September 14, 2023 – PeDRA awards Emerging Investigator Research Grants to four medical students through its August 2023 application cycle, bringing PeDRA’s total investment through the first year of the Emerging Investigator Research Grants (EIRG) Program to $42,500 across 10 different emerging investigators.
Recognizing the need to provide more equitable and accessible mentored research opportunities to a broad and diverse group of trainees interested in pediatric dermatology, PeDRA launched the EIRG Program in 2023. The Program offered three application cycles, in February, May, and August, calling for proposals from medical students or pediatric residents to conduct four-to-twelve-week mentored projects, either remotely or in person. Successful applicants received a budget to cover project and living expenses and a stipend to attend the 2023 PeDRA Annual Conference.
With the addition of these four awards, the 2023 EIRG program cycle has now supported projects spanning a broad range of disease areas and many understudied topics including transition of care, health equity, patient reported outcomes, and the use of social media. Click through the links below to learn more about each of the four August cycle EIRG recipients and their projects:
- Jordan Bui from Georgetown University will conduct a remote project titled “Surveying caregivers about their interactions with social media for their child’s dermatology care” under the mentorship of Dr. Dawn Siegel at Stanford University and Dr. Sheilagh Maguiness at the University of Minnesota.
- Grace Okpali from Rush Medical College will conduct a remote project titled “Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Pediatric Hidradenitis Suppurativa” under the mentorship of Dr. Colleen Cotton at Children’s National Hospital.
- Celine Schreidah from Columbia University will conduct an in-person project titled “Equitable Access to Sunscreen as Skin Cancer Primary Prevention for Children from Low-Income Families: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis” under the mentorship of Dr. Christine Lauren & Dr. Larisa Geskin at Columbia University.
- Kennedy Sparling from the University of Arizona will conduct an in-person project titled “The Influence of Childhood Experiences on Exacerbations of Atopic Dermatitis” under the mentorship of Dr. Harper Price and Dr. Judith O’Haver at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Visit the EIRG Program webpage to learn more about the full cohort of 2023 EIRGs and future opportunities to apply. The first cycle of the next EIRG Program is expected to launch in February 2024.
Special thanks to individual donors and AbbVie for their support of the 2023 EIRG Program.
Looking for funding for your research project? PeDRA is currently accepting applications for seven open funding opportunities with deadlines in September and December. To learn more, visit PeDRA’s Grants and Fellowships Page or send us an email.
Your support will help us grow and sustain PeDRA Grants and Fellowships Program. Click here to donate now or email us to discuss named grants opportunities.
If you aren’t already a PeDRA member, join us to be eligible to mentor a recipient of a future PeDRA Emerging Investigator Research Grant.