October 19, 2018

This fall, The Ohio State University College of Nursing received a total of over $9 million in new grant funding for research from a variety of prestigious institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Cancer Society, the Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and others.

“Three of these awards are particularly significant as the proposed studies are part of exciting and important interdisciplinary work led by College of Nursing faculty who are early stage investigators, which means that they are receiving their first R01 or equivalent research grant. The future looks bright for nursing and transdisciplinary science in our college,” stated Mary Beth Happ, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, associate dean for research and innovation in The Ohio State University College of Nursing.

NIH funds College of Nursing research

The National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH/NINR) awarded a $191 K grant to Tondi Harrison, PhD, RN,FAAN, (PI) to fund an administrative supplement to the study, “Behavioral and physiological responses to oral feeding in infants with complex congenital heart disease.” The supplement, from NIH’s INCLUDE program (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down SyndromE), will support the addition of infants who have both Down syndrome and congenital heart disease to the study. Harrison is an associate professor in the College of Nursing.

The NIH/NINR also awarded a $423 K, three-year career development grant to Shannon Gillespie, PhD, RN, assistant professor, Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children & Youth. Her study, “Maternal Immune Responsiveness as Clinical Target for Preterm Birth Prevention” (The MIRACL Study) will test a novel method of identifying women at risk for inflammatory preterm birth and determining whether specific preventive interventions are likely to offer benefit during the pregnancy.

Recent grants from the NIH also include a $3.3 million NIH/NIA R01 to Todd Monroe, PhD, RN-BC, FNAP, FGSA, FAAN, (PI); a $2.8 million NIH/NIA R01 to Jodi McDaniel, PhD, RN, (PI) and colleagues, and a $1.8 million NIH/NINR R01 to Carmen Giurgescu, PhD, RN, WHNP, and colleagues at Wayne State University.

“All of our new NIH funding provides evidence of the fantastic cutting-edge research being conducted by our nationally renowned faculty and the terrific research infrastructure that is provided by our college so that our faculty can achieve their dreams and produce major positive impact through their work,” stated Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean and professor in the College of Nursing.

Other prestigious institutions support College of Nursing research

The American Cancer Society awarded a five-year, $1.7 million grant to Jennifer Kue, PhD, for the Intergenerational Refugee and Immigrant Cancer Screening Project.

The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners awarded a foundation grant to Assistant Professor Lisa Kinsella Militello, PhD, MPH, RN, CPNP, to fund the study, “A Solution-Focused Approach: What Low-Income Parents with Young Children Need from Stress-Regulation Smartphone Apps.” IT Project Scientist Emre Sezgin, PhD, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital is a co-investigator on the project.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation awarded a grant to Pam Lusk, DNP, RN, FAANP, clinical associate professor, for the study, “Integrating Adolescent Substance Abuse Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) throughout Social Work and Nursing Education.”

The Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation awarded grants to  Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, (PI) and colleagues and  Laureen Smith, PhD, RN, FAAN, (PI) and colleagues.