The Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society advances research excellence by embedding interdisciplinary collaboration and undergraduate research training within projects that address the needs of historically underserved populations. By linking faculty expertise across anthropology, public health, data science, and the humanities, the Institute creates research environments where complex social and health challenges are examined through rigorous, context-sensitive, and ethically grounded approaches.
An illustrative example of this model is a community-engaged study conducted in Indigenous communities in the northeastern highlands of Puebla, Mexico. The project was developed through an international collaboration with the Universidad Iberoamericana, campus Puebla, and in partnership with Yoltli A.C., a civil society organization with more than two decades of sustained work with Indigenous and rural women, under the leadership of Professor Georgina Morán Rangel, an anthropologist expert in participatory methodologies.
Yoltli’s mission and vision, centered on participatory capacity-building, gender equity, cultural continuity, and harmony between communities and the natural environment, provided the ethical and relational foundation necessary for meaningful, long-term research collaboration.
Within this framework, the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society examined the social determinants of health and the role of civil society organizations in promoting health literacy, gender empowerment, and social cohesion. The study was conceptualized and designed collaboratively, drawing on complementary expertise in community-based research, medical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and public health. Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society affiliated faculty, Angelica Garcia-Martínez led the integration of interdisciplinary teams, facilitated institutional partnerships, and coordinated the active involvement of undergraduate students across the research lifecycle. Vania Smith-Oka (Department of Anthropology) provided senior scholarly mentorship and theoretical guidance, strengthening the study’s analytical rigor and interpretive depth, while Georgina Morán Rangel contributed critical expertise in community engagement and local context, ensuring methodological and cultural relevance.
Undergraduate researchers Rebeca Sauly Santa María Granados (ND ’24), Kayla Bucci (ND ’25), and Elizabeth Horwitz (ND ’25) were actively involved at all stages of the project, including fieldwork, qualitative analysis, and the synthesis of findings. Through direct engagement with civil society organizations and vulnerable populations, students participated in authentic research activities that extended beyond classroom learning, gaining hands-on experience in ethical, community-centered research while making substantive contributions to the study’s empirical and interpretive outcomes.
A defining feature of this project was the intentional integration of undergraduate students into authentic research activities. The students belonged to from multiple departments and participated in qualitative analysis, thematic coding, literature synthesis, and cross-cultural interpretation under close faculty mentorship. Through this hands-on engagement, they gained direct exposure to participatory research methods, ethical community-based scholarship, and interdisciplinary teamwork, allowing them to connect theoretical coursework with real-world research practice.
The benefits for undergraduate students extended well beyond the classroom. They developed transferable skills in qualitative and mixed-methods research, collaborative problem-solving, and culturally responsive inquiry, competencies that are critical for careers in graduate education, medicine, public health, policy, and the nonprofit sector. Participation in an international, peer-reviewed research project strengthened their academic profiles, enhanced their professional confidence, and clarified career pathways oriented toward social impact and global engagement.
The study’s findings demonstrated that CSO-led participatory interventions increased Indigenous women’s health literacy, strengthened gender empowerment, reduced smoke exposure by adopting improved cookstoves, and fostered social cohesion through sustained accompaniment. These results were disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication by Dr. García-Martínez, Dr. Smith-Oka and international collaborators, underscoring how undergraduate-engaged, interdisciplinary research can generate high-quality scholarship with tangible social relevance.
Through initiatives such as this, the Lucy Family Institute exemplifies how interdepartmental collaboration and undergraduate research training can reinforce one another. By situating students and faculty within ethically grounded, community-driven projects, the Institute advances knowledge production that serves the common good while preparing the next generation of professionals to work effectively across disciplines, cultures, and borders.
The full article, “Identifying the role of Civil Society Organizations in shaping Indigenous Mexican women’s health literacy, gender empowerment, and use of improved cookstoves,” is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00308-z
Contact:
Keegan Wolohan, Program Manager and Research Associate
Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society / University of Notre Dame
kwoloha2@nd.edu
lucyinstitute.nd.edu / @lucy_institute