Social Work Research
School of Social Work faculty conduct research that addresses social issues, works to create equity and justice, and advances social work teaching and practice.
Our faculty engage students in research to advance their knowledge, develop their skills, and address social issues. At Simmons, our research is aimed at changing lives and creating lasting change.
Center for Innovation in Behavioral Health Education and Research
The Center for Innovation in Behavioral Health Education and Research (CIBER) builds on the national leadership of Simmons Social Work faculty in advancing research, practice, and teaching in behavioral health. The Center focuses on innovation in three main areas: substance use education and research, with a particular focus on vulnerable and underserved populations; technology, including patient simulation and telebehavioral health; and behavioral health workforce development in the emerging model of integrated primary care and behavioral health in urban and rural areas. CIBER aims to be the epicenter of innovation in the arena of emerging technologies and clinical social work practice.
Student Engagement in Research
Through the SSW’s ambitious Social Work Fellowship program, MSW and Ph.D students receive stipends to collaborate with Social Work faculty on their research projects. Students get hands on experience with all parts of the research process; indeed, several students have earned co-authorship on faculty publications. Recent Social Work Fellowship research topic areas include: community based participatory research with domestic violence agencies; substance use in the LGBTQ population; cancer screening with women of color and community services for immigrant populations.
Social Work Faculty Research in the News
2024 Simmons Faculty Awards Celebrates Stellar Researchers and Educators
Simmons faculty from various disciplines received awards in undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, service, and a commitment to DEI at the 2024 Faculty Awards.
School of Social Work Professor Studies Impact of Inequity on Preterm Birth
Joanna Almeida, professor and Eva Whiting White Endowed Chair at Simmons School of Social Work, was quoted in a MedicalXpress article about her new study of factors impacting preterm birth in the Commonwealth.
Advancing Harm Reduction: The Case for Overdose Prevention Centers
A conversation with Jeffrey Steen, Assistant Professor in the Simmons University School of Social Work.
Exploring Immigrant Stories: Being, Longing, Surviving and Thriving
A conversation with Hugo Kamya, Professor in the Simmons University School of Social Work and Associate Director of the Center for Innovation in Clinical Social Work.
Professor of Education Daren Graves Co-Edits Forthcoming Book on Hip Hop Education
In January 2024, Bloomsbury Publishing (London) will release The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy, co-edited by Daren Graves, Professor of Education and Social Work at Simmons, and Dr. Lauren Leigh Kelly, an Associate Professor of Education at Rutgers University. This collection is “the first reference work to cover the theory, history, research methodologies, and practice of Hip Hop pedagogy.”
Simmons Celebrates Exemplary Research, Teaching, and Service at the 2023 Faculty Awards
On October 11, the Simmons community gathered to honor the outstanding achievements of six faculty members representing five disciplines. This year’s awardees received recognition for superlative undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, service, and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Simmons School of Social Work Welcomes Six New Faculty Members
This fall, six new faculty members join the Simmons School of Social Work. Their diverse clinical and research repertoires include trauma, women’s health, child welfare, weight stigma, substance misuse, and adolescent mental health. These dedicated scholars and practitioners will inspire Simmons students to fight inequity and empower marginalized individuals.
Professor of Social Work Johnnie Hamilton-Mason Researches Leadership and Advocacy of Boston’s Black Women
Founded in 1919, the League of Women for Community Service is a Boston-based Black women's organization that still exists today. According to Professor Hamilton-Mason , the League helped cultivate Black womanhood in a nurturing and supportive way. Members of the...
Social Work Student and Alum Research in the News
Simmons Alumna Shares the Challenges and Rewards of Mental Health Therapy
Christa Perry ’23MSW is a mental health therapist for Embark Behavioral Health, a national company that provides mental health treatment to teens and young adults. Based in Vienna, Virginia, Perry counsels individuals and families in the eight-week Partial Hospitalization Program and the 15-week Intensive Outpatient Program.
A Mother Follows Her Child’s Footsteps to a Simmons Education
During high school, Devin Ryan ’21 toured Simmons, where they later majored in Biology. Meanwhile, someone close to Ryan was also inspired by that campus tour: their mother, Misty Neader ’25MSW.
Nathan Brewer ’10MSW ’18PhD on Protecting College Students
Nathan Brewer ’10MSW ’18PhD is Director of the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center (SARP) at Boston University (BU). After receiving his Master’s in Social Work from Simmons, he returned to the University to pursue his PhD in Social Work alongside his clinical practice. We spoke to Brewer about his experience in the program, and his current work at Boston University.