SPHHS Teams Receive SPARC Seed Grants
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The offices of the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement have announced that 21 teams have been awarded a total of $577,000 in Strategic Partnerships to Advance Research and Creative activity (SPARC) seed grants, which are designed to empower creativity, support interdisciplinary collaborations, strengthen the campus’ areas of excellence, and, ultimately, attract external funding and bring other forms of recognition to UMass Amherst faculty.
SPARC seed grants are awarded across four tiers to teams of faculty members and librarians, with strong preference for teams that include members from at least two different schools/colleges within the university. The projects proposed by each team are expected to represent a new direction or aspect of interdisciplinary collaboration, align with one of the themes of interdisciplinary excellence, and generate significant and tangible outcomes that “spark” continued momentum in research and creative activity.
The SPARC fund was announced in December 2024 as a single program to streamline and replace the Interdisciplinary Research Grant (IRG) and Large-Scale Integrative Research Awards (LIRA) programs that were offered for the past two academic years. More information about SPARC can be found on the Provost’s Office site.
Included among the 21 teams are multiple groups featuring SPHHS faculty in leading and key roles on their respective projects. They include:
SPARC 1
To support conceptualization projects up to $10,000 that bring together new teams to pursue research and creative projects and develop new working themes. Strong preference was given to teams with no prior collaborations.
PRISM: Private Research Integration with Semantic Models
Team: Patrick Flaherty (Mathematics & Statistics), Zhengqing Ouyang (Biostatistics & Epidemiology), Denise Hershey (Libraries) and other key personnel from the Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences
SPARC 2
To support advanced collaborative projects up to $20,000 that lead to one or more interdisciplinary publications, an exhibition or the development of a proposal to pursue smaller external funding opportunities (including state, corporate, foundation or federal funding).
Evidence Mapping to Build a network of Evidence synthesis Researchers (EMBER)
Team: Jamie Hartmann-Boyce (Health Promotion & Policy), Eric Toole (Libraries) and key personnel from University Libraries, the College of Natural Sciences and the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
Sweeteners: Impact on Sweet Taste and Obesity in Kids
Team: Alissa Nolden (Food Science) and Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm (Nutrition)
Identifying Causal Relationships between Gene-Environment Interactions in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Team: Alicia Timme-Laragy (Environmental Health Sciences), Cassandra Spracklen (Biostatistics & Epidemiology) and other key personnel from IALS core facilities
Improving Mobility in Aging Adults with Wearable Robotics
Team: Meghan Huber (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering), Wouter Hoogkamer (Kinesiology), Douglas Martini (Kinesiology) and Sarah Roelker (Kinesiology)
Queering Menopause: Building Collaboration for Understanding Menopause Among Sexual and/or Gender Minority People
Team: Krystal Kittle (Health Promotion & Policy), Aline Gubrium (Health Promotion & Policy) and key personnel from the School of Public Health & Health Sciences, the College of Natural Sciences, and the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
SPARC 3
To support grant development projects up to $50,000 from foundations or federal agencies (average of $1 million+ in total costs per year for at least three years). Teams in this tier will be provided professional consultation and staff support from the Office for Research Development on creating a proposal for external funding. Applicants identified a target funding opportunity prior to applying.
Understanding Nursing Home Closures and Reducing Mortality and Other Adverse Outcomes (UNHARM)
Team: Michael Lepore (Nursing), Joohyun Chung (Nursing) and other key personnel from the College of Education, the School of Public Health & Health Sciences and the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
Disease Ecology and Evolution of Microbial Transmission between Nonhuman Primates, Bats and People
Team: Jason Kamilar (Anthropology), Andrew Lover (Biostatistics & Epidemiology), Toni Lyn Morelli (Environmental Conservation) and Courtney Babbitt (Biology)
SPARC 4
To support proposals up to $75,000 for center-level funding or other large-scale grants from federal agencies (average of $3 million+ in total costs per year for at least five years). Teams in this tier will be provided with professional consultation and staff support from the Office for Research Development on creating a proposal for external funding. Applicants identified a target funding opportunity prior to applying.
The Center for Systems Intervention Research: Building the Evidence on System-level Solutions to Improve Population Health
Team: Thomas Mackie (Health Promotion & Policy) and other key personnel from the University Libraries, the School of Public Health & Health Sciences and the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
The Center of Excellence to Improve Food and Nutrition Security in Western Mass
Team: Hang Xiao (Food Science) and other key personnel from the College of Natural Sciences, the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, and the Isenberg School of Management