The Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation announces the call for proposals for 2025 faculty seed grants. Proposals from campus groups with teams comprised of one faculty member from both the College of Engineering and Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at UMass Amherst will be accepted until February 7, 2025.
Nurse-engineer teams funded in past years demonstrate ideas that can develop from two viewpoints, a nurse and an engineer, on one issue. From improving materials that hold heat to increase patient body temperature to understanding transportation barriers' impact on the maternal health of Black mothers and using tablet technology to provide interventions for Chinese Older adults with osteoarthritis, projects connect with community issues to build towards improvements that can be foundations for change.
The competitive grant program has funded eleven grants of $15,000 each since 2022 and one joint-funded grant with the Institute of Diversity Sciences at UMass for $25,000. A generous donation received by the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation makes these grants possible.
In addition to funding projects in their beginning stages, projects can also pilot components used when submitting for future National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. “Funding projects in their early stages (the pilot phase of their development), means we are unlocking possibilities for research that may not have been possible with the scope and pacing if it were not for this funding. Most researchers use this funding to support undergraduate and graduate level researchers to join their teams, creating a training space for students to develop their research skills,” shared Frank Sup Center, Co-Director and Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UMass Amherst.
“The ability to strengthen the skills of UMass students as researchers is a valuable part of this funding, we aren’t just funding projects, we are funding the future of research and healthcare change”, said Karen K. Giuliano Center Co-Director and Professor in the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.
Projects receive funding for use over 12 months. Funding disperses in May with projects starting thereafter.
For additional details on grant specifications, see this page.