Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
Across the United States, Indigenous women have the highest rates of death and health complications during and following pregnancy. However, data shows that more than 90 percent of those deaths are preventable and that contributing factors like hemorrhage and mental health conditions can be better addressed. The Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center has been awarded a seven-year, $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine maternal health inequities and maternal well-being, using an approach that recognizes Indigenous culture as a health-giving factor in itself. The grant is under the direction of Karina Shreffler, associate dean for research and a professor in the College of Nursing at the university.
Breast cancer researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center received a five-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to examine how certain immune cells support metastatic breast cancer development — and how to stop it. “Our goal is to interrupt that communication process between those two cell types – the tumor cells and the macrophages – and in that way, prevent metastasis from happening,” said Liz Yeh, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, received a $100,000 grant from Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health to further research the connections between body image and breast cancer, specifically in the experiences of older adult African-American women’s mastectomy experiences. Project manager Harriette Richard and colleagues will conduct a series of interviews to collect demographic data as well as information regarding specific experiences with their mastectomy and how they viewed themselves after their surgeries. Dr. Richards is an associate professor of psychology at the university.
Alverno College, a liberal arts educational institution for women in Milwaukee, received a $1,240,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to train personnel from diverse backgrounds to serve children with disabilities. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of personnel who are fully credentialed to serve children with disabilities by preparing these scholars to provide effective, equitable, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction, interventions, and services through a revised special education curriculum. Up to 24 scholarships will be offered per academic year that substantially will cover the costs of receiving a special education degree through Alverno’s special education teacher licensure program.