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FPG Faculty Fellow Desiree Murray one of four to receive first TIIP awards

Desiree Murray; headshot of woman with short dark hair

FPG Faculty Fellow Desiree Murray one of four to receive first TIIP awards

October 30, 2024

Desiree Murray, PhD, a faculty fellow at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and senior research scientist at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Gillings School of Global Public Health, is among a group of four Carolina faculty members to receive the first Translating Innovative Ideas for the Public Good Awards.

The TIIP awards, a key initiative under Innovate Carolina’s Design and Innovation for the Public Good, support innovative projects with up to $50,000 in funding.

Award recipients represent Carolina faculty from across departments, each leading a project that transforms academic insights into real-world impact. These projects cover critical areas such as mental health support for adolescents, interventions to prevent high-risk alcohol use, community health initiatives and financial literacy programs for juvenile offenders.

“We are thrilled to invest in the development and scale of these critical projects through the TIIP Awards,” says Bill Romani, director of Design and Innovation for the Public Good. “These projects are poised to significantly impact public health, social work and community development, showcasing the University’s dedication to transforming innovative ideas into tangible societal benefits.”

The TIIP Awards are open to any UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, staff or venture that is developing an idea, project or company that will translate the University’s best ideas to benefit the state of North Carolina and beyond.

Developing resources for parents to support adolescents with mental health concerns

In her research, Murray has developed mindfulness-based trainings for teachers and school counselors in middle and high schools to help students manage stressful situations and strong emotions. Her new project focuses on how parents can help their teens use mindfulness strategies like “Press the Pause” and “Tune In” to their thoughts and feelings to make healthy decisions. In focus groups, the research team will hear from parents about what type of resources would be most helpful to them to support their teens. These resources might include conversation starters about how teens can cope with stress and strategies parents and teens can practice together. With other University partners, the researchers will develop a parent resource tool that can be shared broadly.

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This is an excerpt of a story that was originally published by Justin Hickland, Innovate Carolina. Read the full story online.