Sponsored Research Funding Highlights
Fiscal Year 2024
College of Health's Office of Research
FY 2024 Sponsored Research Funding Highlights
In FY 2024, our faculty garnered $37,734,459 in sponsored grants and contracts. This total is the second highest annual amount in the history of our college.
Although nearly two-thirds of our sponsored research is funded by federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Education, our funding portfolio also includes awards from the state of Oregon, non-profit organizations and foundations, and industry.
Below are examples of notable research awards received in FY 2024. These awards represent the diverse disciplines of our college and reflect our commitment to embrace innovative approaches and methods, conduct both basic and applied research with diverse populations, and promote interdisciplinary collaboration.
Findings from these research projects have the potential to improve health and well-being in Oregon and beyond.
Notable Research Awards in FY 2024 include
2025 Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Title V Needs Assessment
Funded by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), $399,364 for two years
Sunil Khanna (Co-PI), Professor and Robert & Sara Rothschild Endowed Chair in Global Health, and Director of the Global Health Center
Marit Bovbjerg (Co-PI), Associate Professor of Epidemiology
The research team envisions a needs assessment process that draws from the principles of Community Based Participatory Research as a foundation. The principles include recognizing and building on community strengths, finding mutual benefit in the process, promoting co-learning, using an iterative approach to maintain partnerships, and disseminating findings to all involved partners. The OSU Team plans to use an iterative and participatory approach that includes both the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Team and the convened planning group in decision-making and responsibility at the level of engagement they choose. The OSU Team will share results and findings of the different data components with the MCAH Team, Planning Group, and community partners.
Exoskeletons for Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishing to Reduce Musculoskeletal Injuries
Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $947,990 for three years
Jay Kim (PI), Associate Professor
Laurel Kincl (Co-I), Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs
This proposed research will evaluate technology not yet used in commercial fishing. The commercial Dungeness crab fleet is considered one of the highest-risk commercial fishing fleets in the US. A previous NIOSH-funded study found that the majority of limiting, nonfatal injuries in this fleet occurred with deckhands and were associated with handling crab pots. Crab pot handling tasks posed substantial physical risks for low back injuries, including significant torso flexion. Estimated back compression and shear forces exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit values (TLVs). Interventions that reduce physical stress associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a critical focus in crab fishing. The anticipated impact of this proposed research is the improvement of commercial fishermen’s health and safety by reducing nonfatal injuries associated with musculoskeletal disorders.
The Impact of Strategic Partnerships on Youth Sport Access and Quality
Funded by the Good Sports Foundation, $562,500 for five years
William Massey (PI), Associate Professor of Kinesiology
In partnership with Good Sports, the research team will conduct a longitudinal evaluation using mixed-methods to explore how a 5-year partnership with Good Sports impacts local community sports organizations over time. This research will be grounded in translation science to ensure that data collected are optimized for real world impact. The overall approach will be to employ a variety of methods with different stakeholders to answer research and evaluation questions. Organizational and Good Sports data, interviews with parents and community leaders, and interviews with key program personnel will be used to examine barriers, hidden costs, potential unintended consequences, and program needs for quality implementation and sustainability.
Mechanism by Which SGLT2 Inhibitor Treatment Regulates Skeletal Muscle Fuel Metabolism
Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, $71,340 for one year
Matthew Robinson (PI), Associate Professor
The overall objective of this study is to determine the effects of Sodium-Glucose Transport Protein 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) on skeletal muscle to regulate mitochondrial substrate oxidation as a mechanism for improved skeletal muscle insulin action during obesity. We propose an overall model whereby SGLT2i inhibits mitochondrial complex I, stimulating energetic stress signaling (via skeletal muscle AMPK), improved fatty acid metabolism and increase insulin action. Our preliminary data demonstrate SGLT2i exert effects on skeletal muscle through energetic signaling, specific through complex I, which we propose to extend further to determine acute versus chronic effects (Aim 1), requirement of energetic signaling and protein turnover (Aim 2) and skeletal muscle mechanisms to explain the risk for metabolic acidosis when SGLT2i are combined with metformin treatment (Aim 3). These studies will identify how SGLT2i regulate skeletal muscle energetics as pharmacological improvements of insulin action.
Translating Research to Action & Knowledge (TRAK) Portal: A Web-Based Platform for Report-Back of Research Results
Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, $1,635,308 for 4 years
Diana Rohlman (PI), Associate Professor, Senior Researcher
Inaccessibility to findings of environmental and public health research in readily usable form is a major barrier for individuals to understand and apply those findings to reduce their exposure to environmental hazards and improve health outcomes. The availability of report-back for research results (RBRR) requires easily understood and visualized data presentations, dissemination, and overcoming ethical and cultural barriers to effective information distribution. This project proposes to develop an ethically sound RBRR approach that can build environmental health literacy (EHL) and make results accessible by creating the novel Translating Research to Action & Knowledge (TRAK) Portal. TRAK is a web-based, smartphone-accessible tool for study participants and communities. The project will identify and integrate ethical approaches for the best RBRR execution to increase health equity.
Curation of the Seattle ALS Patient
Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, $96,362 for one year
Suzanne Segerstrom (PI), Professor and the JoAnne Leonard Petersen Endowed Chair for Gerontology and Family Studies, and Director for the Center for Health Aging Research
Data sharing allows new applications and hypotheses to be applied to existing data sets, honoring the individuals who contributed data and the public funding of the project that generated the data. Data sharing is particularly important for uncommon diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Seattle ALS Patient Profile Database (SALSPPD) is a rich longitudinal dataset of ALS patients and their partners (spouses, significant others, or caregivers) from clinics in Seattle, WA; San Francisco, CA; and Philadelphia, PA. During the work for this study, the data will be formatted and validated (e.g., variable names and values, value labels and syntax); documented (data dictionary, missing data analysis, variable descriptive statistics); and the data and documentation will be made publicly available to scientists for use. Sharing the SALSPPD will provide a rich resource to scientists interested in the natural history of ALS, psychosocial effects on ALS outcomes and vice versa, and psychosocial and disease outcomes of treatments.
Creation of an Open Access 3-Dimensional Image and Data Library for Rat Bones from Space Shuttle Experiments
Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, $100,000 for one year
Russell Turner (PI), Professor of Nutrition
This proposal supports NASA’s efforts to Transform to Open Science (TOPS) by creating a novel curated image file and data library that will be archived into the Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA). The goal of the library is to facilitate research investigating the skeletal response to spaceflight. Previous research has found strong evidence for time-dependent, bone and bone compartment-associated, clinically relevant bone loss in astronauts. Mechanistic and early-stage intervention studies are, however, exceedingly difficult to perform in humans. The primary goal of this proposal is to advance research by capitalizing on the availability of tissue specimens from space shuttle flights. Specifically, the investigators will analyze ~1000 bone specimens from rats flown aboard 6 space shuttle flights and their ground controls. At the completion of the proposed project, we expect to have created an image library that can be easily accessed to create novel investigator-initiated 3D reconstructions and feature analysis of calvarium, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and lumbar vertebra.