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Welcome to the College of Health Professions Research Enhancement and Support Team (CREST) which promotes, encourages, and provides assistance for research, scholarship, and creative activities in all CoHP disciplines. The services cover guidance on all aspects of grant management and research administration, including funding opportunities, proposal development, research design, 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 CoHP faculty, and as resources permit, their collaborators.
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 - Division of Research Offices
- Office of Sponsored Projects – Office of Sponsored Projects
- Intent to Submit/Sponsored Programs Intake (SPI)/ARGO – Intent to Submit/Sponsored Programs Intake (SPI)/ARGO
- Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research
- Institutional Biosafety Committee
- Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
- Academic Analytics/Faculty Insight/Discovery Site
- Research Reports & Dashboard
Division of Research - Research Enhancement Department - Division of Research - Research Enhancement Department
- Division of Governmental & Community Relations – Office of Community Engagement’s Nonprofit Resource Center - Grant Directory
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Grant Process Overview – Grant Process Overview
- Application Guide – Application Guide
- Information for Researchers – Information for Researchers
- SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (National Library of Medicine, NIH)
- SciENcv (Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support) – SciENcv (Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support)
- National Science Foundation
- Preparing for Funding – Preparing for Funding
- Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1) – Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1)
- Merit Review (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts) – Merit Review (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts)
- Understanding Broader Impacts – Understanding Broader Impacts
- The Data Management Plan (DMP) – The Data Management Plan (DMP)
- US Health & Human Services
- Get Ready for Grants Management – Get Ready for Grants Management
- Tips for Applying for HHS grants – Tips for Applying for HHS grants
- Philanthropy News Digest
- Requests for Proposals (RFPs) – Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
- Candid (The Foundation Center and GuideStar)
- Find Non-profit Funding – Find Non-profit Funding
CoHP Research Enhancement and Support Team
Murat Karabulut, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Health and Human Performance
Email: murat.karabulut@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 882-8290
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.