of Nicholas Bowman.

Nicholas Bowman, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
Research Areas: College Students; Student Success; Educational Interventions; College Rankings; College Admissions
Professional portrait of Katherine Britt.

Katherine C. Britt, PhD, MSN, RN

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Gerontological Nursing
Research Areas: Spiritual and Religious Activities; Dementia; Caregivers; Cognitive Health
Professional portrait of Katharine Broton.

Katharine M. Broton, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
Research Areas: Sociology of Education; Social Stratification; Higher Education Policy
Kenneth Brown Headshot

Ken Brown, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Educational Policy & Leadership Studies
Professor, Management & Entrepreneurship
Research Areas: Workplace Training and Learning; Higher Education
Case Headshot

Colin Case, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Political Science
Research Areas: Elections, Congress, Text Analysis
Professional portrait of David Cassels Johnson.

David Cassels Johnson, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning
Research Areas: Language Policy; Critical Discourse Studies; ESL and Bilingual Education; Education Policy
Headshot of Amy Colbert

Amy Colbert, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Department of Management & Entrepreneurship
Research Areas: Leadership; Motivation; Identity; Social Impact, Interpersonal Relationships
Lira Headshot

Ece Demir-Lira, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Areas: Parent-child Interaction, Neurodevelopment, Socio-economic Status, Cognitive Neuroscience, Academic Development
Professional portrait of Brian Ekdale.

Brian Ekdale, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Research Areas: Media; Algorithms; Global Production
Professional portrait of Megan Gilster.

Megan Gilster, MSW, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Research Areas: Housing Insecurity; Communities; Participation; Neighborhood Social Organization
David Greenwood Sanchez

David Greenwood-Sanchez, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Research Areas: Environment; Agricultural Policy; Latin America; Survey Research
Cara Hamann

Cara Hamann, PhD, MPH

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Research Areas: Injury Epidemiology; Transportation Safety; Injury Prevention
Professional portrait of Sarah Hofmeyer.

Sarah Hofmeyer, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Planning and Public Affairs
Research Areas: Sustainable Community Food Systems; Administrative Burdens; Urban Affairs and Planning; Hazard Mitigation
Professional portrait of Bogdan Kapatsila.

Bogdan Kapatsila, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Planning and Public Affairs
Research Areas: Travel Behavior; Sustainable Transportation Modes; Transport and Land Use
Kim Headshot

Sang Jung Kim, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Research Areas: Journalism, Misinformation, Artificial Intelligence, Visual Politics, Political Communication
Professional portrait of Caglar Koylu.

Caglar Koylu, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
Research Areas: Geographic Information Science; Cartography and Geovisualization; Spatial Analysis and Statistics; Human Mobility; Social Networks
Julie Lee

Julie Lee, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Instructor, Department of Health Management and Policy
Research Areas: Workforce; Healthcare; Aging; Employee Work-Family Balance; Negotiation
Duhita Mahatmya

Duhita Mahatmya, PhD

Title/Position
Research Design Specialist
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Research Scientist, College of Education
Research Areas: Positive Youth Development; Social Emotional Learning; Family Resilience; Research Methods
Daniel McGehee

Daniel McGehee, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Research Areas: Vehicle Safety Policy; Driver Performance and Response; Crash Analysis, Automated Driving
Professional portrait of Sara Mitchell.

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Department of Political Science
Research Areas: Conflict; Institutions; International Law; Environment
Professional portrait of Elizabeth Menninga.

Elizabeth Menninga, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Research Areas: Civil War; Conflict Resolution; Social Network Analysis
Mikucki-Enyart Headshot

Sylvia Mikucki-Enyart, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Communication Studies
Research Areas: Relational Uncertainty, Uncertainty Management, Communication Goals, Family Relationships, Sexual Communication
Sarah Nash

Sarah Nash, PhD, MPH

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Research Areas: Cancer Surveillance; Health Equity; Indigenous Health
Professional portrait of Julianna Pacheco.

Julianna Pacheco, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Department of Political Science
Research Areas: Population Health; Political Determinants of Health; Political Behavior; Voting; Polarization
Professional portrait of Isaac Petersen.

Isaac Petersen, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Areas: Developmental Psychopathology; Externalizing Behavior Problems; Self-regulation; School Readiness; Clinical Child Psychology
Pizzi Headshot

Elise Pizzi, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Political Science
Research Areas: Development, Public Goods Provision, Hazard Response and Mitigation, Ethnic Politics, Environmental Politics
Professional portrait of Amber Joy Powell.

Amber Joy Powell, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Research Areas: Crime, Law, and Social Control; Gender, Law, and Justice; Race, Crime, and Justice
Heather Reisinger Headshot

Heather Reisinger, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Internal Medicine
Research Areas: Implementation Science; Ethnographic Methods; Telemedicine; Community-Engaged Scholarship
Professional portrait of Meghan Rogers.

Meghan Rogers, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Research Areas: Cross-national Crime; Measurement of Crime and Its Correlates; Quantitative Research Methods; Criminological Theory; Social Structures and Crime
Professional portrait of Allison Rowe.

Allison Rowe, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning
Research Areas: Art Education; Community Engaged Art; Arts-based Research; Arts Integration; Socially Engaged Art
Professional portrait of Aynsley Scheffert.

Aynsley Scheffert, PhD, LICSW

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Research Areas: Organizational Interventions to Address Workers' Mental and Occupational Health; Coping and Stress; Mental and Behavioral Health; Occupational Health
Greg Shill

Gregory Shill, JD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, College of Law
Research Areas: Corporate Governance; Securities Regulation; Cities and Local Government Law; Transportation Law and Policy
Tolbert Headshot

Caroline J. Tolbert, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Professor, Political Science
Research Areas: Governance, Election Administration and Election Policy, Voting and Participation, Technology Policy, Research Methods
Professional portrait of Melissa Tully.

Melissa Tully, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Research Areas: Misinformation; News; Audiences; Mixed Methods; Africa
Professional portrait of James Wo.

James Wo, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Research Areas: Criminology; Urban Sociology; Planning and Public Affairs
Professional portrait of Bingbing Zhang.

Bingbing Zhang, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Research Areas: Media Effects; Media Psychology; Political Communication; Health and Science Communication; Emerging Technology
Professional portrait of Samantha Zulhke.

Samantha Zuhlke, PhD

Title/Position
Researcher Affiliate
Assistant Professor, School of Planning and Public Affairs
Research Areas: Public Policy; Public Administration; Environmental Policy and Politics; Drinking Water; Nonprofit Organizations

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