The Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), and Tufts Medical Center announced the award decisions for the fifth cycle of Springboard today and we are proud to highlight that three Friedman-based projects were selected this year.
As outlined in the announcement, "Each of these high-quality, high-impact research, scholarship, and educational initiatives bodes well for vibrant research at Tufts by having an explicit plan leading to extramural funding or other outcomes that further influence research, scholarship, and/or policy."
In keeping with this cycle’s emphasis on supporting Tufts’ efforts to be an antiracist institution, many of the projects focused on racial inequities and/or the promotion of anti-racist interventions. Please join us in congratulating Merry Fitzpatrick, Sara Folta, Paul Howe, Anastasia Marshak, Dan Maxwell, Elena Naumova, Fang Fang Zhang, and the team members they’ll be working with across Tufts University on these winning projects.
Famine Archive and Data Hackathons
Team Leads: Elena Naumova (Friedman) and Paul Howe (Friedman)
Team Members: Merry Fitzpatrick (Friedman), Anastasia Marshak (Friedman), Daniel Maxwell (Friedman), and Oxana Shevel (A&S)
This Famine Archive and Data Hackathons project brings together an interdisciplinary team to assemble and explore a data archive of historic and contemporary humanitarian crises, like the Holodomor of 1932-33, and the ongoing emergencies in Ukraine, Yemen, Somalia. Together with DataLab, DISC, and Tufts Digital Library we will develop our expertise in running data hackathons, create interactive data platforms and dashboards, design infographics and dynamic maps. With the guidance of TTS Design Practice team, we will apply team science concepts, identify the challenges, and pilot practical solutions for establishing and maintaining the Famine Archive, and engage students from five Tufts Schools to build the foundation for developing famine forecasting models.
Produce Prescriptions on Maternal and Birth Outcomes: A Food is Medicine Intervention Among Pregnant Women
Team Lead: Fang Fang Zhang (Friedman)
Team Members: Sara Folta (Friedman), Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn (TMC), and Chenchen Sun (TMC)
Pregnancy is a critical period during which nutrition plays an important role for maternal and birth outcomes. Produce prescriptions hold significant promise for addressing the alarming crisis of nutrition-related adverse outcomes and disparities for pregnant women. This project will qualitatively assess factors for effective design and delivery of produce prescriptions to pregnant women and evaluate the feasibility of implementing produce prescriptions in prenatal clinics and impact on maternal and birth outcomes.
Catalyzing Community Change: A Qualitative Study of Black Women Leadership Characteristics
Team Lead: Sara Folta (Friedman)
Team Members: Linda Hudson (TUSM) and Peter Levine (Tisch)
Leadership is a major factor in creating policy, systems, and/or environmental (PSE) change to improve public health. We will interview 10 Black women who have impacted the health of their communities through PSE change to learn about their leadership characteristics and change strategies. Findings will be used to enhance a community change intervention for cardiovascular disease prevention among Black women.
Full list of recipients:
TIER 1
3D Printed Silk-Based Tracheal Implants
Team Lead: David Kaplan (SOE)
Team Member: Vincent Fitzpatrick (SOE)
Famine Archive and Data Hackathons
Team Leads: Elena Naumova (Friedman) and Paul Howe (Friedman)
Team Members: Merry Fitzpatrick (Friedman), Anastasia Marshak (Friedman), Daniel Maxwell (Friedman), and Oxana Shevel (A&S)
Engaging Stakeholders in New England to Improve Antibiotic Stewardship Practices in Jails and Prisons
Team Lead: Alysse Wurcel (TMC)
Team Members: Gabriela Andujar-Vazquez (TMC), Maureen Campion (TMC), Shira Doron (TMC), and Jacob van den Berg (TUSM)
TIER 2
Half this History Research and Action Project
Team Leads: Jennifer Burton (A&S) and Julie Dobrow (A&S)
Team Members: Amahl Bishara (A&S), Dina Deitsch (Art Galleries), Nina Gerassi-Navarro (A&S), Barbara Grossman (A&S), Heather Nathans (A&S), and Tasha Oren (A&S)
Characterization of a Novel Inter-tissue Muscle-to-brain Signal in C. elegans
Principal Investigator: Peter Chang-Hwa Juo (TUSM)
A Hybrid Physics and Machine Learning Approach to Diagnostics and Prognostics for Offshore Wind
Team Lead: Usman Khan (SOE)
Team Member: Babak Moaveni (SOE)
Ecologies of Justice: The Rights of Nature in Colombia
Principal Investigator: Kimberly Theidon (Fletcher)
Produce Prescriptions on Maternal and Birth Outcomes: A Food is Medicine Intervention Among Pregnant Women
Team Lead: Fang Fang Zhang (Friedman)
Team Members: Sara Folta (Friedman), Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn (TMC), and Chenchen Sun (TMC)
TIER 3
Disciplinary Identity Development in Computational Biology
Team Leads: Julia Gouvea (A&S) and Lawrence Uricchio (A&S)
Catalyzing Community Change: A Qualitative Study of Black Women Leadership Characteristics
Team Lead: Sara Folta (Friedman)
Team Members: Linda Hudson (TUSM) and Peter Levine (Tisch)