Community health workers impact the lives of residents of underserved areas where basic health services are often scarce. Over the next five years, Arizona State University’s School of Social Work will train hundreds of workers from all over the country, teaching skills designed to improve the health and welfare of thousands of children and families.

• Read more about School of Social Work secures $11M in federal grants to fund community health education, research

An Arizona State University professor will be researching ways to predict the safety of domestic violence survivors while their accused partners are awaiting trial.

• Read more about ASU to study domestic violence survivor safety during pre-trial period

Chris Herbst says that running 55 miles at a time can be so brutal that he enters a state he calls “the pain cave.”

Herbst, a faculty member at Arizona State University, is an ultramarathon runner, competing in races that are twice as long as a typical marathon.

But beyond the discomfort, he finds incredible beauty and peace of mind while pounding the trails for hours at a time.

• Read more about Running toward the 'pain cave'

Two Arizona State University School of Public Affairs professors began work this fall in national leadership positions in prestigious research and education organizations.

Mary Feeney, a full professor and Lincoln Professor of Ethics in Public Affairs, is the new program director of the Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

• Read more about Public affairs professors named to leadership of national science, education organizations

The ASU Foundation was among 71 Arizona nonprofit organizations to receive surprise grants from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

• Read more about Piper Trust backs ASU initiatives with $7.1 million in surprise grants

Frank Dillon is the new director of the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy in the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center.

• Read more about New director to hold joint appointments in social work, counseling and counseling psychology

As school districts around the country ramp up to welcoming students back in person full time, the National Institutes of Health put out a call to fund additional research projects to identify ways of safely returning students and staff to in-person school in areas with vulnerable and underserved populations. 

• Read more about ASU researcher awarded NIH grant to help safely return children to in-person school

Like everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused upheaval in the criminal justice system, with disruptions in trials and outbreaks among incarcerated people.

A new research paper by an Arizona State University professor uses a new computer simulation software to quantify one of the pandemic’s effects: a greater likelihood that people who are detained before trial will plead guilty in order get out of jail and avoid exposure to COVID-19 — even if they are innocent.

• Read more about ASU research finds greater likelihood of false guilty pleas during pandemic

Regents Professor Flavio Marsiglia’s “outstanding contributions to advancing the field of prevention science” throughout a long and distinguished career led to his selection as the Society for Prevention Research’s 2021 Presidential Award recipient.

• Read more about Social work professor to receive national society's Presidential Award for lifetime achievement in prevention science

Amid the many challenges of the pandemic, student workers at ASU’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience (KER) collaborated to drive use-inspired research and develop innovative solutions to make our community more resilient. 

Alexandria Drake
Global health, PhD, School of Human Evolution and Social Change

• Read more about Knowledge Exchange for Resilience gives ASU students invaluable experience