UCR School of Medicine has announced the recipients of the 2025 Dean's Collaborative Seed Grants.
The grant provides funds up to $25,000 in seed grant funding for collaborative interdisciplinary research projects between faculty in the Division of Biomedical Sciences and UCR as a whole, aimed at developing proposals and preliminary data for full NIH or similar grant applications. More information is available on the website.
"The Dean’s Collaborative Seed Grants provide exciting opportunities to foster interdisciplinary research at the UCR School of Medicine,” said Associate Dean of Biomedical Research Meera Nair, PhD. “By supporting innovative collaborations between our Biomedical Sciences faculty and colleagues across UCR, these grants empower researchers to secure competitive funding from organizations like the NIH and support health disparities research to serve our community."
The winning proposals are:
Distinguishing Asthma-like Pulmonary Disease Induced by LPS Laden Salton Sea Dust in a Pediatric Population
Aligned with serving the underserved communities of the Inland Empire, Caroline McGowan, MD and David Lo, MD, PhD, serving as co-PI and mentor, propose to study the detrimental effects of dust and particulate matter (PM) arising from the Salton Sea and how they impact the children residing in these areas.
Interaction of HIV and Methamphetamine on Anti-Viral and Immune Mechanisms of Dopamine Dysfunction in Addiction
Natalie Zlebnik, PhD and Marcus Kaul, PhD, with Adam Godzik, PhD consulting and Iryna Ethell, PhD serving as Zlebnik’s mentor, propose to tackle the rising public health concern of drug abuse and the increased risk for HIV infection by using preclinical mouse models to determine how methamphetamine affects HIV progression and transmission.
Impacts of Occupational Exposures on Immune and Pulmonary Health in Farmworker Populations in Inland Southern California
In line with addressing health risks within underserved communities in the Inland Empire, Erica Heinrich, PhD (pictured above) and Ann Cheney, PhD, serving as co-PI and mentor, propose to investigate the effects of occupational exposures on farmworkers’ pulmonary health and sleep disordered breathing.
