AHS Scholars See Grant Success

Faculty from across the college have been awarded research grants to support their work in a variety of areas.

External funding agencies:

Dr. Robyn Gobin (KCH) is the principal investigator on “Rising Up: Engaging Women Veterans in Mental Health Research on Military Sexual Trauma.” The grant of $249,998 is from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Dr. Fatima Husain (SHS) received a two-year, $396,304 grant from the Misophonia Research Foundation for a study titled “A Multi-Modal Brain Imaging Study of Misophonia Examining Its Audiological and Psychological Aspects.”

Dr. David Strauser and Dr. John Kosciulek (KCH) will receive $2.15 million over five years from the Department of Education—Rehabilitation Services Administration for their project titled “Rehabilitation Services Administration Quality Employment Outcomes.” Dr. Strauser also is principal investigator on a five-year, $5 million project, funded by the Illinois State Board of Education, to develop the Center on Transition and Work with the College of Education. In another partnership with the College of Education, Dr. Strauser and Dr. Kosciulek were awarded a five-year, $1.5 million vocational training grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Dr. Neha Gothe (KCH) received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to expand her research into the neurocognitive benefits of yoga practice.

Dr. Brian Monson (SHS) received a $300,000 grant from the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders for the study “Auditory Experience during the Prenatal and Perinatal Period.”

Dr. Jeff Woods and Dr. Jacob Allen (KCH) received $258,321 of a $459,000 grant awarded to the University of Alabama-Birmingham by the National Institutes of Health to study age-related dysbiosis and physical resilience.

Dr. Harshal Mahajan (KCH) has received a five-year grant totaling $2,463,767 from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research for “Feasibility and Efficacy of a Fear of Falling Intervention for Wheelchair Users with Multiple Sclerosis.”

Dr. Chelsea Singleton (KCH) was awarded $689,210 from the National Institutes of Health for “Community Violence and Its Impact on Food Retail, Food Purchasing Behavior, and Dietary Intake among Low-Income African Americans.”

Dr. Sarah Geiger (KCH) received a $200,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund for her study “Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Biomarkers in Relation to Birth Outcomes in Four ECHO Cohorts.”

Dr. Laura Mattie (SHS) received a grant of $454,977 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders for the study “Impact of Child and Maternal Gestures on Word Learning in Fragile X Syndrome.”

University of Illinois grants:

Dr. Joelle Soulard and Dr. Suiwen Sharon Zou (RST) are co-principal investigators on “I-Rural: Reimagining Illinois Rural Tourism through Community and Extension Collaboration.” The project received a $59,590 2020 Extension Collaboration Grant.

Dr. Ken Wilund (KCH) received a grant of $125,000 from the Discovery Partners Institute to develop the Kidney Wellness Institute of Illinois.

Dr. Naiman Khan (KCH) has received a two-year grant of $21,400 from the Division of Nutritional Science’s Vision 20/20 program for “Lutein Supplementation for Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study.”

Dr. Mary Flaherty (SHS) received an award from the Campus Research Board for a project titled “The Talker Voice Familiarity Advantage for School-Age Children.”

Dr. Jeff Woods (KCH) received a two-year, $60,000 grant from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Future Interdisciplinary Research Explorations program for a study titled “Lifestyle Strategies to Reduce Disease Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV.”

Dr. Jon Welty Peachey is the principal investigator on a study titled “Examining the Effects of a Youth-Based Sport for Development Program on Socio-Emotional Learning and Academic Efficacy,” which received a $20,000 grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation’s CO+RE pilot program.

Dr. Sean Mullen (KCH) has received a $20,000 grant from the Center for Social and Behavioral Science to conduct preliminary testing of a Therapeutic Integration of Peer-Sharing, Technology, Aerobic+Resistance Training (TIPSTART) program to improve the college experience for first-generation undergraduate students.

Dr. Julian Woolf (RST) has received a grant from the Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement, and Education to investigate licit and illicit approaches to performance enhancement.

Dr. Brynn Adamson (KCH) is the principal investigator on “MOVE MS and Beyond: Fostering Group Exercise for Individuals with MS and Other Disabilities through Research-Supported Community Programs.” It received a $20,000 grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation’s CO+RE pilot program.