UNE Westbrook College of Health Professions announces 2017 mid-year mini grants awards

The University of New England Westbrook College of Health Professions has awarded mini grants to three projects, with the goal of catalyzing the growth in quality and quantity of scholarly activity being conducted by faculty in the college, as well as helping to contribute to a culture of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

WCHP mini grants also serve to support a generation of scholarly works and pilot projects that can be incorporated into applications for external funding by federal and state agencies or private foundations, as well as increase the visibility of these worthy projects.

Jim Cavanaugh, PT, Ph.D., associate professor and interim director of Physical Therapy, and Yang Kang, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor in the College of Dental Medicine, received a grant to support their study on the effects of wearing a low-profile mouth guard in people with middle-stage Parkinsons Disease.

Regi Robnett, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, was awarded a grant to support the development of an online quality of life assessment tool designed to look at a person’s quality of life levels and what is important to them for the purposes of occupational therapy intervention planning. The Qual-OT has been in existence for over 20 years as a paper survey. The grant will also support completion of pilot testing for the UNE Multiple Errands Test, an exam that tests executive cognitive ability by requiring the subject to perform practical, everyday tasks. The test could be used to in place of the more commonly used ImPACT test for athletes. Robnett will be assisted by alumna Jessica Bolduc ‘04, Dr.O.T., M.S.O.T. ‘05, OTR/L, and Allison Morrill, J.D., Ph.D.

Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, director of the School of Social work and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative, was awarded a grant to extend the work of the Health Resource Service Administration-funded CHANNELS project, engaging leaders of Maine’s multicultural community to assess the possible benefits of having insiders to the immigrant culture design and teach a course in cultural knowledge and communication. Arabella Perez, LCSW, is a co-investigator on the grant. Deqa Dulac, M.S.W., and School of Social Work alumni Regina Phillips are on the curriculum design team. UNE Nursing Director Jennifer Morton, D.N.P., M.P.H., APHN-BC, and Nancy Shore, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H., professor in the School of Social Work, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, will consult.

To learn more about the University of New England’s Westbrook College of Health Professions visit www.une.edu/wchp

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions