Syracuse Sun

Doctoral students Alexa Deyo and Alison Vrabec spent their summer testing the impact of motivational interviewing on sleep and health among adolescents. Their research, supervised by Assistant Professor Katie Kidwell, aims to improve mental health outcomes for teens. “If teens are sleeping better, their mental health is improved; they are more emotionally regulated and less impulsive,” says Kidwell.

The project aligns with the goals of the Walters Endowed Fund for Science Research, established by alumni Kathy Walters and her husband Stan in 2016. The fund supports a wide range of scientific research at Syracuse University. Kathy Walters emphasizes the importance of allowing researchers to pursue diverse inquiries: “Researchers tend to see things that those of us not immersed in science would never see.”

Funding decisions are made by the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) dean and associate dean for research. A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi highlights the significance of such funding: “With Kathy and Stan’s gift, we can invest in more of our stellar faculty and students, so they can contribute their enormous expertise to solving challenges.”

Since its inception, the fund has supported various graduate student projects in fields like physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology. Favour Chukwudumebi Ononiwu, a Ph.D. candidate in cell biology, credits the fund with enabling her full-time lab work during summer 2023. “This particular tissue helps the body organize itself. Understanding how that happens is key to understanding developmental defects,” she explains.

Ononiwu acknowledges that financial support from the Walters allowed her to focus on experiments without financial worries and helped advance her research significantly. She states that it was a “catalyst for my development as a researcher and a professional.”

Graduate students under Kidwell's supervision are also enhancing their clinical training through this funded research. This opportunity makes them more competitive for National Institutes of Health grants.

John Quigley, A&S assistant dean for advancement, expresses gratitude towards Kathy and Stan Walters: “We hope others who are similarly passionate about academic and research excellence at the University will follow suit.”

Kathy Walters believes in providing flexible gifts that foster critical thinking among students: “By supporting research, we are helping them find the answers.”