AATE Innovation Foundation Awards Inaugural Grant

The AATE Innovation Foundation proudly announced the recipients of its inaugural grant award in late 2025, marking a significant milestone in the Foundation’s commitment to advancing innovation and excellence in athletic training and healthcare education. 

The funded project, led by co–principal investigators Dr. Elizabeth León Zaragoza of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and Chelsea Kuehner-Boyer of Illinois State University, will examine how financial barriers influence athletic training students’ stress, academic performance, and long-term persistence in the profession. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study will assess both the prevalence of financial challenges and provide an in-depth exploration of the pressures students currently face. 

Findings from the project are expected to generate evidence that can inform institutional policies, resource allocation, and support systems aimed at strengthening student well-being, academic success, and professional retention within athletic training. 

Dr. León Zaragoza’s scholarship is deeply informed by her lived experience as a Latinx, first-generation college student and the daughter of migrant farmworkers. Her work focuses on addressing inequities in healthcare and higher education, with the goal of expanding access and opportunity through both teaching and research. 

Dr. Kuehner-Boyer brings extensive experience across clinical practice and athletic training education. Her research centers on barriers within higher education for healthcare professionals, particularly those that disproportionately affect students from historically excluded groups, as well as how clinicians engage with and apply research in practice. 

“This investigation builds on our prior qualitative work, which revealed that financial barriers place a significant emotional, academic, and psychological burden on athletic training students,” Dr. Kuehner-Boyer said. “Support from the AATE Innovation Foundation will allow us to further examine these challenges and better understand their impact. This funding creates an important opportunity to drive meaningful change for current and future students.” 

Andy Winterstein, President of the AATE Innovation Foundation, emphasized the broader significance of the award. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are excited to see the vision of the AATE Innovation Foundation moving forward with our inaugural grant award,” he said. “This grant represents the culmination of a great partnership between the AATE Innovation Foundation, AATE, and the AATE Research Network.” 

The Foundation views this inaugural award as a foundational step in supporting research that addresses critical challenges facing the athletic training profession and advancing evidence-based solutions that benefit students, educators, and the profession as a whole.  

For more information about the AATE Innovation Foundation visit us at aatefoundation.org .