Assistant professor Kristen Seay has been named a Breakthrough Star by the University of South Carolina’s Office of Research. The award recognizes exceptional junior faculty who excel in outstanding research and demonstrate scholarly activity. Winners must be relatively early in their career and demonstrate considerable contributions to their research fields.
Recipients of the award are featured in a supplement to the Breakthrough Magazine and attend a spring dinner. The Breakthrough Star award raises awareness of research and scholarly activity among junior faculty.
Seay joined the College of Social Work faculty in 2014. Through her scholarship, she seeks to decrease child maltreatment, enhance parenting skills and improve the health and well-being of vulnerable children and families at risk for future involvement with the child welfare system.
Seay is the principal investigator of a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences addressing social, emotional and behavioral health and healthy lifestyle behaviors in preschool children through a home-based parenting intervention. She is also the principal investigator of a three-year grant funded by The Duke Endowment to develop a web-based health and education information platform.