Posted September 29, 2017 by Ashley Washburn
Two University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members have been awarded 2017 pilot program grants from the Great Plains IDeA-Clinical and Translational Research Network at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The goal of GP IDeA-CTR, administered through a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant, is to develop successful investigators in clinical translational research. Awardees receive partial salary support and up to $50,000 to support preliminary research efforts for up to two years. Learn more about this nearly $20 million research effort.
Nebraska’s recipients include Debra Hope, professor of psychology, and Jung Yul Lim, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering.
Hope is using a community-based participatory research model to investigate mental health practices in underserved transgender communities. She is gathering perspectives from individuals and providers and using that information to inform principles of care, and conducting a psychometric evaluation of an assessment tool. Hope is conducting her research with Trans Collaborations, a research collaborative founded by Richard Mocarski, director of sponsored programs and research development at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Nathan Woodruff, chairman of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network’s community advisory board.
Lim’s research focuses on peripheral nerve injury that accompanies reduced motor function and sensory perception, which can cause several neuropathies. He is examining the effect of graphene substrate culture on the growth and differentiation of Schwann cells that induce regrowth and myelination in injured nerves. Lim’s goal is to use graphene materials to develop nerve guidance conduits that are capable of regenerating nerves. He is collaborating with Alexander Sinitskii, associate professor of chemistry at Nebraska.
For more information about future funding opportunities, visit the GP-IDeA website.