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 Awards:
Extramural AwardHeffernan takes over leadership of NSF Research Education for Undergraduates (REU) Program for Trauma Research with Veterans
Kevin Heffernan, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Exercise Science, will take over leadership of the REU program started by Brooks B. Gump, Ph.D., MPH, Falk Endowed Professor of Public Health, in 2012. This program is for undergraduate veterans and non-veterans (five openings for each) interested in becoming trauma researchers. As one of many on-going interdisciplinary collaborations in the Falk College, the REU program also includes faculty members from the Aging Studies Institute and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will support the REU program and is now recruiting undergraduate veterans and non-veterans to participate. Students can earn $3,000 for participating in an intensive four-week summer program each June at Syracuse University.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardDo Children Displaying Different Profiles of Cognitive and Behavioral Self-Regulation Respond Differently to Early Education Programs?
This NICHD-funded study examines how profiles of cognitive and behavioral self-regulation influence the effectiveness of Head Start REDI, a preschool intervention program, in order to determine which version of the program works best for different types of students. Dr. Vasilenko’s role in the project includes expertise in person-centered and longitudinal research methods, and she will aid in creating latent profile models of self-regulation. Results can be used to inform intervention programs that are targeted to subgroups of children based on their risk profiles. Researchers have increasingly focused not only on whether a prevention program is effective, but for which types of people the program is most effective for. Then, researchers can examine how well a program works for people in these subgroups.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardVirtual Reality Opportunities to Integrate Social Skills (VROISS)
Justin Ehrlich is the co-principal investigator of a research team-comprised of Ehrlich, researchers from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and educational leaders at the Ohio Center on Autism and Low Incidence Disabilities-that received $2.5 million ($246,745 will come directly to Syracuse University) through a grant from the Office of Special Education and Programs in the United States Department of Education to fund a five-year plan to implement Virtual Reality (VR) application that will teach social skills to students with Autism.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardThe Care Coordination Certificate Program
The Care Coordination Certificate Program targets the professional development of the care coordination workforce of Central New York. It addresses the need for effective training of direct care workers who perform a critical role in New York State’s integrated care initiative. The first component is a 10-week sequence. Curricular areas include Medicaid redesign, strengths-based practice, ethics and boundaries, engagement, and documentation. The second component targets site supervisors. Supervisors will learn to apply a framework that supports building positive relationships with staff.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardMental Health, Economic Well-Being, and Experiences of Farming in Resettled Refugees in Syracuse, NY
This project examines relationships between home and community gardening practices, mental health indicators, community building, and socio-economic well-being in resettled refugee populations. Existing literature suggests refugees face a decreased probability of sustaining socio-economic development if nutritional and general health needs are unmet.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardEducating Girls in the Classroom and Beyond in Northern Nigeria
The projects goals are to delay the age of marriage and enhance girls’ agency and voice in rural communities in northwestern Nigeria by reducing social and economic barriers to female schooling and providing group-based mentoring and support. Dr. Larsen will be providing statistical support and analysis needed to meet the program goals.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardEpidemiology Support for the Kenya HDSS Site
The long-term goal is to achieve sustainable funding for the Kenya HDSS site through external sources. To that end David Larsen will support scientific dissemination efforts of data that has already been collected at the Kenya HDSS site and to which Upstate Medical University has access. David Larsen will provide epidemiological support for numerous projects coming out of the HDSS in Kenya. Along these lines he will analyze data in accordance with established hypotheses and plans that were brainstormed with numerous Upstate scientists. David’s role in these investigations will primarily be to analyze the data, and then draft methods and results. He will bring in students as appropriate.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardInflammatory Markers and Diet Quality among Vegetarian Versus Non-Vegetarian Female Collegiate Athletes
At present, it is unclear if the anti-inflammatory effects of a vegetarian diet directly benefit competitive athletes who engage in high-intensity exercise. Therefore, Redmond aims to directly measure levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers and assess overall diet quality (using the DII) between vegetarian and non-vegetarian female collegiate athletes. This study was developed in response to observed interest in vegetarian diets among female athletes as well as growing opportunities for dietitians to provide nutrition education to collegiate athletes about overall diet quality. The results of this study can be used to highlight the need for sports nutrition professionals to closely monitor collegiate athletes and provide evidence supporting the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet for female collegiate athletes.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardMultilevel Risk Profiles and Reproductive Health across Adolescence and Young Adulthood
In this United States, rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy are highest among adolescents and young adults, making prevention programs to this group particularly important. Vasilenko propose the use and integration of two innovative analytic methods, the time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) and latent class analysis (LCA). The first aim of this project will elucidate age trends in SRH outcomes (e.g., sexual risk behaviors, STIs) across adolescence through young adulthood at the population level, including differences among demographic subgroups. Vasilenko will also examine how profiles of multilevel early risk and age-varying individual factors predict sexual, reproductive, and SRH outcomes across adolescence through young adulthood. Results will allow prevention scientists to design interventions targeting the most relevant risk factors at particular ages for specific subgroups.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardPublic health professor’s patented mosquito control device supports disease prevention
David Larsen, associate professor at Syracuse University’s Falk College, invented a newly patented technology with colleagues from SUNY Upstate Medical University and Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. The technology is a bait station that kills the Aedes aegypti mosquito, that spreads Zika, dengue fever, and other diseases. The mosquito originated in Eastern Africa, but is now found in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. U.S. patent number 10,470,084 is co-owned by Syracuse University and two other universities.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardSpirituality and Prosocial Values in the Absence of Religion Among Millennials and Their Families
Approximately one-third of millennials and post-millennials—young adults born 1981 and later—profess to have no connection to religion, according to the Pew Research Center. Yet evidence points to their strengthened humanitarian values and prominent spirituality. The degree to which religion is decoupled from prosocial goals and spirituality in contemporary young adults is one of many research questions to be addressed in the project.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardDessa Bergen-Cico Receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Thailand and Cambodia for Research on Mindfulness for Addiction Recovery
The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board are pleased to announce that Dessa Bergen-Cico, Professor of Public Health at Syracuse University has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Thailand and Cambodia for her public health research Mindfulness in the Mekong. Dr. Bergen-Cico will research the use of Buddhist practices and mindfulness for recovery from addiction and traumatic stress in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardGangamma leads study, strengthens mental health services in local refugee community
To help create culturally-informed practices of care, as well as fill a crucial gap in services to promote refugee health, Falk College at Syracuse University and The Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters (MAMI) will collaborate to develop a training module for interpreters and psychotherapists. They will work specifically with resettled refugees in Syracuse, New York.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardEarly Identification of Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults Living at Home
A recently launched pilot project to screen for cognitive decline as part of routine community health services currently offered to older adults is expected to demonstrate the benefits of early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias (AD/D). One major benefit is the potential of keeping Syracuse-area adults aged 65 and older healthy and safe in their homes for as long as possible.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardUpstate New York – Unfamiliar Territory: Evaluating the Impact of Health Care Reforms on Behavioral Health Care Providers in Rural Upstate New York
Matthew Spitzmueller, assistant professor in the School of Social Work in Falk College, has been selected to participate in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) leadership development programs designed to equip leaders across the country—in every sector and field—to collaborate, break down silos, and use their influence to make communities healthier and more equitable.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardLarsen continues research related to malaria control in Zambia
Assistant professor of public health, David Larsen, is the principal investigator for a trial comparing different spray strategies to control malaria vectors in Zambia, funded by the President’s Malaria Initiative for $75,115. He is also co-investigator for a trial comparing different health system strategies to eliminate the malaria parasite reservoir in humans in Zambia, funded by the Gates Foundation. In addition to these two trials David is working with Dr. Rick Welsh on the problem of mosquito net fishing, how it impacts livelihoods, food systems, and malaria control.
Learn more about this research.
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.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardKenneth Corvo receives grant for research, writing on domestic violence theory, policy
School of Social Work associate professor, Dr. Kenneth Corvo, has received a three-year, $50,000 grant from the Frederick H. Leonhardt (FHL) Foundation. This latest grant from the FHL Foundation follows Dr. Corvo’s decade-long professional collaboration with Frederick Leonhardt, foundation president and a former therapist. The grant award supports Dr. Corvo’s research and writing in the area of theory development in domestic violence and includes the publishing of academic articles on domestic violence theory and policy, the presentation of conference papers, and collaboration with other national and international experts in the field.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardRacial Differences in Arterial Stiffness and Cerebral Function
Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health, Brooks Gump is a co-investigator working with primary investigator, Kevin Heffernan and co-investigator Tiago Barreira from the Falk College department of Exercise Science on the project Racial Differences in Arterial Stiffness and Cerebral Function funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities/NIH/DHHS for $154,000. There are well documented racial differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, including hypertension, heart attacks, and strokes. These CVD risks are associated with underlying racial differences in systemic vascular functioning that may manifest as subclinical changes early in life. Recent evidence suggests that these vascular changes may have detrimental effects on the brain. The study will consider racial differences in vascular functioning and associated brain blood flow and cognitive functioning.
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 AwardResource Recovery at Small Farms using Anaerobic Digestion: A Viable Technology Education and Outreach Effort
Despite a significant number of animals on smaller dairy farms in New York State and the northeastern United States, the vast majority of research on the benefits of anaerobic digester (AD) technologies only relates to larger livestock farms. That is about to change thanks to a research award made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for the project, “Resource Recovery at Small Farms using Anaerobic Digestion: A Viable Technology Education and Outreach Effort.” Falk Family Endowed Professor of Food Studies and project co-investigator, Rick Welsh, will lead evaluation and assessment efforts that could help develop and extend appropriate AD technology for smaller livestock farms, especially dairy farms, to realize the substantial environmental benefits from greenhouse gas emission reductions, economic benefits from energy production, and health benefits from reducing pathogen loads on farm. Welsh is partnering with two environmental engineers from Clarkson University- Drs. Stefan Grimberg and Shane Rogers.
Learn more about this research.
Extramural AwardBuilding a Sport Participation Legacy Through the 2018 Winter Olympic Games
With final preparations underway for the 2018 Winter Olympics scheduled to begin February 9 in PyeongChang, South Korea, Falk College assistant professor of sport management, Jamie Jeeyoon Kim, is researching the negotiation of motivation and constraints in young people’s decision-making for tuning into the Winter Olympics. More importantly, her research investigates how watching the Winter Olympics affects the decision-making process for sport participation. Dr. Kim was awarded $18,000 as part of the International Olympic Committee’s advanced Olympic research grant for her project, “Building a Sport Participation Legacy Through the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.” She also received a Falk College Seed Grant for $7,500 grant for the project, “Building Korea’s Brand Personality and Equity with the Olympic Brand and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.”
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.
Extramural AwardVacationing and Health Study
Recent years have seen a decline in the American Vacation with many workers in the United States failing to fully utilize the paid time off from work that is available to them. The Vacationing and Health Study is a one-year project funded by Project Time Off that aims to examine the psychological, social, and physical well-being changes that occur as a result of vacationing as well as the potentially costly effects of not taking time off from work. The study consists of three appointments at Syracuse University. All three appointments involve a venous blood draw, questionnaires regarding stress and psychological functioning, a blood pressure and heart rate fluctuation reading, and body measurements (such as waist circumference) as well as a hair sample.
Learn more about this research.
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.
Learn more about this research.