Grants & Funding
Over two decades of funded research advancing health equity, community resilience, and innovative approaches to social justice through partnerships with federal agencies, foundations, and universities.
14
Total Grants
$3.9M
Total Funding
5
Active Projects
4
Funding Sources
Health Make-A-Thon Innovation Challenge
ActiveAnnual innovation challenge where teams compete to develop health solutions for underserved communities. $10,000 prizes awarded. 2025 event at Richard Wright School with Master P.
$100,000
Funded
Inclusive Illinois Quantum Science Initiative
ActiveInitiative to broaden participation in quantum science education and research, with focus on underrepresented communities.
$150,000
Funded
Centering Youth's Health and Wellness
ActiveInitiative to center youth health and wellness through community-based approaches, training high school students as Community Health Workers, and creating wellness spaces in schools.
$500,000
Funded
DREAM Project (Developing Responses to Poverty through Education And Meaning)
CompletedResearch project developing responses to poverty through education and meaning-making, focusing on community resilience and healing.
$500,000
Funded
Communiversity Think and Do Tank
ActiveCommunity-university partnership creating spaces for collaborative problem-solving, including the Communiversity Wellness Center and community health worker training.
$50,000
Funded
Wearable Sensors and Gun Violence: Documenting the Effects on Black Women's Health
CompletedUsing wearable biosensors to document the physiological effects of gun violence on Black women's health, combining genomics with community-based research.
$499,999
Funded
C-HeARTS: Community Healing and Resistance through Storytelling
CompletedArts-based community healing initiative using storytelling, poetry, and visual arts as tools for processing trauma and building collective resilience.
$75,000
Funded
Double Bind of Race and Gender in Engineering
CompletedResearch examining the intersecting effects of race and gender on women of color in engineering education and careers.
$386,530
Funded
Advanced Computing for Social Change
ActiveOngoing initiative using advanced computing, HPC, and AI to address social inequities, including workforce diversity in STEM and recovering lost histories.
$200,000
Funded
Recovering Black Women's Lost History Using Big Data
CompletedUsing high-performance computing and big data analytics to recover Black women's lived experiences from JSTOR and HathiTrust digital archives.
$50,000
Funded
South Chicago Black Mothers' Resiliency Project
CompletedCommunity-based research project studying resilience and coping mechanisms among Black mothers in South Chicago affected by gun violence and structural inequality.
$300,000
Funded
EITC Periodic Payment Pilot Program
CompletedPilot program testing periodic (quarterly) distribution of the Earned Income Tax Credit to low-income families in Chicago to improve financial stability.
$145,922
Funded
EITC Investment Study
CompletedMajor study examining how low-income families invest their Earned Income Tax Credit refunds and the impact on economic mobility and family well-being.
$850,000
Funded
Early Head Start Program Evaluation
CompletedEvaluation of the Early Head Start program's impact on child development and family outcomes.
$75,000
Funded
Research Impact
Dr. Mendenhall's funded research spans federal agencies (NSF, NIH, HHS), major foundations (MacArthur, Ford, RWJF), and university initiatives. Her work has directly impacted communities through health innovation, youth wellness programs, and the democratization of advanced computing for social change.