University Of South Carolina At Columbia

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

In the United States, Mexico, and in many countries around the world, teens’ combustible cigarette (CCs) use has declined in recent years, yet that progress is threatened by a dramatic rise in e-cigarette (EC) use. Prior research finds that teen CC&EC use is similar among best friends, yet the mechanisms leading to this clustering of behavior are unclear. Friends can spur changes in each other’s behavior (influence), but peers with similar risk for and use of CC&ECs can become friends (selection). Existing research on peer influence and CC use is almost exclusively based on best friendship networks, but emerging research suggests that more intimate connections like best friendship relations (strong ties) are empirically different from comparatively less intimate, and nowadays highly ubiquitous, online interaction networks (weak ties), such as people with whom teens interact via social media. Furthermore, recent school-based interventions have successfully leveraged interaction networks, not friendship networks, to reduce teen bullying and CC use. This study will investigate these network mechanisms by gathering data through 6 waves over 2.5 years from a cohort of Mexican high schoolers, where we will separately measure their (best) friendship and online interaction networks, measure teens’ preferences for CC&EC products that policy can influence (e.g., flavors) using discrete choice experiments (DCEs), and evaluate initiation and progression of CC&EC use. Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models (SAOMs), a family of Agent-Based Models specifically designed to permit statistical inference, will be used to analyze the co-evolution of social network dynamics and CC&EC use dynamics, while accounting for the interplay between online interaction and friendship networks, as well as the interplay between CC&EC use (e.g., exclusive vs. sequential vs concurrent CC&EC use). Our SAOMs will incorporate DCE-derived individual-level preferences (i.e., CC vs. EC; tobacco vs. other flavors), something the Agent-Based Modeling literature around health has not done to date. The resulting SAOMs will be used to empirically calibrate agent-based simulations that will serve as a virtual laboratory for evaluating the relative effectiveness of different network-based and other intervention strategies to reduce teen CC&EC use. Workshops with key stakeholder groups (e.g., students, school administrators, federal decision makers, advocates) will solicit feedback around the relative effects of intervention strategies, the feasibility of adoption and implementation of different strategies, and alternative interventions that our models can simulate. Finally, we will harmonize our surveys with data currently being collected in a cohort of high schoolers in the US (where network data are similar but less complete), so that we can compare models across countries to evaluate the consistency of network effects on CC&EC use and ensure the utility of our results for the US. Study results will not only help with efforts to promote and implement network and other interventions that aim to reduce CC&EC use; results will also inform efforts to extend theories around the importance of both friendship and online networks for influencing health behaviors, especially among teens.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Electroencephalogram (EEG) technology is among the most widely used neuroimaging techniques to study human cognition and brain functioning. Specific to the University of South Carolina Aiken, a small liberal arts campus, EEG is the best and most advanced neuroscience method that can be utilized. With EEG, brain activity can be measured noninvasively with electrodes placed on the scalp, thus allowing the examination and testing of brain-based mechanisms. This award therefore acquires a new and updated EEG system, specifically the EEG Plus System manufactured by Brain Vision Products, housed in the College of Engineering and Sciences at the University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA). This supports research in the neurosciences, and provides advanced critical training opportunities to students and future workforce in STEM related fields. This project increases cross-collaborative and accessible neuroscience research opportunities for underrepresented populations in STEM. Additionally, this grant provides opportunities to the general community to increase engagement in and appreciation of neuroscience. USCA hosts outreach events (e.g. Family STEM Day, field trips, and research mentorship of high school students) to serve the general Aiken community. A final major impact of this instrumentation is increasing competitiveness of future grant proposals as well as recruitment and retention of faculty. The new EEG Plus system increases capabilities of multi-collaborative mentored projects between faculty and students, with the overarching aim of increasing translational applications. The planned research activities involve students and faculty from the Psychology, Biology, Nursing, Business, Exercise Science, and Computer/Engineering Departments. The first study examines neural plasticity of the empathy system in athletes, which may lead to sport-related interventions for empathy-related behaviors. The second study examines predictors of treatment success of emotional regulation abilities in parents after participation in a clinical intervention program. A third study, also translational in focus, pursues a current area of research involving acetaminophen as a potential treatment for other uses besides pain. The fourth study tests the effect of Ketone supplementation on attention and clinical symptoms in young adults. The final study examines how the framing effect (positively vs. negatively phrased statements) influence decision-making and neural activity. EEG instrumentation explores exercise therapy after concussion to address ways to help those who have experienced brain trauma. A future area of research to be pursued with the new EEG Plus system involves new faculty that will be recruited for the recently approved Gaming and Simulation Development major at USCA. This project is jointly funded by the Social Behavioral and Economic Science Directorate 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 2024 · 2024-09

This grant, together with a grant from the National Security Agency, will fund a series of three regional number theory conferences in the Southeast: the Palmetto Number Theory Series at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC on September 21-22, 2024 and again at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC in December 2024, and the Southeast Regional Meeting on Numbers in Savannah, GA in Spring 2025. The meetings consist of participant talks on current research in all areas of number theory, including analytic number theory, arithmetic geometry, and automorphic and modular forms. These topics reflect the research interests of number theorists working in the Southeast. Each meeting features plenary talks by nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the field, invited talks by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and a larger number of contributed talks by mathematicians at all levels including undergraduate and graduate students, and junior and senior faculty. Number theorists from outside the Southeast will give the invited and plenary talks, while regional researchers will give most of the contributed talks. Attendance is free of charge, and all are welcome. A primary goal of the Southeastern Number Theory Meetings is to provide members of the number theory community in the Southeast with an opportunity to learn about new and significant research in number theory and to disseminate their own research. Students and junior researchers in the community particularly benefit from the meetings. The meetings strengthen their knowledge base, expose their work to a wider audience, and give them insightful input and feedback from other participants. Funding from the NSF allows the organizers to achieve their goals at a low cost to individual participants. These meetings integrate regional mathematicians into the community who may have little or no funds for professional travel such as graduate students and faculty at institutions that do not award Ph.Ds. The organizers will continue efforts to attract a demographically diverse participant base including women and racial and ethnic minorities. Further information on these meetings will including the locations, dates, lists of speakers, lists of participants, and registration information will be linked to the conference home pages as it becomes available: https://people.math.sc.edu/boylan/seminars/pantshome.html and https://huixue.people.clemson.edu/SERMON.html. 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 project investigates the social and environmental dynamics affecting vulnerability to coastal flooding and engages communities in approaches to mitigate the impacts of flood inundation and water quality degradation. The increasing prevalence of flood events in coastal regions has resulted in an increased risk from direct effects of flooding (loss of homes and property) and indirect effects from exposure to biological and chemical contaminants in flood waters, both of which are exacerbated by climate change. This project will address these challenges through a combination community engagement, citizen science and environmental monitoring. Researchers work closely with community representatives to identify salient hazards facing communities and practical solutions to address them. The goal of this research is to investigate the negative impacts of coastal flooding and to establish long-term partnerships that directly engage communities in identifying locally appropriate solutions. This project involves a series of workshops and community meetings to develop plans for an environmental monitoring system taking into consideration the needs, goals and capacity of local communities. Oral histories are developed to understand the complex cultural contexts that are critical to identification of locally appropriate solutions to coastal flooding. Participant observation and informal interviews are used to investigate processes of migration in the region. A comprehensive report will be produced for municipal and community partners that provides a model for enhancing the resilience of communities to coastal flooding. 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

With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) at the National Science Foundation, Prof. Andrew Greytak of the University of South Carolina will investigate how molecules pack on the surface of nanometer-scale crystals of semiconducting and magnetic compounds. Semiconductor nanocrystals are well-established as a system with unique and size-tunable electronic properties, as emphasized by the awarding of the 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the formation of nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs). Although much effort has been devoted to understanding how organic molecules and inorganic complexes that adhere to the surfaces of nanocrystals in solutions can guide nanocrystal growth and the resulting shapes, there are relatively few examples of selective modification of different nanocrystal facets. The ability to selectively modify nanocrystal surfaces according to crystal size and symmetry, leading to control over the type and spatial orientation of interparticle interactions, could ultimately enable new applications of fluorescent and/or magnetic nanocrystals ranging from efficient LEDs, to fluorescent voltage sensors, to quantum information technologies, to multiplexed detection of biomarkers. The project will support mentorship of student researchers including a first-year Undergraduate Research Initiative at USC. The concepts of spectra, fluorescence, materials chemistry, and nanoscience will be communicated to the next generation via a new partnership with the South Carolina State Museum, as well as with local public schools via additions to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry’s Outreach Education program. The project design centers on characteristic ligand exchanges on several classes of nanocrystals in which a high degree of structural control can be achieved, including (1) “magic size” nanocrystals sharing the zincblende crystal structure; (2) a series of nanorods of different lengths and nanoplatelets of different lateral dimensions with uniaxial hexagonal crystal structures; and (3) magnetite nanocrystal samples with narrow size distributions. This project will overcome previous limitations by using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) as a principal measurement by which to distinguish reactivity at different types of surface sites. In this manner, the project aims to make it possible to reconcile effective parameters obtained from measurements with microscopic parameters returned by theoretical models, and evaluate circumstances in which selective functionalization of surface sites can be accomplished at room temperature. 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

The water delivered to the Arctic Ocean by surrounding rivers impacts physical and biological systems in the Arctic and can influence global climate. Understanding the geological history of Arctic rivers provides insights into how the region has evolved over time scales of thousands to millions of years and can help inform future climate models. This research investigates the geoscientific birth and subsequent evolution of the Mackenzie River, the largest river in the North American Arctic. Sedimentary deposits in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin record past river patterns and the timing of important regional events. Results from this work will shed new light on the geologic history of the North American Arctic, including the processes that helped shape the region. This investigation will help train multiple Earth Scientists, enhance U.S.-Canadian Arctic research efforts, and improve connections between U.S. researchers and indigenous peoples in the North American Arctic. Upper Cenozoic strata in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin archive the evolution of high-latitude North American river systems over the last 25 million years, with implications for understanding the drivers behind drainage reorganization and changes to riverine freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean. This investigation will test the hypothesis that re-routing of ancient high-latitude river systems during the late Pliocene led to a pronounced increase in sedimentation rates in the basin. The research will: 1) Decipher the Miocene-Pleistocene sedimentary provenance history of the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin through detrital zircon U-Pb and Nd-isotope provenance analysis. 2) Establish a chronostratigraphic framework for the sedimentary succession using Sr-isotopes that will constrain the timing of provenance changes and assist in evaluating proposed forcing mechanisms. These datasets will provide insights into when and why sediment and freshwater fluxes to the Beaufort Sea varied during the late Cenozoic, which can be used to inform geologic and paleoclimate models. 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

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a highly competitive, federal fellowship program. GRFP helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of financial support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM and STEM education. This award supports the NSF Graduate Fellows pursuing graduate education at this GRFP institution. 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

A fundamental challenge in biology is to understand how DNA differences between individuals determine trait differences, particularly those trait differences that define species. Traditionally, researchers have focused on striking differences that distinguish one species from another. They have then worked to discover the underlying genetic variation explaining those trait differences. This focus on individual traits considered in isolation has limited our understanding of how changes across the entire genome promote the formation and maintenance of new species with complex trait differences. This project takes a novel approach by leveraging advanced genomic technologies to first identify the precise DNA differences that distinguish focal species of flowering plants from one another, and second to validate the trait differences that result from those DNA-level differences. The species-distinguishing traits in this system are complex and highly integrated differences between flowers that lead to bee pollination in some species and hummingbird pollination in another. In-line with the goals of NSF EDGE-CMT, outcomes from this project will improve our understanding of how trait complexity first arises and is subsequently maintained between species. It will further provide a methodological approach for biologists to link variation found between genomes to complex trait differences across the tree of life. This project will strengthen our scientific workforce by providing students and postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds training in the application of genomic and quantitative methods. Such training can be leveraged across research enterprises, from basic science to novel discoveries in health and agriculture. The proposed research will use recently developed genetic and genomic resources to dissect the genome to phenome relationship between bee- and hummingbird-adapted floral syndromes that define species in a Penstemon complex. A set of approximately twenty genomic regions, previously shown to be strongly diagnostic of floral syndrome and species identity, will be confirmed using genome-wide association mapping. Based on preliminary data, these regions are expected to be physically unlinked, scattered genome-wide, and sufficiently narrow to include only 1-2 genes each. These narrow, divergent genomic regions result from natural selection favoring alternative floral trait combinations promoting bee- versus hummingbird-pollination in the face of gene flow and ample recombination. Using population genomic, transcriptomic and gene functional prediction methods, these loci will be genetically dissected to discover the history of complex trait assembly, the contribution of mutational types to adaptive evolution, and the broader set of adaptive traits that form canonical pollination syndrome phenotypes. The unique genomic architecture in this system provides a novel opportunity for the researchers to dissect the contributions of regulatory versus protein coding mutations to adaptive evolution, determine how selection acts to maintain multi-locus species differences in the face of gene flow, and to test fundamental questions of complex trait evolution. 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 · 2024-09

Abstract Post-stroke chronic aphasia is a prevalent language processing problem commonly associated with significantly reduced quality of life. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the personalized factors underlying aphasia severity remains incomplete, and only 50% of the variance can be explained by comprehensive models that incorporate lesion characteristics, demographic variables, and cognitive factors. Importantly, age is a predictor of aphasia severity, but this relationship is inconsistent and the interplay between age, age-related brain integrity and aphasia is not well-understood. A better understanding of how aging affects brain integrity and interferes with aphasia would clarify an important mechanism related to aphasia severity and reduce the unexplained variance in clinical trajectories. A new breakthrough in neuroimaging can now bridge this knowledge gap: brain age is a novel machine learning approach that can accurately measure age-related neurodegeneration. Premature brain aging (PBA) relative to chronological age is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk factors and is a powerful marker of decreased cognition and lowered brain plasticity in the general population. Our team pioneered novel neuroimaging methods to measure PBA among stroke survivors and our preliminary studies demonstrated that PBA is a common but underappreciated factor among stroke survivors with aphasia. Many stroke survivors with aphasia have cardiovascular risk factors and PBA accounts for a considerable proportion of the hitherto unexplained variability in aphasia severity and recovery. Crucially, novel findings that significantly expand our understanding of aphasia severity are rare and it is therefore important to better understand the mechanistic relationship between PBA and aphasia. We will leverage one of the largest comprehensive demographic, behavioral and neuroimaging datasets in chronic aphasia (the Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery – C-STAR) and in healthy aging (the Aging Brain Cohort at University of South Carolina – ABC@USC) to examine: 1) the influence of cardiovascular risk factors versus protective cognitive variables such as education and multilingualism on PBA and aphasia (Specific Aim 1); 2) the association between PBA confined to regional cortical areas and linguistic symptoms (Specific Aim 2); 3) the importance of PBA affecting remote functional and structural networks and language impairments (Specific Aim 3); and 4) whether stroke and chronic aphasia are associated with accelerated PBA in longitudinal cohorts (Specific Aim 4). This research will provide pivotal insights into the recognized but inadequately understood relationship between aging and aphasia and it will clarify factors that influence personalized aphasia trajectories among many stroke survivors. Our team is uniquely positioned to perform this research given our track record of multidisciplinary research in aphasia, neurology, neuroimaging and machine learning.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Although ninety-eight percent of the mass of ordinary matter is due to the strong subatomic force, many features of this force remain a puzzle. This award supports the study of the strong force by probing the substructure of matter. The PIs and their students will investigate questions about the emergence of bound three-quark systems and hence most of the visible mass in the universe, the nature of neutron stars, and the properties of dense nuclear matter. Answering these and related questions is a complex task requiring dedicated experimental observations and careful testing of theoretical predictions against measured observations. This research will foster discoveries in and advance the understanding of nuclear physics and will promote teaching, training, and learning. The preparation of junior scientists plays a central role in the supported activities. The nuclear physics research program at the University of South Carolina (USC) is based at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) in Newport News, Virginia, and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. At PSI, the group participates in the MUSE experiment, which will address the proton-radius puzzle in simultaneous measurements of the electron-proton and muon-proton elastic cross-sections with positively and negatively charged leptons. Each of the four data sets will allow the extraction of the proton charge radius. In combination, the data test possible differences between the electron and muon interactions and allow for the study of radiative corrections, particularly two-photon exchange effects. The PIs’ research program at JLab will continue to provide crucial high-precision, polarized, and unpolarized observables that will pin down present problems in strong QCD. The elastic and transition form-factor measurements will trace the evolution from meson-baryon to dressed-quark degrees of freedom, probe the early onset of precocious scaling that reveals the three-quark structure of baryons, and hence address the emergence of bound three-quark states, the dynamical generation of mass, and the confinement problem. The PIs and their students will extract from their experimental data the cross section for lambda-deuteron elastic scattering. This observable will provide new and independent constraints on the two- and three-body hyperon-nucleon force, which is essential to understanding the composition of the core of a neutron star. The cross-sections for J/Ψ photoproduction off deuteron will give a direct estimate of the J/Ψ-N cross-section and a very first glimpse into the gluon structure of deuterons. The properties of hadrons are modified in the medium and bound proton electromagnetic form factors may differ from those in the vacuum, as revealed for the first time by the group’s earlier measurements. The group’s experiments on nuclear targets at MAMI and JLab will confirm or refute these results. The observations of such phenomena are potentially transformative in how we view hadrons and their interactions in nuclear matter. The award will support the group’s efforts to establish the physics case in support of the 22-GeV upgrade of JLab. This work would lead to the only foreseeable observables that could continuously connect the strong force into the regime where the Standard Model is firmly verified. 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 award supports the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in Physics at the University of South Carolina. The site engages ten undergraduate students per year for ten weeks working in various research projects, which include particle, nuclear, condensed matter, theoretical and computational physics. A wide range of projects are available from faculty mentors that involve the undergraduates in state-of-the-art research and there are substantial facilities. By participating in high level scientific research, students will have an understanding of this area. Whether they choose to continue in physics or a related technical field, or choose to move to a different area, bright students making good choices early in their careers is in the national interest. Students will do research on how quantum gravity can be tested with high precision atomic clocks, of how to change the properties and functions of materials that are exposed to pulsed or oscillating external fields, various nanotechnology projects related to nanomanufacturing and magnetic-field directed self-assembly, creation of programmable meta-materials and memresistor fabrication as well as hybrid nanostructures, studying atomic models using scanning tunneling microscopes and x-ray measurements, studies of muonic hydrogen and studying physics beyond the standard model in charmed meson and baryon decays. This experience will be supplemented by numerous group activities including weekly presentations and day trips. Social activities, both organized and spontaneous, will enrich this undergraduate research experience. This project is jointly funded by the Integrative Activities in Physics 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 2025 · 2024-09

Alzheimer’s disease is a national public health issue. Structural and interpersonal factors contribute to poor Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) outcomes, including poor access to healthcare and medical resources, material and food insecurity, adverse childhood experiences, and neighborhood disadvantage. I am committed to developing and implementing training programs that increase the research workforce focused on the science of ADRD. I have had a fruitful research career that involves mentoring faculty members and students in community engagement methods, health communication principles, and dissemination and implementation science - each independently – as related to ADRD and other chronic diseases. With this siloed approach, junior scholars are at a disadvantage and may have limited skills and training in applying these strategies together for truly impactful public health outcomes. The proposed program will integrate these fields into a comprehensive training program to effectively address how non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH) influence ADRD outcomes. With this K07 award, I will develop and formalize such a program to provide in-depth training and mentorship to 12 junior scholars (and engage several additional researchers in seminars and workshops) with a team of interdisciplinary program faculty and visiting scientists. Specific aims are to: (1) Establish and implement a research training program (curriculum development, pilot award funding for faculty, and seminars and workshops) to build capacity and expertise in the integration of community engagement, health communication, and implementation science research that will advance the science on NMDoH that influence ADRD-related health outcomes; (2) Provide mentoring and a mentor network for early-career faculty members in applying innovative community engagement, health communication, and implementation science frameworks to advance the science of NMDoH and ADRD outcomes; and (3) Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all K07 activities and work toward institutionalizing this initiative. This award will provide an opportunity to meaningfully integrate relevant disciplines into a comprehensive and interdisciplinary training for advancing the science of ADRD.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

PROJECT SUMMARY Research: At the time of cancer diagnosis, 40% - 60% of patients are overweight or obese. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature on the impact of weight status on cancer-induced cachexia - the unintentional loss of lean mass, which directly contributes to functional dependency, poor treatment outcomes, and decreased survival. An “obesity paradox” has been postulated; however, the epidemiology remains equivocal on the benefits/detriments of obesity on cachexia status. While obesity and cachexia are diseases at opposite ends of the weight spectrum, these pathologies share some underlying perturbations (e.g. mitochondrial dysfunction and microbial dysbiosis) that may exacerbate functional decrements when these morbidities co-occur. Evidence supports a role for mitochondrial dysfunction in the progression of cachexia. Indeed, we and others have shown that impaired mitochondrial function and dysregulated mitochondrial quality control (biogenesis, dynamics, and mitophagy) are associated with cachexia. Further, evidence links specific metabolites, microbes, and their metabolic pathways with cachexia status. Incidentally, obesity is also associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and alterations in gut bacterial populations. However, the impact of obesity on cachexia and associated perturbations (mitochondrial dysfunction and gut dysbiosis) has not been established. Therefore, the goal of my F99/K00 is to 1) understand the microbial and metabolic perturbations associated with cancer cachexia in the obese state (F99), and 2) using multi-omics, examine the relationship between microbes and mitochondria in cancer cachexia and identify strategies for intervention. My central hypothesis is that cancer-induced cachexia is exacerbated in an obese state and gut microbial-muscle mitochondria interactions are central in the coordination of this worsened phenotype. I will test this hypothesis in two specific aims as follows: 1) Examine the impact of obesity on microbial alterations, metabolic perturbations, and skeletal muscle dysfunction with cancer-induced cachexia in the obese state and 2) Establish microbiome-mitochondria interactions in cancer cachexia in the context of obesity and identify strategies for intervention. These studies will uncover the impact of obesity on cancer cachexia and will identify microbiome-mitochondrial interactions, provoking novel opportunities for intervention. Career Goals: My long-term research goal is to become an independent researcher at a top-tier research institution focused on prevention/treatment of cancer and cancer therapy related off-target effects including cachexia. Career Development Plan: The proposed career development plan is designed to enhance my knowledge, technical expertise, and professional skills. Specifically, I will receive training in 1) obesity phenotyping and cachexia modeling, 2) mitochondrial behavior, 3) microbiome and microbial metabolites, and 4) professional development. The proposed F99/K00 award is an important step in realizing my career goal. This proposed research and training in this F99/K00 will provide me with the acumen to launch a successful independent career in the field of cancer cachexia.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-09

PROJECT SUMMARY HABs occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and negatively impact ecosystems. These blooms can produce toxins that can have detrimental effects on animals and can also make humans sick. Blooms caused by cyanobacteria (CB) in freshwater systems are prevalent across the U.S. and are expected in increase with rising water temperatures and more frequent and severe weather events. CB produce toxins, including microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and cylindrospermopsin (CYL), that are associated with acute liver and kidney toxicity after exposure through ingestion of contaminated food or water. Inhalation exposures are increasingly recognized as an important exposure route yet few studies have examined whether inhaled HAB aerosols have subacute health implications. Compared to water, atmospheric transformation of HAB components occur rapidly and tend to occur faster in air than in water. Toxins can be complexed with algal organic matter which may also aid in photooxidation. Uncovering the atmospheric aging of HAB is critical to defining inhalation exposures and associated health effects. Acute respiratory symptoms (i.e., coughing) have been documented in people near CB blooms but no studies have investigated subacute effects. Data from animal and cell studies support that classic modes of toxicity (i.e. hepatotoxicity) that rely on special transporters are not present in the lung but noted changes in immune responses have been observed. This lack of knowledge of CB aerosols and their mechanisms of action once inhaled are the basis for the research addressed in the current proposal. To address these knowledge gaps, our innovative approach will utilize a environmental chamber to produce and characterize atmospherically transformed aerosols of CB that will be applied directly to highly differentiated cultures of human primary lung cell cultures grown on an air-liquid interface supports. We will also perform novel mechanistic investigations by probing the ability of HAB-exposed lung cells to modulate critical immune cells (dendritic cells) through the production of extracellular vesicles. We will test the overall hypothesis that transformed aerosols of CB that produce the greatest extracellular ROS will trigger robust ROS and immune cellular responses evidenced by changes in epithelial cell genes, ROS production and secretion of EVs. Furthermore these EVs will modulate dendritic cells by altering their transcriptome and pushing them to a maturation state. To test this hypothesis we propose two specific aims: (1) characterization of fresh and aged algal aerosols and toxins, and (2) evaluate toxicity of aged algal aerosols and toxins to highly differentiated human lung epithelial cells and test whether released EVs alter the maturation and transcriptional profiles of dendritic cells. This work is both significant and innovative as successful completion will generate first-time toxicity profiles for airborne HABs in cell models that more closely mimic in vivo airways. In addition, data produced will provide a unique view on newly identified mechanisms of action of CB in the lung which support inhalation and pulmonary health as a risk for exposed populations.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Marine algae take up carbon dioxide as they grow in surface ocean waters, building carbon into organic matter that then sinks to the deep ocean as particles. This process shapes global climate by trapping carbon in the deep ocean, and the amount of carbon that is trapped depends on how deep the organic particles can sink before they break down. In ocean regions with very little oxygen, these particles reach much deeper than elsewhere, but the reasons remain unclear. This project will visit the ocean’s largest low-oxygen zone, the Eastern Tropical North Pacific, to measure particle abundance, size, and sinking rates, as well as how quickly and where particles are broken down. The team will use these measurements with computer models to test two ideas. Low oxygen could either exclude the tiny animals that break up particles as they feed, or it could slow the growth of bacteria that consume organic matter, especially inside very large particles where oxygen runs out completely. Findings from this work will improve understanding of how ocean oxygen loss affects the cycling and storage of carbon in the ocean, advancing knowledge of processes that influence marine ecosystems and the Earth's environment. The project would also contribute to the training a postdoctoral fellow, several graduate students and several undergraduates. The proposed work aims to improve our understanding of the Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) under low oxygen concentrations ([O2]). Sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) is more efficiently transferred to depth in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) than in well-oxygenated regions, but the [O2] thresholds and the mechanisms of this transfer are poorly understood. This project will combine new observations and models to test three specific hypotheses (H1-H3), each of which predict unique changes in the POC particle size distribution (PSD) in low oxygen waters: (H1) Low water-column [O2] inhibits microbial respiration of POC, preserving all particle sizes but especially small slow-sinking particles that spend the longest time in the low [O2] layer; (H2) Remineralization slows because anoxic and even euxinic microenvironments develop in particle interiors, preferentially preserving the largest particles; (H3) Reduced zooplankton activity and migration depth at low [O2] curtails particle disaggregation, preserving large particles while preventing small particle production. We propose a research cruise in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) OMZ, sampling across the oxic-anoxic transition. Primary datasets will include POC flux profiles from sediment traps and thorium-based reconstructions, POC remineralization rates from in-situ incubation, PSD and zooplankton images from an Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP), and size-fractionated [POC] from large volume filtration. These data will be incorporated into a mechanistic particle flux model that includes sinking, remineralization, zooplankton-mediated disaggregation, and microenvironment formation across hundreds of POC size classes. The model-data synthesis will determine which combination of hypotheses H1-H3 best explains variations in POC flux, remineralization, PSD, and zooplankton abundance across the oxygen gradient. 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

With Major Research Instrumentation support, Dr. Jessica Bradshaw and collaborators acquire a mobile, integrated, behavior-brain-physiology capture system for studying human behavior and neurodevelopment. The system is equipped with high-performance computing and multimodal acquisition features that integrate and synchronize individual and dyadic (two-person simultaneous) recordings of behavior (360° cameras, motion capture, wireless sensors), brain activity (EEG, fNIRS), autonomic function (heart activity, respiration), and biological measures (for cortisol, iPSCs, metabolites). This mobile system is the solution to several critical barriers in neurodevelopment research and enables a broad range of uses from researchers across disciplines of psychology, biology, and computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina and the Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Research Center. It enables travel to participant homes for study visits, allowing for unprecedented inclusion of individuals who are historically underrepresented in research. These populations include those from rural geographic areas, racial and ethnic minorities, lower income families and individuals, newborn and aging populations, and individuals with behavioral and medical conditions that may preclude long-distance travel. Second, data capture streams are synchronized in time to quantify, with heightened precision, moment-by-moment behavioral, brain, and physiological activity. Third, this instrument enables multiparticipant synchronization of EEG recordings, i.e., hyperscanning. Hyperscanning is a groundbreaking technology that captures dynamic human-to-human brain processes, including parent-infant/child, friend-friend, and partner-partner interactions. Research in this area has the potential to significantly advance dynamical systems science. Fourth, this instrumentation allows for automated, noninvasive behavior estimation of gaze, gesture, posture, and movement using contactless sensors. Automated estimation of this type is a high priority in naturalistic (i.e., ecologically valid) behavioral research and represents an innovative technical achievement that will be leveraged by several research projects to advance our understanding of neurodevelopmental. The cross-integration and multimodal synchronization of this system enables mechanistic research that links behavioral, brain, and physiological activity in real time. Six collaborative, cross-disciplinary research projects are conducted. Project 1 develops novel algorithms for automated estimation of gaze behavior, gestures, and postures for individuals across the lifespan. Project 2 examines neural mechanisms of attention, dyadic social interactions, and language learning in naturalistic contexts. Project 3 determines physiological regulation of sensory and social processes in infants and toddlers at typical and elevated likelihood for neurodevelopmental disorders. Project 4 investigates physiological and biological consequences of social stressors for racial minority groups. Project 5 will examine inflammatory processes in aging populations. Finally, Project 6 uncovers the molecular underpinnings of sleep disruption in clinical populations. The use of this instrument to complete these six research projects increases diversity of participant samples and increases representation among those historically underrepresented in research, including those for whom travel is prohibitive for study participation (e.g., high-risk pregnancies, newborns, individuals with disabilities, and aging populations). The research projects prioritize inclusion and broad representation while also reducing participant burden, particularly for rural communities and individuals at the lower end of the socioeconomic strata and with mobility and/or transportation challenges. Overall, the research significantly contributes to understanding of neurodevelopment across the lifespan. 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 · 2024-08

Over 4 million adults are living with a total knee replacement (TKR); however, most do not achieve recommended physical activity levels. To date, physical activity interventions for adults with TKR have primarily been intensive, in-person, and costly interventions. However, given the barriers associated with these intensive programs (e.g., time and travel burdens), scalable approaches for increasing physical activity in this population are needed to address high rates of inactivity, and related risk of chronic disease and mortality. Fully- automated Internet programs have potential for increasing physical activity but have rarely been tested in adults with TKR. Further, it is unknown whether this intervention approach can be scalable and effective in this population or whether additional enhancements to the program are needed. We propose to use the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) framework to identify the optimal intervention components within a scalable, internet-based physical activity program for adults who are ≥12 months post-TKR. Participants will be recruited nationwide to participate, and all will receive the core Energize! Exercise Program, a 6-month fully automated program. Energize! provides a platform for participants to plan and report exercise daily, watch and complete behavioral video lessons and related homework assignments, and receive brief automated feedback on activity levels. In addition to Energize!, participants will be randomized to receive 0-4 non-automated supplemental components, which were selected based upon prior research and guided by the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Supportive Accountability: 1) phone coaching, 2) progress reports sent to physicians/surgeons, 3) tailored modules specific to adults with TKR, and 4) individualized human feedback (delivered electronically) on submitted homework assignments. The primary aim is to identify which supplemental intervention components contribute to the greatest increases in physical activity (total moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity [MVPA] and percent meeting guidelines [≥150 min/week of MVPA]) at 6 and 12 months. Secondary aims include assessing the effect of the intervention components on pain and physical function and examining how the core and supplemental intervention components mediate changes in physical activity via targeted mechanisms: program adherence, SDT targets (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and supportive accountability. The overarching goal of this study is to build an optimized physical activity intervention for adults with TKR using the supplemental non-automated components that were found to contribute significantly to increases in physical activity. Once developed, this optimized intervention can be fully tested in a future trial. Study findings have the potential to impact clinical practice, as this would represent a translatable model that could be scaled within healthcare systems for adults with TKR.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Technological progress has expanded the diversity of choice options in many critical sectors, including healthcare, finance, and consumer markets. As a result, people are increasingly subjected to states of choice overload, which occur when an excess of options reduces choice satisfaction, increases choice deferment, and leads to potentially poorer decisions. This research seeks to provide a neural account of brain processing of decisions among choice sets of varying sizes and complexity. That is, to reveal areas of the brain that are recruited in response to decision demands that exceed available cognitive resources, as well as the neural correlates of high and low satisfaction and engagement. This research should shed light on how brain processing adapts to facilitate optimal outcomes in complex environments and demonstrate how individual differences in brain activity relate to differential decision strategies. This study should provide insights on how to reduce decision anxiety, design more engaging decision environments, and explain individual differences in choice outcomes. The project utilizes a cognitive neuroscience approach to investigate the biological underpinnings of choice overload by examining how different numbers of options, presented in decision environments of varying complexity, map onto brain activity and decision outcomes. Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging, a cutting-edge neuroimaging technology, the study focuses on the activation patterns in brain areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which are crucial for cognitive control and satisfaction in decision-making. This research empirically tests whether there exists a neural representation for an optimal range of choices that maximizes cognitive engagement and satisfaction. By utilizing statistical and computational modeling, the project seeks to establish a scientifically validated framework that can be applied across various decision-making environments. The results aim to contribute robust insights into the strategic presentation of choices, potentially transforming practices in industries and decision-making that hinge on effective decision strategies. 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

Natural history museums commonly store and host research specimens and digital data collections that are incredibly important to advancing our understanding of biodiversity. While many data resources focus on preserving specimen information, some resources record species interactions (e.g., a parasite species infects a specific host species). One of the largest host-parasite databases in existence focuses solely on helminth parasites (parasitic worms). While a great resource, it lacks true location data, stopped receiving new interactions in 2003, and some taxonomic data on host and parasite species is incorrect. The researchers will work to clean, curate, augment, and provide locations for these data for the benefit of researchers wishing to understand parasite specificity, public health researchers thinking about potential spillover of helminths into humans or livestock, and biogeographers wishing to understand the distribution of biodiversity. This research will support the training of over 10 undergraduates in georeferencing (localizing data) and data curation, and support independent research projects and presentations at national conferences. The data will be curated in the open, allowing free and open access. Finally, these data will be used to engage people in codeFests, aimed at teaching computer programming concepts using this helminth data resource. Helminth parasites are an incredibly diverse group in terms of life history, transmission mode, and host range. The host-helminth database, sourced from The London Natural History Museum which originally maintained the database, currently details over 250,000 interactions between helminths and their hosts, georeferenced to geopolitical boundary. However, this resource is not actively maintained. The researchers will take over the curation, maintenance, augmentation, and distribution of this important global data resource. The overall goal of this research is to georeference occurrence points at finer resolution (ideally latitude and longitude plus associated uncertainty), augment the existing data source (no new records have been added since 2003), and provide a consistent taxonomic backbone to the data. This research will include training at least two graduate researchers and a team of undergraduate researchers in georeferencing and data curation best practices, codeFest activities, teaching programming to middle and high school students through local collaborations, and module development in upper-level undergraduate courses. Further, the curated data will be available through a developed web portal, programmatically through a constructed application programming interface (API), and through the R package ‘helminthR’. 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 · 2024-08

PROJECT SUMMARY Globally, about 20 million infants are born with low birthweight (LBW), and these infants face a myriad of health challenges, including difficulties in regulating body temperature, poor nutritional outcomes, increased vulnerability to infections, and delayed development, placing emotional and financial burdens on families. Kangaroo Care (KC), consisting of continuous skin-to-skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding, and early discharge, is an evidence-based intervention recommended for LBW newborns to improve their survival and healthy development, especially in low-resource settings where the risks of prematurity, neonatal hypothermia, and neonatal mortality are disproportionately high. Despite the effectiveness of KC, widespread scale-up has been slow due to barriers to implementation and adoption. Existing efforts have primarily focused on health systems and policy changes, neglecting the need to support mothers and families to continue practicing KC at home. Several sociocultural and economic factors, including lack of essential warmth-related items, cultural norms, stigma, and limited social support, hinder the KC continuation at home. To address these challenges, we have developed an intervention grounded in the Information, Motivation, and Behavior (IMB) model. The intervention offers emotional, informational, and motivational peer support to mothers of LBW infants and a kit containing low-cost, locally sourced neonatal care items to facilitate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, we will conduct a type II hybrid effectiveness- implementation study. First, we test the effectiveness of our intervention using an individual randomized controlled trial, enrolling 328 mother-infant dyads eligible for KC from two tertiary hospitals in Ghana (Aim 1). We hypothesize that mothers receiving the intervention will be more likely to continue KC at home 7 days after discharge compared to those in the control group receiving the standard of care. Our primary effectiveness outcome is any duration of skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding at 7 days post-discharge. Second, we will explore the implementation process including associated barriers and facilitators to implementation, using mixed methods (Aim 2). In-depth interviews will be conducted with participants, peer supporters and healthcare workers. Thematic analysis of the interviews will be guided by the CFIR framework and combine both inductive and deductive approaches. Findings from this research will inform the development of effective models for KC implementation and scale-up.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-08

ABSTRACT Chronic stressors have wide-reaching harmful effects on the physical, social, and psychological well-being of many African American (AA) families. These stressors place some AA adolescents, who already experience low rates of physical activity (PA) and high rates of obesity, at even greater risk for developing chronic diseases. Previous family-based interventions have targeted PA, diet, and sedentary behaviors to prevent and manage overweight and obesity, but few have been successful for AA adolescents. We propose that this may be because chronic stressors are a major challenge to engagement in health promotion efforts, which has been significantly overlooked in previous interventions for AA families. Resilience-based interventions that empower youth to cope with daily stressors have shown improvements across a broad range of outcomes including mental health, academic achievement, and risk-taking behaviors. However, no previous study has evaluated a family-based stress and coping plus positive parenting intervention on improving engagement in PA in AA families. The Linking Exercise for Advancing Daily Stress (LEADS) Management intervention integrates a family-based intervention to address chronic stressors to promote behavioral skills for increasing PA in overweight AA adolescents and their parents. Based on Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress and Coping Model, Family Systems, and Social Cognitive Theories, the proposed intervention integrates components that build coping skills (mindfulness, deep breathing, active coping, cognitive reframing), self-esteem (self-affirmation), and positive parenting practices (parent support, nurturance, family routines). We propose that these protective factors as integrated into the LEADS intervention will buffer the negative effects of chronic stressors, which will lead to greater improvements in PA. Our pilot research indicates that the LEADS family-based intervention was feasible and acceptable and led to increased moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) for adolescents. Thus, the primary aim of this study is 1) to evaluate the efficacy of the LEADS intervention on increasing MVPA from baseline to post-intervention, and maintenance at a 6-month follow-up in overweight AA adolescents. Secondary aims will examine 2) the effect of the LEADS intervention on light PA, dietary intake, family mealtime, body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure outcomes, 3) the effects of the intervention on parent outcomes, as well as examining 4) mediators of the intervention effect on changes in PA.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-08

PROJECT SUMMARY Candidate and Career Development Plan: This REDI Mentored Entrepreneurial Career Development Award (K01) will support Otis (Shaun) Owens, Ph.D. to establish an independent program of translational research for supporting aging-in-place for African-Americans living with ADRD and their care partners. Dr. Owens is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina’s College of Social Work with expertise in developing technology-based programs to support healthy aging. Dr. Owens will strengthen and address gaps in his experience through a mentored training program focusing on: (1) advancing his knowledge of remote monitoring technologies for aging-in-place among community-dwelling individuals living with ADRD (2) developing skills in the quantitative research methods used to analyze and visualize longitudinal sensor data from remote monitoring technologies; and (3) building the entrepreneurial acumen for transforming academic innovations into commercially viable products or services. Mentoring and Environment: Dr. Owens is supported by a team of senior researchers/mentors, including Dr. Sue Levkoff in ADRD (primary academic mentor), Drs. Jeffrey Kaye (secondary academic mentor) in remote monitoring technologies/data analytics, and Mr. Larry Frye (entrepreneurial mentor) in entrepreneurship. Training activities will take place at two highly collaborative research environments, i.e., the University of South Carolina and Oregon Health & Science University. Research: Rural, low-income African Americans have the highest ADRD incidence and prevalence rates but have the least access to formal quality dementia-related care. To support aging-in-place among individuals living with ADRD, there is growing evidence that remote monitoring technologies can augment care partners and other support services by facilitating completion of activities of daily living and maintaining communication between individuals living with ADRD and their care partners. Despite the success of remote technologies, no studies have investigated the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of remote monitoring technologies among rural, lower-income African Americans living with ADRD and their care partners. Understanding the impact of remote monitoring technology on this underserved population can guide the development of tailored aging-in-place interventions. Specific Aims: Among rural, low-income African Americans living with ADRD, I seek to (1) identify barriers to aging-in-place, current technology use behaviors, and attitudes toward remote monitoring technologies among low-income African Americans living with ADRD and their care partners and (2) examine the usability, acceptability, and feasibility of deploying a remote monitoring system in the homes of rural low-income African Americans living with ADRD and their care partners for supporting activities of daily living. The proposed mentored research and training will provide Dr. Owens with preliminary data for larger grants (e.g., SBIR) to support his long-term goal of establishing an independent research program that develops commercially viable solutions to promote aging-in-place among individuals living with ADRD and their care partners

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-08

PROJECT SUMMARY Preterm birth (PT, <37 weeks of gestation) is a significant public health concern due to the increased survival rates combined with elevated risks of developing neurocognitive impairments among survivors. Extensive research indicates that, relative to full-term infants (FTs), PT infants (PTs) exhibit deficits in basic visual attention functions and motor skills emerging from the first year of life, accompanied by language delays in the first two years. While attention and motor abilities serve a foundational role in language acquisition, there is limited understanding of the mechanistic pathway from PT birth to language learning performance. Infant-parent coordinated visual attention (CVA) that reflects infants’ ability to coordinate attention to an object with a caregiver provides critical moments for language learning. Emerging research studying CVA in free-flowing FT-parent interactions highlights that bouts of CVA arise from attention-motor coordination within individuals and between infant-parent dyads. CVA bouts enhance FTs’ sustained attention to the toys and coincide with parents’ naming of the toys. The multisensory experience facilitates real-time word learning and predicts better language outcomes. However, to our knowledge, no studies have examined how PT birth may impact the formation of CVA and real-time word learning. There is also limited knowledge of the developmental cascading effects of attention and motor deficits on CVA in PTs. To address these gaps, the present proposal aims to 1) examine the impact of very PT birth (<32 weeks of gestation) on CVA and real-time word learning performance, and 2) assess the longitudinal effects of infant and attention functions and motor abilities on CVA. We will also explore the indirect effects infants’ attention and motor abilities at 12 months and vocabulary size at 18 months through CVA in PTs and FTs. At 12 months of age, attention subfunctions will be examined using three screen-based eye- tracking marker tasks. This age is marked by the emergence of individual differences in endogenous attention control. Gross and fine motor skills will be assessed using a standardized assessment. At 18 months, we will incorporate mobile eye tracking in an infant-parent free-play paradigm to study the formation and impacts of CVA from the first-person perspective. The infant-parent dyads will play with novel toys with pseudoword names. Real-time comprehension of the toy names will be examined immediately after the free play using an eye tracking Looking-While-Listening task, a well-established paradigm for measuring word comprehension. Infants’ vocabulary size will be measured using parental reports on a vocabulary checklist. Our innovation is marked by 1) uncovering mechanisms contributing to PT-induced individual differences in language learning experiences, and 2) implementing a multi-timescale investigation to study child-centered factors (i.e., attention and motor) that shape inputs for language learning in real time (moment-by-moment) and across a 6-month span of development. In line with NICHD’s priority, the findings will shed light on the developmental cascades from PT birth and enhance the ability to identify clinically useful predictors of disrupted language acquisition following PT birth.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Affective experiences are an integral part of human life and significantly contribute to giving our existence meaning and purpose. They are a healthy part of our cognitive world, providing essential sources of motivation and teaching us to avoid harmful situations. Affect dysregulation is linked with significant and potentially deadly consequences, such as depression leading to suicide, a major cause of mortality with around 46,000 deaths per year in the US. Identifying the physiological mechanisms associated with affect encoding in the brain is critical. Much is already known about this process with most of this knowledge coming from carefully controlled laboratory experiments performed in narrowly defined samples. It is now becoming increasingly pressing to study affect in a diverse population and in more naturalistic contexts, such as listening to narratives. This overarching objective has direct and long-lasting benefits for society, both for our general understanding of how the brain works and for clinical applications associated with emotional dysregulation. This project addresses this need by using a large neuroimaging database to investigate how emotions are coded in the brain in situations similar to daily life. This project analyzes a dataset that includes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings collected during narrative listening, as well as emotion assessment for a large and demographically diverse sample of adults between 20 and 80 years of age. It seeks to investigate the representations of affect (valence and arousal) across brain regions and frequencies from fMRI and EEG as a function of age and sex and relates these representations to individual differences in emotions. First, this project relies on valence and arousal ratings to characterize the affective states associated with the narratives in a matched sample and compares these ratings with predictions from GPT and linguistic databases. Second, it attempts to map fMRI activations associated with affect during narrative listening. Third, it leverages of the high temporal resolution of EEG to refine our understanding of the spectral property of affect encoding. Finally, it will attempt to develop a model of affect to uncover the mechanisms and causal relationships in the affective neural networks. This project is novel in the combination of elements it brings together, such as investigating the effect of age and sex on the representation of affect with dynamically unfolding stimuli, providing a more naturalistic evaluation of affect than traditional event-related paradigms. It also relies on GPT to automate valence evaluation in narrative and uses EEG, fMRI, and modeling of the brain to push the current boundaries in our understanding of emotions. By investigating how affect is encoded in neurotypical individuals and naturalistic situations, this project seeks to build a foundation for future projects to understand better affect dysregulation and devise more effective preventive and therapeutic strategies. This project adheres to open science principles and offers a multidisciplinary environment for students from underrepresented groups in STEM. 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

As a fundamental example of multi-phase flows, two-phase flows are frequently encountered in natural and industrial processes, such as mixing of the fresh water and seawater at the estuaries in marine science, oil and gas transportation in the petroleum industry, the solidification of binary alloys in materials science and so on. The interfaces between the two immiscible fluids play a crucial role in these phenomena, and the diffusive-interface approach have been widely used for their modeling due to its significant advantages in handling topological changes and easiness of implementation. These two-phase flow systems also often possess some crucial physical structures, such as energy stability, bound preservation, and mass conservation. Preservation of these structures is not only a desirable attribute of numerical schemes for their high-fidelity simulations in scientific and engineering applications but also plays a pivotal role in stability and error analysis of the numerical schemes. The project involves diverse research work in computational and applied mathematics, ranging from algorithm design, numerical analysis, to computer implementation. The research results produced from this project will be actively disseminated through publishing papers, giving talks, organizing mini-symposia and workshops, maintaining informative websites, and delivering software codes. Moreover, this project's broader impact also includes its potential to offer an exceptional opportunity for graduate students to engage in diverse interdisciplinary mathematics research. The primary goal of the project is to develop and analyze efficient, robust, and accurate structure-preserving linear schemes for simulating diffuse-interface models of incompressible two-phase flows with matched densities. In particular, the research activities include 1) the development and analysis of robust energy-stable, decoupled linear schemes for the fluid dynamics equations based on regularization techniques, 2) accurate bound-preserving and energy-stable linear schemes for the phase field equations by utilizing the backward differentiation formulas and the prediction-correction approach, and 3) effective linear relaxation methods with structure preservation for decoupling the fluid dynamics and phase field solvers of the flow system. This project will lead to significant innovations in computational tools with high-efficiency and high-fidelity for simulations of the Navier-Stokes-Allen-Cahn and Navier-Stokes-Cahn-Hilliard systems. In addition, it will offer new insights into outstanding algorithmic issues on bound preservation and energy stability of numerical discretization for two-phase and general multi-phase flows in various scientific and engineering applications. 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.