The UW ICTR AHEAD Pilot Program has awarded four new grants in response to the 2017 RFA. This program provides a mechanism for junior investigators focused on health equity & disparities research to gain experience in translational research that will facilitate their future career development. Specifically, AHEAD awards support scholars who embrace an interdisciplinary approach to research, including those who genuinely engage community partners & stakeholders.
The AHEAD initiative is a collaborative effort of the SMPH Centennial Scholars Program, the Health Disparities Research Scholars Program, the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health training program, and two Department of Family Medicine & Community Health fellowship programs. The ICTR Collaborative Center for Health Equity (CCHE) is home to the AHEAD program administration, and CCHE faculty affiliate, Carmen Valdez, School of Education, serves as faculty director.
Caitlin Scott, CCHE health equity communications specialist & project officer for AHEAD grant awards notes,
It’s rewarding to see recipients of our 2015 and 2016 awards securing faculty positions here at UW as well as at other prestigious academic research institutions. The AHEAD research projects they propose and implement during their post-doctoral fellowships at UW are lending to their confidence as leaders in health equity scholarship and reflect how UW is investing in health equity and interdisciplinary translational research.
The 2017 ICTR AHEAD Pilot awardees include:
Chenoa Allen, PhD, MS, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Health Disparities Research Scholar Program, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Mentors: Deborah Ehrenthal (Obstetrics & Gynecology) and Jenna Nobles (Department of Sociology)
Research: The Effect of Medicaid Expansions on Prenatal Care and Birth Outcomes Among Foreign-Born Women in the United States.
Stephanie Budge, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling Psychology, UW School of Education 
Contributors: Ben Andert (Wisconsin Trans Health Coalition) and Stephanie Graham (UW Department of Counseling Psychology)
Research: Psychotherapy Minority Stress Interventions for Transgender Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Elizabeth Felton, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Mentor: Denise Ney (Nutritional Sciences)
Research: Pilot Study of Ketogenic Dietary Therapy for Adults with Severe Developmental Disabilities and Intractable Epilepsy
Ellen Goldstein, PhD, MA, Postdoctoral Fellow, Primary Care Research Program, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Mentors: Richard L Brown (UW Department of Family Medicine & Community Health) and Dimitri Topitzes (UWM Helen Bader School of Social Welfare)
Research: Feasibility Study to Reduce Health Risks in Urban Black Primary Care Patients with History of Childhood Adversity