Dr. Dennis Poole,Former Dean of Social Work, Co-PI, and Dr. Daniel Buxhoeveden (PI-Religious Studies) recently received notice  that they were awarded $97,000 from the John Templeton Foundation to establish the first Orthodox Religion and Science Institute in North America. Entitled “Science and the Orthodox Church in North America,” the project will promote research between Orthodox Christian theology and science and engage Orthodox theologians and scholars in the religion-science dialogue.

More than $400,000 in NIH funding awarded to Dr. Suzanne Baxter, Research Professor with the Institute for Families in Society, for programs related to childhood obesity and concerning dietary assessment methodology with children to investigate and ultimately improve the accuracy of their self-reports of diet.

Dr. Dennis Poole is a co-Principal Investigator on the $10 million SeniorSMART Center of Economic Excellence that will focus on multidisciplinary research to foster independence for senior citizens. Social Work will serve as the home for SmartHOME, one component of the effort,  that is designed to help seniors maintain independent mobility inside the  home.

Dr. Naomi Farber is serving as the Co-PI on a five-year, $2.1 Million, multi-state grant with PI Robert Valois (Public Health) titled, “A Multilevel  HIV Prevention Strategy for High-Risk Youth,” from the National Institute of Mental Health at NIH to test effectiveness of different strategies focused on behavior change high-risk sex and for STD testing and treatment among higher-risk adolescents.