Third Steven D. Manners Awards Recipients Named by Pitt's Center for Social and Urban Research

PITTSBURGH—Pitt's University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) has awarded the third annual Steven D. Manners Faculty Development Awards, established in memory of the center's assistant director, who died in September 2000 at age 49. The awards, according to UCSUR Director Richard Schulz, are intended to "continue the trend begun by Steve Manners, which was to support faculty members and their research and to improve the research infrastructure at the University."

Prior to this year, UCSUR offered annually two awards of up to $10,000 each. In 2003, however, because of the large number of applications, UCSUR decided to fund six awards totaling $38,500.

The awardees and a brief description of their projects follow.

Pamela Peele, associate professor of health economics in the Graduate School of Public Health, for "Health Services Writing Workshop Series." Peele intends to create an ongoing resource to help health services researchers produce peer-reviewed publications for broad, multidisciplinary audiences.

William Klein, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, for "Communication of Risk Factor Information to Individuals High in Colorectal Cancer Risk." This study will seek to decrease the incidence of colorectal cancer by exploring the impact of providing targeted risk factor information to individuals at high risk for the disease and adopting health promoting and self-affirming lifestyle activities.

Daniel Rosen, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, for "An Examination of Informal Social Supports Used by Older Methadone Clients." Rosen's goal is to examine the extent of formal and informal social support systems across the life span of older opiate-addicted individuals.

Lisa Brush, associate professor in the Department of Sociology, for "Battering, Work, and Welfare." This project will use data to explore connections among violence against women, poverty, and welfare-to-work transition.

Audrey Murrell, associate professor in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, for "The Old Boys' Network Revisited." Because the competitive bidding system used in the construction industry means that primary contractors must rely on a number of subcontractors, Murrell will look at social networks within the industry in Allegheny County and where minorities and women face exclusion.

Jeannette Trauth, assistant professor in the Graduate School of Public Health, for "Use of Dietary Supplements Among Individuals Enrolled in Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Cancer." Because studies have shown that patients with cancer who use dietary supplements in addition to conventional medical treatment frequently do not report this to their physicians, this project will document the use of dietary supplements among patients with breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer who are enrolled in clinical trials to evaluate the perceptions of oncologists regarding their patients' use of dietary supplements and to evaluate the design of cancer clinical trials to determine if they specifically address this use.

For more information about the Steven D. Manners Faculty Development Awards, contact UCSUR at 412-624-5442.

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