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ACL Awards Eight Switzer Research Fellowships

October 26, 2022

ACL's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) is announcing eight 2022 Switzer Research Fellowships awards. These projects are for one year from September 1, 2022 - August 2023, with the estimated funding amount of either $70,000 (Merit Fellowship) or $80,000 (Distinguished Fellowship). 

The purpose of this program is to build research capacity by providing support to highly-qualified individuals, including those who have disabilities, to conduct research on the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities. Fellows must conduct original research in an area authorized by section 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. This may include research, demonstration projects, training, and related activities, the purposes of which are to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities.

Switzer Research Fellowship awardees:

  • Yina Magally Quique Buitrago: Using Open-Source Software to Improve Communication for Daily Life Participation in Spanish Speakers with Aphasia
  • Jessica P. Conklin: Sociocultural Determinants of Recovery, Health, and Community Participation in Underserved Asian American Rehabilitation Populations
  • Hannah G. Ginn: Securing Intimate Citizenship: The Effect of Capacity to Sexual Consent Policies and Practices on the Right of Women with Intellectual Disability to Sexual Relationships 
  • Hao Su: Biomechanical Benefits of Lightweight Wearable Robots for Community-Based Mobility Assistance of Children with Crouch Gait from Cerebral Palsy
  • Emre Umucu: Evaluating an Online Character Strengths Intervention to Improve Well Being and Adjustment to College in Veterans with Disabilities in Higher Education
  • Shijun Yan: Increasing the Error of Trunk Movements During Walking Facilitates Motor Learning in Trunk Postural Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy
  • Hussaini Zandam: Racial and Ethnic Healthcare Disparities Associated with Multiple Chronic Conditions Among People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States
  • Ayse G. Zengul: Personalized Nutrition Recommendation Expert System (PNRES) for People with Physical Disabilities 

As described in NIDILRR’s FY 2022 funding announcements for the Switzer Research Fellowship program, NIDILRR originally intended to fund six Switzer grants this year. In addition to funding the highest-ranked six applications as planned, NIDILRR funded additional two grants out of rank order, from among the high-scoring Switzer applicants, that present unique opportunities to advance knowledge to improve the lives of individual with disabilities, per 45 CFR 1330.25 (b)(1)

View more details on these grants. Contact Ken Wood at NIDILRR if you have questions about the Switzer Research Fellowships Program. 


To stay current on NIDILRR grant opportunities, please visit grants.gov and search: NIDILRR or 93.433.

NIDILRR, part of ACL, generates new knowledge and promotes its effective use so that people with disabilities can perform activities of their choice in the community. NIDILRR also works to expand society’s capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for people with disabilities.


Last modified on 04/12/2024


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