Grants and Sponsored Research

Through the effort of Linda Davis-Delano, PhD, director of Educator Preparation and Licensure (retired), Springfield College was awarded a Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Emergency Licensure grant funded at $125,000 to support working teachers in Springfield Public Schools. Specifically, the grant will serve 30 participants with intensive, personalized MTEL (Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure) support. Stephanie R. Logan, EdD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Education, will serve as the grant program coordinator.

Erin E. Futrell, PT, MPT, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy, was awarded a federal research grant in August 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapy-based exercises used to reduce older adult falls. This project was selected for funding for $350,000 a year for three years. Futrell and her team of researchers will be recruiting older adults at risk of falling to participate in a clinical trial that compares the effects of a foot strengthening intervention and a footwear intervention on foot structure, proprioception, balance, and fall risk.

The THRIVE Scholars team of Anthony C. Hill, EdD, MSW, associate professor of social work and chair of the Department of Social Work; Lisa E. Watson, PhD, associate professor of social work; Laura Mackie, MSW, director of field education; and Lily Ghrear, MSW, assistant director of field education, was awarded a $300,000 grant from Boston Children's Hospital's Collaboration for Community Health. With this grant, the department has launched the THRIVE Scholars Program. The goal of the program is to reduce barriers and increase success in the student's postgraduate career transitions and prepare them to provide evidence-based and culturally responsive mental and behavioral health care to children, youth, and families.

Regina Kaufman, PT, EdD, NCS, professor of physical therapy, was awarded a $3,393 grant from the Massachusetts chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association in September 2022. Kimberly Nowakowski, PT, DPT, GCS, associate professor of physical therapy, is co-director on this grant. The grant supports provision of an evidence-based fall prevention program called Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance (TJQ:MBB) for people with Parkinson's disease. This 24-week program is being offered twice weekly, and is led by faculty and students from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program who have been trained and certified as TJQ:MBB leaders.

Sara Namazi, PhD, assistant professor of gerontology and health sciences, was awarded a $37,000 grant to serve as a co-investigator on the HITEC 4 project, which is a program administered by UConn Health and the Connecticut Department of Corrections.  Her tasks include assistance in workforce and management training and transition towards sustainability. Olivia Pandasci, an undergraduate in the health science major (Class of 2025), is assisting Namazi on the project as a research assistant.