Research Awards

This page highlights recent research awards received by faculty and staff across the University of Memphis, showcasing the scope, scale, and impact of their work. These awards support innovative research, creative activity, and community-engaged projects spanning transportation, public safety, health, education, the arts, and workforce development.

Collectively, they reflect strong partnerships with federal, state, industry, and nonprofit funders and underscore the University’s commitment to advancing knowledge, addressing real-world challenges, and creating lasting impact locally and beyond.

Dr. Wesley James, Pat E. Burlison Professor and Department Chair of Sociology, received $781,874 from the Delta Health Alliance for his project “External Evaluation of Health, Education, and Community Programs for Delta Health Alliance.”

 

Dr. Meghan McDevitt-Murphy, Professor of Psychology, received $656,652 from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for her project “Preparing future Psychologists to Address the Opioid Epidemic.”

 

Dr. Angela Hargrave, Senior Director of Student Services for University Schools, received $585,822 from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for her project “University Schools K12 Infrastructure Grant.”

 

Dr. Thomas Sutter, Professor of Biology and W. Harry Feinstone Chair of Excellence in Molecular Biology, received $227,307 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “Microbial Regulation of the keratinocyte AHRThis is resubmission: 1R01 AR079856-01A1.”

 

Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui-Greenfield, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, received $200,804 from the US Department of Justice for her project “Coordinator a Community Response to Domestic Violence in Shelby County.”

 

Dr. Nichole Saulsberry-Scarboro, Director of Innovative Nonprofit and Foundation Engaged Research in the Division of Research & Innovation, received $200,000 from the Delta Regional Authority for her project “Delta Revitalization through Innovation, Vision, and Empowerment Program (DRIVE).”

 

Brigid Welsh, Director of the Neighborhood Preservation Clinic, received $180,869 from the City of Memphis for her project “City of Memphis Neighborhood Preservation Clinic.”

Dr. Jonathan Bennett, Associate Director of the Center for Community Research and Evaluation, received $175,000 from the Shelby County Government for his project “CLEAR Initiative (Criminal & Legal Evaluation using Administrative Records Initiative).”

 

Dr. Thomas Goebel, Associate Professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), received $60,000 from the US Army Research Office for his project “How do Earthquakes Stop?: A multi-scale study of dynamic fracture and slip using optical and seismic imaging.”

 

Dr. Yufeng Zhang, Associate Professor of Health Sciences, received $50,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project “Production of red carotenoid pigment using recombinant yeast.”

 

Dr. Stephanie Ivey, Professor of Civil Engineering, received $45,000 from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for her project “TFPE 08 HSIS Evaluation.”

 

Dr. Alexander Headley, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received $45,000 from Purdue University for his project “Safe Fast Charging Algorithm and Performance Assessment of Batteries in Electric Freight Vehicle Applications.”

 

Dr. Eunseo Choi, Associate Professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Engineering (CERI), received $43,000 from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) for his project “Regional Tectonic Modeling Study of the South and Yellow Sea, South Korea.”

 

Dr. Fawaz Mzayek, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, received $40,000 from the West Clinic P.C. for his project “A Phase II Trial of Niraparib and Dostarlimab Combination Therapy in Patients with Somatic Homologous Recombination Deficient Advanced or Metastatic Cancer.”

Dr. Michelle Brasfield, Associate Professor of Counseling, Educational Psychology & Research, received $37,750 from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for her project “Using Classroom Calming Corners for Emotional Regulation.”

 

Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal, Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation, received $36,250 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Mid-South Innovation Hub.”

 

Dr. Jeffrey Marchetta, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received $36,000 from Vanderbilt University for his project “University of Memphis Space Grant Program.”

 

Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, received $25,000 from the City of Memphis for her project “2026 State of Memphis Housing Project.”

 

Dr. John Newman, Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence and Professor of Law, received $24,893 from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth for his project “Competitive Implications of Generative AI Terms & Conditions: An Empirical Study.”

 

Mary Schallert, Clinical Associate Professor and Unit Coordinator of Dietetics, received $15,000 from the American Athletics Conference for her project “Scaling Applied Performance Nutrition Education for Student Athletes: A Hybrid Teaching Kitchen and Digital Model Tested across Two American Conference Institutions.”

 

Dr. Leah Windsor, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems, received $4,500 from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville for her project “Tennessee Collaborative Partnership for the Presidential AI Challenge.”