Weekly News, April 13, 2026

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Invitation to submit questions. Help Shape the Conversation with the NIH Director at PAA 2026. PAA will host a fireside chat with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on “NIH and the Future of Population Research: A Conversation with the NIH Director” at PAA 2026 on Friday, May 8, 2026, 1:30 – 2:45 pm in the Ferrara Theater (1st Floor) of the America’s Center. This plenary session will focus on broad issues shaping population research, such as NIH strategic priorities, funding levels, open science/reproducibility, new methods of inquiry/AI, science communication, and the future of social and behavioral research. 

We invite you to submit your questionsfor Dr. Bhattacharya on a range of NIH-related topics. Questions that are clear, concise and broadly relevant will be most helpful, and please avoid questions about specific grant applications or individual cases. Submit your questions by April 20.

This week’s Brownbag Seminar is a special virtual event that features presentations by two UC Berkeley Demography Department alumni and a current Demography and Sociology PhD student. The event takes place on Wednesday, April 15th at 12pm PT via Zoom. The presentations are:

  • Margaret Frye (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan): “Mothering Time: Exploring Global Fertility Spans.”
  • Kylee Hoffman (PhD Student in Sociology and Demography, UC Berkeley): “Childhood Immune Imprinting Shapes Cohort and Period Influenza Mortality.”
  • Elwood Carlson (Charles Nam Professor Emeritus, Florida State University): “Measuring Acculturation: Euclidian Distance versus Cultural Involvement and Preference.”

The Zoom link is here.

Featured affiliate research of the week: Childhood immune imprinting shapes cohort and period influenza mortality. (2026). Kylee Hoffman, Chadi M. Saad-Roy, and Ayesha Mahmud. Sciences Advances, Vol 12, Issue 15.

See further announcements and opportunities below.

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EVENTS 

April 13 | 2-3:30pm | Sociology Department Colloquium Series | Stephanie Mudge, Associate Professor of Sociology, UC Davis.  “The Formation of the American Political Field, 1872-1928: A Field-Theoretic Political Economy Approach.” 402 Social Sciences Building. Zoom link here; Meeting ID: 912 1296 2018. See event details.

April 15 | 12-1pm | Demography Alumni VIRTUAL EVENT |

  • Margaret Frye (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan): “Mothering Time: Exploring Global Fertility Spans.”
  • Kylee Hoffman (PhD Student in Sociology and Demography, UC Berkeley): “Childhood Immune Imprinting Shapes Cohort and Period Influenza Mortality.”
  • Elwood Carlson (Charles Nam Professor Emeritus, Florida State University): “Measuring Acculturation: Euclidian Distance versus Cultural Involvement and Preference.”

Here is the Zoom link to join.

FUNDING

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invites applications for the following Grand Challenges grant opportunities. Applications for all RFPs are due no later than April 28, 2026, at 11:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time.

NBER READ and EC-READ Research Awards 2026–27

CALLS

Special issue of the journal Space Populations Societies on “The Diversity and Dynamics of Low Fertility.”  The journal Space Populations Societies is calling for papers on “The Diversity and Dynamics of Low Fertility.” The deadline for submission proposals (extended abstract of 1-2 pages) is 30 May 2026. Abstract and article may be submitted in English or French. You can find all the necessary information at the following link: https://journals.openedition.org/eps/16586

NB. The journal Space Populations Societies publishes special issues and standard articles (not included in special issues). Please do not hesitate to submit your manuscript. Deadline for submission of extended abstracts: 30 May 2026.

Special issue of Studies in Family Planning: “Pandemic and Epidemic Impacts on Reproduction, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Family Dynamics: Longer-Term Consequences and Cross-Crisis Perspectives.”

Special Issue/Collection Guest Editors:

  • Natalie Nitsche, Australian National University
  • Anna Kurowska, University of Warsaw
  • Alejandra Abufhele, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

Read the full call for papers here. Deadline for submissions: 15 September 2026.

Open Access Topical Collection in Genus on “Analysing Multiple Cause of Death Data to Understand Mortality Profiles, Trends and Disparities.” The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Declining Mortality and Multimorbidity at Death is pleased to inform you that Genus is soliciting papers for a new Open Access Topical Collection entitled “Analysing Multiple Cause of Death Data to Understand Mortality Profiles, Trends and Disparities.” You can access the topical collection via this link: https://link.springer.com/collections/hicigjhaga.

The IUSSP Panel will serve as guest editors for that collection. We warmly encourage you to submit a paper. You can submit your manuscript any time before that, and all articles published by Genus are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication. To submit your manuscript for consideration at Genus as part of this Collection, please follow the steps detailed on the Submission Guidelines page. When submitting your manuscript, you will choose (on the ‘Details’ page, in the first Collection section) whether you are submitting your manuscript to a Collection, you will then be able to select the “Analysing Multiple Cause of Death Data to Understand Mortality Profiles, Trends and Disparities” Collection from the drop-down list. Authors should also express their interest in the Collection in their cover letter.

If you have any questions, please contact the Aline Desesquelles (alined@ined.fr). Deadline for submissions: 31 December 2026.


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