Following a competitive review process, grants will be awarded to teams of faculty and students to conduct pilot projects investigating communication’s key role in promoting wellness, creating a culture of empathy among healthcare providers, and enabling people to resist and recover from illness or injury. 

TIMELINE FOR 2022-2023 CHER CYCLE

• Mid-September 2022: Initial cycle announcement circulated
• November 4, 2022: Deadline for Letters of Interest (see template)
• December 2, 2022: Applicants notified, finalists invited to prepare full proposal and presentation
• Early January 2023: Finalist presentations
• January 31, 2023: Awards announced
• February 1, 2022: Current cycle funding period starts (projects must have IRB approval before funds released)
• Early fall 2023: Current cycle “mid-term” progress reports due to CHER grant program administrators; financial progress report provided by CHC to grantees
• Early spring 2024: Current cycle “wrap up” progress reports due to CHER grant program administrators; financial progress report provided by CHC to grantees
• May 31, 2024: Current cycle funding period ends, and final reports due

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2022-2023 CHER Grantees

CHER awarded approximately $20,000 for the sixth cycle of grant funding.

CHER Grantee #1: How media drive misinformation and distrust: Exploring how news gathering and news consumption patterns of members of the Black and LGBTQ+ communities of Generation Z affect beliefs in misinformation and conspiracy theories as well as levels of knowledge, hesitancy, and intentions to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatments for HIV.

• Principal Investigator: Tom Johnson, Ph.D., School of Journalism and Media
• Co-Investigator: Phillip Schnarrs, Ph.D., Department of Population Health
• Co-Investigator: Gyo Hyun Koo, M.A., School of Journalism and Media
• Co-Investigator: Silvia de Freitas Dal Ben Furtado, M.A., School of Journalism and Media

CHER Grantee #2: Developing a digital health intervention for kidney transplant recipients' weight management

• Principal Investigator: Jihyee Lee, Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: H. Stephen Han, D.O., Department of Internal Medicine

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2021-2022 CHER Grantees

CHER awarded approximately $20,000 for the fifth cycle of grant funding.

CHER Grantee #1: Caring for our healers: A mixed-methods analysis of a novel structured debriefing intervention to support teams and honor patients after in-hospital cardiac arrests

• Principal Investigator: Greg Wallingford, M.D., MBA, Department of Internal Medicine
• Co-Investigator: Gareth Gingell, Ph.D., Department of Medical Education
• Co-Investigator: Erin Donovan, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies
• Co-Investigator: Chris Moriates, M.D., Departments of Medical Education and Internal Medicine
• Co-Investigator: Read Pierce, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine
• Co-Investigator: Shreya Ahuja
• Co-Investigator: Vishal Patel
• Co-Investigator: LuAnn Wilkerson, Ed.D., Department of Medical Education

CHER Grantee #2: Speaking Stoma: Developing a health communication guide for people with ostomies

• Principal Investigator: Joga Ivatury, M.D., MHA, Department of Surgery & Perioperative Care
• Co-Investigator: Rene Dailey, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies
• Co-Investigator: Lynsey Romo, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
• Co-Investigator: Stephanie Hughes, M.S. Communication, Owner of StolenColon.com

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2020-2021 CHER Grantees

CHER awarded approximately $20,000 for the fourth cycle of grant funding.

CHER Grantee #1: Developing a Health Communication Intervention to Meet the Psychosocial Needs of Young Women Living with Breast Cancer

• Principal Investigator: Kate Pounders, MBA, Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: Tara Kaufmann, M.D., Departments of Oncology and Internal Medicine
• Co-Investigator: Elizabeth Kvale, M.D., MSPH, LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, Departments of Internal Medicine, Population Health, and Oncology
• Co-Investigator: Daniela De Luca, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations

CHER Grantee #2: COVID-19: A Social Marketing Approach to Investigating Prevention and Self-Reporting Messages Targeting Underserved BIPOC Populations in Central Texas

• Principal Investigator: Sean Upshaw, Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: Billy Table, Ph.D., Center for Health Communication and Department of Population Health

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2019-2020 CHER Grantees

CHER awarded approximately $20,000 for the third cycle of grant funding.

CHER Grantee #1: Assessing Oncology Patient Communication Needs and Preferences to Improve Informed Treatment Decision-Making

• Principal Investigator: S. Gail Eckhardt, M.D., LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes
• Co-Investigator: Lee Ann Kahlor, M.A., Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: Barbara Jones, Ph.D., MSW, Steve Hicks School of Social Work
• Co-Investigator: Laura Cannon, PharmD, MPH, College of Pharmacy

CHER Grantee #2: Promoting Communication in the Intensive Care Unit Between Nonspeaking Patients and Healthcare Providers

• Principal Investigator: Rajinder Koul, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Co-Investigator: Marissa Mery, M.D., Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care

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2018-2019 CHER Grantees

CHER awarded approximately $20,000 for the second cycle of grant funding.

CHER Grantee #1: Developing Public Health Messaging to Reduce Asthma Disparities

• Principal Investigator: Lee Ann Kahlor, M.A., Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: Elizabeth Matsui, M.D., MHS, Department of Population Health

CHER Grantee #2: Optimizing Messages for Personalized Chronic Disease Prevention and Management

• Principal Investigator: Marissa Burgermaster, Ph.D., Departments of Population Health and Nutritional Sciences
• Co-Investigator: Matthew McGlone, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies
• Co-Investigator: Brandon Altillo, M.D., MPH, Departments of Population Health, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics

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2017 – 2018 CHER Grantees
CHER awarded approximately $20,000 in the inaugural 2017-18 grant cycle for three projects.

CHER Grantee #1: Lead Poisoning Prevention in Texas Communities

• Principal Investigator: Anjum Khurshid, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Population Health
• Co-Investigator: Brad Love, Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
• Co-Investigator: Kate Pounders, MBA, Ph.D., Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations

CHER Grantee #2: Studying the Effects of Empathetic Healthcare

• Principal Investigator: David Ring, M.D., Ph.D., Departments of Surgery and Perioperative Care and Psychiatry
• Co-Investigator: Joost Kortlever, M.D., Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care
• Co-Investigator: Laura Brown, Ph.D., Center for Health Communication

CHER Grantee #3: Minority Women’s Enrollment in Clinical Trials

• Principal Investigator: J Stuart Ferriss, M.D., Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Co-Investigator: Anita Vangelisti, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies
• Assistant: Suzanne Burdick, Department of Communication Studies
• Assistant: Stephanie Nutt, M.A., Department of Women's Health