From Alaska to Michigan: Translating research into practical community tools
June 9, 2026
For decades, our national approach to substance use prevention was delivered as a lecture and focused on abstinence: “Just Say No.” But as any parent or researcher can tell you, the most vital lessons aren’t delivered from a podium; they are shared in small, sometimes messy, honest moments by...
ISR welcomes the 2026 Junior Professional Researcher cohort
May 26, 2026
ANN ARBOR — Six young researchers will join the Institute for Social Research as the 2026 Junior Professional Research Researcher cohort this summer. Over the next two years, these six researchers will embed in projects throughout ISR, sharpening their research skills and building key...
U-M research spending generates $164M for Michigan businesses
May 11, 2026
University of Michigan federal grants supported more than 16,000 jobs and generated nearly $396 million in research-related spending nationwide in fiscal year 2025.According to a recent report produced by the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science, spending reached vendors in...
AI analysis of police body-camera footage raises Constitutional concerns, racial disparities
April 30, 2026
ANN ARBOR—Thousands of officer-worn camera recordings found evidence of underreported police stops, troubling racial disparities in officer interactions, and widespread use of unclear language during consent searches, a new study shows.Researchers at the University of Michigan, University of...
Family-led firearm strategy goes ‘beyond the screen’ to curb suicide risk
April 17, 2026
ANN ARBOR—A family-centered approach to firearm safety can change how guns are kept in homes and may offer a new path to reducing suicide risk.A new University of Michigan study, published in Injury Prevention, tested a method called the Family Safety Net in Alaska, which shifts suicide...
Convoys of Caregiving: Arab American Families Living with Dementia
April 8, 2026
Listen to the Michigan Medicine podcast, Minding Memory, interview with Kristine Ajrouch, PhDJump to TranscriptIn this episode, Matt & Lauren speak with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD – a new member of our CAPRA leadership team. Kristine is a Research Professor at the Institute...
How Next Generation Initiative funds helped Bill Chopik fund a key study and change his career trajectory
March 12, 2026
ANN ARBOR — Nearing the end of his time in graduate school at the University of Michigan, Bill Chopik found himself in an all-too-common situation: he was out of money. Money can be a perpetual source of frustration for students, but Chopik’s needs went beyond what you’d typically expect...
The Research Center for Group Dynamics & the Origins of Network Analysis
February 27, 2026
Postwar Researchers at U-M made groundbreaking discoveries around how relationships work that continue to help us understand society today“A told B, and B told C, I’ll meet you at the top of a coconut tree.” The opening lines of a classic children’s verse deliver a...
Members of 2023 Junior Professional Researcher cohort share what they learned during their time at ISR
February 27, 2026
ANN ARBOR — Three members of the Institute for Social Research’s (ISR) 2023 Junior Professional Researcher (JPR) cohort are sharing the knowledge and experience they gained through their time in the program.Uma Hornish, Angelica Eagle, and Bolu Dogari met with current and future JPR...
PRBA Names Florence Johnson 2026 James S. Jackson Emerging Scholar
January 21, 2026
Florence Johnson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Clinical Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, has been named the next James S. Jackson Emerging Scholar by the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) at the Institute for Social Research...
