WCU Stories      March 5, 2019

The following is a compilation of grants awarded at Western Carolina University during February 2019. The list is presented in unedited form, courtesy of WCU’s Office of Research Administration.

Title: Delivering video-based education on preventive musculoskeletal health to individuals involved in agricultural work using an online learning management system

PI: John Carzoli

Funder: UK Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention

Amount: $11,970

Description: to assess the influence of video-based education resources on access to educational resources, delivery costs, knowledge retention, and confidence in adopting safety behavioral changes from course participants involved in agricultural work

Title: Farm Agricultural Resources and Mediation in Virginia (FARM-VA)

PI: Jayne Zanglein

Funder: US Department of Agriculture

Amount: $21,000

Description: to continue a federally funded certified state agricultural mediation program that provides mediation services to USDA customers in Virginia

Title: Virtual Reality Training to Improve Roofers Safety

PI: Ahmed Al-Bayati

Funder: Job-Site Safety Institute

Amount: $45,271

Description: to improve roofers’ safety training and safety awareness, and reduce work-related accidents

Title: Improving undergraduate engineering students' spatial skills through 3D interactive virtual and physical manipulatives

PI: Oai Ha

Funder: Utah State University

Amount: $11,418

Description: to improve undergraduate engineering students’ spatial skills by updating and assessing an innovative technology called 3D Interactive Virtual and Physical Manipulative

Title: NC State Improvement Project Institutions of Higher Education Partnership Grant

PI: Charmion Rush

Funder: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Amount: $10,000

Description: to provide evidence-based training in reading and math foundations so that initial licensed teachers will leave Western equipped to provide explicit, direct and systematic instruction to their future students

Title: NCBC BIG: Rapid identification techniques for mosquitoes of public health importance

PI: Scott Huffman

Funder: North Carolina Biotechnology Center

Amount: $99,570

Description: to refine infrared chemometric analysis protocols for the rapid and accurate detection of pathogen-vectoring mosquitoes

Title: Next-generation sequencing of soil-derived DNA for identification in long-term missing person's case

PI: Frankie West

Funder: National Geographic Society

Amount: $6,503

Description: to sequence human DNA recovered from soil samples recovered in a missing person’s case of U.S. historic and cultural significance

Title: NIDDK Centers for Diabetes Translation Research

PI: Turner Goins

Funder: University of Colorado Denver

Amount: $16,625

Description: to continue to develop and sustain a multi-faceted agenda with respect to diabetes translational research among American Indians and Alaska Natives

Title: North Carolina Agricultural Mediation Program (NCAMP)

PI: Jayne Zanglein

Funder: US Department of Agriculture

Amount: $12,064

Description: to administer a mediation program and services for agricultural producers, creditors and persons directly affected by decisions of the USDA

Title: SECU Public Fellows Internship Program

PI: Theresa Paul

Funder: State Employee Credit Union Foundation

Amount: $100,000

Description: to continue a comprehensive summer internship program for students in select majors in the humanities and social sciences, combining professional skill development and hands-on experience with regional organizations