- Adjoint Faculty Member
Biography
Areas
Sociology of Science and Medicine, Implementation Science, Social Institutions
Research Interests
I approach all scientific research as a social activity, including my own. This is because I have done research and evaluation framing biotechnology labs, organic farms, community kitchens, and food pantries as places where networks of people build shared cultural understandings necessary for creating new knowledge. My work has thus evolved into developing methods, trainings, and toolkits about the best ways to engage more people in the process of research.
I have worked within non-profit settings leading assessment and evaluation to understand the barriers and strengths of communities working towards food security. Most recently I have studied cancer care organizations to understand the role and limitations of champions for helping implement the latest evidence about what works to help prevent, treat and transition patients to survivors. I am currently developing theoretical tools that aim to integrate social and biological dimensions of disease in service of more effective public health interventions.
My work has been supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington State Department of Health, and the National Cancer Institute.
Selected Publications
- Astorino Nicola, J., Nataliansyah, M.M., Lopez-Olivo, M.A. et al. Champions to enhance implementation of clinical and community-based interventions in cancer: a scoping review. Implement Sci Commun 5, 119 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s43058-024-00662-0
- Astorino J, Pratt-Chapman ML, Schubel L, Lee Smith J, White A, Sabatino SA, Littlejohn R, Buckley BO, Taylor T, Arem H. Contextual Factors Relevant to Implementing Social Risk Factor Screening and Referrals in Cancer Survivorship: A Qualitative Study. Prev Chronic Dis. 2024 Apr 4;21:E22. doi: 10.5888/pcd21.230352. PMID: 38573795; PMCID: PMC10996388.
- Astorino J, Kerch S, and Pratt-Chapman ML. (2022). Building implementation science capacity among practitioners of cancer control: Development of a pilot training curriculum. Cancer Causes and Control. Sep;33(9):1181-1191. doi: 10.1007/s10552-022-01604-8. Epub 2022 Jul 17. PMID: 35842850; PMCID: PMC9534372.
- Astorino, J. and Nicola, A. (2020). “Making the Invisible Visible: Viral Cloud Moments in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.” In COVID-19: Global Pandemic, Societal Responses, Ideological Solutions, edited by J. Michael Ryan, 184-96. London, Routledge.
- Astorino J. (2024) Infectious Disease. Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2nd Edition