Caskie Research Award

The Polly Caskie Memorial Research Fund was established in 2001 by the Florida Family Research Network to honor Dr. Caskie and her contributions to the development of Bowen theory and its applications.

Polly was a founding member and president of the Florida Network from 1995 to 2001. Her colleagues made an initial investment to begin the fund to recognize her achievements and to provide the opportunity for others to further the legacy of her inquiring mind and hard work.

An annual award of $1,000 to support an important research effort in Bowen theory is made each year. The Florida Family Research Network has asked the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family to administer the fund.

The Bowen Center is pleased to have the opportunity to honor Polly in this way. The Caskie Research Fund serves as a tribute to Polly and as an investment in the future of Bowen theory. The awards are funded by donations from those interested in contributing to research that will develop and extend Bowen theory and its applications.

To contribute to the fund, please contact The Bowen Center.

Award Recipients

2024

Development of a Family Diagram Application which Facilitates the Study of a Family's Emotional Process
Patrick Stinson, PsyD
Anchorage, Alaska

The Origins of Family Systems Theory: Murray Bowen’s Early Work at the Menninger Clinic
Catherine M. Rakow, MSW, ACSW
Pittsuburgh, PA

2022

Development of the Project Hope Manual for Parents Struggling to Effectively Manage Themselves with a Symptomatic Child or Adolescent
Jenny Brown, PhD
Sydney, Australia

2020

No award given

2019

Family Emotional Process and Chronic Illness

Eileen Gottlieb, MEd, LMFT
Delray, FL

2018

Thirty Five Years of Leadership in Research Thinking at the Bowen Center

Daniel V. Papero, PhD, MSSW
Hedgesville, WV

2017

A Study of Weight Loss as a Model for Clinical Research Based on Bowen Theory

Laura Havstad, PhD
Sebastopol, CA

2016

Factors Contributing to Variation in Nuclear Family Functioning

Phillip G. Klever, MSW
Kansas City, MO

2015

Observations of Change Project: Evaluating Changes While Working on Differentiation of Self

Victoria Harrison, MA
Houston, Texas

2014

Alzheimer’s Disease and the Family Emotional Process

Mignonette N. Keller, PhD
Columbia, Maryland

2013

The Neurobiology of Family Relationship Processes

Margaret Donley, MSW
Prairie Village, Kansas

2012

Forty Years of Scientific Inquiry

Michael E. Kerr, MD
Islesboro, Maine

2011

The Use of Language in Bowen Theory

Randall T. Frost, MDiv
Vancouver, British Columbia

2010

Bowen’s NIMH Project and the Beginning of Family Psychotherapy

John F. Butler, PhD
Wichita Falls, Texas

2009

The Study of the Adoptive Family as an Emotional Unit

Laura Brooks, MSW
Columbia, Maryland

2008

Research on Variation in Adaptiveness of Harvester Ant Colony Behavior Through Multiple Generations

LeAnn Howard, MSW, MA
Fairway, Kansas

2007

Growing Apart: Emotional Separation of Chimpanzee Mothers and Infants and Its Impact on Adult Functioning

Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
Washington, DC

2006

Variation in the Effects of Childhood Adversity on Later Development with a Special Interest in the Contribution of Relationships

Cynthia Larkby, PhD
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2005

How Reactivity in Family Relationships Influences Health and Reproduction

Victoria Harrison, MA
Houston, Texas

2004

The Bowen Archives: Cataloguing the Records of the NIMH Research Project to Learn How Bowen Theory Developed

Catherine M. Rakow, MSW
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2003

Family Variables Influencing Individual Differences in Stress Reactivity in Children

Robert J. Noone, PhD
Chicago, Illinois

2002

Family History Database Project: Collecting Multigenerational Family Histories to Clarify How Emotional Process Influences Functioning

The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family
Washington, DC