In a highly competitive selection process, Dr. Lizbeth Gaona, Assistant Professor at the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (CBSS), was chosen to attend the Center for Health Equity Research Institute (CHER) this June to continue her clinical research that would support identifying beneficial interventions for minorities and underserved children, youth, and adults who are receiving mental health services due to engaging in self-harm behaviors (SHB) or suicide ideation (SI).

The Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) — located in the College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) — promotes health equity by engaging researchers and community partners in conducting rigorous and innovative public health research. The CHER Institute is a six-day, intensive research training experience which, “enhances the readiness of early career faculty at minority-serving institutions across the United States to conduct community-based, social, and health behavior research and to increase their representation among National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded investigators,” as stated on their website. After the Institute, Dr. Gaona will be a CHER Fellow, joining the ranks of previous CHER Institute research scholars from around the country.

Charles Lee-Johnson, D.Min. (Associate Dean, Division of Social Work, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences) and the Master of Social Work program were awarded a $25,000 grant from Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) Health Careers Exploration Program for their project Be the Difference: Mental Health Matters. This project seeks to engage underrepresented high school and community college students to provide mentoring in behavioral health.

Dr. Juliann Perdue, Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Program Effectiveness of the College of Nursing (CON), is a grant recipient of the 2021 Song Brown Program of the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) for Registered Nursing. Song-Brown’s $384,000 funding will enable CON to expand programs for underrepresented students admitted into the BSN program.

Dr. Robert LaChausse, Professor of Public Health, has been awarded a DFC (Drug-Free Communities) grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the eighth consecutive year. The DFC program aims to mobilize community leaders to identify and respond to the drug problems unique to their community and change local community environmental conditions tied to substance use. More than 700 community coalitions across the country receive funding up to $125,000 per year to strengthen the collaboration among local partners and create an infrastructure that reduces youth substance use.

Dr. Robert G. Crosby, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Dr. Erin Smith, Associate Professor of Psychology and Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Research have been awarded a grant of $30,000 by the Louisville Institute for their project “The Evaluation of a Brief Trauma-Informed (TIC) Training Program for Church Children’s Ministry Workers: Comparing the Effectiveness of Face-to-Face and Online Delivery Modalities”. They were one of 17 research teams selected to receive a 2022 Project Grant for Researchers (PGR). 

Important Changes to the NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)/R15 Program

As announced in guide notice NOT-OD-19-015, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has changed its approach to how it uses the R15 activity code.  The current AREA Parent Announcement, PA-18-504, expires after January 7, 2019.

Research enhancement opportunities will now be split between two distinct programs:

1. Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) will be reserved for grants to undergraduate-focused institutions that do not receive substantial funding from NIH; and
2. Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) that will support graduate schools of arts and sciences and health professional schools that grant baccalaureate or advanced degrees.

As background, the goals of the R15 program are to support meritorious research, expose students to research, and strengthen the research environment of an institution.

It is important to note that each funding opportunity announcement includes detailed program-specific eligibility information that supersedes any general information listed here.

Eligibility for the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program for undergraduate-focused institutions requires that:

• The applicant institution must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate degrees in biomedical sciences.
• At the time of application submission, all the non-health professional components of the institution together have not received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 federal fiscal years.*
• A signed letter is required from the Provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility verifying the eligibility of the applicant institution at the time of application submission. The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) will coordinate with the Office of the Provost to obtain the signed letter.

Organization eligibility for the Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) program for graduate schools and health professional schools require that:

• The applicant organization must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate or advanced degrees in health professions or advanced degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences.
• At the time of application submission, the applicant institution (all components)may not have received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 federal fiscal years.*
• A signed letter is required from the Provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility verifying the eligibility of the applicant institution at the time of application submission. The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) will coordinate with the Office of the Provost to obtain the signed letter.