Inter-Institutional Program for Driving Research (IPDR)
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, in collaboration with Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Materials Research Institute (MRI), the Institute of Energy and the Environment (IEE), the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), and the Cancer Institute (CU), is offering a new interdisciplinary seed grant program aimed at developing new or leveraging existent strategic partnerships and alliances with institutions from across the U.S. that have complementary expertise and/or resources: the Inter-Institutional Program for Driving Research. The goal of the IPDR is to perform collaborative work that advances research development capability as well as student and faculty training needed to support such research collaborations.
We invite applications for funding needed to assist PSU investigators in collaborating with investigators outside of Penn State to develop or strengthen joint research capability and undertake focused collaborations in complementary and alternative interdisciplinary research. The intent of this seed grant program is to provide support for up to two years to encourage and foster research collaborations that will lead to forming multi-institutional consortia and the submission of competitive, multi-institutional grant applications for interdisciplinary research.
Please check back for future requests for applications.
CTSI Awardees
Penn State Researchers:
Joshua Muscat, PhD, MPH – Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology
Djibril Ba, PhD, MPH – Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology
MSI Researcher:
Carla Gallagher, PhD – Chairperson of Chemistry and Physics, Lincoln University
The goal of this project is to establish an educational and research partnership with Lincoln University. The major objective is to conduct a critical assessment of factors that are associated with the underutilization of cancer screening methods by racial minorities with an emphasis on Black Americans. The specific aims are to 1) educate and train students with an interest in health care as well as faculty in understanding the empirical data that underlie cancer screening recommendations, and risk data, and 2) learn how to develop methods and awareness in overcoming these barriers through novel research methods, education, community involvement and physician-tailored education 3) provide opportunities to develop original research ideas and peer-review them for merit and 4) support seed grants, where possible, to conduct original research projects related to these aims and 5) develop a publication in the area of informatics and cancer disparities.
Penn State Researchers:
Lindsay Fernández -Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Demography
MSI Researchers:
Cesar H. Gutierrez Martinez, MD, Department of Internal Medicine University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Joseph B. McCormick, MD MS, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics & Environmental Sciences UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Regional Academic Health Center
Susan Fisher-Hoch, MBBS MSc MD, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics & Environmental Sciences UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Regional Academic Health Center
Miryoung Lee, PhD MPH MS, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics & Environmental Sciences UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Regional Academic Health Center
More about the project:
In Cameron County, Texas, it is estimated that 27% people live below the poverty threshold, compared to 14% national median. 42% of the population is living with obesity and 18% with diabetes, compared to the 36% and 10% national medians. This study aims to elucidate the root causes of disease burden in Cameron County and inform interventions on disparities plaguing society more broadly. The project will advance the field’s understanding of the interconnectedness of the structural determinants of health and individual biology and inform future precision medicine initiatives. Additionally, this project will seek to unpack the so-called ‘Hispanic paradox’ or ‘healthy immigrant paradox’ observed by comparing the health profiles of US immigrants to their US-born peers. Despite their low average socioeconomic and high cardiometabolic burden (e.g. obesity, glycemic dysregulation), Hispanic/Latino adults experience less cardiovascular diseases than non-Hispanic Whites. Lastly, this project will leverage cardiometabolic studies in the RGV to address the under-representation of Hispanics (and their diversity) in Omics research.