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School of Public Health Nets $1.7 Million in Stimulus Grants

08/21/2009

Better understanding of Parkinson's disease.

Prevention of chlamydial infection.

Connections between oral HPV and head and neck cancers.

More opportunities for minority undergrads who want to do science research.

All of these School of Public Health projects have recently received funding thanks to the federal stimulus package President Obama signed in February. The package contained extensive funding for science, engineering, education, social sciences, and the arts. By August 1, UW researchers had submitted 1,107 grant proposals requesting more than $800 million for research and graduate training.

One hundred eight of these proposals have been from School of Public Health principal investigators, and at least 100 more involve SPH personnel as co-investigators, consultants, and post-docs.

To date, the School has received eight awards for more than $1.7 million. Associate Dean for Research Emily White notes that one entire program has yet to announce its grant decisions, so we fully expect to see more awards soon. We'll keep you posted.

Some highlights:

  • In the US, 60,000 people a year are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Is there an association with the herbicide Paraquat? Do people taking aspirin and other NSAIDs have lower rates of Parkinson's? In separate studies, Zhengui Xia and Harvey Checkoway will look for new clues to the causes of this motor system disorder.
  • Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterial STDs around the world and the most prevalent STD in the US (3–4 million cases a year), yet we have no effective vaccines. Lee Ann Campbell's lab will study a new possibility for preventing chlamydial infection.
  • Head and neck cancers are on the rise in the US, especially among men, and human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated in up to a third of the cases. Laura Koutsky, co-developer of the cervical cancer-HPV vaccine, will look for connections.
  • The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences has an active research program for outstanding undergrads from disadvantaged or under-represented groups. With their NIH award, they'll be able to take more trainees and add a faculty member to the program.

Biostatistics

Bruce Weir: Genome-Wide Association Coordinating Center

Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

Harvey Checkoway: Risk of Parkinson's Disease Associated with Aspirin and Other NSAIDs

Dave Kalman: Undergraduate Summer Research Experience in Environmental Health Sciences

Zhengui Xia: Paraquat Science Education Supplement

Epidemiology

Annette Fitzpatrick: Neurologic Manifestations of Cerebrovascular Disease in Da Nang, Viet Nam

Lee Ann Campbell: Anti-Adhesive Prevention Of Chlamydia trachomatis Genital Tract Infection

Laura Koutsky: HPV Oral-Pharyngeal Study in Young Men

Health Services

Peggy Hannon: Disseminating Workplace Health Promotion: Expanding Reach to Employees' Spouses and Partners

You can read more about ARRA and research at UW here: http://www.washington.edu/research/gca/recovery/