Faculty Research Funds
Each year there is an annual pool of monies available to support Faculty research expenses from the Office of Faculty Success.
Priority is given to tenure track Assistant Professors, as well as to research projects that have few to no avenues for external funding.
The Faculty Research Council will review applications for research funds and make recommendations to the Assistant Provost for Faculty Success (APSF). Approval is subject to budget, IRB approval, and requires final approval of the APFS For more information, see PAU Faculty and Research Funds Guidelines in the Faculty Handbook (pages 43-45).
About the Faculty Research Council
The Faculty Research Council, composed of three faculty members from different departments, assesses and evaluates research proposals submitted by faculty members, ensuring alignment with the institution's research objectives and priorities. The Council considers factors such as the originality of the research, the significance of the research problem being addressed, the methodology employed, and the feasibility of the proposed budget to determine their recommendations.
In addition to proposal evaluation, the Council reviews and provides insights on research funding policies. The Council stays (or keeps) abreast of funding regulations, ensures faculty members have equitable access to funding opportunities, and advocates for policies that are transparent, consistent, and supportive of faculty research endeavors.
Contact Us
If you have questions regarding the Faculty Research Funds contact the council directly or contact Assistant Provost Coker at facultysuccess@paloaltou.edu.
Faculty Research Funds Award Recipients
2025-2026 AY
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded four grants:
- An International Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for presenting United Voices in Training: Supporting Bilingual East and Southeast Asian Clients at the European Branch American Counseling Association conference.
- An International Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for presenting Bridging Systems of Support: School Counselors’ Advocacy in Promoting Mental Health Beyond Borders at the 2026 Mediterranean Region Counselors Association conference in Seville, Spain.
- A Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for co-presenting a qualitative study titled Exploring the Intersectional Narratives of East Asian American Youth: A Photovoice Study with Dr. Jacoby at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) Conference.
- A Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for presenting two sessions at the WACES Conference: Bridging the Linguistic Gap: Developing Distance Bilingual Training Programs for Counselors and Advancing Transcultural Approaches to Counselor Education: Centering Culture and Lived Experience.
Dr. Satveer Kler was awarded a Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for presenting a research symposium on how mental health providers conceptualize intergenerational trauma at the 2026 National Multicultural Conference and Summit.
Dr. Rayna Hirst was awarded three PAU Research Grants:
- A grant for completing UCSF ADOS-2 Introductory and Toddler training modules to advance research projects on autism spectrum disorder.
- A grant for the ADOS-2 Module 4: Adult Training Workshop to develop research studies measuring adult autism traits.
- A grant for autism assessment and AI trainings, as well as license renewal, to support upcoming studies on adult autism assessment and AI in clinical neuropsychology.
Dr. Jorge Lopez was awarded two Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grants:
- A grant to attend the 2026 Bridging the Gap Symposium and Law & Ethics Conference in New Orleans to advance research on culturally responsive mentorship and Latinx mentorship relationships.
- A grant to present Breaking Machismo Barriers: Culturally Responsive Counseling for Latin Men at the 2026 ACA Annual Conference.
Dr. Cristen Wathen was awarded an International Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for attending the Playposium 2026 Conference to present on integrating playful pedagogy into Counselor Education.
Dr. Sita Patel was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Girls' Empowerment in Nicaragua: Examining the Impact of Fútbol Sin Fronteras.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded a Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant for presenting Residency Gatekeeping: Supporting Student Growth via On-Site Remediation at the 2026 ACA Conference.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded a PAU Research Grant for presenting Two Hats – One Head: The Ethical Implications of Holding Multiple Roles in Professional Relationships with Clients at the ACA Conference.
Dr. Kayleigh Watters was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Comparison Study Understanding Trauma Antecedents, Symptoms, and Sequelae in Autistic Adults.
Dr. Margaret Lamar was awarded an International Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant to present on the role of playful and experiential pedagogy in higher education and community development at Playposium 2026 in Exeter, United Kingdom.
Dr. Pei-Chun Tsai was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her study Chinese immigrants lay beliefs about mattering: A mixed-methods study.
Dr. Amie Haas was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Neuropsychological Correlates of Early Drug Treatment - Project FIT Addendum.
Dr. Sara Al-Khedairy was awarded an International Dissemination of Scholarship & Research Travel Grant to participate in the Dulwich Centre’s Level 1 Intensive in Narrative Therapy training in Adelaide, Australia.
2024-2025 AY
Dr. Cristen Wathen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the 2024 WACES Conference and presenting two educational sessions: Turning Talk into Action: Cultivating a Departmental Culture of Commitment to DEIB and Centering Creativity and Play in Inclusive Pedagogy.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded a PAU Research Grant for presenting research related to the PAU eClinic at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, including Implementing Digital Innovations in Brick-and-Mortar Healthcare Programs and Leveraging AI to Enhance CBT Competency in Academic Training Settings.
Dr. Rachel Jacoby was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Development and Validation of the Readiness Evaluation for Acuity in Counseling (REAC).
Dr. Megan Speciale was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the 2025 ACA Annual Conference and co-presenting research on Centering Fat Liberation and Pleasure Activism in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her study Impact of AI as a Co-Therapist: Innovating Youth Mental Health Training.
Dr. Rayna Hirst was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting and presenting research on burnout in neuropsychology graduate trainees.
Dr. Amie Haas was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Neuropsychological Deficits for Treatment-Seeking Fentanyl Users: An Ipsative and Normative Exploration.
Dr. Mikael Rubin was awarded a PAU Research Grant for evaluating a large language diagnostic assessment tool called eevalbot.
Dr. Kelly Coker was awarded an International Travel Grant for presenting at the International Association for Counseling Conference in Malta on Counseling in a World of New Challenges: Cultivating Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded an International Travel Grant for presenting at the International Association for Counseling Conference in Malta on Broaching and Repairing Ruptures in Counseling within a Global Context.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded an International Travel Grant for presenting at the International Association for Counseling Conference in Malta, including Broaching and Repairing Ruptures in Counseling within a Global Context and Bridging Language and Culture: A Phenomenological Study of Training Novice Counselors Supporting Bilingual East and Southeast Asian Clients.
Dr. Jorge Lopez was awarded an International Travel Grant for presenting at the International Association for Counseling Conference in Malta on Broaching and Repairing Ruptures in Counseling within a Global Context.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the 2025 ACA Annual Conference and presenting two sessions on power dynamics and supervisee disclosure in supervision.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project AI in Mental Health Training: Preparing a Mental Health Workforce for the Future.
Dr. Eduardo Bunge was awarded a PAU Research Grant for his project Impact of AI as a Co-Therapist: Innovating Youth Mental Health Training.
Dr. Susan Branco was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for co-presenting at the BIPOC Adoptees Conference on the Adoptee Consciousness Model.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference on Cultivating Cultural Awareness in Trauma-Informed Care and The Role of AI in Training.
Dr. Szu-Yu Chen was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her study Exploring the Intersectional Narratives of Asian American Youth: A Photovoice Study.
Dr. Tameeka Hunter was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her project Cultivating Resilience: A Study of Counseling Students, Faculty, and Supervisors for Anti-Oppressive Curriculum Development.
2023-2024 AY
Dr. Eduardo Bunge was awarded a PAU Research Grant for his work on a Software Development-A-Based Chatbot.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded an International Travel Grant for attending the European Branch of the American Counseling Association.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the annual International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors conference and presenting “Supporting Low-Resource Migrant Families with Online Child-Parent Relational Therapy Training”.
Dr. Mikael Rubin was awarded an Early Career Investigator Grant for his work on a Multimodal Large Language Models for Mental Health Assessment.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the American Counseling Association Conference and collaborating on their accepted program proposal on the ethics of the Counseling Compact.
Dr. Rayna Hirst was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for traveling to the International Neuropsychological Society conference to present two abstracts.
Dr. Megan Speciale was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the American Counseling Association annual conference to co-present their research on LGBTQIA parenting.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the National Board of Certified Counselors Symposium and presenting Turning Talk into Action: A Counseling Program’s Commitment to DEIB.
Dr. Amie Haas was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Project FIT: Fentanyl Intervention Tailoring for Residential Drug Treatment.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the American Counseling Association annual conference.
Dr. Sita Patel was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Creating Safe Spaces for Girls in Nicaragua: Examining the Impact of Fútbol Sin Fronteras.
Dr. Amanda Fanniff was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending the American-Psychology Law Society conference to chair a symposium.
Dr. Rayna Hirst was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on the Sport Concussion Clinical Research Study.
Dr. Amanda Fanniff was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Parenting in America: Preparing Children for Interactions with the Police.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded an Professional Development Travel Grant for her work on Humanism and AI.
Dr. Rachel Jacoby was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Development and Validation of the Readiness Evaluation for Acuity in Counseling (REAC).
Dr. Susan Branco was awarded an International Travel Grant for her work on Colombian First Family Mental Health Collaborative.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for attending Bodies of Culture (Visibly Melanated).
Dr. Nancy Haug was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Follow-up Study of Recreational MDMA/Ecstasy Harm Reduction.
Dr. Chi Li was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded an International Travel Grant for presenting at the International Association of Special Education Biennial Conference.
Dr. Jorge Lopez was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Donya Wallace was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Chi Li was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on A Meta-analysis of Supervisory Working Alliance Measures.
Dr. Donna Sheperis was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Regina Moro was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Joyce Chu was awarded a PAU Research Grant for her work on Cultural Assessment of Risk for Suicide 2.0.
Dr. Shreya Vaishnav was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference.
Dr. Darlene Chen was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) Conference.
Dr. Tameeka Hunter was awarded a Professional Development Travel Grant for presenting at the AADA conference and presenting at the WACES conference.
Faculty Research Council Members
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