Episodes

We are back! In this new episode of the Evidence to Impact podcast, host Michael Donovan speaks with Dr. Jill Felker, along with student researchers Shantelle Duarte and Vinh Lu, about their work studying microplastics in the Delaware River Watershed and the community impact of their research. The conversation explores how an unexpected discovery of microplastics in environmental samples led to a broader research collaboration through Penn State’s Presidential Public Impact Research Awards (PPIR...

In this episode, host Michael Donovan sits down with Patrick O'Neill, a doctoral candidate in Penn State's Human Development and Family Studies program, and Dr. Hayoung Donnelly, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, to explore the interdisciplinary world of prevention science. Together, they discuss how prevention science brings together researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and communities around a shared goal: improving health and well-b...

In this episode, host Michael Donovan, Associate Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative at Penn State, speaks with Bob Lamb, Director of Programs and Partnerships at Be a Part of the Conversation, and Haydn Briggs, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Group Psychotherapist, and Co-Founder of the Philadelphia Area Psychodrama Institute. Together, they explore the critical role that authentic human connection plays in recovery, healing, and family well-being.

In Part 2 of this episode, Michael Donovan continues the conversation with Dale Kashishian of Health Works Academies and David Garbe of the McKinney Center for STEM Education at the Philadelphia Education Fund on strengthening STEM pathways through deeper collaboration among schools, industry, and policymakers, and aligning education systems with real workforce needs and economic opportunity.

In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Michael Donovan sits down with Dale Keshishian of HealthWorks Academies and David Garbe of the McKinney Center for STEM Education at the Philadelphia Education Fund to unpack the challenges, and opportunities, of building stronger STEM pathways for young people. From early exposure and hands-on learning to representation, mentorship, and community engagement, this conversation explores what it takes to keep students engaged and help them see a future in STEM....

In this episode of the Evidence to Impact Podcast, host Michael Donovan brings together three experts to explore how podcasts are transforming clinical learning. The guests include Dr. William Calo, Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences and Associate Director of the Penn State Cancer Institute; Dr. Ben Fogel, Professor of Pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine; and Dr. Paul Williams, Professor of Internal Medicine at Penn State College of Medicine and co-host of The Curbsiders podc...

This episode, host Michael Donovan, Associate Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative at Penn State, speaks with Dr. Stephen Sandelich, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine Penn State Health, Associate Director of Outreach PSACT and Sarah Ballard, Assistant Director of Outreach PSACT. The conversation explores the topic of substance use among adolescents, the role of stigma and privacy concerns, and how community and school-based outreach efforts are evolving to better ...

In this episode, host Michael Donovan, Associate Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative at Penn State, speaks with Dr. Alice Zhang, family medicine physician researcher in the Penn State Health Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz, Director of Planning and Resource Development at the Council on Chemical Abuse. The conversation explores the Health to Go program, an innovative approach that uses interactive health vending machines to expand access t...

Part 2 is here! In this follow-up episode, we take a deeper look at the Madison Area Recovery Initiative (MARI). Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska (Penn State), Captain Joe Balles (retired, Madison Police Department), and Captain Diana Nachtigal (Madison Police Department) share how evidence-based outreach, peer recovery partnerships, and innovative diversion strategies are reshaping the connections between policing, addiction recovery, and community health. More information on MARI can be found here: h...

You know what time it is - new episode! This one takes a deep dive into how community policing supports recovery and crime reduction, specifically within the Madison, Wisconsin area. The host, Michael Donovan, sits down with Dr. Aleksandra Zgierska from Penn State, Captain Joe Balles, and Captain Diana Nachtigal of the Madison Police Department to explore this topic further. The conversation dives into the development of the Madison Area Recovery Initiative (MARI), an innovative police-led dive...

We are back! We have a discussion with Denise Holden, founder and CEO of the RASE Project, a recovery community organization that has since expanded outside of Pennsylvania and Dr. Sarah Kawasaki, the Chief of Addiction Medicine, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine at Penn State Health. This episode discusses the opioid crisis, the negative stigma surrounding this, and the process of recovery.

Supporting Recovery, Strengthening Families, & Fostering Healthier Communities: Effective Approaches to Addressing Substance Use Disorders in Justice-Involved Populations Summary: The substance use epidemic in the United States remains a significant public health concern. The rate of drug overdose deaths has increased substantially over the past decade. This risk is particularly heightened when individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) encounter a transition in their lives, such as being...

We’re back! The Evidence-to-Impact Podcast is back with a new episode where we discuss The Adolescent Health Network (AHN) from Penn State PRO Wellness. This episode features a conversation with Dr. Deepa Sekhar, executive director of Penn State PRO Wellness, Victoria Smith, career coordinator at Hershey High School in the Derry Township School District, and two amazing 12th-grade students and past program participants, Sarah Anderson, and Mena Morsy. The AHN is a program that connects health r...

We're closing out this semester's season with a conversation about prevention and partnerships. We focus on a discussion between a long-standing collaborative relationship between Penn State and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth government, which targets interventions and prevention work targeted towards youth and families. Our episode covers a wide span of topics, including why prevention and implementation work are difficult, but critical; the changes that happen when there's a political transitio...

For this month’s episode, we did something a little different. We spoke to two researchers with two different approaches to tackling the same problem: knowledge mobilization. In essence, the concept of knowledge mobilization focuses on making knowledge, resources or practices that exist in one space and making them accessible to specific audiences. We talked about the work behind SOSNetLab (Social Opportunity Space Networking Lab) and the Research-to-Policy Collaboration, barriers to this type o...

This month's episode tackles a fascinating combination of topics involving the impact of biological and social factors on chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes, and the prevention and treatment efforts for those chronic diseases through state and local government programs. We spoke to Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health and the Director of Epidemiology and Genetics across Populations & Societies Laboratory at Penn State, and Amy Flaherty, Director of the D...

This month's episode discusses mental health screenings for adolescents in the K-12 school system. We spoke to Deepa Sekhar, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics at the College of Medicine, and Executive Director, Penn State PRO Wellness; Perri Rosen, PhD, NCSP, Consulting Psychologist, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Pennsylvania Dept. of Human Services, and Steve Sharp, School Counselor in the Hempfield School District, and K-12 School Counseling Coordinator ...

The end of the spring semester marks the release of another episode! This month, we tackled the tough topic of mental health among college students. We talked about how COVID-19 has impacted college students seeking mental health services, the challenges for counselors and administrators working in university mental health centers, policy solutions to the crisis, and other things that have happened as a result of the pandemic like changes in technology. We spoke to Maithreyi Gopalan, Ph.D., Ass...

The end of the spring semester marks the release of another episode! This month, we tackled the tough topic of mental health among college students. We talked about how COVID-19 has impacted college students seeking mental health services, the challenges for counselors and administrators working in university mental health centers, policy solutions to the crisis, and other things that have happened as a result of the pandemic like changes in technology. We spoke to Maithreyi Gopalan, Ph.D., Ass...

The end of the spring semester marks the release of another episode! This month, we tackled the tough topic of mental health among college students. We talked about how COVID-19 has impacted college students seeking mental health services, the challenges for counselors and administrators working in university mental health centers, policy solutions to the crisis, and other things that have happened as a result of the pandemic like changes in technology. We spoke to Maithreyi Gopalan, Ph.D., Ass...

The end of the spring semester marks the release of another episode! This month, we tackled the tough topic of mental health among college students. We talked about how COVID-19 has impacted college students seeking mental health services, the challenges for counselors and administrators working in university mental health centers, policy solutions to the crisis, and other things that have happened as a result of the pandemic like changes in technology. We spoke to Maithreyi Gopalan, Ph.D., Ass...

We're back for our third season! Kicking off the 2022 season, we explore the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania. We spoke to Megan Kurlychek, Professor of Sociology, Criminology and Public Policy and Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Research Center at Penn State, and Rick Steele, Executive Director of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission at the Pennsylvania Commonwealth, about their work in the juvenile justice field, the history of the juvenile justice system, prevention progra...

We're back for our third season! Kicking off the 2022 season, we explore the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania. We spoke to Megan Kurlychek, Professor of Sociology, Criminology and Public Policy and Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Research Center at Penn State, and Rick Steele, Executive Director of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission at the Pennsylvania Commonwealth, about their work in the juvenile justice field, the history of the juvenile justice system, prevention progra...

We're back for our third season! Kicking off the 2022 season, we explore the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania. We spoke to Megan Kurlychek, Professor of Sociology, Criminology and Public Policy and Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Research Center at Penn State, and Rick Steele, Executive Director of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission at the Pennsylvania Commonwealth, about their work in the juvenile justice field, the history of the juvenile justice system, prevention progra...