Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education

Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.

The University of Nebraska received a $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to test three different treatments for osteoporosis. About 10 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis and 80 percent of those who suffer from the disease are women. The research will be under the direction of Nancy Waltman of the university’s College of Nursing and Laura Bilek of the university’s School of Allied Health Professions.

The University of Maine in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Maine are conducting a study that will examine the relationship between domestic abuse, homicide, and suicide. The researchers will examine violent deaths and compare the data with domestic abuse complaints. The study is funded by a five-year, $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marcella Sorg, a research associate professor of anthropology at the University of Maine will be co-principal investigator on the project along with a retired chief medical examiner for the state of Maine. Dr. Sorg is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in physical anthropology from Ohio State University.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst received a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research to determine which factors may be associated with early onset menopause. The research is under the direction of Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, an associate professor of epidemiology in the university’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Dr. Bertone-Johnson is a graduate of Harvard University and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the Harvard School of Public Health.

The Mississippi University for Women received a $2 million gift from Ann Coleman Peyton, the granddaughter of the founder of the university. The funds will be used to create an endowed scholarship program for students who are majoring in history at the university.