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Affiliates

Our affiliates enthusiastically participate in the ongoing life and mission of the Center for Research on Families. Current affiliates include the 70+ faculty alumni of our innovative Family Research Scholars program, more than one hundred student recipients of our awards and grants program for graduates and undergraduates, and dozens of other UMass, Five Colleges, regional and national faculty from across a variety of disciplines. All affiliates share a common link—research interests and specializations that focus on the myriad disciplines relevant to family life, and a willingness to contribute their energy and vitality to the Center's overarching mission.

Affiliates actively engage with CRF through our many sponsored activities each academic year. These include research programs, peer-to-peer working groups, opportunities to work with mentors who help faculty expand their grant-writing and grant-funding expertise, the Tay Gavin Erickson endowed lecture series, various conferences, methodology consulting services, and additional training available through workshops and seminars. The Center adds value to the research life of the University of Massachusetts Amherst by creating and sustaining discourse and by fostering avenues for our affiliates to disseminate their cutting-edge global research about the issues facing all families.

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Khadijat Adeleye

Kahdijat Adeleye

Compared to other high-income countries, the prevalence of pregnancy loss is high in the USA. However, the impact of pregnancy loss is not evenly spread among women and families. For example, women of minority backgrounds, such as African American women, immigrants, and other ethnic and religious minority groups, experience a higher pregnancy loss rate. Research suggests that pregnancy loss increases the risk of psychological trauma, especially where there is no support or openness about pregnancy loss.
Research into pregnancy loss is necessary because of its devastating impact on...Read more

Sofiya Alhassan

Sofiya Alhassan's current research interest is in using physical activity in the prevention of pediatric obesity, in particular, the utilization of community family-based physical activity interventions to reduce early onset cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus) in ethnic-minority children. Her research agenda also includes examining: 1) physical activity policy-base intervention in preschool-age children; 2) environmental and media influence on various health behaviors in ethnic-minority populations; and 3) after-school family-base intervention to...Read more

Abosede Alli

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rapidly urbanizing, but the sprawl is largely unplanned and unregulated, resulting in poor air quality. Yet, for the vast majority of SSA cities, there is little to no information to support health studies and environmental policy. The lungs of children are still developing and more sensitive to air pollution exposure which could have short- and long-term health effects. This includes increased risk of high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Hypertension in children is becoming prevalent in SSA, but the contribution of air...Read more

Luiz Amaral

Luiz Amaral is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Linguistics who enjoys applying linguistics to address issues in second and bilingual language acquisition, language instruction, and the revitalization of native Brazilian languages. He is one of the co-directors of the Language Acquisition Research Center at UMass Amherst. Professor Amaral is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he finished...Read more

Liam Amery

My research focuses on the extent of and the factors behind lead and copper contamination in schools in Massachusetts. Since 2016 there has been a continued lead and copper monitoring program in which schools, either independently or with assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), test faucets and drinking water fixtures for lead and copper levels.

Water lead levels are particularly important due to the negative health impacts of elevated blood lead levels (EBLLS), which results from ingesting lead through sources like air or water....Read more

Daniel Anderson

Daniel Anderson’s general area of research is children and media, particularly television. He focuses on a cognitive analysis of children’s television viewing, as well as the impact of television on cognitive development and education.

Dr. Anderson’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, as well as private foundations and industry.His current research concerns the impact of television on infants and toddlers as well as toddler attention to and comprehension of video. Dr. Anderson participated in the Family Research...Read more

Aneliese Apala

Aneliese Apala is a Master of Public Health candidate concentrating on Community Health Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her time at UMass, she has been a part of research related to American Indian/Alaska Native suicide prevention through resilience, gender and sexuality empowerment and education in elementary age students, and American Indian/Alaska Native women matriculating into postgraduate studies. Prior to the pursuit of her master’s, Aneliese was a Senior Scientist for a pharmaceutical contract research organization in Richmond, VA and volunteered with an...Read more

Kathleen Arcaro

Kathleen Arcaro studies breast milk to gain insight into the causes and development of breast cancer.  Breast milk can provide both a glimpse into the health of the breast and a record of a lifetime of environmental exposures.  Many persistent and biologically active pollutants concentrate in fat and are therefore present in breast milk. 

Dr. Arcaro’s research demonstrates that while the levels of pollutants of emerging concern, including synthetic musks, new flame retardants, and the plasticizer, bisphenol A are increasing in breast milk, the levels of banned substances...Read more

Luke Arieta

Luke’s current research aims to address why the skeletal muscle of older adults may acidify less than younger adults during fatiguing contractile activity. Skeletal muscle acidosis has previously been shown to be related to fatigue, but the exact mechanisms driving the age-related differences in acidosis are not yet known. Several proposed mechanisms have been suggested, such as the availability of oxygen and glycogen, but there has yet to be a comprehensive assessment to understand the age-related differences in acidosis. Luke’s assessment will identify any cumulative or interactive...Read more

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