The University of Illinois at Chicago has announced six new seed grant awards to campus researchers studying lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) issues under a grant from the Los Angeles-based David Bohnett Foundation.

The awards are the second round of grants funded by the foundation, which last June awarded the UIC Chancellor's Committee on the Status of LGBT Issues $20,000 to advance LGBT research at UIC. The first three seed grants were awarded last fall.

The projects selected by the chancellor's committee are of three types:

• small-scale research projects of graduate students or post-doctoral scholars;
• faculty-led pilot programs likely to receive external funding;
• innovative faculty LGBT projects that can be completed with a limited budget.

“LGBT research in the humanities, social sciences and the health sciences is critically needed, both to increase the quantity and quality of data collected among these populations and to continue the theoretical revolution that queer theory has engendered in academia,” says Francesca Gaiba, associate director of social science research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and chair of the review committee. “UIC's faculty and researchers are at the forefront of this research, and these awards sustain this groundbreaking research at a time when research funds in general are shrinking.”

The interdisciplinary review committee funded two student and four faculty projects for a total of $14,000. The recipients are:

• Christine Holland, doctoral candidate in psychology, who is investigating the effects of childhood sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder on the functioning of adult males
• Mona Noriega, doctoral candidate in public administration, who is examining LGBT aging issues
• Colleen Corte, assistant professor of health systems science in the College of Nursing, for a pilot feasibility project to investigate self-identities and risk behaviors in LGBT adolescents
• Peter Ji, research assistant professor of psychology, to investigate the appropriateness of using the LGBT Ally Identity Development Scale in diverse populations
• Brian Mustanski, assistant professor of psychiatry and director of the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program, to study the development of sexual orientation and the feasibility of retaining a study sample of LGBT youth into adulthood
• James Swartz, associate professor in the Jane Addams College of Social Work, to develop enhanced HIV-prevention services for gay men who abuse methamphetamines and other drugs

Through the seed grants, the chancellor's committee aims to advance LGBT research with national impact, Gaiba said. The committee plans to apply for more funds to support future competitions for the program.

The UIC Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues provides guidance in addressing the needs of staff, faculty, students, and alumni of diverse sexual orientations, and fosters a supportive environment for all members of the university community. For more information, visit www.uic.edu/depts/quic/ccslgbi.