Research Awards
March 2024
Dr. Santosh Kumar, Director, NIH mDOT Center, Director, MD2K Center of Excellence, and Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence Professor in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded $1,019,403 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “mHealth Center for Discovery, Optimization & Translation of Temporally Precise Interventions (mDOT).”
Dr. Susan Elswick, faculty director and principal investigator in the Interprofessional Community Health Clinic, was awarded $300,000 from Shelby County Schools (SCS) with the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for her project “MSCS Project AWARE” and $46,994 from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville (UTK) with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDoEd) for her project “Tennessee Department of Education (TDoEd).”
Dr. Shahram Pezeshk, chair & professor in the Department of Civil Engineering was awarded $300,000 from Shelby County Emergency Management and Homeland Security for his project “Preventative Emergency Management and Disaster Communication Coordination Solutions.”
Dr. John Sabatini, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $241,470 from MindTrust Labs LLC with the U.S. Department of Education (US DoEd) for his project “EdScape XR.”
Dr. Dursun Peksen, professor in the Department of Political Science, was awarded $238,262 from Arizona State University (ASU) with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Government-imposed Restrictions on International Economic Relations.”
Dr. Wendy Griswold, associate professor director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education in the Department of Leadership was awarded $265,000 from Kansas State University (KSU) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for her project “Evaluating Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program.”
Dr. Mark Gillenson, professor in the Department of Management Information System, was awarded $195,000 from Alion Science and Technology with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for his project “Testing & Evaluation Course Instruction and Research in Support of Information Technology Systems.”
Dr. Marian Levy, the associate dean, Community Engagement & Public Health Practice Professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was awarded $175,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her project “University of Memphis: Transforming Academic for Equity.”
Dr. Chunrong Jia, professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, was awarded $156,946 from RTI International with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for his project “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center Program (EJ TCTAC).”
Dr. Latrice Pichon, professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health, was awarded $136,691 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center with the Center For Disease Control (CDC) for her project “Implementation of Rapid HIV Testing and Linkage to HIV Treatment or Prevention Among Vulnerable Populations in Tennessee,” and $104,231 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project “A Multimethod Assessment of the Clinical, Economic & Social Impact of the Rejection of Federal HIV Prevention Funds in Tennessee.”
Dr. Richard Bloomer, dean and professor of the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $116,680 from Nestle USA, Inc. for his project “Comparison of the Beverage Hydration Index of different solutions.”
Dr. Tracy Bruen, clinical assistant professor and director of the Clinical Nutrition Graduate Program in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $48,557 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) for her project “Healthy Eating and Active Living to reverse Diabetes (HEAL Diabetes) Pilot Study.”
Lauren Beaupre, coordinator of College & Career Planning at University High School, was awarded $44,280 from the Jobs for the Future, Inc for her project “Building a Work-Based Learning Component into STEM-Focused Dual Enrollment Courses.”
Dr. Bert Burraston, associate professor and department chair in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was awarded $43,234 from the Methodist LeBonheur Community Outreach with the US Department of Justice (US DoJ) for his project “Evaluation of eSHIFT.”
Dr. Lindsey Feldman, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, was awarded $25,000 from the The Wenner-Gren Foundation for her project “Queer carceral care: An engaged ethnography on LGBTQ+ health and life after release from prison.”
Dr. Mohammed Yeasin, associate professor in Institute for Intelligent Systems, was awarded $21,127 from Pennsylvania State Univ (PSU) with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “Machine Learning Prediction of 1-Year Mortality and Recurrence after Ischemic Stroke Using Enriched EHR data.”
Dr. Marika Snider, director of Interior Architecture in the Department of Architecture, was awarded $19,803 from the National Concrete Masonry Association Foundation (NCMA Foundation) for her project “Virtual Reality for Architectural and Structural Collaboration in CMU.”
Dr. Debra Bartelli, research associate professor in the School of Urban Health, was awarded $10,000 from the Memphis Child Advocacy Center (MCAC) for his project “Memphis Child Advocacy Center Counseling Services Outcome Evaluation.”
Dr. Laura Casey, professor in the Department of Instruction Curriculum Leadership, was awarded $7,000 from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for her project “Regional Intervention Project -Expansion.”
Dr. Napoleon Overton, associate professor of Teaching in the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, was awarded $6,384 from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for his project “TVA Investment Challenge Award.”
Dr. Emily Srisarajivakul, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $2,500 from Universidad de Navarra (University of Navarra) for her project “Successful Strategies in Mental Health Prevention within an Educational Context.”
Dr. Xinhua Yu, associate professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health and program coordinator for Epidemiology, was awarded $1,400 from The Campbell Foundation for his project “Work Order: Extended Postoperative Tranexamic Acid Use in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.”