March & April 2026 Chronicles

Awards & In the News

Dr. Arthur G. Cosby led a study on cancer deaths in the United States, which was published in the British Journal of Cancer. The study was featured in a Fox News online article http://bit.ly/3PcgoQH. 

Dr. Connie Baird-Thomas is included among the science advisors of the new online resource Ready, Set, Vroom: Brain Building for New Parents.

Alexis Ellison, an undergraduate student researcher with the Vroom project, received a prestigious U.S. Department of State scholarship, which will allow her to study foreign languages abroad this summer. Read more at https://bit.ly/4uuxbxb. 

Dr. Heather Hanna, director of the Systems Change Lab, received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award in recognition of her years of outstanding dedication and impact in research and service. 

Margaret Keith, an undergraduate student researcher with The Message Laboratory, placed first in the Public Health Research Competition at the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium. 

New Projects

Dr. Katerina Sergi, along with Dr. Devon Brenner and Lauren Etheredge, will develop and provide oversight for the community engagement component of the "Gulf Coast Environmental Intelligence Observatory: PFAS Monitoring and Mitigation Foundations" project. This initiative is funded by the National Academies of Sciences and Mathematics. Dr. Narcisa Pricope from MSU Office of Research and Economic Development is the principal investigator, partnered with the University of Alabama, the University of Florida, Fisheries United in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and other MSU entities.

Dr. Kathleen Ragsdale will lead the "Exploring Childhood Vaccine Hesitancy Among Rural Mississippi Parents" project. The research team includes Dr. Holli Seitz and Dr. Mary Nelson Robertson. The team will review the effectiveness of educational interventions and conduct interviews with the target public.

Personnel

Dr. Arthur G. Cosby led a study on cancer deaths in the United States, which was published in the British Journal of Cancer. The study was featured in a Fox News online article http://bit.ly/3PcgoQH. 

Dr. Connie Baird-Thomas is included among the science advisors of the new online resource Ready, Set, Vroom: Brain Building for New Parents.

Alexis Ellison, an undergraduate student researcher with the Vroom project, received a prestigious U.S. Department of State scholarship, which will allow her to study foreign languages abroad this summer. Read more at https://bit.ly/4uuxbxb. 

Dr. Heather Hanna, director of the Systems Change Lab, received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award in recognition of her years of outstanding dedication and impact in research and service. 

Margaret Keith, an undergraduate student researcher with The Message Laboratory, placed first in the Public Health Research Competition at the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium. 

Project Updates

EC ECHO launched a new series for Delta Health Alliance professionals in Lee, Itawamba, Union, and Pontotoc counties.

MSREA, a partnership between the SSRC and William Carey University, recognized a rural teacher of the year during a Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools, or PREPS, conference. Read more about this year's awardee at https://bit.ly/4nBzqwN. 

As part of a W.K. Kellogg Foundation initiative focused on early math education in Mississippi, the Systems Change Lab developed the Mississippi Early Childhood Math Resource Guide, an interactive guide that translates evidence-based research into practical strategies for educators, families, and caregivers. Designed for children from birth through age eight, the guide includes everyday learning activities, embedded tools, and interactive features that make early math concepts accessible and easy to implement. The guide is currently being piloted in Mississippi Pre-K classrooms, where educators are implementing it and providing feedback to inform future development. 

• The guide received a 2026 GDUSA Digital Design Award in the digital publications category. Learn more about the award: https://kathyjacobs.com/award-winning-digital-publication-design-early-childhood-math-guide/.

Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program

Dr. Blythe McCance, Chuck Dawkins, and Billy Brister attended the Spring Conference for Mississippi Justice Court Judges held in Choctaw, MS, March 25-27. The Mississippi Judicial College sponsors this conference.

Publications

Cosby, A.G., Lebakula, V., Bergene, K. Mendez, G.R. Bumgarner, M. & Peluso A.  Who is benefiting from the dramatic decline in U.S. cancer mortality? Place-based evidence of disparities in rates of improvement. British Journal of  Cancer (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-026-03339-8.

Rico Mendez, G., Baker, B., & Czarnecki, J. M. (2026). Strengthening on-farm experimentation through collaborative, place-based approaches (Publication No. 4189). Mississippi State University Extension Service. https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/document/2026-04/P4189_web.pdf

Social Science Research Center. (2026). Early Childhood ECHO (EC ECHO) start-up & operations manual. Scholars Junction. Mississippi State University. https://doi.org/10.54718/NLDI6084
 
Social Science Research Center, EC ECHO Team. (2026, March). Mississippi State University Project ECHO to expand rural health developmental training and technical assistance: Early Childhood ECHO (EC ECHO). (Final report). Social Science Research Center for the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 
Systems Change Lab. (2026, January). Shared-cost child care as a workforce strategy: State models and early lessons. Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University. https://scl.ssrc.msstate.edu/projects-products/
 
The Systems Change Lab contributed to the Mississippi Business Child Care Toolkit - available here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHATckCclU/X03X8oYp4ZAL03OyMfD9AQ/view?utm_content=DAHATckCclU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer

Presentations & Conference Participation

Keith, M., Seitz, H. H., & Cole, A. B. (2026, April 8-9). Evaluating the effectiveness of HappyHealthy social media posts using eye-tracking and survey methods [Poster presentation]. Mississippi State University Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State, MS, United States. (Presented by M. Keith; 1st place winner of the Public Health Research Sub-Competition)
 
Lee, O., Staggers, N., Seitz, H. H., & Lawton, A. K. (2026, April 8-9). Teaching communication in the science classroom: Thematic analysis of student reflections on learning [Poster presentation]. Mississippi State University Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State, MS, United States. (Presented by O. Lee)

Neal, M., & Cardozo Gaibisso, L. (2026, April 8-9). ESOL Teacher Well-being in Uruguay: Insights from an International Professional Development Program [Poster presentation]. Mississippi State University Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State, MS, United States. (Presented by M. Neal)

Outlaw, D.C., Brenner, D., Franz, D.P., Hubbard, K. (2026, April). Teacher preparation influences on new teachers’ decisions to teach rural: Insights from a multi-institutional study. [Paper Presentation]. American Educational Research Association. Los Angeles, CA.

Seitz, H. H. & Harmon, S. (2026, March 25-27). Special Interest Group: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) [conference session]. Mississippi State University Center for Innovation in Teaching Excellence (CITE) Symposium, Mississippi State, MS.
 
Seitz, H. H. (2026, March 24). Speaking with Purpose: Building Skills to Connect and Engage [invited talk]. Mississippi State University Women’s Club, Mississippi State, MS.
 
Seitz, H. H., Tate, A., & Buys, D. (2026, April 9-12). Examining the effects of image type, source, and vaccine type on audience responses to vaccine messages [Top Papers in Applied Communication Panel]. 96th Annual Convention of the Southern States Communication Association, Birmingham, AL, United States.

Singh, A.,& Stubbs-Richardson, M. (2026, April 8-9). AI-Powered Violence Revention: Automating Hate Speech Detection to Protect Vulnerable Communities from Extremist Threats [Poster presentation]. Mississippi State University Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State, MS, United States. (Presented by A. Singh)

Whitfield, J., Brenner, D., Franz, D.P. & Outlaw, D. (2026, April). Understanding preservice teachers’ decisions to choose rural STEM teaching: A Survey Validation. [Poster Presentation]. American Educational Research Association. Los Angeles, CA. https://aera26.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx?s=3F-27-E6-0C-83-0A-44-98-91-05-5E-79-08-49-7B-B2&guestview=true