AREAS OF RESEARCH

Health Equity, Mental Health & Aging

SP2 Labs and Faculty seek to understand diverse social and environmental factors affecting health and well-being within underserved populations, geriatric patients, individuals with mental illness, and those at elevated risk for disease.

Featured Centers

Health Equity Lab

Femida Handy

FEATURED FACULTY

Femida Handy, PhD

Professor; PhD, York (Canada), 1995. Volunteering; volunteering & health; global philanthropy; corporate social responsibility; environmental habitus.

Phyllis Solomon

FEATURED FACULTY

Phyllis Solomon, PhD

Professor; PhD, Case Western Reserve, 1978. Social work research methods; mental health policy and service delivery systems; severely mentally disabled persons and their families.

Tamara Cadet

FEATURED FACULTY

Tamara J. Cadet, PhD, LICSW, MPH

Associate Professor; PhD, Simmons College. Health social work; health literacy; shared-decision-making; social determinants of health; evidence-based health promotion interventions in the community; facilitators and barriers to reducing disparities in preventative health behaviors; advancing health equity; health care service utilization among vulnerable populations with a focus on oncology and gerontology.

Abby Ross Headshot

FEATURED FACULTY

Abigail (Abby) M. Ross, LICSW, MPH, PhD

Associate Professor; PhD, Boston University. Intervention research, implementation science, mental health, interprofessional practice, public health social work, youth suicide prevention, social care integration, evidence-based practice.

Allison Headshot

FEATURED FACULTY

Allison Werner-Lin, PhD, LCSW

Associate Professor; PhD, University of Chicago, 2005. Psychosocial oncology; genetics and genomics; assisted reproductive technology; bioethics; emerging adulthood; medical family therapy; qualitative health research.

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Vertical headshots of Amy Castro, Phyllis Solomon, and Jia Xue appear in a row against a dark blue background.

SP2 researchers receive awards and recognition at SSWR 2025 Annual Conference

Following the 2025 Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, SP2 is celebrating recipients who were recognized at the annual awards presentation and a faculty member who has reached a significant milestone.

At a classroom table, Desmond Patton speaks to a student

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Dean Bachman delivers keynote at Penn Center for AIDS Research symposium

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