School Updates
External Grants
Kyaien Conner is co-investigator on two separate grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One grant is to stimulate dementia research and train professionals in Alzheimer’s disease, and the other focuses on the Brain and Cognitive Health Equity Campaign for Allegheny County, which seeks to encourage early evaluation and intervention for dementia.
Dr. Conner and Ron Idoko are co-investigators for an NIH grant on Promoting Inclusive Excellence [Race, Awareness, Consciousness, Equity (RACE)] to build knowledge of evidence-based interventions that dismantle systemic racism.
A grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania put Ron Idoko in the lead to evaluate the Pennsylvania Interagency Health Equity Team’s (PIHET) Racial Equity Strategic Plan and the development of an online learning platform for PIHET members and Pennsylvania state agencies.
Jaime Booth is the principal investigator on a $2.3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to launch the Youth Behavioral Health Workforce Fellowship, an experiential educational program aimed at increasing the MSW workforce equipped to address the behavioral health needs of children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth in high-need and high-demand areas.
James Huguely received grants from Jefferson Regional Foundation, the Grable Foundation, and the Heinz Endowments to expand his Just Discipline Project research efforts supporting schools in replacing punitive school discipline with restorative practices, creating safer, more equitable, and supportive learning environments for all students.
Nev Jones is a co-investigator on a grant from the NIH to implement a two-state learning healthcare system focused on early psychosis, with a special focus on studying and developing interventions around client disengagement. Dr. Jones is also a co-investigator on a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she will refine and evaluate an AI tool used by behavioral health providers.
Quinton Cotton received a grant from the Alzheimer’s Association and the the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center to focus on advancing intergenerational networks for dementia care in Black communities.
Internal Grants
Several faculty received Year of Discourse and Dialogue grants from Pitt’s Office of the Provost. The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee used their grant to share practices for facilitating difficult dialogues. Deborah Moon used her grant to help fund the school’s Human Flourishing Symposium. Milencia Saintus received two grants to fund monthly dialogues for the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute and a dialogue around incarceration.
Mary Rauktis received a grant from the European Studies Center for teaching and research in Germany around global perspectives on youth residential care.
Due to the generosity of a doctoral alumna, the Florence Stier Research Development Award provides a research award to faculty. This year’s recipient was Rachel Gartner for her research relating to understanding trans and gender-diverse student resource networks to promote health.