Sandra Calvert Awarded National Science Foundation Collaborative Research Grant

"Sesame Street" characters Elmo, second from right, and Super Grover, right, pose with four new Muppets representing healthy food groups; fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy. Photo: Associate Press

June 3, 2013 – Sandra Calvert (new window), Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University and the Director of the Children’s Digital Media Center (new window), and Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communications at Northwestern University, have been awarded a 3-year grant for $750,000 from the National Science Foundation to study: Collaborative Research: Media Characters: The Unhidden Persuaders in Food Marketing to Children. In a series of studies, the team will examine the role that media characters play in the childhood obesity crisis, as well as potential ways that characters can be used to encourage children to eat healthier foods.

Congratulations, Professor Calvert!