SSRI provides research support for investigators from diverse fields within the social and behavioral sciences, research collaborations across disciplinary lines, across colleges and research centers, and across universities as well as the activities of multidisciplinary and translational research centers. We are in the process of transitioning our seed grants from a rolling open submission to a biannual submission.  Please see the dates on each mechanism to confirm which are allowing submissions. Our faculty fellows/professorships are only open for specified time period which are identified below. If you have any questions on SSRI funding, please contact ssri-seed-grant@psu.edu.

SSRI prioritizes topics that align with the Institute’s Strategic Foci including causes and consequences of inequality, human development and behavior, social and environmental determinants of health, innovative and data intensive research methods, and individual and community impact. We especially encourage submissions with a focus on health and the environment. as well as those pursuing other emerging areas of inquiry.

We also encourage research projects that facilitate engagement with our Interdisciplinary Research Institutes and Centers (Population Research Institute, Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, and Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness), and Research Consortia (Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction, and Geroscience and Dementia Prevention Consortium ) as well as projects that pursue other emerging area of inquiry.

For more information about our funding opportunities, please contact ssri-seed-grant@psu.edu.

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Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research

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Eligibility: Full-time University faculty members, employees, post-doctoral scholars, and fellows, and/or full-time graduate students enrolled at the College of Health and Human Development.
Financial support range: based on the available endowment income
Deadline: Mar.10, 2026

We seek proposals from researchers in the College of Health and Human Development for novel research focused on important health issues facing mankind.The Lloyd Prize is funded by an endowment established by Dr. Tom Lloyd who served on the faculty of the College of Medicine for 46 years.

Eligibility: Full-time University faculty members, employees, post-doctoral scholars, and fellows, and/or full-time graduate students or nursing students enrolled at the University. This competitive prize rotates through the following colleges at the University, with the College of Health and Human Development taking place in 2026. Subsequent years will be the Eberly College of Science, College of Engineering, College of Information Sciences and Technology, College of the Liberal Arts, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, College of Medicine, and College of Health and Human Development. The recipient of the award must plan to be employed/enrolled at Penn State for the duration of the research project.

Funding: The selected recipient will receive a prize based on the available endowment income. Sixty percent (60%) of the available funds can be provided either through payroll or placed in a protected research account. An additional thirty percent (30%) of available endowment income will be placed in a protected research account.

Download Files :

Lloyd-Prize-RFP-for-Innovative-Health-Research.docx (31.7 KB)

Funding Contact :

For questions, please contact Koraly Pérez-Edgar, kxp24@psu.edu, or ssri-seed-grant@psu.edu.

Lloyd Prize Awardees

portrait of mohanraj krishnan

2026

Mohanraj Krishnan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Biobehavioral Health, College of Health and Human Development

Project: Breaking the Silos: Advancing Precision and Equity in Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Disease (CKMD) Risk Assessment

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Headshot of Jennifer Kowalkowski.

2025

Jennifer A. Kowalkowski, MPH, Ph.D., RN

Assistant Professor, College of Nursing

Project: Developing a Conceptual Model to Describe How Farmers Experience Occupational Stress

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2024

Guodong Liu, Ph.D.

Professor of Public Health Sciences, Neurology, Pediatric, Psychiatry & Behavioral Health
Director of Center for Applied Studies for Health Economics (CASHE)

Project: Psychometric Assessments via an AI-Powered Conversational Journal: Transforming Measurement-Based Care for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

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