The Research and Innovation Office has awarded $87,699 to nine projects as part of the NC A&T and UMN Research Partnership, a seed grant program aimed at developing a research partnership between the University of Minnesota and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), a leading research institution among America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Though RIO had initially planned to fund five projects in this Phase I cycle, additional funding was allocated as an exception this year because of the priority of the program for our office. This allowed for all proposals received to be funded this cycle considering their strong alignment with the objectives and purpose of the program. The Phase I awards, which were up to $10,000 per project, will build relationships between faculty at both institutions and across all research areas, and will include researcher exchanges, seminars, lectures, lab visits, and other relevant activities. The following projects received funding:
Advancing Leadership and Participation of Underrepresented Adult Learners in STEM: A Collaborative Initiative between UMN and NC A&T
Lead PI: Joshua Collins, Organizational Leadership Policy and Development (OLPD), UMN
Co-PIs: Stephanie Sisco, OLPD, UMN; Geleana Alston, Leadership Studies and Adult Education, NC A&T; Adam McLain, Leadership Studies and Adult Education, NC A&T
Creating a Collaborative Neuroscience System (CNS)
Lead PI: Angeline Dukes, Neuroscience, Medical School, UMN
Co-PIs: Ashley Sanderlin, Neuroscience, NC A&T; Jerome Moulden II, Neuroscience, NC A&T
Racial Disparities and Vascular Dysfunction in PTSD
Lead PI: Ida T. Fonkoue; Physical Therapy, Medical School, UMN
Co-PI: Marc Cook, Center for Excellence for Integrative Health Disparities and Equity Research (CIHDER), NC A&T
Do Small Niche Swine Farms Fit in the Future Swine Industry?
Lead PI: Lee Johnston, Swine Nutrition and Management, Dept. of Animal Science, West Central Research and Outreach Center, College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, UMN
Co-PI: Derick Coble, Swine Specialist, Dept. of Animal Sciences, NC A&T
Improving Transportation Equity through Collaborative Development of Transportation Methodologies
Lead PI: Michael Levin, Center for Transportation Studies, Civil, Environmental, and Geo Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, UMN
Co-PIs: Alireza Khani, Center for Transportation Studies, Civil, Environmental, and Geo Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, UMN; Venktesh Pandey, Dept of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, NC A&T
UMN - NC A&T University Agricultural Research Partnership
Lead PI: Hinh Ly, Graduate Studies in Comparative & Molecular Biosciences, Dept of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, UMN
Co-PI: Yewande Fasina, Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, NC A&T
Understanding Associations between Body Image, Dress & Appearance, Gender Roles, and Media Use among LGBTQ+ Black Youth
Lead PI: Jenifer McGuire, Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, UMN
Co-PI: Devona L. Dixon, Family and Consumer Sciences, NC A&T
Collaborators: Xiaoran Sun, Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, UMN; Jennifer George, Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, UMN; Chalandra Bryant, Family Social Science, College of Education and Human Development, UMN
Building Cross-Institutional Black STEM Educational Research and Praxis Solidarities through Mentorship
Lead PI: Darius Stanley, Educational Policy and Leadership, Dept of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, College of Education and Human Development, UMN
Co-PI: Stephen Hancock, Director of the Center of Excellence for Educational Equity Research (CEEER), College of Education, NC A&T
Scaling Social Determinants of Health from Neighborhoods to the Nation
Lead PI: David Van Riper, Director of Spatial Analysis, Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation, Research and Innovation Office, UMN
Co-PIs: Celeste Butts-Jackson, Dept. of Health Management & Policy, NC A&T; Jason Mose, Dept. of Health Management & Policy, NC A&T
Another round of Phase I seed grants will be offered in fall 2025 and then move to Phase II in 2026, which will provide higher funding for conducting joint seed projects. Applicants who have completed a successful Phase I effort will be eligible to submit Phase II proposals. Collectively, the collaborations developed in Phase I and Phase II are expected to build upon their outcomes and approach for additional funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others.