Funding and Seed Grants

Support for the Center

Funding support will come from various sources including the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Olson Center for Women’s Health, College of Medicine Dean’s Office, Vice Chancellor for Research Office, and the Chancellor’s Office at UNMC. The current commitment for the Center funding is for five years. To maintain sustainability, we will be developing the National Institutes of Health Program Project and P50 Center Grants, with the funded investigators to be recruited by the Center. 

The Center is expected to initially recruit two faculty members with expertise in the area of women’s health research. Recruits should have a record of procuring extramural funding and should be able to collaborate but also complement existing expertise within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Our first recruit, Lynda Harris, PhD, joined the Center in the fall of 2022 and she has experience in placental or uterine function with an emphasis on epigenetics which complements the molecular expertise within the department. It is expected that the recruits will collaborate with existing faculty and clinician scientists to conduct translational research in areas such as preterm birth, uterine fibroids, uterine cancers, and aging. 

An annual seed grant program will enhance and grow collaborative research opportunities.  A request for applications system will be announced through this website and through campus-wide communications.  These funding opportunities would highlight potential topic needs that will facilitate interactions across departments and promote basic-clinical science projects with the goal to increase future grant acquisitions. 

In July, the NCWHR awarded four pilot grants of $25,000 each to support projects focused on women’s health research. The aim of the initiative was to sponsor innovative, high-impact studies, facilitating the collection of pilot data needed to secure external funding.  

The successful recipients were: 

Desire, Arousal and Heart disease (DEARHeart) 

Dr. Tierney Lorenz and Dr Rebecca Brock, Department of Psychology, UNL  

Examining Chlamydial-host interactions that re-map host signaling networks 

Dr. Elizabeth Rucks and Dr. Scot Ouellette, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC  

Assessing the effects of dolutegravir on placental development 

Dr. Aditya Bade, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, and Dr. Lynda Harris, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UNMC  

Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Emphysema 

Dr. Stephen Rennard, Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Dr. Jennifer Cera, College of Nursing, and Dr. Lynda Harris, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UNMC