Redstone Global Center Pilot Grant Competition

Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University is pleased to announce the renewal of the center's annual research pilot grant competition. For 2025 (FY 2026),  we will fund 3 grant awards between $25,000–40,000, totalling $120,000. These grants support the Redstone Global Center’s renewed mission to promote equitable adaptation among communities most at risk from climate-related health hazards and challenges by cultivating research, education, and collaboration.

The Redstone Global Center pilot grant competitions are open to multidisciplinary teams led by principal investigators at George Washington University. Collaborative partnership between schools in the university is encouraged. 

• Full-time active status includes tenure and non-tenure track faculty in the Milken Institute SPH, the GWU SMHS or the School of Nursing. Faculty may be regular or research track faculty at the rank of assistant or associate professor. Preference given to junior faculty.
• One pre-doctoral or post-doctoral pilot study is considered for funding.

While the overall project should focus on climate change and health, individual team members can bring specific skill sets to the project from such diverse fields as public health, environmental health, public policy, social sciences, demography, and communications. We encouraged applications from early-stage investigators and investigators from gender, racial, and ethnic groups which are underrepresented in the climate and health research field.

We are honored to recognize the following teams as 2025 Redstone Global Center Pilot Award recipients:

Xindi Hu, D.Sc., M.S., and collaborators (Environmental and Occupational Health)

Project title: Nexus of water intake, water security and climate resilience: a system science approach to improving water security and community health in a changing climate
Lead PI: Xindi (Cindy) Hu, Assistant Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, GWSPH
Co-I: Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, Associate Professor and Director, Diet Disparities Lab, Global Health, GWSPH
Co-I: Kuan-Lung Daniel Chen, Assistant Research Professor and Associate Director, CCR Research, Global Health, GWSPH

This pilot study uses participatory systems science to examine how climate-driven water insecurity influences sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and chronic disease risk in the Navajo Nation and Puerto Rico.

Devin LaPolt, PhD, and collaborators (Institute for Food Safety & Nutrition Security) 

Project title: The Role of Climate Change on Diarrheal Disease Variability in Vulnerable Populations in Ethiopia
PI: Devin LaPolt, Post-doctoral Associate, Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security, GWSPH
Co-PI: Barbara Kowalcyk, Associate Professor and Director, Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security, GWSPH
Community Partner: Desalegn A Ayana, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia

Yashan Wang, PhD Candidate, and collaborators (Environmental and Occupational Health)

Project title: Unraveling the Climate-Resistance Link: How Climate Change and Agricultural Antifungal Use May Be Driving the Emergence of Drug-Resistant Aspergillus tubingensis Infections in California
Lead PI: Yashan Wang, PhD Candidate, Environmental and Occupational Health, GWSPH
Co-PI: Lance B. Price, Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, GWSPH
Community Partners: Kaiser Permanente Southern California, National Allergy Bureau 

This project explores how climate change and agricultural fungicide application may be driving the rise of drug-resistant Aspergillus infections in California, with a focus on farmworkers and climate-vulnerable communities.

Congratulations to the recipients!

Thank you to all those who submitted a letter of intent and a full application to our 2025 Pilot Award Competition. We encourage those who missed the deadline or were unsuccessful to apply next year. We also welcome inquiries to explore other ways to collaborate with our center.