University Of North Carolina At Greensboro

UNCG CARES ACT INSTITUTIONAL PORTION APPLICATION

UNCG CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION RELIEF FUND

REGION CENTER 6 AT SERVE (RC6)

TRIAD CENTER FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES

TEACHER QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS GRANTS

ALDEHYDES IN ALCOHOL-INDUCED ORGAN INJURY

RECOVERY ACT

ADIPOSE TISSUE LIPOLYSIS AND ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER

THE EVALUATION OF CAREER AND COLLEGE PROMISE

REGIONAL CENTER 5 AT THE SERVE CENTER

PIEDMONT TEACHER RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP (PTRP)

UNC GREENSBORO CARES STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM

BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMUNITY CAPACITY IN ACCELERATING INTEGRATED CARE

MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS FOR CANNABINOID ACTIVITY

PATHWAYS FROM CHILDHOOD SELF-REGULATION TO CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN ADOLESCENCE

NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, QUALITY AND RETENTION

THE EFFECT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON COGNITION RELATIVE TO APOE GENOTYPE (PAAD-II)

SCHOOL COUNSELING ACCESS, LEADERSHIP, AND EQUITY: UPGRADING THE PIPELINE (SCALE UP)

EDUCATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PREDICTORS OF OBESITY DURING THE FIRST 2 YEARS OF LIFE

DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES OF EARLY BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

LONGITUDINAL OUTCOME OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH ADHD

PROJECT IGNITE: INNOVATION TO GROW, NURTURE, AND INSPIRE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH-LEARNERS

TRANSFORMING MINDS IN A TRANSITIONING COMMUNITY

ISE FULL-SCALE DEVELOPMENT: HERPETOLOGY EDUCATION IN RURAL PLACES AND SPACES (HERPS)

BIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL PREDICTORS OF EARLY SCHOOL SUCCESS

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

LINKING INSUFFICIENT SLEEP WITH BODY WEIGHT IN BLACK EMERGING ADULTS. - PROJECT ABSTRACT COMPARED TO PEERS IN OTHER RACIAL GROUPS, BLACK EMERGING ADULTS (18-28 YEARS OLD) HAVE THE HIGHEST RISKS OF SHORT SLEEP DURATION AND OBESITY. THIS INCREASED RISK MAY BE PARTLY EXPLAINED BY GREATER STRESS LEVELS RESULTING FROM RACE-RELATED STRESS (FEELINGS OF DISCRIMINATION AND HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE) AND LIVING IN MORE DISADVANTAGED HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS. INSUFFICIENT SLEEP (LONGER SLEEP-ONSET LATENCY, SHORTER SLEEP DURATION, POORER SLEEP QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY, LESS SLOW-WAVE SLEEP, AND MORE SEVERE SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING) MAY ALSO IMPACT OBESITY RISK VIA SEVERAL WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS. THESE INCLUDE (A) ENERGY BALANCE (DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENERGY INTAKE AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE), (B) APPETITE AND FOOD REWARD, (C) CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE AND DIURNAL CORTISOL PROFILES, AND (D) HYDRATION STATUS. WE WILL PROSPECTIVELY ASSESS EFFECTS OF INSUFFICIENT SLEEP, RACE-RELATED STRESS AND LIVING IN MORE DISADVANTAGED HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS ON WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS AND OBESITY MARKERS (BODY WEIGHT, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND FAT MASS) IN 150 BLACK EMERGING ADULTS. PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPLETE 3, 7-DAY DATA COLLECTION BURSTS OVER 1 YEAR (BASELINE, 6-MONTH, AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW- UP). INSUFFICIENT SLEEP VARIABLES WILL BE MEASURED WITH 3 METHODS: SLEEP DIARY, ACTIGRAPHY AND POLYSOMNOGRAPHY. SELF-REPORT AND OBJECTIVE METHODS WILL BE USED TO ASSESS WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS. RACE-RELATED STRESS WILL BE SELF-REPORTED. HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS (VIA THE WINDSHIELD SURVEY) WILL BE OBSERVER-ASSESSED. AIM 1 WILL EXAMINE PROSPECTIVE EFFECTS OF INSUFFICIENT SLEEP ON WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS AND OBESITY MARKERS. AIM 2 WILL EXAMINE PROSPECTIVE EFFECTS OF RACE-RELATED STRESS AND LIVING IN MORE DISADVANTAGED HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS ON INSUFFICIENT SLEEP VARIABLES, WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS, AND OBESITY MARKERS. AIM 3 WILL ASSESS THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SLEEP ON ASSOCIATIONS AMONG RACE-RELATED STRESS, LIVING IN MORE DISADVANTAGED HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS, WEIGHT-RELATED MECHANISMS, AND OBESITY MARKERS. OUR OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS IS THAT HIGHER AMOUNTS OF INSUFFICIENT SLEEP AND RACE-RELATED STRESS AND LIVING IN MORE DISADVANTAGED HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH (A) GREATEST ENERGY INTAKE AND POSITIVE ENERGY BALANCE, (B) GREATEST APPETITE AND FOOD REWARD, (C) FLATTEST DIURNAL CORTISOL PROFILES AND LOWEST CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE, (D) LOWEST HYDRATION, AND (E) GREATEST WEIGHT GAIN, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND FAT MASS AT 1 YEAR. THIS PROPOSAL, LED BY AN EARLY-STAGE INVESTIGATOR AND SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO PAR-20-164 (MECHANISMS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SLEEP DISPARITIES IN THE U.S.), COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS BY IDENTIFYING HOW AND WHY INSUFFICIENT SLEEP INCREASES OBESITY RISK IN BLACK EMERGING ADULTS.

FOOD AND NON-FOOD SELF-REGULATION IN CHILDREN'S OBESITY RISK: A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE - CHILDHOOD OBESITY REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. MOST CHILDREN WITH OBESITY ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN OBESE AS THEY MATURE AND ARE AT RISK TO EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIFELONG PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, CREATING SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC AND PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES. THUS, IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST SALIENT EARLY PREDICTORS OF OBESITY IS ESSENTIAL. DESPITE GROWING EVIDENCE THAT A) SELF-REGULATORY SKILLS IN FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTEXTS AND APPETITIVE TRAITS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT CHILDHOOD OBESITY RISK, AND B) OBESITY RISK IS DETERMINED BY THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND HOME ENVIRONMENT FACTORS, THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED LARGELY IN ISOLATION WITHIN DISCIPLINES, GREATLY HINDERING THE INTERPRETABILITY AND APPLICATION OF FINDINGS. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A LONGITUDINAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY TO LEVERAGE OUR EXISTING SAMPLE OF 300 MOTHER-CHILD DYADS WHO ARE DIVERSE WITH RESPECT TO RACE/ETHNICITY, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND OBESITY RISK AND HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED FROM THE PRENATAL PERIOD UNTIL CHILDREN WERE 2 YEARS OLD (R01HD093662). WE WILL RE-ASSESS THESE CHILDREN AT AGES 3 AND 5 AND RECRUIT AN ADDITIONAL 50 3-YEAR-OLDS INTO THIS STUDY TO FACILITATE FUTURE LONGER-TERM FOLLOW-UP INTO MIDDLE CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE. WE PROPOSE A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF OBESITY RISK THAT WILL CLARIFY (A) THE MEASUREMENT STRUCTURE OF GENERAL SELF-REGULATION, APPETITE SELF-REGULATION, AND FOOD CUE REACTIVITY, AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH EACH HAS UNIQUE VERSUS OVERLAPPING ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES (AIM 1); AND (B) THE EXTENT TO WHICH GENERAL SELF-REGULATION AND/OR APPETITE SELF-REGULATION BUFFER CHILDREN FROM THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC EARLY BIOLOGICAL (E.G., HORMONES RELATED TO ENERGY METABOLISM), PSYCHOLOGICAL/BEHAVIORAL (E.G., CHILD FOOD CUE REACTIVITY, NEGATIVE EMOTIONALITY), AND SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL (E.G., OBESOGENIC HOME ENVIRONMENT, NEGATIVE PARENTING) RISKS ON ELEVATED OBESITY RISK AT AGE 5 (AIM 2). THIS INNOVATIVE STUDY HAS CRITICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE TARGETED PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS, SINCE IT WILL IDENTIFY WHICH TARGET MECHANISMS (WITHIN THE HOME, INDIVIDUAL, OR BOTH) IN INFANCY AND PRESCHOOL MAY BE MOST INFLUENTIAL IN PREVENTING EARLY OBESITY RISK BEFORE IT BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT TO REVERSE. BY COMBINING THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGIC APPROACHES OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES, THIS PROJECT WILL HELP ENHANCE RIGOR IN THE METHODS USED TO ASSESS DISTINCT ASPECTS OF FOOD AND NON-FOOD REACTIVITY AND REGULATION, WHICH WILL BE APPLICABLE TO BOTH BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL BEGIN TO FILL A CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAP REGARDING THE ROLE OF THE HORMONAL MILIEU IN RELATION TO OBESITY ACROSS CHILDHOOD. OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM HAS EXPERTISE IN OBSERVATIONAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS, AND WILL LEVERAGE OUR SOLID EXISTING COLLABORATIONS TO SMOOTHLY IMPLEMENT THE PROPOSED STUDY WITH RIGOR AND EFFICIENCY.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING (BHWET) PROGRAM

ENGAGING AND ADVANCING COMMUNITY-CENTERED TEACHER DEVELOPMENT (ENACTED)

NURSING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

LOUIS STOKES NEW STEM PATHWAYS IMPLEMENTATION-ONLY ALLIANCE: MOUNTAINS TO SEA NORTH CAROLINA LSAMP -THE LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCES FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION (LSAMP) PROGRAM ASSISTS UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE NUMBERS OF STUDENTS MATRICULATING INTO AND SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING HIGH-QUALITY DEGREE PROGRAMS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) DISCIPLINES TO DIVERSIFY THE STEM WORKFORCE. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON TRANSFORMING UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES, AND RELEVANT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN SUPPORT OF POPULATIONS UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM DISCIPLINES: AFRICAN AMERICANS, HISPANIC AMERICANS, AMERICAN INDIANS, ALASKA NATIVES, NATIVE HAWAIIANS, AND NATIVE PACIFIC ISLANDERS. THESE STRATEGIES FACILITATE THE PRODUCTION OF WELL-PREPARED STUDENTS WHO ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND MOTIVATED TO PURSUE GRADUATE EDUCATION OR CAREERS IN STEM. FOR THE UNITED STATES TO REMAIN GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE, IT IS VITAL TO TAP INTO ITS CITIZENS' TALENT AND PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATIONAL PREPAREDNESS IN STEM AREAS THAT UNDERPIN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY. THE MOUNTAIN TO SEA NORTH CAROLINA LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCE FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION (M2S NCLSAMP) PROGRAM HAS FORMED A NEW ALLIANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE NEED FOR A MORE DIVERSE AND SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE. THAT NEED STILL EXISTS AND IS PARTICULARLY ACUTE IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. THE FIVE PUBLIC COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITIES THAT MAKE UP THE ALLIANCE ARE APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO (LEAD), UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON, AND WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY. THE GOALS OF THE ALLIANCE ARE TO 1) BUILD STRONG PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND DISCIPLINARY RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS ALLIANCE INSTITUTIONS; 2) PROVIDE TARGETED, INCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING STUDENT TRANSITIONS AT CRITICAL MOMENTS IN THE STUDENT SUCCESS PATHWAY AT ALLIANCE INSTITUTIONS; AND 3) EMPLOY ALLIANCE RESOURCES TO PROVIDE MORE AND BETTER STEM SOCIALIZATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS THAN THEY CAN RECEIVE ON THEIR HOME CAMPUSES ALONE. THE PARALLEL ACTIVITIES ARE PROJECTED TO RAISE PARTICIPANT RETENTION AND GRADUATION RATES BY 20% COMPARED TO MATCHED NON-PARTICIPANT STUDENTS AND INDIRECTLY AFFECT MANY MORE THROUGH LSAMP STUDENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO ALL STEM STUDENTS. IN ADDITION, ASSESSMENT IS DESIGNED TO CONTRIBUTE NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW MID-SIZED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES CAN WORK TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY, ADDRESS, AND IMPROVE WEAKNESSES IN STUDENT SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY AT THE KEY TRANSITION POINTS AT WHICH THE TARGET STUDENT POPULATION DISPROPORTIONALLY STRUGGLES. 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.

STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM (SIP)

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

BIOINFORMATIC GUIDED DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW RIPP NATURAL PRODUCTS - PROJECT SUMMARY RANGING FROM PENICILLIN TO ARTEMISININ, NATURAL PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ESSENTIAL IN THE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DRUGS. TO COMPLEMENT THE TRADITIONAL ACTIVITY-GUIDED ISOLATION APPROACHES, GENOME MINING TECHNIQUES CAN ENABLE AN EFFICIENT AND HIGH THROUGHPUT DISCOVERY PIPELINE BY SPECIFICALLY TARGETING PROMISING ORGANISMS AND GENE CLUSTERS FOR DETAILED STUDY. HOWEVER, DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF A BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY IS TYPICALLY NEEDED, SIGNIFICANTLY CONSTRAINING THE SEARCH PROCESS. THEREFORE, ALTERNATIVE BIOINFORMATIC APPROACHES COMBINED WITH DETAILED BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOACTIVITY STUDIES WILL HELP EXPAND OUR COLLECTIVE UNDERSTANDING OF BIOACTIVE SECONDARY METABOLITES IN NATURE AND THEIR VALUE FOR HUMAN HEALTH. THE OVERALL FOCUS OF THE CHEKAN LAB IS TO UTILIZE ENZYME-INDEPENDENT GENOME MINING AS A GUIDE TO ENABLE THE DISCOVERY AND DETAILED STUDY OF NEW TYPES OF BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS AND BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS. THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON THE RIBOSOMALLY SYNTHESIZED AND POST-TRANSLATIONALLY MODIFIED PEPTIDE (RIPP) FAMILY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS. RIPPS ARE A UBIQUITOUS FAMILY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS FOUND ACROSS ALL DOMAINS OF LIFE AND POSSESS A WIDE RANGE OF BIOACTIVITIES, WITH ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY BEING PARTICULARLY WELL REPRESENTED. THESE NATURAL PRODUCTS ALL SHARE A CONSISTENT BIOSYNTHETIC LOGIC, BUT CAN BE GENERATED FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYMES. IN ORDER TO DISCOVER COMPLETELY NEW CLASSES OF RIPPS, WE PROPOSE TO EXPLOIT CONSERVED BIOSYNTHETIC AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES INSTEAD OF SPECIFIC ENZYMATIC TRANSFORMATIONS. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR RAPID IN SILICO IDENTIFICATION OF PROMISING BIOSYNTHETIC GENE CLUSTERS THAT GENERATE NEVER BEFORE ISOLATED MOLECULES. TO FULLY STUDY AND CHARACTERIZE THESE NEW PATHWAYS, A COMBINATION OF BIOCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL APPROACHES WILL BE EMPLOYED. THESE RESULTS WILL GIVE IMPORTANT INSIGHTS INTO THE NEW BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYMES, REVEAL THEIR MECHANISMS, AND ASSESS THEIR APPLICABILITY FOR ENGINEERING. FINALLY, THIS FIRST PROJECT WILL REVEAL THE BIOACTIVITY OF THE NEWLY DISCOVERED NATURAL PRODUCTS AND THEIR MECHANISM OF ACTION. TO COMPLEMENT THIS DISCOVERY ELEMENT, A SECOND PROJECT WILL SEEK TO LINK PEPTIDIC NATURAL PRODUCT FAMILIES, FOR WHICH NO BIOSYNTHETIC INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE, TO THEIR BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYMES. THIS PROPOSAL WILL ALSO ENABLE THE TRAINING OF BOTH GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS, THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR ADVANCING HUMAN HEALTH. OVERALL, THE RESULTS OF THIS PROPOSAL WILL NOT ONLY LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF NEW NATURAL PRODUCTS AND ENZYMES, BUT WILL INFORM FUTURE GENOME MINING BASED DISCOVERY STUDIES AND PATHWAY ENGINEERING EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY PROMISING DRUG LEADS.

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

COMPLEX MECHANISMS OF MUTATION AND MUTATION AVOIDANCE IN LIVING CELLS

STRATEGIES TO INVESTIGATE SYNERGY IN BOTANICAL MEDICINES

PROTEIN MARKERS TO ISLET AUTOIMMUNITY AND T1D PROGRESSION

HYPOGLYCEMIA-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE VMH GLUCOSE METABOLOME AND HAAF

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

BILINGUALTEK: AN INTEGRATED SCIENCE-LANGUAGE APPROACH FOR LATINX PRESCHOOLERS

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

HIGH SPEED EDUCATION NETWORK ACCESS PILOT

GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS

OVIPOSITION ATTRACTANTS FOR SAND FLY CONTROL

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

ORIGINS OF MATERNAL SENSITIVITY TO INFANT DISTRESS

PREDOCTORAL TRAINING: INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR NATURAL PRODUCTS AND CAM RESEARCH

LIPIDOME REMODELING DURING DEVELOPMENT OF T1D

UNC GREENSBORO MARC USTAR ENGAGE, SUSTAIN, AND PREPARE

INVESTIGATING DONOR HUMAN MILK COMPOSITION GLOBALLY TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE NUTRITIONAL CARE OF PRETERM INFANTS - PROJECT SUMMARY GLOBALLY, ALMOST 15 MILLION INFANTS ARE BORN PREMATURELY EACH YEAR, DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING LOW AND MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRIES. IN THE ABSENCE OF MOTHER’S MILK (MOM), THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS RECOMMEND USING DONOR HUMAN MILK (DHM) DUE TO ITS PROTECTIVE EFFECT AGAINST NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS, A LIFE-THREATENING INTESTINAL INFECTION. IN RESPONSE TO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, DEVELOPMENT OF DONOR MILK BANKS AND THE USE OF DHM IS INCREASING GLOBALLY, WITH MANY LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES INTEGRATING DONOR MILK BANKS INTO THEIR PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGIES TO REDUCE NEONATAL MORTALITY. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 800,000 INFANTS GLOBALLY RECEIVE DHM EACH YEAR, YET VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF DHM; HOW COMPOSITION IS INFLUENCED BY MILK BANKING PRACTICES; AND WHETHER PRETERM NUTRIENT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ACHIEVED WHEN DHM IS USED WITH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FORTIFIERS. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT PRETERM INFANTS FED DHM HAVE INFERIOR GROWTH RATES COMPARED TO INFANTS RECEIVING PRETERM FORMULA OR MOTHER’S MILK, EVEN WHEN MULTI-NUTRIENT FORTIFIERS ARE USED, SUGGESTING SUBOPTIMAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT (MACRONUTRIENTS, MICRONUTRIENTS, OR BOTH). TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE NUTRITIONAL THERAPIES FOR THE INCREASING NUMBER OF PRETERM INFANTS GLOBALLY RECEIVING DHM, EVIDENCE-BASED NUTRITIONAL STANDARDS FOR DHM ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. STUDIES TO-DATE ON DHM COMPOSITION HAVE TYPICALLY BEEN SMALL (< 50 SAMPLES) AND REPRESENTED MILK FROM A SINGLE MILK BANK IN A HIGH-INCOME SETTING, WHICH MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM DHM FROM MILK BANKS IN LOW-INCOME SETTINGS. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS INCLUDE THE DEARTH OF STUDIES ON VITAMINS, MINERALS, AND BIOACTIVE FACTORS, AND THE USE METHODS THAT MAY OVERSTATE PROTEIN AND LACTOSE VALUES. THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS TO ADDRESS THESE RESEARCH GAPS IN GLOBAL PRETERM INFANT NUTRITION BY CONDUCTING A MULTI-SITE STUDY WITH EIGHT GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE MILK BANK PARTNERS IN HIGH, MIDDLE, AND LOW-INCOME SETTINGS. WE WILL EXAMINE AND COMPARE A BROAD RANGE OF NUTRIENTS IN MILK FROM 600 APPROVED MILK BANK DONORS AROUND THE WORLD TO CREATE COMPREHENSIVE, GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE NUTRIENT PROFILES FOR DHM (AIM 1). MILK BANK-LEVEL PRACTICES FOR POOLING DONORS WILL BE EVALUATED USING SIMULATION TO IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED BY MILK BANKS TO CREATE MORE CONSISTENT NUTRIENT PROFILES IN DHM (AIM 2). FINALLY, WE WILL EVALUATE WHETHER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL FORTIFIERS MEET NUTRIENT RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN USED WITH DHM AND WILL IDENTIFY NUTRIENTS TO ENHANCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DHM-SPECIFIC FORTIFIERS (AIM 3). THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS STUDY, DESIGNED IN RESPONSE TO RFA-HD-21-006, IS TO IMPROVE PRETERM NUTRITIONAL CARE GLOBALLY FOR THE GROWING NUMBER OF INFANTS WHO RECEIVE DONOR HUMAN MILK.

UNKNOWN TITLE

NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, QUALITY AND RETENTION - VETERANS BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING PROGRAM

COST-EFFECTIVE WORKFLOW FOR EFFICIENT UNSATURATED LIPIDOMICS ENABLED BY A NOVEL ION CHEMISTRY - ABSTRACT ISOMERISM IN CARBON-CARBON DOUBLE BOND (C=C) POSITION IS COMMON IN UNSATURATED LIPIDS. TRACKING SHIFTING LIPID C=C ISOMERISM IN LIPIDS NOT ONLY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE BIOLOGICAL LIPIDOME BUT ALSO ENABLES THE DETECTION OF MINOR, YET SIGNIFICANT, PERTURBATIONS IN LIPID ISOMER RATIOS CAUSED BY CERTAIN DISEASE CONDITIONS. DESPITE THE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE TO ENABLE RESOLUTION OF LIPID C=C POSITIONS, THE EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES HAVE THEIR LIMITATIONS, MAKING IT STILL CHALLENGING TO DO C=C ISOMERIC LIPID ANALYSIS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE AND HIGH THROUGHPUT MANNER. WE RECENTLY DISCOVERED A NOVEL ION CHEMISTRY, OZNOXESI, IN THE IONIZATION SOURCE OF A MASS SPECTROMETER. THE REACTION IS SUFFICIENTLY FAST FOR COUPLING WITH LC-MS BASED LIPIDOMICS WORKFLOWS, AND THE OZNOX ADDUCTS OF UNSATURATED LIPIDS PRODUCE IONS DIAGNOSTIC OF C=C POSITION UNDER COLLISIONAL INDUCED DISSOCIATION, WHICH PROVIDES A SIMPLE, EASILY ACCESSIBLE, AND COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR DETERMINING LIPID C=C POSITION WITH MINIMAL MODIFICATION TO A MASS SPECTROMETER. IN THIS PROJECT, WE PLAN TO EXTEND THIS NOVEL ION CHEMISTRY BEYOND PHOSPHOLIPIDS TO BE APPLICABLE TO ALL LIPID CLASSES, PARTICULARLY THE STRUCTURALLY MORE COMPLEX GLYCEROLIPIDS AND SPHINGOLIPIDS, AND INVESTIGATE HOW THE INTENSITY OF C=C DIAGNOSTIC IONS CHANGES WITH RESPECT TO LOCATION ON THE FATTY ACYL CHAIN, AIMING FOR AN ALGORITHM THAT CAN CORRECT C=C POSITION INDUCED-ION INTENSITY DIFFERENCES FOR MORE ACCURATE QUANTIFICATION OF C=C REGIOISOMERIC LIPIDS. WE ALSO PLAN TO ESTABLISH SAFE, EFFICIENT, AND ROBUST OZNOXESI ON NEWER GENERATION ION SOURCES, MAKING THIS CAPABILITY AVAILABLE ON NEWER MASS SPECTROMETERS. IN ADDITION, WE PLAN TO DEVELOP A SOFTWARE SUITE TO MANAGE ALL DATA PROCESSING NEEDS IN LIPID ANALYSIS, MAKING IT A ONE-STOP SOLUTION FOR IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF LIPIDS WITH STRUCTURAL DETAILS AT THE C=C REGIOISOMER LEVEL. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, LIPID STANDARDS AND LIPID EXTRACTS FROM CELL LINES, ANIMAL TISSUES, AND HUMAN PLASMA WILL BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED AS REPRESENTATIVE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT CAN DEMOCRATIZE ADVANCED LIPIDOMICS CAPABILITIES AND EXPEDITE THE INVESTIGATION OF LIPID UNSATURATION IN BIOLOGY AND DISEASE.

ANTIOBESITY MECHANISM OF CLA ISOMER IN HUMAN ADIPOCYTES

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD - PROJECT SUMMARY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED NEARLY EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE. RESEARCH IS BEGINNING TO DOCUMENT THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON PARENTS AND CHILDREN; HOWEVER, MUCH OF THE RESEARCH DOES NOT ASSESS THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL NATURE OF THE PANDEMIC, EVALUATE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES, OR MEASURE MULTIPLE INDICES OF WELL-BEING. IN RESPONSE TO NOT-MH-21-330 (“SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS”), OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS IN PARENTING, FAMILY WELL-BEING, RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS, AND RESILIENCE, PROPOSES TO EXAMINE HOW PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING HAS BEEN INFLUENCED BY THE PANDEMIC. IN ADDITION, WE PROPOSE TO LEVERAGE AND EXPAND UPON DATA FROM A PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL STUDY (“INFANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT STUDY”, R01HD093662; R01HD110470 PENDING; PI: LEERKES) OF 299 WOMEN AND THEIR INFANTS, FOLLOWED FROM PREGNANCY UNTIL CHILDREN WERE 3.5 YEARS OLD. WE WILL RECONTACT MOTHERS WHEN CHILDREN ARE 4 YEARS OLD AND CONDUCT A TIMELINE FOLLOW-BACK INTERVIEW WITH MOTHERS AND COPARENTS ABOUT THEIR COVID-RELATED EXPERIENCES TO INVESTIGATE HOW COVID HAS IMPACTED PARENTS’ AND CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING OVER TIME. OUR THREE SPECIFIC AIMS WILL EXAMINE: (1) HOW COVID-RELATED EXPERIENCES (BOTH STRESSORS AND SUPPORTS) IMPACTED PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING ACROSS MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD; (2) RACIAL/ETHNIC AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISPARITIES IN THE IMPACT OF COVID-RELATED STRESSORS ACROSS MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF WELL-BEING AND POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS (I.E., SOCIAL SUPPORT, SUPPORTIVE COPARENTING, NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY); AND (3) HOW TIMING OF COVID-RELATED STRESSORS AND SUPPORTS INFLUENCES PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING. PARENT OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE SOCIAL STRAIN, POSITIVE PARENTING, ECONOMIC STRAIN, AND PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. CHILD OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE SOCIOEMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT, PRE-ACADEMIC SKILLS, AND HEALTH. DATA WILL BE ASSESSED VIA PARENT REPORT AND INTERVIEWER OBSERVATIONS. THE PROPOSAL ADDRESSES CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS INCLUDING: AN EXCLUSIVE FOCUS ON NEGATIVE COVID EXPERIENCES, A FOCUS ON SINGLE OR NARROW DOMAINS OF PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND A LACK OF ATTENTION TO HETEROGENEITY IN THE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC ACROSS FAMILIES. RESULTS WILL HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING WHICH PARENTS AND CHILDREN NEED THE MOST SUPPORT IN THE CURRENT PANDEMIC, AS WELL AS INFORMING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AIMING TO PROMOTE PARENT AND CHILD WELL-BEING IN FUTURE PANDEMICS.

PROJECT LEAPS: LEADERSHIP IN EXTENSIVE AND PERVASIVE SUPPORT NEEDS

PREPARATION OF LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

THE TRANSFER OF COLLEGE CREDITS EARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL

THE SCIENCE OF ESSENTIAL BALANCE

PREPARATION OF LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

BRIGHT-CS: BUILDING STUDENT RETENTION THROUGH INDIVIDUATED GUIDED COHORT TRAINING IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES STEM-H PROGRAM

THE USDA AIMS TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF LAND WITH CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN PLACE TO SUSTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. HOWEVER, PROJECTED CLIMATE CHANGE IS CURRENTLY THREATENING OUR NATION&#39;S RANGELANDS, AND DISCOVERING AND ADOPTING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THIS CHANGING CLIMATE IS CRITICAL. HERE, WE PROPOSE TO (1) EXPERIMENTALLY EXAMINE THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT INTENSITY AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT TO DETERMINE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RANGELAND RESILIENCY IN THE FACE OF A CHANGING CLIMATE, AND (2) FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THROUGH A VARIETY OF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES INCLUDING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.TRADITIONALLY, EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS HAVE FOCUSED ON EITHER ENVIRONMENTAL MANIPULATIONS OR MANAGEMENT MANIPULATIONS. HERE WE PROPOSE TO EXPERIMENTALLY TEST DROUGHT-MANAGEMENT INTERACTIONS IN NORTHERN MIXED-GRASS RANGELAND, WHICH REPRESENTS THE LARGEST ECOREGION IN THE UNITED STATES. OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXAMINE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RANGELAND RESPONSES TO DROUGHT AND MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING PLANT AND SOIL COMPONENTS. THE INTERACTIVE DROUGHT-MANAGEMENT AND GRADIENT APPROACH OF OUR EXPERIMENT WILL HELP IDENTIFY BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR A VARIETY OF FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS.STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH PREDICTED MULTI-YEAR EXTREME DROUGHTS ARE LIMITED BY A LACK OF EXPERIMENTAL AND OBSERVATIONAL INFORMATION. WE WILL INTEGRATE STAKEHOLDERS IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENT TO ENSURE MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE RELEVANT AND ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. FURTHER, BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFIED BY THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL BE WIDELY DISSEMINATED THROUGH STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, A WEBINAR SERIES, AND WEB-BASED TOOLS. OUR BROAD EXTENSION APPROACH, FROM PROJECT INCEPTION TO INFORMATION DISSEMINATION, WILL PROMOTE LASTING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND LAND MANAGERS AND WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECT-GAINED KNOWLEDGE.

UNCG MCNAIR PROGRAM GRANT APPLICATION FY2017

EDUCATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS FOR GPR55 ACTIVITY

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

SENIOR SCIENTIST AWARD: MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS FOR CANNABINOID ACTIVITY

PURPOSE: THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) PROJECT TO ACCELERATE THE ADOPTION OF AR USER INTERFACES BY FIRST RESPONDERS. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY, BASED ON EXISTING DATA AS WELL AS SYSTEMATICCOLLABORATION WITH FIRST RESPONDERS, AREAS WHERE AR CAN MOST BENEFIT PUBLIC SAFETY AND INVESTIGATE HOW TO SOLVE FOR CHALLENGES THROUGH A MODULAR DESIGN APPROACH.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: 1. IDENTIFY PUBLIC SAFETY USE CASES THAT HAVE DEMAND FOR AR UIS AND PROPOSE A TAXONOMY OF AR PATTERNS BASED ON INPUT FROM FIRST RESPONDERS. 2. DESIGN A COLLECTION OF AR UI MODULES AND IMPLEMENT INTO A RANGE OF FIRST RESPONDER USE CASES. 3. INTEGRATE AR UI MODULES INTO PUBLIC SAFETY USE CASES. 4. EVALUATE HOW AR UIS ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES.EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THIS PROPOSAL WILL CONTRIBUTE A COLLECTION OF AUGMENTED REALITY MODULES THAT CAN BE EASILY COMBINED INTO COMPLETE AUGMENTED REALITY USER INTERFACES (FOR THE TRAINING OF EXISTING PUBLIC SAFETY PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES AND FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF FUTURE PUBLIC SAFETY USER INTERFACES THAT USE AUGMENT REALITY AS A TOOL FOR INCREASING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, REDUCING RISK AND IMPROVING DECISION MAKING AMONG FIRST RESPONDERS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: FIRST RESPONDERS ARE THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: AS A SUBRECIPIENT, NEXTGEN INTERACTIONS WILL PROVIDE PERSONNEL AND EXPERTISE FOR THE PROJECT.

COMPREHENSIVE GERIATRIC EDUCATION PROGRAM

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

ADVANCED TUNABLE AND FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR SOLDIER PROTECTION

BROADENING IDENTITIES FOR DIVERSE YOUTH IN STEM THROUGH SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING

UNCG MCNAIR PROGRAM GRANT APPLICATION FY 2022

OPIOID WORKFORCE EXPANSION PROGRAM- PROFESSIONAL

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS

THE SCIENCE OF HEALTHFUL LIVING

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MATH PREPARATION SCHOLARSHIPS (STAMPS)

ADVANCE ADAPTATION: SPARTAN ADAPTATIONS OF BEST PRACTICES FOR FACULTY EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO (UNCG)

PREPARING COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ENTER FROM HIGH SCHOOL OR TRANSFER FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR STEM CAREERS AND GRADUATE SCHOOL

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM

NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, QUALITY AND RETENTION - WORKFORCE EXPANSION PROGRAM - THE PURPOSES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO’S (UNCG) PROPOSED NURSING WORKFORCE EXPANSION PROGRAM ARE TO INCREASE NURSING ENROLLMENT AND NURSING GRADUATES WHO PLAN TO WORK IN RURAL (NON-METROPOLITAN) AND MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS AND ENHANCE NURSING EDUCATION AND CLINICAL EXPERIENCES IN ACUTE AND LONG-TERM CARE SETTINGS. THIS PROGRAM WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NURSING STUDENTS ENROLLED IN, RETAINED, AND GRADUATED FROM UNCG’S BACCALAUREATE AND PRELICENSURE ENTRY LEVEL MASTER’S NURSING (MSN) DEGREE PROGRAMS BY 29% ABOVE CURRENT BASELINE (40 PER YEAR WHICH EQUALS 160 OVER THE 4-YEAR GRANT PERIOD). A FOCUS WILL BE ON RECRUITMENT, ENROLLMENT, RETAINMENT, AND GRADUATION OF 30-50% OF STUDENT SCHOLARS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS, AND RURAL AND DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS. THIS PROGRAM WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNDERGRADUATE AND PRELICENSURE MSN NURSING STUDENTS RECEIVING ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED DIDACTIC AND CLINICAL TRAINING IN ACUTE AND LONG-TERM CARE SETTINGS WITH A FOCUS ON CLINICAL EXCELLENCE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT WHILE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS COMMITTED TO PRACTICING IN ACUTE AND LONG-TERM CARE SETTINGS POST-GRADUATION. STUDENT SUPPORT WILL CONSIDER SOCIAL DETERMINANTS THAT IMPACT STUDENT SUCCESS. STUDENT SCHOLARS WILL RECEIVE FINANCIAL, ACADEMIC, AND PEER SUPPORT, INCLUDING A MENTORING PROGRAM WITH PRACTICING NURSES. COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS (ACADEMIC, PRACTICE, AND COMMUNITY) WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PRECEPTORS AND CLINICAL FACULTY TO TRAIN NURSING STUDENTS IN UNCG’S BACCALAUREATE AND PRELICENSURE ENTRY LEVEL MSN DEGREE PROGRAMS. CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE AND RELEVANT DIDACTIC AND CLINICAL TRAINING WILL INTEGRATE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH) THAT IMPACT THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PATIENT POPULATIONS RESIDING IN RURAL (NON-METROPOLITAN) AND UNDERSERVED AREAS. GRADUATES OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BE PREPARED TO PRACTICE IN INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE TEAMS THAT PROVIDE CARE TO PATIENTS WITH ACUTE AND/OR CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS IN ACUTE AND LONG-TERM CARE SETTINGS. THIS NURSING WORKFORCE EXPANSION PROGRAM MEETS HRSA FUNDING PRIORITIES AS A STATE WITH THE GREAT NURSING SHORTAGE AS NORTH CAROLINA IS A TOP TEN GREATEST SHORTAGE STATE BY THE HRSA PUBLICATION “NURSE WORKFORCE PROJECTIONS, 2021-2033”. NORTH CAROLINA IS #5 IN NURSING WORKFORCE SHORTAGE AT 23%. FUNDING PRIORITY 2 IS ALSO MET AS UNC GREENSBORO IS A PUBLIC ENTITY, STATE UNIVERSITY WITH 501C3 STATUS. THIS PROPOSAL ALSO MEETS FUNDING PREFERENCES “SUBSTANTIALLY BENEFITS RURAL POPULATIONS” AND “SUBSTANTIALLY BENEFITS UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.”

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BROADENING INSTRUCTIONAL INNOVATION IN THE CHEMISTRY LABORATORY THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY OFFERING A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO EQUIP CHEMISTRY INSTRUCTORS AND CURRICULA DEVELOPERS WITH EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING PRACTICES IN CHEMISTRY LABORATORY COURSES. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO LARGE-SCALE OR NATIONWIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOCUSED ON REFORMING CHEMISTRY LABORATORY CURRICULA. THIS COMPREHENSIVE YEAR-LONG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WILL EMPOWER CHEMISTRY EDUCATORS TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING IN CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES BY PROMOTING SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES AND FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING. MOREOVER, AS PART OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, PARTICIPANTS WILL CREATE AND DISSEMINATE MORE THAN 40 NEW INQUIRY-BASED LABORATORY PROJECTS, WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE FOR STUDENT LEARNING THAN TRADITIONAL ?COOKBOOK? STYLE LABORATORY EXPERIENCES. DATA WILL BE COLLECTED AND ANALYZED TO BROADEN UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH SUCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AFFECTS TEACHING BELIEFS AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF LABORATORY CURRICULA DEVELOPERS. THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT THE SUCCESS OF FUTURE FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. OVERALL, THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO DIRECT INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT THAT CAN BENEFIT THOUSANDS OF UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY STUDENTS AND MAY LEAD TO LONG-TERM CHANGES IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF UP TO 126 LABORATORY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS. THIS INSTITUTIONAL AND COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION LEVEL 2 PROJECT ALIGNS WITH NSF'S MISSION TO ADVANCE SCIENCE EDUCATION, SERVING THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY IMPROVING STUDENT SUCCESS. CHEMISTRY EDUCATORS HAVE LONG BEEN DISSATISFIED WITH TRADITIONAL LABORATORY APPROACHES, BUT MANY FACE BARRIERS THAT PREVENT THEM FROM ADOPTING NEW FRAMEWORKS AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ESTABLISH A NATIONWIDE COMMUNITY OF CHEMISTRY LABORATORY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS EQUIPPED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND RESOURCES TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL REFORMS. THREE BODIES OF WORK COMPRISE THE THEORY OF CHANGE GUIDING THIS PROJECT: (1) CLARKE AND HOLLINGSWORTH?S MODEL OF TEACHER PROFESSIONAL GROWTH; (2) WENGER?S COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE FRAMEWORK; AND (3) AAC&U?S TEACHING TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AND EQUITY IN STEM LOGIC MODEL. FOUR COHORTS CONTAINING 42 INSTITUTIONAL TEAMS FROM VARYING CONTEXTS AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS (INCLUDING MINORITY-SERVING AND 2-YEAR INSTITUTIONS) WILL COLLABORATE TO CREATE AND DISSEMINATE MORE THAN 40 INQUIRY-BASED LABORATORY PROJECTS. THE TEAMS WILL PARTICIPATE IN A COMPREHENSIVE YEARLONG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING WHICH THEY WILL LEARN ABOUT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, INCLUDING (1) CURRICULUM REFORM THROUGH BACKWARD DESIGN WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS UNIQUE TO CHEMISTRY (E.G., JOHNSTONE?S TRIANGLE); (2) REDUCING EQUITY GAPS THROUGH FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING; AND (3) BUILDING SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES THROUGH INQUIRY (NGSS FRAMEWORK). BY ESTABLISHING THIS NATIONWIDE COMMUNITY OF LABORATORY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS WITH TRAINING IN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES (84-126 INSTRUCTORS AND 42 TAS), THIS PROGRAM WILL HAVE A TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT ON CHEMISTRY LABORATORY INSTRUCTION PRACTICES. ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH TRIANGULATION OF STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR SURVEYS, INSTRUCTORS? REFLECTIONS AND INTERVIEWS, AND LABORATORY ARTIFACTS, THE PROJECT WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE OF INSTRUCTIONAL THINKING AND PRACTICES OF THE LABORATORY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS AND WILL EVALUATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS PROGRESSIONS IN THE THINKING AND PRACTICES OF THE LABORATORY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING (BHWET) PROGRAM

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS

TBI ASSESSMENT OF READINESS USING A GAIT EVALUATION TEST (TARGET): DEVELOPMENT OF A PORTABLE MTBI SCREENING DEVICE

STEM-BASED MAKING FOR YOUTH, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES

INNOVATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

PROTEIN MARKERS TO T1D PROGRESSION

NATURE-DERIVED MATERIALS FOR REDOX FLOW BATTERIES

CROSS GENERATIONAL EFFECT OF FOOD INSECURITY: UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERNAL FOOD INSECURITY AND INFANT FEEDING CHOICES

LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

MICRO-ENTERPRISE FOR REFUGEES IN THE TRIAD (MERIT)

RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION MODERNIZATION PROGRAM AT UNCG

TRTECH-PGR: PLANTTRANSFORM: BOOSTING AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION EFFICIENCY IN THE ORPHAN CROP TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF) FOR TRAIT IMPROVEMENT -PLANT GENETIC TRANSFORMATION PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN UNDERSTANDING THE GENETIC BASIS OF COMPLEX TRAITS. TRANSFORMATION METHODS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR MODEL PLANTS AND SOME MAJOR CROPS SUCH AS RICE AND CORN, WHICH ARE USUALLY POOR IN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS. IN CONTRAST, GENETIC TRANSFORMATION FOR UNDERUTILIZED OR ORPHAN CROPS SUCH AS TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF), WHICH ARE GLUTEN-FREE AND RICH IN NUTRIENTS (MINERALS, VITAMINS, AMINO ACIDS) AND BENEFICIAL PHYTOCHEMICALS, IS AT A VERY INFANT STAGE DUE TO LIMITED GENOME INFORMATION AND LACK OF ATTENTION FROM SCIENTISTS AND FUNDING AGENCIES. THIS HAS TREMENDOUSLY DELAYED TRAIT IMPROVEMENT IN SUCH CROPS. THEREFORE, THERE IS A NEED TO DEVELOP AN EFFICIENT TRANSFORMATION METHOD FOR TEF GENOTYPES VARYING IN DESIRABLE TRAITS INCLUDING SEED SIZE AND COLOR, MINERAL CONTENT, IRON BIOAVAILABILITY, AND DAYS TO MATURITY. MOREOVER, TRANSFORMATION METHOD HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THE INDIAN LOVEGRASS (E. PILOSA), WHICH IS A WILD PROGENITOR OF E. TEF, AND HAS SEVERAL DESIRABLE TRAITS INCLUDING ADAPTATION TO WIDER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, EARLY MATURITY, AND LODGING TOLERANCE, AND IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF TRAITS FOR TEF IMPROVEMENT. THE MAJOR GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP TRANSFORMATION TOOLS FOR DIVERSE GENOTYPES OF E. TEF AND E. PILOSA. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO OFFER TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA?GREENSBORO MINORITY STUDENTS, A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, AND A VISITING SCIENTIST FROM ETHIOPIA WHERE TEF IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STAPLE CROP. FURTHERMORE, THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT A TEF GENETIC TRANSFORMATION WORKSHOP TO BE ORGANIZED AT THE ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH. RECENTLY, THE USE OF MAIZE EMBRYOGENIC REGULATOR GENES BABY BOOM (BBM) AND WUSHEL (WUS2) HAS SHOWN GREAT PROMISE FOR AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION OF RECALCITRANT MONOCOTS INCLUDING TEF. DIFFERENCES IN TRANSFORMATION EFFICIENCY HAVE ALSO BEEN OBSERVED BETWEEN SOME TEF VARIETIES. HOWEVER, THE METHODS REMAIN TO BE OPTIMIZED. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) TO DEVELOP AN EFFICIENT GENETIC TRANSFORMATION TECHNIQUE FOR TEF, AND 2) TO DEVELOP TRANSFORMATION METHOD FOR E. PILOSA. SEVERAL AGROBACTERIUM STRAINS RECENTLY DEVELOPED FOR RECALCITRANT MONOCOTS SUCH AS THE THYMINE AUXOTROPHIC STRAINS AND ENGINEERED VIRULENT STRAINS, DIFFERENT TEF GENOTYPES VARYING IN DESIRABLE TRAITS AND TARGET TISSUES (LEAF SHEATH AND EMBRYOGENIC CALLI), AND VARYING TISSUE CULTURE CONDITIONS WILL BE TESTED TO DEVELOP AN EFFICIENT TRANSFORMATION METHOD FOR TEF AND ITS WILD RELATIVE INDIAN LOVE GRASS. RESOURCES GENERATED FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE FREELY SHARED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY IN THE FORM OF PUBLICATIONS, PROTOCOLS, WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS AND WEBSITES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NEW START EQUIPMENT GRANT TITLE: DOD HBCUMI INSTRUMENTATION: ACQUISITION OF A VERSATILE TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR STEM TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN SOFT MATERIALS "NO IDC"

RELATIONS BETWEEN EARLY EMOTION AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RANGES: BUILDING CAPACITY TO EXTEND MAMMAL SPECIMENS FROM WESTERN NORTH AMERICA -THE SPECIMENS CONTAINED IN NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND SOCIAL WELLBEING. THEIR UNIQUE VALUE COMES FROM THE HIGH-QUALITY INFORMATION THEY CONTAIN AND THE DOCUMENTATION INDICATING HOW THEY WERE COLLECTED. OF PARTICULAR VALUE ARE TRAIT MEASUREMENTS THAT DOCUMENT HOW SPECIES INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND HOW THEY VARY THOUGH TIME, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN RESPONDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. UNFORTUNATELY, TRAITS FOR MUSEUM SPECIMENS ARE OFTEN ONLY AVAILABLE IN NON-DIGITAL AND NON-STANDARD FORMATS. THIS LIMITS THE ABILITY OF RESEARCHERS TO FIND AND USE THEM TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. THIS AWARD WILL ESTABLISH THE RANGES DIGITIZATION NETWORK (?RANGES?). THE GOAL OF THE NETWORK IS TO DIGITIZE TRAITS FROM OVER ONE MILLION MAMMAL SPECIMENS IN 19 U.S. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS. THE NETWORK WILL PRODUCE DATASETS THAT ARE IN STANDARD FORMAT AND EASY TO FIND IN ONLINE BIODIVERSITY PLATFORMS, SUCH AS IDIGBIO. THIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO BUILD BETTER BASELINES FOR BIODIVERSITY AND IMPROVE PREDICTIONS OF HOW MAMMALS RESPOND TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS. RANGES WILL ALSO SPARK COLLABORATION AMONG THE MUSEUM COMMUNITY AND DATA SCIENTISTS, CREATING SOLUTIONS USABLE BROADLY. THE NETWORK WILL EMPLOY A DIVERSE HUMAN WORKFORCE IN DIGITIZATION AND RESEARCH TASKS, AND IT WILL ENGAGE THE PUBLIC THROUGH CITIZEN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES AND MUSEUM EXHIBITS. THIS WILL ADDRESS A MAJOR REMAINING DIGITIZATION CHALLENGE FOR U.S. MUSEUMS, TO EXPAND UTILITY OF SPECIMENS AND USE THEM TO CREATE NEW SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. DIGITIZATION OF U.S. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES HAS IMPROVED DATA SHARING AND RESEARCH CAPACITY IN THE LIFE SCIENCES. AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT DATA ASSOCIATED WITH MUSEUM SPECIMENS ARE THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF INDIVIDUALS. THESE TRAITS ARE INFORMATIVE ABOUT ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND RESPONSES OF ORGANISMS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. UNFORTUNATELY, TRAITS FROM SPECIMENS REMAIN INCOMPLETELY DIGITIZED ACROSS MUSEUMS AND HARD TO LOCATE ON THE INTERNET. THIS INHIBITS THEIR DISCOVERY AND USE AT A TIME OF PRESSING GLOBAL CHANGE. RANGES WILL DIGITIZE AND PUBLISH TRAITS FROM APPROXIMATELY 1.2 MILLION NON-MARINE MAMMAL SPECIMENS FROM WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THIS REGION DUE TO ITS COMPLEX TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE, AND BECAUSE IT IS A CENTER OF MAMMALIAN BIODIVERSITY. THE SPECIFIC GOALS OF THE NETWORK ARE TO EXTEND EXISTING SOFTWARE TOOLS, DEVELOP NEW STANDARDS FOR MAMMAL TRAIT DATA, AND COORDINATE DIGITIZATION ACROSS MUSEUM PARTNERS. NEW, DIGITAL TRAIT DATA ON BIODIVERSITY DATA PLATFORMS SUCH AS IDIGBIO WILL TRANSFORM DATA ACCESSIBILITY AND FOSTER NEW EVOLUTIONARY, ECOLOGICAL, AND BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. RANGES WILL ALSO COLLABORATE WITH THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK (NEON) TO ENSURE COMPATIBILITY WITH TRAIT DATA COLLECTED THROUGHOUT THE LIFETIME OF THAT NETWORK. USING THE ABOVE APPROACHES, RANGES WILL LAY A FOUNDATION FOR BUILDING AN EXTENDED SPECIMEN NETWORK FOR MAMMALS. 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.

GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS

NEW START REP GRANT

THIS PROPOSAL LAYS OUT A PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)-BASED DE-ESCALATION TRAINING TOOL AS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO POLICE DEPARTMENT (UNCG PD) AND THE GREENSBORO POLICE DEPARTMENT (GPD). TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, THE PROJECT WILL EXTEND THE CAPABILITIES OF THE NEXTGEN INTERACTIONS NEXTGENVR DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM, TAILORED FOR IMMERSIVE DE-ESCALATION TRAINING AND ALLOWING MULTIROLE, MULTIUSER INTERACTION, AND THOROUGH AFTER-ACTION REVIEWS. THE FOCUS OF THE TRAINING TOOL WILL BE TO IMPROVE INTERACTIONS OF OFFICERS RESPONDING TO INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS SITUATIONS, INCLUDING THOSE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM SPANNING HUMAN-CENTERED COMPUTING RESEARCH, MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTISE, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WILL COLLABORATE TO DESIGN A DE-ESCALATION CURRICULUM THAT IS STATE-OF-THE-ART AND COMPLEMENTS EXISTING TRAINING INITIATIVES. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TOOL WILL BE METICULOUSLY ASSESSED, MEASURING ITS IMPACT ON BOOSTING OFFICER DE-ESCALATION COMPETENCIES, ATTITUDE TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES, AND INFLUENCE ON COMMUNITY PERCEPTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.

SPECIAL EDUCATION-PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES - PREPARATION OF LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

BREASTFEEDING INTERVENTION TO PREVENT OBESITY AMONG LATINE CHILDREN - PROJECT SUMMARY DUE TO HIGH RATES OF OBESITY, LATINE CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE TYPE 2 DIABETES (T2D) THAN OTHER RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS. IF CURRENT TRENDS CONTINUE, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 50% OF LATINE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WILL DEVELOP T2D IN THEIR LIFETIME. THIS IS CRITICAL SINCE THE IMPACT OF EARLY ONSET OF T2D IS EXTENSIVE INVOLVING PREMATURE MORBIDITY, HIGH HEALTHCARE COSTS AND SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY. HENCE, INTERVENTIONS THAT EFFECTIVELY REDUCE OBESITY RISK AND T2D AMONG FASTEST GROWING GROUP OF LATINE CHILDREN ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. EXCESS WEIGHT GAIN DURING INFANCY IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDHOOD OBESITY. EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING (DIRECTLY OR EXPRESSED) FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER RISK FOR EXCESS WEIGHT GAIN AND INSULIN INSENSITIVITY DURING INFANCY. IN OUR LONGITUDINAL SUB-STUDY WITH LOW-INCOME, LATINE MOTHER-INFANT DYADS, MIXED FEEDING (COMBINATION OF BREASTFEEDING AND FORMULA FEEDING) WAS MORE COMMON THAN EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING. IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT OBESITY RISK AMONG INFANTS INCREASED WITH AN INCREASE IN FORMULA FEEDING. UTILIZING SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY, OUR GOAL IS TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A MULTI-COMPONENT RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL - SOLO MI LECHE (SMILE) – INVOLVING: I) PROVISION OF CONDITIONAL INCENTIVES OF CASH OR COMBINATION OF CASH AND ELECTRIC BREAST PUMP TO ENROLL IN WIC’S EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING PACKAGE; AND, II) SUPPORT OF HOME VISITING, CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY COMPETENT BREASTFEEDING PEER-COUNSELORS TO INCREASE BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ULTIMATELY SELF-EFFICACY. THE INTERVENTION SPANNING FROM BIRTH TO SIX MONTHS POSTPARTUM WILL INVOLVE 120 LATINE MOTHERS ELIGIBLE OR ENROLLED IN WIC PROGRAM (60 EACH IN INTERVENTION & CONTROL). SPECIFIC AIMS ARE TO TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SMILE INTERVENTION IN: 1) IMPROVING SELF-EFFICACY AND EXCLUSIVITY OF BREASTFEEDING FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, AND; 2) REDUCING RAPID WEIGHT GAIN AND OBESITY RISK AMONG LATINE INFANTS. WE WILL ALSO CARRY OUT A PROCESS EVALUATION TO UNDERSTAND STRENGTHS OF THE INTERVENTION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE ITS IMPLEMENTATION, FEASIBILITY, FIDELITY, AND IMPACT. THE PROPOSED PILOT TRIAL (SMALL R01S, PAS-23-086) WILL ALLOW US TO ACQUIRE PRELIMINARY DATA THROUGH SIX MONTHS OF AGE TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE, FULLY POWERED, CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION PROMOTING BREASTFEEDING THROUGHOUT INFANCY, TO ADDRESS OBESITY, T2D AND RELATED DISPARITIES LATINE POPULATION IS FACING.

NEW MS-REP GRANT

MCH PIPELINE TRAINING PROGRAM

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS

COMBINED PRIORITY FOR PERSONNEL PREPARATION

PROJECT EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION LEARNING (EXSEL)

BEHAVIORAL, MICROBIAL, AND CHEMICAL ECOLOGY OF SAND FLY OVIPOSITION SITE SELECTION - GRANT NUMBER: 1R01AI180067 - 01A1 PI PI NAME: WASSERBERG, GIDEON UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO PHLEBOTOMINE SAND FLIES ARE VECTORS OF THE PROTOZOAN AGENTS OF HUMAN LEISHMANIASES, AS WELL AS VARIOUS BACTERIAL AND VIRAL PATHOGENS ASSOCIATED WITH NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES. UNLIKE MOST BITING DIPTERA, SAND FLIES HAVE A FULLY TERRESTRIAL LIFE CYCLE. FOR PHLEBOTOMUS PAPATASI, THE MOST IMPORTANT VECTOR OF LEISHMANIA MAJOR IN ARID AREAS OF THE OLD WORLD, THE BURROWS OF ITS GERBILLINE HOST ARE CRITICAL FOR SHELTER AND BREEDING AND THEREFORE CONSTITUTE A WEAK AND EXPLOITABLE LINK. THE CRITICAL DEPENDENCY OF P. PAPATASI ON ITS RODENT HOST AND BURROW REPRESENTS A TIGHTLY COUPLED VECTOR-HOST SYSTEM, AND POSSIBLY A RESOURCE-BASED MATING SYSTEM. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ELEMENTS WITHIN THE BURROW, INCLUDING THE HOST, ITS DECOMPOSING FECES, SAPROPHYTIC MICROBES, AND SOME JUVENILE AND ADULT STAGES PROVIDE A HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE ENVIRONMENT NOT ONLY FOR GRAVID FEMALES BUT ALSO TO HOST- AND MATE-SEEKING FEMALES AND MALES. WE PREDICT THAT MULTIPLE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CUES CONVERGE WITHIN THE BURROW ENVIRONMENT TO GUIDE HOST LOCATION, MATE FINDING, AND EGG-LAYING BEHAVIOR. BY INTEGRATING LAB AND FIELD STUDIES, OUR GOAL IS TO TEST THE RESOURCE-BASED ATTRACTION HYPOTHESIS AND INVESTIGATE THE MICROBIAL AND CHEMICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING IT. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO LEVERAGE THESE CUES TO DEVELOP AN ATTRACTIVE LURE, AND ULTIMATELY AN ATTRACTIVE LETHAL OVIPOSITION TRAP, FOR P. PAPATASI. NO SUCH TOOL CURRENTLY EXISTS, AND TARGETING GRAVID FEMALES COULD BE PARTICULARLY IMPACTFUL FOR REDUCING VECTOR POPULATIONS AND INTERRUPTING PATHOGEN TRANSMISSION.

REDUCING ALZHEIMER'S RISK AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN KINSHIP CAREGIVERS

DEVELOPMENT OF INFANT HANDEDNESS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

IDENTIFICATION OF BROOD SIGNALS THAT INDUCE HYGIENIC BEHAVIOR IN HONEY BEES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR VARROA CONTROL AND SUSTAINABLE APICULTURE

TEACHER LEARNING OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

INTEGRATING DEMOGRAPHY AND BIOSOCIAL STRESS MODELS OF LGBTI FAMILY FORMATION

AN INNOVATIVE DUAL FUNCTION SORBENT-BASED REMEDIATION UNIT IS PROPOSED TO REDUCE THE DEMAND FOR FRESHWATER WHILE PROTECTING THE SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER SOURCES, BY USING BRACKISH WATER FOR IRRIGATION. THE PROPOSED APPROACH WILL SEEK TO ENHANCE AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCE BY IMPLEMENTING ENVIORNMENTALLY BENIGN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES THAT COUNTERACT SOIL SALINITY, RESULTING FROM THE USE OF BRACKISH WATER. THIS SIMPLE, RAPID, AND COST-EFFECTIVE ADSORPTION TECHNOLOGY, WHICH UTILIZES A DUAL FUNCTION BIOSORBENT, EFFECTIVELY REDUCES SALINITY IN BRACKISH GROUNDWATER, WHILE CONCURRENTLY CLEANSING PATHOGENS AND HEAVY METAL CONTAMINANTS PRESENT IN WATER. THE CHALLENGES AFFECTING THE EFFICIENCY, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF BRACKISH WATER REMEDIATION PROCESSES INCLUDE: (1) ENERGY INTENSITY, ESPECIALLY PREVALENT IN REVERSE OSMOSIS AND MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGIES, (2) THE COST OF IMPLEMENTATION, (3) SCALE AND INFRASTRUCTURE, (4) WASTE AND SLUDGE ACCUMULATION, AND (5) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. IN TURN, THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IS AN EFFICIENT, POINT-OF-USE, AND STANDALONE SOLID-PHASE ADSORPTION DRIVEN REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY THAT OPERATES WITH MINIMAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION, LOW-COST, ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS, AND NO DISCHARGE OF BRINE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS APPROACH WILL TIE INTO THE CONCEPT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY BY UTILIZING EXISTING RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT WILL: (1) RESULT IN A STANDALONE HIGH PERFORMANCE, LOW MAINTENANCE, AND DECENTRALIZED BRACKISH WATER REMEDIATION UNIT, EMPLOYING INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AND (2) REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON FRESHWATER FOR IRRIGATION WHILE MITIGATING SOIL SALINITY FROM THE USE OF BRACKISH WATER.

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND RELATED COMORBID CONDITIONS: HEALTH STATE UTILITIES FOR ECONOMIC EVALUATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

MRI: ACQUISITION OF MICRO-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND 3D IMAGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY STEM RESEARCH IN NORTH CAROLINA

UNRAVELING THE MECHANISMS OF A NOVEL MUSIC INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROMOTION IN OLDER ADULTS - PROJECT SUMMARY IT IS PREDICTED THAT 13.8 MILLION US ADULTS WILL LIVE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) BY 2050. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA) IS IMPERATIVE TO PREVENT OR DELAY THE ONSET OF AD. HOWEVER, ADHERENCE TO THE NATIONAL PA GUIDELINES STEEPLY DECLINES AFTER AGES 60-65. FEWER THAN 20% OF US OLDER ADULTS ADHERE TO THE NATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR MULTICOMPONENT PA - AEROBIC EXERCISE (AE) AT MODERATE INTENSITY AND STRENGTH TRAINING (ST). THUS, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO PROMOTE MULTICOMPONENT PA AMONG LOW-ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS. A MAJOR CHALLENGE TO PROMOTING MULTICOMPONENT PA IS THAT MOST OLDER ADULTS EXPERIENCE A NEGATIVE AFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO MODERATE-INTENSITY AE AND ST. THIS NEGATIVE AFFECTIVE RESPONSE IS A CRITICAL BARRIER TO MAINTENANCE OF REGULAR PA BECAUSE, IN GENERAL, PEOPLE ARE UNLIKELY TO CONTINUE A BEHAVIOR THAT RESULTS IN IMMEDIATE DISPLEASURE. INTERESTINGLY, LISTENING TO MUSIC DURING ACUTE BOUTS OF AE AND ST INCREASES POSITIVE AFFECT AND REDUCES PERCEIVED EXERTION. HOWEVER, FOR THESE BENEFITS TO TRANSLATE TO LONG-TERM ADHERENCE, MUSIC ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT. IN A FEASIBILITY STUDY (N=33), WALKING-FOR-EXERCISE WITH A SONICALLY ENHANCED MUSIC PLAYLIST IN THE FORM OF RHYTHMIC AUDITORY STIMULATION (RAS) – AN APPLICATION OF PULSED, TEMPO-SYNCHRONOUS, AUDITORY STIMULI (E.G., BEAT-ACCENTED MUSIC) FOR THE FACILITATION OF RHYTHMIC BODY MOVEMENT – NEARLY DOUBLED THE WEEKLY VOLUME OF PA AND CALORIC EXPENDITURE IN MIDLIFE-TO-OLDER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC REHABILITATION WHEREAS STANDARD MUSIC WITHOUT RAS HAD LITTLE EFFECT ON PA OUTCOMES. TO DATE, THIS PROOF-OF-CONCEPT HAS NOT BEEN FULLY TESTED AND THE UNDERLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF RAS REMAIN UNKNOWN. THUS, WE PROPOSE TO TEST WHETHER RAS ENHANCES AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO PA AND THEREBY PROMOTES LONG-TERM PA BEHAVIORS AMONG OLDER ADULTS. IN THE R61 AND R33 PHASES, PARTICIPANTS WILL UNDERGO AN EXERCISE INTERVENTION (EX) CONSISTING OF ST FOR 3 DAYS/WEEK AND BRISK WALKING FOR AE FOR >150 MIN/WEEK OVER 6 MONTHS. THE EX IS DESIGNED TO FOSTER THE INDEPENDENT MAINTENANCE OF REGULAR PA THROUGH A GRADUAL WITHDRAWAL OF SUPERVISED TRAINING (3 DAYS/WEEK FOR 2 MONTHS, 1 DAY/WEEK FOR 2 MONTHS, AND UNSUPERVISED FOR 2 MONTHS). THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE WILL BE RANDOM ASSIGNMENT INTO THE EX ALONE OR EX+RAS. IN THE R61 PHASE, WE WILL CONDUCT AN RCT TO EXPLORE THE PRELIMINARY EFFECTS OF RAS ON AFFECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO THE EX AMONG NON-DEMENTED, LOW-ACTIVE, OLDER ADULTS (N=40) AGED 65- 79 (AIM 1). USING ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT (EMA), WE WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ADDING RAS TO THE EX LEADS TO A MORE POSITIVE AFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO PA, LOWER PERCEIVED EXERTION, AND GREATER WEEKLY VOLUMES OF PA OVER 6 MONTHS. TREATMENT ADHERENCE AND SATISFACTION WILL BE ASSESSED TO DETERMINE THE ACCEPTABILITY OF THE INTERVENTIONS. IF MILESTONES ARE MET, WE WILL PROCEED TO THE R33 PHASE AND CONDUCT A FULLY-POWERED RCT WITH THE SAME DESIGN AND POPULATION (N=130). WE WILL RETEST AIM 1 WITH THIS SECOND LARGER SAMPLE AND WILL ASSESS AIM 2 WHICH IS A TEST OF THE MECHANISTIC HYPOTHESIS THAT THE EFFECTS OF RAS ON THE WEEKLY VOLUMES OF PA ARE MEDIATED BY POSITIVE AFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO PA AND LOWER PERCEIVED EXERTION.

A NOVEL MODEL TO IMPROVE NEURAL PERFORMANCE DURING OXYGEN DEPRIVATION

SELF-FOCUSED ATTENTION SELF-EVALUATION AND EFFORT

BEE: UNRAVELING THE ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY FACTORS SHAPING HOST-ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES

THE ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF HYBRIDIZATION OF ASEXUAL MICROBIAL SYMBIONTS

DOD HBCUMI INSTRUMENTATION: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR GRADUATE RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL TRAINING IN NANOSCIENCE AND NANOENGINEERING

STAMPS (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MATH PREPARATION SCHOLARSHIPS)

AN ULTRASENSITIVE MASS SPECTROMETRY PLATFORM FOR COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF LIPIDS

TYPE I: GREENSBORO I-CORPS TRAINING SITE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE EFFECTS OF MIND-WANDERING ON THE LEARNING AND RETENTION OF STEM CONTENT: EXPERIMENTAL AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES INVESTIG

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING

HIV/AIDS PREVENTION WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN HETEROSEXUAL MEN ATTENDING COLLEGE: A

INTBIO COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATING TRAIT DIVERSITY ACROSS HIERARCHICAL SCALES TO PREDICT BIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN AN ERA OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE -EXTREME CLIMATE EVENTS, SUCH AS DROUGHT OR WILDFIRE, MAY OCCUR IN HIGH FREQUENCY AND/OR IN TANDEM. THESE EXTREMES ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY OVER THE COMING DECADES AND WILL LIKELY HAVE MORE SEVERE EFFECTS ON NATURAL AND HUMAN LANDSCAPES THAN WHEN EXTREME EVENTS OCCUR ALONE. MANY PARTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA SUFFERED THE EFFECTS OF COMPOUND EXTREMES IN 2015 AND 2016 WHEN DROUGHT AND HEAVY WILDLIFE USE CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL DECLINES IN VEGETATIVE COVER AND MASS WILDLIFE MORTALITY IN NATIONAL PARKS. MANY AREAS ARE YET TO FULLY RECOVER. ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY AFTER COMPOUND EXTREMES IS CRITICAL FOR MAINTAINING IMPORTANT SERVICES THAT LANDSCAPES PROVIDE, SUCH AS WILDLIFE HABITAT, FOOD PRODUCTION, AND CARBON STORAGE. THE MECHANISMS BEHIND RECOVERY AFTER EXTREME EVENTS ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD, ALTHOUGH THERE IS MOUNTING EVIDENCE THAT THE DIVERSITY OF ORGANISMS (I.E., BIODIVERSITY) WITHIN ECOSYSTEMS MAY BE KEY. THIS AWARD WILL EXPERIMENTALLY IMPOSE COMPOUND EXTREMES IN A SOUTH AFRICAN SAVANNA AND INCORPORATE MEASURED OUTCOMES INTO COMPUTER MODELS TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIVERSITY OF PLANT LIFE CONTROLS ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY AFTER COMPOUND EXTREMES. THE INFORMATION AND TOOLS CREATED BY THIS PROJECT WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR LAND MANAGERS AND POLICY MAKERS TO MAXIMIZE THE RECOVERY POTENTIAL OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDS THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF BIODIVERSITY. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT TRAINING AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR A DIVERSE ASSEMBLAGE OF PEOPLE (LOCAL SOUTH AFRICAN STAKEHOLDERS, HIGH SCHOOL, UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS), AND WILL PRIORITIZE ADVANCEMENT OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE SCIENCES. CURRENTLY, THE IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY FOR ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY (I.E., RESILIENCE) IS RECOGNIZED AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, BUT THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING SPECIES DIVERSITY THAT CAN EXTEND THESE CONCEPTS TO OTHER SPATIAL AND HIERARCHICAL SCALES ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. ORGANISMAL TRAITS PROVIDE A USEFUL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE MECHANISMS BECAUSE THE COORDINATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, AND ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS DETERMINE THE RESPONSE OF INDIVIDUALS TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT; THIS FACILITATES SCALING FROM ORGANISMS TO POPULATIONS, COMMUNITIES, AND ECOSYSTEMS USING FIRST PRINCIPLES. THIS STUDY WILL FIRST EXTEND BIODIVERSITY-RESILIENCE IDEAS BEYOND SIMPLE SPECIES DIVERSITY BY USING METHODS TO EXAMINE DIVERSITY OF PLANT TRAITS (E.G., FUNCTIONAL DISPERSION). SECOND, IT WILL SCALE BIODIVERSITY-RESILIENCE RELATIONSHIPS FROM INDIVIDUAL ORGANISMS, THROUGH POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES, TO ENTIRE ECOSYSTEMS. TO THESE ENDS, THIS PROJECT WILL EXPERIMENTALLY IMPOSE EXTREME DROUGHT, EXTREME GRAZING, AND EXTREME FIRE, SINGLY AND IN COMBINATION, IN A SOUTH AFRICAN SAVANNA AND DETERMINE (1) DIVERSITY OF FUNCTIONAL TRAITS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER TREATMENTS TO LINK WITH (2) RESPONSES OF INDIVIDUALS, POPULATIONS, COMMUNITIES, AND THE ECOSYSTEM DURING AND AFTER TREATMENTS. EMPIRICAL DATA WILL THEN BE USED TO PARAMETERIZE AND BENCHMARK A MECHANISTIC DEMOGRAPHIC VEGETATION MODEL TO EXPAND THE INFERENCE OF THESE EFFECTS TO LONGER TIME FRAMES AND A WIDER RANGE OF BIODIVERSITY SCENARIOS. THE THREE OVERARCHING QUESTIONS THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS ARE: (1) HOW DOES DIVERSITY AT DIFFERENT HIERARCHICAL SCALES CONTROL RESILIENCE OF BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION AFTER PERTURBATIONS? (2) HOW DO PERTURBATIONS AFFECT BIODIVERSITY AT MULTIPLE HIERARCHICAL SCALES? (3) HOW DOES DIVERSITY AND RESILIENCE CHANGE WITH FREQUENCY AND COMPOUND PERTURBATIONS? THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY EMERGING FRONTIERS IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: CONTROLS ON METHANOGENESIS, METHANE OXIDATION, AND CONSUMER UTILIZATION OF METHANE-DERIVED CARBON IN ARCTIC LAKES

INTBIO COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATING TRAIT DIVERSITY ACROSS HIERARCHICAL SCALES TO PREDICT BIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN AN ERA OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

THE INTERACTION OF CALCIUM AND CHLORIDE AT THE OXYGEN EVOLVING COMPLEX OF PHOTOSYSTEM II

HORMONE MEDIATED KNEE JOINT LAXITY AND NEUROMECHANICS

INNOVATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPLIED 3D, OR VIRTUAL, TECHNOLOGIES ARE IMPACTING INDUSTRIES IN ALL SECTORS OF THE U.S. ECONOMY, AS ORGANIZATIONS INCREASINGLY SEE THE VALUE OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVED EFFICIENCY, COST SAVINGS, AND ENHANCED OPERATIONS. GRADUATES OF FOOD, AGRICULTURAL, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND HUMAN (FANH) SCIENCE PROGRAMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE SKILLED IN WORKPLACE-RELEVANT (APPLIED) VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGIES AND TO BE CAPABLE OF ADOPTING NEW ONES. THUS, THROUGH EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY COLLABORATORS, THE TWO-FOLD INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE IS (1) TO FOSTER AN AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF APPLIED VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCIES AMONG DIVERSE POPULATIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, AND (2) TO HELP THEM CULTIVATE THE APPLIED VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCIES NECESSARY FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS. THE TWO AUDIENCES ADDRESSED BY THIS PROJECT ARE FANH SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT HIRE GRADUATES OF FANH SCIENCE PROGRAMS. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS WILL BE CREATED COMPRISED OF REAL-WORLD, INDUSTRY-BASED PROBLEMS TARGETING VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS. INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY STRATEGIES WILL BE CREATED TO ADDRESS STUDENTS AS DIVERSE LEARNERS. MATERIALS AND STRATEGIES WILL BE COMBINED TO FORM FIVE VIRTUAL MODULES (V-MODULES) TARGETING CORE VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY COMPENTENCIES: CRITICAL DECISION-MAKING, COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK, PROJECT LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT, CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND SPATIAL VISUALIZATION. EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL BE MEASURED WITH AN ASSESSMENT TOOL CREATED TO EVALUATE THE MATERIALS AND DELIVERY STRATEGIES. WITH THE GOAL OF ENHANCING PROGRAM QUALITY AND ATTRACTING AND RETAINING A DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL HELP TO MEET U.S. WORKFORCE NEEDS BY CULTIVATING COMPETENCIES IN APPLIED VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGIES AMONG UNDERGRADUATES AS FUTURE FANH SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS AND INDUSTRY LEADERS.

BRC-BIO: FLEXIBLE TRAITS AND FUNCTIONAL TRADE-OFFS: AN INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF GASTROINTESTINAL PLASTICITY IN MAMMALS -INFORMATION ON THE PHENOTYPIC TRAITS OF ORGANISMS (THEIR MORPHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND BEHAVIORAL PROPERTIES) INFORMS UNDERSTANDING OF ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES, EVOLUTIONARY DIVERSIFICATION, AND RESPONSES OF SPECIES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. HOWEVER, EXISTING TRAIT DATABASES ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GEOGRAPHIC AND FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY WITHIN MOST TAXONOMIC GROUPS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR SOFT TISSUE STRUCTURES RELATED TO DIET AND ENERGY BALANCE IN MAMMALS. THIS BRC-BIO PROJECT TAKES A FIELD- AND LABORATORY-BASED APPROACH TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE OF GASTROINTESTINAL (GI) TRACT VARIATION IN SMALL-BODIED MAMMALS INHABITING SEASONAL ENVIRONMENTS OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. THE AWARD FUNDS SEASONAL FIELD COLLECTIONS OF SMALL MAMMALS AT THREE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK (NEON) SITES, GENERATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE SUITE OF PHENOTYPIC MEASUREMENTS FROM THE GI TRACT, AND NEW DIETARY ANALYSES THAT WILL ESTABLISH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THESE SPECIES OPTIMIZE NUTRIENT ACQUISITION FROM FOOD RESOURCES THAT VARY SEASONALLY, IN SUPPORT OF SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION. THE PROJECT WILL BUILD IMPORTANT RESEARCH AND TRAINING CAPACITY FOR THE PI, AND ACHIEVE BROADER IMPACT BY CREATING UNIQUE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES IN FIELDWORK AND BIODIVERSITY DATA ANALYSIS FOR A RACIALLY AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE GROUP OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, AS WELL AS BY FACILITATING NEW GI-THEMED COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS. ORGANISMAL RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE ARE MEDIATED BY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PHENOTYPIC TRAITS AND THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH POPULATIONS OCCUR. ACCURATELY PREDICTING THESE RESPONSES REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL LEVEL MEASUREMENTS OF TRAITS WHOSE FORM-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS ARE WELL-UNDERSTOOD. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BRC-BIO PROJECT IS TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE OF GASTROINTESTINAL (GI) TRACT FORM, FUNCTION, AND PLASTICITY IN SMALL MAMMALS INHABITING SEASONAL ENVIRONMENTS. THE GI TRACT IS A KEY ORGAN SYSTEM TASKED WITH OPTIMIZING ENERGETIC BALANCE AROUND SEASONALLY-DYNAMIC RESOURCE BASES. HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE OF HOW AND WHY GI MORPHOLOGY VARIES IN WILD POPULATIONS AND IN RELATION TO DIET AND ENERGY REQUIREMENTS REMAINS FRAGMENTARY. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE NEW, HIGH-RESOLUTION DATA ON SMALL MAMMAL DIET AND LINK THESE WITH MACRO- AND MICROSCOPIC GI PROXIES TO ESTABLISH ROBUST FORM-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS AND ILLUMINATE PATHWAYS OF MAMMALIAN RESPONSE TO CHANGING RESOURCE AVAILABILITY. THESE RELATIONSHIPS WILL BE EXPLORED WITHIN AND AMONG THREE SPECIES OVER SPACE (MULTIPLE NEON SITES IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS) AND TIME (3 YEARS AND ALL SEASONS). THE PROJECT WILL ALLOW THE PI TO BUILD CRITICAL RESEARCH CAPACITY BY EXPANDING INQUIRY OF SOFT TISSUE FUNCTIONAL TRAITS AND INTEGRATING MUSEUM SPECIMENS WITH MULTIPLE NEON DATA STREAMS. IT WILL ALSO ESTABLISH A BIODIVERSITY DATA LITERACY COURSE AND LAB TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL ENGAGE DIVERSE UNDERGRADUATES IN AUTHENTIC RESEARCH AND FIELD EXPERIENCES AND EXPEDITE THEIR RECRUITMENT INTO STEM FIELDS. 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.

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** GRAZING LANDS ARE INTEGRAL FOR US FOOD SECURITY, AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS AND CATTLE PRODUCTION DEPENDS ON OPTIMIZED GRAZING STRATEGIES. PATCH BURN GRAZING (PBG) IS A NEW AND EXCITING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY THAT ROTATES THE TIMING OF FIRE ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE TO CREATE A MOSAIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. CURRENT RESEARCH SHOWS PROMISE FOR PBG TO ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, SUCH AS BIRD BIODIVERSITY, WHILE MAINTAINING SIMILAR CATTLE PRODUCTION RELATIVE TO TRADITIONAL GRAZING PRACTICES. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF PBG ON BELOWGROUND PROCESSES, SUCH AS SOIL HEALTH, AND THE COUPLING OF ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM (I.E., THE DEGREE TO WHICH PROPERTIES ARE DEPENDENT ON ONE ANOTHER - A MEASURE OF ECOSYSTEM HEALTH), REMAIN UNEXPLORED. WE WILL SAMPLE 33 BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC VARIABLES IN AN EXISTING TALLGRASS PRAIRIE PBG EXPERIMENT FOR THREE YEARS TO ASSESS THE ABILITY OF PBG TO INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY OR WORKING RANGELAND, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF LONG-TERM CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES. WE WILL DO THIS BY: (1) ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF PBG MANAGEMENT ON ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES, PROCESSES, AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (INCLUDING UNDERSTUDIED BELOWGROUND COMPONENTS); (2) DETERMINING WHETHER PBG ENHANCES THE COUPLING OF A MULTITUDE OF ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS; AND (3) INVESTIGATING HOW ECOSYSTEM COUPLING AFFECTS ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE CONTEXT OF PBG. THESE OBJECTIVES DIRECTLY ALIGN WITH BOTH BNRE SOIL HEALTH PROGRAM GOALS BY PROVIDING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF ABOVE-BELOWGROUND INTERACTIONS AND HOW SOIL HEALTH IMPACTS OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ECOSYSTEM AS WELL AS INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER A NEW MANAGEMENT METHOD INCREASES SOIL HEALTH AND OTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF WORKING LANDS AND REDUCES THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.

CC* NETWORKING INFRASTRUCTURE: GATE CITY RESEARCH NETWORK - A MULTI-INSTITUTION SCIENCE DMZ

CAREER: A STUDY OF PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' SCIENCE IDENTITIES

TC: SMALL: LAYERED MODELING FOR DESIGN, ANALYSIS, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TRUSTED PLATFORM APPLICATIONS

ETHANOL EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR: GENES AND ENVIRONMENT

GERMLINE TRANSMISSION OF EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS TO OFFSPRING INDUCED BY BISPHENOL A EXPOSURE

SPECIAL EDUCATION PRE-SERVICE TRAINING IMPROVEMENT GRANTS

BASIC COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AND PROBLEM SOLVING IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS -OVER THE COURSE OF LONG-TERM ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS, COUPLES INEVITABLY ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS THAT THREATEN THE QUALITY AND STABILITY OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS. FOR EXAMPLE, COUPLES ROUTINELY EXPERIENCE CONFLICTS ARISING FROM COMPETING INTERESTS OR GOALS, SUCH AS DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT HOW TO DISCIPLINE CHILDREN. EXTERNAL CHALLENGES, SUCH AS ILLNESS OR LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT, ARE ALSO COMMON. IF NOT EFFECTIVELY RESOLVED, SUCH RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS TEND TO ERODE RELATIONSHIP QUALITY, ULTIMATELY HARMING PARTNERS' MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE RESEARCH HAS ADDRESSED THE FACTORS THAT MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO SOLVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS, LITTLE RESEARCH HAS IDENTIFIED FACTORS THAT DETERMINE PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO DO SO. THIS PROJECT THEREFORE INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF SEVERAL IMPORTANT COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS (E.G., MEMORY RETRIEVAL, ATTENTIONAL FOCUS, REASONING) ON PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN THEIR ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS. THIS PROJECT TESTS WHETHER CERTAIN COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS FACILITATE SUCCESSFUL PROBLEM RESOLUTION. IT CONSIDERS HOW THOSE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS MIGHT LEAD PEOPLE TO (A) GENERATE MORE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS, (B) BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR PARTNER'S PERSPECTIVES ABOUT THE PROBLEM, (C) RECALL MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND (D) ENACT BEHAVIORS THAT REDUCE THE SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM. THE PROJECT ALSO EXAMINES WHETHER PARTNERS' BEHAVIOR TOWARD ONE ANOTHER AFFECTS HOW THESE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO PROBLEM RESOLUTION. ONE EXAMPLE IS ASKING WHETHER PROVIDING REMINDERS TO A DISTRACTED PARTNER HELPS THEM TO REMEMBER TO ENACT AGREED UPON SOLUTIONS. THESE HYPOTHESES ARE TESTED WITHIN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF COMMUNITY COUPLES THAT OBJECTIVELY ASSESSES COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, OBSERVES PARTICIPANTS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS, AND TRACKS CHANGES IN THE SEVERITY OF THOSE PROBLEMS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS. THIS RESEARCH INFORMS PRACTITIONERS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS AMONG DIVERSE CLIENTS. 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.

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) -THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) IS A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, FEDERAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. GRFP HELPS ENSURE THE VITALITY AND DIVERSITY OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE OF THE UNITED STATES. THE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES AND SUPPORTS OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING RESEARCH-BASED MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL DEGREES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) AND IN STEM EDUCATION. THE GRFP PROVIDES THREE YEARS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE GRADUATE EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED THEIR POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS IN STEM AND STEM EDUCATION. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE NSF GRADUATE FELLOWS PURSUING GRADUATE EDUCATION AT THIS GRFP INSTITUTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ENHANCING STUDENTS` SMALL BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE & ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: COLLABORATIVE CURRICULUM DESIGN/ASSESSMENT

MULTIPLE TRAJECTORIES IN ANXIOUS SOLITARY YOUTH

DESIGN, PROTOTYPING AND EVALUATION OF NEXT GENERATION PUBLIC SAFETY USER INTERFACES

SATC: CORE: SMALL: WHEN AND FROM WHOM REMINDER-BASED CORRECTIONS OF EVERYDAY MISINFORMATION IMPROVE MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY -MISINFORMATION SHARED VIA NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAS NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. FOR EXAMPLE, MISINFORMATION ABOUT SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COVID VACCINES HAS REDUCED INTENT TO RECEIVE THEM. WEBSITES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO COUNTERACT MISINFORMATION BY INDICATING CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION. BUT THIS APPROACH MAY NOT ALWAYS BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE REMINDING PEOPLE OF MISINFORMATION CAN MAKE IT MORE BELIEVABLE. THE PROJECT TEAM IS EVALUATING A REMINDING TECHNIQUE THAT RECENTLY IMPROVED MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY IN INTERNET NEWS HEADLINES IN COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WERE IMMEDIATELY TESTED. THE PROJECT ADVANCES AREAS OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES BY REVEALING THE MENTAL PROCESSES THAT IMPROVE MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY FOR EVERYDAY NEWS. THIS COULD BENEFIT PUBLIC HEALTH AND NATIONAL DEFENSE BY ESTABLISHING WHETHER THIS IMPLEMENTABLE METHOD COUNTERACTS HEALTH-BASED AND OTHER MISINFORMATION THAT CAN BE PROPAGATED BY FOREIGN SOURCES. THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE EDUCATION OF A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY BY BEING CONDUCTED AT A UNIVERSITY THAT EMPHASIZES STUDENT RESEARCH TRAINING AND ATTRACTS STUDENTS FROM MANY BACKGROUNDS. BOTH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE TRAINING IN THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR STEM CAREERS. THE CURRENT PROJECT IS EXAMINING WHETHER BENEFITS OF MISINFORMATION REMINDERS GENERALIZE TO VARIOUS SITUATION IN REPRESENTATIVE US SAMPLES. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT IS TESTING IF THE BENEFITS EXTEND FROM: PRESENTATION AND TEST DELAYS OF MINUTES TO DAYS, NEWS HEADLINES WITH TEXT AND IMAGES TO PODCASTS AND NEWS VIDEOS, AND PARTISAN-NEUTRAL TO PARTISAN-SPECIFIC INFORMATION SOURCES VARYING IN PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY. PARTICIPANTS ARE FIRST BEING EXPOSED TO REAL AND FAKE INTERNET NEWS STORY HEADLINES AND THEN LEARNING REAL NEWS CORRECTIONS THAT SOMETIMES APPEAR AFTER PARTICIPANTS ARE REMINDED OF FAKE NEWS. PARTICIPANTS? RECALL ACCURACY AND BELIEFS IN RECALLED DETAILS ARE THEN BEING TESTED. THE FINDINGS WILL ILLUMINATE WHEN, HOW, AND FROM WHOM REMINDERS OF EVERYDAY INTERNET-BASED MISINFORMATION EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE ACCURATE MEMORY AND BELIEFS. 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: DECIPHERING THE MECHANISMS OF IRON ACQUISITION AND ACCUMULATION IN THE UNDERUTILIZED ANCIENT CROP TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF) -IRON (FE) IS REQUIRED FOR THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALL ORGANISMS, INCLUDING PLANTS AND HUMANS. IN HUMANS, FE DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AFFECTS OVER 30% OF THE WORLD?S POPULATION AND IS THE PREVAILING NUTRITIONAL DISORDER IN THE WORLD. IN PLANTS, FE BIOAVAILABILITY IS EXTREMELY LIMITED IN ALKALINE AND NEUTRAL PH SOILS THAT OCCUPY ABOUT A THIRD OF THE ARABLE LANDS. DECREASED FE AVAILABILITY IN THESE SOILS NOT ONLY RESTRICTS PLANT GROWTH BUT ALSO LIMITS FE ACCUMULATION IN EDIBLE PLANT TISSUES. THE MECHANISM OF FE ACQUISITION AND TRANSLOCATION HAS BEEN STUDIED AND GENES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE PROCESSES HAVE BEEN CHARACTERIZED IN THE MODEL ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA AND ARE UNDER SCRUTINY IN VARIOUS CROPS SUCH AS RICE, WHEAT, AND MAIZE, WHOSE GRAINS ARE GENERALLY LOW IN FE CONTENT. HOWEVER, FE TRANSPORT MECHANISMS AND GENES INVOLVED IN FE ACQUISITION IN UNDERUTILIZED CROPS SUCH AS TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF), WHICH ARE RICH IN ESSENTIAL MACRO- AND MICRONUTRIENTS, REMAIN UNKNOWN. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IDENTIFY FE ACQUISITION AND STORAGE MECHANISMS THAT HELP TEF ACCUMULATE HIGH LEVELS OF FE IN GRAINS. A SURVEYS OF THE TEF DIVERSITY PANELS BY THE PI AND COLLABORATORS HAS SHOWN SIGNIFICANT NATURAL VARIATION IN FE CONCENTRATION IN TEF GRAINS. GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES IDENTIFIED FOUR MAJOR QTLS WHICH TOGETHER EXPLAIN 46% OF THE VARIATION IN IRON CONTENT ACROSS THE TEF DIVERSITY PANEL, AND NONE OF THE LOCI CO-LOCALIZE WITH PREVIOUSLY CHARACTERIZED FE TRANSPORT OR ACCUMULATION GENES, SUGGESTING NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR FE ACCUMULATION IN TEF. FURTHERMORE, TEF ROOT AND SHOOT TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL FE-DEFICIENCY-REGULATED GENES WHICH REMAIN TO BE CHARACTERIZED. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE: 1) TO CHARACTERIZE NOVEL QTLS AND FE-DEFICIENCY-REGULATED GENES IN TEF VIA CRISPR-CAS9 GENE EDITING IN TEF AND, 2) TO ORGANIZE ?MAKE YOUR OWN TEF BREAD/INJERA? WORKSHOP AT THE UNCG BIOLOGY PLANT AND POLLINATOR CENTER FOR VOLUNTEER PARTICIPANTS. TEF HAS MORE BIOAVAILABLE FE THAN OTHER MAJOR CEREALS. HENCE, ITS CONSUMPTION HAS A POTENTIAL TO REDUCE FE DEFICIENCY ANEMIA. THIS PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO IDENTIFY NOVEL GENES WHICH WILL BE UTILIZED TO ENHANCE THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF MAJOR CROPS VIA MOLECULAR BREEDING. THE FINDINGS WILL ALSO BE SHARED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY IN THE FORM OF PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC REPOSITORIES. 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.

CAREER: GENERATION OF CYANOCARBENES FROM ALKYNES AND AZIDES

ACCESS TO CHILD CARE ENHANCES STUDENT SUCCESS (ACCESS) PROJECT

NOVEL CARBON NANODOTS FOR MODULATION OF OXLDL MEDIATED INFLAMMATION AND INHIBITION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

EFFECT OF ALMOND CONSUMPTION ON IRON STATUS IN INFLAMMATORY STATES - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ANEMIA OF INFLAMMATION (AI) IS THE SECOND MOST PREVALENT FORM OF ANEMIA. IT IS CAUSED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. WHILE PEOPLE WITH AI HAVE SUFFICIENT BODY IRON, INCREASED SEQUESTRATION DUE TO ELEVATED CONCENTRATION OF THE PROTEIN HEPCIDIN LEADS TO INSUFFICIENT CIRCULATING IRON FOR RED BLOOD CELL SYNTHESIS. AI IS ALSO EXACERBATED BY THE DESTRUCTION OF RED BLOOD CELLS (RBCS) BY MACROPHAGES DUE TO INFLAMMATION. UNFORTUNATELY, CURRENT THERAPIES, INCLUDING BLOOD TRANSFUSION, DO NOT REDUCE THE ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS OF HEPCIDIN; FURTHERMORE, TRANSFUSION INCREASES RISK OF EXCESS IRON, WHICH CAN CAUSE ADVERSE EFFECTS. WHILE EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS TARGETING HEPCIDIN ARE BEING DEVELOPED, THEIR LONG- TERM ADVERSE EFFECTS ARE NOT KNOWN, WARRANTING NEW NON-PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACHES. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY DIETARY APPROACHES FOR MITIGATING AI. CONSUMPTION OF ALMONDS MAY MITIGATE AI BY DIFFERENT MECHANISMS; THESE INCLUDE (I) REDUCING INFLAMMATION, (II) ALTERING THE GUT MICROBIOME COMPOSITION, AND (III) IMPROVING ROBUSTNESS OF RBCS BY INCREASING THEIR VITAMIN E CONTENT, WHICH PROTECTS THEM FROM OXIDATIVE DAMAGE. IN THIS PROPOSED R15 STUDY, WE WILL TEST THE OVERALL HYPOTHESIS THAT ALMOND CONSUMPTION WILL IMPROVE IRON STATUS IN INFLAMMATORY STATES, USING OBESE AND AGING MICE. WE CHOSE THESE MOUSE MODELS BECAUSE BOTH CONDITIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION, INCREASED HEPCIDIN, AND IMPAIRED IRON STATUS MARKERS. OUR PRELIMINARY 8-WEEK STUDY USING A MOUSE MODEL OF OBESITY PROVIDED SUGGESTIVE EVIDENCE THAT REGULAR ALMOND INTAKE REDUCED HEPCIDIN AND IMPROVED IRON CONCENTRATIONS IN PLASMA; HOWEVER, A LONGER-DURATION STUDY IS NEEDED FOR CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. OUR PROPOSED STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A 24-WEEK HIGH-FAT DIET WITH ALMONDS (15% CALORIES FROM ALMONDS) ON CIRCULATING IRON CONCENTRATIONS IN C57BL/6 MICE. WE HYPOTHESIZE THIS TREATMENT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE IRON STATUS COMPARED TO HIGH-FAT AND LOW-FAT DIETS. WE WILL ALSO INVESTIGATE WHETHER THIS INTAKE OF ALMONDS CAN MITIGATE AGING-RELATED AI IN C57BL/6 MICE, A FREQUENTLY USED MODEL IN AGING RESEARCH. WE WILL FURTHER PROBE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS THAT MAY INFLUENCE THESE EFFECTS, INCLUDING CHANGES IN GUT MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION, HEPCIDIN CONCENTRATIONS, AND THE ANTIOXIDANT SYSTEM IN RBCS. IF OUR HYPOTHESES ARE BORNE OUT, WE WILL DEMONSTRATE THE POTENTIAL OF ALMONDS AS A DIETARY APPROACH TO MITIGATING AI. FURTHERMORE, THIS WORK WOULD BE THE FIRST TO ELUCIDATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF GUT MICROBIOTA AND RBC ANTIOXIDANT SYSTEM IN MITIGATING AI.

NOVEL CARBON NANODOTS AGAINST VASCULAR INFLAMMATION

REU SITE: ALGORITHMIC COMBINATORICS ON WORDS 2008-2011

UNRAVELING IMMUNOSTIMULATORY AND IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF ECHINACEA PURPUREA

UNC-GREENSBORO U-RISE: ENGAGE, SUSTAIN, AND PREPARE FUTURE PHD BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS - SUMMARY THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO (UNCG) U-RISE WILL BE A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WILL DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING THE PERCENTAGE OF UNDERREPRESENTED (UR) STUDENTS PURSUING GRADUATE STUDIES IN PREPARATION FOR CAREERS IN THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE. THE PROPOSED U-RISE FELLOWS PROGRAM WILL LEVERAGE AN ARRAY OF ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO PROMOTE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION, AND MONITORING AND ADVISING. OUR PROGRAM WILL USE MERIT- AND NEED- BASED CRITERIA TO SELECT U-RISE FELLOWS FROM OUR LARGE POOL OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED UR STUDENTS. THE UNCG U-RISE PROGRAM WILL ENGAGE THESE FELLOWS IN SUBSTANTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS LEADING TO COMPREHENSIVE BASIC LABORATORY AND EVALUATION SKILLS. A QUALITY POOL OF RESEARCH FACULTY IS AVAILABLE TO MENTOR FELLOWS AND SPONSOR THEIR RESEARCH PROJECTS. OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM WILL SUSTAIN ACADEMIC, PROFESSIONAL, AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITH ENRICHMENT STRATEGIES THAT INCLUDE COMMUNITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES, CO-CURRICULAR INSTRUCTION, AND INTENSIVE RESEARCH WORKSHOPS AND EXPERIENCES. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF OUR PROGRAM IS TO PREPARE FELLOWS FOR SUCCESS IN PHD LEVEL TRAINING IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BY ENSURING COMPETENCY IN RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS AND REQUISITE PROFESSIONAL AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, TEAMWORK, AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS. WE WILL ALSO PREPARE THESE STUDENTS BY NETWORKING THEM INTO THE EXISTING COMMUNITY OF UNDERREPRESENTED SCIENTISTS, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, GRADUATE, AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS VIA PARTICIPATION IN RELEVANT SOCIETIES AND PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS. A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT IS INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT OUR PROGRAM AND REINFORCED IN ITS ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT CORE. EFFECTIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TEAMS ARE MORE LIKELY WHEN PARTICIPANTS HAVE BROADER EXPOSURE AND UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEMENTARY DISCIPLINES. COMMUNITY-ENGAGED ACTIVITIES, HISTORICAL HALLMARKS OF UNCG’S IDENTITY, WILL PROVIDE PERSPECTIVE ON THE TRANSLATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SUPPORT PROVIDED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WILL HAVE SUBSTANTIAL EFFECTS ON UNC-GREENSBORO U-RISE: ENGAGE, SUSTAIN, AND PREPARE FUTURE PHD BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS FELLOWS AS WELL AS THE UR STUDENT POPULATION IN GENERAL AT UNCG.

LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS OF SYNDEMIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HIV CARE OUTCOMES AMONG WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN THE SOUTH - ABSTRACT - NEW STRATEGIES ARE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERPLAY OF MULTIPLE BARRIERS TO HIV CARE ENGAGEMENT AND VIRAL SUPPRESSION FOR DIVERSE WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN THE SOUTH. THE SOUTH IS A HIGH-RISK GEOGRAPHIC AREA, WITH MORE THAN HALF OF THE NEW HIV DIAGNOSES IN THE U.S., AND INCIDENCE RATES UNCHANGED IN A DECADE. ACROSS THE SOUTH, LOW RESOURCES, ECONOMIC DISPARITIES, AND RACIAL/ETHNIC DYNAMICS PRESENT CHALLENGES TO ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC. WHILE RESEARCH TO DATE HAS IDENTIFIED FACTORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH HIV CARE OUTCOMES FOR WOMEN, OUR STUDY WILL EXAMINE THE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPLAY OF FACTORS AMONG WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN THE SOUTH, IN ORDER TO PRIORITIZE TARGETS FOR INTERVENTION ACROSS RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS. THUS, THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE TO: (1) EXAMINE PSYCHOSOCIAL, STRUCTURAL, AND BEHAVIORAL COMORBIDITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THREE KEY OUTCOMES ALONG THE HIV CARE CONTINUUM: (A) HIV CARE ENGAGEMENT, (B) VIRAL SUPPRESSION, AND (C) BIOBEHAVIORAL TRANSMISSION RISK (CONDOMLESS SEX IN THE CONTEXT OF UNSUPPRESSED VIRAL LOAD); AND (2) AND TO IDENTIFY WHETHER UNIQUE COMBINATIONS OF THESE COMORBIDITIES FORM SYNDEMICS THAT VARY BY RACE/ETHNICITY. WE PROPOSE A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF 2015-2019 DATA FROM THE MEDICAL MONITORING PROJECT, A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV, FOCUSED ON SIX SOUTHERN STATES: FL, GA, NC, MS, TX, AND VA (N=~2,082). WE HAVE TWO SPECIFIC AIMS. AIM 1 WILL QUANTITATIVELY ASSESS RACIAL/ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN HIV CARE ENGAGEMENT, VIRAL SUPPRESSION, AND BIOBEHAVIORAL TRANSMISSION RISK AMONG WOMEN IN THE SIX SOUTHERN STATES BY (A) DESCRIBING PROPORTIONS OF EACH OUTCOME AMONG HISPANIC, NON-HISPANIC BLACK, NON-HISPANIC WHITE, AND OTHER/MULTIRACIAL WOMEN; (B) ESTIMATING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN RACE/ETHNICITY, PSYCHOSOCIAL, STRUCTURAL, AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS, AND THE THREE KEY OUTCOMES; AND (C) TESTING WHETHER RACE/ETHNICITY MODERATES THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PSYCHOSOCIAL, STRUCTURAL, AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS AND EACH OF THE THREE OUTCOMES. AIM 2 WILL ASSESS SYNDEMIC CONDITIONS EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN OF DIFFERENT RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS BY: (A) CONDUCTING LATENT CLASS ANALYSES TO IDENTIFY UNIQUE COMBINATIONS OF SOCIAL AND STRUCTURAL FACTORS THAT MAY FORM A SYNDEMIC AND THAT MAY VARY BY RACE/ETHNICITY, AND (B) USING REGRESSION ANALYSES TO TEST WHETHER THESE EMERGENT LATENT CLASSES PREDICT THE THREE OUTCOMES ALONG THE HIV CARE CONTINUUM. THIS R15 AREA STUDY WILL STRENGTHEN THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT BY GROWING RESEARCH MENTORSHIP, AN ACADEMIC-COMMUNITY NETWORK OF COLLABORATORS, AND A PIPELINE FOR QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN HEALTH INEQUITIES AND HIV AT UNCG AND WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTIVE RESEARCH INVOLVEMENT FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH STRUCTURED, COLLABORATIVE MENTORSHIP THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT. ULTIMATELY, THIS R15 AREA STUDY WILL FOSTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE HIV CARE CONTINUUM OUTCOMES BY PROVIDING THE FOUNDATIONAL DATA TO PRIORITIZE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS COMBINATIONS OF BARRIERS EXPERIENCED BY DIVERSE WOMEN IN THE SOUTH. FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS WILL TEST THESE POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS.

NURSE EDUCATION PRACTICE QUALITY RETENTION SIMULATION EDUCATION TRAINING

MECHANISM OF MYOSIN ACTION IN GLUCOSE UPTAKE

MEIOTIC PAIRING IN MALE DROSOPHILA

AMBULATORY PHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

THE ROLE OF DTOPORS IN DROSOPHILA MALE MEIOSIS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE HUMAN TUMOR SUPPRESSOR TOPORS (TOPOISOMERASE I-INTERACTING ARGININE SERINE RICH PROTEIN) IS A DUAL UBIQUITIN/SUMO E3 LIGASE. IN DROSOPHILA THE HOMOLOGOUS PROTEIN, DTOPORS, PLAYS AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN BOTH NUCLEAR STRUCTURE AND MEIOTIC CHROMOSOME BEHAVIOR IN MALES. MUTATIONS IN DTOPORS THAT SPECIFICALLY ALTER ITS UBIQUITIN LIGASE ACTIVITY RESULT IN SPERMATOCYTE NUCLEAR BLEBBING AND A HIGH FREQUENCY OF MEIOTIC ANAPHASE BRIDGES AND SUBSEQUENT NONDISJUNCTION. THIS UNUSUAL PHENOTYPE IS ALSO OBSERVED IN MALES BEARING A MEIOTIC-SPECIFIC MUTATION IN THE NUCLEOPORIN GENE RAE1 (RIBONUCLEIC ACID EXPORT 1), SUGGESTING THAT THE TWO GENES ACT IN A COMMON PATHWAY. A COMBINED GENETIC, CYTOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL APPROACH WILL BE USED TO DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DTOPORS AND RAE1. THE DOUBLE MUTANT PHENOTYPE WILL BE EXAMINED, AND GENETIC TESTS WILL BE USED TO ASK IF RAE1 ALLELES ENHANCE A DTOPORS HYPOMORPH. THE LOCALIZATION OF DTOPORS AND RAE1 PROTEIN WILL BE EXAMINED IN THE RECIPROCAL MUTANT BACKGROUND, AND THE PROTEINS WILL BE TESTED FOR INTERACTION USING A YEAST TWO-HYBRID ASSAY AND CO-IMMUNOPRECIPITATION. PARTNER E2 UBIQUITIN LIGASE(S) OF DTOPORS WILL BE IDENTIFIED USING AN RNAI KNOCKOUT SCREEN ALONG WITH YEAST TWO-HYBRID INTERACTION TESTS. AN EXISTING SECOND SITE SUPPRESSOR OF DTOPORS EFFECT ON NUCLEAR STRUCTURE WILL BE IDENTIFIED BY CONVENTIONAL RECOMBINATION MAPPING, COMPLEMENTATION TESTS AND DNA SEQUENCING. DOWNSTREAM TARGETS OF DTOPORS UBIQUITINATION IN MEIOTIC CELLS WILL BE DETERMINED BY COMPARATIVE LC MS/MS MASS SPECTROMETRY ON WILDTYPE VERSUS UBIQUITIN NULL MUTANT TESTIS PROTEIN AFTER IMMUNOPRECIPITATION WITH UBIQUITIN-TAG-SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES. TOGETHER THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL REVEAL THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RAE 1 AND DTOPORS, AND DETERMINE THE DOWNSTREAM TARGETS OF DTOPORS RELEVANT TO NUCLEAR STRUCTURE AND CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION.

COMPARATIVE BIOACTIVITY MODELING AND BIOINFORMATICS TO STUDY COMBINATION EFFECTS IN COMPLEX NATURAL PRODUCT MIXTURES

PREDICTING LATER PARENT-CHILD AGGRESSION IN EXPECTANT PARENTS: THE TRIPLE F STUDY

IDENTIFICATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF) SEED EXTRACTS FOR ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES. - SUMMARY CELLULAR OXIDATIVE STRESS IS A RISK FACTOR FOR SEVERAL HUMAN DISEASE INCLUDING DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVD) AND CANCER. NATURAL AND FOOD PRODUCTS HAVE A GREAT POTENTIAL TO PROTECT CELLS UNDER OXIDATIVE STRESS CONDITIONS. TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF) IS GLUTEN-FREE GRAIN THAT IS RICH IN MINERAL NUTRIENTS, ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS, AND WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS AND SEVERAL BIOACTIVE PHYTOCHEMICALS INCLUDING POLYPHENOLS, FLAVONOIDS AND POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFAS). TEF HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL AS A CROP WITH EXCELLENT NUTRITIONAL POTENTIAL AND SUITABILITY TO BOOST FOOD SECURITY. HOWEVER, THE BIOACTIVITY OF TEF PHYTOCHEMICALS HAVE NEVER BEEN STUDIED USING PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT MODELS. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE TO IDENTIFY BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN TEF GRAINS AND TEST THEIR ABILITY TO COMBAT OXIDATIVE STRESS, THUS PREVENTING THE PATHOGENIC CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS)-INDUCED DAMAGES. THIS INITIATIVE IS BASED ON OUR RECENT FINDING INDICATING THAT: 1) TEF SEED EXTRACTS INCREASE GLUTATHIONE (GSH) LEVELS IN THP-1 MONOCYTES, 2) AN INCREASE IN GSH LEVEL IS MORE PROMINENT IN BROWN THAN IVORY TEF SEEDS, SUGGESTING THE EXISTENCE OF GENOTYPIC VARIABILITY IN THE CONTENT OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUND, 3) TEF SEED EXTRACTS INCREASE THE EXPRESSION OF THE MASTER REGULATOR OF ANTIOXIDANT PATHWAY NUCLEAR FACTOR ERYTHROID 2-RELATED FACTOR 2 (NRF2) AND ITS TARGETS INCLUDING HEME OXYGENASE 1 (HO-1), NAD(P)H QUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE1 (NQO1), GLUTATHIONE REDUCTASE (GR) AND THE -GLUTAMATE CYSTEINE LIGASE CATALYTIC (GCLC) AND REGULATORY (GCLM) SUBUNIT, WHICH PLAY A KEY ROLE IN GSH BIOSYNTHESIS, 4) A BIOACTIVE FRACTION OF TEF EXTRACT CONTAINS A DERIVATIVE OF LINOLEIC ACID (LA) 9-HYDROXYOCTADECADIENOIC ACID (9-HODE), WHICH IS A MARKER FOR MEMBRANE LIPID PEROXIDATION. THESE FINDINGS PROMPTED US TO HYPOTHESIZE THAT TEF HAS BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS WHICH HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BOOST THE ANTIOXIDANT PATHWAY UNDER OXIDATIVE STRESS CONDITIONS LIKELY VIA NRF2 SIGNALING. OUR AIMS ARE: 1) IDENTIFICATION AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOACTIVE PHYTOCHEMICALS FROM TEF SEEDS, 2) STUDYING WHETHER TEF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS INDUCE OXIDATIVE STRESS-RESPONSIVE GENES, AND PROTECT CELLS FROM ROS, 3) UNDERSTANDING THE GENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF TEF. THIS STUDY WILL HELP IN DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES FOR OXIDATIVE STRESS-INDUCED DISEASES. IT WILL ALSO GENERATE NEW INFORMATION THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE TEF OR TRANSFERRED TO MAJOR CEREALS TO ADD VALUE TO THESE CROPS. THIS FUNDING WILL BOOST THE CAPACITY OF THE OSENA LABORATORY TO EXPLORE UNDERUTILIZED CROPS SUCH AS MILLETS FOR DESIRABLE TRAITS INCLUDING HEALTH BENEFITS. THE OSENA LABORATORY AND THE ENVIRONMENT AT UNC GREENSBORO ARE IDEAL FOR THIS RESEARCH, AND TRAINING STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUP.

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

MICROTEMPORAL MOTIVATIONAL PROCESSES REGULATING HEALTH BEHAVIOR ADOPTION AND MAINTENANCE IN OLDER ADULTS

INTERVENTION TO PREVENT AT-RISK SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN BOYS

THIS NIFA-EGP PROJECT WILL ACQUIRE AN ANALYTICAL FIELD EMISSION SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (FE-SEM) TO CONDUCT A BROAD RANGE OF CUTTING-EDGE AND INNOVATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS IN AGRICULTURE, BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS SCIENCE, AND ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA GREENSBORO (UNCG). THE MICROSCOPE FEATURES AN IN-LENS SCHOTTKY PLUS FIELD EMISSION ELECTRON GUN, A NEXT-GENERATION ELECTRON OPTICAL CONTROL SYSTEM, "NEO ENGINE", AND A FULLY EMBEDDED ENERGY-DISPERIVE X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY ANALYZER, ALLOWING USERS TO PERFORM HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGING AND HIGH SPEED ELEMENTAL MAPPING, EVEN AT LOW ACCELERATING VOLTAGE OF 1 KV. THIS NEW MICROSCOPE WILL REPLACE OUR CURRENT HEAVILY USED BUT AGING FE-SEM, WHICH IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO REPAIR. THUS, WE ARE SEEKING FUNDS TO NOT ONLY REPLACE, BUT ALSO EXPAND ON OUR SEM CAPABILITIES TO BETTER SERVE OUR STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, AND FACULTY. THE NEW FE-SEM PROVIDES THE ABILITY TO IMAGE MATERIALS WITH RESOLUTION DOWN TO 0.7 NM AT HIGH ACCELERATING VOLTAGE (20 KV) AND 1.3 NM AT LOW ACCELERATING VOLTAGE (1 KV), MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ENGINEER SOFT AND HARD MATERIALS AT THE NANOSCALE, ALLOWING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMERGING MATERIALS WITH SUPERIOR CATALYTIC AND REDOX PROPERTIES, HIGH INTERFACIAL INTERACTIONS AND BINDING AFFINITIES, AND BETTER ADSORPTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY. THEREFORE, THE NEW MICROSCOPE WILL SERVE ALL RESEARCHERS TO PROPEL RESEARCH INNOVATIONS THROUGH ACCESS TO THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL LEAD TO DISCOVERY AND CREATION OF NEW MATERIALS FOR WATER REMEDIATION, BIOMASS CONVERSION, PROCESSING, AND ENGINEERING, AND NANOTECHNOLOGY-ENABLED POINT-OF-USE DEVICES, DIRECTLY ALIGNING WITH USDA-NIFA PRORITY PROGRAMS.

DIETARY FAT, BRAIN INFLAMMATION, AND DOPAMINE SYSTEM FUNCTION

REU SITE: ALGORITHMIC COMBINATORICS ON WORDS 2011-2014

EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND SCHIZOTYPY IN THE LABORATORY AND DAILY LIFE

DRUG COVERAGE AND COST OFFSETS: TWO-PART MODELS WITH ENDOGENOUS TREATMENT EFFECTS

OPTIMIZATION OF HIGH SELECTIVITY ANTAGONIST HITS FOR THE GPR55 RECEPTOR

INHIBITION OF MTOR ALTERS EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS LYTIC REPLICATION

SOCIAL SUPPORT, DEPRESSION, AND ORAL HEALTH IN LATER LIFE

REU SITE: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO - COMPLEX DATA ANALYSIS USING STATISTICAL AND MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS -TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS NOW ALLOW THE COLLECTION OF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DATA AT LOW COST. APPROPRIATE HANDLING AND ANALYSIS OF SUCH DATA IS VITAL TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE GENERATION OF GRADUATES. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO COMPLEX DATA ANALYSIS USING STATISTICAL AND MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES SITE, WHICH WILL PROVIDE 10 WEEKS OF TRAINING AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX DATA TO TEN UNDERGRADUATES EACH SUMMER, 2023-2025. THE PROGRAM WILL AIM TO RECRUIT STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IS INTENDED TO MOTIVATE STUDENT PARTICIPANTS TO GO ON TO GRADUATE STUDY IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND TO BECOME SKILLED DATA ANALYTICS PROFESSIONALS. THE PROGRAM WILL INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO A RANGE OF ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR COMPLEX DATA. THE RESEARCH PROJECTS WILL INTRODUCE THEM TO A RANGE OF TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATE TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATA COMPLEXITY. POTENTIAL PROJECTS INCLUDE WORKING WITH GEOSPATIAL SOURCES (SUCH AS CENSUS, ELECTION, AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA) AND HUMAN GENOME SEQUENCING DATA. STUDENTS IN THE PROGRAM WILL ALSO RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS TRAINING AND GIVE PRESENTATIONS ON THEIR WORK, SUBMIT PAPERS FOR PUBLICATION, AND PARTICIPATE IN CONFERENCES. 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.

PARENT EXPERIENCES OF CONTINUING PREGNANCY WITH LETHAL FETAL DIAGNOSIS

A MOLECULAR GRAMMAR FOR GUIDE RNAS (GRNAS) WITH ENGINEERED SECONDARY STRUCTURES - CRISPR EFFECTORS LIKE CAS9 AND CAS12A HAVE EMERGED AS POWERFUL TOOLS IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOR THEIR ABILITY TO INTRODUCE TARGETED MUTATIONS IN LIVING CELLS AND, CONSEQUENTIALLY, FOR THIS ABILITY THEY HOLD SIGNIFICANT THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL FOR TREATING GENETIC DISORDERS—DESPITE ALSO CARRYING SIGNIFICANT CLINICAL RISK THAT THEY MAY INTRODUCE ‘OFF- TARGET’ OR UNINTENDED MUTATIONS. WHILE THE POWER OF CRISPR EFFECTORS LIES IN THE FACT THAT THE SEQUENCES THEY RECOGNIZE AND TARGET ARE COMPLEMENTARY TO A MODULAR, ‘PROGRAMMABLE’ SEGMENT OF THEIR RNA COFACTORS (THEIR ‘GUIDE RNAS’ OR GRNAS), THEIR MUTATIONAL ACTIVITY CAN BE TRIGGERED AT NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCES WITH IMPERFECT COMPLEMENTARITY TO THEIR GRNAS AS WELL, UNPREDICTABLY. OBVIOUSLY, THE POSSIBILITY OF UNCONTROLLED MUTATION RAISES RED FLAGS FOR BOTH PATIENTS AND CLINICIANS AND SO FAR, CRISPR GENE THERAPIES HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON HIGHLY SPECIALIZED GENETIC SITUATIONS. FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO CRISPR SPECIFICITY ARE NECESSARY, NOT ONLY TO MITIGATE CLINICAL RISK, BUT ALSO TO DRIVE NEW APPLICATIONS OF CRISPR—FOR EXAMPLE, IF SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE VARIANTS (SNVS) COULD BE RELIABLY DISCRIMINATED, IT WOULD ALLOW FOR ALLELE-SPECIFIC GENE EDITING OF AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT DISORDERS, WHERE OFTEN WE WOULD NEED TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN SMALL SEQUENCE VARIATIONS BETWEEN THE ‘HEALTHY’ AND ‘DISEASE’ ALLELES BUT WHICH CURRENT CRISPR TECHNOLOGIES CANNOT CONSISTENTLY DO. WE RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF AN APPROACH THAT IS CAPABLE OF IMPROVING CRISPR EFFECTOR SPECIFICITY BY ORDERS-OF-MAGNITUDE, AND IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN BE SYNERGISTICALLY APPLIED TO MANY OF THE OTHER PREVIOUSLY-DEVELOPED TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE SPECIFICITY FURTHER. BY ADDING EXTRA NUCLEOTIDES TO THE GRNA (X-GRNA) AND DESIGNING THE EXTENDED SEQUENCE TO FORM ‘HAIRPIN’ SECONDARY STRUCTURES WITH THE DNA-TARGETING SEGMENT OF THE GRNA (HAIRPIN-GRNAS OR HP-GRNAS) THAT DESTABILIZE INTERACTIONS WITH OFF-TARGETS, WE COULD GENERATE X/HP-GRNAS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY LIMITED OFF-TARGET ACTIVITY WHILE MAINTAINING ON-TARGET MUTATIONAL ACTIVITY IN CRISPR EFFECTOR VARIANTS DERIVED FROM FOUR DIFFERENT ORGANISMS AND ONE ENGINEERED DERIVATIVE. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS THEREFORE TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES FOR DESIGNING EXTENDED SEQUENCES IN X-GRNAS THAT WOULD RESULT IN ULTRA-SPECIFICITY FOR DIVERGENT CRISPR EFFECTORS AT ANY CRISPR-TARGETABLE SITE. TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, IN THIS R21 WE WILL PERFORM AN EXHAUSTIVE SCREEN OF RANDOMIZED X-GRNA LIBRARIES TARGETING DIFFERENT CLINICALLY-RELEVANT SITES AND IDENTIFY WHAT COMMON SEQUENCE AND/OR SECONDARY-STRUCTURE FEATURES OF THOSE X-GRNAS DRIVE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN SPECIFICITY. WHILE THE RISKINESS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT THERE MAY NOT BE “UNIVERSAL DESIGN RULES”, PER SE, FOR ALL X/HP-GRNA DESIGNS AND TARGETS, THIS WORK WILL NEVERTHELESS PROVIDE A PRACTICAL (DESIGN-FREE) PLATFORM FOR RESEARCHERS TO EMPIRICALLY GENERATE ULTRA-SPECIFIC X-GRNAS FOR ANY TARGET OF INTEREST FOR ANY CRISPR EFFECTOR. THE LIKELY REWARD IS THAT SYNERGISTIC USE OF X-GRNAS (WITH ENGINEERED CRISPR EFFECTORS) HAS THE POTENTIAL TO EFFECTIVELY ABROGATE THE RISK OF UNINTENDED MUTATION IN CRISPR APPLICATIONS, AND THAT COMBINING OUR HIGH-THROUGHPUT APPROACH WITH MACHINE- LEARNING WOULD ALLOW NEW COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR ANYONE TO PRODUCE, DE NOVO, ULTRA- OR ALLELE-SPECIFIC X-GRNAS.

MECHANISM OF CANDIDA ALBICANS RUPTURE ON BIOMIMETIC NSS

CORRECTION OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR-INDUCED TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIMUTATIONS BY CRISPR-DCAS9

ANTI-MALARIAL DRUG LEADS FROM FUNGI - PROJECT SUMMARY THERE IS A NEED FOR NEW ANTIMALARIAL DRUG LEADS, PARTICULARLY FOR TREATING DRUG RESISTANT MALARIA. FUNGI HAVE BEEN THE SOURCE OF MANY DRUG LEADS, WITH PENICILLIN AND THE STATINS AS TWO OF THE MOST PROMINENT EXAMPLES. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT FUNGI HARBOR ANTIMALARIAL DRUG LEADS, AND WE ARE ADDRESSING THIS VIA A TEAM WITH EXPERTISE IN MYCOLOGY (MYCOSYNTHETIX/PEARCE), NATURAL PRODUCTS CHEMISTRY (UNCG/OBERLIES), AND PARASITOLOGY/MALARIA (UGA/KYLE). IN THE EXAMINATION OF 40,000 FUNGAL CULTURES FROM THE MYCOSYTHETIX LIBRARY, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL PROTOCOLS TO PRIORITIZE OUR EFFORTS. IN DOING SO, WE HAVE NOW SELECTED 8 FUNGAL CULTURES THAT HAVE POTENT ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITY, MINIMAL CYTOTOXICITY TO MAMMALIAN CELLS, AND DO NOT BIOSYNTHESIZE COMMON NUISANCE COMPOUNDS (I.E. MYCOTOXINS). THAT AVERAGES TO THE ANALYSIS OF ~1 FUNGAL CULTURE PER QUARTER OVER THIS 2 YEAR PROJECT. OUR TEAM IS POISED TO ISOLATE, ELUCIDATE, AND EVALUATE ANTIMALARIAL DRUG LEADS FROM THESE CULTURES. IN ADDITION, WE WILL PRIORITIZE THE 1 TO 2 BEST LEADS, SUCH THAT AMPLE MATERIALS ARE PRODUCED FOR MORE IN DEPTH BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION.

THE EXPERIENCE OF SUBJECTIVE AGE DURING EVERYDAY LIFE

TAK1 INHIBITION BY (5Z)-7-OXOZEAENOL ANALOGUES FOR ANTICANCER LEADS

IDENTIFYING GENETIC RISK FOR MATERNAL INSENSITIVITY AND INFANT DYSREGULATION