Awards

2022-2023

  • Anu Gomez, Brittany Chambers, and Deborah Karasek. “The Abundant Birth Project Evaluation.”
    Abstract: The Abundant Birth Project (ABP) is a community-academic partnership dedicated to addressing structural racism as a root cause of birth inequities with a pregnancy guaranteed income program. Through a formative, community-centered process, we developed a novel pregnancy guaranteed income pilot intervention that is providing $1000 per month for up to 12 months to 150 Black and Pacific Islander pregnant people in San Francisco. Our hypothesis is that providing income support in pregnancy will reduce stress and improve maternal mental health indicators, such as anxiety, depression, hope, and agency. Our research aims to: (1) examine the impact of additional income during pregnancy on maternal stress and mental health outcomes, and (2) explore the relationship between additional income during pregnancy and protective factors of mental health outcomes. This project will generate novel evidence about the potential impact of a pregnancy income supplement as a structural intervention for birth equity.
  • Lia Fernald, Emanuela Galasso, and Eleanor Tsai. “Mental Health among Community Health Workers in a Low-Income Context.”
    Abstract: Community health workers (CHWs), non-medical staff trained to deliver preventive services such as basic screenings, immunizations, education, and counseling, are an integral part of the health labor force in many low- and middle-income countries. Serving the communities in which they reside, they are considered to be at the frontlines of public health, increasing access to care and helping to target care based on their embedded knowledge of local needs and culture. Mental health problems among CHWs may decrease quality of care or cause burnout and turnover, ultimately reducing health services usage and limiting potential gains in population health. MAHAY Mikolo, an early childhood development (ECD) program delivered by CHWs in rural Madagascar, presents an opportunity to examine the relationships between CHW experiences and mental health outcomes over the course of the integration of a new intervention into existing health and nutrition activities. Specifically, the proposed research will leverage longitudinal survey data on CHWs’ exposure to various exogenous shocks and depression and stress, using i) event studies to describe the trajectories of CHW depression and stress; ii) machine learning methods to build and test predictive models of CHW depression and stress; and iii) multiple regression analysis to identify moderators of the associations between exogenous shocks and CHW depression and stress. Possible extensions include follow-up data collection on CHWs, follow-up data collection on participating households, and linkage to administrative data on participating households’ health and nutrition services usage.
  • Jeremy Magruder and Rebecca Cardinali. “Changes in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Colombia since 1986: Evidence from Demography and Health Survey Data.”
    Abstract: Colombia is a leader in family planning policies in Latin America and throughout the world. In this project, we will analyze changes in sexual and reproductive health outcomes in Colombia over time using seven rounds of Colombian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data collected between 1986 and 2015. Using an event study design, we will investigate how clinic openings affect sexual and reproductive health outcomes in Colombia. We will also analyze how sexual education policies and abortion policies correlate with changes in sexual and reproductive health outcomes. This study aims to provide more data-driven evidence on contentious sexual and reproductive health policies; results could potentially help inform policymakers in other contexts. This research will further the missions of NICHD’s Population Dynamics Branch, particularly on reproductive health and the research priority on contraceptive use and non-use.
  • Jenny Lui and Erica Sedlander. “Protecting Fertility as a Critical Part of the Sexual and Reproductive Lifecourse in Tanzania.”
    Abstract: An estimated one in four couples in developing countries are infertile, or unable to get pregnant within 1-2 years. The main cause of infertility in sub-Saharan Africa is untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) but early detection and treatment of STIs could prevent infertility and its emotional and economic sequelae. Research shows that misperceptions about infertility are pervasive (e.g., that contraceptive use causes infertility) which attenuates the effectiveness of adjacent family planning initiatives. While research in developed countries shows that fertility knowledge is low, we know little about overall knowledge in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, we plan to analyze 20 in-depth interviews with men and women of reproductive age from rural Tanzania to understand their knowledge and misperceptions around infertility. Findings will inform an R21 grant application to design a pilot intervention that focuses on social and behavior communication strategies to reduce misperceptions related to infertility and increase knowledge of and change social norms around preventive behaviors.
  • Danya Lagos, Rebecca Wolfe, and Daniel Schneider. “Do Transgender and Non-Binary Workers in the Retail and Service Sectors Have Lower Quality Jobs than their Cisgender Counterparts?”

2020-2021

  • Dennis Feehan and Ayesha Mahmud. “Measuring Changes in Interpersonal Contact during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US”
  • Ellora Derenoncourt. “Regenerating Opportunity: Reverse Migration and Black Suburbanization in the South, 1970-2020”
  • Corinne Riddell, Jen Ahern and Susan Mason (UMN). “Impact of COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place on Household Violence”
  • Abhay Aneja and Guo Xu. “The Economic and Health Costs of Employment Segregation: Evidence from the US Federal Government”
  • Lisa Barcellos. “Investigation of Adherence to Public Health Containment and Mitigation Efforts for COVID-19 and Economic, Downstream Health and Well-being Impacts”
  • Rucker Johnson. “Understanding the ‘Why’ & ‘How’ of School Spending Effectiveness: Getting Inside the Black Box”

COVID Special Issue Awards: 2020-2021

  • Lia Fernald. “Effects of COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies on Economically-Disadvantaged Children and Families in California”
  • Laura Packel, Sandi McCoy, Jenny Liu (UCSF). “Women’s Health and COVID-19: Understanding Shifting Needs, Perceptions and Access in Kenya and Rwanda”
  • Julie Deardorff, Brenda Eskenazi. “Mental health and Other Socio-medical Consequences of COVID-19 Response Measures among Low-income Latinx Families”
  • Stephanie Child, Claude Fischer, Leora Lawton (UCB); Anthony Paik, Mark Pachuki (Amherst); Raffaele Vacca (UF). “The Impact of Sheltering-in-Place on Mental Health: The Role of Personal Networks”
  • Yan Long. “Disease Prevention and the role of Community Organizations: Responses to Covid-19 in China and the U.S.”
  • Ted Miguel, Michael Walker. “Understanding Economic Outcomes and Resilience to COVID-19: Evidence from the Kenya Life Panel Survey”
  • Lisa Barcellos, Eva Harris, Joe Lewnard, Nick Jewell. “Community-based sampling of asymptomatic individuals in the Northern California Bay Area for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2”
  • Joe Lewnard and Ayesha Mahmud. “”Characterizing the early transmission dynamics and clinical spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States” “
  • Dennis Feehan and Ayesha Mahmud. “Measuring changes in interpersonal contact during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US”

2019-2020

  • Mahmud, Ayesha.  “Characterizing climate-driven population migration and displacement patterns in Bangladesh”
  • Snell-Rood, Claire. “Those who stay: the behavioral development and health of rural emerging adults who do not migrate”
  • Reynolds, Sarah (and Laura Cuesta). “Child support from nonresident fathers and child well-being in Latin America”
  • Chris Muller. “Agricultural Mechanization and Mass Incarceration”
  • Irene Bloemraad and Jasmijn Slootjes.  “Putting Immigrant Services on the Map – Using Machine Learning to Identify Immigrant Serving Non-Profits & Developing an Immigrant Services Accessibility Index””

2016-2017

  • Laraia, Barbara and Mujahid, Mahasin.  “Adolescent residential mobility and racial disparities in cardiovascular health after transition to adulthood”
  • Feehan, Dennis. “Estimating adult mortality using sampled social network data in 27 Brazilian cities”

2015-2016

  • Harding, David.  “Health Trajectories and Racial Disparities in the Transition to Adulthood”
  • McCoy, Sandra.  “Living with HIV in Tanzania”

2014-2015

  • Johnson-Hanks, Jenna. “Changing Masculinities and Reproductive Health”
  • Ozer, Emily. “Enhancing Measurement of Youth Civic Empowerment”
  • Smith, Sandra. “The Prevalence, Incidence, and Nature of Traumatic Loss in Low-Income Communities of Color”
  • Potts, Malcolm. “A bold new research agenda for sustainable development in the Sahel”
  • Gomez, Anu. “A Couple-Level Approach to Understanding Unintended Pregnancy”
  • Miguel, Ted and Fernald, Lia. “Intergenerational impacts of health investments in Kenya”
  • Fernald, Lia. “Preventing chronic malnutrition in Madagascar”
  • Schneider, Daniel. “Employment Precarity and Family Well-Being”
  • Fernald, Lia. “Household structure and transitions in the developing world: Associations with child welfare”

2013-2014

  • Satariano, William. “The role of place on disparities in life expectancy and mortality”
  • Mujahid, Mahasin and Barbara Laraia. “Exploring the Associations of neighborhood crime and traffic safety with functional limitations, global health status and multiple morbidities in a cohort of diabetics”

2012-2013

  • Ozer, Emily. “Identifying and Strengthening Pathways for Effective Cash Incentives: Promoting Safer Sex Among Sex Workers in Tanzania”
  • Haveman, Heather. “The changing face of the American law professor”
  • Laraia, Barbara & Smith-Jones, Jessica. “Will supermarkets in low income neighborhoods improve dietary intake “

2011-2012

  • Catalano, Ray. “Selection In Utero: A Test of Competing Explanations”
  • Dow, Will. “Using Group Commitment To Promote Smoking Cessation in Thailand.”
  • Hout, Mike. “Constructing linked data files from US manuscript censuses.”
  • Magruder, Jeremy. “The role of social networks in employment following migration”
  • Wilmoth, John. “Mortality Estimation for Sub-Saharan African Populations”
  • Handel, Benjamin and Ted Miguel. ” Understanding the Impacts of, and Demand for, Water Treatment and Modern Health Care in Rural India. “

2010-2011

  • Fernald, Lia; Rehkopf, David. “The effects of permanent income shock on health: pathways and mechanisms. “
  • Lia Fernald, Jessica Jones-Smith. “Using SITAR methods to analyze children.s longitudinal growth trajectories in two unique datasets.”
  • J. Keith Gilless. “Workshop: climate change issues associated with population and health, with an emphasis on Central & South America” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Leora Lawton. “Work-family balance and employer flexibility policies. “
  • David Levine. “Improved contracts for improved cookstoves.”

2009-2010

  • Barbara Abrams “Long-Term Maternal Weight Gain Related to Pregnancy in American Women” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Sabrina Agarwal; Lauren Milligan. “Maternal and infant health of the Aeta of Luzon, Philippines. “
  • Jennifer Ahern. “Macro-level shocks and gestational outcomes” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Julianna Deardorff. “Social environment and stress reactivity as determinants of early puberty, a risk factor for cancer in adulthood” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Stefano DellaVigna. “The Obama Effect on Economic Outcomes: Evidence from Event Studies.”
  • Will Dow. “Using Group Commitment To Promote Smoking Cessation in Thailand” (co-funded with CEDA).
  • Hutson, Malo; Mahasin Mujahid; George Kaplan. “Metropolitan Fragmentation and Segregation: Its Impact on Neighborhoods and Health” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Amani Nuru-Jeter. “Premature physiological aging among African-American women: a study on race and racism.”
  • Nancy Padian, Sandi McCoy. “Acceptability of Conditional Cash Transfers for HIV Prevention in Oakland” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Ndola Prata. “Community-based sentinel surveillance with verbal autopsy for maternal deaths in Tigray, Ethiopia.”
  • Sylvia Guendelman; Dorothy Thornton. “Adolescent Childbearing and Depression” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • John Wilmoth. ” John Wilmoth ” (co-funded with CEDA).

2008-2009

  • Lisa Barcellos (w/Farren Briggs). “An investigation of DNA methylation profiles in multiple sclerosis by phenotype and ethnicity ” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Stefano DellaVigna. “Behavioral and Psychological Factors in Online Game Playing.”
  • Lia Fernald & Paul Gertler. “The effect of day care availability on child development and maternal labor supply: Preparing for a randomized experiment in Mexico” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Claude Fischer. “Changes in social networks over the later life cycle” (co-funded with CEDA).
  • Lia Fernald, Jenna Nobles. “Children’s Growth in Changing Nutritional and Economic Environments: Using Longitudinal Data from the Oportunidades/PROGRESA Program” (Co-funded with RWJ).
  • Paul Gertler. “The impact of Mexican antipoverty policy on illegal immigration to the US” (co-funded with RWJ).
  • Denise Herd “The Impact of Neighborhoods, Alcohol Outlets and Violence on Health Disparities in Low Birth Weight among African American, Hispanic and White Women in California” (Co-funded with RWJ).
  • Ethan Ligon. “Sharing in networks: Individuals or households” (co-funded with CEDA).
  • Enrico Moretti. “Changes in Income Inequality and Cost of Living” (Co-funded with RWJ).
  • Elisabeth Sadoulet. “Returns to Reproductive Health Care” (Co-funded with CHR).

2007-2008

  • Irene Bloemraad. “Building a Web Resource of Available Datasets with Migration Data.”
  • Ann Swidler “Qualitative Supplement to Conditional Cash Transfer Study in Tanzania.”
  • Thornton, Dorothy and Sylvia Guendelman. “Obstetric Complications and Preterm Delivery in Californian Women with Depression.” (Co-funded with RWJ)
  • Edward Miguel. “Impacts of Youth Vocational Education in Kenya.”
  • Kaja LeWinn. “Social status, neurobiological correlates of emotion regulation, and physiological reactivity: understanding how the subjective experience of social class is biologically embodied.” (Co-funded with RWJ).
  • Julian Chow. “Integration of Welfare, Mental Health, and Workforce Development for Asian Immigrant Welfare Users.”
  • David Levine. “Improved Stoves for Health and Environmental Sustainability.”
    Abstract: Coming Soon
  • Jonathan Simon. “Youth Violence and Neighborhood Change: New Immigrants in Oakland, California.”