Research Takes Flight

Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Health Logistics and Analytics (IHLA) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) have renewed their collaboration to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in confinement facilities. Under the direction of Jessica Schwind, Ph.D., the IHLA has been awarded a $10 million contract by DPH for a second year of work. The project will assist confinement facilities across the state by improving air quality and streamlining COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

The Center for Public Health Practice and Research at the Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH)
is the beneficiary of a substantial $4 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Health Policy Professors Bettye Apenteng, Ph.D., and Charles Owens, MSA, are the co-principal Investigators for this grant. The cooperative agreement will see them collaborate closely with HRSA and rural health stakeholders to provide much-needed technical assistance to financially distressed rural hospitals nationwide. Additionally, Stuart Tedders, Ph.D., the dean of JPHCOPH, stated his pride in the center’s dedication to improving the quality of life for rural and underserved populations.

The National Science Foundation has allocated nearly $3 million to Georgia Southern University to inaugurate
the Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates (RaMP) program. This ambitious initiative, led by principal
investigator Checo Colón-Gaud, Ph.D., aims to benefit underrepresented minority students by providing them with
research experience, mentoring and professional networking opportunities in the STEM fields. This program is
expected to commence in August 2024, following meticulous planning. Colón-Gaud, is joined by three additional
faculty members as co-principal investigators: Biology Professor John Carroll, Ph.D., Lacey Huffling, Ph.D., associate
professor of middle grades, and Asli Aslan, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Water and Health.

Georgia Southern University’s School of Nursing’s Marian Tabi, P.h.D., Tiffany Keshwah, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC, and Alan Skipper, P.h.D., have received a substantial grant of $2.57 million from the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Program (ANEW). The ANEW Program works to increase the number of primary care nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and certified nurse midwives who are trained and prepared to provide essential health care services. This grant will help prepare nurse practitioner students provide competent behavioral health services to rural and underserved areas, addressing critical health care shortages.

Bridget Melton, Ed.D., a professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, is a key part of a team awarded $1.1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to promote wellness in firefighters and first responders. This three-year study will focus on injury mitigation, work outcomes and financial burden reduction in the firefighting industry.

The Georgia Southern University Soldier Performance and Readiness (SPAR) program received a $1.5 million, two-year grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). This grant, under the guidance of Professor Nancy Henderson, Ph.D., in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, will expand the University’s research and programming capacity in injury prevention techniques, benefiting both soldiers and doctoral students.

An interdisciplinary team from Georgia Southern University, led by Professor Lacey Huffling, Ph.D., is the recipient of an award of more than $465,000 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. This grant is part of an initiative with the Gulf Research Program (GRP) that engages children and youth in placebased educational activities.

Two professors from Georgia Southern University’s College of Education, Sam Rhodes, Ph.D., and Antonio Gutierrez de Blume, Ed.D., are part of a collaborative effort funded by a $3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, aimed at improving numeracy skills in the U.S. Georgia Southern University was awarded almost $400,000 of the overall sum to support this initiative.

A pair of Georgia Southern University professors and their research team are working to develop new options to help the estimated two million new cases of cancer that are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Karelle Aiken, Ph.D., professor of organic chemistry, and Jannet Kocerha, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, are using a $424,000 grant to pursue new cancer drug treatments. This is the first time Georgia Southern has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute.