Spring 2026
ADAPPT Lab receives Most Creative AI Use Case award
The ADAPPT Lab, led by Drs. Chohlas-Wood and Shroff, received the Center for Civic Futures' inaugural AI in Action Award under the "Most Creative AI Use Case" category for their race-blind charging project.
ADAPPT Lab awarded Heising-Simons Foundation grant
The ADAPPT Lab, led by Drs. Chohlas-Wood and Shroff, was awarded a $450,000 grant by the Heising-Simons Foundation to support public defenders with AI-enabled discovery triage.
Traditional questionnaire scoring method beats novel approach in measuring scleroderma disability
Dr. Daphna Harel, alongside Applied Statistics for Social Science Research Masters alum Yining Lu and colleagues published an article demonstrating that the traditional health scorecard remains the most effective tool for tracking daily disability in scleroderma patients.
Wider gains in children’s speech therapy with biofeedback
Drs. Tara McAllister and Jennifer Hill and colleagues find that biofeedback speech therapy improved children’s ability to say "R" correctly in everyday words they never practiced in therapy.
Algorithms, Data, and Public Policy Technology Lab
The NYU Algorithms, Data, and Public Policy Technology (ADAPPT) Lab aims to use technology to help government address urgent challenges.
Can policing be improved with AI?
Dr. Alex Chohlas-Wood published an opinion piece in Vital City arguing that the NYPD should move beyond bans on AI and instead leverage the technology responsibly to accelerate police reform and operational efficiency.
Bridging the implementation gap with thinkCausal
PRIISM researcher and SCSS doctoral student George Perrett and Drs. Jennifer Hill and Marc Scott found that scaffolding software use through a think-and-do tool, thinkCausal, can increase the usability of causal inference software and reduce existing implementation gaps compared to traditional software.
Charter vs. traditional schooling in NYC
PRIISM faculty members Ying Lu, Sharon Weinberg and Meryle Weinstein along with PRIISM/A3SR alum Dorothy Seaman provide a comprehensive examination of school choice patterns across the elementary years by following a cohort of students from kindergarten in 2012 through 5th grade in 2017.
Word choice matters: How wording affects what readers interpret
Dr. Jennifer Hill and colleagues investigate how specific language used to connect results to conclusions influences how readers perceive the research findings and whether readers infer a causal relationship.
Fall 2025
Text messages for missed court dates lower warrants and incarceration
Dr. Alex Chohlas-Wood and colleagues demonstrate that text message reminders can substantially reduce warrants and incarceration for missed court appearances.
The lasting economic impact of COVID on maternal mental health
Drs. Jennifer Hill, Marc Scott and Ravi Shroff and colleagues found that post-pandemic losses in income, jobs, and health insurance were strongly linked with higher levels of anxiety and depression among low-income mothers.
Faster gains in children’s speech therapy with biofeedback
Drs. Tara McAllister and Jennifer Hill and colleagues find that biofeedback speech therapy improved children's pronunciation of the “r” sound 2.4 times faster than those in traditional methods during early therapy stages.
Using AI to promote race-blind charging decisions in prosecutions
Dr. Alex Chohlas-Wood’s work on a race-blind charging software with the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office in California was featured in a LAW360 press story.
Spring 2025
Getting it right for LGBTQIA+ individuals on surveys
Dr. Daphna Harel published a new article which discusses the different ways you can phrase questions about sex, gender, and sexuality on surveys and questionnaires.
Clinic site practices drive methadone treatment patterns pre/post-COVID
Dr. Marc Scott joined lead author Ignacio Bórquez Infante and colleagues in a study that examined dispensing practices among opioid treatment programs in the US using sequence analysis.
Is the STEM gender gap closing or widening at US universities?
Dr. Joseph Cimpian and NYU doctoral student, Jo R. King, reveal that the substantial gender gap in physics, engineering, and computer science (PECS) has narrowed at selective institutions serving students with high math SAT scores but widened at less selective schools.
Professional development program helps to train and retain NYC science teachers
Dr. Meryle Weinstein and colleagues find that Urban Advantage, a professional development science initiative in NYC, reduces middle school science teacher turnover.
Disentangling genetic from environmental influences on human traits
Dr. Klint Kanopka and a colleague published a paper introducing the phenotype differences model.
Do fast-food calorie labels have an impact?
Drs. Todor Mijanovich and Beth Weitzman and colleagues published two papers on the impacts of calorie labels in fast food venues.
Unequal access: Telehealth gaps in addiction care during COVID-19
Dr. Tod Mijanovich and colleagues find that while Black and Latinx Medicaid beneficiaries in NY faced disparities in accessing telehealth for substance use disorder treatment during the first six months of the pandemic, clinics heavily serving Medicaid patients showed some promise in reducing these inequities.
New police misconduct lawsuit database to combat inequity
Dr. Alex Chohlas-Wood received a seed grant from the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) to pilot public interest technology that will assemble a national database of police misconduct lawsuits.
Fall 2024
Drs. Scott and Hill awarded IES grant
PRIISM co-directors Drs. Scott and Hill along with visiting assistant professor Perrett were awarded a $900,000 grant by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
Causal Language and Statistics Instruction
PRIISM co-director Dr. Hill and core PRIISM faculty Perrett and Dr. Bergner published a paper with colleagues in the Statistics Education Research Journal that uses a randomized experiment to explore how students interpret language used to describe research findings.
Queer Data Lab
The NYU Queering and Elevating Empirical Research (QUEER) data lab aims to improve data collection and statistical analysis as it pertains to improving the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community.
US Math Teachers' Views on Student Performance
Dr. Joseph Cimpian and colleague find that teachers hold different views on why girls are good at math than they do for boys.
Does question ordering matter on a survey or exam?
Dr. Klint Kanopka and colleague show what happens when response probability depends on item position and proposes a position-sensitive IRT model.
Tale of Two Cities: London and New York City during Covid-19
Dr. Marc Scott and PRIISM Affiliate Augustin de Coulon investigate the diffusion of COVID-19 across neighborhoods in two major cities, London and New York.
Spring 2024
Menu Labeling and Calories Purchased in Restaurants
Drs. Mijanovich, Weitzman and colleagues investigate whether providing nutrition information on menus is associated with calories purchased in an US fast food restaurant chain.
Tara McAllister Awarded $3 Million Grant
Dr. McAllister was awarded a $3 million grant to continue research to evaluate the effectiveness of in-person versus telepractice delivery of biofeedback intervention for speech sound disorder.
Online versus lab measures of speech perception
Drs. McAllister, Hill and colleagues show that valid measures of speech perception can be obtained both online and in person.
Student Self-Reports on Social-Emotional Surveys
Dr. Kanopka and colleagues show that changes in self-reported social-emotional measures predict changes in both achievement and attendance.
Academic Effects of Moving to Middle School
Kaitlyn O’Hagan, PRIISM researcher alum, and mentor Dr. Stiefel explore how the move to middle school differentially affects students with disabilities.
Fall 2023
Ethics and Predictive Data Science
Dr. Washington traveled to Australia to talk about her forthcoming book on predictive data science with other scholars and to meet with high level government officials to ensure legislative transparency is at the forefront of laws on technology.
Pretrial Release Judgements and Measuring Fairness
Dr. Shroff helps clarify understanding of pretrial release judgements and best practices regarding measuring fairness.
Artificial Intelligence and Speech Sound Disorders
Dr. McAllister and team improve understanding of how to help people with speech sound disorders.
Pandemic Impacts on Health and Equity
Dr. Scott highlights the impact of pandemics on health and equity.
The Power of Cultural Spaces to Make Positive Social Change in Conflict-Affected Contexts
Dr. King highlights the impact of cultural spaces in conflict-affected contexts.
Education and Hope in Nairobi and Karachi
Drs. King and Burde highlight the conflicting role of education in a recent article published in Comparative Education Review.
The Latest from the Journal on Education in Emergencies
Dr. Burde and her team focus on the impact of this pandemic and previous ones in the Journal on Education in Emergencies in a venue that provides space for academics in conflict-affected contexts in under-represented spaces.
The Impact of the Urban Advantage Program in NYC
Dr. Weinstein and colleagues explore the impact of the Urban Advantage program on students and teachers in NYC.
Teachers’ Race and Gender Biases in the Classroom
Dr. Cimpian helps us understand the relationship between teachers’ race and gender bias.
Mischievous Responders: New Findings!
Do survey respondents always report in good faith? Dr. Cimpian investigates!
Newly Published Stata and R textbooks
Drs. Harel and Weinberg announce new editions of Stata and R textbooks.
Fall 2022
Microsoft Funds Data Justice and Racial Equity Postdocs
Dr. Anne Washingson received a $375,000 gift from the Microsoft Corporation to fund two postdoctoral fellowships.
Efficacy of Treatment for Childhood Speech Sound Disorder
Dr. McAllister and Dr. Scott use machine learning to identify the impact of treatments on speech development trajectories.
The SuperDataScience Podcast with Dr. Jennifer Hill
Dr. Hill is interviewed on The SuperDataScience Podcast and discusses the challenges in answering causal questions and the role of machine learning and design.
Jamaican Creole, an Underrepresented Language Context
Dr. McAllister published a paper alongside CSD alum Annika Canta highlighting an underrepresented language context, Jamaican Creole.
Strategies for Getting More Honest Survey Responses
Drs. Burde, King, Harel, and Hill, and A3SR alum Seaman have published an article discussing how to elicit honest answers to sensitive questions.
Equity in Transportation Finance and Bus Provision
Dr. Meryle Weinstein and colleagues published a paper that examined equity in transportation finance and bus provision in the United States.
Dr. Harel Collaborates with McGill University
Dr. Harel is a co-investigator in a new study that will evaluate how data collection methods may influence sensitive mental health assessments.
Dr. Ravi Shroff Wins Outstanding Paper Award
Dr. Shroff wins the Outstanding Paper Award at the 2022 International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) conference for work on causality and fairness.
Swallowing-related fatigue among older adults
Dr. Harel is co-author on a paper with Communicative Sciences and Disorders (CSD) colleagues.
Spring 2022
Government Use of Tech
Dr. Anne Washington participates in a Data & Society’s “What is Public Interest” event.
Drs. King and Samii receive Best Book Award!
Diversity, Violence & Recognition: How Recognizing Ethnic Identity Promotes Peace, Drs. Elisabeth King and Cyrus Samii's book, wins Best Book Award.
Sugary Beverage Taxes
Drs. Beth Weitzman and Todor Mijanovich are part of a team of investigators studying the impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes on changes in prices paid and calories consumed in fast food restaurants.
Causal Frameworks and Discrimination Studies
Drs. Ravi Shroff, Jennifer Hill and colleagues recently coauthored a paper on the causal effects of race or gender on outcomes in discrimination studies.
COVID-19 Vaccinations and School/Community Resources
Dr. Meryle Weinstein is a co-investigator on a new NIH funded project that examines how COVID has affected children’s health and education in NYC.
Shortening Patient Health Questionnaires
Dr. Daphna Harel and colleauges conducted the first study to externally validate the results of shortening a patient reported outcome measure through optimal test assembly.
Speech-Language Treatment Using Mobile App for Biofeedback
Dr. Tara McAllister and the BITS Lab team recently published an article that furthers the evidence-based research for mobile app-based treatments used by speech-language pathologists.
Fall 2021
Child Speech Therapy
Dr. Tara McAllister provides updates on her research on technology-enhanced speech treatments to support children with speech sound disorders.
Homelessness Risk Screening Tool for Emergency Department Patients
Dr. Tod Mijanovich and colleagues recently developed an interview tool for screening emergency department patients for risk of future homelessness.
The Ethics of Facial Recognition Technology
Dr. Anne Washington recently published an article on data privacy and was quoted in an MIT Technology Review article.
Using Technology to Help Doctors & Infant Healthcare Providers
Dr. Jennifer Hill's research shows how extending Item Response Theory models can help us understand how doctors learn from their mistakes and that in-hospital infant formula supplementation impacts later breastfeeding success.
The Use of Criminal Risk Assessments in the Justice System
Dr. Ravi Shroff recently co-authored a chapter that critically examines the use of statistical algorithms that help predict if people will be repeat offenders.
Summer 2021
Systemic Discrimination in Policing
Dr. Ravi Shroff has a forthcoming chapter in the upcoming 5th edition of Social Stratification.
Learners' Resilience in Tests and Collaborative Filtering
Dr. Yoav Bergner recently published an article on the interaction between resilience and ability in assessments. Be on the lookout for a forthcoming article in Psychometrika.
Journal on Education in Emergencies: Special issue on Early Childhood Development in Emergencies
Read the special issue on Early Childhood Development in Emergencies led by editor-in-chief and PRIISM associate faculty, Dr. Dana Burde and senior managing editor, Dr. Heddy Lahmann.
Spring 2021
Young Kenyans' views on politics, the state & the future
Read Drs. Elisabeth King, Dana Burde, Daphna Harel, and Jennifer Hill's latest article.
Connecting with poet Amanda Gorman: Dr. McAllister on difficulties with the 'r' sound
Dr. Tara McAllister's research covers a topic near Amanda Gorman's heart.
Diet Inequalities in NYC
Read Dr. Carolyn Dimitri's recently published paper on NYC's Healthy Savings Program.
Improving academic outcomes for students with disabilities
Read Dr. Leanna Steifel's recently published article.
Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale
Read Dr. Daphna Harel's recently published article on a novel methodology.
Fall 2020 - Part 2
Test-Taking for Gifted and Talented Kindergarten
Drs. Sharon Weinberg and Ying Lu published an article that demonstrates the importance of addressing diversity in Gifted & Talented programs.
The Judicial System and Policing
Dr. Ravi Shroff has co-authored two papers on the judicial system and policing.
Statistics Using R: An Integrated Approach
Drs. Sharon Weinberg and Daphna Harel published a textbook, Statistics Using R: An Integrated Approach.
Mischievous Responders
Read Dr. Joe Cimpian's three papers on "mischievous responders."
What Nairobi Youth Think about Politics, the State & the Future
Read Drs. Elisabeth King, Daphna Harel, Dana Burde, and Jennifer Hill, and Simon Grinsted's newly published paper.
Regression and Other Stories (Analytical Methods for Social Research)
Dr. Jennifer Hill, along with co-authors Drs. Andrew Gelman and Aki Vehtari, published a textbook from Cambridge University Press.
Fall 2020 - Part 1
Statistics Using Stata: An Integrative Approach
Dr. Sharon Weinberg’s second edition textbook.
Diversity, Violence, and Recognition
Drs. Elisabeth King and Cyrus Samii co-authored a book, Diversity, Violence, and Recognition: How Recognizing Ethnic Identity Promotes Peace from Oxford University Press.
Speech Therapy and Biofeedback
Dr. Tara McAllister provides an update on her various projects.
A Bayesian approach to the Judicial System
Dr. Ravi Shroff has co-authored a paper on the judicial system.
Healthcare Management Programs
Dr. Tod Mijanovich's work on healthcare management programs.
Gender Equality, and Teacher Bias and Perceptions
Dr. Joe Cimpian was busy in 2020 with three sole- and co-authored papers.