Wisconsin Partnership Program announces recipients of 20th anniversary grants

The 20th Anniversary Community Grant Program and 20th Anniversary Postdoctoral Grant Program, launched as part of WPP’s 20th anniversary celebration, provide $444,000 for research and community projects to improve health and advance health equity in Wisconsin.

“We are delighted to announce the recipients of WPP’s 20th anniversary grant programs,” said Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate dean for social health sciences and programs at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and executive director of the Wisconsin Partnership Program. “These community and research grant programs were created to forward WPP’s mission and impact even as we look back and celebrate this significant milestone.”

“With these community grant awards, new and small nonprofits across the state gain essential organizational capacity to address community health challenges, while the new research grants provide crucial funding to School of Medicine and Public Health post-doctoral trainees, enabling them to advance their research and develop their careers,” said Kind.

20th Anniversary Community Grant Awards

The 20th Anniversary Community Grant Program provided 11 awards of up to $20,000 each to support the capacity of smaller or newer Wisconsin-based nonprofits working towards health equity or addressing the social determinants of health. The awards support a wide range of projects that build efficiencies, provide training and strengthen organizational systems. These efforts help recipients advance their missions, which include tackling issues like mental health and substance abuse, promoting nutrition and access to healthy food, supporting healthy brain aging and strengthening the health workforce.

Community grant recipients and projects:

6:8, Inc. for the initiative 6:8, Inc. Donor and Volunteer Management Software Upgrade

Through this project, 6:8, Inc. will update donor, volunteer, communication and fundraising software to sustain the expansion of their poverty reduction services, which promote economic stability and social and community support in the rural Sauk Prairie area.

Brain Center of Green Bay, Inc. for the initiative Strategic Planning to Build Organizational Capacity, Assess Community Needs and Explore Program and Funding Opportunities

In this project, the Brain Center of Green Bay, Inc. will engage in a strategic planning process to explore avenues of funding diversification and new community outreach and education programs that ensure healthy brain aging for older adults.

Community Action for Healthy Living for the initiative Enhancing Communication to Comprehensively Support Youth Substance Use Prevention

This project aims to develop a communications strategy to promote and enhance Community Action for Healthy Living’s youth prevention outreach and advocacy efforts, particularly addressing the intersectional nature of youth substance use and mental health.

Dairyland Sports Corporation for the initiative Project Phoenix – Website, Marketing, and Community Resource Enhancement

This project will improve and emphasize accessibility features on Dairyland Sports Corporation’s website and support the creation of a web-based community resource map with current Wisconsin-based health, fitness, wellness and recreational organizations serving individuals with disabilities.

Dane County Multi Agency Center (DaneMAC) for the initiative DaneMAC Marketing Plan

This project will establish a marketing strategy to promote community partnerships and bring awareness to the resources DaneMAC offers to ensure that survivors of gender violence have access to services when, where and how they want.

Hudson Area Backpack & Food Program for the initiative Fresh Harvest Pantry — Refrigeration/Freezer Project

Through this project, Hudson Area Backpack & Food Program will purchase refrigerators and freezers in order to provide perishable goods to A.L.I.C.E. (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households in St. Croix County from their new, permanent Fresh Harvest Pantry location.

Moms Mental Health Initiative for the initiative Managing Rapid Growth: Enhancing Infrastructure and Sustainable Donor Strategies

In this project, Moms Mental Health Initiative will develop a comprehensive donor development and fundraising strategy to sustain their work of providing essential mental health support to birthing individuals.

Nia Imani Family Inc. for the initiative Sustainable Institutional Advancement Strategy Planning and Support

This project will identify, attain and retain new institutional funding sources to support Nia Imani Family’s positive co-parenting and conflict resolution programming to empower families in the 53205 zip code and surrounding neighborhoods.

Scenic Rivers Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for the initiative Growing Our Own

This project will invest in staff professional development and leadership training to build organizational skills and knowledge to support Scenic Rivers AHEC’s work of addressing shortages of health care workers in southwest Wisconsin.

The Auxilia Initiative, Inc. for the initiative Promoting Access via Outreach, Education and Program Development

In this project, the Auxilia Initiative will develop, promote and coordinate early mental health interventions for first responders and community members of Bayfield County and Ashland County who have experienced a crisis.

Wisconsin Northern Highland Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for the initiative Enhancing AHEC Learner Engagement and Community Partnerships Using a CRM

Through this project, seven regional AHEC Centers and the Wisconsin AHEC State Program Office will benefit from a central customer relations management (CRM) database, which will allow the centers to co-develop and co-deliver responsive programming in rural and underserved communities.

20th Anniversary Postdoctoral Grant Awards

The 20th Anniversary Postdoctoral Grant Program provided 14 awards of up to $20,000 each to support the career development of postdoctoral trainees, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows and research associates at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as they conduct a research or education project or pursue a professional development opportunity to advance their career with a focus on improving health, health care or advancing health equity in Wisconsin and beyond. Postdocs will collaborate with their supervising mentor who nominated them for this award. This year’s awards support projects that range from improving the diagnosis of sepsis to understanding Alzheimer’s disease, from addressing diabetes and obesity to removing barriers to surgery.

Research recipients and their projects:

• Ryan Behrens, PhD, research associate, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine: Role of the EnvCT in SIVmac Viral Fitness
• Elizabeth Cooper, MD, clinical fellow, Department of Surgery, Division of Endocrine Surgery: Patient Barriers to Surgical Referral for Primary Hyperparathyroidism
• Yi Fan, MD, PhD, research associate, Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology: SDH Inhibition Promotes Cardiac Regeneration in Myocardial Infarction by Reprogramming Myofibroblast Metabolism
• Naoaki Ito, DPT, PhD, research associate, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation: Quantifying Patellar Tendon Loads During Rehabilitation Exercises in Patients with Patellar Tendon Injuries
• Jea Woo Kang, PhD, MS, research associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology: Longitudinal Changes in Gut Microbiome Composition is Associated with Biofluid Markers of Alzheimer’s Disease
• Renee King, PhD, CCC-SLP, research associate, Department of Oncology: Role Of Injury in Vocal Fold Disease Caused By Papillomavirus Infection in Immunocompetent Individuals
• Vladislav Leonov, PhD, MS, research associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine: Learning and Implementation of Advanced Techniques for Cardiac Live Slices Preparation and Simultaneous Optical Calcium and Voltage Imaging
• Ryan Marshall, PhD, MSc, research associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: Signal Transducers Regulating Dietary and Pharmacological BCAA Restriction in Obesity and Type II Diabetes: The Role of Mitochondrial BCAA Carrier Slc25a44
• Jason Moody, PhD, MS, postdoctoral trainee and research associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology: Investigating Associations between Neighborhood-Level Disadvantage and Microstructural Neurodegeneration Across the Alzheimer’s Disease Continuum
• Molly Mulcahy, PhD, RD, postdoctoral trainee, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology: Preconception Weight Loss Strategy Impact on Gestational Glycemia, Milk Lipids and Offspring Islet Health
• Laura Prieto, PhD, postdoctoral trainee, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health: Promoting Physical Activity (PA) Programs for Latine/Hispanic People with Parkinson’s Disease and Their Care Partners
• Mariana Bresque Toledo, PhD, MSc, research associate, Department of Neurology: Fabp7 Silencing as a Strategy to Treat Mutant GFAP-induced Neuroinflammation in Alexander’s Disease
• Elizabeth Ver Hoeve, PhD, postdoctoral trainee, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health: POISE Wisconsin: Primary and Oncology Integration for Survivorship Equity in Wisconsin
• Haikun Zhang, PhD, research associate, Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology: Improve Diagnosis of Sepsis through Analysis of Fragmentation Patterns in Plasma Cell-free DNA