Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

Psychologists Earn Rare Perfect Score on NIH Grant Application

Wednesday, April 4, 2018, By Rob Enslin
Share
College of Arts and SciencesResearch and Creative

Sarah Woolf-King, Stephen Maisto awarded “10” on grant proposal, funding treatment of HIV-infected hazardous drinkers

Two psychologists in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have earned a rare perfect score on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) planning grant application.

Sarah Woolf-King and Stephen Maisto—assistant professor and professor, respectively, of psychology—are co-recipients of a three-year, $667,000 NIH grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Using a special scoring system, an NIH review committee gave the application an overall impact score of “10”—the highest score possible.

Sarah Woolf-King (Photo by Gayle Photography)

Sarah Woolf-King (Photo by Gayle Photography)

Woolf-King says the score came as a “complete shock” to her. “Even though Steve and I were confident in the quality of the grant submission, I doubt that such a score will happen again in our careers,” says Woolf-King, a licensed clinical psychologist who studies health psychology, epidemiology and behavioral medicine. “We are very excited about this project and believe it has potential to enhance care and treatment-related outcomes for people living with HIV.”

Their NIH project utilizes a brief, telephone-based version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a type of treatment that has gained recognition for treating substance use and mental health problems. “We want to pilot-test its feasibility and acceptability for PLWH [people living with HIV] who are hazardous drinkers,” says Maisto, also a clinical psychologist, with expertise in the assessment and treatment of substance use disorders. “Sarah and I hypothesize that the adapted treatment will result in decreased alcohol use; improved ART [antiretroviral] adherence; and decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety and non-prescribed drug use.”

Studies show that hazardous drinking is a critical factor in HIV treatment, increasing the risk of onward HIV transmission and poor treatment results. No alcohol treatment for PLHW, however, has produced long-term reductions in heavy drinking or even a significant effect on HIV-related treatment outcomes. Hence, the need for “novel and feasible treatments,” Woolf-King says.

“If successful, this mindfulness-based treatment will have broad implications for use in HIV and other integrated care settings,” she continues.

Stephen Maisto

Stephen Maisto

Woolf-King and Maisto will oversee a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Syracuse University; SUNY Upstate Medical University; the University of California, San Francisco; and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. They will adapt an ACT-based treatment, previously shown to be efficacious for smoking cessation, over a series of interviews and focus group discussions with HIV clinic patients and providers.

Afterward, the duo will conduct a comparative-effectiveness randomized clinical trial (RCT). “We will randomly assign 74 HIV-infected hazardous drinkers to the adapted ACT treatment, or to a brief alcohol treatment, similar in length and frequency of sessions,” Maisto explains. “We will then assess feasibility, acceptability and preliminary trial outcomes at six-week, three-month and six-month periods.”

Woolf-King and Maisto hope to provide essential data for a larger NIH grant application, enabling them to conduct a full-scale RCT.

John Liu, vice president for research, applauds the professors’ efforts. “Under an increasingly competitive research environment, obtaining an R34 planning grant from NIH reflects a high level of achievement. Moreover, the rarity of receiving a perfect score exemplifies the quality of research being done by these two professors and the rest of the Department of Psychology,” he says. “This is fantastic news for not only the University, but also the research community and society as a whole.”

As members of the clinical psychology faculty, Woolf-King and Maisto provide balanced training in the science and practice of clinical psychology. Much of their research draws on the scientist-practitioner model and empirically tested methods.

Alan Middleton, associate dean of research and scholarship in A&S, says Woolf-King and Maisto exemplify a new chapter of research enterprise at SU. “The scientific community has shown the highest respect for their research,” says Middleton, a physics professor. “Their work on interventions to prevent disease, now more strongly supported with significant resources from the NIH, promises to promote health and well-being. This continues the increasing well-funded activity with societal impact that transpires in the Department of Psychology.”

Adds Amy Criss, professor and chair of psychology: “This award speaks to the outstanding research being conducted by Steve and Sarah. More than that, it benefits the entire department by providing opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to be trained in the psychological sciences.”

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • 2023-24 Parking Rates Announced
    Friday, May 26, 2023, By News Staff
  • Lutheran Chaplain Announces Retirement
    Thursday, May 25, 2023, By Dara Harper
  • SyracuseCoE Awards $180,000 for 9 Faculty Fellow Projects Supporting Research and Innovation
    Thursday, May 25, 2023, By News Staff
  • From Generation to Generation: Doing Well by Doing Good
    Thursday, May 25, 2023, By Eileen Korey
  • Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Celebrates Graduating Military-Connected Students
    Wednesday, May 24, 2023, By Charlie Poag

More In Health & Society

Syracuse University Ambulance Marks 50 Years of Service to Campus Community and Imparting Lifelong Lessons to Its Members

In the fall of 1973, a medical crisis unit staffed by students was established at Syracuse University to provide first aid at campus events, particularly in Archbold Stadium. The new unit was supported by University administrators, including Dr. Vincent Lamparella,…

Building a Fossil Fuel Free Future

Expert: Electrification Is the Key to a Sustainable Future for Buildings If you’ve been on the market for a new home, properties with a natural gas-powered stove were probably promoted as especially valuable. How Americans heat and cook in their…

Chemistry Professor Presents New Research on Anti-Obesity Drug

An experimental anti-obesity drug could reliably curb appetite and normalize blood glucose levels without causing nausea and vomiting, which are frequent side effects of current weight-loss and diabetes drugs. The new peptide treatment not only reduces food consumption but also…

Bloom Social Scholarship Recipient Salma Silvas Seeks to Support Aging and Dying Community

In her distinguished career as a social worker, Jane Rockberger Bloom devoted her life to improving the lives of refugees who settled in the U.S. Bloom, a 1969 Syracuse University alumna and engaged Falk College Advisory Board member, died in…

Human Development and Family Science Graduate Students Present Research at Prestigious Child Development Conference

Five graduate students from the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the Falk College recently presented their work at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Linghua Jiang, Qingyang Liu, Sanum…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.