Grants

2019

• Funding Agency: Instructional Connections
  Project Title: Facilitating Achievement through Instructor–Learner Interaction
  PI: Dr. Tracia Forman
  Project Period: 2019–2020 (NCE: Dec 2020)
  Award: $8,983

2020

• Funding Agency: NIH T34 Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program
  UTRGV PD/PI: Dr. Sue Anne Chew; Co-PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair
  Community College Partners PD/PIs: Dr. Shima Chaudhary (STC), Mr. Ruben Reyes (TSC)
  Project Period: 08/01/2020–07/31/2025
  Award: $2,087,976
• Funding Agency: HRSA Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) for CLS program
  PI: Daniela Gill; Co-PI: Sandra L. Tijerina
  Project Period: 07/01/2020–06/30/2025
  Award: Supports 20 disadvantaged CLS students
• Funding Agency: NIH SC3 SCORE Research Continuance Award
  PI: Dr. Sue Anne Chew
  Collaborators: Dr. Shizue Mito, Dr. Saraswathy Nair, Dr. Kristina Vatcheva, Dr. Bin He
  Project Title: Dual delivery of chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic agents from biodegradable biomaterials for glioma
  Project Period: 03/16/2020–02/29/2024
  Award: $435,900
• Funding Agency: NIH R01
  Grant Number: 1R01AI147731-01A1
  Project Title: Targeted anti-HIV drug delivery to the GALT
  PI: Dr. Upal Roy
  Project Period: 07/16/2020–06/30/2025
  Award: $3.3M
• Funding Agency: NIH RGV AD-RCMAR Pilot Studies Program
  Project Title: Genetic Basis of Alzheimer’s Disease in Hispanic Americans with Type-2 Diabetes
  PI: Dr. Upal Roy
  Project Period: 2020–2021
  Award: $25,000
• Funding Agency: Brownsville Foundation for Health and Education
  Project Title: Honors College–BMED Scholarship Program
  PI: Dr. Mark Andersen; Co-PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair
  Project Period: 09/01/2020–05/31/2021
  Award: $15,000

2021

• Funding Agency: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology – PHIT Workforce Development Program
  Project Title: The Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology (GET PHIT)
  UTRGV PI: Dr. Tracia Forman
  UTRGV Co-Is: Dr. Suad Ghaddar, Dr. Michael Machiorlatti, Dr. Kristina Vatcheva
  Project Period: Sep 2021–Sep 2025
  Award: $10,000,000 (UTRGV Subaward $369,958)
• Funding Agency: Texas Health & Human Services Commission (HHSC)
  Project Title: South Texas Early Prevention Studies SNAP-Ed (STEPS SNAP-Ed)
  PI: Dr. Roberto Treviño-Peña
  Co-Is (UTRGV): Dr. Michael Machiorlatti, Dr. Zasha Romero, Dr. Lisa MB Salinas, Dr. Lin Wang
  Project Period: Oct 1, 2021–Sep 25, 2025
  Award: $2,800,000
• Funding Agency: Instructional Connections, LLC
  Project Title: Effective Utilization of Academic Coaches for Instructional Support in the Online Course
  PI: Dr. Tracia M. Forman; Co-PI: Ms. Jessica M. Sanchez
  Project Period: Sep 1, 2021–Aug 31, 2022
  Award: $10,000
• Funding Agency: Texas Society for Advancement of Health Professions (TSAHP)
  Project Title: Biomedical Freshman Research Initiative (BFRI): Increasing Retention, Academic Success, and Preparation of Underrepresented Allied Healthcare Students
  PI: Dr. Sue Anne Chew; Co-PI: Dr. Kristina Vatcheva
  Award: $1,500
• Funding Agency: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) – Engagement Award Program
  Project Title: Building Capacity in HSIs for PCOR/CER Focused on Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19
  PIs: Ashley Butler, Dr. Suad Ghaddar
  Project Period: Sep 1, 2021–Feb 28, 2023
  Award: $200,001 (UTRGV subaward: $91,322)
• Funding Agency: Brownsville Foundation for Health and Education
  Project Title: Honors College–BMED Scholarship Program
  PI: Dr. Mark Andersen; Co-PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair
  Project Period: 09/01/2021–05/31/2022
  Award: $19,500
• Funding Agency: NSF IUSE
  Project Title: Collaborative Research: Building Educational Theory Through Enacting Reforms in STEM
  PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair; Co-PI: Dr. Timothy Huber
  Project Period: Sep 1, 2021–Aug 31, 2026
  Award: $2.99M total; UTRGV share $619,660

2022

• Funding Agency: NIH NINDS, K01 Mechanism
  Project Title: Defining the Disease-Causing HRasG12V Mutation as a Link for Defective Myelin and Subnormal Learning
  PI: Dr. Alejandro López-Juárez
  Project Period: 2022–2027
  Award: $1,051,560 (separately noted: $210,312/year × 3 years, renewable 2 more years)
• Funding Agency: Brownsville Foundation for Health and Education
  Project Title: Honors College–BMED Scholarship Program
  PI: Dr. Mark Andersen; Co-PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair
  Project Period: 09/01/2022–08/31/2023
  Award: $19,500

2023

• Funding Agency: NASA
  Project Title: Inflammation & Brain Health for Astronauts
  PI: Dr. Upal Roy
  Project Period: 2023–2024
  Award: $50,000
• Funding Agency: Brownsville Foundation for Health and Education
  Project Title: Honors College–BMED Scholarship Program
  PI: Dr. Mark Andersen; Co-PI: Dr. Saraswathy Nair
  Project Period: 03/27/2023–08/31/2024
  Award: $19,500
• Funding Agency: Texas Society for Advancement of Health Professions (TSAHP) – Research and Innovative Practice Grant
  Project Title: Virtual Reality Exercising vs. Traditional Exercise Training: A Comparative Study on Biochemical Salivary and Rate of Perceived Exertion Responses among Young Males
  PI: Dr. Murat Karabulut
  Co-PI: Dr. Sue Anne Chew
  Project Period: 09/21/2023–08/31/2024
  Award: $1,500
• Funding Agency: NIH AIM-AHEAD Program
  Project Title: NIH-AIM-AHEAD travel grant to attend the Conference on Health IT and Analytics (CHITA)
  PI: Dr. Chun Xu
  Project Focus: Applying AI in healthcare to enhance equity and diversity
  Project Period: May 5–6, 2023
  Award: $2,000 + conference coverage

2024

• Funding Agency: NIH R16 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  Project Title: The Impact of Nf1 Mutation on Oligodendrocyte Development and Fine Motor Learning
  PI: Dr. Alejandro López-Juárez
  Project Period: 2024–2028
  Award: $592,000
• Funding Agency: NIH Strengthening Research Opportunities for NIH Grants (STRONG)
  Grant #: 1UC2AI188568-01
  Project Title: Reaching New Heights: Strengthening Health Professions Research at a Majority Hispanic-Serving Institution
  PI: Dr. Michael Lehker
  HABS Co-Investigators: Dr. Sue Anne Chew, Dr. Suad Ghaddar, Dr. Tracia Forman
  Project Period: 08/20/2024–05/31/2027
  Award: $1,082,928
• Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF) – Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE:EDU)
  Grant #: #2417437
  Project Title: Promoting Experiential Learning in STEM through Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences
  PI: Dr. Angela Chapman
  HABS Co-PI: Dr. Sue Anne Chew
  Project Period: 10/15/2024–09/30/2027
  Award: $400,000
• Funding Agency: NIH All of Us / Healthy Americas Foundation
  Project Title: Integrating GWAS and Proteomics Data to Unravel Genetic
  PI: Dr. Chun Xu
  Co-PIs: Dr. Bassent Abdelbary, Dr. Kesheng Wang
  Project Period: 2024–2025
  Award: $10,000

2025

• Funding Agency: NASA
  Project Title: Effect of Space Environment on Neuroinflammation
  PI: [Not specified]
  Co-PI: Dr. Upal Roy
  Project Period: 09/01/2025–08/31/2027
  Award: $299,912