University Of South Carolina At Columbia

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Subduction zones are regions where two tectonic plates move towards each other and one of them sinks, or “subducts”, beneath the other. They cause major hazards like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. They are also the main way that surface materials, such as water, are dragged deep into the interior of Earth. Many such effects stem from the chemical changes that subducting rocks undergo as they sink deeper and get hotter. The sinking tectonic plate's temperature, known as the "subduction zone thermal structure," influences these changes. One important avenue of subduction research thus aims to constrain this thermal structure and how quickly it changes. However, because many of the important processes mentioned above occur very deep below the surface, we cannot make direct measurements of the temperature here. To overcome this, the researchers will instead use chemical measurements of rocks that have resurfaced from an ancient subduction zone. By analyzing the chemistry of these rocks, they can measure the extreme pressures and temperatures they experienced when they were deep underground. To do this, they will focus on the western Alps of Switzerland and Italy, which is a well-studied fossilized subduction zone. They will combine measurements of the rocks with computer simulations of this ancient subduction zone, to home in on this subduction zone’s thermal structure. This study will help us understand when, why, and how quickly these temperature changes occur. This project will also support student researchers and benefit society through educational and scientific outreach activities. The team's outreach component will be a subduction-focused workshop at the University of South Carolina. It will bring together geoscientists from the southeastern U.S, with the goal of fostering collaboration and team building. In this project, the researchers aim to constrain the time-evolving pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions along the well-studied Western Alps paleo-subduction interface, the timescales of metamorphism, and the mechanisms responsible for spatio-temporal variations in this thermal structure and metamorphism. They will combine garnet petrochronology (P-T constraints and geochronology) with P-T-time constraints from the literature to create a series of “snapshots” of the evolving Alpine paleo-subduction P-T conditions. These field-based constraints will be integrated with geodynamic subduction models to help determine the geodynamic mechanisms and parameters needed to explain the Ps, Ts and rates of metamorphism observed in the exhumed rock record. This integrated approach will enable the team to test their primary geodynamic hypothesis: A highly time-dependent thermal evolution is causally linked to spatio-temporal dependent changes in the lithology/structure of the downgoing plate and to the significant three-dimensionality of the Alpine subduction zone. The petrochronology work will benefit from the large spatial and temporal subduction rock record offered by the Western Alps, allowing for the sampling and examination of lithologically various exhumed terranes to determine a P-T-time history. Recent advances in the time-dependent modeling of subduction zone thermal structure will enable the team to test the hypotheses within 3-dimensional and “dynamic” models (i.e., with no external forces imposed on the system). An important component of this project is the bi-directional integration of the modeling and the geological observations, wherein a), constraints from the rock record will inform the dominant physical processes that enter the geodynamic modeling, and b), targeted sampling and analysis will be informed by the geodynamic modeling results. This project will also support student researchers and benefit society through educational and scientific outreach activities. The outreach component will be a subduction-focused workshop at the University of South Carolina. It will bring together geoscientists from the southeastern U.S, with the goal of fostering collaboration and team building. 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

In today's world, most data arrive at compute locations as packets from the network through a Network Interface Card (NIC). Traditional NICs are simple devices attached to a server, used to receive packets from the network and place them in the server's memory. Packets then wait for processing time by the general-purpose processor, or CPU, at the server. Recently, a new generation of NICs, known as SmartNICs, has emerged. SmartNICs allow programmers to offload certain tasks, such as network and security tasks, from the server's CPU to the SmartNIC. They also enable programmers to write customized applications running on the SmartNIC’s domain-specific processors at speeds that may be orders of magnitude faster than those running on the server's CPUs. These capabilities improve data processing performance, enhance security, and reduce the processing load on the server's CPUs. While large cloud providers are now using SmartNICs, campus networks and small- and medium-sized enterprises have yet to fully benefit from their advantages. An important barrier preventing the adoption of SmartNICs is the lack of engaging training materials for cyberinfrastructure contributors and professionals. This project aims to bridge that gap by developing hands-on virtual labs for instruction that are hosted on web-based platforms for easy and broad access. By providing accessible and practical training, the project will lower the barrier to innovation and promote progress on areas such as scientific applications requiring massive data transfers, machine learning relying on high processing speeds, and cybersecurity applications requiring massive traffic inspection. The project has two overarching goals. The first project goal, contributing to the project’s intellectual merit, is to advance the state of the art in SmartNIC training within the research community in order to promote and facilitate the broader adoption of SmartNICs among cyberinfrastructure professionals, contributors, and network owners. The project will develop training material in the form of virtual labs and companion material, including guided experiments and interactive electronic booklets, on technologies related to SmartNICs. The virtual labs will be used for workshops and self-paced training. These labs will enable cyberinfrastructure contributors (including developers and researchers) to learn how to implement offloaded applications on various SmartNICs. The virtual labs will also permit cyberinfrastructure professionals (including system administrators, research support staff, and facilitators) to learn how to deploy those applications, how to manage SmartNICs, and how to provide effective support. The virtual labs will be deployed on the NSF-funded FABRIC platform (NSF award #1935966) and on the Academic Cloud at the University of South Carolina, which will serve as training platforms. The virtual labs will cover open-source technologies that are compatible with commercial SmartNICs. The second project goal, contributing to its broader impact, is to incorporate virtual labs into educational curricula and instructional resources. The project will target associate, bachelor, and graduate programs. Two-year community colleges will use the virtual labs to train students on SmartNICs administration and operation, including the deployment of pre-developed applications. Four-year bachelor and graduate-level programs will use the virtual labs to provide in-depth training on SmartNIC programming, starting from the foundational principles to the development of advanced applications that accelerate data processing and analytics. Training activities for the two project goals include organizing workshops with cyberinfrastructure communities, including national and regional Research and Education Networks; professional development events with the NSF-funded Minority-Serving Cyberinfrastructure Consortium, a collaborative consortium that provides professional development and training opportunities to minority serving institutions; and train-the-trainer tutorials with centers supporting college instructors and students. Best practices and technical specifications produced by this project are incorporated into NSF's ACCESS Knowledge Base, to disseminate them to the broader community of researchers. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Division of Computer and Network Systems within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

This proposal builds upon decades of research on salt marsh primary production initiated in North Inlet, SC, since 1984. The research includes monthly nondestructive measurements of marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) populations and monthly assessments of soil chemistry and marsh surface elevation. This long-term research has uncovered fundamental insights into how salt marshes form, change over time, and support other life, and has reshaped our understanding of coastal wetland stability and regulation of marsh primary production. This research led to development of Marsh Equilibrium Theory, which explains how saltmarshes maintain stability and forecasts the survival of saltmarshes in the face of changing sea levels. This information is vital for understanding and planning for the consequences of rising sea level on coastal marine resources such as fisheries and coastal infrastructure. Continuing from existing core data and modeling efforts, this project aims to test three new hypotheses: 1) Marsh elevation gain is regulated by the production of belowground biomass and is proportional to the net production of the marsh ecosystem; 2) The rate of change of the elevation of the marsh surface is constrained by primary production rates and the decomposition of soil organic matter, and 3) Mineral deposition at the lower saltmarsh edge increases with accelerating sea-level rise while primary production declines. These investigations will include measuring decomposition rates of belowground biomass, analyzing DNA and RNA from decomposing plant tissue for microbial activities, and quantifying mineral deposition across marsh surfaces. Fieldwork will involve sediment core sampling and precise elevation measurements, correlating these with biomass and environmental factors. This project serves as a training ground for students and fosters interdisciplinary research. Educational outreach includes engaging civic and K-12 groups on marsh ecology and climate change through presentations and exhibits at the Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center, impacting over 16,000 annual visitors. 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

The documentation, affirmation, and dissemination of imperiled languages can promote pride for language communities and, amid histories of exclusion and persecution, a sense of belonging, dignity, and engagement with heritage and history. This documentation project promotes broad community-driven access to generational linguistic knowledge through publicly accessible materials, such as recordings of stories, songs, and disappearing dialects. This project also creates a "listening room" to be visited by teachers and students, language advocates, and scholars. In conjunction with language documentation, this project makes new discoveries about language by studying the variation and diversity of language structures. This project enhances language equity through outreach programs involving a partnership with a community organization. Other benefits to society include providing educational opportunities for the scientific study of language and language documentation. This project is jointly funded by Dynamic Language Infrastructure-Documenting Endangered Languages, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Linguistics. This project entails community-driven documentation of critically endangered, rarely studied, and infrequently documented languages. The documentation process yields transcribed and translated narratives in an open-access, permanently archived collection. The project develops a research-enriched, community-based interactive multimedia space and learning site for public use and develops scholarly research on linguistic patterns. The project investigates the variation and diversity of language structures. The project uses methodologies that further establish an interdisciplinary, open-access approach to endangered language documentation. By combining relatively new archival practices with traditional models of community-based participatory fieldwork, this project aims to provide new advancements in the speed, scope, and scale of meaningful documentation of endangered languages. 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

Transport and diffusion phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. For example, various important biochemical reactions take place in moving fluid flows. The reactant densities are transported by the flow and diffuse according to Fick's law. The principal investigator (PI) plans to develop a novel mathematical toolkit to describe the delicate interplay between transportation and diffusion in various physical and biological contexts. For instance, in specific scenarios, the ambient fluid flow can create small-scale structures in the densities involved and enhance their diffusion. A deeper understanding of this enhanced diffusion phenomenon has implications across various disciplines, ranging from stabilizing the chemotaxis process to improving communication efficiency in collective motions. Through detailed mathematical analysis, the PI plans to identify situations where this enhanced diffusion phenomenon plays a major role and to capture the interesting dynamics of the associated systems. The PI also plans to recruit talented undergraduate and graduate students to participate in this research project. Through this academic training, the PI hopes to equip the students with sufficient knowledge and skills to address future challenges that arise in science and technology. This project aims to develop novel mathematical tools to analyze the long-time behaviors of coupled biology-fluid systems and transport-type equations arising in biological phenomena. The project addresses three main topics. In the first project, the PI plans to explore the delicate interaction between biological phenomena and their ambient fluid flows. Fluid transport phenomena can alter the overall qualitative features of biological processes. For example, the introduction of strong fluid flows can mitigate certain chemotaxis-induced concentration effects. The PI plans to develop mathematical tools to describe delicate interactions within coupled biology-fluid systems. In the second project, biological experiments guide the mathematical analysis. In the ocean, marine animals such as abalone release eggs and sperm in the fluid stream. Eggs emit chemical attractants while sperm aggregate towards them via random walk and chemotaxis. Once the gametes meet, the fertilization happens. Given that these processes occur in fluid flows effectively sheared on the length scales involved, it is biologically intriguing to study the relationship between fertilization rate and shear rate. The PI plans to develop faithful mathematical models and provide a convincing explanation for the experimental data from marine scientists. The third project focuses on hydrodynamic stability and small-scale creation in fluid mechanics. The PI plans to explore the stabilization mechanisms of shear flows in Navier-Stokes systems and investigate non-local models related to the Euler equation. A deeper understanding of these systems might be helpful in understanding the coupled biology-fluid systems. 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

Viruses are released into indoor air through activities such as sneezing. Once airborne, viruses travel through an unpredictable route, potentially landing on indoor surfaces where they become a potential source of viral disease transmission. Current approaches to address this threat include disinfection, handwashing, and designing new surfaces that can reduce attachment or inactivate the virus. The success of any of these approaches is dependent on understanding how virus particles reach and attach to surfaces. There are two key knowledge gaps that must be addressed to meet this need. First is the need to better understand how viruses attach and detach on surfaces. Second is the need to better understand how indoor air dynamics affect virus transport to surfaces. The goal of this research project is to systematically address both knowledge gaps. This will be achieved through combined experimental tests and computational modeling of airborne virus transport and attachment in a simulated room facility. The facility will have carpets, hard wood floors, tiles, and other commonly used surfaces. Well characterized test viruses will be released in the facility, and their transport and attachment to various surfaces will be tracked and quantified. The impact of activities known to affect air disturbance and resuspension such as walking will be assessed. Successful completion of this research will lead to increased understanding of viral attachment to surfaces. Societal benefits include potential improvements to public health by creating safer indoor spaces. Additional benefits to society will result from educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as high school students through summer camps to improve the Nation’s STEM workforce and increase scientific literacy. The goal of this project is to quantify, assess, and predict how surface properties and boundary flow affect the attachment, adhesion kinetics, transfer, and re-aerosolization of select enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. This research will generate new knowledge by combining computational and experimental approaches to simulate the fate and transport of selected viruses in the boundary layer and surfaces of indoor spaces. The project outputs will be: (1) the determination of significant parameters and the range of influence of relevant dimensionless groups that encompass the virus-surface interaction in an indoor environment, and (2) a computational framework that captures the physico-mechanical processes coupled with virus-surface dynamics in an indoor space to predict fate and transport of the virus in the boundary layer. Measles and vaccinia will be used as prototype enveloped viruses and adenovirus as a prototype non-enveloped virus. Flow dynamics and surface chemistry will be coupled to evaluate the interacting influence on virus deposition, attachment, and detachment from surfaces. Successful completion of this research will generate knowledge key for the preparation of future viral outbreaks to reduce transmission rates in health facilities and communities. Additional benefits to society result from a novel outreach program between the University of South Carolina and high school teachers called the “Carolina Masters Program.” In addition, the “Partners for Minorities in Engineering and Computer Science,” will be leveraged to design and implement a week-long summer camp for underserved groups to diversify the STEM community. 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 · 2024-07

As artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs) gain public attention, it has become clear that people are likely to anthropomorphize them – that is, to think of them as humanlike agents, not just machines. The anthropomorphism of AI raises unique ethical considerations because it affects people’s perception of responsibility. For example, people are less outraged when gender discrimination is caused by AI than when it is caused by a human and are less likely to consider the company who developed the AI responsible for the discrimination. Importantly, the way people talk about AI changes how people think about it. Research has shown that describing non-humans anthropomorphically can dramatically change how people assign agency and responsibility to them. Very likely, anthropomorphic discourse is shaping how these powerful, new pieces of technology will fit into the world. However, there has been no research investigating how anthropomorphic language affects the ability to reason about AIs specifically. This doctoral dissertation project investigates how anthropomorphic linguistic framing affects people's conscious and unconscious reasoning about AIs. This project also benefits society by providing educational opportunities to students and by communicating the project results to lay audiences. This doctoral dissertation project uses eye-tracking technology to study how people understand anthropomorphic texts about AI. Specifically, by observing participants’ eye movements, this project investigates how surprised people are when a text changes from anthropomorphic (“The AI tried to help patients”) to non-anthropomorphic ("The AI was used to help patients”) or vice versa. By comparing these results to participants’ conscious opinions about AI, this study supports a better understanding of how reading anthropomorphic language affects people’s conscious and unconscious reasoning about AI. 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 · 2024-07

The Center for Dietary Supplements and Inflammation (CDSI) COBRE is located at the School of Medicine (SOM), the University of South Carolina (USC), Columbia, SC. SOM is one of the smallest medical schools in the nation located at the Veterans Administration (VA) campus. Thus, the CDSI attracts users from multiple colleges across USC. The scientific mission of the CDSI is to investigate how compounds derived from botanicals and natural products can attenuate inflammation as well as understand the mechanisms that trigger chronic inflammatory diseases. Inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of not only autoimmune diseases but also a wide range of clinical disorders including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, aging, and cancer. Thus, understanding the mode of action of botanicals or their constituents on inflammation could lead to novel treatment modalities with far-ranging clinical implications. To accomplish this goal, we will continue to build on the success of COBRE Phase-1 and Phase-2, further advance the research infrastructure, grow the critical mass of researchers, and promote the sustainability of the research cores. In Phases-1 and 2, we have made outstanding progress in the successful transition of 12 of our junior faculty Research Project Leaders (RPLs) into independent NIH/NSF-funded investigators as PIs. Additionally, the CDSI funded 26 Pilot Project leaders (PPLs) who were also highly productive. Also, we were successful in securing NIH Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Center (PPG/P01) for Epigenetic Regulation of Inflammation, in which ‘graduated’ RPLs served as project leaders, thereby paving the path towards sustainability of CDSI. The Specific Aims include: 1) To support innovative research using the latest technologies and equipment such as Spectral Flow Cytometry, Single-cell RNA-seq and Single-cell Spatial Transcriptomics, natural product library, and high-throughput data analysis, offered at our core facilities. 2) To continue to grow the critical mass of researchers at CDSI by providing support through the Pilot Project Program (PPP) and recruitment of new and early-stage investigators. 3) To sustain a multi-disciplinary, collaborative research program and cores beyond Phase-3. The CDSI will offer two state-of-the-art research core facilities that include a Flow Cytometry, and Cell Analysis (FCCA) Core, and a Bioanalytical Core, to study epigenetic and microbiome regulation of inflammation. The program will be evaluated by an Administrative Core (AC) consisting of nationally recognized scientists. Additionally, through institutional support, several new tenure- track faculty will be recruited and mentored at USC to further increase the critical mass of users. The long-term objective of the CDSI is to build a self-sustaining, nationally and internationally recognized multi- disciplinary Center for dietary supplements and inflammation research.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-07

Tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway (KP) and kynurenic acid (KYNA) accumulation occurs with prenatal insults, including maternal immune activation or excessive stress. Our goal is to investigate mechanistically how specifically elevating KYNA during pregnancy influences maternal sleep and the prenatal environment to produce negative outcomes in the offspring. KYNA is of particular interest because it is an endogenous antagonist of α7nACh and NMDA receptors. Increased KYNA levels reduce neurotransmission, disrupt sleep architecture, and impair cognition. Increased brain KYNA levels (post-mortem or cerebrospinal fluid analysis) are found also in individuals with neurodevelopmental dysfunction. We will explore the novel hypothesis that accumulated KYNA and elevated KP metabolism, a common denominator driving homeostatic disruption, exacerbates sleep problems during pregnancy and contributes to disrupted neurochemical stability, sleep, and cognitive function in young adult offspring. We predict that reducing KYNA by (i) targeting its primary synthesizing enzyme kynurenine aminotransferase II (KAT II) or (ii) mechanistically interfering with its sites of action will lead to improved maternal sleep dynamics and offspring outcomes. KP metabolism and KYNA levels will be increased by feeding kynurenine-laced chow to pregnant rats (‘EKyn diet’). We will test the predictions that excessive prenatal KYNA plays a mechanistic role in a) poor sleep during pregnancy and b) contributes to long-lasting neurochemical and behavioral abnormalities in offspring. Aim 1: Define sleep problems during pregnancy when KYNA formation is up-regulated. Hypothesis: Elevated KYNA in dams deteriorates sleep during pregnancy and targeted inhibition of KAT II can improve sleep quality. Aim 2: Treat neurochemical abnormalities underlying long- lasting poor outcomes (sleep and cognition) in adult offspring from elevated kynurenine during prenatal period (EKyn diet). Hypothesis: Elevated brain KYNA in EKyn offspring drives neurochemical imbalances, deficits in sleep and learning behavior. Aim 3: Prevent adverse behavioral endophenotypes in offspring via choline-supplementation or dual-orexin receptor antagonism during prenatal kynurenine treatment (EKyn diet). Adverse consequences of elevated KYNA during pregnancy can be mitigated by potentiation the 𝛂7nACh-R via choline- supplementation during neurodevelopment. Dual-orexin receptor antagonism in pregnant rats will attenuate maternal sleep disruptions. The proposed research will advance our understanding of common molecular mechanisms between a neurodevelopmental insult, sleep disturbances and neurocognitive impairments, paving the way for novel therapies to alleviate these outcomes.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-07

Enter the text here that is the new abstract information for your application. This section must be no longer than 30 lines of text. The Center for Targeted Therapeutics (CTT) was established in 2014 at the University of South Carolina (USC), with the mission to develop the institutional research in the area of experimental therapeutics aimed at molecular targets implicated in different pathologies. The Center has been transformative for translational biomedical research at USC. In phases 1 and 2, CTT has supported the research and mentoring of 15 junior faculty from several different Colleges who served as Research Project Leaders (RPL). Subsequently the RPLs have won 13 R01s and several smaller grants; 11 of them have been promoted to Associate or full Professor. In addition, 23 pilot projects were funded, with the pilot project leaders (PPL) subsequently winning 4 R01s and several smaller grants. Subsequent to CTT funding, the RPLs and PPLs published more than 300 articles and won over $50M in external funding, filed multiple patents and brought their drug candidates into the clinical trial pipeline. The CTT supported the recruitment of 9 junior faculty members and engaged at least three SmartState Endowed Chairs related to Targeted Therapeutics. CTT supports the operation of three resource cores: Functional Genomics, Microscopy and Flow Cytometry, and Drug Discovery Synthesis, that provide state-of-the-art services to investigators at USC and the State of SC. During Phase 3, CTT will transition to self-sufficiency and sustainability, leveraging the progress attained so far by pursuing the following activities: 1). Support high-impact research projects in Targeted Therapeutics, by funding pilot projects, identifying scientific priority areas, and promoting collaborations in the area of Targeted Therapeutics. 2). Maintain and grow sustainable research infrastructure by supporting three strategic resource Cores: the Functional Genomics Core, the Drug Design and Synthesis Core, and the Microscopy and Flow Cytometry Core. 3). Assure long-term development of the CTT by broadening collaborative networking in Targeted Therapeutics. For this purpose, CTT will conduct Center meetings, arrange scientific seminars and promote external collaborations. CTT will also organize individual training and workshops aimed at developing multi-investigator and SBIR/STTR grant applications. CTT will work in alignment with Institutional priorities at USC to assure the sustainability of CTT research cores’ operation and continuous engagement and expansion of the critical mass of Targeted Therapeutics investigators that has been established during Phases 1 and 2. The CTT will promote the mission of the NIH IDeA program and will enhance the State's stature in Targeted Therapeutics research, continuing to make an impact on the public health, scientific education and economic development of the State.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-07

Summary The incidence of chronic diseases such as metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease remain persistently high in South Carolina and are disproportionally greater in the central region of the state-called the Midlands. The overarching goal of this Center for Translational Research development (CTR-D) program is to address this unmet need by building a sustainable foundation of clinical and translational research capacity at the University of South Carolina (USC) which is geographically positioned in the middle of the state (Midlands), namely the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at USC- CLINTRUSC. We will leverage existing clinical/translational research expertise within the USC School of Medicine, nationally recognized health science research within the USC School of Public Health, the School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and the School of Social Work, which will allow us to tap into an important research work force that extends beyond the usual confines of academic medicine-based clinical trial infrastructure. This also will allow us to engage meaningfully with high-risk communities that may be inaccessible or resistant to more conventional approaches. Moreover, we will engage our health systems partners; Prisma Health (the largest health care provider in the state) and the Veterans Administration (VA) Health System to develop a centralized, cohesive approach to perform clinical and translational research throughout the Midlands of South Carolina. The CLINTRUSC program will develop the 5 essential cores required for a CTR-D which will result for the first time at USC, a cohesive infrastructure to quickly deploy clinical/translational research projects within the Midlands with a particular focus on engaging vulnerable patient populations (underserved, veterans).

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-07

Intelligent cyber-physical systems (CPS) represent a symbiotic integration of physical systems, sensors, actuators, and learning-based intelligent controllers through communication networks. These systems are increasingly prevalent in diverse applications, including smart grids, robotic swarms, and autonomous vehicles. While learning-based controllers are used to upgrade the capabilities of CPS, providing numerous benefits, the introduction of a learning component adds an additional layer of security challenges, which adversaries can exploit via cyber attacks. This project strives to uncover the characteristics and effects of information patterns that can deceive an intelligent decision-making agent or a learning-based controller, manipulating it into taking biased and unsafe actions. These findings should enable trustworthy secure-by-design solutions for developing real-time learning-based controllers suitable for safety-critical CPS. The research outcomes have direct applicability in remote sensing, smart infrastructure, and robotics, reinforcing the overall safety and reliability of these crucial CPS. The project aligns with efforts to promote inclusivity in computing, workforce development, and education. Example initiatives include annual summer camps for K-12 students on learning systems and their security in robotics, and engagement with undergraduate and graduate students to prepare them for secure-CPS research and workforce development. The primary goals of the collaborative project are to develop a) a real-time reward manipulation scheme for learning-based controllers, b) multi-level attack schemes on reward signals in a distributed control architecture for CPS, and c) data-enabled strategies for their detection. The scientific merit of the project is to gain insight into the information patterns that can stealthily manipulate learning-based controllers in uncertain CPS to increase control costs and threaten their stability. The reward manipulation, from an attacker’s perspective, may be formulated as a dynamic-constrained optimization problem. An online approximate solution will be developed to determine the optimal perturbation that can be added to the reward signal by an adversary. The optimization problem will be extended to address multi-level attacks using multiplayer Nash games. From a defender’s perspective, attack detection and isolation methods using time-series analysis and perturbation theory will be developed. This research will equip learning-based control schemes with built-in resiliency from their design phase. The success of this research will advance control-theoretic and learning tools, fostering advances that ensure secure and trustworthy autonomy, precise control, and safe 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.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-07

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has financial incentive programs where families in SNAP can purchase fruits and vegetables (F&V), for half the price or less, at select sites. These programs increase F&V consumption and can save billions of dollars in healthcare costs; yet, limited awareness and uptake presents a major barrier to widespread utilization and limits potential impact. This study will leverage pediatric clinics to increase awareness and uptake of a SNAP F&V incentive program in South Carolina to improve parent- child diet quality, reduce food and nutrition insecurity, and lower disease risk. Social drivers of health screenings in pediatric clinics will be leveraged to identify of parents, with a child 2-10 years of age, who are food insecure and enrolled in SNAP. All eligible families will receive brief education on a SNAP F&V incentive program from their pediatrician during their clinic visit. After the visit, dyads (N=296) will be randomized to: 1) Veggie Vouchers (Intervention) or 2) Education-only, wait-list control group (Control). Randomization will occur on a rolling basis at the individual level. The intervention group will then receive an electronic voucher for 3 free F&V boxes at a community organization that participates in a state-wide SNAP F&V incentive program as a “free trial” of this program. Each voucher can be redeemed for a F&V box that contains a variety of produce and recipe cards. Families can redeem 1 voucher every 2 weeks, for 6 weeks of free F&Vs. After voucher redemption, parents can continue purchasing these F&V boxes for steeply discounted prices using their SNAP card. Home delivery of F&V boxes will be offered for the intervention group during the full study duration; thus, boxes provided during the 6-week “free trial” and subsequent boxes purchased using their SNAP card will be eligible for home delivery. This service is being offered to overcome prominent access barriers to participating in this SNAP program. Voucher redemption rates and subsequent F&V box purchasing will be objectively tracked via an online portal. Assessments will occur at baseline, post-voucher redemption (6 weeks), and two follow-up time periods (18 and 30 weeks). The primary outcome will be changes in child diet quality (Healthy Eating Index [HEI] scores) from baseline to 30-weeks. Secondary outcomes include changes in parent HEI, household food insecurity, nutrition insecurity, and SNAP F&V incentive program use, across timepoints. Mixed methods will systematically assess data from a detailed process evaluation, key informant interviews, and community advisory board feedback to determine barriers/facilitators to intervention implementation and sustainability and inform future dissemination. If effective, this study will yield crucial knowledge on leveraging pediatric clinics to increase knowledge of existing SNAP F&V incentive programs, while incentivizing use and minimizing access barriers. Data will inform future efforts to maximize the impact of these programs and policies to fund these strategies more broadly. This study has strong potential for substantial public health impact and directly aligns with the priorities set by the White House and the National Institutes of Health to promote nutrition security and reduce chronic disease risk.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-06

PROJECT SUMMARY WENCESLAU, CAMILLA F. Growing evidence supports a robust and likely causal association between cardiovascular disease (CVD), and its risk factors, with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, standard paradigms such as “head to heart connection”, where heart failure leads to cerebral hypoperfusion, neuronal damage and, subsequently AD are questionable, and they should be reviewed with a critical approach. Here, we claim that vascular endothelial cells have a central role in the development and progression of AD and hypertension. Over time, as the body ages, the vasculature becomes less susceptible to repair. One of the reasons is an exacerbated endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). EndMT is a cellular transdifferentiation program in which endothelial cells partially lose their identity and acquire mesenchymal cell- like features and this reduces blood flow and organ perfusion. One of the triggers of EndMT is endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which also releases misfolded proteins, including amyloid-β protein oligomers (AβO), the most potent neurotoxin in AD. Here, we observed that 1. dysfunctional vascular tissue from humans and rodents releases and senses AβO. 2. Vascular dysfunction is prominent prior to the onset of AD. 3. Increased plasma levels of AβO are present in hypertensive mice. 4. AβO induced ER stress in endothelial cells and ER stress caused the further release of AβO, showing a positive feedforward mechanism. These unconventional observations call for further analysis of the causative connection between endothelial dysfunction and AD. Therefore, the overall goal of this Exploratory and Developmental Grants (R21) project is to reprogram endothelial cells for the treatment of AD and hypertension. For this, we will test the hypotheses that the cause of AD and hypertension is the exacerbated formation of EndMT via ER stress which increases the secretion of AβO. By overexpressing Yamanaka factors (OSK) to induce partial cellular reprogramming, without passing through the pluripotent state, we will reduce EndMT formation to prevent and reverse AD. We also want to determine whether artery dysfunction in hypertensive mice present with similar phenotype seen in AD mice. This planned research is uniquely suited to the R21 program, rather than to a traditional grant (e.g., R01), because it explores and opens a new area of research in my laboratory, by studying EndMT and Yamanaka factors as the underpinning of AD. If our hypothesis is correct, this project will produce a major impact on AD and CVD.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2024 · 2024-06

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The incidence of early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) has increased in the past four decades and is predicted to increase by 140% by 2030.4,5 It is the second most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer deaths in individuals under 50 years old in the USA.4,6,7 In a recent review47, we proposed that increased risk of EOCRC is driven by exposomes whose entry into the global environment precedes and mimics the worldwide increase in EOCRC incidence. Exposure to these suspected exposomes has been increasing in the past 40 years (as has EOCRC), and they all impact guardians of the colon (inflammation, the microbiome, and epigenetic/genetic changes); exposure is global and occurs during development – potentially during childhood. In this project, we focus on the role of exposure to antibiotics during development and its on impact EOCRC in appropriate pre-clinical models. Antibiotic overuse has become a serious public health concern, with over a million doses prescribed annually in the US.50,23 Its use in infants is high; over 50% are directly exposed for >5 days.17 Indirect exposure in pregnancy affects infant gut microbiota at birth19,20; and at an early age, exposure can lead to multiple health disorders - including CRC.21,22,23 Repeated exposures contribute to antibiotic resistance and altered gut microbiota with pro-inflammatory and pro-carcinogenic outcomes28-32, suggesting that there may be windows of developmental vulnerability. However, epidemiologic and animal studies have shown conflicting results, with none conducted on the impact of antibiotics commonly prescribed to infants and children on the colon, creating a substantial gap in our knowledge on the mechanisms by which antibiotics impact EOCRC. We will address this gap by testing the hypothesis that exposure early in life to antibiotics commonly prescribed to children causes a toxic colon (associated with dysbiosis, inflammation, and altered genetic signatures) that promote mutations leading to EOCRC. Using mouse models of CRC, we will test this hypothesis in two specific aims: Aim 1. To identify developmental windows of susceptibility to antibiotics; Aim 2. To determine if dysbiosis caused by antibiotics drives EOCRC. Upon completion, we will know: (1) the impact of antibiotics on EOCRC risk; (2) developmental windows of colon susceptibility to antibiotics; (3) what microbes drive EOCRC; and (4) whether these microorganisms promote increased mutation as a mechanism causing CRC. The acquired knowledge will be critical in developing novel strategies to identify individuals at risk, interventions to minimize risk of EOCRC, and informed decisions to mitigate risk after use of antibiotics that are indispensable against infections, and more importantly, provide the foundation for future studies to identify components of human microbiome that mediate increased risk for EOCRC.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-06

Excessive screen time for children ages 3-5 years is linked with poor sleep, inactivity, and behavior problems. The WHO recommends children under 5 get <1 hour of screen time per day, but few children meet this guideline. This is partly attributable to the rapid growth of digital media technology (i.e., smartphones, tablets), which make screen time more available across multiple contexts. Unfortunately, our understanding of the unique ways children and families use digital media lags behind the rapid adoption of this technology. Therefore, we need updated paradigms to understand how the content, timing, and context of digital media use impacts health. There are three key limitations of existing digital media use research (1) an exclusive focus on use duration (2) reliance on subjective measures and (3) a failure to account for the fact that digital media use effects people differently depending on context (i.e., heterogeneity). The proposed project will overcome these limitations by using passive mobile sensing to objectively measure digital media timing, content and duration. We will use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and accelerometry to measure screen time context. This data will be used to understand the unique ways screen habits unfold and ultimately influence children’s sleep, activity, and social/emotional functioning. The proposed study is a multiyear observational cohort of preschoolers (age 3-5) designed to uncover the mechanisms underlying children’s digital media use. We will use passive mobile sensing, accelerometry and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect intensive longitudinal data on children’s digital media use, sleep, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and behavior problems. By collecting this intensive longitudinal data, we can uncover micro-temporal dynamics - defined as: bi-directional effects that unfold over a short amount of time (i.e., minutes, hours). Within these micro-temporal dynamics, we aim to identify systems of ‘Granger causality’: systems where one behavior (i.e., digital media use) predicts future behavior (i.e., sleep). We expect the Granger causal links between behaviors to vary in direction and magnitude between different children. We will quantify this heterogeneity by identifying ‘digital phenotypes’: a child-specific web of links between multiple health behaviors. Lastly, we aim to evaluate the longitudinal association between digital phenotypes and cardiovascular health risk (obesity) and mental health risk (internalizing/externalizing disorder symptoms). The utility of digital phenotypes lies in their ability to identify salient intervention targets for tailored just-in-time interventions for multiple health behaviors. The first step in harnessing these linkages is to identify digital phenotypes and examine their association with health outcomes over time. This project is innovative in the simultaneous objective measurement of children’s digital media use, sleep, and activity. This work is significant because findings will contribute to evidence upon which digital media guidelines are based and inform personalized intervention strategies.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-06

PROJECT SUMMARY The Escherichia coli species encompass innocuous commensals, resident pathobionts, and invading pathogens. In the gut, the proliferation of E. coli and other Enterobacteriaceae, and their potential to induce or contribute to disease, is dependent on the reduction or complete loss of colonization resistance. Host, microbial, and environmental factors can all contribute to lowering colonization resistance to facilitate Enterobacteriaceae expansion, which represents a common hallmark of microbiome dysfunction in many chronic diseases including Crohn’s disease. Supported by our extensive preliminary data, this proposal will define a novel mechanism by which a host signaling network – the endocannabinoid system – lowers colonization resistance by releasing otherwise unavailable nutrients that stimulate proliferation of gut E. coli pathobionts and Enterobacteriaceae pathogens. Using mouse models of enteric infection and of pathobiont- exacerbated Crohn’s disease, as well as a combination of host and bacterial genetics, targeted metabolomics, gnotobiology, and pharmacological manipulations, this proposal outlines an innovative approach to: 1) evaluate the temporal and spatial effects of host endocannabinoid activity on Enterobacteriaceae niche formation in the gut and consequent effects on disease; and 2) define the nutrients and bacterial metabolic pathways that support Enterobacteriaceae expansion stimulated by increased host endocannabinoid activity. These studies are particularly pressing considering the ongoing efforts to develop the endocannabinoid system as a therapeutic target for managing debilitating symptoms that are commonly reported in chronic inflammatory diseases.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2024 · 2024-06

PROJECT SUMMARY Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease of the large intestine, impacting millions worldwide. UC patients commonly experience significant weight loss, diarrhea, bloody stool, decreased quality of life, and susceptibility to colon cancer. Current medications for UC include antibiotics, corticosteroids, and biological drugs, which can have deleterious off-target effects that contribute to increased susceptibility to severe infections and chronic immunosuppression. Thus, there is a need to develop safe and effective strategies to treat UC. Although the pathogenesis of UC is vague, evidence suggests that disrupted interactions between the host immune system and the gut microbiome play a role in the disease initiation and progression. Indeed, most UC symptoms are believed to be caused by an imbalance between mucosal immunity and intestinal microbiota resulting in excessive intestinal inflammation. Similarly, microbial metabolites have been implicated as key regulators of the intestinal barrier contributing to UC pathogenesis. Thus, improving the immune, microbiome, and metabolite signatures may improve clinical outcome for UC patients. Natural products have been the most significant source of drugs and drug leads in history and have shown promise in treating UC with fewer side- effects. We have identified that panaxynol (Pax), a bioactive component of American ginseng, can suppress colitis and improve disease severity. My data demonstrates that Pax-treated mice display 1) improved disease activity index, 2) better endoscopic scores, 3) greater intestinal barrier function 4) reduced crypt distortion, 5) decreased goblet cell and mucus loss, 6) enhanced differentiation of Tregs, and 7) suppression of pro-colitis gut bacterial populations in a mouse model of colitis. Its exact underlying mechanism, however, remains unclear. Under the auspices of this F31, I will expand my current findings to examine immune, microbiome, and metabolite signatures as potential mediators of the benefits of Pax in colitis. Thus, the primary purpose of my proposed F31 is to understand the mechanisms whereby Pax improves gut resilience in colitis. To accomplish this, I will utilize multiple models of colitis, a clinically attainable Pax dose, both male and female mice, immune, microbiome, metabolite profiling, and mechanistic approaches (immune and microbiome ablation strategies). My central hypothesis is that the beneficial effects of Pax in colitis are mediated via its actions on the host immune system and the gut microbiome and metabolites. To test this hypothesis, I propose two related but independent aims: 1) Characterize the immune profile following Pax treatment in colitis; 2) Determine whether the microbiome contributes to Pax-mediated improvements in colitis. The proposed studies align with my training aims and will provide me with the opportunity to gain expertise in immune profiling and ablation strategies, assessment and manipulation of the microbiome, and examination of microbial metabolites and omics in the context of natural products and colitis. Further, the professional development training will promote advancement to the next step in my path to research independence – a postdoctoral position in the field of gut health.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-06

PROJECT SUMMARY Children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (OLD) are at elevated risk for mental health problems compared to their peers with typical language skills. The specific causes of increased mental health problems in individuals with OLD are currently unknown, but evidence points to emotion regulation (ER) difficulty as a potentially important contributor. ER is the effective engagement of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological processes needed to change or maintain emotional states. It is critical to understand ER in children with OLD because ER difficulties are associated with many psychiatric disorders and have been implicated as a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of mental health problems. Studies suggest children with OLD display significantly worse ER skills than typically developing children, but the number of studies investigating ER in OLD are few. Additionally, in the extant studies, thirdparty ratings are the only measure of ER. This is problematic because parent report cannot provide information on internal ER processes (e.g., subjective experience or physiology). Additionally, rating scales previously used to measure ER in children with OLD do not differentiate between contexts (e.g., those requiring substantial linguistic processing and skill, and those that have decreased linguistic demands). Children with OLD may only experience deficits in ER within certain environments, e.g., those that place demands on linguistic processing, which is a primary deficit for children with OLD, rather than in domain-general tasks. The proposed project will address both gaps through the measurement of self-report, behavioral, and physiological indicators of ER during a linguistically demanding task and a domain-general task. Thus, in evaluating the ER of children with OLD using subjective, behavioral, and physiological measures, the proposed study will support determination of whether certain indicators of ER difficulties in OLD emerge only in environments that tax their linguistic resources or if they extend to domain-general contexts. This study aligns with the NIH NIDCD's mission and strategic plan through enhancing understanding of normal function and disordered processes of language. Ultimately, the proposed study will inform the assessment of ER in children with OLD and may lead to more precise and more timely identification of difficulties, which in turn would allow for earlier targeted interventions. The central purpose of this proposal is to provide training opportunities and mentorship in theories of psychological intervention, in physiological methodologies, and in advanced statistical analyses (e.g., linear mixed modeling). Training will also focus on scientific dissemination, project management, and responsible conduct of research. This will strengthen the career development of the candidate as she prepares for independence as an investigator in communication sciences and disorders.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-05

SUMMARY Cachexia is a significant contributor to increased mortality in various chronic diseases, including cancer. Patients with cancer cachexia experience unintentional body weight loss, which can involve muscle loss, with or without fat mass. The decline in muscle mass not only impairs muscle function, but also diminishes quality of life and raises mortality risk. Our preliminary research has revealed an upregulation of transforming growth factor 2 (TGFβ2) preceding the recruitment of M2 macrophages to the skeletal muscle in cachectic mice. Additionally, we observed that depleting M2 macrophages inhibited the transition from cachexia to severe cachexia by preserving muscle mass and reducing fibrosis. These data highlight the involvement of M2 macrophage activation in cachexia progression with the assistance of TGFβ2. In this proposal, we will investigate the role of TGFβ2 in initiating fibrosis and activating M2 macrophages in the skeletal muscle of cancer cachectic mice. Furthermore, we hypothesize that M2 macrophages act as a pivotal transition point driving the advancement of severe cancer cachexia. The outcomes of this study may uncover a novel mechanism and innovative strategies for the treatment of cancer cachexia.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-05

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) is a timely and significant public health issue in the United States (US). Young adults are the key population vulnerable to NMUPO. Existing literature indicates that NMUPO in young adults is influenced by a robust array of psychosocial factors. Tailored interventions guided by a psychosocial theory, such as the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model, are urgently needed for addressing NMUPO in young adults. One innovative approach is to reach out to and deliver psychosocial interventions to young adults via social media technology, yet limited efforts have sought to develop such interventions for NMUPO among young adults. Thus the scientific objective of this K01 is to gather data via IMB-guided formative study regarding psychosocial influences on NMPUO and then to use these findings to inform the development of a peer-led social media intervention designed to reduce NMUPO among young adults. The career development objective of this K01 is to obtain intensive mentored training essential to improving the theoretical and practical expertise needed to develop innovative and implementable peer-led psychosocial interventions for NMUPO in high-risk populations. The training will be supported by the rigorous and highly productive research environment at the University of South Carolina and by a mentor team with expertise in addiction treatment, health psychology, peer support group, formative assessment, social media and psychosocial intervention design, mixed methodology, ecological momentary assessment, as well as intervention development, implementation, and evaluation. Training progression is linked to three specific research aims. In Aim 1, we conduct formative research, guided by the IMB model, to explore psychosocial contents associated with NMUPO in young adults. We then use the findings from Aim 1 to develop a peer-led social media intervention to reduce NMUPO among young adults (Aim 2) by integrating promising psychotherapy principles and incorporating with peer leaders who are well-trained for recovery coaching. In Aim 3, we conduct a pretesting of the feasibility, acceptability, usability, and preliminary efficacy on NMUPO reduction and psychosocial changes of the theory-based social media intervention with a 12-week pilot randomized controlled trial among 70 NMUPO engaging young adults (35 for intervention and 35 for control) via pre-test, 12-week ecological momentary assessment (during the intervention), and post-tests (12-month follow-ups). This project will contribute to future largescale and fully-powered psychosocial interventions for NMUPO among young adults or other high-risk populations using innovative technology that can address challenges in traditional substance use interventions.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-04

Weight status differences are present upon entry into kindergarten, indicating that the origins of overweight/obesity (OWOB) develop before elementary school. Preschoolers (3-4-yr-olds) may also experience accelerated weight gain (i.e., increased zBMI) during the summer and lose weight (i.e., decreased zBMI) during the school year – indicating that summer may play a key role in developing OWOB. Preschoolers from low-income households (i.e., 185% or less of poverty level or Medicaid eligible) are at the greatest risk for accelerated summer weight gain. In general, we don’t know the places preschoolers go, who they are with, and what they do during the summer that may influence their health behaviors and weight status. In the US, many center-based childcares operate on an academic/school calendar (Aug-May), and 60-80% of preschoolers attend center-based care. Preschoolers who attend formal center-based childcare are less likely to develop OWOB by 1st grade compared to preschoolers who receive home-based care. We believe attending center- based childcare lowers the risk of OWOB through daily rules/routines that promote healthy behaviors (e.g., PE/recess, healthy meals, consistent sleep schedules at home). Center-based care facilitates the acquisition of motor skills and fosters executive functioning/self-regulation – key factors in the development of OWOB. During summer, fewer than 30% of preschoolers attend center-based childcare. For many preschoolers, especially those from lower-income households, summer may be an extended period away from formal center- based childcare that promotes unhealthy behaviors, loss of motor skills, and loss of executive functioning, which could lead to excessive weight gain. We will conduct an observational cohort, enrolling 3-4-yr-old children attending needs-based (185% or less of poverty level or Medicaid eligible) center-based childcare during the academic/school year and follow them for 2 years (2 school years and 2 summers) as they transition from preschool into elementary school. Measures of anthropometrics, motor skills, and executive function will be collected before school ends and upon return from summer vacation. Health behaviors (i.e., activity, screentime, diet, and sleep) will be collected during April/May (school) and July (summer) along with information about social- and setting-specific influences. The following aims will be addressed: Compare longitudinal changes in anthropometrics (primary outcome), health behaviors (secondary outcomes), and motor skills and executive function (tertiary outcomes) during school and summer; Identify individual, family/home, neighborhood, and school/community influences that moderate changes in anthropometrics, health behaviors, motor skills, and executive function during school and summer; and Qualitatively interview parents about their child’s school and summer experiences and health behaviors.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-03

Project Summary Half of U.S. adults are insufficiently physically active despite the known health benefits. Theory-based physical activity interventions can facilitate short-term increases in physical activity; yet, little progress has been made in achieving long-term maintenance of these improvements. Epidemiological evidence has shown a positive link between social support from existing social ties and regularly engaging in physical activity; however, experimental evidence focused on these relationships remains equivocal perhaps because most interventions do not involve one’s existing social ties in the behavior change process or fail to use effective strategies for harnessing the social environment. Recent calls within healthcare and the scientific community have been made to identify effective strategies for mobilizing existing social relationships for lasting physical activity increases. We propose to test the effect of digitally delivered social support training for promoting sustained moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) increases, using a cluster randomized controlled trial. Self-selected teams of 3-8 insufficiently active adults (about 60 teams comprised of a total of N=300 participants) will be randomized to receive either a 3-month theory-based technology-delivered physical activity intervention (mobile-compatible web app with behavior change content, Fitbit physical activity tracker, tailored goals, and feedback; Team) or the same intervention plus digitally delivered social support training (Team+Training). Teams randomized to receive social support training will be provided with a series of online interactive training modules that highlight methods of providing social support in an autonomous way (non- judgmental, empathetic, refraining from control). They will also be provided with an online crowdsourcing communication tool where they can communicate with intervention staff and their peers about challenges and solutions regarding the exchange of social support for physical activity, as well as team skills-building feedback to reinforce the knowledge and skills acquired via the modules. The specific aims are: Aim 1: To test the effect of Team+Training versus Team among self-selected teams of insufficiently active adults (N=300; 40% minority) on changes in MVPA measured by accelerometry at 3 months. Aim 2: To compare the effect of Team+Training versus Team on changes in key psychosocial constructs (social support; autonomy support; motivation; accountability) at 3- and 12-months. Aim 3: To assess MVPA change measured by accelerometry at 12 months in Team+Training versus Team. Aim 4: To explore whether social support mediates increased and sustained MVPA within the overall sample. The proposed research will advance public health efforts to improve metabolic and cardiovascular health by providing evidence on a novel and promising strategy to leverage existing social relationships for sustained physical activity behavior.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2024-03

SUMMARY Cancer cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome characterized by muscle wasting, weight loss, and decreased quality of life. Patients with cancer cachexia experience impaired muscle function, reduced treatment tolerance, and lower survival rates. Despite progress in understanding the condition, its underlying mechanism and high mortality rate remain unclear. The proposed research aims to investigate the role of platelets in cancer cachexia development, as they are involved in inflammation and tissue wasting. Preliminary data suggest an association between elevated platelet counts and the pre-cachexia stage and platelet activation and severe/refractory cachexia. The proposed study hypothesizes that platelets play a crucial role in the recruitment of immune cells and the release of pro-cachectic factors, ultimately leading to muscle loss. The research will test the hypothesis through two aims: depleting platelets at pre-cachectic stages to assess the impact on inflammation and muscle wasting and examining the effects of activated platelets on muscle wasting in cancer and chemotherapy-induced cachexia. The project aims to provide novel insights and potential approaches by targeting platelets in cancer cachexia.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2026 · 2024-02

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Maternal-child synchrony describes the temporal associations between maternal and child social and physiological states, often occurring within maternal-child interactions. Maternal-child synchrony is a critical component of child development that emerges during pregnancy and is present throughout childhood. The quality of maternal-child synchrony is associated with future social development, making it an important construct to understand. Given its developmental importance, it is critical to characterize maternal-child synchrony in specific subgroups vulnerable to weakened maternal-child synchrony. It is well established that maternal-child physiological synchrony decreases in clinical samples, such as when mothers are experiencing mental health challenges (e.g., anxiety, depression) and when children themselves belong to at-risk groups (e.g., prematurity), but this association is poorly understood in neurodevelopmental disorders, like fragile X syndrome (FXS). FXS is a rare, monogenetic disorder, characterized by deficits in attention, social development, and emotional regulation. These deficits have been attributed to physiological hyperarousal. This “hyperarousal hypothesis” of FXS has been demonstrated via cardiac activity, particularly when indexed by respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), wherein individuals with FXS have shown depressed RSA (thereby indicating physiological arousal) when neurotypically (NT) developing individuals have shown higher RSA. As an inherited disorder, mothers of children with FXS typically have the fragile X premutation (FXp). Women with FXp demonstrate atypical physiological arousal indexed by lower RSA as well, and they experience elevated anxiety, depression, and stress. Collectively, in FXS, these child and maternal phenotypic factors (i.e., clinical status, atypical RSA) coalesce into vulnerability to disrupted maternal-child RSA synchrony. Yet, no studies have examined maternal-child RSA synchrony in FXS or focused on infancy. Just as maternal-child synchrony is influenced by the phenotypes of the dyadic partners, mother-child interactions are influenced by contextual factors that surround the child, such as parental stress and familial relationships; this important contextual influence has also been absent from the FXS maternal-child synchrony literature. Therefore, the over-arching aim of this F31 is to examine maternal-child RSA synchrony in 12-month-old males with FXS (nFXS = 25), contrasted against male infants with neurotypical development (NT; nNT = 25) at baseline (Aim 1a) and during a standardized mother-child free play interaction task (Aim 2b). I will identify how contextual variables (i.e., parental stress, family relationships) differentially impact both baseline maternal-child RSA synchrony (Aim 1b) and maternal-child RSA synchrony during the mother-child free play task (Aim 2b) in both groups, as well as how behavioral synchrony impacts maternal-child RSA synchrony during the mother-child free play task (Aim 2c) across groups.