Wellesley College

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND--WELLESLEY COLLEGE

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND PART II - INSTITUTIONAL - WELLESLEY COLLEGE

OPTICAL TOOLS TO STUDY PURINERGIC SIGNALING - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT EXTRACELLULAR ATP AND ADP ARE MEDIATORS OF PURINERGIC SIGNALING IN CELL-TO-CELL COMMUNICATION IN VIRTUALLY EVERY TISSUE. AUTOCRINE AND PARACRINE PURINERGIC SIGNALING CONTRIBUTES TO NORMAL CELLULAR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS IMMUNE CELL CHEMOTAXIS AND CELL VOLUME REGULATION, AND PURINERGIC SIGNALING ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO PATHOLOGY IN INJURY, INFECTION, SEPSIS, AND A NUMBER OF DISEASES. NOTABLY, EXTRACELLULAR ATP AND ADP MEDIATE PURINERGIC SIGNALING BETWEEN CELLS WITH BOTH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS. HOWEVER, IT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE TO STUDY THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH ATP AND ADP CONTROL DISTINCT SIGNALING EVENTS BECAUSE THEIR LEVELS ARE SPATIALLY HETEROGENEOUS AND PURINERGIC SIGNALING CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY FROM CELL-TO-CELL. CLEARLY, DIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF EXTRACELLULAR NUCLEOTIDES ARE NEEDED, BUT CURRENT METHODS ARE NOT WELL ADAPTED TO MEASURING FLUCTUATIONS IN THE LOW EXTRACELLULAR NUCLEOTIDE CONCENTRATIONS EXPECTED IN LIVE SPECIMENS. TO OVERCOME THIS BARRIER, WE WILL USE PROTEIN ENGINEERING TO DEVELOP HIGH AFFINITY CELL-SURFACE SENSORS THAT CAN BE USED TO RESOLVE THE COMPLEX SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF ATP AND ADP RELEASE, CLEARANCE, AND PURINERGIC RECEPTOR ACTIVATION. TO DEMONSTRATE THE APPLICATION OF OUR SENSORS AND ALSO GUIDE THEIR OPTIMIZATION, WE WILL STUDY NEURON-GLIA PURINERGIC SIGNALING IN THE BRAIN. IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL USE OUR SENSORS TO LEARN HOW METABOLIC STATE AFFECTS THE FUNCTION OF MICROGLIA, THE RESIDENT IMMUNE CELLS IN THE BRAIN, IN REGULATING THE REGIONAL PURINERGIC DYNAMICS THAT IMPACT LOCAL NEURONAL ACTIVITY. THE PROPOSED SERIES OF MULTIPLEXED IMAGING STUDIES THAT PAIR OUR PURINERGIC SENSORS WITH SENSORS OF DOWNSTREAM SIGNALING SHOULD DIRECTLY VISUALIZE CORE ELEMENTS OF NEURON-GLIA PURINERGIC COMMUNICATION IN AN INTEGRATED MANNER. THIS SHOULD PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO NOVEL MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COUPLING BETWEEN BRAIN ENERGY METABOLISM AND EXCITABILITY. FURTHERMORE, THE GENETICALLY-ENCODED TOOLS DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS PROPOSAL SHOULD BE BROADLY APPLICABLE TO DEEPER STUDY OF ANY PURINERGIC SYSTEM.

MECHANISMS OF STEROID ACTION IN BRAIN

SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL TRANSCRIPTOMES

WELLESLEY COLLEGE MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

WELLESLEY COLLEGE MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

NEURAL MECHANISMS OF AUDITORY MEMORY FORMATION NECESSARY FOR VOCAL LEARNING

WELLESLEY / UTA TRAINING AND GROWTH IN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

RUI: ADULT NEUROGENESIS: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM

ALIGNING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS WITH CLINICIAN KNOWLEDGE FOR UNDERSTANDING, PREDICTION, AND PREVENTION OF SUICIDE - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT (EMA) STUDIES CAPTURE UNPRECEDENTED DATA ABOUT SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND BE- HAVIORS (STBS) VIA SMARTPHONES AND WEARABLE BIOSENSORS. WHILE PROMISING, EMA STUDIES ARE EXPENSIVE TO RUN, REQUIRE A LARGE STAFF, AND ARE LIMITED IN SCIENTIFIC VALUE DUE TO THREE DATA ANALYSIS CHALLENGES. THESE CHALLENGES CREATE A BOTTLENECK FOR SUICIDE RESEARCH. CHALLENGE 1: SMALL DATA SIZE. EVEN THE LARGEST OF EMA STUDIES YIELD MODEST SAMPLE SIZES WITH LOW COMPLIANCE. THIS BARS APPLICATIONS OF (DATA-HUNGRY) DEEP LEARNING (DL) METHODS, SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER AREAS OF HEALTHCARE. CHALLENGE 2: STOCHASTICITY. STBS ARE, IN PART, DRIVEN BY STOCHASTIC (OR RANDOM) EXTERNAL EVENTS THAT CANNOT BE CAPTURED (E.G. REACTIONS TO TRIGGERING STIMULI). METHODS THAT DO NOT MODEL EXTERNAL STOCHASTICITY OFTEN LEARN SPURIOUS CORRELATIONS, MAKING INCORRECT AND OVERCONFIDENT FORECASTS OF FUTURE PA- TIENT OUTCOMES. CHALLENGE 3: EMPIRICALLY TESTING THEORIES OF SUICIDE. EMPIRICALLY EVALUATING THEORIES WITH DATA IS DIFFICULT GIVEN THEIR VERBAL (NON-QUANTITATIVE) NATURE; MATHEMATICALLY FORMALIZED THEORIES REQUIRE AN EXTREME LEVEL OF SPECIFICATION DETAIL, MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR CLINICAL AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) RESEARCHERS ALIKE TO DETERMINE WHICH DETAILS CAPTURE THE HIGH-LEVEL IDEA OF THE THEORY. AS SUCH, CURRENT METHODS STRUGGLE TO ACCURATELY FORECAST STBS, IDENTIFY THOSE AT IMMINENT RISK, AND TEST PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF SUICIDE. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT ENCOD- ING CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE IN DL MODELS ADDRESSES KEY DATA ANALYSIS CHALLENGES. WE DEFINE QUALITATIVE CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE (QCK) AS CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MATHEMATIZE, LIKE INTUITION. ENCODING QCK IN DL METH- ODS WILL PROVIDE THE MODEL ADDITIONAL SUPERVISION, REDUCING ITS OVER-RELIANCE ON LIMITED DATA (CHALLENGE 1). GUIDED BY CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE, IT WILL DISCOVER SCIENTIFICALLY VIABLE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EMA OUTCOMES AND UNOBSERVED EXTERNAL FACTORS, AVOIDING SPURIOUS CORRELATIONS DUE TO STOCHASTICITY (CHALLENGE 2). LASTLY, OUR METHOD WILL PRO- VIDE CLINICIANS WITH A MECHANISM FOR ENCODING THEIR KNOWLEDGE INTO THE MODEL WITHOUT SPECIFYING UNINTERPRETABLE MATHEMATICAL DETAILS (CHALLENGE 3). OUR PROJECT HAS THREE AIMS. AIM 1: DEVELOP A NEW DL MODEL, TAILORED FOR NOISY, IRREGULARLY-SAMPLED, PARTIALLY-OBSERVED EMA DATA. AIM 2: IDENTIFY TYPES OF QCK THAT CLINICIANS CAN RELIABLY PROVIDE, ENCODE THEM INTO OUR DL MODEL, AND ASSESS THEIR PREDICTIVE VALUE. EXPLORATORY AIM 3: PROTOTYPE AN INTERACTIVE MODELING PARADIGM THAT ALGORITHMICALLY SOLICITS CLINICIANS FOR QCK (FROM AIM 2) INTO THE DL MODEL (FROM AIM 1). EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THIS PROJECT WILL YIELD (1) THEORETICALLY AND EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED ML METHODS FOR USE IN FUTURE SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL WORK, (2) NEW INSIGHTS/FINDINGS FROM EXISTING EMA DATA, INCREASING THE SCIENTIFIC YIELD FROM PREVIOUS NIH-FUNDED PROJECTS, (3) AN INTERACTIVE ML PARADIGM FOR EMBEDDING CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE IN DL METHODS, USEFUL IN ALL MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE CONTEXTS, AND (4) HIGHLY OPTIMIZED, MODULAR OPEN-SOURCE CODE, AVAILABLE FOR THE BROADER COMMUNITY TO APPLY AND ADAPT TO THEIR NEEDS.

NEURAL MECHANISMS OF COLOR IN EXTRASTRIATE CORTEX

RUI: ADULT NEUROGENESIS: PRECURSOR CELL REGULATION AND REPLENISHMENT

RUI: COLOR PROCESSING IN INFERIOR TEMPORAL CORTEX OF MACAQUE MONKEY

RUI: STATE-DEPENDENT MODULATION OF VISUOMOTOR REFLEXES ACROSS DROSOPHILA SPECIES

CHARACTERIZATION AND DESIGN OF HISTONE-DERIVED ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES

CREST: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN ENERGY SCIENCE TRAINEESHIPS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES AS VEHICLES FOR MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS IN MARINE BLACK QUEEN COMMUNITIES -THE FUNCTION AND STABILITY OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE OCEAN DEPENDS ON EXCHANGES OF BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL CELLS. MARINE MICROBES ARE TYPICALLY FAR APART FROM ONE ANOTHER, SO SOME OF THESE EXCHANGES OCCUR THROUGH THE RELEASE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES INTO THE SURROUNDING WATER, WHERE THEY TRAVEL TO OTHER CELLS VIA SIMPLE DIFFUSION. UNDERSTANDING THE DEGREE TO WHICH SUCH VALUABLE PRODUCTS MADE BY ONE ORGANISM ARE TARGETED TO A SPECIFIC PARTNER, AND HOW, HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF THE MARINE MICROBIOME. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THE ROLE PLAYED BY A POORLY UNDERSTOOD TYPE OF VERY SMALL PARTICLE ? EXTRACELLULAR MEMBRANE VESICLES ? IN MEDIATING FUNCTIONAL INTERACTIONS WITHIN THE OCEANS. EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES ARE RELEASED BY MOST MARINE MICROBES AND ARE ABUNDANT IN OCEAN WATERS, BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR FUNCTIONS REMAINS IN ITS INFANCY. AS VESICLES CAN CONTAIN DIVERSE MOLECULES, INCLUDING ACTIVE ENZYMES, AND TRANSPORT THEM BETWEEN CELLS, THEY MAY WORK AS A PACKAGING AND DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR GOODS AND SERVICES TRADED BETWEEN ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT MICROORGANISMS. BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE PROVIDING HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS - INCLUDING THOSE FROM GROUPS HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS - AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ACTIVE LEARNING EXERCISES TO HELP INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ROLES MICROBES PLAY IN STUDENTS? LIVES. THIS PROJECT EXPLORES VESICLE FUNCTIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE SCALES, COMBINING -OMICS ANALYSES, FIELD EXPERIMENTS, AND FUNCTIONAL STUDIES IN CULTURES OF DIVERSE AND ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT MICROBES TO ARRIVE AT NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF VESICLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CELLULAR EXCHANGES. THESE EXPERIMENTS INCORPORATE AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE FOR EXPLORING THE RANGE OF VESICLE FUNCTIONS AND GENETIC MECHANISMS AFFECTING THEIR PRODUCTION, EXAMINING HOW THEIR CONTENTS HAVE CHANGED IN CO-CULTURES OF PHYTOPLANKTON AND HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIA FOLLOWING HUNDREDS OF GENERATIONS OF EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY EVOLUTION. FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED CONCERNING WHETHER VESICLES, AND THEIR ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS, ACT AS TRULY ?PUBLIC GOODS? IN THE OCEANS OR CAN INSTEAD BE TARGETED TO A SUBSET OF CELLS, POSSIBLY YIELDING ?CLUB GOODS? THAT DEFINE INTERACTING, COOPERATIVE NETWORKS. COLLECTIVELY, THIS EFFORT WILL GENERATE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE MECHANISMS MARINE MICROBES USE TO INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND EXPERIMENTALLY DEFINE THE FUNCTIONAL POTENTIAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF EV-MEDIATED TRAFFICKING NETWORKS IN THE OCEANS. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY PROGRAM AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: QUANTIFYING THE ROLE OF MICROBIAL EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN MARINE DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 500 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE

RESPONDING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUS: A NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCOPE AND CHALLENGES FOR INVESTIGATION AND ADJUD

CHS: MEDIUM: RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MAKING THE INVISIBLE TANGIBLE: REIMAGINING SCIENCE EDUCATION IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH REALITY-BASED INTERFAC

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A SPECTRAL CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT AN UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF NEUROGENESIS

RUI: ADAPTIVE INTEGRATION OF BILATERAL INPUTS TO RAT SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

CAREER: SIGNALS FOR EVALUATING THE CREDIBILITY OF WEB SOURCES AND ADVANCING WEB LITERACY

TC: SMALL: RUI: TRAILS OF TRUSTWORTHINESS, UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING QUALITY OF INFORMATION IN REAL-TIME STREAMS

CRI: II NEW: RUI: A MULTI-SURFACE INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION FACILITY

RUI: ADVANCING THE ECOLOGICAL NICHE THROUGH DEMOGRAPHY

CAREER: ADVANCING INNOVATION IN BIO-DESIGN THROUGH REALITY-BASED INTERACTION

FW-HTF: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE NEXT MOBILE OFFICE: SAFE AND PRODUCTIVE WORK IN AUTOMATED VEHICLES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FW-HTF-RM: AI-ASSISTED PROGRAMMING: EQUIPPING SOCIAL AND NATURAL SCIENTISTS FOR THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH -COMPUTER PROGRAMMING IS ESSENTIAL FOR MODERN SCIENCE. SCIENTISTS WRITE PROGRAMS TO CONTROL INSTRUMENTS, RUN SIMULATIONS, AND ANALYZE DATA. HOWEVER, THE PROGRAMMING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT SCIENTISTS USE OFTEN LAG BEHIND THOSE IN THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY. THIS LAG MAKES SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY SLOWER, MORE COSTLY, AND CAN LEAD TO UNREPRODUCIBLE RESULTS. IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TOOLS, SUCH AS CHATGPT, HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY. THEY HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO MAKE SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PRODUCTIVE, BUT HAVE NOT HAD THE SAME IMPACT ON THE SCIENCES. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST AI PROGRAMMING TOOLS THAT WORK FOR SCIENTISTS. THE RESEARCH TEAM IS DEVELOPING AI MODELS AND TOOLS THAT SUPPORT THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES THAT SCIENTISTS USE. THEY ARE DEVELOPING BENCHMARKS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AI TOOLS FOR PROGRAMMING TASKS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THE SCIENCES. THEY ARE INVESTIGATING HOW AI PROGRAMMING TOOLS CAN HELP COLLEGE STUDENTS STUDY SCIENCE MORE EFFECTIVELY. BY HARNESSING AI TO MAKE PROGRAMMING EASIER FOR SCIENTISTS, THE PROJECT IS HELPING TO ACCELERATE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, LOWER ITS COST, AND ALLOW MORE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SCIENTIFIC WORK. THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS OF CODE AND ASSOCIATED TOOLS TO SUPPORT SCIENTISTS. TO UNDERSTAND SCIENTISTS' NEEDS, THE TEAM IS RUNNING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDIES OF HOW SCIENTISTS WRITE PROGRAMS. BASED ON THESE FINDINGS, THEY ARE DEVELOPING DEEP NEURAL NETWORK MODELS FOR PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES THAT ARE FREQUENTLY USED IN THE SCIENCES, SUCH AS MATLAB AND R, BUT ARE LESS COMMONLY USED IN THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY. THESE MODELS ARE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL FOR SCIENTISTS WHO ARE NOT EXPERT PROGRAMMERS; THEY CAN TURN DESCRIPTIONS INTO COMPUTER PROGRAMS, AND ALSO GENERATE EXPLANATIONS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS. THE TEAM IS DEVELOPING MODELS THAT SUPPORT THE PROGRAMMING PARADIGMS THAT SCIENTISTS USE, INCLUDING COMPUTATIONAL NOTEBOOKS AND PROGRAMS WHOSE STRUCTURE IS DETERMINED BY DATA FORMATS. THE TEAM IS DEVELOPING CODE GENERATION MODELS THAT CAN BE DEPLOYED ON PRIVATE, AIR GAPPED NETWORKS, MAKING THEM SUITABLE FOR SCIENTISTS WORKING IN SENSITIVE FIELDS, INCLUDING ENERGY AND DEFENSE. 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.

MULTI-TARGET DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF DNA-BINDING ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES - ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES (AMPS) ARE A POTENTIALLY PROMISING STRATEGY TO ADDRESS THE ONGOING HEALTH CRISIS OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT MICROBIAL INFECTION BECAUSE THEY TARGET GENERIC BACTERIAL STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS, THEREBY RENDERING EVOLUTIONARY PATHWAYS FOR BACTERIAL RESISTANCE MORE DIFFICULT. SOME AMPS HAVE A HYPOTHESIZED MECHANISM OF ACTION THAT FIRST INVOLVES INTERACTING WITH THE BACTERIAL CELL MEMBRANE AND TRANSLOCATING ACROSS IT TO ENTER THE BACTERIAL CELL. ONCE THESE AMPS ENTER BACTERIA, THEY CAN INTERACT WITH INTRACELLULAR TARGETS SUCH AS DNA. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE CATIONIC PEPTIDES AND BOTH OF THEIR NEGATIVELY-CHARGED MEMBRANE AND NUCLEIC ACID TARGETS ARE MEDIATED IN LARGE PART BY ELECTROSTATICS. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES THE DESIGN OF AMPS WITH INCREASED ANTIMICROBIAL POTENCY THROUGH RATIONALLY MODIFYING FIVE AMPS BELIEVED TO TARGET NUCLEIC ACIDS TO ACHIEVE ENHANCED MEMBRANE AND DNA BINDING AFFINITY. THE PROJECT WORKFLOW INTEGRATES COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS OPTIMIZATION, MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS, AND CONTINUUM ELECTROSTATIC MODELING WITH EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS SPECTROSCOPY, MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTING, AND VESICLE-BASED ASSAYS. THIS MULTIFACETED APPROACH WILL ALLOW FOR NOT ONLY THE ENGINEERING OF POTENTIALLY MORE ACTIVE THERAPEUTICS BUT ALSO THE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF MULTI-TARGET MOLECULAR RECOGNITION IN ELECTROSTATICALLY-DRIVEN SYSTEMS. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL FIRST DESIGN PEPTIDES WITH A RANGE OF AFFINITIES TO EACH SINGLE TARGET – EITHER MEMBRANE OR DNA – FOLLOWED BY STUDIES TO DETERMINE HOW BINDING AFFINITY RELATES TO ANTIMICROBIAL POTENCY AND MECHANISM OF ACTION. BASED ON THESE RESULTS, THEY WILL THEN DESIGN AND ANALYZE PEPTIDES CO-OPTIMIZED TO IDEALLY INTERACT PROMISCUOUSLY TO BOTH MEMBRANE AND DNA TARGETS. BY COMPARING STRUCTURAL BASES OF DESIGNS RESULTING FROM DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANISMS OF MOLECULAR RECOGNITION IN THIS SYSTEM. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE A RICH CYCLE OF COMPUTATION AND EXPERIMENT THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE PHYSICALLY-BASED MODELS AND YIELD A DESIGN FRAMEWORK THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO OTHER PEPTIDE SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION TO THESE SCIENTIFIC GOALS, THIS WORK WILL FOCUS ON ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE, A WOMEN’S UNDERGRADUATE-ONLY INSTITUTION. THROUGH THIS RESEARCH, WELLESLEY STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF PROJECTS AT THE INTERFACE OF COMPUTATION AND EXPERIMENT.

THE MASSACHUSETTS CHILD CARE STUDY: CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES, CHILD CARE NEEDS & UTILIZATION, AND CHOICE OF CARE AMONG LOW-I

EARLY ADOLESCENT SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY USE AND PARENTAL MONITORING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

PHOTOABSORPTION CROSS SECTION MEASUREMENTS AND MOLECULAR MODELING OF CO ISOTOPOLOGUES AND APPLICATIO

DIMENSIONS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: LAKE BAIKAL RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE: THE ROLE OF GENETIC, FUNCTIONAL AND TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY IN THE PLANKTON

THE SPECTACULARLY SUCCESSFUL NEW HORIZONS (NH) ENCOUNTER AND RECENT MODELING EFFORTS RAISE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERIC THERMAL STRUCTURE AND ENERGY BALANCE GLOBAL CIRCULATION WIND REGIMES AND THE PROPAGATION OF INERTIA-GRAVITY WAVES. WE PROPOSE TO APPLY A SUITE OF REALISTIC GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC AND RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODELING TOOLS TO EXPLORE THE UNDERLYING PHYSICAL PROCESSES AT WORK IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE AND TO IDENTIFY THEIR OBSERVABLE CONSEQUENCES. WE WILL PREDICT THE DYNAMICAL RESPONSE OF THE ATMOSPHERE TO A SET OF HYPOTHESIZED AND MODELED FORCINGS AND SURFACE CONDITIONS AND COMPARE THESE PREDICTIONS WITH NEW HORIZONS OBSERVATIONS AND WITH A SUBSTANTIAL CATALOG OF HIGH SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO (SNR) EARTH-BASED STELLAR OCCULTATIONS THAT PROVIDE OUR BEST RECORD OF DECADAL CHANGES IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. OUR PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL FOCUS ON TWO IMPORTANT AND ANSWERABLE QUESTIONS: Q1. WHAT ARE THE DYNAMICAL AND TEMPORAL IMPLICATIONS OF PLUTO'S APPARENTLY COOLER THERMAL STRUCTURE? NEW HORIZONS OBSERVATIONS OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERIC THERMAL PROFILE REVEALED UPPER ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES TO BE NEARLY ISOTHERMAL AT ABOUT 60 K OR ABOUT 30-60 K COOLER THAN THOSE DERIVED FROM DECADES OF PREVIOUS STELLAR OCCULTATIONS AS WELL AS A LESS STABLE LOWER ATMOSPHERE (L. YOUNG 2018). WHAT DOES THIS IMPLY FOR CHANGES IN THE DYNAMICS AND FLOWS OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE AND WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT THE TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE? HOW CAN WE RECONCILE THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE NH RESULTS AND STELLAR OCCULTATION THERMAL PROFILES? ARE RECENT MODELS INVOKING HAZE AS PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERIC COOLANT (ZHANG ET AL. 2017) CONSISTENT WITH STELLAR OCCULTATION OBSERVATIONS? Q2. WHAT IS THE SOURCE AND EFFECT OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERIC WAVES? THERE IS ABUNDANT EVIDENCE FOR WAVE ACTIVITY IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE: SCINTILLATIONS ("SPIKES") IN STELDLAR OCCULTATION LIGHTCURVES (TOIGO ET AL. 2010; FRENCH ET AL. 2015; PASACHOFF ET AL. 2005 2015) AND WAVE-LIKE FEATURES IN THE VERTICAL THERMAL PROFILES DERIVED FROM HIGH-SNR OCCULTATIONS INDICATE THAT THE WAVES ARE REGIONALLY AND/OR TEMPORALLY VARIABLE. PREVIOUSLY WE HAVE SUGGESTED THAT PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERIC WAVES ARE DRIVEN BY VERTICAL FLOW AT THE SURFACE RESULTING FROM A DIURNAL CYCLE IN THE SUBLIMATION AND CONDENSATION OF SURFACE ICES (TOIGO ET AL. 2010; FRENCH ET AL. 2015). HOWEVER NEW HORIZONS OBSERVATIONS PROVIDE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF KM-SCALE TOPOGRAPHIC RELIEF (MOORE ET AL. 2016) RAISING THE POSSIBILITY THAT PLUTO'S OBSERVED INERTIA-GRAVITY WAVES MAY INSTEAD (OR ADDITIONALLY) BE OROGRAPHIC IN ORIGIN. ARE WAVES IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE DRIVEN MORE BY SUBLIMATION OR BY TOPOGRAPHY? HOW DO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE WAVES COMPARE TO OBSERVATIONS (GLADSTONE ET AL. 2016; CHENG ET AL. 2017) OF THIN LAYERS OF HAZES IN THE ATMOSPHERE? OUR WORK DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE PRIME FACIE CONTRADICTION BETWEEN ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES INFERRED FROM YEARS OF EARTH-BASED OCCULTATIONS AND THE NEW HORIZONS OBSERVATIONS. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS INVESTIGATION WE WILL HAVE A MUCH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF TWO POSSIBLE MECHANISMS FOR COOLING THE ATMOSPHERE OF PLUTO: ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR OR PHOTOCHEMICAL HAZE AND HOW THOSE FACTORS INFLUENCE THE GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION AND STRUCTURE. THIS IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING HOW PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE MAINTAINS THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM. ADDITIONALLY WE WILL UNDERSTAND HOW ATMOSPHERIC WAVES ARE GENERATED ON PLUTO: BY DIURNALLY-DRIVEN FROST SUBLIMATION AND CONDENSATION AND/OR BY HORIZONTAL FLOW OVER TOPOGRAPHIC RELIEF. WE WILL DETERMINE THE PREDICTED WAVELENGTHS STRENGTHS VERTICAL EXTENT AND VARIABILITY (BOTH REGIONAL AND TEMPORAL) OF THE MODELED WAVES IN EACH CASE AND COMPARE THEIR ABILITY TO ACCOUNT FOR THE OBSERVED VARIABILITY OF WAVE CHARACTERISTICS IN A RICH SET OF HIGH-SNR STELLAR OCCULTATION OBSERVATIONS AS WELL AS HAZE OBSERVATIONS FROM NEW HORIZONS.

PLUTO'S COLD, TENUOUS ATMOSPHERE PROVIDES A FASCINATING LABORATORY FOR EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURE OF PLANETARY ATMOSPH

ADOLESCENT COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILY AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

DIVERSITY OF HUMAN MILK OLIGOSACCHARIDE METABOLIZING GENES IN TWO INFANT COHORTS - DIVERSITY OF HUMAN MILK OLIGOSACCHARIDE METABOLIZING GENES IN TWO INFANT COHORTS PROJECT SUMMARY ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA IS A GROWING PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES AND AFFECTS NEARLY 20% OF INFANTS. IT USUALLY BEGINS DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF AN INFANT’S LIFE. EARLY ATOPY IS ALSO ONE OF THE PREDICTORS OF LATER ALLERGIC OR OTHER HYPERINFLAMMATORY HEALTH PROBLEMS. OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED A PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF HUMAN MILK FEEDING FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA IN INFANTS. THUS, TO PROTECT THEIR CHILD FROM THIS DISEASE, SOME WOMEN CHOOSE TO FEED THEIR INFANTS HUMAN MILK. HOWEVER, THERE IS CONFLICTING EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS INTERVENTION. ALTHOUGH DIET IS LIKELY AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR TO THIS DISEASE, THE COMPOSITION OF THE MICROBIOTA AND ITS ABILITY TO DIGEST A SPECIFIC COMPONENT OF THE DIET IS POTENTIALLY JUST AS IMPORTANT IN PROTECTING AGAINST ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA. IN FACT, THE ABILITY OF THE INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA TO METABOLIZE SPECIFIC HUMAN MILK OLIGOSACCHARIDES (HMOS) MAY EXPLAIN WHY HUMAN MILK FEEDING PROTECTS AGAINST ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA IN SOME BUT NOT ALL INFANTS FED HUMAN MILK. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL INVESTIGATE MICROBIAL METABOLISM AND METABOLIC PRODUCTS AND IDENTIFY THEIR ASSOCIATION TO ATOPIC DERMATITIS. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL ASSESS THE TAXONOMIC, FUNCTIONAL, AND METABOLIC COMPOSITION OF GUT-RESIDENT BACTERIA FROM HUNDREDS OF INFANTS RESIDING IN THE MIDWEST OR NORTHEAST UNITED STATES TO DETERMINE THE DIVERSITY, PREVALENCE, AND ABUNDANCE OF MICROBIAL HMO METABOLISM. THIS MULTI-OMIC DATA WILL BE LINKED TO REPORTS OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA IN THE RESPECTIVE INFANTS. WE MAY ALSO IDENTIFY MICROBIOTA-ASSOCIATED GENES OR METABOLITES THAT ARE PROTECTIVE AGAINST ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA. WE EXPECT THAT INFANTS WITH A MORE DIVERSE REPERTOIRE OF HMO METABOLIZING GENES PRESENT IN THEIR GUT MICROBIOME WILL BE PROTECTED FROM ATOPIC DERMATITIS/ECZEMA. PERFORMING THIS RESEARCH IN TWO DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE US WILL BE ESPECIALLY ADVANTAGEOUS, SINCE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN MEDICAL OR CULTURAL PRACTICES, OR SIMPLY GEOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES IN MICROBIAL EXPOSURE, MAY ALTER HMO METABOLIZING GENE REPERTOIRES INDEPENDENT OF BREASTFEEDING BEHAVIOR. THIS RESEARCH WILL DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MICROBIAL HMO METABOLISM IN HUMAN INFANTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND DETERMINE WHETHER A SPECIFIC PATTERN OF HMO METABOLIZING GENES PROTECTS INFANTS FROM ATOPIC DERMATITIS AND ECZEMA.

RUI: NEUROGENESIS IN ADULT BRAINS: THE VASCULAR NICHE, GLIAL PROGENITORS, MIGRATORY STREAMS AND NEURONAL DIFFERENTIATION IN THE OLFACTORY PATHWAY OF

IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INNOVATION, AND JOB CREATION

THIS IS A MULTI-INSTRUMENT PROPOSAL TO COMBINE ALL CASSINI UVIS VIMS AND RSS RING OCCULTATION OBSERVATIONS FROM 2005 THROUGH JUNE 2017 (ALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON NASA S PLANETARY DATA SYSTEM) TO SUPPORT A MULTI-FACETED INVESTIGATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURE OF SATURN S RINGS. WE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE VARIED VIEWING GEOMETRY LONG TIME-BASELINE MULTI-INSTRUMENT COVERAGE RECENT THEORETICAL ADVANCES AND THE NEWLY-REFINED CASSINI TRAJECTORY TO EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF A HOST OF TIME-VARIABLE PHENOMENA AND PREVIOUSLY INACCESSIBLE CHARACTERISTICS OF SATURN AND ITS RING SYSTEM.

PATHWAYS TO ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULUM -THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON HOW TO EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF DATA SCIENTISTS AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS TO IMPLEMENT THEIR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE INFORMED BY SOUND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE PATHWAYS TO MAKING ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY?COMPUTATIONAL, DATA-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY?A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULUM FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AND THEIR STUDENTS IN A MULTI-YEAR PEDAGOGICAL EXERCISE CALLED: METHOD, ETHICS, TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH SEMINAR (METER). THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE OF INTEREST TO EDUCATORS, PRACTITIONERS AND STUDENTS. THE PROJECT: PATHWAYS TO ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULUM SEEKS TO ADDRESS TWO QUESTIONS: HOW SHOULD THE NEXT GENERATION OF DATA SCIENTISTS AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS BE EDUCATED TO THINK OF THEIR WORK AS NOT JUST TECHNICAL BUT ALSO ETHICAL? WHAT SORT OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WILL LEAD THEM TO SEE THAT THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THEIR WORK REQUIRES THAT IT BE DRIVEN BY SOUND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES? USING SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL ALSO COLLABORATE WITH ALUMS OF THEIR INSTITUTION TO BRING THE WORKPLACE INTO THE CLASSROOM. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE WITH RESPECT TO: 1. HOW WORKERS IN THE FIELD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY REFLECT ON THEIR PREPARATION FOR CAREERS IN TECHNOLOGY, 2. HOW THE HISTORICAL AND PRESENT-DAY ITERATIONS OF LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULA INTERSECT, SUPPORT, OR OTHERWISE INTERROGATE THE ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY, 3. STRATEGIES AND MATERIALS FOR MEANINGFUL INTERVENTION IN LIBERAL ARTS CURRICULA, WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF STRENGTHENING THE ETHICAL DECISION MAKING PREPARATION FOR FUTURE LEADERS IN TECHNOLOGY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MRI: ACQUISITION: MALDI-TOF/TOF MASS SPECTROMETER FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT AN UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF A FATHER-BASED INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT ADOLESCENTS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH - RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORS HAVE HIGH PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND FINANCIAL COSTS. FATHERS’ TALK WITH TEENS ABOUT SEX CAN PROTECT TEENS FROM RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. HOWEVER, THE POSITIVE EFFECTS ARE LIMITED, AS FEW FATHERS TALK WITH THEIR TEENS ABOUT SEX AND THOSE WHO DO TALK REPORT LOW FREQUENCY OF TALK. IMPACTS OF PARENT PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT TEEN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ARE REDUCED BY LOW PARTICIPATION AND RETENTION AND LACK OF ATTENTION TO FATHER-SPECIFIC BARRIERS AND SUPPORTS FOR TALK WITH TEENS ABOUT SEX. THE PROPOSED INTERVENTION WILL ADDRESS LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS BY USING AN ONLINE DESIGN WITH SELF-PACED LESSONS AND ENGAGING BOTH FATHERS AND TEENS, AND ADD INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN FATHER-BASED NEEDS ASSESSMENTS SUCH AS A FATHER-FACILITATED PEER-BASED SUPPORT GROUP AND IDENTIFYING MULTIPLE APPROACHES TO TALK WITH TEENS. USING INTERVENTION MAPPING, A SYSTEMATIC PROTOCOL USING THEORY, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, AND COMMUNITY INPUT TO DEVELOP HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, WE WILL DEVELOP AN ONLINE INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT FATHERS’ HEALTH-PROMOTING TALK WITH THEIR TEENS ABOUT SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS, USING SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY, AND EVALUATE THE INTERVENTION’S ACCEPTABILITY, FEASIBILITY, AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY. THE SHORT-TERM GOALS OF THE INTERVENTION ARE TO INCREASE HEALTH-RELATED KNOWLEDGE, SELF-EFFICACY, AND OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS AS MECHANISMS TO REDUCE TEENS’ SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOR. WE PLAN TO USE A FUTURE R01 TO CONDUCT A FULL-SCALE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL TO ASSESS THE PROGRAM’S EFFICACY TO ADDRESS LONG-TERM GOALS IDENTIFIED BY NIH OF REDUCING TEENS’ STI TRANSMISSION AND INCREASING THEIR CONTRACEPTIVE USE. THE AIMS OF THE CURRENT STUDY ARE 1) TO DEVELOP A 3-MODULE PROTOTYPE FOR A FATHER-TEEN ONLINE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT HEALTH-PROMOTING FAMILY COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS, AND 2) TO EVALUATE THE PROGRAM’S ACCEPTABILITY, FEASIBILITY, AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY. TO ADDRESS AIM 1, WE WILL DEVELOP PROGRAM MODULES USING ONLINE LESSONS AND INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES FOR FATHERS AND TEENS TO COMPLETE TOGETHER, WITH ONGOING STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK FROM OUR FAMILY ADVISORY BOARD, WHICH INCLUDES 10 FATHERS AND ˜6 TEENS. AIM 2 WILL ASSESS THE PROGRAM’S ACCEPTABILITY, FEASIBILITY, AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY USING A PILOT STUDY OF 50 PAIRS OF HIGH SCHOOL-AGED TEENS AND FATHERS. ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT USE DATA SUCH AS PILOT ENROLLMENT, PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK, AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES. GIVEN THE LIMITED PROJECT SCOPE, PRELIMINARY EFFICACY WILL BE EXPLORED BY ASSESSING INITIAL DIRECTIONALITY FOR CORRELATES OF TEENS’ SEXUAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION SURVEYS, USING MATCHED PAIR T-TESTS AND T-TESTS TO ASSESS EFFECTS OF TEEN GENDER ON OUTCOMES. THIS STUDY IS SIGNIFICANT AS IT TRANSLATES RESEARCH ON FATHER-TEEN TALK ABOUT SEX INTO A TECHNOLOGY-BASED AND POTENTIALLY SCALABLE INTERVENTION DESIGNED TO REDUCE TEENS’ SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOR. THIS STUDY’S INNOVATION LIES IN DEVELOPING ONE OF THE FIRST INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS FATHERS AS AN UNDER-UTILIZED RESOURCE TO SUPPORT TEENS’ SEXUAL HEALTH, USING NOVEL APPROACHES TO MAXIMIZE FATHER-TEEN COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX. THIS STUDY PROMOTES PUBLIC HEALTH BY DEVELOPING AN INTERVENTION WITH POTENTIAL TO REDUCE TEENS’ SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIOR.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: WE PROPOSE TO SUBMIT THE ENTIRE SET OF KNOWN HIGH-SNR URANUS RING OCCULTATION OBSERVATIONS TO NASA'S PDS RINGS NODE FOR USE B

RUI: THE ROLE OF LOW-ENERGY ELECTRONS IN HIGH-ENERGY RADIOLYSIS

RUI: CONDENSED PHASE RADIOLYSIS VS. PHOTOLYSIS