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UTRGV College of Health Professions and its Research Enhancement and Support Team (CREST) promote, encourage, and provide assistance for research, scholarship, and creative activities in all disciplines. The services cover guidance on all research administration including funding opportunities, proposal development, research compliance, and post award administration.
Mission
The College of Health Professions Research Enhancement and Support Team aims to promote a culture of research excellence through training, mentoring, and support to build and strengthen the research capacity of faculty, staff, and students within the college.
Goals
- Enhance scholars' relationships with and understanding of federal agencies and foundations.
- Encourage scholars to develop a team approach to enhance grant writing success.
- Provide information and access to on-campus proposal writing and submission resources.
- Provide information and access to colleagues with successful grant records to learn about successful strategies with federal agencies and foundations.
- Catalyze interactions among scholars and scholarly coaches to create robust and productive scholarly agendas.
- Create opportunities among faculty for multidisciplinary scholarship and engagement.
Research Resources
- Division of Research Offices - Click here
- Office of Sponsored Projects Click here
- Intent to Submit Click here
- Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research Click here
- Institutional Biosafety Committee Click here
- Animal Care and Use Click here
- Academic Analytics Click here
- Research Reports & Dashboard Click here
- Division of Research - Research Enhancement Department - Click Here
- Division of Governmental & Community Relations
- Office of Community Engagement’s Nonprofit Resource Center - Grant Directory Click here
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Grant Process Overview Click here
- Application Guide Click here
- Information for Researchers Click here
- SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (National Library of Medicine, NIH)
- SciENcv (database for NIH and NSF Biosketches) Click here
- National Science Foundation
- Preparing for Funding Click here
- Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1) Click here
- Merit Review (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts) Click here
- Understanding Broader Impacts Click here
- The Data Management Plan (DMP) Click here
- US Health & Human Services
- Get Ready for Grants Management Click here
- Tips for Applying for HHS grants Click here
- Philanthropy News Digest
- Requests for Proposals (RFPs) Click here
- Candid (The Foundation Center and GuideStar)
- Find Non-profit Funding Click here
Research Enhancement and Support Team
Murat Karabulut, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Health and Human Performance
Email: murat.karabulut@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 882-7236
Dr. Murat Karabulut is an Associate Dean for Research and Professor in the College of Health Professions at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he has been a faculty member since 2008. Dr. Karabulut's research interests center on the development and improvement of non-pharmacological interventions to prevent health problems and improve the health status of those who have metabolic problems, cardiovascular problems, and age-related health problems.
He obtained his Ph.D. in Exercise Science from The University of Oklahoma at Norman. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM). He also has two of the most recognized certifications in the field (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CEP) from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)). Additionally, Dr. Murat Karabulut contributes as a reviewer for numerous academic journals and holds membership in various professional organizations.
Dr. Murat Karabulut, in his role as Associate Dean for Research, spearheads the development and continuation of research endeavors. He actively identifies and resolves challenges that hinder faculty progress in research, while also collaborating with the dean's leadership team to orchestrate research-oriented initiatives.
Suad Ghaddar, PhD
Director of Faculty Research Development, Associate Professor
Email: suad.ghaddar@utrgv.edu
EHABW 2.156
Phone: 956-665-5269
Dr. Suad Ghaddar is an Associate Professor in UTRGV’s Department of Health and Biomedical Sciences and Director of Faculty Research Development at the College of Health Professions. She holds degrees from the American University of Beirut (BBA, MBA) and The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) (PhD) in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Business. Previous appointments include Director of the South Texas Border Health Disparities Center (UTPA) and Research Associate at the Center for Border Economic Studies (UTPA). Dr. Ghaddar has expertise in leading faculty research training programs, engaging in high-level strategic planning initiatives, developing innovative educational vehicles that engage students in experiential research opportunities, and conducting health disparities research that aims to understand and address the health inequities facing Texas-Mexico border communities. An integral part of Dr. Ghaddar’s work is community-based and is guided by the core values and principles of community-engaged scholarship.
Kristina Vatcheva, PhD
Statistician, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Email: kristina.vatcheva@utrgv.edu
Dr. Vatcheva is an Associate Professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences in the UTRGV College of Sciences. Dr. Vatcheva has over 25 years of combined experience in industry and academia and expertise in multidisciplinary data science fields including mathematics, statistics, databases, computer programming/application development, and epidemiology. Dr. Vatcheva has 14 years of experience in collaborative health-related research addressing questions related to chronic disease and conditions including obesity, type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, inflammation, hypertension, cognitive function, depression, and others by conducting statistical analyses using population-based or hospital-based data. She not only uses various statistical methods but studies and address hases issues and the appropriateness of these methods when applied to real-life data. Dr. Vatcheva published over 35 peer-reviewed journal papers on health disparities in the Mexican American population in the Rio Grande Valley. She has over 90 individual and contributed scientific presentations at national and international conferences, including the American Statistical Association’s Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference and Conference on Statistical Practice; as well as the International Workshop on Statistical Modeling; and professional forums at the regional and local levels.
Dr. Vatcheva is currently serving as an Associate Editor and a member of the Statistics Review Committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) journal.
Email: jennifer.martinez13@utrgv.edu
Edinburg Campus
Phone: 956-665-2720
Grant Proposal Writer
College of Health Professions
Email: jean.mclaughlin@utrgv.edu
EHABW 2.234
Phone: 956-665-2291
Our Grant Proposal Writer, Jean McLaughlin, assists faculty and staff in the development, writing, and editing of assigned CoHP grant proposals. She has an extensive background in grant management and expertise in participant recruitment strategies and program evaluation. Jean assists in the development and writing of supporting documentation for foundation and governmental grant applications, such as the project abstract, project narrative, budget justification, the facilities/equipment/environment document, the data management plan, and the data sharing plan. She also assists in identifying funding sources.