Facilities

UMBC’s psychology faculty closely collaborate with communities on research to prevent intimate partner and gender-based violence and to support survivors. Their work to transform systems is earning support from government agencies and colleagues in their field, with new awards that will enable them to have an even greater impact. 

Meeting the needs of the community

Chris Murphy, a professor of clinical psychology, has received a $420,000 grant from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. The three-year grant will fund a research collaboration with the Gateway Program at the House of Ruth Maryland in Baltimore City to assess their Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) supportive services model. 

The 26-week court-ordered rehabilitation program is designed to hold offenders of intimate partner violence (IPV) accountable and to maintain survivors’ safety. It focuses on changing participants’ violent behavior through lessons about power and control as well as nonviolent strategies for communication.

“We know that one abusive partner can create multiple victims and, if they have children, they begin a generational cycle that is difficult to interrupt,” says Lisa Nitsch ‘01, psychology, a social worker and director of training and education at the House of Ruth Maryland. “It is time for us to stop asking why victims choose to stay in abusive relationships and start asking why abusive partners feel entitled to terrorize their victims.”

To better meet the needs of the communities they serve, the Gateway Program developed a culturally sensitive approach to their BIPs over the last two years. Through that process, they found that BIPs don’t usually address several issues impacting clients, such as past trauma, mental health, employment, or parenting. 

In collaboration with a number of city agencies, the Gateway Program developed a supportive services model to complement the BIP. This includes optional on-site services related to mental health, parenting, and employment. By addressing these intersecting needs, the Gateway program aims to reduce IPV.

“We have to find more effective ways of addressing abusive partners and engaging them in a change process,” saysNitsch. “We are invested in this project because it is essential to our mission ‘to lead the fight to end intimate partner violence.’”

When Murphy heard about the Gateway Program’s new supportive services model, he offered to develop an assessment to evaluate its effectiveness. “A lot of the field has focused on holding offenders accountable for their behavior, but not necessarily what will make them less likely to engage in abuse or violence,” explains Murphy. 

A team approach to IPV research

Murphy brought together a team from across disciplines and institutions to help design a holistic assessment. The team includes Tara Richards, co-principal investigator, assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha; Charvonne Holliday, assistant professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Nitsch,who is also aboard member of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

The program evaluation is a three-part process. Murphy and his team will first assess if there is a decrease in IPV incidents among offenders in the Gateway Program after they’ve participated solely in the Batterer Intervention Program. Second, they will examine if there is also a decrease among clients who choose to access additional support services. Third, they will assess the challenges and values that clients express, and if how they receive services fits their expectations and needs. 

“We have been working with the Gateway Program for over a year to collaboratively develop the assessments needed to determine who will benefit the most from certain services,” says Murphy. 

Richards explains that to identify clients’ needs the team assesses factors such as substance abuse, low educational attainment, and antisocial behavior, which are correlated with criminal behaviors among other types of offenders. She explains her role as evaluating how integrating knowledge of those factors and of abusive behaviors “with a culturally sensitive curriculum to help develop individualized services” can reduce recidivism. She explains, “We can’t separate these issues and expect to get the best outcomes.”

In addition to this research, Murphy also offers training on motivational communication strategies for service providers, to increase the likelihood that their clients will utilize the available services. 

The results will be used to improve the delivery of Gateway Program services. They will also inform other programs nationwide, and inform training materials for service providers in other agencies.

“Those of us who work in this field know intimate partner violence tends to carry on through generations,” says Murphy. “If we can stop someone now from being abusive who is in their twenties and has young children, it can benefit everyone else in their family and system.” 

Community-based participatory research with survivors of gender-based violence

Nkiru Nnawulezi, assistant professor of psychology, has received the Linda Saltzman New Investigator Award for her work with communities to support survivors of gender-based violence. The award is funded by the Center for Disease Control Foundation, Futures Without Violence, and RALIANCE. It honors her ongoing research and will be formally announced at the 2020 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence in late April.

Nnawulezi. Photo courtesy of Nnawulezi.

“The award is such an honor because it isn’t just my work, but also the communities I work with. It’s about the people who I have a privilege to know and be surrounded by,” says Nnawulezi. “It is a community honor.”

The accolade acknowledges her work using transformative Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to evaluate the systems and institutions that serve survivors of gender-based violence. Her work in this field spans from her dissertation, through her time as a UMBC Postdoctoral Fellow for Faculty Diversity, to her current scholarship as an assistant professor of community psychology. 

Nnawulezi explains that transformative CBPR focuses on shifting the status quo from institutionally-focused research to community-driven research where the community acts on its power and determines what knowledge is generated and how it is used.

She works with survivors to research structures and policies related to domestic violence housing programs. When it comes to her specific focus in that area, she explains, “As a community, the survivors and practitioners decide what they want to research. It may be understanding what it takes for survivors to experience power, whether the organizational policies and culture create a loss of power, or if they support survivors having and using power.”

A focus on intersectional identities

Nnawulezi specializes in working with survivors with intersectional identities and community-based practitioners, exploring how survivors navigate institutions intended to support them. This includes survivors who are people of color, living with HIV, queer and trans, low-income, homeless or housing insecure, experiencing addiction, or experiencing severe mental illnesses. 

She finds transformative CBPR to be particularly suited to working with survivors with histories of multiple marginalizations because it questions why and how researchers can support communities facing multiple forms of oppression. This approach dismantles the traditional views of psychologists as altruistic professionals saving people in need, she explains. Instead, it moves toward supporting the liberation of historically marginalized communities by challenging systems of oppression and creating social change with community members.

“The purpose of my work can be summed up by this quote from Lilla Watson, an aboriginal elder, activist and educator,” shares Nnawulezi. “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

Banner image: Murphy. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Three UMBC students have been named Barry Goldwater Scholars for the 2020 – 2021 academic year, earning one of the most prestigious scholarships available to U.S. undergraduates. This is the second time that three UMBC students have received Goldwater Scholarships in the same year.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program seeks to provide the United States with “a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.” UMBC’s Goldwater Scholars include Jordan Troutman ‘21, M29, computer science and mathematics; Dominique Brooks ‘21, M29, biological sciences; and Olumide Fagboyegun ‘21, M29, biochemistry. They will receive substantial scholarship funding that advances their undergraduate work and supports their educational paths. 

“We are so proud of UMBC’s Goldwater Scholars. Each student will make significant contributions to their respective fields, as future Ph.D.s,” says April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships at UMBC. 

“Their research—in neuroscience, genetics, and machine learning bias—is timely and important,” Householder says. “We can’t wait to see where they will take it with the help of this scholarship.”

Brooks, Fagboyegun, and Troutman are among the 396 winners selected this year. More than 1,300 students applied from 461 institutions across the country. 

This year, the Goldwater Scholarship modified their nomination guidelines and allowed each institution to send forward up to five nominees, with one spot specifically designated for a transfer student. Fagboyegun is the first UMBC transfer student to receive a Goldwater. 

Jordan Troutman: Eliminating biases in computer algorithms

Troutman currently serves as student commissioner for the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), and is committed to both research and leadership. His research, at the intersection of technology and policy, focuses on eliminating biases in computer algorithms. 

Jordan Troutman. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Troutman explains that artificial intelligence and machine learning have changed how the world operates in complex ways. Those impacts aren’t uniformly positive or equitable. Built by people, these technologies can include discriminatory biases that can impact how people are treated and cared for. 

“It is so exciting to see a student who is such a strong scientist doing work that has extensive applications in everything from how banks determine home loan acceptance to recidivism rates for prisoners of color,” says Householder.

At UMBC, Troutman works alongside James Foulds, assistant professor of information systems. He has also completed research experiences at Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley, and is passionate about using his work to improve society. 

“Receiving the Barry Goldwater Scholarship provides me with a stronger sense of confidence in my ability to research topics that have a significant impact on all people,” he says. “Being a Goldwater Scholar reminds me that I will always and forever be a curious scientist.”

Outside of the classroom, Troutman has been involved with UMBC’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), where he serves as the conference planning chair. UMBC’s NSBE chapter supports the NSBE Jr. chapter in Howard County. Troutman and the chapter support middle school and high school students through tutoring, workshops, tours, and other activities. He also helps Baltimore City College students prepare for the SATs.

Additionally, Troutman serves on UMBC’s Undergraduate Student Advisory Council, where he advises the vice president for Undergraduate Academic Affairs on important university decisions that affect students.

Support from the UMBC community, including fellow students applying for the Goldwater, has been important to Troutman throughout the process. “Dr. Householder has been pivotal in encouraging me to apply for scholarships like the Goldwater,” he shares. He adds that the Honors College and Meyerhoff Scholars Program encouraged him to apply for the scholarship and helped him refine his career goals.

The application process for the Goldwater Scholarship enabled Troutman to push himself beyond his comfort zone and what he thought he could achieve. “Eventually, after I got comfortable with my uncertainty, I understood that I had nothing to lose. It is better to try and not win than not try at all,” he says, adding, “When one UMBC student wins, I think we all win. And when three students win, that says something powerful about UMBC.”

Dominique Brooks: Developmental biology research and developing as a researcher

Dominique Brooks developed an interest in genes from a young age. She shares that growing up as a light-skinned African American child, she felt different than her mostly dark-skinned classmates. She wondered how that physical difference came to be, which led to a curiosity about how genes worked.

Dominique Brooks. Photo courtesy of Dominique Brooks.

At UMBC, Brooks’s curiosity about genes and gene expression led her to the developmental biology lab of Rachel Brewster, professor of biological sciences. She has worked with Brewster for the last two years and intends to earn a Ph.D. in genetics. Her goal is to launch a career as a researcher in gene therapy or genetic engineering.

“My mentors, Dr. Brewster and UMBC graduate student Maki Negesse, push me to exceed beyond my own expectations,” she shares. “They challenge me to take on various projects while encouraging me to overcome moments of failure in the lab.” 

Brooks is involved in research through the Meyerhoff, MARC U*STAR, and HHMI Scholars programs. For Brooks, the community generated through these scholars programs has been critical to her success.

“My peers will forever keep me motivated and focused on achieving my academic and career goals,” Brooks says. “I would also like to thank the staff members of these programs for caring about my future and providing a nurturing environment for me to seek guidance.”

Brooks has received awards for her research posters at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students and UMBC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences. She is also highly engaged in leadership, service, and mentoring through several organizations.

Brooks serves as a student justice in UMBC’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and tutors for UMBC’s introductory biology courses. She also volunteers with the Global Brigades international service organization and the student-led STAR STEM outreach program.

When selecting potential Goldwater Scholar candidates, “Dominique emerged because of her strong academic record, impressive research, international service, and community engagement,” Householder says. “She is a STEM leader who will definitely go on to give back to the community and represent Goldwater, and UMBC, well.”

Brooks is already successful by any measure. But “being named a Goldwater Scholar signifies my potential to become a successful researcher in the STEM field,” she says, “which has given me confidence in my ability to be a leader in the field of genetics.”

Olumide Fagboyegun: Tackling neurological disorders and impostor syndrome

Olumide Fagboyegun came to UMBC after graduating from Anne Arundel Community College as its valedictorian in 2018, and has focused his research on how the brain works. 

Olumide Fagboyegun at his graduation from Anne Arundel Community College. Photo by Larry Canner.

Fagboyegun has worked with both Erin Green, assistant professor of biological sciences at UMBC, and John Cirrito, associate professor of neurology at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). Doing research has fueled his desire to pursue basic science on brain function, in hopes of contributing to improved therapies for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Through research and the other opportunities he has pursued, Fagboyegun has also always kept top of mind supporting other underrepresented students in STEM. He shares that as an African American, he is all too familiar with the challenges that underrepresented minority students can face in STEM and in broader U.S. culture.

Fagboyegun talks about struggling with impostor syndrome, but the research he has done at UMBC and WashU has helped build his confidence. Now, he wants to pass that on to others through his career as a researcher and mentor—and he’s already putting that plan into action. 

Fagboyegun served as a STEM Ambassador and supplemental instruction leader for general chemistry at Anne Arundel Community College. He participates in the STAR STEM outreach program at UMBC. He is also a member of the Sigma Lambda Alpha Honor Society, a Meyerhoff and MARC U*STAR Scholar, and part of the LSAMP program.

Participating in formal and informal mentorship roles “gave me a significant appreciation for mentorship and the influence a single individual can have on a person’s success,” Fagboyegun shares. “I’ve rarely felt greater joy than when students would email me or come to me in person talking about their success on an exam or their interest in science.” 

With the Goldwater Scholarship, Fagboyegun is well-aware of his capacity to serve as a role model for other underrepresented minority students in STEM, and especially transfer students from all backgrounds. “This [scholarship] is a sign to other community college transfer students that such an accomplishment is definitely within reach,” he says, “and that UMBC has the ability to help them achieve it.”

That UMBC support has included mentors such as Peter DeCrescenzo, who coordinatesLSAMP; Keith Harmon, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program; Jackie King, associate director of MARC U*STAR; and Fagboyegun’s research mentors.

“All of these individuals have been instrumental in helping me understand that I have the ability to pursue whatever goals I set my mind to,” Fagboyegun shares. “They’ve given me opportunities to grow and succeed, and have helped me paint an image of the kind of mentor I will tirelessly work to become.”

From artificial intelligence to human brain function and development, undergraduate scholars at UMBC make meaningful contributions to research. With support from mentors across campus, and now as Goldwater Scholars, Troutman, Brooks, and Fagboyegun will continue to make scientific advances. 

Just as importantly, they will also advance the cultures of their disciplines to be more inclusive. They aim to produce a ripple effect, encouraging future talented students from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM research careers.

Banner image: UMBC’s library and pond.

Story written by Sarah Hansen and Megan Hanks.

At a time when information and misinformation are coming at us from all directions, and everyone is looking for answers, UMBC researchers are stepping up. They’re working hard to answer pressing questions about COVID-19 and sharing their expertise to help the public stay healthy and make informed decisions. By taking time to share their knowledge with local, national, and global communities, UMBC researchers are fulfilling our critical mission as a public university.

Lucy Wilson, professor of emergency health systems and an infectious disease expert, has been speaking regularly with leading national news outlets. She’s offered sobering analysis of what to expect in the days and weeks ahead, as well as practical advice to help people limit coronavirus exposure, like removing rings and switching to glasses from contacts.

• Photo by Carl Mikoy. Used under CC BY 2.0
• Photo by Kyler Kwock. Used under CC BY-ND 2.0

As the number of cases in Washington, D.C., began to surge in mid-March, Wilson offered a reminder about the impact of social distancing. “Whatever numbers [of COVID-19 cases] we are seeing today reflect the transmission that was occurring one to two weeks ago,” Wilson told The Washington Post.  “We shouldn’t be surprised by numbers continuing to increase, and we also shouldn’t discredit the effect of social distancing until we’ve given it time to take effect.” 

Wilson has also talked about the importance of protecting the nation’s healthcare workers in The New York Times and the need to ramp up testing, also in the Post.

Dispelling rumors, sharing truths

Other faculty members are writing their own articles to help the public better understand issues in the news. Jeffrey Gardner, associate professor of biological sciences, explained “Why vodka won’t protect you from coronavirus, and four other things to know about hand sanitizer” in The Conversation. The article has been viewed more than 275,000 times across 44 different publishers. Almost overnight it has become the third most popular UMBC-authored article of all time in The Conversation.

Katherine Seley-Radtke, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, addressed whether the drug chloroquine is safe to use against COVID-19 in “5 questions answered about a promising, problematic and unproven use for an antimalarial drug.” The article, which calls on her seven years of research on coronaviruses and her career as a medicinal chemist, has been viewed more than 233,000 times across 49 publishers. It is UMBC’s all-time fifth-most-read Conversation article. 

Katherine Seley-Radtke. Photo courtesy of Seley-Radtke.

Both Radtke’s and Gardner’s articles give readers useful and accessible information they can apply today.

Other UMBC experts are helping the public understand COVID-19’s effects on our communities, and how people can better support each other. John Fritz, associate vice president for instructional technology, has contributed to the conversation around the rapid transition from in-person to online learning. In the Baltimore Sun, he called the shift “a big step for a university like ours,” requiring flexibility and creativity. He also noted the importance of focusing on the needs of students who might not yet have access to the tools they need for distance learning.

Charissa Cheah, professor of psychology, is leading a new NSF-funded research project addressing how Chinese-American communities are experiencing discrimination related to COVID-19, and how they are coping. “The negative impact of infectious diseases on psychological health is understudied but highly significant,” Cheah says. Shimei Pan, assistant professor of information systems, will lead the study’s analysis of outbreak-related social media.

Alumni focused on vaccine development, testing

UMBC alumni have taken lead roles in the record-paced development of a vaccine to prevent COVID-19. Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, biological sciences, has led a team working on the vaccine at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She and her teammates, including Olubukola Abiona ‘17, M25, biochemistry and molecular biology, received the genetic sequence of the virus early this year and developed a potential vaccine within two months. 

They’ve since passed their findings to Darian Cash ’02, M10, chemistry, at the biotech company Moderna. Moderna is already administering phase I clinical trials with volunteers in Washington state.  

On top of her research, Corbett has also been actively discussing her work with the media, including The New York Times, NPR, and Bloomberg News. 

Corbett, Abiona, and Cash thank the Meyerhoff Scholars program for helping them get to where they are as researchers, and to handle the intense pressures of the moment. “The Meyerhoff program not only showed me the Ph.D. pathway, but also provided mentorship and guidance to make it achievable,” Cash says. “Now, I use the skills the program taught me, such as public speaking and critical thinking, in my role as a scientist at Moderna.”

Corbett and Abiona draw on UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski’s consistent exhortation to “Focus, focus, focus,” Corbett says. “The UMBC connection and the training we received there, for both of us, has been instrumental in how we are operating right now,” she adds.

By bringing their expertise to bear in solving the COVID-19 crisis, these researchers are helping the United States and the world move through this uncharted territory.

Banner image: Chemical reactions sketched on a fume hood in Katherine Seley-Radtke’s laboratory. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.