2025-05-20
- Before earning her Ph.D. in epidemiology, Becky Smith trained as a doctor of veterinary medicine. This combination of disciplines grounds Smith’s approach to promoting research uptake.
“One of the things we are taught in vet school is to be certain you know what the client wants from you,” said Smith, associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Health Innovation Professor at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. “You are part of a team. You are not the only one involved. So I am not doing research simply for the sake of doing research; I’m...
2025-05-19 - Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a decline in U.S. vaccine uptake, while widespread misinformation and distrust make it challenging to craft effective public health responses. In a new paper, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers discuss three case studies exemplifying different vaccine attitudes and behaviors. Their findings underscore the need for flexible approaches to reach diverse audiences with disease prevention strategies...
2025-05-01 - FRC researchers were especially active and engaged at this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. In the morning session for oral presentations, senior Sufiya Shazia and junior Anya Altangerel—both psychology majors—spoke about findings from their work with two separate FRC research projects. Shazia showcased data about how a mindful intervention in a preschool setting can reduce the risk of expulsion and improve teachers’ perceptions of and implicit assumptions about their students. (This mindful movement intervention is the same one that...
2025-04-26 - All semester, a group of students at Kenneth D. Bailey Academy in Danville have been studying the impacts that living in public housing can have on the mental health of those who live there. They presented their findings at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s annual undergrad symposium on Thursday. The student-led research project was part of the...
2025-04-16 - There is no typical day for A.J. Zwettler, director of employment services at the Developmental Services Center (DSC). Zwettler runs the Connections and Community First programs for DSC, one of the premier providers of services and supports for individuals in Champaign and Ford counties with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Every day, for upwards of 70 individuals, the Community First program offers over 40 weekly groups focusing on a variety of interests and recreational activities, like cooking or swimming. Connections is a complementary arts program that...
2025-04-07 - For youth of all ages, learning often happens beyond the formal circumstances and training of the classroom. Discovering one’s passion or connecting with an impactful mentor are important contexts for learning that can occur during Out-of-School Time (OST) programming, which comprises programs that take place before and after school and during summer break. Now, new Illinois research in the Journal of Youth Development shows how differences in the frequency and length of OST programs can make a significant difference in the...
2025-02-25 - Leon Bryson has seen it all. Currently serving as the associate director for the Champaign County Mental Health Board (CCMHB), which supports agencies and services related to mental health and substance-use disorders, Bryson's approach toward his work at CCMHB is fueled by his varied past professional experiences. These include working with young people as a director at Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club and as a drug counselor; in a group home for individuals with mental and developmental disabilities; in a psychiatric hospital; and as a research assistant at the University of...
2024-11-20 - In fall 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the FRC Steering Committee kicked off a strategic planning process that culminated in spring 2023 with the release of a roadmap to guide the center’s initiatives through 2028. That plan outlined the center’s holistic approach to addressing wicked problems--those problems that defy simple solutions; cannot be addressed by any one discipline, program, or policy; and are never completely solved. Now, in fall 2024, we are thrilled to release...
2024-11-18 - People give for many reasons. Some want to leave a legacy or honor the life of a loved one. Others wish to help make change here and now. Some see an obvious overlap between tax implications and their philanthropic goals. Whatever the reason, Kimberly Bishop’s job was to listen. In her seven years as the Assistant Dean for Advancement in the College of ACES—coming on the heels of a dozen years as a major gift officer with the college—Bishop helped donors discover the kind of impact they wished to make. She is retiring effective December 1 after 34 years of dedicated service...
2024-11-13 - Tell us about yourself and about your background. I’m from China, and I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in China, majoring in early childhood education. My previous advisor has his degree in psychology. With him, I focused on children’s developmental health and growth, especially paying attention to social and emotional development in learning. That experience showed me that what I want to explore in my research is investigating how the family environment or the important caregivers of children can influence their social-emotional learning. Then I found out that...
2024-10-24 - Many of the youth participatory action research projects that aim to empower young people to lead change in their schools or communities often fail to fully integrate them into the process, diminishing participants’ learning opportunities and the projects’ potential impact, a recent study found. Two scholars at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with extensive experience with YPAR projects — Amy Leman, a professor in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications Program; and Jacinda Dariotis, the...
2024-10-01 - In the following Q&A, Kai-Ning Wang, a new doctoral student of human development and family studies and graduate research assistant at the Family Resiliency Center, discusses her motivations for enrolling in the program, her history with and continued interest in mindfulness, and how her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and professional experience as an engineer aligns with her subsequent education in clinical psychology and current training in human development and family studies. Tell me a little bit about your background. What do you do at FRC, and what is your research...
2024-09-30 - Sharon Donovan believes that the University of Illinois can offer a unique team science approach to nutrition. That is why she founded the Personalized Nutrition Initiative (PNI), which launched in July 2020. “With our long-standing strengths in plant, animal and human nutrition coupled with strengths in engineering, behavioral sciences and a bioengineering-focused medical school, we are positioned to have a unique Illinois approach to nutrition discovery and implementation,” said Donovan, a professor and Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health, director of PNI...
2024-09-24 - Decrease your salt intake. Eat a hearty breakfast. Opt for more veggies. Although many people are familiar with these sorts of common nutritional recommendations, they may also struggle to put them into practice. Some individuals even respond to such guidance as stressful or threatening to their eating routine—and experience a respective spike in their levels of cortisol or testosterone. Now, a new research collaboration at the University of Illinois aims to quantify the biological markers of those stress and threat responses and help reduce or counteract them. Family Resiliency Center...
2024-08-20 - During the summer months, you can expect to find a young person atop a lifeguard stand or behind an ice cream counter, but at the Family Resiliency Center (FRC), summer means hosting high school and undergraduate students who want to explore the research process. Across June, July and August, three students honed their research skills at FRC as they developed assessments for an ongoing project implementing a mindful movement program for preschoolers. Sophia Deltas, a junior at the University Laboratory High School, and Lai Wei, a senior at Mahomet-Seymour...