Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a product of evolutionary mismatch: Identification of Possible Benefits Using Mixed Methods
Biocultural Anthropology Seminar Series
Featured Speaker: Amanda E. Kunkle, Ph.D. student, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington.
Abstract: Characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity that interferes with functioning across settings, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, affecting ~11% of US children and ~6% of US adults and ~8% of children and ~7% of adults globally, and is highly heritable (~80%). ADHD is argued to be a case of evolutionary mismatch, wherein previously adaptive or neutral phenotypes become maladaptive in new environments. ADHD appears to be context-dependent, with symptoms fluctuating during the life course in response to environmental demands. Thus, ADHD may be less impairing—or even beneficial—in some contexts.
This dissertation used mixed methods to investigate the contexts where ADHD is beneficial, integrating anthropological, demographic, and genetic methods to identify if and when ADHD confers meaningful ben…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Denny Hall (DEN). Campus room: 313. Accessibility Contact: anthinfo@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars. Target Audience: Undergraduate/Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM.
CSDE Computational Demography Working Group-Jing Xu & Yehong Deng
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Raitt Hall (RAI). Online Meeting Link: https://csde.washington.edu/computational-demography-working-group-talks/. Campus room: 223. Accessibility Contact: csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu. Event Types: Workshops.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
From Estimands to Robust Inference of Treatment Effects in Master Protocol Trials | UW CSSS SEMINAR
Center for Statistics and Social Sciences
Abstract: A platform trial is an innovative clinical trial design that uses a master protocol to evaluate multiple treatments, where patients are often assigned to different subsets of treatment arms based on individual characteristics, enrollment timing, and treatment availability. While offering increased flexibility, this constrained and non-uniform treatment assignment poses inferential challenges, with two fundamental ones being the precise definition of treatment effects and robust, efficient inference on these effects. Such challenges arise primarily because some commonly used analysis approaches may target estimands defined on populations inadvertently depending on randomization ratios or trial operation format, thereby undermining interpretability. This article, for the first time, presents a formal framework for constructing a clinically meaningful estimand with precise specification of the population of interest. Specifically, the proposed entire concurrently eligible (ECE) population not only pre…
Event Types: Academics. Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
SAV 409.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSSS Seminar - From Estimands to Robust Inference of Treatment Effects in Master Protocol Trials
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Ting Ye, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, UW, Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 - 12:30 pm
Abstract:
A platform trial is an innovative clinical trial design that uses a master protocol to evaluate multiple treatments, where patients are often assigned to different subsets of treatment arms based on individual characteristics, enrollment timing, and treatment availability. While offering increased flexibility, this constrained and non-uniform treatment assignment poses inferential challenges, with two fundamental ones being the precise definition of treatment effects and robust, efficient inference on these effects. Such challenges arise primarily because some commonly used analysis approaches may target estimands defined on populations inadvertently depending on randomization ratios or trial operation format, thereby undermining interpretability. This article, for the first time, presents a formal framework for constructing a clinically meaningful estimand with precise specification of the…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Savery Hall (SAV). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/s/91612004486. Campus room: 409. Accessibility Contact: csss@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
Association for Washington Archaeology and UW Archaeology CRM Mixer
If you are potentially looking for work in the CRM industry, please save the date for this mixer with recruiters in May! Make sure to bring your resume to meet potential employers!
Association for Washington Archaeology (Seattle Area Group) and UW Archaeology CRM Mixer
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM – Social “Hour,” snacks, drinks, arrivals
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM – Welcome and Speaker (AWA Tech Training)
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM – CRM Company Introductions (Round Robin Style)
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM – CRM Q & A (Students can ask the CRM firm representatives general questions)
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM – Meet the Companies and Resume Exchange (Expo-Style).
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Denny Hall (DEN). Campus room: 313. Accessibility Contact: anthinfo@uw.edu. Event Types: Information Sessions. Meetings.
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
CSDE Seminar - Enduring Illegality: Time and the State of Waiting in Undocumented Middle Life - Angela Garcia
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Speaker: Angela Garcia, Associate Professor of Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, The University of Chicago
Abstract: How does the state govern immigrant lives not only through law, but through time? This book talk centers “illegality” as a temporal mechanism of U.S. migration governance: by withholding broad pathways to legal status, the state sustains prolonged legal uncertainty, blocked mobility, and restricted cross-border movement that structure the life course. Drawing on three waves of longitudinal interviews with long-settled undocumented Mexican immigrants in Chicago, the talk traces how those who migrated as young adults enter middle life in a condition of legal and temporal suspension that coincides with peak responsibility for others—raising children in the United States while supporting aging parents from afar. Examining the undocumented “sandwich generation,” the talk shows how family caregiving is reorganized through prolonged legal uncertainty: strain concentrates when…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Parrington Hall (PAR). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wtrRLfCUShaM-cx7iXCuJQ#/. Campus room: 360. Accessibility Contact: Maddie Farris - CSDE Program Coordinator (csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu). Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 15, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
CSDE Computational Demography Working Group-
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Raitt Hall (RAI). Online Meeting Link: https://csde.washington.edu/computational-demography-working-group-talks/. Campus room: 223. Accessibility Contact: csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu. Event Types: Workshops.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
Almost Magic: The Promise and Pitfalls of AI-Assisted Coding | UW CSSS SEMINAR
Center for Statistics and Social Sciences
Abstract: Artificial intelligence tools are democratizing programming, making computational research accessible to researchers who have little or no formal programming background. This seminar offers a practical introduction to programming with AI assistance, beginning with a brief history of how AI—and AI coding tools in particular—came to be. We then discuss practical considerations for programming with AI: how to work effectively with AI assistants, how to frame problems clearly, and how to evaluate the code they produce. The foregoing skills are essential in addressing “technical debt” in AI-assisted programming, where generated code does not generalize easily to new features. The talk should provide insights into what AI-assisted programming can and cannot do, and a foundation for using AI tools responsibly. Joseph L. Hellerstein received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has thirty years of experience in research and software engineering at the IBM TJ…
Event Types: Academics. Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
SAV 409.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSSS Seminar - Almost Magic: The Promise and Pitfalls of AI-Assisted Coding
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Joseph L Hellerstein, Senior Fellow, eScience Institute, Affiliate professor, Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Affiliate professor, Department of Bioengineering, UW, Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 - 12:30 pm
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence tools are democratizing programming, making computational research accessible to researchers who have little or no formal programming background. This seminar offers a practical introduction to programming with AI assistance, beginning with a brief history of how AI—and AI coding tools in particular—came to be. We then discuss practical considerations for programming with AI: how to work effectively with AI assistants, how to frame problems clearly, and how to evaluate the code they produce. The foregoing skills are essential in addressing “technical debt” in AI-assisted programming, where generated code does not generalize easily to new features. The talk should provide insights into what AI-assisted programming can and cannot do, and a foundation for using…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Savery Hall (SAV). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/s/91612004486. Campus room: 409. Accessibility Contact: csss@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSDE Seminar - The Promises and Pitfalls of Social Scientific Instruction in U.S. Medical Schools - Lauren Olsen
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Speaker: Lauren Olsen, Assistant Professor of College of Liberal Arts, Temple University
Abstract: Medical schools have increasingly incorporated the humanities and social sciences into their teaching, seeking to make future physicians more empathetic and more concerned with equity. In practice, however, these good intentions have not translated into critical consciousness. Humanities and social sciences education has often not only failed to deliver on its promise but even entrenched the inequalities that the medical profession set out to address.
Lauren D. Olsen examines how U.S. medical school faculty conceived, designed, and implemented their vision of education, tracing the failures of curricular reform. She argues that the way medical students encounter humanities and social sciences material in practice has served to reinforce the status quo by teaching them to individualize systemic problems. Students learn to avoid advocacy, critique, and attention to structural inequalities—while also gathering…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Parrington Hall (PAR). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_56keS5XjThydaYu4w-9NnA#/registration. Campus room: 360. Accessibility Contact: Maddie Farris - CSDE Program Coordinator (csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu). Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 22, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
CSDE Computational Demography Working Group-Jiahui Xu
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Raitt Hall (RAI). Online Meeting Link: https://csde.washington.edu/computational-demography-working-group-talks/. Campus room: 223. Accessibility Contact: csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu. Event Types: Workshops.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
Evans School Research Seminar - Amanda Bankston, Director of the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) and Julia Karon, PhD Student, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, "EPIC Reflections: Three Cases of Communit
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Wednesday, May 27, 11:30-12:30, PAR360: Amanda Bankston, Director of the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) and Julia Karon, PhD Student, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, "EPIC Reflections: Three Cases of Community-Engaged Research for Public Impact” [This talk will describe empirical cases, and relates to the 4/1 session].
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Parrington Hall (PAR). Campus room: 360. Accessibility Contact: cstruth@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
One Model, Many Methods: NIMBLE for Hierarchical Statistical Modeling in Social and Other Sciences | UW CSSS SEMINAR
Center for Statistics and Social Sciences
Abstract: People often need to customize statistical models for particular problems and then consider a variety of methods for estimation and inference. Customizations may include adding components across space, time, repeated sampling, networks, non-parametric relationships or distributions, or multiple data sources, among others. Methods may include MCMC with potentially many kinds of samplers, empirical Bayes or marginal maximum likelihood, Laplace approximation and its extension to adaptive Gauss-Hermite quadrature, integrated nested Laplace approximation and related methods, sequential Monte Carlo, and others. Some methods represent hybrids, such as Particle MCMC combining particle filtering and MCMC. I will give an overview of the NIMBLE framework (R package nimble) for such problems. NIMBLE combines a language for writing models (an extension of the BUGS/JAGS language) and an algorithm programming system from R, in which all built-in algorithms are written and users can write new algorithms. Models an…
Event Types: Academics. Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
SAV 409.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSSS Seminar - One Model, Many Methods: NIMBLE for Hierarchical Statistical Modeling in Social and Other Sciences
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Perry de Valpine, Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, Wednesday, May 27th, 2026 - 12:30 pm
Abstract:
People often need to customize statistical models for particular problems and then consider a variety of methods for estimation and inference. Customizations may include adding components across space, time, repeated sampling, networks, non-parametric relationships or distributions, or multiple data sources, among others. Methods may include MCMC with potentially many kinds of samplers, empirical Bayes or marginal maximum likelihood, Laplace approximation and its extension to adaptive Gauss-Hermite quadrature, integrated nested Laplace approximation and related methods, sequential Monte Carlo, and others. Some methods represent hybrids, such as Particle MCMC combining particle filtering and MCMC. I will give an overview of the NIMBLE framework (R package nimble) for such problems. NIMBLE combines a language for writing models (an extension…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Savery Hall (SAV). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/s/91612004486. Campus room: 409. Accessibility Contact: csss@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSDE Seminar - Ice Geographies and Critical Demography - Jen Rose Smith
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Speaker: Jen Rose Smith, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Washington
Abstract: Ice animates the look and feel of climate change. It is melting faster than ever before, causing social upheaval among northern coastal communities and disrupting a more southern, temperate world as sea levels rise. Economic, academic, and activist stakeholders are increasingly focused on the unsettling potential of ice as they plan for a future shaped by rapid transformation. Yet, in Ice Geographies, Jen Rose Smith demonstrates that ice has always been at the center of making sense of the world. Ice as homeland is often at the heart of Arctic and sub-Arctic ontologies, cosmologies, and Native politics. Reflections on ice have also long been a constitutive element of Western political thought, but it often privileges a pristine or empty “nature” stripped of power relations. Smith centers ice to study race and indigeneity by investigating ice relations as sites and sources of analysis that are bound up with colonial…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Parrington Hall (PAR). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2LFo6vFKRTejjGFahFF-Cw#/registration. Campus room: 360. Accessibility Contact: Maddie Farris - CSDE Program Coordinator (csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu). Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Friday, May 29, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
Addressing Measurement Error Bias in Grouped Continuous Data for Causal Inferences | UW CSSS SEMINAR
Center for Statistics and Social Sciences
Abstract: Applied researchers often analyze ordered categories that discretize continuous quantities (income, time frequencies, biomarkers, exposures). Treating such indices as continuous or imputing bin midpoints are convenient but misleading strategies to estimate marginal effects in regression analyses. This paper characterizes a form of measurement error that arises in those strategies by design, from the sampling mechanism, which induces biased and inconsistent estimations that are model-dependent and a priori unpredictable. I provide a solution to this problem, a calibration method - regularized interval regression - that treats responses as intervals of a latent distribution, and predicts calibrated proxies robust to measurement error biases in downstream linear regressions. Monte Carlo evidence shows that, relative to midpoint imputation and “ordinal-as-continuous,” the calibrated proxy yields unbiased linear estimates, especially in the presence of right-censoring/top-coding. An example based on su…
Event Types: Academics. Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
SAV 409.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSSS Seminar - Addressing Measurement Error Bias in Grouped Continuous Data for Causal Inferences
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Ramses Llobet, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, UW, Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026 - 12:30 pm
Abstract:
Applied researchers often analyze ordered categories that discretize continuous quantities (income, time frequencies, biomarkers, exposures). Treating such indices as continuous or imputing bin midpoints are convenient but misleading strategies to estimate marginal effects in regression analyses. This paper characterizes a form of measurement error that arises in those strategies by design, from the sampling mechanism, which induces biased and inconsistent estimations that are model-dependent and a priori unpredictable. I provide a solution to this problem, a calibration method - regularized interval regression - that treats responses as intervals of a latent distribution, and predicts calibrated proxies robust to measurement error biases in downstream linear regressions. Monte Carlo evidence shows that, relative to midpoint imputation and “ordinal-as-continuous,” the calibrated proxy yields unbiased…
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Savery Hall (SAV). Online Meeting Link: https://washington.zoom.us/s/91612004486. Campus room: 409. Accessibility Contact: csss@uw.edu. Event Types: Lectures/Seminars.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csss.uw.edu.
CSDE Closing Reception 2026: Celebration of Trainees' Accomplishments
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Parrington Hall (PAR). Campus room: 320. Accessibility Contact: Maddie Farris - CSDE Program Coordinator (csde-prgm-coord@uw.edu). Event Types: Ceremonies.
Friday, June 5, 2026, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit csde.washington.edu.
2026 Department of Anthropology Graduation Celebration
The faculty and staff of UW Anthropology are pleased to invite you to our departmental graduation celebration! Please join us to celebrate our graduating students' successes and achievements.
For more information, please see our Graduation Celebration page. Please note that the Department of Anthropology's Graduation Celebration is not the same event as the University of Washington's Commencement. If you RSVP'd for the Commencement event, you still need to RSVP for Anthropology's Graduation Celebration.
Event interval: Single day event. Campus location: Kane Hall (KNE). Campus room: 130. Accessibility Contact: anthinfo@uw.edu. Event Types: Ceremonies.
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.