Key outcomes
- Reduced key processing pipeline from 318 minutes to 2 minutes
- Contributed pilot data behind a $5M follow-on grant
- National media attention on project findings
- Datasets published to UCLA Dataverse as durable research outputs
Partner: Carceral Ecologies — Nicholas Shapiro, Institute for Society and Genetics Years: Multi-year partnership (active during 2023–2025 review window)
Overview
This wasn’t a one-off consultation. It was infrastructure work in the service of a long-running research agenda on environmental conditions in carceral settings.
The goal was continuity: build systems that keep working even when staffing, students, or grant cycles change.
What we built
- A stable technical environment for ongoing analysis (server hosting and support)
- A workflow that the research group could maintain over time
- Capacity-building through DataSquad involvement — students contributed alongside staff
What changed
We optimized a key data processing pipeline from 318 minutes to 2 minutes.
The resulting work contributed pilot data behind a $5M follow-on grant and drew national media attention.
The group published datasets to UCLA Dataverse as part of a durable research output strategy.
Why this matters
A lot of “data help” is transactional — a question answered, a script written, a deadline met. This partnership was different.
We weren’t providing support. We were building infrastructure for a research program that will outlast any single grant. The work continues even when staffing, students, or funding cycles change.
That’s the model I’m trying to normalize.