Four new, early-stage projects selected for internal research funding
February 3, 2023

Three projects have been selected for the upcoming funding cycle of the Responding to Society’s Post-pandemic Occupational Needs (ReSPONs) Initiative, the USC Chan Division’s seed grant mechanism for early-stage projects that address the intersecting pandemics — COVID-19, systemic racial injustice and widening occupational inequalities — affecting many aspects of social and personal life. ReSPONs Initiative projects typically run for one year, with the potential for leveraging further funding opportunities in the future.

Assistant Professor Joy Agner will be leading a project to examine the relationships between occupation, social connection and self-reported health among vulnerable populations who have experienced increased social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with USC Chan faculty members Tessa Milman, Deborah Pitts and John Sideris, and in partnership with community-based mental health clubhouses, this project will develop general knowledge on designing environments that promote social connection through occupation, and directly addresses the outcomes and processes most important to clubhouse members, staff and directors.

Associate Clinical Professor Rebecca Aldrich will lead a pilot study to identify facilitators and barriers for people returning to work after COVID. In collaboration with faculty members Jamie Wilcox and Shawn Roll, this project will engage three groups — people recovering from COVID-19, healthcare providers at COVID clinics and human resources professionals — to fill existing knowledge gaps and identify future priorities for research, practice and advocacy.

Assistant Professor Amber Angell will be the principal investigator of a 12-month exploratory qualitative study to develop a culturally-compassionate, neurodiversity-centered, trauma-informed framework for underrepresented autistic communities and their families. This project aims to understand how minoritized families of autistic girls experience intergenerational trauma and resilience, which will lay the groundwork for creating a trauma-informed research and service delivery model to better meet their specific health service needs. Project co-investigators will include Janis Yue and Erna Blanche.

In addition to the upcoming ReSPONs projects, Julia Lisle was selected as the winner of this year’s Lisa A. Test Endowed Research Award, which supports early-stage translational research that facilitates purposeful engagement for people with moderate to severe disabilities. Lisle and co-investigator Sideris will generate preliminary knowledge about autistic sensory strengths that will inform potential new items in a future version of the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire, a brief caregiver report instrument that evaluates behavioral responses to common everyday sensory experiences in children ages 5 months through 6 years.

“The Chan Division is truly fortunate to have so many talented faculty and staff members dedicated to making our communities stronger, healthier and more occupationally engaged,” wrote Associate Dean and Chair Grace Baranek in the award announcement email.

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