Essential research funding tool

See who won the 4th round of Research Council grants with Peng Tian, Assistant Professor, Plant Science and Technology, sitting by a large microscope.

Peng Tian, assistant extension professor and director of the MU Plant Diagnostic Clinic, plans to use his grant to study novel virus strains in Missouri elderberries.

June 2, 2025

In May, the University of Missouri Division of Research, Innovation and Impact awarded the final round of Research Council grants for the 2024-25 academic year.

Funded researchers received these internal grants of up to $15,000 for projects and activities leading to book contracts, juried performances, art exhibits, peer-reviewed articles, the generation of pilot data for grant proposals and more. In the last five years, Mizzou has awarded $2.27 million to faculty leading 197 projects.

M. Michelle Morris, associate professor of history, received a grant earlier this year to study the Hartford, Connecticut, witchcraft trials of the 1660s. She plans to use the funds to support a research trip to Massachusetts and completion of a book proposal for Oxford University Press.

Morris says older models of university funding supported historical research with a traditional sabbatical coupled with periodic small grants that allowed historians to travel to archives and set aside time for sustained research and writing.

"The newer model, which eliminates predictable research leave, is more challenging for those in disciplines, like history, that require research travel, significant time devoted to writing and relatively few outside grant opportunities," Morris says. "In this environment, internal grant programs like the one funded by the Research Council are key resources."

Research Council grant applications will be accepted again during the fall semester. More details will be available soon. For more information, email Internal Funding staff.

Below are investigators with newly awarded Research Council grants and a list of those who won grants earlier in the 2024-25 academic year.

ARTS, HUMANITIES, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Beiyin Deng

Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
Principal investigator

Department of Classics, Archaeology and Religion — College of Arts and Science

Jennie Ikuta

Associate Professor, Political Science
Principal investigator

Truman School of Government and Public Affairs — College of Arts and Science

Michael Marlo

Associate Professor, English
Principal investigator

Department of English — College of Arts and Science

Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang

Associate Professor, History
Principal investigator

Department of History — College of Arts and Science

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS

Rex Cocroft

Professor, Biological Sciences
Principal investigator

Department of Biological Sciences — College of Arts and Science

Rebecca North

Associate Professor, Natural Resources
Principal investigator

School of Natural Resources — College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Cheryl Rosenfeld

Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Principal investigator

Department of Biomedical Sciences — College of Veterinary Medicine

R. Michael Roberts

Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus, Animal Sciences and Biochemistry
Co-investigator

College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Peng Tian

Assistant Extension Professor; Director, MU Plant Diagnostic Clinic
Principal investigator

Division of Plant Science and Technology — College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Binbin Wang

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Principal investigator

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering — College of Engineering

Additional funded researchers in 2024-25

ARTS, HUMANITIES, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Principal investigators	College/School
Kristy Wilson Bowers, Associate Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
Amy Braddock, Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine (co-investigator)	School of Medicine
Sarah Buchanan, Associate Professor, Information Science and Learning Technologies	College of Education and Human Development
Signe Cohen, Associate Professor, Religious Studies	College of Arts and Science
Merve Fejzula, Assistant Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
John Frymire, Associate Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
Noah Glaser, Assistant Professor, Information Science and Learning Technologies	College of Education and Human Development
Seth Howes, Associate Chair and Associate Professor, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures	College of Arts and Science
Jennifer Hulett, Assistant Professor, Nursing	Sinclair School of Nursing
Ilyana Karthas, Associate Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
Kimberly Kimchi, Associate Clinical Professor, Health Psychology (co-investigator)	College of Health Sciences
Suhwon Lee, Teaching Professor, Statistics; Director, Center for Applied Statistics and Data Analysis (co-investigator)	College of Arts and Science
Crystal Lim, Chair and Associate Professor, Health Psychology	College of Health Sciences
Willie Mack, Assistant Professor, Black Studies	College of Arts and Science
Desireé Moore, Assistant Professor, Visual Studies	College of Arts and Science
M. Michelle Morris, Associate Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
Anne Myers, Associate Professor, English	College of Arts and Science
Joseph Pintz, Professor, School of Visual Studies; Director, Graduate Studies	College of Arts and Science
Russell Ravert, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science	College of Education and Human Development
Linda Reeder, Professor, History	College of Arts and Science
Susan Scott, Nurse Scientist, Office of Professional Nursing (co-investigator)	Sinclair School of Nursing
Brian Silvey, Professor, Music Education and Director of Bands, School of Music	College of Arts and Science
James van Dyke, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Visual Studies	College of Arts and Science
Robert Walker, Associate Professor, Anthropology	College of Arts and Science
Sonja Winter, Assistant Professor, Educational, School and Counseling Psychology (co-investigator)	College of Education and Human Development

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS

Principal investigators	College/School
Ridwan Adesola, Graduate Student, Biomedical Sciences (co-investigator)	College of Veterinary Medicine
Pamela Adkins, Associate Professor, Food Animal Medicine and Surgery	College of Veterinary Medicine
Talissa Altes, Chair and Gwilym S. and Maria Antonia Lodwick Distinguished Professor in Radiology (co-investigator)	School of Medicine
Shawn Bender, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences	College of Veterinary Medicine
David Beversdorf, Professor, Radiology, Neurology and Psychology; William and Nancy Thompson Endowed Chair, Radiology	School of Medicine
Chandrasekar Bysani, Margaret Proctor Mulligan Endowed Professor, Medical Research (co-investigator)	School of Medicine
Kevin Cummings, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences	College of Veterinary Medicine
Daniel Davis, Assistant Research Professor, Veterinary Pathobiology (co-investigator)	College of Veterinary Medicine
Hesham El-Emam, Assistant Research Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering	College of Engineering
Ahmed Elkilani, Postdoctoral Fellow, Civil and Environmental Engineering (co-investigator)	College of Engineering
Aaron Ericsson, Associate Professor, Veterinary Pathobiology (co-investigator)	College of Veterinary Medicine
Jorge Gomez-Gutierrez, Associate Professor, Pediatrics	School of Medicine
Neha Goyal, Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine (co-investigator)	School of Medicine
Tamara Gull, Associate Clinical Professor, Veterinary Pathobiology (co-investigator)	College of Veterinary Medicine
Sarah Jacquet, Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences	College of Arts and Science
Maddie Mueller, Graduate Student, Biomedical Sciences (co-investigator)	College of Veterinary Medicine
Julia Nuelle, Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery	School of Medicine
Md Saidur Rahman, Assistant Research Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health	School of Medicine
Hani Salim, Chair Engineering and Information Technology; Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering (co-investigator)	College of Engineering
Tara Selly, Research Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences (co-investigator)	College of Arts and Science
Chi-Ren Shyu, Paul K. and Dianne Shumaker Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (co-investigator)	College of Engineering
Changyu Sun, Assistant Professor, Radiology, Biological and Biomedical Engineering	College of Engineering
Lydia Tackett, Visiting Associate Professor, Geological Sciences (co-investigator)	College of Arts and Science
Carlos Wexler, Professor, Physics	College of Arts and Science
Esma Yolcu, Professor, Pediatrics (co-investigator)	School of Medicine
Peifen Zhu, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science	College of Engineering