December 18, 2024
Faculty, staff awarded millions in grant funding from foundations, agencies in 2024
Providence College faculty and staff, in partnership with the Office of Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance, secured $2.5 million in grants to support a wide range of projects that advance knowledge and impactful initiatives during 2024.
Below is a selection of projects funded from more than 100 proposals, showcasing the range and scope of projects that received grants from foundations and agencies this year.
Yordano Jimenez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Title: Collaborative Research: Biodesign: A deep dive into dynamic resonance in rapid underwater maneuvering
In collaboration with partners from Tufts University and Iowa State University, Jimenez and colleagues are combining their expertise in fish anatomy and physiology, fluid dynamics, and robotics to uncover the hidden variables that make fish excellent swimmers. They are also investigating a new paradigm for understanding the extreme performance of animals called dynamic resonance.
Jessica Mulligan, Ph.D., Professor of Health Sciences
Funding Agency: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Title: Reducing Uninsurance by Addressing Administrative Burdens in the Health Insurance Marketplaces
This grant continues a collaborative research project that is part of the Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality’s R01 program, which provides support for health-related research and development. Mulligan brings her expertise in medical anthropology to an interdisciplinary team that is investigating how compliance, information, and psychological costs create barriers to health insurance marketplace coverage from the perspective of potential enrollees. The team will develop, conduct, and analyze a series of qualitative interviews with marketplace enrollees in Arizona, Connecticut, and North Carolina.
Tyler Stack, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Funding Agency: Rhode Island Life Science Hub
Title: Rhode Island Life Science Hub Small Grant
Stack’s research focuses on the interaction between gut microbes and non-biological chemicals, such as drug and food dyes. It aims to identify potential drug metabolites and genetic markers, which could help doctors personalize treatments for better health outcomes.
Carol Stakenas, Director and Chief Curator, PC Galleries (two grant awards)
Funding Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Title: Preservation Assessment for the Providence College Galleries Art Collections
This grant supports the first comprehensive assessment of PC Galleries’ preservation practices. The evaluation will cover collections, storage areas, and exhibition spaces across campus to address preservation needs and ensure the long-term care and integrity of the artworks.
Funding Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: Alt-Text Connects: Expanding Access to Providence College Galleries and its Collections
This project will expand physical and digital access to PC Galleries and its collections by aligning accessibility practices with campuswide efforts related to compliance, service, delivery, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically, the work aims to enhance online and in-person accessibility through improved use of alternative text (alt text), the descriptive text that explains the content and meaning of a digital image.
Thomas Strasser, Ph.D., Professor of Art History
Funding Agency: Curtiss T. & Mary G. Brennan Foundation
Title: Megalos Peristeres Cave Excavation 2024
The Brennan Foundation grant provides funding for a current excavation at the Megalos Peristeres cave on the northwest coast of Crete. The purpose of Strasser’s research is to investigate salient issues in Mediterranean island biogeography, including early seafaring and environmental impact. This is the first excavation on Crete to combine archaeology and paleontology.
