University Of Minnesota Duluth

NSF Awards · FY 2026 · 2026-08

This project will use high-pressure and high-temperature laboratory experiments to simulate processes of magma formation. Researchers will study different electrical charges of iron in Earth’s mantle and how differing conditions affect key Earth processes. Examples include the production of volcanic gases, the concentration of critical minerals and ores, and the formation of diamonds. The team will then use the experimental results to develop a mathematical model and that model will be shared with other researchers to answer their own questions about how magmas form on Earth. The team will develop the U.S. STEM workforce by training students and researchers in cutting-edge laboratory and modeling techniques. Members of the public will be able to learn about this research through public programs. Outcomes of this project will aid in strengthening national economic prosperity and global competitiveness. The proposed project is a combined experimental, analytical, and modeling campaign with the major goal of determining the Fe3+/ΣFe of peridotites in magma source regions in Earth’s mantle by inverting measured Fe3+/ΣFe of basalts. They will test whether differences in source oxygen fugacity between mid-ocean ridges basalts (MORB) and oceanic island basalts (OIB) may be accounted for by the difference between melting in the spinel stability field (MORB) versus the garnet stability field (OIB). New experiments will produce liquids saturated in either a garnet peridotite or spinel peridotite residue. Fe2O3 in these phases will be analyzed by a combination of electron microprobe and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses. Fe2O3 mineral/melt partition coefficients relevant to melting in the spinel and garnet stability fields will update an empirical model of mantle melting that will allow investigation of the oxygen fugacity of melting under a range of possible temperature regimes and source peridotite compositions. This open-source model will be available for other researchers to use and modify for their own research questions. This project will train one masters student and one postdoctoral researcher in experimental petrology, microanalytical techniques, thermodynamics, and numerical modeling. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications as well as to lay audiences through public programs at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2026 · 2026-06

This project provides funding for acquisition of a nitrate analyzer to support scientific operations aboard the R/V Blue Heron, a research vessel operating on the Great Lakes as part of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet. The instrumentation will enhance the vessel’s capability to conduct high-resolution nitrate measurements supporting research on nutrient cycling, water quality, harmful algal blooms, and ecosystem dynamics in the Great Lakes. The upgraded capability will improve chemical and limnological observations available to federally funded researchers, students, and resource managers while strengthening freshwater research infrastructure and environmental monitoring capabilities. The project will broaden access to advanced water quality instrumentation for researchers, students, and early-career scientists utilizing the R/V Blue Heron, while also supporting technical training and workforce development in aquatic sciences. The instrumentation will support multidisciplinary research involving universities, federal agencies, and regional stakeholders focused on Great Lakes ecosystem health and water resource management. Overall, the project strengthens shared scientific infrastructure and helps maintain the operational and technical capabilities of the Academic Research Fleet supporting freshwater research and education. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2026 · 2026-05

Understanding the structure and function of the tissues that transport water and sugars in plants—xylem and phloem—is essential for predicting and managing the future of both agricultural and natural ecosystems and how they respond to stress. Yet, there are large gaps in current knowledge about how these tissues are organized, how they interact, and how they respond during drought. This project will test hypotheses for how the coordinated anatomy and physiology of leaf carbon and water transport determines the growth, drought resilience, and geographic distribution of plant species, for a wide range of species of herbs, shrubs, and trees from across the US. By combining measurements of xylem and phloem function with state-of-the-art mechanistic models at different scales (leaf, whole plant and ecosystem), the project team will generate fundamental discoveries and resolve how the leaf carbon and water transport systems contribute to whole plant and ecosystem function. This project will benefit the American public more broadly by creating unprecedented databases for leaf structure and function and plant responses to drought, by training undergraduate students in methods of research, data analysis, and writing, and—in collaboration with artists—by developing workshops to transform scientific research into creative public engagement, combining lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on activities, including creation of visual pieces and augmented- and virtual-reality experiences. Further, the project will include outreach to the grape and wine industry, highlighting new discoveries, as the interaction between sugar and water transport in grapevine leaves strongly influences grapevine stress responses and wine quality. The goal of this research is a mechanistic understanding of the variation in leaf xylem and phloem traits and their coordination and dynamics during drought, and implications at tissue, organ, plant and ecosystem levels. First, the project will break new ground in establishing how leaf sugar and water transport are integrated physiologically, and how this integration influences growth at leaf, plant, and ecosystem scales and adaptation across climatic niches. In particular, the project will resolve how leaf carbon and water transport anatomy and flow rates are coordinated within and across species, how they determine maximum rates of gas exchange and growth, how they vary with other functional traits, and how they adapt to environmental conditions. Second, the project will provide new resolution of drought impacts on leaf sugar and water transport across scales, including on ecosystem carbon and water fluxes. The project will clarify drought responses—how, and in what sequence, the sensitivities of the leaf xylem-phloem complex influence the responses and resilience of leaf gas exchange, leaf expansion, plant growth (and, if unrelieved, plant mortality), and ecosystem functions. The project team will generate physiological and functional trait data and model products that will be of value to a wide range of scientists from physiologists to ecologists, the training of many undergraduate and graduate students, innovative art/science workshops, and an unprecedented understanding of leaf xylem and phloem structure, dynamic transport, and implications for drought tolerance, adaptation and ecosystem function. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2026-03

PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to enhance the biomedical research environment of northern Minnesota by fostering meaningful ties between the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College (FDLTCC). While there have been isolated collaborative research efforts between faculty at the two institutions, there has not been a sustained foundation on which to build continuing research ties. Therefore, the goal of this proposed BRE-SPAD project is to create an environment that fosters cross-institutional collaboration and enhances biomedical research, focusing on research experiences for undergraduate students and professional development and pilot funding for faculty. To accomplish this, we will undertake activities in three areas: 1) increasing sponsored project administrative support at both institutions; 2) enhancing research environments by creating shared programs for faculty professional development and student research training; and 3) developing targeted pilot grants to foster expansion of biomedical research. We propose hiring a 1.0 FTE grant administrator at UMD who will devote 25% of their time to providing pre-award support to FDLTCC faculty, leading to a 25% net increase in sponsored programs personnel support for each institution. More broadly, we intend to develop ties between sponsored project offices at the two institutions, with joint staff meetings and coordination of professional development, with the goal of creating a cohesive community that is well-suited to support the needs of the faculty. Student research training will enhance campus research environments by broader implementation of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). This proven high-impact practice provides students with authentic research experiences by integrating research directly into regular coursework. This allows for large-scale participation, collaborative learning, and a structured approach to conducting research. Our intent is to leverage UMD’s expertise with CUREs in the Swenson College of Science & Engineering to expand CUREs implementation at FDLTCC and in UMD’s College of Education & Human Service Professions. Faculty seeking to develop more robust biomedical research programs will have opportunities to join Research Interest Groups (RIGs) that will be aligned with cross-cutting biomedical themes that already exist across UMD and FDLTCC (but have not yet been formalized or recognized). RIGs will receive support to provide forums for seminars, lightning talks, discussions of grant opportunities and research interests, and opportunities for professional development leading toward grant submissions. Ideas developed through participation in RIGS may be further advanced through a program of targeted pilot grants for biomedical research. Overall, these activities are designed to foster robust ties between the two campuses and outcomes—such as research growth and implementation of high impact practices for undergraduates—are well-aligned with the strategic plans of both institutions, indicating long-term support for initiatives developed through this grant.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-09

Understanding how Earth functions and how it has changed over time requires precise measurements of chemical signatures found in natural materials like lake sediments, fossils, and organic matter. This project supports the acquisition of a new isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory (LLO), enhancing the capacity for high-precision analyses of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur. The new instrument will provide researchers and students across multiple scientific disciplines (ecology, biogeochemistry, paleoclimatology, and limnology) with tools to investigate critical questions related to Earth system change, ecosystem dynamics, and hydroclimate variability. It will also provide hands-on training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, supporting the next generation of scientists with practical experience in advanced analytical techniques. This project involves the acquisition of a state-of-the-art isotope ratio mass spectrometry system consisting of an IRMS unit paired with a gas chromatograph–combustion interface, elemental analyzer, and a Kiel IV carbonate preparation device. This instrument package will replace LLO’s aging equipment and enable a wide array of new and ongoing research initiatives. The system will support paleolimnological reconstructions of past hydroclimate through the isotopic analysis of small carbonate samples and will facilitate studies of nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas fluxes, and ecological food web structure through measurements of isotopic signatures in organic matter, water, and gases. Researchers will be able to trace sources and transformations of carbon and nitrogen in aquatic systems, assess ecosystem responses to stressors, and better understand the biogeochemical functioning of lake systems both regionally and globally. These questions are vital to our understanding of freshwater resources worldwide, which is the primary research mission of LLO. The instrument will be available to investigators from a range of academic departments at UMD and regional collaborators, strengthening interdisciplinary research and supporting graduate and undergraduate education in the natural sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-09

Wind blowing over the ocean resonantly generates near-inertial waves (NIWs) which dominate the ocean kinetic-energy and vertical-shear spectra at frequencies above 0.2 cycles/day. Once generated, long-wavelength (low-mode) NIWs propagate long distances toward the equator before meeting an unknown fate, while short-wavelength (high-mode) NIWs persist for weeks under the storm track, maintaining ubiquitous upper-ocean shear. The exact partitioning between low- and high-mode NIWs is unknown, but relevant to ocean/climate feedback because breaking NIWs drive diapycnal mixing that affects the vertical transports of heat and carbon in the ocean. Low-mode NIWs are believed to scatter over rough topography where they may enhance deep boundary mixing. High-mode NIWs produce velocity shear associated with total kinetic energy dissipation through a variety of processes such as wave-wave or wave-mean interactions, thus contributing to open-water upper-ocean mixing. This project will synthesize existing NIW observations, theory, and numerical models to create a global NIW prediction system, which will help answer some basic questions that have persisted despite recent progress with theory and process studies: (1) How do dynamics in the ocean surface boundary layer (OSBL) shape NIW vertical wavenumber spectrum? (2) What is the fate of low-mode NIWs? and (3) How well do linearized models that include realistic wind, stratification, and mesoscale circulation predict upper-ocean shear? Results from this project will influence the next generation of mixing parameterizations for ocean-climate models. This project will also impact STEM education by supporting a PhD student and undergraduate summer interns. Public outreach events, such as the “Science on Deck” open houses on the research vessel (R/V) Blue Heron, will be conducted, and ocean modeling software and data products developed during this project will be open source and publicly available. This effort will analyze novel high-resolution observations and numerical models. A global dataset will be compiled from lowered-Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements collected during the GO-SHIP repeat hydrography surveys, 20+ years of sonar observations from the ship-mounted Hydrographic Doppler Sonar System (HDSS) on the R/V Revelle, and three highly-instrumented NSF or ONR funded mooring campaigns. The NIW models will utilize a variety of OSBL turbulence models coupled with two NIW propagation models, the Coupled-mode Shallow Water (CSW) model and the Young and Ben Jelloul (YBJ) model. First, OSBL models will be run with realistic atmospheric forcing to examine how the turbulent stress profile determines the NIW vertical-wavenumber spectrum. These results will be compared against HDSS vertical-wavenumber spectra to identify which OSBL dynamics are critical for replicating observations. Next, the CSW model is run to examine global propagation of low-mode NIWs. These simulations will be examined for consistency with mooring energy fluxes and then used to quantify island trapping, coastal reflection, and scattering by topography and depth-dependent mean flows (taken from the HYCOM ocean general circulation model). Lastly, the evolution of upper-ocean shear will be examined by running high-resolution YBJ simulations with realistic forcing, mesoscale flow, topography, and low-mode boundary forcing. These simulations will be compared with HDSS and lowered-ADCP data to explain global variations in upper-ocean shear. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-09

In this project funded by the Chemical Mechanism, Function, and Properties Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Prashanth Poddutoori from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota Duluth is introducing a new class of group 15 ion-carrying porphyrin sensitizers called hypervalent phosphorus(V) porphyrins (PPor) and antimony(V) porphyrins (SbPor). These sensitizers exhibit intriguing optical and redox properties, including an intrinsic charge transfer state that allows for access to the seldom-studied triplet charge transfer state. Triplet-excited states are crucial for various applications, such as artificial photosynthesis, photodynamic therapy, photovoltaics, and bioimaging. The goal of this research is to establish new design principles for creating hypervalent PPor and SbPor, determine the energetics involved in the formation of the triplet charge transfer state, and investigate the factors that influence charge transfer properties. By developing triplet photosensitizers and exploring their applications, this research aims to advance the understanding in this field while providing hands-on research experience and essential training for the next generation of scientists. This proposal introduces a new class of photosensitizers that, despite their structural simplicity, exhibit interesting photophysical properties and the potential to generate charge transfer triplet states with high efficiency. The study aims to explore the intricate relationship between structure, energetics, and the charge transfer-coupled intersystem crossing mechanism to produce triplet excited states. The specific objectives include the incorporation of P(+5) or Sb(+5) ions into 5,10,15,20-tetraarylporphyrin to create push-pull type hypervalent phosphorus(V) porphyrin (PPor) or antimony(V) porphyrin (SbPor), respectively. This design enables intramolecular charge transfer transitions from the electron-rich peripheral aryl units to the electron-poor porphyrin central ring. The study will employ a combination of experimental and computational approaches. This includes the synthesis of the proposed photosensitizers and the characterization of their structural features using various spectroscopic, analytical, and electrochemical methods. Techniques such as time-dependent density functional theory, ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy will be employed to elucidate the intricate molecular energetics required for triplet formation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-07

This I-Corps project focuses on the development of recycled fiber-natural fiber blends. The technology uses mechanical recycling to turn discarded apparel into high quality fibers. The U.S. throws away over 17 million tons of apparel and textiles every year. Less than 15% of discarded textiles in the U.S. are recycled, which means a valuable resource is going to waste. By blending these recycled fibers with new plant- or animal-based fibers, the collective fiber length is long enough for spinning into new yarn and manufacturing new textiles. The solution utilizes perennial flax, where the fiber can be harvested in spring and fall with minimal inputs and no tilling for several years. the use of perennial flax preserves soil from erosion and promotes soil health. Wool from alpaca and sheep provide the long carrier fibers for the mechanically recycled fibers which allow textiles made from these recycled-natural fiber blends to be mechanically recycled again. As the procurement of these grown or recycled fibers as well as manufacturing yarn can happen locally, this can create a regional circular textile economy. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of recycled fiber-natural blends that meet textile manufacturers' specifications. This solution connects regional industries to create new jobs in recycling, agriculture, and manufacturing for rural economic development. Two novel technologies are combined to create recycled yarn from discarded apparel: a mechanical fiber shredder textile recycling technology, that recycles textiles into fibers and threads and a novel perennial flax breed that provides an alternative to more resource-intensive annual flax - with long fibers suitable for spinning into yarn. Utilizing existing mini mill yarn spinning technologies, these fibers combine to form functional yarns of many colors, weights, and plies. Replacing products' new fiber with recycled fiber reduces water use, land use, and air pollution. Recycled fibers come in an array of colors, removing the need to dye textiles thus reducing water pollution. The fiber shredder recycles post-consumer and post-industrial waste for companies to make new textile products. This solution helps more manufacturers, retailers, and brands take realistic steps towards building textile supply chains. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

RV Blue Heron is a general-purpose oceanographic research vessel built in 1985. The ship was originally designed as a stern trawler and was used for twelve years as a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. The ship was bought from its original owner and refitted for oceanographic research in 1997-98, using funds provided by the National Science Foundation and the State of Minnesota. It has operated in this capacity ever since. Access to the Blue Heron is open to scientists from any institution at a cost that is based on annual operating expenses (both ship operations and technical services) of the vessel divided by the number of operating days in the calendar year. The University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) proposes to support oceanographic technical services on R/V Blue Heron operated as part of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF), which is scheduled by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS). As part of their basic operations, UMD will provide shipboard technicians on each seagoing research project to support basic services. Technicians will maintain, calibrate and provide for qualified users, items from their pool of shared-use research instrumentation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

This project provides funding for the Research Vessel Blue Heron to conduct oceanographic research missions supported by the National Science Foundation. The oceanographic research vessels of the Academic Research Fleet (ARF), operated by the academic institutions within the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) framework are multi-use facilities used to expand knowledge of the ocean environment. The surface work of these ships is complemented by human-occupied, remotely operated, and autonomous undersea vehicles and sensors that provide vital tools to understand the oceans and their resources. These seagoing research and educational facilities enable scientists and students to study natural phenomena and train future scientists while on board state-of-the-art oceanographic research vessels utilizing high-quality instrumentation. The ship operators will also conduct learning activities for students and the general public including hands-on demonstrations of marine science research guided by faculty, students and ship crew members. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Non-Technical Abstract This project will examine ancient Antarctic rocks to understand the continent’s early history, including how Antarctica was once connected to other continents. By studying rock samples from the Nimrod Complex, the project will gather data on the age and makeup of these rocks, showing how Antarctica's crust formed and changed over time. This work will not only expand scientific knowledge about Earth's history but also provide valuable training for college students at multiple universities, helping to grow a diverse community of researchers who can tackle big questions in Earth science. Technical Abstract This project seeks to unravel the origin, evolution, and geological significance of the Nimrod Complex in Antarctica’s East Antarctic craton through detailed age and isotopic analysis of its igneous and metamorphic rocks. Using U-Pb zircon geochronology along with O-isotope, Hf-isotope, and trace element analyses, we will construct a comprehensive petrochronological profile of these Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic rocks to reveal their magmatic sources, metamorphic history, and role in the broader tectonic framework. The project aims to trace sediment sources and tectonic influences across sedimentary units spanning the Paleoproterozoic to lower Paleozoic eras, adding crucial data to supercontinent reconstructions (Columbia, Rodinia, and Gondwana) and Antarctic tectonic models. Broader impacts include collaborations between universities to develop a diverse STEM workforce, inter-laboratory partnerships, and a robust isotopic dataset that will contribute to models of Antarctic crustal evolution and its implications for ice sheet stability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This collaboration of two universities that have strong emphases on teaching - Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) and University of Minnesota Duluth, (UMD) – focuses on building our capacity for research projects between university faculty, industry partners, and community stakeholders, while simultaneously developing the regional workforce for these entities. Our campuses have commonalities (i.e., campus leadership transitions, overshadowing by regional R1 institutions, emphasis on undergraduate instruction) that set the stage for our collaborative work. Efforts on both campuses will follow a Collaborate, Advance, Facilitate, and Empower (CAFÉ) model for building research capacity. We will especially focus on developing private sector partnerships and enhancing campus cultures of research activity by faculty and administrative support of those activities. This EPIIC project will support capacity-building efforts at our institutions to grow external partnerships. The broader impact of our streamlined focus and partnerships will result in accelerated recruitment of faculty who seek to develop biotechnology innovation competencies and accelerate recognition as a regional hub for biotechnology research. FDU and UMD will synthesize and share resources as we move the following objectives forward: (1) enhance communication strategies for collaborating with outside entities; (2) develop a sustainable faculty seed grant program; (3) advance meaningful relations with regional industry; (3) facilitate faculty interaction with the private sector; (3) empower faculty to build new partnerships with grant-writing support and targeted seed grant opportunities. Our plan for evaluating the collective ongoing impact of our capacity building activities will support a strong understanding of the efficacy and return on investment, will allow us to refine and amend activities in later years of the project, and will culminate in developing a set of “best practices” relevant to other PUIs seeking to enhance their research support infrastructure and to develop robust cultures of research activity on their campuses. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

This award funds the research activities of Professor Claire Zukowski at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Quantum physics has successfully described the constituents of matter at subatomic scales. On the other hand, Einstein’s theory of gravity dominates the behavior of matter at the largest known scales in our universe. While it is well-tested at large scales, gravity is the only known force for which we do not know the quantum description. There are regimes where one is needed: for instance, deep inside a black hole or shortly after the Big Bang, when our entire gravitating universe was compressed within a tiny region. A theory of quantum gravity aims to fill in these gaps in our fundamental understanding of the universe, but is most tractable in models that do not describe our actual universe. In this project, Professor Zukowski will study quantum gravity in a setting that approximates our known universe. The research will advance the national interest by promoting the progress of science through an understanding of physical laws. The work will also have significant broader impacts. Professor Zukowski will train both undergraduate and master’s students in this field of research, providing crucial support for their education and career development. She will also give lectures aimed at high school students and the general public about recent developments in quantum gravity. More technically, Professor Zukowski will study quantum gravity in de Sitter spacetime. Using standard techniques in holography as a starting point, she will apply quantum information theoretic tools such as modular Berry transport and complexity to probe bulk geometry. While traditional dS/CFT has presented challenges for generalizing holography beyond asymptotically AdS spacetimes, new avenues are opened by recent developments in Chern-Simons gravity. Professor Zukowski will use these methods to compute new quantum observables for de Sitter. Finally, the project will also connect to cosmology through a further study of the landscape. Performing general warped compactifications and applying a new bootstrap technique for compactifications will constrain the low-energy landscape for quantum gravity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-06

This award partially supports two meetings of the Undergraduate Research Program in Combinatorics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The first meeting will be held June 9 - August 1, 2024. In particular, the award supports two graduate assistants at the summer undergraduate research program during the 2024 and 2025 summer. These graduate assistants will assist the PI and co-director of the program. The graduate assistants will be engaged in all aspects of the program: finding suitable problems, acting as mentors and role models, interacting mathematically and socially with participants and visitors, holding practice sessions for presentations, arranging social activities, reading manuscripts, providing advice about graduate schools and fellowships, writing evaluations of the participants' research that the directors of the program use for letters of recommendation. They will likely continue their mentorship activities after the program is over: such as being a coauthor with participants on papers written after the summer program. The Undergraduate Research Program in Combinatorics will contribute to the advancement of combinatorics by resolving conjectures and answering questions in the literature of interest to well-established people in the field. New methods and concepts and novel applications and examples will be introduced. Some papers will provide deeper insights and better ways to think about concepts. The most significant impact the Duluth programs in 2024 and 2025 will have is the training of future generations of mathematicians who will foster undergraduate and graduate research when they become professionals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2024 · 2018-05

ABSTRACT We are applying for an NIH Supplement fund to support our current R15 grant, focusing on the epigenetic regulation of chromatin by the Keap1-Nrf2 xenobiotic response signaling pathway in Drosophila. The purpose of this application is to acquire a fluorescence microscope. The Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway is essential for oxidative and xenobiotic responses and is related to many diseases especially cancer. To understand the impact of environmental toxins on development and health at the molecular level, my laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms and biological functions of the Keap1-Nrf2 oxidative and xenobiotic response pathway in Drosophila. Supported by the current R15 fund, we aim to characterize the molecular and biological interactions between dKeap1/CncC and chromatin remodeling proteins, including lamin, actin, NURF, and JIL-1. Additionally, we plan to identify developmental genes directly targeted and regulated by dKeap1 in a redox-independent manner. Furthermore, we will study the formation and function of dKeap1-induced condensates. Finally, we will test the hypothesis that dKeap1 and/or CncC mediate developmental adaptations to xenobiotic stimuli through epigenetic regulation of chromatin architecture. This research is also expected to enhance undergraduate education in both the classroom and laboratory settings. All these research plans involve numerous fluorescence imaging assays, such as immunostaining and live imaging. Therefore, an advanced fluorescence microscope is essential for the ongoing projects in our lab. Unfortunately, the only fluorescence microscope shared by our department is outdated and dysfunctional. Currently, we are utilizing a campus-shared microscope located in a different building. Our lab urgently requires a fluorescence microscope that is easily accessible. Additionally, the acquisition of this equipment will significantly enhance the research capabilities of other faculty members within the Biology Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth.