Research

Special Interest Groups

CHHS launched special interest groups in scholarship, research and grants (SRG-SIGs) in the 2023-2024 academic year. The initiative flexibly recognizes groups at one of three stages. Some are idea-generating, coming together regularly to present ideas and share resources to spark ideas for collaboration. Some are idea realizing, coming together to complete a tangible product like writing a paper or crafting a protocol together. Some are idea-sustaining, coming together to write an external grant proposal that can ensure a longstanding intellectual community.

The groups include at least three members from at least two different CHHS programs and can be from outside CHHS and beyond NIU. These groups have been funded:

heARTwork: Mindfulness, Art and Health

• Lynn Herrmann, group chair, CHHS Public Health
• Jessica Labatte, NIU School of Art and Design 
• Paul Wright, NIU College of Education

Reproductive, Maternal and Infant Health Equity (RMIHE) Research Group

• Stephanie Uhr, group chair, CHHS Nursing
• Shondra Clay, CHHS Health Sciences
• Julie Patterson, CHHS Nutrition and Dietetics

Impact of Aging on the Well-Being and Quality of Life of Community Dwelling Older Adults, with Particular Emphasis on those with Amputations

• Hamid Bateni, group chair, CHHS Physical Therapy
• Abul Azad, NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
• Mark Edwards and Gerald Stark, Ottobock North America

Intersections between Hearing Loss and Dementia Onset

• Anitha Saravanan, group chair, CHHS Nursing
• Blythe Kitner, CHHS Audiology
• Matt Wilson, CHHS Audiology

Protective Factors for Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) for Understanding Dementia Risk Using Animal Model and Data from Human Population

• Yujun Liu, group chair, CHHS Family and Consumer Sciences
• Jamie Mayer, NIU Speech Language Pathology
• Angela Grippo, NIU Department of Psychology
• Hongdao Meng, University of South Florida School of Aging Studies