FCHIP Student Blog: Timothy Chiu, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Timothy Chiu is a second-year undergraduate student at Northwestern University, studying English and Biology on the pre-medical track. He joined the FCHIP team in January, 2025, and has been involved with the operational side of the PRAMS for Dads program ever since.

What kinds of research experiences have you had?

Before joining FCHIP, I had basically zero research experience, so I really started getting a feel for research by working on the PRAMS for Dads project. As a research assistant, I’ve been involved with developing the Fatherhood Survey in REDCap, finding participant phone numbers, calling and monitoring participants during phone phase, preparing mailings, and other operational tasks to help facilitate the study. Furthermore, I received a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from Northwestern last summer for an independent research project centered on studying response rates from fathers to the fatherhood survey with the goal of synthesizing and experimenting with new strategies for improving fatherhood research. For my work over the summer, I was named a finalist for the Fletcher Undergraduate Research Grant Prize in the Social and Behavioral Science category. I have also contributed to the FCHIP annual Father’s Day Report, and I am continuing to work on my research project through our partnership with Maine this year. 

Why are you interested in this research?

I was particularly drawn to this research because I am interested in studying fathers and how their contributions to the family unit affect family health. Especially in the perinatal period, there simply is not a large amount of information on fathers’ health and how fatherhood affects fathers themselves. In this way, I am passionate about exploring more holistic views of family health and fatherhood, so that we can better understand and support dads in this period. From investigating ways to better reach out to fathers to examining correlations between different fatherhood factors and subsequent health outcomes, I hope to continue to expand research on the vast array of experiences that comprise fatherhood in order to improve outcomes for both fathers and families.

What else are you up to?

Outside of classes and working with FCHIP, you can probably find me at some form of trivia; I’m an active member of the Northwestern Quizbowl Team and also a frequenter of local late-night trivia spots around Evanston with my friends. I’m also passionate about working within my community, so you’ll likely find me volunteering at local Evanston and Chicago schools through programs like Books and Breakfast and Supplies for Dreams throughout the week.