University Of Portland

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - STUDENT AID (ADVANCE PORTION)

NOYCE SCHOLARS AND INTERNS PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS

BRC-BIO: HOW THE EVOLUTION OF DUCK FOOT SHAPE RELATES TO SWIMMING ABILITY - FROM MORPHOLOGY TO ROBOPHYSICAL MODELS -WEBBED FEET HAVE EVOLVED MULTIPLE TIMES IN SWIMMING ANIMALS, INCLUDING THE WELL-KNOWN WEBBED TRIANGLES? OF DUCK FEET. HOWEVER, FROM POND DABBLERS TO DEEP-SEA DIVERS, DUCK SWIMMING ABILITY VARIES CONSIDERABLY AMONG SPECIES, AND HOW FOOT ANATOMY CONTRIBUTES TO THIS VARIATION HAS YET TO BE INVESTIGATED. THIS PROJECT WILL QUANTIFY DUCK FOOT SHAPE BY LOOKING AT BOTH THE SKELETON AND FOOT WEBBING. THEN PHYSICAL MODELS OF DUCK FEET WILL BE ROBOTICALLY ACTUATED TO DIRECTLY MEASURE HOW ASPECTS OF FOOT SHAPE AND PADDLING BEHAVIOR INFLUENCE SWIMMING FORCE PRODUCTION. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY WILL APPLY TO NUMEROUS FIELDS BY INSPIRING DESIGNS OF INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND ROBOTIC PADDLES (E.G., HYDROELECTRIC TURBINES, BOAT SAILS, SCUBA FLIPPERS). FURTHER, BY HELPING EXPLAIN ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS IN BIRDS, OUR RESULTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INFORM CONSERVATION INITIATIVES AND PALEONTOLOGY RESEARCH. IN ADDITION TO THE DIRECT IMPACT OF THESE FINDINGS, A MAJOR GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROMOTE DIVERSE FUTURE STEM RESEARCHERS BY SUPPORTING UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY STUDENTS THROUGH THEIR FIRST RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. FUNDING FROM THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (PDP) FOR 10 UNDERGRADUATES PER YEAR. EACH ANNUAL PDP WILL MEET WEEKLY OVER THE SUMMER OF THE FIRST RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND DURING THE SUBSEQUENT FALL SEMESTER TO BUILD A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY FOR STUDENTS WHILE PROVIDING WORKSHOPS THAT DEVELOP ADVANTAGEOUS SKILLS FOR FUTURE GRADUATE STUDIES OR SCIENCE CAREERS. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE FIRST HALF OF THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS IN DUCK FOOT SHAPE BY MEASURING BONE DIMENSIONS AND TOE SPLAY BROADLY ACROSS DUCK SPECIES. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL ANALYZE FOOT BONES USING CT-SCANS OF DUCK SPECIMENS, INCLUDING A VISIT TO THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS OF LA COUNTY TO CHOOSE SPECIMENS AND LEARN ABOUT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS. FOOT BONE DATA WILL BE COUPLED WITH SHAPE ANALYSIS OF WEBBED FEET THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY AND 3D SCANNING OF COLLECTED SPECIMENS. TOGETHER, THESE MORPHOLOGICAL DATA WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSES TO IDENTIFY EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS AMONG SPECIES. THE SECOND HALF OF THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DIRECTLY RELATE ANATOMICAL VARIATION IN FOOT SHAPE TO SWIMMING PERFORMANCE. INFORMED FROM THE MEASUREMENTS IN THE FIRST SECTION, STUDENTS WILL CONSTRUCT 2D AND 3D PHYSICAL MODELS OF DUCK FEET THAT VARY IN SHAPE. THESE MODELS WILL BE ROBOTICALLY-ACTUATED IN A WATER FLUME WHILE DIRECTLY MEASURING HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES USING FORCE SENSORS AND VISUALIZING FLOW PATTERNS USING PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY. THE PROJECT WILL INITIATE A PRODUCTIVE COLLABORATION CAPABLE OF EXTENDING INVESTIGATION INTO WEBBING MATERIAL PROPERTIES, COMPLEX PADDLING KINEMATICS, AND WEBBED FOOT DIVERSITY AMONG NON-BIRD PADDLING ANIMALS (E.G., FROGS, AQUATIC MAMMALS). THE RESULTS WILL REVEAL A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF AVIAN EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND PROVIDE A CRUCIAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING FOSSILS OF EXTINCT DINOSAUR AND BIRD SPECIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

EQUIPMENT: MRI TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A SPINNING-DISK CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AND TRAINING -AN AWARD IS MADE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND (UP) TO ACQUIRE A SPINNING-DISK CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE TO ENABLE CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY RESEARCH AND UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AND TRAINING. UP IS A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION (PUI) WHERE INTEREST IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH AND FACULTY ARE SECURING REGIONAL AND NATIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING AT EXCEPTIONAL RATES. THE PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THIS INSTRUMENT MAKE USE OF POWERFUL MODEL ORGANISMS, C. ELEGANS AND CHICKEN EMBRYOS, AND CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY WILL ENHANCE THE LEVEL OF RESEARCH AND TRAINING THE FACULTY CAN PROVIDE AT UP TO EXPOSE THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE STEM WORKFORCE TO THE SPECIALIZED TECHNOLOGIES USED IN RESEARCH. BY INCLUDING A MAJOR USER FROM LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE, THIS MICROSCOPE WILL ENHANCE TEACHING AND RESEARCH TRAINING AT TWO PUIS AND UNITE A REGIONAL COMMUNITY OF SCIENTISTS. THIS MICROSCOPE WILL EXPOSE OVER ONE HUNDRED STUDENTS PER YEAR TO QUANTITATIVE IMAGE DATA ANALYSIS, AND THE PIS WILL INCORPORATE ADVANCED MICROSCOPY INTO ONGOING OUTREACH PROGRAMS. UP IS COMMITTED TO BRINGING EXCELLENCE IN STEM TRAINING TO A BROAD COMMUNITY, AND ACQUISITION OF THIS SYSTEM WILL MAKE MEANINGFUL PROGRESS TOWARD THAT MISSION. THE RESEARCH PROGRAMS SUPPORTED SPAN A DIVERSE SET OF QUESTIONS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, INCLUDING CELL BIOLOGY, GENETICS, NEUROSCIENCE, AND THE MICROBIOME. THE RESEARCHERS WILL WORK WITH STUDENTS TO GENERATE HIGH-RESOLUTION TIME-LAPSE AND MULTI-POSITION FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY DATASETS TO VISUALIZE PROCESSES AS THEY OCCUR WITHIN LIVING ANIMALS, INCLUDING MONITORING DEFECTS IN CHROMOSOME MOVEMENT AS CELLS DIVIDE, QUANTIFYING THE GROWTH OF GUT BACTERIA, AND VISUALIZING THE FIRING OF NEURONS. THE RESULTS WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON BASIC RESEARCH INTO BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS SUCH AS THE SPECIFICATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL ASYMMETRY BETWEEN THE GONAD AND INTESTINE IN EMBRYOS.?THEY WILL ALSO HAVE RELEVANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH, SUCH AS BY HELPING TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTS OF BLOOD FLOW THROUGH CORONARY VASCULATURE DURING CARDIAC DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

INCREASING RETENTION IN ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE WITH A FOCUS ON AT-RISK FIRST YEAR AND SOPHOMORE STUDENTS

THE FUNCTION AND REGULATION OF THE C. ELEGANS HASPIN HISTONE KINASE HOMOLOG, HASP-1 - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE PROCESS OF PASSING ON CHROMOSOMES WHEN CELLS DIVIDE MUST BE CAREFULLY MONITORED BECAUSE ERRORS CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS AND INFERTILITY AND ARE A HALLMARK OF CANCER. CELLS USE A VARIETY OF MECHANISMS TO MONITOR THE PROCESS OF CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION AND THESE MECHANISMS ARE OFTEN THE TARGET OF DRUGS BEING DEVELOPED IN THE HOPES OF FINDING CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS THAT WILL KILL CANCER CELLS WHILE HAVING LOW TOXICITY TO NORMAL CELLS. THE CHROMOSOMAL PASSENGER COMPLEX (CPC) IS A PROTEIN COMPLEX THAT MONITORS CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION. TO PROVIDE ITS ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, THE CPC MUST BE RECRUITED ONTO CHROMOSOMES AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME. THE MECHANISMS THAT TARGET THE CPC TO CHROMOSOMES ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, BUT TWO KEY PATHWAYS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED THAT RELY ON THE ACTIVITY OF THE PROTEIN KINASES HASPIN AND BUB1. WHILE THE KINASE BUB1 HAS BEEN WELL STUDIED SINCE ITS DISCOVERY AS PART OF THE MITOTIC CHECKPOINT SIGNAL, HASPIN IS A NEWLY DISCOVERED KINASE AND FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUTS ITS FUNCTION AND REGULATION HAVE NOT YET BEEN ANSWERED. BETTER UNDERSTANDING HASPIN’S FUNCTION IS CRITICAL BECAUSE CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS TARGETING HASPIN HAVE SHOWN PROMISE. HASPIN HAS FEATURES THAT MAKE ITS INHIBITORS LESS LIKELY TO PRODUCE SIDE EFFECTS, AND MULTIPLE INHIBITORS HAVE RECENTLY SHOWN EFFICACY AGAINST A VARIETY OF CANCER MODELS AND LOW TOXICITY TO NORMAL CELLS. INVESTIGATIONS INTO HASPIN’S FUNCTION HAVE SO FAR BEEN LIMITED TO A SMALL NUMBER OF CELL TYPES UNDERGOING MITOSIS IN CELL CULTURE, WHICH OFFERS ONLY A PARTIAL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS MOLECULE’S FUNCTION. THIS PROPOSAL DEVELOPS A NEW SYSTEM TO STUDY HASPIN FUNCTION IN A VARIETY OF CELL TYPES IN VIVO USING THE MODEL ORGANISM C. ELEGANS, WHICH FEATURES POWERFUL GENETIC AND CELL BIOLOGICAL TOOLS. CONDITIONAL KNOCKDOWN OF THE C. ELEGANS HASPIN PROTEIN, HASP-1, COMBINED WITH SPECIFIC MUTATIONS IN HASP-1 AND ASSOCIATED PROTEINS USING CRISPR GENE EDITING, WILL ENABLE US TO ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) DETERMINE THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF THE HASPIN AND BUB1 PATHWAYS TO CPC RECRUITMENT IN DIFFERENT CELL TYPES IN C. ELEGANS, 2) IDENTIFY THE MECHANISM BY WHICH HASP-1 IS RECRUITED TO CHROMOSOMES, AND 3) DETERMINE THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH HASP-1 BECOMES ACTIVATED DURING MITOSIS AND MEIOSIS. OUR EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS THESE SPECIFIC AIMS IN MULTIPLE CELL TYPES AND IN MEIOSIS, A SPECIALIZED CELL DIVISION WHERE THESE TYPES OF MECHANISTIC STUDIES ARE TYPICALLY NOT POSSIBLE IN OTHER ANIMAL SYSTEMS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE FUNCTION OF THIS IMPORTANT CELL CYCLE REGULATOR, WHICH WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT HUMAN HEALTH, ESPECIALLY AS HASPIN INHIBITORS SHOW UP MORE IN CLINICAL USE. PROPOSED EXPERIMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS AND A POST-BACCALAUREATE RESEARCHER, ENHANCING THE RESEARCH CAPACITY OF OUR INSTITUTION AND TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS.

EFFECTS OF ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS ON HUMAN T CELL FUNCTION - SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE HOW ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ANTAGONISM AND OTHER ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPIES USED IN PROSTATE CANCER AFFECT HUMAN T CELL FUNCTION. ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION IS A CORNERSTONE OF PROSTATE CANCER THERAPY, IN WHICH TUMOR CELLS ARE KILLED BY DEPRIVING THEM OF ANDROGEN RECEPTOR SIGNALING, A KEY GROWTH SIGNAL. ANDROGENS HAVE PLEIOTROPIC EFFECTS ON NUMEROUS PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, THEY ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED IMMUNE INHIBITORY AND ARE THOUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SEX DIFFERENCES OBSERVED BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN RATES OF AUTOIMMUNITY AND CANCER. YET THE EFFECT OF ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION ON T CELL FUNCTION IN MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER IS NOT KNOWN. THIS IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO CANCER TREATMENT, BECAUSE IMMUNOTHERAPY IN COMBINATION WITH ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION WAS RECENTLY SHOWN TO INDUCE A DURABLE RESPONSE IN A SUBSET OF PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC PROSTATE CANCER WHO WERE PROGRESSING ON ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY ALONE. NONETHELESS, THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS RECEIVING THIS COMBINATION STILL ENDURED CANCER PROGRESSION. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION AFFECTS T CELL FUNCTION IN ORDER TO IMPROVE COMBINATION THERAPY OPTIONS FOR METASTATIC PROSTATE CANCER, AS WELL AS OTHER CANCERS DRIVEN BY ANDROGEN RECEPTOR SIGNALING (E.G., ANDROGEN RECEPTOR POSITIVE BREAST CANCER). THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO I) DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF THE ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, ENZALUTAMIDE, ON HUMAN T CELL FUNCTION IN VITRO, AND II) DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF ANDROGEN-DEPRIVATION THERAPY ON T CELL RESPONSES IN PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS. IN AIM 1, WE WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ANTAGONIZING ANDROGEN RECEPTORS WITHIN T CELLS INCREASES T CELL PROLIFERATION AND TYPE 1 CYTOKINE SECRETION AND DECREASES ESTABLISHMENT AND/OR MAINTENANCE OF T CELL EXHAUSTION. THESE STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED USING T CELLS ISOLATED FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. T CELLS WILL BE TREATED IN VITRO WITH THE CLINICALLY RELEVANT ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, ENZALUTAMIDE. IN AIM 2, WE WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION IN MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER ALTERS THE PROPORTIONS OF T CELL SUBSETS, CHANGES THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILE OF T CELLS, AND INCREASES THE MAGNITUDE OF ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC T CELL RESPONSES. IN THESE STUDIES, WE WILL ISOLATE T CELLS FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF METASTATIC PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS COLLECTED BOTH BEFORE AND 6-12 WEEKS AFTER INITIATION OF ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY. THESE PAIRED SAMPLES WILL ALLOW US TO CLEARLY ESTABLISH THE EFFECT OF ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY ON T CELL PHENOTYPE AND FUNCTION IN CANCER PATIENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL REVEAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ANTAGONISM IMPACTS THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE, AND THUS POTENTIALLY ALTERS ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNITY.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: EFFECTS OF INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES ON CHARGE TRANSPORT IN CONDUCTING ORGANIC/INORGANIC COMPOSITES -NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTORS ARE USED IN MANY APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES, SOLAR CELLS, AND FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS. THEY ALSO HAVE SHOWN PROMISE FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS CONVERTING HEAT INTO ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY STORAGE. IN ORDER TO REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL, IT IS NECESSARY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CHARGE TRANSPORT. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT WILL STUDY HOW ELECTRICAL CHARGE MOVES THROUGH COMPOSITES OF CONDUCTING POLYMERS AND NANOPARTICLES. THE FOCUS IS ON CONTROLLING CHARGE TRANSPORT ACROSS INTERFACES TO CREATE MATERIALS THAT ARE USEFUL FOR CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WILL BE PERFORMED AT TWO PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS. WHILE ACHIEVING THE TECHNICAL GOALS OF THE PROJECT, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL ALSO EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS IN ENERGY CONVERSION AND STORAGE CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES. THE PROJECT USES SCALABLE EARTH-ABUNDANT MATERIALS AND LOW-COST SOLUTION-BASED MANUFACTURING APPROACHES. THIS WILL FACILITATE THE WIDESPREAD DEPLOYMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAKE USE OF THESE COMPOSITE MATERIALS. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION THIS STUDY ENHANCES UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN COMPONENTS OF A NANOSTRUCTURED CONDUCTING ORGANIC/INORGANIC COMPOSITE AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ITS CHARGE TRANSPORT, BY EXPLORING THE ROLE OF AN INTERFACIAL TERM ON MODELS OF CHARGE TRANSPORT AND EXPERIMENTALLY TESTING THOSE MODELS. IN PARTICULAR, THIS INTERFACIAL TERM ILLUMINATES THE EMERGENCE OF COMPOSITE TRANSPORT PHENOMENA THAT TRANSCEND THE SUM OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS. PREVIOUS MODELS OF ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT IN THESE MATERIALS GENERALLY NEGLECT INTERFACIAL EFFECTS BY USING AN EFFECTIVE-MEDIUM APPROXIMATION TO TREAT THE INTERPENETRATING MATERIAL AS A COMBINATION OF INDIVIDUAL PARALLEL AND SERIES PHASES. BY INCORPORATING THE IMPACTS OF INTERFACIAL AREA, THICKNESS, AND INTERFACIAL ENERGY BARRIER, THIS PROJECT GUIDES THE DESIGN OF SUCH MATERIALS FOR MANY APPLICATIONS, WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THESE MATERIALS? THERMOELECTRIC ENERGY CONVERSION AND CAPACITIVE ENERGY STORAGE. AT BOTH REED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH, FROM INITIAL LABORATORY SETUP AND THEORETICAL MODELING TO DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTING RESULTS, AND WRITING PAPERS. BY DESIGN, THIS PROJECT USES STRAIGHTFORWARD SOLUTION-BASED FABRICATION AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, WHICH MAKES IT PARTICULARLY ACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS WHO MAY BE NEW TO RESEARCH AND/OR NEWLY FORMING THEIR IDENTITIES AS SCIENTISTS. THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY INVOLVES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH AND WILL INDIRECTLY IMPACT MANY OTHERS THROUGH IMPROVED RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE, UPDATED LABORATORY CURRICULUM, AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE THESIS PROJECTS. IT ADDITIONALLY LINKS FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING, BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL, WITH THE ENGINEERING OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR SOCIETY. 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.

EFFECT OF SHEAR STRESS ON CORONARY SMOOTH MUSCLE MATURATION - PROJECT SUMMARY THE BROAD OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE DEVELOPING CORONARY ARTERIES ARE CONSISTENTLY FORMED AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS. DURING DEVELOPMENT OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES, NUMEROUS IMMATURE CORONARY STRANDS CONNECT TO THE AORTA AND THEN REMODEL TO FORM THE TWO MATURE ARTERIES OBSERVED IN THE ADULT HEART. DURING THIS REMODELING PROCESS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES APPLIED TO THE NEWLY CONNECTED CORONARY VASCULATURE IS THE SUDDEN ONSET OF FLUID SHEAR STRESS, YET THE REGULATORY ROLE OF FLUID SHEAR STRESS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CORONARY VASCULATURE IS COMPLETELY UNKNOWN. THIS PROPOSAL SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES HOW THE ONSET OF BLOOD FLOW, WHICH CAUSES SHEAR STRESS, INDUCES SIGNALING PATHWAYS THAT WOULD PROMOTE SMOOTH MUSCLE MIGRATION, PROLIFERATION, AND MATURATION. AIM 1 EXAMINES THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING THE AORTA DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF SMOOTH MUSCLE RECRUITMENT TO THE CORONARIES. LOW LEVELS OF SHEAR STRESS ARE PREDICTED TO PROMOTE EXPRESSION OF ET1 AND THUS LEAD TO MATRIX METALLOPROTEASE (MMP) ACTIVITY, YIELDING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES SMOOTH MUSCLE MIGRATION. THIS AIM WILL EVALUATE ET1, MMP2, AND MMP9 EXPRESSION AS WELL AS SMOOTH MUSCLE PROLIFERATION IN THE DEVELOPING CORONARY ARTERIES OF THE CHICK EMBRYO. IN OVO INJECTION OF MMP2 AND 9 INHIBITORS WILL CONFIRM THE NECESSITY OF THESE MMPS FOR SMOOTH MUSCLE MIGRATION. AIM 2 EXAMINES THE EFFECTS OF INCREASED LEVELS OF SHEAR STRESS ON CELL SIGNALING, PARTICULARLY THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR KLF2 AND THE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE ENOS. HIGH LEVELS OF SHEAR STRESS ARE PREDICTED TO INDUCE KLF2 AND LEAD TO ENOS PHOSPHORYLATION, WHICH PROMOTE SMOOTH MUSCLE MATURATION. ASYMMETRICAL SHEAR STRESS WOULD THUS SELECTIVELY MATURE SMOOTH MUSCLE, EXPLAINING THE CONSISTENT PATTERNING OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES. IN OVO INHIBITION OF ENOS ACTIVITY WILL CONFIRM WHETHER ENOS ACTIVITY IS REQUIRED FOR SMOOTH MUSCLE MATURATION AND CORONARY ARTERY STABILITY. MOST OF THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUES ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS, AND THE PRELIMINARY DATA WERE GENERATED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, SUPPORTING THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND. ALTOGETHER, THIS PROPOSAL SITS AT THE INTERSECTION AMONG PHYSICAL FORCES, MOLECULAR RESPONSES, AND CELLULAR BEHAVIOR, WITH THE END OBJECTIVE OF UNDERSTANDING THE FORMATION OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES. BY BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF THESE ARTERIES, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL SUPPORT FUTURE WORK TO EXAMINE HOW THESE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES GO AWRY, LEADING TO LIFE-THREATENING CONGENITAL CORONARY ARTERY ANOMALIES.

CAREER: BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN ELEVATION AND ALTRUISM

REDESIGNING EDUCATION FOR LEARNING THROUGH EVIDENCE AND COLLABORATIVE TEACHING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF HILLSLOPE PROCESSES IN MODULATING TOPOLOGIC CHANGE OF UPLAND DRAINAGE BASINS. -WATERSHED BOUNDARIES, OR DRAINAGE DIVIDES, CONTROL THE FLUX OF WATER AND SEDIMENT IN A LANDSCAPE AND DRIVE EVOLUTION AND SPECIATION OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS. OVER GEOLOGIC TIME, DRAINAGE DIVIDES MOVE IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN CLIMATE AND TECTONICS. THIS WORK EXPLORES HOW THE MOTION OF DIVIDES DIFFERS BETWEEN GENTLY SLOPING, SOIL-MANTLED LANDSCAPES AND STEEP, MOUNTAINOUS, ROCKY AREAS. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCHERS WILL COMPARE LANDSCAPES WHERE SOIL CREEPS ALONG HILLSLOPES WITH THOSE WHERE MATERIAL IS PRIMARILY TRANSPORTED THROUGH LANDSLIDES. THEY WILL USE DIGITAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES, FIELD MEASUREMENTS OF SOIL AND SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS, AND THEORETICAL MODELS OF LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE THE INGREDIENTS THAT AFFECT DIVIDE MOTION. UNLIKE PREVIOUS RESEARCH, WHICH FOCUSES ON RIVER CHANNELS, THIS WORK EMPHASIZES PROCESSES THAT OCCUR ON HILLSLOPES. TOPOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS, FIELD MEASUREMENTS OF GRAIN SIZE, AND EROSION RATES FROM COSMOGENIC NUCLIDES ILLUSTRATE THE ROLE OF NON-FLUVIAL PROCESSES IN MODULATING TOPOGRAPHIC CHANGE OF DRAINAGE BASINS. TO CAPTURE HILLSLOPE AND COLLUVIAL TRANSPORT REGIMES IN LANDSCAPES RANGING FROM SOIL-MANTLED TO ROCKY, THIS WORK LEVERAGES MEASUREMENTS FROM FIELD SITES ACROSS A RANGE OF REGIONAL EROSION RATES (OZARK PLATEAU, OREGON COAST RANGE, SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS). IN ADDITION TO TESTING EXISTING TOPOGRAPHIC METRICS FOR DIVIDE INSTABILITY, THIS WORK SEEKS QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO BETTER INCORPORATE STEEP LANDSCAPES INTO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS THAT DESCRIBE AND PREDICT DIVIDE INSTABILITY. 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: RUI: MULTILEVEL EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON WILDLIFE HEALTH: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH -URBAN AREAS ARE GROWING WORLDWIDE, CAUSING SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE. EXACTLY HOW SUCH CHANGES IN HABITAT LEAD TO DECLINES IN WILDLIFE POPULATIONS IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. THE ASSOCIATED MECHANISMS ARE HARD TO STUDY BECAUSE THE SPECIES MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED SIMPLY DON?T OCCUR IN URBAN HABITATS. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON A SPECIES, THE WESTERN DEER MOUSE, THAT IS FOUND IN BOTH URBAN AND RURAL HABITATS. RESEARCHERS WILL COLLECT DATA ON HABITAT, SUCH AS FOOD AVAILABILITY AND NOISE, AND ON MOUSE HEALTH, SUCH AS IMMUNE FUNCTION AND STRESS, ALONG A GRADIENT FROM URBAN WOODLOTS TO NEARLY PRISTINE FORESTS IN AND AROUND SPOKANE, WASHINGTON. DATA WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY WHICH FACTORS MOST IMPACT WILDLIFE HEALTH IN URBAN AREAS. BECAUSE WILDLIFE CAN CARRY DISEASES THAT ARE PASSED TO HUMANS, INFORMATION ABOUT THE HEALTH OF URBAN SPECIES HAS DIRECT RELEVANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH. MANY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM THREE INSTITUTIONS WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE STUDY, THEREBY GAINING IMPORTANT INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING. ADDITIONALLY, TWO IN-CLASS RESEARCH ACTIVITIES BASED ON THIS PROJECT WILL BE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED IN COURSES AT THE THREE INSTITUTIONS, GIVING HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL STUDENTS EXPERIENCE IN RESEARCH. PEROMYSCUS SONORIENSIS WAS SELECTED AS A MODEL ORGANISM BECAUSE IT INHABITS A WIDE DIVERSITY OF ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS AN URBANIZATION GRADIENT, THUS FACILITATING NATURAL COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION. MOST OTHER STUDIES FOCUS ON ONLY ONE OR A FEW VARIABLES OF URBANIZATION AND THE MODELS THAT RESULT ARE SIMPLISTIC, AS MANY VARIABLES ARE INVOLVED AND FREQUENTLY CO-VARY. THIS STUDY USES A SUITE OF URBANIZATION VARIABLES THAT ARE PREDICTED TO AFFECT, AND BE INDICATORS OF, AN ANIMAL?S HEALTH. CORRESPONDINGLY, ?HEALTH? WILL BE ASSESSED WITH A VARIETY OF METRICS OF STRESS (ACUTE AND CHRONIC), BODY CONDITION (E.G., PARASITE INFECTION, REPRODUCTIVE STATUS), IMMUNE FUNCTION (E.G., QUANTIFICATION OF NEUTROPHILS, B CELLS, HELPER T CELLS), AND GUT MICROBIOME ANALYSIS. USING RESEARCH SITES LOCATED ALONG AN URBANIZATION GRADIENT, RESEARCHERS WILL: 1) QUANTIFY URBANIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS, 2) ASSESS MULTIPLE METRICS OF DEER MOUSE HEALTH, AND 3) INTEGRATE RESPONSES BETWEEN AND WITHIN HABITATS AND ORGANISMS TO INVESTIGATE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON DEER MOUSE HEALTH. THE MECHANISM-BASED FINDINGS CAN BE USED IN EFFORTS TO CONSERVE OR REMEDIATE HABITATS IN THE FACE OF ENCROACHING URBANIZATION, ENABLING A PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE APPROACH TO CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION. 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.

POWER-BASED INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE REDUCTION THROUGH BYSTANDER INTERVENTION

HUB, PATHWAY, CORE: IMPLEMENTING ENGAGED HUMANITIES CURRICULUM [?HUB, PATHWAY, CORE? WILL IMPLEMENT TWO INTERDEPENDENT INITIATIVES AT UP: A) AN ENGAGED HUMANITIES PATHWAY LINKED TO THE NEWLY REVITALIZED CORE CURRICULUM; AND B) AN ENGAGED HUMANITIES HUB TO PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT FOR THE PATHWAY AND RELATED PROGRAMMING. THE PROJECT WILL ASSEMBLE INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKING GROUPS IN CIVIC HUMANITIES, ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES, AND HEALTH HUMANITIES TO DEVELOP ENGAGED HUMANITIES CORE COURSES OPEN TO ALL UP STUDENTS; CREATE A PATHWAY FOR STUDENTS TO FOLLOW THROUGH ENGAGED HUMANITIES FRAMING COURSES, CORE EXPLORATION COURSES, AND HIGH-IMPACT EXPERIENCES; AND FORMALIZE AN ENGAGED HUMANITIES HUB TO FEED AND SUSTAIN ENGAGED HUMANITIES CURRICULUM AND PROGRAMMING. TOGETHER THESE INITIATIVES WILL EXPAND THE ROLE OF THE HUMANITIES IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AT UP AND WILL CONNECT COLLEGE LEARNING TO STUDENTS? PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL FUTURES.]

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TEACHERS ON THE LEADING EDGE: LINKING K-12 EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS TO EARTHSCOPE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FEATURING EARTHSCOPE IN COASTAL CASCADIA EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI HAZARDS EDUCATION BY LINKING TEACHERS, INTERPRETERS, AND EMER

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIPS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: WEAK AND PROTECTIVE MEASUREMENTS IN THE TIME DOMAIN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BRIDGING THE WRITING TRANSFER GAP IN EARLY ENGINEERING LABORATORY COURSES

CORE HUMANITIES: INTEGRATION THROUGH CURRICULUM, CAMPUS, AND COMMUNITY [THIS NEH HUMANITIES CONNECTIONS PLANNING GRANT WILL ESTABLISH ONGOING, ENGAGED HUMANITIES RESOURCES FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY CORE COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND LAY GROUNDWORK FOR AN ENGAGED HUMANITIES HUB. THIS INTEGRATION OF HUMANITIES LEARNING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND WILL HAPPEN THROUGH TWO PATHWAYS: FIRST, THROUGH THE CREATION OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES AND A SUMMER INSTITUTE THAT WILL HELP FACULTY INCORPORATE ENGAGED HUMANITIES APPROACHES INTO INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES FOR THE NEW CORE CURRICULUM; AND SECOND, BY BUILDING GROUNDWORK FOR THE CREATION OF AN ENGAGED HUMANITIES HUB THAT WILL HOUSE THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY CORE WORK THAT WILL CULTIVATE BROADER PROGRAMMING THAT INSPIRES AND SUPPORTS COLLABORATION ACROSS HUMANITIES AND NON-HUMANITIES FIELDS AND WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THE WORK OF THE PLANNING YEAR WILL BOTH ASSESS AND MEET IMMEDIATE CURRICULAR NEEDS AND ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION FOR THE CONTINUAL INTEGRATION OF THE HUMANITIES INTO DIVERSE SUBJECT AREAS AT UP.]

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: COMMONSENSE COMPUTING: WHAT STUDENTS KNOW BEFORE WE TEACH

FY 2011 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - NIST BOULDER

CONSERVATION PROGRAM

RCN-UBE INCUBATOR: WILLAMETTE VALLEY BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION NETWORK (WVBEN): USING REGIONAL PEDAGOGICAL COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE UNDERGRADAUTE LEARNING E

CLOSEOUT DOCUMENT NUMBER