OIBR Faculty Awarded Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants
Six Owens Institute affiliated faculty members are recipients of the third round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants.
Eleven grants totaling $1.5 million were awarded in November 2021 to recipients of the third round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants. Overall the awards went to faculty from 13 UGA departments, centers, programs, schools and colleges.
The program launched in 2017, with a second round of grants in 2019, through a partnership between UGA Research and UGA Public Service and Outreach. Teams in the first two rounds were highly successful at winning external funding to pursue the work initiated through these seed grants.
“I am pleased with the continued success of this program as the University of Georgia seeks ways to grow our research enterprise and expand the impact of our faculty,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Research funding opportunities such as the Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants are investments in the future of our state, nation and world as well as our university.”
In all, 89 faculty teams submitted research proposals in round three, targeting significant challenges at the local, national or global level that align with the goals in UGA’s 2025 Strategic Plan. Examples include areas identified by the Provost’s Task Force on Academic Excellence (precision agriculture, security, climate and environment, brain and behavioral sciences, and data science and AI), as well as those requiring close collaboration between social/behavioral and biomedical faculty.
“UGA faculty are finding creative ways to explore challenges that affect our daily lives,” said Karen Burg, vice president for research. “We’re looking forward to seeing how their collaborations across subject areas result in novel approaches and innovative solutions.”
Some of the proposals that received Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant funding include:
A project team including Grace Bagwell-Adams (OIBR Affiliate), Lawrence Sweet (OIBR Distinguished Scholar), and Tiffany Washington (OIBR Affiliate), in addition to several other faculty members, will develop a UGA center focused on countering state-wide disparities in prevention and access to health care for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
“The THRIVE Project: Development of a Mother-Centered ‘Lay Doula’ Communication Intervention to Improve Black Maternal Outcomes.” Soroya McFarlane (OIBR Grant Development Program participant).
“From AI Ethics to AI Aesthetics: Artificial Intelligence and Aesthetic Harm,” includes team member Anna Abraham (OIBR Affiliate).
“Developing New Storm Design Criteria for Natural Hazards Planning Research and Practice.” Thomas Mote (OIBR Affiliate) and other campus interdisciplinary faculty members.
To learn more about these projects and others, read the full story here.