Shape the future of health care, health policy and science in New Mexico and beyond.
505-272-5098
$39,105 in funding for one-year: 04/01/2023 – 03/31/2024
Mary Pat Couig, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor and Carter/Fleck Endowed Professorship, Co-Investigator
This project is part of an ongoing effort, a Nursing Call to Action, started by the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC) in 2014 to improve nursing readiness and to provide leadership and guidance to health care facilities and systems regarding issues related to disasters, public health emergencies, high consequence infections (pandemics) and the provision of nursing care. Nurses who have experienced caring for patients with COVID-19 and related issues, including the use of personal protective equipment, crisis standards of care, personal preparedness and family issues and stresses of caring for seriously ill patients with a highly infectious disease have the potential to identify local and systems factors that contributed to what helped support the nurses and their ability to provide care and what improvements might help in the future.
Through interviews, this study will examine nurses’ perspectives of individual, government, systems, and organizational factors that contributed to and/or hindered the support of the nurses and their ability to provide care during a public health crisis.
The project's goal is to identify themes and potential areas for intervention. The findings will lay the groundwork for a more in-depth study.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for nurses and other health and public health professionals to be educated and trained to respond to disasters and public health emergencies. Additionally, the systems and infrastructure that support these professionals to provide care, whether to an individual or a population, need to be in place and adaptable to the event. This study should provide new knowledge that will help nurses and ultimately improve patient care during disasters or public health emergencies,” Couig says.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, VEMEC has funded an Interagency Personnel Agreement (IPA) for Couig’s and Lavin’s research and collaboration. Drs. Couig and Lavin have a long-standing professional relationship with VEMEC that dates back to 2014.
$4,577.88 in funding for one year: 07/01/2023 – 06/30/2024
The Pilot Program aims to foster research innovation and help build research capacity through engagement with the NM-INSPIRES Cores. We welcome a range of pilot study applications that include basic mechanistic and toxicological, clinical-translational, population, and community engaged research to address to address important issues in environmental health research.
This award is provided by The College of Pharmacy P30 Pilot Program.
$15,259.60 in funding for one-year: 07/01/2023 – 06/30/2024
This award is provided by The College of Pharmacy P42 METALS Superfund Research Program.
$108,878 in funding for two years: 07/01/2022 - 06/30/2024
UNM HSC Project ECHO and Ridenour/Mason Fellowship
Barbara Holmes Damron, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN
Professor, Senior Advisor to the Dean, Mason New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium (NMNEC) Fellow, Principal Investigator
Many students entering college are placed into remedial developmental education classes. These classes aim to bridge the gap between what students know and what they’re expected to know for college-level coursework by revisiting core subjects such as reading and math. Yet, research consistently shows that these remedial courses are profoundly ineffective, with many students never progressing to college-level courses yet depleting financial aid. One solution to this problem is the corequisite model, which allows students to enroll directly in college-level classes while simultaneously receiving academic support. The corequisite model was introduced into NM higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2016, yet our HEIs are struggling with scaling up to fully implement the corequisite model.
This research project is testing whether the Project ECHO model is an effective intervention to implement and sustain the corequisite model in HEIs in New Mexico. The specific research question is whether participants in the ECHO intervention group will increase their knowledge of and develop more positive attitudes toward the corequisite model of developmental education and whether implementation of the corequisite model adoption increases and fewer students are enrolled in remediation courses at their associated HEIs. We evaluate the efficacy in four intervention HEIs and four control HEIs.
“We are excited to have developed and are now conducting the first-ever Project ECHO higher education research study. Because so many New Mexico students enter post-secondary education without being “college-ready”, it is imperative that our HEIs become “student-ready”. By helping our HEIs adopt evidence-based best practices, such as fully adopting the corequisite model, we will be able to increase the pipeline of students entering and successfully completing degrees, including the highly needed healthcare degrees such as nursing and medicine," Damron says.
This award is rewarded through The University of New Mexico Health Science Center, Project ECHO and the Ridenour/Mason Fellowship.
$415,000 in funding for one year: 10/01/2023 – 09/30/2024
Stephen Hernandez, PhD, RN
PhD Program Director, Associate Professor, Principal Investigator
The TriService Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) was founded in 1992 and funds and supports rigorous scientific research studies and evidence-based practice (EBP) projects in the field of military nursing. TSNRP supports nurse scientists in all stages of their careers through research funding, education, and mentoring. Since its inception, TSNRP has funded over 470 research and EBP projects.
Three years: 2022-2025
Patricia Watts-Kelley, PhD, RN, FNP-BC,GNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN,
Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, Professor, Dr. Patricia Higgins Endowed Professor in Nursing, Principal Investigator
This award is provided by the University of New Mexico.
Deborah Kenny PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Colorado Anschutz, Principal Investigator
Patricia Watts-Kelley, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, GNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, Professor, Dr. Patricia Higgins Endowed Professor in Nursing, Co-Investigator
Two years: 12/01/2023 – 01/30/2025
The TriService Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) was founded in 1992 and funds and supports rigorous scientific research studies and evidence-based practice (EBP) projects in the field of military nursing. TSNRP supports nurse scientists in all stages of their careers through research funding, education, and mentoring. Since its inception, TSNRP has funded over 470 research and EBP projects.
$791,639 in funding for five years: 08/11/2023 – 05/31/2028
Katie Kivlighan, PhD, MS, RN, CNM
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
The aim of this research is to determine the association between mammary epithelium permeability, maternal perception of low milk supply, and earlier-than-desired supplementation and weaning in a diverse US cohort. Using sodium and other ions as markers, milk production status will be measured in a diverse population of pregnant and nursing individuals. This research will also seek to become foundational in health care for communities often marginalized from research and aid concerning lactation. This effort will be augmented by providing culturally congruent lactation counselors in UNM clinics and UNM-affiliated health care sites.
“Researchers and health care providers that care for newborns believe that human milk is the best first food. This is relevant across all cultures. This research will not only examine markers that are effecting milk production but help provide culturally conscious lactation support. All individuals who are nursing deserve quality lactation counseling,” Kivlighan says.
The NIH Research Project Grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s). Subawarding party UMASS supports faculty-led research groups bring deep and interdisciplinary expertise to translate fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies, and services that benefit human health and well-being.
$200,000 in funding for two years: 11/01/2022 – 10/31/2024
It has been proven that providing continuous labor support during childbirth, including physical, emotional and informational support, has significant benefits, including shorter labors, a lessened need for pain medication, improved lactation outcomes and reduced risk of postpartum depression and anxiety. Funds and research will support the Volunteer Birth Companion Program, a birth justice-focused initiative that aims to provide respectful, compassionate and non-judgmental care to birthing people who might not otherwise be able to access continuous birth support.
Kivlighan and team will also use the funding to help the program strategically plan for capacity building, program sustainability and improved collaboration with critical stakeholders, including clients, health care workers, hospital administration and community organizations. They will also develop evaluation tools to ensure they are meeting stakeholder needs.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation provides support for children, families and communities with the mission to better community and conditions for vulnerable children. Equitable resources and futures for children fuel their funding and project decisions.
$47,256 in funding for one-year: 04/01/2023 – 03/31/2024
Roberta P. Lavin, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAAN
Professor and Aladino and Nellie Matteucci Faculty Fellow, Co-Investigator
This project is part of an ongoing effort, a Nursing Call to Action, started by the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC) in 2014 to improve nursing readiness and to provide leadership and guidance to health care facilities and systems regarding issues related to disasters, public health emergencies, high consequence infections (pandemics) and the provision of nursing care. Nurses who have experienced caring for patients with COVID-19 and related issues, including of personal protective equipment, crisis standards of care, personal preparedness and family issues, and stresses of caring for seriously ill patients with a highly infectious disease have the potential to identify local and systems factors that contributed to what helped support the nurses and their ability to provide care and what improvements might help in the future.
Through interviews, this study will examine nurses’ perspectives of individual, government, systems, and organizational factors that contributed to and/or hindered support of the nurses and their ability to provide care during a public health crisis.
The project's goal is to identify themes and potential areas for intervention. The findings will lay the groundwork for a more in-depth study.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, VEMEC, has funded an Interagency Personnel Agreement (IPA) for Couig’s and Lavin’s research and collaboration. Drs. Couig and Lavin have a long-standing professional relationship with VEMEC that dates back to 2014.
$25,000 in funding for one year: 12/01/2022 – 11/30/2023
The purpose is to support pilot projects that tackle wicked problems relating to data sharing and protection, big data, datasets or research collaboration.
The Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) Pilot Awards Program distributes funding to innovative research teams generating new ideas across institutions, schools and disciplines. Awards are given to those pursuing ideas and data on translational research. The goal of this funding is to promote innovative research teams capable of interacting across institutions, schools, and disciplines to generate novel ideas and data on translational research: research that incorporates the desires of the general public, with communities being engaged to determine their needs for health innovation.
$7,500 in funding for two years: 11/01/2023 – 05/29/2026
Gina Rowe, PhD, DNP,MPH, FNP-BC, PHCNS-BC, BC-ADM, FNAP
Dean of Professional Graduate Programs, Clinician Educator, Associate Professor, Co-Investigator
Lisa M. Taylor, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, BC-ADM, CDCES,
Clinician Educator, Assistant Professor, Co-Investigator
This award is provided by the Macy Jr. Foundation and The University of Cinncinnati.
$45,234 in funding for one-year: 07/01/2023 - 06/30/2024
Sharon Ruyak, PhD, RN, CNM
Associate Professor, Leah Albers Endowed Professor of Midwifery, Principal Investigator
This award is the pilot award from The New Mexico Alcohol Research Center (NMARC).
$9,042.72 in funding for one-year: 07/01/2023 - 06/20/2024
Xiaozhong Yu, MD, PhD, MPH,
Clinician Educator, Assistant Professor, Co-Investigator
The Pilot Program aims to foster research innovation and help build research capacity through engagement with the NM-INSPIRES Cores. We welcome a range of pilot study applications that include basic mechanistic and toxicological, clinical-translational, population, and community-engaged research to address important issues in environmental health research.
This award is provided by The College of Pharmacy P30 Pilot Program.
$5,425.63 in funding for one-year: 07/01/2023 – 06/30/2024
This award is provided by The College of Pharmacy P42 METALS Superfund Research Program.
$2,611,824 in funding for five years: 07/20/2023 – 05/31/2028
Katherine Zychowski, PhD
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
The purpose of this program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NIH-supported, independent investigators. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers or clinician-scientists from mentored research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions, and to provide independent NIH research support during the transition that will help these individuals launch competitive, independent research careers.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awards funding for research aimed at exploring how environmental factors: chemical, physical, synthetic, etc. affect biological systems. The NIH Research Project Grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s).
$742,560 in funding for one year: 05/01/2023 – 06/30/2024
The purpose of this program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NIH-supported, independent investigators. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers or clinician-scientists from mentored research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions, and to provide independent NIH research support during the transition that will help these individuals launch competitive, independent research careers.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awards funding for research aimed at exploring how environmental factors: chemical, physical, synthetic, etc. effect biological systems. The NIH Research Project Grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s).
$416,625 in funding for three years: 07/01/2023 – 06/30/2024
The NIH Exploratory/Developmental Grant supports exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of these projects. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact on a field of biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awards funding for research aimed at exploring how environmental factors: chemical, physical, synthetic, etc. affect biological systems. The NIH Research Project Grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s).
Admissions & Recruitment
College of Nursing
Building 214
Strategic & Enrollment Services
Suite 1501
1 University of New Mexico