Meet our Ph.D. candidates
The next generation of social work research scholars, educators and leaders.
The VCU School of Social Work is proud to present our four Ph.D. candidates who are on the job market this year, seeking positions after May 2026 and/or for the 2026-27 academic year.
Jeff Ciak, M.S.W.
I am devoted to community-engaged mental health services research that improves the physical health and inclusion of people with psychiatric disabilities in research. My work highlights multi-level factors that impact the health of people conventionally labeled as experiencing serious mental illness, particularly patient-clinician communication and structural determinants of health.”
Katie Kim, LMSW
My work centers on the often-overlooked realities of parents with alcohol and other substance use disorders, and how caregiving, stigma and systemic barriers shape their paths to treatment and recovery. I aim to reframe substance use as a family and social issue, not just an individual one, and to promote healing pathways that strengthen both parents and children.”
Reem Shawkat, M.A.
My research investigates the role of transnational family networks in supporting displaced relatives within challenging socio-political contexts. I hope to highlight the human stories behind these networks and encourage policies that recognize and uplift their vital, yet often overlooked, contributions.”
Ya-Li Yang, M.S.W, LSW
Family involvement can be a powerful asset in an individual’s path to recovery, particularly when families are equipped with the essential tools to provide effective support. My research aims to identify the strengths and challenges that families encounter, to inform future family-centered interventions.”
Dissertation
A grounded theory study of how people with serious mental illness at risk for cardiovascular disease communicate with primary care clinicians
Education
M.S.W., California University of Pennsylvania
B.A., Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Statement
Jeff utilizes mixed methods research to advocate for policy change and interventions to improve the health of people with psychosis and bipolar, drawing on his lived experience with bipolar and clinical experience. His current work consists of investigating ways people with psychosis and bipolar can be better heard by primary care clinicians and incorporating lived experience leadership into research on physical health disparities among people with psychosis and bipolar.
Jeff’s dissertation is a grounded theory study of how patients with psychosis and bipolar at risk for cardiovascular disease communicate with their primary care clinicians, informed by disability justice, epistemic injustice and mad studies. His future research aims to develop interventions that reduce health disparities among people with psychiatric disabilities.
Research & teaching interests
- Centering Mental Health Service User Perspectives
- Health Disparities Among People with Psychiatric Disabilities, including Psychosis and Bipolar
- Social Work Practice Courses, Particularly on Mental Health and Substance Use
- Power, Privilege and Oppression
Highlighted publications
- Goffnett, J., Call, J., Ciak J., Medina, E., Clary, K.L., Ventura, R., & Sidhu, S. (in press). Conceptualizing trans-inclusive healthcare: Environmental and interpersonal factors of healthcare provision. SSM – Health Systems.
- Holmes, C.M., Ciak, J., Lund, M., Ilkorkor, Z.S., Kye, G., King, M., Akom, K., Brubaker, S.J., Hyer, M., & Cuddeback, G. (in press). An innovative, interdisciplinary intervention for justice-involved emerging adults. Teaching and Supervision in Counseling.
- Ciak, J. & Cuddeback, G. (2024). Serious Mental Illness and Firearm Violence: A case of Discrimination. In N. Thompson (Ed.), Handbook of Firearm Violence. Elsevier.
→ Learn more about Jeff Ciak: Full profile | CV | Contact: ciakj@vcu.edu
Dissertation
Unseen and untreated: Gendered pathways and risk among parents with alcohol use disorder
This dissertation explores treatment avoidance, structural barriers, and risk outcomes among parents with clinically significant alcohol use.
Education
M.S.W., University of Michigan
B.S., social work, George Mason University
Statement
Katie’s research examines the impact of parental substance use on family systems, with a particular focus on promoting recovery and improving treatment engagement for parents. She is interested in how substance use affects parenting, family well-being and the intergenerational transmission of harm, and how social work can contribute to family-centered, equity-informed solutions.
For her dissertation, Katie is using nationally representative data to explore how caregiving responsibilities, stigma and systemic barriers shape treatment avoidance among parents with alcohol use disorder. Her analysis identifies risk patterns and unmet needs that can inform more responsive care systems.
Through her work, she aims to advance policies and practices that move beyond individual-focused models of addiction and instead support long-term healing for families affected by substance use.
Research interests
- Parental Substance Use Disorders
- Enhancing Treatment Engagement for Parents
- Family Centered Substance Use Interventions
- Parenting, Recovery and Systems Involvement
- Intergenerational Trauma and Substance Use
- Child Welfare and Substance-Exposed Families
- Structural and Gender-Based Barriers to Care
- Equity Informed Approaches to Behavioral Health
Teaching interests
- Research Methods in Social Work
- Clinical Social Work Practice
- Substance Use Disorders and Interventions
- Human Behavior in the Social Environment
- Evidence Based Practice and Implementation
Highlighted publications
- Brummer, J. E., Frederiksen, K. S., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Kim, K. N., & Chartier, K. G. (2025). Combining family history and alcohol screening measures to identify emerging adults at risk of NEET. Social psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
Highlighted presentations
- Kim, K. N. (2025). The role of perceived parenting factors in adolescent mental health among children of mothers with alcohol use disorder. Poster at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol, New Orleans, LA. Chartier, K., Kim, K. N., Francis, M., Reddish, N., Long, A., Van de Riet, K., & Gomez, R.
- (2025). Equipping social workers on the frontline: Implementation of an innovative training program in addictions for child welfare professionals. Poster at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, New Orleans, LA.
- Kim, K. N., Sinha, R., & Seo, D. (2020). Sex differences in stress, trauma, and relationship to alcohol use severity in a community sample of non-disordered individuals. ePoster presented at the annual convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
Selected honors
- School of Social Work Service and Leadership Award, VCU, 2025
- Doctoral Fellow, Minority Fellowship Program, CSWE, 2023-2026
- Beck Institute CBT Fellowship Award, 2023
- School of Social Work Scholarship, University of Michigan, 2018-2019
- BSW Academic Achievement Award, George Mason University, 2018
→ Learn more about Katie Kim: Full profile | CV | Contact: kimk15@vcu.edu
Dissertation
Held together across borders: Transnational families and the quiet work of survival
Education
M.A., psychology, George Mason University
B.S., psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Statement
My research examines how transnational family networks support displaced people, focusing on the informal systems diaspora members build to help relatives navigate displacement. Using social network analysis and qualitative methods, I explore how caregiving is structured across borders and shaped by factors like gender, class and legal status. I’m particularly interested in how displacement policies produce gaps that informal networks are forced to fill and the emotional, material and political consequences of that burden.
Broadly, I study collective survival strategies not as signs of resilience to be celebrated in isolation, but as responses to structural neglect. My work calls for more grounded, network-aware policies that center displaced families’ lived realities and redistribute responsibility for care more justly across institutions and systems.
Research interests
- Kinship Ties and Survival Strategies in Displacement
- Transnational Family Networks
- Informal Support Systems Across Borders
- Diaspora Well-Being and Identity
- Refugee Aid Systems
- Collective Coping
- Displacement and Refugee Policy Reform
Teaching interests
- Research Methods in Social Work
- Global Social Work / International Social Welfare
- Policy, Practice and Advocacy
- Power, Privilege and Oppression
Highlighted publications
- Baldwin-White, A., & Shawkat, R. (2025). Game Changing: Incorporating Technology into Social Work Research for Social Change. Education Sciences, 15(6), 729.
- Shawkat, R., Eldyrani, W., Taha, N., & Elhassan, S. (2023). The Search for Freedom, Justice, and Peace in Sudan. Op-ed for Savoir Flair.
Selected honors
- Black History in the Making, VCU, 2025
- School of Social Work Social Justice Award, VCU, 2025
- School of Social Work Service and Leadership Award, VCU, 2025
- Dr. Marilyn A. Biggerstaff Fund for Doctoral Student Research Scholarship, VCU, 2025
- Fulbright Semifinalist, Egypt Open Study/Research Award, 2024
- Frank and Patricia Baskind Scholarship, VCU, 2024
- Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change and Equity (RAACE) – Ph.D. Fellow, VCU, 2022-2025
→ Learn more about Reem Shawkat: Full profile | CV | Contact: shawkatra@vcu.edu
Dissertation
How families develop resilience through communication in the context of supporting a loved one in recovery: A mixed-methods study
Education
M.S.W., Syracuse University
B.A., Chinese literature and social welfare, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Statement
My research agenda focuses on how family dynamics influence the recovery trajectories of individuals with substance misuse, to inform and advocate for family-centered interventions that support families throughout the recovery process. My dissertation examines how family communication influences support and resilience, and how external factors and resources, such as stigma and formal or informal support, impact the way families support their loved ones during recovery.
I hope this exploration will reveal how families adapt and grow through the challenges brought on by substance misuse; highlight the strengths and difficulties they face; offer hope to others still navigating the recovery journey; and deepen social work professionals’ understanding of these families within broader systemic contexts to inform the development of future interventions.
Research interests
- Recovery Capital in the Context of Alcohol and Substance Misuse
- Family Dynamics and Communication
- Stigma
- Social Connectedness
- Community-based Intervention and Evaluation
Teaching interests
- Social Work Practice
- Research Methods and Analysis
- Human Behaviors
- Mental Health, Substance Misuse and Stigma
Highlighted publications
- Francis, M. W., Smith, R. L., Miola, R., Yang, Y. L., Bannard, T, Burns, V., Cleveland, M., Karimova, K., LaBelle, O., Murphy, D., & Piccirillo, M. (2025). Recovery Identity as a Buffer: Mitigating Trauma’s Impact on Recovery Capital in Collegiate Recovery Programs. Frontiers in Adolescent Medicine, 3.
- Smith, R.L., Francis, M. W., Yang, Y. L., Miola, R., Bannard, T. (Under review: Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion). Comparing Recovery-Related Outcomes as a Function of Harm Reduction Pathways to Recovery in Collegiate Recovery Participants.
Selected honors
- Grand Challenges for Social Work Fellowship Award: Eradicate Social Isolation, 2025
- Research Society on Alcoholism Student Merit Travel Award, 2023
- Taiwan Government Scholarship for Studying Abroad, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 2020
- Catherine Mary Esposito Achievement Award, Syracuse University, N.Y., 2005
→ Learn more about Ya-Li Yang: Full profile | CV | Contact: yangy11@vcu.edu