Center for Policy Research News
Heflin Article Urging States to Measure Food Insecurity Published in Health Affairs Forefront
As they prepare to field the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2027, states can secure the important data necessary to guide policy and resource choices related to food security, writes Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern’s ‘Will Work for Food’ Wins ASFS Book Award
The Association for the Study of Food and Society Book Award recognizes outstanding books about food published within the two previous calendar years, with prizes given in three categories: monograph, edited volume and first book.
See related: Agriculture, Awards & Honors, Food Security, Labor
Changes in the Education-Health Gradient Within US States, 1993–2019
Co-authored by Maxwell faculty members Jennifer Karas Montez, Iliya Gutin and Scott Landes, along with Ph.D. student Julia Finan, the article was published in Population Research and Policy Review.
See related: Health Equity, U.S. Education, United States
Heflin Discusses SNAP Payment Errors in Newsweek Article
Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, says it is important to note that “since a large portion of these errors are outside the control of the agencies [because they have to work with the information that clients provide], it will be difficult to bring down these errors without needlessly burdening all SNAP recipients.”
See related: Economic Policy, Federal Government, Food Security, Nutrition, United States
Yingyi Ma Speaks With Rest of World About Chinese Universities Prioritizing New Majors in AI
“In China, the response is more centralized and top-down,” says Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology. “AI is being built into national education planning and new majors. In the U.S., the response is more decentralized. Individual universities, schools, departments and faculty variability is huge.”
See related: Artificial Intelligence, China, Education, Government
Rick Welsh to Lead Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society
The Maxwell sociologist recently began his term leading the international organization focused on the study of food, agriculture and health.
See related: Promotions & Appointments
How Does SNAP Access Prior to Pregnancy Affect Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes?
The article, co-authored Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, and Ph.D. student Mitchell McFarlane, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.
See related: Food Security, Labor, Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Lopoo Speaks to Stateline About Changes to the Title X Program to Promote Childbearing
Leonard Lopoo, professor of public administration and international affairs, says the federal government could help families achieve their family planning goals by expanding pregnancy prevention and infertility treatments at all income levels.
How Shale Boom-Era Municipal Debt Could Undermine Community Resilience During the Energy Transition
This brief describes how shale boom-era municipal debt could become a long-term fiscal burden for impacted communities and identifies four policy approaches for managing these risks before the transition leaves communities holding the bill.
Excerpt From Lopoo’s New Book ‘Wanting Children’ Published in ARC Magazine
In the book, Leonard M. Lopoo, professor, chair and associate dean of public administration and international affairs, traces how America’s first reproductive policies were shaped by eugenicists focused on limiting births among lower-income and minority populations.
See related: Government, Parenting & Family, United States
Larsen Speaks to Newsweek About Funding Cuts to the CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System
Dave Larsen, professor and chair of public health, says that with the cuts, $25 million would only be enough to fund wastewater surveillance in a few states, and mean only seasonal epidemic pathogens like influenza, RSV and COVID-19 could be tracked.
See related: COVID-19, Federal Government, U.S. Health Policy, United States, Wastewater Surveillance
Kmush Discusses the Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in ABC News Article
“It's going to be very difficult to get all the contacts identified and followed properly, especially since the international aid community is really short on resources,” says Brittany Kmush, associate professor of public health. “You don't want to be short on people and resources to do the contact tracing, short on places to go for people to quarantine and isolate.”
See related: Africa (Sub-Saharan), Global Health, Infectious Disease
Natural Disasters, Property Reappraisal, and Fiscal Outcomes
Co-authored by Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, the study was published in the Journal of Housing Economics.
See related: Housing, Natural Disasters, State & Local Government, United States
Maxwell Sociologist Named Visiting Scholar at Russell Sage Foundation
Gabriela Kirk-Werner will spend the spring of 2027 in residence at the foundation’s New York City headquarters to co-author a book on how the criminal justice system shapes the lives of people under court supervision.
See related: Alumni Experience, Crime & Violence, Law, United States
Yingyi Ma Cited in TIME Article on the Trump-Xi Summit and AI
“An opening chapter of an AI cold war is emerging,” Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology, wrote ahead of the summit in a Brookings Institution commentary piece that was referenced in TIME.
See related: Artificial Intelligence, China, Federal Government, Government, United States
Heflin Speaks With The Wall Street Journal About the Drop in SNAP Recipients
“These large state drops in SNAP caseloads represent a fundamental restructuring of the food-assistance safety net,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “We should expect to see a surge in food insecurity and its related negative consequences at new levels.”
See related: Federal Government, Food Security, United States
US State Policy Index for Population Health Analyses
The article, co-authored by Maxwell professors Jennifer Karas Montez, Iliya Gutin and Shannon Monnat, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.
See related: Longevity, State & Local Government, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Ueda-Ballmer Talks to Scientific American About 988 Crisis Hotline Use, Decreased Suicide Mortality
“I see 988 as a promising and important part of the mental health support system, with real potential to expand its impact over time,” says Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Mental Health, State & Local Government, United States
Public Health Insurance Expansions and the Uniformity of Insurance for Families
Co-authored by Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, the article was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
See related: Health Insurance, Parenting & Family, United States
Differences in COVID-19 Experiences Between US Working Age Adults With and Without ADHD
Co-authored by sociologists Shannon Monnat, Andrew London and Scott Landes, the study was published in SSM - Mental Health.
See related: COVID-19, Mental Health, Substance Use and Addiction, United States
Explore by:
Center for Policy Research Events
September 10, 2026
CPR Seminar Series: Scott Cunningham, Baylor University
Eggers Hall, 220
3:30PM-4:45PM
September 17, 2026
The Uncertainty Principle: Diet, Disease, and the Limits of Scientific Consensus
Eggers Hall, 220
3:30PM-5:00PM
October 15, 2026
CPR Seminar Series: Michael Shephard, University of Michigan
Eggers Hall, 220
3:30PM-4:45PM