CISS Names Inaugural Cohort of Postdoctoral Associates
The Center for Innovation in Social Science is pleased to announce the first cohort of CISS postdoctoral associates, who will join the Center for a two-year term starting September 2023. The two CISS postdocs were selected from a pool of nearly 150 extraordinarily talented social scientists, spanning multiple disciplines.
Tatiana Padilla
will receive her PhD in Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy in summer 2023. Her dissertation investigates the role of US immigration policy and enforcement in the creation and perpetuation of inequality both within and beyond US borders. She leverages intersectional perspectives to document the experiences of marginalized communities– particularly the intersections of migration/legal status and race-ethnicity. Through her research, teaching and practice, she is dedicated to understanding intersectional minority experiences and the socioeconomic consequences of U.S. migration policy and immigration enforcement. Prior to graduate school, through her role at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, she worked closely with unaccompanied children, serving as an interpreter during immigration proceedings and connecting them with pro-bono legal resources. She received her B.S. in Public Affairs (with distinction) at Indiana University.
Molly Richard
will receive her PhD from the Community Research and Action (CRA) Program at Vanderbilt University this summer. Molly’s research examines the nature, causes, and consequences of homelessness and critically evaluates systems that address it. Her dissertation explores how structural factors contribute to racial inequities in homelessness and how state and community institutions can respond. Molly also partners with local community organizations and national networks to support ongoing research and action. With the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, she co-created a new measure of doubled-up homelessness using Census data. Molly is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) fellow. Prior to graduate school, she was a member of the research team at C4 Innovations. She has also facilitated programming for Vanderbilt undergraduates at the Office for LGBTQI Life. She received her B.A. in Psychology (with honors) from Vassar College.
Tatiana and Molly will be joined by two additional postdocs: Kafayat Mahmoud who will work as a health and aging postdoctoral associate with Deborah Carr during the 2023-25 period, and Claudia Anderson, who will continue working as a postdoc with Jessica Simes through an Arnold Ventures grant in the upcoming year.
Kafayat Mahmoud
will receive her PhD in Sociology and Gerontology from University of Kansas in Summer 2023. Her dissertation uses National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) data to examine how patterns of formal social participation and family/household compositions are associated with the quality of end-of-life care and relationships. This research is important given the changing demographic structure of societies and the need to explore how other forms of social capital, apart from the family, may provide an effective intervention to improve the physical and mental well-being of older adults. She also examines the social context of aging and coping with chronic illness in Nigeria. Kafayat was a Science Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and previously served as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for ActionAid in Nigeria. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Sociology at University of Ilorin, Nigeria and a M.S. in Gerontology at University of Southampton, UK.
Claudia Anderson
received her PhD in criminal justice from University of Cincinnati in 2022. Her research examines the implications of punishment and correctional policies for individuals, systems, and communities. Her work aims to shed light on how prison systems function and the consequences of prison policies, with a focus on solitary confinement and racial/ethnic and gender disparities in punishment experiences. Learn much more about Claudia at this recent CISS Digest feature.