Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) is proud to participate in the 30th Annual Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, taking place January 14 –18, 2026, in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme is Leading for Transformative Change: Aligning Social Work Science with Policy and Practice.
SP2 will be well represented at SSWR, with nearly 50 faculty, students, alumni, and staff contributing to 40 sessions as presenting authors, co-authors, speakers, conveners, and discussants. Among these contributors are 10 PhD students and numerous faculty and alumni from SP2’s PhD, DSW, and MSW programs. These sessions address pressing issues related to physical, mental, and financial well-being, particularly for marginalized populations.
In addition to these contributions, Dr. Desmond Patton, PIK Professor at SP2 and the Annenberg School for Communication, will be formally inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare’s Class of 2026 Fellows during the conference on Saturday, January 17.
Dedicated to the advancement of social work research, SSWR is made up of more than 1,800 members representing 45 states, 15 countries, and more than 200 universities and institutions. The SSWR Annual Conference includes over 500 symposia, workshop, roundtable, paper, and poster presentations. SP2 is proud to serve as a Friends Level Sponsor for this year’s event.
The list below highlights SP2-affiliated participants from the full SSWR schedule. To request an addition to the list, please contact sp2news@sp2.upenn.edu.
SP2 at SSWR 2026
Thursday, January 15
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Aligning Colon Cancer Screening Decision Aids with the Health Literacy Needs of Older Adults
- Chelsea Brown, MSW – PhD Candidate
- Tamara Cadet, PhD – Associate Professor
- Jinbo Niu, MSSP – MSSP Alum
- Joonhyeog Park, MA – PhD Student
- Toorjo Ghose, PhD – Associate Professor
Oral Presentation: From complicity to activism: Stories of social workers and citizens
Constructing the Modern Worker: The Occluded Origins of Clinical Social Work
- Yoosun Park, PhD – Associate Professor
- Alicia Chatterjee, PhD – PhD Alum
3:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Flash talk: Research Design and Measurement
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Depression Prevalence in U.S. Women Welfare Recipients
- Jacqueline Corcoran, PhD – Professor
- Anao Zhang, PhD, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor – MSW Alum
Food Security and Medical Delay Among Low-Income Cancer Survivors on Disability Insurance
- Joey Tan, MSW – PhD Candidate
- Meredith Doherty, PhD – Assistant Professor
Friday, January 16
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Flash talk: Cultural Values, Identity, and Access in Asian Communities
Coming to Terms with Our Routes: The Impact of No Contact Family Estrangement on Asian American Identity, a Reflexive Thematic Analysis
- SuMing Sullivan, MSW, Boston College – DSW Alum
- Yoosun Park, PhD – Associate Professor
Cultural Brokerage As Ethical Labor: Korean American Social Workers in Trauma-Informed Practice
- Jessica Cho Kim, PhD, LCSW – PhD Alum
Oral Presentation: Living with Chronic Illness in the Family Context
Psychosocial Predictors of Disordered Eating in Adolescents with Celiac Disease: Body Image Dissatisfaction, Anxiety, Depression, and Family Eating Environment
- Kaitlin Rowen, DSW – DSW Alum
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
Barriers to Cancer Risk Disclosure and Cascade Testing in Families of Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Cancer Moonshot Study
- Allison Werner-Lin, PhD – Associate Professor
9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Constructing Old Age: A Historical Study of Framing, Tone, and Genre in Aging Discourse
- Joonhyeog Park, MA – PhD Student
- Tamara Cadet, PhD – Associate Professor
Oral Presentation: Organizational and Provider Factors in Mental Health Settings
Individual and Organizational Factors Influencing Recovery-Promoting Competency Among Mental Health Practitioners
- Subin Na, MA – PhD Student
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
- Siva Mathiyazhagan, PhD – Research Assistant Professor
Symposia: Diverse Identities, Experiences, and Historical Trajectories: U.S. Jews and Social Work
Lessons from the Voices of Aging Jews of Color: Antisemitism and Lived Complexity in Times of Socio-Political Unrest
- Jessica Aldrich Strassman, DSW, Samuel Merritt College – DSW Alum
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Special interest group: Universal Basic Income and Guaranteed Income Policies and Research
- Amy Castro, PhD – Associate Professor; Co-Founder and Faculty Director, Center for Guaranteed Income Research
- Stacia West, PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville – Co-Founder and Director, Center for Guaranteed Income Research
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The Mental Health of Women Sex Workers: Negotiating Multiple Pandemics
- Samaita Jana, MSW – PhD Candidate
- Toorjo Ghose, PhD – Associate Professor
3:45 PM – 5:15 PM
- Tamara Cadet, PhD – Associate Professor
Flash talk: Health related policy
Preliminary Results from the Guaranteed Income and Financial Treatment (GIFT) Trial: Impacts of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Financial and Health Outcomes in Medicaid Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer
- Meredith Doherty, PhD – Assistant Professor
- Joey Tan, MSW – PhD Candidate
Why Context Matters in School Choice: Exploring Spatial Patterns and Student Mobility in a Mixed-Income Housing Development
- DeMarcus Jenkins, PhD – Assistant Professor
Examining the Impact of Affiliate Stigma Among Black Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities (DD)
- Ayana Colvin, MS, MSW – PhD Student
- DeMarcus Jenkins, PhD – Assistant Professor
Oral Presentation: Rethinking our beginnings: New perspectives on social welfare history
Welfare for the Settler: The Homestead Act of 1862
- Alexander Bervik, MSW – PhD Alum
- Abram Lyons, MSW – PhD Alum
“Yeah, but Who Else Is Going to Do It?”: The Impacts of Unconditional Cash on the Neoliberal and Maternalist Burdens of Caregiving
- Mira Philips, MSc – PhD Candidate
Gender Gap in Employment Quality: Occupational Segregation Matters
- Sharon Zanti, PhD, Iowa State University – PhD alum; Research Affiliate AISP
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Stigma, Sense of Belonging, and Help-Seeking Among East Asian Students
- Isabelle Kim, MSW – PhD Student
- Subin Na, MA – PhD Student
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
Strengthening Behavioral Health Workforce: Evaluation of the Pipeline Program for Advanced MSW Training in Integrated Care
- Abigail Ross, PhD, MPH, MSW – Associate Professor
Saturday, January 17
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Theory, Practice, and Research: Mapping the Future of Social Work Leadership in Healthcare
- Kristin Stockard, DSW, University of Washington – DSW Alum
- Bonnie Scranton, DSW – DSW Alum, Postdoctoral Fellow, Lecturer
- Douglas Brooks, MSW – Senior Leadership Fellow
- Sam Kirk, MS – SP2 Library Liaison
- Meredith Doherty, PhD – Assistant Professor
Social Determinants, Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes for South Bronx Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Abigail Ross, PhD, MPH, MSW – Associate Professor
The Role of Mental Health Literacy in Promoting Help-Seeking Attitudes: A Propensity Score Matching Approach
- Suzanne Tham, MSW – PhD Student
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
From Omission to Action: Aligning Social Work Research with the Needs of Excluded Forcibly Displaced Populations
- Jessica Aldrich Strassman, DSW, Samuel Merritt College – DSW Alum
Implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act: A Qualitative Study with System Involved Families and Caregivers
- Abram Lyons, MSW – PhD Alum
Oral Presentation: Substance Use Interventions and Strategies
Does Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Reduce Gaming Disorder Among College Students?
- Anderson Yoon, DSW, Sungkyunkwan University – DSW Alum
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Evaluating Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship for Public School Students in Puducherry, India
- Siva Mathiyazhagan, PhD – Research Assistant Professor
I Want to Take the Space to Develop As My Queer Self Completely: Understanding Queer Joy
- Javier Garcia-Perez, PhD, Salem State University – MSW Alum
- Tristen Rafuse – MSW Student
Invited Symposium II: Advancing Health and Social Equity Through Artificial Intelligence
- Desmond Patton, PhD, MSW – PIK Professor
Flash talk: Disability Flash Talk Session
Pathways to Recovery-Oriented Practice: The Roles of Cultural Humility, Recovery Knowledge, and Recovery Attitudes Among Mental Health Practitioners
- Subin Na, MA – PhD Student
- Phyllis Solomon, PhD – Professor
4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
Maintaining HIV Viral Suppression for a Decade in a Socially Precarious Community: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Undetectables Intervention
- Toorjo Ghose, PhD – Associate Professor
- Alison Updyke Neff, DSW, West Chester University of Pennsylvania – DSW Alum
- Tamara Cadet, PhD – Associate Professor
Oral Presentation: Social Networks & Supports
Oral Health and Social Engagement of the Elderly
- Hwiyoung Lee, MA – PhD Student
- Ram Cnaan, PhD – Professor
Oral Presentation: Technology in Health and Healthcare
Designing a Machine Learning-Based Model Integrating Clinical Orders for Child Abuse and Neglect Identification with Focus on Reducing Socio-Economic Bias
- Aviv Landau, PhD – Research Assistant Professor
- Desmond Patton, PhD, MSW – PIK Professor
Integrating Community Knowledge into Electronic Health Records: Reimagining Childhood Asthma Care
Roundtable: Participatory Approaches for Centering Racial Equity throughout the Data Life Cycle
- Amy Hawn Nelson, PhD – Research Faculty; Director of Training and Technical Assistance, AISP
- Sharon Zanti, PhD, Iowa State University – PhD alum; Research Affiliate AISP
Symposia: Macro-Level Synergies: AI Interventions for Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
AI in Eco-Social Work and Climate Change
- Siva Mathiyazhagan, PhD – Research Assistant Professor
- Abram Lyons, MSW – PhD Alum
Sunday, January 18
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Feasibility of Disseminating a Prostate Cancer Peer Education Intervention in the Community
- Joonhyeog Park, MA – PhD Student
- Tamara Cadet, PhD – Associate Professor
- Jinbo Niu, MSSP – MSSP Alum
- Julia Bradley, MSSP – MSSP Alum
- Chelsea Brown, MSW – PhD Candidate
Extreme Muscle-Building Exercise Behaviors as Responses to Psychosocial Challenges Among Adolescents in the United States
- Ijun Hong, MSW – PhD Student
Oral Presentation: Guaranteed Income in Action: Pathways to Stability and Opportunity
Renegotiating Interdependence: Transition Age Youth’s Mobilization of Guaranteed Income in the Transition from Foster Care
- Stacia West, PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville – Co-Founder and Director of the Center for Guaranteed Income Research
- Amy Castro, PhD – Associate Professor; Co-Founder and faculty director, Center for Guaranteed Income Research
Oral Presentation: Returning Citizens: Experiences, Needs, and Assets
“It’s a Second Chance, but a First Life”: Re-Engaging Those Reentering after More Than 20 Years of Incarceration
- Alison Updyke Neff, DSW, West Chester University of Pennsylvania – DSW Alum
- Toorjo Ghose, PhD – Associate Professor
- Noam Keim, MA – Reentry and Diversion Manager, Center for Carceral Communities
Roundtable: Flourish or Perish? Clinical Social Work and the Rise of AI Therapy
- Abigail Ross, PhD, MPH, MSW – Associate Professor
Oral Presentation: All in the Family: Experiences from Pregnancy through Adolescence
How Does Guaranteed Income Interact with Masculinity/Fatherhood Models? a Social Constructionist Narrative Analysis
- Alexander Bervik, MSW – PhD Alum
9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Liminality of Forced Displacement: Syrian Refugee and Immigrant Lives in the US
- Anna Ferris, MSW – PhD Candidate
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
“We Are Alike but Also Different”: Braiding Transgender Political Sensibilities into Health Initiatives in Kolkata, India
- Toorjo Ghose, PhD – Associate Professor
View the full SSWR program at https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2026/webprogram/start.html.