OIBR Newsletter – Fall 2019

From the Director''s Desk

Fall 2019

Dr. Jody Clay-Warner SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Jody Clay-Warner (Sociology)
Interviewed by Andrea Horsman

Dr. Jody Clay-Warner is a Meigs Professor of Sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and has been at the University of Georgia since 1998. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Emory University, where she took comprehensive exams in both Social Psychology and Criminology. She also earned a Certificate in Women’s Studies. Dr. Clay-Warner is the co-director of the Laboratory for the Study of Social Interaction (LASSI) and the co-Director of the Violence Work Group at OIBR. In addition to many UGA committees, she is currently on the editorial board of Emotion Review and is on the Executive Board of the International Society for Research on Emotion, where she serves as treasurer of the Society.

Dr. Clay-Warner has been the recipient of many distinguished awards, including:

  • Women’s Leadership Fellow, University of Georgia, 2017-2018
  • Owen’s Creative Research Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Behavioral & Social Science, University of Georgia, 2017
  • Fellow, Society for Experimental Social Psychology, inducted 2009
  • Lifetime Achievement Teaching Award, American Society of Criminology, 2013

She loves to teach and this semester she is teaching a graduate seminar on Theories of Social Psychology. This class is fun for her because she gets to revisit theories she does not currently use in her own work and has a chance to catch up on recent developments in social psychological theory. Over the summer, she teaches Crime in Global Context as part of the Liverpool Study Abroad Program, which she co-directs.

Dr. Clay-Warner says the most exciting thing about sociology is that basic sociological principles can be used to help understand so many different parts of the social world. This is what allows her to study topics that are as disparate as ‘over reward’ and ‘criminal victimization.’  In addition, because sociologists are interested in a variety of substantive topics, there are many opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, which allows sociologists to benefit from and contribute to other fields of study, as well as have their research reach a broader audience.

The goal of Dr. Clay-Warner’s research is to understand responses to injustice. She addresses this issue through the lenses of social psychology and criminology.  As a social psychologist, she is interested in advancing basic science and engages in controlled laboratory experiments to examine how people respond cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally when they are treated unfairly. As a criminologist, she applies this knowledge to understand the experience of criminal victimization, which she conceptualizes as an extreme form of injustice. At UGA she studies sexual violence and, more recently, human trafficking. She is also interested in understanding processes of revictimization. Specifically, she is interested in the explaining why having experienced a victimization event increases risk for a future victimization.

Currently Dr. Clay-Warner is devoted to two projects, one of which is focused on human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa and one focused on sexual misconduct on college campuses. The first project is in collaboration with UGA researchers Dr. David Okech, Tamora Callands, and Nate Hansen, as well as researchers in the UK and in Africa. This project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Program to End Modern Slavery involves measuring the prevalence of child trafficking, as well as selecting and then evaluating prevention/intervention programs. She is particularly involved in the prevalence estimation work, which involves the application of novel sampling and statistical techniques for measuring hidden populations. The second project is in collaboration with her Sociology department colleague Justine Tinkler. They are designing a series of experiments to uncover the underlying social processes that affect men and women’s beliefs and attitudes about policies designed to counteract sexual harassment/misconduct, such as affirmative consent policies. This work builds upon Dr. Tinkler’s previous work on reactions to sexual harassment policy trainings and Dr. Clay-Warner’s work on reactions to injustice and on sexual violence.

Dr. Jody Clay-Warner joined the management team at OIBR as Associate Director in August. As Associate Director of OIBR, she oversees the faculty seed grant program, serves on the Grantsmanship Development Program Committee and the OIBR executive committee. Jody also represents OIBR in various capacities across the UGA campus and beyond.

She has been affiliated with OIBR since 2000, when she was in the Institute’s mentoring program as an assistant professor. When asked why she wanted to be the Associate Director, she said, “I know how valuable OIBR has been to me, and I want to help others benefit from the Institute. I’ve served in a number of administrative roles on campus and would like to apply the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired to advance the Institute’s mission.” Her thoughts on the future of the Institute, “OIBR’s future is bright. We are serving an increasing number of faculty across campus and are handling more grant activity than ever before. I expect this trend to continue, particularly as funding agencies become more aware of the value of interdisciplinary work.”

Dr. Clay-Warner is married to Lee Warner, who is an epidemiologist and branch chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They met as freshmen at UNC-Chapel Hill and have been married for 27 years. Their son, Jared, is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he is double majoring in political science and communication studies. Their daughter, Avery, is a junior at UGA, double majoring in economics and criminal justice studies. That is four social science majors across two children, so clearly she did *something* right!

In her rare spare time, Dr. Clay-Warner enjoys hiking at the Botanical Gardens, pleasure reading, cooking and yoga. When asked if she had to pick another profession, what would it be? She replied, “If I were independently wealthy, I would choose to own a bookstore. I wouldn’t make any money, but I would be very happy.”

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jody Clay-Warner to OIBR! She can be reached at (706) 542-6094 or by email: jclayw@uga.edu.

Fellows, Affiliates and GDP’s

Congratulations to a new Fellow of the Institute:

Dr. Anne Shaffer (Psychology) Associate Professor

Dr. Shaffer’s recently funded project (R34 from NIH) focuses on the use of an augmented family-based therapy (FBT) to treat pediatric anorexia nervosa (AN) that focuses on coaching parents in more effective strategies to regulate and express their emotions regarding AN. The aim of this R34 pilot effectiveness trial is to conduct a two-stage study to evaluate the effectiveness of a FBT + emotional coaching parent group intervention on weight restoration outcomes.

Research Interests: Parenting; Self-regulation; Maltreatment; Resilience

We would like to welcome the following new faculty Affiliates of the Institute:

Dr. Michael Barger, (Educational Psychology), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Motivation; Development; STEM Education; Parents; Teaching

Dr. Molly Berkemeier, (International Affairs), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: International security; Nuclear politics; Leaders; Alliances; Trust

Dr. Noel Card, (Human Development & Family Science), Professor
Research Interests: Peer relations; Aggression; Meta-analysis; Longitudinal modeling

Dr. Soroya Julian McFarlane, (Communication Studies), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Health communication; Health disparities; Culture; New prevention technologies

Dr. Theodore Kopcha, (Career & Information Studies), Associate Professor
Research Interests: Embodied cognition; Multimodal analysis; Embodied interaction; STEM education

Dr. Lisa Limeri, (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), Researcher
Research Interests: Undergraduate education; Mindset; Mentoring

Dr. Neal Outland, (Psychology), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Teams; Networks; Nonlinear dynamics; Computational models

Dr. Emily Rosenzweig, (Educational Psychology), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Achievement motivation; Motivational interventions; STEM education; Values

Dr. Geoffrey Sheagley, (Political Science), Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Political psychology; Political polarization; Decision-making; Political knowledge

Dr. Richard Slatcher, (Psychology), Professor

Research Interests: Social relationships; Health and well-being; Asthma; Psychoneuroimmunology

Dr. Nora Webb Williams, (International Affairs), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Images; Trust; Economic resilience; Social movements

Congratulations to this Grantsmanship Development Program Participant who will be graduating at our Annual Meeting on Dec. 3:

Dr. Sami Yli-Piipari, (Kinesiology), Assistant Professor, GDP Class of 2017
Research Interests:  Physical activity; Motivation; Exercise; Physical education; Serious games; Wellness

Welcome to the Grantsmanship Development Program (GDP) Class of 2019-2021:

Dr. Andy Carswell, (Financial Planning, Housing & Consumer Electronics), Associate Professor
Research Interests: Housing counseling; Sprawl/growth management initiatives; Residential mobility

Dr. Kerstin Gerst Emerson, (Health Policy & Management), Clinical Associate Professor
Research Interests: Loneliness; Social engagement; Older adults

Dr. Nate Evans, (Advertising & Public Relations), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Health communication; Vaccine hesitancy; Message processing

Dr. Ivanka Pjesivac, (Journalism), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Trust and credibility in messages; Cross-cultural communication

Dr. Allison Skinner, (Psychology), Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Social bias; Prejudice; Children; Adults

More Kudos…

Dr. Katie Ehrlich (Psychology) OIBR Fellow and 2016 GDP, Assistant Professor
Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science

Dr. Tessa Andrews (Genetics) OIBR Fellow, Associate Professor
National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) award

 Dr. Paula Lemons (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) OIBR Fellow, SEER Director, Associate Professor
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)

 Dr. Dorothy Carter (Psychology) OIBR Fellow and 2016 GDP, Assistant Professor
2019 “Rising Star” in Leadership Research Award, Sponsored by the Exeter Centre for Leadership (University of Exeter Business School, UK)

Policy Regulations & Compliance

For the first time, grantees holding any NIH-funded grant – not just those above the $500,000 threshold in direct costs – will need to submit a detailed plan for sharing data, including steps to protect the privacy of research subjects.  NIH is currently seeking comments on its policy for data management and sharing:
https://osp.od.nih.gov/scientific-sharing/nih-data-management-and-sharing-activities-related-to-public-access-and-open-science/

The federal government is focused on greater disclosure. NIH Applicants must disclose all research support even that for which they are not committing effort. NIH reminds applicants and recipients that other support includes all resources made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant. This includes resource and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, including but not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel, and provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemical, model systems, technology, etc.). https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-19-114.html

More on:

Intellectual Property and Research Protection: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19200/research_protection.jsp

and https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/09/nih-reveals-its-formula-tracking-foreign-influences

Interesting Info:

FY20 Appropriations Bills for NIH: https://www.aip.org/fyi/2019/fy20-appropriations-bills-national-institutes-health

FY20 Appropriations Bills for NSF: https://www.aip.org/fyi/2019/fy20-appropriations-bills-national-science-foundation

Contact OIBR grants staff Mysti Scheuer, Grants Coordinator, or Kim Cherewick, Assistant Director, with questions or if you are interested in submitting a research proposal.

Institute News

We have two new staff members at OIBR since our last newsletter:

Renee Moore joined OIBR in June 2019. She is our Senior Accountant, and her primary responsibilities include performing grant-related post-award functions, including: serving as payroll coordinator for all positions managed by OIBR; initiating payment and purchase requests; and monitoring sub-award & consulting agreements. She serves as departmental p-card cardholder and petty cash coordinator for externally and internally funded projects. Renee can be reached at reneemoore1@uga.edu.

Mysti Scheuer joined OIBR in September 2019. She is our new Grants Coordinator. Her duties are primarily oriented to pre-award support, including finding funding, coordinating grant proposals, drafting non-scientific components, and ensuring adherence to organizational and sponsor-related administrative guidelines. She also assists with Just-In-Time requests, award budget revisions, project progress reports, no-cost extensions and other administrative responsibilities. You can reach Mysti at mysti@uga.edu.

Successful OIBR Sponsored Events:

The Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Team Science (CMDTS) Core of Georgia CTSA (of which Lillian serves as Co-Investigator) sponsored two recent events at UGA. In August, we hosted a Blue Sky Group where researchers from Georgia Tech, Morehouse, and Emory joined UGA researchers to discuss “Drones and Rural Health.” Blue Sky Groups convene to discuss common research areas and identify potential areas of collaboration – be on the lookout for future Blue Sky events! In September, we hosted a CMDTS Workshop, “Building and Managing Your First Research Team”. Attendees learned about the skills necessary to build and maintain a successful research team.

This fall our Director, Lillian Eby (Psychology), and our Associate Director, Jody Clay-Warner (Sociology), hosted three Mystery Meet and Greet luncheons with guests from eleven different departments on campus. The purpose of these informal luncheons is to meet others around campus with similar research interests in behavioral and social sciences, while enjoying good food and conversation. WHOM you will be dining with is the mystery part of the lunch. We are always amazed at the great conversations and information shared at these events. These luncheons are by invitation only, so be on the lookout for your invitation next spring.

As part of the mission for OIBR, we strive to provide beneficial networking opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and we hope that you enjoy these events. We realize it is sometimes hard to take time from your busy day to attend an event. We do our best to ensure our events are well worth your time, and if you ask attendees, you will find the feedback is consistently positive! Stay tuned for more exciting things planned in the spring. If you have any event ideas, please feel free to share them with Andrea Horsman, OIBR Outreach and Communications Manager.

Save the Date:

Next year will be a very exciting time for the Institute as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary and plans are underway for several events that you will not want to miss. Please “save the date” on your calendar for Friday, October 23, 2020. OIBR will be hosting a symposium with several highly distinguished guests and we will wrap up the day with a masquerade ball at the Georgia Botanical Gardens. More details later.

COSSA News & Notes

FY 2020 Spending Still Uncertain, Continuing Resolution Likely Through December

As COSSA has reported, the federal government is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR), a stopgap measure that has frozen funding for federal agencies at fiscal year (FY) 2019 levels, which is set to expire on November 21. On October 31, the Senate made progress on its FY 2020 appropriations work by passing a package of four spending bills, including the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill that funds the National Science Foundation and Census Bureau, but leaving the fate of the remaining eight appropriations bills – and final year funding – uncertain. While the final decisions on FY 2020 spending are yet to be settled, reports from Congress indicate that leadership in both chambers and the White House have come to an agreement that the next CR should only last until mid-December, putting pressure on Congress to finish its work before the holidays.

COSSA released an Action Alert calling on members to communicate directly with their Senators and Representatives to urge them to complete work on FY 2020 funding as soon as possible to mitigate any further uncertainty to federal science and statistical agencies.

COSSA is an advocate for the research community, educating policy makers on the need for federal funding for research in the social and behavioral sciences. To read their bi-monthly update click here.

Funding News

We have several new research projects funded since last spring.

Dr. Jennifer McDowell (Psychology), an OIBR Fellow, received a NIH R01 as Co-PI/PD for a Multi-PI project housed at Augusta University in the amount of $2,845,194 for her project, “Pediatric Ambulatory Blood Pressure Trajectory and Brain Health in Midlife.” Project period: 6/1/2019 – 4/30/2023.

Dr. Lydia Aletraris (School of Social Work), an OIBR Affiliate, received a R01 in the amount of $2,180,818 for her project, “Cannabis Legalization: Assessing Its Impact on Treatment for Substance Use Disorders.” Project period: 8/1/19-5/31/23. Co-Investigators include OIBR Affiliate and GDP Alumnus, Dr. Orion Mowbray (School of Social Work) and recently retired OIBR Fellow and Center Director, Dr. Paul M. Roman (Sociology).

Dr. Gregory Strauss (Psychology), an OIBR Fellow, received a NIH R21 in the amount of $412,250 for his project “Mechanisms Underlying Emotion Regulation.” Project period: 9/9/2020-6/30/2020.  Co-Investigators include OIBR Fellow, Dr. Dean Sabatinelli (Psychology).

Dr. Dorothy Carter (Psychology), an OIBR Fellow and GDP Alumna, received a U.S. Army Research Institute award in the amount of $486,795 for her project “Next Generation Teams and Organizational Subsystems Research” Project period: 9/30/2019-9/29/2023.

Dr. Catherine O’Neal (Human Development & Family Science), an OIBR Fellow, received a U.S. Department of Air Force grant in the amount of $499,999 for her project, “A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Air Force Personal Financial Readiness Program.” Project period: 9/1/2019-8/31/2020.

Dr. David Okech (School of Social Work), an OIBR Fellow and GDP alumnus, received a new cooperative agreement in the amount of $15,750,000 from the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for his project “Reducing Trafficking Among Children in Sub Saharan Africa.” Project period: 10/1/2019-9/30/2024. Co-Investigators include OIBR Associate Director, Dr. Jody Clay-Warner (Sociology), and OIBR Affiliate, Dr. Lydia Aletraris (School of Social Work).

Dr. Lisa Limeri (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), an OIBR Affiliate, received a NSF grant in the amount of $322,402 for her project, “Measuring Mindset in Undergraduate STEM Students.” Project period: 1/1/20-12/31/21.  Co-Investigators include OIBR Fellow, Dr. Nathan Carter (Psychology).

 

Have something to share?

Do you have an interesting project that you are working on? Did you recently publish your work? Did you receive an award?  Let us help promote you and your research. We love sharing the accomplishments and successes of our faculty! Please contact Andrea Horsman with anything that you would like to share.