The UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center has announced the inaugural awardees of its pilot program, Innovations in Community-Engaged and Population Health Research to Address Chronic Disease.
Created to support novel, highly innovative studies, the pilot program provides funding for research with the potential to set new directions for community-engaged and population health research. The program welcomed projects across the translational science spectrum, with preference given to studies that could inform future research and interventions and contribute to population-level improvements in chronic disease rates and outcomes.
“Pilot projects play a critical role in fostering innovation. They are often where big ideas begin. That’s why supporting promising, early-stage research is so important. By helping investigators generate the evidence needed to pursue larger research opportunities, we can accelerate discoveries that advance chronic disease research and improve health outcomes,” said Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH, director of the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center.
She added, “We are excited to invest in the inaugural awardees and look forward to seeing the impact their work will have on communities in Alabama and beyond.”
Awarded projects are expected to lead to R01-type applications or similar extramural funding. Collectively, these studies help build a pipeline for continued research and innovation, creating new opportunities to improve health at the community and population levels.
“THRIVE: Exercise Snacks for Living Well with Diabetes and Chronic Pain”
Multiple Principal Investigators:
Kristen Allen-Watts, Ph.D., MPH
Amber W. Kinsey, Ph.D.
Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science
UAB Heersink School of Medicine
“Food Access as a Bridge to Self-Measured Blood Pressure Support for People with HIV”
Principal Investigator:
Julie Schexnayder, Ph.D., DNP
Family, Community, and Health Systems
UAB School of Nursing