Current Funding Opportunities

Funding for Faculty and Graduate Students

The Regional Institute on Aging provides various funding opportunities, primarily as internal grants for WSU faculty. The primary purpose of this funding is to assist faculty members in their scholarly and/or creative activities and to foster the generation and application of scholarly work aimed at improving the quality of life of older adults. Graduate students are generally welcome to apply for funding in the general requests for proposal (rfp) process with a letter of support from their faculty advisor. Details of current calls for proposals can be found below. General inquiries and open requests for funding can be made by contacting the current director: Professor Carryl Baldwin via email at Carryl.Baldwin@wichita.edu

Spring 2026 Call for Research or Activity Proposals:

Age-related research

The Regional Institute on Aging (RIA) at Wichita State University is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity for graduate student or faculty projects and research that addresses issues related to facilitating well-being in older adults. This funding opportunity is supported by a gift from the estate of Evelyn Cassat.

Funding will be provided for projects and research at WSU that contribute to knowledge and practice related to well-being in older adults. Projects of all types will be considered. However, particular attention will be given to proposals aimed at improving the health, economic security, and quality of life for older adults.

Full proposal applications due April 1, 2026. Detailed instructions for the current funding cycle can be found here.

Funding for Students

Note: Graduate students can apply for each of the above funding opportunities.

Graduate students seeking funding to complete or add an age-related component to their current research projects are encouraged to contact the current RIA Director: Professor Carryl Baldwin via email at Carryl.Baldwin@wichita.edu

Past Recipients

2024 Recipients

Oluwatosin Adetuyi, graduate student (PI), Kandatege Wimalasena, Professor (Co-PI). Project: Mitigating Environmental Toxin-Induced Parkinsonism: Investigating Succinate as an Alternative Energy Source for Dopaminergic Neurons
Andy Sharma, Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences (PI). Project: Exploratory Study of the Role of Public Health Communication in Mitigating the Impact of Adverse Heat-Related Weather and Climate Events on Older Adults in Wichita, Kansas
Katherine Fitzharris, Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (PI) and Cynthia Richburg, Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (Co-PI). Project: Wichita State University Group Aural Wellness for Seniors

2023 Recipients

Abbie Hutton, graduate student in Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (PI), Ru Ni, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Visual Perception and Cognition Lab (Co-PI). Project: Acceptance and Perception of Modern Technology Among Older Adults.
Kyoung Hag Lee, Professor in the School of Social Work (PI), Yongkuk Lee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (Co-PI), Ajita Rattani, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of North Texas (Co-PI). Project: Developing Skin-Wearable Quantitative Assessment Devices for Older Adults with Parkinson’s Disease.
Erin O'Bryan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communcation Sciences and Disorders (PI), Amy Chesser, Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences (Co-PI), Cynthia Richburg, Professor in the Department of Communcation Sciences and Disorders (Co-PI), Elaine Bernstorf, Professor in the College of Fine Arts and the School of Music (Co-PI). Project: The Role of Melodic Interval in Melodic Intonation Therapy.
Heidi Bell, Assisstant Professor in the Department of Human Performance Studies (PI), C. Brendan Clark, Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology (Co-PI), Vagner Raso, Assistant Clinical Professor of Exercise Science in the Department of Human Performance Studies (Co-PI), Shana Gatschet, Co-founder for Club Parkinson's (Co-PI), Connie Urbanek, Co-founder for Club Parkinson's (Co-PI). Project: Longitudinal Test-Retest Usability Study: Assessing Usability of Portable Technology to Assess Neurocognitive and Balance Measures in Persons With and Without Parkinson’s Disease.
Marci Young, Director of Prevention Services (PI), Samantha Rowan, Graduate researcher in Aging Studies Administration (Co-PI), Jessica Provines, Assistant Vice President for Wellness with the Counseling and Prevention Services (Co-PI), Rachel Gladden, Outreach Coordinator with the Counseling and Prevention Services (Co-PI). Project: Suspenders4Hope Preventing Suicide in Older Adults.

2022 Recipients

Graduate Students (UCIPA conference)

Bill Bui
Abbie Hutton
Rachel Sutton

Faculty Grant Recipients

Dr. Ajita Rattani is an Assistant Professor with the School of Computing (PI); Dr. Lara Cure is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (Co-PI). Project: Computer Vision based Weight Monitoring for Older Adults using Facial Images from Smartphones.
Dr. Li Yao is an Associate Professor with the Department of Biological Sciences (PI); Dr. Kandatege Wimalasena is a Professor with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Co-PI); Dr. Nazih Moufarrij is a Clinical Professor and Neurosurgeon at KU School of Medicine-Wichita (Co-PI). Project: A Cellular Approach Exploring the Mechanism of Electrical Brain Stimulation for Therapy of Parkinson's Disease.
Dr. Nicole Rogers is Chair and Associate Professor with the Department of Public Health Sciences (PI); Dr. Amy Chesser is an Associate Professor with the Department of Public Health Sciences (Co-PI); Ms. Jacie Green is Director of Graduate Programs and Associate Educator with the Department of Public Health Sciences (Co-PI). Project: Combating Ageism.

2020 Recipients

Lisa Vangsness, Assistant Professor in Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (PI), Yimesker Yihun, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering (Co-PI). Project: Integration of Human Factors with the Automation of Robot-Based Upper-Limb Rehabilitations
Cheyla Clawson, Assistant Professor of Dance (Co-PI) and Twyla Hill, Professor of Sociology (Co-PI). Project: KANSAS LINEAGE: A project documenting and sharing the stories of older female Wichitans to improve well-being and social connection through an immersive collaboration between social research and movement
Yongkuk Lee, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering (PI) and Kyoung Hag Lee, School of Social Work, Fairmount College of Literal Arts and Sciences (Co-PI). Project: Smart Wireless, Flexible Hybrid Electronics for Fall Risk Monitoring among Older Adults

2019 Recipients

Nils Hakansson, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Project: Effects of Lower Extremity Blood Flow Restriction Exercise on Strength Generation and Interleukin-6 Levels in the Elderly
Hongsheng He, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Project: Quantification of Motion Deficits for Early Diagnosis and Rehabilitation of Parkinson’s Disease

2018 Recipients

Eveline Ndii Kalomo, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Project: The Role of Resiliency Among Older Adult Caregivers of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Rural Namibia
Rui Ni, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Visual Perception and Cognition Lab
Project: Effects of Racket Sports-Playing on Older Adult Cognition and Balance: Evidence from Cross-Sectional and 12-month Longitudinal Studies
Kyoung Hag Lee, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Work Research and Evaluation Lab
Project: Limited English Proficiency, Depression Literacy and Stigma, and Depression among Asian Immigrant Elders in Kansas

2015-16 Recipients

Graduate Students

Kadarla Vinay Kumar — Chemistry
Jessica Sullivan — Communication and Speech Disorders
Seyed ali Cheragh — Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Brady Patzer — Psychology
Dustin Smith — Psychology
Erin Gannon — Psychology
Heidi Marie Pontinen — Psychology
Inga Sogaard — Psychology
J.P. Plummer — Psychology
Samantha Jansen — Psychology

Undergraduate Students

Jessica Aldrich — Biomedical Engineering

Faculty Recipients of GRA Funding

Amy Chesser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences
Vinod Namboodiri, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science received funding this year.