Laurel Kincl, environmental and occupational health professor and associate dean, was recently interviewed on the Partners of Commercial Fishermen podcast. She discussed how the FLIPP for Lifejackets program, in partnership with coastal communities, provides fishermen with resources to protect their lives and livelihoods.

Assistant Professor Matt Bozigar, an environmental epidemiologist, has been awarded a $50,000 New Investigator Grant from the Medical Research Foundation for 2025-26. His successful application, titled "Investigating Radon’s Role in the Incidence and Mortality of Central Nervous System and Other Non-Pulmonary Cancers," will support his research in this area. Congrats, Matt!

Human Development and Family Sciences Professor Shannon Lipscomb, Alexis Merculief, HDFS PhD '23, and HDFS PhD candidate Beth Phelps co-authored a recently published article introducing a tool for measuring resilience in young children. Their research supports early childhood development by providing a reliable way to assess and strengthen resilience.

Veronica Irvin, associate professor and Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III Endowed Professor in Public Health, has been elected a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The presentation of new fellows will take place at the society's annual meeting March 26-29 in San Francisco. Congratulations, Veronica!

Professor of kinesiology Brad Cardinal will deliver the plenary session at the 80th annual meeting of the Oregon Academy of Science (OAS) at Corban University in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 22, 2025. His talk is titled "Eradicating Physical Inactivity: Kinesiology's Reorientation Toward a Science in Service of Society." Brad is a past recipient of the OAS Outstanding Oregon Scientist Award and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Barbara Brody, associate professor of practice with Family Community Health and SNAP-Ed manager, helped form Malheur Works. The Malheur Works Student Internship Program, launched in 2021, aims to give area high school students their first full-time job after graduation. Recent news story More about Malheur Works

Associate Professor Tao Li testified before the Senate Health Committee alongside OHA Health Policy and Analytics Director Clare Pierce-Wrobel to present findings from the 2025 Oregon's Health Care Workforce Needs Assessment report. They presented the report's background, key findings, priority policy recommendations, and implementation plans to the committee.

The AgriStress Helpline was featured on Northwest Ag Today, a syndicated daily radio program produced by the Pacific Northwest Ag Network. Project Director Kaycee Headley was interviewed about mental health in farming and ranching communities.

While medical trust is essential for patient-centered health care delivery, there has been documented mistrust in health care providers and systems among minority groups in the US. In a recently published article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, research assistant professor Dawn Hyosin Kim examined how medical trust among older Chinese immigrants shapes their views on the importance of end-of-life care discussions, preferred care settings and educational resources.

As part of our FLIPP for Life Jacket program, Amelia Vaughan coordinated with community partners to distribute life jackets to more than 440 commercial fishermen. Several coastal news stories and our partners' Facebook posts have celebrated the program's success and community collaborations. We are continuing our research to determine if the fishermen wear the life jackets and their opinions of them at the end of the season.

Several College of Health faculty are authors of a forthcoming volume entitled “Positive Youth Development: Integrating Research and Practice,” co-edited with Theresa Ferrari at Ohio State University. Mary Arnold, professor and 4-H youth development specialist and co-author, says, “Theresa and I longed for a textbook for youth development practitioners and students that was solidly grounded in research but written to a lay audience with direct application to youth development practice. In the end, we decided to do it ourselves!

A new food collection system in Crook County, the Crook County Green Bags (CCGB) program, demonstrates the power of community action to address food insecurity. Launched following an FCH/SNAP-Ed Coalition meeting, CCGB has already collected more than 4 tons of food in just five collection events in 2024. This food has been distributed to residents of Crook County, with 133 households donating every other month. CCGB is on track to collect more than 5 tons of food in its first year, which equates to 8,334 meals for Crook County residents. With plans to expand next year, CCGB anticipates doubling donations in the 2025-2026 period.

Professor Megan McClelland was named February Scientist of the Month by the Global Science of Learning Education Network. "Our research shows that by nurturing self-regulation skills early on, we can empower children to confidently navigate their world. It's not just about academic success; it's about equipping our young learners with the tools they need to thrive in all aspects of life. When we collaborate across disciplines and cultures, we create interventions that are not only effective but also accessible to all, paving the way for a future where every child can reach their full potential," says Megan, director of the Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families and Katherine E. Smith Healthy Children and Families Professor.

Shannon Lipscomb, professor of human development and family sciences at OSU-Cascades, worked with colleagues from Italy, Canada and Oklahoma to edit a special issue of Frontiers in Psychology titled "Resilience Processes and Children's Development within Socio-Ecological Contexts." The collection included nine articles, with more than 15,000 article views and nearly 5,000 article downloads as of January 2025. Shannon led the editorial and co-authored two empirical studies in the collection.

Allison Myers was featured in a KATU piece about Oregon Senate Bill 779 that, if passed, will provide a permanent source of funding for the AgriStress Helpline. The helpline is a suicide prevention and resource referral line tailored for Oregon's agriculture and natural resource communities.