New seed grants to build partnerships with colleges of Public Health, Medicine

The Ohio State University College of Public Health and College of Medicine have launched a seed grant program to encourage research partnerships between faculty in both disciplines.

Supported by the Karkut Endowment Fund and the offices of research in both colleges, the program will award three grants to help faculty explore new research directions, build partnerships and lay the groundwork for future funding.

For the inaugural year, three seed grants of up to $30,000 each will be awarded.

“We are excited to invest in our faculty and create new opportunities to strengthen the connection between public health and medicine,” said College of Public Health Dean Paula Song.

Projects will:

• Bring together faculty from the College of Public Health and College of Medicine.
• Explore a new research direction for the team.
• Create a new partnership or expand an existing partnership.

One grant will focus on AI in health research and applications. The other two grants are open in terms of topic, and projects focused on health in rural Ohio are encouraged.

Funding is intended as one-time support and can be used for current personnel, supplies and other project expenses.

“This program creates an exciting invitation for faculty to connect across our colleges, explore new ideas and build research teams. We hope these early investments will lead to strong, ongoing collaborations and additional external funding in the future,” said Robin Puett, College of Public Health Associate Dean for Research.

Added Song: “This program provides an opportunity to bring the strengths of public health and medicine together in new ways. We encourage faculty to use these seed grants to test ideas, develop partnerships and launch research that could grow well beyond the seed grant.”