Koschmann receives 2014 APF John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant
APF has presented the $10,000 John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant to Elizabeth Koschmann, PhD, of the University of Michigan. Koschmann will use the grant to evaluate the use of assessment and treatment strategies for pediatric depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress in community settings, including schools.
Koschmann's clinical expertise is in the treatment of emotional and behavioral difficulties in youth using a cognitive-behavioral, evidence-based approach. She has served as a trainer and consultant on several state- and federally funded translational research grants and trains community and academic audiences on cognitive-behavioral treatments for youth.
Koschmann earned her doctorate in school psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2007.
The John and Polly Sparks Foundation has partnered with APF to support research by early career psychologists. For more information, visit The John and Polly Sparks Foundation.
Making an impact on giftedness research
APF has awarded $43,000 Esther Katz Rosen Grants to Saiying Steenbergen-Hu, PhD, of Northwestern University, and Lt. Col. Jeff Bergmann, PhD, of MENTALKEVLAR Counseling and Psychological Services. The APF Esther Katz Rosen Fund supports the development of gifted and talented children and adolescents, and encourages psychologists to pursue research on giftedness.
Steenbergen-Hu, an assistant professor and research director of the Center for Talent Development of Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy, will use the Rosen Grant to investigate the executive functions and academic ability of children and adolescents who are identified as gifted through above-grade-level testing. Her meta-analysis of the effects of acceleration on high-ability learners won the Gifted Child Quarterly Paper of the Year Award in 2012.
Steenbergen-Hu earned her PhD in educational psychology from Purdue University in 2009.
Bergmann will use his Rosen Grant to fund a pilot program designed to help gifted military children and adolescents navigate the frequent transitions they often make to different school districts.
Bergmann earned his PhD in clinical psychology at George Mason University and serves as a Science Advisory Board member for the Military Child Education Coalition.
For more information on the Rosen Grantsopens in new window, visit the APF website.
Supporting student work in neuropsychology
APF has awarded its $2,500 Benton-Meier Neuropsychology Scholarships to Penn State University doctoral student Victoria C. Merritt and University of Florida doctoral student Jacob Jones.
Merritt will use the scholarship for her dissertation research on genetic factors and neuropsychological outcomes following sports-related concussions. She earned her master's in psychology at Penn State in 2013 and has worked as a research assistant for the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and as a research coordinator for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at Walter Reed.
Jones will use his scholarship to examine the impact of cardiovascular risk factors and small vessel disease on cognitive functioning among Parkinson's disease patients and healthy elderly adults. He is working under the mentorship of Dawn Bowers, PhD, in the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and in collaboration with faculty at the University of Florida's Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration.
For more information on the Benton-Meier Neuropsychology Scholarships, visit APF Funding.
