Kloft Selected for Young Scientists Summer Program
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Samantha Kloft, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health Promotion and Policy, has been invited to participate in the 2025 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The 2025 YSSP will run on-site in Vienna, Austria, from June 2 to August 29, 2025.
The IIASA is an international research institute that advances systems analysis and applies its research methods to identify policy solutions to reduce human footprints, enhance the resilience of natural and socioeconomic systems, and help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Every summer since 1977, IIASA has hosted up to 50 doctoral students from around the world in its three-month long program. The YSSP is designed for advanced PhD students working on a topic that is compatible with ongoing research at IIASA and who wish to explore the policy implications of their work. Participants work under the direct mentorship of experienced IIASA scientists in a unique interdisciplinary and international research environment. As part of their participation, YSSP fellows produce a paper serving as the first step towards a publishable journal article, and have the opportunity to build up contacts for future collaboration within the institute's worldwide network.
Kloft’s proposed study is part of her doctoral dissertation research with Associate Professors Airín Martínez and Daniel López-Cevallos, analyzing the prioritization of trust at the federal level during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationally representative sample of US adults (from the 2024 RAND American Life Panel survey), their research underscores the crucial role of trust and explores strategies to enhance it through a collaborative approach to public health preparedness and response.
"Samantha's research is pertinent given the widespread erosion of trust in government institutions, including public health authorities,” says Martínez. “The YSSP will give her an international comparative and system-levels perspective where she can learn how other countries gain their public's trust, with the potential to develop structural and policy interventions that can rebuild institutional credibility and enhance public health communication in the U.S."
“Samantha’s selection for this prestigious and highly selective international fellowship is a testament to her rising profile as an early-career public health scholar, and the strength of our department’s doctoral training,” adds López-Cevallos. “I look forward to continuing to collaborate with her and Professor Martínez on this very important topic.”
Kloft notes that her methodological approach to understanding experiences of mis/trust in public health authorities aligns closely with the program’s emphasis on community engagement and social and behavioral change communication.
“I am eager to enhance my skills in health and risk communication in both research and practice,” says Kloft. “I look forward to learning from global experts, applying international best practices to my work, and developing community-centered strategies to strengthen trust as a key element of emergency preparedness.”