Two CBCS Faculty Receive USF Outstanding Research Achievement Awards

Dr. Bryanna Fox and Dr. Kathryn Hyer were among 12 USF researchers received Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. These annual awards honor those whose research sets the standard on a national and international scale and are selected by the members of the USF System Senate Research Council. The council reviews nominations for the award from USF deans, department chairs, and center and institute directors. Each awardee received $2,000 with the award in recognition of their achievements.

Dr. Fox is an Associate Professor in Criminology. She studies the predictors of criminal behavior and uses this knowledge to develop evidence-based strategies to help law enforcement prevent and solve crimes. In 2018, Dr. Fox authored 12 peer-reviewed articles featured in top-ranked journals including Psychological Bulletin, Law & Society Review, Journal of Criminal Justice, Sexual Abuse, and Crime & Delinquency. She also published a research-based book, two book chapters, and co-authored an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times. Also, she was awarded a $700,000 U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to develop a new strategy to reduce violence and opioid offenses in Pasco County. Dr. Fox was elected Executive Counselor of the Developmental & Life-Course Division of the American Society of Criminology, and serves on the editorial board of five prominent journals in her field. In 2018, she was a featured expert on television networks FOX, A&E, NPR, and in various national and international media outlets.

Dr. Hyer is an international expert on evaluating quality across long-term care settings. Following her October 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding hospitalizations and mortality outcomes in nursing homes after hurricane evacuations, she received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine nursing home and assisted living residents' health outcomes resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Her research included interviews with administrative staff, as well as sophisticated storm tracking and statistical approaches. Dr. Hyer also is the principal investigator on a 2018 U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration grant of nearly $782,000 to enhance the training of the geriatric healthcare workforce. In 2018, she also facilitated grant proposals by junior USF researchers funded by the Donaghue Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Hyer was selected as president of the prestigious Gerontological Society of America for a three-year term beginning in 2018.