This year, project teams from the Teaming and Scaling categories share their experiences with the Pitt Momentum Funds program through a series of videos to not only showcase their awarded projects and raise visibility, but to also share insights into the program for future applicants. Each year project teams form to develop a research proposal and approach to assembling a team across fields and schools, and ultimately, how the research performed can benefit society.
Team #1: Examining Psychosocial Correlates of Loneliness and Perceived Isolation Among Marginalized Youth
Fields: Medicine, Public Health, Education, Arts & Sciences
Youth in marginalized groups face bullying and discrimination that contributes to feelings of loneliness in everyday life, whether on the playground or in the classroom. Team lead Cesar Escobar-Viera, assistant professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine and behavioral and community health sciences in the School of Public Health, rallied the largest team of this year’s top winners and made partnerships with local nonprofits working with these youth in the region.
This project takes a community-engaged approach to sourcing data and will develop resources and insights by analyzing social media data and partnering with these nonprofit organizations:
- Hugh Lane Foundation provides supportive services for LGBTQ+ and HIV communities
- Casa San Jose connects, supports and advocates with and for the Latino community
- Proud Haven provides a safe shelter for LGBTQIA+ youth (ages 18-25) experiencing homelessness in Pittsburgh
Team #2: Linking University-Community Initiatives to Promote a Child's Thriving Pipeline Across Early Developmental Stages
Fields: Education, Social Work, Arts & Sciences
As core components of The Pittsburgh Study, this team will link three distinct programs that support child thriving (0-4, 5-8, and 9-11-yeal-olds) creating aligned on-ramps for interventions and community programming at key developmental milestones in early childhood. Through this Momentum Funds award, the team is working to create an equitable ecosystem for kids across the development spectrum and enhances the team’s ability to build a prevention pipeline strategically across programs. Team lead Shannon Wanless, director of the office of childhood development, believes their approach will help situate Pitt as a national leader in university-community partnerships for child thriving.
Team #3: Testing the Effectiveness of Faculty as Facilitators of Psychosocial Resilience Interventions for Students in Professional and Graduate Programs
Fields: Law, Learning Research and Development Center
Adjusting to a new school or program means more than completing homework, forming study groups and taking exams. For many law students, it’s a difficult adjustment, but throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, more support, resources and proactive measures were needed to ensure students acclimated and completed their program. Team lead Ann Sinsheimer, associate dean of equity and inclusive excellence, pulled inspiration from her own time in law school to develop interventions and resources for students in her legal writing class. With help from motivational psychologist Omid Fotuhi, research scientist in the Learning Research and Development Center, the project places mental health and well-being as the primary focus and catalyst for helping law students feel like they belong in the program and the field.
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.
Team #4: Supporting Mental and Physical Wellbeing in Autistic Adults through Community-Based Mindful Movement
Fields: Medicine, Education
Vinyasa yoga is a style of yoga that incorporates movement between poses for strengthening muscles, improving blood flow, and boosting mood. Rachel Robertson’s project, Supporting Wellbeing with Autism through Yoga (SWAY), is all about accessibility and supporting autistic adults’ mental, emotional, and physical health. Autistic adults, who often engage in less physical activity than non-autistic adults, have a place to move mindfully with community partner Open Up, a nonprofit that provides community yoga and movement classes in an accessible environment at no cost to participants. Community classes held specifically for this effort will be evaluated for their effectiveness in the participants in their mindfulness journey. Robertson and several team members are both long-time practitioners and teachers of yoga.
This is a Year of Emotional Well-Being project.