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How do you sum up years of research in a two-minute conversation with a lawmaker? 

At a recent panel, public health leaders Olusimbo (Simbo) Ige and Matthew Smith joined IPR faculty Emma Adam and Thomas McDade to explore how evidence makes its way into policy—often through quick conversations, compelling stories, and trusted messengers. 

In a time of declining confidence in institutions, they argued, researchers must go beyond identifying problems and play a more active role in shaping solutions.

IPR to Welcome Leading Sociologist as Its Third Visiting Scholar
This spring, Bridget Goosby from The University of Texas at Austin will join IPR as its third visiting scholar. IPR’s Visiting Scholars Program hosts outstanding researchers who study key social policy issues with a proven track record of connecting with policymakers, community groups, and the public. Calling IPR her “second intellectual home,” Goosby is a leading expert on the health effects of social inequality throughout life.
Research News
New Tools for Studying Bias and Belief 
People—and their often contradictory beliefs—don’t always fit into neat boxes. In a new journal article, IPR graduate research assistant Jonathan Doriscar with IPR faculty Tessa Charlesworth, Sylvia Perry, and their colleagues introduce unsupervised machine learning tools that can uncover hidden patterns in large datasets. Using research on racial attitudes, they show how these methods reveal nuanced profiles traditional approaches may miss—and point to new ways to design more effective interventions. 
New IPR Research: March 2026
This month’s new research from our faculty experts examines methods researchers are using to understand the impacts of U.S. immigration policies and the effects of a workplace diversity training program. It also looks at how English-language learning programs can help immigrant families and how media coverage of gun violence varies by neighborhood. 

Faculty Insights

 
“When the primary electorate is this small and unrepresentative slice of the American public, legislators have an incentive to be responsive to the interests of the few at the expense of the many.”

Laurel Harbridge-Yong
In Chicago, Primaries Can Decide Winners.
So Why Is Turnout Low?
 
Block Club Chicago
Working Papers

Our bimonthly working paper newsletter highlights the newest additions from our faculty experts. You can sign up to receive notification of our newest working papers, or view all of our working papers on our website.
IPR Working Papers
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