September 2018 Awards

Xin Feng

Principal Investigator: Xin Feng
Project Dates: 09/01/2018-08/31/2020
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $411,218
Project Sponsor: National Institute of Child Health & Human Development

Maternal depression and the development of autobiographical memory in children

 

 


Principal Investigator: David Julian
Project Dates: 07/20/2018-06/30/2019
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $40,000
Project Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education

Head start collaboration


Principal Investigator: Claire Kamp Dush
Project Dates: 09/14/2018-04/30/2023
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $2,350,545
Project Sponsor: National Institute of Child Health & Human Development

Mechanisms underlying sexual minority health disparities in the United States

 

 


Alison Koenka

Principal Investigator: Alison Koenka
Project Dates: 09/01/2018-10/31/2018
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $8,000
Project Sponsor: New Venture Fund

Can a growth mindset intervention overcome persistent messages about the stability of intelligence?

 

 

 


Principal Investigator: Emily Phillips
Project Dates: 09/12/18 -09/11/19
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $15,000
Project Sponsor: National Strength and Conditioning Association

A study to examine the effects of resistance training on motor function, physical strength, body composition, bone density, mood, and cognition in adults with Down syndrome

Adult individuals with Down syndrome are an underserved population at great risk for a host of different pathologies from aging and lack of activity. Resistance training requires thought and precision, along with largely relying on neurological adaptations over time. Resistance training could be one modality that can significantly influence cognitive performance based on the evidence that there is a positive association between intellectually stimulating activities (ex. resistance training) and an increase in cognitive performance. The benefits of resistance training are very provocative and support the need for more study of this modality as a key intervention, as evidence as shown improvements in strength, balance, coordination, self-efficacy towards exercise, and greater independence in individuals with Down syndrome have been observed, but no study has explored resistance training’s effect on cognitive performance. This study is needed to better frame the importance of resistance training in this special population of individuals challenged with the most common genetic disorder. This study will enroll at least fifteen healthy adults with Down syndrome. Cognitive performance, mood, motor function, physical strength, body composition, and bone density will be measured before and after a 10-week non-linear periodized resistance exercise training intervention using cutting edge cognitive batteries specifically tailored for a wide range of severities of Down syndrome. Our primary hypothesis is that resistance training will improve cognition and mood in adults with Down syndrome. Our secondary hypothesis is that resistance training will improve motor function and physical strength in adults with Down syndrome. If our hypotheses are correct, then resistance training may provide a viable defense to prevent cognitive decline, enhance mood, better physiological markers, and improve motor function in a highly underserved special population of individuals with Down syndrome.


Principal Investigator: Michael Betz
Project Dates: 09/30/2018-09/29/2020
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $1,080,219
Project Sponsor: SAMHSA

Preventing opioid misuse and abuse in rural Ohio through enhanced family and community education and training

We will use funding from the ROTA grant to expand our project team’s existing Cooperative Extension intervention aimed at reducing opioid abuse in rural areas. Our existing project has two primary components. First, we are using the PROSPER (Promoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) curriculum delivery system to administer family- and school-based curricula to 6th and 7th grade students aimed at influencing factors linked to future substance use, initiation, and abuse. PROSPER is a framework for delivering evidence-based programs (EBPs) to families and schools, using partnerships created between the Cooperative Extension System and local community partners. Our current project uses the PROSPER system to deliver content in 3 rural Ohio counties under the USDA’s Rural Health, Safety, and Education (RHSE) grant. The ROTA grant will allow us to train an additional 6 community-based teams and connect them with experts at the Ohio State University to deliver EBPs aimed at reducing opioid abuse in 6 additional schools.


Carolyn Gunther

Principal Investigator: Carolyn Gunther
Project Dates: 09/01/2018-8/31/2023
Anticipated Total Award Amount:$640,000
Project Sponsor: NIFA

Southside simple suppers scale-up (S4): Expansion of a validated family meals program for at-risk children and youth

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends participation in family meals as a childhood obesity prevention strategy due to the protective effect of healthy mealtime routines on child diet and weight status. Unfortunately, parents face multiple barriers to establishing healthy family mealtime routines (e.g., limited nutrition knowledge and cooking/food preparation skills, and time and budget constraints). Unfortunately, to date, there are limited evidence-informed family meals curricula that equip parents/caregivers to overcome these barriers, particularly programs tailored to at-risk audiences. Our team has addressed this problem by developing a 10-week multi-component, multi-level family meals intervention study, Simple Suppers, aimed at eliciting positive changes in child dietary intake and health. In this CYFAR SCP project, our multi-disciplinary team proposes a 5 year scale-up project of the Simple Suppers program in Head Start centers located in multiple settings on the Southside of Columbus, Ohio where the city has identified an urgent need for such programming based on documented rates of poverty, drug abuse, and crime. The impact of this project— Southside Simple Suppers Scale-up (S4)—will be maximized in the short- and long-term by: 1): utilizing the CYFAR SCP national framework and knowledge network; 2) collaborating with established programmers doing complementary work in the area; 3) establishing an S4 advisory board; and 4) incorporating, expanding on existing neighborhood food and agriculture resources (e.g., urban gardens, towers). Our successful completion of the proposed project will set the stage to expand programming in other areas of high socioeconomic need in Ohio and surrounding states.