2020 Seed Grant Recipients

The Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness is pleased to announce the winners of its second annual Innovations in Positive Health grant.

  • Aging, Frailty and Happiness – Drs. Benjamin Seligman (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, HMS), Maddalena Ferranna (Harvard Chan), David E Bloom (Harvard Chan), and Ariela Orkaby (New England Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center)
    • Frailty, defined as reduction in the body’s ability to recover from physiologic stress, is associated with physical illness and depression. Yet the relationship between frailty and happiness remains to be explored. Using data from the Gateway to Global Aging, this research will investigate associations between happiness and frailty worldwide and, where possible, explore their longitudinal relationships
  • Alleviating Time Poverty Among the Working Poor – PI: Dr. Ashley Whillans (HBS)
    • Individuals are “time poor” when they engage in long hours of unpaid work and have no choice but to do so. This research will investigate whether and how relieving time poverty can have sustained psychological, economic, and health benefits for girls and women living in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan, India. Building on initial survey work, researchers will conduct an experiment, providing girls and women with rainwater collection technology designed to reduce their burden of unpaid labor.
  • Countdown Global Mental Health 2030 – Drs. Vikram Patel (Harvard Chan) and Shekhar Saxena (Harvard Chan)
    • Despite growing attention to mental health, global investment in mental health services and promotion remains critically lacking. Countdown Global Mental Health 2030, an independent and multi-stakeholder consortium, will prepare an indicator list of determinants and components of positive mental health and well-being, as well as a preliminary analysis using the secondary data obtained for these indicators.