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Children and teens who are experiencing increased anxiety and anger during the coronavirus pandemic will need guidance and validation as their lives continue to change, said Robyn Mehlenbeck, director of �鶹��Ƶ’s Center for Psychological Services.

�鶹��Ƶ and the Prince William County Department of Economic Development will lead the Northern Virginia BioHub, one of five clusters that will exist throughout the commonwealth by Virginia Bio-Connect.

“For some people, it will be tough to go back,” said Keith D. Renshaw, chair of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Psychology Department and director of the Military, Veterans and Families Initiative. “Many of us have spent the year with reduced human interactions. For people with anxiety, this has meant they’ve been able to turn off the technology when they needed to unplug.”

Allison Redlich, a professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and a colleague at Central Michigan University have received a collaborative National Science Foundation grant of $385,000 to study wrongful convictions within the U.S. criminal justice system.

COVID-19 antibody research by �鶹��Ƶ scientists shows a lot of promise

�鶹��Ƶ has made significant gains in research funding over the past year, buoyed by programs in social sciences and computer and information sciences that are ranked in the top 10 among public universities.

�鶹��Ƶ doctoral student Sarah Giff is examining the connection between parents with PTSD and their children’s emotional functioning, looking specifically at military families.

A study led by Dr. Kenneth Griffin of �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Health and Human Services and researchers at National Health Promotion Associates (NHPA) finds that the Cadet Healthy Personal Skills (CHiPS) program shows promise in reducing unwanted sexual contact in military academies. The intervention, which was rigorously tested with more than 800 cadets during their first year at the academy, addresses a critical gap in evidence-based interventions.

New �鶹��Ƶ study is first to examine unmet basic menstrual health needs, (often called ‘period poverty’) and associations with depression among college students. More than 14% of participants reported lack of access to menstrual products in the past year, and 10% reported period poverty every month. Women who experienced period poverty were more likely to report symptoms suggestive of moderate or severe depression.

Congratulations to Dr. Danielle Catona, Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, for recently receiving a Stearns Center grant for implementing alternative assessment strategies. The grant will allow Catona to conduct research on alternative assessment strategies for GCH 380: Public Health Research Methods. GCH 380 is an important aspect of the college’s accredited MPH program, and Catona’s research will provide valuable insight on improving it.

Sexual assault and sexual harassment are significant problems in the U.S. military and military service academies in the United States.