Central Michigan University

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION FUND: INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING INITIATIVE

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND: STUDENT FUNDING INITIATIVE

FLO-SIC: EFFICIENT DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY CALCULATIONS WITHOUT SELF-INTERACTION

THE GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLAND MONITORING PROGRAM WILL IMPLEMENT A LONG-TERM GREAT LAKES-WIDE COASTAL WETLAND MONITORING PROGRAM USING A SCIENTIFICALLY VALIDATED SAMPLING DESIGN AND PROTOCOLS FOR CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF WETLAND PLANT, INVERTEBRATE, FISH, AMPHIBIAN, AND BIRD COMMUNITIES AND WATER QUALITY. FIELD TEAMS LED BY CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY WILL SAMPLE APPROXIMATELY 1000 COASTAL WETLANDS DURING THE FIVE-YEAR AWARD PERIOD (2021-2025).

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 113-235. THIS PROJE

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 111-88. THIS PROJEC

DESCRIPTION:CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY WILL CONDUCT BASIN-WIDE GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLAND MONITORING USING SCIENTIFICALLY VALIDATED SAMPLING DESIGN, PROTOCOLS, AND INDICATORS FOR PLANTS, INVERTEBRATES, FISH, ANURANS, BIRDS, AND WATER QUALITY, PROVIDING CONTINUITY WITH THE EPA GLNPO COASTAL WETLAND MONITORING PROGRAM DATA COLLECTED ANNUALLY SINCE 2011. ACTIVITIES:ACTIVITIES INCLUDE ANNUAL (2026-2030) SAMPLING OF FISH, MACROINVERTEBRATES, BIRDS, ANURANS, AND MACROPHYTES; COLLECTION OF WATER QUALITY AND HABITAT MEASUREMENTS; LABORATORY WATER CHEMISTRY ANALYSES; DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND PUBLICATION, AND REPORTING OF RESULTS. SUBRECIPIENT:THE SUBAWARD ACTIVITIES INCLUDE SAMPLING BIRDS, AMPHIBIANS, FISH, WATER QUALITY, AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES, AND VEGETATION AT DESIGNATED SITES TO ASSESS THE OVERALL WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS.OUTCOMES:ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE REPORTING ON ANNUAL STATUS AND TRENDS OF CONDITION INDICATORS FOR GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLANDS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE AN INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF COASTAL WETLAND STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION AND THE PROMOTION OF DATA-INFORMED RESTORATION AND PROTECTION DECISIONS FOR GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLANDS. BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT ARE ALL THOSE WHO LIVE, WORK, AND RECREATE IN OR NEAR THE GREAT LAKES BASIN.

SELECTIVE CONTROL OF SYNAPTICALLY-CONNECTED CIRCUIT ELEMENTS BY INTERLUMINESCENCE - DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT: E. CRESPO - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT CANDIDATE WILL BE TRAINED IN ALL ASPECTS OF VALIDATING INTERLUMINESCENCE IN VIVO WITH ACUTE EXTRACELLULAR RECORDINGS AND COMPUTATIONAL SOPHISTICATED ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH WILL ALLOW THE CANDIDATE TO ASSESS INTERLUMINESCENCE WITH A WELL-DEFINED EXPERIMENTAL MODEL TO DISSECT CORTICAL DYNAMICS. THE TRAINING EXPERIENCE THE CANDIDATE WILL GAIN ARE CRITICAL FOR HIS UNDERSTANDING, DESIGNING, AND INTERPRETATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART NEURAL DATA. THE TRAINING PLAN WILL COMPLEMENT HIS PRIOR EXTENSIVE TRAINING IN MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE. FOLLOWING THIS EXPERIENCE IN APPLYING CHEMOGENETIC AND OPTOGENETIC TOOLS IN VIVO, THE CANDIDATE WILL HAVE AN EXCEEDINGLY STRONG BACKGROUND FOR MEETING HIS CAREER GOALS. HIS TRAINING WILL HAVE RANGED FROM HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING NOVEL PROBES AT THE LEVEL OF THE ENGINEERED PROTEIN, TO THEIR INTENDED USE IN CONTROLLING NEURAL ACTIVITY AND BEHAVIOR. THEREFORE, THIS TRAINING IN IN VIVO ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY WILL NOT ONLY SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE PARENT GRANT BUT WILL SPECIFICALLY PROVIDE HIM THE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DISSECT NEOCORTICAL DYNAMICS AND COME “FULL CIRCLE” IN THE TOOL DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE. THE PROPOSED TRAINING OUTLINED IN THE APPLICATION IS IDEAL GIVEN THE CANDIDATE’S PRODUCTIVE TRACK RECORD. AN ESTABLISHED TEAM TRAINING STRATEGY BETWEEN THE TWO MENTORS WILL FOSTER THE CANDIDATE’S ABILITY TO INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF SYNAPTICALLY-CONNECTED CIRCUITS. THE PROPOSED SUPPLEMENT ACTIVITIES WILL INCREASE THE PARENT AWARD’S OVERALL IMPACT WITHIN THE ORIGINAL SCOPE OF AWARD WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ADVANCING THE TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF THE CANDIDATE.

DENDRTITIC NANOTECHNOLOGY

NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS AND FUNDAMENTAL SYMMETRIES: RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

BIOLUMINESCENT OPTOGENETICS (BL-OG): A NOVEL AND VERSATILE STRATEGY FOR NEUROMODULATION

SEMI-SYNTHETIC, MAGNETO-PHOTONIC CIRCUIT FOR NON-INVASIVE CONTROL OF CELLULAR FUNCTION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY HAVE LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VARIETY OF INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO CONTROL GENE EXPRESSION. THOSE TOOLS ARE CRUCIAL FOR BOTH INTERROGATING COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS AND DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF THERAPEUTICS. YET, THERE ARE TWO MAIN CHALLENGES THAT REMAIN TO BE RESOLVED. ONE IS REMOTE CONTROLLING OF TRANSCRIPTION ON DEMAND WITH THE UTMOST TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL RESOLUTION. THE OTHER IS TO AVOID CROSSTALK WITH EXISTING SIGNALING PATHWAYS. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NEW GENETIC TOOL BASED ON SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY TO BETTER CONTROL GENE EXPRESSION WITHIN CELLS. THIS NOVEL TOOL IS BASED ON REWIRING CELLULAR NETWORKS AND CONVERTING ENERGY INTO BIOLOGICAL ACTION. WE INTEND TO HARNESS THE POWER OF ELECTROMAGNETISM AND BIOPHOTONICS TO CONTROL GENE EXPRESSION. OUR GOAL IS TO DEVISE MULTIPLEX GENE ARRANGEMENTS, FUSION PROTEINS AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, THAT CAN BE CONTROLLED REMOTELY BY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS (EMF). THIS UNIQUE, ARTIFICIAL CELLULAR MACHINERY WILL USE BIOPHOTONIC PRINCIPLES FOR ACTIVATION OF SPECIFIC TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND SUBSEQUENTLY SWITCH ON GENE TRANSCRIPTION WITH THE UTMOST PRECISION. IN THE FIRST AIM WE WILL DEVELOP AND EVOLVE A GENETICALLY ENCODED BIOMAGNETIC SWITCH THAT CAN CONVERT EMF TO PHOTONS. IN PARALLEL, IN THE SECOND AIM WE WILL DEVELOP AN ORTHOGONAL TRANSCRIPTION MACHINERY THAT INTERACTS WITH THE BIOMAGNETIC SWITCH AND CONTROLS TRANSCRIPTION WITHOUT INTERACTING WITH ANY ENDOGENOUS SIGNALING PATHWAY. FINALLY, IN THE THIRD AIM WE WILL TEST THE SYNTHETIC CIRCUIT IN VIVO, IN A RELEVANT ANIMAL MODEL. THIS MAGNETO-PHOTONIC CIRCUIT WILL BY-PASS THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT CHEMICAL, OPTICAL, AND MAGNETIC APPROACHES BY ALLOWING GENETICALLY TARGETED, NON-INVASIVE REMOTE CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION IN A HIGHLY PRECISE AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT TEMPORAL MANNER. WE ANTICIPATE THAT UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WE WILL CREATE AN INNOVATIVE TOOL THAT WILL BE IMMENSELY BENEFICIAL FOR BASIC RESEARCH, DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY-BASED THERAPEUTICS.

ELEMENT SPECIFIC ATOMIC ARRANGEMENT OF BINARY AND TERNARY ALLOY NANOSIZED CATALYSTS IN AS PREPARED AND ACTIVE STATE

SEVERITY PREDICTORS INTEGRATING SALIVARY TRANSCRIPTOMICS AND PROTEOMICS WITH MULTI NEURAL NETWORK INTELLIGENCE IN SARS-COV2 INFECTION IN CHILDREN (SPITS MISC) - ABSTRACT CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY LESS IMPACTED BY THE CORONA VIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) CAUSED BY THE SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONA VIRUS 2 (SAR-COV-2) COMPARED TO ADULTS. HOWEVER, SEVERE ILLNESSES INCLUDING MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME (MIS-C) AND RESPIRATORY FAILURE HAVE OCCURRED IN A SMALL PROPORTION OF CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. NEARLY 80% OF CHILDREN WITH MIS-C ARE CRITICALLY ILL WITH A 2-4% MORTALITY RATE. CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO MODALITIES TO CHARACTERIZE THE SPECTRUM OF DISEASE SEVERITY AND PREDICT WHICH CHILD WITH SARS-COV-2 EXPOSURE WILL LIKELY DEVELOP SEVERE ILLNESS INCLUDING MIS-C. THUS THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP A DIAGNOSTIC MODALITY TO DISTINGUISH THE VARYING PHENOTYPES OF DISEASE AND RISK STRATIFY DISEASE. THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN MICRORNA (MIRNA) PROFILES THAT OCCUR DUE TO AN INFECTION CAN IMPACT DISEASE SEVERITY BY ALTERING IMMUNE RESPONSE AND CYTOKINE REGULATION WHICH MAY BE DETECTED IN BODY FLUIDS INCLUDING SALIVA. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES OF CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 BY EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF THOSE AT RISK FOR SEVERE ILLNESS. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT A MODEL THAT INTEGRATES SALIVARY BIOMARKERS WITH SOCIAL AND CLINICAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH WILL PREDICT DISEASE SEVERITY IN CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS WILL BE PURSUED THROUGH PHASED FOUR SPECIFIC AIMS. THE FIRST TWO AIMS WILL BE PURSUED DURING THE R61 PHASE AND INCLUDE: 1) DEFINE AND COMPARE THE SALIVARY MOLECULAR HOST RESPONSE IN CHILDREN WITH VARYING PHENOTYPES (SEVERE AND NON SEVERE) SARS-COV-2 INFECTIONS AND 2) DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC MODEL TO PREDICT SEVERE SARS-COV-2 ILLNESS IN CHILDREN. DURING THE R33 PHASE WE WILL PURSUE THE FOLLOWING TWO AIMS: 3) DEVELOP A PORTABLE, RAPID DEVICE THAT QUANTIFIES SALIVARY MIRNAS WITH COMPARABLE ACCURACY TO PREDICATE TECHNOLOGY (QRT-PCR), AND 4) DEVELOP AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED CLOUD AND MOBILE SYSTEM FOR EARLY RECOGNITION OF SEVERE SARS-COV-2 INFECTION IN CHILDREN. WE WILL PURSUE THE ABOVE AIMS USING AN INNOVATIVE COMBINATION OF SALIVAOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS, ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES OF AI AND CLINICAL INFORMATICS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSITIVE MODEL TO RISK STRATIFY DISEASE IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES OF CHILDREN WITH SEVERE SARS-COV-2 INFECTION VIA EARLY RECOGNITION AND TIMELY INTERVENTION. THE PROXIMATE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THIS PROPOSAL IS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOST IMMUNE RESPONSE TO THE VIRAL INFECTION WHICH WE EXPECT TO LEAD TO PERSONALIZED THERAPY IN THE FUTURE. THE RESULTS WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT IMMEDIATELY AS IT WILL LEAD TO THE CREATION OF PATIENT PROFILES BASED ON INDIVIDUAL RISK FACTORS WHICH CAN ENABLE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF SEVERE DISEASE AND APPROPRIATE RESOURCE ALLOCATION DURING THE PANDEMIC.

METABOLISM AND TOXICITY OF NUCLEOSIDE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITORS IN NON-REP

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY - TALENT SEARCH DETROIT

THIS EDA INVESTMENT SUPPORTS CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AND CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION WITH RENOVATING AND UPDATING 8,111 SQUARE FEET OF INCUBATOR/ACCELERATOR OFFICE SPACE TO BETTER SERVE SMALL BUSINESSES IN MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN. TO MEET THE LOCAL ENTREPRENEURIAL OPERATIONAL AND SAFETY NEEDS AND HELP START-UP BUSINESSES GET THEIR TEAMS BACK TO A SAFE WORKPLACE AND GET BACK TO THE LEVEL OF PRODUCTIVITY THAT THEY HAD BEFORE THE START OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, THE PROJECT WILL CREATE A WORK ENVIRONMENT WITH SEPARATE OFFICES IN A WIDE-OPEN SPACE. THE PROJECT WILL ALLOW BUSINESSES TO SEPARATE WORKSTATIONS AND PROVIDE THE DISTANCE NEEDED DURING THE TIME OF COVID-19 AND BEYOND. ONCE COMPLETED, THE PROJECT WILL HELP SAVE JOBS, PROMOTE RESILIENCY, AND STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

DEAFBLIND CENTRAL: MICHIGAN’S TRAINING AND RESOURCE PROJECT

CHEMOENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF TREHALOSE ANALOGS AS TOOLS FOR INVESTIGATING MYCOBACTERIA

SEVERITY PREDICTORS INTEGRATING SALIVARY TRANSCRIPTOMICS AND PROTEOMICS WITH MULTI NEURAL NETWORK INTELLIGENCE IN SARS-COV2 INFECTION IN CHILDREN (SPITS MISC) - ABSTRACT CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY LESS IMPACTED BY THE CORONA VIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) CAUSED BY THE SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONA VIRUS 2 (SAR-COV-2) COMPARED TO ADULTS. HOWEVER, SEVERE ILLNESSES INCLUDING MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME (MIS-C) AND RESPIRATORY FAILURE HAVE OCCURRED IN A SMALL PROPORTION OF CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. NEARLY 80% OF CHILDREN WITH MIS-C ARE CRITICALLY ILL WITH A 2-4% MORTALITY RATE. CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO MODALITIES TO CHARACTERIZE THE SPECTRUM OF DISEASE SEVERITY AND PREDICT WHICH CHILD WITH SARS-COV-2 EXPOSURE WILL LIKELY DEVELOP SEVERE ILLNESS INCLUDING MIS-C. THUS THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP A DIAGNOSTIC MODALITY TO DISTINGUISH THE VARYING PHENOTYPES OF DISEASE AND RISK STRATIFY DISEASE. THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN MICRORNA (MIRNA) PROFILES THAT OCCUR DUE TO AN INFECTION CAN IMPACT DISEASE SEVERITY BY ALTERING IMMUNE RESPONSE AND CYTOKINE REGULATION WHICH MAY BE DETECTED IN BODY FLUIDS INCLUDING SALIVA. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES OF CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 BY EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF THOSE AT RISK FOR SEVERE ILLNESS. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT A MODEL THAT INTEGRATES SALIVARY BIOMARKERS WITH SOCIAL AND CLINICAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH WILL PREDICT DISEASE SEVERITY IN CHILDREN WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS WILL BE PURSUED THROUGH PHASED FOUR SPECIFIC AIMS. THE FIRST TWO AIMS WILL BE PURSUED DURING THE R61 PHASE AND INCLUDE: 1) DEFINE AND COMPARE THE SALIVARY MOLECULAR HOST RESPONSE IN CHILDREN WITH VARYING PHENOTYPES (SEVERE AND NON SEVERE) SARS-COV-2 INFECTIONS AND 2) DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC MODEL TO PREDICT SEVERE SARS-COV-2 ILLNESS IN CHILDREN. DURING THE R33 PHASE WE WILL PURSUE THE FOLLOWING TWO AIMS: 3) DEVELOP A PORTABLE, RAPID DEVICE THAT QUANTIFIES SALIVARY MIRNAS WITH COMPARABLE ACCURACY TO PREDICATE TECHNOLOGY (QRT-PCR), AND 4) DEVELOP AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ASSISTED CLOUD AND MOBILE SYSTEM FOR EARLY RECOGNITION OF SEVERE SARS-COV-2 INFECTION IN CHILDREN. WE WILL PURSUE THE ABOVE AIMS USING AN INNOVATIVE COMBINATION OF SALIVAOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS, ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES OF AI AND CLINICAL INFORMATICS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSITIVE MODEL TO RISK STRATIFY DISEASE IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES OF CHILDREN WITH SEVERE SARS-COV-2 INFECTION VIA EARLY RECOGNITION AND TIMELY INTERVENTION. THE PROXIMATE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THIS PROPOSAL IS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOST IMMUNE RESPONSE TO THE VIRAL INFECTION WHICH WE EXPECT TO LEAD TO PERSONALIZED THERAPY IN THE FUTURE. THE RESULTS WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT IMMEDIATELY AS IT WILL LEAD TO THE CREATION OF PATIENT PROFILES BASED ON INDIVIDUAL RISK FACTORS WHICH CAN ENABLE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF SEVERE DISEASE AND APPROPRIATE RESOURCE ALLOCATION DURING THE PANDEMIC.

PREPARATION FOR SUCCESS: CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY'S MCNAIR PROGRAM

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY-UPWARD BOUND-NORTHWEST

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

PROJECTS FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE DEAF-BLIND

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE DEAF BLIND PROJECTS

UPWARD BOUND

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY-UPWARD BOUND-SOUTHWEST

ENHANCED TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORTING LEARNING FUTURES AND HEALTHCARE CAREERS

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY-TRIO UPWARD BOUND NORTHWEST DETROIT

RONALD E. MCNAIR POST-BACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY-TRIO UPWARD BOUND SOUTHWEST DETROIT

PREPARATION FOR SUCCESS: CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY'S MCNAIR PROGRAM

INVESTIGATING OF THE FUNCTION OF COPINE A IN DICTYOSTELIUM

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION SBAHQ22I0092 FY 23 CONGRESSIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AGS-FIRP TRACK 3: IN-SITU COLLABORATIVE EXPERIMENT FOR THE COLLECTION OF HAIL IN THE PLAINS (ICECHIP) -HAIL IS THE MOST CONSISTENTLY DAMAGING HAZARD OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, PRODUCING LOSSES IN THE U.S. ALONE EXCEEDING $10 BILLION PER YEAR OVER THE PAST 14 YEARS WITH IMPACTS ON HOMEOWNERS, BUSINESS OWNERS, AVIATION, AGRICULTURE, TRANSPORTATION, AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCERS. THE IN-SITU COLLABORATIVE EXPERIMENT FOR COLLECTION OF HAIL IN THE PLAINS FIELD CAMPAIGN, OR ICECHIP, WILL IMPROVE RADAR DETECTION AND MONITORING OF HAIL, PROVIDE CRITICAL GROUND-TRUTH INFORMATION FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE, AND IMPROVE THE NATION?S CAPABILITIES TO PREDICT HAILSTORMS AND THEIR IMPACTS. CURRENT HAIL FORECASTING METHODS STRUGGLE TO FORECAST MORE EXTREME HAIL EVENTS, AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONNECT RADAR-OBSERVED STORM CHARACTERISTICS WITH SPECIFIC HAIL CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS CONCENTRATION OR EXTREME SIZES. VERY FEW OBSERVATIONS OF HAIL CHARACTERISTICS OTHER THAN MAXIMUM DIMENSION ARE EVEN AVAILABLE, NOR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THOSE CHARACTERISTICS COULD CHANGE DURING A STORM. ICECHIP, THE FIRST U.S. HAIL-FOCUSED FIELD CAMPAIGN IN OVER 40 YEARS, WILL USE MODERN INSTRUMENTATION AND NUMERICAL MODELING CAPACITY TO PROVIDE A LONG-AWAITED ADVANCEMENT IN HAIL SCIENCE. MOBILE RADARS, UNPILOTED AERIAL SYSTEMS, LOFTED DRIFTERS AND PROBES, LASER SCANNING TECHNOLOGIES, HIGH-RESOLUTION CAMERAS, AND MORE TRADITIONAL FIELD OBSERVATIONS SUCH AS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AND SURFACE HAIL SIZE WILL ALL BE USED TO OBTAIN SYNCHRONIZED AND COMPREHENSIVE OBSERVATIONS OF HAILSTORMS, THE HAILSTONES THEY PRODUCE, AND THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSE. RESEARCHERS WILL DEPLOY A FULLY MOBILE NETWORK FOR 6 WEEKS ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE AND CENTRAL PLAINS, GATHERING OBSERVATIONS FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF HAILSTORMS AND HAIL TYPES. THIS FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND DATASET WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN IMPROVING RADAR-BASED HAIL DETECTION, HAIL MODELS AND FORECASTING, AND RESULTING WARNINGS THROUGH DIVERSE COLLABORATION AMONG ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR, AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS. ICECHIP WILL PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS THROUGH TRAINING OF 32 UNDERGRADUATE AND 20 GRADUATE STUDENTS ACROSS 10 U.S. UNIVERSITIES, INCLUDING TWO MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS. ICECHIP WILL ADDRESS 5 MAJOR RESEARCH THEMES, EACH CORRESPONDING TO A CURRENT SIGNIFICANT GAP IN HAIL SCIENCE. IN THEME 1, WHICH FOCUSES ON HAILSTONE GROWTH AND FALL BEHAVIOR, ADVANCES IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WILL BE USED TO EXPLORE LITTLE-OBSERVED MICROSCALE HAIL PROCESSES SUCH AS TUMBLING, MELTING, AND SHEDDING WITH THE AIM OF REDUCING THE UNCERTAINTY IN MICROPHYSICAL PARAMETERIZATIONS AND HAIL GROWTH MODELS. ICECHIP?S COMPREHENSIVE OBSERVATIONS WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE NEWLY DEVELOPED HAIL TRAJECTORY MODELS AND PARAMETERIZATIONS IN THEME 2, WHICH CONCENTRATES ON IN-STORM HAIL TRAJECTORY AND CONVECTIVE UPDRAFT RELATIONSHIPS. THOSE MODELS WILL THEN BE USED TO EXPLORE HOW THUNDERSTORM UPDRAFT CHARACTERISTICS AND EVOLUTION CAN MODIFY IN-STORM HAIL TRAJECTORIES AND SURFACE HAIL PRODUCTION. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON HAIL PROCESSES AND PREDICTABILITY WILL BE EXAMINED IN THEME 3 BY QUANTIFYING MODEL HAIL FORECASTING SKILL, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL WIND, MOISTURE, AND TEMPERATURE PROFILES. IN THEME 4 THE SURFACE PROPERTIES OF HAILSTONES AND ASSOCIATED IMPACTS WILL BE INVESTIGATED BY LINKING THE INTERNAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STORM CHARACTERISTICS TO PREDICTABLE VARIATIONS IN OBSERVED HAILSTONE PROPERTIES (SIZE, SHAPE, DENSITY, AND STRENGTH) IN BOTH SPACE AND TIME WITHIN THE SWATH AND THROUGH NEW INSIGHTS DERIVED INTO THE IMPACT OF WIND ON HAIL IMPACTS. THESE PROPERTIES WILL BE LINKED THROUGH LABORATORY AND MODEL EXPERIMENTS TO DIFFERENT DAMAGE MODES OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES. FINALLY, IN THEME 5, WHICH FOCUSES ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HAILSTONE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND GROWTH PROCESSES TO RADAR OBSERVATIONS, RADAR-BASED DETECTION OF HAIL SIZE AND CONCENTRATION WILL BE BETTER ESTABLISHED THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE GROUND TRUTH VALIDATION THAT INCLUDES THE NATURAL VARIABILITY OF HAIL PROPERTIES. RADAR INDICATORS OF UPDRAFT WIDTH WILL BE LINKED DIRECTLY TO INCREASES IN HAILSTONE MASS AND DAMAGE POTENTIAL AT THE SURFACE. 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.

REGULATION OF STEM CELL FATE BY FOXO AND RNA BINDING PROTEINS - A FUNDAMENTAL GAP EXISTS IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS ARE REGULATED TO MAINTAIN STEM CELL MULTIPOTENCY DURING EXTENDED PERIODS OF QUIESCENCE, OR NON-DIVISION. THE FOXO FAMILY OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ARE KEY REGULATORS OF STEM CELL MAINTENANCE AND QUIESCENCE. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH FOXO PROTEINS IMPACT DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS TO CONTROL CELL FATE ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THIS APPLICATION CAPITALIZES ON THE POWER OF THE C. ELEGANS SYSTEM TO ADDRESS THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THE SINGLE FOXO ORTHOLOG, DAF-16, REGULATES CONSERVED DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS TO PRESERVE STEM CELL MULTIPOTENCY DURING QUIESCENCE. TO MODEL STEM CELL QUIESCENCE, WE WILL USE THE QUIESCENT DAUER LARVA STAGE, ADOPTED MIDWAY THROUGH DEVELOPMENT IN RESPONSE TO ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THIS APPROACH IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE THE C. ELEGANS SYSTEM ALLOWS US TO STUDY QUIESCENT, MULTIPOTENT CELLS IN VIVO AT SINGLE CELL RESOLUTION, COMPLEMENTING MAMMALIAN STUDIES. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS LAB IS TO DECIPHER THE MECHANISMS THAT PROMOTE MULTIPOTENCY DURING DAUER. EPIDERMAL SEAM CELLS, THE STEM CELL MODEL, ARE MULTIPOTENT AND UNDERGO A CHARACTERISTIC PATTERN OF SELF-RENEWING CELL DIVISIONS AT EACH LARVAL STAGE UNTIL DIFFERENTIATING AT ADULTHOOD. DURING DAUER, SEAM CELLS ARE QUIESCENT AND ACTIVE MECHANISMS MAINTAIN MULTIPOTENCY. PRELIMINARY DATA ESTABLISH THAT DURING DAUER, FOXO/DAF-16 BLOCKS ADULT CELL FATE BY POSITIVELY REGULATING THE EXPRESSION OF THREE GENES THAT ENCODE RNA-BINDING PROTEINS (RBPS). THE ORTHOLOGS OF THESE RBPS REGULATE THE PROLIFERATION AND FUNCTION OF STEM AND PROGENITOR CELLS IN FLIES AND MAMMALS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO UNRAVEL THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH FOXO/DAF-16 ACTS VIA RBPS TO REGULATE ADULT CELL FATE DURING THE QUIESCENT DAUER STAGE. THREE SPECIFIC AIMS ARE PROPOSED TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE. 1) DETERMINE THE GENETIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOXO/DAF-16 AND RBPS. LOSS-OF-FUNCTION AND GAIN-OF-FUNCTION EXPERIMENTS WILL ESTABLISH THE REGULATION OF RBPS BY FOXO/DAF-16, A NOVEL MECHANISM TO CONTROL CELL FATE. 2) IDENTIFY DIRECT RBP TARGETS THAT BLOCK ADULT CELL FATE DURING QUIESCENCE. DIRECT MRNA TARGETS OF RBPS WILL BE IDENTIFIED BY ICLIP. FUNCTIONAL TESTING WILL DETERMINE WHICH TARGETS ARE INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF SEAM CELL FATE. TOGETHER THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL ELUCIDATE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FOXO/DAF-16-REGULATED RBPS AND ADULT CELL FATE. 3) DISSECT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF AN ADULT CELL FATE MARKER DURING QUIESCENCE. PRELIMINARY DATA ESTABLISH THAT DURING DAUER, FOXO/DAF-16 AND THE THREE RBPS BLOCK EXPRESSION OF A TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPORTER OF AN ADULT-SPECIFIC GENE, WIDELY USED TO MARK ADULT CELL FATE. PROMOTER DISSECTION AND FUNCTIONAL TESTING OF CANDIDATE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS WILL DECIPHER THE QUIESCENCE-SPECIFIC REGULATION OF A KEY ADULT CELL FATE MARKER. THE PROPOSED WORK IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL ILLUMINATE HOW THE REGULATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS IS COORDINATED WITH THE REGULATION OF QUIESCENCE IN MULTIPOTENT CELLS.

LATTICE INSTABILITIES, EMERGENT ELECTRONIC PHASES AND COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR ROOTED IN THE QUANTUM WORLD

BUILDING PREDICTIVE CAPACITY TO ENHANCE STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND FLOOD RESILIENCE

ADVANCE ADAPTATION: REMOVING BARRIERS TO INSTITUTIONAL SUCCESS IN STEM AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY -CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY'S (CMU) ADVANCE ADAPTATION PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE WORKPLACE CULTURE AND CLIMATE FOR STEM FACULTY AT CMU. THIS PROJECT IS INFORMED BY AN INSTITUTIONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT THAT IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE THE INSTITUTION?S ABILITY TO RECRUIT HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM FACULTY TO CMU AND TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE RETAINED AND THRIVE AT CMU. THE PROJECT INCLUDES THREE INITIATIVES: 1) CREATING AN ?ADVOCATES AND ALLIES? PROGRAM, 2) ENSURING TRANSPARENT AND FAIR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND 3) DEVELOPING MORE WELCOMING FACULTY RECRUITMENT PRACTICES AND MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES. THESE INITIATIVES ARE EVIDENCE-BASED INFORMED BY THE RELEVANT RESEARCH LITERATURE AND/OR ADAPTED FROM OTHER ADVANCE INSTITUTIONS. THE CMU ADVANCE PROJECT WILL RESULT IN SEVERAL TOOLS THAT MAY BE BENEFICIAL TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS A SELF-ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST, BASED ON THE LITERATURE, FOR DEPARTMENTAL BY-LAW REVIEWS AND A FACULTY RECRUITMENT AND HIRING TOOLKIT. THE PROJECT HAS SUPPORT FROM INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND IS DESIGNED TO BE SUSTAINABLE. THIS WORK IS EXPECTED TO BUILD AN INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE OF EQUITY, TRANSPARENT POLICIES, AND IMPROVED RECRUITMENT AND MENTORING PRACTICES THAT WILL BENEFIT ALL FACULTY AND STUDENTS AT CMU. THE NSF ADVANCE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO FOSTER GENDER EQUITY THROUGH A FOCUS ON THE IDENTIFICATION AND ELIMINATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS THAT IMPEDE THE FULL PARTICIPATION AND ADVANCEMENT OF DIVERSE FACULTY IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS THAT INHIBIT EQUITY MAY EXIST IN POLICIES, PROCESSES, PRACTICES, AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE. ADVANCE ADAPTATION AWARDS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE ADAPTATION AND ADOPTION OF EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TO ACADEMIC, NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS WELL AS NON-ACADEMIC, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 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.

GENES, EDUCATION, AND GENE-EDUCATION INTERACTIONS IN OBESITY AND MENTAL HEALTH

NEW; THEORETICAL/COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES OF FUNDAMENTALS OF ONE-COMPONENT AND ALLOY METAL BASED NANOCATALYSTS RELEVANT TO ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY

DEAFBLIND CENTRAL: MICHIGAN'S TRAINING & RESOURCE PROJECT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MALE-MALE COMPETITION AND SPECIATION: BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROMOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING AGGRESSION BIASES IN CICHLIDS -COMPETITION IS FACT OF LIFE: ALL ORGANISMS ARE CONSTANTLY ENGAGED IN COMPETITION FOR MATES AND OTHER RESOURCES, AND THEY OFTEN DO SO AGGRESSIVELY. THESE COMPETITIVE INTERACTIONS CAN HAVE IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES NOT JUST FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ENGAGE IN THEM BUT ALSO FOR THE EVOLUTION AND PERSISTENCE OF POPULATIONS AND SPECIES. FOR EXAMPLE, SCIENTISTS HAVE SHOWN THAT NEW SPECIES CAN EVOLVE WHEN TERRITORY HOLDERS DIRECT MORE AGGRESSION TOWARDS COMPETITORS THAT RESEMBLE THEMSELVES COMPARED TO THOSE THAT ARE DISSIMILAR. HOWEVER, WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND NEUROBIOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT CONTROL THIS KIND OF AGGRESSION THAT IS BIASED TOWARD INDIVIDUALS THAT LOOK MORE SIMILAR TO ONESELF. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL USE A COMBINATION OF SOCIAL LEARNING EXPERIMENTS, GENETIC ANALYSIS, NEURAL ACTIVITY MAPPING, AND BRAIN GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSES TO INVESTIGATE THIS QUESTION USING TWO HIGHLY SOCIAL CICHLID FISH SPECIES THAT DIFFER IN BODY COLORATION. THIS HIGHLY INTEGRATIVE APPROACH WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SOCIAL COMPETITION INFLUENCES EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY. THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT WILL BUILD COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INSTITUTIONS IN THE US (TWO R2 AND ONE R1), SWITZERLAND, AND TANZANIA. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE RESEARCH AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROMOTE STEM ENGAGEMENT THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT ON CICHLID SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AT A LOCAL CHILDREN?S DISCOVERY MUSEUM. TOGETHER, THESE EFFORTS WILL ANSWER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS IN ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY WHILE HAVING A SIGNIFICANT SOCIETAL IMPACT BY PREPARING STUDENTS TO ENTER STEM FIELDS. MALE-MALE COMPETITION FOR MATES AND BREEDING TERRITORIES IS THOUGHT TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN POPULATION DIFFERENTIATION AND SPECIATION. IF MALES BIAS TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION TOWARDS MALES THAT RESEMBLE THEIR OWN PHENOTYPE, RARE MALE PHENOTYPES WOULD BE INVOLVED IN FEWER COSTLY FIGHTS. THE RESULTING NEGATIVE FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SELECTION COULD FACILITATE THE EVOLUTION OF DISTINCT PHENOTYPES AND STABILIZE THE SPECIATION PROCESS. HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING PROXIMATE MECHANISMS REMAIN MOSTLY UNKNOWN. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ASSESS THE COGNITIVE, GENETIC, AND NEURAL BASIS OF AGGRESSION BIASES IN THE CICHLID SPECIES PAIR PUNDAMILIA NYEREREI (MALES ARE RED) AND P. PUNDAMILIA (MALES ARE BLUE). THESE TWO SPECIES CO-OCCUR AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE EAST AFRICAN LAKE VICTORIA WITH VARYING DEGREES OF REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION, ALLOWING US TO STUDY THE MECHANISTIC BASIS OF AGGRESSION BIASES AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF SPECIATION. THE PROJECT HAS THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: FIRST, THIS RESEARCH WILL ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF GENETIC LOCI REGULATING AGGRESSION BIASES AND BODY COLORATION AND THEIR DEGREE OF LINKAGE USING QUANTITATIVE GENETICS AND QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCUS MAPPING. SECOND, THIS RESEARCH WILL ASSESS HOW SOCIAL EXPERIENCE AND SOCIAL CONTEXT SHAPE AGGRESSION BIASES. FINALLY, THE PROJECT WILL DETERMINE THE NEURAL MECHANISMS REGULATING AGGRESSION BIASES USING A COMBINATION OF NEURAL ACTIVITY MAPPING, PHARMACOLOGICAL MANIPULATION OF DOPAMINE SIGNALING, AND NEURAL TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS. THIS HIGHLY INTEGRATIVE APPROACH WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO HOW MALE-MALE COMPETITION CONTRIBUTES TO SPECIATION, AGONISTIC CHARACTER EVOLUTION, AND SPECIES COEXISTENCE. 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.

IMPROVING AUTOMATED HEARING AID SAFETY AND AUDIBILITY; EXTERNAL-EAR AMPLIFICATION PREDICTIONS BASED ON HEIGHT, NOT AGE

PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM GRANT

PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM GRANT

HIGH-PRECISION PENNING TRAP MEASUREMENTS OF B-DECAY Q-VALUES FOR NEUTRINO PHYSICS

CAREER: MICRORNA PATHWAYS CONTROLLING DEVELOPMENT AFTER DIAPAUSE IN C. ELEGANS

MECHANISMS OF RNP GRANULE FUNCTION IN THE GERM LINE

SENSING AND CONTROLLING CELL SIGNALING EVENTS WITH BIOLUMINESCENT KINASE SENSORS AND GENE CIRCUITS - CELL SIGNALING EVENTS LIKE GROWTH FACTORS AND CELL CYCLE PLAY CRUCIAL ROLES IN REGULATING THE BEHAVIOR OF CELLS. GROWTH FACTORS ARE SIGNALING MOLECULES THAT PROMOTE CELL GROWTH, DIVISION, AND SURVIVAL. THEY BIND TO CELL-SURFACE RECEPTORS THAT ARE LINKED TO KINASES, WHICH INITIATE INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS TO EXERT A CELLULAR RESPONSE. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE CELL CYCLE REPRESENTS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CLASS OF CELL SIGNALING EVENTS WHERE A COMPLEX NETWORK OF PROTEINS INTERACTS WITH EACH OTHER TO ENSURE THAT THE CELL DIVIDES ONLY WHEN IT IS READY AND THAT THE DAUGHTER CELLS ARE IDENTICAL TO THE PARENT CELL. MORE RECENTLY, CELL CYCLE REGULATION OR DYSREGULATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN DISEASE PROCESSES THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO CELL DIVISION. THE CELL CYCLE IS REGULATED BY BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CUES, SUCH AS GROWTH FACTORS AND DNA DAMAGE, RESPECTIVELY. IN BOTH CASES, THESE CELL SIGNALING PROCESSES ARE HIGHLY RELEVANT IN BOTH HEALTH AND DISEASE AND THE ROLES OF THESE SIGNALING EVENTS ARE STILL BEING DISCOVERED. WE AIM TO DEVELOP A SERIES OF BIOLUMINESCENT KINASE SENSORS DESIGNED TO MONITOR VARIOUS CELL SIGNALING PROCESSES. WE ARE STARTING WITH TWO EXAMPLES TO APPLY THIS CONCEPT, (1) DETECTING AND MANIPULATING CELL CYCLE STATE AND PROGRESSION AND (2) DETECTING AND MANIPULATING GROWTH FACTOR SIGNALING. THESE SENSORS WILL PROVIDE REAL-TIME, NON-INVASIVE INSIGHTS INTO CELLULAR PROCESSES, ENHANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CELL BIOLOGY AND DISEASE PROGRESSION. WE ALSO AIM TO APPLY THESE LIGHT EMITTING SENSORS TO CONTROL OPTOGENETIC ACTUATORS TO AMPLIFY OR INHIBIT THESE CELL SIGNALING EVENTS THROUGH LIGHT ACTIVATED TRANSCRIPTION THAT WILL OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO BOTH THE CELL SIGNALING EVENTS OF INTEREST AND PRESENCE OF A LUCIFERIN THAT CAN BE ADDED TO CELL CULTURE OR INJECTED IN MODEL ORGANISMS OCCURRING SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT IN THE FIELD OF CELL BIOLOGY, CREATING NOVEL TOOLS FOR MANIPULATION OF CELLULAR FUNCTION TO STUDY CELL SIGNALING PROCESSES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THESE SENSORS WILL NOT ONLY ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CELL SIGNALING BUT ALSO OPEN NEW AVENUES FOR THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION EITHER THROUGH MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF CELLULAR PROCESSES OR BY ADAPTING THIS SYSTEM TO CORRECT ABERRANT CELL SIGNALING EVENTS. THE USE OF BIOLUMINESCENT BASED SENSORS PAIRED WITH OPTOGENETIC ACTUATORS OFFERS SEVERAL ADVANTAGES OVER CURRENT APPROACHES TO PROBING CELL SIGNALING EVENTS IN THAT MANIPULATIONS ARE DEPENDENT ON A SPECIFIC KINASE’S ACTIVITY AND THE PRESENCE OF LUCIFERIN, BRIGHTNESS CAN BE TUNED BASED ON LUCIFERIN CONCENTRATION AND THE ON/OFF KINETICS OF THE SENSOR CAN BE TUNED. LONG-TERM, DEVELOPMENT OF THESE SYSTEMS WILL ENABLE A VARIETY OF NEW BASIC SCIENCE QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED BY ALLOWING KINASE DEPENDENT CELL SIGNALING EVENTS IN VARIOUS CELL TYPES TO BE MANIPULATED IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. THE GOAL OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IS TO SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOP TWO DISTINCT CELL SIGNALING SENSING AND CONTROL SYSTEMS THAT CAN BE USED FOR BASIC SCIENCE APPLICATIONS AS PROOF OF PRINCIPLE SYSTEMS THAT WE WILL APPLY IN OUR LAB AND COLLABORATORS LABS WITH THE GOAL OF EXPANDING TO OTHER CELL SIGNALING CATEGORIES.

EQUIPMENT: MRI TRACK 1: ACQUISITION OF A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE TO PROMOTE MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY -AN AWARD IS MADE TO CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (CMU) TO ACQUIRE AN ADVANCED CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE, A HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING TOOL THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR MODERN BIOLOGICAL DISCOVERY. THIS INSTRUMENT WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO SEE DEEP INSIDE LIVING TISSUES IN THREE DIMENSIONS, PROVIDING AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF DETAIL. BY INTEGRATING THIS TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CURRICULUM, CMU IS STRENGTHENING ITS RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENSURING THAT STUDENTS ARE TRAINED ON THE SAME INDUSTRY-STANDARD TOOLS THEY WILL ENCOUNTER IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE. THIS INVESTMENT SUPPORTS A GROWING RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT CMU, BENEFITING UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS, FACULTY RESEARCH, AND SCIENCE OUTREACH INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE REGION. THE ACQUISITION OF THIS INSTRUMENTATION WILL PROVIDE RESEARCHERS WITH THE ABILITY TO STUDY THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF LIFE IN EXTRAORDINARY DETAIL. BY ENABLING REAL-TIME OBSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, THIS ADVANCED TOOL WILL DRIVE DISCOVERIES IN KEY AREAS SUCH AS HOW CELLS MOVE AND CHANGE, HOW THEY COMMUNICATE AND SEND SIGNALS, HOW ORGANISMS GROW AND DEVELOP FROM SINGLE CELLS, AND HOW SCIENTISTS CAN DESIGN NEW BIOLOGICAL TOOLS AND MATERIALS FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES. SPECIFIC AREAS OF RESEARCH WILL INCLUDE INVESTIGATING HOW THE PROTECTIVE ENVELOPES OF CELLS CHANGE SHAPE AND HOW PROTEINS MOVE AND REORGANIZE WITHIN CELLS. THE RESEARCHERS WILL ALSO USE MODEL ORGANISMS TO DISCOVER CELL SIGNAL PATHWAYS USED BY CELLS TO COORDINATE COMPLEX BEHAVIORS AND TO STUDY HOW SINGLE CELLS ORGANIZE INTO COMPLEX ORGANISMS. THE INSTRUMENT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE ENGINEERING OF NEW BIOLOGICAL TOOLS, SUCH AS THE DESIGN OF NANOPARTICLES FOR THE PRECISION DELIVERY OF MOLECULES TO SPECIFIC CELLS AND CELL PARTS. ALL OF THIS WORK WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS, SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPORTING BIOTECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE RESEARCH NETWORK - CLINICAL SITE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MARITIME TO INLAND TRANSITIONS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTS FOR CONVECTION INITIATION (MITTEN CI) -THE GOAL OF THE MARITIME TO INLAND TRANSITIONS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTS FOR CONVECTION INITIATION (MITTEN-CI) CAMPAIGN IS TO DEVELOP THE MOST THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING TO DATE OF TRANSITIONS IN NEAR-SURFACE THERMODYNAMIC AND WIND PROFILE STRUCTURE DUE TO INLAND MOVEMENT OF MARINE AIR IN THE GREAT LAKES COASTAL ENVIRONMENT, AND RESULTANT IMPACTS ON THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. UNDERSTANDING SUCH TRANSITIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THUNDERSTORMS HAS SUBSTANTIAL BROADER IMPACTS, GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE HUMAN POPULATION THAT LIVES IN COASTAL AREAS. HYPOTHESES ARE DEVELOPED TO TARGET NOVEL ASPECTS OF NEAR-SHORE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF NEAR-SURFACE PROFILES OF TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, AND WIND THAT HAVE RECEIVED RELATIVELY LITTLE ATTENTION AND ENABLE OPERATIONS UNDER A WIDE RANGE OF BACKGROUND WEATHER PATTERNS, RESULTING IN A HIGH PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS IN THE CAMPAIGN?S GOALS. THE MITTEN-CI CAMPAIGN WILL RESULT IN AN EXTENSIVE DATASET THAT CHARACTERIZES THE TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF OVER-LAKE THERMODYNAMIC AND KINEMATIC PROFILES USING UNCREWED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS), IN ADDITION TO THOROUGH SAMPLING OF BOUNDARY LAYER SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OVER LAND USING INSTRUMENTATION ALONG A 120 KM SHORE-PERPENDICULAR TRANSECT WITH SIX FLUX TOWERS, TWO MOBILE MESONETS, MULTIPLE RADIOSONDE LAUNCH SITES, A DOPPLER LIDAR, AND TWO MOBILE KA-BAND DOPPLER RADARS. THESE DATA WILL ENABLE HYPOTHESIS TESTING THAT WILL RESULT IN NEW KNOWLEDGE OF PROCESSES ACROSS A RANGE OF SCALES THAT RESULT IN CONVECTION INITIATION (CI) OR FAILURE THEREOF IN MIDLATITUDE COASTAL REGIONS. SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF COASTAL CONVECTIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND CI TO BE INVESTIGATED INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF LAKE-BREEZE MAHTES (MESOSCALE AIRMASSES WITH HIGH THETA-E), I.E., INSTABILITY MAXIMA ON THE COOL SIDE OF LAKE-BREEZE FRONTS (LBFS), THE POTENTIAL FOR DIFFUSE LBFS TO EXIST EMBEDDED WITHIN SYNOPTIC-SCALE ONSHORE FLOW AND INFLUENCE CI, LBF MISOVORTEX INFLUENCE ON CI BOTH INDEPENDENTLY AND THROUGH INTERACTIONS WITH HORIZONTAL CONVECTIVE ROLLS, RKW THEORY?S RELATION TO LBF CI, AND THE INFLUENCE OF ENTRAINMENT ON LBF THERMODYNAMICS, STRUCTURE, AND PROPAGATION. SIGNIFICANT NEW KNOWLEDGE OF PROCESSES RELATED TO MAHTE DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED AND WILL INFORM BROADER RESEARCH ON MAHTE DEVELOPMENT IN OTHER TYPES OF FRONTAL BOUNDARIES WHICH ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO STUDY WITHOUT A NOMADIC CAMPAIGN. 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.

TAS::89 0222::TAS; NEW; SPIN-FORBIDDEN CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN CATALYSIS FROM FIRST-PRINCIPLES; PI - JUAN PERALTA

MICHIGAN DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROJECT

BUILDING AND TESTING FEASIBILITY OF EMPOWER, A SKILL-BASED PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION FOR PARENTS OF CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN - PROJECT SUMMARY SURVIVING A SERIOUS, LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS IN THE PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (PICU) OFTEN COMES AT THE COST OF NEW CHILD MORBIDITY AND DETRIMENTS TO CHILD AND PARENT MENTAL HEALTH. PARENTS ARE INTEGRAL IN A CHILD’S PICU RECOVERY. YET, PARENT MENTAL HEALTH AND CAREGIVER SELF-EFFICACY CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY AND NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THE TRAUMA ASSOCIATED WITH A CHILD’S PICU ADMISSION, AFFECTING PARENTS’ ABILITY TO HELP THEIR CHILD OPTIMALLY RECOVER. RECOGNIZING THE KEY ROLE OF PARENTS IN CHILD HEALTH, THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE HAS IDENTIFIED A CRUCIAL NEED FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS FOR PARENTS IN VULNERABLE SITUATIONS, SUCH AS PICU ADMISSION. HOWEVER, A RECENT SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND A PAUCITY OF PARENT INTERVENTIONS IN THE PICU. THUS, A CRITICAL NEED EXISTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION FOR PICU PARENTS THAT REDUCES PTSS AND ENHANCES CAREGIVER SELF-EFFICACY AFTER DISCHARGE. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO GAIN THE SKILLS TO BUILD AND TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF A THEORY-DRIVEN AND EVIDENCE-BASED PARENT PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION THROUGH THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: AIM 1) BUILD EMPOWER, AN INTERVENTION FOR PARENTS WHOSE CHILDREN ARE ADMITTED TO A PICU. DR. YAGIELA WILL COLLABORATE WITH PICU STAKEHOLDERS AND USE THE RE-AIM (REACH, EFFECTIVENESS, ADOPTION, IMPLEMENTATION AND MAINTENANCE) FRAMEWORK TO INTEGRATE AND ADAPT EVIDENCE-BASED COMPONENTS FROM EXISTING PARENT INTERVENTIONS TO CREATE EMPOWER. AIM 2) DEVELOP AND TEST A TRAINING CURRICULUM TO PREPARE PARENT MENTORS TO DELIVER THE EMPOWER INTERVENTION. PRINCIPLES OF ADULT LEARNING, DIDACTICS, ROLE-PLAYING EXERCISES, AND DELIVERY OF THE INTERVENTION IN STANDARDIZED SCENARIOS WILL BE USED TO TRAIN AND TEST THE READINESS OF PARENT MENTORS TO DELIVER THE INTERVENTION. AIM 3) DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY, ACCEPTABILITY, AND IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS OF THE EMPOWER INTERVENTION. PARENT MENTORS WILL DELIVER THE INTERVENTION TO PICU PARENTS IN A FEASIBILITY TRIAL. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THESE AIMS IS A FEASIBLE THEORY-DRIVEN AND EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION CALLED EMPOWER, THAT HELPS PARENTS GAIN SKILLS TO REDUCE IMMEDIATE DISTRESS, WHICH MY CONCEPTUAL MODEL POSITS CAN REDUCE FUTURE PTSS AND ENHANCE CAREGIVER SELF-EFFICACY. THIS IS EXPECTED TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT BY IMPROVING PARENTS’ ABILITY TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILD’S RECOVERY, THEREBY INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVED PICU CHILD OUTCOMES. THIS K23 PROPOSAL ALSO INCLUDES A FOUR-YEAR TRAINING PLAN. WITH THE SUPPORT OF AN EXPERT TEAM OF MENTORS AND ADVISORS, DR. YAGIELA WILL GAIN TRAINING IN DEVELOPING BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS, DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING CLINICAL TRIALS, AND QUALITATIVE AND MIXED METHODS, AND DEVELOP PROFESSIONALLY. THE TRAINING GOALS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH FREQUENT INTERACTION WITH MENTORS / ADVISORS, DIDACTIC COURSEWORK, MENTORED STUDY, SEMINARS, AND CONFERENCES. THIS K23-SUPPORTED DATA AND TRAINING WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR A FUTURE R01-FUNDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE EMPOWER INTERVENTION AND ENABLE DR. YAGIELA TO ACHIEVE HER LONG-TERM GOAL OF BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT CLINICIAN-RESEARCHER WHO DEVELOPS, TESTS, AND IMPLEMENTS PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS THAT IMPROVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OUTCOMES IN PARENTS AND CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN.

CAREER: CHEMICAL TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE MYCOMEMBRANE OF THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE

CAREER: TOWARD A GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING OF SEVERE CONVECTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

URM: BIOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE MENTORING PROGRAM: BUMP INTO RESEARCH AT CMU!

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENRICHING THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL TEACHERS & COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY IN RURAL MICHIGAN - AN RET SITE ON SMAR

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION - FY24 CONGRESSIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - NON-CONSTRUCTION - CMU’S PROGRAM TO STRENGTHEN TELE-PSYCHIATRY SERVICES, FOCUSED ON REDUCING YOUTH SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AND INCREASING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INFUSES CRITICALLY NEEDED TELE-PSYCHIATRY OUTREACH FOR ENHANCED MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. IT IS TARGETED FOR IMPLEMENTATION CONCURRENT TO CMU PSYCHIATRY CLINICS POSITIONED TO SUPPORT PROVIDERS IN RURAL CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MICHIGAN. AN OUTREACH TEAM WILL RECRUIT/ENGAGE RURAL PROVIDER PRACTICES AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS. THE GOAL IS 15-20 NEW PARTICIPANT PRACTICES EVERY 4 MONTHS, TOTALING 50 PRACTICES DURING THE GRANT AWARD PERIOD. FUNDING PERMANENTLY EQUIPS PRACTICES WITH TELEHEALTH EQUIPMENT ALONG WITH 2-YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR PLATFORM ACCESS. PARTICIPANT PROVIDERS RECEIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING RESOURCES & PORTAL ACCESS TO TOOLS, AND REFERRAL LINKAGES TO PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENT SERVICES AT CMU’S CLINIC. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TELE-PSYCHIATRY OUTREACH TO ENHANCE PROVIDERS’ CAPACITY AND INCREASE ACCESS TO SPECIALTY SERVICES BASED OUT OF CMU PSYCHIATRY CLINICS IN MOUNT PLEASANT AND SAGINAW MICHIGAN. THE CLINICS’ TEAM OF RESIDENT PHYSICIANS, FELLOWS AND FACULTY WILL WORK WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS, INCLUDING PRIMARY CARE, RURAL FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS, AND COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. THE PROJECT WILL BOLSTER REFERRAL NETWORKS, PROVIDE CONSULTATIVE SERVICES TO RURAL PHYSICIANS, EXPEDITE CARE, AND OFFER OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS AT RISK FOR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, SUICIDE, CRISIS INTERVENTION, AND CARE TRANSITIONS. CMU WILL COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL PROVIDERS TO DEPLOY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TELEHEALTH EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, AND TELE-PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENT SERVICES. CMU’S PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY AND CHILD & ADOLESCENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM GROWTH REFLECTS THE MEDICAL SCHOOL’S COMMITMENT TO STEM MICHIGAN’S PSYCHIATRIC PHYSICIAN SHORTAGE AND DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY CARE TO UNDERSERVED AREAS. FIFTY PERCENT OF RECENT GRADUATES HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY AND PRACTICE IN MICHIGAN. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES 12 FACULTY PSYCHIATRISTS. IN 2019, CMU MEDICAL EDUCATION PARTNERS EXPANDED ITS PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAM THROUGH THE MIDOCS INITIATIVE AND CONTINUES TO OFFER SIX NEW PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY POSITIONS YEARLY. THROUGH THIS FUNDING, TELE-PSYCHIATRY CLINICS WILL BE ESTABLISHED AS OUTREACH HUBS IN SAGINAW AND MOUNT PLEASANT, STAFFED BY THE CMU PSYCHIATRY RESIDENTS AND CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY FELLOWS. THE CMU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND THE CMU INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTER FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS ARE PARTNERS IN THE MDHHS PREVENTING SUICIDE IN MICHIGAN MEN (PRISMM) INITIATIVE, A FIVE-YEAR $4.35M GRANT FUNDED BY CDC AIMED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DEATHS AND ATTEMPTS AMONG MEN AGES 25 AND OLDER BY AT LEAST 10 PERCENT. CMU HAS BUILT AND IS NOW DISSEMINATING A SUICIDE PREVENTION TELEHEALTH TOOLKIT (MED.CMICH.EDU/PRISMMTOOLKIT) FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS. THIS RESOURCE WILL BE AVAILABLE ALONG WITH TRAINING SUPPORT TO THE 50 PROVIDERS PARTICIPATING IN THE CMU CORPS INITIATIVE. CMU WILL INFUSE CRITICALLY NEEDED TELE-PSYCHIATRY OUTREACH FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES AND TOOLS FOR PROVIDERS IN MID-CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MICHIGAN.

INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF THE VP-PROCESS IN HEAVY ELEMENT NUCLEOSYNTHESIS, THROUGH THE STUDY OF KEY (P,N) REACTIONS

ENHANCING STEM EDUCATION WITH RESEARCH-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIMENTS: A MULTI-INSTITUTION, CROSS-CURRICULAR, AND CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE

ENGINEERING HYDROPHILIC/AMPHIPHILIC VITAMIN B6-BASED SUPER ANTIOXIDANT DENDRIMERS FOR CONTROLLING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION - TITLE: ENGINEERING HYDROPHILIC/AMPHIPHILIC VITAMIN B6-BASED SUPER ANTIOXIDANT DENDRIMERS FOR CONTROLLING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT FREE RADICALS PRODUCED DURING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN DAMAGE CELLULAR MATERIALS AND CAUSE OXIDATIVE STRESS, WHICH CAN INTENSIFY PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS IRREVERSIBLE HUMAN DISEASES. MANY STUDIES REPORT THAT NATURALLY OCCURRING ANTIOXIDANTS SUCH AS VITAMINS C AND E AND QUERCETIN ARE BENEFICIAL FOR PREVENTION OF A VARIETY OF HUMAN AILMENTS INCLUDING ASTHMA AND CANCER, BUT SOME STUDIES ARE CONTRADICTORY. MANY NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS IN THE PRESENCE OF TRANSITION METAL IONS, LIKE COPPER AND IRON, GENERATE MORE FREE RADICALS (PRO-OXIDANT EFFECT). THE PRO-OXIDANT EFFECT IS MORE SEVERE WITH ANTIOXIDANTS THAT CAN DIRECTLY COORDINATE WITH THE METAL IONS THROUGH THEIR PHENOLIC HYDROXYL (OH) GROUPS, SUCH AS CATECHOL OR GALLOL. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS PRO-OXIDANT ACTION OF ANTIOXIDANTS EXPLAINS THE DETRIMENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS REPORTED FOR ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTS IN CLINICAL STUDIES. WE PREVIOUSLY SYNTHESIZED LARGE DENDRITIC ANTIOXIDANTS WITH MULTIPLE PHENOLIC UNITS ON THE SURFACE AND INTERIOR WITH METAL CHELATING CAPABILITY. THESE DENDRITIC ANTIOXIDANTS SHOWED MUCH HIGHER ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OVER NATURALLY OCCURRING POPULAR ANTIOXIDANTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE DENDRIMER WITH 8 SYRINGOL UNITS HAD 18-FOLD LOWER IC50 IN THE DPPH ASSAY THAN THAT OF VITAMIN C. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY ARE DEVOID OF HARMFUL PRO-OXIDANT EFFECTS. WE BELIEVED THAT THE ABSENCE OF PRO-OXIDANT EFFECTS WAS ACHIEVED BY ENTRAPPING METAL IONS WITHIN THEIR INTERIOR AS WELL AS USING HINDERED PHENOLIC UNITS WHOSE OH DO NOT CHELATE TRANSITION METAL IONS. A MAJOR DRAWBACK OF THE ANTIOXIDANT DENDRIMERS WAS THEIR POOR WATER-SOLUBILITY. THESE ANTIOXIDANTS WERE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN QUENCHING ORGANIC RADICALS AND PROTECTING NON-POLAR BIOMOLECULES SUCH AS MEMBRANE LIPIDS AND LIPOPROTEINS. HOWEVER, THEIR ABILITY TO QUENCH WATER-SOLUBLE RADICALS SUCH AS OH· WAS LIMITED. VARIOUS ATTEMPTS TO INCREASE THE AQUEOUS SOLUBILITY OF THESE COMPOUNDS BY INCORPORATION OF CORES AND BRANCHES RICH IN POLAR GROUPS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE PLAN TO DEVELOP A NEW CLASS OF HYDROPHILIC/AMPHIPHILIC ANTIOXIDANT DENDRIMERS WITH BUILT-IN POTENT ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AS WELL AS METAL CHELATING ABILITY BY SYNTHESIS AND ASSEMBLY OF PIE-SHAPED DENDRITIC SEGMENTS KNOWN AS DENDRONS (CONVERGENT METHOD). A DENDRON WITH METAL CHELATING ABILITY WILL BE SYNTHESIZED AND ITS SURFACE WILL BE MODIFIED WITH THREE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF BUILDING BLOCKS (BBS) THAT ARE HYDROPHILIC, HYDROPHOBIC, AND AMPHIPHILIC. WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMIN B6 MOLECULES (PYRIDOXAL AND PYRIDOXAL-5’-PHOSPHATE) WILL BE USED TO FORM HYDROPHILIC BBS AND SYRINGALDEHYDE, A HYDROPHOBIC BB. THE FOCAL POINT OF DENDRONS WILL BE ATTACHED TO A CHEMICAL CARRYING EITHER AN AZIDO OR ALKYNYL GROUP. ATTACHMENT OF THE PROPERLY MATCHED DENDRONS VIA THEIR FOCAL POINTS WOULD YIELD HYDROPHILIC/AMPHIPHILIC DENDRIMERS WITH POTENT ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES AND DEVOID OF ANY PRO-OXIDANT ACTIONS. HIGH POTENCY WILL BE ACHIEVED BY ATTACHING NUMEROUS HINDERED ANTIOXIDANT UNITS TO THE SURFACE OF THE DENDRON. THE EFFICIENT METAL CHELATION THAT HELPS PREVENT THE PRO-OXIDANT EFFECT WILL BE ACHIEVED BY EMBEDDING THE N AND O ATOMS TO THE INTERIOR OF DENDRON. CONJUGATION OF BBS TO THE DENDRON SURFACE AND DENDRONS TO DENDRONS WILL BE DONE BY “ALKYNE-AZIDE CLICK” CHEMISTRY. THE SYNTHESIZED DENDRIMERS WILL BE TESTED FOR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES (USING CHEMICAL ASSAYS AND THE BIOMOLECULES DNA AND LDL) AND PRO-OXIDANT POTENTIAL (USING DNA). CELL TOXICITY WILL BE ASSESSED BY THE MTT ASSAY. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTION ON CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WILL ALSO BE EVALUATED USING RAW 264.7 MACROPHAGE CELLS. POTENT HYDROPHILIC/AMPHIPHILIC ANTIOXIDANT DENDRIMERS FREE FROM PRO-OXIDANT EFFECTS ARE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC AGENTS FOR CONTROLLING CHRONIC I

ERK-MEDIATED REGULATION OF RNA BINDING PROTEIN CONDENSATION DURING FEMALE GERM CELL DEVELOPMENT - PROJECT SUMMARY A FUNDAMENTAL GAP EXISTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS THAT MAINTAIN THE MATERNAL MRNAS NECESSARY FOR OOCYTE GROWTH AND EARLY EMBRYOGENESIS. BIRTH DEFECTS AND INFERTILITY CAN ARISE IF MRNAS ARE NOT PROPERLY REGULATED. MANY MRNAS AND RNA BINDING PROTEINS UNDERGO REGULATED PHASE SEPARATION THAT CAN RESULT IN GRANULES. IN THE HUMAN OVARY, INFERTILITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH ECTOPIC GRANULES OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS. DESPITE THEIR CRITICAL NATURE, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT REGULATE PHASE SEPARATIONS OF OOGENIC RNA BINDING PROTEINS ARE NOT YET WELL UNDERSTOOD. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS THAT ALLOW OOCYTES TO MAINTAIN THEIR QUALITY THROUGHOUT OOGENESIS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO IDENTIFY THE ERK (EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL REGULATED KINASE)-MEDIATED MECHANISMS THAT MODULATE RNA BINDING PROTEIN PHASE TRANSITIONS AND FUNCTION IN OOGENESIS. THE TWO CENTRAL HYPOTHESES ARE: 1) THE CANONICAL RAS-ERK SIGNALING PATHWAY ACTS IN OOCYTES TO INHIBIT THE CONDENSATION OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS INTO RNP GRANULES WHICH IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION OF MRNAS, AND 2) ERK MODULATES CONDENSATION VIA REGULATION OF THE CCT CHAPERONIN AND/OR REMODELING OF THE ER OR CYTOSKELETON. THESE HYPOTHESES HAVE BEEN FORMULATED BASED ON RESULTS IN THE PI’S LAB SHOWING DEPLETION OF ERK ACTIVITY RESULTS IN ECTOPIC GRANULES OF TWO RNA BINDING PROTEINS, AND CELLULAR REMODELING IS ASSOCIATED WITH RNP GRANULES. THE OVERALL APPROACH IS TO INVESTIGATE THE CONDENSATION OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS USING AN OUTSTANDING IN VIVO MODEL OF OOGENESIS IN THE NEMATODE C. ELEGANS. THE APPROACH IS EDUCATIONALLY INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT INVOLVES A LARGE NUMBER OF UNDERGRADUATES, SOME OF WHOM WILL BE INVOLVED IN AUTHENTIC RESEARCH IN AN ELECTIVE LAB COURSE. THE STRATEGY ALSO INTEGRATES A POWERFUL COMBINATION OF GENETICS, CELL BIOLOGY, AND MICROSCOPY. THE FIRST AIM IS TO ELUCIDATE THE ROLE OF THE CANONICAL RAS-ERK SIGNALING PATHWAY IN REGULATING RNA BINDING PROTEIN CONDENSATION. THE ROLE OF THE G PROTEIN SIGNALING PATHWAY IN THE SHEATH CELLS WILL ALSO BE DETERMINED, AS WELL AS THE EFFECT OF DEPLETED ERK ACTIVITY ON THE TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION OF MATERNAL MRNAS. THE SECOND AIM IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE COMPOSITION AND DYNAMICS OF ECTOPIC RNP CONDENSATES AND IDENTIFY CANDIDATE ERK SUBSTRATES THAT MEDIATE THE INHIBITION OF CONDENSATION. THE EFFECTS OF DEPLETING ERK ACTIVITY ON DIVERSE CLASSES OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS AND MRNA WILL BE DETERMINED. A COMBINATION OF GENETICS AND TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE IF ERK REGULATES REMODELING OF THE ER AND CYTOSKELETON. THESE RESULTS WILL BE USED TO SCREEN CANDIDATE ERK SUBSTRATES TO IDENTIFY DOWNSTREAM ERK TARGETS. OVERALL, THIS CONTRIBUTION WILL PROVIDE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE REGULATION OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS AND MATERNAL MRNAS THAT MAY HAVE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE IN MAINTAINING GAMETE QUALITY. THIS PROJECT IS SIGNIFICANT AS IT WILL UNIQUELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE FIELD BY UNCOVERING UPSTREAM ERK PATHWAYS THAT REGULATE THE PHASE TRANSITIONS OF RNA BINDING PROTEINS IN OOGENESIS. CANDIDATE ERK SUBSTRATES WILL PROVIDE TARGETS FOR FUTURE BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES AND TO MODULATE THE PATHWAY FOR INTERVENTIONS.

NON-INVASIVE NANOPARTICLE PLATFORM FOR TOOL DELIVERY TO THE BRAIN

FUNCTIONAL CIRCUIT DISSECTION OF THE HCRT SYSTEM - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THIS EXPLORATORY PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN RESEARCHERS STUDYING AROUSAL-RELATED BEHAVIORAL STATES AND BRAIN TOOL DEVELOPERS AND WILL UTILIZE NOVEL INTERVENTIONAL TOOLS FOR CHANGING NEURAL CIRCUIT DYNAMICS TO ELUCIDATE THE HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION OF HYPOCRETIN (HCRT) CIRCUITS WITH RESPECT TO AROUSAL AND REWARD. MOTIVATED BEHAVIORS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY LINKED TO AROUSAL; HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE NEURAL MECHANISMS THAT COUPLE MOTIVATIONAL PROCESSES WITH SLEEP/WAKE REGULATION. THE HYPOTHALAMIC HCRT NEURONS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE AS A HUB INTEGRATING SENSORY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INFORMATION TO TUNE AROUSAL-RELATED BEHAVIORAL STATES, AND DEFICIENCIES IN THESE CIRCUITRIES CONTRIBUTE TO A VARIETY OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. HCRT NEURONS PROJECT THROUGHOUT THE BRAIN, WITH SPECIALLY DENSE EXCITATORY PROJECTIONS TO BRAIN AREAS REGULATING AROUSAL (E.G., LOCUS COERULEUS, LC) AND REWARD (E.G., VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA, VTA). TO UNDERSTAND THE RELEVANCE OF INDIVIDUAL PROJECTIONS IN AROUSAL AND REWARD WE WILL FUNCTIONALLY INTERROGATE PROJECTION-SELECTIVE SUBSETS OF HCRT NEURONS. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT SELECTIVE MANIPULATION OF SYNAPTIC DRIVE OF HCRT NEURONS TOWARDS SUBPOPULATIONS OF NEURONS IN KEY BRAIN STRUCTURES MEDIATING AROUSAL (LC) VERSUS REWARD (VTA) WILL REVEAL FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY RATHER THAN DICHOTOMY. OUR MAJOR GOAL WILL BE TO DETERMINE IF LATERAL HYPOTHALAMUS HCRT PROJECTIONS TO NORADRENERGIC LC NEURONS ARE SUFFICIENT TO ENHANCE BRAIN REWARD (AIM 1) AND PROJECTIONS TO DOPAMINERGIC VTA NEURONS ARE SUFFICIENT FOR AROUSAL STATE TRANSITIONS (AIM 2). FOR MANIPULATION OF NEURONAL ACTIVITY THIS PROJECT WILL EMPLOY THE BIOLUMINESCENT OPTOGENETIC (BL-OG) PLATFORM THAT EMPLOYS LIGHT EMITTING LUCIFERASES TO ACTIVATE LIGHT SENSING OPSINS. USING A NOVEL TRANS- SYNAPTIC BIOLUMINESCENT OPTOGENETIC STRATEGY, INTERLUMINESCENCE, HCRT NEURONS WILL EXPRESS A PRESYNAPTIC VESICLE TARGETED LUCIFERASE, WHILE OPSIN EXPRESSION IS RESTRICTED TO SPECIFIC POSTSYNAPTIC NEURONS IN TARGET AREAS. IN THIS “OPTICAL SYNAPSE” LIGHT EMISSION FROM LUCIFERASES BY PERIPHERAL LUCIFERIN ADMINISTRATION WILL MODULATE THE SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY OF HIGHLY SELECTIVE PROJECTIONS. THE IMPACT OF PROJECTION-SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS ON REWARD BEHAVIOR AND SLEEP-TO-WAKE TRANSITION WILL BE EVALUATED USING ESTABLISHED BEHAVIORAL TESTS. A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE OUTPUTS OF HCRT NEURONS ARE FUNCTIONALLY ORGANIZED AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS ON BEHAVIORAL TRANSITIONS WILL BE HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AS SEVERAL HCRT RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR THE TREATMENT OF INSOMNIA AND ARE BEING TESTED IN CLINICAL TRIALS TO REDUCE CRAVINGS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER. LEARNING ABOUT THE RELATIVE WEIGHT OF HCRT PROJECTIONS TO LC COMPARED WITH VTA MAY LEAD TO OPTIMIZATION OF THESE TREATMENTS AND TO THERAPEUTIC OPPORTUNITIES IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE, EATING AND PANIC DISORDERS, COGNITIVE DISRUPTION AND EMOTION- RELATED DISORDERS INCLUDING ANXIETY, MDD AND PTSD.

DLT CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - GRANTS

RCN-UBE: BIODIVERSITY LITERACY IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION - DATA INITIATIVE (BLUE DATA NETWORK)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HAVE TRANSANTARCTIC DISPERSAL CORRIDORS IMPACTED ANTARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY?

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TRAINING.

EMPLOYING SUBCELLULAR CALCIUM TO CONTROL MEMBRANE VOLTAGE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN THE CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MULTI-USER MICROSCOPY FACI

MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION-QUADRUPOLE TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETER FOR CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED BY THE MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM AND THE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM. PROFESSOR CHOON YOUNG LEE AND 7 OTHER FACULTY (DRS. BENJAMIN SWARTS, ANJA MULLER, BRADLEY FAHLMAN, ANTON JENSEN, DOUGLAS SWANSON, JANICE TOMASIK AND DALE LECAPTAIN) FROM THE CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (CMU) ARE ACQUIRING AN ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION (ESI)-QUADRUPOLE TIME OF FLIGHT (QTOF) MASS SPECTROMETER (MS) THAT IS EQUIPPED WITH TWO SOFT IONIZATION SOURCES (ESI FOR READILY IONIZABLE MOLECULES AND ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE CHEMICAL IONIZATION FOR NOT READILY IONIZABLE MOLECULES), AN HPLC, A DIODE ARRAY DETECTOR, AND AN AUTOSAMPLER. MASS SPECTROMETRY (MS) IS AN ESSENTIAL ANALYTICAL METHOD USED TO HELP IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE UNKNOWN CHEMICAL SPECIES IN COMPLEX SAMPLES THROUGH ACCURATE MASS MEASUREMENT. HENCE, ITS AVAILABILITY IS VITAL TO CHEMISTS WHO SYNTHESIZE NEW MOLECULES. THE DEPARTMENT?S RESEARCH STRENGTH LIES IN ADVANCED MATERIALS SYNTHESIS, SUCH AS DENDRITIC MOLECULES, CARBOHYDRATES, POLYMERS, AND BATTERY MATERIALS. THEREFORE, AN MS THAT CAN PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT INFORMATION AND THAT USES SOFT IONIZATION TECHNIQUES ALLOWING THE INTACT MOLECULES TO BE DETECTED WITHOUT UNDERGOING FRAGMENTATION, WILL FACILITATE THE ACCURATE MASS MEASUREMENTS OF VARIOUS LARGE COMPLEX MOLECULES MADE IN THE DEPARTMENT. ACQUISITION OF THE STATE-OF-ART ESI-QTOF MS WILL ENABLE RESEARCHERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT CMU TO BE EFFICIENT IN THEIR RESEARCH AND TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE STUDENTS ON A CUTTING-EDGE INSTRUMENT THAT WILL HELP THEM ACQUIRE SKILLS TO SUCCEED IN POST-GRADUATE STUDY OR EMPLOYMENT. THE AWARD OF THE ESI-QTOF MS IS AIMED AT ENHANCING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS. THE ESI-QTOF MS THAT OFFERS A BROAD MASS DETECTION RANGE, ACCURATE MASS, HIGH RESOLUTION/SENSITIVITY, AND BROAD EXPERIMENTAL CAPABILITIES, WILL FACILITATE AND IMPACT DIVERSE LEADING-EDGE RESEARCH PROJECTS AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY. IT ESPECIALLY IMPACTS AREAS INVOLVING SYNTHESIS OF NEW MOLECULES IN CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY AND POLYMER/MATERIALS SCIENCE. THE AWARD OF AN ESI-QTOF INSTRUMENT WILL BE USED IN THE ANALYSES OF (I) NOVEL POWERFUL, BIORELEVANT MACROMOLECULAR ANTIOXIDANT DENDRONS AND DENDRIMERS SYNTHESIZED THROUGH CHEMICAL REACTIONS; (II) CARBOHYDRATE- AND LIPID-BASED CHEMICAL PROBES THAT ARE SYNTHESIZED TO STUDY THE GLYCOLIPID RICH MYCOBACTERIAL CELL ENVELOPE AND UNDERSTAND MYCOBACTERIAL PHYSIOLOGY; (III) POLYMERS DESIGNED FOR A VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS WASTE-WATER TREATMENT, SKIN SCAFFOLDS FOR BURN VICTIMS, AND FUEL CELL MEMBRANES; (IV) NEW BATTERY MATERIALS SYNTHESIZED FOR ENERGY STORING APPLICATIONS; (V) ENZYME-CATALYZED REACTIONS BETWEEN FLAVINS AND ENES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR MECHANISMS OF ACTION; AND (VI) NANO-DRUGS SYNTHESIZED BY CONJUGATING DRUG MOLECULES TO PAMAM DENDRIMERS OR ENCAPSULATIONS TO OVERCOME THE CURRENT PROBLEMS SMALL DRUG MOLECULES HAVE. THE ESI-QTOF MS INSTRUMENTATION WITH MS/MS FUNCTION ALSO WILL ALLOW THE DEPARTMENT TO PERFORM PROTEOMIC AND METABOLOMIC STUDIES AS WELL AS DETERMINE FRAGMENTATION/DEGRADATION PATTERNS FOR THE LARGE MOLECULES LIKE DENDRIMERS AND POLYMERIC MATERIALS. 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.

RET SITE ON MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING RESEARCH FOR RURAL MICHIGANS FUTURE

FUNCTIONAL INDICATORS OF COASTAL WETLAND CONDITION

SOCIAL REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN - PROJECT SUMMARY THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT CAN HAVE BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON HEALTH. IN MANY SOCIAL ANIMALS, INDIVIDUALS ARE COMPETING FOR HIGH SOCIAL STATUS, WHICH CAN RESULT IN DISTINCT SOCIAL STRESSORS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH BOTH HIGH AND LOW SOCIAL STATUS. SOCIAL STRESS CAN CAUSE OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN, WHICH IS A KEY MECHANISM DRIVING A VARIETY OF MENTAL HEALTH AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL STATUS ON OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ITS REGULATION ACROSS THE BRAIN. WHILE LOW SOCIAL STATUS CAN BE A SOURCE OF CHRONIC STRESS, HIGH SOCIAL STATUS IS ALSO STRESSFUL - ESPECIALLY IN NATURAL CONDITIONS WHERE DEFENDING SOCIAL DOMINANCE IS CHALLENGING. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL STATUS ON BRAIN OXIDATIVE STRESS ARISES FROM A DYNAMIC INTERPLAY BETWEEN SOCIAL STRESS AND THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-GONADAL (HPG) AXIS. ACTIVATION OF THIS NEUROENDOCRINE CENTER LEADS TO THE RELEASE OF ANDROGENS, WHICH FACILITATES COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR, BUT IS ALSO KNOWN TO MODULATE OXIDATIVE STRESS. WE WILL TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS USING THE HIGHLY SOCIAL CICHLID FISH ASTATOTILAPIA BURTONI, A WELL-ESTABLISHED MODEL SYSTEM FOR NEUROGENOMICS AND INTEGRATED ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, DUE IN PART TO THE LARGE SYNTENY AND SHARED HOMOLOGIES OF THE NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM RELATIVE TO MAMMALS. MALE A. BURTONI EXIST AS TWO REVERSIBLE PHENOTYPES: DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE. DOMINANT MALES AGGRESSIVELY DEFEND A TERRITORY, HAVE LARGE GONADS DUE TO AN UPREGULATED HPG AXIS, AND MATE WITH FEMALES, WHILE SUBORDINATE MALES ARE NONTERRITORIAL AND REPRODUCTIVELY SUPPRESSED. SOCIAL STATUS CAN BE READILY MANIPULATED AND TRACKED IN REPLICATE GROUPS. THE PROPOSAL HAS THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) TEST HOW SOCIAL STATUS AND HPG AXIS ACTIVITY IMPACT OXIDATIVE STRESS PATTERNS ACROSS THE BRAIN USING VARIOUS MARKERS OF OXIDATIVE DAMAGE AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE. (2) DETERMINE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH SOCIAL STATUS AND HPG AXIS ACTIVITY INFLUENCE BRAIN OXIDATIVE STRESS. AT THE COMPLETION OF THESE AIMS, WE WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO HOW SOCIAL STATUS AND HPG AXIS ACTIVITY IMPACT BRAIN HEALTH AND OXIDATIVE BALANCE AT THE ORGANISMAL LEVEL. THE PROPOSAL IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT INVESTIGATES THE REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE BALANCE IN THE BRAIN IN BOTH DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE INDIVIDUALS IN A NOVEL MODEL SYSTEM WITH A DISTINCTLY STRATIFIED DOMINANCE HIERARCHY. THE PROPOSED WORK IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN HAS BEEN CAUSALLY LINKED TO A RANGE OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGIES, INCLUDING DEPRESSION AND AGE-RELATED BRAIN DISEASE. OUR RESULTS WILL PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION THAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE IMPORTANT FOR IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXPOSE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN RESEARCH ADDRESSING BIOMEDICALLY RELEVANT QUESTIONS.

GENETICALLY ENCODED LIGHT-PRODUCTION AND LIGHT-SENSING FOR NEURONAL MANIPULATION

NOVEL FUNCTIONS OF PRIMPOL IN RIBONUCLEOTIDE-INDUCED GENOME INSTABILITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HOLOCENE BIOGEOCHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF EARTH'S LARGEST LAKE SYSTEM -THE ONGOING HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE GREAT LAKES ARE WELL KNOWN. THESE IMPACTS INCLUDE CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION, NUTRIENT LOADING, DEVELOPMENT, AND INVASIVE SPECIES. HOWEVER, THE EVOLUTION OF THE GREAT LAKES BEFORE THESE HUMAN IMPACTS DUE TO NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE EVENTS SINCE THEIR FORMATION AT THE END OF THE LAST ICE AGE IS LESS UNDERSTOOD. THIS STUDY WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE ELEMENTAL GEOCHEMICAL CYCLES IN THE GREAT LAKES. THESE CYCLES REFLECT BIOLOGIC ACTIVITY SUCH AS PRODUCTIVITY AND OXYGEN CONTENTS OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. THIS WORK WILL INVOLVE COLLECTING SEDIMENT CORES FROM LAKES SUPERIOR, HURON, AND ERIE. A VARIETY OF ELEMENT AND ISOTOPE CONCENTRATIONS WILL BE MEASURED IN THESE SEDIMENTS TO ASSESS PAST LAKE CONDITIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT BOTH MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY AND CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AS WELL. THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT OUTREACH TO MICHIGAN K-12 SCHOOLS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES WORKING WITH ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATION LIKE MICHIGAN SEA GRANT AND THE THUNDER BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ON LAKE HURON. THIS PROJECT WILL COLLECT PISTON CORES OF SEDIMENT FROM 6 GREAT LAKES SITES? 2 FROM EACH OF LAKE?S SUPERIOR, HURON, AND ERIE?TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL HOLOCENE BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING AND ITS INSIGHTS INTO ONGOING ANTHROPOGENIC PERTURBATIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE. OUR SITES ARE TARGETED BECAUSE THEY SPAN A GRADIENT IN TROPHIC CONDITIONS AND WATER RESIDENCE TIMES AND INCLUDE AMONG THE BEST STUDIED AND HIGHEST INTEREST SITES IN THE MODERN?THE CURRENTLY NATURALLY HYPOXIC MIDDLE ISLAND SINKHOLE OF LAKE HURON, THE SEASONALLY HYPOXIC CENTRAL AND EASTERN BASINS OF LAKE ERIE, AND THE WESTERN AND EASTERN MOORING SITES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES INCLUDE: (A) HOW HAS NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTED PRODUCTIVITY AND THE BEHAVIOR OF BIOESSENTIAL TRACE ELEMENTS THROUGH THE HOLOCENE? (B) HOW HAS NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTED REDOX CONDITIONS THROUGH THE HOLOCENE? (C) DO INTRA AND INTER-LAKE HETEROGENEITY REFLECT LARGER REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEEDBACKS? (D) WHAT ROLE DO DIAGENESIS AND OTHER LOCAL VARIATIONS PLAY IN PROXY DYNAMICS AT EACH SITE? THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE ADDRESSED USING GEOCHEMICAL PROXIES, INCLUDING MERCURY ISOTOPES, NUTRIENTS CONCENTRATIONS AND THEIR ISOTOPES, AND REDOX-SENSITIVE AND BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE TRACE ELEMENTS. 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.

NUCLEI (NUCLEAR COMPUTATIONAL LOW-ENERGY INIATIVE)

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN INFLAMMATION

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A FLUORESCENCE-ACTIVATED CELL SORTER FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

DISPARITIES IN DIABETES COMORBIDITIES AND MULTIPLE CHRONIC CONDITIONS

REGULATION AND FUNCTION OF GERMLINE RNP GRANULES

EFFECTS OF NITRIC OXIDE ON SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL PROLIFERATIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CHEMICAL TOOLS TO ELUCIDATE GLYCOLIPID BIOSYNTHESIS AND TRANSPORT IN THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE PROCESSES (CLP) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSORS BENJAMIN SWARTS OF CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AND MARY JACKSON OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY ARE DEVELOPING CHEMICAL TOOLS TO INVESTIGATE A CLASS OF COMPLEX GLYCOLIPIDS, OR SUGAR-LINKED LIPID MOLECULES, THAT ARE PRESENT IN THE CELL ENVELOPE OF HUNDREDS OF BACTERIAL SPECIES FROM THE SUBORDER CORYNEBACTERINEAE. THESE GLYCOLIPIDS, WHICH ARE REFERRED TO AS PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL MANNOSIDES (PIMS), PLAY ESSENTIAL ROLES IN BACTERIAL CELLULAR DEFENSE, INTEGRITY, AND IMMUNOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. WHILE PIMS AND RELATED MOLECULES ARE UNIQUE TO THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THESE ORGANISMS? DISTINCTIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOGENIC CHARACTERISTICS, MANY ASPECTS OF HOW THESE GLYCOLIPIDS ARE CONSTRUCTED AND ORGANIZED IN BACTERIAL CELLS REMAIN UNKNOWN. SUCH KNOWLEDGE GAPS REMAIN BECAUSE PIMS ARE CHALLENGING TO STUDY USING TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND THERE IS A LACK OF MODERN TOOLS FOR ANALYZING THEM. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DEVELOP NEW CHEMICAL BIOLOGY TOOLS TO ALLOW SPECIFIC TAGGING AND TRACKING OF PIMS AND RELATED GLYCOLIPIDS IN CELLULAR CONTEXTS. APPLICATIONS OF THIS TOOLBOX COULD PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE CONSTRUCT THEIR CELL ENVELOPE. UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND A POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW WORKING ON THIS RESEARCH WILL ACQUIRE INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS, CHEMICAL BIOLOGY, AND MICROBIOLOGY. TO PROMOTE INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION, STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS AT BOTH INSTITUTIONS WILL MEET REGULARLY VIRTUALLY TO DISCUSS THE PROJECT. THIS PROJECT WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO AN OUTREACH PROGRAM TO INTRODUCE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS TO CHEMICAL BACTERIOLOGY RESEARCH AND TO ENCOURAGE THEIR CONTINUED EDUCATION IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS). THE TOOLS GENERATED IN THIS PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO BE BROADLY APPLICABLE AND SUPPORT OTHER SCIENTISTS PURSUING RESEARCH ON THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE. PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL MANNOSIDES (PIMS) AND THEIR HIGHLY GLYCOSYLATED DERIVATIVES, LIPOMANNAN (LM) AND LIPOARABINOMANNAN (LAM), ARE DIFFICULT TO INVESTIGATE USING TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY BECAUSE THEY CONSIST OF HIGHLY COMPLEX, NON-GENETICALLY ENCODED LIPIDS AND SUGARS. TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, THIS RESEARCH PROJECT SEEKS TO DEVELOP SYNTHETIC CARBOHYDRATE-BASED PROBES THAT EXPLOIT NATIVE AND GENETICALLY ENGINEERED METABOLIC PATHWAYS TO INTRODUCE CHEMICAL TAGS INTO PIMS, LM, AND LAM IN LIVE BACTERIA. FLUORESCENTLY LABELED GLYCOLIPID MOLECULES WILL BE TESTED IN WHOLE CELLS, POTENTIALLY PROVIDING A MEANS TO TRACK THE GLYCOLIPIDS SPECIFICALLY IN A CELLULAR CONTEXT. THE PROBES DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON (I) THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF PIM, LM, AND LAM CONSTRUCTION IN LIVE BACTERIAL CELLS; AND (II) THE IDENTITY OF THE PROTEIN(S) THAT IS/ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRANSPORT OF PIMS ACROSS THE BACTERIAL INNER MEMBRANE. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF GLYCOLIPID BIOSYNTHESIS AND DYNAMICS, WHICH COULD PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE PHYSIOLOGY OF BACTERIA IN THE CORYNEBACTERINEAE SUBORDER. 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.

IMPROVING PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS TO PREVENT OBESITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

TARGETED CIRCUIT MANIPULATION FOR AMELIORATING HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE PATHOGENESIS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THIS EXPLORATORY PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE (HD) RESEARCHERS AND BRAIN TOOL DEVELOPERS AND WILL UTILIZE NOVEL INTERVENTIONAL TOOLS FOR CHANGING NEURAL CIRCUIT DYNAMICS TO CAUSALLY LINK BRAIN ACTIVITY TO BEHAVIOR IN THE CONTEXT OF HD. ALMOST 30 YEARS AFTER IDENTIFYING THE GENETIC MUTATION CAUSING THIS DEBILITATING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE, TREATMENTS REMAIN LIMITED TO MANAGING LATE-STAGE SYMPTOMS OF MOTORIC, PSYCHIATRIC, AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS. FINDINGS FROM PATIENTS AND MOUSE MODELS OF HD POINT TO PRE-SYMPTOMATIC IMBALANCES IN NEURONAL CIRCUIT ACTIVITY, WELL BEFORE ANY OVERT SYMPTOMS ARE OBSERVED. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE MODULATING SPECIFIC MICROCIRCUITS IN THE HD BRAIN USING TOOLS DEVELOPED UNDER THE BRAIN INITIATIVE. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT MANIPULATING THE FIRING ACTIVITY WITHIN SELECTED MICROCIRCUITS BEFORE THE ONSET OF SYMPTOMS BY CHEMOGENETIC INHIBITION AND/OR EXCITATION OF KEY TARGET POPULATIONS WILL SLOW HD DISEASE PROGRESSION. A CRUCIAL EARLY EVENT IN HD IS THE PATHOLOGICAL INCREASE IN THE OVERALL EXCITATORY OUTPUT FROM CORTEX ONTO STRIATUM. UNDERLYING MECHANISMS COULD BE ENHANCED EXCITABILITY OF CORTICAL PYRAMIDAL NEURONS (PNS) AND/OR DECREASED INHIBITION BY CORTICAL PARVALBUMIN INTERNEURONS (PVS) THAT PROVIDE THE MAIN INHIBITORY DRIVE ONTO PNS. STIMULATING PVS OFFERS A PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT APPROACH, AS IT RESTORES THIS CRITICAL INPUT WHILE PRESERVING OTHER MODULATING SYNAPTIC INPUTS TO THE PNS (AIM 1). A SECOND, AND MORE DIRECT, CORRECTION IS TO DECREASE THE FIRING OF THE PNS THEMSELVES (AIM 2). FINALLY, A THIRD APPROACH WILL CONVERT EXCITATORY SYNAPSES INTO INHIBITORY ONES AT THE PN TERMINALS WHICH WOULD DIRECTLY REDUCE THE HYPERACTIVITY OF SPECIFIC STRIATAL NEURONS DURING THE PRODROMAL PHASE OF THE DISEASE PROCESS (AIM 3). OUR MAJOR GOAL WILL BE TO DETERMINE WHICH OF THE THREE KEY ENTRY POINTS PROVIDES THE MOST EFFICACIOUS STRATEGY FOR PREVENTING OR DELAYING AND MITIGATING THE BEHAVIORAL DEFICITS IN THE R6/2 TRANSGENIC MOUSE MODEL OF HD. FOR MANIPULATION OF NEURONAL ACTIVITY THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE THE BIOLUMINESCENT OPTOGENETIC (BL- OG) PLATFORM THAT EMPLOYS LIGHT EMITTING LUCIFERASES TO ACTIVATE LIGHT SENSING OPSINS, INCLUDING THE RECENTLY DEVELOPED ‘INTERLUMINESCENCE’ APPROACH THAT ENABLES CONTROLLING SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION BY EXPRESSING THE LIGHT EMITTER AND SENSOR IN PRE- AND POST-SYNAPTIC PARTNERS, RESPECTIVELY. TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS, WE ARE COMBINING EXPERTISE IN CIRCUIT MANIPULATION TOOL DEVELOPMENT AND HD MOUSE MODEL BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH TOWARDS A MORE REFINED UNDERSTANDING OF THE BRAIN MECHANISMS UNDERLYING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS. AT THE SAME TIME OUR PROJECT WILL DRIVE TRANSLATIONAL PROGRESS TOWARD POTENTIAL NOVEL THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES. IN ADDITION TO THE IMPACT ON HD RESEARCH OUR RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON APPROACHING OTHER NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES THAT SHOW CIRCUIT IMBALANCES.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY WILL GENERATE SUCCINCT GENETIC SEQUENCE INFORMATION FOR GREAT LAKES OLIGOCHAETES AND CHIRONMIDAES COLLECTED FROM COASTAL WETLANDS THROUGHOUT THE GREAT LAKES BASIN. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT MONITORING AND EARLY DETECTION OF INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE GREAT LAKES.

IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS ON FRONTAL CORTICAL CIRCUITS - ABSTRACT: HUMAN MERCURY (HG) EXPOSURE HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR MANY DECADES TO PRODUCE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND MOOD DISORDER SYMPTOMS. HG IS A GLOBAL POLLUTANT THAT POSES WIDESPREAD POTENTIAL FOR NEUROTOXIC EXPOSURE, EARNING IT A POSITION ON THE WHO’S LIST OF THE TOP 10 CHEMICALS OF MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE NEURAL MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS FROM HG EXPOSURE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC MECHANISMS, WITHIN THE NEOCORTICAL CIRCUITS THAT CONTROL EMOTION AND COGNITION, THAT ARE DISRUPTED BY THE NEUROTOXICANT, METHYLMERCURY (MEHG). THE NEOCORTEX EXHIBITS ESPECIALLY STRONG BIOACCUMULATION OF HG, MAGNIFYING THE RISK TO THESE CIRCUITS. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT CHRONIC MEHG EXPOSURE LEADS TO PERSISTENT CIRCUIT DYSFUNCTION IN PREFRONTAL AND INSULAR CORTICES (MPFC AND AIC) – TWO BRAIN REGIONS CRITICAL IN CONTROL OF EMOTION AND COGNITION. OUR RECENT WORK SHOWED THAT MPFC NEURONS IN BRAIN SLICES ARE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY ACUTE MEHG EXPOSURE, RESULTING IN HYPEREXCITABILITY AND ALTERED SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION. CURRENTLY, IT UNKNOWN HOW THESE ACUTE EFFECTS ON SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION TRANSLATE TO ALTERED NEURONAL FUNCTION IN VIVO. THIS PROPOSAL APPLIES AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO DETERMINE THE IN VIVO EFFECTS OF MEHG ON MPFC AND AIC CIRCUITS, AT THE SYSTEMS NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, SYNAPTIC AND MOLECULAR LEVELS. WE WILL COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF MEHG EXPOSURE ON IN VIVO SPIKING ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN BRAIN REGIONS OF THE MPFC-AIC CIRCUIT, USING MULTIUNIT ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS IN AWAKE ANIMALS. ACTION POTENTIALS WILL BE RECORDED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM MULTIPLE NEURONS, DISTRIBUTED ACROSS CORTICAL LAYERS, TO EVALUATE EFFECTS ON SPIKE FREQUENCY, TEMPORAL PATTERNING AND CORRELATION. USING ACUTE BRAIN SLICES DERIVED FROM ANIMALS CHRONICALLY TREATED WITH MEHG IN VIVO, ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICALLY RECORDED SYNAPTIC ESTIMATES WILL BE MADE TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF MEHG EXPOSURE ON SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND EI-BALANCE WITHIN BRAIN REGIONS OF THE MPFC-AIC CIRCUIT. BASED ON PREVIOUS EVIDENCE, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT TDP-43 HYPER-PHOSPHORYLATION AND AGGREGATION LINK MEHG EXPOSURE TO MPFC AND AIC DYSFUNCTION. THEREFORE, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY WILL BE USED TO MEASURE TDP-43 HYPER-PHOSPHORYLATION AND NUCLEAR REDISTRIBUTION FROM ANIMALS TREATED IN VIVO +/- MEHG. IN ADDITION, TISSUE WILL BE CO-LABELED WITH ANTIBODIES FOR NPAS4, A WELL-STABLISHED MOLECULAR MARKER OF ACTIVITY, TO DETERMINE WHETHER TDP-43 HALLMARKS CORRELATE WITH MEHG-INDUCED HYPER-EXCITABILITY. THE RESULTS OF OUR STUDY WILL SUBSTANTIVELY IMPROVE OUR MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW HG DISRUPTS FRONTAL CORTICAL FUNCTION AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE SYMPOMS. IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC ACTIONS OF MEHG AT THE FUNCTIONAL MICROCIRCUITRY LEVEL AND CELLULAR/MOLECULAR LEVEL WILL HELP SIGNIFICANTLY IN FINDING NOVEL TARGETS FOR THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT, THIS WILL ALSO RAISE THE QUESTION OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH CHRONIC LOW-LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL MERCURY EXPOSURE CONTRIBUTES TO THE ETIOLOGY OF FRONTO-CORTICAL DISORDERS WITH SYMPTOMS THAT OVERLAP MERCURY EXPOSURE BUT DO NOT HAVE DEFINITIVE GENETIC ORIGINS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE FRONTO-CORTICAL DISORDERS ARE PREDOMINANTLY SPORADIC IN NATURE.

INTERPROFESSIONAL TRAINING INITIATIVE TO EXPAND ACCESS TO MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH OPIOID USE DISORDERS IN RURAL MID-MICHIGAN

ARRA 14 0803 LIDAR DATA ACQUISITION

NICOTINAMIDE NUCLEOTIDE TRANSHYDROGENASE AND BIOENERGETIC METABOLISM IN COMPLEX I DEFECTIVE CARDIAC MITOCHONDRIA - MORE THAN 1 IN 5000 CHILDREN ARE BORN WITH INHERITED MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASES FROM WHICH 30-40% ARE COMPLEX I (CI) DEFECTS THAT LEAD TO CARDIOMYOPATHY, HEART FAILURE AND DEATH. A LARGE PROPORTION OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS (DIABETES, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, HEART FAILURE, AGING) DEVELOP MITOCHONDRIAL CI DEFECTS THAT ARE KEY FACTORS PROMOTING DISEASE PROGRESSION AND CARDIAC COMPLICATIONS. PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS THAT LINK CI DEFECT WITH HEART DISEASE INCLUDE ENERGY DEFICIT, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND AN INCREASED [NADH]. EITHER INHERITED OR ACQUIRED, MITOCHONDRIAL CI DEFECTS HAVE NO CURE. WE PROPOSE A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGET THAT PRESERVES CARDIAC OXIDATIVE METABOLISM AND FUNCTION IN MITOCHONDRIAL CARDIOMYOPATHIES. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE IF THE MITOCHONDRIAL ENZYME, NICOTINAMIDE NUCLEOTIDE TRANSHYDROGENASE (NNT), IS NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN CARDIAC FATTY ACID (FA) SS-OXIDATION FOR ATP PRODUCTION UNDER CONDITIONS OF REDUCTIVE STRESS (INCREASED NADH) CAUSED BY A MITOCHONDRIAL CI DEFECT. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT NADH ACCUMULATION INDUCED BY A CI DEFECT DECREASES CARDIAC OXIDATIVE METABOLISM THUS DECREASING FA OXIDATION AND ATP GENERATION, AND INDUCING OXIDATIVE STRESS. AN INTACT NNT PROVIDES AN ALTERNATE ROUTE TO CONSUME THE EXCESSIVE NADH AND FORM FADH2 TO MAINTAIN FA OXIDATION AND PREVENT OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ATP DEPLETION WHILE PRESERVING CARDIAC FUNCTION. FIRST SPECIFIC AIM IS TO DETERMINE IF NNT IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE HEART FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE IN MITOCHONDRIAL CI DEFECT. THE SECOND SPECIFIC AIM IS TO DELINEATE THE ROLE OF NNT IN SUSTAINING COMPLETE FA SS-OXIDATION AND ATP PRODUCTION IN CI DEFECTIVE MITOCHONDRIA. THE THIRD SPECIFIC AIM IS TO DECIPHER THE CONTRIBUTION OF NNT TO NORMALIZE REDOX STATUS AND DECREASE OXIDATIVE STRESS IN CI DEFECTIVE MITOCHONDRIA. OUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE ALIGNS WITH THE GOAL OF OUR RESEARCH TO CURE MITOCHONDRIAL CARDIOMYOPATHIES. WE WILL COMPARE HEARTS, CARDIOMYOCYTES AND MITOCHONDRIA FROM MICE WITH NORMAL AND ABSENT (SYSTEMIC AND CARDIAC SPECIFIC) CRISPR NNT KNOCKOUT ON THE C57BL6N BACKGROUND. ROTENONE-INDUCED AND HUMAN-LIKE NDUFS4-DEFICIENT CARDIAC SPECIFIC CI DEFECTS WILL BE USED. EXPECTED OUTCOMES WILL DETERMINE IF NNT IS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET TO PRESERVE CARDIAC OXIDATIVE METABOLISM AND FUNCTION IN MITOCHONDRIAL CARDIOMYOPATHY.

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

: DESIGN OF VIRTUAL REALITY-BASED THERAPY TO RESTORE THE WHOLE BODY COORDINATION DEFICITS

CAREER: POLAR ORDERING IN LOW-DIMENSIONAL PEROVSKITES AND ITS CONTROL VIA COLLOIDAL PROCESSING

PRECISE PENNING TRAP MEASUREMENTS TO AID SEARCHES FOR ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE BETA-DECAY CANDIDATES -THE NEUTRINO IS A VERY LIGHT AND WEAKLY INTERACTING PARTICLE. NEVERTHELESS, ITS CHARACTERISTICS ARE OF GREAT INTEREST TO FIELDS AS DIVERSE AS PARTICLE PHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY. THE EXACT MASS OF THE NEUTRINO IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN, BUT IS NEEDED TO HELP DEVELOP A COMPLETE THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES THAT EXIST IN NATURE, AND TO DETERMINE HOW THE NEUTRINO HAS AFFECTED THE EVOLUTION OF THE COSMOS. THERE ARE SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS UNDERWAY THAT AIM TO DETERMINE THE MASS OF THE NEUTRINO VIA THE BETA-DECAY OF AN UNSTABLE PARENT ISOTOPE TO A DAUGHTER ISOTOPE. IN THIS RESEARCH, THE PI AND TEAM OF STUDENTS WILL IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL ISOTOPES THAT COULD BE USED FOR THESE EXPERIMENTS. THE ISOTOPES THAT THE PI?S TEAM IS SEARCHING FOR HAVE VERY LOW ENERGY (Q-VALUE) DECAYS. THE DECAY ENERGIES CAN BE CALCULATED USING KNOWN ENERGY LEVELS IN THE DAUGHTER ISOTOPE AND THE ATOMIC MASS OF THE PARENT AND DAUGHTER ISOTOPES. HOWEVER, IN MANY CASES WHERE A SO-CALLED ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE DECAY MIGHT BE POSSIBLE, THE MASS OF THE PARENT AND DAUGHTER ISOTOPES ARE OFTEN NOT KNOWN PRECISELY ENOUGH TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE DECAY IS ACTUALLY ENERGETICALLY ALLOWED. THE PI?S TEAM WILL PERFORM PRECISE MASS MEASUREMENTS TO ENABLE THE IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE DECAY CANDIDATES. AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, THE PI WILL INVITE A COHORT OF SIX HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO CMU EACH SUMMER FOR A TWO-WEEK SUMMER SCHOOL IN WHICH THEY WILL LEARN THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF EXPERIMENTAL NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND WORK WITH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE TEAM?S RESEARCH PROJECTS. WEAK DECAY PROCESSES SUCH AS NUCLEAR BETA-DECAY HAVE PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NUCLEAR, ATOMIC AND PARTICLE PHYSICS. VERY RARE WEAK DECAY PROCESSES, SUCH AS ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE BETA-DECAYS, WHICH ARE THE FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT, COULD BE IMPORTANT FOR INVESTIGATING THE MASS SCALE OF THE NEUTRINO, AND FOR TESTING THEORETICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF NUCLEAR BETA-DECAY. IN THIS PROJECT, THE PI AND TEAM OF STUDENTS WILL PERFORM PRECISE MEASUREMENTS OF Q VALUES FOR POTENTIAL ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE BETA-DECAY CANDIDATES USING PENNING TRAP MASS SPECTROMETRY FACILITIES AT NATIONAL LABORATORIES, SUCH AS LEBIT AT THE FACILITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS (FRIB) AND THE CANADIAN PENNING TRAP AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ANL). THESE DECAYS OCCUR BETWEEN THE GROUND STATE OF THE PARENT NUCLIDE AND AN EXCITED STATE IN THE DAUGHTER WITH AN ENERGY OF <1 KEV. THE PROPOSED MEASUREMENTS WILL HELP TO IDENTIFY ISOTOPES THAT ARE POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR ULTRA-LOW Q VALUE DECAYS. THESE ISOTOPES COULD BE USED IN FUTURE NEUTRINO MASS DETERMINATION EXPERIMENTS, AND ARE ALSO IMPORTANT FOR ENABLING MEANINGFUL TESTS OF NUCLEAR THEORY FOR THESE EXTREME DECAYS WHERE ATOMIC INTERFERENCE EFFECTS ARE EXPECTED TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE. THE WORK WILL BE PERFORMED BY PH.D. AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT CMU, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING AT A WORLD LEADING RESEARCH FACILITY. 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.

SELECTIVE PREVENTION OF CONDUCT DISORDER IN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED PRESCHOOLERS

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE (GLRI) AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 112-74. THIS

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF A THERMAL MANIKIN AND GUARDED SWEATING HOTPLATE FOR OPTIMIZATION OF FUNCTIONAL APPAREL SYSTEMS TO REGULATE HEAT AND MOISTURE

AN EXPERIMENTAL MESCOSM FACILITY AT THE CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL STATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DETERMINING THE ROLE OF URANIUM(V) IN THE GLOBAL URANIUM CYCLE BY CHARACTERIZING BURIAL MECHANISMS IN MARINE SINKS -THIS STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE URANIUM (U) CYCLING IN OXYGEN-DEPLETED CONDITIONS ON THE OCEAN FLOOR, THE MOST IMPORTANT SINK OF U. IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF U GEOCHEMISTRY IS CRITICAL FOR GEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS AS DIVERSE AS DATING THE AGE OF ROCKS, PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION, WATER QUALITY, AND SECURING NEW CRITICAL MINERAL SOURCES. RECONSTRUCTING THE OXYGEN LEVELS OF ANCIENT OCEANS HELPS TO LINK THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT WITH EVOLUTION OF LIFE ON EARTH AND POTENTIALLY ON EXOPLANETS. INTERPRETING TOOLS TO PROBE OXYGEN LEVELS IN THE OCEANS THROUGH TIME, SUCH AS U AND OTHER ELEMENTS SENSITIVE TO OXYGEN LEVEL, REMAIN CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF THE UNKNOWNS ABOUT HOW THEY BEHAVE IN LOW-OXYGEN MARINE SETTINGS. TO ADDRESS THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP, THIS PROJECT WILL TRACK THE PRESENCE OF A NEW U SPECIES, U(+V), AND INVESTIGATE ITS ROLE IN THE U CYCLE IN MODERN AND ANCIENT OCEANS. THESE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR RECONSTRUCTIONS OF OXYGEN OF EARTH?S OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE, AS WELL AS THE GLOBAL U CYCLE MORE BROADLY. THE HOST PHASES AND SPECIATION OF U IN MARINE SETTINGS REMAIN LARGELY UNKNOWN, HAMPERING OUR ABILITY TO RECONSTRUCT DEPOSITIONAL CONDITIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE U BURIAL IN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT MARINE SINK TO CHARACTERIZE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN U SPECIATION, REMOVAL PATHWAYS, AND WHOLE-ROCK U GEOCHEMISTRY, INCLUDING ITS ISOTOPE COMPOSITION. THIS GOAL WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH: (1) EXPERIMENTS OF U PHASES RELEVANT TO MARINE SETTINGS; (2) CHARACTERIZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN U SPECIATION AND U GEOCHEMISTRY IN ORGANIC-RICH SHALES AND SEDIMENTS; AND (3) DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETIVE MODEL TO PREDICT U GEOCHEMISTRY FROM CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION. IN ADDITION TO GRADUATE TRAINING, THIS PROJECT WILL PROMOTE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION FOR EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MAJORS AND K-12 OUTREACH IN ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCES IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA AND MICHIGAN. 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.

GENETIC CIRCUITS FOR TARGETED MODULATION OF NEUROINFLAMMATION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT NEUROINFLAMMATION PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. CURRENT METHODS TO STUDY NEUROINFLAMMATION IN ANIMAL MODELS ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED, PRIMARILY RESTRICTED TO ENDPOINT HISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. FURTHERMORE, A MEANS TO PRECISELY CONTROL THE NEUROINFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IS LACKING. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP THE FIRST FAMILY OF BIOSENSORS THAT CAN BE USED TO REPORT AND DYNAMICALLY REGULATE CHANGES IN INFLAMMATION WITHIN THE BRAINS OF LIVE ANIMALS. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY A SYNTHETIC GENE CIRCUIT WHERE A SENSOR OF DYNAMIC CHANGES IN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES TRANSLATES THESE CHANGES INTO PRODUCTION OF PROTEINS CAPABLE OF MITIGATING PATHOLOGICAL INFLAMMATION. BUILDING ON OUR EXPERIENCE WITH BIOLUMINESCENT OPTOGENETICS TOOLS, WE WILL DEVELOP A LIGHT EMITTING BIOLUMINESCENT KINASE SENSOR (BLINKS) THAT ACTIVATES A LIGHT SENSING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR DRIVING CYTOKINES TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION. OUR FIRST AIM IS TO DEVELOP AND OPTIMIZE SENSORS BASED ON SPLIT LUCIFERASES THAT WILL PRODUCE LIGHT IN THE PRESENCE OF A MOLECULE PRODUCED IN THE INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING CASCADE. INFLAMMATION DEPENDENT LIGHT PRODUCTION IS THEN LEVERAGED TO ACTIVATE LIGHT SENSITIVE OPTOGENETIC PROTEINS TO CONTROL CELLULAR ACTIVITY. OUR SECOND AIM IS TO UTILIZE THESE LIGHT EMITTING SENSORS OF THE INFLAMMATORY CASCADE IN A GENETIC CIRCUIT TO CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE TO CONTROL INFLAMMATION AS A SELF-REGULATING THERAPEUTIC IN A TRANSGENIC MOUSE MODEL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION. OUR END GOAL IS TO APPLY THESE INFLAMMATION MODULATORS TO VARIOUS ANIMAL MODELS WHERE NEUROINFLAMMATION IS A KEY PATHOLOGIC HALLMARK SUCH AS ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, PARKINSON’S DISEASE, AND HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE. WE EXPECT THESE MODULATORS TO HAVE HIGH TRANSLATIONAL POTENTIAL TO COMBAT NEURODEGENERATION AND OTHER INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS. THIS PROJECT IS ENABLED BY A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF FIVE LABS WITH EXPERTISE IN HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREENING METHODOLOGIES FOR BIOSENSOR ENGINEERING, OPTOGENETICS, GENETIC CIRCUITS, HIGH THROUGHPUT SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING AND GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS, NEUROINFLAMMATION, NEURODEGENERATION AND IN VIVO APPLICATIONS. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THESE NEW BIOSENSORS AND MODULATORS WILL BE TRANSFORMATIVE TOOLS FOR BOTH NEUROSCIENCE AND IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH AND BE A POWERFUL THERAPEUTIC BY ENABLING NONINVASIVE IMAGING OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES AND SELECTIVE, INFLAMMATION-DEPENDENT IMMUNOMODULATION WITH CELL TYPE SPECIFICITY THAT CAN BE USED IN DEEP BRAIN STRUCTURES, ACROSS LARGE AREAS, IN BEHAVING ANIMALS.

STEM CELL MULTIPOTENCY DURING QUIESCENCE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) SPECTROMETER FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

PURPOSE: THIS PROJECT WILL QUANTIFY THE FUTURE RISK AND IMPACTS OF WIND AND HAIL STORMS IN A WARMING CLIMATE.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE PROJECT INCLUDES A NOVEL EFFORT TO ESTIMATE THE COMBINED WIND AND HAIL EFFECTS ON THE US BUILDING STOCK. THE PROJECT FURTHER ASSESSES NOT ONLY THE CURRENT IMPACT OF WIND AND HAIL DAMAGES, BUT ALSO CONDUCT SOPHISTICATED ANALYSES TO THROUGH PROBABILISTIC MODELING TO ASSESS THE LIKELY LOSSES DUE TO CHANGES IN THE FUTURE CLIMATE. ONCE THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED FUTURE LOSSES ARE ESTIMATED, THE PROJECT WILL THEN IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE ADAPTATION AND RISK MITIGATION MEASURES TO REDUCE US LOSSES DUE TO WIND AND HAIL.EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE ADOPTED INTO US BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: TOTAL US LOSSES DUE TO SEVERE CONVECTIVE STORMS HAVE EXCEEDED $10 BILLION DOLLARS EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST DECADE. US BUILDING OWNERS, HOMEOWNERS, AND INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL BENEFIT FROM AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO MITIGATE WIND AND HAIL DAMAGES BOTH CURRENT TO FUTURE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. THIS RESEARCH IS ALIGNED WITH NIST WIND ENGINEERING AND NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PROGRAM OBJECTIVE TO DEVELOP NOVEL METHODS FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION MODELING OF METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF EFFECTS OF CONVECTIVE WIND CURRENTS AND HAIL HAZARD RELEVANT TO STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING RISK ASSESSMENT, ANALYSIS, AND DESIGN.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DEVELOPMENT OF REALISTIC SEISMIC INPUT MOTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE RESILIENCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO EARTHQUAKES

MICHIGAN DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROJECT

SYNTHESIS OF DEGRADABLE SUGAR POLY(ORTHOESTERS)

FRESHWATER MUSSEL AND HOST FISH EXPOSURE TO CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN: HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE EVALUAITONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GP-UP: SHORT-TERM IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES FOR RETENTION AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING -PERSISTENCE OF STUDENTS IN UNDERGRADUATE GEOSCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAMS IS A MATTER OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE AT THE NATIONAL SCALE, WITH A SHORTFALL OF 118,000 GEOSCIENTISTS ESTIMATED BY 2026, A PROBLEM EXACERBATED BY OVER HALF (56%) OF FIRST-YEAR STEM UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS LEAVING BEFORE FORMALLY BEGINNING THEIR PROGRAMS. ATTRITION IMPACTS METEOROLOGY STUDENTS AND PROGRAMS SUBSTANTIALLY. DESPITE THIS SIGNIFICANT ATTRITION RATE, THERE IS SURPRISINGLY NO COMPREHENSIVE DATASET OR MOVEMENT WITHIN THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES DISCIPLINE TO QUANTIFY OR IMPROVE IT. A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF ATTRITION WITHIN METEOROLOGY PROGRAMS OCCURS DURING THE FRESHMAN OR SOPHOMORE YEARS, WHEN STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED IN CALCULUS AND PHYSICS COURSES AND THEN TRANSITION TO APPLYING THOSE SKILLS IN METEOROLOGY COURSES. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN OTHER STEM DISCIPLINES DOCUMENTS THAT HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL COMPONENTS OF STUDENTS? EXPERIENCES, AND INTENTION TO PERSIST, ARE TIED TO THEIR FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND ATTITUDES (THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN) - WHICH CAN BE MODIFIED BY GAINING A SENSE OF PURPOSE EARLY ON, BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY, AND FAMILIARIZATION WITH THE SCIENCE AND TOOLS OF THE TRADE, ALL OF WHICH CAN BE GAINED THROUGH IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES IN THE DISCIPLINE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS MOST AT RISK FOR ATTRITION THROUGH A POST-FRESHMAN LEVEL WEEK-LONG IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE: STUDENT TRAINING FOR OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH IN METEOROLOGY (STORM). THROUGH THE PROGRAM, COMMUNITY-BUILDING, ALONG WITH STUDENT-FACULTY RAPPORT, WILL DEVELOP THROUGH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP EXPERIENCES IN DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS USING METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND COHORT BUILDING ACTIVITIES. FOLLOWING STORM, PARTICIPANTS AND THE REMAINDER OF THEIR COHORTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE METEOROLOGY PROGRAMS WILL PARTICIPATE IN GROUP ACTIVITY EACH SEMESTER, TO MAINTAIN THEIR INCREASED SENSE OF COMMUNITY. THE IMPACT OF THIS IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE ON STUDENTS? AFFECTIVE DOMAIN, AS WELL AS THEIR PERFORMANCE AND ATTITUDES THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THEIR METEOROLOGICAL UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION WILL BE MEASURED, TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR DECREASING ATTRITION IN THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES. THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO AIMS TO PURPOSEFULLY BUILD COMMUNITY WITHIN THE RISING SOPHOMORE COHORT TO BOLSTER THEIR PEER AND FACULTY CONNECTIONS AND REDUCE THE ?SOPHOMORE SLUMP?, THEREFORE INCREASING RETENTION WITHIN METEOROLOGY PROGRAMS. THIS WILL BE DONE BY OFFERING A ONE-WEEK FIELD EXPERIENCE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. THE EXPERIENCE IS DESIGNED TO REDUCE BARRIERS AND BROADEN PARTICIPATION. THE FIELD EXPERIENCE AND THE CHOICE OF FACULTY INVOLVED HAS BEEN DONE SO TO INCREASE SCIENCE IDENTITY AMONG PARTICIPANTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVES OF ENHANCING STUDENT RETENTION, STUDENTS? SENSE OF BELONGING AND SCIENCE IDENTITY AND INCREASING SELF-EFFICACY THROUGH PROVIDING AN EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCE WITH DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC SKILL BUILDING ALIGNS WITH THE AIMS OF THE GEOPATHS PROGRAM. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STORM WILL CONSIST OF MIXED METHODS TO IDENTIFY AND QUANTIFY EFFECTS OF THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING PRE- AND POST-EXPERIENCE SURVEYS THAT INCLUDE LIKERT SCALE AND OPEN-ENDED SELF-REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS. RETENTION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE DATA FOR PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ANALYZED IN THE CONTEXT OF INSTITUTIONAL DATA FOR STUDENTS IN STEM MAJORS TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE FIELD EXPERIENCE ON THESE METRICS. INDIVIDUAL STUDENT AND GROUP CHANGES WILL BE EVALUATED USING A NORMALIZED CHANGE METRIC AND DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS. FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO OBSERVED CHANGES WILL BE EXPLORED THROUGH THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE STUDENT RESPONSES. ALL INSTRUMENTS DEVELOPED FOR THE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH COMPONENT OF THE STUDY (I.E., SELECTION RUBRIC, SURVEYS) ALONG WITH METEOROLOGICAL DATA COLLECTED BY STUDENTS DURING FIELD WORK WILL BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FOR USE BY OTHER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE IUSE PROGRAM. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. 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.

GLS CAMPUS SUICIDE PREVENTION - THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE IDENTIFICATION, TREATMENT, AND SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS AT RISK OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDE ATTEMPTS; AND STRENGTHEN PROTECTIVE FACTORS THAT PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH, MINIMIZE SUICIDE RISK FACTORS, AND REDUCE SUICIDES AND ATTEMPTS. THE AIMS FOR THE PROJECT WILL: (1) ENHANCE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR ALL COLLEGE STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE AT RISK FOR SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) /SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES (SED), AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS THAT CAN LEAD TO SCHOOL FAILURE. CMU WILL HAVE STRENGTHENED CROSS-COLLABORATION AND ALIGNMENT OF EXISTING CAMPUS RESOURCES, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND TELEHEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENSURE A COMPREHENSIVE CONTINUUM OF SERVICES AND RESOURCES TO INCREASE CAPACITY AND PROVIDE TIMELY ACCESS FOR STUDENTS TO ASSESSMENT, TREATMENT, AND REFERRAL CARE TRANSITIONS; (2) PREVENT AND REDUCE SUICIDE, MENTAL AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS BY IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED, MULTI-TIERED EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITY THAT EXPANDS MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID AND SUICIDE AWARENESS FOR ALL STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF. (3) PROMOTE HELP-SEEKING, REDUCE STIGMA, AND INCREASE AWARENESS/SUPPORT FOR IMPROVED ACCESS TO RESOURCES. BEGINNING IMMEDIATELY AND BY THE END OF YEAR ONE OF THE PROJECT, CMU WILL CARRY OUT SUICIDE PREVENTION AWARENESS TRAINING FOR FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY AND SKILLS OF GATEKEEPER LAY-HELPERS AS WELL AS CLINICAL SERVICES STAFF TO IDENTIFY, RESPOND AND MAKE APPROPRIATE REFERRALS FOR STUDENTS IN DISTRESS. BY THE END OF YEAR ONE, CMU WILL IMPROVE SERVICES AND PROCESSES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF AT-RISK COLLEGE STUDENTS SO THEY CAN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THEIR STUDIES. ADDITIONALLY, IT WILL BE A KEY PRIORITY TO IMMEDIATELY COLLABORATE WITH CMU HUMAN RESOURCES WELLNESS AND BENEFITS, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION CENTER FOR STUDENT INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY, STUDENT AFFAIRS CMU CARES, CAMPUS POLICE, AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESOURCE PROVIDERS TO IMPLEMENT ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES AIMED AT PROMOTING A SUPPORTIVE CAMPUS, ADDRESS INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, AND COVID-RELATED MENTAL HEALTH STRESSORS THAT IMPEDE STUDENT SUCCESS. THE PROJECT WILL TARGET COLLEGE STUDENTS (AGES 17 TO 26); SERVING 15,465 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, OR DOCTORAL PROGRAMS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY’S (CMU) MAIN CAMPUS IS LOCATED IN ISABELLA COUNTY, A RURAL AND MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY. ISABELLA COUNTY COMPRISES MOUNT PLEASANT, MI IN MID-MICHIGAN, ALSO KNOWN AS CENTRAL MICHIGAN. THE COUNTY CONTAINS THE ISABELLA INDIAN RESERVATION, WHICH HAS A TOTAL AREA OF 217.67 SQUARE MILES (563.8 KM2). IT IS THE MAJOR LAND BASE OF THE FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED SAGINAW CHIPPEWA TRIBAL NATION. THE FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT AT CMU IS 11,441UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND 4,024 GRADUATE STUDENTS. ON CMU’S MAIN CAMPUS THE INCREASED NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND SATURATION OF COMMUNITY MENTAL PROVIDER NETWORKS HAS RESULTED IN 3-4 MONTH WAIT TIMES FOR SPECIALTY SERVICE REFERRALS FOR STUDENTS. CMU HAS COUNSELING SERVICES, PSYCHIATRY SERVICES, AND A STUDENT HEALTH CLINIC THAT PROVIDES RESOURCES TO STUDENTS THAT ADDRESS SUICIDE PREVENTION, MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. THE MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER TO PATIENT RATIO IS 410:1 FOR ISABELLA COUNTY (MYMICHIGAN HEALTH, 2022). DESPITE CMU'S CONTINUING EXPANSION OF PROVIDER CAPACITY, WE CONTINUE TO CONDUCT 2,720 BEHAVIOR HEALTH VISITS, AN INCREASE OF OVER 1,000 VISITS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND WE CONTINUE TO HAVE UNMET NEEDS FOR OUR STUDENTS.

SOCIAL REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN - PROJECT SUMMARY THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT CAN BE A SOURCE OF STRESS. SOCIAL STRESS IS NORMAL, BUT WHEN PERSISTENT, IT CAUSES OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN, WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO A VARIETY OF MENTAL HEALTH AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. MITOCHONDRIA COULD MEDIATE THE LINK BETWEEN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND OXIDATIVE STRESS AS THEY ARE A MAJOR SOURCE OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) AND PLAY A ROLE IN STRESS ADAPTATION. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON CHRONIC SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS AND RESULTING ELEVATION IN GLUCOCORTICOID LEVELS, WHICH CAUSES OXIDATIVE STRESS IN SPECIFIC BRAIN REGIONS. ANDROGENS MODULATE MANY METABOLIC RESPONSES, YET DESPITE THEIR RESPONSIVENESS TO SOCIAL STRESSORS AND RELEVANCE TO MANY AGE-RELATED DISEASES, THE ROLE OF ANDROGENIC SIGNALING IN REGULATING OXIDATIVE CHALLENGES IN A SOCIAL CONTEXT IS UNDERSTUDIED. MY GOAL IS TO STUDY HOW ANDROGENS AND SOCIAL STRESS INFLUENCE THE REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN BY LEVERAGING THE HIGHLY SOCIAL CICHLID FISH ASTATOTILAPIA BURTONI, A WELL-ESTABLISHED MODEL SYSTEM FOR NEUROGENOMICS AND INTEGRATED ANIMAL BEHAVIOR. MALE A. BURTONI EXIST AS TWO REVERSIBLE PHENOTYPES: DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE. DOMINANT MALES AGGRESSIVELY DEFEND A TERRITORY, HAVE HIGH ANDROGEN LEVELS, LARGE GONADS, AND MATE WITH FEMALES, WHILE SUBORDINATE MALES ARE NONTERRITORIAL AND REPRODUCTIVELY SUPPRESSED. TERRITORIAL DEFENSE IS PHYSICALLY AND COGNITIVELY DEMANDING FOR DOMINANT INDIVIDUALS, WHILE SUBORDINATE MALES EXPERIENCE SOCIAL SUPPRESSION AND INTIMIDATION FROM HIGHER RANKING INDIVIDUALS. FEMALES ENGAGE IN AGGRESSIVE COMPETITION FOR SHELTER AND FORM DISTINCT DOMINANCE HIERARCHIES WHEN HOUSED IN ALL-FEMALE GROUPS, ALLOWING US TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF DISTINCT SOCIAL STRESSORS IN HIGH- AND LOW-RANKING INDIVIDUALS OF BOTH SEXES. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS FIVE-YEAR PROPOSAL IS TO ASSESS HOW COMPETITION-INDUCED SOCIAL STRESS COMBINED WITH ANDROGEN RECEPTOR SIGNALING INFLUENCES THE REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE BALANCE IN THE BRAIN. IN RESEARCH DIRECTION 1, WE WILL DEFINE THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL STRESS AND ANDROGEN RECEPTOR SIGNALING ON OXIDATIVE STRESS AND MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION ACROSS DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BRAIN. TO THIS END, WE WILL INTEGRATE SOCIAL MANIPULATIONS WITH ANDROGEN RECEPTOR PHARMACOLOGY TO STUDY HOW DISTINCT SOCIAL AND METABOLIC STRESSORS ACROSS THE DOMINANCE HIERARCHY INFLUENCE THE REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE BRAIN. IN RESEARCH DIRECTION 2, WE WILL DETERMINE HOW SOCIAL EXPERIENCE AND ANDROGEN RECEPTOR SIGNALING INFLUENCE PROTECTION AGAINST AN ACUTE OXIDATIVE INSULT TO THE BRAIN USING A VALIDATED HYPOXIA-REOXYGENATION PARADIGM. OUR INTEGRATIVE APPROACH PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER UNANTICIPATED CYTOPROTECTIVE MECHANISMS IN THE BRAIN AGAINST BOTH CHRONIC AND ACUTE STRESSORS. THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES WILL ALLOW ME TO DEVELOP A RESEARCH PROGRAM AIMED AT DISSECTING VARIABLE STRATEGIES USED TO COPE WITH STRESSFUL EXPERIENCES TO MAINTAIN ORGANISMAL HOMEOSTASIS. MY RESEARCH PROGRAM MAY LEAD TO NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO INTERVENTION STRATEGIES OR THERAPEUTIC TARGETS THAT REDUCE OXIDATIVE STRESS AND IMPROVE EFFECTIVE RECOVERY FROM OXIDATIVE CHALLENGES.

BRAIN EAGER: GENETICALLY ENCODED LIGHT SOURCES FOR NON-INVASIVE OPTOGENETICS

ENHANCING THE MATRIX OF SERVICES FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ON CAMPUS

DISTANCE LEARNING GRANT

TIME-OF-FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS FOR NUCLEAR STRUCTURE AND ASTROPHYSICS

UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIERS TO INSTITUTIONAL SUCCESS IN STEM AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

DEVELOPING THE ABILITIES OF TEACHER EDUCATORS TO MODEL CORE TEACHING PRACTICES FOR STEM TEACHER CANDIDATES -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF TEACHING THAT TEACHER CANDIDATES EXPERIENCE IN STEM. THE PROJECT AIMS TO ENSURE NEW TEACHERS IN CRUCIAL STEM FIELDS CAN EFFECTIVELY PERFORM CORE TEACHING PRACTICES (CTPS)?A RELATIVELY SMALL SET OF SPECIFIC, INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS THAT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN TO BEST SUPPORT LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE IMPORTANT CTP IS BUILDING RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS WITH STUDENTS. RESEARCH ALSO SUGGESTS THAT, IF CTPS ARE NOT EXPLICITLY MODELLED IN TEACHER PREPARATION COURSES, TEACHER CANDIDATES ARE UNLIKELY TO GO ON TO USE THOSE TEACHING METHODS IN THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO ?TRAIN THE TRAINERS? BY DEVELOPING TEACHER EDUCATORS? SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDINGS REGARDING CTPS, AN APPROACH TO TEACHER EDUCATION THAT IS UNFAMILIAR TO MOST. IN PARTICULAR, AS AN ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP IN MOVING TOWARD CTP-FOCUSED INSTRUCTION, PARTICIPATING TEACHER EDUCATORS WILL EFFECTIVELY MODEL THOSE TECHNIQUES FOR NOVICE TEACHERS. THE PROJECT?S RESULTS WILL BE USED TO REFINE THIS PROCESS AND MAKE IT REPLICABLE FOR OTHER INSTITUTIONS, AND TO INFORM SUBSEQUENT WORK TO SUPPORT TEACHER EDUCATORS IN TEACHING AND ASSESSING CTPS DIRECTLY RATHER THAN ONLY MODELLING THOSE METHODS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SUPPORT TEACHER EDUCATORS IN TRANSITIONING TO TEACHER PREPARATION THAT FOCUSES ON CORE TEACHING PRACTICES (CTPS). RESEARCH INDICATES THAT SUCH TRANSITIONS FACE MANY CHALLENGES, WITH EXPERIENCED TEACHER EDUCATORS COMMONLY REGARDING CTPS AS LITTLE MORE THAN APPLYING NEW TERMS TO WELL ESTABLISHED TRAINING METHODS. THE FACILITATION OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE THROUGH A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP) IN WHICH STEM TEACHER EDUCATORS ARE GUIDED BY AND LEARN WITH PROJECT PERSONNEL. WHILE THE LATTER HAVE CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE WITH TEACHING CTPS TO NOVICES, THERE ARE INVALUABLE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED IN ASSISTING FELLOW TEACHER EDUCATORS TO DO SIMILAR WORK. CTPS PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO STUDENT LEARNING IN STEM WILL BE PRIORITIZED. RATHER THAN IMMEDIATELY TRAINING PARTICIPANTS TO TEACH AND ASSESS CTPS, HOWEVER, THIS PROJECT WILL BEGIN WITH A CRUCIAL AND MORE QUICKLY REALIZED, INTERMEDIATE GOAL?THE ABILITY TO ACTIVELY MODEL THOSE TEACHING METHODS. ?ACTIVELY MODELLING? INVOLVES MORE THAN DEMONSTRATING A TEACHING METHOD; IT REQUIRES TEACHER EDUCATORS TO EXPLICITLY IDENTIFY THE TECHNIQUE FOR STUDENTS AND TO EXPLAIN WHY IT IS PERFORMED IN CERTAIN WAYS. PROJECT PARTICIPANTS WILL ALSO EXAMINE HOW THOSE EFFORTS INFLUENCE THEIR STUDENTS? THINKING ABOUT TEACHING. EVIDENCE OF THE PROJECT?S IMPACTS WILL BE GATHERED THROUGH ARTIFACTS GENERATED BY PARTICIPANTS IN COLLABORATIVELY PLANNING, PRACTICING, RECORDING, ANALYZING, AND IMPROVING THEIR ACTIVE MODELLING OF CTPS. THIS WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED BY PRE/POST WRITTEN REFLECTIONS BY AND INTERVIEWS OF TEACHER EDUCATORS AND TEACHER CANDIDATES. THE ANALYSIS OF THIS DATA AND REPORTING OF RESULTS WILL BE PARTICULARLY VALUABLE TO OTHER TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT UNDERSTAND THE CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENTS TO TEACHER PREPARATION THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY SUPPORTING TEACHER EDUCATORS IN TRANSITIONING TO A FOCUS ON CTPS. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONAL AND COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS EFFORTS TO TRANSFORM AND IMPROVE STEM EDUCATION ACROSS INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINARY COMMUNITIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

BIOLUMINESCENT FAK SENSOR AND GENOME-WIDE CRISPR KNOCKOUT SCREEN TO IDENTIFY REGULATORS OF CELLULAR ADHESION - THIS PROJECT LEVERAGES A COMBINATION OF BIOLUMINESCENCE-CONTROLLED TRANSCRIPTION AND ROBUST GENOME-WIDE CRISPR SCREENING, THE RESEARCH WILL MAP THE REGULATION OF FOCAL ADHESION KINASE (FAK) ACTIVITY AND HELP ELUCIDATE THE COMPLEX GENETIC NETWORKS THAT GOVERN CELLULAR ADHESION AND LOCOMOTION, ADVANCING THE FIELD OF CELLULAR BIOLOGY. THE PROJECT IS STRUCTURED TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN SEVERAL WAYS. FIRSTLY, BY DEVELOPING A BIOLUMINESCENT KINASE SENSOR, BLINKS, FOR FAK, THE PROJECT AIMS TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME INSIGHTS INTO KINASE ACTIVITY WITHIN LIVING CELLS, A BREAKTHROUGH IN OBSERVING DYNAMIC CELLULAR PROCESSES. THE INTEGRATION OF THIS SENSOR WITH GENOME-WIDE CRISPR KNOCKOUT SCREENS WILL ENABLE THE IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL GENES THAT REGULATE FAK SIGNALING PATHWAYS. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF NEW MOLECULAR TARGETS FOR THERAPIES IN DISEASES WHERE FAK PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE, SUCH CANCER METASTASIS AND WOUND HEALING.

REU SITE: GREAT LAKES ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH TO BUILD FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL STEM FUTURES

DESCRIPTION:THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA) TO CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY. THE RECIPIENT WILL PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (E.G., INFORMATION, TRAINING, TOOLS) TO BUSINESSES TO HELP THEM DEVELOP AND ADOPT SOURCE REDUCTION PRACTICES (ALSO KNOWN AS POLLUTION PREVENTION (P2)). P2 MEANS REDUCING OR ELIMINATING POLLUTANTS FROM ENTERING ANY WASTE STREAM OR OTHERWISE BEING RELEASED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT PRIOR TO RECYCLING, TREATMENT, OR DISPOSAL. P2 PRACTICES CAN HELP BUSINESSES SAVE MONEY BY REDUCING THEIR RESOURCE USE, EXPENDITURES, WASTE AND LIABILITY COSTS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME REDUCING THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT AND HELPING TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT. SPECIFICALLY, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (CMU) AND MICHIGAN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS (MISBF) WILL PARTNER WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO PROVIDE DIRECT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO UNDERTAKE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS OF MISBF'S 'THE MICHIGAN FOOD WASTE REDUCTION ROAD MAP' IN TERMS OF P2 TA, TRAINING AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION. THE PROPOSED ACTIONS WILL ALSO DELIVER CO-BENEFITS TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN. CONDUCT TRAINING FOR RELEVANT COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ON FOOD LOSS AND WASTE REDUCTION ACTIONS TO CREATE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND BUILD CAPACITY IN THREE TARGET COMMUNITIES.ACTIVITIES:THE PRIORITIES FOR P2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (INFORMATION, TRAINING, AND TOOLS) ALIGN WITH ONE OR MORE OF THE PROGRAM'S NATIONAL EMPHASIS AREAS (NEAS). SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT(S) ACTIVITIES WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING AND THE FACILITIES IN THE NEA #1 FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING AND PROCESSING (NAICS CODES 311 AND 3121) SECTOR WILL BE TARGETED FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING ON REDUCING TOXIC AIR EMISSIONS OR WATER DISCHARGES, WATER OR ENERGY USAGE, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS GENERATION AND USE. THE SPECIFIC WORK DESCRIBED WILL SUPPORT THE P2 ACTIVITIES IN THIS NEA BY: - PROVIDING TA FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF P2 PRACTICES FOR BUSINESSES IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING AND PROCESSING SECTOR (NEA #1) LOCATED IN THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN (SEE CRITERIA 2 BELOW FOR DETAILS), - DEVELOPING, DOCUMENTING, AND FOLLOWING-UP THE IDENTIFIED P2 PRACTICES, - REDUCING OR ELIMINATING THE USE OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, POLLUTANTS OR CONTAMINANTS IN FACILITY OPERATIONS, - IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES TO CONSERVE WATER, REDUCE POLLUTANTS DISCHARGED TO WATER, REDUCE ENERGY USE AND INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, SWITCH TO NON-TOXIC/LESS-TOXIC CHEMICALS, - CREATING TRANSFERABLE LESSONS FOR ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES, - COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROMOTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF P2 INITIATIVES BY LOCAL BUSINESSES IN AFFECTED COMMUNITIES, AND - OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS AND RELEASE OF GREENHOUSE GASES. SUBRECIPIENT:SUBAWARD - MICHIGAN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS FORUM - TASKS 3: CONDUCT TRAININGS FOR FOOD BUSINESSES ON P2 APPLICATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES; TASK 5: CONDUCT A TRAINING FOR RELEVANT COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ON FOOD LOSS AND WASTE REDUCTION ACTIONS; AND TASK 6: DEVELOP AN ONLINE KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION AND TRANSFER PLATFORM): $65,000 TRAVEL FOR SPEAKERS FOR THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES: $4,000 SUBSISTENCE FOR THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES: $5,000 RENTAL FEE FOR THE VENUES OF TRAINING AND ROUND TABLE ACTIVITIES: $4,000 MS GRADUATE ASSISTANT TUITION: $24,411 MS GRADUATE ASSISTANT STUDENT SERVICE FEES: $1,125OUTCOMES:THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CONDUCTED BY THE RECIPIENT WILL BENEFIT FACILITIES AND, IF APPLICABLE, MAY ADDRESS UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. THE RECIPIENT IS EXPECTED TO REPORT ON P2 PERFORMANCE MEASURES (OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES) AND NOTE WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AS WELL AS COMMIT TO FOLLOWING-UP WITH FACILITIES TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WAS ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED. THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING OUTPUTS: - NUMBER OF FACILITI

COMPUTATIONAL NANOPHOTONICS: MODELING OPTICAL INTERACTIONS AND TRANSPORT IN TAILORED NANOSYSTEM ARCHITECTURES

INTERGOVERNMENTAL MOBILITY ASSIGNMENT

REU SITE IN ALGEBRA, ANALYSIS, GEOMETRY, MATRIX THEORY AND STATISTICS

BUILDING A UNIVERSAL NUCLEAR ENERGY DENSITY FUNCTIONAL

PRECISE Q VALUES FOR ULTRA-LOW ENERGY AND HIGHLY FORBIDDEN BETA DECAYS USING PENNING TRAP MASS SPECTROMETRY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE EVOLUTION OF EXTREMELY ACID LAKES AND GROUNDWATERS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

CREATING PRACTICAL ACTIVE LEARNING STATIONS TO TRANSFORM AND IMPROVE EXISTING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENTS

SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION OF NANO-ANTIOXIDANTS FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

RUI: PRECURSOR DESIGN AND ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION OF HIGH-K DIELECTRIC THIN FILMS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A VICON SYSTEM FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN REHABILITATION ENGINEERING

PREEVENTS TRACK 2: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IMPROVING HIGH-IMPACT HAIL EVENT FORECASTS BY LINKING HAIL ENVIRONMENTS AND MODELED HAILSTORM PROCESSES

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 11210. CENTRAL MICH

NSF-BSF: QUANTUM MAGNETIZATION DYNAMICS IN OPEN MOLECULAR JUNCTIONS -NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH WITH AN AIM TO DEVELOP ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS AND USE THEM FOR THE DESCRIPTION OF DYNAMICAL BEHAVIOR OF MAGNETIC MOLECULES CONNECTED TO EXTERNAL ELECTRODES AND MANIPULATED BY MAGNETIC FIELDS. THE NEW COMPUTATIONAL TOOL IS EXPECTED TO BE A POWERFUL ASSET TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, AS IT WILL PROVIDE A JUDICIOUS BALANCE BETWEEN COMPUTATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND PHYSICAL ACCURACY IN SIMULATING SUCH SYSTEMS. THE PI AND HIS TEAM WILL USE THIS COMPUTATIONAL TOOL TO PROPOSE NOVEL MOLECULAR-BASED ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC DEVICES AND TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF OPERATION PRINCIPLES OF REALISTIC NANO-ELECTRONIC AND NANO-MAGNETIC SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD ALSO SUPPORTS THE PI'S EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. THE GRADUATE, UNDERGRADUATE, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT WILL BENEFIT FROM GAINING VALUABLE SKILLS THAT WILL MAKE THEM HIGHLY QUALIFIED FOR FUTURE EMPLOYMENT IN SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING FIELDS. THEIR JOINT TEAM EFFORTS VIA THIS BINATIONAL COLLABORATION, WHICH WILL INVOLVE ACTIVE HANDS-ON RESEARCH, MUTUAL ON-SITE VISITS, PARTICIPATION AND ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOPS, AND KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES, WILL FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE INTERNATIONAL TIES BETWEEN CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AND TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY. TECHNICAL SUMMARY THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH WITH AN AIM TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A FIRST PRINCIPLES COMPUTATIONAL METHODOLOGY FOR SIMULATING ELECTRON AND SPIN DYNAMICS IN OPEN QUANTUM SYSTEMS. THE METHODOLOGY WILL HARNESS THE EFFICIENCY OF TIME-DEPENDENT DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY TO SIMULATE THE DYNAMICS OF MANY-ELECTRON SYSTEMS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES, ALONG WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE DRIVEN LIOUVILLE VON NEUMANN APPROACH TO IMPOSE NON-EQUILIBRIUM OPEN BOUNDARY CONDITIONS. THE PI AND HIS TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE (I) THE EFFECTS OF STATIC ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS ON THE MAGNETIZATION DYNAMICS OF BIASED OPEN QUANTUM SYSTEMS; (II) THE EFFECTS OF DYNAMICAL EXTERNAL STIMULI, SUCH AS SHAPED ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES, ON THE TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF MAGNETIC NANO-JUNCTIONS; (III) ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON QUANTUM COHERENCE AND ENTANGLEMENT OF MAGNETIC MOLECULAR NETWORKS; AND (IV) ELECTRON AND SPIN THERMODYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF MAGNETIC OPEN QUANTUM SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD ALSO SUPPORTS THE PI'S EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. THE GRADUATE, UNDERGRADUATE, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT WILL BENEFIT FROM GAINING VALUABLE SKILLS THAT WILL MAKE THEM HIGHLY QUALIFIED FOR FUTURE EMPLOYMENT IN STEM FIELDS. THEIR JOINT TEAM EFFORTS VIA THIS BINATIONAL COLLABORATION, WHICH WILL INVOLVE ACTIVE HANDS-ON RESEARCH, MUTUAL ON-SITE VISITS, PARTICIPATION AND ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOPS, AND KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES, WILL FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE INTERNATIONAL TIES BETWEEN CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY AND TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY. 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TRACE ELEMENTS IN PYRITE?VALIDATION AND CALIBRATION OF A NOVEL PALEOENVIRONMENTAL PROXY

BETA-DECAY EXPERIMENTS ALONG THE R-PROCESS PATH

HIGH-PRECISION OPTICAL LONG-BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY AND PHYSICS OF ACTIVE MASSIVE STARS

FUNDS UNDER THIS AWARD ARE TO: 1) ASSESS NATIVE MUSSEL COMMUNITIES AND HABITATS IN THE DETROIT AND ST. CLAIR RIVERS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR GLOBALLY RARE SPECIES, 2) DATA FROM THE DETROIT RIVER WILL BE USED TO BUILD A PREDICTIVE MODEL FOR NATIVE MUSSEL HABITAT THAT WILL BE TESTED IN THE ST. CLAIR RIVER; AND 3) RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL HABITAT AND PROTECTING AND AIDING IN THE RECOVERY OF MUSSELS IN THE DETROIT AND ST. CLAIR RIVERS.

DEVELOPING A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR PRIORIZATION & RESTORATION OF GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLANDS

NEW FRONTIERS IN SEVERAL COMPLEX VARIABLES -THE THEORY OF CALCULUS, WHICH MAKES POSSIBLE A PRECISE UNDERSTANDING OF CONTINUOUSLY VARYING MAGNITUDES, FORMS THE MATHEMATICAL UNDERPINNING OF MUCH OF MODERN-DAY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. THE COMPLEX NUMBERS ARE A SYSTEM OF GENERALIZED NUMBERS PROVIDING GREATER FLEXIBILITY WITH ALGEBRAIC OPERATIONS, SUCH AS ALLOWING FOR THE EXTRACTION OF SQUARE ROOTS OF NEGATIVE QUANTITIES. IN THIS PROJECT, THE INVESTIGATOR WILL APPLY THE TOOLS OF CALCULUS TO SMOOTHLY VARYING COMPLEX OUTPUTS WHICH DEPEND ON ONE OR MORE COMPLEX INPUTS. SUCH OBJECTS ARE KNOWN IN THE MATHEMATICAL LITERATURE AS HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS. THE STUDY OF HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS HAS APPLICATIONS TO PHENOMENA AS DIVERSE AS THE FLOW OF LIQUIDS, HEAT CONDUCTION, THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIME NUMBERS, AND THE SPEED OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS. THE PROJECT WILL EMPLOY TWO METHODS TO CONSTRUCT HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS. THE FIRST IS VIA A SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS CALLED THE INHOMOGENEOUS CAUCHY-RIEMANN EQUATIONS. THE SECOND, THE METHOD OF PROJECTIONS, INTERPRETS THE COLLECTION OF HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS GEOMETRICALLY AS A SUB-COLLECTION INSIDE A LARGER COLLECTION OF FUNCTIONS, AND USES THIS GEOMETRIC INSIGHT TO CONSTRUCT HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS WITH SPECIFIED PROPERTIES. THE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS TO BE GAINED IN THIS PROJECT WILL BE USEFUL FOR APPLICATIONS BOTH WITHIN AND OUTSIDE MATHEMATICS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INVOLVE UNDERGRADUATE PARTICIPANTS, WHO WILL WORK ON BOTH THE COMPUTATIONAL AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEMS. SUCH PARTICIPATION WILL EXPOSE STUDENTS TO CHALLENGING MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS AND WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAINING OF FUTURE MATHEMATICIANS AND SCIENTISTS. HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS OF ONE OR SEVERAL COMPLEX VARIABLES CONSTITUTE A NATURAL AND IMPORTANT CLASS OF FUNCTIONS IN ANALYSIS AND HAVE IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS THROUGHOUT SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES TWO CLASSICAL TECHNIQUES FOR CONSTRUCTING SUCH FUNCTIONS: THE INHOMOGENEOUS CAUCHY-RIEMANN EQUATIONS AND PROJECTION OPERATORS. FOR THE CAUCHY-RIEMANN EQUATIONS, THE MAIN THRUST IS TO STUDY THE SOLUTION OF THESE EQUATIONS IN ANNULI, WHERE AN ANNULUS IN COMPLEX EUCLIDEAN SPACE IS A DOMAIN OBTAINED FROM A LARGER DOMAIN (THE ENVELOPE) BY REMOVING A COMPACT SUBSET (THE HOLE). SINCE ANNULI ARE NOT DOMAINS OF HOLOMORPHY, NEW PHENOMENA APPEAR IN THIS SITUATION WHICH ARE NOT FOUND IN THE WELL-UNDERSTOOD AND CLASSICAL SETTING OF PSEUDOCONVEX DOMAINS. THE ANALOGY BETWEEN COMPLEX ANALYSIS ON ANNULI AND ALEXANDER DUALITY (A CIRCLE OF IDEAS IN TOPOLOGY) IS EXPECTED TO FORGE NOVEL METHODS OF ATTACK ON THESE QUESTIONS. COUPLED WITH CLASSICAL APPROACHES BASED ON A PRIORI ESTIMATES FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS, THESE NEW METHODS WILL BE EMPLOYED TO YIELD IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION ON FUNCTION THEORY OF NEW CLASSES OF NON-PSEUDOCONVEX DOMAINS. WITH REGARDS TO THE GEOMETRIC CONSTRUCTION VIA PROJECTION OPERATORS, A PRIMARY FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION WILL BE A CLASS OF QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE REGULARITY OF THE BERGMAN PROJECTION, AND OTHER ASSOCIATED PROJECTION OPERATORS, IN LEBESGUE SPACES ON NON-SMOOTH DOMAINS. SUCH REGULARITY DEPENDS ON THE GEOMETRY OF THE DOMAIN IN WAYS THAT ARE NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. AMONG THE DOMAINS TO BE STUDIED ARE QUOTIENTS OF BALLS BY FINITE GROUPS, AND REINHARDT DOMAINS WHOSE BOUNDARY CONTAINS THE ORIGIN. 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.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 193NM LASER ABLATION SAMPLING SYSTEM TO EXPAND INTERDISCIPLINARY USES OF AN ELEMENT2 ICP-MS

ASSESSING HEALTH INFORMATION CONSUMERS' COMPETENCIES IN MANAGING DIGITAL MEDIA: A

"HOT DISKS AROUND EARLY-TPE STARS: INTERFEROMETRY SPECTROSCOPY AND PHOTOMETRY"PROBLEM STATEMENT: CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS ARE UBIQUITOUS IN THE UNIVERS

PRECISION MEASUREMENTS WITH THE CHIP-TRAP MASS SPECTROMETER FOR TESTS OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY

REU SITE: ANALYSIS, GEOMETRY, GRAPH THEORY, MATRIX THEORY AND STATISTICS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EFFECTIVE NUMERICAL SCHEMES FOR FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL COMPUTATIONAL METHOD TO INVESTIGATE THE STABILITY OF BUOYANCY-DRIVEN FLUIDS AND TURBULENT FLOWS DUE TO ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION, KNOWN AS MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC (MHD) TURBULENCE. BY ACCURATELY SIMULATING THESE PHENOMENA, THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO IMPROVING MODELING AND PREDICTION OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS SUCH AS TORNADOS, ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES, PHENOMENA LIKE NORTHERN LIGHTS AND SOLAR FLARES, AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING FLUID OF PLASMA AND LIQUID METALS. THE NEW COMPUTATIONAL METHOD WILL BE A VALUABLE TOOL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING COMMUNITY. GRADUATE STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, WILL BE TRAINED IN BOTH THEORETICAL AND COMPUTER FIELDS. THE RESEARCH WILL ALSO ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATES AND K-12 STUDENTS, BENEFITING LOCAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. THE PROJECT AIMS TO INVESTIGATE NUMERICAL METHODS TO SOLVE THE INCOMPRESSIBLE NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS, DELIVERING THE DIVERGENCE FREE VELOCITY, PROVABLE STABILITY, ROBUSTNESS IN HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBERS, AND HIGH EFFICIENCY IN LONG-TIME COMPUTATIONS. THE RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE CLASSICAL PROJECTION METHOD WITH THE FOLLOWING GOALS. FIRST, THE METHOD WILL ACHIEVE THE DIVERGENCE-FREE CONDITION. THIS FEATURE IS CRITICAL IN THE ACCURATE SIMULATION OF BUOYANCY-DRIVEN FLUIDS. THE TEMPERATURE IN THESE FLUIDS WILL BE TRANSPORTED, REARRANGED, AND STRATIFIED BY THE VELOCITY FIELD, AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE DIVERGENCE-FREE CONDITION WILL GIVE A MORE ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE EVOLUTION AND THE EVENTUAL STATES. SECOND, THIS ALGORITHM WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE ARBITRARILY LARGE REYNOLDS NUMBERS WITH HIGH ACCURACY. THE SIMULATIONS OF THE 3D NAVIER-STOKES FLOWS WITH A HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBER WILL RESULT IN OPTIMAL CONVERGENCE AND AVOID NONPHYSICAL OSCILLATIONS. THIRD, STABILITY AND ERROR ESTIMATES WILL BE ESTABLISHED FOR THIS SCHEME, WHERE THE RESULTS WILL BE INDEPENDENT OF THE REYNOLDS NUMBERS. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL APPLY THIS NUMERICAL METHOD TO SIMULATE THE BUOYANCY-DRIVEN FLUIDS NEAR THE HYDROSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM AND THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING FLUIDS NEAR A BACKGROUND MAGNETIC FIELD. IN THE FIRST PROBLEM, A BOUSSINESQ-NAVIER-STOKES SYSTEM GOVERNING THE PERTURBATIONS NEAR THE HYDROSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM WILL BE SOLVED. THE BOUSSINESQ SYSTEM COUPLES THE NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS FORCED BY BUOYANCY WITH THE TEMPERATURE TRANSPORT EQUATION. THE NUMERICAL METHOD WILL ALSO BE EXTENDED TO SIMULATE ANISOTROPIC FLOWS FOR WHICH THE VERTICAL VISCOSITY IS MUCH SMALLER THAN THE HORIZONTAL ONE. THIS PROBLEM ARISES IN MODELING TURBULENT FLOWS IN EKMAN LAYERS OCCURRING IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE OCEAN. IN THE SECOND PROBLEM, THE STABILITY AND LONG-TIME BEHAVIOR OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING FLUIDS UNDER A GUIDING MAGNETIC FIELD WILL BE COMPUTED AND ANALYZED. WHEN COMPLEMENTED WITH RIGOROUS ANALYSIS, THESE SIMULATIONS WILL HELP ACCELERATE THE RESOLUTION OF SEVERAL OPEN STABILITY PROBLEMS ON THE BOUSSINESQ AND THE MHD EQUATIONS. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS PROGRAM AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EXONERATION AND COMPENSATION: THE ROLE OF FALSE CONFESSIONS

ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY EDUCATION THROUGH INCORPORATION OF RESEARCH-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIMENTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MESOSCALE AIRMASSES WITH HIGH THETA-E (MAHTE)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MODELING DOC DYNAMICS FROM LANDSCAPES TO COASTS: HYDROLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY AND ESTUARY PROCESSES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MICROSCOPIC FRACTURING AND MACROSCOPIC WEAKENING: A NOVEL MODEL FOR BEDROCK FRACTURING BY BIOTITE WEATHERING

MAGNETIC PARAMETERS FROM FIRST-PRINCIPLES

SUSCHEM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HOLEY REDUCED-GRAPHENE-OXIDE FILM FOR NA-ION BATTERY ANODE

RUI: CRYSTALLIZATION OF HYDROUS SILICIC MELTS IN NATURE AND EXPERIMENTS

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE TEACHER PREPARATION

BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES FROM FIRST-PRINCIPLES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RECORDS OF PERMIAN ENVIRONMENTS AND CLIMATE FROM MID-CONTINENT REDBEDS AND EVAPORITES.

EXAMINING TAU PROTEOLYSIS IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ELUCIDATING THE ROLE OF ANIMAL HEME PEROXIDASE AND ORGANIC COMPLEXING AGENTS IN THE FORMATION OF MN OXIDES BY A ROSEOBACTER

PROJECT PROPOSED FROM CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: BUILDING FLOOD RESILIENCE BY CONNECTING STUDENTS TO THEIR WATERSHED WILL ENGAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN TO BROADEN AWARENESS OF FLOOD RISK AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND EMPOWER THEM TO EVALUATE AND IMPLEMENT FLOOD RESILIENCE SOLUTIONS IN THEIR WATERSHED. IT WILL DEVELOP A SET OF MODULES AS PART OF A MEANINGFUL WATERSHED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE (MWEE) THAT WILL GIVE STUDENTS EXPERIENCE COLLECTING AND ANALYZING CLIMATE AND FLOOD DATA, USE SIMULATIONS TO EXPLORE FLOOD RISK, AND VISIT NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE LOCATIONS THAT HELP CONTRIBUTE TO FLOOD RESILIENCE IN THEIR WATERSHEDS. STUDENTS WILL ALSO DEVELOP ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PROJECTS THAT WILL DEMONSTRATE TO THE PUBLIC THE FLOOD RISK CONCEPTS THEY LEARN AND THE ROLE OF FLOOD RESILIENCE SOLUTIONS. THESE PROJECTS WILL FORM THE BASIS OF A DISTRIBUTED MUSEUM OF FLOOD RESILIENCE, WITH EXHIBITS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE WATERSHED THAT RESIDENTS CAN PHYSICALLY VISIT. EXHIBI

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE IMPACT OF FACE-TO-FACE AND REMOTE INTERVIEWING

GENERATING MOUSE MODELS OF AMYLOID BETA AND TAU PROTEINOPATHY IN THE CONTEXT OF SPORADIC AD

USING ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD (EMR) DATA TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF PRENATAL DRUG EXPOSURE: EVALUATING AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY AND UTILTY OF EXPOSURE INFORMATION - SPECIFIC AIMS THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, AND UTILITY OF PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE DATA IN THE EXISTING ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS (EMR). RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF SUBSTANCE USE DURING PREGNANCY ON CHILD OUTCOMES HAS RELIED ON LARGE PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL STUDIES TO PROVIDE ACCURATE DATA ON EXPOSURES AND OUTCOMES. THIS HAS RESULTED IN KNOWLEDGE LAGGING SIGNIFICANTLY, ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC WITH THE RAPIDLY EVOLVING OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND RECENT LEGALIZATION OF COMMERCIAL-GRADE MARIJUANA. POPULATION-BASED DATASETS HAVE PRODUCED PREVALENCE AND MORE GENERAL INFORMATION, BUT DO NOT CONTAIN EXPOSURE INFORMATION THAT IS GRANULAR ENOUGH TO RELIABLY ANSWER SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS. INDIVIDUAL PATIENT EMRS CONTAIN A WEALTH OF CLINICAL INFORMATION THAT CAN POTENTIALLY BE USED FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, HOWEVER THIS POTENTIAL RELATED TO PRENATAL EXPOSURES IS LARGELY UNSTUDIED. OUR WORK, AND THE WORK OF OTHERS, HAS DEMONSTRATED THE POSSIBILITIES FOR USING EMR DATA TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURES ON CHILD OUTCOMES, WHILE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THE LIMITATIONS AND UNKNOWNS. EMRS PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY OF LINKING PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENT RECORDS WITH UP TO THREE OTHER TYPES OF EMRS (NEWBORN INPATIENT RECORD, MATERNAL INPATIENT DELIVERY RECORD, AND MATERNAL OUTPATIENT PRENATAL CARE RECORD), EXPANDING AVAILABLE INFORMATION ABOUT EXPOSURES FOR MANY PATIENTS. OUR STUDY WILL INVOLVE THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: 1. TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT EXPOSURE DATA IS AVAILABLE IN EACH OF THE FOUR EMR TYPES, WITH WHAT FREQUENCY, AND THE CONGRUENCE BETWEEN EXPOSURE DATA SOURCES. 2. TO CONSTRUCT COMPOSITE EXPOSURE VARIABLES FROM DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES AND EXAMINE THE DEGREE TO WHICH EACH: A) CORRELATES WITH CORD TEST RESULTS, AND B) CORRELATES WITH CHILD OUTCOMES. 3. TO DETERMINE FACTORS THAT PREDICT AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, AND UTILITY OF EXPOSURE DATA. 4. TO DEVELOP ENDURING STUDY METHODOLOGY MATERIALS INCLUDING EXPOSURE VARIABLE CODING ALGORITHMS. THE STUDY WILL UTILIZE THE EMRS FROM BOTH A LARGE BUT FAIRLY RURAL COMMUNITY BASED PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENT PRACTICE, AND FROM A LARGE URBAN ACADEMIC PEDIATRIC AMBULATORY SERVICE, WHICH WILL PRODUCE SUBSTANTIAL RACIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIVERSITY AND WILL INVOLVE THE TWO MOST COMMON EMR SYSTEMS IN THE U.S (EPIC AND CERNER). A MINIMUM OF 2,500 PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENTS AGE 6 AND UNDER WILL BE IDENTIFIED ACROSS THE TWO SITES FOR STUDY INCLUSION, WITH AT LEAST 40% EXPECTED TO HAVE HAD SOME TYPE OF PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE (TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS OF ABUSE, AND/OR ILLICIT DRUGS). THE FOUR EMR TYPES EXAMINED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT WILL BE THE LINKED PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENT RECORD, NEWBORN INPATIENT RECORD, MATERNAL INPATIENT DELIVERY RECORD, AND MATERNAL OUTPATIENT PRENATAL CARE RECORD. IN ADDITION TO BACKGROUND, COMORBIDITY, AND OUTCOMES INFORMATION, ANY INFORMATION ABOUT PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE WILL BE ABSTRACTED TO INCLUDE: ICD-10 DIAGNOSIS AND PROCEDURE CODES, URINE DRUG SCREENS, CORD BLOOD/TISSUE/MECONIUM ANALYSIS, ADDITIONAL BIOCHEMICAL TESTING, SELF- REPORT/SCREENING QUESTIONS FOR DRUG USE/EXPOSURE, LISTS OF PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS, NEWBORN WITHDRAWAL ASSESSMENT/TREATMENT, AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM NOTES FIELDS. SPECIFIC AIMS WILL BE EVALUATED WITH DESCRIPTIVE AND BIVARIATE STATISTICS, SENSITIVITY/SPECIFICITY ANALYSES, AND PREDICTIVE MODELING, WITH THE END PRODUCT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENDURING STUDY METHODOLOGY MATERIALS INCLUDING EXPOSURE VARIABLE CODING ALGORITHMS. IF WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WAYS EMR DATA COULD BE RELIABLY USED TO NOT ONLY IDENTIFY PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE, BUT ALSO TO DEVELOP VALID EXPOSURE VARIABLES TO USE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, PARTICIPANTS IN STUDIES EXAMINING THE LINKS BETWEEN PRENATAL EXPOSURES AND LATER O

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ANT LIA: CONNECTING METAGENOME POTENTIAL TO MICROBIAL FUNCTION: INVESTIGATING MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER ANTARCTIC BENTHIC SEDIMENTS -MICROBES IN ANTARCTIC SURFACE MARINE SEDIMENTS HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DEGRADING ORGANIC MATTER AND RELEASING NUTRIENTS TO THE OCEAN. ORGANIC MATTER DEGRADATION IS AT THE CENTER OF THE CARBON CYCLE IN THE OCEAN, PROVIDING VALUABLE INFORMATION ON NUTRIENT RECYCLING, FOOD AVAILABILITY TO ANIMALS AND CARBON DIOXIDE RELEASE TO THE ATMOSPHERE. THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THESE MICROBES HAS BEEN INFERRED BY THEIR GENOMICS, HOWEVER THESE METHODS ONLY ADDRESS THE POSSIBLE FUNCTION, NOT THEIR ACTUAL RATES. IN THIS PROJECT THE PIS PLAN TO COMBINE GENOMICS METHODS WITH CELLULAR ESTIMATES OF ENZYME ABUNDANCE AND ACTIVITY AS A WAY TO DETERMINE THE RATES OF CARBON DEGRADATION. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SAMPLE IN SEVERAL REGIONS OF ANTARCTICA TO PROVIDE A LARGE-SCALE PICTURE OF THE PROCESSES UNDER STUDY AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, SUCH AS PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY, HAVE ON MICROBIAL ACTIVITY. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE RESEARCH TOOLS SUCH AS METAGENOMICS, META-TRANSCRIPTOMICS, AND METABOLOMICS COUPLED WITH CHEMICAL DATA AND ENZYME ASSAYS TO ESTABLISH DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC MATTER IN ANTARCTIC SEDIMENTS. THIS PROJECT BENEFITS NSFS GOALS OF UNDERSTANDING THE ADAPTATION OF ANTARCTIC ORGANISMS TO THE COLD AND ISOLATED ENVIRONMENT, CRITICAL TO PREDICT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO POLAR ORGANISMS, AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW ANTARCTIC ORGANISMS HAVE ADAPTED TO THIS ENVIRONMENT. SOCIETY WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT BY EDUCATION OF 2 GRADUATE STUDENTS, UNDERGRADUATES AND K-12 STUDENTS AS WELL AS INCREASE PUBLIC LITERACY THROUGH SHORT VIDEOS PRODUCTION SHARED IN YOUTUBE. THE PIS PROPOSE TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF POLAR MICROBIAL COMMUNITY FUNCTION, BY MEASURING ENZYME AND GENE FUNCTION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER DEGRADATION IN SEVERAL OCEAN REGIONS, PROVIDING A CIRCUM-ANTARCTIC DESCRIPTION OF SEDIMENT PROCESSES. TWO HYPOTHESES ARE PROPOSED. THE FIRST HYPOTHESIS STATES THAT MANY GENES FOR THE DEGRADATION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER WILL BE SHARED IN SEDIMENTS THROUGHOUT A SAMPLING TRANSECT AND THAT WHERE VARIATIONS IN GENE CONTENT OCCUR, IT WILL REFLECT DIFFERENCES IN THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF ORGANIC MATTER, NOT REGIONAL VARIABILITY. THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS STATES THAT A FRACTION OF GENE TRANSCRIPTS FOR ORGANIC MATTER DEGRADATION WILL NOT RESULT IN MEASURABLE ENZYME ACTIVITY DUE TO POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION OR RAPID DEGRADATION OF THE ENZYMES. THE PIS WILL ANALYZE SEDIMENT CORES ALREADY COLLECTED IN A 2020 CRUISE TO THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA WITH THE ADDITIONAL REQUEST OF PARTICIPATING IN A CRUISE IN 2023 TO EAST ANTARCTICA. THE PIS WILL ANALYZE SEDIMENTS FOR METAGENOMICS, META-TRANSCRIPTOMICS, AND METABOLOMICS COUPLED WITH GEOCHEMICAL DATA AND ENZYME ASSAYS TO ESTABLISH MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER IN ANTARCTIC SEDIMENTS. ORGANIC CARBON CONCENTRATIONS AND CONTENT IN SEDIMENTS WILL BE MEASURED WITH ?13C, ?15N, TOC POREWATER FLUORESCENCE IN BULK ORGANIC CARBON. COMBINED WITH DETERMINATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL VARIABILITY AS WELL AS DEPENDENCE ON CARBON SOURCES, RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY COULD PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR NEW HYPOTHESES ON HOW CLIMATE VARIABILITY, WITH INCREASED WATER TEMPERATURE, AFFECTS GEOCHEMISTRY IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. 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.

PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO DEVELOP A SERIES OF SCIENCE-BASED MODELS FOR IMPROVED CHARACTERIZATION OF TORNADO HAZARDS FOR BUILDING AND DESIGN STANDARDS, FOCUSING ON RISK REGIONALIZATION AND FUTURE RATE OF OCCURRENCE. THESE MODELS WILL ALLOW FOR PROJECTION OF HOW TORNADO HAZARDS MAY CHANGE IN A WARMED CLIMATE AND PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK TO INCORPORATE THESE CHANGES IN FUTURE BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: 1. DEVELOP TORNADO OCCURRENCE RATE MODEL AND REGIONALIZATION USING A MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE CALLED GAUSSIAN PROCESS REGRESSION.2. DEVELOP ENHANCED OBSERVATIONAL MODEL USING ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER FACTORS AS CO-VARIATE TO ADDRESS UNCERTAINTY USING BAYESIAN-BASED METHODOLOGY AND PRODUCE TORNADO OCCURRENCE RATE MAPS WITH CONSIDERATION OF FUTURE CLIMATE EFFECTS.3. DEVELOP CLIMATE-ADJUSTED TORNADO OCCURRENCE RATES BY INTENSITY AND REGIONALIZATION AND ADJUSTMENT FACTOR FOR USE IN THE EXISTING ASCE 7-22 TORNADO MODEL TO OBTAIN CLIMATE-MODIFIED TORNADO RISK MAPS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE WORK WILL PRODUCE METHOD FOR ACCURATE CHARACTERIZATION OF FUTURE TORNADO HAZARDS AND ENHANCED TORNADO HAZARD MAPS FOR THE U.S.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: U.S. ENGINEERING COMMUNITY, PRACTICE, AND BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS. U.S. PUBLIC THROUGH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN TORNADOES.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: STUDYING SCIENCE CURIOSITY AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN AN ETEXTILE UPWARD BOUND CURRICULUM -THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE AND ITERATIVELY IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF A YOUTH-CENTERED 30-HOUR SUMMER SCHOOL CURRICULUM THAT WILL ENGAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MAKING E-TEXTILES (I.E., WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES). THE RESEARCH BUILDS ON AN EXISTING CURRICULUM (STEAM-MAKER) THAT, WHEN PILOTED, SHOWED A PROMISING CAPACITY TO IMPROVE PARTICIPANTS' COMPUTATIONAL THINKING. IN ADDITION TO STUDYING THE IMPACT OF THE REVISED CURRICULUM ON COMPUTATIONAL THINKING, THE CURRENT PROJECT WILL ASSESS THE CURRICULUM?S IMPACT ON: SCIENCE CURIOSITY; AFFINITY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENGINEERING; YOUTHS' SELF-PERCEPTIONS AS COMPUTATIONAL PROFESSIONALS; AND INCREASED KNOWLEDGE OF AND/OR INTEREST IN STEM-RELATED CAREERS AND PURSUITS. THIS WORK WILL SOLIDIFY A RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP IN TWO STATES WITH THE YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATION, UPWARD BOUND. THE PROJECT WILL WORK WITH 60 YOUTH IN UPWARD BOUND SUMMER CAMPS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND MICHIGAN, AND EMPLOY COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING GRADUATES INVOLVED IN WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES (E.G., BIOMEDICAL DEVICES, FITNESS TRACKERS, ROBOTICS, AND SMART FABRICS) AS NEAR-PEER MENTORS DURING THE PROGRAM. THE MENTORS HAVE BEEN RECRUITED TO CHALLENGE TYPICAL STEREOTYPES ABOUT WHO CAN CREATE TECHNOLOGY, AND WILL BE TRAINED IN ANTI-RACIST AND EQUITY-BASED MENTORSHIP PRACTICES. THE PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A REFINED CURRICULUM WHICH WILL BE SHARED WITH HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CAMP PROVIDERS, WITH THE INTENT TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION OF BLACK AND HISPANIC/LATINX YOUTH IN STEAM-MAKER CAMPS. THE RESEARCH WILL SUPPORT FURTHER THEORIZATION AROUND THE LINKAGES BETWEEN CURIOSITY, COMPUTATIONAL THINKING, STEM CAREER INTEREST, AND SCIENCE CURIOSITY. DATA WILL INCLUDE VIDEO OF YOUTHS' ENGAGEMENT WITH ACTIVITIES; LEARNERS' ARTIFACTS; VALIDATED SURVEYS OF SCIENCE CURIOSITY, STEM CAREER INTEREST, AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING; AND SURVEYS OF POST-PROGRAM ENGAGEMENT WITH MAKING. ANALYSIS INCLUDES QUALITATIVE CODING OF ARTIFACTS, MICRO-ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF YOUTH ENGAGEMENT, LEARNING AND INNOVATION, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF QUANTITATIVE DATA INCLUDING AFFECT SURVEYS (USING LOCATION, GENDER, AND RACE/ETHNICITY AS VARIABLES). THE INTELLECTUAL MERIT OF THE PROJECT RESTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR ENCOURAGING SCIENCE CURIOSITY, CAREER INTEREST, AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN YOUTH-CENTERED MAKING EXPERIENCES. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS (ITEST) PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS PROJECTS THAT BUILD UNDERSTANDINGS OF PRACTICES, PROGRAM ELEMENTS, CONTEXTS AND PROCESSES CONTRIBUTING TO INCREASING YOUTHS' KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) CAREERS. THIS PROJECT IS CO-FUNDED BY THE CS FOR ALL: RESEARCH AND RPPS PROGRAM. 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.

MRI-CONSORTIUM: DEVELOPMENT OF A NEUTRON DETECTOR ARRAY BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS FOR STUDIES OF EXOTIC NUCLEI.

BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

DESCRIPTION:THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO HELP BUSINESSES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IMPROVE THEIR COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH P2 PRACTICES. TO THIS PURPOSE, ON-SITE P2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WILL BE PROVIDED TO SELECTED BUSINESSES LOCATED IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN. MOREOVER, A TRAINING (BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH P2) AND A ROUNDTABLE (COMMUNITY-BASED P2) WILL BE ORGANIZED. DUE TO HISTORIC AND CURRENT HEAVY MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (EJ) CONCERNS IN THE PROJECT REGION, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BUILD UPON LOCAL AND STATE EFFORTS AND INVOLVE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS GROUPS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH P2.ACTIVITIES:THE PROPOSED PROJECT ACTIVITIES (ON-SITE P2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING, BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH P2 TRAINING, AND COMMUNITY-BASED P2 ROUNDTABLES) WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH SELECTED BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT ARE LOCATED IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN REGION. THE FACILITIES TO BE INVITED TO THE P2 TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES IN THIS PROJECT WERE ALREADY IDENTIFIED BY USING THE P2 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (EJ) FACILITY MAPPING TOOL (FIGURE 3 OF THE APPROVED WORKPLAN). AS CAN BE SEEN FROM FIGURE 3, THE PROJECT AREA IS CHARACTERIZED WITH 'LOW INCOME' (80-100 U.S. PERCENTILES), 'LESS THAN HS EDUCATION' (50-90 U.S. PERCENTILES), AND 'LINGUISTICALLY ISOLATED' (50-80 U.S. PERCENTILES). THE FACILITIES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING AND MAINTENANCE SECTOR (NEA #3) ARE LOCATED IN REGIONS WHICH HAVE CONSIDERABLY HIGH 'DEMOGRAPHIC INDEX' (PERCENTILE OF THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUP BASED ON THE AVERAGE OF PERCENT PEOPLE OF COLOR AND PERCENT LOW INCOME) BASED ON BOTH U.S. OR STATE PERCENTILES (FIGURE 3 OF THE APPROVED WORKPLAN). SUBRECIPIENT:NO SUBAWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.OUTCOMES:THE EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT ARE AS FOLLOWS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: OUTPUTS: 1)NUMBER OF FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES TO BE PROVIDED WITH P2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE = 3; 2)PERCENTAGE OF FACILITIES PROVIDED P2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT THE GRANTEE FOLLOWS-UP WITH (E.G., PHONE CALL, VISIT, LETTER, OR EMAIL) TO DETERMINE WHICH P2 PRACTICES WERE IMPLEMENTED = 100%; 3)PERCENTAGE OF FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES THAT IMPLEMENTED AT LEAST ONE NEW P2 PRACTICE AS A RESULT OF THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE GRANTEE = GE; 67%; 4)NUMBER OF CASE STUDIES AND OTHER P2 DOCUMENTATION PRODUCTS DESCRIBING SPECIFIC P2 BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFIED, DEVELOPED, OR IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE GRANT = GE; 2; AND 5)NUMBER OF AMPLIFICATION ACTIVITIES (I.E., TRAINING, WEBINARS, VIDEOS, OTHER OUTREACH) THAT WIDELY SHARE P2 PRACTICES AND P2 DOCUMENTATION PRODUCTS = 4 OUTCOMES: 1)REDUCTION IN POUNDS OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS USED AND OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, POLLUTANTS AND CONTAMINANTS RELEASED AT FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES =GE; 5,000; 2)REDUCTIONS IN METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT (MTCO2E) RESULTING FROM P2 ACTIONS IMPLEMENTED AT FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES =GE; 10,000; 3)REDUCTIONS IN GALLONS OF WATER USED AT FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES = GE; 100,000; AND 4)THE DOLLAR SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPLEMENTING P2 ACTIONS AT FACILITIES IN OR ADJACENT TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES = GE; 150,000. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES ARE UNDESERVED COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN.

SYSTEMATICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF LIZARDS IN THE MAINLAND NOROPS CLADE

QUANTIFICATION OF WETLAND OFF SHORE INTERCONNECTEDNESS USING STABLE ISOTOPE AND TRACE ELEMENT OTOLITH ANALYSIS

CSBR: RAPID: NATURAL HISTORY: SECURING THE SAFETY OF CRITICAL GREAT LAKES ALCOHOL PRESERVED SPECIMENS

DISCRETIONARY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: THE EFFECTS OF CO2-H2O FLUIDS ON THE DEFORMATION OF QUARTZITE AND MARBLE IN THE EJB AUREOLE, CALIFORNIA

DOUBLE PENNING TRAP MASS SPECTROMETER FOR DIRECT GAMMA-RAY STANDARD CALIBRATIONS, DETERMINATION OF FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS, AND TESTS OF SPECIAL RELATI

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE IMPACT OF DISCLOSURE HISTORY AND INTERVIEWING PROTOCOL ON CHILDREN'S EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

WE PROPOSE TO EXTEND OUR REGIONAL MODELING FOR THE CARBON MONITORING SYSTEM (CMS) TO ESTIMATE NORTH AMERICAN CO2 FLUXES THROUGH 2020 IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW DATASETS WITH A FOCUS ON IMPROVING UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION...

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE IMPACT OF CUING AND COMFORT DRAWING ON THE EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY OF BEHAVIORALLY INHIBITED AND UNINHIBITED CHILDREN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GENETIC CONNECTIVITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF ANTARCTIC BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES

OPERADIC STRUCTURES IN TOPOLOGICAL RECURSION

RESEARCH IN SEVERAL COMPLEX VARIABLES

DISTANCE LEARNING GRANT

THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY TO IMPLEMENT THE H20 Q PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM IS A PLACE-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) EXPERIENCE THAT WILL ENGAGE TEACHERS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND CORPORATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS IN EXPERIENTIAL FIELD SCIENCE TO HELP STUDENTS MEASURE WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS, SCIENTIFICALLY ANALYZE AND CRITICALLY APPLY THIS DATA TO A LOCAL ISSUE AFFECTING THE GREAT LAKES, THEN MAKE PLANS, AND TAKE ACTION.

CC* PLANNING: STRENGTHENING CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY'S CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE -WITH SUPPORT FROM THIS CC* PLANNING AWARD, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (CMU) IS INVESTIGATING ITS CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE (CI) CAPABILITIES TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, AND OPPORTUNITY. THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS NECESSITATE PROACTIVELY ANTICIPATING FUTURE NEEDS AND PLANNING. A MODERN CI IS ESSENTIAL FOR CMU TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE FACULTY RESEARCH AND ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT ARE OTHERWISE UNATTAINABLE WITH THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE. WITH CMU?S ACTIVE 5-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN AS A GUIDE, THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITIES TO INSPIRE STUDENTS, FOSTER SCHOLARLY SUCCESS, AND ENGAGE COMMUNITIES. THIS PROJECT ENABLES CMU TO PROVIDE INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS TO BROADER SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS AND EXPAND INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS. SHARING EXPERIENCES AND SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS EMBARKING ON SIMILAR INITIATIVES ARE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT?S ASPIRATIONS. THIS PROJECT IS STRUCTURED AROUND A SERIES OF CI PLANNING ACTIVITIES ALIGNED WITH FOUR STRATEGIC AIMS: (1) EVALUATE EXISTING CI CAPABILITIES THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. (2) FORGE TRUST-BASED PARTNERSHIPS WITH CI PROFESSIONALS AND REGIONAL LEADERS SUCH AS MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY AND MERIT NETWORK, INC. (3) DEVELOP A FORWARD-THINKING CAMPUS CI PLAN ALIGNED WITH INSTITUTIONAL GOALS AND KEY SCIENCE DRIVERS. (4) OPERATIONALIZE THE NEWLY DEVELOPED PLAN BY SEEKING FUTURE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) CAMPUS CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE (CC*) SUPPORT. THESE FOUR AIMS ARE THE BLUEPRINT FOR ENHANCING CMU?S ABILITY TO DRIVE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE FORWARD THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE CI. 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.

ENGAGING UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS IN BIODIVERSITY SCIENCES: A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

15.945: COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM CESU NETWORKPROGRAMMING SUPPORTS A COMPREHENSIVE NETWORK OF COOPERATIVE STUDY UNITS TO FACILITATE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING TO INFORM SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM. THE STUDY UNITS FACILITATE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND INTEGRATED INFORMATION PRODUCTS ACROSS MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.THIS INVENTORY ASSESSES NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSELS AND THEIR RISKS FROM INVASIVE SPECIES AT TARGETED INLAND WATERS OF PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE. NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSELS ARE IMPORTANT INDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. YET THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED AND UNDERSTUDIED GROUPS IN NORTH AMERICA. LIMITED DATA EXIST ABOUT NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSELS AT PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES ESSENTIAL INFORMATION PARK MANAGERS CAN USE TO DEVELOP BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR PROTECTION OF NATIVE MUSSELS. THIS WORK IS BEING DONE PER STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE OMNIBUS MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1998.BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE SPECIES, AND THE PUBLIC ACCESSING STUDY FINDINGS.

NUCLEAR STRUCTURE STUDIES USING DIRECT REACTIONS WITH RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS

RAPID: META-GENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC INVESTIGATION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER DEGRADATION IN ANTARCTIC BENTHIC SEDIMENTS

EXPANDING COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY TO ADDRESS CLIMATE RESILIENCY IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION

BUILDING A UNIVERSAL NUCLEAR ENERGY DENSITY FUNCTIONAL

ENUMERATIVE GEOMETRY OF HITCHIN SYSTEMS AND TOPOLOGICAL QUANTUM FIELD THEORY

INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACTS OF CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN IN RECRUITMENT OF FRESHWATER MUSSELS IN THE MAUMEE WATERSHED