Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health

SWCOEH Research Accelerator

ac·cel·er·a·tor (noun). A person or thing that causes something to happen or develop more quickly.

The SWCOEH Research Accelerator was launched in 2025 to help initiate or enhance research projects with an interest in worker health, safety, and well-being.  Whether you are leveraging existing research to expand its reach or exploring novel approaches to address emerging issues, this small grant program has been established to support the acceleration of research in occupational health and safety for doctoral students and early career scientists.

We invite you to explore these small grant opportunities!

Congratulations to our Just-in-Time Research Awardees – Fall 2025

The SWCOEH Research Accelerator granted funding of up to $10,000 to support doctoral students and early career investigators at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. These awards are being used to accelerate research projects in occupational safety and health with a focus on worker health and well-being. The Fall 2025 awardees include:

Muinat Abolore Idris, PhD
Research Trainee
Pilot Evaluation of a Wearable Monitoring Device for Worker Heat Stress Prevention 

Juan Aguilera, MD, PhD
Early Career Investigator
Impacts of Heat and Ozone Co-exposure on Chronic Disease Among Outdoor Workers

Juan Alvarez, MPH
Research Trainee
Characterizing Firefighter Exposure to EDC Mixtures by Biomonitoring

Yun Hang, PhD
Early Career Investigator
Diurnal Temperature Variability and Socioeconomic Factors in Sleep Health of Worker Populations 

Kira Mori, MPH
Research Trainee
Project CASCADE: Meta-Assessment of NASA Astronaut Health Risk Evidence

Kayla Ruch, PhD
Early Career Investigator
Leadership Evaluation and Development for Infection Preventionists (LEAD-IP Study)

FALL 2025 REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

Just-in-Time (JIT) grant awards of up to $10,000 are available to support doctoral students and early career investigators at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Review details about eligibility, application guidelines, and more in the RFA. Applications must be submitted through the online portal. We recommend that you use the application preparation template to prepare your responses prior to submission because your progress will not be saved within the portal.

For questions or concerns, please contact:
Rebecca Klaff, MPH
Research Coordinator II
Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
Email: [email protected]

Stay tuned for future opportunities!