The Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) has awarded funding to six interdisciplinary research teams through its Collaborative Health Sciences Grant Program.
The new collaborations, led by SMPH faculty, span the academic disciplines including basic science, translational, clinical and applied public health research. The multi-disciplinary teams are focusing on a wide range of significant health challenges including addressing postpartum pain management; advancing cancer treatments; improving provider-patient communication; investigating the causes of pulmonary fibrosis; reducing infections and preventing substance misuse.
“WPP’s Collaborative Health Sciences Grant Program channels the strength of interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together experts across diverse fields, to explore new solutions to complex health problems,” says Amy Kind, MD, PhD, SMPH associate dean for social health sciences and programs, and WPP executive director. “This year’s grant program attracted a record number of proposals. We extend our congratulations to the awardees, who were selected through a rigorous, multi-stage review process. We look forward to the advancements and positive health impacts their research will yield in the years ahead.”
The following projects were each awarded up to $600,000 over three years.
Poorly managed postpartum pain heightens the risk of depression and undiagnosed life-threatening health conditions. This project will investigate inequities in postpartum care, with the goal to inform future interventions and improve postpartum care and pain management. The project team will combine clinician survey and interview data with electronic medical records from postpartum patients. Findings will inform future interventions to reduce inequities in postpartum care and pain management.
Principal Investigator: Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor, Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology
Co-Principal Investigator: India Anderson-Carter, MD, assistant professor (CHS), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Collaborators: Nao Hagiwar, PhD, professor and director of the Program on Health Disparities and Community Engagement Research, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia; Laura Swan, PhD, LCSW, senior research scientist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UW–Madison; Klaira Lerma, MPH, clinical research manager, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UW–Madison
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Wisconsin. Paclitaxel is a standard treatment for several types of cancer, including breast cancer, but nearly half of patients do not respond to it. This project aims to improve outcomes for cancer patients by developing a new combination therapy that can make resistant tumors more responsive to paclitaxel without harming healthy non-cancerous cells. This work could lead to the identification of new therapies for other types of cancers as well.
Principal Investigator: Beth Weaver, PhD, professor, Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology
Co-Principal Investigator: Weiping Tang, PhD, professor, School of Pharmacy
There is a strong connection between health literacy and health outcomes. Current informed consent practices may leave some patients feeling unheard and unprepared for surgery, contributing to poor health literacy. This project seeks to train surgeons at participating hospital systems to use Better Conversations, an evidence-based approach that helps patients and surgeons clearly discuss the goals and risks of surgery. This study will compare different training methods and explore ethical guidelines for future use of ambient artificial intelligence to support enhanced patient-surgeon communication. Findings will inform the expansion of Better Conversations as a statewide training program.
Principal Investigator: Margaret ‘Gretchen’ Schwarze, MD, MPP, FACS, professor, Department of Surgery
Co-Principal Investigator: Andrew Ruis, PhD, associate director for research, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Collaborators: Karola Kreitmair, PhD, associate professor, Department of Medical History and Bioethics, UW–Madison; Kristine Kwekkeboom, PhD, RN, FAAN professor, School of Nursing, UW–Madison; Amir Ghaferi, MD, MSc, MBA, FACS, FASMBS, professor, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and related fibrotic lung diseases are life threatening, with limited treatment options and high mortality, leading to approximately 1,000 deaths annually in Wisconsin. This project investigates a promising new signaling pathway in the development of lung fibrosis involving protein modification to explore how a particular enzyme contributes to lung scarring and disease progression. The project team aims to uncover key fibrotic signaling pathways that could lead to more targeted therapies for IPF and other fibrotic diseases without affecting essential biological functions.
Principal Investigator: Nathan Sandbo, MD, professor, Department of Medicine
Co-Principal Investigator: Jiaoyang Jiang, PhD, professor, School of Pharmacy
Collaborators: Ksenija Bernau, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine
Central venous catheters deliver life-saving treatments but can lead to serious bloodstream infections, including those caused by Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal pathogen. This project will study how the stiffness of catheter surfaces impacts the body’s immune response and how well neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, and the body’s first responders for fighting infections, can detect and eliminate pathogens like C. auris. This innovative collaboration between experts in infectious disease and engineering experts could lead to the development of medical devices that better support the body’s natural defenses and reduce health care burdens in Wisconsin and beyond.
Principal Investigator: Jeniel Nett, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Medical of Microbiology and Immunology
Co-Principal Investigator: Christian Franck, PhD, professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Substance misuse remains a leading cause of preventable death and hospitalization in Wisconsin. However, current prevention efforts often respond too late. This project aims to develop an artificial intelligence model capturing early warning signs in patient data, such as emergency department visits and hospitalizations, which can identify individuals at risk of death or rehospitalization. Using a newly secured data hub, this model has the potential to predict adverse outcomes in order to guide timely interventions and ultimately improve care and prevent avoidable deaths.
Principal Investigator: Majid Afshar, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine
Co-Principal Investigator: Anoop Mayampurath, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
Collaborators: Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, MD, MPH, professor (CHS) and program director of the Preventive Medicine Residency, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and Department of Population Health Sciences, UW–Madison, Ryan Powell, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, UW–Madison, Constance Kostelac, PhD, assistant professor and Director of the Division of Data Surveillance and Informatics, Division of Epidemiology and Social Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin
Through the Collaborative Health Sciences Grant Program, the Wisconsin Partnership Program supports innovative ideas and cutting-edge approaches to interdisciplinary research or education advancing health, health care and health equity in Wisconsin and beyond.
The Wisconsin Partnership Program is a grantmaking program within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health committed to improving health and advancing health equity through investments in community partnerships, education and research initiatives.
