Announcing the Awardees of the 2025-2026 HFES Seed Grants Targeting the Intersections of HF/E and Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias
Posted October 28, 2025
This Spring HFES posted a request for proposals for the third HFES Seed Grants Targeting the Intersections of HF/E and Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias, as part of the HFES action plan that was developed in the summer of 2020 for supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within and outside of HFES. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) managed the proposal solicitation and review process. The DEIC received twenty-three proposals. To review the proposals, the DEIC issued a call for reviewers that used a scoring scale based on NIH/NIOSH.
HFES is pleased to announce the recipients of the fourth HFES Seed Grants Targeting the Intersections of HF/E and Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias.
The awardees are:
- Dr(s) Ashley Sylvara and Jin Lee, for their proposal titled “Inclusivity in Action: Advancing DEI through Comprehensive Telework Strategies”.
- Dr. Sasangohar and Atif Ashraf for their proposal titled “Analysis of Native vs. Non-Native English Speaker Interactions with Educational AI Tools.”
Inclusivity in Action: Advancing DEI through Comprehensive Telework Strategies
The objectives and specific aims of the project are to:
- Examine how workplace processes and outcomes vary by age, gender, and race among teleworkers and
- Develop a framework for inclusive WFH policy design.
Analysis of Native vs. Non-Native English Speaker Interactions with Educational AI Tools
The objectives and specific aims of the project are to:
- This project's long-term objective is to develop evidence-based guidelines for creating linguistically inclusive AI educational tools that promote equitable access to educational technology benefits across diverse student populations.
HFES members will be able to learn about these projects and their outcomes at an upcoming annual meeting. As part of the requirements of the award, recipients are expected to present their results at the HFES Annual Meeting within two years of receiving the grant.
We extend our sincere thanks to each of the proposal submitters and to those who volunteered to review proposals, and especially to those who were called on to review. Volunteers are the lifeblood of HFES.