Scaling Grants
These grants support the detailed project planning, gathering of proof-of-concept results, and reduction of technical risk so that teams can competitively pursue large, complex extramural funding. Congratulations to this year's awardees!
- César Escobar-Viera: Examining Psychosocial Correlates of Loneliness and Perceived Isolation Among Marginalized Youth
-
Abstract
Adolescents and emerging adults from marginalized groups (e.g., racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender minorities; rural-living) have disproportionately higher risk of mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors) and substance use than their peers from non-marginalized groups. Loneliness and perceived isolation are well-known predictors of mental health problems, and their prevalence among youth and emerging adults has significantly increased in the last decade. However, there is limited research to identify modifiable psychosocial, familial, interpersonal (in person and on social media), and structural factors that could reduce loneliness and perceived isolation in this population. We will partner with community-based organizations that serve marginalized youth and emerging adults with lived experience, to contextualize the experiences of feeling lonely and isolated. Then, we will leverage mixed methods (longitudinal survey study, focus groups/individual interviews) and social media data to uncover psychosocial, familial, interpersonal, and structural correlates of loneliness and perceived isolation, which can be used as targets for behavioral interventions for reducing loneliness, isolation, and associated mental health problems. We will use our findings to apply for extramural funding at the National Institutes of Health, which has calls directly related to loneliness and isolation (funding opportunities PAR-21-131, PAR-21-350, and PAR-21-134).
Team members include:
- César Escobar-Viera (team lead), School of Medicine
- Robert W.S. Coulter, School of Public Health
- Sophia Choukas-Bradley, School of Medicine
- Xu Qin, School of Education
- Kar-Hai Chu, School of Public Health
- Marta Peciña, School of Medicine
- Patricia Documét, School of Public Health
- Shannon Wanless: Linking University-Community Initiatives to Promote a Child's Thriving Pipeline Across Early Developmental Stages
-
Abstract
Supporting child thriving is most effective when prevention programs are delivered at sequential developmental periods and evaluated for long-term impacts, using a sustained, cohesive, and community-engaged approach. In the proposed study, we aim to link three distinct – yet aligned- programs that support child thriving (0-4; 5-8; 9–11-year-olds) to place us in an advantageous position to apply for federal/national funding that links these programs. All three are part of The Pittsburgh Study, a community-partnered and anti-racist initiative, for the past 3 years. This scaling grant will support interdisciplinary staff, students, and expert consultants to (1) design an overarching theory of change across all three programs; (2) track current and future participants to assess sample and demographic characteristics for children that pass through one, two, or all three programs; and (3) create systems for integrated measure and data analytics to assess the interplay between multi-program enrollment and child outcomes. These deliverables will prepare us to present a cohesive conceptualization for scholarly and public dissemination, and to present persuasively to national and federal follow-on funding officers. Ultimately, such large external funding will situate Pitt as a national leader in university-community partnerships for child thriving.
Team members include:
- Shannon Wanless (team lead), School of Education
- Daniel Shaw, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- James Huguley, School of Social Work
- Elizabeth Votru, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Teaming Grants
These grants support the early-stage planning and capacity building of large multidisciplinary projects. Congratulations to this year's awardees!
- Ann Sinsheimer: Testing the Effectiveness of Faculty as Facilitators of Psychosocial Resilience Interventions for Students in Professional and Graduate Program
-
Abstract
We will use our funding to establish a program of research regarding the efficacy of intervention strategies at the graduate and professional school level. Our project, piloted at Pitt Law over the last six years, involves putting into place a tailored and targeted set of interventions for graduate and professional school students. The inventions are based on a solid understanding of our students’ experiences and draw upon research involving the role of mindset in student success. There have been many evidence-based programs designed to study and mitigate K through 12 and undergraduate students’ maladaptive mindsets and outcomes, but there have been few research programs that examined graduate and professional schools, considered graduate school and professional students’ mindsets, or addressed the needs of graduate and professional students. Our project has sought to fill this gap, with an eye toward modernizing and humanizing the legal education system, making it more inclusive, and helping students maintain balance. Our research aims to create more successful students, and in turn, make Pitt the desired location for training high achieving professionals. This program will serve as a model for other law schools and professional and graduate school programs.
Team members include:
- Ann Sinsheimer (team lead), School of Law
- Omid Fotuhi, Learning Research and Development Center
- Ming-Te Wang, formerly of University of Pittsburgh School of Education
- Andrele Brutus St. Val, School of Law
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.
- Rachel Robertson: Supporting Mental and Physical Wellbeing in Autistic Adults through Community-Based Mindful Movement
-
Abstract
Autistic adults experience greater mental, emotional, and physical health (MEPH) challenges and engage in less physical activity than non-autistic adults. One approach to supporting MEPH is yoga or mindful movement (MM). The aim of this teaming project is to develop and evaluate a community-based MM program with and for autistic adults to support their MEPH. In phase one, we will create a development team consisting of 1) our community partner, Open Up Pittsburgh (OUP); 2) autistic adults who currently participate in OUP’s MM programming; and 3) an interdisciplinary team of University of Pittsburgh researchers specializing in autism and MEPH. The development team will use a mixed methods approach to gather evidence on the features of OUP’s ongoing MM classes that are most beneficial for supporting MEPH in autistic adults, and use the findings to develop a MM program specifically for supporting autistic adults’ MEPH. In phase two, the pilot MM program will be tested at OUP in a randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Further, we aim to develop a program that is a) manualized, b) feasible to implement in-person and online, c) rigorously evaluated for potential effectiveness, and d) highly likely to attract follow-on external funding.
Team members include:
- Rachel Robertson (team lead), School of Education
- Marissa Vogel, Open Up Pittsburgh
- Caitlin Conner, School of Medicine
- Carla Mazefsky, School of Medicine
- Sally Sherman, School of Education
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.
Priming Grants
These grants (formerly Seeding) provide up to $25,000 per year and support significant and innovative scholarship by individual or small groups of faculty at all ranks at the University of Pittsburgh. In constructing each year’s portfolio of awards, attention is given to supporting early career faculty and areas where opportunities for extramural funding are extremely limited. Proposals are reviewed in four tracks: Creative Arts, Performing Arts and Humanities; Engineering, Technology, Natural Sciences, and Mathematical Sciences; Health and Life Sciences; and Social Sciences, which includes business, policy, law, education, and social work. Congratulations to this year's awardees!
Anthropocene Stewardship: Linking Ecological Sustainability, Social Justice, and Well-Being in Settler-Colonial Hawai’i
Tomas Matza, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Anthropocene Stewardship: Linking Ecological Sustainability, Social Justice, and Well-Being in Settler-Colonial Hawai’i
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.
Measuring the Prevalence of Earnings Manipulations: A Novel Approach
Nicole Cade, Katz Graduate School of Business
Joshua Gunn, Katz Graduate School of Business
D-Scholarship: Measuring the Prevalence of Earnings Manipulations: A Novel Approach
Resisting Racist Police Violence: An Oral History of the Ferguson Rebellion
Joshua Bloom, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Resisting Racist Police Violence: An Oral History of the Ferguson Rebellion
The Labor of Commoning: Women Against Authoritarian Populism in Hungary
Gabriella Lukacs, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: The Labor of Commoning: Women Against Authoritarian Populism in Hungary
The "New" New York: Race, Space, and Power in Gentrifying Brooklyn
Amanda Boston, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: The "New" New York: Race, Space, and Power in Gentrifying Brooklyn
Unpacking Racial Disparities in the Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment of Youth and Young Adults in Allegheny County
Catherine Greeno, School of Social Work
Nev Jones, School of Social Work
D-Scholarship: Unpacking Racial Disparities in the Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment of Youth and Young Adults in Allegheny County
Imagination PLAYce: Towards Critical Liberatory and Digitally Mediated Pedagogies of Higher Education
Veena Vasudevan, School of Education
Bea Dias, School of Education
Tinukwa Boulder, School of Education
D-Scholarship: Imagination PLAYce: Towards Critical Liberatory and Digitally Mediated Pedagogies of Higher Education
Investigating the Environmental Exposure Risks of Asthma
Peng Gao, Graduate School of Public Health
D-Scholarship: Investigating the Environmental Exposure Risks of Asthma
Enhancing Resilience and Healthspan Through Listening Sessions with Community Engagement Centers
Rose Constantino, School of Nursing
Willa Doswell, School of Nursing
Betty J. Braxter, School of Nursing
Mario C. Browne, School of Pharmacy
Claudia M. Kregg-Byers, School of Nursing
D-Scholarship: Enhancing Resilience and Healthspan Through Listening Sessions with Community Engagement Centers
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.
Training Health Sciences Faculty to Deliver the Pitt Personal Wellness Program to Graduate Students
Laura Dietz, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
D-Scholarship: Training Health Sciences Faculty to Deliver the Pitt Personal Wellness Program to Graduate Students
Distributional Equity Analysis of Residual Risk for National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and Stakeholder Engagement
Christina Ndoh, Graduate School of Public Health
D-Scholarship: Distributional Equity Analysis of Residual Risk for National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and Stakeholder Engagement
Exploring New Metallic Quantum Spin Liquid in Intermetallic Compounds
Xin Gui, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Exploring New Metallic Quantum Spin Liquid in Intermetallic Compounds
Bringing Mobile Health to the Underdeveloped World
Longfei Shangguan, School of Computing and Information
D-Scholarship: Bringing Mobile Health to the Underdeveloped World
The Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Braganca and Morais Massifs of Northern Portugal: Examining Islands of Rock to Understand How Mountains are Built
Ryan Kerrigan, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
D-Scholarship: The Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Braganca and Morais Massifs of Northern Portugal: Examining Islands of Rock to Understand How Mountains are Built
Experimental Studies and Kinetic Modeling of Co-pyrolysis of Biomass and Plastic Wastes with the Combined Scheme of Kinetics and Machine-Learning
Hui Liu, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
D-Scholarship: Experimental Studies and Kinetic Modeling of Co-pyrolysis of Biomass and Plastic Wastes with the Combined Scheme of Kinetics and Machine-Learning
Improving Quantum Sensing Using Variational Quantum Optimization Algorithms
Kaushik Seshadreesan, School of Computing and Information
Gurudev Dutt, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Improving Quantum Sensing Using Variational Quantum Optimization Algorithms
Preserving Fairness of Deep Learning Under Environmental Changes
Xiaowei Jia, School of Computing and Information
Hassan Karimi, School of Computing and Information
D-Scholarship: Preserving Fairness of Deep Learning Under Environmental Changes
Freshwater Bivalve Shells as Monitors of River Contaminant Sources Over Time: Application of Barium Isotopes
Brian Stewart, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Freshwater Bivalve Shells as Monitors of River Contaminant Sources Over Time: Application of Barium Isotopes
Synthetic Tuning of Ligand Field for Precise Control of Molecular Zero-Field Splitting
Wesley Transue, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Synthetic Tuning of Ligand Field for Precise Control of Molecular Zero-Field Splitting
Toward the Two-Way Coupling of Swimmer and Surface Gravity Waves
Lei Fang, Swanson School of Engineering
D-Scholarship: Toward the Two-Way Coupling of Swimmer and Surface Gravity Waves
Emission-Management for Sustainable Computing Systems
Stephen Lee, School of Computing and Information
D-Scholarship: Emission-Management for Sustainable Computing Systems
Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project
Caitlin Bruce, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Oreen Cohen, Independent Artist
Shane Pilster, Rivers of Steel
Max Gonzales, Rivers of Steel
D-Scholarship: Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project
Reconstructing the Early Career of Jorge Luis Borges as a Public Speaker: Talks and Courses from 1949 to 1955
Daniel Balderston, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Reconstructing the Early Career of Jorge Luis Borges as a Public Speaker: Talks and Courses from 1949 to 1955
Archive of Pittsburgh Language and Speech
Daniel Villarreal, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: Archive of Pittsburgh Language and Speech
War Risks: Understanding War Trauma through a Comprehensive Study of War Risk Insurance Claims by American Veterans of the First World War
Bridget Keown, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
D-Scholarship: War Risks: Understanding War Trauma through a Comprehensive Study of War Risk Insurance Claims by American Veterans of the First World War
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.