The Institute for Social Research (ISR) is committed to training the next generation of social scientists by providing funds for exceptional research opportunities. These donor-funded “Next Generation” awards have supported over 700 emerging scholars since 2001, and provide over $300,000 each year in support of University of Michigan graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and pre-tenure faculty.
2026 Awardees & Projects
A. Regula Herzog Young Investigators Fund
Shu Xu
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Survey Research Center
Toward a Typology of Homebound Status Among Older Adults with Sensory Impairment
Angus Campbell Scholars Fund
Janan Mostajabi
Doctoral Candidate, Psychology
A Novel Method for Assessing Momentary Urgency: Implications for Psychological Well-Being and Behavioral Outcomes
Charles Cannell Fund in Survey Methodology
Graham Diedrich
Doctoral Student, Political Science and Public Policy
Beyond Attitude Measurement: Using Interactive AI Chatbots to Capture Cognitive Processes in Survey Experiments
Andy Buschmann
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
Detecting and Mitigating AI-Generated Responses in Online Surveys: Implications for Measurement and Response Quality
CID Emerging Inequality Scholar Award
Nils Neumann
Doctoral Candidate, Sociology
Racialized Market Segmentation and Homeownership’s Wealth Building Effects
Kelcie Ferrara-Gerson
Doctoral Candidate, Economics and Public Policy
Take a Loan Off Fannie (Mae): Student Loans, Mortgage Underwriting, and Household Balance Sheets
Daniel Katz Dissertation Fellowship in Psychology and Survey Methodology
Kaidar Nurumov
Doctoral Candidate, Survey and Data Science
Measurement with Conversational Virtual Interviewers
Garth Taylor Dissertation Award in Public Opinion
Brianna Zichettella
Doctoral Candidate, Communication and Media
Shooting on Fifth Avenue: Investigating the Conceptualization, Measurement, and Undemocratic Consequences of Parasocial Relationships in Politics
George Katona Research Award in Economic Behavior
Chaitri Gulati
Doctoral Candidate, Economics
Poverty Scarring and the Persistence of Hand-to-Mouth
Hanes Walton Jr. Endowment for Graduate Study in Racial and Ethnic Politics
Karla Magaña
Doctoral Candidate, Public Policy and Political Science
The Color of Governance: Disentangling Race, Representation, and Policy Outcomes within Federal Agencies
James Morgan Innovation in the Analysis of Economic Behavior Fund
Emmanuel Boah
Doctoral Candidate, Economics
Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Inequality, and Social Mobility
James S. Jackson Emerging Scholars Fund
Florence Johnson
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Using Community Support Services to Effect the Mental Health of Black Family Dementia Caregivers
Jerald and Virginia Bachman Research Fellowship on Change in American Youth
Sarah Patterson
Research Assistant Professor, Survey Research Center
Family Obligation and Exchanges Across the Life Course
Marshall Weinberg Population, Development, and Climate Change Fellows Program
Laston Manja, Gustavo Acosta, and Marcia Ruiz Pulgar
Doctoral Candidates, Economics
Climate-Resilient Urban Sanitation: Sustaining Community Shared Toilets in Flood-Prone Informal Settlements of Kampala, Uganda
Marshall Weinberg Population Studies Center (PSC) Training Program Fund
Sameer Nair-Desai
Doctoral Student, Economics
The Welfare Effects of Healthcare Expansions to Immigrant Communities: Evidence from Medi-Cal
Kelsi Caywood
Doctoral Candidate, Sociology
Menopause, Work, and the Reproductive Life Course
Cayley Ryan-Claytor
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Population Studies Center
Online Health Content Exposures and Behavioral Adaptations Among Older Adults
Gabrielle Young
Doctoral Candidate, Public Health
IMPROVE on SNAP Service Delivery: Important Perceptions of Virginia Eligibility Workers on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Service Delivery
Philip Converse and Warren Miller Fellowship in American Political Behavior
Jun Fang
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
Revealed Preferences in Partisan Markets: Measuring Affective Polarization Through Consumer Behavior
Nicolas Florez
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
Alternative Routes: Conditions for Racialized Policy Feedback and Mass Transit Preferences
Amanda McKeever
Doctoral Student, Communication & Media
Is AI liberal or just agreeable? Framing and political bias in conversations with AI
Robert and Judy Marans/Kan and Lillian Chen Dissertation Award in Sustainability and Survey Methodology
Caroline Beckman
Doctoral Candidate, Environment and Sustainability
Building Community Resilience to Wildfire Smoke through Evidence-Based Risk Communication
Robert Kahn Fellowship for the Scientific Study of Social Issues
Parker Howell
Doctoral Candidate, Economics
Legitimate Second Chances: Default Effects and Anchoring in Appellate Jurisprudence
Ronald F. Inglehart Scholarship Fund
Qian Qian Ng
Doctoral Student, Political Science
Competing regimes of justice in Indigenous land rights: the case of the Finniss River Land Dispute (1981–)
Roy Pierce Scholars Fund
Jieun Oh
Doctoral Student, Political Science
Great Powers over Green Trade-Offs: Public Opinion toward Extractive Development in Africa
Siwen Xiao
Doctoral Student, Public Policy and Political Science
Science as Statecraft: Hidden Forms of Indoctrination in State-led Science Popularization in China
Sarri Family Fellowship for Research on Educational Attainment of Children in Low Income Families
Myriam Al Bcherraoui
Doctoral Candidate, Psychology
Early Contexts, Lasting Effects: Predicting Young Adult Educational Attainment From Early Family and Neighborhood Contexts
Guan-Fu Chou
Doctoral Student, Higher Education
The Hidden Cost of College Affordability: Strategic Cost of Attendance Manipulation and Low-Income Student Success
The Tessler Fellows Fund
Hood Ahmed
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
Ideology, Preference Change, and Compliance
Tyler Rongxuan Chen
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
Seeing Trees through Forest: Forward Simulation Approach of Estimating Group Voting Behaviors under Survey Non-response and Polarization
Mostafa El Sharkawy
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
The Cleric’s Dilemma: Religious Authority and Contentious Politics in Autocratic Regimes
Itsuki Umeyama
Doctoral Student, Political Science
How Exposure to Extrajudicial Violence Shapes Understandings and the Exercise of Authority: Evidence from U.S. Military Administration in Okinawa, 1945–1972
Donor Impact
“This fellowship will directly support our research on shared sanitation in urban Uganda by helping fund the development and implementation of our study, including field preparation, research coordination, and the collection of evidence that can inform future policy… For me personally, this support is especially meaningful at this stage of my career, as it strengthens my ability to build an independent research agenda focused on development and policy impact. I am sincerely grateful for your generosity and for making this work possible.”
– Gustavo Acosta
“The fellowship funding will support my research through training at the ICPSR Summer Program, conference travel to present findings at national higher education conferences, and summer research hours for data construction and analysis. As someone supporting a young family while pursuing my doctorate, this award also provides stability that allows me to dedicate more time to producing rigorous research and caring for my family.”
– Guan-Fu Chou
“As a first-year PhD student, I would not have imagined being able to pursue a project of this scope. Your support has made that possible. This award will help me take important early steps in my career, including working toward my first publication and presenting at a conference, while laying the foundation for my doctoral dissertation.”
– Amanda McKeever
“This support not only accelerates my current project but also meaningfully invests in my development as a scholar committed to producing research that informs more equitable and accountable governance. I am sincerely grateful for this generosity and the lasting impact it will have on my academic and professional trajectory.”
– Karla Magaña
“This support will allow me to move my work forward at a pivotal stage—strengthening my research portfolio and further establishing my scholarly focus in the area of dementia caregiving. I am deeply grateful for your generosity and belief in my work. This award makes a meaningful difference in my ability to build a sustainable, impactful research program focused on improving the mental health and well‑being of family dementia caregivers, and it represents an important milestone in my academic career.”
– Florence Johnson
Support the Next Generation
As our 2026 awardees described above, donor-funded Next Generation awards have transformative power, supporting their hard-working recipients and putting important and innovative projects into action, while honoring the legacy of those who came before. If you are interested in giving to or have any questions regarding the Next Generation Initiative, please contact the Development team at ISR.