The Department of Family Medicine (DFM) congratulates three faculty—Marlon Mundt, PhD; Nancy Pandhi, MD, MPH; and Aleksandra Zgierska, MD, PhD—who recently received a total of $2,415,725 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The scientists each received a five-year Career Development Award (also known as a K award) to build research programs on the following topics: the economic impact of adolescent alcohol use, continuity of care in older adults, and mindfulness meditation for alcohol relapse prevention.

These prestigious awards provide funding for a 75 percent research appointment over five years. They are designed to provide scientists with training and support as they develop into independent researchers, and are often the key to a successful research career.

According to Mary Beth Plane, PhD, the DFM's director of research services, K awards are extremely competitive. "Overall, fewer than 20 percent of proposals submitted are funded each year, and some agencies fund as few as 10 percent," she said.

"It's very unusual for the DFM—or any department, for that matter—to receive three K awards in one year," she said. "The fact that the NIH is supporting three of our scientists this year demonstrates the caliber of our research faculty and their mentors."

Award Winners

Marlon Mundt, PhD

• Award Title: "Economic Evaluation of Adolescent Alcohol Use and the Impact of Social Networks"
• Award Type: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award
• Award Total: $804,738
• Award Dates: 8/1/09-7/31/14

This award will provide Dr. Mundt with training to conduct a multidisciplinary study on the economic impact of adolescent alcohol use and social networks on labor market, health, and crime outcomes.

As a result of this award, Dr. Mundt will be able to build a strong research foundation in health economic evaluation of alcohol services, social network analysis, and clinical aspects of alcohol treatment. This may lead to more precise economic evaluations of how to improve alcohol abuse-related services.

Nancy Pandhi, MD, PhD

• Award Title: "Continuity of Care and the Health of Older Adults"
• Award Type: National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA) K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award
• Award Total: $668,925
• Award Dates: 4/1/09-3/31/14

This award will support Dr. Pandhi as she establishes a health services research program on effective clinical practice redesign for vulnerable older adults.

Dr. Pandhi will use the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey to research the effects of continuity of care on older adults' health. Her specific research questions are: 1) whether continuity of care with an individual physician has an effect over and above continuity with a health care site; 2) the characteristics of vulnerability in older adults and how they relate to continuity and health outcomes; and 3) the effects of distinct aspects of continuity of care (such as trust) on older adults' health.

The long-term goal of Dr. Pandhi's research program is to develop and implement a redesigned medical home with optimal continuity of care supporting vulnerable older adults' health.

Aleksandra Zgierska, MD, PhD

• Award Title: "Mindfulness Meditation for Alcohol Relapse Prevention"
• Award Type: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award
• Award Total: $942,062
• Award Dates: 4/10/09-3/31/14

This award will support Dr. Zgierska's research evaluating new therapies for substance use disorders and prepare her to be a tenured clinician-scientist in alcohol- and drug-use-related research.

Dr. Zgierska's current project will evaluate mindfulness meditation, an innovative behavioral intervention, as a therapy for alcohol dependence. This research will allow development of the final protocols for mindfulness-based relapse prevention therapy for alcohol-dependent adults in early recovery, and evaluation of this therapy in the settings of a randomized controlled trial.

If proven effective, this intervention may benefit the community and society at large as well as the individual study participants affected by alcohol dependence, a chronic, disabling, and costly disorder.