Second quarter research grants top $22 million
Published on Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Danny Barrett Jr., dlbarrett@umc.edu
Training the next generation of physicians to work in the state’s rural communities and building vital infrastructure was the basis of grants awarded to the Medical Center from October through December 2024.
Faculty and staff received 64 grants and awards in the second quarter of FY 2025 totaling more than $22.6 million.
Two awards from the Health Resources and Services Administration made up the two largest of 64 competitive funding awards for the quarter, at $7.5 million combined. One is to construct a new Mississippi Burn Center in the Batson Tower and the other to build a new psychiatric emergency services unit in the former Children’s Circle Tower.
The burn unit is expected to open this spring and provide a specialized environment for both pediatric and adult patients. The 10-bed psych unit for adolescents is tentatively slated to take patients in January 2026.
Dr. Loretta Jackson-Williams, vice dean of the School of Medicine, received $3.9 million from HRSA for the Value-Based Medical Student Education Training Program. The project developed with the grant, IMPACT the RACE, aims to improve primary care in rural communities through various strategies including hands-on training in actual rural settings.
“Ultimately, the project will increase primary care physicians throughout rural communities in Mississippi and provide foundational knowledge of rural communities for all physicians who complete the educational program,” said Jackson-Williams. “This work has been accomplished through the provision of exemplary education, hands-on training, and exposure to rural communities while all medical students are in the educational program.”
Additional sponsored programs in the top five grants during the second quarter were a study by Dr. April Carson on water contaminants and cardiovascular health, part of the Jackson Heart Study, funded at $1.09 million by the National Institutes of Health, and a study by Dr. Abigail Gamble on advancing health equity in diabetes care and prevention, part of the Mississippi Diabetes Project, funded at $1 million per year for five years by the Department of Health and Human Services via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latter project evaluates evidence-based strategies in real-world settings to enhance diabetes prevention and control in the state.
“The project aims to maximize tools like telehealth and similar communications systems that address barriers to medical and non-medical care,” said Gamble. “The goals of this project are at the heart of the Department of Preventive Medicine’s mission, which serves the educational, research and health care missions of the School of Medicine and John D. Bower School of Population Health.”
Rounding out the top 10 funded grants for the quarter were:
Dr. Gwen Windham, director of the Neuro-Epidemiology Core at the MIND Center, received $921,232 for the field center for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. April Carson, director of the Jackson Heart Study, received a $890,032 for a study on blood pressure and ADRD in African Americans, part of the long-running study, from the National Institutes of Health and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Calandrea Taylor, licensed professional counselor in the Department of Medicine, received $749,995 for screening and treatment for the Maternal Depression and related Behavioral Disorders program from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Dr. Kevin Sullivan, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and member of the Neuro-Epidemiology Core at the MIND Center, received $662,839 for a study on the long-term effects of hearing intervention on brain health, part of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized study, from the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Sarah Faucette, assistant professor of audiology in the Department of Otolaryngology, received $485,491 for a randomized trial on telehealth vs. conventional hearing care delivery, part of the ACHIEVE study, from the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University.