From the associate dean of research
Have you considered the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program? We have former Fulbright scholars, junior and senior levels, at CPH who have found the experience very rewarding. The application deadline for the 2024-2025 competition is September 15, 2023. Reach out to the Office if you have questions. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards give opportunities to U.S. citizens to teach, research, and carry out professional projects around the world. Over 400 awards are available to applicants, many of which are not widely known. For a full list, visit https://fulbrightscholars.org/awards/search.
Are you looking for an undergraduate Research Assistant? Consider recruiting through the university OSCAR program. The process is simple and fairly painless in my experience. You complete a job description form here, submit it to oscarfws@gmu.edu, and they will post your job on Handshake. Applications from interested students are directed to you (or your designated assistant). Read more here.
A conversation with CDC leadership
As you have probably heard Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, has been appointed as the new Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after leading North Carolina’s state public health agency. As Chair of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF), I had the privilege of meeting with her new senior policy advisor Charlene Wong, MD, who worked with Cohen as the North Carolina Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, as well as Deb Houry who is the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science. I was delighted to spend an hour talking to both of them, about the CPSTF and also to understand the agency’s priorities. My informal impression was that the agency will be focused on three key areas: the upcoming respiratory illness season, whole-person health with a focus on young families, and substance use prevention with a focus on opioid use disorder. Further, I have noticed that within CDC child mental health is sometimes framed in the context of adverse child events which, along with opioid overdose, falls under the CDC Injury Center. To the extent that a spotlight on young families focuses on policy and environmental improvements to support health and healthy behaviors or health care system collaboration to strengthen delivery of preventive services (e.g., home visiting), I would anticipate that the National CDC’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion would be quite active.
CDC has many funding opportunities, some of which are strongly research focused, mimicking NIH, and others which are more programmatic or service delivery and which may have evaluation components. This includes federal to state pass-through funding. Currently, CDC lists among its “forthcoming” funding opportunities “Support for New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Preventing Interpersonal Violence Impacting Children and Youth,” “Support for New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Understanding Drug Use and Overdose Risk and Protective Factors,” and “Research Grants for Preventing Violence and Violence Related Injury.” Not all “forthcoming” funding becomes active, but as we head into the next federal fiscal year, I suggest keeping your eye out on new opportunities at CDC, as research grants or as collaborations with community partners.
