Quarterly faculty research and service news: November 2024
The VCU School of Social Work is proud to recognize the following accomplishments from our faculty this fall through November 2024.
Funding
Amy Adkins, Ph.D., assistant professor, College of Humanities & Sciences in conjunction with the School of Social Work-led Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health
Dr. Adkins and IRBEH were awarded a five-year renewal for their National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded R25 research training program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups. Each summer undergraduates spend one week in a research “bootcamp” and then seven weeks in a mentored research internship with a faculty researcher.
Rebecca Smith, Ph.D., research instructor, and Karen Chartier, Ph.D., associate professor
Dr. Smith and Dr. Chartier were awarded an Opiate Abatement Authority grant, “The Fast Track to Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC) Program,” abbreviated as Fast Track to CSAC. The project involves a collaboration with Rams in Recovery and the School of Social Work’s community embedded faculty; adapting the M.S.W. coursework and materials developed through our 2019-2021 Opioid Epidemic Learning Collaborative grant for use in the B.S.W. Program; and recruiting and advising M.S.W. and B.S.W. students on how to complete the requirements for their CSAC certification.
Publications
Hyojin Im, Ph.D., associate professor
With Ph.D. candidate Muna Saleh and recent Ph.D. graduate Seon “Sunny” Kim
Im, H., Saleh, M., & Khetarpal, R. M. (2024). Embodiment of Structural Vulnerability: Illness Experiences Among Somali Refugee Women in Urban Displacement. Ethnicity & Health.
Im, H., Verbillis-Kolp, S., Kim, S., Bonz, A., Mustafayeva, S. (2024). A Multi-Level Modeling Analysis of Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Group Interventions for Refugee Newcomers in the U.S. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.
Miriam Kuttikat, Ph.D., associate professor
With Ph.D. alum Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D. candidate Muna Saleh and Ph.D. student Marianne Lund; and Kyeongmo Kim, Ph.D., associate professor
Sahoo, I., Kuttikat, M., Chan, D., Murphy, J., Saleh, M. & Lund, M. (2024). Transmigration Stressors, Parent Mental Health, and Family Functioning Among Sri Lankan Camp Refugees in India. Migration and Development.
Saleh, M., Amona, E., Kuttikat, M., Sahoo, I., Chan, D., Kim, K., Murphy, J., George, H. & Lund, M. (2024). Child Mental Health Predictors Among Camp Refugees: Utilizing Linear and XGBOOST Models. PLOS ONE.
Sahoo, I., Amona, E., Kuttikat, M. & Chan, D. (2024). Enhancing Mental Health Predictions: A Gradient Boosted Model for Sri Lankan Camp Refugees. Social Sciences, 13(255).
Traci Wike, Ph.D., associate professor
With Hollee McGinnis, Ph.D., associate professor, and Ph.D. alum Leah Bouchard; and with VCU psychology colleagues
Wike, T. L., McGinnis, H., *Taylor, M., & *Bouchard, L. (2024). Social support as a moderator of the relationship between bullying, discrimination and problem behaviors for South Korean youth in institutionalized care. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.
Corso, C., Hoppe, R., Kliewer, W., Wike, T. L., & Winter, M. (2024). Emotion regulation in families: Exploring the link between parent-child alexithymia and child post-traumatic stress symptoms amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Child Psychiatry and Human Development.
Presentations
October: Qasarah Bey Spencer, Ed.D., assistant professor in teaching
Dr. Spencer facilitated a workshop on transformative supervision and a panel with community healers for Communities in Schools (CISVA) 2024 Summit: Innovation with Intention.
November: Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., associate professor in teaching
Dr. Gattis and colleagues presented at the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region VIII Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania:
“Equipping Faculty & Staff to Work with LGBTQIA+ Students Abroad.” David Harger, M.Ed. Christopher Newport University; Maurice Gattis, Ph.D.; Jess Hench, Ph.D., Christopher Newport University; Seth Weil, B.S., CEA CAPA Education Abroad
November: Ananda Newmark, Ph.D., associate professor in teaching
Dr. Newmark is part of an interdisciplinary VCU team that presented at the Virginia Assessment Group Annual Conference in Staunton:
“Virginia2x+b = Count Me In! Adding Multidisciplinary Content Expertise to Assessment Experience to Solve for Meaningful, Robust Measurement of Undergraduate Quantitative Literacy in General Education.” Angie Wetzel, Ph.D, VCU School of Education; Christy Tyndall, Ph.D., VCU Honors College; Carolina Yáber, Ph.D, VCU Department of Biology; Virginia Wray Totaro, M.S., VCU Department of Focused Inquiry; Ananda Newmark, Ph.D.
January: Ananda Newmark, Ph.D., associate professor in teaching
Dr. Newmark is part of an interdisciplinary VCU team presenting Jan. 22, 2025, at the Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU) National Conference in Washington, D.C.
“From Diverse Perspectives to Unified Success in Engaging Faculty and Promoting Student Learning: An UNCommon Case Study of VCU’s General Education Assessment Strategy.” Christy Tyndall, Ph.D., VCU Honors College; Angie Wetzel, Ph.D, VCU School of Education; Carolina Yáber, Ph.D, VCU Department of Biology; Virginia Wray Totaro, M.S., VCU Department of Focused Inquiry; Andrew Sackman, Ph.D., VCU Center for Biological Data Science; Ananda Newmark, Ph.D.
Continuing education
Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW, assistant professor in teaching, and Klara Prachar, M.S.W., LCSW, assistant professor in teaching
In her role as the school’s director of mental health initiatives, Dr. DeSena-Jacobs is leading Serious Mental Illness in Focus: Specialized Topics for Practitioners, a seven-part continuing education series from January-April, 2025.
Dr. DeSena-Jacobs and Prachar are working with two faculty in the College of Health Professions, Courtney Holmes and Denise Hall, to launch a Clinical Training Supervision series to train LCSWs/LPCs in February and April-May 2025.
Categories Awards and honors, Community, Education, Faculty and staff