We support INFER through government and philanthropic grant awards that are aligned with the research and service interests of our faculty and community partnerships.
We support INFER through government and philanthropic grant awards that are aligned with the research and service interests of our faculty and community partnerships.
Current Work
INFER is committed to pairing faculty with community agencies and other faculty in different schools, departments, and divisions. Below are examples of INFER partnerships and collaborations.
Fogelman College of Business and Economics
Exploration of how the tone and complexity of earnings conference calls are associated with future stock price crash risk
Dr. Konstantin Sokolov (Finance), PI, with Drs. Pankaj Jain (Finance) and Rasheek Irtisam (Finance)
Institute for Intelligent Systems
Initiative to develop and implement a comprehensive mentorship network to support women, students, faculty and staff across disciplines, ranks, and colleges
Dr. Leah Windsor (IIS), PI, with Drs. Abby Parrill-Baker (College of Arts and Sciences), Marian Levey (School of Public Health), Deborah Tollefsen (Arts and Sciences), Helen Sable (Behavioral Neuroscience), Esra Ozdenerol (GIS and SAGE), Melinda Jones (Honors College), Robin Poston (Graduate School), Kris-Stella Trump (Political Science), Dale Bowman (Mathematical Sciences and Statistics), Leigh Harrell-Williams (CEPR), Deranda Brewer Lewster (Behavioral Neuroscience)
Health Sciences in partnership with various local nonprofits
Initiative to engage faculty capacity building for broader impacts via grantsmanship workshops to expand knowledge base and skills in community-based research
Dr. Fedoria Rugless (Health Studies), PI, with Drs. Barbara McClanahan, Onyejebose Okwumabua, Michelle Stockton
School of Public Health in partnership with University Schools
Initiative to develop a statistical model for pool testing data to correctly estimate the prevalence of COVID and determine the optimal pooling strategy to achieve the maximum cost and time reduction.
Dr. Xichen Mou (Biostatistics), PI, with Sally Parish (AVP) Educational Initiatives, and Drs. Xinhua Yu (Epidemiology), Meredith Ray (Biostatistics), Yinan Yu (Business Information and Technology), Rui Qi (Hospitality Management)
Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management
Initiative to quantify the role of safety perceptions in hospitality decision-making (Airbnb vs. hotels) during and post-pandemic.
Dr. Rui Qi (Hospitality and Resort Management), PI, with Drs. Radesh Palakurthi (Hospitality), Tim Ryan (Hospitality), Xichen Mou (Biostatistics), Yong Yang (School of Public Health), Chi Li (COE)
Loewenberg College of Nursing in partnership with Church Health Center
Exploration of the impact of virtual health educational program and horticultural therapy in self-management skills and quality of life among people with cardiovascular risk factors: Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension
Dr. Annapoorna Mary (Nursing), PI, with Dr. Fedoria Rugless (Health Sciences)
School of Communication Sciences & Disorders with Urban Child Institute, Believe Memphis Academy, Bodine School, Campus School, and Perea Elementary School
Initiative to break through invisible barriers to literacy
Dr. Deborah Moncrieff (Communication Sciences and Disorders), PI, with Drs. Marian Levy (School of Public Health) and Carolyn Kaldon (CREP)
Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) in partnership with Lipman Early Learning and Research Center, Hatiloo Theater, and Campus School
Initiative to host a grant writing competition to increase the attainment of externally-funded research
Dr. Carolyn Kaldon (CREP), PI, with Sally Parish (AVP), Alfred Hall (COE), Stephanie Ivey (Engineering), Kenneth Ward (Public Health), Lorretta Rudd (Child Devlopment and Family Studies), Todd Zoblotsky (CREP), John Sabatini (Psychology), Andrew Tawfik (Instructional Design and Technology), Craig Shepard (Instructional Design and Technology), Shelly Counsell (School of Communication Sciences and Disorders), Josef Hanson (Music), Remy Debes (Philosophy), Terrence Tucker (AA Literature), Deborah Tollefsen (Philosophy), Brian Ruggaber (Theatre and Dance)
College of Communication and Fine Arts in partnership with various nonprofits
Initiative to help faculty develop community partners, a research project plan, and increased external funding knowledge
Dr. Melissa Janoske McLean (Journalism), PI.
Health Spaces and Technology Research Community
in partnership with Memphis Public Libraries
Initiative to complete the collection and analysis of data of the library community health needs assessment project, write abstracts and manuscripts for disseminating findings from the library health needs assessment projects, identify the health needs for potential interventions in faculty's expert areas, and seek funding to expand the community health outreach by enhancing collaborations with UofM scholars and community partners
Dr. Irma Sinagrella (Libraries), PI, with Drs. Sohye Lee (Nursing), Seok Won Jin (Social Work), Y'Esha Williams (Nursing), Susan Elswick (Social Work), Kathryn Hicks (Anthropology), Christine Bertz (CREP)
College of Health Sciences in partnership with
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Initiative to establish formal cross-disciplinary discussions among U of M faculty; facilitate communication between faculty at U of M, UTHSC and other regional institutions; and enhance opportunities for trainees
Dr. Brandt Pence (Health Sciences), PI, with Drs. Gary Bowlin (Biomedical Engineering), Thomas Sutter (Biology), Hongmei Zhang (Public Health), Melissa Puppa (Health Sciences), Yufeng Zhang (Health Sciences), Jim Adelman (Biology), Marie van der Merwe (Health Sciences), Aaryani Sajja (Biomedical Engineering)
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in partnership with CEDM and the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and USA
Initiative to establish an interdisciplinary research center focused on ethnic/racial disparities in health
Dean Katherine Traylor Schaffzin (Law), PI, with Drs. Jacqueline Buford (Nursing), Elena Delavega (Social Work), Latrice Pichon (Public Health), Angel Oigbokie (Nursing), Enrica Ruggs (FCBE), and Demetria Frank (Law) and Katy Mason (Law)
Department of Civil Engineering in
partnership with various institutions
Initiative to form a better network between water researchers from various institutions
Dr. Farhad Jazaei (Civil Engineering), PI
College of Communication and Fine Arts
Exploration of the impact of video game playing on overcoming pandemic isolation in professional and recreational players
Drs. Jin Yang (Journalism and Strategic Media), PI, and Ruoxu Wang (Journalism and Strategic Media), PI with Drs. Shannon Cook (Computer Science) and Rhema Fuller (Hospitality)
College of Communication and Fine Arts in partnership
with Memphis Public Relations Society
Initiative to create local mentorship opportunities for students within CCFA
Dr. Kate Roberts (Art), PI, with Dr. Teri Del Rosso (Journalism and Strategic Media)
School of Public Health
Initiative to conduct a longitudinal online survey among American adults to collect information about the influences of COVID on health outcomes/behaviors
Dr. Yong Yang (Public Health), PI, with Drs. Ken Ward (Public Health), Jim Murphy (Psychology), Aram Dobalian (Public Health)
College of Communication and Fine Arts
in partnership with Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Initiative to examine the impact of Koru mindfulness training on professional orchestra musicians' music performance anxiety
Drs. Ryan (Music) and Robyn Jones (Music) with Dr. Sean Holder
College of Communication and Fine Arts
in partnership with Room in the Inn Memphis
Initiative to obtain the perspectives of the homeless to increase an understanding of their barriers to sustained housing
Drs. Sachiko Terui (Communication and Film), PI, and Joy Goldsmith (Communication and Film), PI, with Drs. Matthew Haught (Journalism), Andrew Tawfik (Instructional Design and Technology)