New projects, discoveries, partnerships, achievements, and creations by IUPUI faculty, staff, students, and community partners are highlighted in the 2023 IUPUI Center for Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) annual report.
2023 Award Recipients
Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies in the IU School of Liberal Arts, and her Co-PI Laura Holzman, professor and public scholar of Curatorial Practices and Visual Art, in the IU Herron School of Art + Design and in the IU School of Liberal Arts, are the recipients of the 2023 Charles R. Bantz Community Fellowship for their collaborative work to create a traveling exhibit and a series of public conversations to deepen critical thinking about environmental injustice in Indianapolis and to develop strategies to improve the situation. The $40,000 award supports their work “Indy Toxic Heritage: Pollution, Place, and Power” in partnership with The Kheprw Institute, Indy Parks and Recreation, and residents of the Norwood and Riverside neighborhoods.
Description of the video:
0:00 [Music]
0:12 I think this idea of toxic Heritage is
0:15 sometimes a little bit hard to wrap your
0:16 brain around but ultimately it's about
0:19 human rights that everybody deserves the
0:22 right to live in a safe healthy place
0:25 and people should care about it
0:27 regardless of where they live because
0:30 our history has been such that not
0:32 everybody has equal access to safe
0:34 healthy places so raising up the stories
0:37 of the neighborhoods that have borne
0:39 burden after burden over decades where
0:43 it's the places where we sight our dumps
0:45 where um polluted soils and contaminants
0:49 are allowed to accumulate um because
0:52 they are places with maybe less
0:53 political power that those are stories
0:56 that we really need to tell and
0:58 everybody needs to care about so that we
1:00 can move forward to create more
1:02 Equitable and safe and healthy
1:04 neighborhoods for
1:06 everyone so for the Indie toxic heritage
1:10 project we are collaborating with a
1:14 number of Partners including Indie Parks
1:16 and Recreation and the Keo Institute and
1:19 of course the museum studies program um
1:21 to create an exhibition that looks at
1:26 environmental harm and advocacy for
1:29 change in Indianapolis there are a
1:32 number of organizations and individuals
1:36 who have been doing very important
1:38 environmental justice work in our city
1:41 but often the stories of environmental
1:43 damage and advocacy are concentrated in
1:48 specific neighborhoods or with specific
1:50 groups that are involved in those
1:51 initiatives what we're going to be doing
1:53 is connecting those dots to tell a story
1:56 that really points to toxic Heritage as
1:59 part of indianapolis's Citywide history
2:03 identity and future our city has a long
2:07 history and a lot of it is very
2:09 industrial and very commercial and that
2:12 has left scars on the environment a lot
2:15 of people think about the environment as
2:18 something separate from the human world
2:22 and that distinction is a fallacy we
2:25 live in the natural environment the
2:27 human world is built on the natural
2:29 environment and in the natural
2:31 environment so anything that's going on
2:33 in the quote unquote natural world
2:35 affects the human world we also
2:39 understand that these impacts that have
2:42 been left on the natural environment in
2:44 our community in our city they don't
2:47 just affect the trees and the soil and
2:50 the birds and the bees they affect us as
2:52 well and so any project that allows us
2:56 to have more awareness of
3:00 the makeup of the environment the
3:03 potential that it has the threats that
3:05 it holds ways that anything that
3:08 increases our agency to change and
3:11 influence that anything that does that
3:14 is a benefit and so I I feel like we're
3:16 part of it because we've all worked so
3:19 well together in the past because our
3:21 philosophical underpinning is community
3:25 engagement it it it is also about doing
3:28 our very best job
3:30 to research investigate and to show the
3:33 community but it's to involve the
3:36 community in putting that information
3:39 together so that then the community
3:40 comes and see themselves reflected in
3:43 the work that they've that they've done
3:45 and then they take it around to to show
3:47 it to others which encourages others
3:51 to this is if it is to be it is up to us
3:54 and it starts with engagement and
3:58 sensitivity of mes of which I'm probably
4:02 [Music]
4:13 one
Sophia Wang, Wesley P. Martin Scholar in Alzheimer’s Education and associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the IU School of Medicine, and Veronica Derricks, assistant professor of Psychology in the Purdue School of Science, received the 2023 Charles R. Bantz Community Scholar Award for their research that educates minority communities about the value of early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and offers free cognitive screenings to community members. The $25,000 grant funds their project “A Pilot Study of the BE SMART (Brain Health Education to Promote Cognitive Screening in Minority Communities and to Increase Diverse Participation in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Trials) Intervention.” This project is conducted in collaboration with the John Boner Neighborhood Center, the Edna Martin Christian Center, and the CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions Resource Center.
Description of the video:
0:01 [Music]0:07 [Music]
0:13 more than 2 million older Americans from
0:16 racial and ethnic minoritized groups
0:18 have early stage Alzheimer's disease or
0:21 other types of dementias with the Advent
0:24 of Novel disease modifying treatments
0:26 for Alzheimer's disas ensuring that all
0:28 communities have equal access access to
0:30 these treatments is essential
0:32 unfortunately many older adults in these
0:35 communities do not become aware of their
0:37 disease until it is too late for them to
0:40 benefit from these new medications as a
0:43 physician specializing in Alzheimer's
0:45 disease my goal is to make educational
0:48 resources available for these atrisk
0:51 communities so they can learn more about
0:53 the importance of early detection of
0:55 Alzheimer's disease and the benefits of
0:58 cognitive screening together with my
1:00 colleagues at the ni funded Indiana
1:03 Alzheimer's CE Research Center our
1:05 diverse team of Physicians social
1:08 psychologists and neuros pychology have
1:11 joined with our partners based in
1:12 Indianapolis the John Bonner Center the
1:15 Edna Martin Christian Center and seoa to
1:18 empower these communities to be part of
1:20 developing and testing our new education
1:23 program about participating in Healthy
1:25 Lifestyles to reduce the risk of
1:27 Alzheimer disease and how to access free
1:30 cognitive screening black Americans are
1:32 about two to three times more likely to
1:34 have Alzheimer's disease and other
1:36 dementias than white Americans and these
1:39 statistics are troubling and point to a
1:41 need for the prevention and early
1:43 detection of Alzheimer's disease as a
1:46 social psychologist I was inspired to
1:48 collaborate with Sophia and our
1:49 Community Partners on this project
1:52 because there are a lot of educational
1:53 materials about cognitive screening and
1:56 Alzheimer's disease but this information
1:58 doesn't always focus on the questions
2:00 and content that minoritized communities
2:02 are most interested in one of the key
2:05 goals of this project is ensuring that
2:07 community members have access to
2:09 cognitive screening and that they
2:11 understand what the results of these
2:13 tests mean so that we can identify signs
2:16 of Alzheimer's disease as early as
2:18 possible people should care about this
2:20 type of research because people are
2:23 living longer and the chances are
2:25 greater now of someone you know starting
2:28 to show signs of Alzheimer's disease and
2:31 we need to be able to recognize these
2:34 signs This research project brings much
2:37 needed information to older adults as
2:39 well as their families in the community
2:41 about Alzheimer's disease the sessions
2:43 are offered by experts in the industry
2:46 presented in a comfortable setting
2:48 there's no fee for monthly participation
2:50 our first discussion in November covered
2:53 understanding memory changes as you age
2:55 some of the other discussions that we've
2:57 had covered are the difference between
2:59 all Alzheimer disease and dementia
3:01 Alzheimer's and medications how to talk
3:04 to your doctor about your health
3:06 concerns and Alzheimer's disease and
3:08 cardiovascular risk factors the
3:11 community is able to get information
3:13 about research its benefits and the
3:16 impact it can
3:17 have I am personally passionate about
3:20 this program in that we have to make
3:23 Alzheimer's disease research
3:25 representative it's really an essential
3:28 part of what we do we devote a lot of
3:30 our effort to this and any help that we
3:32 can get uh including that from the the B
3:36 uh research program is very meaningful
3:39 to us I just want to say from the bottom
3:41 of my heart gracias thank you to all the
3:44 donors that are supporting this
3:46 important work I believe that addressing
3:48 different Health disparities across
3:50 different sarte groups is really
3:52 important particularly at topics such as
3:55 uh diena in Alzheimer so thank you so
3:58 much for your contribution
4:00 and I really believe that this project
4:02 is going to impact multiple people and
4:05 not only this generation but also future
4:07 generation thank
4:09 [Music]
4:16 you
The 2023 Bantz-Petronio Translating Research Into Practice Faculty Award recipient is Holly Cusack-McVeigh, Ph.D. Dr. Cusack-McVeigh is an associate professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies and Public Scholar of Collections and Community Curation in the IU School of Liberal Arts with an appointment in the Native American & Indigenous Studies Program. Her scholarly research is deeply grounded in social justice and centered in an interdisciplinary, community-based collaborative approach to address real-world issues. The goal of her translational research is to forge connections and foster lasting community partnerships that bring about greater cultural understanding and social change in local, national, and international communities. Dr. Cusack-McVeigh and her research team work on toxic museum collections and the repatriation of Indigenous cultural heritage artifacts.
Description of the video:
0:00 [Music]0:00 [Applause]
0:00 [Music]
0:13 the project that I'm working on
0:15 currently is embedded within the larger
0:18 question of
0:20 repatriation the national nagpra Native
0:22 American Graves protection and
0:24 repatriation act of 1990 is decades old
0:28 we continue to fight around the world
0:31 for the return of cultural heritage and
0:35 ancestors but when those Returns come
0:38 home to the community indigenous
0:40 communities often discover especially in
0:43 the
0:44 1800s those ancestors and those cultural
0:47 items were treated with toxic chemicals
0:50 harmful chemicals like Arsenic and
0:53 mercury and then in the 1930s even
0:56 things like
0:57 DDT and so a imagine community members
1:02 fighting so hard to bring their
1:04 ancestors and their cultural heritage
1:06 home only to discover that they they are
1:10 harmful and potentially hazardous to the
1:13 living community and so the work that
1:15 I'm doing now with indigenous
1:18 communities is working to identify those
1:22 toxic chemical treatments prior to
1:26 repatriation prior to the return to
1:28 communities and in the case where items
1:31 and ancestors have already been returned
1:34 to identify what they were treated with
1:37 and how we might make the community and
1:40 those returns safer and it's on a caseby
1:43 casee basis each is different depending
1:46 on the kind of chemical treatment and
1:48 the amount so it's it's trying to
1:51 identify where can indigenous
1:53 communities go for testing to identify
1:57 what kind of Hazard the testing is is
2:00 complex it's different for every Hazard
2:03 known chemical treatment and it's very
2:05 costly very expensive to the community
2:09 so it's working to bring together
2:11 indigenous communities leaders tribal
2:14 historic preservation officers but also
2:18 allies in the field allies in museum
2:21 studies allies in anthropology and other
2:24 forms of Academia but also to take a
2:28 cross-disciplinary approach to This
2:30 research to this problem and work with
2:33 for example the American industrial
2:35 hygiene Association to recruit
2:38 toxicologists object conservators to
2:41 come together to build a
2:43 multidisciplinary team to tackle this
2:46 ongoing problem people should very much
2:49 care about their their health and their
2:51 well-being and this is something that I
2:53 think a lot of folks don't necessarily
2:55 think about when they're interacting
2:57 with with older older objects um you
3:00 know nowadays we have a lot of rules and
3:03 regulations both ferally and at state
3:05 and local levels to try to protect our
3:07 health uh but in the past that was not
3:10 necessarily the case and so something
3:12 you that may be as simple as a a family
3:15 hat um could potentially have the
3:18 possibility of contaminants depending on
3:20 how old it is and if it was ever treated
3:23 and preserved so often if it's something
3:26 that looks fragile but is well preserved
3:28 today that's your first hint that there
3:30 may be some sort of you know certainly
3:33 some sort of preservative involved but
3:35 was that an older toxic or contaminated
3:38 preservative um you know a lot of times
3:40 arsenic salts or Mercury salts were used
3:43 um to preserve a number of different
3:45 items and again we just like ASB bestus
3:49 started out as something that was you
3:51 know great we now know that that is a uh
3:54 significant health hazard um and causes
3:57 a lot of health problems so and
3:59 particular particularly for um you know
4:02 folks who are antiquing I'm not sure
4:05 that that's something that they think
4:06 about on a regular basis either
4:08 depending on the types of objects that
4:09 they're interested in the benefits this
4:13 uh project is uh bringing is what we
4:17 what we receive is what we're going to
4:20 reuse back put into our um ceremonies we
4:25 have 12 different Villages so we have to
4:27 look at what we get back
4:30 determine which Village the the object
4:33 is is from contact their um religious
4:36 leaders if they want the items back it's
4:38 a hard job but um you know I I like what
4:42 I'm what I'm
4:45 [Music]
4:57 doing
A Tribute to Paul Mullins, "Champion of Community Engagement" written by Dr. Susan Hyatt
On April 16, 2023, Indianapolis and IUPUI lost a great champion of civic engagement and translational research. Professor Paul Mullins, Chancellor’s Professor of Anthropology, winner of the Chancellor’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement and inaugural co-recipient of the Bantz Community Fellowship, among many other honors and awards, passed away at the age of 60 after a year-long struggle with a malignant brain tumor. In his 24 years at IUPUI, he became the preeminent historian of the campus and of Indianapolis.
Events
In 2023, the IUPUI Center for Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) hosted 17 events both virtually and in-person. These events included the Scholar of the Month events that provide virtual opportunities for TRIP faculty scholars to share their research with the community and engage in thoughtful dialogue. In addition to these monthly events, the IUPUI Center for TRIP hosted its annual Keynote events featuring Dr. Mark Becker and the 2023 TRIP Awards and Fall Showcase. 1,022 people attended these events. View a full list of the events and watch recordings.
- Reviews from Attendees -
"Paul Mullins was a phenomenal scholar whom I've had the privilege to hear speak a few times previously on his work in the area; I loved to hear from Dr. Mullins' peers, mentors, and students to get a glimpse into just how far his impact extends!"
"Very interesting and timely topics and available via Zoom."
"All speakers were excellent."
"This was an extra-special Speaker of the Month, but I think I really like the format; it's so uplifting to hear about the impact of a scholar's work, and very in-the-spirit of TRIP."
"I thought having the community partners as a key element of the presentation to give their perspective was great. I also thought the music opener with visuals was brilliant. Took away the awkward silence at the start, allowed people to test their sound, and kicked things off well. Totally stealing that idea for virtual events at my university."
"Thanks Center for TRIP - you do amazing work!!"
"Really appreciated the email with a list of resources!"
"Great presentation, easy to understand and very applicable/important for all types of research."
"The speaker was incredibly passionate and engaging."
"I look forward to your next event!"
IUPUI ScholarWorks
Earlier this year, in partnership with IUPUI University Library, the IUPUI Center for TRIP was published in the Metropolitan Universities journal.
IUPUI’s Center for Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) and IUPUI University Library (Library) developed a partnership to enhance community access to faculty scholarship resulting from community-engaged and translational research. Library staff archive the scholarship (articles, posters, reports, theses, educational materials and historical documents) of faculty affiliated with TRIP in IUPUI ScholarWorks, the campus’s open access institutional repository. The TRIP Scholarly Works Program was launched in 2013 and outcomes include benefits for faculty authors (increased readership) and for a world of readers (free access). After almost 10 years in existence, Library and TRIP staff sought to evaluate the success of this program. A survey was distributed to TRIP affiliated faculty to assess the impact of open access to their scholarship on their work as community-engaged and translational scholars. Faculty participants report a variety of benefits and yet, also indicate a need for increased program communication and fewer barriers to participation.
TRIP Scholar Accomplishments
TRIP Scholar Dr. Mark Kelley and his research partner, Melissa Fishel, received a $2.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore new therapies that target the critical pathways pancreatic tumors use to survive.
Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow, an IU Kelley School of Business clinical associate professor of business law and management and a 2019 Bantz Community Scholar Awardee, was named the second Randall L. Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence Scholar in Residence. She also received Indiana Lawyer's Diversity in Law Award. Awardees are Indiana attorneys and judges who actively work to promote different forms of diversity within the legal profession.
Edward Curtis received an Emmy for "Best Historical Documentary." Watch "Arab Indianapolis" and explore the first Arabic-speaking neighborhood in Indianapolis for free. Also, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, announced that Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest won the 2023 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Arab American Book Award. “The award,” according to the museum, “is the only one in the nation created specifically to honor Arab American writers and books about the Arab American experience.” Buy the book. Listen to podcasts about the book.
TRIP Scholar, Dr. Bonnie Blazer-Yost and her research partner Dr. Teri Belecky-Adams received two grants (totaling $11.7 million) from the U.S. Department of Defense to team up with researchers at John Hopkins and Purdue University in an effort to find a drug treatment for hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a condition which causes cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate in the brain, currently has one treatment method - brain surgery. The funds will also establish a Hydrocephalus Research Center at the IUPUI School of Science. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for a method created by Professor Blazer-Yost for a method that utilizes SGK1 inhibitors that reduce sodium reabsorption in the blood, thus reducing the development of diseases related to salt and water balance, particularly for hydrocephalus and hypertension
TRIP Scholar Dr. Kurt Kroenke was recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as a 2023 Health Care Hero. He was honored in the Innovations in Health Care category. As a doctor, his performance in the job is considered exemplary. Dr. Kroenke is internationally recognized as an expert in symptomology.
2019 Bantz Fellowship recipient, Dr. Elizabeth Nelson, was interviewed in an article for The New Yorker about a recently published book that she co-edited. "Who Would Believe a Prisoner?: Indiana Women's Carceral Institutions, 1848-1920" is a groundbreaking book. The book was written by a collective of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women who investigated the early history of women's jails and prisons in Indiana. Learn more about the book. Purchase the book.
TRIP Scholar Professor Amrou Awaysheh was named one of IUPUI's Research Frontiers Trailblazers for 2023. This annual award from the Indianapolis campus's vice chancellor for research recognizes associate professors in the first three years of their academic appointment who have made exceptional contributions to research in their field.
2018 Bantz Fellowship recipient, Dr. Barbara Pierce and Indiana University were featured in Inside Indiana Business for receiving grants totaling $10 million to increase mental health services to students in K - 12 Indiana schools. Dr. Pierce received $5.7 million of the total amount and IU Kokomo received the remaining $4.3 million.
TRIP Scholar, Dr. Hari Nakshatri, and his research partner, Dr. Michele Coté, received $25,000 from the Heroes Foundation Catherine Peachey Fund. This invaluable contribution will be instrumental in advancing their groundbreaking research, specifically focusing on the development of new models to investigate the origins and unique characteristics of inflammatory breast cancers in comparison to common breast cancer subtypes.
A clean energy spinup founded by 2020 Bantz-Petronio TRIP Awardee, Dr. Peter Schubert, was awarded $100,000 to advance renewable energy projects in Indiana.
TRIP Scholars in the News
2021 Bantz Fellows
WISH-TV 8 News
Dr. Leslie Etienne and Dean Tambra Jackson's Indianapolis Freedom School Project inspires students to develop a love of learning.
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Justin Blackburn
Fairbanks School of Public Health
Untreated mental illness costs Indiana over $4 billion each year.
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David Craig
WFYI Indianapolis
Black churches work to blunt the impact of Medicaid unwinding on their communities.
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Sylk Sotto
Indiana CTSI
The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) named Sylk Sotto as its first chief diversity officer.
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IU Day 2023
Thanks to the generous efforts of our TRIP Community, the IUPUI Center for Translating Research Into Practice successfully raised $5,470 for the Bantz Community Fellowship Fund.
Bantz Advisory Council Members
Charles R. Bantz
IUPUI Chancellor Emeritus
Dr. Bantz served as IUPUI Chancellor from 2003 - 2015. In 2015 IUPUI established the Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship in recognition of the leadership and contributions of Charles R. Bantz to the IUPUI campus and Indianapolis community.
Stephan Viehweg
Associate Director, IUPUI Center for TRIP
Stephan Viehweg is the Associate Director of the Indiana LEND at the IU School of Medicine. He currently serves as the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. Ambassador to Indiana. He is founding chair of Infancy Onward (Indiana’s association for infant mental health), founding president of Family Voices Indiana and now Secretary of Indiana Family to Family, Treasurer of Mental Health America of Indiana, and serves as Governor appointment to the Indiana Behavioral Health Professions Licensing Board.
Amy C. Warner
Vice Chancellor, IUPUI Office of Community Engagement
Vice Chancellor Warner leverages IUPUI knowledge and resources with public and private partners to enrich scholarship, research and creative activity; prepares civic-minded professionals, and contributes to the public good by addressing critical societal issues.
Teresa Bennett
Assistant Vice Chancellor, IUPUI Office of Community Engagement
Assistant Vice Chancellor Bennett provides strategic leadership to advance and maintain business, nonprofit, and economic development relationships in alignment with the IUPUI Anchor Institution initiatives and in partnership with IU Indianapolis schools. She also directs campus initiatives including the Charles R. Bantz Fellowship and Scholar Awards Grant Initiative that provides annual grants to support community-engaged research, Professional Development and Continuing Education (PDCE) programs that connect the university’s intellectual capital to the pressing demands for talent and professional growth; and the IUPUI Internship Grant program that awards matching grants to Central Indiana employers to hire IU Indianapolis students.
David Craig
Professor of Religious Studies, IU School of Liberal Arts, Indianapolis
Dr. Craig is a religious ethicist specializing in economic, environmental, and health care ethics. He is also the 2020 Bantz Community Fellow for his "A New HIP Public" research project.
Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow
Indiana University Bicentennial Professor, Kelley School of Business, Indianapolis
Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow is a scholar in residence of the Tobias Leadership Center, faculty chair of the Kelley Undergraduate Program, clinical associate professor of business law and management, and a Kelley Dean’s Fellow at the IU Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis. She is also the 2019 Bantz Community Scholar Awardee for her "Advancing Indy Women" research project.
Etta Ward
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Development, IU Research Indianapolis
Assistant Vice Chancellor Ward strategizes the advancement of research at IUPUI. She oversees and implements new programs related to strategic planning of research programs. Ward’s work impacts departments campus-wide.
Nouri McLucas
Program Coordinator, IUPUI Center for TRIP
Nouri McLucas is responsible for providing administrative support, communicating information through multiple media platforms, assisting with research partner collaborations, and managing center projects. She ensures that all center plans are executed properly and run smoothly and are within budget.
More Information and Updates
This is only a small sampling of the amazing work that TRIP Scholars, Bantz Community Awardees, students, staff, and community partnerships have accomplished during 2023. Check out more news. We're looking forward to what 2024 will bring.