The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) is pleased to announce that the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded an F31 grant to PhD in Nursing Science student Dalton Scott, MPH, RN, to study intergenerational and cultural drivers of depressive symptoms in Hispanic sexual minority youth.
The F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA) supports mentored research training opportunities for promising predoctoral students conducting dissertation research who demonstrate potential to develop into productive, independent research scientists.
Adolescent mental health has been declared a national emergency, and Hispanic sexual minority youth (HSMY) bear a disproportionate burden of depressive symptoms compared to their non-Hispanic white, heterosexual counterparts.
“This fellowship will allow me to begin a program of research focused on the intergenerational effects of childhood trauma in an under-resourced population,” said Scott. “I’m incredibly thankful for the support of my mentorship team and excited to start on this project that will lay the foundation for my career as a nurse scientist.”
This NRSA grant will fund Scott’s training and dissertation project starting April 2024, under the sponsorship of Dr. Guillermo “Willy” Prado, Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Miami and SONHS Professor.
“Receiving an F31 from the NIH is a tremendous accomplishment that recognizes the student’s potential as an emerging scientist,” said Dr. Prado, whose NIH-supported scholarship on family-based preventive interventions and Hispanic adolescents is internationally recognized. “On behalf of the entire team of scientists working with Dalton, I want to express how proud we are of his hard work, dedication, and vision. His mentoring team and I look forward to working with him further as he embarks on this next step in his important research journey to promote health equity.”
In addition to Dr. Prado, a strong interdisciplinary research team will support Scott’s training and research plan. This team includes SONHS faculty members Dr. Audrey Harkness, a psychologist and PI of the REACH (Research Engagement and Community Health) Equity Team, and Dr. Nicholas Metheny, a nurse scientist focused on preventing and mitigating intimate partner violence (IPV) in women and sexual and gender minorities globally, as well as Dr. Daniel Feaster, a biostatistics professor at the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences who co-directs the Center for HIV and Research on Mental Health.
Scott is a research assistant on a current study Dr. Prado leads, titled, “Promoting Health and Reducing Risk among Hispanic Sexual Minority Youth and their Families” (R01MD017588). For secondary analyses in his research, Scott will have access to data from that NIH-supported study and others on which Dr. Prado is PI, such as “Scaling a Parenting EBI for Latinx Youth Mental Health in Primary Care” (R01MH124718). He will also conduct primary qualitative research. Scott said his mentors at UM have “made all the difference in the world. I couldn't ask for better mentors as a PhD student.”
Built into the F31 fellowship framework is a career development plan for Scott to increase his expertise on the issues addressed in his proposal, advance skills in quantitative research methods for data analysis, and gain team science experience and professional development.
“The NINR has been a powerful source of support for our PhD in Nursing Science students,” said SONHS Dean and Professor Cindy L. Munro. “This is our third Ruth L. Kirchstein award over the past several months—an important recognition of the excellence that our students and their mentors have shown in pursuing innovative research aimed at ending health disparities across diverse communities.”
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About the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies: Celebrating 75 Years of Educational Excellence, the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) transforms lives and health care through education, research, innovation, and service across the hemisphere. South Florida’s first collegiate nursing program is a world-class, prestigiously accredited, research-driven school conferring undergraduate and advanced nursing degrees, and undergraduate public health and health science degrees. SONHS values its diverse faculty, students, and 250+ clinical and community health partners. Its research core includes the Jorie Healthcare Partners Biobehavioral Research Laboratory, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre, Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training Program, and 41,000-square-foot Simulation Hospital Advancing Research and Education (S.H.A.R.E.®). For more information, visit sonhs.miami.edu.
