Spring 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to our new affiliates!

Jemel Aguilar, Ph.D
Dr. Jemel Aguilar earned his PhD and master’s degrees in Social Work from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, focusing on children and families within generalist social work practice. Dr. Aguilar examines how people with invisible disabilities experience society and social structures; these relationships are then linked to the formulation of oppression. His extensive background in HIV services and a Master's in Public Health have shaped his academic interests in health promotion for marginalized and low-income populations. He is currently editing a textbook that explores marginalized identities across the lifespan.

Monika L. McDermott, Ph.D
Dr. Monika L. McDermott researches and teaches political psychology at Fordham, including how voters use stereotypes and information shortcuts to make voting decisions. She is the author of two books--most recently Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior (Oxford University Press 2016) and editor of the forthcoming volume Masculinity in American Politics (NYU Press 2025). Her most recent work involves voters' impressions of candidates with mental illness and whether and how this affects their vote.

Jacob Smith, Ph.D
Dr. Jacob Smith is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. His research and teaching focus on American politics and public policy, with a particular focus in the areas of Congress/legislative politics, congressional elections, disability and politics, and gun violence policy. He has presented research on disability and politics at several national conferences this year. His classes at Fordham include Polarization in American Politics, American Public Policy, the American Presidency, and Introduction to Politics.

Stephen Hong Sohn, Ph.D
Dr. Stephen Hong Sohn is a prominent figure in Asian American literary studies. He has authored several influential books that examine themes of racial asymmetry and queer kinship in Asian American contexts. Additionally, Sohn contributes to the literary community as the founder and moderator of Asian American Literature Fans, a key platform for discussions and reviews in the field. Sohn is currently working on a book manuscript that concerns the intersections of and overlaps between care work, loss, disability, and Asian American culture.

Recent Events

Dr Amy Hurst (Associate Professor, New York University) delivered the 2024 Fordham Distinguished Lecture on Disability on “Making “Making” Accessible”. The recording can be accessed at this link. The Fordham News story on the lecture is available here.

Lauren Toppenberg (Ph.D candidate, Columbia University) gave the last Interdisciplinary Seminar of the year on “Food insecurity, disability, and access to multiple social welfare programs.” The recording is at this link.

Recent Publications by RCD Affiliates

Book Chapters
McDermott, M.L., & Smith, J.F.H. (Forthcoming). Chapter 4: The Politics of Ableism and Masculinity: Candidate Mental and Physical Illness and Voters' Evaluations. Eds Monika L. McDermott and Dan Cassino. Masculinity and American Politics. New York: NYU Press.

Aguilar, J.P. (2020). When my body betrayed me: Falling through my identity and into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In E. Counselman-Carpenter, E. & Redclay, A. (Ed.) Working with Grief and Traumatic Loss: Theory, Practice, and Self-Care. San Diego, CA: Cognella Publishing.

Articles
Murphy, M. A., & Annunziato, R. A. (2024). Post‐traumatic growth among pediatric transplant recipients and their caregivers: A scoping review. Pediatric Transplantation, 28(3), e14726.

Brent, R. J. (2024). A cost-benefit analysis of beta-blockers, including the benefits of reducing the symptoms of dementia. Applied Economics, 1–13.

Brent, R. J. (2024). An economic evaluation of antipsychotic medications given to persons with dementia. Applied Economics, 1–14.

Brent, R. J. (2024). FDA-approved medications for dementia are unlike non-pharmacological interventions as they are counterproductive. Applied Economics, 56(16), 1935–1949.

Giambona, P. J., Ding, Y., Cho, S.-J., Zhang, C., & Shen, Y.-Q. (2023). Parent perceptions of the effects of early intensive behavioral interventions for children with Autism. Behavioral Science, 13(45).

Winter, A. S., Yartel, A. K., Fountain, C., Cheslack-Postava, K., Zhang, Y., Schieve, L. A., Kissin, D. M., & Bearman, P. (2024). The Role of Multiple Birth and Birth Complications in the Association Between Assisted Reproductive Technology Conception and Autism Diagnosis. American Journal of Epidemiology, kwae049.

Danemayer, J., Mitra, S., Holloway, C., Hussein, S. (2023). Assistive technology access in longitudinal datasets: a global review. International Journal of Population Data Science, 8 (1).

Dalal, J., Mitra, S., James, A., Rivas Velarde, M. (2024). Links across disabilities: unveiling associations between functional domains. BMC Public Health 24, 41.

Chipanta, D., Mitra, S., Amo-Agyei, S. et al. (2023) Differences between persons with and without disability in HIV prevalence, testing, treatment, and care cascade in Tanzania: a cross-sectional study using population-based data. BMC Public Health 23, 2096.

Sullivan, L. S., & Rommelfanger K. S. (2024). The Dilemma of Cross-Cultural Neuroethics. Neuroethics and Cultural Diversity, 143.

Feel free to circulate
If you’d like to be added to/removed from this email list, please send a message to [email protected].