Rouths rename research fund to honor Lizette Peterson-Homer

Donald Routh, PhD, and his wife Marion have pledged $10,000 to the American Psychological Foundation's (APF) Campaign for a New Era, thus joining the APF's Bronze Society. At the same time, the Rouths have asked the foundation to rename the Rebecca Routh Coon Injury Research Fund--established by the couple in 1999 to memorialize their daughter who died in an automobile accident--to be called the Lizette Peterson-Homer Memorial Injury Research Fund to honor child psychologist Lizette Peterson-Homer, PhD, who died this year of an infection at age 51.

Peterson-Homer was a professor in the department of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri and a leader in child clinical psychology. She had recently received a six-year appointment as editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, which would have started in January. Her research centered on the prevention of child abuse and toddler injuries. She worked with parents in the Columbia, Mo., area, providing weekly therapy sessions and home visits to prevent abuse in families with risk factors such as poverty or anger toward children.

"Lizette was one of the most outstanding scientists that pediatric psychology ever produced, and some of her interests were precisely in this area of injury prevention research that led us to honor our daughter in establishing the fund," notes Donald Routh.

The Rouths hope that honoring Peterson-Homer will boost the fund's endowment and increase its ability to spur research on injury prevention among the young. The fund supports two annual awards totaling $1,000 for psychosocial research in pediatric psychology, with particular focus on injuries to children and young adults through accidents, violence and abuse.

Fund recipients are recommended by APA's Div. 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology). Individuals who are interested in building the Lizette Peterson-Homer Memorial Injury Research Fund should send earmarked contributions to the APF address.

Early career recognition for Adolph at NYU

Karen Elizabeth Adolph, PhD, associate professor of psychology at New York University (NYU), has won the foundation's 2002 Robert Fantz Memorial Award. The annual award recognizes the careers of promising young investigators in psychology, especially those who produce and publish research in perceptual-cognitive development.

A $2,000 grant was presented to NYU on Adolph's behalf to support her undergraduate and graduate students' research and travel to scholarly conferences.

Adolph received her undergraduate degree in fine arts from Sarah Lawrence College and her graduate degree in experimental/developmental psychology from Emory University under the mentorship of Ulric Neisser, PhD, and Eleanor Gibson, PhD. Esther Thelen, PhD, welcomed Adolph into her lab at Indiana University. Adolph accepted her first faculty position at Carnegie Mellon University, where she became interested in research on developmental mechanisms.

Her current research focuses on flexibility and specificity in motor-skill acquisition. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has supported her research in this area.

Adolph has been honored with the Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Infant Studies, the Boyd McCandless Award from Div. 7 (Developmental) and a James McKeen Cattell award. She received NYU's Golden Dozen and departmental teaching awards in recognition of her supervision of undergraduate student research.

Fantz award recipients are recommended by APA's Committee on Scientific Affairs to the APF trustees.

APF names first recipient of McGuigan Young Investigator Research Prize

University of Iowa professor of psychology Steven J. Luck, PhD, has won APF's first Frank J. McGuigan Young Investigator Research Prize. This new $25,000 award, bestowed biennially by APF, supports empirical research to explicate the concept of the human mind. The research should primarily be psychophysiological, but physiological and behavioral research also qualify for support.

Luck earned his doctorate in 1993 at the University of California, San Diego, working in the lab of Steven Hillyard, PhD. Luck spent an additional year there as an assistant research scientist, then joined the faculty of the University of Iowa as an assistant professor in 1994. He was promoted to associate professor in little more than three years at Iowa and was made full professor in 2002-- an exceptionally early and rapid rise within his department.

Luck's research addresses the nature and locus of the mechanisms of visual attention. "I have focused on these mechanisms because they provide a bridge between relatively well-understood sensory systems and relatively poorly understood higher cognitive systems," notes Luck. Similarly, he uses psychophysiological measures, particularly event-related potentials, to bridge measures of brain function in animals and measures of behavior in humans. "The McGuigan Prize will make it possible for me to purchase the technology that is necessary for the rapid pursuit of my goals," Luck adds.

A scientific review committee convened by APA's Science Directorate reviewed the nominations for the award's 2002-03 cycle. The members were James Brennan, PhD, of the University of Louisville; Randy Buckner, PhD, of Washington University at St. Louis; Ruth Colwill, PhD, of Brown University; David Riccio, PhD, of Kent State University; Anne Schell, PhD, of Occidental College; Bill Timberlake, PhD, of Indiana University; and Tom Zentall, PhD, of the University of Kentucky (chair).

The deadline for nominations for the 2004-05 prize is March 1, 2004. Nominees must have earned a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field, be no more than nine years postdoctoral at the nomination deadline and have an affiliation with an accredited college, university or other research institution.

For further information on the award, visit the foundation's Web site at www.apa.org/apf.

Grants available for lesbian, gay and bisexual research

The American Psychological Foundation requests proposals for the 2003 Wayne F. Placek Research Awards and the Wayne F. Placek Small Grants program. Both award categories support scientific research that increases the public's understanding of homosexuality and aims to alleviate the stress that gay men and lesbians experience.

Proposals are especially encouraged for empirical studies that address the following topics: prejudice, discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation; family and workplace issues relevant to lesbians and gay men; and subgroups of the lesbian and gay population that have historically been underrepresented in scientific research, especially racial and ethnic minorities. Applicants for both awards must have a doctoral-level degree and be affiliated with a college, university or research institution that meets federal requirements for administering research awards. Funds are not available for dissertation research or other predoctoral studies.

The Wayne F. Placek Research Grants are available for empirical research on any topic related to lesbian, gay or bisexual issues in the behavioral and social sciences. Applications should propose new studies that can be completed in two years solely with the funding provided by the grant. Up to $40,000 may be requested for any expenses associated with conducting an empirical research project, including salary for the applicant or assistants, equipment (with a $5,000 limit), supplies, travel, photocopying, postage and payment of participants. The award does not pay institutional indirect costs. Special preference for one of the two grants will be given to applicants who have completed their doctorates within the last seven years. The application deadline is March 14. Award recipients will be announced in August and funding will begin Sept. 15.

The Wayne F. Placek Small Grants program awards up to $5,000 to cover expenses associated with conducting an empirical research project on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues. Applications should propose a new study that can be completed in one year solely with the funding provided by the grant. Funds are not provided for stipends of principal investigators, travel to conventions or manuscript preparation. The award does not pay institutional indirect costs. The application deadline is Jan. 29. Award recipients will be announced by May.

Applications for both awards must conform to the APF Placek Grant Award guidelines. Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Hooker Programs Web site at www.HookerPrograms.org.

--T. BAROODY