Weekly News, March 13, 2023

Our next Brown Bag Talk of the semester is this Wednesday, March 15th, at 12pm, with Caitlin Myers, John G. McCullough Professor of Economics and Co-director of the Middlebury Initiative for Data and Digital Methods at Middlebury College. The title of Cailin’s talk is “Forecasts for a Post-Roe America: The Effects of Increased Travel Distance on Abortions and Births.” We are delighted to host her in person, 310 Social Sciences Building. Zoom option and link below. 

Countdown! To the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America (PAA), the premier conference of demographers and other social scientists from the United States and abroad. Held in New Orleans, LA, April 12th–15th.

See further announcements and opportunities below.

EVENTS

March 13 | 2-3:30pm | UC Berkeley Department of Sociology | Dylan Riley, Professor of Sociology, UC Berkeley, will present “The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.” 402 Social Sciences Building, and Zoom, here.

March 14 | 12:10-1:00pm |  UC Berkeley School of Public Health | Latest in Public Health Research Series | Kaveh Danesh, UC Berkeley student, will present “Is Mental Illness Overdiagnosed? Evidence from a New Clinical Gaze.” Register in advance for the series here. See full slate of talks

March 15  | 12-1:10pm | UC Berkeley Demography Brown Bag Colloquium | Caitlin Myers, ​​John G. McCullough Professor of Economics at Middlebury College, will present “Forecasts for a Post-Roe America: The Effects of Increased Travel Distance on Abortions and Births.” Caitlin will present in person, 310 Social Sciences Building. Zoom link here.

March 15  | 12-1:30pm | Matrix on Point Panel Discussion on “Myths and Misinformation.” Co-sponsored by the Center for Race and Gender (CRG) and the Othering and Belonging Institute. Hybrid event, 8th Floor, Social Sciences Building. Read about the panelists and register to attend here.

March 15  | 4:10-5:30pm | Joint Departmental/Development Seminar, UC Berkeley Economics Department | Alessandra Voena, Stanford University, will present “Traditional Institutions in Modern Times: Dowries as Pensions When Sons Migrate,” (with Natalie Bau, Gaurav Khanna, and Corinne Low). Evans Hall 648 and zoom. Link to join

FUNDING

NEW:

Understanding Chronic Conditions Understudied Among Women (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

(RFA-OD-23-014)

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to invite R01 applications on chronic conditions understudied among women and/or that disproportionately affect populations of women who are understudied, underrepresented, and underreported in biomedical Research should align with Goal 1 of the 2019-2023 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women’s Health Research “Advancing Science for the Health of Women.” The awards under this NOFO will be administered by NIH ICs using funds that have been made available through the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and the scientific partnering Institutes and Centers across NIH. Earliest submission date is May 19th, 2023. Letter of intent due dates May 19th, 2023 through May 20, 2024. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-23-014.html

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is issuing NOT-HD-23-001: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI):  Mortality of Adolescents, Young Adults, and Other NICHD Priority Populations in the United States. Applications are invited to investigate:

  • Identify mechanisms, causes, correlates, and modifiable risk factors underlying recent trends in mortality during adolescence and young adulthood. Trends to be examined include the growing inequalities in overall mortality and by cause of death and manner of death (natural, unintentional and intentional injuries, including suicide and homicide, and undetermined), with attention to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, disability status, as well as family structure and living arrangements, income, education, and geographic location.
  • Examine trends in mortality among individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities with a particular interest in studies that identify mechanisms, explanations, and modifiable risk factors.
  • Improve the accuracy and granularity of cause of death coding, especially for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities, and to improve the accuracy of manner of death coding, particularly across unintentional and intentional injuries, including suicide and homicide, for adolescents and young adults as well as for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.
  • Improve research on mortality among youth populations of all sexual orientations and gender identities –especially for suicide and homicide, and other intentional and unintentional injuries.
  • Examine the impact of rising mortality among adolescents, adolescents transitioning to adulthood and young adults on the health and development of the population, including demographic factors such as fertility and nuptiality, on the health and development of decedents’ offspring and other family members, and on the health, development, and well-being of populations of interest to the NICHD is of high program priority.

The NICHD populations of interest that are the focus of this Notice are adolescents, young adults, and individuals with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities. For information on the NICHD Strategic Plan 2020: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/about/org/strategicplan. First available due date is June 5, 2023.

Notice of Funding Opportunity. RFA-AG-24-011 invites applications for research addressing the Role of Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and /AD-Related Dementia Etiology and Disparities. Letters of intent are due August 27, 2023. Applications due September 27, 2023. See RFA here.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research to Improve Pre-Pregnancy Care and Enhance Healthy Birth Intervals (NOT-HD-23-003) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to encourage research on the processes that facilitate or hinder the achievement of healthy interbirth intervals and promote healthy birth outcomes. Because short interbirth intervals are associated with a range of risk factors and poor maternal and child health outcomes, reducing the proportion of pregnancies conceived within 18 months of a previous pregnancy is a Healthy People 2030 objective. These negative outcomes include a lack of preconception health care, delayed prenatal care, preeclampsia, prematurity, low birth weight, infant mortality, and maternal morbidity and mortality. Short interbirth intervals may also reduce the duration of breastfeeding; conversely, the continuation of breastfeeding can contribute to the lengthening of interbirth intervals. This NOSI is intended to encourage collaboration among researchers across the social, behavioral, biomedical, and public health sciences to elucidate understanding of the modifiable factors behind barriers to enhancing birth intervals. First available due date: June 05, 2023. Read the full NOSI here

NIMHD Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (R21 – Clinical Trial Optional)

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-111.html. NIMHD invites applications to support short-term exploratory or developmental research projects that have the potential to break new ground in the fields of minority health and/or health disparities or extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications that can directly contribute to improving minority health and/or reducing health disparities in the U.S. Applications are due June 16, October 16, 2023, see here.

Interested in research on casual pathways and mechanisms through which social connectedness & isolation are associated with healthy aging? See three funding opportunities on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness & Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, & Recovery. PAR-21-349 is an R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans. PAR-21-350 is an R01 where clinical trials are not allowed. PAR-21-352 is an R01 where clinical trials are required.

The California Collaborative for Pandemic Recovery and Readiness Research (CPR3 ) is now accepting applications for the following two priority areas:

  • Social and Economic Outcomes. This RFP is focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic outcomes (e.g., those related to household finances, housing/mobility, labor markets, etc.) and evaluation of policies/interventions designed to mitigate or stabilize these effects.
  • Behavior Change and Communication. This RFP is focused on behavior change strategies to improve relevance, acceptance, and uptake of pandemic-related recommendations, policies and interventions, including public health communication approaches.

Award Type and Budget: CPR3 is offering three award types within each RFP:

  • The Pathfinder Award supports formative or exploratory research projects. Up to $100,000 direct costs for one year.
  • The Catalyst Award enhances research with existing preliminary data and/or research infrastructure that has practical application to the communities it aims to serve. Up to $200,000 direct costs for one year.
  • The Implementation/Scale Award supports implementation research and scale-up of interventions/programs with existing evidence of effectiveness. Up to $300,000 direct costs for one year.

For more information, please visit the CPR3 website or send questions to cpr3@ucsf.edu. Due date is April 17, 2023 by 6pm PDT.

Funding Opportunities from the Russell Sage Foundation. The Russell Sage Foundation has a number of funding opportunities for the year with upcoming deadlines, below or read about them here. RSF is hosting a webinar with details and a Q&A about the programs and best practices for applying for a RSF research award on April 3 at 2 PM ET. Register here.

Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is seeking evidence on policies and programs that improve access to nutritious food, nutrition security, and health outcomes. Up to $2.5 million is available for studies that focus on:

  • Federal nutrition-assistance programs;
  • Hunger-relief programs;
  • Community-powered food programs; and
  • Social and economic programs (nonfood policies).

Research can include strengthening existing programs, evaluating current policies, and testing new, innovative solutions that could have a real impact on improving nutrition equity and reducing disparities. Learn more about eligibility and application requirements. Apply by April 5, 2023. 

Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Climate Change and Human Health seed grant. The program aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between scholars working in largely disconnected fields who could change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. Funding: Up to $50K. Deadline is April 12, 2023. 

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, MEETINGS

The Berkeley Population Center and the Department of Demography is accepting applications for the 9th Annual Workshop on Formal Demography (WFD). Lead instructors this year are Josh Goldstein, Dennis Feehan, and Robert Chung. The Workshop will take place from June 5-9, 2023 at the UC Berkeley campus. The focus this year is on fertility, including contemporary topics like Covid-19 and abortion policy. The WFD is open to advanced graduate students, post-docs, and early-career researchers and faculty. Grant support will fund accepted trainees. The deadline to apply is March 24th, 2023. Learn more and apply here

NIMHD Health Disparities Research Institute. August 7-11, 2023 in Bethesda, MD (in person). The HDRI aims to support the research career development of promising early-career minority health/health disparities research scientists and stimulate research in the disciplines supported by health disparities science. Applications will only be accepted from individuals who meet NIH’s early-stage investigator (ESI) eligibility criteria. Apply by March 13, 2023, HERE.

Course on Matrix Approaches to Modelling Kinship at MPIDR. The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) will be offering an open course on Matrix Approaches to Modelling Kinship (3-12 May 2023) and encourages qualified candidates to apply. Instructors are Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, Hal Caswell and Ivan Williams. This two-part course presents the theory underlying new matrix approaches to the formal demography of kinship networks. The first part of the course introduces the matrix formulation of demographic analyses, while the second part focuses on matrix kinship models that describe the development of the network of kin around a focal individual as it ages from birth. The deadline to apply is March 17th, 2023. Learn more and apply.

NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. The NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program will host a two-day virtual workshop on March 16-17, 2023 to identify principles and best practices to ethically and feasibly return individual research results to participants in large-sample studies that include pregnant women and children. Virtual attendance is open to the public. Registration is free, but required.

Innovative Approaches to Improve Maternal Health Workshop. Join the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Monday, May 8, and Tuesday, May 9, from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET for a free hybrid event that brings together technology developers, medical device experts, small business innovators, implementation scientists, researchers, and academic, industry, and community-based partners to address technological gaps in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity (MMM). The goal is to connect the research community with small businesses that are developing new approaches to improve MMM and its associated health disparities. Hosted by the NHLBI and sponsored by the NIH IMPROVE Initiative along with six other NIH institutes and offices, the workshop will be held in the Main Auditorium of the Natcher Conference Center in Building 45 on the NIH campus and will be videocast. Topics include technology, clinical implications, community engagement, implementation, regulatory considerations, government funding, payors and investors, and more.  Learn more and register.

Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Data User Workshop. Instructors are Noura Insolera, Paula Fomby, University of Michigan. Dates: June 12-16th, 2023. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), begun in 1968, is the world’s longest-running multigenerational household panel study. It is used to investigate scientific and policy questions about life course trajectories in health and well-being, intergenerational social and economic mobility, income and wealth inequality, family investments in children, neighborhood effects on opportunity and achievement, and many other topics. This five-day workshop will orient participants to the content and structure of the core PSID interview, its special topics modules, and its supplemental studies, including the Child Development Supplement (CDS), the Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS), and the 2013 Rosters and Transfers Module. In addition we will discuss topics including the recently-released genomics data collected from children and primary caregivers in CDS as well as new data files which explain family relationships and demographic characteristics over time. Read the full workshop description here.

The Russell Sage Foundation staff will discuss the foundation’s programs and the application process at a webinar on April 3, 2023, at 2PM ET. Register for the webinar.

With support from the National Institute of Aging, the Center for Demography of Health and Aging and Initiative in Social Genomics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is hosting The Advances in Social Genomics Conference Series (TAGC). The goal of this conference is to showcase scholarship that considers biodemographic factors across the life course that shape health and aging processes. The two-day conference will include a three-hour training workshop focused on the All of Us data and applications, a keynote presentation, and a set of paper presentations.  Researchers from any of the biological or social sciences are encouraged to participate. There is no conference registration fee. Funding is available for travel and accommodations of selected papers. To be considered for this conference, please submit a complete paper, a working draft, or an extended abstract (including data description, methods, and preliminary results) as a .pdf file here by March 15, 2023.

The Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan is partnering with the Gateway to Global Aging Data (at USC) on a conference focusing on long-term care (LTC) policy and its impact on people and communities. The conference will be held November 7-8, 2023 in Washington, DC. Abstracts are due March 31, 2023. 

2023 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Research & Policy Conference. The 2023 FCSM Research and Policy Conference, to be held on October 24-26, 2023, in Baltimore, MD, provides a forum for experts and practitioners from around the world to discuss and exchange current methodological knowledge and policy insights about topics of current and critical importance to federal agencies. FCSM Research and Policy Conference seeks abstracts that address advances in credible and accurate survey and statistical methodologies from both research and policy perspectives. Abstracts should be limited to 200 words and are due April 3. Read more and submit here.

WEBINARS

March Headlines to Feature Discussion on the FY 2024 Funding Outlook for Social & Behavioral Science Research. COSSA’s regular webinar series, COSSA Headlines, is back for 2023 and will kick off March 16 with a discussion on President Biden’s FY 2024 budget request for science and outlook for research funding in the new Congress. The COSSA team will also highlight ways social and behavioral science researchers can weigh on with their elected officials to support federal research funding. Register for the webinar here.

Long-Term Care (LTC) virtual seminar, by CAPRA Co-Investigator Edward Norton, March 16, 12pm ET –  as a partnership between CAPRA and the Gateway to Global Aging Data (G2Aging) based at USC. Link to the seminar  https://g2aging.org/ltcseminar. Here is the CAPRA Quarterly, Winter 2023 newsletter.

Considering Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differences When Studying Resilience.A Research Centers Collaborative Network (of the NIA) Webinar. A person’s physical and psychological resilience is often thought to underlie their response to acute and chronic stressors. All of the National Institute on Aging extramural research programs have funding opportunities for studying resilience. One area that transcends all of these announcements is the importance of considering resilience in the context of disparities. This webinar will focus on the importance of taking disparities into account when studying resilience. The session will feature presentations from researchers studying resilience across populations and interventions to promote resilience. The webinar speakers will discuss the following:

  • NIA’s disparities framework and its application to the study of resilience
  • Evaluating resilience measurements in a way that allows for better understanding of resilience in the context of health disparities
  • Setting expectations for responsible use of resilience measures and data for the health of diverse populations
  • Religion and spiritual coping as a source of resiliency

March 30, 2023. Learn more and register here.

IUSSP Webinar on “Declining Mortality and Multi-Morbidity at Death.” Its aim is to draw attention to the role played by multi-morbidity in current epidemiological profiles and mortality dynamics. March, 30th, 2023. Learn more and register here.

OPPORTUNITIES

Culture of Health Prize, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The RWJF Culture of Health Prize has recognized more than 50 communities across the country that are at the forefront of advancing health, opportunity, and equity for all. Prize–winning communities serve to inspire others to take action and create a healthier future for everyone’s children and grandchildren. This year, the Prize has been relaunched with a focus on celebrating community-led solutions that are breaking down the barriers to health caused by structural racism and other forms of discrimination. Prize winners receive a $250,000 award and access to a network of incredible alumni. Deadline to apply is March 29, 2023. Learn more and apply.

Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics. Nominations are sought for the 2023 Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics. The award is intended to reflect the characteristics that marked Roger Herriot’s career including:

  • Dedication to the issues of measurement;
  • Improvements in the efficiency of data collection programs; and
  • Improvements and use of statistical data for policy analysis.

Individuals or teams at all levels within Federal statistical agencies, other government organizations, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and the academic community may be nominated on the basis of their contributions. Nominations for the 2023 award will be accepted until April 14, 2023. Read more.

Request for Information on the NIH Plan to Enhance Public Access to the Results of NIH-Supported Research (NOT-OD-23-091). NIH seeks public input on the “NIH Plan to Enhance Public Access to the Results of NIH-Supported Research” (NIH Public Access Plan). NIH has a decades-long history of providing public access to scholarly publications and data resulting from the research it supports, including through the 2008 NIH Public Access Policy and the 2023 Data Management and Sharing Policy. In 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memorandum on “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research” that establishes new guidance for improving public access to scholarly publications and data resulting from Federally supported research. The NIH Public Access Plan outlines the proposed approach NIH will take to implement the new guidance, consistent with its longstanding commitment to public access. Respond by April 24, 2023. Read more here.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Quetelet Journal has launched a call for papers about the demographic impacts of housing and crises. The expected papers will highlight the interactions between crisis and housing situations, both in the Northern and Southern contexts. More specifically, the proposed papers should analyse one of the following orientations:

  1. The impact of housing conditions during health-related crises (specifically the Covid-19 crisis) on health and mortality, and on the evolution of social inequalities in health and mortality.
  2. The impact of health, socioeconomic, environmental, and political crises on migration and by extension on housing change.
  3. The impact of the war in Ukraine on the demand for emergency and permanent housing, as well as the living conditions of European populations following the rise in energy prices.

Articles must be submitted before May 1st 2023. Information concerning the submission is available on the Quetelet Journal website.

RELATED LISTS

Jobs

All jobs and postdoctoral fellowships are posted as we receive them on the Demography Department Jobs Listserv, http://lists.demog.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/jobs. This list advertises positions of all sorts relevant for social and behavioral scientists with advanced degrees.

Migration Mailing List

Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI.berkeley.edu) is a research center for the study of immigrants and immigration. BIMI has a mailing list which is where a good deal of immigration and migration announcements are posted, and only some of that material is posted on the PopSciences Weekly News. Sign up for it with this link.

School of Public Health Mailing List

Tue$day Top Tip$ for SPH Research is a listserv with research funding opportunities and other information pertinent to public health researchers who are not necessarily population researchers. To subscribe, write to Dr. Lauren Goldstein, lhg@berkeley.edu.

Posted in Newsletter.