The Pilot Project Research Training (PPRT) Program facilitates specialized research training of graduate students, junior faculty or new investigators, and promotes the development of multi-disciplinary research addressing NORA–related topics in the areas of occupational health or safety. The Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (ERC) awards for one-year pilot projects to support occupational health and safety research training for students (including ERC trainees), new investigators, and new faculty (within 6 years of initial appointment). Funding is provided for small research projects or pilot studies to explore feasibility, to collect preliminary data, and to enable investigators to seek external, longer-term funding. Applications need to address topics relevant to NORA research areas, including cross sector goals.
Applications are due January 20, 2025.
Who Should Apply
Students and young investigators are particularly encouraged to apply, and with all other factors equal, will receive funding priority. Non-faculty must have a full-time faculty member to sponsor their project. Faculty sponsors and students must be identified in the proposal. Projects involving human subjects should apply for human subject approval from their IRB at the earliest opportunity and attach their submitted human subject protocol to the research proposal. All pilot project grantees are required to submit quarterly progress reports and to present their research results, if selected, the following year at an ERC-wide meeting. Grantees are also expected to present their research at a scientific conference and to submit a manuscript based on their research results to a peer-reviewed journal.
How to Apply
A letter of intent is strongly recommended, as it will facilitate pre-submission consultation with the applicant. The letter of intent should be submitted by December 20, 2024 and include the name and contact information of the applicant and faculty sponsor, if applicable, study title, and a short description of the study aims or goals (≤ 300 words). Full applications are due January 20, 2025, and must include:
• Cover page with study title and applicant and faculty sponsor contact information
• An unstructured study abstract (≤ 250 words)
• Specific aims and research approach (≤ 6 pages, plus references)
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- Identify how the study responds to the NORA (cdc.gov/nora/default.html)
- Describe the burden, need and impact of the study (https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/05/07/bni/)
- Include a study timeline (work must be completed within 12 months)
• Human subjects information consistent with NIH requirements, and IRB status (pending, approved, exempt)
• Budget and budget justification that includes the following categories, if applicable: salary, travel, supplies,
equipment, participant incentives. Indirect costs are limited to 8%. Total costs limited to $10,000.
• NIH format biosketch for the applicant and faculty sponsor, if applicable. Instructions are available via https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/forms-directory/biosketch
Applicants may be required to respond to reviewers’ comments before a final decision is made. Awardees must submit quarterly progress reports, present their research results the following year at an SCERC meeting, and to disseminate their research through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Funding may begin as early as July 1, 2025. Awards are contingent on receipt of funds from NIOSH.
Submit all materials and direct questions to:
Dr. Jian Li
PPRT Program Director
jianli2019@ucla.edu
310-206-3788
Lizbeth Diaz
Assistant Director
lizdiaz@ph.ucla.edu
310-825-0709
Applications will be subjected to peer review. The primary review criteria are:
- Relevance to workplace health and safety and NORA research areas
- Scientific merit / methodological quality
- Qualification of applicant, institutional environment, and feasibility
- Stimulation of interdisciplinary research and translation into practice
- Likelihood of resulting in publication in a peer-reviewed journal
- Likelihood of leading to future external funding
- Novelty of ideas, methods, or application in a new occupational context
- Appropriateness of budget and evidence that the proposed work is not otherwise funded
Charlene Nguyen, UCLA Industrial Hygiene PhD, presents on Pilot Project Research Training work, "E-Cigarette Aerosol Exposure: Select BioMarkers in Vape Shop Workers."
Travis Cribbs, UCLA Industrial Hygiene PhD Student, presents on Pilot Project Research Training work, "Permeation Through Disposable Nitrile Gloves: Gun Cleaning Solvents and Gunshot Residue."
2024-2025
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Keller | UCLA | Postdoctoral Fellow | "Determining long-term effects of a schedule change intervention on nurse managers and patient outcomes: A randomized wait-list controlled trial" |
| Emma Landskroner | UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Assessing the Safety of Emerging Green Solvents in the Dry Cleaning Industry: A Toxicological Approach" |
| Kathleen Leon Parada | UCI | Doctoral Student | "Gestational Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) Effects on Quantity and Quality of Surviving Oocyte Pool in Mice" |
| Michael Joshua Morales | UCSF | Doctoral Student | "Impact of High-Reliability Organization Implementation on Patient Handling Injury Prevention in Veteran’s Affair Healthcare Facilities" |
| Xuyuehe Ren | UCLA | Doctoral Student | "The interplay of shift work, meal timing, and eating duration on cardiometabolic health among workers in the United States" |
2022-2023
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lizbeth Diaz | Environmental Health Sciences / UCLA | Doctoral Student | “Occupational respiratory exposures among mobile car wash workers in Los Angeles” |
| Minjung Kyung | Nursing / UC San Francisco | “Reporting Attitude and Behavior for Musculoskeletal Symptoms Among Nursing Assistants in Long-Term Care Facility” | |
| Rachel Odes | Nursing / UC San Francisco | “Measurement and regulation of workplace violence in healthcare settings” | |
| Priyanka Ravi | Health Promotion Sciences / U of Arizona | Doctoral Student | “The occupational health risk among the women working in the beedi industry in Mysore, India” |
| Tong Xia | Epidemiology / UCLA | Doctoral Student | “Associations of occupational physical activity (OPA) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality and CVD risk factors using nationally representative data among workers in the United States" |
2021-2022
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Wilson | COEH/ U of Arizona | Assistant Professor | “Infectious disease occupational risks for elementary school teachers (K-5) with a focus on current COVID-19 guidelines for in-person learning" |
| Jennifer Nicole Newman | Health Sciences/ CSU Northridge | Assistant Professor | "A merger of environmental and occupational health in the health administration curriculum to best prepare students for inevitable crisis management" |
| Michele Wong | Social Welfare/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Workplace experiences of Gendered Racial Microaggressions (GRM) among Asian American women" |
| Mohamed Awada | Civil & Environmental Engineering/ USC | Doctoral Student | "Automated detection of stress in offices using machine learning" |
| Rachel Odes | Nursing/ UC San Francisco | Doctoral Student | "Measurement and regulation of workplace violence in healthcare settings" |
| Xinyue Liu | Epidemiology/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Pre-conceptional and maternal occupational physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk factors and biomarkers among pregnant women: a longitudinal study" |
| Xiwen Huang | Epidemiology/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "The effect of maternal occupational physical activity (OPA) on childhood cancer risk" |
2020-2021
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miriam Marlier | EHS/ UCLA | Assistant Professor | “Exposure of Agricultural Workers in California to Wildfire Smoke" |
| Raymond Hernandez | Occupational Science/ USC | Doctoral Student | “Cumulative Strain, Activity Engagement, and Psychological State" |
| Tim Matthews | EHS/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Increased job strain and cardiovascular disease mortality: a prospective cohort study in U.S. workers" |
| Travis Cribbs | EHS-IH/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Permeation of Inorganic Gunshot Residues Disolved in Commerical Gun Cleaning Solvent Through Disposable Nitrile Gloves" |
2019-2020
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rietta Wagoner | EHS/ U of Arizona | Doctoral Student | “Seasonal Comparisons of Acute Kidney Injury, Heat Exposure, and Heavy MEtal Exposure in a Sonoran Agricultural Population" |
| Charlene Nguyen | EHS-IH/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Assessing Workplace Exposure to E-cigarette Aerosols among Vape Shop Workers in Southern California" |
| Stephanie Pavon | Nursing/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | “Work and Family Demands on Latina T2DM Management” |
| Ivy Torres | Population Health & Disease Prevention/ UC Irvine | Doctoral Student | "Occupational health within the bounds of primary care: Factors shaping the health of Latina/o immigrant workers in federally qualified health centers" |
2018-2019
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jisung Park | EHS/ UCLA | Assistant Professor | “The Connections Between Extreme Heat and Occupational Safety and Health Using Worker's Compensation Data for the State of California" |
2017-2018
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teni Adewumi-Gunn | EHS-IH/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | “Development and Implementation of a Personal Protective Equipment Training Program for Cosmetologists" |
| Nathan Poon | Mechanical Engineering/ UC Berkeley | Doctoral Student | “Evaluation of a Trunk Supporting Exoskeleton for reducing risk for back injury due to fatigue" |
| Logan Thomas Van Engelhoven | Mechanical Engineering/ UC Berkeley | Doctoral Student | “Evaluation of a Shoulder Support Exoskeleton on Static and Dynamic Overhead Tasks” |
| Robert Canales | Community, Environment & Policy Department/ U. of Arizona | New Investigator | “Methodologies for Analysis of continuous time series measurements relevant for occupational health" |
| Vikram Haridass | Epidemiology/ UCI | Doctoral Student | “Occupational cancer risk in California teachers and risk modification by history of anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, anti-cholesterol medication use” |
2016-2017
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Khafagy | OEM/ UCSF | OEM resident | "Evaluation of the occupational cardiovascular strain of the hotel housekeepers resulting from high levels of physical activity while making beds and cleaning hotel rooms" |
| Jonah Lipsitt | EHS/ UCLA | Doctoral student | "Physical Activity Through Sustainable Transport Activities (PASTA) in Los Angeles" |
| Vahe Khachadourian | Epidemiology/ UCLA | Doctoral student | "Back pain burden and its determinants among vulnerable farmers: from empirical analysis to simulated policies" |
| Venkat Venkatasubramanian | Business Administration/ UC Berkeley | Master student | "Force, repetition and posture estimations of the distal upper extremity using surface electromyography and inertial measurement units" |
| Rania Sabty-Daily | Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH)/ UCLA | New Investigator | "Design a Heat App (for use with smart phone technology), as a tool for heat illness intervention, training and data collection among construction day laborers in California" |
2015-2016
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlene Nguyen | UCLA | Master Student, EHS, IH Program | A New Indoor Air Mitigation Strategy for Nail Salons Based on Correlations Between Indoor Air Quality and Occupancy |
| Teofilia Acheampong | UC Irvine | Doctoral Student, Epidemiology | Occupational Exposures and Risk of Breast Cancer: The Singapore Chinese Health Study |
| Javier Garcia-Rivas | UC Irvine | Doctoral Student, Public Health | Exploring working conditions and injury among Day Laborers in Orange County |
| Negar Omidakhsh | UCLA | Doctoral Student, Epidemiology | Paternal occupational exposures and risk of sporadic retinoblastoma among offspring. |
| Nicolas Lopez-Galvez | U. Arizona | Doctoral Student, EHS | An Observational Pilot Study of the Effect of Heat Stress on Pesticide Exposure in Migrant Farmworkers in Sonora, Mexico |
| Deborah Curtis | UCLA | Doctoral Student, OEHN | The association between work place racism obesity and shiftwork among African American nurses |
| Dal Lae Chin | UCSF | Post-doctoral Researcher, OEHN | Association of Occupational Noise Exposure with Cardiovascular Diseases among Career Firefighters |
2014-2015
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shi Shu | EHS/ UCLA | Post-doctoral researcher | "Exploratory investigation on chemical reactions initiated by indoor ultraviolet light: Evidence of reaction and UFP Generation" |
| Eon Lee | EHS/ UCLA | Post-doctoral researcher | "Application of low-cost sensor air quality instruments to monitor school bus driver’s exposure to vehicle-emitted particulate pollutants" |
| Zeyan Liew | Epidemiology/ UCLA | Post-doctoral researcher | "Occupational pesticide exposure and depression" |
| BongKyoo Choi | Center of Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH)/ UC Irvine | Junior Faculty | "Exploring occupational and behavioral risk factors for obesity in urban bus drivers" |
2013-2014
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine McNamara | EHS-IH/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Shift work, fatigue and health in south bay refinery workers" |
| Carisa Harris- Adamson | Physical Therapy/ Samuel Merrit University | Junior Faculty | "Biomechanical evaluation of hotel room cleaners while making luxury beds with and without a mattress lift tool" |
| Nu Yu | EHS-IH/ UCLA | Doctoral student | "Los Angeles taxi drivers’ occupational exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon: Biomarkers for exposure and health effects. " |
| Heidi Fisher | Biostatistics/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Case-control study of occupational exposure to electric shocks and magnetic fields and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using the Swedish patient register from 1987 to 2009 with bias analysis" |
| Michele Wargo-Sugleris | OEHN/ UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Job satisfaction, work environment, and successful aging: determinants to remain in older acute care nurses" |
2012-2013
| Awardee Name | Institute | Status | Research Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel Cabasag | Epidemiology/ UC Irvine | Doctoral Student | "Evaluating the association between occupational agents and cancer risks in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard Cohort" |
| Linda Lee | Social Welfare/UCLA | Doctoral Student | "Home care workers’ health" |
| Soo-Jeong Lee | OEHN/ UCSF | Junior Faculty | "LMusculoskeletal disorders among California nurses: impact of safe patient handling law" |
