2017 Recipients of Come ‘N’ Go Grant Program

The College of Human Sciences (COHS) Research Office announced the recipients of the Come 'N' Go Domestic Research Collaboration Seed Grants on October 10th, recognizing the top applicants from 2017. Awardees were selected based on their research proposal having scientific merit, feasibility, and the likelihood of receiving a federal grant.

In order to promote research collaboration between the COHS and other national institutions, the program awards grants that allow co-contributors to visit each other's campuses and implement joint research projects.

Once the details of their research projects are confirmed, candidates apply with the hope of receiving federal grant funding. In previous years, they have visited the Texas Tech University campus for the opportunity to network and present their research.

This year, collaborators came from a variety of campuses including Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, and other high profile universities. After reviewing all the applications, the COHS Research Committee Members and the Associate Dean for Research Michael O'Boyle, Ph.D, selected the top four that will be awarded $5,000 each.

2017 Come 'N' Go Grant Awardees

Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Ph.D., Department of Nutritional Sciences, Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Ph.D., Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Su Shin, Ph.D., Department of Design, Oak-Hee Park, Ph.D., College of Human Sciences

Vivian Haley-Zitlin, Ph.D., Clemson University

• Sustainable Life Skills to Reduce Obesity risk (SuLiSRO) by improving protective factors for youth

Latha Ramalingam, Ph.D., Department of Nutritional Sciences

Shane Broughton, Ph.D., Texas Women's University

• Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation with Fish Oil on Childhood Obesity

Julie Chang, Ph.D., Department of Hospitality and Retail Management, Su Shin, Ph.D., Department of Design

Jennifer Yurchisin, Ph.D., University of Minnesota

• An fMRI Study for the Aging Society: Understanding the Psychological and Neurophysiological Effects of Design Elements Related to Body Shapes

Yuri Koboziev, Ph.D., Department of Nutritional Sciences

Preethi Gunaratne, Ph.D., University of Houston

• Intestinal Microbiome and Protective Effects of Curcumin in Mouse Model of Osteoarthritis Mouse Model of Osteoarthritis

For Dr. Julie Chang, the Come 'N' Go Grant will allow her to build on research she has previously conducted. "I have been conducting research about social-psychological aspects of clothing and found many positive aspects of clothing related to individuals' self-concept," Dr. Chang said. "Last year, Dr. Su-Jeong Hwang Shin (Department of Design) and I received a Seed Grant to examine the relationship between clothing design elements and individuals' perceptions."

Their preliminary study produced interesting results, which led Dr. Chang to begin working with Dr. Jennifer Yurchisin of the University of Minnesota to explore the social-psychological aspects of clothing related to consumer behavior.

"Clothing has many significant functions for individuals, such as increasing self-confidence by changing their appearance. Also, individuals' body shapes often change as they age and these influence their clothing choices. Thus, we believed that it is important to understand psychological and neurophysiological effects of design elements related to body shapes, so that we can design clothing with right design elements for individuals in an aging society based on their psychological needs."

The Seed Grant they received will help them design clothing that will satisfy individuals in aging society both psychologically and neurophysiologically, using clothing as a therapeutic tool to improve emotion and self-esteem.

Applications such as the work of Drs. Chang, Shin, and Yurchisin are a great example of what makes the Research Office enthusiastic about the response to the program.

"I think it develops great deal of synergy and collaboration among top flight faculty from both campuses," Dr. O'Boyle said.

He advises all faculty members who are even considering it to apply.

"Just see how things turn out; no idea is too simple or automatically considered non-competitive."

Moving forward, the research committee hopes to continue funding proposals and see COHS federal grant success rise as a byproduct of the program.

Related: Come 'N' Go Seed Grant Program calls for 2017 applications