Distinguished MSS Faculty Panelists Featured at A Day with Northwestern

April 24, 2024

We at the Department of Medical Social Sciences were thrilled to participate in this year's "A Day with Northwestern," held on Saturday, April 20. Hosted by the Northwestern Alumni Association, this annual event is a cornerstone for sharing the wealth of knowledge and innovation that defines Northwestern University. We were so excited to have the opportunity to amplify the incredible work of three of our distinguished faculty members as featured panelists: Judy Moskowitz, PhD, MPH; Andrea Graham, PhD; Darius Tandon, PhD. Our Chair, Rinad Beidas, PhD, served as the session's moderator. Their collective expertise and dynamic presentations on harnessing the power of social sciences to live a happy, healthy, and thriving life were well-received.

The panel discussion was both scientific and practical. Each panelist brought unique insights from their extensive research, offering advice that attendees could immediately start applying in their own lives. The depth of knowledge s highlighted our department's commitment to impactful research that transcends academic boundaries and directly benefits the public. Dr. Moskowitz shared the importance of savoring and noticing positive events; Dr. Tandon shared insights on how pleasant activity scheduling can improve mood; and Dr. Graham taught the audience about the importance of goal-setting. Each of these concrete insights were illustrated via their scientific contributions, and brought to life with an experiential exercise.

Following the brief presentations, a lively Question and Answer session took place, allowing attendees to dive deeper into the topics discussed and interact directly with our expert faculty. This experiential component not only made the theoretical aspects more tangible but also reinforced our department's role in fostering an active and informed community dialogue. People were lined up to ask our faculty questions and were very excited about what they learned. Overall, the event was a testament to the vibrant intellectual environment at Northwestern and our ongoing mission to harness social and behavioral sciences to advance equity, innovation, and impact in health.