Faculty Directory

Kirsten Davison

Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Chair

Associate Dean for Research

Profile

Kirsten Davison is the Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Chair and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Work at md传媒国产剧 College, where she directs the THRIVE Lab. Her research and teaching focus on the health and well-being of children and families. Prior to joining md传媒国产剧 College in 2019, she held faculty appointments at the University at Albany School of Public Health (2003鈥2011) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2011鈥2019).

Dr. Davison鈥檚 research centers on developing and evaluating family- and community-based interventions aimed at supporting children鈥檚 nutrition, sleep, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. These interventions are designed and implemented in collaboration with community partners, using participatory methods that position parents as agents of change. Key partners include public school districts, special education schools, state health departments, community health centers, hospitals, and social service programs.

Dr. Davison is currently leading two five-year studies, supported by more than $4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. The first, Fathers & Families, is a cohort study involving over 1,200 biological, adoptive, and social fathers of preschool-aged children (ages 1鈥6 years) and their co-parents. This study comprehensively examines the role of fathers in childhood obesity prevention, with a specific focus on their parenting practices related to children's diet, physical activity, and sleep behaviors.

The second study, MI Vacuna, is an intervention designed to assess whether integrating vaccination into a behavioral health setting can increase COVID-19 and influenza vaccination rates among Latinx adults with mental illness. In collaboration with , behavioral health clinicians are trained to use motivational interviewing to engage Latinx patients who are missing vaccines in guided conversations about vaccination. Leveraging the integrated care setting, behavioral clinicians link patients who decide they would like to be vaccinated with a nurse using a 鈥渨arm handoff.鈥

Dr. Davison actively engages students at all levels in her research and has mentored more than 20 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. Students interested in collaborating with Dr. Davison and the THRIVE Lab on either study are encouraged to contact her at kirsten.davison@bc.edu.

Selected Publications

Davison K.K., Birch L.L.听.听Obesity Reviews. 2001; 2(3):159-171.

Davison K.K., Gicevic S., Aftosmes-Tobio A., et al.听.听American Journal of Public Health. 2016;106(11):1980.

Bowling A, Slavet J, Miller D, Hanuese S, Beardsley W, Davison KK.听.听笔别诲颈补迟谤颈肠蝉听2017;139(2): e20161985.

Beckerman J.P., Aftosmes-Tobio A., Kitos N., Jurkowski J.M., Lansburg K., Kazik C., Gavarkovs A., Vigilante A., Kalyoncu Z.B., Figueroa R., Klabunde R., Barouch R., Hanuese S., Taveras E., Davison K.K. and the CHL study team.听.听Contemporary Clinical Trials.听2019, 78, 34-45.

Gago C, Jurkowski J, Beckerman-Hsu J, Aftosmes-Tobio A, Figueroa R, Oddleifson C, Mattei J, Kenney E, Haneuse S, & Davison KK.听听Social Science and Medicine.听2022: Mar; 296: 114761.

Grafft, N., Aftosmes-Tobio, A., Gago, C., Lansburg, K., Beckerman-Hsu, J., Trefry, B., Kumanyika, S & Davison, KK. (in press).听.听Translational Behavioral Medicine.

Selected Grants

Fathers & Families
08/12/19 - 04/30/24听()
Paternal Effects on Child Weight Outcomes
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Multi-PI with )

MI VACUNA听(Motivational Interviewing for VACcine Uptake in latiNx Adults)
09/26/2022 鈥 6/30/2027听()
Leveraging community- based behavioral health to increase vaccine uptake in Latinx adults with mental illness
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Nursing Research
Role: Principal Investigator (Multi-PI with Roc铆o Calvo and )

Selected Appointments & Awards

2019听 Donahue and DiFelice Professorship, md传媒国产剧 College

2017听 Alice Hamilton Award, Harvard School of Public Health

2017听 Leadership Institute, Society for Behavioral Medicine

2011听 Donald and Sue Pritzker Professorship, Harvard School of Public Health