The Center for Health, Energy, and Environmental Research (CHEER) is thrilled to share this announcement of our spring 2026 Pilot Grant Award recipients! These awards recognize outstanding Community-Researcher Partnership teams whose innovative projects have the potential to make a significant impact on climate and health research while responding to urgent public health needs of communities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

CHEER is a research partnership with institutional partners from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and  Community Advisory Board partners from across Milwaukee. CHEER’s mission is to support research on energy, transportation, land use and infrastructure choices and policies to understand their potential benefits for human health, with a focus on solutions that matter to communities and can improve health in the near term. 

About the Pilot Grant Program 

The pilot grant program aims to support early-stage research and help researchers and community partners build the skills, connections, and research plans they need to secure future funding for ongoing work focused on improving community health across Wisconsin. 

With support from the Department of Population Health Sciences, in partnership with the Center’s award from the National Institutes of Health, $90,000 in funding was provided for three awards for this second year of Pilot Grant Awards. 

Selection Process & Criteria 

In this second round of the Pilot Award Program, we received eight complete applications from talented researcher–community partner teams. A selection committee consisting of experts from CHEER’s Advisory Boards and institutional partners across an array of disciplines carefully evaluated the proposals. Review criteria included innovation, research and community engagement approach, composition of the project team, project significance, potential for pilot work to lead to future collaboration and funding, and the relevance to Milwaukee communities. The top three scoring proposals were presented to CHEER’s Community Advisory Board to review and approve for funding. 

Meet the 2026 Pilot Grant Awardees

We are honored to recognize the following teams as 2026 CHEER Pilot Award recipients:

Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) & UW–Madison Wisconsin Sea Grant​

Carrie Malone (Wisconsin SeaGrant); Adam Bechle (Wisconsin SeaGrant); Sarah Bregant (NWS-CDC)

The health impacts of a wet basement: Exploring the connection between flooded homes and respiratory complications 

This project will explore the connection between flooded basements and long-term breathing problems, like asthma, in Milwaukee’s Northwest side neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are especially vulnerable to flooding, receiving some of the worst of the damage from the recent 1000-year flood in Milwaukee last August. Led by Northwest Side Community Development Corporation and UW–Madison SeaGrant Researchers Carrie Malone and Adam Bechle, this project will utilize quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the impacts of stormwater management strategies on reported wet basements, damage reports, and respiratory health. The affected community will be involved in the data collection, rain barrel and rain garden installation, distribution of de-humidifiers, and follow up workshops with the community. 

Clean Wisconsin & UW–Milwaukee Zilber College of Public Health

Amy Kalkbrenner (UW–Milwaukee); Paul Mathewson (Clean Wisconsin); Kayla Rinderknecht (Clean Wisconsin)

Partnering Community Perspectives with Data-Driven Screening to Identify Actionable Air Pollutants Influencing Preterm Birth in Milwaukee

This project will explore the impacts of air pollutants on preterm birth in Milwaukee and the distribution and impacts of these across different neighborhoods and communities within the city. Researchers will connect air quality data covering hundreds of pollutants with birth data from Milwaukee families from 2019-2022. Clean Wisconsin will hold community conversations to share the findings from the research group and to hear directly from residents about local pollution concerns. Together, the data and community knowledge will help prioritize air pollutants and their sources to guide future efforts to improve the health of Milwaukee’s babies and families.  

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) & UW–Madison 

Aaron Alexander (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering); Daniel B. Wright (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering); Mutlu Ozdogan (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Annemarie Schneider (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Wenwen Cheng (Department of Planning & Landscape Architecture); Courtney Vanorio (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Matthew T. Magruder (MMSD)

Quantifying the Impact of Milwaukee’s Green Infrastructure on Public Health under Current and Future Climate Scenarios

This project will use advanced atmospheric methods and climate models to understand how well different green stormwater infrastructure methods can mitigate heat by reducing ambient air temperatures experienced by Milwaukee residents under current and future extreme weather conditions. Along with detailed land cover and shade data, vulnerability indexes across the city, the project will support decision making for MMSD to be able to prioritize projects that will have the greatest impact for stormwater and heat to improve resilience for communities across Milwaukee. 

We are excited to see the impact of these projects as they progress. Pilot grants provide a unique opportunity for grantees to explore new ideas, test innovative approaches, and lay the foundation of partnership and collaboration for future advancements. We look forward to supporting their journeys and sharing their successes with the broader community. 

Acknowledgments 

We extend our deepest gratitude to our Pilot Grant Review Committee for their time and dedication in reviewing applications. We also thank the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the UW–Madison Department of Population Health Sciences who make this program possible. Lastly, we recognize all applicants for their inspiring proposals and commitment to advancing community-driven research.