Cassidy Branch oversees the center’s research services and supervises the research services specialists at the Center for Social Science Innovation.

With over 15 years of experience within the research enterprise at the University of Iowa, Cassidy provides expert-level project management for a variety of research projects including multi-site research studies, community-based research, clinical trials, and evaluation projects. She has experience collaborating with both internal and external clients and specializes in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches. 

Cassidy is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and is a voting delegate for the Association of Academic Research Organizations (AASRO). She is formally trained in focus group moderation, questionnaire design and writing questions for surveys. 

Cassidy joined the center in 2017 and served as a data collection and evaluation specialist from 2018 to 2024. Prior to joining the center, she worked with researchers in the University of Iowa College of Public Health.