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College of Health Sciences Butterfly Fund

STAR Tower

IDEAS, INNOVATION AND IMPACT

Connecting to the theme of the Tower at STAR, the College of Health Science is creating a Butterfly Fund to celebrate the innovation, energy and collaboration of the faculty, staff, students and clinicians.

The Tower at STAR is designed to enhance collisions and collaboration referred to as the butterfly effect from chaos theory. The Tower design reflects the idea that the smallest change or interaction in one location can prompt dramatic change in another. Similarly, the Butterfly Fund exists to support and invest in collisions that generate spontaneous ideas and foster innovation and impact.

Furthermore, the Butterfly Fund celebrates the belief that even a small investment can prompt dramatic changes, making the CHS community stronger and more impactful.

People in a laboratory

SUPPORT TO SPUR GROWTH

Under the direction of the dean of the College of Health Sciences, along with chairs of the departments, the Butterfly Fund exists to seed and support innovative interdisciplinary and translational research, teaching, clinical and community programs through annual awards.

The goal of these awards is to trigger a metamorphosis that will spawn new learning opportunities for students and grow cutting- edge research and collaboration.

For example, the Butterfly Fund will be used for:

• Pilot research projects and/or working groups focused on answering healthcare challenges and designing healthcare solutions

• Equipment and resources needed to help support promising cutting-edge research

• Teaching and training programs to meet the many healthcare workforce demands

• Collaborations with community partners throughout the State of Delaware and surrounding area

• Graduate and undergraduate student recruitment in new research and teaching areas, as well as recruitment of a more diverse student body

• Innovative outreach programs to inform and inspire the next generation of healthcare students

Latest News
  • Fatou Marong, a master’s student in the health promotion program, (left) and Xiaopeng Ji, associate professor of nursing (right), are seated at a rectangular table with an ipad demonstrating a sleepchat bot they created. Also on the table are two fitness bands that help monitor sleep.

    Catching Zzz

    June 24, 2025 | Written by Amy Cherry
    Xiaopeng Ji, associate professor of nursing, has created a sleep chatbot for teens with autism using funding from the Maggie E. Neumann Health Sciences Research Fund.

  • Firearm storage realities

    June 20, 2025 | Written by Amy Cherry
    Recently published research by Tarang Parekh, assistant professor of epidemiology, revealed that social factors drive decisions about firearm storage in the U.S.

  • May College of Health Sciences For the Record

    June 09, 2025 | Written by CHS Staff
    College of Health Science community reports appointments, exhibitions, publications, and honors for May.

  • CHS Class of 2025 Spotlight: KAAP

    May 23, 2025 | Written by Amy Cherry
    We're honoring the Class of 2025 by shining the spotlight on some of the best and brightest graduates from the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology.

  • CHS Class of 2025 Spotlight: HBNS

    May 22, 2025 | Written by Amy Cherry
    We're honoring the Class of 2025 by spotlighting some of the best and brightest graduates from the Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences.

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College of Health Sciences

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Tower at STAR: 100 Discovery Blvd, Newark, DE 19713 | Health Sciences Complex: 540 S. College Ave, Newark, DE 19713   chs-info@udel.edu Phone: 302-831-1060