Xavier University

XULA HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-HBCUS

ASSESSING VACCINE HESITANCY AND A PHARMACIST LED INTERVENTION MODEL TO INCREASE COVID-19 VACCINE UPTAKE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (HBCU)

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (HBCU)

BUILDING INTEGRATED PATHWAYS TO INDEPENDENCE FOR DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS

HBCU - INSTITUTIONAL AID

UNKNOWN TITLE

UNKNOWN TITLE

XAVIER'S RCMI CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAM

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2020 HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND- IHES

NEW ORLEANS EDUCATOR PROJECT

HBCU - INSTITUTIONAL AID

HIGHER EDUCATION - INSTITUTIONAL AID - HBCU - INSTITUTIONAL AID

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-IHE/XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

XAVIER PHARMACY ENDOWMENT FOR MINORITY HEALTH

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2020 HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND- IHES

XAVIER UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-INSTITUTION

PROJECT PATHWAYS: STUDENT TRAINING CORE

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND – XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

PREDICT (PRECISION MEDICINE, EDUCATION, DATA INFORMATICS AND COMMUNITY TRANSLATION) INSTITUTE - PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA SEEKS SUPPORT FROM THE NIH NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES TO COMPLEMENT THE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY THROUGH A NEW INITIATIVE. THE PROPOSED INITIATIVE WILL ESTABLISH THE PRECISION MEDICINE, EDUCATION, DATA INFORMATICS, AND COMMUNITY TRANSLATION (PREDICT) INSTITUTE, A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMMATIC INITIATIVE CREATING A HOLISTIC AND REPLICABLE FRAMEWORK FOR THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH DATA AND COMMUNITY TRANSLATION TO AFFECT THE DECISION- MAKING PROCESS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE INSTITUTE WILL EXTEND THE TECHNICAL RESEARCH EXCHANGE (TREX) PROGRAM AT XAVIER TO INCLUDE TRAINING OF CURRENT AND FUTURE UNDERREPRESENTED RESEARCHERS ON HEALTH INFORMATICS BEST PRACTICES TO DIVERSIFY THE RESEARCH WORKFORCE AND LEVERAGE COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO ENHANCE CLINICAL RESEARCH EFFORTS IN VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. THIS REQUEST COMES AT BOTH A CHALLENGING AND OPPORTUNISTIC TIME WHERE AN AWARENESS OF HEALTH DISPARITIES WAS HEIGHTENED AND, IN SOME INSTANCES, EXACERBATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE USE OF POPULATION HEALTH AND BIOINFORMATICS DATA ARE POTENTIAL TOOLS USEFUL IN COLLECTIVE APPROACHES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE HEALTH EQUITY. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE PREDICT INSTITUTE ARE: SPECIFIC AIM #1: TO ENHANCE THE EXISTING XAVIER HEALTH INFORMATICS INFRASTRUCTURE BY INCREASING CAPACITY FOR DATA ACQUISITION, DATA WAREHOUSING, DATA ACCESS, DATA ANALYTICS, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NECESSARY FOR ADDRESSING HEALTH OUTCOMES IN MINORITY COMMUNITIES. SPECIFIC AIM #2: TO STRENGTHEN THE RESEARCH AND OUTREACH INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY-ENGAGED TRANSLATIONAL/CLINICAL RESEARCH AND HEALTH PROMOTION TO MITIGATE HEALTH DISPARITIES. SPECIFIC AIM #3: TO DEVELOP A DIVERSE, HIGHLY COMPETITIVE RESEARCH WORKFORCE THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAINING/MENTORING PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL RESIDENTS/FELLOWS, AND EARLY-STAGE/MID-CAREER FACULTY (PREDICT SCHOLARS).

XAVIER UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-STUDENT

STRENGTHENING XULA'S GRADUATE PROGRAMS THROUGH HBGI FUNDING

XAVIER'S RCMI CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAM

PROJECT PATHWAYS: RESEARCH ENRICHMENT CORE

HBCU - INSTITUTIONAL AID

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM (FUTURE ACT)

THE DEVELOPMENT OF STABLE, ULTRA HIGH ENERGY DENSITY AND ALL SOLID STATE LITHIUM BATTERIES WITH EXCELLENT SAFETY AND RATE PERFORMANCE ARE NEEDED FOR

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM

HBCU - INSTITUTIONAL AID

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY CONEXIONES PROGRAM

EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION XAVIER ANIM*

NANOSCALE IMAGING SYSTEMS

COMPREHENSIVE, ALIGNED SUPPORTS FOR ATTAINMENT (CASA)- SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2019 TITLE V DEVELOPING HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM APPLICATION

MARC U*STAR PROGRAN AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2020 DEVELOPING HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS PROPOSAL

BUILDING INTEGRATED PATHWAYS TO INDEPENDENCE FOR DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: XULA-UCHICAGO PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN INNOVATIVE COMPOSITE MATERIALS -THE OVERALL AIM OF THE PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN MATERIALS (PREM) BETWEEN XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA (XULA) AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (UCHICAGO) MATERIALS RESEARCH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CENTER (MRSEC) IS TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CAREERS BY ENGAGING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE NATIONAL INTEREST BECAUSE OF ITS FOCUS ON PREPARING HOME-GROWN TALENT FOR SPECIALIZED CAREERS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. IN ADDITION, THE TWO RESEARCH THRUSTS PROPOSED IN THIS PROJECT ARE DIRECTLY ALIGNED WITH ACHIEVING NATIONAL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING NEW COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR HIGH ENERGY DENSITY BATTERY SYSTEMS. BY FOCUSING ON ENHANCING BOTH THE IONIC CONDUCTIVITY AND ELECTROCHEMICAL STABILITY OF SOLID ELECTROLYTES, THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO NEW MATERIALS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE LONG-TERM CYCLABILITY AND ENERGY DENSITY OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERY SYSTEMS FOR PORTABLE ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS. BEYOND RESEARCH, THIS PROJECT ALSO SEEKS TO ENGAGE A YOUNGER GENERATION IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. THIS PARTNERSHIP WILL ESTABLISH A NEW K-12 TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM, ENGAGE IN SUMMER ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS AT XULA, AND BEGIN A NEW COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORT ENGAGING THE K-12 COMMUNITY IN MATERIALS SCIENCE THROUGH ART. THIS PROJECT IS PARTIALLY SUPPORTED WITH CO-FUNDING FROM THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR), HBCU-UP PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF EQUITY FOR EXCELLENCE IN STEM (EES) IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR STEM EDUCATION (EDU), AND SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY FROM THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES (OSI) IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES (MPS). FACILITATED BY THE XULA-UCHICAGO PREM, THIS PROJECT OFFERS NEWLY ENVISIONED RESEARCH DIRECTIONS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE COMPOSITE MATERIALS THROUGH TWO NEW RESEARCH THRUSTS. RESEARCH THRUST 1 FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS OF POLYMER-BASED COMPOSITE MATERIALS THAT INCLUDE ORGANIC IONIC PLASTIC CRYSTALS (OIPC). OIPCS ARE AN EMERGING CLASS OF SOFT MATERIAL THAT RESEMBLE IONIC LIQUIDS IN THEIR MOLECULAR STRUC?TURE. THESE UNIQUE ORGANIC SALTS EXHIBIT MULTIPLE ENDOTHERMIC THERMAL TRANSITIONS THAT ARE DUE TO THE ABILITY OF OIPCS TO EXHIBIT BOTH LONG-RANGE CRYSTALLINE ORDER AND SHORT-RANGE DISORDER, RESULTING FROM LOCALIZED ROTATIONAL MOTION OF IONIC SPECIES COMPRISING THE ORGANIC SALT. THE PROPERTIES OF OIPCS ARE RELEVANT TO SOLID-STATE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES, AND GAS SEPARATION TECHNOLOGIES. DESPITE THEIR INTRIGUING PROPERTIES, THE STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS OF OIPCS AND THEIR POLYMER COMPOSITES ARE AN UNDERSTUDIED RESEARCH AREA WITHIN MATERIALS SCIENCE. TO CLOSE THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP, RESEARCH THRUST 1 WILL FOCUS ON (1) UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS OF NEW OIPCS, AND (2) 3D-PRINTING OF POLYMER/OIPC COMPOSITE MATERIALS. RESEARCH THRUST 2 INVOLVES THE DESIGN AND STUDY OF NEW COMPOSITE MATERIALS THAT SUPPORT SOLID-STATE LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES AND INCLUDES RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS FOUR MAIN OBJECTIVES: (1) SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF REDOX-ACTIVE BIS(NAPHTHOQUINONES), (2) COMPUTATIONAL MODELING TO DETERMINE THE LITHIUM INTERCALATION MECHANISM IN BIS(NAPHTHOQUINONES), (3) INVESTIGATING THE INTERFACIAL REACTIONS BETWEEN BIS(NAPHTHOQUINONE)-BASED CATHODES AND SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTE, AND (4) PREPARING SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTE IONOGELS COMPRISED OF A PARTIALLY FLUORINATED POLYMER MATRIX. OVERALL, THE MATERIALS INVESTIGATED WITHIN THRUST 2 ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE ROBUST BATTERY CYCLABILITY IN SOLID-STATE LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES, IMPROVE ION TRANSPORT AND ENHANCE THE ELECTRO?CHEMICAL STABILITY OF THE POLYMERIC SOLID ELECTROLYTE. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

STRENGTHENING PROGRAMMING AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

HBCU PROGRAM

MBRS RISE PROGRAM AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY

STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS

NOYCE/MSTI TEACHER FELLOWS MASTER TEACHER FELLOWS PROGRAM

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2020 INSTITUTIONAL RESILIENCE AND EXPANDED POSTSECONDARY OPPORTUNITY (IREPO) PROGRAM PROPOSAL

IMPLEMENTATION GRANT: XU PRE-GRADUATE SCHOLARS PROGRAM

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT SUCCESS PROGRAM (SSP)

BUILDING CAPACITY: POSITIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCES TO PROMOTE SUCCESS IN STEM

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, QUALITY, AND RETENTION - INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLBORATIVE PRACTICE

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

NURSE EDUCATION PRACTICE AND RETENTION

THE RESEARCH PROGRAM AT THE MICHESS WILL FOCUS ON TWO INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH GROUPS (IRG1 AND IRG2).

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY 2020 HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND- IHES

XAVIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

A DRUG DISCOVERY PARTNERSHIP FOR PERSONALIZED BREAST CANCER THERAPY

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-MOBILE OUTREACH FOR LABORATORY ENRICHMENT (XULA-MOLE) - PROJECT SUMMARY THE APPLICATION FOR XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA'S MOBILE OUTREACH FOR LABORATORY ENRICHMENT (XULA- MOLE) PROPOSES A COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING AND MENTORING PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. THIS PROJECT IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN XAVIER AND PARTICIPATING LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS COLLABORATION IS TO STIMULATE SCIENCE INTEREST IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AS A PRECURSOR TO THEM PURSUING CAREERS IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES OR STEM FIELDS. THE XULA- MOLE PROJECT ALSO AIMS TO BETTER SUPPORT SCIENCE TEACHERS WITH PEDAGOGICAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT DESIGN TRAINING AND MENTORING TO INCREASE THEIR IMPACT IN THE CLASSROOM. THE INTRODUCTION OF MOBILE INQUIRY-BASED STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS) CENTERED LABORATORY EXPERIENCES WILL ENCOURAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THIS RESOURCE POOR SETTING TO PURSUE FURTHER EDUCATION AND CAREERS IN SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. THIS PROGRAM IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO THE NEW ORLEANS AREA HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA HAVE STRUGGLED TO FIND SYNERGY BETWEEN CURRICULUM DESIGN AND EDUCATION REFORM IMPLEMENTATION. THE GENERAL STRATEGY FOR THIS PROPOSED WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT VIA A FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH INVOLVING (I) INQUIRY-BASED LABORATORY EXPERIENCES, (II) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH DESIGN TRAINING FOR TEACHERS, (III) ESTABLISHING NEAR-PEER MENTORING PROGRAMS BETWEEN XAVIER UNDERGRADUATES AND THEIR PRE-COLLEGE PEERS AND (IV) HIGH SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS TO BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH LABS AT XAVIER. THE XULA-MOLE PROJECT PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE XAVIER FACULTY AND UNDERGRADUATE STEM STUDENTS WHO WILL DESIGN INQUIRY-BASED GUIDED LABORATORY MODULES FOR THE PARTICIPATING HIGH SCHOOLS ALIGNED TO THE NGSS SCIENCE PROCESSES. THE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES FOR XULA-MOLE WILL BE DESIGNED WITH INSPIRATION FROM PREVIOUS SEPA-FUNDED PROGRAMS SUCH AS BEST SCIENCE!, WHICH FOCUSED ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS, AND THE LONG-SUSTAINING CITYLAB, WHICH MOST RECENTLY IS PILOTING AN AFTER SCHOOL SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPACTING STUDENTS' SCIENCE IDENTITY. BY USING A MULTI-PRONGED STRATEGY TO INSPIRE SCIENCE TEACHING AND LEARNING, THE XULA-MOLE PROGRAM AIMS TO DEVELOP A MODEL SYSTEM THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO MULTIPLE SCHOOLS AND GRADE LEVELS.

CRITICAL-JUNCTURE STEM EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS DRIVEN BY HOLISTIC INTEGRATIVE EVALUATION SYSTEMS

STEM EDUCATIONAL ENGAGEMENT: ENGAGING BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS IN BECOMING TEACHING PROFESSIONALS AT THE

XAVIER UNIVERSITY ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2012-2017

TRIO - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

EFFECT OF CX4945 IN TAMOXIFEN RESISTANT BCA

RONALD E. MCNAIR POST-BACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

TRIO - UPWARD BOUND - UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA'S UPWARD BOUND MATH AND SCIENCE PROPOSAL

XAVIER ADVANCE ADAPTATION - SUPPORTING TRANSFORMATION: INTERSECTIONAL DIRECTIONS TO ENGENDER SUCCESS (STRIDES)

RECRUIT AND RETAIN THROUGH ENRICHED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

FY09 EARMARK ENTITLED, `FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAMS NATIONAL STUDIES POINT TO THE DECREASING NUMBERS OF U.S. STUDE

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA - MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

AFLATOXIN REGULATION: ROLE OF GLOBAL REGULATORS AND EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA

TRIO - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

(NO IDC) LINKING AN INTEGRATING CAVITY ABSORPTION/FLUORESCENCE METER WITH MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROMETERS TO PERMIT SIMULTANEOUS OPERANDO MEASUREMENTS ON THE SAME TURBID SAMPLES

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: INVESTIGATION OF SMALL MOLECULE ADSORPTION AND CONVERSION ON THE SEMICONDUCTOR/IONIC-LIQUID INTERFACE AND APPLICATION TO SENSING AND CATALYSIS

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TLE1-MEDIATED TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAM AS A MODULATOR OF EPITHELIAL CELL SURVIVAL AND A TARGET OF INTEGRINS -CELLS ON THE SURFACE OF ANIMAL TISSUES AND ORGANS ADHERE FOR SURVIVAL TO AN UNDERLYING EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) OF PROTEINS VIA ADHESION PROTEINS CALLED INTEGRINS. LOSS OF CELL ATTACHMENT IS REGULATED TO SHED CELLS FROM THESE TISSUES VIA A PROCESS CALLED PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH. WHILE DIRECT INTEGRIN-MEDIATED SIGNALS TO DOWNSTREAM CELL DEATH PROCESSES ARE WELL CHARACTERIZED, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT OTHER INTEGRIN-REGULATED MECHANISMS THAT AFFECT OR PREVENT PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF AN INTEGRIN-MEDIATED PROTEIN CALLED TLE1, WHICH WORKS AS A MASTER REGULATOR OF INTEGRIN-MEDIATED CELL SURVIVAL VIA TLE1?S EFFECTS ON ACTIVATION OF MANY GENES. THE RESEARCH PLAN IS TO CHARACTERIZE THESE DOWNSTREAM GENE TARGETS OF TLE1, AS WELL AS COMPONENTS OF THE OTHER PROTEINS THAT WORK WITH TLE1 IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE REGULATION OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN CELL SURVIVAL AND DEATH, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF ORGANISMS. BY ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE OF THE REGULATION OF CELL DEATH, THIS PROJECT MAY YIELD NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES THAT TARGET CELL DEATH PATHWAYS IN ORDER TO ADVANCE OR PREVENT REMOVAL OF CELLS FOR DISEASE TREATMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT EXPANDS THE RESEARCH CAPABILITY AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AND SUPPORTS EDUCATION AND BROADENING PARTICIPATION FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY INTEGRATING SYSTEMS BIOLOGY RESEARCH INTO UNDERGRADUATE COURSES AND PROVIDING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE PROJECT WILL GENERATE CRUCIAL INSIGHTS INTO THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS GOVERNING EPITHELIAL CELL SURVIVAL. SPECIFICALLY, IT WILL EXPLORE THE ROLE OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL COREGULATORS AS MOLECULAR TARGETS OF INTEGRINS IN FINE-TUNING EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSES. USING MULTIOMICS AND BIOINFORMATIC APPROACHES, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO: I) IDENTIFY THE SURVIVAL-PROMOTING GENE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAM CONTROLLED BY TLE1 AND INTEGRIN-REGULATED CELL ADHESION VIA INTEGRATED RNA-SEQ AND CHIP-SEQ ANALYSIS; II) CHARACTERIZE THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE TLE1 COREPRESSOR COMPLEX THAT DRIVE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETICS EVENTS UNDERPINNING EPITHELIAL CELL SURVIVAL THROUGH PROTEOMICS; AND III) MAP THE TLE1-DEPENDENT GENOME-WIDE HISTONE MARKS ASSOCIATED WITH EPITHELIAL CELL SURVIVAL BY USE OF EPIGENETIC AND EPIGENOMIC APPROACHES. LEVERAGING INTEGRATED MULTIOMICS DATA ANALYSIS COUPLED WITH MOLECULAR, BIOCHEMICAL, AND CELLULAR VALIDATION, THIS PROJECT WILL UNDERSCORE THE ROLE OF TLE1 IN DEFINING AN EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE PERMISSIVE OF GENE EXPRESSION CRITICAL FOR ADHESION-DEPENDENT CELL SURVIVAL. INHIBITION OF TLE1?S NUCLEAR FUNCTION UPON LOSS OF INTEGRIN-DEPENDENT SURVIVAL SIGNAL MAY RESULT IN AN EPIGENOMIC LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATED WITH CELL DEATH. THE RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL PROVIDE A MECHANISTIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE ROLE OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL COREGULATORS IN LINKING EPIGENOME ALTERATIONS TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPROGRAMMING DURING CELLULAR STRESS. THIS WORK WILL ALSO HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON UNDERSTANDING ANIMAL TISSUE HOMEOSTASIS AND ORGANISMAL DEVELOPMENT, AS BOTH PROCESSES REQUIRE PRECISE REGULATION OF EPITHELIAL CELL SURVIVAL AND DEATH. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ALLOSTERIC BINDING IN ANTIBODIES AND PROTEIN ANTIGENS

AROMATIC ACETYLENES AS INHIBITORS OF CYTOCHROME P450, A STRUCTURAL STUDY

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS

XAVIER-UCHICAGO PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN MATERIALS FOR ENERGY STORAGE AND SENSING

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

NEW GRANT - REP

REGULATION AND LOCALIZATION OF MISMATCH REPAIR PROTEINS - PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROGRAM DIRECTOR (LAST, FIRST, MIDDLE): HAYE, JOANNA, ELIZABETH ABSTRACT: DNA MISMATCH REPAIR (MMR) IS A HIGHLY CONSERVED PROCESS. A FUNCTIONAL MMR PATHWAY IS ESSENTIAL FOR MAINTAINING GENOME INTEGRITY; LOSS OF MMR RESULTS IN GENOME INSTABILITY AND CANCER IN HIGHER EUKARYOTES. FOR EXAMPLE, DEFECTS IN MMR GENES RESULT IN LYNCH SYNDROME, A COMMON HEREDITARY CANCER SYNDROME RESULTING IN EARLY ONSET CANCERS OF THE COLON, ENDOMETRIUM, OVARIES, SMALL INTESTINE, HEPATOBILIARY TRACT, UPPER URINARY TRACT AS WELL AS OTHER TISSUES. IN OUR MOST RECENT PUBLICATION, WE SHOWED THAT IN YEAST, DELETION OF MODULATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION (ALSO KNOWN AS NOT4) OR GENERAL CONTROL NONDEREPRESSIBLE 5 (GCN5) MODULATE THE LEVELS OF MSH2, A MAJOR MMR COMPONENT. LOSS OF GCN5 SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASES MSH2, WHEREAS DELETING NOT4 STABILIZES FUNCTIONAL MSH2. NOT4 AND GCN5 ARE PROTEINS THAT UBIQUITYLATE AND ACETYLATE VARIOUS PROTEINS RESPECTIVELY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT NOT4 AND GCN5 MODIFY YEAST MUTSA (COMPRISED OF MS2 AND MSH6) AND THAT THE MODIFICATIONS AFFECT THE STABILITY OF THE COMPLEX. USING THE YEAST SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE (S. CEREVISIAE), THE FIRST AIM OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO ESTABLISH THE ROLE OF GCN5 AND NOT4 IN THE REGULATION OF THE MAJOR MISMATCH RECOGNITION COMPLEX MUTSA. OUR PREVIOUS EXPERIMENTS HAVE ALSO SHOWN THAT YEAST MUTS TRACKS WITH THE REPLICATION MACHINERY DURING DNA REPLICATION. HUMAN MUTSA IS RECRUITED TO CHROMATIN THROUGH SPECIFIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND INTERACTS WITH THE REPLICATION MACHINERY BY BINDING PCNA, THE DNA POLYMERASE PROCESSIVITY FACTOR. HOWEVER, THE MODIFICATIONS THAT RECRUIT HUMAN MUTSA ARE NOT UTILIZED IN YEAST. HOW YEAST MUTSA IS RECRUITED TO CHROMATIN REMAINS ELUSIVE. THE SECOND AIM OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF POST- TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS IN MUTSA RECRUITMENT TO CHROMATIN. PHS398 (REV. 5/01) PAGE CONTINUATION FORMAT PAGE

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION GRANTS

A ROLE OF BIT1 IN THE APOPTOSIS RESISTANCE, ANOIKIS INSENSITVITY, AND CHEMORESIST

ELUCIDATING COGNITIVE AND NEURAL MECHANISMS TO ENHANCE ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

IRREVERSIBLE ESTROGEN RECEPTOR INHIBITORS - PROJECT SUMMARY CONSTITUTIVELY ACTIVE SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN THE ESTROGEN RECEPTOR (ER) LIGAND BINDING DOMAIN (LBD) HAVE EMERGED AS A FREQUENT MECHANISM OF ENDOCRINE THERAPY RESISTANCE IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC ER+ BREAST CANCERS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NO THERAPEUTIC AGENTS TO ADDRESS THIS PATIENT POPULATION. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP THERAPEUTICALLY USEFUL IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS FOR THE TREATMENT OF ER+ METASTATIC BREAST CANCER, WHICH WILL CREATE THERAPY OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FAILED OR RELAPSED ON CURRENT THERAPIES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO IDENTIFY TEMPLATE-BASED IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS THAT CAN BIND TO THE ER WITH HIGH AFFINITY AND FORM AN IRREVERSIBLE COVALENT C-S BOND WITH THE C530 AMINO ACID RESIDUE IN THE ER LBD. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT A PHARMACEUTICALLY OPTIMIZED IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITOR CAN BE OBTAINED BY INCORPORATING CLINICALLY PROVEN ER- BINDING MOTIFS AND A COVALENT-BOND FORMING MICHAEL ADDITION MOIETY IN THE MOLECULES. THIS HYPOTHESIS IS SUPPORTED BY EARLY TRIPHENYLETHYLENE-BASED IRREVERSIBLE ER ANTAGONISTS EXHIBITING UTEROTROPHIC EFFECTS SIMILAR TO TAMOXIFEN, AND PROTOTYPE COMPOUNDS FROM OUR LABORATORY WITH THIOPHENE (RALOXIFENE-LIKE) CORE DEMONSTRATING LACK OF SUCH EFFECT BUT EQUALLY POTENT ANTAGONISM IN THE BREAST. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED BY PURSUING THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS; 2) DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF THE IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS ON PROLIFERATION IN BREAST CANCER CELLS, AND 3) EVALUATE IN VIVO PHARMACODYNAMICS AND ANTI-TUMOR THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF NOVEL IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS. UNDER THE FIRST AIM, IRREVERSIBLE ER BINDING INHIBITORS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED USING CORES MOTIFS: TRIPHENYLETHYLENES (TAMOXIFEN-LIKE) AND BENZOTHIOPHENES (RALOXIFENE-LIKE) AND ARE EXPECTED TO BE HIGHLY SELECTIVE, POTENT, AND TO EXERT PERMANENT ANTAGONISM. UNDER AIM TWO, THE SYNTHESIZED COMPOUNDS WILL BE EVALUATED IN THEIR ABILITY TO FORM A COVALENT BOND WITH ER C530 AND INHIBIT THE GROWTH OF BREAST CANCER CELLS. FOR THE THIRD AIM, THE LEAD AGENT FROM EACH STRUCTURAL MOTIF GROUP WILL BE IDENTIFIED FOR FURTHER PRECLINICAL STUDIES AND EFFICACY IN PATIENT-DERIVED XENOGRAFT BREAST TUMOR MODELS. THE RESEARCH HERE IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT FOCUSES ON THE USE OF IRREVERSIBLE INHIBITORS TO OVERCOME ENDOCRINE RESISTANCE AND INCORPORATES NOVEL MOIETIES TO ACHIEVE HIGH DRUG EXPOSURE. THIS CONTRIBUTION IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL IDENTIFY A CLASS OF IRREVERSIBLE ER INHIBITORS THAT DISPLAY NOVEL ANTIESTROGENIC EFFECTS, LACKS AGONIST ACTIVITIES, AND HAS HIGH ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY, OFFERING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE THERAPIES TO TREAT BREAST CANCER.

EARMARKS

FORMULATION OF FENRETINIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR ENHANCED BIOAVAILABILITY

INVESTIGATION OF NUCLEIC ACID BASED DERIVED TAMOXIFEN ANALOGUES FOR BREAST CANCER

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

RUI: MAPPING LYSINE DEACETYLASE SUBSTRATE SELECTIVITY -THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW A GROUP OF ENZYMES, NAMELY LYSINE DEACETYLASES, CONTROL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN CELLS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO RELATED AVENUES OF RESEARCH, WITH SUBSEQUENT IMPACT ON UNDERSTANDING OF FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE. THE ACTIVITIES IN THIS PROJECT WILL BE PERFORMED PRIMARILY BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATE TECHNICIANS WILL GAIN MEANINGFUL RESEARCH SKILLS AND TRAINING RELEVANT FOR PROGRESSION INTO GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE. LYSINE DEACETYLASES (KDACS OR HDACS) ARE A FAMILY OF CLOSELY RELATED ENZYMES THAT REGULATE POST-TRANSLATIONAL ACETYLATION OF PROTEINS THROUGH REMOVAL OF ACETYL GROUPS FROM LYSINE RESIDUES. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW FOUR KDACS REGULATE CELLULAR ACTIVITY, BY (1) IDENTIFYING THE MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS OF KDACS THAT DETERMINE SUBSTRATE SELECTIVITY, AND (2) IDENTIFYING THE SPECIFIC KDAC RESPONSIBLE FOR DEACETYLATION OF PARTICULAR ACETYLATED LYSINE RESIDUES IN NON-HISTONE PROTEINS. A COMBINATION OF IN VITRO ACTIVITY ASSAYS, MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS, AND A CELL-BASED APPROACH INVOLVING GENETICALLY ENCODED BUT CATALYTICALLY INACTIVE KDACS WILL LEAD TO IDENTIFICATION OF CELLULAR SUBSTRATES AND A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTICULAR MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS DRIVING ACTIVITY BETWEEN A SPECIFIC KDAC AND THE ACETYLATED PROTEIN. OVERALL, THE PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A PHYSICAL MAP OF THE SURFACE OF EACH KDAC THAT DETERMINES SELECTIVITY, AS WELL AS DEFINITIVE SUBSTRATE IDENTIFICATION LEADING TO A CONCEPTUAL MAP OF THE CELLULAR PROCESSES CONTROLLED BY THE KDACS VIA THEIR SUBSTRATES. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS CLUSTER IN THE DIVISION OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES (MCB) AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

EVENT DETECTION FOR STREAMING ANALYTICS: AN INTELLIGENT MATHEMATICAL PARADIGM

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: MOLECULAR-LEVEL INVESTIGATIONS ON BINARY IMIDAZOLIUM-BASED IONIC LIQUIDS MIXTURE -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS (CSD) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY AND THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH (HBCU-EIR) PROGRAM IN THE OFFICE OF INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITIES, PROFESSORS SAMRAT DUTTA AND KEVIN RILEY, OF XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA WILL STUDY THE CONNECTION BETWEEN IONIC LIQUID STRUCTURES AND THEIR RESULTING MACROSCOPIC PROPERTIES (SUCH AS VISCOSITY AND GAS SOLUBILITY) IN MIXTURES. WHILE SINGLE IONIC LIQUIDS HAVE BEEN PURSUED AS A PROMISING CLASS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SOLVENTS BOTH FOR INDUSTRIAL AND LABORATORY PRACTICES, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF MIXTURES OF IONIC LIQUIDS AND HOW SUCH MIXING IMPACTS THEIR PROPERTIES. MIXTURES OF IONIC LIQUIDS POSSESS UNIQUELY HIGH GAS SOLUBILITY AS COMPARED TO THEIR PURE COUNTERPARTS AND CAN BE POLYMERIZED TO FORM INTERFACES FOR SOLID-STATE ION TRANSPORT WHICH ARE ALSO INFLUENCED BY THEIR MIXING ABILITY. THE TEAM WILL DEVELOP UNIQUE VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY PROBES, SUPPORTED BY QUANTUM CHEMISTRY CALCULATIONS, TO PRESENT A MOLECULAR PICTURE OF IONIC LIQUID MIXTURES, PARTICULARLY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF IDEALITY OF MIXING. A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF IONIC LIQUID SOLUTIONS WILL ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MIXED SOLVENTS WITH PREDICTABLE PROPERTIES TO FACILITATE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS POST-COMBUSTION CARBON CAPTURE. THE ACTIVITIES IN THE PROJECT WILL BROADEN UNDERREPRESENTED UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS? PARTICIPATION IN THE NATION'S STEM WORKFORCE SPECIFICALLY IN THE EMERGING GLOBAL IONIC LIQUID INDUSTRY. THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF IMIDAZOLIUM-BASED BINARY IONIC LIQUID MIXTURES, WHICH ARE ENTIRELY MADE OF IONS, ARE COMPLICATED BY MANY COMPETITIVE FORCES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, COULOMB FORCES, HYDROGEN BONDING, AND DISPERSION INTERACTIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF THESE COMPLEX SOLVENTS CAN ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BETTER IONIC LIQUID MIXTURES WITH PREDICTABLE PROPERTIES. TO THIS END, THE RESEARCH WILL STUDY THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF BINARY MIXTURES OF IONIC LIQUIDS, EXAMINE GAS-IONIC LIQUID INTERACTIONS IN SUCH MIXTURES UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, AND ANALYZE THE NATURE OF THE INTERPHASE BETWEEN TWO IONIC LIQUIDS WHEN POLYMERIZED AND LAMINATED TOGETHER IN THE SOLID STATE. A VARIETY OF FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FT-IR) TECHNIQUES WILL BE LEVERAGED TO STUDY THESE SYSTEMS INCLUDING TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D-IR) SPECTROSCOPY AND INFRARED MICROSCOPY, ALONG WITH DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT) AND MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATION. THE PROPOSAL WILL PROVIDE A SPECTROSCOPIC TOOL KIT VIA A C-D VIBRATIONAL LABEL ON THE IMIDAZOLIUM CATION TO INTERROGATE THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE BINARY IONIC LIQUID MIXTURE. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS WORK WILL INCLUDE METHODS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN IDEAL AND NON-IDEAL BINARY MIXTURES, INSIGHTS INTO DISSOLUTION MECHANISMS OF GASES IN BINARY MIXTURES, AND EVIDENCE OF MIGRATION OF IONS BETWEEN TWO POLYMERIZED IONIC LIQUIDS. ON A BROAD SCALE, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR YOUNG, UNDERREPRESENTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BE ENGAGED IN NATIONALLY COMPETITIVE RESEARCH, PREPARE THEM FOR GRADUATE RESEARCH, AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP IN STEM AREAS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NEW; TITLE: REAL TIME ABSORBANCE MEASUREMENTS OF ELECTRON TRANSFER REACTIONS IN LIVE BACTERIA THAT REDUCE EXTRACELLULAR IRON; PI: ROBERT BLAKE

THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF IONIC LIQUID-MEDIATED SMALL MOLECULE SELECTIVE ADSORPTION

INHIBITORS OF HUMAN FACTOR XIIIA AS NEW ANTICOAGULANTS - SUMMARY THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF OUR RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE ANTICOAGULANTS THAT DO NOT CAUSE BLEEDING COMPLICATIONS TO BE SAFELY USED FOR A WIDER RANGE OF PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM VENOUS THROMBOEMBOLISM (VTE). THIS PROJECT AIMS AT DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE AND SAFER ANTICOAGULANTS BY TARGETING HUMAN FACTOR XIIIA (FXIIIA). ALL AVAILABLE ANTICOAGULANTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF BLEEDING. CURRENT ANTICOAGULANTS INHIBIT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY THROMBIN AND/OR FACTOR XA. THIS IS THE REASON WHY THEY ARE CLINICALLY EFFECTIVE, BUT IT IS ALSO THE REASON WHY THEY CAUSE BLEEDING. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT INHIBITING FXIIIA WILL RESULT IN EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST VTE WITHOUT CAUSING SIGNIFICANT BLEEDING. IN CONTRAST TO ALL OTHER CLOTTING FACTORS WHICH ARE SERINE PROTEASES, FXIIIA IS A TRANSGLUTAMINASE THAT CATALYZES THE LAST STEP IN THE COAGULATION PROCESS. THIS UNIQUE BIOCHEMICAL ASPECT OF FXIIIA HAS BEEN UNDER INVESTIGATION IN THE CONTEXT OF VTE. IN VITRO EXPERIMENTS SHOWED THAT TREATING NORMAL HUMAN BLOOD WITH AN EXPERIMENTAL TRANSGLUTAMINASE INHIBITOR INCREASES RBC EXTRUSION FROM CONTRACTING CLOTS AND REDUCES CLOT SIZE. VARIOUS STUDIES ALSO SUGGESTED THAT A CERTAIN FXIIIA POLYMORPHISM PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT PROTECTION AGAINST VTE AND THAT HETEROZYGOUS FXIII-DEFICIENT MICE DO NOT SHOW SIGNS OF EXCESSIVE BLEEDING. THUS, FXIIIA MAY SERVE AS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET TO DEVELOP A NEW EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR VTE THAT DOES NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE BLEEDING RISK. DESPITE THIS PROMISE, VERY FEW FXIIIA INHIBITORS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, ALL OF WHICH LACK SUBSTANTIAL SELECTIVITY AS THEY CAN ALSO INHIBIT OTHER TRANSGLUTAMINASES BY BLOCKING THEIR ACTIVE SITES. THUS, I HAVE PROPOSED SULFONATED NON-SACCHARIDE GLYCOS- AMINOGLYCAN MIMETICS AS A PLATFORM TO DEVELOP FXIIIA INHIBITORS. THE SULFONATED MOLECULES ARE TO INHIBIT FXIIIA POTENTLY AND SELECTIVELY THROUGH ALLOSTERIC MODULATION. IN PRELIMINARY STUDIES, I DISCOVERED TWO SULFONATED MOLECULES THAT INHIBIT FXIIIA WITH LOW MICROMOLAR POTENCIES. THE TWO MOLECULES INHIBITED FXIIIA-MEDIATED POLYMERIZATION OF FIBRIN. THE TWO MOLECULES DID NOT AFFECT OTHER CLOTTING FACTORS AND DID NOT AFFECT THE VIABILITY OF THREE CELL LINES. MOLECULAR MODELING PROJECTED A PLAUSIBLE BINDING SITE FOR THESE MOLECULES ON FXIIIA. IN THIS PROPOSAL, I SPECIFICALLY AIM AT USING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO ESTABLISH THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE AND SELECTIVE INHIBITION OF FXIIIA BY SULFONATED MOLECULES. I WILL SYNTHESIZE ADVANCED LIBRARIES OF TWO “LEAD” MOLECULES AND EVALUATE THEIR BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL POTENTIAL AS ANTICOAGULANTS. THE PROPOSAL IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE I) IT PUTS FORWARD A NOVEL APPROACH TO OVERCOME THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT VTE TREATMENT; II) IT EXPLOITS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE THE SPECIFIC AIMS; AND III) IT INTRODUCES NEW TECHNOLOGIES WITH PROPRIETARY STRUCTURAL AND MECHANISTIC ASPECTS. THE PROJECT IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL: I) IDENTIFY 2-3 POTENT, SPECIFIC, AND ALLOSTERIC FXIIIA INHIBITORS FOR FUTURE EVALUATION IN ANIMAL MODELS OF VTE AND BLEEDING; II) OFFER NEW TOOLS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND FXIIIA ROLE IN THE COAGULATION PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY; III) INVESTIGATE AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO MODULATE FXIIIA VIA ALLOSTERY TO PAVE THE WAY TO TRANSFORMING ANTICOAGULANTS.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF COMPUTING SCHOLARS

A MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANOMALY DETECTION IN DATA STREAMS

MOLECULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF LYSINE DEACETYLASE INTERACTIONS

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO 1) SUPPORT PROGRAMS TO ERADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB), ANOPLOPHORA GLABRIPENNIS, 2) SUPPORT RESEARCH INVESTIGATING EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB), AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS, REARING METHODOLOGY OF TO SUPPORT BIOLOGICAL CONTROL EFFORTS, 3) DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOR INVASIVE WOODBORERS (CERAMBYCIDS, BUPRESTIDS AND SCOLTYTINES) AND MOTHS (BOX TREE MOTH, SPONGY MOTH) TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS OF CAPS TO DETECT AND PREVENT EXOTIC WOOD-BORING BEETLES FROM ENTERING AND BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA, 4) DEVELOP AND IMPROVE TRAPS AND TRAPPING METHODS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL (THROUGH TRAPPING AND CLASSICAL BIOLOGICAL CONTROL) OF THE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY (SLF), LYCORMA DELICATULA. ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS TO SUPPORT CURRENT ALB RESEARCH AS WELL AS THE ALB PROGRAM IN BETHEL, OH. WORK WILL ALSO BE CONDUCTED TO OPTIMIZE EAB PARASITOID REARING AND RECOVERY TECHNIQUES AND TO PRODUCE SENTINEL LOGS FOR EAB BIOCONTROL FIELD RESEARCH. TRAPS AND LURES FOR EXOTIC WOODBORERS WILL BE SCREENED FOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN DETECTION PROGRAMS. SLF TRAPPING ASSAYS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN CT AND IN TO DETERMINE THE DETECTION CAPABILITIES ALTERNATIVE HOSTS TO TREE OF HEAVEN AS WELL AS TO SCREEN POTENTIAL VISUAL ATTRACTANTS (IE. COLORS, PATTERNS) , AND TO DETERMINE THE ABILITY OF CURRENT TRAPPING METHODS (CIRCLE TRAPS) TO REDUCE POPULATIONS IN LOW DENSITY AREAS. SLF NYMPHS WILL ALSO BE REARED TO BE PRESENTED TO DRYINID PARASITOIDS. ACP COLONIES WILL ALSO BE MAINTAINED, AND INSECTS FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED BY XAVIER SUPPORT STAFF STATIONED IN THE FPML BETHEL OH FIELD STATION, AS WELL AS IN EAST STROUDSBURG, PA, BRIGHTON, MI AND AT THE FPML IN BUZZARDS BAY, MA. DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE STAFFING ASSISTANCE BY XAVIER FOR WORK TO BE CONDUCTED IN MA, MI AND OH. THIS WILL INCLUDE TRAINING, HR, AND TRAVEL SUPPORT. STAFF FROM THESE LOCATIONS WILL WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH PPQ STAFF TO SUPPORT THE STUDIES BEING CONDUCTED. LISTS OF TARGET NEW ENGLAND AND MIDWEST WOODBORER SPECIES WILL BE COMPILED FROM TRAPPING ASSAYS. EFFORTS WILL SUPPORT EFFORTS OF USDA-APHIS, AND OTHER COLLABORATING FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, TO PROVIDE EARLY DETECTION TOOLS FOR POTENTIALLY INVASIVE WOODBORERS, AS WELL AS SLF. EAB BIOCONTROL EFFORTS WILL ALSO BE SUPPORTED BY THE RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IN THIS AGREEMENT AS WELL.

ROLE OF THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL COREPRESSOR TLE1 IN THE LUNG ADENOCARCINOMA AGGRESSIVENESS AND PROGRESSION - PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROGRAM DIRECTOR (LAST, FIRST, MIDDLE): BILIRAN JR., HECTOR ROLE OF THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL COREPRESSOR TLE1 IN THE LUNG ADENOCARCINOMA AGGRESSIVENESS AND PROGRESSION ABSTRACT LUNG ADENOCARCINOMA (LUAD), WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST 40% OF LUNG CANCER, HAS A 5-YEAR SURVIVAL RATE OF ONLY 15% DUE TO ITS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR. HENCE, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR EVENTS UNDERLYING THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF LUAD. THIS LAB'S PRIOR R15 WORK HAS OBTAINED EVIDENCE THAT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL COREPRESSOR TLE1 EXERTS AN ANTI-APOPTOTIC- AND EMT-PROMOTING FUNCTION IN LUAD CELLS AND THEREBY POTENTIATING THEIR ANOIKIS RESISTANCE, AND ANCHORAGE-INDEPENDENT GROWTH IN VITRO AS WELL AS TUMORIGENESIS IN VIVO. MECHANISTICALLY, THE DUAL SURVIVAL- AND EMT-PROMOTING FUNCTION OF TLE1 IS IN PART DUE TO ITS TRANSCRIPTIONAL SILENCING OF THE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR E-CADHERIN GENE VIA THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR ZEB1 AND CHROMATIN MODIFYING ENZYME HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC). OUR RECENT BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSES INDICATE THAT TLE1 IS UPREGULATED AND DISPLAYS A POOR PROGNOSTIC VALUE IN LUAD. BASED ON THESE COLLECTIVE DATA, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT TLE1 REGULATES A SURVIVAL- AND EMT-PROMOTING GENE TRANSCRIPTION PROGRAM TO DRIVE THE AGGRESSIVENESS AND PROGRESSION OF LUAD. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS WILL BE ADDRESSED: 1) EVALUATE THE FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF TLE1 IN LUAD TUMORIGENESIS AND AGGRESSIVENESS; 2) MOLECULARLY CHARACTERIZE THE COMPONENTS OF THE TLE1-MEDIATED TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAM THAT MAY DRIVE LUAD PROGRESSION; AND 3) DETERMINE WHETHER TLE1 NUCLEAR FUNCTION REGULATES TUMORIGENICITY AND METASTASIS IN LUAD MOUSE XENOGRAFT MODELS. THESE PROPOSED STUDIES, WHICH WILL BE PERFORMED BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS TOGETHER WITH THE PI AND A RESEARCH ASSISTANT, WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE TLE1 TRANSCRIPTIONAL NETWORK AS A “DRIVER” OF LUAD ONCOGENESIS AND AS A MOLECULAR THERAPEUTIC TARGET TO CURTAIL LUAD AGGRESSIVENESS. PHS398 (REV. 5/01) PAGE CONTINUATION FORMAT PAGE

CHARACTERIZING THE SPECIFICITY OF CLASS IIA LYSINE DEACETYLASES

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

HIGHER EDUCATION

HEALTH CARE AND OTHER FACILITIES

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: INVESTIGATION OF INTERFACIAL CHEMICAL AND ION TRANSPORT IN SOLID INORGANIC-POLYMER ELECTROLYTES

PURCHASE OF A LASER SCANNING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

PURCHASE OF A TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH IN SPECTROELECTROCHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS IN INTACT MICROORGANISMS

SCHOLARSHIPS TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AND ACHIEVEMENT IN COMPUTER SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND PHYSICS MAJORS

EARMARKS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND TEACHING EQUIPMENT

21-IPMSI21-0023 XULA SURFACE-BASED MEASUREMENT INITIATIVE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL/AIR QUALITY MONITORING

SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA FISHERIES RECOVERY RESOURCE CENTER.

REU SITE: NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC MECHANISMS THAT ALTER BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES -THIS REU SITE AWARD TO XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA, LOCATED IN NEW ORLEANS, LA WILL SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF 30 STUDENTS FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2027-2029. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM ACROSS THE US AND WILL INCLUDE STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES IN THEIR HOME INSTITUTIONS. RESEARCH MENTORS WILL GUIDE TRAINEES IN INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS, ALIGNED WITH THE PROGRAM THEME OF ?NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC MECHANISMS THAT ALTER BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES?, USING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO PROVIDE CRITICAL INSIGHTS THAT BUILD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD. TRAINEES WILL ALSO BE INVOLVED IN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AS LABORATORIES WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS COMMON INTERESTS AND RESEARCH PROBLEMS. TRAINEES WILL PRESENT THEIR RESEARCH AT AN END-OF-SUMMER SYMPOSIUM AND WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO PRESENT AT NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES. THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER PROGRAM, THE COHORT OF TRAINEES WILL PARTICIPATE IN SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND EXPLORE POTENTIAL CAREER PATHS IN THE STEM FIELDS. ASSESSMENT OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH SURVEYS OF TRAINEES AND MENTORS, AS WELL AS THROUGH LONG-TERM TRACKING OF TRAINEE ACADEMIC AND CAREER PATHWAYS AFTER PROGRAM PARTICIPATION. STUDENTS SHOULD APPLY TO THE REU SITE USING NSF ETAP (EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATION: HTTPS://ETAP.NSF.GOV/AWARD/8501/OPPORTUNITY/11970). THE TRAINING STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE IS ALIGNED WITH THE NSF PRIORITY IN BIOTECHNOLOGY. THE MODIFICATION OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY THROUGH CHANGES IN GENETIC CONTENT OR VIA THE ADDITION OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS IS THE OVERARCHING THEME OF THIS PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM TAKES A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO STUDYING THE EFFECT OF CHEMICAL AGENTS ON MACROMOLECULES, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON MOLECULAR REGULATION, MAINTENANCE OF BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, AND CELLULAR COMMUNICATION CRITICAL TO BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. BY INTEGRATING RESEARCH LABORATORIES IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, NEUROSCIENCE, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, STUDENTS WILL UTILIZE A WIDE ARRAY OF EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGIES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. FROM MODELING-BASED DESIGN OF MACROMOLECULES TO MOLECULAR SYNTHESIS AND THE SUBSEQUENT TESTING OF COMPOUNDS ON BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY, TRAINEES WILL GAIN A WEALTH OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WITH EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR FUTURE TRAINING FOR PATHS IN STEM CAREERS. THIS PREPARATION WILL ALSO INVOLVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION AND GRE PREP, SCIENCE COMMUNICATION TRAINING, CAREER EXPLORATION SESSIONS, AND VISITS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS AT A LOCAL BIOINNOVATION CENTER. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO 1) SUPPORT PROGRAMS TO ERADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB), ANOPLOPHORA GLABRIPENNIS, 2) SUPPORT RESEARCH INVESTIGATING EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB), AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS, REARING METHODOLOGY OF TO SUPPORT BI

AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK TO ACCESS AND MINE DISTRIBUTED HETEROGENEOUS DATA STREAMS WITH UNCERTAINTY

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH- DIMERIC BIS-NAPHTHOQUINONE FORMATION VIA A GREEN AND STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH MECHANISTIC AND ADAPTABILITY STUDIES -IN THIS EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH PROJECT, JAYALAKSHMI SRIDHAR AND KEVIN RILEY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA (XULA) EXPLORE THE VERSATILITY OF A NEWLY DISCOVERED SYNTHETIC METHOD FOR CREATION OF DIMERIC QUINONE MOLECULES WITH INTERESTING PROPERTIES. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO STANDARDIZE THE STRAIGHTFORWARD METHOD FOR CREATION OF DESIGNED DIMERIC QUINONES, WHICH HAVE STRONG POTENTIAL IN EFFICIENT ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS (E.G. REDOX FLOW BATTERIES), AS COLORING AGENTS (DYES) AND IN PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS (E.G. THERAPEUTICS FOR DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER AND PATHOGENIC INFECTIONS). THE PROJECT LIES AT THE INTERFACE OF ORGANIC, COMPUTATIONAL, MATERIALS AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY. THEREFORE, THE PROJECT IS WELL SUITED TO TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN MULTIPLE AREAS OF CHEMISTRY. THE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH GROUPS ARE WELL EXPERIENCED IN TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE MINORITY STUDENTS IN ORGANIC SYNTHETIC TECHNIQUES AND COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY TOOLS. THE RESEARCH GROUPS ARE WELL POSITIONED TO PROVIDE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF RESEARCH TRAINING FOR STUDENTS UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE AND ENSURE THEIR SUCCESS IN GRADUATE SCHOOLS. THE STUDENTS RECEIVE TRAINING IN SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATIONS IN CHEMISTRY LABS, COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS IN ORAL AND WRITTEN FORMATS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND ENHANCEMENT OF SOFT SKILLS ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCEEDING IN A SCIENTIFIC CAREER. HOMO- AND HETERODIMERIC QUINONES BELONG TO AN IMPORTANT CLASS OF MOLECULES THAT HAVE MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS IN THE AREAS OF ENERGY STORAGE, PHARMACEUTICALS AND DYES. DIMERIC QUINONES ARE CAPABLE OF CHELATING TO MULTIPLE METAL CATIONS WITH ENHANCED PERFORMANCE IN REDOX FLOW BATTERIES. THESE EXTENDED CONJUGATED SYSTEMS DISPLAY PH-BASED COLOR SPECTRA. THE QUINONE CORE MOIETY, FOUND IN SEVERAL BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS, IS AMENABLE TO MODIFICATIONS FOR TARGETING SPECIFIC BIOMOLECULES. THE NEWLY IDENTIFIED SYNTHETIC METHOD BEGINS WITH DIELS-ALDER PRODUCTS UNDERGOING REDOX REACTIONS AND MICHAEL ADDITION TO FORM DIMERIC QUINONES. THIS REACTION WILL BE EXPLORED FOR ITS USE IN PROVIDING A PREDICTABLE AND EASILY ADAPTABLE WAY TO CREATE A WIDE ARRAY OF HOMO- AND HETERO-BISQUINONE DIMERS. IN THIS PROJECT, THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF THE NEW SYNTHETIC METHOD ARE TARGETED FOR STUDY. (1) THE MECHANISM OF THE REACTION WILL BE STUDIED USING COMPUTATIONAL AND SYNTHETIC METHODS WITH THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING SYNTHETIC PROTOCOLS INTO DESIGNED QUINONE DIMERS WITH SPECIFIC STRUCTURAL FEATURES. (2) WITH THE MECHANISTIC INSIGHT GAINED, THE TEAM WILL EXPLORE THE SYNTHESIS OF HOMODIMERS WITH VARIED STRUCTURAL FEATURES INCLUDING HETEROCYCLIC SCAFFOLDS; AND (3) SIMILARLY, THE COLLABORATIVE SRIDHAR/RILEY TEAM WILL EXAMINE THE VERSATILITY OF THE REACTION FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF HETERODIMERS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR SPECIFIC END USES. 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.

URM: ENHANCING DIVERSITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: SPECTROELECTROCHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS ON INTACT MICROORGANISMS UNDER OXIC AND ANOXIC CONDITIONS

INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES IN NON-POLYMERIC ORGANIC COATING FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATI

FORMULATION OF A TARGETED NANOPARTICLE SYSTEM FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHEMORESISTANT BREAST CANCER - ABSTRACT THE DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANCE (MDR) IN CANCER CELLS IS OF GRAVE CONCERN, LIMITING THE EFFICACY OF ANTICANCER AGENTS AND, HENCE, THE FAILURE OF BREAST CANCER THERAPY. CLINICAL RESEARCH AND APPLICATION REVEALED THAT IN SPITE OF ITS POTENTIAL ANTICANCER EFFECTS, DOXORUBICIN IS HIGHLY TOXIC, AND ITS LONG-TERM APPLICATION MAY CAUSE DOSE-DEPENDENT IRREVERSIBLE CARDIOMYOPATHY, SEVERE CARDIAC TOXICITY, OR LIVER DAMAGE, THEREBY LIMITING ITS APPLICATION IN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT. EVEN IF THE DRUG IS SUPER-EFFICIENT, IF IT STILL CAUSES OFF-TARGET TOXICITY AND DAMAGES NON-CANCEROUS CELLS AND TISSUES, THE DRUG WOULDN’T BE A GREAT REMEDY TO TREAT THAT PARTICULAR DISEASE. AS SUCH, THE GREATER POTENTIAL OF USING DOXORUBICIN AS ANTICANCER THERAPEUTIC DEPENDS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF A TARGETED DELIVERY VEHICLE, WHICH WILL NOT ONLY ENHANCE THE KILLING OF CANCER CELLS BUT ALSO MINIMIZE THE OFF-TARGET TOXICITY TO NON-CANCEROUS CELLS. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO ENHANCE THE DELIVERY OF DOXORUBICIN BY FORMULATING AN APTAMER-LABELED LIPOSOMAL NANOPARTICLE DELIVERY SYSTEM THAT WILL CARRY AND DELIVER DOXORUBICIN SPECIFICALLY INTO CHEMORESISTANT HER-2+ BREAST CANCER CELLS. WE HAVE RECENTLY REPORTED THAT DOWN REGULATING NUCLEAR EXPRESSION OF MDR1 P-GP (ABCB1 GENE) BY P-GP SPECIFIC SIRNA COULD INCREASE THE DELIVERY OF DOXORUBICIN TO DOXORUBICIN RESISTANT BREAST CANCER CELLS. HOWEVER, SINCE THE DOX WAS DELIVERED AS A FREE DRUG SOLUTION WITHOUT ENCAPSULATING IT INTO A PARTICLE FOR TARGETED DELIVERY, IT STILL CAUSED TOXICITY TO OTHER NON-CANCEROUS CELLS. THE TARGETED DELIVERY OF SIRNA TO KNOCKDOWN MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT GENES SUCH AS MDR1 P-GP, MRP OR BCRP MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO CIRCUMVENT MDR USING THE APT-LABELED FORMULATIONS THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED IN OUR LAB, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT STILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED (1) HOW CAN WE DELIVER DOXORUBICIN IN A MORE TARGETED FASHION TO THE CHEMORESISTANT BREAST CANCER CELLS SO THAT THE DRUG-ENHANCED CYTOTOXICITY TO CANCER CELLS INCREASES WITH A MINIMAL TOXICITY TO THE NON-CANCEROUS CELLS? WE ASSUME THAT A TARGETED DELIVERY SYSTEM IS AN UTMOST REQUIREMENT WHETHER IT IS DELIVERING SIRNA TO SILENCE CHEMORESISTANT GENES OR AN ACTUAL CHEMODRUG WHICH WILL KILL CANCER CELLS WITHOUT KILLING NON- CANCEROUS CELLS. TO ADDRESS THE CHEMORESISTANCE AS WELL AS OFF-TARGET TOXICITY, A TARGETED DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR DOXORUBICIN NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED WHICH SHOULD BE INNOVATIVE, COMPARABLE AND CAN MINIMIZE THE TOXICITY TO OTHER NON-CANCEROUS CELLS. AND (2) A STRATEGY NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE TARGETED NANOPARTICLES WILL CARRY BOTH DOXORUBICIN AND SIRNA WITHIN THE SAME PARTICLES OR IN DIFFERENT PARTICLES TO GET THE BEST RESULTS PREVENTING CHEMORESISTANCE AND LIMITING OFF- TARGET TOXICITY. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT DELIVERING DOXORUBICIN AND MDR-SILENCING SIRNAS SEPARATELY BY TARGETED NANOPARTICLE SYSTEM WILL ENHANCE THE CELLULAR TOXICITY AND ANTITUMOR EFFECTS AS COMPARED TO A TARGETED NANOPARTICLE SYSTEM THAT DELIVERS THE DRUG AND SIRNA SIMULTANEOUSLY. THIS HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED THROUGH TWO SPECIFIC AIMS: AIM 1: TARGETED DELIVERY OF DOXORUBICIN LIPOSOMES FOR HER-2 POSITIVE BREAST CANCER TREATMENT. AIM 2: ASSESS WHETHER THE TARGETED NANOPARTICLES WILL CARRY BOTH DOXORUBICIN AND SIRNA WITHIN THE SAME PARTICLES OR IN DIFFERENT PARTICLES TO GET THE BEST RESULTS PREVENTING CHEMORESISTANCE AND LIMITING OFF-TARGET TOXICITY.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

THE IMPACT OF PATTERNED FEEDING OF A PALATABLE DIET ON EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL DRINKING

GENE REGULATION IN ARMS PATHOLOGY; THE ROLE OF FOXO1 IN PAX3-FOXO1 DNA BINDING

EXPLORING THE PROTEIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES WHICH REGULATE MYOGLOBIN'S PROTON TRANSFER DEPENDENT HIGH-VALENT AUTO-REDUCTION

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO 1) SUPPORT PROGRAMS TOERADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB), ANOPLOPHORA GLABRIPENNIS(MOTCHULSKY), 2) SUPPORT RESEARCH INVESTIGATING EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB)(AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS FAIRMAIRE), TRAPPING AND POPULATION DYNAMICSSTUDIES TO ASSIST IN CURRENT MONITORING AS WELL AS REARING METHODOLOGYTO SUPPORT BIOLOGICAL CONTROL EFFORTS, 3) DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SURVEYMETHODOLOGY FOR INVASIVE WOODBORERS TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS OF CAPS TODETECT AND PREVENT EXOTIC WOOD-BORING BEETLES FROM ENTERING AND BECOMINGESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA, 4) DEVELOP AND IMPROVE TRAPS AND TRAPPINGMETHODS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY (SLF),LYCORMA DELICATULA, 5) . SUPPORT REARING AND RESEARCH INTO THE CHEMICALECOLOGY OF THE ASIAN CITRUS PSYLLID.ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS TO SUPPORT CURRENT ALBRESEARCH AS WELL AS THE ALB PROGRAM IN BETHEL, OH. WORK WILL ALSO BECONDUCTED TO OPTIMIZE EAB PARASITOID REARING AND RECOVERY TECHNIQUES ANDTO PRODUCE SENTINEL LOGS FOR EAB BIOCONTROL FIELD RESEARCH. TRAPS ANDLURES FOR EXOTIC WOODBORERS WILL BE SCREENED FOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS INDETECTION PROGRAMS. TRAPPING WORK WILL ALSO SUPPORT EUPHRESCO PROJECT2020-A-337 “DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING SURVEILLANCE METHODOLOGIES FORAGRILUS BEETLES”. SLF TRAPPING ASSAYS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN CT AND IN TODETERMINE THE DETECTION CAPABILITIES ALTERNATIVE HOSTS TO TREE OF HEAVENAS WELL AS TO SCREEN POTENTIAL VISUAL ATTRACTANTS (IE. COLORS,PATTERNS), AND TO DETERMINE THE ABILITY OF CURRENT TRAPPING METHODS(CIRCLE TRAPS) TO REDUCE POPULATIONS IN LOW DENSITY AREAS. ACP COLONIESWILL ALSO BE MAINTAINED, AND INSECTS FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES WILL BECONDUCTED BY XAVIER SUPPORT STAFF STATIONED IN THE FPML BETHEL OH FIELDSTATION, AS WELL AS IN BRIGHTON, MI AND AT THE FPML IN BUZZARDS BAY, MA.DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE STAFFING ASSISTANCE BY XAVIER FOR WORK TO BECONDUCTED IN MA, MI AND OH. THIS WILL INCLUDE TRAINING, HR, AND TRAVELSUPPORT. STAFF FROMTHESE LOCATIONS WILL WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH PPQSTAFF TO SUPPORT THE STUDIES BEING CONDUCTED. LISTS OF TARGET NEWENGLAND AND MIDWEST WOODBORER SPECIES WILL BE COMPILED FROM TRAPPINGASSAYS, AND WITH THE BETHEL FIELD STATION CLOSE TO AN SLF INFESTATION INSWITZERLAND CO., IN THIS OPPORTUNITY ALLOWS FOR BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGYSTUDIES TO BE CONDUCTED IN RELATIVELY LOW DENSITY POPULATION.EFFORTS WILL SUPPORT EFFORTS OF USDA-APHIS, AND OTHER COLLABORATINGFEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, TO PROVIDE EARLY DETECTION TOOLS FORPOTENTIALLY INVASIVE WOODBORERS, AS WELL AS SLF AND ACP. EAB BIOCONTROLEFFORTS WILL ALSO BE SUPPORTED BY THE RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED IN THISAGREEMENT AS WELL.

DETECTION STRATEGIES:APTAMER-BASED TARGET RECOGNITION TO TURN-ON GOX SIGNALING

INDUCTION OF A TUMOR-HOSTILE BREAST CANCER MICROENVIRONMENT BY METFORMIN

THERMOCHEMISTRY OF STRAINED ORGANIC HETEROCYCLES AND ORGANIC PEROXIDES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: EPIIC: PRISTINE PARTNERSHIPS TO PROMOTE RESEARCH & INNOVATION FOR SOCIETAL IMPACT & NOVEL ENGAGEMENTS -PRISTINE (PARTNERSHIPS TO PROMOTE RESEARCH & INNOVATION FOR SOCIETAL IMPACT & NOVEL ENGAGEMENTS) IS A COLLABORATION AMONG THREE PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS (PUI) THAT ARE COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING ACADEMIC-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS TO ENHANCE INNOVATION AND PROMOTE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THEIR REGIONS. THE COMPOSITION OF THE PRISTINE COHORT ? PRIVATE AND PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, LIBERAL ARTS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES, URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES ? POSITIONS THE COHORT WELL TO ENGAGE AND ADVANCE THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESSES NOT TYPICALLY ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH (UIR) AND/OR INNOVATIONS MADE POSSIBLE BY EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. UIR IS AIMED AT SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS, LEADING TO FASTER AND MORE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS THAN ANY ONE ORGANIZATION COULD DEVELOP ON ITS OWN. THE EFFORT WILL ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE THAT IS DESIGNED TO BUILD CAPACITY, ESPECIALLY AT SMALLER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND PUIS, TO DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND STRENGTHEN EXTERNAL RESEARCH INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. PRISTINE WILL ENHANCE THE COHORT?S INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE CAPACITIES TO: CULTIVATE EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS THAT WILL ATTRACT RESEARCH FUNDING AND FACILITATE UIR IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FIELDS; LEVERAGE OUR EXPERTISE IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TO DEVELOP CREDENTIALED WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS; AND SUPPORT FACULTY AND STAFF TO DEEPEN THEIR EXPERTISE AROUND GRANT SEEKING AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF FORMAL PROPOSALS AND AGREEMENTS BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS. THE COHORT INTENDS TO DEVELOP RESOURCES AND TRAINING IN THESE AREAS FOR FACULTY AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS, AND DISSEMINATE THEIR LEARNINGS THROUGH A PUBLIC-FACING VIRTUAL PLAYBOOK/WEBSITE. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

TARGETED INFUSION PROJECT: COURSE BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR ALL BIOLOGY FRESHMEN: A MODEL FOR INCREASED RETENTION

CERAMIDES FOR BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SPECIFICITY OF LYSINE DEACETYLASES

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO SUPPORT PROGRAMS TORADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB), ANOPLOPHORA GLABRIPENNIS (MOTCHULSKY), BY DEVELOPING INFORMATION ON THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF

BUILDING CAPACITY IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY - GIVEN RECENT COMMITMENTS AND EXISTING STRENGTHS, XAVIER UNIVERSITY, A DOCTORAL/PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY IN CINCINNATI, OHIO, IS POISED TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND GRANT SEEKING. IN FALL 2027, XAVIER WILL OPEN THE FIRST JESUIT CATHOLIC COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (COM) IN THE UNITED STATES. ADDITIONAL NEW GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE, ANATOMY, SOCIAL WORK, AND AUDIOLOGY, AS WELL AS UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN GENETICS, MICROBIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE, SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOR, AND HEALTH SCIENCE AND WELLNESS, AS WELL AS EXPANSIONS TO EXISTING PROGRAMS, WILL ADD 18 NEW FACULTY WITH BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AGENDAS. AN ADDITIONAL 9 FACULTY AT XAVIER HAVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AGENDAS THAT WILL BE ELEVATED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM. IN SPRING 2025, XAVIER IS LAUNCHING A CENTER FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE TO PROMOTE THE GROWTH AND SUCCESS OF RESEARCH, BOTH FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS. XAVIER’S BRE-SPAD PROGRAM WILL BUILD UPON THESE FOUNDATIONAL INVESTMENTS. XAVIER’S PROGRAM ADDRESSES ALL THREE BRE-SPAD PRIORITIES. ITS GOALS FOR ENHANCING SPONSORED PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION INCLUDE: BUILDING CAPACITY AND BIOMEDICAL EXPERTISE BY INCREASING GRANTS AND ACCOUNTING STAFF, AND IDENTIFYING GAPS IN POLICY AND PROCEDURES VIA AN NCURA PEER REVIEW AND FROM MENTORSHIP BY CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, AN ASPIRANT INSTITUTION WITH A MEDICAL SCHOOL AND A SHARED JESUIT CATHOLIC MISSION. GOALS FOR ENHANCING THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT INCLUDE INCREASING TRAINING FOR STUDENT RESEARCHERS, ENGAGING 24 FACULTY IN COMMUNITIES TO DEVELOP GRANT PROJECTS, CREATING A BIOMEDICAL IRB PANEL, ENHANCING POLICIES AND TRAINING FOR GRANT SEEKING AND RESEARCH MENTORING, AND SHOWCASING FACULTY AND STUDENT RESEARCH THROUGH A SYMPOSIUM AND BIOMEDICAL CONFERENCE SUPPORT. GOALS FOR THE PILOT RESEARCH PROJECT INCLUDE PROVIDING FUNDING TO L AUNCH THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AGENDAS OF 12 NEW FACULTY AND ELEVATE THE RESEARCH OF 5 EXISTING FACULTY IN BIOMEDICAL DISCIPLINES, ADDRESS CURRENT GAPS FOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT, AND INCREASE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH BY INCLUDING AN ESTIMATED 49 STUDENTS IN PILOT PROJECTS. XAVIER’S BRE-SPAD PROGRAM WILL RESULT IN A NUMBER OF SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE PROCESSES. IN ADDITION TO INCREASING CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE, THE PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WILL SUPPORT GROWTH IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND GRANT SEEKING, PARTICULARLY NEEDED AS WE LAUNCH A NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL AND NEW PROGRAMS. ENHANCING RESEARCH IN THE COM IS INNOVATIVE IN ITSELF, AS COLLEGES OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE CURRENTLY RECEIVE ONLY 0.1% OF NIH GRANTS, COMPARED WITH 40% FOR ALLOPATHIC INSTITUTIONS, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE. THE PROGRAM WILL BE LED BY AN ASSOCIATE PROVOST AND THE DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE, AS WELL AS THE STEERING COMMITTEE. ANNUAL AND HOLISTIC EVALUATION WILL BE CONDUCTED BY AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR.

NOVEL ESTROGEN RECEPTOR PHOSPHORYLATION SITES IN SENSITIVITY/RESISTANCE TO SERMS

PROJECT PATHWAYS: STUDENT TRAINING CORE

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF ALLOSTATIC LOAD AND NEIGHBORHOOD DISADVANTAGE IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION TRAJECTORIES AMONG MIDLIFE AND OLDER BLACK AMERICANS - PROJECT SUMMARY BLACK AMERICANS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO DEVELOP ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) THAN WHITE AMERICANS. THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AN EARLY-STAGE COMPONENT OF THE AD CONTINUUM, ARE LESS UNDERSTOOD IN THE BLACK POPULATION. ALLOSTATIC LOAD (AL), AN INDICATOR OF MULTISYSTEM (E.G., NERVOUS, CARDIOVASCULAR) PHYSIOLOGICAL DYSREGULATION DRIVEN BY CHRONIC PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS, MAY BE ONE DETERMINANT OF POOR COGNITIVE FUNCTION. THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS AN EMERGING SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION THAT MAY BE ESPECIALLY RELEVANT FOR BLACK AMERICANS GIVEN HISTORICAL SYSTEMS OF SOCIOECONOMIC AND RESIDENTIAL DISADVANTAGE. NEIGHBORHOOD DISADVANTAGE TOGETHER WITH PERCEIVED NEIGHBORHOOD STRESSORS MAY EXACERBATE AL, TO THE DETRIMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION FOR MIDLIFE AND OLDER BLACK ADULTS. THE OVERALL RESEARCH OBJECTIVE IS TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND WHETHER THIS ASSOCIATION IS IMPACTED BY BOTH NEIGHBORHOOD DISADVANTAGE [I.E., NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES) AND BLACK-WHITE SEGREGATION] AND PERCEIVED NEIGHBORHOOD STRESSORS (I.E., HIGH DISORDER AND LOW SOCIAL COHESION) WITHIN BLACK MIDLIFE AND OLDER ADULTS. SECONDARY, LONGITUDINAL DATA WILL COME FROM THE 2006-2016 WAVES OF THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY, A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE STUDY OF HEALTH AMONG THE MIDLIFE AND OLDER (>50 YEARS OF AGE) US ADULT POPULATION. SPECIFIC AIMS FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDE: (AIM 1) TESTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION USING BASELINE LINEAR REGRESSION AND GROWTH CURVE MODELS; (AIM 2) EXAMINING THE MODERATING ROLES OF NEIGHBORHOOD SES AND BLACK-WHITE SEGREGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION TO PREDICT BASELINE COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND CHANGE OVER TIME USING CROSS-SECTIONAL LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS AND GROWTH CURVE MODELS; AND (AIM 3) ANALYZING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AL, PERCEIVED NEIGHBORHOOD STRESSORS, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN BASELINE LINEAR MODELS AND GROWTH CURVE MODELS STRATIFIED BY LEVELS OF (1) NEIGHBORHOOD SES AND (2) BLACK-WHITE SEGREGATION. THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL BE AN INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX, MULTIFACTORIAL SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION AMONG BLACK AMERICANS. FURTHERMORE, BY MENTORING UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA I WILL CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING DIVERSITY IN THE AGING RESEARCH PIPELINE AND EXPANDING MY UNIVERSITY’S POPULATION HEALTH AND AGING RESEARCH CAPACITY.

NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE (NORC) FOR STEM RETENTIONTHIS PROJECT WILL ENHANCE STUDENT ATTAINMENT AND SUCCESS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS IN SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) DURING THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF COLLEGE. THE NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE (NORC) FOR STEM RETENTION WILL BUILD ON EXISTING COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN A DIVERSE GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVE THAT WILL SERVE AS A NATIONAL MODEL TO IMPROVE STEM RETENTION. THIS INITIATIVE WILL BE LED BY XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HBCU. PARTNER INSTITUTIONS INCLUDE DILLARD UNIVERSITY (HBCU) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT NEW ORLEANS (HBCU) TULANE UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS. NORC WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORES ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOP NEW COLLABORATIONS WITH NASA CENTERS AND INDUSTRY AND INCREASE THE AVERAGE GRADUATION RATE FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS IN STEM FIELDS. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH COMPREHENSIVE ACADEMIC MENTORING UTILIZING THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL TIMBUKTU ACADEMY SYSTEMIC MENTORING MODEL. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM 23 NORC STUDENT-SCHOLARS WILL BE ENGAGED IN ACADEMIC MENTORING TUTORING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GRADUATE SCHOOL PREPARATION ACTIVITIES BEGINNING IN THEIR FRESHMAN YEAR. IN ADDITION STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN COLLABORATIVE CROSSINSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF NANOCOMPOSITE MATERIALS THROUGH A SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM AND A BIMONTHLY MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL SEMINAR SERIES. THESE SCHOLARS WILL ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH INDUSTRY THROUGH SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL MENTORING ACTIVITIES. AS A RESULT OF THIS NASA FUNDING WE WILL PRODUCE A NATIONAL MODEL FOR SUCCESS IN INCREASING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY PARTICIPATION AND RETENTION IN STEM FIELDS WHICH CAN BE REPLICATED ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO DEVELOP A DIVERSE HIGHLY-TRAINED STEM WORKFORCE.

MULTI-TARGET, MECHANISM-BASED DRUG DESIGN FOR THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER: SYN

SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY TRIO PROGRAM 2025 APPLICATION

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: MICRORNA DETECTION STRATEGIES VIA EXPLORATION OF FLAVIN BINDING ALLOSTERIC SWITCHES

TARGETED DEGRADATION OF HIV INTEGRASE AS A NOVEL TREATMENT OF INFECTION - TARGETED DEGRADATION OF HIV INTEGRASE AS A NOVEL TREATMENT OF INFECTION PROJECT SUMMARY DUE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY, HIV-1 INFECTION IS NO LONGER A DEATH SENTENCE BUT RATHER A TREATABLE CHRONIC DISEASE, PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH HIV AN ALMOST NORMAL LIFE EXPECTANCY. HOWEVER, THE MOST RECENT WHO HIV DRUG RESISTANCE REPORT INDICATES THAT THE PREVALENCE OF ACQUIRED AND TRANSMITTED HIV DRUG RESISTANCE HAS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASED IN THE RECENT YEARS. THE PREVALENCE OF THREE AND FOUR-CLASS RESISTANT HIV IS ALREADY ESTIMATED TO RANGE FROM 5 TO 10% IN EUROPE, WHILE SOMEWHAT LOWER RATES ARE STILL REPORTED FOR NORTH AMERICA (<3%). INDEED, PAN-RESISTANT VIRUSES AGAINST SOME DRUG CLASSES HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED. IT SEEMS INEVITABLE THAT FULLY DRUG RESISTANT VIRUSES WILL ARISE IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE, WHICH NECESSITATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL ANTI-HIV DRUGS. RATHER THAN CONTINUE TO DESIGN NEW INHIBITORS FOR DRUG-RESISTANT HIV, WE PROPOSE AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY – THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTEOLYSIS-TARGETING CHIMERAS (PROTACS) USING EXISTING ANTI-HIV DRUGS. PROTACS ARE SMALL, BIFUNCTIONAL MOLECULES THAT CONTAIN A WARHEAD DOMAIN SPECIFIC TO THE TARGETED PROTEIN OF INTEREST COUPLED BY A SHORT LINKER TO AN E3 UBIQUITIN LIGASE BINDING DOMAIN. RATHER THAN WORKING AS A CLASSICAL INHIBITOR, THESE SMALL MOLECULES PROMOTE UBIQUITINATION AND SUBSEQUENT PROTEASOMAL DEGRADATION OF THE TARGET PROTEIN. USING THIS TECHNIQUE TO DEGRADE PATHOLOGICAL PROTEINS HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT THAT PROTACS CAN OFTEN BE USED AT CONCENTRATIONS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN STANDARD INHIBITORS, AS THERE IS NO NEED FOR PROTACS TO BE PRESENT AT STOICHIOMETRIC CONCENTRATIONS. ONCE A PROTAC INDUCES UBIQUITINATION OF THE TARGET PROTEIN, THE PROTEIN IS DEGRADED AND THE PROTAC IS FREE TO BIND ANOTHER PROTEIN AND REPEAT THE CYCLE. OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE TO THIS PROJECT IS THAT THE TRANSIENT NATURE OF PROTAC INTERACTION WITH, AND SUBSEQUENT UBIQUITINATION OF THE TARGET PROTEIN MEANS THAT A HIGH AFFINITY DRUG-TARGET INTERACTION IS NOT AS NECESSARY AS WITH CLASSICAL STOICHIOMETRIC INHIBITORS. INDEED, PROTACS DEVELOPED FOR ONCOGENIC KINASES USING EXISTING INHIBITORS AS THE WARHEAD DOMAIN WERE ABLE TO INDUCE DEGRADATION OF KINASES WITH MUTATIONS THAT CONFERRED RESISTANCE TO THE SAME INHIBITORS. WE POSTULATE THAT IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO TARGET HIV PROTEINS IN VIRUS THAT HAS BECOME RESISTANT TO THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF A DRUG WITH THE CORRESPONDING PROTAC, DUE TO THE LOWER BINDING AFFINITY REQUIRED FOR DEGRADATION COMPARED TO INHIBITION. OUR EARLY STAGE PROTACS DESIGNED TO INDUCE DEGRADATION OF THE HIV INTEGRASE ENZYME SHOW NANOMOLAR EFFICACY IN BOTH PROTEOLYSIS OF INTEGRASE, AS WELL AS A BLOCKADE OF DE NOVO HIV INFECTION IN T CELLS USING WELL-ESTABLISHED ASSAYS. THIS APPLICATION COMBINES THE EXPERTISE OF INVESTIGATORS IN PROTAC DESIGN AND BIOLOGICAL ASSAY DEVELOPMENT WITH THAT OF AN ESTABLISHED RESEARCH TEAM AT AN NIH CFAR SITE. OUR GOAL IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE PROTACS THAT TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PROTACS ARE ACTIVE AGAINST VIRUSES THAT HAVE DEVELOPED RESISTANCE MUTATIONS IN THE VIRAL PROTEIN THAT IS TARGETED BY THE PROTAC WARHEAD. AS EXPECTED FOR AN R21 APPLICATION, THIS IS A HIGH-RISK PROPOSAL; BUT IF SUCCESSFUL, THE OUTCOME WILL PROVIDE NEW AVENUES FOR ANTI-HIV DRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR THE INCREASINGLY RESISTANT HIV VIRUS.

URAP-HBUC

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: ANALYZING IMIDAZOLIUM-BASED IONIC LIQUID SYSTEMS USING C-D VIBRATIONAL LABELS ON CATIONS

HEALTH CARE AND OTHER FACILITIES

THERE IS A DEARTH OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) CAREERS IN THIS COUNTRY. NATIONAL DATA S

A NOVEL PEPTIDE THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF HERPETIC STROMAL KERATITIS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

MBE DISASTER READINESS PROJECT

OPTIMIZING THE ELECTRON TRANSFER REACTIONS AT THE CATHODE OF MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

PULSED LASER DEPOSITION FOR AMBIENT ENERGY HARVESTING AND STORAGE DEVICES FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

GENERATION OF LIVER X RECEPTOR AGONISTS WITH LXRB SUBTYPE SELECTIVITY USING MODERN COMPUTATIONAL AND CHEMICAL SYNTHETIC METHODS

RUI: CATALYTIC AND NON-CATALYTIC TARGETS OF LYSINE DEACETYLASES

INHIBITORS OF THE INTRINSIC PATHWAY OF COAGULATION AS NEW ANTICOAGULANTS

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF THE GAS-PHASE REACTIONS OF SIMPLE EPOXIDES AND THEIR RADICALS -WITH THIS AWARD, THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS, AND MECHANISMS-B PROGRAM IS SUPPORTING PROFESSOR KATHLEEN MORGAN AND HER STUDENTS AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA TO STUDY THE CHEMISTRY OF EPOXIDES, A TYPE OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND WHICH IS COMMONLY FOUND IN THE ATMOSPHERE. INCREASINGLY, CITIZENS ARE RECOGNIZING THE POTENTIAL DANGERS OF INDUSTRIAL PLANTS THAT PRODUCE AND STORE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, AND ONE MAJOR CONCERN IS THE RELEASE OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOC) INTO THE AIR THEY BREATHE. THIS STUDY IS CONCERNED WITH THE 'EPOXIDE' CLASS OF COMPOUNDS. ETHYLENE OXIDE AND PROPENE OXIDE ARE COMMON COMMODITY CHEMICALS OF THE EPOXIDE FAMILY WITH A VARIETY OF IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL PURPOSES BUT THEY ARE ALSO CARCINOGENIC. UNDERSTANDING THE FATE OF THESE AND RELATED VOC IN THE ATMOSPHERE, THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF LIKELY DECOMPOSITION MECHANISMS AND RATES, IS CRITICAL. THE PROPOSED COMPUTATIONAL MODELING STUDY SEEKS TO EXTEND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DEGRADATION REACTIONS, AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SUGGEST NEW REACTIONS THAT CAN REMEDIATE POLLUTANTS. THE STUDY IS DESIGNED FOR FULL PARTICIPATION BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS FROM XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA, A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE AND HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY (HBCU), WHERE THE MAJORITY OF STUDENTS ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN, AND SCIENCE MAJORS. THE COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSES PROVIDE EXCELLENT TRAINING EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR GRADUATE STUDIES AND CAREERS IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS) FIELDS. THIS STUDY WILL ALSO ENABLE STUDENTS TO CONNECT BASIC SCIENCE RESEARCH TO THE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS THAT UNDERLIE THIS PROJECT. THE PROPOSED COMPUTATIONAL STUDY IS CONCERNED WITH GAS-PHASE RADICAL REACTIONS OF SIMPLE EPOXIDES. EPOXIDES OF INTEREST INCLUDE ETHYLENE OXIDE, PROPENE OXIDE, CIS- AND TRANS-2-BUTENE OXIDE, 2-METHYLPROPENE OXIDE, AND EPIFLUOROHYDRIN. THREE TYPES OF CALCULATIONS, USING COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE SOFTWARE, WILL BE CONSIDERED TO EXPLORE THE INFLUENCE OF SUBSTITUENTS ON EPOXIDE REACTIVITY: (1) EPOXIDE BOND DISSOCIATION ENERGIES; (2) DEGRADATION OF PARENT EPOXIDES AND/OR THEIR RADICAL COUNTERPARTS; AND (3) ADDITION REACTIONS OF HYDROXYL RADICAL AND OTHER RADICAL SPECIES TO EPOXIDES. TOGETHER, THESE CALCULATIONS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE BEHAVIOR OF EPOXIDES IN THE GAS PHASE, AND THE EFFECTS OF SUBSTITUENTS ON EPOXIDE REACTIVITY AND DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, THE DETAILED TRAINING PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE MINORITY STUDENTS IS EXPECTED TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DIVERSE WORKFORCE FOR THE NATION. 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.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A MATRIX-ASSISTED LASER DESORPTION/IONIZATION, TIME-OF-FLIGHT (MALDI TOF) MASS SPECTROMETER AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: IONIC LIQUID DERIVED AND ASSISTED GREEN CATALYTICAL SYSTEM FOR THE SMALL MOLECULE SUSTAINABLE CONVERSION

ENABLING DELIBERATIVE SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AMONG SCIENCE FACULTY, NON-SCIENCE FACULTY, AND STUDENTS

TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF NATRIUETIC SENSITIVITY IN DIABETES MELLITUS

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPUTING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION

HBCU-DCL EAGER: ENGINEERING EDUCATION: CAPTURING AND DEFINING EXPERIENCES OF STEREOTYPE THREAT AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN ENGINEERING.

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: COMPUTATIONAL INFERENCE OF MECHANISMS UNDERLYING DOUBLE MINUTE CHROMOSOME FORMATION

ARRA - EQUIPMENT TO ENHANCE TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

HELP THE ALB PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY IN OHIO, DEVELOP OPTIMAL BOUNDARIES, STRATEGIES, AND PRTOCOLS FOR ALB SURVY AND CONTROL BY PROVIDING IMPROVED INFOR

NEW INSTRUMENTATION AND MEANS TO STUDY THE MECHANISMS AND PATHWAYS OF ENERGY GENERATION IN MICROORGANISMS

FRACTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL AND INTEGRAL INEQUALITIES WITH APPLICATIONS

REU SITE: GETTING STUDENTS JAZZED ABOUT RESEARCH AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO DEVELOP AND IMPROVE METHODS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY (SLF), LYCORMA DELICATULA, THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATTRACTANTS, TRAPPING TOOLS, NATURAL ENEMIES FOR CLASSICAL BIOLOGICAL CONTRO

ARRA - SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

TERRESTRIAL GAMMA FLASHES AT GROUND LEVEL - A RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

IRES: PUI UNDERGRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IN PARIS CHARACTERIZING A CRUCIAL PLANT BLUE LIGHT PHOTORECEPTOR

ARRA - EQUIPMENT TO ENHANCE TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

PEST DETECTION - THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TOSUPPORT PROGRAMS TO ERADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE (ALB), ANOPLOPHORA GLABRIPENNIS (MOTCHULSKY), BY DEVELOPING INFORMATION ON THE BI

LEAPS-MPS: GEOMETRIC AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF NONLINEAR PDES -THE THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF NONLINEAR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (PDES) PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN A VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS. HOWEVER, AN IMMEDIATE CHALLENGE LIES IN ASCERTAINING THE COMPUTATIONAL ACCURACY OF NUMERICAL SCHEMES REQUIRED FOR SOLVING SUCH PDES, WHEN THEIR SOLUTIONS LACK SUFFICIENT REGULARITY. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT POSES A SERIES OF FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS TOGETHER WITH STEPS FOR THEIR RESOLUTION, AIMED AT ADVANCING AND DEVELOPING THE REGULARITY THEORY FOR SYSTEMS OF HYPERBOLIC CONSERVATION LAWS, USING TOOLS FROM ANALYSIS AND GEOMETRIC MEASURE THEORY. THE OBTAINED OUTCOMES WILL PROPEL THIS FIELD OF RESEARCH TOWARDS MORE EXCITING OPEN QUESTIONS AND YIELD INCREASINGLY ACCURATE NUMERICAL SCHEMES OF PRACTICAL VALUE FOR THESE EQUATIONS. FURTHERMORE, THIS PROJECT EMPHASIZES SEVERAL PROSPECTS, SUCH AS RESEARCH EXPOSURE, SPECIALIZED MENTORING PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH EVENTS, TO CREATE A TRAINING GROUND IN MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AND BEYOND. THERE ARE TWO MAIN PARTS TO THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. THE FIRST PART IS DIRECTED TOWARDS PROVIDING A GEOMETRIC DESCRIPTION FOR SYSTEMS OF CONSERVATION LAWS AND EXPLORING THE REGULARITY OF THEIR SOLUTIONS USING APPROXIMATION THEORY. REFORMULATING SYSTEMS OF HYPERBOLIC CONSERVATION LAWS IN A LAGRANGIAN FORM PROVIDES AN EQUIVALENT REPRESENTATION OF SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF PARTICLE PATHS. THIS SEGMENT WILL FOCUS ON STUDYING THE RELATION BETWEEN LAGRANGIAN AND EULERIAN FORMULATIONS OF CONSERVATION LAWS, RENEWING INTEREST IN THIS TOPIC FROM A GEOMETRIC POINT OF VIEW. HERE, THE GOALS ARE TO: (I) DESCRIBE SYSTEMS OF CONSERVATION LAWS USING THE NOTION OF PARTICLE PATHS THAT ARE IN THE FORM OF WEAK DIFFEOMORPHISMS AND ESTABLISH THESE AS EXTREMALS OF AN ACTION FUNCTIONAL DEFINED ON THE CORRESPONDING ALGEBRA IN THE EULERIAN FORMULATION; AND (II) MEASURE THE REGULARITY OF SOLUTIONS TO SYSTEMS OF CONSERVATION LAWS, PARTICULARLY FOR TEMPLE SYSTEMS, USING APPROXIMATION SPACES CHARACTERIZED IN TERMS OF BESOV SPACES. THE SECOND PART OF THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON PERFORMING A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO-COMPONENT FORNBERG-WHITHAM (FW) SYSTEM IN BESOV SPACES TO INVESTIGATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A GLOBAL IN TIME SOLUTION AND CRITERIA FOR WAVE-BREAKING. THE TWO-COMPONENT FW SYSTEM IS A MODEL FOR STUDYING SURFACE WAVES IN SHALLOW WATER. ESTABLISHING ITS WELL-POSEDNESS AND ANALYZING CONDITIONS FOR GLOBAL EXISTENCE OF ITS STRONG SOLUTIONS ARE CHALLENGING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM IN VARIOUS FUNCTION SPACES. AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, THE FW SYSTEM WILL BE EXAMINED IN BESOV SPACES, WHICH ARE FUNCTION SPACES RECEIVING INCREASING ATTENTION IN THE RECENT YEARS AS THEY GENERALIZE SOBOLEV SPACES AND ARE MORE EFFECTIVE AT MEASURING REGULARITY OF FUNCTIONS. THIS EXERCISE IS AIMED AT BREAKING NEW GROUND BY (I) DEVELOPING A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL STRONG SOLUTIONS AND SEEKING GLOBAL WEAK SOLUTIONS FOR THE FW SYSTEM IN BESOV SPACES; AND (II) INVESTIGATING WAVE BREAKING FOR THE FW SYSTEM CORRESPONDING TO A LARGE CLASS OF INITIAL DATA, WHILE ADAPTING METHODS USED TO EXAMINE THE FORNBERG-WHITHAM EQUATION THAT REMAINS RELEVANT IN SEVERAL AREAS OF RESEARCH IN PHYSICS AND IS MORE RECENTLY BEING STUDIED IN COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PROJECT PATHWAYS: RESEARCH ENRICHMENT CORE

GRADUATE PROGRAMS AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SERVING HISPANIC AMERICANS

COLLEGE COURSE MATERIALS RENTAL INITIATIVE

PHOTOSYNTHESIS SYSTEM, DESKTOP SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE AND LEAF ABSORPTANCE METER FOR PLANT ECOPHYSIOLOGY RESEARCH AND BOTANY LAB WITH UNDERGRADUATES

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: CHARACTERIZATION OF CRYSTAL STRUCTURES OF NOVEL MATERIALS USING STATE-OF THE-ART COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS

ARRA - SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE REARING, RELEASE, AND RECOVERY OF BIOCONTROL AGENTS OF THE EMERALD ASH BORER. THIS WILL IMPROVE PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE’S ABILITY TO MANAGE EMERALD ASH BORER AND OPTIMIZE PROGRAM OUTPUT. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE RECIPIENT WILL PERFORM STUDIES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTION OF BIOCONTROL AGENTS, REAR RESEARCH COLONIES, PRODUCE AND DEPLOY SENTINEL BOLTS FOR VARIOUS FIELD RESEARCH PROJECTS, AND SUPPORT CENTRALIZED IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAM RECOVERY SAMPLES. DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: DELIVERABLES INCLUDE PRODUCTION OF HIGH-QUALITY BIOCONTROL AGENTS, DATA ON BOLT ROT AND QUALITY CONTROL, PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 750-1000 SENTINEL BOLTS FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, AND COMPLETED IDENTIFICATION OF PROGRAM SAMPLES SENT BY COOPERATORS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES ARE IMPROVED PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT OF BIOCONTROL AGENTS FOR THE EMERALD ASH BORER PROGRAM. INTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES): USDA’S PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS WORK AS IT LENDS SUPPORT TO PROGRAM COLONY PRODUCTION AND RECOVERY EFFORTS, AS WELL AS CONDUCTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE PROGRAM OUTPUT.

BIOLOGY, CHEMICAL ECOLOGY AND TRAPPING OF INVASIVE WOODBORIN BEETLES IN OHIO

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: INVESTIGATING THE STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS OF SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES FOR LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

BROADENING LIFE STEM PARTICIPATION AMONG HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES