Creating a Community of Scholars from Across the University of Michigan
Leadership
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Vicki A. Freedman , Director
Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D., Epidemiology, Yale University
Freedman F-JInterests
Dr. Freedman has published extensively on the topics of population aging, disability trends and long-term care and has investigated the connections among disability, time use and wellbeing in later life. She has co-led the National Health and Aging Trends Study and the National Study of Caregiving since their inception and has served as an Associate Director of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Through these efforts she has been instrumental in disseminating new measures to study disability and care needs of older adults.
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Joelle Abramowitz , MiCDA Enclave Director
Associate Research Scientist, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D., Economics, University of Washington
Abramowitz A-EInterests
Dr. Abramowitz’s research examines the effects of health policies on individuals’ major life decisions and wellbeing. She has studied health insurance and medical out-of-pocket expenditures as well as marriage and fertility. She currently co-directs the Michigan Federal Statistical Research Data Centers.
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Kathleen Cagney , Communications Core Co-Director
Research Professor, Survey Research Center & Population Studies Center Director, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D. Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University
Cagney A-EInterests
Kathleen Cagney studies social inequality and its relationship to health and aging, with a particular focus on neighborhoods and race. She has also examined the role of the social environment and its impact on health and well-being over the lifecourse. Dr. Cagney is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Director of the Institute for Social Research.
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Jana Deatrick , Program Administrator
Research Program Administrator, Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging
Deatrick A-E -
Esther Friedman , External Innovative Networks Director
Research Associate Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D., Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
Friedman F-JInterests
Dr. Friedman’s research examines how families and communities facilitate the health and wellbeing of older adults. Much of her recent work focuses on family caregiving, including social support networks of family caregivers, the economic costs of family caregiving, and current and future kin availability for dementia care. Dr. Friedman leads MiCDA’s Network core and Longitudinal Studies on Aging in the U.S. Network.
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Margaret Hicken , Program Development Pilot Core Co-Director
Research Associate Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D., Health Behavior Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan
Hicken F-JInterests
Dr. Hicken studies the social causes and biological mechanisms linking racial group membership to renal and cardiovascular disease inequalities. Her research examines the interrelated roles of racial residential segregation, neighborhood disadvantage, environmental hazards, and racial health inequalities in adult populations, including older adults.
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Sarah E. Patterson , Communications Core Co-Director
Research Assistant Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Ph.D., Sociology and Demography, The Pennsylvania State University
Patterson P-TInterests
Dr. Patterson’s research addresses whether and how social norms and family composition influence caregiving behaviors and wellbeing for family members. She has also studied the role of complex families and kinlessness in the lives of older adults.