Dear IRL fellows,

The days here in Minneapolis are becoming colder and shorter, so I’m beginning to reflect on sources of light and warmth. Cozy sweaters and colorful scarves are top of mind for me right now, and I’m also thinking about YOU: your smiles, your laughter, your fiery Ignite talks. I’m still reflecting on the experience of being together with all of you in Minnesota. I will not soon forget Cohort 2 igniting Thursday night with your extraordinary presentations and incomparable spirit!

I’ve been with the IRL program since the early days of scrawling brainstorms on white boards of what this program might be like. As Associate Director of Curriculum, I love that my IRL work involves continuing to dream and re-imagine the program to best build the container to support your research leadership journey. My specific role in IRL involves helping to plan your in-person experiences, identifying relevant and inspirational webinar speakers, and developing mini-course topics. I welcome feedback and ideas on the curriculum at any time. In my non-IRL work life (yes, I do have a non-IRL work life), I teach health policy analysis and ethics of public health practice, and I conduct research on the effects of media on health policy, broadly construed. I get especially excited about the convergence of my scholarly research and IRL, particularly in tracking how teams are disseminating their research through media to achieve policy and organizational impact.

Thank you for sharing your light with me,

Sarah

The popularity of app-based research studies has soared, although plunging public trust in commercial technology companies could dampen enthusiasm and upend science if researchers don’t act quickly. 

Nefarious cases of data sharing and data breaches are in the headlines on an uncomfortably regular basis. One recent exposé found period tracking apps were sending extremely personal information about millions of women directly to Facebook without their knowledge. This comes in conjunction with all-too-frequent corporate hacks—from credit cards to electronic health records and more—that leave consumers vulnerable and scrambling to reset passwords and freeze accounts. 

Continue Reading on the COH Blog

Congratulations to our newest cohort of Interdisciplinary Research Leaders!

ANNOUNCING THE 2019 IRL TEAMS!

These 15 teams of researchers and community leaders will spend the next three years (2019-2022) working together to explore critical issues in their home communities and apply findings in real time to create healthier and more equitable policies and places to live.

Continue Reading on the IRL Blog