University Of Missouri-Columbia

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2025-03

Broad/Long Term Objectives: Predominant models of AUD recovery emphasize the impact of contextual factors on proximal determinants influencing recovery maintenance, such as craving. Prior findings suggest that particular workplace characteristics determine the impact of work context on recovery. Previous research has suggested that various factors sustain or undermine workplace substance use, however, the effect of these factors on recovery outcomes has not been tested. The goal of the proposed project is to validate workplace factors influencing AUD recovery in the context of existing models of recovery and addiction, laying the groundwork for future evidence-based interventions to support individuals in AUD recovery at work. Specific Aims: The aims of this project include validating the effects of workplace factors on alcohol consumption and consequences (Aim 1) and mechanisms of behavior change (MOBC) in recovery (Aim 2), including an established physiological MOBC (Aim 2A). Training aims include training in the design, execution, and analysis of intensive longitudinal studies of alcohol use and related problems, the application of vocational psychology to AUD recovery research, and research on ambulatory cardiovascular data. Research Design/Methods: A sample of 150 participants attempting to initiate recovery will be recruited to participate in a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of the impact of workplace factors on alcohol consumption, consequences of consumption and abstinence, and mechanisms of recovery. Significance: People in recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD) face barriers to employment, and programs to support people in recovery from alcohol and other substance-related problems have recently proliferated. This study would be the first to validate the effect of a number of workplace factors on recovery-related outcomes (e.g., alcohol consumption, craving) in a relevant sample. Training Plan and Environment: The University of Missouri is home to a premier addictions research group and institutional training grant (T32AA013526; PI: McCarthy [referee] & Sher). The mentorship team for this award includes widely recognized experts in ecological momentary assessment, alcohol use, daily-life cardiovascular data collection (Sean P. Lane [sponsor] and Timothy J. Trull [co-sponsor]), AUD recovery (Katie Witkiewitz [consultant]), and vocational psychology (Lisa Y. Flores [consultant]). The training plan is multifaceted and includes regular mentorship, coursework, and conference and workshop attendance. Furthermore, Dr. Lane [sponsor] has committed to funding the entirety of the research and training plan.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-03

An extra DNA segment often indicates the presence of a virus or some other foreign DNA. Accordingly, organisms normally maintain defense systems to silence (turn off) the gene expression from this potential intruder. In the model fungus Neurospora crassa (an orange bread mold), a defense system operates during the sexual cycle to minimize the production from an unpaired gene. It is called Meiotic Silencing by Unpaired DNA (MSUD), and it utilizes an RNA-based gene silencing system to single out its targets. The goal of this project is to better understand the mechanism behind the MSUD pathway. Since DNA segments lacking a pairing partner are also targeted in worms, mice, and humans, this project will shed light on how DNA pairing could affect gene regulation in a variety of organisms. The investigators will recruit and train undergraduates through different campus student success programs. Research activities from this project will be used to develop lesson modules for lab tours and outreach visits to a local elementary school. Efforts will also be made to promote scientific literacy, interdisciplinary partnership, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. In many organisms, robust genome surveillance mechanisms are used to keep transposons and other selfish elements from spreading. One example is the MSUD pathway, which is first described in the filamentous fungus N. crassa. In this pathway, an unpaired gene generates a silencing signal (in the form of small interfering RNAs), which subsequently turns off the expression of this unpaired DNA as well as any other copies in the genome. MSUD utilizes Argonaute and other common RNA interference (RNAi) proteins to suppress the expression of its targets. Using the tools they have developed (e.g., silencing mutants, cellular markers, gene placement systems, and various assays), the investigators will characterize the phenotypes of silencing-deficient mutants and investigate the interactions and specific roles of MSUD components. 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 · 2025-02

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is based on the development of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platform for collaborative internal logistics and material handling tasks. This technology has the potential to enable efficient and scalable adoption of collaborative human-mobile robot operations for supply chain logistics. The competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing and service sectors, particularly in industries of national importance such as semiconductors, transportation, and retail, depends on supply chains that are efficient, resilient, and adaptive to dynamic demands. As supply chain operations increasingly rely on collaborative ecosystems that combine human expertise with AMR capabilities, improving safely and efficiently managing multiple AMRs. This project optimizes collaborative human-mobile robot operations, empowering fulfillment managers, logistics planners, and supply chain coordinators to streamline operations in manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation. By addressing critical market needs, the technology could enhance U.S. economic competitiveness and strengthen the supply chain workforce. Additionally, its broader impact lies in fostering innovation, improving workplace efficiency, and creating opportunities for workforce upskilling in industries critical to national growth and sustainability. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of a cloud-based autonomous mobile robot (AMR) orchestration platform that can effectively plan, monitor, and optimize collaborative human-mobile robot operations performing material handling tasks. The technology will advance human-robot operations by facilitating real-time coordination of human-robot systems for responsive and resilient workflows. To ensure safe and efficient AMR orchestration, the technology leverages novel artificial intelligence (AI)-powered algorithms that account for real-world complexities and operational uncertainties. Initial results highlight the technology’s potential to improve fulfillment speed in warehouse logistics while providing actionable insights into AMR orchestration to overcome existing challenges. The AMR orchestration platform could offer a transformative approach to optimizing human-mobile robot collaboration, driving efficiency, and supporting adaptable, scalable solutions in supply chain intralogistics operations. 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

Reproducibility is essential for scientific progress and to establish trust in scientific results. Published computational results, increasingly, lack sufficient capture and description of companion information that enables subsequent confirmation and extension of results. This project will design and implement a novel container-based approach for sharing and reproducing scientific results. Reproducible containers developed from this project will package code, data, environment, provenance, and assumptions across heterogeneous computing platforms. In contrast to taking a "devops"-based approach, which burdens the user to manage reproducibility of experiments, this project uses reference executions of scientific experiments as a virtualization method for containerizing associated artifacts. While a container-based approach can help to verify repeat computations, further advancements in container technology are needed to enable advanced forms of reproducibility. This project aims to enable reproducibility even if computations include non-determinism and race conditions; code, data-sets, and parameters are changed; computations are performed on distributed platforms; and containers are shared with sensitive data and undocumented content. To that end, the project will develop an open-source container runtime that will offer primitives for enabling re-runnability, extensibility, and publish-ability of containers. The work leverages portable containers developed previously for computational sciences. This award will lay the foundation for an essential building block for establishing reproducibility of real-world computational and data science use cases. The project will increase awareness of the need for computational reproducibility tools through an integrated research and education plan involving scientists, students, and instructors. 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 · 2025-01

Chronic intermittent Hx (CIH), a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea and many other diseases, leads to a long- term increase in the strength of the peripheral chemoreflex (PCR). An enhanced PCR subsequently increases sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), leading to hypertension even in wakefulness, a major contributing factor to downstream cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and heart failure, leading killers of Americans. Orexin neurons in the hypothalamus have high activity in wakefulness and project to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), a nucleus known to facilitate the PCR via its projections to the nucleus of the solitary tract (nTS). The overarching hypothesis driving this research is that neuronal circuit comprised of orexin neurons, CRH neurons in the PVN, and nTS neurons (orexin-CRH- nTS) facilitates the PCR and contributes to the hypertension that follows CIH. We will use an integrative approach utilizing an array of chemogenetic and in vitro techniques to resolve how the orexin-CRH-nTS enhances the PCR and contributes to the hypertension that follows CIH. Specific Aim 1: Does an orexin-CRH-nTS neural circuit facilitate the adaptive peripheral chemoreflex responses to Hx in the active phase, even in the absence of carotid body inputs? Our novel hypothesis is that the circuit increases the strength of the reflex, especially in the active phase and independently of chemoafferent inputs. Specific Aim 2: Does the orexin-CRH-nTS circuit contribute to sympathoexcitation and hypertension related to CIH, and is this effect dampened by estrogen? Our novel hypothesis is that CIH activates the orexin-CRH-nTS in a maladaptive fashion that leads to sympathoexcitation and hypertension. Through an inhibitory effect on orexin neurons, estrogen mitigates the excitatory influence of CIH on the activity of the circuit. CIH leads to increased peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity and hypertension, a major health problem as it leads to multiple cardiovascular diseases that are leading killers of Americans. These studies interrogate a hypothalamic-brainstem neural circuit (orexin-PVN-nTS) that facilitates the peripheral chemoreflex and thus the maladaptive cardiovascular responses to CIH. They provide the foundation for strategies targeting the hypothalamus to alleviate hypertension in patients experiencing CIH, as well as the initial insight into potential sex differences in maladaptive cardiovascular responses to CIH that have an origin in the hypothalamus.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

With the support of the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) program in the Division of Chemistry Professor Pablo Sobrado of Missouri University of Science and Technology & Professor John Tanner of the University of Missouri Columbia are studying enzymes from plants that synthesize specialized molecules needed for defense against biotic and abiotic stresses and that endow plants with unique flavor and nutritional profiles. The conceptional organizing principle of the project is a focus on a group of enzymes known as flavin-dependent monooxygenases (FMOs), which leverage a derivative of vitamin B2, known as flavin, to catalyze a diverse array of chemical reactions. The project will study plant FMOs involved in the biosynthesis of the hormone auxin and sulfur-containing compounds that contribute to the unique taste of garlic. The project will explore a novel hypothesis concerning the role of molecular motion in the mechanism by which FMOs catalyze hydroxylation reactions. These activities seek to serve as a platform for teaching and training graduate, undergraduate, and high school students to enable them to develop critical thinking skills and synthesize knowledge in molecular biology, mechanistic enzymology, organic chemistry, computational biochemistry, and structural biology. This research project seeks to establish structure-function relationships for FMOs using a combination of biochemical and structural approaches. The chemical and kinetic mechanisms of FMOs will be quantitatively characterized using advanced transient-state kinetic methods. The three-dimensional atomic structures of FMOs will be determined using high-resolution X-ray crystallography. The combination of these approaches is synergistic and seek to generate new insight into how evolution solved difficult chemical problems using flavins as reaction centers. Ultimately, this research seeks to inspire the rational design of new catalysts and the engineering of biochemical pathways to produce high-value compounds, and lead to the development of crops with improved root development, more robust leaf morphogenesis and embryogenesis, and better response to abiotic stress. 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

Computational notebooks have become a cornerstone of the scientific computing enterprise, providing an interactive means to acquire and communicate insights, share discoveries, and visualize experimental outcomes. However, computational notebooks today are most suited for small-scale explorations carried out on a single computer, and are quite difficult to use for large-scale computations on high performance computing clusters or commercial clouds. This project will develop NBFlow, a software toolkit for converting notebook computations into workflows that are feasible to execute efficiently on clusters or clouds. This will make it possible to use notebook technologies in conjunction with high performance clusters to enable new discoveries in scientific fields such as high energy physics and geosciences. These technologies will be used to develop new educational curricula, outreach activities for K-12 students, and research experiences for college students. NBFlow will support and advance the use of computational notebooks in scientific research and data analysis by bridging the gap between interactive computation and distributed cyberinfrastructure developed for data-intensive sciences. Today's notebook environments provide easy access to standard artificial intelligence and machine learning toolkits for processing vast datasets with greater efficiency and accuracy compared to conventional methods. However, migrating a notebook from a scratchpad-like analysis to a robust pipeline, which must be distributed across a cluster or cloud infrastructure, currently requires significant efforts by developers and scientists. NBFlow will build upon existing NSF investments in the areas of containerization and workflows that will record notebook executions and schedule tasks for concurrent execution. By experimenting with an integrated notebook-workflow system, this cutting-edge research will advance understanding in data management and distributed computing sub-fields. At the same time, the project will produce novel techniques to robustly capture provenance from notebook-based workflows, a rich source of data in itself, as well as put techniques developed for incremental computation to practice. These technologies will be deployed with active user communities in high energy physics at multiple facilities and in geospatial and sustainability sciences through the I-GUIDE cyberinfrastructure. 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 · 2025-01

Summary/Abstract: Vascular remodeling is a fundamental pathological process occurring in artery wall during the development of numerous vascular diseases including artery restenosis following angioplasty and bypass surgery, hypertension, organ transplantation, atherosclerosis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Emerging evidence indicates that endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of vascular remodeling. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the EndoMT process remain largely unknown. Preliminary studies indicate that response gene to complement 32 (RGC-32) is a novel protein factor essential for the EndoMT of pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs). RGC-32 is induced by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and hypoxia treatment. Knockdown of RGC-32 blocks while overexpression of RGC-32 exacerbates transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced EndoMT of human PAECs. In vivo, RGC-32 is induced predominantly in PAECs of human PAH patients and hypoxia-induced PAH mice. RGC-32 deficiency (Rgc32-/-) attenuates the hypoxia-induced PAH as evidenced by the reduction of right ventricular systolic pressure, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and right ventricle hypertrophy in hypoxia-treated Rgc32-/- mice. Rgc32-/- also alleviates the EndoMT that is correlated with the blockade of PAH, as shown by the restoration of endothelial marker VE-cadherin and CD31 and the suppression of mesenchymal cell marker N-cadherin and vimentin. These exciting data strongly support a novel hypothesis that RGC-32 promotes PAH development by facilitating EndoMT of PAECs. PAH is a rapidly progressive and currently incurable disease characterized by sustained increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, vascular remodeling, and right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy and failure. Pharmacotherapeutic efforts fail to reverse the disease development, and the prognosis of PAH remains poor with a 5-year survival rate of < 70%. Therefore, identifying novel therapeutic targets is clinically urgent. Preliminary studies suggest that RGC-32 is a potentially novel therapeutic target for PAH. Thus, a combination of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells and animal PAH models along with molecular, cellular, histological, and genetic approaches will be used to 1) determine the molecular mechanisms by which RGC-32 regulates EndoMT of PAECs, and 2) delineate the endothelial cell-specific roles of RGC-32 in PAH and EndoMT of PAECs in vivo. Successful completion of the proposed studies will advance our fundamental knowledge and understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the development of PAH by establishing RGC-32 as a novel regulator for EndoMT of PAECs and PAH. The outcome of the project will also identify a highly promising drug target for future therapeutic intervention to combat PAH in clinic.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Research and education in neuroscience and neural engineering require the analysis and integration of large volumes of diverse data to accelerate the study of brain function. A challenge in accomplishing this is the lack of a collaborative framework to enable cross-disciplinary interactions across biological, psychological, and the physical sciences. The availability of advanced computing resources provides new opportunities to address this challenge by developing the necessary framework and advanced computational tools. This project aims to develop a 15-credit graduate certificate that will provide the skillsets and best practices to accelerate data- and computation-intensive neuroscience research. Four campuses of the University of Missouri (UM) system will offer this certificate to eligible undergraduate and graduate students. Two new courses will be developed that integrate advanced computing resources, funded by NSF with new software automation tools. Outreach activities will be conducted to expose students to basic neuroscience software tools; these engagement programs will recruit high school students and promote participation from students in underrepresented and rural communities. The project team will leverage NSF-funded advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) resources such as FABRIC and CloudLab, as well as resources at Neuroscience Gateway, to achieve three key goals. The first goal is to advance CI-based neuroscience education modules to increase students’ ability to effectively and efficiently utilize software packages requiring high performance computing/cluster computing, containerization/hardware acceleration of workloads, big data management, and other advanced CI resources, for a broad range of theory and real-world use cases. The second goal is to enhance workforce preparedness and interdisciplinary outcomes in traditional neuroscience courses by incorporating experiential learning and assessments of CI-based learning in lower and higher-level courses. The third goal is to develop new learning modules and tools based on CI technologies to foster next-generation neuroscience training to further enhance the local and national research infrastructure. In addition, the training materials will be incorporated in existing courses at UM institutions and summer training workshops that target CI Users (e.g., scientific domain researchers in neuroscience, engineering, psychology) and CI Contributors (e.g., CI researchers/software engineers). Finally, summer neuroscience workshops for faculty and ongoing training programs in neural engineering will incorporate streamlined modules of computational neuroscience workflow protocols to engage a broader and diverse group of participants. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate. 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

Proteins are essential macromolecules for many cellular and life processes. In cells, proteins experience a highly crowded and confined environment. Understanding protein structure, dynamics, and function under crowding and confinement is, therefore, critical for understanding the function of these essential macromolecules in nature. This project will a recently developed platform that creates confined space at sizes similar to typical proteins, and use modern spectroscopic methods to examine protein structure and dynamics. These studies will be used to generate a systematic understanding on how spatial confinement impacts the protein structure-function relationship. This project will improve the communication and collaboration of next generation scientists in North Dakota by through a summer student research exchange program between North Dakota State University and the United Tribes Technical College. Local undergraduate and high school researchers will also be recruited to participate in the project. Lastly, the project will stimulate the interest in science for local elementary school students. This project will determine the influence of the size, shape, and boundary properties of spatial confinement on protein structure, dynamics, and function. This project will employ the recently developed MOFs/COFs to create systematically confined spaces that differ in size, shape, and boundary properties, respectively. The loading conditions of two model proteins, lysozyme and the human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), will be optimized separately in order to optimize their loading capacity. The activities of lysozyme and SOD1 will be determined using standard assays with minor modifications. Site-directed spin labeling will then be utilized to implant spin probes into each model protein. EPR dynamics and long-range distance distribution measurements will then be carried out to determine global and local (the active site and/or substrate pathway) conformational flexibility changes of the two model proteins confined in different MOFs/COFs. SDSL-EPR is ideal for these experiments because it can overcome the complexities caused by MOF/COF backgrounds and protein-MOF/COF interactions and reveal the needed structural information. Correlating the function with the structural details under varied confined conditions will establish the correlation between confinement factors and protein structure-function relationship. This project is jointly funded by the Molecular Biophysics cluster of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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

The scientific community is undergoing a significant shift, moving from a traditionally closed framework to one that embraces open science. Open science refers to increasing transparency of research processes and outputs, sharing of research outputs, and increasing inclusion of all stakeholders to the scientific process. However, as with any transformative change, there is a risk that the benefits of open science will be realized by only a subset of the research community. Researchers from under-resourced or underserved communities face several barriers to participating in open science, including limited access to the tools and technologies supporting open science, insufficient availability of training and education services for adopting open science practices, and the need for technologies and resources to be adapted for specific research communities and methodologies. Additionally, fostering norms and communities of practice in underserved institutions and research areas is a significant challenge. The open science movement has made major strides in transforming research practices and promoting greater transparency, accessibility, and collaboration across the scientific community. While the long-term impacts of open science are challenging to measure and will take time to fully observe, there is growing evidence of the movement’s success at the individual practice level. Even so, there are significant risks that the rapid transformation toward open science may not benefit all researchers equally. For example, many open science initiatives and policies come with administrative burdens for implementation. Highly resourced research universities often have the administrative infrastructure and budgets to address these burdens, while less-resourced institutions may struggle. Additionally, many open science practices require specialized experience and expertise, adding another layer of resource demand. For the open science movement to truly fulfill its promise, it must equip every part of the research community to conduct high-quality transparent and open research. This project aims to address these challenges by organizing an intense, multi-day workshop that brings together representatives from a broad array of research institutions. The goal of the proposed Ideas Lab is to ensure that the changing infrastructure, norms, and rewards promoting open science benefit the entire research landscape. Ideas Labs have proven to be highly effective in generating innovative research proposals. The outcomes of these labs typically include the formation of new interdisciplinary teams, the development of cutting-edge research ideas, and the submission of collaborative proposals for funding. Many Ideas Labs have led to the establishment of long-term research collaborations and the launch of projects that address critical scientific and societal issues. Ideas Labs have become a valuable tool for advancing the frontiers of science and engineering through collaborative innovation. By fostering inclusive engagement and co-designing solutions, we can harness the full spectrum of strengths within the research community, thereby ensuring that open science serves all contributors and accelerates discovery. An improved network of experts and innovations will accelerate the dissemination of effective strategies and establish evaluation mechanisms and standards to assess their impact. 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

Research in drug delivery by polymeric carriers is still in its infancy. The demanding challenge in this field is to find the right carrier architecture and the optimum polymer chemistry that can facilitate controlled delivery and release of therapeutic agents (drugs) to their targets. A unique carrier is invertible polymer micellar assemblies, which are formed by the rapid self-organization/assembly of polymers with alternated and repeated hydrophobic (water-hating) and hydrophilic (water-loving) segments in a rod-like shape (tens of nanometers long). Drugs and polypeptides/nucleic acids which can treat various diseases but cannot be directly introduced to human body can be incorporated into invertible micellar assemblies. Once the environmental conditions are changed (i.e., when the assemblies from water “arrive” to the cellular membrane), the invertible micellar assemblies reverse their dimensions and geometry (shape) in a smart way to effectively deliver and release cargo molecules to the targets (biological membranes) and, thus, treat relevant diseases. Although the structure and dynamics of invertible micellar assemblies have been understood to a certain level, the key questions that still need to be answered are (i) what properties of cargo-loaded invertible micellar assemblies make them efficient in treating diseases (ii) how significant is a fact of unique change of shape (called “inversion” in this project) for efficient delivery performance. Answering these questions require an in-depth understanding on the interactions between drug cargos and invertible micellar assemblies under varied environments at the molecular level, which is a challenging task because most commonly seen techniques do not have a sufficiently high resolution to “penetrate” the assemblies and probe biopolymer cargos therein. In this project, researchers from the North Dakota State University bridge this knowledge gap by labelling biopolymers and studying the behavior of the labeled sites using a unique technique known as Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy. The obtained data will provide details on how invertible micellar assemblies interact with the solvent environment and the biopolymer cargos as well as how the cargos move and/or aggregate within the interior of invertible micellar assemblies. This information not only answers aforementioned questions but also assists in the rational design of new delivery vehicles that better adapt/deliver biopolymers and/or drugs, broadening the application of invertible micellar assemblies as general drug carriers to treat various diseases. The research team will provide training to underrepresented students including Native American students and local undergraduate and high school students on nanotechnology and chemistry. The team will also offer scientific educational opportunities for youths whose parents are deployed as soldiers through the Operation Military Kids program in the state of North Dakota. This project aims to understand the interactions among the invertible micellar assemblies, cargo, and environment (solvent) at the nanoscale, in order to reveal the mechanistic details in the interior of invertible micellar assemblies when biopolymer cargos are loaded and released due to environment polarity changes. This goal will be achieved via three steps: (i) revealing the changes in the morphology, crowding, and polarity of invertible micellar assemblies under varied solvent conditions, (ii) depicting the impact of biopolymer cargo loading on the morphology, crowding, and polarity of invertible micellar assemblies in water, and (iii) elucidating the movement and aggregation state (if any) of the biopolymer within invertible micellar assemblies upon environment polarity change. The key to acquiring this knowledge is to covalently place an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spin probe/tag at specific locations/positions within the invertible micellar assemblies and on biopolymers, followed by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy study of (bio)polymer structure and dynamics. This research will provide maps of the local crowding and polarity within the invertible micellar assemblies under various solvent conditions and locate various segments of biopolymer cargos (connecting which lead to cargo conformation) in the invertible micellar assemblies based on the local crowding and polarity of the cargo. The obtained knowledge offers a direct connection between the microenvironment of invertible micellar assemblies and cargo structure/hydrophobicity/polarity to assess and rationalize the relative strength of the interactions between invertible micellar assemblies and cargos. This work will also use the information of cargo location and cargo movement to depict the relative position of cargos upon interacting with the invertible micellar assemblies. Lastly, this research will elucidate the possible structural changes of cargos, if any, caused by the interactions between invertible micellar assemblies and cargos. All of these efforts will result in an in-depth understanding of the cargo uptake/release performance and the interactions between invertible micellar assemblies and cargos. This project will also provide training to students at various educational levels (high school, undergraduate) from diverse backgrounds by offering hands-on research experience in cutting-edge nanotechnology, biopolymer engineering, and spectroscopy. The obtained knowledge and experimental approaches from research activities will be disseminated through scientific peer-review journal publications, national/international conferences, and local science fairs. 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 2025 · 2024-12

ABSTRACT 2025 Charleston Conference on Alzheimer's Disease Reunion April 6- April 10, 2025 The proposal seeks support for the upcoming 2nd Charleston Conference on Alzheimer's Disease Reunion (CCADR), which is to be held from April 6 to April 10, 2025, at the San Juan Fairmont Hotel in Puerto Rico. The conference is poised to bring together established researchers and promising new scientists in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. The CCADR provides a rare opportunity for early, mid-career researchers and senior scientists from diverse academic backgrounds to collaborate on AD studies. The goals for the 2nd CCADR include: 1) Provide a platform of colloquy for scientists from varied fields of study to discuss one main disease; 2) Facilitate active participation, prioritizing early-career scientists to present and network; 3) Catalyze new ideas and innovative research directions; and 4) Promote collaborative efforts. The conference stands out for its unique ability for reconnecting alumni from a decade of the Charleston Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (CCAD), forming a network that has significantly contributed to collaborative research. This strong foundation has proven to be a catalyst for co-authored publications and the acquisition of research grants. The forthcoming event aims to build upon this success by facilitating even more impactful discussions, increasing research funding, leading to more publications, and importantly, driving the development of new therapeutic strategies to combat AD.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-12

As the deadliest U.S. mainland hurricane since Katrina, with over 230 fatalities, Hurricane Helene exposed significant vulnerabilities in hazard warning reception and response within mountain and inland communities in the U.S. Southeast. Risk perception, warning reception, and response in these communities have been largely understudied, leaving critical gaps in understanding how these populations perceive and react to hurricane-related threats, as most research has focused on coastal areas. This work contributes to reducing losses by improving the understanding of hurricane-related risks within mountain and inland communities, leading to improved and more equitable weather warning and response systems. The findings have the potential to benefit mountain and inland communities, National Weather Service forecasters, emergency management professionals, and especially under-resourced communities. Utilizing decision sciences that integrate social and behavioral sciences with weather hazard practices and policies, this project collects time-sensitive information to identify how households and weather stakeholders (forecasters, emergency managers) in mountain and inland communities received, perceived, and responded to risk information related to Hurricane Helene. The project then integrates social and behavioral science data with physical and built-environment characteristics using geographic information systems and multivariate modeling to explore how these contextual characteristics and factors may influence warning reception and protective decision making. The research advances fundamental knowledge in: (1) understanding the decision-making context among mountain and inland community households and weather hazard decision makers impacted by Hurricane Helene; and (2) identifying physical, social, and environmental factors that prevent or support hazard warning reception and protective decisions in mountain and inland communities. 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 · 2024-12

Bubble plumes involve the movement of bubbles in water and play a key role in many natural and engineered systems. However, the way bubbles interact with water and how this affects the plume’s behavior and turbulence is not fully understood. This project seeks to understand how the flow patterns of bubble plumes change as they move further from their source and under different conditions. The project also aims to improve our understanding of how bubbles create turbulence and how that turbulence impacts the overall flow. The findings could help improve computer models used to simulate bubble plumes in both natural environments and engineering applications. The STEM education and outreach programs including engineer’s week, summer STEM camp, and high school student internship will benefit many K-12 students with different levels of involvement in research. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of flow regimes in bubble plumes and their relationship to turbulent structures in the multiphase flow systems. Specifically, this project will establish the evolving entrainment process in bubble plumes and use this knowledge to create a universal integral model that applies to a wide range of bubble and source flow conditions. The project will include dedicated laboratory experiments to measure bubble dynamics and water flows, along with in-depth analysis of flow evolution and small-scale turbulence. Additionally, this project will create an open-source database of flow characteristics for the fluid dynamics community by synthesizing existing literature data and new experimental results collected in this study. The insights gained from this project will advance the understanding of multiphase flow dynamics and benefit fields such as natural resource management, earth sciences, industrial processes, and engineering design. 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 · 2024-11

The transformation of cheap and abundant light alkanes (from natural gas) could have far-reaching implications on the chemical and energy sectors yet remains a formidable challenge due to the lack of efficient catalysts/catalytic systems. While various processes for alkane transformation to a host of petrochemical products have been extensively studied during the past decades, only steam methane reforming, propane dehydrogenation, and steam ethane noncatalytic cracking are produced at large-scale. This project explores an alternative to current catalytic systems known as ammonia-assisted reforming (ammoreforming) of light alkanes. Ammoreforming involves reacting ammonia (NH3) with a light alkane (such as ethane, C3H8) to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN – an important industrial chemical) and hydrogen (H2). Significantly, the reaction avoids production of either carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide, thus setting the stage for circular usage of carbon with minimal generation of greenhouse gas. The project will strengthen academic research and educational programs in chemistry/chemical engineering at both Mississippi State University and Northern Illinois University. The project leverages several programs at both institutions aimed at stimulating K-12 students’ interest in STEM careers and providing underrepresented undergraduates opportunities to develop research skills. The project focuses on the design and synthesis of efficient non-noble metal - NixGay intermetallic compound (IMC) based catalysts - by the understanding of the structure/performance relationships and catalytic mechanisms of the ammoreforming of light alkanes. The project focuses on several fundamental aspects of ammoreforming over the IMC catalysts, including (1) understanding the effect of oxalate precursor’s composition on the structure, surface properties, and particle size of the NixGay IMC catalysts and their relationships to the catalytic performance of ethane ammoreforming; (2) understanding the influence of oxalate thermo-decomposition and annealing on the structure and surface properties of the NixGay catalysts and the catalytic performance; (3) elucidating the reaction-induced surface/bulk reconstruction and identifying the surface reaction intermediates and catalytic mechanism. The research will be carried out through the combination of in-situ/operando X-ray characterizations (including XRD, SAXS, and XAS) at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory, operando-DRIFT-MS, and relaxation type transient experiments. 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 · 2024-11

Replacing petroleum-based products with inexpensive, renewable, natural materials is essential for sustainable development and will significantly impact the polymer industry and the environment. Petroleum-based plastic materials have exceeded most other man-made materials and are present as must-have materials in modern life. It is estimated that the total amount of plastic resins and fibers manufactured from 1950 through 2015 is 7800 million tons, half of which was produced in the past decades. Biodegradable plastics have been long sought-after as alternatives to petrochemical plastics to promote environmental sustainability. Even though bioplastics provide substantive environmental benefits, the current manufacturing cost is relatively high. In this Future Manufacturing Seed Grant (FMSG) project, the project team will develop a new manufacturing process to convert CO2 to bioplastics (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHA) and design bioplastics composite to enable future manufacturing. CO2 will be converted to edible microbial nutrients via a process known as electrocatalysis, and the nutrients will further be used by bacteria to produce PHA. Microbe-derived PHA will be used to make bioplastic composites. The project will engage undergraduate and graduate students, utilize a university training center to educate broad audiences, and build global impacts in Africa. The project aims to develop a new manufacturing process to convert CO2 to bioplastics (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHA) and design bioplastics composite for broader applications. Traditional industrial fermentation has an inherent carbon efficiency limitation using sugar-based feedstock. The limited reducing equivalent supply during carbon conversion inevitably leads to carbon emission and lowers carbon efficiency in heterotrophic microorganisms. The proposed research will create a cost-effective manufacturing of industrial quality bioplastics. The research will establish an electrochemistry-bioconversion hybrid system for efficient and cost-effective PHA production. Electrolysis-supported catalytic pathways for CO2 conversion to acetate, ethanol, and propionate will be created and optimized. The team will integrate a two-step tandem process with a state-of-the-art Cu catalyst to achieve a highly selective acetate/ethanol production at high reaction rates. Pseudomonas strains will be engineered to convert C2 and C3 intermediates to PHA with a high efficiency. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) will be measured to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of new created PHA composites. The fundamental knowledge gained from this process will bring transformative changes to the current manufacturing and climate mitigation. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences in the Directorate for Biological Sciences, the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems in the Directorate for Engineering, and the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical 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 2024 · 2024-10

This IUSE Level 1 Engaged Student Learning project aims to serve the national interest by addressing the significant demand for a semiconductor workforce. The project intends to leverage the emerging technology of extended reality (XR) and generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to develop innovative microfabrication cleanroom training. A planned outcome of this training is a supply of talent possessing specialized skills necessary to address technological advancements and supply chain challenges of the semiconductor industry. The goal is to elevate and streamline the learning experience for undergraduates enrolled in semiconductor-related courses, equipping them with the essential skills for successful careers in the semiconductor industry, and to increase awareness and interest in the semiconductor field for more students at large. The cost-effective and immersive XR and GAI-enabled lab training will be accessible to a broad audience, including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, adult learners, and cleanroom users. Additional plans include training for local middle and high schools, and a partner HBCU to foster interest in semiconductor science and engineering. Efforts will focus on encouraging students from underrepresented groups to enroll and participate in the training activities. The project will approach the following objectives: (1) create and refine an immersive learner-centered hands-on educational program that integrates cleanroom fabrication experiences using XR and GAI technology, (2) investigate the effectiveness and advance understanding of the education innovation through a comprehensive examination and multifaceted analysis, taking into account the knowledge and skills transfer, retention, and overall learning experiences of the target students; and (3) apply the research outcomes to form effective instructional principles and develop an instructional system, including participatory learning experience, multiple scaffolding levels, and triangulated assessment, for enhancing the semiconductor education curriculum as well as workforce and career pathway development. The project is designed to align with undergraduate course instruction on key semiconductor processes such as photolithography, etching, and deposition. Goals will include introduction of innovative lab training incorporating virtual reality (VR) on portable headsets for immersive and flexible learning without relying on a cleanroom facility, while building a mixed reality (MR) program providing real-time guidance to reduce errors, shorten training time, and promote skill transfer in the cleanroom. The plan will involve use of VR and MR which utilize the latest XR technologies with eye tracking to enhance engagement and sensory experiences. Project plans also include integration of generative AI for contextual learning, combining XR, GAI, and learner-centered activities into a comprehensive instructional design. Using constructionist approaches and design-based research, the project aims to bridge the skills gap in semiconductor education, preparing undergraduates for the semiconductor industry’s evolving challenges. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. 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 · 2024-10

Observing relevant hand gestures while listening to speech incorporates multiple senses that enhance learning. However, gestures observed when listening to speech vary in the extent to which they enhance learning, and it is currently poorly understood why this is the case. This CAREER award examines how the information conveyed via gesture and its relationship to speech affects the learning of words from a novel second language differing in pronunciation and meaning. By examining how the brain processes such words learned with gestures differing in these ways, it will provide insight into why various types of gestures affect learning differently. The research objectives of this CAREER award are to (1) determine how information conveyed via gesture and its congruence with speech at learning affects subsequent processing of learned content conveyed via speech; (2) characterize how sensitivity to information conveyed via gesture and its congruence with speech prior to learning affects the impact of gesture on learning and subsequent processing of learned content conveyed via speech; and (3) identify how brain regions subserving multimodal and language processing affect gesture-speech integration and subsequent processing of learned content conveyed via speech. The research approach achieves these objectives by examining how observing gestures congruent and incongruent with non-native speech sounds and word referents at learning affects subsequent processing of learned second language (L2) words via accuracy and latency, event-related potentials (ERPs), and transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS), which causally affects brain activity. In doing so, it will contribute to the development of a theory of gesture’s impact on learning applicable across diverse content areas specifying the neural substrates of the cognitive mechanisms of gesture’s impact on learning. The educational objectives of this CAREER award will integrate scaffolded inquiry-based learning utilizing ERP research methods into the educational neuroscience curriculum; engage students from diverse backgrounds students in the proposed research and educational activities; and advance replication and translation of findings in L2 pedagogical contexts. Together, these activities will help bridge the gap between educational neuroscience research and pedagogical practice in multiple educational contexts. This project is jointly funded by the Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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 · 2024-09

3. Abstract Inflammation is a beneficial response to infection or tissue damage and mediates the removal of microbial pathogens and restoration of the tissue to homeostasis. Occasionally the inflammatory response does not resolve properly and becomes a chronic process, resulting in diseases such as arthritis, asthma, and many others. Significant effort has gone into developing therapeutics to block the development of inflammation; however, these approaches also increase the risk of serious infection due to simultaneous inhibition of the host immune defense against microbial pathogens. Recent work has demonstrated that the resolution of inflammation is an active and dynamic process. Neutrophils recruited to the infected/damaged tissue phagocytose and kill invading bacteria, undergo apoptosis, and are cleared by macrophages (efferocytosis). Efferocytosis is a key component of the resolution process and induces a switch from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory processes in macrophages. This switch results in decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine production, increased production of anti-inflammatory mediators, enhanced efferocytosis, diminished neutrophil recruitment, and promotes tissue healing and a return to homeostasis. Recently, however, another mechanism has been described that may directly impact inflammation resolution, reverse transendothelial migration of neutrophils (rTEM). In this mechanism, neutrophils that enter the tissue during inflammatory responses do not die there, but rather re-enter the vasculature and travel to the lungs before proceeding to the bone marrow where they ultimately die. This process appears to be at least partially mediated by eicosanoids, specifically LTB4, PGE2, and LXA4. Our previous work has demonstrated the failure of Lyme arthritis resolution in mice deficient in these inflammatory mediators. Based upon our preliminary data, we hypothesize that neutrophils that enter tissues and encounter microbes will remain in the tissues and undergo apoptosis there, if there are no microbes encountered the neutrophils will undergo rTEM and exit the tissue. This proposal will investigate the role of rTEM in inflammation resolution and the roles of LTB4, PGE2, and LXA4 in mediating this response. Successful completion of these studies will provide new knowledge and understanding of neutrophil trafficking during inflammation and the role of rTEM in inflammation resolution.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Most (60-90%) adolescents in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) also have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder (COD) other than substance use, and adolescents with AUD+CODs have worse treatment outcomes compared to those with only AUD. Among adolescents seeking treatment for AUD+CODs, over 80% also use cannabis. The adult AUD treatment literature demonstrates worse alcohol-related treatment outcomes for individuals who used cannabis during AUD treatment, but similar information is missing regarding how cannabis use might influence AUD+COD treatment processes. Consistent with NIAAA’s strategic plan to improve treatment for AUD+CODs, this K23 proposal aims to fill a critical gap in understanding how cannabis use affects AUD+COD treatment outcomes among adolescents in community-based treatment. Understanding whether, for whom, in what contexts, and how cannabis use relates to treatment processes and AUD+COD outcomes in real-world community-based treatment will inform viable and meaningful cannabis-related intervention targets for adolescent AUD+COD treatment. This K23 will use mixed methods to inform how cannabis use relates to AUD+COD treatment processes and outcomes. Participants will be recruited from community-based intensive outpatient programs for AUD+CODs who also use cannabis. Aim 1a will use qualitative interviews (N=25) to explore adolescents’ perspectives on their cannabis use in the context of AUD+COD treatment. Aim 1b will use an open pilot ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study (N=5) to solicit feedback and refine the Aim 2 protocol. Aim 2 will use 21 days of EMA during treatment plus longitudinal follow-up surveys at 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-months post-intensive outpatient treatment (N=90) to understand the dynamics of how AUD+COD processes unfold when adolescents are using cannabis in their natural environments. Results will shed light on how cannabis use affects AUD+COD treatment among adolescents with AUD+CODs and identify productive treatment targets that prioritize adolescents’ lived experiences and are relevant in community-based care. Results will also inform models of addressing polysubstance use in treatment more broadly, which is prevalent in community-based care but largely neglected in clinical trials. This K23 leverages the candidate’s expertise using EMA and multilevel modeling to study alcohol-cannabis co-use while providing needed training in qualitative and mixed methods research, developmentally informed research on adolescents in the context of community-based treatment, advanced structural equation modeling, and professional development, to launch a successful NIAAA-funded clinical research career advancing adolescent addiction science and community-based treatment. A mentorship team with unique and complementary areas of expertise are committed to the candidate’s research and training.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

PROJECT SUMMARY Millions of middle-aged and seniors in the United States maintain their blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular emergencies by taking - and -blockers daily. The total global market grew to $20 B for these drugs in 2017. These two important drug classes commonly target adrenergic receptors (ARs) that execute critical physiological functions such as respiration, digestion, circulation, emotion, memory, and cognition mediated by norepinephrine (NE). Many - and -blockers bind nonspecifically to ARs and do not only produce pharmaceutical effects but also accompany critical side effects. Therefore, subtype-selective AR agonists and antagonists can achieve the desired goals without inducing the side effects. Such a request for the two drug classes has been largely ignored. Among the nine subtypes of ARs, the biologic properties of 2C-ARs drew interest in the pharmaceutical industry. The presynaptic 2C-ARs regulate the release of NE, dopamine, and serotonin to the synapse. The brain 2C-ARs mainly concentrate in the limbic regions, such as the striatum and hippocampus. Taking these properties together, the 2C-ARs can selectively control the neurotransmitter levels in the limbic regions without affecting the levels in the prefrontal regions. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) features neuronal loss in the hippocampus, where 2C-ARs are abundant and might be changed by the noradrenergic neurons projected from locus coeruleus, the first brain system affected by AD. In substance use disorder (SUD), activation of the 2C-ARs can reduce the neuronal hyperactivity in the limbic regions without affecting the brain circuit toward the prefrontal cortex, which inhibits the instinctive behavior toward brain stimulants and facilitates rational judgment against them. Therefore, 2C-ARs can be a good drug target, and their positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer can monitor their biological properties under various disease conditions. [11C]ORM13070 is an important milestone because this is the first successful subtype-specific AR radiotracer among their nine subtypes. However, its pharmacokinetic properties and specificities have to be improved. The current project will develop the first fluorine-18 (F-18) 2C-AR radiotracers and evaluate them by comparing their properties with [11C]ORM13070. We designed various 1,4-benzodioxane derivatives based on ORM13070. The current strategy based on the existing molecular frame reduces the risk of failure and increases the success of the development with short-term funding. The experience will eventually lead to future development based on a new molecular framework. The current project selected seven candidate compounds using a computer-aided docking model study. These compounds will be synthesized, and receptor-binding assays will further select the compounds. After the target radiotracers are prepared, preclinical PET imaging studies will evaluate them. The PET imaging data will also be validated by autoradiography and immunohistology. The successful radiotracer can be patented for the application of diagnosis because Orion Pharma claimed them only as drugs, and will be applied to SUD and AD preclinical imaging research.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Project Summary/Abstract Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a side-effect of anticancer treatment. Caused by damage to the lymphatic system secondary to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy treatments, protein-rich lymphatic fluid moves from the lymphatic channels into the surrounding interstitial tissues, causing pain, swelling, decreased physical function, and emotional distress. Every person treated for breast cancer has a lifetime risk of developing this condition. Currently, there is no cure for this anticancer treatment sequelae. Early, timely, and consistent surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment is critical to successful management. Lifetime treatment involves a two-phase program of lymphedema therapist-guided treatment and personal self- management activities. As survivors age, support and surveillance needs change with additional comorbidities, psychosocial changes, and health navigation challenges which complicate lymphedema self-management. Studies have explored incidence, symptom association factors, and self-management issues in small samples of breast cancer survivors living with BCRL. To date, no BCRL studies have used a large, longitudinal, prospective database. The Nurses’ Health Study is a large, national, longitudinal database that explores reproductive and chronic disease health issues in women. Launched in 1976, researchers sought to examine reproductive health and chronic illness risk over time. Over 280, 000 professional nurses have responded to survey questions focused on lifestyle and health status. In 2010, questions developed by our team to address breast cancer treatment and lymphedema symptoms were added to the biennial survey. From 2010-2017, five waves of survey data were collected. In this study we seek to 1) explore patterns of incidence of self-reported BCRL symptoms of limb, breast, or chest heaviness and swelling across race, socioeconomic status, and time since diagnosis; and 2) examine patterns of associations between self-reported lifestyle- and health-related factors and BCRL symptoms of limb, breast, or chest heaviness and swelling. Five biennial waves of the survey data will be analyzed. We will model the association between self-reported lifestyle- and health-related factors and BCRL symptoms of limb, breast, or chest heaviness and swelling using Generalized Linear Mixed models across the five biennial waves of data. This study will provide the first rigorous evidence about the incidence and prevalence and patterns of breast cancer diagnosis and self-reported BCRL symptoms in nurses who are breast cancer survivors. These findings will help generate future questions about additional factors that may impact survivorship for nurses living with BCRL and lay the foundation for future research in BCRL self-management intervention development.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

Project Summary Many men with favorable-risk prostate cancer do not benefit from aggressive intervention. As a preferred alternative, active surveillance is increasingly used to spare men from the potentially significant morbidity of treatment. Although adoption of surveillance has increased over the last decade, its implementation varies widely. Surveillance requires identification of patients with indolent tumors, coupled with monitoring for changes in cancer severity. Unfortunately, insufficient monitoring can render surveillance dangerous by exposing men to morbidity, and potentially mortality, from avoidable cancer progression. Nearly all research related to surveillance quality has focused on patient selection as opposed to implementation. Confirmatory testing within 6 months of diagnosis, using prostate biopsy or MRI, is a key component to ensure appropriate selection, as nearly half of men harbor more aggressive disease, albeit undetected, and may be better suited for treatment. The Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) is a statewide quality improvement collaborative consisting of 90% of all urologists in the state of Michigan and is expanding outside the state. Among MUSIC urologists initiating surveillance, the use of confirmatory testing in men with favorable-risk prostate cancer is only 61%. As there is strong evidence that urologist and practice characteristics are associated with initiation of surveillance, there is good reason to believe that these factors are also associated with use of confirmatory testing and adherence to guidelines. The objective of this proposal is to design and develop implementation interventions aimed at improving the quality of surveillance, and plan a large-scale trial to test the implementation interventions with the following aims: 1) Assess the relative importance of key implementation determinants; 2) Design and tailor interventions to support implementation of quality surveillance in urology practices; and 3) Assess the value of including practice sites beyond the original MUSIC sites in Michigan in the planned R01.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

STEM teachers play instrumental roles in shaping students' STEM learning experiences and aspirations. This CAREER research has several broad impacts - national policy, national and local recruitment strategies, and student access to educational opportunities. In the course of this CAREER award the principal investigator (PI) will carefully investigate the STEM teacher pipeline, and examine qualifications from teacher candidates who express interest in teaching STEM through to the eventual career paths of teachers in the workforce. In doing so, the project examines how the supply of STEM teachers has changed over time, whether the supply is adequate in meeting the needs of a changing nation, the qualifications and credentials of STEM teachers, and the implications of the STEM teacher career paths for equity and serving high needs contexts and students. The PI will use multiple extant data sets at the national level as well as data from the State of Kansas to support both national and local inferences. The project contributes to the STEM pipeline research by examining STEM teachers in several novel and important ways. Using regression and multi-level regression analyses, the PI will examine the early STEM teacher pipeline, undergraduate and graduate students who express an interest in STEM teaching. Second, the PI will provide the most current investigation into STEM teacher qualifications, credentials, turnover intentions, and actual turnover using up-to-date nationally representative data. Third, the PI will explore how STEM teacher qualifications, credentials, turnover intentions, and actual turnover have changed at the national level due to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth, using longitudinal administrative data from Kansas, the PI will examine STEM teachers in often-neglected contexts, a state from the Midwest and a state with large rural areas. Fifth, the PI will consider the career paths or mobility of STEM teachers who switch from one school to another and the characteristics of the schools where STEM teachers move to. This is a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) proposal responsive to Program Solicitation NSF 22-586 and funded jointly by the Discovery Research PreK-12 program, which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches, and NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad, and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. 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.