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