The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs has announced the following research grants awarded to university faculty and staff in February 2023.
FY22 Appropriations: Building Resiliency in Classroom Education (BRICE)
$509,914 – Milwaukee Public Schools
- Patrick Kennelly (PI), director; Sherri Walker, assistant director; and Dr. Tom Durkin, research and grant coordinator, of the Marquette Center for Peacemaking; Dr. Lucas Torres, professor of psychology in the Klinger College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Gabriel Velez, assistant professor of educational policy and leadership in the College of Education
- Abstract: Through a partnership with Marquette University Peace Works, the BRICE program will focus on supporting students struggling with mental health, academic, and/or behavioral challenges for students enrolled in five MPS schools in 53206. The goal of BRICE is to help students cultivate, maintain and repair trusting relationships as a foundation for healthy growth. To carry out this goal, the program will partner with individual schools to identify difficulties, risks, and goals that students and parents/guardians face through comprehensive assessments; offer access to mental health and school-based interventions for students and parents/guardians; promote self-care, growth, resiliency, and development through educational resources; and identify and utilize culturally competent staff and, when possible, service providers who hail from the communities or backgrounds of those they treat.
Refining mutation rates and measures of purifying selection with an application to understanding the impact of non-coding variation on neuropsychiatric diseases
$83,189 – National Institutes of Health (University of Chicago)
- Dr. Shengtong Han, assistant professor in the Marquette School of Dentistry
- Abstract: The goal of this research is to construct a detailed map of mutation rates and purifying selection along the human genome using novel statistical methodologies. Existing approaches to are often based on genome comparison across species, but for the purpose of studying human genetics and evolution, we believe those inferred from the human population are more relevant and increasingly feasible thanks to large-scale sequencing. Statistical methods of estimating mutation rates and selection for intra-human analysis, are in their infancy. Researchers propose three specific aims, including estimation of base-level mutation rates across the human genome, inference of purifying selection in the human genome, and studying the role of human-constrained sequences in disease genetics.
Social Determinants of Unmet Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs Among Women in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A Social-Ecological Exploration
$20,393 – Greater Milwaukee Foundation
- Dr. Jessica Zemlak (PI) and Dr. Nicole Mattson (co-I), assistant professors in the College of Nursing
- Abstract: Women under treatment for opioid use disorder are a marginalized population at significant risk for health disparities related to unmet sexual/reproductive health needs, which result in higher rates of health disparities. This qualitative project will describe the multiple, co-occurring influences on sexual/reproductive health among women under treatment for OUD. The goal of this innovative project is to lay the foundation for multi-level interventions tailored to reduce health disparities among women experiencing a variety of OUD treatment modalities.
Previously announced: