Ongoing Research Projects

Consultation and Outreach

Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace IV (CPH-NEW IV)

  • CPH-New IV
  • CDC/NIOSH
  • Major Goal: To advance Total Worker Health (TWH) science, practice, and policy by delivering TWH professional and pre-professional education; communicating and disseminating TWH research knowledge and evidence-based practice tools; and delivering capacity-building activities that enable organizational TWH uptake.
  • Principle Investigator: Jennifer Cavallari, Sc.D.,C.I.H.
  • September 2021 – August 2026

Occupational Health Psychology Training

  • CDC/UConn
  • Major Goal: The Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) graduate training program at the University of Connecticut is designed to recruit and train highly qualified and diverse graduate students from psychology, public health and nursing to become Ph.D. researchers capable of conducting multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary research focusing on the behavioral aspects of occupational health.
  • Principal Investigator: Jennifer Cavallari, Sc.D., C.I.H.
  • June 2023 – June 2025

Health Improvement Through Employee Control (HITEC)

Responding to Staff Trauma and Organizational Stress in Prisons and Jail Settings

  • National Institute of Corrections/UMass-Lowell
  • Major Goals: To expand the previous foundational document work in developing staff trauma resources for Prison and Jail settings by including additional job series that have direct inmate contact beyond the correctional officer series. This will increase NIC’s capacity to serve more participants by accessing and reviewing available and emerging research and information about vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and job-related stress in prisons, jails, and related disciplines will provide the background for determining the current understanding of this issue.
  • Principal Investigator: Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H.
  • August 2023 – August 2025

Translating Research to Practice in Corrections Staff Mental Health through Dissemination of Evidence: From Pilots to Practical Programs

  • CDC/St. Louis University
  • Major Goal: Conference grant to support project planning, program evaluation design and reporting, conference meeting an National Corrections Collaborative Project Taskforce coordination; co-facilitate the event.
  • Principal Investigator: Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H.
  • September 2024 – September 2026

A Wearables Monitoring System for Real-time Tracking of Acute Physiological Reactions and Recovery from System Casualties in Navy Operations – COMP 56

  • Office of Naval Research/UConn
  • Major Goal: To enhance this wearable technology for real-time tracking of physiological responses and recovery patterns in military personnel during system casualties like hull breaches, fires, and steam line failures. Automated algorithms will quantify reaction strength, recovery rate, and duration.
  • Principle Investigator: Insoo Kim, Ph.D.
  • October 2023 – September 2025

Motion-Based Biomechanical Performance Evaluation of Navy Personnel – COMP 57

  • Office of Naval Research/UConn
  • Major Goal: To develop a sensor fusion framework for real-time monitoring and estimation of physical and cognitive performance in demanding environments. Dr. Kim will design wearable sensors to develop an objective sleep quality index.
  • Principle Investigator: Insoo Kim, Ph.D.
  • October 2023 – September 2025

Team Performance in Submarines – COMP 58

  • Office of Naval Research/UConn
  • Major Goal: An experimental design using a mixed-method approach to quantify cognitive processes (e.g., EI, situational awareness, trust, team cohesion) alongside physiological stress indicators (e.g., heart rate variability, electrodermal activity) and qualitative assessments of team communication to evaluate team performance.
  • Principle Investigator: Insoo Kim, Ph.D.
  • October 2023 – September 2025

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education

  • State of CT DSS/UConn
  • Major Goal: Provide SNAP benefits and education to the community.
  • Principle Investigator: Ann Ferris, Ph.D.
  • October 2021 – September 2025

GLS State/Tribal Youth Suicide

  • CT DMHAS Contract
  • Major Goal: UConn Health for the evaluation of the DMHAS-implemented PH2 for suicide prevention, intervention and response and intensive community-based efforts to reduce non-fatal suicide attempts and suicide deaths among at-risk youths, ages 24 and under.
  • Principle Investigator: Sara Wakai, Ph.D.
  • September 2023 – September 2028

Improving the Health of Americans through Prevention of Diabetes and Heart Disease

  • CT DPH
  • UConn Health will provide evaluation services and evaluation deliverables required by the CDC for the 2023-0004 (The National Cardiovascular Health Program) and 2023-0020 (Strategic Approach to Advancing Health Equity for Priority Populations with or At Risk for Diabetes) cooperative agreements. The contractor shall: 1) design and submit to the Department for approval the Evaluation Plan in accordance with CDC guidance; 2) submit as per reporting deadlines, the Evaluation Plan revisions, data, and reports to the Department; 3) meet with DPH and project partners as per DPH direction in order to collect required data; 4) collect, analyze, and report on required data.
  • Principle Investigator: Sara Wakai, Ph.D.
  • November 2023 – June 2028

Comprehensive Suicide Prevention

  • CT DPH
  • Major Goal:
  • Principle Investigator: Sara Wakai, Ph.D.
  • May 2021 – August 2025

CT Worker’s Compensation Commission MOA

  • CT Workers Compensation Commission
  • Major Goal: The development, evaluation, and reporting of surveillance activities to identify and prevent occupational disease.
  • Principal Investigator: Tim Morse, Ph.D.
  • July 2010 – Current

DOL Occupational Health Clinics MOU

  • CT Department of Labor
  • Major Goal: Through the use of the Occupational Medicine clinic services, will provide diagnoses, treatment, and preventative services to individuals with occupational diseases.
  • Principal Investigator: Lenworth Ellis, MD, MPH
  • July 2005 – Current

DOT Health and Safety MOU

  • CT Department of Transportation
  • Major Goal: To maintain a clinic at the DOT facilities to provide occupational medicine services on site
  • Principal Investigator: Timothy LeDean, D.O., M.P.H.
  • July 2008 – Current