The 25th annual Steven D. Manners Research Development awards from the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) have been given to projects on sedentary behavior’s impact on Alzheimer’s and on the Swissvale Open Spaces.
Since 2001, UCSUR has been granting Manners Awards to promising research projects in the social, behavioral and policy sciences on campus. These awards honor the memory of Steven Manners, a sociologist who began working at the UCSUR in 1974 and served as its assistant director from 1989 until his death in September 2000. His research was dedicated to improving social conditions in the urban environment.
The awards went to:
Marissa A. Gogniat, assistant professor, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine. Her project is titled “Sedentary Behavior as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease and its Interaction with Neighborhood Characteristics.” The central hypothesis of this proposal is that greater sedentary behavior will be associated with worse cognitive function, along with higher levels of Alzheimer’s Disease pathology measured via blood-based biomarkers. Aspects of neighborhood disadvantage will further exacerbate the negative effects of sedentary behavior on cognition and Alzheimer’s Disease risk. Based on this hypothesis, the proposal aims to: 1. Evaluate the association of sedentary behavior and cognition using comprehensive neuropsychological assessment; 2. Evaluate the link between sedentary behavior and Alzheimer’s Disease biomarkers; and 3. Examine the interaction of sedentary behavior with neighborhood characteristics on cognition and Alzheimer’s Disease biomarkers. With the successful completion of this project, the PI will write and submit a BrightFocus Foundation Grant examining how activity levels interact with social determinants of health to influence vulnerability to early Alzheimer’s Disease related changes.
Susan Lucas, teaching assistant professor, Urban Studies, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences. This proposal requests funding to support the next phase of the Swissvale Open Spaces Project, a community-based asset mapping initiative launched in 2022. The primary goal of the Swissvale Open Spaces Project is to document and reimagine the function of underutilized/vacant land in Swissvale Borough, Allegheny County. Funding will facilitate the expansion of the project beyond the traditional examination of underutilized parcels that relies on the use of secondary data. The requested budget will enable the collection of high-quality,