Rockefeller Institute of Government

10/06/2026

Pregnancy is widely understood as a time when health and safety should be particularly protected. Yet, in the United States, violence is the second leading cause of death during pregnancy and the postpartum period. In a new blog, Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium members Lois K. Lee and Ayesha Dholakia detail the risks of fi***rm violence during pregnancy, highlight the limitations of our data collection systems, and lay out options for policymakers to improve this facet of maternal health.

Better protections for pregnant people require understanding and treating fi***rm policy, intimate partner violence prevention, reproductive care, and economic security as maternal health interventions.

10/02/2026

Excited to welcome a new cohort of Richard P. Nathan public policy fellows! These scholars are working on timely public policy issues in local government, housing, clean energy, and healthcare.

Read our announcement 👇
https://rockinst.org/news/article/rockefeller-institute-announces-new-cohort-of-richard-p-nathan-public-policy-fellows/

09/30/2026

Bioremediation methods can involve organisms as large as trees or as small as bacteria and fungi. In our latest Science Note, NYS Science Policy Fellow Jose Antunes explains how living organisms can be used to treat environmental contaminants.

Read the note 👇

Learn in this Science Note how bioremediation uses living organisms to address environmental contamination from emerging contaminants like PFAS.

09/29/2026

Service lines—pipes that connect homes and buildings to municipal water systems—that are made of lead are known to be a common source of lead exposure when they corrode and lead enters the drinking water supply. Federal regulations require all states to collect material inventories of drinking water system service lines by November 2027. Our second annual report on the status of these water system inventories highlights the work that has been accomplished in the past year and the work that remains to be done a little more than a year out from that deadline.

Read the report 👇

This report provides an update on the status of New York State's Lead Service Line Inventory ahead of the November 2027 to complete an inventory of service lines in the state's water systems.

09/16/2026

We are so excited to welcome the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium's inaugural postdoctoral research fellow: Dr. Caleb Cuthbertson! Caleb's research centers on the psychological and relational impacts of fi***rm injuries on individuals, families, and communities, and we're looking forward to showcasing his research as it evolves over the next couple of years.

Caleb will also expand the Consortium's in-house research expertise in the areas of community violence prevention and fi***rm-involved violence survivorship.

In the full announcement, which you can read below, RGVRC Executive Director Jaclyn Schildkraut said, "Caleb brings a valuable interdisciplinary perspective and expertise that will strengthen our work and create new opportunities to advance rigorous, policy-relevant research on fi***rm violence and its prevention. We are incredibly grateful to Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature for their continued support of the Consortium, which made this important investment in our research team possible."

Our blog also features a quick Q&A with Caleb about his research, what motivates him, and what he hopes people will take away from the work he is doing. Check it out: https://rockinst.org/blog/rgvrc-member-highlight-caleb-cuthbertson/

Read the full announcement: https://rockinst.org/news/article/rgvrc-welcomes-caleb-cuthbertson/

09/10/2026

We're thrilled to announce our third cohort of New York State Science Policy Fellows! These PhD scientists are working with the New York State executive and legislature to bring additional scientific expertise to bear on important policy problems. The program, generously supported by the Simons Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, bridges gaps between the science and policy communities. The fellows are:

🥼 Olivia Asher
PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Georgia
Placed in New York State Assembly Program and Counsel

🥼 Emily Costa
PhD in Chemistry from the University of Michigan
Placed in New York State Senate Finance Committee

🥼 Viet Dinh
PhD in Biomedical Sciences from The University of North Texas
Placed in New York State Department of Health, Office of Science

🥼 Hannah LeBlanc
PhD in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Placed in State University of New York (SUNY) Office of the Chancellor under Policy Implementation and Access Initiatives

🥼 Briana McRae
PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from Columbia University
Placed in New York State Department of Health, Division of Family Health

🥼 Cody Shaw
PhD in Chemistry from Stony Brook University
Placed in New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Learn more about the fellows: https://rockinst.org/news/article/rockefeller-institute-of-government-welcomes-third-cohort-of-new-york-state-science-policy-fellows/

08/31/2026

On a new episode of Policy Outsider, Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium Executive Director Jaclyn Schildkraut explores a program in Washington State that delivers to high school students an evidence-informed education on how to reduce fi***rm injuries and deaths.

On this episode of Policy Outsider, we explore a program in Washington State that delivers to high school students an evidence-informed education on how to reduce fi***rm injury.

08/21/2026

Between 2010 and 2021, the rate of fi***rm homicides among US men aged 50 and older increased 87 percent, yet research has largely focused on younger victims or grouped older adults into broad age categories. In a new blog, RGVRC Affiliate Scholars Lynn Addington & Wendy Regoeczi highlight their new research examining how the characteristics and contexts of fi***rm-involved homicides vary among older men at different ages. The findings challenge stereotypes about older victims and highlight the need for more nuanced research and prevention strategies.

Read the blog: https://rockinst.org/blog/rethinking-older-men-as-victims-of-fi***rm-involved-homicides-differences-across-ages-and-contexts/

08/20/2026

With Executive Order 62 signed in mid-July, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul established a temporary moratorium on proposed data centers over 50 megawatts in the state, the first such ban in the nation. The executive order (EO) follows on the heels of legislation passed by the state senate and assembly that sought to do much the same: pause the buildout of big data center projects while the State sorts out what the impacts are, updates its regulatory frameworks, and ensures localities and residents aren't left holding the bag for these energy- and water-intensive facilities.

The latest analysis from Rockefeller Institute researchers Mathilda Scott & Laura Rabinow details the differences in the legislation and the EO, and introduces the NYS Data Centers Dashboard, a new resource for keeping track of all the proposed projects and responding legislation.

📝 Analysis: https://rockinst.org/blog/pushing-back-on-the-cloud-the-first-statewide-moratorium/

📊 Dashboard: https://rockinst.org/issue-areas/economic-development/nys-data-centers-dashboard/

Visualizing operating facilities, proposed developments, local municipal moratoriums, and state legislation across New York State.

08/04/2026

Get to know Amanda Nickerson, director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, in our latest RGVRC member highlight. Her research focuses on gun violence prevention in schools. She takes a systems-oriented approach to this work & places an emphasis on translating research → practice.

Read the highlight: https://rockinst.org/blog/rgvrc-member-highlight-amanda-nickerson/