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STEM

Funding Research That Improves Health and Shortens 鈥楤ench to Bedside鈥� Time

Monday, October 7, 2024, By Eileen Korey
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Board of TrusteesCollege of Arts and SciencesSTEM TransformationStudents

Doctoral students in clinical psychology聽Alexa Deyo 鈥�21 and Alison Vrabec G鈥�23 spent their summer testing a theory that a certain kind of therapeutic technique called motivational interviewing could improve sleep and overall health among adolescents. According to the , sleep problems can impact how people learn, think and get along with others. 鈥淚f teens are sleeping better, their mental health is improved; they are more emotionally regulated and less impulsive,鈥� says聽, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, who is supervising the clinical research.

head shot

Kathy Walters

Their research is exactly the kind of promising work that philanthropic alumni聽Kathy Walters聽鈥�73, H鈥�23 and her husband, Stan 鈥�72, had in mind when they set up the Walters Endowed Fund for Science Research in 2016. According to Kathy Walters, they were hoping to create new opportunities for research that would benefit humanity鈥攁nd they left the door open for the dean and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) to define what those benefits might be.

鈥淩esearchers tend to see things that those of us not immersed in science would never see,鈥� says Walters, a 黑料不打烊 Trustee. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a big believer in telling capable people what they should be researching.鈥� In fact, the funding is to be used to support a vast array of academic inquiry, including 鈥渦ndergraduate, graduate or faculty-led research in the sciences, including departments of biology, chemistry, communication sciences and disorders, Earth science, mathematics, psychology and physics.鈥�

The funding is awarded at the discretion of the A&S dean and associate dean for research to recognize outstanding research faculty. 鈥淩esearch funding is critical to supporting our academic mission,鈥� says A&S Dean聽Behzad Mortazavi. 鈥淲ith Kathy and Stan鈥檚 gift, we can invest in more of our stellar faculty and students, so they can contribute their enormous expertise to solving challenges in the areas of the environment and climate, health and wellness, social justice and human thriving.鈥�

Person smiling in a bright purple top, with a voluminous hairstyle, against a light background.

Favour Chukwudumebi Ononiwu

Since the fund was established, it has supported research by graduate students in physics, chemistry, biology and psychology. 鈥淭hanks to the Walters, I was able to spend the summer of 2023 in the lab full-time,鈥� says Favour Chukwudumebi Ononiwu, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in cell biology and is dedicated to figuring out the cellular behavior that governs early development of human tissue. 鈥淭his particular tissue helps the body organize itself. Understanding how that happens is key to understanding developmental defects.鈥�

鈥淏ench to bedside research鈥� like this takes years of toil at the 鈥渂ench鈥� in the lab to reach the 鈥渂edside鈥� where people can benefit. Ononiwu says the funding from the Walters allowed her to spend a lot more time at that bench, reduce some of the costs associated with conducting the research, and speed up the process of discovery. 鈥淚t was also empowering to be in a space where I didn鈥檛 have to worry about my finances and could come into the lab and focus on the experiment. It also helped get my research to the point where I could apply for more grants and fellowships to accelerate the research.鈥�

Ononiwu, who hopes to pursue a job in a biotechnology, pharmaceutical or biomedical company, says the Walters funding was a 鈥渃atalyst for my development as a researcher and a professional.鈥�

Kidwell says her graduate students are deepening their own clinical training through the funded research and positioning themselves to be more competitive for National Institutes of Health grants.

鈥淥ftentimes, teaching assistantships take precedence over research assistantships because of financial need,鈥� says Deyo, a first-year doctoral student in clinical psychology.

Six individuals smiling at a scientific conference, standing in front of posters that discuss health studies. Each person is wearing a badge.

Professor Katie Kidwell (second from left) with members of the Child Health Lab, including graduate students (from left) Toni Hamilton, Alison Vrabec, Lyric Tully, Alexa Deyo and Megan Milligan.

The doctoral students were able to accelerate the launch of their study this past summer, recruit a significant number of teens aged 13 to 17 as study subjects, expose them to the intervention called motivational interviewing and measure the impact on their sleep using a smart watch-type of device called an actigraph.

The intent of their research, of course, is to help teens and college students problem-solve and deal with stressors that impact their well-being. The research aligns with Kathy Walters鈥� sensitivity to the impact of stress on health. 鈥淭he world is moving at such a rapid pace that it鈥檚 difficult for people to prioritize and focus amidst the change and anxiety,鈥� says Walters. 鈥淗elping faculty and students make the most of opportunities to improve health and humanity remains our priority.鈥�

鈥淲e are so grateful to Kathy and Stan for their generosity and vision in establishing this fund,鈥� says John Quigley, A&S assistant dean for advancement. 鈥淲e hope others who are similarly passionate about academic and research excellence at the University will follow suit. An endowment of $100,000 or more provides the kind of annual supplemental support needed by our talented faculty to accelerate the impact of their teaching and research.鈥�

Walters says it鈥檚 important to provide gifts that are not too restricted. 鈥淪tudents are developing the critical thinking skills required to pursue knowledge that answers the big questions facing our world. By supporting research, we are helping them find the answers.鈥�

  • Author

Eileen Korey

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