November 2019 Newsletter

Spotlight: Carlo Panlilio, Cohort Three fellow

Carlo Panlilio, Cohort Three fellow, is an Assistant Professor of Education and a faculty member of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at the Pennsylvania State University. His research aims to understand the dynamic interplay between early adversity, context, and development, which shape individual differences in learning over time. By understanding some of these more proximal learning processes, Carlo’s goal is to identify malleable mechanisms that can be intervention targets in the classroom.

Carlo, along with Cohort Four fellow, Catherine Corr, have a forthcoming chapter in the Handbook of Educational Psychology and Students with Special Needs that outlines a conceptual model from which to further understand such complexities in development and learning, particularly highlighting how instructional quality can potentially mitigate academic challenges.

Drawing from this model, Carlo is currently collaborating with a colleague from the University of Maryland to deliver a pilot intervention within a partner elementary school. The Trauma Sensitive Pedagogy Project aims to understand how the principles of trauma-informed systems can be integrated into instructional practices that account for adversity-related developmental processes that affect learning. Part of the pilot involves identifying areas of assessment to evaluate processes and outcomes of implementation.

Being part of the Doris Duke Fellowship has provided Carlo with an opportunity to think about the impact of research on the community and people we serve through asking practice- and policy-relevant questions. Carlo says, “Of equal importance is the opportunity that the Fellowships provided by bringing together interdisciplinary scholars that challenged the often-siloed way that we understand the causes and consequences of maltreatment. The Fellowships gave us a home in which we can, as current and graduated fellows, continue to work together and support each other in our journey to promote children’s well-being.”

Quarterly Webinar: Sparking Creativity in Research Dissemination

This past month, four fellows presented their research dissemination examples in the Fellowships Quarterly Webinar. The examples ranged in topic and strategy, but all focused on tools used to reach non-academic audiences.

From Left to Right: Three Doris Duke Fellows: Barbara Chaiyachati, Cohort Three fellow; Ericka M. Lewis, Cohort Five fellow; and Megan Feely, Cohort Three fellow connected at the R25 Summer Training Institute.

Leah Cheatham, Cohort Four fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, presented on her work publishing an Op-Ed in Youth Today about foster youth, specifically those with disabilities, and their experience in higher education. She shared insight on her expectations and the reality of the writing and publishing process, and some best practices she learned along the way.

Stephanie Gusler, Cohort Eight fellow and PhD Candidate at the University of Kansas, shared an update on her current work disseminating data from her research at a psychiatric in-patient unit through a nursing staff lunch-and-learn opportunity. She shared her thought process in planning the dissemination rollout, as well as how to translate data into helpful skills nurses can use with children from her findings.

Aditi Srivastav Bussells, Cohort Seven fellow and Research and Community Impact Manager at the Children's Trust of South Carolina, presented on her lessons learned on disseminating research to legislators and community representatives. Aditi highlighted the importance of breaking down complex ideas and research into “bite sized” pieces in order to entice politicians to want to learn more. She also highlights many other key takeaways and lessons learned throughout this process and next steps for moving forward.

Lindsay Zajac, Cohort Seven fellow and PhD Candidate at the University of Delaware, shared her experience creating an animated short highlighting the ABC Intervention. She walked us through the planning, creating, and editing process, all while relating it to her ultimate goal of disseminating this short to spread the word to funders and policy and practice representatives in her community.

All these fellows and more are doing incredible work to think outside the box with disseminating their research to multiple audiences. If you did not get a chance to tune in, check out the recorded presentation. Thanks to all the fellows who participated, and we look forward to seeing more creative ideas of research dissemination!

Fellows Updates:

Elizabeth (Miller) McGuier, Cohort Five fellow, published an article in Academic Pediatrics, on the how pediatric primary care provider characteristics and collaborative care participation influence changes in behavioral health-related effort over time.

Kaela Byers, Cohort Three fellow, in partnership with Chapin Hall colleagues launched the first in a series of strategies to disseminate findings from the Mitigating Toxic Stress study. Strategies include a series of research briefs, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed journal articles. The first two briefs were released in October and provide a description of the study and stakeholder perceptions of how pediatric innovations addressing social determinants of health contribute to family, clinic, and community outcomes. The study team also recently presented findings of caregiver engagement in pediatric care at PCAA, APPAM, and NCFR annual conferences.

Lindsay Zajac, Cohort Seven fellow, first-authored an article that was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry this month. The article discusses the attachment security in middle childhood using the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) intervention. Her academic mentor, Mary Dozier, is also a co-author.

Upcoming Dates:

Doris Duke Fellowships Mid-Year-Meeting at The University of Maryland, School of Social Work: April 22 - April 24, 2020: Baltimore, MD