Research & Public Service

Faculty Small Grants Program

Fall 2010 Awards

We are very pleased to award two grants this fall to Assistant Professor, Maria Muzik, M.D., M.S. and Professor, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Ph.D. We received a number of excellent submissions.

Congratulations to our recipients.

Request for Applications

The Institute for Human Adjustment is pleased to announce the initiation of a Faculty Small Grants Program. We invite applications for research pertinent to the Institute’s missions of (a) providing evidence-based services to assist children, adolescents, couples and families who are struggling with mental health, learning, and communication difficulties, and (b) training the next generation of professionals to provide these services. We are interested in facilitating the initiation and growth of faculty research programs that have implications for the prevention, development, assessment, and treatment of difficulties in human adjustment.

The focus of the proposed research may involve active collaboration with Institute faculty and staff and implementation at one of the Institute’s units (Psychological Clinic, University Center for the Development of Language and Literacy, University Center for the Child and Family), or it may be directly relevant to the Institute’s mission yet implemented off-site. Examples of the types of research projects of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pilot studies or next stage developmental studies of assessment and evaluation tools critical to improving evidence-based case formulation and practice;
• Research on the development of resiliency, positive coping, personality and/or psychopathology; research on the development of language and communication skills and disorders;
• Pilot studies of new focused interventions (or enhancements of existing interventions to meet special population needs) for children, adolescents, adults, and families who are struggling with mental health difficulties, childhood language disorders, dyslexia, or adult aphasia;
• Research focused on identifying or enhancing multi-cultural competencies in faculty and trainees;
• Collaborative research with Institute faculty involving secondary data analyses.
• Research focused on strategies for developing or enhancing literacy and/or language skills in specific populations, such as the development of reading achievement skills in children with disabilities.

Individual awards of up to $25,000 (total direct and indirect costs; indirect costs of up to 10% may be requested) will be made following a competitive review process. The application deadline is July 31, 2010; funding decisions will be made by August 31, 2010. We anticipate funding two to five awards depending on the quality of applications and the scope of the proposed research. The award period will be September 15, 2010 – August 31, 2011.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications:

• Significance of research question
• Relevance of research question to the mission of the Institute for Human Adjustment (and balance across Institute missions/units)
• Strength of research proposal
• Feasibility of research proposal (within time frame and with available funding -- evidence from investigator to indicate likelihood of successful completion)
• Programmatic context of research and potential for external funding, student involvement, and collaboration with the Institute over time.

Application Process

The proposal consists of an application form (download), a research plan (narrative format, 2-4 pages), the NIH PHS 398 Detailed Budget form (download) and budget justification, and NIH biosketches (download) for all key personnel.

Applications should be submitted by email in a single PDF to Brenda Foster, Assistant Director, Institute for Human Adjustment, sodt@umich.edu, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1109. They must be received in her office by 5:00 pm on Friday, July 30th.

Additional Information

For further information about the application process, please contact Brenda Foster (contact information above). For other questions, please contact Professor Holly Craig; Chair, Small Grants Program Review Committee and Director, University Center for the Development of Language and Literacy, hkc@umich.edu, 734-764-8440. You may also contact Professor Cheryl King, Director, Institute for Human Adjustment, kingca@umich.edu; 734-764-3168.