News Release

Research Stimulus Grants in Aging Program Winners Announced

June 15, 2006

The UNC Institute on Aging announces awards in the form of pilot grants for interdisciplinary team building and research grant proposal development in aging, to four researchers and their teams at UNC at Chapel Hill. The aim of the Research Stimulus Grants in Aging program is to build greater strength in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary aging research on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. The Institute on Aging received nine letters of intent and seven proposals, and awarded four grants. The Research Stimulus Grants Program is made possible by competitive funds for innovative programming, awarded to the IOA by the office of the Vice Chancellor Research and Economic Development, and supplemented by other IOA funds. Grantees will be expected to use these funds to build an interdisciplinary team, to participate in research development workshops and IOA seminars, and to develop a research proposal submitted through the Institute on Aging.

The funded pilot projects and interdisciplinary teams are:

"A Pilot Study to Explore Factors Influencing Pursuit of Work in Persons with Disabilities After Age 50"

Principal Investigator: Charles Bernacchio, Ed.D., CRC, Assistant Research Professor, Allied Health Sciences, Rehabilitation, Psychology and Counseling

Investigator Team: Sue Coppola, MS, OTR/L, BCG, Clinical Associate Professor, Allied Health Sciences, Occupational Science; Donna Falvo, RN, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Allied Health Sciences, Rehabilitation, Psychology and Counseling; Laurie Ringaert, MSc, BMR-OT, BSc. Director Office of Research, School of Public Health, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health.

"Post-acute Rehabilitation Care following Total Joint Replacement"

Principal Investigator: Janet K. Freburger, PT, PhD, Research Associate and Fellow, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

Investigator Team: Leigh Callahan, PhD, Associate Professor Departments of Medicine, Orthopaedics and Social Medicine, Founding Fellow, Institute on Aging, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, and Research Fellow, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research; Sally C. Stearns, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Policy and Administration, Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics, and Research Fellow, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.

"Effects of Foot Structure and Foot Orthotics on Balance and Self-Perceived Stability in the Elderly"

Principal Investigator: Michael T. Gross, PT, PhD, Professor, Division of Physical Therapy

Investigator Team: Vicki S. Mercer, PT, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Physical Therapy; Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Affairs at the Institute on Aging, Coordinator of Geriatric Services in the Division of General Medicine, Director, Program on Aging.

"A Feasibility Study to Determine Best Approaches to Study Visitable Single-Family Housing and Health Outcomes of Older Women"

Co-Principal Investigators: Carol E. Lorenz, PT, PhD, Associate Director, Center for Women's Health Research, UNC School of Medicine and Laurie Ringaert, MSc, BMR-OT, BSc. Director Office of Research, School of Public Health, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health

Investigator Team: Daniel Rodríguez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning; David Salvesen, PhD, Director of the Program on Smart Growth and the New Economy, Center for Urban and Regional Studies; Catherine Alguire, MLA, OTR/L, Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning; Allied Health Sciences; Pam Dickens and Karen Luken, North Carolina Office on Disability and Health.