Research Projects & Awards
Current R01 Projects
The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) highly sought Research Project grant — commonly known as the ‘R01’ — is one of the most competitive grants in health-related research. In 2018, less than 18% of applications for R01 grants received funding.
For this reason, the UNC School of Nursing is especially proud that a number of our researchers’ innovative projects have been chosen by the NIH to receive R01 grant awards. With long-term vision and results-oriented project design, our faculty are leading in the creation of new knowledge and development of best practices that improve the quality of life for individuals across the lifespan.
A Safer Assisted Living: Creating a Toolkit for Person and Family Engagement
Principal Investigator: Anna Beeber, PhD, RN, FAAN
Funded by: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Many aging individuals and their families choose assisted living communities for a variety of support services: round-the-clock supervision, meal preparation, assistance with personal care and medication management. Assisted living care can help individuals remain as independent as possible as they age and require more support. However, it is a common challenge for assisted living communities to support residents’ independence and equally maintain their safety. One way to achieve this balance is through encouraging engagement by the resident and family in their care.
The primary focus of the Engage study, developed and directed by Anna Beeber, is to create a toolkit that helps residents and families to get more involved in assisted living care. The study also explores how to make this toolkit usable by assisted living providers. The Engage toolkit is designed around person and family engagement (PFE), which enables assisted living communities to proactively partner with residents and their families to enhance the safety of their living environments.
Healthy Mothers-Healthy Children: An Intervention with Hispanic Mothers and their Young Children
Principle Investigator: Diane Berry, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Funded by: National Institute for Nursing Research
While it is well documented that obesity contributes to cardiometabolic disease and other chronic illnesses, little has been done to find real-world approaches to reducing obesity that work best for Hispanic women and their children. Practical solutions to confront the health risks associated with obesity are urgently needed to decrease morbidity and mortality, and to reduce health care costs for a population that already faces devastating health inequities.
Diane Berry’s 12-week community-based program for local Hispanic women and their 3-5-year-old children provides relatable nutrition and exercise education, ways to increase physical activity at home and training for developing healthy coping mechanisms to manage stress. This study could lead to an easy-to-replicate intervention that communities could implement within their Hispanic populations to help mothers maintain a healthy weight and change the trajectory for children at risk of becoming obese.
The Harmony Study – A culturally-relevant, randomized-controlled, stress management intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risk in African American
Principal Investigator: Cheryl Woods Giscombe, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, FAAN
Funded by: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
African American women have disproportionately high rates of disability and death from chronic cardiometabolic illnesses — including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke — compared to other groups of women in the U.S. Gender- and race-specific factors that lead to elevated risk for cardiometabolic illnesses have been historically understudied for African American women, and Giscombe and her team are setting out to change that.
This study for African American women with elevated cardiometabolic risk — those who are overweight or have a family history, for example — will test how culturally relevant social support, stress management and mindfulness tools will reduce their risk before they actually develop the disease. By addressing factors that may impact their risk, and helping participants develop healthier eating habits and increase physical activity, this project could ultimately lead to cardiometabolic risk reduction and better health outcomes for African American women.
NC Works4Health: Reducing Chronic Disease Risks in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, Unemployed Populations
Principal Investigator: Shawn M. Kneipp, PhD, RN, ANP, PHNA-BC, FAANP
Funded by: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Health disparities faced by those living in poverty can be exacerbated by the realities of unemployment — a period of stress and worry that can trigger a host of unhealthy coping mechanisms. These behaviors can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and psychological distress, which are all common risk factors for the development of chronic diseases.
Shawn Kneipp is revising existing prevention programs that can be paired with employment assistance programs and job placement services and developing ways employers can make a positive impact on the health of vulnerable employees. In partnership with key stakeholders across health, social service, employment, and economic development sectors, findings from this study will not only advance the science of chronic disease prevention for this vulnerable target population, but also inform public health and community efforts to address social determinants of health and reduce the burden of chronic disease.
Genetic and Epigenetic Effects on Childhood Cognitive Trajectories
Principal Investigator: Hudson Santos, PhD, RN
Funded by: National Institute of Nursing Research
Children born extremely preterm exhibit much higher rates of cognitive function impairment— such as trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating or making decisions — during early childhood and through to adulthood when compared to those born full-term. Ranging from mild to severe, cognitive function impairment can significantly impact an individual’s day-to-day life.
Hudson Santos’s study will examine relationships among gene variants, DNA methylation, neonatal inflammation and developmental trajectories of cognitive function in extremely preterm children from ages 2 to 17 years. This study will be among the first to identify genetic and epigenetic factors that can be used to determine a child’s risk level, as well as molecular processes that can be the targets of early risk-mitigating interventions to improve quality of life for children born extremely preterm.
Efficacy of a Couple-focused, Tailored, Symptom Self-Management mHealth Intervention for Prostate Cancer Patients and Partners
Principal Investigator: Lixin Song, PhD, RN, FAAN
Funded by: National Institutes of Nursing Research
Curative treatment for prostate cancer may save lives, but its side effects can be hard on the quality of life of both the patients and their intimate partners. Survivors may experience urinary, sexual, bowel and hormonal problems, general distress, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances — which can disrupt intimacy and create stress for both survivors and partners. As partners are often also caregivers, including their participation in survivorship care is vital to the couple’s quality of life.
Lixin Song sought to create an online, couple-focused program as a convenient, cost-effective way for couples to develop strategies together that can help them manage the negative effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Song’s interdisciplinary team is pilot-testing the efficacy of an evidence-based, tailored mobile health (mHealth) intervention that could serve as a model everywhere for couples facing other types of chronic illnesses as they work to maintain strong relationships and regain their quality of life as a team.
Symptom Trajectories in Infants and Toddlers at Risk for Chronic Feeding Problems
Principal Investigator: Suzanne Thoyre, PhD, RN, FAAN
Funded by: National Institutes of Nursing Research
It is not uncommon for infants who spend time in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) — whether due to illness or prematurity — to struggle with developmental complications such as feeding. For some, that problematic feeding issue will escalate into a full-blown chronic feeding disorder that continues into childhood and jeopardizes health. Detecting symptoms indicative of a disorder early on and finding ways to manage those symptoms could improve outcomes.
Suzanne Thoyre is working to identify and recognize the early signs of feeding disorders before they progress into worsening problems. By following a group of former NICU babies for two years, and assessing their feeding skills, behaviors and family environments, she is finding the link between early symptoms of problematic feeding and the subsequent behaviors that signal a disorder. Such discovery will lead to targeted interventions that can bypass bigger problems before they start and improve the health outcomes for these children.
Connect-Home: Testing the Efficacy of Transitional Care of Patients and Caregivers during Transitions from Skilled Nursing Facilities to Home
Principal Investigator: Mark Toles, PhD, RN, FAAN
Funded by: National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health
Each year, 1.6 million older adults receive care in a hospital, followed by a short stay in a nursing home. After the transition back home, these patients and their caregivers often lack the knowledge, skill and support required to manage the older adults’ serious illnesses. It is no surprise that about half of these individuals return to the hospital or die within three months.
Mark Toles’ research suggests that more intentional care surrounding the transition to home-based care saves lives. Toles is conducting a randomized and controlled trial of his successfully piloted Connect-Home intervention in nursing homes and home care offices across North Carolina. Connect-Home includes creating an individualized transition care plan and implementing the plan at home. This intervention has the potential to improve the lives of seriously ill older adults and reduce the burdens on caregivers.
Promoting stretching exercise to reduce cardiovascular health risk in late pregnant women with obesity
Principal Investigator: SeonAe Yeo, PhD, RN, FAAN
Funded by: National Institute for Nursing Research
For most pregnant women, regular aerobic exercise — as much as 30 minutes, five days a week — is a recommended part of a healthy pregnancy. In fact, a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy can put both mother and baby at risk for complications such as preeclampsia, which is a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease later in life. However, due to fatigue and discomfort, exercise naturally becomes more difficult in the later months of pregnancy.
SeonAe Yeo’s project tests how stretching exercises may be the key to promoting health and preventing complications when pregnant women are starting to feel less mobile. In sedentary, overweight pregnant women with a history of preeclampsia, 10 or more weeks of stretching exercise reduced their risk of preeclampsia by lowering blood pressure and enhancing antioxidant uptake. As many pregnant women from underserved groups are at risk for obesity, stretching exercise is a practical, cost-effective prenatal regimen they can stick with.
Currently Funded Research
External Funding
Principal Investigator | Project Ttitle | |
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Dr. Ruth Anderson | Care-Partner Assisted Intervention to Improve Oral Health for Individuals with Mild Dementia | NYU/NIH/NIDCR |
Dr. Ruth Anderson | The Influence of Context on Implementation and Improvement (ICII) project | Subcontract: University of Alberta |
Dr. Ruth Anderson | Optimizing Antimicrobial Use in Maintenance Dialysis Units (OPTIMUS) | Subcontract: Rhode Isand Hopsital |
Dr. Anna Beeber | A Safer Assisted Living: Creating a Toolkit for Person and Family Engagement | AHRQ |
Dr. Linda Beeber | Improving Maternal and Child Outcomes for Vulnerable Infants, Toddlers and Families: National Implementation of a Mental Health Innovation (MHI) to the Nurse Family Partnership | Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation |
Dr. Diane Berry | Healthy Mothers-Healthy Children: An Intervention with Hispanic Mothers and their Young Children | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Diane Berry and Kim Boggess | Medical Optimization and Management of Pregnancies with Overt Type 2 Diabetes (MOMPOD) | NIH/NICHD |
Dr. Diane Berry | War of Attrition: Predicting dropout from pediatric weight management - UNC Subcontract | Subcontract: Wake Forest University |
Dr. Jada Brooks | Inflammatory Markers, Hazardous Air Pollutants, and Psychosocial Factors | NIH/NIEHS |
Dr. Jada Brooks | Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and the Occurrence of Hypertension in American Indians: The Strong Heart Study | Subcontract: Washington University in St. Louis |
Dr. Ashley Bryant | Diversity Supplement to Care-Partner Assisted Intervention to Improve Oral Health for Individuals with Mild Dementia | NYU/NIH/NICDR |
Dr. Yamnia Cortes | Reducing Cardiovascular Risk in Perimenopausal Latinas: Pilot Study of a Multi- Component Intervention | NIH/NIMHD |
Dr. Louise Fleming | Development of an Adrenal Crisis Prevention Mobile Health Application - A Pilot Study | Pediatric Endocrine Nursing Society/ Multi-Center Research Grant |
Dr. Cheryl Giscombe | THE HARMONY Study - A culturally-relevant, randomized-controlled, stress management intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risk in African American women | NIH/NIMHD |
Dr. Cheryl Jones | HeartHome™: A Nurse-Driven, Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program to Reduce Health Disparities for Cardiac Patients Living in Rural and Underserved Areas of the Carolinas | The Duke Endowment |
Dr. Saif Khairat | Overcoming the Barriers to Clinical Trial Recruitment through Teleconsent | Subcontract: Medical Univeristy of South Carolina |
Dr. Shawn Kneipp | NC Works4Health: Reducing Chronic Disease Risks in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, Unemployed Populations | NIH/NIMHD |
Dr. Jennifer Leeman and C. Samuel-Hodge | Taking the Med-South Lifestyle Program to Scale, Center for Health Promotion Disease Prevention Core Project | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
Dr. Jennifer Leeman and Allison Brenner | Comprehensive Cancer Control Collaborative of North Carolina (4CNC) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
Dr. Barbara Mark | Enhancing Nursing Care Reliability in Neonatal Intensive Care | Subcontract: Ohio State University |
Dr. Deborah Mayer | Effectiveness trial of a head and neck cancer survivorship tool | Subcontract: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
Dr. Sheila Santacroce | Interventions for Preventing and Managing Chronic Illness | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Hudson Santos | Placental DNA Methylation, Maternal Hardship and Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Hudson Santos | Placental Origins of Positive Child Health | NIH/NICHD |
Dr. Hudson Santos | Genetic and Epigenetic Effects on Childhood Cognitive Trajectories | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Patricia Silveyra | Sex Based Differences in Airway Structural Properties and Immune Response in HDM Challenged Animals | NIH/NHLBI |
Dr. Patricia Silveyra | Sex differences in ozone-induced asthma exacerbations: role of the microbiome | CEHS Pilot Projects Program |
Dr. Lixin Song | SCH: INT: AURA - Connecting Audio and Radio Sensing Systems to Improve Care at Home | NIH |
Dr. Lixin (Lee) Song | Testing the Efficacy of a Couple-focused, Tailored mHealth Intervention for Symptom Self-Management among Men with Prostate Cancer and Their Partners | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Lixin (MPI) Song | Feasibility Testing of Patient Reported Outcomes-informed Caregiving Education and Symptom management System (PROCESS): | Subcontract: Mayo Clinic |
Dr. Sandra Soto | Optimizing a dyadic physical activity intervention for Hispanics with osteoarthritis and their physical activity supporter | NIH/NIMHD |
Dr. Suzanne Thoyre | Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Oral Feeding in Infants with Complex Congenital Heart Disease | Subcontract: Ohio State University |
Dr. Sue Thoyre | Symptom Trajectories in Infants and Toddlers at Risk for Chronic Feeding Problems | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Mark Toles | Connect-Home: Testing the Efficacy of Transitional Care of Patients and Caregivers during Transitions from Skilled Nursing Facilities to Home | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Mark Toles | Adapting Connect-Home Transitional Care to Fit the Unique Needs of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias and their Caregivers: A Pilot Study | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Jessica Williams | Longitudinal Prescription Opioid Use among Patients Experiencing Interpersonal Violence | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Injury Prevention Research Center |
Dr. Jia-Rong Wu | Vitamin C Supplementation Intervention for Patients with Heart Failure: A pilot study | Sigma Theta Tau International |
Dr. Rose Mary Xavier | Unraveling Functional Mechanisms of Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms Using Predicted Gene expression Profiles | Sigma Theta Tau International |
Dr. Rose Mary Xavier | Data-driven Identification of Neurobiologically Informed Psychosis Symptom Profiles and Subject Groups | Rockefeller University/Heilbrunn |
Dr. Seonae Yeo | Promoting stretching exercise to reduce cardiovascular health risk in late pregnant women with obesity | NIH/NINR |
Dr. Jessica Zegre-Hemsey | Center for Physiological Research Subcontract | Subcontract: University of California San Francisco |
Dr. Jessica Zegre-Hemsey | Patient-reported Symptoms of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Prehospital Cardiac Care | NIH/NINR |
Subcontract Funding
Co-Investigaor | Project Title |
---|---|
Dr. Deborah Mayer | Effectiveness trial of a head and neck cancer survivorship tool |
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Funding
Principal Investigaor | Project Title |
---|---|
Dr. Ashley Bryant | Feasibility of Novel Symptom Management and Supportive Care Intervention for Acute Myeloid Leukemia |
Dr. Lixin Song | Feasibility Testing of Patient Reported Outcomes-informed Caregiving Education and Symptom management System (PROCESS): A Personalized mHealth Program for Cancer Symptom and Complication Management, |
Internal Funding
Principal Investigator | Project Ttitle | |
---|---|---|
Dr. Jada Brooks | Engaging Community Stakeholders in the Formative Stage to Design Culturally-Appropriate Studies Aimed at Promoting Health Equity in American Indian Communities | NC TRACS |
Dr. Yamnia Cortes | Menopausia, Salud, Corazón: A Multi-Component Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in Perimenopausal Latinas | Junior Faculty Development Award/Office of the Provost |
Dr. Yamnia Cortes | Reproductive hormones as risk factors for progression of carotid plaque burden and characteristics | NC TRACS |
Dr. Rachel Hirschey | African American Cancer Survivor Engagement to Develop a Physical Activity Intervention | Oncology Nursing Foundation |
Dr. Eric Hodges | Intervention mapping for a novel obesity prevention trial during infancy | NC TRACS |
Dr. Saif Khairat | SOM/Pilot Award | Center for Health Innovation, School of Medicine, UNC |
Dr. Marcia Van Riper | Family Management of Sleep Problems in Children with Down syndrome | UNC Sleep Innovation Research Program |
Dr. Marcia Van Riper | Families and Congenital Heart Disease: Family Adaptation in Three Groups of Families | Dhillon Jordon Shar Innovation Fund in CHD |
Dr. Patricia Silveyra | Sex differences in allergic lung inflammation: transcriptional regulation by sex hormones | Junior Faculty Development Award/Office of the Provost |
PhD Student Funding
Principal Investigator | Project Ttitle | |
---|---|---|
Adynski | Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation | Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation |
Martha Grace Cromeens | Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation | Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation |
Martha Grace Cromeens | Pathways to Diagnosis Among a Diverse Sample of Women with Endometriosis | Sigma Theta Tau International |
Martha Grace Cromeens | Pathways to Diagnosis of Endometriosis among Women of Different Socioeconomic Statuses and Races | NIH/NINR |
Martha Grace Cromeens | Qualitative Inquiry into the Pathways to Diagnosis of Endometriosis Across a Diverse Sample of Women | American Nurses Foundation |
Tyra Girdwood | Discovering Pediatric to Adult Health Care Transition Readiness: A Comparison between Child and Parent/Caregiver Perspectives within the Cystic Fibrosis Community | Cystic Fibrosis Foundation |
Sherita House | Healthcare Providers’ Relational Coordination, Job Satisfaction, and Retention | TriService Nursing Research Program |
Ya-Ning Chan | Chemotherapy-related Cognitive Impairment in Adults with Acute Leukemia | ACS |