Dignity Health and Arizona State University have announced the 2018 awardees of the Collaborative Strategic Initiatives Program, which offers grants to ASU faculty and Dignity Health investigators for collaborative research projects that accelerate the health and well-being of the community.

Grant recipients will embark on projects that address an array of public health challenges — from diabetes to brain tumors to Lou Gehrig's disease — and will result in the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices into public health, clinical practice and community settings.

“ASU’s partnership with Dignity Health reflects the spirit of collaboration, discovery and community impact that is central to the university’s mission,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU. “The work being done through these grants advances scientific inquiry and knowledge and also offers hope for solutions to some of our most pressing health challenges.”

Dignity Health and ASU launched the program in 2017 to advance joint research in key programmatic areas like population health, educating a prepared health care workforce and building a healthy clinical workforce.

“It’s exciting to see ASU faculty partnering with Dignity Health investigators as they work together on new ideas and concepts,” said Dr. Keith Frey, chief physician executive at Dignity Health and clinical professor in the College of Health Solutions at ASU. “The anticipated outcomes from this second funding cycle will add real benefit for our patients and the health of our community.”

Originating in 2015, the Dignity Health and ASU partnership is a vibrant, innovative collaboration, formed on the foundation of clinical and academic excellence.

The next funding cycle for the Dignity Health/ASU Collaborative Strategic Initiatives Program is expected in spring 2019.

Program award recipients:

Shannon Dirksen and Liz Harrell

College of Nursing and Health Innovation

Dignity Health Investigator: Nicole Piemonte, PhD

Project: Expanding impacts of student-run free clinics; the Student Health Outreach for Wellness (SHOW) sustainability plan

Rodger Kessler and Siddhartha Angadi

College of Health Solutions

Dignity Health Investigator: Edward Paul, MD

Project: The ASU-Dignity Health Type 2 diabetes medical and behavioral lifestyle management program  

Vikram Kodibagkar

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

Dignity Health/BNI Investigator: C. Chad Quarles, PhD

Project: One-shot morphologic, hemodynamic and metabolic MR imaging of brain tumors

Julie Liss and Visar Berisha

College of Health Solutions

Dignity Health/BNI Investigators: Jeremy M. Shefner, MD and Shafeeq Ladha, MD

Project: Speech analysis in ALS patients with and without cognitive abnormalities: Evaluation of sensitivity and disease progression

Kristin Mickelson

School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

Dignity Health Investigator: Claudia Chambers, MD

Project: Racial disparities in low birth weight: Discrimination, resilience and biomedical pathways in a sample of black, Hispanic and white pregnant women

Brent Vernon

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

Dignity Health/BNI Investigators: Mark C. Preul, MD and Andrew Ducruet, MD

Project: Multi-institutional program to translate liquid embolics to the clinic

Wendy Wolfersteig

Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, School of Social Work, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions

Dignity Health Investigator: Anna Alonzo

Project: Assessing the effectiveness of the 2MATCH Project on social determinants of health and healthcare utilization

Top photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Katherine Reedy