Albany State University receives more than $6.5 million in grant money

ALBANY – Albany State University has been awarded more than $6.6 million in the form of 20 grants, according to the university’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

“The successful acquisition of nearly $7 million in grants, is a significant milestone that underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering academic excellence and enhancing community engagement,” ASU interim President Lawrence Drake said. “These vital funds will be directed toward innovative research initiatives and student success programs, reinforcing our mission to empower our students and enrich our community.”

Among the funds included is $250,000 from the Department of Justice-COPS for the project “ASU De-escalation Grant,” which is an initiative to develop a comprehensive program aimed at enhancing law enforcement de-escalation techniques and promoting safer interactions between police officers and the communities they serve.

The U.S. Department of Education gave $600,677 as part of the Childcare Access Means Parents in School Program for the project “Albany State University: Caring for the Next Generation of Golden Rams.” This program will provide high-quality child care at no cost for the 2-, 3- and 4-year-old children of Pell-eligible student-parents who attend classes or use ASU study resources during weekday evenings or Saturdays.

ASU faculty members have received funding for their research, including Olabisi Ojo’s $20,592 grant from the Aim-Ahead Initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health. His research “Generation of AI-enabled Diagnostic and Therapeutic Music from Biometric Data to Promote Equity of Medical Services,” intends to lessen health disparity issues through the application of AI-enabled Musical formulation of Biometric data, which offers users diagnostic music related to their physical and mental health states.

Another research project being funded includes Yixuan Wang’s funding of $136,616, ($558,328 over five years) from the National Institutes of Health. She will research the “Comprehensive understanding about the binding of estrogen-related receptor alpha to inverse agonists with the first-principles based theoretical methods.” The proposal will aim to provide new understanding for eventually developing more efficient inverse agonists to treat breast cancer.

Other grants are funding student success initiatives such as the $99,998 grant from Volcker Alliance for the Next Generation Service Corps, a national initiative that seeks to expand public service-learning experiences for undergraduates. The primary objective of NextGen Service is to assist Schools of Public Service to design and implement new, or strengthen existing, credential (minor or certificate) programs for undergraduates focused on public sector problem-solving and cross-sector collaboration.

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin