What started in an Air Force Academy classroom could end up benefiting women worldwide, thanks to the Air Force Research Laboratory's Edison Grant Program.
An Edison Grant also is allowing a young AFRL scientist-in-uniform to lead experiments with a material that may improve the performance of power switches.
Edison Grants provide Air Force and Space Force uniformed personnel a year of funding for novel research experiments. The Edison Grants answer one of the Air Force and Space Force Science and Technology Strategy's objectives – to create a pipeline of technically-proficient Airmen – by encouraging military personnel to learn by research and testing the viability of concepts.
"The Edison Grant is an initiative to increase the technical proficiency of our Airmen and Guardians by funding highly-focused, military-led, research through small, short, and rigorous experiments in a risk-tolerant environment," said Edison program manager, Christopher Valdez, a research scientist with AFRL's 711th Human Performance Wing location at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
The grants are for up to $75,000 for one year. A total of nearly $800,000 in Edison grants were awarded to the inaugural class of 18 winning proposals this year. Applications for the next round of grants are due Jan. 10, 2022.
Air Force Academy professor Maj. Erin Almand is using the $19,000 grant she received to research toxic shock syndrome – a rare but life-threatening complication caused by a bacterial infection.
Toxic shock can affect anyone through skin wounds or surgery, but notably also women of child-bearing age who use tampons and other devices, such as menstrual cups, contraceptive sponges or diaphragms.
Almand said as military women have more opportunities to serve in tactical and combat roles, they also may face greater obstacles to changing menstrual products, which may make them more vulnerable to bacterial infections and toxic shock. And while use of menstrual products had been primarily limited to western nations, they are increasingly being adopted by women around the world.
She said the project was inspired by a cadet, who used the topic last year to write a research grant application as part of a final assignment in Almand's microbiology class. The cadet remembered a high school friend whose leg nearly had to be amputated because of toxic shock.
Almand built on the cadet's idea to apply for an Edison Grant to update the decades-old research on toxic shock as it relates to what happens when products cannot be changed in a timely manner.
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