Awards and Recognition

Kirsten Newell, assistant professor of school psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology, has been awarded $1.25 million by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant is to develop and administer a personnel preparation program to build capacity for culturally and linguistically responsive research-based school psychological services for multilingual learners with, and at-risk for, learning disabilities. Project leadership also includes co-PI and co-director Amanda L. Sullivan, Birkmaier Educational Leadership Professor, and Indigenous specialist, Lisa Aguilar, assistant professor of school psychology.

Carol Cardona is quoted in a New York Times story about scientists using CRISPR to make chickens more resistant to bird flu; Oren Gross and Eric Schwartz are quoted in a KARE 11 story about major global implications of the Israel-Gaza war; Elizabeth Wrigley-Field is quoted in a Minnesota Reformer story about overdose deaths; Arshia Khan is quoted in a Star Tribune story about the rise of robots and smart technology in Minnesota's communities for older adults; Kevin Peterson is quoted in The Healthy story “Here’s How Naps Affect Your Blood Sugar;” Paul Vaaler co-authors a piece in The Conversation about how empire building has always come at an economic cost for Russia, from the days of the czars to Putin's Ukraine invasion; Christopher Terry is quoted in the Wired story “X's Sneaky New Ads Might Be Illegal;” Perry Moriearty is quoted in a St. Paul Pioneer Press story about making the case for mercy in front of the Minnesota Board of Pardons.

The University of Minnesota has received a $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative to support the groundbreaking project of unraveling the mysteries of the brain's ‘wiring diagram.’ Using cutting-edge techniques, this research aims to discover how the brain's neurons are connected and communicate with each other. The project, led by the University of Minnesota Medical School, aims to better understand how complex neural pathways generate human behaviors.

The Office of the Vice President for Research has announced the recipients of the Innovation Impact Case Award, which recognizes University of Minnesota research that has had significant impact outside of academia. This year’s winners, Devaleena Das and Sarah Huebner, who each received an award of $10,000, engage the public to make our world a better, more responsive and responsible place. The award winners and honorable mention Lucinda Johnson were honored at a luncheon with Vice President for Research Shashank Priya at the Campus Club on Oct. 2.

Marlene Zuk is quoted in a New York Times story about a study suggesting that same-sex behavior evolved in many mammals to reduce conflict; John Thull is interviewed in Minnesota Public Radio about how a very warm summer has been great for Minnesota apples and wine grapes; Tom Gable is interviewed in the Star Tribune story “Researchers push back with data against anti-wolf billboard in northern Minnesota;” Nick Estes is interviewed in The Progressive about Indigenous resistance, from Wounded Knee to Standing Rock; Larry Jacobs is interviewed in Minnesota Public Radio about how a conservative voices lecture series is causing a stir with students; Penny Edgell is quoted in a CBS News story about Americans and their beliefs about organized religion; Christopher Uggen is quoted in a Twin Cities Business story about perception vs. reality when it comes to crime in Minneapolis; Joanne Slavin is quoted at WKNO FM about what the rise of ultra-processed foods means for our health and society.

Emily Kringle, assistant professor of physical activity and health promotion in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Disability and WELLness Laboratory (DWELL), was selected to receive the 2023 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Young Investigator Award in Post-Acute Stroke Rehabilitation. This prestigious award lectureship recognizes outstanding clinical, intellectual, and service contributions in the area of stroke by individuals in the first five years of their research career.

Nathan Kuncel has been awarded a $158,434 grant for his study, “Making Medical Resident Matching Decisions: A Systematic Review” by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Due to Kuncel’s remarkable track record of conducting research in the field of academics and contributions to the world of work, the NBME has funded his grant to quantitatively review what information is predictive of different aspects of residency success. Kuncel's research will provide invaluable insights for the medical community.

Cody Mikl is quoted in a Minnesota Daily story about RecWell’s group fitness classes; Jimmy Patiño is interviewed in CBS Minnesota’s “Good Question: Amid Hispanic Heritage Month, what's Minnesota's Latino history?;” Erik Halaas is featured in a Star Tribune story about a program that helps Minnesota social entrepreneurs launch their dreams; Sylia Wilson and Damien Fair are quoted in a Minnpost story about new national long-term research looking at child development and substance use; Katy Kozhimannil is quoted in the New York Times story “For Black Mothers, Birthing Centers, Once a Refuge, Become a Battleground;” Alan Rozenshtein is quoted in The Atlantic about upcoming Supreme Court cases that could redefine the internet; Richard Graves is interviewed in a CBS Minnesota story about a new Minnesota task force focused on infrastructure resiliency in the face of more severe weather; Tom Cotter is quoted in a Reuters story about the FTC's Amazon antitrust lawsuit.

The University of Minnesota’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) recently received $53.9 million in National Institutes of Health funding to find better, faster ways to bring scientific advances to real-world use. The seven-year award is one of the largest federal research grants the University has ever received and the University’s third Clinical and Translational Science Award. Over the past 12 years, CTSI has contributed to and collaborated with a national network of more than 60 medical research institutions who work together to improve the translational research process to get more treatments to more patients faster.

The University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Medical School, Institute for Health Informatics, Minnesota Electronic Health Records Consortium, and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) were awarded $17.5 million to help establish an outbreak response network to support decision makers during public health emergencies. As one of 13 funded partners across the U.S., researchers at the U of M and MDH will work alongside the CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics to support the new national network—the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network.