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 AwardResearch Ethics for All: Research Ethics Training for Patient Stakeholders with IDD
A project led by Katherine McDonald will work with people with developmental disabilities, researchers and IRB members to create a new research ethics training that can be freely used by community research partners with developmental disabilities affecting cognition…
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Extramural AwardUnderstanding and Supporting Pregnancy Decision-Making among Women with Developmental Disabilities that Affect Cognition
Pregnancies among women with developmental disabilities that affect cognition are often unplanned, which may contribute to their elevated rates of adverse outcomes. These women have limited reproductive knowledge, face substantial barriers to preconception care, are rarely engaged as active participants in reproductive decision-making, and are frequently discouraged from considering pregnancy or motherhood. This combination of disadvantages leaves them ill-prepared to make informed decisions about pregnancy planning and places them at risk of unintended pregnancies and adverse outcomes. Interactive web-based decision aids can help individuals with healthcare and health behavior choices.
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Extramural AwardCommunity and Work Participation Disparities: A Program of the ADA Participation Action Research Consortium (ADA PARC)
ADA PARC is a multi-site research collaboration bringing together the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) centers to examine the factors that influence the participation of people with disabilities in their communities to identify key participation disparities and strategically act to address them. We are conducting a multiregional strategic gap analyses across three primary participation areas community living, community participation, and economic equity. In some areas, such as community living and work, this will involve mining existing large population and community datasets so we can inform the benchmarking of key participation disparities and promising practices at state, regional and community levels. The ADA PARC will create a tool and a systematic process for assessing community participation at the community level for people to assess their communities.
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2019-2020 SU CUSE GrantA Consent Toolkit for Genomics Research Inclusive of Adults with Intellectual Disability: Establishing Feasibility
Adults with intellectual disability experience significant health disparities, and can benefit dramatically from genomics research. Yet ethical, legal, and social challenges in the process of informed consent present barriers to the generation of new knowledge to promote health equity. We can identify solutions to these persistent barriers by capitalizing on human rights advances so that adults with intellectual disability can meaningfully control research participation decisions.
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Extramural AwardMcDonald continues research on community living for all people with intellectual disability
Professor of public health, Katherine McDonald, received funding from the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Program, Administration for Community Living/DHHS for the Community 4All Project, a collaborative research project involving Syracuse University and The Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS). The project total is $495,699 and its aim is to support the right to community living and participation for all people with intellectual disability.
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Extramural AwardStakeholder Views on Intellectual Disability Research Ethics
Katherine McDonald, associate professor of public health in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and faculty fellow in the Burton Blatt Institute, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The research project, “Stakeholder Views on Intellectual Disability Research Ethics,” is expected to have significant ethical and public health implications. Robert S. Olick, associate professor of bioethics and humanities at Upstate Medical University, will serve as co-investigator on the project.
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