The Colleges of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are pleased to announce the new Collaborative Grant Program. This program aims to foster and incentivize collaborations and equitable partnerships among faculty at UIC and UIUC, with the goal of creating and positioning cross-campus interdisciplinary teams to obtain larger internal and external grants.

The goal of the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability’s Pilot Grant Program is to support innovative, groundbreaking interdisciplinary research aimed at advancing our understanding of health and wellness, aging, disability and the maintenance of a high quality of life.  This annual call is issued in the spring semester and is limited to tenured and tenure-track faculty with in the College of Applied Health Sciences.  Support is limited to $30,000 and 18-month projects.

Pilot Grant Application Guidelines can be found here.

Please use this page to submit your application.

For more information, please contact Wendy Bartlo at wbartlo@illinois.edu

2023

Soyoung Choi, KCH

Co-Designing an Alexa-Based Conversational mHealth System with Visually Impaired People to Promote Physical Activities

Individuals with visual impairments (VI) are at increased risk for chronic diseases and tend to engage in less physical activity (PA) compared to those without VI. However, little attention has been paid to the accessibility of fitness trackers and apps for people with VI. We aim to codesign and develop an Alexa-based conversational agent for an accessible mHealth system that encourages individuals with VI to increase their PA and achieve their fitness goals. Through this study, we expect to improve PA adherence among people with VI and other disabilities and contribute to developing mHealth interventions for this population.

This project has been selected to be the cost-share grant in support of the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE), funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Aging). The goal of CREATE is to harness the potential benefits and power of technology to maintain, support, and foster the cognitive, emotional, and physical health of aging adults to enhance independence, well-being, and quality of life. Click the hyperlink for more information on CREATE.

Matthew Hanks, KCH

Determining the Role of Physical Activity on Shoulder Musculoskeletal Adaptation, Biomechanics, Pain, and Pathology in Pediatric and Young Adult Manual Wheelchair Users

Physical inactivity and debilitating shoulder pain and pathology are highly prevalent in manual wheelchair users. Recent studies have found that engaging in physical activity is associated with reduced and delayed onset of shoulder pain and pathology in adult manual wheelchair users; however, the relationships between physical activity and shoulder pain and pathology in children and young adults remain understudied. Our research will investigate the role of physical activity on shoulder pain and pathology in pediatric and young adult manual wheelchair users by examining the underlying mechanisms of shoulder musculoskeletal adaptation and biomechanics during critical periods of physical growth and maturation.

Nick Pitas, RST

Examination of the efficacy of a community-based leisure walking intervention to promote positive mental health in university students through the elicitation of awe.

Most college students report mental health problems, stressing campus-based mental health resources. As such, there is a need for preventative interventions to proactively enhance mental health and decrease demand for acute care. We propose a walking intervention intended to reduce negative affect, increase positive affect, and enhance mental health outcomes by eliciting awe – a positive emotion triggered by perceptually vast and novel stimuli. Short activities in greenspace can be designed to elicit awe, and improve short and long-term mental health outcomes. Our intervention involves regular walks through nearby greenspace while attending to a set of cues designed to elicit awe.

Rachel Hoopsick, KCH

Elucidating the drivers and mechanisms of moral injury among frontline healthcare workers: A mixed-methods study

COVID-19 highlighted the phenomenon of moral injury (i.e., perpetrating, witnessing, or failing to prevent acts that transgress one’s moral beliefs, values, or ethics) as a possible risk factor for psychiatric problems among healthcare workers. Moral injury is associated with substance use and mental health symptomatology, but it is not well understood what drives moral injury in healthcare settings or through what mechanisms moral injury design, the proposed project will examine the drivers and mechanisms of moral injury among frontline healthcare workers.

2022

• Hyojung Kang
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Geospatial Variability of Illicit Opioid Use and Disparities in Treatment Resources

• Alicia Kraay
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Population heterogeneity and behavior change drive risk of COVID-19, norovirus, and rotavirus transmission

2021

• Raj, Mina
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Towards the development of guidelines for inclusive foods in long-term care

• Hernandez, Manuel
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Artificial intelligence energy-regulation modeling to predict and classify fatigue levels and types in people with multiple sclerosis: A feasibility study

• Allen, Jacob
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Gastrointestinal And Metabolic Effects from a Prebiotic, Lifting, and Aerobic iNtervention (GAMEPLAN)

2020

• Zou, Sharon
• Assistant Professor, Recreation, Sport and Tourism
• Exploring an Efficient and Equitable Entrance Fee for Public Lands: A Community-based Investigation in the Indiana Dunes National Park

2019

• Mattie (Hahn), Laura
• Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
• Impact of Child and Maternal Gestures on Word Learning in Down Syndrome

• Khan, Naiman
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Role of Omega-3 Lipid Metabolites in Obesity and Cognitive Function

• Konopka, Adam
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Establishing the common marmoset as a model of age-related osteoarthritis

2018

• Berdychevsky, Liza
• Assistant Professor, Recreation, Sport and Tourism
• Tailored Internet -Based Sexual Health Education for Older Adults: Conducting Seniors’ Needs Assessment and Developing the Messages

• Mejía, Shannon
• Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Intraindividual Dynamics of Fall Risk

• Monson, Brian
• Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
• Capturing perinatal auditory experience

• Wilund, Ken
• Associate Professor, Kinesiology and Community Health
• Implementation of an Anti-Hypertensive Medication Deprescribing Protocol in Hemodialysis Clinics

For more information, please contact Wendy Bartlo at wbartlo@illinois.edu