Pilot Projects - Center for Equity in Aging

2023 Pilot Research initiative

The Center for Equity in Aging, Johns Hopkins University invites applications for its 2023 Pilot Research Initiative. The research opportunity will provide funding for up to two junior faculty grants up to $10,000 each and up to two post-doctoral fellow or PhD student grants up to $5,000 each. This pilot research initiative is designed to provide seed funding for the development or advancement of research on aging and/or palliative care research.  

For the full Call for Proposals, click HERE.

Application deadline: April 15, 2023. 

2021 PILOT AWARDEES

• Melissa deCardi Hladek, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC

  Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

  End-stage renal disease disproportionally affects marginalized groups and is optimally treated with kidney transplant. Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to change from active waitlist status to inactive waitlist status and are likely to remain inactive longer. This research proposes the first phase to understand the person-environment fit to adapt CAPABLE, a person-directed evidenced-based intervention, as a prehabilitation program for this population.

• • • Junxin Li, PhD, MS, RN

      Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
      
      Gamma oscillations have been positively associated with multiple cognitive functions including attention and memory in human. Prior research suggests that 40Hz is the optimal frequency to induced gamma entrainment and improve cognitive function in both human and mice. This study will test feasibility, acceptability, and initial proof of concept that exposure to 40 Hz sound from a smart speaker provides cognitive benefit in older adults.

    • • • Mengchi Li, BSN, RN

          PhD Student, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

          This study will provide important evidence of trends of Electronic Wearable Devices (EWDs) use in U.S. older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; how socioeconomic status, demographics, and other health factors may influence older adults’ use of EWDs; and how EWDs use is related to physical activity in older adults. The findings will inform the implementation of EWDs in future behavioral interventions that engage community-dwelling older adults in long-term physical activities.

        • • • Safiyyah Okoye, PhD, MSN, NP-C

              Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

              This study will compare the prevalence of housing cost burden and deficient housing (physical deficiencies considered hazardous to health) between low and moderate income older adults living in the community with and without self-care disabilities. The study will also examine associations of housing cost burden and deficient housing with adverse consequences of unmet self-care needs among the subset with disabilities.

            • • • Kate Perepezko, MSPH

                  PhD Student, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

                  This study is designed to learn about role of caregivers in the quality of life of people living with Parkinson’s disease. The information will be used to develop interventions to improve quality of life for both people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.

                • • • Laura Samuel, PhD, MSN, RN and Julia Wolfson, PhD

                      Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                      Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

                      Although participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reduces food insecurity, more than half of the older adults who are eligible for the program don't enroll in it. Pilot funding from the Center for Innovative Care in Aging will be used to evaluate whether a recent increased SNAP benefit amount increased participation and reduced food insecurity among older adults in Maryland.

                    • • 2019 PILOT AWARDEES

                        • Binu Koirala, PhD
                          Research Associate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                          "Co-design of an Innovative Approach to End-of-Life Care in Older Adults: The ANANTA Study"
                        • • Sarah LaFave, MPH, RN
                            Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

                            PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                            "Quantifying older African Americans' exposure to structural discrimination: A mixed methods instrument design study"

                          • 2018 PILOT AWARDEES

                          • • Martha Abshire, PhD
                              Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              "The Context of Caregiving in Advanced Heart Failure: Improving communication between patients and caregivers (Caregiver-Support)"
                            • Bryan Hansen, PhD

                              Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing    
                              "Caregivers’ Perceptions of Abrupt Changes in Behavior to Differentiate Behavioral Symptoms in
                              Dementia and Delirium."

                            • Katherine Marx PhD, MPH

                              Research Associate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Center for Innovative Care in Aging   
                              “Testing the Feasibility of New Ways for Better Days: Tailoring Activities for Persons with Dementia and Caregivers (TAP) in the Assisted Living Setting”

                            • George Rebok, PhD

                              Professor & Core Faculty, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
                              "ACTIVE Memory Works: Refinement and Enhancement of a Novel Web-Based Intervention for Older Adults"

                            • Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD

                              Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              “Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Pain in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders”

                            • Thomas Chan, PhD

                              Post-Doctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
                              “The Mobile Mindfulness Attention Study: Piloting the Feasibility of a Wearable EEG Device and Attention Quantifying Software in Older Adults”

                            • Calliope Holingue, MPH, PhD
                              PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health    
                              "Screening for Dementia in Older Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities"
                            • Elizabeth A. Wise, MD
                              Geriatric Psychiatry Fellow, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
                              "Screening for Dementia in Older Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities"
                            • Minhui Liu, PhD, RN
                              Post-Doctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              "Training Student Nurses as Interventionists to Implement a Multifaceted Fall Prevention Program
                              in the Chinese Community Context: A Feasibility Study"
                            • Manka Nkimbeng, MPH, RN

                              PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              “Understanding Functional Disability in Older African Immigrants: The Roles of Acculturation and Racial Discrimination”

                            • Marian Tzuang, MSW
                              PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
                              “Long-Term Effects of Cognitive Training on Sleep in Community-Dwelling Older Adults”

                            2017 PILOT AWARDEES

                            • Melissa Hladek, CRNP, FNP-BC     
                              PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              "Utilization of the Sweat Patch to Collect Physiological Data from Older Adults with Chronic Diseases"
                            • Natalie G. Regier, PhD
                              Research Associate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Department of Community Public Health       
                              "Advancing an Understanding and Measurement of Dementia-Related Restlessness: A Troublesome and Pervasive Problem"
                            • Laura Samuel, PhD, CRNP
                              Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
                              "How do low income older adults cope with financial strain and financial shocks?"
                            • Mattan Schuchman, MD
                              Director, Johns Hopkins Home-based Medicine (JHOME).   
                              "Developing a Needs Assessment Tool for Patient and Caregiver Centered Home-based Primary Care Practice"