I am writing to share an important update regarding the future of our Hudson Valley Center, where we have offered graduate-level social work education since 1973. As I mentioned during the full faculty meeting last week, the 糖心破解版 Board of Trustees approved the closure of our Hudson Valley Center, located at the MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, at its September 18, 2026, meeting. Following the Spring 2027 semester, our Master of Social Work (MSW) students at the Hudson Valley Center will transition to one of our other MSW program offerings, including at the Manhattan Center in New York City or online, and our Doctor of Social Welfare (DSW) students will transition to 糖心破解版鈥檚 Manhattan Center.

In making this decision, the board and administration assessed how to best deliver our programs sustainably while providing the highest-quality resources. Consolidating our footprint will allow us to strategically centralize resources and student support services while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of our programs.

Academic Continuity for the Current Year and the Future

Our immediate priority is ensuring a successful, uninterrupted academic year for our current students. Our faculty and staff remain committed to our Hudson Valley Center students鈥� education and training, and all classes, practicums and schedules for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 will continue as planned.

We have also developed pathways to ensure that no student鈥檚 progress toward their degree is hindered. To that end, School of Social Work Dean Joanne Corbin, PhD, and her staff have met with impacted students and faculty. Students will be able to transition their enrollment to our fully online program, to 糖心破解版鈥檚 new Manhattan Center on Fifth Avenue or the Garden City campus, based on what works best for their life and schedule. These changes will not result in any change in cost for the student.

We are committed to making this transition as smooth and supportive as possible, while maintaining our valuable connections to the Hudson Valley through our many alumni and partners. Please feel free to reach out to Dean Corbin at jcorbin@adelphi.edu with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Christopher Storm, PhD
Provost and Senior Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs

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Ez-Zouhra Elmaaiden, PhD, is a visiting assistant professor of chemistry. A research and development scientist with multidisciplinary expertise in bioanalysis, preclinical research and formulation development, her work focuses on bioactive compound extraction, molecular biology workflows and cosmeceutical innovation. She holds multiple patents in extraction technologies and natural product development, bringing extensive experience in interdisciplinary project management, commercialization and graduate student mentorship.

Wan Ling Fahrer is a visiting assistant professor of , bringing more than two decades of experience across higher education, K鈥�12 schools, museums and community-based arts learning. Her work centers on art education, museum and object-based learning, and inclusive approaches to contemporary art and pedagogy. She has held appointments at Hunter College, Queens College and the School of Visual Arts, plus museum education roles at institutions including MoMA, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, the Guggenheim and the New Museum. Fahrer has received the Keith Haring Scholarship Award and multiple outstanding art teacher awards from the NYC Department of Education, and previously served as president of the University Council for Art Education. She holds an MA in Art History from Hunter College and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.

Marissa Galler, PhD 鈥�26, is a clinical assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Public Health. With a clinical background spanning critical care, oncology and palliative care, her research focuses on nurse practitioner communication surrounding end-of-life conversations. An alumna of 糖心破解版, where she earned her PhD, she also holds degrees and advanced certifications from Hofstra University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Thomas Jefferson University and St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital School of Nursing.

Charleen Jacobs-Mcfarlane 鈥�06, PhD 鈥�23, is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Public Health. A nurse scientist, adult nurse practitioner and double alumna of 糖心破解版, her clinical practice and research focus on health equity and rare disease care, particularly sickle cell disease. She previously served as a clinician-scientist and nurse practitioner at the Mount Sinai Center for Sickle Cell Disease, a postdoctoral fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a faculty member at Yale University and Columbia University. She earned both her BSN and PhD in nursing from 糖心破解版.

Susan Kang 鈥�14, MS 鈥�15, DPT, is a clinical assistant professor of health and sport sciences. An 糖心破解版 alumna and former graduate assistant in the Human Performance Lab, Dr. Kang is excited to return to 糖心破解版 and join her colleagues in the exercise science program. Her professional experience spans clinical testing and a variety of rehabilitation settings, including acute care, sports, neuromuscular and cardiac rehabilitation. Through her private practice, Blueprint Performance Physical Therapy, she helps active adults return to the activities and goals that matter most to them. Dr. Kang holds bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in exercise physiology and earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Kyungmin Lee, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences and sustainability director. Her research spans energy policy, climate policy, urban sustainability and community development, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her recent work focuses on applying AI techniques to analyze public responses to environmental issues through large-scale image analysis. Dr. Lee holds a doctoral degree in energy and environmental policy, a master鈥檚 degree in environmental studies, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics.

Louise Lee, EdD, is associate professor and founding program director of 糖心破解版鈥檚 new Physician Assistant (PA) Program, to be housed within the College of Nursing and Public Health. Dr. Lee has worked as a PA educator for more than 26 years and as a clinically practicing PA in internal medicine and emergency medicine for nearly 40 years, holding leadership roles including department chair, program director, and director of didactic, clinical and research programs at universities across New England and New York. She has taught clinical medicine, patient assessment, and healthcare law and ethics, among other subjects. Dr. Lee holds a doctorate in education with a focus on higher education leadership, a master鈥檚 degree in healthcare administration and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in PA practice.

Yongjin Lee, PhD, is an assistant professor of health and sport sciences. Building on a decade as a K鈥�12 physical education teacher and teacher community leader, Dr. Lee鈥檚 research examines how teacher and student reflection strengthens social and emotional development and informs curriculum design and instructional strategy. His recent work highlights physical education as a vehicle for building social awareness and responsible decision-making, and he is currently studying how artificial intelligence can support reflection among teachers and students to promote character and ethical growth.

Kathleen O鈥機onnor is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Public Health. She is a PhD candidate at 糖心破解版 and a nurse practitioner and clinical researcher whose background spans pulmonary medicine, post-operative surgical care and nursing education. She previously served as an adjunct instructor at 糖心破解版, a nurse practitioner and research coordinator at Northwell Health, and a clinical nurse at the Hospital for Special Surgery. O鈥機onnor鈥檚 dissertation is focused on Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, PhD鈥檚 humanbecoming paradigm. She currently teaches pharmacology, fundamentals of nursing lab and health assessment lab at the undergraduate level, and her scholarly interests include nursing theory, competency-based nursing education and the human experience of isolation. She earned an MS from Pace University and bachelor鈥檚 degrees in nursing and kinesiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Carlos Encina Oleart, PhD, is a visiting associate professor of sociology. A sociologist, journalist and organizational researcher, his work spans policy research, societal analytics, strategic communications and qualitative methodology. As a former investigative journalist and international correspondent for Chile鈥檚 La Tercera, he covered major national and global events, including human rights abuses during the Pinochet regime, the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis and international politics. He has advised multinational technology companies on strategic content and taught courses in criminology, gender studies, Latin American politics, the sociology of race and qualitative research methods.

Esi Quaidoo, PhD, is an assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics. A registered dietitian nutritionist and public health researcher, her work spans clinical nutrition consulting, community health and dietetic practice. She previously served as a nutrition consultant at Mission Clinic Accra and worked as a researcher and educator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a PhD in Public Health from UMass Amherst, an MPhil in Human Nutrition from the University of Ghana and a BSc in Biochemistry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology.

K. Lynn Robinson, PhD, is assistant professor of . She holds a PhD in Arts Administration, Education and Policy (concentration in art education) from The Ohio State University, began her studies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University. She brings extensive experience in exhibit design and activation for arts institutions as a curatorial and archival assistant, and as a facilitator of community-based art and teacher development in arts integration. Her research expands the definition of educators to include caregivers exploring the arts and community-based interventions to support a 鈥渧illage鈥� model for young Black learners and their caregivers, within and beyond formal schooling. She serves on the editorial review boards of Art Education, Visual Arts Research and the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, and as an editorial assistant for the Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education.

Jason Spencer, PhD, is assistant professor of communications, teaching and researching AI, emerging media, podcasting, virtual production and immersive storytelling, with a focus on how AI, XR and adaptive learning can support creative practice, personalized education and public communication. He earned his PhD from Texas A&M University, where his work in virtual production and AI-assisted education produced six intellectual property disclosures. His 20-plus years in film, TV and emerging tech include work with PBS, MTV Networks, Bravo, and documentaries by Blackside and Florentine Films, as well as teaching 1,800-plus students at Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M University, The Art Institutes and CUNY. Dr. Spencer鈥檚 current work explores how emerging tech can expand human creativity and learning while preserving human judgment, authorship and agency.

Sloan Vahldieck is an assistant teaching professor in the College of Nursing and Public Health. She is a nurse educator and adult nurse practitioner whose career reflects a deep commitment to clinical excellence, student development and community service. She has taught at 糖心破解版 since 2018; after discovering how much she loved teaching, Vahldieck returned to graduate school to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at 糖心破解版. As an adult nurse practitioner at St. Francis Hospital, she provides comprehensive occupational health services, diagnostic interpretation and employee wellness support. Her earlier roles in the emergency department shaped her expertise in triage, quality assurance, interdisciplinary teamwork and high鈥慳cuity patient care and developed her focus on initiatives that improve safety, strengthen clinical practice and enhance patient outcomes.

Eric Dean Wilson, PhD, is an assistant professor of English and faculty member in the Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing program. He is the author of After Cooling: On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort (Simon & Schuster, 2021), a work of literary nonfiction weaving the science and history of Freon with reflections on living meaningfully in a warming world. His essays have appeared in The Baffler, Orion, Esquire, Time, and Evergreen Review, among other publications. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from The New School and a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center, and previously taught at Wagner College. He is currently writing a book-length work of literary nonfiction for Timber Press.

James Zahardis, PhD, is a visiting assistant professor of chemistry. He earned his doctorate at the University of Vermont and completed postdoctoral fellowships at both The University of Iowa and the University of Vermont. His research expertise centers on physical chemistry, with specializations in aerosols, mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy.

To learn more about the members of 糖心破解版鈥檚 faculty, visit our Faculty Profiles.

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As we come to the close of the Spring 2026 semester, we鈥檇 like to share some updates on 糖心破解版鈥檚 Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) reaccreditation process and how we鈥檝e progressed during the semester.

A successful reaccreditation relies on the voices of our entire community, and this spring, we have been actively listening:

• In February, Steering Committee Co-Chairs Lawrence Hobbie and Liz Ciabocchi met with the Student Government Association to provide updates and information about the MSCHE re-accreditation process. The students were highly engaged, providing valuable insights into their educational experiences and offering thoughtful suggestions for how we can continue to improve.
• Interim Provost Susan Dinan provided key updates to the Board of Trustees in March, while Drs. Hobbie and Ciabocchi briefed the Deans Council, Assistant/Associate Deans and Executive Leadership during March and April.

Behind the scenes, our seven working groups鈥攅ach dedicated to a specific Middle States standard鈥攈ave been hard at work gathering and analyzing data from across campus. They are on track for a June 1 completion date for the first draft chapters of our University Self-Study, which will serve as the foundational blueprint for our institutional review.

As we move from data gathering to review, here is what you can expect over the next year:

• Summer 2026: The MSCHE Executive Steering Committee will review, edit and connect the working groups’ chapters into a single, cohesive draft Self-Study report.
• Fall 2026: We will distribute the draft Self-Study to the entire 糖心破解版 community for review and feedback. Additionally, our appointed MSCHE team chair will conduct a preliminary visit to our campus.
• March/April 2027: The full MSCHE evaluation team will arrive for their official 糖心破解版 campus visit.
• June 2027: MSCHE will render its final reaccreditation decision.

We look forward to continued collaboration as we demonstrate 糖心破解版鈥檚 ongoing commitment to academic excellence, institutional effectiveness and student success. If you鈥檇 like more information on the process and timeline, please visit our MSCHE website or email us at msche@adelphi.edu.

Warm regards,

Liz Ciabocchi and Lawrence Hobbie
Co-Chairs, Middle States Steering Committee

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Dr. Caro, who studied human evolutionary biology at Harvard University before pivoting to zoology and animal biology at the University of Oxford for her doctorate, has spent most of her career researching the dynamics between bird parents and their offspring, integrating concepts from behavioral neuroscience, evolutionary biology and urban biology. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in how birds鈥� social behavior evolves when there鈥檚 a tension between two evolutionary incentives: cooperation and competition,鈥� she said.

Bird families are the perfect petri dish for this tension. Parents want their offspring to cooperate and survive, but they may also, as Dr. Caro puts it, 鈥渂e a little selfish and want their partner to do more of the work.鈥�

Publishing Research That Expands Understanding of Bird Behavior

Recently, Dr. Caro was the first author on an article, 鈥溾�� (Behavioral Ecology, May 2025), that adds a new dimension to our understanding of bird parent behavior. Among evolutionary biologists, conventional wisdom holds that bird parents respond to their offspring begging for food with fixed behaviors, or behaviors that have evolved over time into something specific and unchanging. But Dr. Caro suspected that parents are actually plastic, or flexible, when responding to their offspring鈥檚 signals, particularly in different environmental conditions.

Dr. Caro took to the woods to conduct an experiment. She gave half of the resident bird population extra food to simulate ideal environmental conditions. The other half experienced no change to their environments. Additionally, she cross-fostered broods to ensure that chicks in both populations would behave similarly, leaving environmental conditions the only remaining variable.

Over the subsequent week, parents did not concentrate their feeding on the chicks that were the largest or loudest. Instead, Dr. Caro鈥檚 theory proved correct. The parents who received extra food became 鈥渘ice, equitable parents,鈥� she explained, while parents in harsher conditions surrendered to survival of the fittest. 鈥淭hese parents selectively ignored the runts, which means they were making decisions about which of their offspring were most likely to survive when food was low.鈥� Ultimately, parents displayed plasticity in responding to multiple sources of information, including local environmental conditions and their assessments of each chick鈥檚 size and behavior.

Exploring Parenting Differences Between Males and Females

Dr. Caro鈥檚 鈥溾�� (Behaviour, July 2025) illuminates another bird family dynamic鈥攖his time couples. 鈥淚n my work, I was noticing that male and female parents made decisions differently. Mothers took longer to make a decision and were more likely to change their minds,鈥� often clashing with fathers over feeding. But, she wondered, were these conflicts purely the product of biological differences in birds?

To find out, she conducted a meta-analysis on 31 bird species, comparing how mothers and fathers responded to offspring begging alongside social and physiological traits that could influence conflict. The results were unexpected. 鈥淚 went in expecting birds to show similar patterns to mammals, where females are almost always more responsive and provide the vast majority of parental care,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut across every bird species, sex difference was minimal. Only when I looked within species did I start to see other patterns.鈥�

In bird species with strong bonds between males and females, fathers were more responsive to offspring begging for food. In species with less stable bonds, however, fathers were less responsive to begging, leading females to compensate by taking on a greater share of parental care. Rather than an innate difference among sexes, then, Dr. Caro鈥檚 findings demonstrate that varying levels of responsiveness among males and females are likely shaped by the types of bonds they form.

Whether she鈥檚 depositing mealworms in bird nests or running statistical analyses, Dr. Caro believes a mixture of research methods will always yield the best result. 鈥淐omparative meta-analyses allow me to see the big picture across species. Then I can zoom into the details with experimental work,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y findings from an experiment might lead me to do a meta-analysis or vice versa. This is just such a rich field with so many different axes to explore.鈥�

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A New Framework for Understanding Homework Help

鈥淲hen I started studying homework and parenting, I found that the literature was divided between proponents and opponents of parental involvement, or focused on topics like whether parental involvement is academically effective. The parent-child relationship was completely overlooked,鈥� said Dr. Gershy Tsahor. 鈥淎s children grow up, there are fewer opportunities for parent-child interactions that are meaningful, so I began looking at homework as one context for interaction that was already built into the family’s daily routine. Parents are so busy that if there鈥檚 a way to foster the relationship that is already structured in family life, it makes for an ideal opportunity.鈥�

Dr. Gershy Tsahor’s theoretical paper positions homework as not just an academic task, but as a unique opportunity for 鈥渏oint attention鈥� between parents and children during middle childhood鈥攖he developmental stage between early childhood and adolescence. The work is grounded in questions like 鈥淲hat do children need from their parents during middle childhood?鈥� and 鈥淲hat kind of parental involvement enables a child to feel seen, valued and supported, as well as feeling that there is sufficient trust in them to do things successfully alone?鈥�

The resulting approach鈥攅mploying 鈥漥oint attention鈥� during homework鈥攎oves beyond the traditional argument for or against parental homework involvement and instead focuses on the quality of parent-child interactions during homework time. In developmental psychology, the concept of joint attention refers to one person coordinating, with purpose, their focus of attention with another person on a single object or task. More succinctly, it means two people paying attention to the same thing at the same time.

In early childhood, joint attention plays an important role in language development, social bonding and learning. Dr. Gershy Tsahor鈥檚 article suggests that homework is a structured opportunity to maintain and strengthen these moments even as children grow older and such occasions are fleeting.

Practical Implications for Parent-Child Homework Interactions

Many parents find themselves increasingly involved in their children’s homework, yet sometimes feel uncertain about the right level of support. Some worry about creating dependence on their help, while others fear their children will fall behind without a helping hand. With a national survey by NORC (National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago showing that 80 percent of parents help with homework on at least a weekly basis, practical guidance on how to help is useful for those seeking equilibrium.

鈥淒oing this the 鈥榬ight way鈥� is a big concern for parents,鈥� Dr. Gershy Tsahor said. 鈥淭hey understand the importance of helping their child academically, but most parents are not educators. They are confused about how to help.鈥�

Her research offers a strategy to help parents navigate these concerns. She notes that while parents may not have the pedagogical training to promote their child鈥檚 academic skills, what they are able to do is help their child find meaning and motivation in what they are doing. 鈥淧arents are the most important adults in their child鈥檚 life. Helping children find meaning in what they have done during the school day allows parents to be witnesses and reinforcers, not instructors,鈥� Dr. Gershy Tsahor said.

Most importantly, she said, the focus should shift from a pedagogical, often stressful approach to one that creates meaningful experiences鈥攁n opportunity for mutual discovery rather than instruction. 鈥淚nstead of providing the answers, parents can ask open-ended questions that help children think through problems while maintaining a shared focus on the work,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey can sit with a child as they work through math problems, pointing out patterns together, or discuss the themes in a reading assignment.鈥�

She says that taking away the uncertainty and negativity from homework time is the key. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for parents to know they don鈥檛 need a teaching degree to help their kids succeed.鈥�

Taking a Tailored Approach

Effective homework support looks different for different children and families鈥攕ome children may need more structured joint attention sessions, while others benefit from having parents available but less directly involved. 鈥淭he key is maintaining the quality of shared focus and collaboration rather than trying to take a one-size-fits-all approach,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hen people have children, they often feel there is a 鈥榬ight way鈥� to parent or a 鈥榗orrect鈥� strategy to use. While it can be reassuring to feel we have a script to follow, there is so much diversity in children and parents that this is often not feasible. It just creates more stress,鈥� Dr. Gershy Tsahor said.

She recommends that parents try to think about their goal and fine-tune and tailor their interactions. Ask questions like What does my child need from me in this context? and How can I join them in this process?

鈥淭his requires parents to be truly present, but ultimately they have the opportunity to learn something really important about their child鈥檚 life and get a glimpse into their child鈥檚 world.鈥�

In soon-to-be-published research, Dr. Gershy Tsahor examines the impact of an intervention that teaches parents to dedicate the initial five minutes of homework preparation to a guided observation of their child before offering assistance. Findings included an enhanced understanding of their child鈥檚 mental experience and decreased levels of hostility during homework time, highlighting the importance of parental awareness of their child鈥檚 mental state during homework and tailoring the experience to consider their perspective and capabilities.

Beyond Academic Outcomes

Dr. Gershy Tsahor鈥檚 work encourages parents to consider outcomes beyond grades and test scores. While academic achievement remains important, the joint attention framework has significant added benefits: strengthened parent-child relationships, enhanced communication skills and increased confidence in learning.

鈥淲hen families approach homework as an opportunity for meaningful connection, children develop more positive attitudes toward learning and greater resilience. They continue to trust the adults in their life as a reliable source of help,鈥� said Dr. Gershy Tsahor. 鈥淭hese outcomes can be more valuable in the long term than immediate academic gains.鈥�

The post Is Your Homework Parenting Style 鈥淗ow Can I Help?鈥� or 鈥淵ou鈥檙e on Your Own, Kid鈥�? appeared first on 糖心破解版.

As an expert in maternal and child health inequalities, and a Nigerian native herself, Dr. Yusuf saw a research question in the making鈥攁nd the chance to make a difference. 鈥淚 wanted to understand how much Nigerian parents really knew about HPV, about the cancers it causes, about the vaccine itself and if they intended to get it,鈥� she said. 鈥淏y gathering that information in advance, we could identify reasons for potential HPV vaccine hesitancy and understand how to convince parents to immunize their children when the vaccine became available.鈥�

Addressing a History of Vaccine Skepticism

In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women. Yet the nation鈥檚 immunization rates have historically been extremely low, in part due to mistrust of Western medical intervention. So while the HPV vaccine offers close to total lifelong protection against cervical cancer, Dr. Yusuf wasn鈥檛 certain Nigerian parents would see the vaccine as a silver bullet for their children. But to change parents鈥� minds, Dr. Yusuf knew she would first have to identify what was holding them back.

Dr. Yusuf and her team interviewed more than 1,000 parents and caregivers across Kano State, the most populous state in Nigeria. Participants were asked several questions, including if they had ever heard of HPV, the main reason they would not want to vaccinate their child(ren), and whether they would pursue the vaccine if it were available for free or more cheaply. At the time of Dr. Yusuf鈥檚 study, the HPV vaccine was only available for a substantial fee from private hospitals.

Discovering the Drivers of Parental Hesitancy

The interviews returned some unexpected results. Given the history of vaccine skepticism in Kano, Dr. Yusuf said she 鈥減redicted very low intention rates going in.鈥� But about 67 percent of parents indicated a willingness to vaccinate their children if the vaccine were free or subsidized. Dr. Yusuf also found that parents in urban areas were more likely to be hesitant, which came as a surprise. 鈥淚 assumed people in rural areas would have less access to news and educational materials, so they would be less aware of the vaccine,鈥� she explained, 鈥渂ut it might actually have been because they have minimal access to social media and therefore less misinformation.鈥� Fathers showed higher rates of hesitancy than mothers, which 鈥渟hould worry us. Nigeria is a patriarchal society, so fathers are the ones making key decisions for the family.鈥�

In addition to 鈥渉igh-risk groups,鈥� the study conclusively identified the most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy. In general, hesitant parents were (1) concerned about the vaccine鈥檚 safety, (2) did not believe their child(ren) needed it, (3) had not received a recommendation from their doctor, or (4) were not aware of the vaccine itself. In fact, only about 4 percent of participants had ever heard of HPV.

Dr. Yusuf is no stranger to the complicated factors that shape a population鈥檚 relationship with vaccination. Having previously studied immunization coverage gaps in the United States, she sees a clear difference between vaccine-hesitant American and Nigerian parents. 鈥淭he biggest problem in the U.S. is probably misinformation or disinformation from social media. But in Kano, few people have access to social media.鈥� Why, then, do rumors and myths about vaccines still run rampant, even for urban residents? 鈥淢any Nigerian communities believe what their religious and cultural leaders say. And sometimes those leaders say things that are misleading or inaccurate.鈥�

Using the Right Tools to Champion Vaccination

Now that Nigeria鈥檚 HPV rollout is underway, public health officials can target these variables鈥攚hether in isolation or together鈥攚hen developing vaccination campaigns. As Dr. Yusuf noted in her subsequent report, 鈥溾�� (Vaccine: X, December 2024), 鈥渢ailoring interventions to address the unique compositions and concerns of these communities is essential for improving vaccine uptake.鈥�

In particular, public health programs in Kano must address knowledge-related barriers when designing and implementing interventions. 鈥淲e need to partner with trusted figures in the community to make sure people are getting accurate information,鈥� Dr. Yusuf said. 鈥淲e need to focus on educating, creating awareness, and stressing the link between vaccines and cancer prevention.鈥�

Dr. Yusuf is currently completing an article from the study鈥檚 qualitative component, which will provide in-depth information on how to increase HPV vaccine uptake and actionable strategies for vaccine managers and policymakers in Kano. While she admits we still have much more to learn about the vaccine鈥檚 uptake in northern Nigeria, her work is steadily helping close the immunization gap, one study at a time.

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Romance between teenagers isn鈥檛 always puppy love. In fact, 24 percent of adolescent girls have already experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) by the ages of 15 to 19. Yet, as new research by Bernadine Waller, MA 鈥�10, PhD 鈥�21, senior adjunct professor in the 糖心破解版 School of Social Work, demonstrates, little has been done to target patterns of violence that begin in adolescence.

Dr. Waller has dedicated her career to studying鈥攁nd seeking to change鈥攖he way we respond to IPV. Her dissertation, which includes her groundbreaking theory 鈥淐onstructed Agency,鈥� and her subsequent article, 鈥溾�� (The Lancet, February 2024),¹ illuminates the disproportionate rates of homicide among Black women in America, including IPV-related deaths.

Putting the World on Alert about IPV

Bernadine Waller, MA 鈥�10, PhD 鈥�21, senior adjunct professor in the 糖心破解版 School of Social Work

For Dr. Waller, prior scholarship and clinical expertise 鈥渓aid the groundwork鈥� for her most recent publication, 鈥溾�� (The Lancet, April 2024),² co-authored with an international team of scholars.

The article lays out a sequence of IPV prevention strategies that can be implemented during adolescence, the 鈥渋deal time for prevention efforts as a period of 鈥榯ransformative change,鈥欌�� creating a long-term chain reaction. 鈥淚PV prevention at this stage can solidify healthy relationship patterns that have benefits beyond the individual, with the potential for healthy intergenerational relationships over time,鈥� the authors write.

These strategies are not designed solely for adolescent girls, either. Although limited data exists on IPV survivorship in boys, girls of color, and gender and sexual minorities, Dr. Waller and her co-authors flag the risks of overlooking violence suffered by these populations. Instead, they maintain, prevention strategies must 鈥渁ccount for the nuance of gender, sexual orientation, and the complex dynamic of victimization and perpetration outcomes.鈥�

With this article, Dr. Waller strives to direct more research attention toward an adolescent population that is not only huge and vulnerable, but global. 鈥淢uch of the existing evidence鈥攂oth for IPV prevention implementation and effectiveness鈥攊s drawn from high-income countries (HICs). In low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where prevalence is high and resources are often scarce, evidence is sparse or nonexistent,鈥� she and her co-authors write.

In Dr. Waller鈥檚 eyes, this constitutes a serious oversight by the global research community. The experiences of millions of young people are going unnoticed, and potentially valuable IPV intervention methods, opportunities and strategies from LMICs are being understudied. As the paper notes, 鈥淢ore evidence on how prevention occurs in LMICs would strengthen cultural and developmental adaptations of existing interventions as well as inform the design of novel approaches.鈥� Considering solutions from LMICs would allow community leaders to think beyond the individual level of care practiced in the United States, instead targeting school- and community-based delivery in their intervention models.

Dr. Waller also urges local leaders to leverage the preexisting infrastructure of community health workers, or 鈥渓ay providers.鈥� 鈥淭here鈥檚 a need to train nonspecialists to deliver interventions,鈥� she said, particularly when it comes to the adverse mental health connections strongly associated with IPV, such as depression, anxiety and suicidality. 鈥淚f you have an administrative assistant who鈥檚 interested in learning how to deliver a brief intervention for depression, let鈥檚 train them to deliver it.鈥�

The End Goal

Ultimately, the authors hope their work will result in increased adolescent IPV prevention and intervention efforts among both individual providers and community institutions, including religious congregations, primary care clinics and youth centers. And for Dr. Waller, it鈥檚 never too early to start modeling positive relationships and discussing healthy self-perception. 鈥淲hen young people have a healthier sense of self, they鈥檙e less likely to get involved in relationships that can dismantle that,鈥� she said.

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At first I thought the creators had taken inspiration from me, because in the reel, the character of Carl was wearing the same kind of clothing I wear, and like me, he was interested in watches and bicycles. But I found out they鈥檇 never heard of me when they were putting the character together. They鈥檇 just done their research.”

Carl, the hero of the PBS Kids show Carl the Collector, is a young raccoon who loves collecting objects and playing with his animal friends. Carl also has autism, making him the network鈥檚 first-ever lead on the spectrum. The show follows Carl as he plans sleepovers, tries to keep his room clean and hashes out disagreements with friends, providing viewers with an up-close look at how people with autism navigate everyday life. 鈥淭he show did it right from the very beginning,鈥� said Stephen Shore, EdD, clinical associate professor of education at 糖心破解版, who served as an autism adviser on Carl. 鈥淚ts creators worked hard to meaningfully involve the autism community and commit to authentic representation.鈥�

Dr. Shore, who is autistic, has traveled the world as a researcher, educator and speaker, appearing before audiences across more than 50 countries. With Carl, he added creative consultant to his r茅sum茅. 鈥淚 had never consulted on a show before,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut the creators reached out to me out of the blue.鈥� Initially, Dr. Shore was asked to share his thoughts on a promo reel. 鈥淎t first, I thought the creators had taken inspiration from me, because in the reel, the character of Carl was wearing the same kind of clothing I wear, and like me, he was interested in watches and bicycles. But I found out they鈥檇 never heard of me when they were putting the character together. They鈥檇 just done their research.鈥�

Stephen Shore, EdD, clinical associate professor at 糖心破解版

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A group of 糖心破解版 researchers wondered about the relationship between empathy and anxiety. Travis Nair 鈥�21, Stephanie Waslin, PhD 鈥�24, and Gabriela Rodrigues, PhD 鈥�24, doctoral students and adjunct professors in the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology; Derner doctoral student Saumya Datta, MA 鈥�23; Michael Moore, PhD, professor and director of Derner鈥檚 PhD Program in Clinical Psychology; and Laura E. Brumariu, PhD, professor and associate dean for professional programs and student advancement at Derner, conducted meta-analyses of existing data, hoping to synthesize an answer. The results of their work were published in the article 鈥溾�� (Journal of Anxiety Disorders, January 2024).¹

Drilling Down on Theory

Michael Moore, PhD, associate professor and director of Derner鈥檚 PhD Program in Clinical Psychology

Theory suggests that when people excessively engage in empathy, they may put themselves at risk for greater levels of anxiety. 鈥淲e were curious how individuals who are more anxious experience empathy and vice versa,鈥� the researchers write, as well as 鈥渨hether people who experience more anxiety tend to be more sensitive or concerned with others鈥� emotions and, in turn, more empathic, or if individuals high in empathy tend to have more or less clinical anxiety.鈥�

When designing their study, the research team encountered a challenge: how to understand empathy itself. The definition of empathy is the capacity to understand and share others鈥� emotions. But for the purposes of their work, the team made an additional distinction between 鈥済eneral empathy鈥� and separate 鈥渃ognitive鈥� and 鈥渁ffective鈥� components. Affective empathy is the capacity to share others鈥� emotions, while cognitive empathy is the capacity to understand another鈥檚 emotions or adopt their perspective. By differentiating between these three types of empathy, they would be able to more accurately review and collate the results of previous studies.

All told, the team included 115 articles and one dissertation in their study, representing multiple forms of anxiety as well as clinical measurement mechanisms. With thousands of data points considered across three meta-analyses, they came to a clear conclusion. Participants with higher anxiety experienced greater general empathy and, in particular, affective empathy. Furthermore, individuals who tend to react to others鈥� negative emotions with 鈥渟elf-focused鈥� feelings of fear or distress appeared to be at greater risk for clinical anxiety.

Certain manifestations of affective empathy, such as sorrow for others鈥� emotional states, allowed participants to preserve some distance from excessive and potentially detrimental empathetic connection. This might be a manifestation of sympathy, the team posits, which involves concern for someone else without necessarily feeling a similar emotion.

Laura E. Brumariu, PhD, professor and associate dean for professional programs and student advancement at Derner

Surprisingly, cognitive empathy was shown to not have a meaningful relationship to clinical anxiety. However, this may present its own opportunity for further research and practice, the team suggests. People with anxiety disorders, who often have higher rates of affective empathy, could be trained to modulate their empathic responses. Clinical interventions could support them 鈥渋n maintaining appropriate boundaries with others and using coping strategies when faced with others鈥� negative emotions,鈥� as the paper notes.

Future Implications

To the researchers, these findings feel more like a beginning than a definitive conclusion. In the future, the research labs of Drs. Brumariu and Moore are interested in evaluating circumstances in which empathy may be adaptive or present a possible risk for anxiety and other mental health concerns. They also suspect that anxiety could interfere with people鈥檚 ability to accurately read others鈥� emotions, especially based on facial expressions. With these questions in mind, the Derner labs are continuing their collaborations on further meta-analyses. As the team expresses in their paper, 鈥淥ur results only underscore the need to assess how and under what conditions empathy may relate to psychopathology.鈥�

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Automakers may still be reluctant to abandon GV production, even when their EV production costs are low and the efficiency of charging infrastructure construction is high.”

The future of the auto industry may be electric, but for auto manufacturers, it鈥檚 no longer a race to the finish. Despite the increasing popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs) with consumers, the auto business in the United States still sells millions of traditional, gasoline-powered vehicles (GVs) each year. Top manufacturers, such as Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, have announced their plans to fully shift to electrified vehicle production over the next decade. But according to the Institute for Energy Research, as of 2023, fewer than 4 percent of operational vehicles in the United States are either fully electric or hybrid.

What will it take to get manufacturers to transition to EVs? This is the vital question being researched by Zhimin Huang, PhD, professor and chair of 糖心破解版鈥檚 Department of Decision Sciences and Marketing.

Examining the Variables of EV Production

In his latest paper, 鈥溾�� (Transportation Research Part E: Why government subsidies may fail to get more electric vehicles on the road Logistics and Transportation Review, August 2024),¹ Dr. Huang and his colleagues examine some of the many factors affecting producers鈥� decisions to switch partially or entirely from GVs to EVs.

The team speculated that government subsidies for the purchase of EVs and the construction of charging stations鈥攖wo notoriously costly barriers for manufacturers鈥攚ould encourage the transition. They created a hypothetical model to understand how the introduction of those subsidies could lead to certain production strategies on the part of traditional GV manufacturers: deciding to directly enter the EV market and simultaneously exit the GV market, deciding to enter the EV market and then exit the GV market, or deciding to enter the EV market while continuing to produce and sell GVs.

The model鈥檚 output confirmed the correlation. 鈥淭he results show that EV production costs, charging infrastructure efficiency and the intensity of product competition are key factors influencing the automaker鈥檚 production decisions,鈥� Dr. Huang said.

“Substitutability” Drives Competition

Fierce product competition between GVs and EVs stems, in part, from an economic concept called 鈥渟ubstitutability.鈥� Essentially, how similar are EV products to GV ones on the market? 鈥淭he higher the degree of substitutability, the more intense the competition,鈥� Dr. Huang said. More intense competition, in turn, means lower profit margins, since manufacturers are competing for the same customers and therefore incentivized to lower prices.

When it comes to producing EVs, substitutability can be a roadblock for traditional car manufacturers. Without high profits to offset the costs of building expensive charging stations, the model predicts these manufacturers will be less likely to enter the EV market.

The hypothetical model developed by Dr. Huang鈥檚 team does not use real-world data. Instead, it extrapolates from existing economic theorems and derivations to produce its predictions. This allows researchers to distill infinitely complex consumer behaviors into data that can actually be leveraged by industry leaders, who can anticipate the consequences of business decisions before they鈥檙e implemented.

In this case, the decision to go fully electric may not be an economically sound one, even when the government is helping foot the bill. 鈥淯nder certain conditions, both types of subsidies [purchase and station] may fail to effectively drive, or could even hinder, full electrification,鈥� Dr. Huang said. 鈥淎utomakers may still be reluctant to abandon GV production, even when their EV production costs are low and the efficiency of charging infrastructure construction is high.鈥�

Dr. Huang points to his findings as proof that new strategies are needed to encourage the transition to full electrification among manufacturers. Innovative governmental policies, he said, in addition to traditional ones like subsidies, could begin to effectively move the needle for both consumers and manufacturers鈥攁nd electrify an industry that鈥檚 struggling to keep up.

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