May 14, 2024
Initiative selects summer 2024 cohort of Applied Research Fellows
The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced today the selection of three graduate students and two undergraduate students as the 2024 cohort of the summer Applied Research Fellowship program.
Launched in 2019, the Applied Research Fellowship was created – and continues to be run – in partnership with the University of Washington’s Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology. The program seeks to offer students training in data analysis, critical thinking and team science skills that will help them solve complex population health challenges on their way to becoming future leaders in population health.
The cohort of five students selected for this year’s fellowship program are:
| Name | Degree Program | School |
| Anoushka Manik | Public Health – Global Health | Schools of Medicine and Public Health |
| Jenny Speelmon | Informatics and Psychology | College of Arts & Sciences |
| Carmen Choong | Sociology | College of Arts & Sciences |
| Sydney Pope | Community Health and Social Justice | Nursing & Health Studies (UW Bothell) |
| Priyanka Shrestha | Global Health and Health Metrics Sciences | Schools of Medicine and Public Health |
These students will spend 10 weeks over the summer working collaboratively with King County’s demographer and Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Assessment, Policy Development, and Evaluation Unit to explore longitudinal business-level data and quantify the opening, closing and tenure of businesses across the county from 1997 – 2022, building on the work of previous fellows to explore business changes by employee size, business type, and whether the company is publicly or privately owned. They will also examine the spatial distribution of business closures and openings across King County.
Understanding indicator trends across time and space, and how those associated trends vary based on neighborhood context, can offer useful insights for policymakers and future resource allocations. This research will describe potential impacts to business stability and diversity amongst communities in King County over time. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, the team will offer recommendations and next steps from findings to inform future programming and policies to address how King County supports communities, small businesses and their employees.
Learn more about this fellowship program by visiting its web page.