PVM Scholars Receive Women’s Global Health Institute Research Grant

February 17, 2023

The Purdue Women’s Global Health Institute (WGHI) has awarded six women’s health research grants, including one for a pair of scholars in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences. The Purdue research projects are receiving grants of $15,000 each.

The WGHI presents annual awards to support research proposals of outstanding scientific merit that address translational and basic research in women’s health. “Maximizing Peak Bone Mass: Interactions Among Genetics and Mechanical Loading,” is the name of the funded project proposed by Dr. Russell Main, associate professor of basic medical sciences, who is the lead principal investigator, and Dr. Marxa Figueiredo, associate professor of basic medical sciences.

The WGHI awards are made possible through a Mildred Elizabeth Edmundson grant and donations, and the institute’s partnerships with the Catherine Peachey Fund and other entities on the Purdue campus and throughout Indiana, including the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. Also providing support are the Purdue colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, and Pharmacy and the departments of Basic Medical Sciences and Pharmacy Practice.

The next call for proposals for women’s health grants will begin in September. In addition, the request for proposals on breast cancer research to be supported by the Catherine Peachey Fund is accessible via the WGHI website with the deadline of March 6.

The five other recently awarded WGHI grants are:

“Development of a Culturally Tailored, Adolescent-driven, Dual-protection Intervention Approach for South African Adolescents.” Jennifer Brown, associate professor of psychological sciences, and Lochner Marais, professor in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State in Bioemfontein, South Africa, are principal investigators.
“Exploring Patient Experiences with Miscarriage Care in Indiana in the Midst of a Shifting Regulatory Environment.” Kathryn LaRoche, assistant professor of public health, is the PI.
“Evaluating the Impact of a Community Health Worker for Diabetes Management in Self-employed Women in India.” Faria Chaudhry, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, and Sonak Pastakia, professor of pharmacy practice, are PIs.
“Early Breast Cancer Evaluation in High-risk Subjects Using Advanced MRI Modalities.” Joseph Rispoli, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is the PI.
“Targeting FGFR to Prevent Obesity-induced Metastatic Recurrence in Breast.” Michael Wendt, associate professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, is the PI.

The Women’s Global Health Institute at Purdue University serves as a nexus of interdisciplinary research to create partnerships, promote research and develop training opportunities to improve the health of women globally. The institute uniquely strives to promote research on the prevention and early detection of diseases, rather than the classic medical model focusing on treatment, and research to understand sex-differences in health across the lifespan.

Writer(s): Amy Raley, Purdue Marketing and Communications | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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