CHHS Research Initiatives

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Last Updated: Sep 10, 2025, 10:43 AM

CHHS Faculty Development

The College of Health and Human Sciences is committed to supporting faculty excellence, innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration through a range of development initiatives and research support programs. Whether launching visionary new projects, mentoring early-career researchers, or providing funding for summer research, our goal is to empower faculty to expand knowledge, inspire students, and address critical challenges in our communities and beyond. From seed grants like DEVELOP to mentorship programs and undergraduate research support, CHHS fosters an environment where faculty can grow their impact—locally, nationally, and globally.

Grant Mentor Program

Supporting Promising Researchers: Grant Mentorship Initiative (SuPR GMI): The purpose of the SuPR GMI is to provide quality and targeted mentorship to CHHS faculty researchers striving to build a record of extramural funding to support research in their area(s) of expertise to increase their competitiveness for external funding. The expectation is that at the conclusion of the two-year mentorship period, the SIUC faculty member will submit a substantial research proposal to a federal agency (e.g., NIH, NSF, DOJ, FAA, FDA) or major foundation.

Past Grant Mentor Recipients

Elena M. Sliepcevich and Dr. Judy C. Drolet and Dr. R. Larry Townsend Health Research

The Elena M. Sliepcevich award provides summer salary for one month to support one CHHS tenured or tenure track faculty member conducting health-related research, with preference given if the research addresses youth education/youth outreach in a health-related field. The research project must integrate student collaboration as a co-author or co-presenter. The Dr. Judy C. Drolet and Dr. R. Larry Townsend Student Health Research award (new in FY25!) provides support for the student engagement.

Past Award Recipients

  • 2025  

    • Dr. Meungguk Park for his research on  Assessing comparative efficacy of physical exercise, psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of depressive symptoms of adolescents and young adults. He is working with Joseph McCracken, a graduate student in the School of Human Sciences.  

  • 2024  

    • Dr. Lesley Shawler for her research titled, A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Programming for Generalization on Treatment Outcomes.  She worked with several School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences graduate students on this project, including Laurent Orozco-Barrios, Lynn Schumacher, Jessica Hinojosa, and Chase Hickman.[See poster titled Orozco-Barrios, Shawler et al 2025 Poster Presentation] A manuscript is also forthcoming!  

  • 2023  

    • Dr. YouJung Choi  for her research titled, Us vs. Them: Social Cues that Lead Infants ‘and Children’s Social Preference. She worked with School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences graduate student, Alyssa Cooley.  Link to poster presentation for the Cognitive Development Society Conferences in Pasadena, CA, March 2024: [See poster titled Cooley CDS 2024 poster_final

DEVELOP

The Developing, Elevating, and Leading Educational Opportunities and Programs (DEVELOP) is specifically designed to encourage the pursuit of innovative projects that would not be as feasible without start-up funding. It is anticipated that the DEVELOP program will engage faculty across schools in collaboration resulting in dynamic and visionary opportunities to improve lives at or around SIU or to bring national recognition of the college.

The purpose of the DEVELOP program is twofold:

  1. to support creative and strategic development of new programs and initiatives, and
  2. to foster multidisciplinary collaborations across the college.

Past DEVELOP Award Recipients

2023 2022
  • Dr. Matthew Giblin, School of Justice and Public Safety
    Giblin - Virtual Reality Lab to Advance Research and Education in Police Decision Making
  • Drs. Irene Miller and Mike Robertson, School of Aviation and Dr. Eric Lee, School of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    Miller et al—Evaluating Human Performance Enhancement of Collegiate Flight Training

Undergraduate Research Assistantship

The URA program seeks foremost to support CHHS faculty research productivity, but also to expose promising undergraduate students to the research experience and promote skills development.

Past Award Recipients

Summer Research Support

Summer Research support provides up to a month of salary support for a CHHS tenured/tenure track faculty member or a continuing appointment non-tenure track CHHS faculty member working with a T/TT track faculty member. Support is provided to conduct rigorous research. Funded research is generally part of a pilot effort to prepare for grant submission or to publish in peer-reviewed outlets. Faculty may be awarded up to one grant per summer award period. The number of awards approved during each period will depend upon the quality of proposals and funds available. 

Past Awardees

Endowed Student Research

The College of Health and Human Sciences proudly supports student research through competitive endowed awards that recognize excellence, innovation, and potential in health-related fields. These awards provide critical funding to graduate students conducting impactful research under the mentorship of CHHS faculty. From behavioral neuroscience and developmental disabilities to cancer biology and mental health interventions, these projects reflect the college’s commitment to advancing scientific discovery and improving lives.

Two prestigious opportunities celebrate emerging scholars whose work exemplifies academic rigor, creativity, and real-world relevance.

Dr. Judy C. Drolet and Dr. R. Larry Townsend Student Health Research

New in FY2025, the Dr. Judy C. Drolet and Dr. R. Larry Townsend Student Health Research Award is made in combination with the Elena M. Sliepcevich Faculty Research Award.

Recipients

  • 2025
    • Joseph McCracken, graduate student in the School of Human Sciences, for his research with Dr. Meungguk Park on Assessing comparative efficacy of physical exercise, psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of depressive symptoms of adolescents and young adults.

Marlene Rotbart Matten Excellence in Health Research Award

The Marlene Rotbart Matten Excellence in Health Research Award is an annual award to support health-related research, broadly defined to include basic and applied research, for a female student who is enrolled in a Masters or Doctoral program.

Recipients

  • 2025
    • Tamara Coulter, School of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences doctoral student studying under the direction of Dr. Michael Hylin and Dr. Camilo Hurtado-Parrado, for her research on  Impulsive Choice and Neuroinflammatory Morphology in the Impulsive Pathway of Rats Exposed to Severe Frontal Traumatic Brain Injury.
  • 2024
    • Jessica Hinojosa, School of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences doctoral student studying under the mentorship of Dr. Lesley Shawler for her research, An Examination of the Feasibility of a Brief Behavioral Sleep Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  • 2023
    • Claudia Ford, School of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences masters student with support from  Dr. Michael Hylin (https://academics.siu.edu/human-behavioral/psychology/faculty/hylin-michael.php) and Dr. Camilo Hurtado-Parrado for her research, Combined Methods of Chronic Early Life Stress and Its Functional and Structural Effects During Adolescence.
  • 2022
    • Titas Roy, Department of Physiology Master’s Student, with mentorship from Dr. Dale Hales for her research titled, Endocannabinoid system and Apoptosis in Ovarian Cancer.
    • Rebecca Seward, School of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences doctoral student under direction from Dr. Ryan Redner for her study focused on Increasing Physical Activity among People with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.

Research Committee

The CHHS Research Committee is made up of faculty members from the Schools in the College of Health and Human Sciences. The Committee is tasked with assisting the Associate Dean for Research and Personnel with research initiatives and awards.

Committee Members: