Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity

Current Research

Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroSciences (BRAINS)

BRAINS logo

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, BRAINS (Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroSciences) is a national program to increase engagement and retention of academic early-career neuroscientists from underrepresented groups by reducing isolation; providing tips, tools, and skills development to prepare for tenure track success; and increasing career self-efficacy. In addition to serving as the evaluator of the BRAINS program, CERSE also works with the BRAINS leadership team to conduct and publish research.

Selected Publications

Yen, J. W., Horner-Devine, M. C., Carll, E., Talney, R., & Mizumori, S. J. (2024). Thriving in neuroscience careers: Three lessons from 12+ years of the BRAINS Program. Neuron, 112(11), 1736-1740.

Margherio, C., Swan, A. L., Horner-Devine, M. C., Mizumori, S. J., & Yen, J. W. (2023). Counterspaces as a site of network formation within academia. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

Margherio, C., Horner-Devine, M. C., Mizumori, S. J., & Yen, J. W. (2020). Connecting counterspaces and community cultural wealth in a professional development program. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1-21.

Horner-Devine, M.C., Gonsalves, T., Margherio, C., Mizumori, S.J., and Yen, J.W. (2018). Beyond hierarchical one-on-one mentoring. Science, 362(6414), 532-532.

Horner-Devine, M.C., Margherio, C., . Mizumori, S. J.Y, and Yen, J. W. (2017). Peer Mentoring Circles: A strategy for thriving in science. Web blog post. BioMed Central blog. BioMed Central, 18 May 2017. Retrieved from http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2017/05/18/peer-mentoring-circles-a-strategy-for-thriving-in-science/

Yen, J. W., Horner-Devine, M.C., Margherio, C., and Mizumori, S. J.Y. (2017). The BRAINS Program: Transforming Career Development to Advance Diversity and Equity in Neuroscience. Neuron 94(3): 426-430. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.03.049

Margherio, C., Horner-Devine, M.C., Mizumori, S. J.Y., and Yen, J. W. (2016). Learning to Thrive: Building diverse scientists’ access to community and resources through the BRAINS Program. CBE—Life Sciences Education 15(3): ar49. DOI: 10.1187/cbe.16-01-0058

 

RED Participatory Action Research (REDPAR)

Funded through four NSF grants, this collaborative research project focuses on faculty change agents who are engaged in making change on their campuses through the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments (RED) Program. NSF has thus far awarded 33 five-year grants and 6 planning grants to engineering or computer science departments from 2015 through 2025.

REDPAR (RED Participatory Action Research) is a collaborative project between Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and UW CERSE. The Rose-Hulman portion of our team draws upon their extensive experience in the Making Academic Change Happen (MACH) program, a faculty development initiative that supports the work of change leaders in many different contexts, to provide training and support to RED awardees and facilitate consortium-level activities. UW CERSE is qualitatively investigating the work of the RED teams through multiple data sources, including semi-structured interviews, observation of consortium activities, and focus group discussions with RED teams. From this research, we have developed tip sheets that highlight the skills required to promote change in STEM; these tip sheets serve as informative resources for anyone who wishes to implement significant transformation on their campuses.

Recent Publications (See CERSE Bibliography for full listing)

  • Han, R.J., Güler, S. Litzler, E., Shuman, T. R., Cheville, A., Andrijcic, E., and Mohan, S. (2025). Creative Changemaking within Complex Institutional Contexts. American Society for Engineering Education, June 2025.
  • Andrijcic, E., Payne, M. M., Williams, J. M., Mohan, S., Litzler, E., Han, R.J., and Güler, S. (2025). Building Psychological Safety and Conflict Resolution Capacity to Enhance Team Cohesion Within the NSF RED Program. Poster paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Montreal, Quebec.
  • Güler, S. Han, R.J., Litzler, E., Andrijcic, E., and Mohan, S. (2024). How Communities of Transformation Support Change Agency. American Society for Engineering Education, June 2024.
  • Andrijcic, E., Mohan, S., Litzler, E., Han, R.J., Güler, S. (2024). Obstacles in Context: A Multi-perspective Examination of Obstacles of Revolutionizing Engineering Education in the NSF RED Program. Poster paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, OR.

 

Pacific Alliance for Low-Income Inclusion in Statistics and Data Science (PALiISaDS)

PI: Michael Ludkovski, Abel Rodriguez (UW-S), Co-PI: Erin Carll, University of California – Santa Barbara, 2022-2028

PALiISaDS is a tier-3 NSF S-STEM grant providing scholarships and professional development support to academically talented, low-income students in statistics and data science at University of California (UC) – Santa Barbara, University of Washington – Seattle, UC-Irvine, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California State University (CSU) – Monterey Bay, CSU-East Bay, and San Diego State University. This research studies the community and other resources that students use to succeed in statistics and data science. It does so through a longitudinal study with surveys and interviews of PALiISaDS participants at three time points. The research is led by CERSE Associate Director Erin Carll

  • Carll, E., Rajouria, A., Schachtman, R., Canner, J. E., Miller, J. B., & Rodriguez, A. (2025, February). Pathways into Statistics and Data Science for Academically Talented Undergraduate Students with Low Incomes. In 2025 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD).

 

Annual Review of the Literature on Women and Girls in Engineering and STEM

Society for Women Engineers, 2023-present. Since 2023, CERSE has been completing annual literature reviews of the research published about women and girls in engineering and STEM, which is published in SWE Magazine.

  • Beach, M.W., Knaphus-Soran, E., Tanveer, M., Foxe, F., & Dott, P.C. (2025). Women in Engineering and STEM: A Review of the 2024 Literature. SWE Magazine. https://swe.org/magazine/women-in-engineering-and-stem-a-review-of-the-2024-literature/.
  • Hock, A., Carll, E., & Rajouria, A. (2024). “Women in Engineering and STEM: A Review of the 2023 Literature.” SWE Magazine. https://magazine.swe.org/2023-lit-review/

 

National Framework for Recognition of Engineering and Engineering Technology Faculty Instructional Excellence: Registered Engineering Educator Level Pilot

PI: D. Visco, American Society for Engineering Education, 2024-2027: is a pilot of a national certification program designed to recognize and encourage high-quality teaching in undergraduate engineering. The project builds on a prior IUSE Capacity Building award and is a collaboration with administrators, faculty members, and faculty developers at over 30 institutions. Specifically, the project aims to provide certification to faculty at eight pilot institutions who develop a core set of teaching competencies through professional development experiences. CERSE is involved in the research component of the project, gathering and analyzing qualitative data to understand barriers and affordances for faculty development and the impacts of a certification program.