Robbins College Researchers Celebrate over $7.4 Million in External Funding Awards

Researchers in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences are celebrating a number of recent, significant external funding awards. Totaling more than $7.4 million, the awards stretch across departments and disciplines, but share a common theme of seeking to enhance health, quality of life, and human flourishing for individuals and communities.

“Robbins College at Baylor University continues to be a catalyst for impact-oriented research that addresses meaningful challenges and improves lives,” said Renée Umstattd Meyer, PhD, Senior Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education for Robbins College. “These awards reflect the ingenuity, dedication, and expertise of our faculty, and we are grateful to see their work recognized through external funding. We are excited to see these projects come to life and look forward to the discoveries, partnerships, and tangible impacts that will emerge and make a difference in the world.”

New external awards include:

Principal Investigator: Gabe Benavidez, PhD, Associate Professor, Public Health
Awarding Entity: National Institutes of Health | National Cancer Institute (R03)
Amount: $168,839
Project: Refining Small-Area Cancer Surveillance through AI-Driven Spatial Clustering 

Principal Investigator: Cory Dungan, PhD, Associate Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Co-Investigators: Michael Wiggs, PhD, Associate Professor, & Savannah Rauschendorfer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Awarding Entity: National Institutes of Health (R01)
Amount: $2,620,131
Project: Satellite cells protect against pediatric chemotherapy-induced delays in muscle growth and development

Principal Investigator: Leigh Greathouse, PhD, MPH, MS, RD, Associate Professor, Human Sciences and Design
Awarding Entity: National Institutes of Health (R15)
Amount: $561,968
Project: Leveraging Microbial-Derived Indoles to Control Host Immune Responses

Principal Investigator: Stephanie Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health
Awarding Entity: National Institutes of Health (R03)
Amount: $310,722
Project: Genetic, Environmental, and Social Interactions Shaping Early Cannabis Use (GENESIS): Decoding Predictive Factors Among U.S. Youth

Principal Investigator: Stephanie Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health
Awarding Entity: American Association for Cancer Research
Amount: $300,000
Project: Menthol Cigarette Exposure and Lung Cancer Risk in Cancer Disparities and Prevention

Principal Investigator: Michelle Law, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Human Sciences and Design
Co-Investigator: Joon Y. Park, PhD, Associate Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Awarding Entity: National Institutes of Health (R15)
Amount: $562,494
Project: Identifying metabolic drivers of cancer cachexia-associated cardiomyopathy

Principal Investigator: Karen K. Melton, PhD, Associate Professor, Human Sciences and Design
Awarding Entity: Wake Forest University
Amount: $792,796
Project: Character in Deeds: A Community of Practice Approach to Holistic & Intentional Character Education at Baylor University,

Principal Investigators: Cory Smith, PhD, Associate Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation & Jason Carter, PhD, Professor and Dean, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
Awarding Entity: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Amount: $2,000,000
Project: Arctic Acclimatization & Sleep Optimization (ARKTOS) Research Center Phase II

New external subawards include:

Principal Investigator: Jacques Baillargeon, PhD, Department Chair & Professor, Public Health
Primary Institution: The University of Texas Medical Branch
Awarding Entity: Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium
Amount: $16,754
Project: Biopsychosocial Outcomes of the Texas Model of Juvenile Justice

Principal Investigator: Rebecca Jones-Antwi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health
Primary Institution: The University of Texas Medical Branch
Awarding Entity: The Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research
Amount: $20,000
Project: Differences in Residential Mobility and Chronic Disease Trajectories by Race/Ethnicity

Principal Investigator: Savannah Rauschendorfer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Primary Institution: The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Awarding Entity: Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
Amount: $96,015
Project: AYA LASSO: A statewide platform to assess and improve long-term health outcomes in AYA cancer survivors

Principal Investigator: Christopher Wynveen, PhD, Professor, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Primary Institution: Texas A&M University
Awarding Entity: Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Amount: $21,702
Project: 2026 Possum Kingdom Lake Recreational Boating Study

ABOUT ROBBINS COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Established in 2014, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences seeks to enhance health, quality of life, and human flourishing for all individuals and communities through education, research, and innovation. It includes seven academic departments—Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health, Human Performance, and Recreation; Human Sciences and Design; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; Physician Assistant Studies; and Public Health. Robbins College offers 13 bachelor’s degrees, 10 master’s degrees, and six doctoral degrees, as well as nine graduate programs in partnership with the U.S. Army. Graduate programs in Robbins College are offered in a variety of modalities, including on campus, online, and hybrid.