UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) welcomes five new co-funded faculty members, further strengthening its mission of advancing interdisciplinary social and behavioral science across the University.
The new cohort of SSRI co-funded faculty comes from a wide range of colleges and disciplines including psychology, rural sociology, anthropology, psychiatry and behavioral health.
- Fiona Molloy, assistant professor of psychology, College of the Liberal Arts
Molloy’s research leverages computational models to study individual differences in the human brain and behavior, with a focus on neuroimaging and decision-making. She uses these models to investigate the development of neurocognitive processes from infancy to young adulthood, with particular interest in adolescent decision-making and understanding why some individuals, but not others, develop substance use disorders.
- Caylin Moore, assistant professor of sociology and criminology, College of the Liberal Arts
Moore’s research examines how states classify populations and, in doing so, generate durable forms of stratification and inequality, with an empirical focus on the American criminal legal system. His work appears in American Sociological Review, PNAS Nexus, Annual Review of Criminology, Urban Studies, and Urban Affairs Review, and he is currently working on a book project on criminal classification.
- Rebecca Schut, assistant professor of rural sociology, College of Agricultural Sciences
Schut's research investigates the role of policy environments and social institutions in shaping inequities in health, well-being, and life chances. Her current research agenda 1) explores the role of the U.S. immigration policy patchwork in shaping immigrant integration, 2) uncovers inequities in the structure and delivery of U.S. health care, particularly across geographic (state- and county-level) contexts, and 3) investigates how educational and occupational attainment influence health and economic well-being.
- Ilaria Pretelli, assistant professor of anthropology, College of the Liberal Arts
Pretelli’s research focuses on how children contribute to families and communities, and how family dynamics shape human development and reproduction. She uses an evolutionary perspective to study human behavior and demography, combining field research in Pemba, Tanzania, and Brazil with quantitative approaches, including Bayesian statistical modeling, to understand how people navigate the challenges and opportunities of family life.
- Amanda Nguyen, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health, College of Medicine
Nguyen’s research focuses on using implementation science to improve and scale pragmatic, community-based mental health services in resource-limited settings. She works with providers and community partners to embed mental health care within existing systems, using delivery innovations such as task sharing, remote supervision, tele-coaching, and mobile health technologies to expand the availability, accessibility, and feasibility of care. Her work spans rural U.S. and international settings, including schools, refugee health care, veterans’ services, and livelihoods programming.
SSRI’s co-fund program helps recruit and support faculty whose research bridges multiple disciplines. By partnering with colleges and departments across Penn State, SSRI enhances opportunities for collaboration on complex social challenges.