New Grants and Contracts
aids2031
Aids2031 brings
together multi-disciplinary teams—including economists, epidemiologists,and
biomedical, social and political scientists—in nine working groups
to question conventional wisdom, stimulate new research, encourage public
debate, and uncover new evidence. In 2009, aids2031 will launch a final
report called "An Agenda for the Future" which will be the center piece
for a series of public conversations and roundtables with political, research
and business leaders around the world.
In addition to hosting the aids2031 coordination unit, led by International
Development, Community and Environment (IDCE) faculty member Heidi
Larson, Clark University is taking the lead on the Social Drivers Group,
looking at the key social, political and economic factors that drive the
epidemic. Clark faculty member William
Fisher, director of Clark's IDCE department, is leading this working
group. Read
more about the aids2031 project. For additional information, contact
William Fisher, principal investigator, (wfisher@clarku.edu)
or Heidi Larson, project coordinator (coordinator@aids2031.org).
Assembling the Fungal Tree Of Life (AFTOL): Resolving the evolutionary history of the fungi
Clark University researchers David Hibbett and Brandon Matheny in the Biology Department are participating in the AFTOL project, funded by the National Science Foundation. This collaborative effort involving seven universities uses DNA sequence information to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Kingdom Fungi, which includes important pathogens of AIDS patients, as well as many beneficial species. AFTOL also provides training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, and provides outreach activities to K-12 educators. More information about Hibbett's lab.
In Search of Structure: A Theory-based, Mixed-methods Examination of Parental Structure in Families of Young Adolescents
Hiatt School of Psychology faculty Wendy Grolnick and Esteban Cardemil have received support from the W. T. Grant Foundation for a study that examines how families from differing cultural contexts provide structure (e.g., rules, expectations, guidelines, feedback) to their early adolescents, and how this impacts adolescent achievement and adjustment. Drawing upon several hundred children attending diverse, largely low-income schools and their parents, the study examines the interactions of differing cultural contexts and parental structure during the transition to middle school.
National Children's Study
Clark University researchers Tim Downs, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Octavia Taylor and Rob Goble from the Marsh Institute and International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE) are partnering with the University of Massachusetts Medical School based on a competitive contract awarded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) for participation in the landmark National Children's Study. This study is the largest to be conducted in the United States to assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors in children's health. The Clark team brings expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), environmental sampling and community-based participatory research. Press release
Suburbanization, Water Use, Nitrogen Cycling, and Eutrophication in the 21st Century: Interactions, Feedbacks, and Uncertainties in a Massachusetts Coastal Zone
Graduate School of Geography faculty Colin Polsky and R. Gil Pontius have received a grant from the National Science Foundation in support of research on suburbanization and its effects on coastal watershed areas. The research is expected to provide novel insights into these processes that are so vital to the environment and inhabitants of rapidly growing coastal areas. Fieldwork and process-based modeling will be used to characterize and explain these dynamics. Press release.
Use of Biomarkers and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Modeling in Risk Analysis for Developmental Effects of Chlorpyrifos
Rob Goble and Dale Hattis, researchers at Clark's George Perkins Marsh Institute, have been awarded funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop improved ways of estimating chemical exposure to pregnant women. By helping to solve the mystery between measured biomarkers and chemical exposures, this study will contribute to improving the accuracy and relevance of epidemiological studies for assessing health risks. More information about this grant.