Purpose

The St. David’s Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Populations (St. David’s CHPR) provides pilot seed-monies to full-time faculty and research scientists at The University of Texas at Austin to conduct small projects deemed necessary to advance their programs of research. Projects must focus on health promotion (i.e., primary, secondary, or tertiary approaches to health promotion) of an underserved population and must include an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Funded investigators must submit progress reports and are expected to disseminate their results and seek larger extramural research funding.

Funds Available 

St. David’s CHPR expects to make 3 pilot grant awards in amounts between $10,000 (for more limited projects such as secondary data analysis, translation/instrument testing) to $25,000 (for intervention feasibility testing), as funding allows.

2024-2025 Pilot Research Grants Form/Document

• Download the Pilot Research Grants: Call for Letters of Interest (PDF) and submit it to CHPR@mail.nur.utexas.edu by September 26, 2024, 12 noon.

Important Timeline

• Letter of Interest Deadline: September 26, 2024, by 12 noon
• Selected Semi-Finalist: Within 2 weeks, selected semi-finalist will be invited to submit a full proposal.
• Submission of Complete Grant Proposal Deadline: November 21, 2024, by 12 noon
• Selection of Final Projects to be Awarded Funding Communicated by: December 23, 2024
• IRB Approval: Must have IRB approval for funding to be released.

Eligibility

Principal Investigator: Must be a full-time doctoral-prepared faculty or research scientist who meet the University’s criteria for independently serving as a principal investigator on sponsored projects. Priority will be given to new researchers. Established investigators who are moving their research in a distinctly new direction may also apply and will be considered for funding – as funds allow.

Interdisciplinary Research Team: Must be interdisciplinary (from more than 1 discipline) and include one or more faculty investigator(s) from a health-related school (i.e., Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, or Medicine) who fully contribute to the development and implementation of the study and interpretation of its findings.

Exclusions: Faculty may only be included on one (1) pilot proposal per year; and are limited to receiving pilot funding from St. David’s CHPR no more often than once every 3 years. Individuals in trainee roles (graduate students, undergraduate students, post-doctoral trainees) are not eligible to serve as principal investigators or co-investigators on these projects.

Budget Limits: Grant funding should only include those items necessary to conduct the research project. Grant funds can be used to cover salary (with fringe benefit costs) for research assistants to perform the proposed research activities; research-related travel (e.g., data collection); research supplies; duplication of surveys, consents; and participants’ incentives. If requested, salary (plus fringe) for the researchers (e.g., PI, Co-I) may not exceed 15% of the total budget request. Publication fees, conference travel, and indirect costs are not allowed.

Instructions for Letter of Interest (LoI)

The LoI is to provide a concise but complete overview of the proposed project. The LoI must include the title of the project, identify the proposed collaborators (name, rank, school/college/department), state the purpose/goal/aim, provide a brief description of the study design and primary variables, and the proposed budget request.
Format: 2 page, 1-in margins, font size no smaller than 11, single-spaced lines

Review Process

The Letter of Intent will be reviewed by a panel of Center Faculty to select the semi-finalists who will be invited to submit complete proposals for consideration of funding. Review criteria:

• Addresses health promotion in an underserved population;
• Eligibility of investigator;
• Interdisciplinary team;
• Feasibility to accomplish aims within 12-months;
• Appropriateness of the budget for proposed activities.

Recipients of Pilot Research Grants

Year	Name	Research Title	Award (Funding Period)
2024	Ashley Henneghan (Nursing), Alex Haynes (Dell Med)	Assessing the Impact of Diagnosis and Surgery on Cognitive and Psychological Functioning in Patients Treated for Melanoma	$25,000 (1/2/24 – 1/1/25)
2024	Melessa Kelley (Nursing), Derek Jennings (UWash), Ruth McDermott (Villanova), John Lowe (Nursing)	Promoting Healthy Lifestyles among Native American Youth: The intersection of Environmental Awareness, Cultural Knowledge, and Health Behaviors	$30,000 (1/17/24 – 1/16/25)
2024	Yuanjin Zhou (SSW), Kylie Myer (Nursing, Case Western Reserve)	Engaging the community to co-design and pilot a fall prevention workshop for dementia care partners	$25,000 (1/2/24 – 1/1/25) IRB: 4/4/24
2023	Jung Kwak (Nursing), Snehal Patel (Dell Med), Sarah Mills (Dell Med), Elizabeth Kvale (Baylor)	Advancing Equity in Palliative Care for Persons with Dementia and Family Caregivers through Post-Discharge Lay Navigator Support	$25,000 (7/28/23 – 5/31/25 {nce})
2023	Janice Hernandez (Nursing), Kavita Radhakrishnan (Nursing), Christine Julien (Engineering)	Cultural adaptation of a sensor controlled digital game to improve self-management behaviors among Spanish speakers with heart failure: A feasibility study	$25,000 (4/13/23 – 4/12/24)
2023	Virginia Brown (Dell Med), Justin Rousseau (Dell Med), Yanjin Zhou (SSW)	Developing and testing a revised psychiatric advance directive (PAD) in collaboration with community members and mental health service providers	$25,000 (2/3/23-2/2/24)
2023	Carolyn Phillips (Nursing), Barbara Jones (SSW), Erin Rodriguez (COE), Sue Morris (Harvard), Carla Cheatham	Feasibility Study of the Storytelling Through Music Intervention with Bereaved Parents	$25,000 (4/7/23 – 4/6/25)
2022	Elizabeth Heitkemper (Nursing), Emily Hebert (Public Health), Heather Cuevas (Nursing), Nicole Murry (Nursing)	Patient generated health data for precision problem solving in underserved adults with diabetes	$30,000 (10/20/22 – 10/31/23)
2022	Whitney Thurman (Nursing); Leticia R. Moczygemba (Pharm); Alexandra A. García (Nursing)	The role of public transportation in meeting health & social needs among unhoused older adults	$30,000 (8/1/22 – 7/31/23)
2022	Megan Thomas Hebdon (Nursing); Sharon Horner (Nursing); Heather Cuevas (Nursing); Janice Hernandez (Nursing); Michael Thomas (BYU); Neil Peterson (BYU); Elina Chun (UWash); Tevin Stewart (UWash)	Cultural and language adaptation of a stress, emotional regulation, and support intervention for Latinx millennial caregivers: Psychometric properties of the teacher-reported pediatric symptom checklist.	$30,000 (4/21/22-4/20/23)
2022	Heather Cuevas (Nursing); Alexandra García (Nursing); Elizabeth Muñoz (CNS); Deborah Parra-Medina (COLA)	Adaptation of the Florida cognitive activities scale for Latinx adults with chronic conditions.	$25,000 (3/29/22 – 3/31/23)
2022	Li-Chen Lin (Nursing); Michael Mackert (Comm); Kristin Ashley Garling (Pharm); Kavita Radhakrishnan (Nursing)	Person-centered medication teaching among people with Limited-English-Proficiency: A pilot feasibility study	$24,650 (3/29/22 – 3/31/23)
2022	Molly Lopez (SSW); Amanda Bowling (EdPsych); Molly Sanders (SSW); Hyeon-Ah Kang (CoE); Ashton Millet (SSW)	Psychometric properties of the Teacher-reported Pediatric Symptom Checklist	$10,500 (1/5/22-1/4/23)
2021	Yang Li (Nursing); Noel Busch-Armendariz (SSW)	Self-compassion, Health, and Empowerment: A Feasibility Intervention Study for Chinese Immigrant Women with Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S.	$25,000 (9/24/21- 9/30/23 - NCE)
2020	Leticia Moczygemba (Pharmacy); Whitney Thurman (Nursing)	Integrating of a mHealth Intervention with Community Navigation Services for People Experiencing Homelessness	$30,000 (4/17/20 – 5/31/2021)
2020	Michelle Wright (Nursing), Radek Bukowski (Dell Med); Kelly Gaither (TACC); Karl Schultz (Engineering); Dennis Wylie (Bioinformatics)	Integrating Microbial Composition and Maternal Genetic Characteristics to Develop a New Approach for Prediction and Prevention of Preterm Birth Using Machine Learning	$30,000 (12/13/19 – 12/31/2022)
2019	Farya Phillips (Social Work); Elizabeth Kvale (Dell Med)	Wonders & Worries Palliative Care Program	$30,000 (2/1/19-8/31/2020)
2019	Gayle Timmerman (Nursing); Holli Temple (Pharmacy)	A Brief Mindful Drinking/Eating Intervention for Hemodialysis Patients with Fluid Restrictions	$12,500 (3/15/19 – 3/14/2020)
2019	Jung Kwak (Nursing); Liam Fry (Dell Med); Bo Xie (Nursing & Informatics)	Mini-grant: Promoting Advanced Care Planning with Persons with Dementia and Family Caregivers: A Feasibility Study	$10,000 (2/28/19 – 3/31/2020)
2018	Ashley Henneghan (Nursing); Michelle Harrison (Kinesiology); Heather Becker (Nursing)	Improving Cognition in Breast Cancer Survivors using Mediatation * *Co-sponsored pilot with TCRSS.	$40,000 total ($20,000 – CHPR) (9/4/18 – 11/30/2019)
2018	Nico Osier (Nursing); Linda Noble (Neurology)	Inflammatory proteins after pediatric TBI: A biobanking feasibility study	$30,000 (6/18/18 – 12/31/2020)
2018	Liesl Nydegger (Education); Kasey Claborn (Psychiatry); & Mary Steinhardt (Health Ed, advisor)	Exploring PrEP adoption and adherence among high risk black & Hispanic women in Austin, TX	$29,995 (2/23/18 – 2/28/2020)
2017	Julie Zuñiga, Michelle Harrison, Alexandra García	Investigating Biomarkers in Persons with Dual Diagnoses of HIV and Diabetes	$28,708 (7/1/17 – 6/30/2018)
2017	Erin Rodriguez, Sharon Horner, Sara Kate Bearman, Lauren Gulbas	Development of a Culturally-Competent Coping Skills Intervention Module for low-SES Latino Children with Asthma	$25,000  (6/22/17 – 3/31/2020)
2017	Catherine Cubbin, ShetalVohra-Gupta	Longitudinal neighborhood poverty change and racial disparities in birth outcomes	$10,985  (3/2/17 – 12/22/2018)
2016	Kathrynn Pounders, Brad Love, Lynn Rew, Marla Royne Stafford, Michael Mackert	Understanding the impact of gender identity issues on treatment decisions among female adolescents and young adults	$17,050  (5/16/16 – 8/31/2017)
2016	Kavita Radhakrishnan (Nursing), Lauren Jodi Van Scoy (PennState), Miyong Kim (Nursing), Shubhada Saxena (Social Work & president of South Asian Indian Volunteers’ Association).	Community-based conversation game intervention to engage south Asian Indians with advanced care planning: A pilot feasibility study	$19,650  (5/5/16 – 9/30/2017)
2016	Marge Benham-Hutchins (Nursing), Sharon A Brown (Nursing), Erin Donovan (Comm), Henry Guevara	Bridging the gap: The influence of hospitalization on Hispanic patients’ chronic disease self-management	$22,170 (4/20/16 – 12/31/2017)
2015	Susan De Luca (SSW), Cara Young (Nursing)	Developing a Web-Based Intervention for Adolescents in Distress: A Mixed-Methods Study	$25,000  (1/15 – 8/16)
2015	Mary Steinhardt (Education)	Discrimination, Physiological Stress and Metabolic Syndrome in a Multiracial Adult Sample	$25,000 (1/15-1/16)
2014	Kentya Ford (Pharmacy)	Exploring Culturally-linked Motivational and User-generated Internet-based Communication Strategies Related to Cigar Use and Alteration among African American Young Adults	$25,000  (1/14 – 8/15)
2014	Karen Johnson (Nursing), Christopher Salas-Wright	Examining Hispanic Adolescent Alcohol Use and Health-risk Behavior: The Feasibility of a Biobehavioral Approach	$25,000  (1/14 – 2/15)
2013	Yuri Jang (SSW)	If You Build It, Will They Come? Feasibility of an Internet Intervention for Older Ethnic Minorities	$25,000  (2/13 – 2/14)
2013	Bo Xie (Nursing)	Developing an eHealth Tutorial for Older Adults to Use Online Health Resources	$25,000  (2/13 – 2/14)
2012	Namkee Choi (SSW)	A Pilot Study of the Internet-Based Chronic Disease Self-Management Program for Low-Income Homebound Older Adults	$12,500  (6/12 – 5/13)