Falk College strives to achieve excellence in education not only through good teaching but also through participation in active research. Our students benefit by learning from researchers who are working at the cutting-edge of knowledge, within well-equipped laboratories, and in projects that are both domestic and abroad. We encourage both undergraduates and graduate engagement to achieve not only a rewarding educational experience but also enhanced career opportunities upon graduation. Learn more about the different types of research awards.
Extramural AwardThe Impact of Longitudinal Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Adolescent Reproductive Health: Examining Factors that Promote Resilience
Sara Vasilenko (HDFS) PI, Xiafei Wang (SWK) MPI, and Rachel Razza (HDFS) co-I, The Impact of Longitudinal Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Adolescent Reproductive Health: Examining Factors that Promote Resilience, NIH. 9/19/23-8/31/25 This…
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardCultivating Self-Regulation and Healthy Food Intake: Parental and Caregiver Engagement to Support Mindful Eating Behaviors Among Young Children
To cultivate food acceptance and enhance food preferences in young children, our research team has developed an intervention model to incorporate mindful eating and self-regulation within family and childcare settings.
Learn more about this research.
2021-2022 SU CUSE GrantCultivating Self-regulation and Healthy Food Intake: A Novel Mindful Eating Intervention for Children and Their Caregivers
Early self-regulatory skills, including self-regulation around food and appetite, serve as the foundation for children’s behavioral competence, and thus represent an important target of intervention for behavioral health. One intervention strategy that is particularly promising for promoting self-regulation among young children is mindfulness. The primary aim of this study is to develop a family- and caregiver-based mindfulness and mindful eating curriculum that can be used in a future intervention targeted toward preschool age children and their caregivers that focuses on enhancing general self-regulation and appetite self-regulation.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardThe Influence of Contextual and Constitutional Emotional Processes on Speech Motor Control and Speech Motor Learning in Early Childhood Stuttering
The goals of this project are to advance the understanding of stuttering development in preschool-age children and inform future fluency treatment. Specifically, the researchers are interested in how different aspects of emotional reactivity influence children’s speech motor control and speech motor learning.
Learn more about this research.
2019-2020 SU CUSE GrantDeveloping Machine Learning Classifiers on Uncovering Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Risk
We seek support from the CUSE’s Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant committee to conduct a two-year study that will utilize text-mining algorithms to uncover patterns or typologies of intimate partner violence (IPV) from women’s narratives. For the purpose of this grant, IPV is conceptualized as the motivational need of aggressors to exert coercive control in close relationships and aggressors need to use physical, sexual, and psychological violence to reinforce coercive control in relationships.
Learn more about this research.
2018-2019 SU CUSE GrantMechanisms of Change Associated with Mindfulness Training for People with Posttraumatic Stress: Triangulating Neural Networks, Biomarkers, Cognition and Behaviors
Clinical research has explored the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for a range of physical and mental health outcomes including posttraumatic stress (PTS); however, little is known about the neural and cognitive mechanisms of change resulting from mindfulness-based practices. Objective measures of changes in cognitive and neural networks associated with mindfulness-based practices would be valuable tools for researchers to expand understanding of the specific mechanisms of neural change associated with mindfulness practices, and to provide objective measures of PTS.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardTrauma Resiliency in Urban Environments (TRUE)
The Trauma Resiliency in Urban Environments (TRUE) grant aims to implement and evaluate a trauma informed mindfulness-based program for pregnant women and mothers of young children affected by community violence and living in hot spots in the city of Syracuse. Syracuse is a community scarred by decades of pervasive gun violence, divided by gang-turf affiliation, and home to a substantial refugee population from war-torn regions. An estimated 90 percent of the children in the target community have been exposed to violence; majority have traumatic stress (PTSD) and/or other serious emotional and behavioral problems; 52 perecent of the adults in these hot spots meet criteria for PTSD.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardMaternal Child Health Spot Booster
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York recently awarded a $24,942 grant to the trauma intervention project, Maternal Child Health Spot Booster, led by Syracuse University’s Falk College Trauma-Informed Scholars in partnership with the Syracuse Trauma Response Team (TRT). The proposed sustainable intervention strategy aims to help preschoolers in the areas of the Syracuse community most affected by violence and the resulting trauma. Starting this fall, the research team will train Head Start teaching staff and bring mindful yoga intervention to 4- and 5-year-old classrooms at Merrick Head Start, part of the Syracuse City School District and Onondaga County’s federally designated Community Action Agency, PEACE, Inc.
Learn more about this research.