Population Studies Center

This event is cancelled because of the snow emergency; it will be rescheduled.

“Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples”

Emily Curran, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology & Demography

Van de Wall Prize Winner for Best Paper in Demography

Monday, February 23, 2026

12 – 1:00 pm: PSC Commons, McNeil 403

Congrats to VAN DE WALLE PRIZE WINNER Emily Curran!

See her present her paper at the next
PENN POPULATION STUDIES COLLOQUIUM
2/23 | 12PM | PSC Commons (McNeil 403)

READ MORE:
https://bit.ly/4aqR4OR

New paper in the Population Center Working Papers (PSC/PARC) series!

Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples

by Emily Curran

READ IT HERE:
https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/62251

YouTube video by Behavior Change For Good Initiative How to Communicate About Science | Q&A with Emily Oster

Missed our keynote conversation with Emily Oster?

The Q&A, co-hosted by @katymilkman.bsky.social and @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social, explored best practices for communicating about science.

Watch the recording: youtu.be/owqZ6BCBAr4

Prof. Dorothy Roberts Releases Memoir on Interracial Families in America New memoir from Prof. Dorothy E. Roberts is an exploration of race, identity, and family in America.

Prof. Dorothy E. Roberts' new memoir, The Mixed Marriage Project, intertwines her family's story with her father's research on interracial couples in Chicago. An exploration of love, race, and identity in America. Watch Prof. Roberts discuss her new memoir. https://penncareylaw.news/4kikGkA

In a @hbr.org article, Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social, Team Scientist Lyle Ungar, and collaborators ask:

How does Gen Z use AI, and what are the implications for education and the workplace?

hbr.org/2026/01/how-...

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: Transforming Community Health and Social Connections in Rural Areas of the U.S.

Professor Dolores Albarracín has long studied how to curb disease and improve health. Learn about her efforts, along with the team at the Social Action Lab, working with people in the parts of the United States most vulnerable to HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV):

Take a breath: Medicaid hasn’t changed yet | Expert Opinion But change is coming to the federal insurance plan, which (along with the state plan CHIP) covers two in five Pennsylvania children. Here’s what you can do to prepare.

What can parents do to get ready for upcoming Medicaid changes?

In a NEW Op-Ed for @inquirer.com,, pediatricians and LDI Fellows Betsy Salazar and Diana Montoya-Williams explain how to keep your kids covered: https://bit.ly/40cdsoQ

Infant Mortality Fell for Decades. Why Did That Stop?

@atheendar.bsky.social was recently quoted in the @nytimes.com on infant mortality rates - a critical public health issue that had been improving for decades but recently stalled.

Check out what he says this could be attributed to: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...

Education & Inequality Works in Progress

➡️ Gender as a Prediction Problem

➡️ Joel Mittleman, Penn Sociology

TOMORROW >>> Wednesday, February 11 | 3:00 PM | Sociology Conference Room (3rd Floor McNeil) & Zoom

web.sas.upenn.edu/education-an...

New paper in the Population Center Working Papers series!

Medicaid LTSS Spending and Participation: Data Sources and Insights

by @patrickarp.bsky.social , Lindsay White, @ermeara.bsky.social , Ari Ne'eman, & Norma B. Coe


READ IT HERE:
https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/62237

TODAY - Friday, February 6 | 12:00 PM | PSC Commons (403 McNeil) & Virtual

Air Pollution and Learning with R. Jisung Park

Education & Inequality Cluster Workshop

R. Jisung Park, Penn Social Policy and Practice & Wharton
sp2.upenn.edu/person/r-jis...

web.sas.upenn.edu/education-an...

THIS Weekend is The Penn GSE Ethnography in Education Research Forum

Register: 2026forum.dryfta.com/index.php

#FACTS Constructing Knowledge and Truth in a Complex World

PSC Associate Dr. Roberto G. Gonzales, Richard Perry University Professor, is the conference Convenor!

@penngse.bsky.social

How Playing Games May Save People’s Lives Gamification, an up-and-coming field, shows promise in nudging people to develop positive health behaviors.

How can playing games save lives? 🎮

Many LDI Fellows study how gamification can encourage healthier behaviors, like physical activity. Learn more about this emerging field: https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/how-playing-games-may-save-peoples-lives/

3 Policy Moves Likely to Change Health Care for Older People

"3 Policy Moves Likely to Change Health Care for Older People"

@nytimes.com cites analysis by LDI experts @rachelwerner.bsky.social and Norma Coe on the impact of CMS repealing minimum staffing rules in nursing homes that could have saved 13,000 lives per year.

https://nyti.ms/4qs2R4R

After Donations, Trump Administration Revoked Rule Requiring More Nursing Home Staff Executives who donated to the president's super PAC met privately with him and urged a repeal of the rule, which was intended to prevent neglect of patients.

"After Donations, Trump Administration Revoked Rule Requiring More Nursing Home Staff"

@nytimes.com cites Fellow Norma Coe & Exec Director @rachelwerner.bsky.social's work on impact of CMS repealing minimum nursing home staffing rules that could've saved 13,000 lives a year https://nyti.ms/45vegIS

YouTube video by UPennCHIBE Dr. Emily Oster joins CHIBE and BCFG for keynote discussion on communicating scientific evidence

Did you miss CHIBE and @bcfginitiative.bsky.social's keynote discussion with Emily Oster? Check out the recording here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJf1...

Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy named CHIBE’s Inaugural Endowed Chair - Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy has been named CHIBE’s Inaugural Endowed Chair called the Founders Professorship of Population Health.

Congrats to Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy (@hthirumurthy.bsky.social) on being named CHIBE's inaugural endowed chair! chibe.upenn.edu/news/dr-hars...

Penn Grad Talks have a NEW date so there is more time to apply & prepare.

Friday, March 27, 2026
12–4 PM

APPLICATIONS NOW DUE: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25

SUBMIT your application here: upenn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

WATCH presentations from year’s talks here: vimeo.com/showcase/pen...

Join Join the Community for Rigor to get regular updates about our work, early access to materials, and participate in events that bring together researchers passionate about making better science every…

Join us at c4r.io/join to get FREE access to our scientific rigor educational materials.

Penn Faculty Author Series:
Professor Corinne Low & Having It All
Wednesday,February 4, 5:30 PM
Penn Bookstore

Register: www.pennclubphilly.com/s/1587/gid2/...

Please join us (in person or online) for a PARC Aging Chat

MONDAY, FEB 2 @ 12PM in McNeil 403
(ZOOM INFO IN GRAPHIC)

Hospice Care (PARC Aging Chats)
with @davidrosenkranz.bsky.social & Anne Song

https://www.aging.upenn.edu/events/parc-aging-chats

New PSC/PARC Population Studies Working Paper!

Replication Study: Predictors of Loneliness in U.S. Adults Over Age Sixty-Five

with @patrickarp.bsky.social , Daniel S. Lee, Chuxuan Sun, Sheel Trivedi, Emily Yam, & Shana D. Stites

READ IT HERE:
https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/62226

Join us online on January 30 at 12pm ET for this panel of scientists to provide a demographic overview of the U.S. immigrant population. See the panelists and register here: buff.ly/elJ7uTd @fertmortmig.bsky.social @chloeneast.bsky.social

Does your work or field of study relate to counting or characterizing populations, or generating/using population data to make decisions? If "Yes" to any of these, then this conference is for you!

Join colleagues February 10–12 for the VIRTUAL PAA Applied Demography Conference: buff.ly/SwZMdvC

Recognize a fellow demographer (or yourself!) who has contributed to the profession with a PAA Annual Award! Nominations deadline is Saturday, January 31, 2026: buff.ly/VZcZ5G0

New PSC/PARC Population Studies Working Paper!

The Life You Save (For): Experiences Dominate Goods in Motivating Savings

with @yinsiyuan.bsky.social Grant Donnelly, Cait Lamberton, & Michael I. Norton.

READ IT HERE:
https://bit.ly/4bJeaky

Penn AGING researchers are encouraged to submit a brief abstract to be considered for a poster or 5-15 minute presentation at the 2026 PARC Aging Retreat "USA at 250 Years: Aging Healthily" on May 1, 2026! Submission Deadline: March 3, 2026!

Details:

Honored to receive the Sleep Research Society Foundation's Career Development Award (2026–2027) to support my work on neural circuit mechanisms of sleep homeostasis.

Grateful to the SRS Foundation and to everyone who has supported this journey.