We are pleased to report a new award and collaboration: an NIH Transformative R01 Award led by Dr. Brendesha Tynes.
USC Rossier School of Education announced that Brendesha Tynes, Dean’s Professor of Educational Equity and a professor of Education and Psychology at USC, is the recipient of a $4.6 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Transformative Research Award. Tynes will use this grant—the largest federally-funded grant in USC Rossier history—to study how digital and media literacy training and the development of an immersive virtual reality experience can help combat online racism that disproportionately impacts the mental health of students of color.
Established in 2009, the Transformative Research Award promotes cross-cutting, interdisciplinary approaches and is open to individuals and teams of investigators who propose research that could create or challenge existing paradigms. It is among the most prestigious in the U.S. and is reserved for exceptionally creative scientists.
Tynes will work with co-investigators Marientina Gotsis, professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and Henry Willis, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland. The team will also include a postdoc as well as K–12, undergraduate and graduate students.