Clinical and translational science training program welcomes seven scholars
Penn State graduate students with varied research interests including sudden infant death syndrome, aging, childhood obesity, health disparities and leukemia have started a year of training in clinical and translational sciences. The TL1 Predoctoral Training Program is a year-long…
Kids’ sleep may suffer from moms’ tight work schedules
It may be tough for working moms to get a good night’s sleep, but working tight hours may affect their children’s sleep, too.
After studying the sleep habits of children from ages five to nine, researchers found that when mothers reported less flexibility in their work schedules, their children got…
Sainburg receives grant renewal for stroke rehabilitation research
The National Institutes of Health recently renewed funding for Penn State researcher Robert Sainburg, which will allow him to begin testing his rehabilitation intervention in treating the “unaffected” hand in stroke patients. The first cycle of this grant funded a series of basic science…
Teams sought to develop innovative research programs using Twitter data
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is seeking teams to develop innovative research programs using Twitter data.
Proposals are invited for pilot projects aimed at using Twitter data in social science research. Twitter offers one of the most rapidly growing and accessible Big Data…
Mood of the Nation Poll finds one person's anger is another's pride
From Colin Kaepernick to Brett Kavanaugh, Americans appear to be sharply divided over the people who shape political life.
Those divides are evident in the latest McCourtney Institute Mood of the Nation Poll. The poll utilizes open-ended questions that allow participants to respond in…
The Future of Higher Education Is Social Impact
By Adam Gamoran
Over the last decade, universities have faced steady criticism for elitist practices such as political bias, hoarding wealthy endowments, and providing insufficient economic returns for students. In light of this, institutions that turn their attention to serving the public good may…
Advance feedback offered on strategic initiative seed grant funding proposals
Penn State community members, including faculty and staff, will be invited to submit ideas for pilot projects that are aimed at fulfilling the mission of the University's 2016-2020 Strategic Plan to advance innovation, research, learning and engagement at the University and beyond. Proposals for…
Biobehavioral health major working on Child Health Study
Penn State senior Rachel Brettler, who is majoring in biobehavioral health and minoring in human development and family studies, is being mentored by renowned faculty experts, as well as gaining real-world research experience, through her role as an undergraduate research assistant in the…
Newly funded project to focus on health of rural communities in Pennsylvania
Many rural Pennsylvania communities are seeing unique challenges related to the health of residents. Deaths related to heart and liver diseases, diabetes, accidental opioid overdose and suicide are rising in American small towns. Recognizing these unique problems, Penn State Clinical and…
Smokers may opt for lower nicotine cigarettes if offered at lower prices
Reducing nicotine intake, a step towards helping smokers reduce — or break — the habit, can be influenced by the price and availability of reduced-nicotine cigarettes, according to Penn State researchers.
The researchers found that smokers were more likely to choose lower-cost, lower-nicotine…
Morgan featured in “New Yorker”
SSRI co-fund and CEDR director Paul Morgan’s research has been featured in the “New Yorker’s” article, “Georgia’s Separate and Unequal Special-Education System.”
Morgan’s research focuses on the underrepresentation of children of color in special education. He argues that environmental factors like…
Yocum retires from SSRI
After over 35 years of service at Penn State, Sherry Yocum has retired as administrative director at SSRI.
A retirement party was held in her honor last week, where co-workers recognized her dedication to Penn State and wished her well in her retirement. Several unit directors and co-workers…
Child maltreatment linked to cognitive aging
Almost 10 million older adults in the U.S. have cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, or other related dementias. Penn State researchers are looking into how early life adversity, specifically child maltreatment, can affect cognitive aging later in life in a new project.
According to Chad…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse announces fellows program
Penn State’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) and Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) are announcing a call for proposals for the Community Fellows Program to support faculty members seeking to develop university-community collaborations that address substance abuse and its…
Penn State launches new consortium to combat the opioid crisis
Pennsylvania is one of the states most impacted by the growing opioid epidemic, with one of the highest overdose death rates in the country — but a new initiative bringing together experts from across Penn State aims to combat this crisis through data-driven, evidence-based innovation.
The Penn…
26th Annual National Symposium on Family Issues will take place Oct. 22-23
The 2018 National Symposium on Family Issues will focus on the challenges that families in rural areas face and the strategies they take to maintain financial stability, health and well-being.
The symposium, “Rural Families and Communities,” will be held Oct. 22-23 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Sessions…
Clinical and Translational Science Institute awards six pilot grants
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute is helping generate innovative health research ideas and promoting collaboration through the awarding of pilot grants in its Bridges to Translation IV program. This program seeks to link researchers not traditionally in health research with…
Research grant enables CSD student to get experience in the field
Hearing one word — "Mom" — set the course of Karla Armendariz’s career path.
“That impacted me a lot,” said Armendariz, who at the time was working in a special needs classroom at a school in Florida. “That’s why I chose to major in communication sciences and disorders (CSD).”
In addition to…
Penn State researcher receives federal grant to study early learning program
A Penn State researcher has a major role in a $3.3 million federal grant award to study the impact of MindUp, an early-learning program aimed at improving children's readiness for kindergarten and later grades.
MindUp is designed to help children develop social-emotional and self-regulation skills…
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill
On September 28, President Trump signed into law a fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding package containing two of twelve appropriations bills, the Defense Appropriations bill and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations bill. The bill had been passed earlier in the week by the House…
Chinchilli to present Oct. 9 seminar in series on fundamental research methods
Vernon Chinchilli will present "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," from 4 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 9, as part of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Recent Topics in Research Methods Seminar Series.
Chinchilli is distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Public…
Why Social Science? - Because It’s Proliferating
By Alondra Nelson, President, Social Science Research Council
Social scientists and the research we pursue with such passion are being buffeted on all fronts, a fact not unknown to frequent visitors to this space. Today social scientists confront scarcities: of funding, of career opportunities in…
Lung inflammation from childhood asthma linked with later anxiety
Persistent lung inflammation may be one possible explanation for why having asthma during childhood increases your risk for developing anxiety later in life, according to Penn State researchers.
In a study with mice, researchers found that childhood exposure to allergens was linked with persistent…
Pilot grants available from Clinical and Translational Science Institute
As part of its mission to accelerate discoveries to benefit human health, the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute will award up to $300,000 in funding for pilot projects through its Bridges to Translation V pilot grant program.
A request for application workshop will be…
IRB International Research Workshop
Join the Office for Research Protections and Institutional Review board for a workshop on human subjects and compliance challenges with international research.
“Human Subjects Research in International Contexts: A Question and Answer Session” will take place Tuesday, November 6, 9 - 10 a.m. in 110…