Psychology Professor Receives NIH Grant

Mark Whiting, an assistant professor in Radford University’s Department of Psychology, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on potential treatments for traumatic brain injury.

The $405,272 grant is to Whiting and colleague Beverly Rzigalinski, a professor at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg, for a two-year project. The research is being done at Whiting’s laboratory on the Radford campus.

The project will investigate a potential treatment to stop harmful free-radical production and brain degeneration after head trauma from events such as car accidents, sports injuries and assaults. The researchers’ findings could also have applications in battlefield triage to treat head injuries from explosions.

“Dr. Rzigalinski and I are grateful to the Institutes for this support of our work and pleased to be able to continue our research in this important area,” Whiting said. “This is also a teaching opportunity. Two Radford undergraduates and two graduate students will be working on the project with us.”

Whiting said the grant application was submitted in February this year, peer-reviewed in June and awarded this week. The granting agency is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the 27 divisions of the NIH.

“This is a great honor for Dr. Whiting as well as for Radford University,” President Penelope W. Kyle said. “Radford is proud to be a partner in this collaboration with VCOM.”

Whiting, who is beginning his fourth year as a professor at Radford, is also an alumnus. He earned a bachelor of science degree in psychology in 2003 and also holds a doctorate in physiological psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. This year he is teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in addition to his research.

The NIH, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is one of the world’s foremost medical research centers. Based in Bethesda, Md., it is responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Learn more by visiiting the NIH website.