Lisa Scott and Andreas Keil, Professors at UF Psychology department were awarded Visuocortical Foundations of Development, funded by National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health with the amount of $ 2,445,404. The proposed work will define the trajectory of the development of visual abilities across infancy and determine the extent to which vision sets up the brain for later learning. For this project, we will develop toolset for the assessment of early visual processing using vision screening, eye-tracking, EEG and AI.
Lindsey Rodriguez, Associate Professor was given Top AI/ML Modeling Approach Award and Health Data Science Interprofessional Communication Award funded by AIM-AHEAD & NCATS Health Data Science Training Program. This award highlights your outstanding achievements and your shared commitment to advancing health for all Americans and driving impactful rigorous research. We hope this recognition is just the beginning of a fulfilling and successful career and encourage you to highlight this award in your CV/resume and social media profiles. Recognition from a program backed by NIH, NCATS, and AIM-AHEAD leadership positions you as an emerging leader in the health data science field. Your hard work and passion inspire us, and we are confident that you will continue to make remarkable strides in your professional journey.
Chris Podlesnik, Associate Professor was awarded Harnessing Communication Preferences to Enhance Its Persistence and Mitigate Relapse of Challenging Behavior valued $2,423,369 funded by NIH/NICHD. NIH/NICHD R01 awarded to Chris Podlesnik as co-investigator for “Harnessing Communication Preferences to Enhance Its Persistence and Mitigate Relapse of Challenging Behavior” to improve durability of treatments for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Corina Jimenez-Gomez, Assistant Professor, was given the International Development Grant worth $5,000 funded by Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis. This collaboration with the Universidad Veracruzana aims to strengthen a new behavior analysis specialization within a biomedical PhD program in Mexico. While the program offers unique opportunities for collaboration with health professionals, it currently lacks essential resources like Spanish-language materials and basic lab equipment. The grant will fund translations, the development of technical manuals, and the purchase of affordable tools to improve training quality. Ultimately, the goal is to provide students with the resources they need to succeed, expand applied practice, and establish the program as a model for interdisciplinary education in Latin America.
Psychology Associate Professor Chris Podlesnik, and Psychology Research Assistant Professor Vivian Ibañez, along with UF Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics Associate Professor Megan Gregory, in the were awarded Meta-Analysis of Behavioral Treatments for Pediatric Feeding Disorders. This award of $150,340 is funded by NIH/NIMH R03. A high percentage of children experience severe feeding difficulties (i.e., pediatric feeding disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) in which they do not eat or drink at sufficient levels, causing serious and substantial health consequences, as well as psychological and financial stress for caregivers. A highly effective behavioral treatment for severe feeding difficulties exists but dissemination across scientific communities, caregivers, insurance companies, and healthcare providers remains limited. The proposed research will quantify effectiveness of behavioral treatments with a meta-analysis to establish the medical necessity of this intervention for severe feeding difficulties, and take initial steps toward creation of dissemination materials, which will improve access to care, resulting in positive impacts on the health and quality of life of children and their families.
Shanting Chen, Assistant Professor and Natalie Ebner, Professor is the primary mentor for this award, were given the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award “Adapting Machine Learning Approaches to Identify a Robust Measure and Key Risk and Protective Factors of Change in Allostatic Load across the Adult Lifespan”. The award amount of $633,297 is funded by National Institute of Health. Allostatic load (AL) is a promising preclinical marker for predicting chronic disease risk. This study aims to identify the optimal AL measure, develop the DNA methylation surrogate of AL across two ongoing population datasets, and identify key risk and protective factors across various ecological levels contributing to changes in allostatic load across life stages. The findings will have significant implications for public health by helping identify individuals at risk of biological dysregulation, guiding the development of tailored interventions before disease onset, and informing policies to address racial/ethnic health disparities and promote healthy aging.