Baylor University

SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS

INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND, TO BE USED TO SUPPORT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO THE DISRUPTION OF CAMPUS OPERATIONS DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS.

TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS FOR THEIR EXPENSES RELATED TO THE DISRUPTION OF CAMPUS OPERATIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS.

CN SUMMER DEMO PROJ

GAINING EARLY AWARENESS AND READINESS FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS (GEAR-UP) - GEAR-UP

CHILD NUTRITION DISCRETIONARY GRANTS LIMITED AVAILABILITY

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS AT BAYLOR

UNDERSTANDING EVOLUTION OF PROTEIN FUNCTION THROUGH DESIGN.

SELF-ADMINISTERED HYPNOSIS TREATMENT FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HOT FLASHES IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

COLLABORATIVE PREPARATION OF DOCTORAL SCHOLARS TO IMPLEMENT SOCIALLY VALID EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND CONDUCT RESEARCH FOR CLD LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION (DIVERSE COLLABORATIVE)

SYNTHETIC/MECHANISTIC STUDIES OF BIOACTIVE MARINE AGENTS

THE ROLE OF MICRORNA-210 IN REGULATING OXIDATIVE STRESS IN PATIENTS WITH PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LAB TO MARKET COLLABORATIVE

PHARMACOPHORE-DIRECTED? RETROSYNTHESIS APPLIED TO BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS INFORMING MECHANISM OF ACTION STUDIES

CHILD NUTRITION DISCRETIONARY GRANTS LIMITED AVAILABILITY

CONSERVATIVE CARE FOR PELVIC PAIN (C2P2) IN WOMEN SERVICE MEMBERS: A MULTISITE, MULTIGROUP NONINFERIORITY RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL WITH DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL DECISION TOOLS

THE ROSES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS ARE: EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM

SMARTPHONE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR PROSPECTIVE MEMORY IN MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA - ABSTRACT: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS LEAD TO MARKED DECLINES IN DAILY FUNCTIONING, INDEPENDENCE, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. ONE OF THE EARLIEST COGNITIVE CHANGES IN THESE CONDITIONS IS IMPAIRMENT IN PROSPECTIVE MEMORY, OR THE ABILITY TO REMEMBER FUTURE INTENTIONS SUCH AS TAKING MEDICATIONS AT A GIVEN TIME. PRIOR INTERVENTION STUDIES THAT TARGETED PROSPECTIVE MEMORY USED MNEMONIC STRATEGIES OR COGNITIVE TRAINING, BUT THESE APPROACHES RESULTED IN MODEST GAINS IN CLINICAL POPULATIONS. BY CONTRAST, OUR STAGE I PILOT TRIAL INDICATED THAT SMARTPHONE-BASED MEMORY AIDS (REMINDER APPS) CAN BE USED BY PERSONS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND MILD DEMENTIA TO IMPROVE BOTH SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE PROSPECTIVE MEMORY PERFORMANCE. HAVING ESTABLISHED FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY IN THE STAGE I PILOT STUDY, WE WILL NOW TEST FOR EFFICACY, DURABILITY, AND GENERALIZABILITY OF BENEFITS ACROSS DIVERSE SAMPLES IN A STAGE II RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. WE WILL RECRUIT 200 PARTICIPANTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT OR MILD DEMENTIA, HALF OF WHOM WILL BE FROM DIGITALLY-DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS (LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, RURAL, OR HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS). THESE POPULATIONS ARE WELL- CAPTURED BY OUR CLINICAL CATCHMENT AREAS. PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPLETE BASELINE ASSESSMENTS AND THEN BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A SMARTPHONE REMINDER APP INTERVENTION OR AN ACTIVE CONTROL CONDITION THAT USES A PAPER- BASED MEMORY SUPPORT SYSTEM. ACROSS A 4-WEEK INTERVENTION PERIOD, PARTICIPANTS WILL COMPLETE BOTH PATIENT- SELECTED AND EXPERIMENTER-ASSIGNED PROSPECTIVE MEMORY ASSESSMENTS AND RECEIVE BOOSTER TRAINING SESSIONS TO PROMOTE SELF-EFFICACY WITH THE INTERVENTION/CONTROL SYSTEM. WE WILL ASSESS DURABILITY OF EFFECTS AT 3-MONTH AND 6-MONTH FOLLOW-UP SESSIONS. IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER SMARTPHONE-BASED OR PAPER-BASED APPROACHES WILL BE BETTER AT SUPPORTING PROSPECTIVE MEMORY ACROSS 6 MONTHS IN OLDER ADULTS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DIGITAL DISADVANTAGES. HOWEVER, BASED ON PILOT DATA, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE REMINDER APP WILL BE ESPECIALLY BENEFICIAL TO PROSPECTIVE MEMORY BECAUSE IT PROVIDES AUTOMATED REMINDERS, ALLOWS CARE PARTNERS TO “PUSH” REMINDERS AND EVENTS, AND IT INCLUDES DAILY ALERTS TO USE THE APP. AS A SECONDARY AIM, WE WILL SIMULTANEOUSLY ENROLL FAMILY OR FRIEND STUDY PARTNERS TO COLLECT INFORMANT RATINGS, TRACK HOW MUCH STUDY PARTNERS ASSIST THE PARTICIPANTS, AND DETERMINE WHETHER IMPROVING PROSPECTIVE MEMORY IN PATIENTS IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE IN STUDY PARTNERS (E.G., BY REDUCING THE DOUBLE TO-DO LIST BURDEN OF REMEMBERING FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR CARE RECIPIENTS). AS A THIRD AIM, WE WILL INTEGRATE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA TO IDENTIFY BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO SMARTPHONE INTERVENTIONS IN DIGITALLY-DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN UNDERREPRESENTED IN TECHNOLOGY AND DEMENTIA RESEARCH. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF TECHNOLOGY USAGE IN OLDER ADULTS, INFORM WHETHER SMARTPHONE-BASED REMINDER APPS ARE EFFECTIVE AND DURABLE RELATIVE TO ESTABLISHED PAPER-BASED APPROACHES FOR PROSPECTIVE MEMORY, AND PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR PERSONALIZED COGNITIVE MEDICINE INTERVENTIONS.

HYPNOSIS FOR HOT FLASHES: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

ADVANCING SUCCESS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, MENTORING, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-DRIVEN SUPPORT -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY. A TOTAL OF 24 SCHOLARS PURSUING BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES IN BIOINFORMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERSECURITY, DATA SCIENCE, ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, AND GENERAL ENGINEERING WILL RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS AVERAGING $12,500 FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS. SCHOLARS WILL RECEIVE FACULTY, PEER AND ALUMNI MENTORING, AND THE PROJECT WILL BUILD STRONG SCHOLAR COHORTS THROUGH SHARED EVENTS, EXPERIENCES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOLARS INCLUDE ACADEMIC TUTORING, DEVELOPMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SKILLS, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, AND PARTICIPATION IN A LIVING AND LEARNING COMMUNITY. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS TRACK 2 SCHOLARSHIPS IN STEM PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME UNDERGRADUATES WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL NEED TO GROW THE STEM WORKFORCE AND NURTURE KEY TALENT THAT WILL ENSURE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND PROVIDE DOMESTIC LEADERSHIP ACROSS CRITICAL SECTORS. THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY SPEAKS TO THIS NEED BY SUPPORTING STEM STUDENT SUCCESS, WHICH WILL STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE IN ENGINEERING, COMPUTER AND DATA SCIENCE, CYBERSECURITY, BIOINFORMATICS, AND OTHER KEY AREAS OF NEED. A PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PLATFORM, NAVIGATE, WILL ASSIST THE TEAM IN TRACKING SCHOLARS' PROGRESS AND, IN THE LONG-TERM, IDENTIFYING THOSE WHO MIGHT BENEFIT FROM EARLY INTERVENTION EFFORTS. THE PROJECT WILL BE ASSESSED BY AN EXPERIENCED EVALUATOR WHO WILL GATHER FEEDBACK, MONITOR STUDENT PROGRESS, AND PROVIDE REGULAR INSIGHTS TO HELP IMPROVE THE PROGRAM. THE DATA GENERATED WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE REGARDING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN STEM. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF'S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED WHO EARN DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CONTROL# 3387-1790 BAYLOR UNIVERSITY WITH PACIFIC NORTHWESTERN N VISION OPEN 2024 PROJECT TITLE ''ADDITIVE FRICTION SURFACING FOR LARGE SCALE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING WITH IMPROVED SERVICE LIFE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS'' THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A NEW ADDITIVE FRICTION SURFACING (AFS) MANUFACTURING PROCESS THAT WILL ENABLE COST COMPETITIVE NEAR NET SHAPE (NNS) LARGE SCALE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (LSAM) OF 10,000LBS STEEL COMPONENTS IN LESS THAN 200 HOURS AND AT HALF THE COST OF WIRE ARC ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (WAAM). THIS PROJECT INTENDS TO LEVERAGE PROCESS PHYSICS, WORLD CLASS RESIDUAL STRESS SIMULATION TOOLS, ADVANCED PROCESS CONTROLS, MACHINE LEARNING ASSISTED QUALITY ASSURANCE METHODS, AND MACHINE DESIGN CAPABILITIES OF THE PROJECT TEAM TO CREATE TWO 1,000 LBS. DEFECT FREE FULL-SCALE SUBSECTION OF A VOITH TURBINE USING THE DEVELOPED AFS PROCESSES. NEW AWARD

ALCOHOL AND NEUROVASCULAR CONTROL IN HUMANS

MULTI-TIERED SUPPORT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

ESTABLISHING A 1991 VETERANS RESEARCH NETWORK TO IMPROVE CHARACTERIZATION OF GULF WAR ILLNESS AND PROVIDE A NATIONAL RESOURCE FOR VETERANS AND INVEST

SIGNALING MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EPILEPSY AND AUTISM CORMORBIDITY

CREATING TOOLS TO MAKE EXPERIMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH BLINDNESS - PROJECT SUMMARY. PEOPLE WITH BLINDNESS AND LOW VISION (BLV) EXPERIENCE SYSTEMIC EXCLUSION FROM BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE BECAUSE THE TOOLS OF EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE—AND THE DATA THEY PRODUCE—ARE INACCESSIBLE. THE TWO CENTRAL HYPOTHESES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE: (I) THE TOOLS AND INFORMATION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL BIOMOLECULAR RESEARCH LAB CAN BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH BLV WITH INTERVENTIONS THAT INCORPORATE UNIVERSAL DESIGN, AND (II) PERSONS WITH BLV CAN USE THESE TOOLS TO TEST BIOMEDICAL HYPOTHESES AND PUBLISH THEIR RESULTS IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS. THIS PROJECT HAS FOUR AIMS; TWO AIMS FOR DEVELOPING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, AND TWO AIMS TO USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT (I) HETEROMERIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WILD-TYPE (WT) CU, ZN SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (SOD1) AND MUTANT FORMS OF SOD1 THAT CAUSE AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS), AND (II) REDOX PROPERTIES OF MITOCHONDRIAL REDOX ENZYMES. IN AIM 1, WE PLAN TO METHODICALLY MAKE EACH TOOL/TECHNIQUE IN THE PI’S LAB ACCESSIBLE, BEGINNING WITH SDS-PAGE AND WESTERN BLOTTING, PROTEIN PURIFICATION, CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS, PCR, AND TOUCH SCREEN DEVICES (PH METERS, CENTRIFUGES). ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DESIGNED AND 3D PRINTED IN THE PI’S LAB, INCLUDING A DEVICE THAT ENABLES RESEARCHERS WITH TOTAL BLINDNESS TO AUTONOMOUSLY LOAD SDS-PAGE GELS BY HAND. ROBOTIC DEVICES THAT WEIGH SOLIDS AND INITIATE BIOCHEMICAL REACTIONS ARE ALSO BEING MADE ACCESSIBLE. IN AIM 2, GRAPHICAL IMAGERY AND DATA (ELECTROPHEROGRAMS, SPECTRA, ELECTRON MICROGRAPHS) ARE CONVERTED INTO LITHOPHANES (ENGRAVINGS THAT PROVIDE TACTILE READOUTS AND OPTICAL READOUTS VIA LIGHT SCATTERING). HAPTIC GLOVES—DEVELOPED FOR GAMING—WILL BE ADAPTED TO HELP RESEARCHERS WITH BLINDNESS VISUALIZE VIRTUAL OBJECTS (PROTEIN STRUCTURES, CAD FILES, ETC.). IN AIM 3, THESE TOOLS WILL BE USED BY BLIND AND SIGHTED RESEARCHERS TO TEST HOW INCORPORATION OF WT SOD1 INTO FIBRILLAR MUTANT SOD1 AFFECTS ITS KINETIC, THERMODYNAMIC, AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES. HERE, FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY, AMIDE H/D EXCHANGE, CHEMICAL CROSSLINKING AND CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY WILL BE USED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT WT SOD1 INCORPORATES INTO MUTANT FIBRILS TO ALTER THEIR STRUCTURE/MORPHOLOGY, STABILITY AND PROPAGATION RATE. IN AIM 4, “PROTEIN CHARGE LADDERS,” CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS, AND SITE DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS WILL BE USED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT LONG-RANGE ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTIONS IN MITOCHONDRIAL METALLOPROTEINS PLAY A DOMINANT ROLE IN CONTROLLING THEIR REDOX PROPERTIES. EACH AIM IS DEVELOPED FOR (AND IN COLLABORATION WITH) FACULTY AND RESEARCHERS WHO HAVE EARLY BLINDNESS AND PERSONS WITH LATE BLINDNESS, WHO DEVELOPED BLINDNESS AS ADULTS AFTER PH.D. TRAINING IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE (THESE LATTER PERSONS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO DROP OUT OF SCIENCE). THIS PROJECT INVOLVES A COLLABORATIVE TEAM OF SIGHTED AND BLIND BIOCHEMISTS, CHEMISTS, ELECTRON MICROSCOPISTS, AND COMPUTER SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING UNDERGRADUATE, POST- DOCTORAL, AND INDEPENDENT SCIENTISTS WITH BLINDNESS CURRENTLY IN THE PI’S LAB.

BRINGING EVIDENCE BASED ASSESMENTS OF TRAUMA-AND ABUSE-RELATED SYNDROME TO CATEGORY III SITES, CACS, AND UNIVERSITIES

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY – MCLENNAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE CENTRAL TEXAS CYBER PROGRAM (CTCP)

IMPACT OF SLEEP LOSS ON CREATIVITY AND STEM LEARNING FOR FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

PARTNERING FOR HEART OF TEXAS (H.O.T.) MENTAL HEALTH

NOVEL PROTEIN ENGINEERED DRUG CONJUGATES TARGETING PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER

CN SUMMER DEMO PROJ

CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH ENHANCED SELECTIVITY FOR THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT

GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS

INVESTIGATIONS INTO DYNAMIC DNA RECOGNITION AND PROCESSING DURING EUKARYOTIC NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR -DNA UNDERGOES CONTINUOUS DAMAGE FROM ENDOGENOUS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOURCES. UNREPAIRED DNA DAMAGE INTERFERES WITH CELLULAR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS REPLICATION AND TRANSCRIPTION, OFTEN RESULTING IN MUTATIONS AND GENOME INSTABILITY. NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR (NER) IS A MAJOR DNA REPAIR PATHWAY THAT REMOVES STRUCTURALLY DIVERSE LESIONS CAUSED BY UV, FUEL COMBUSTION, INDUSTRIAL POLLUTANTS, CIGARETTE SMOKE, ETC. IN DNA. DEFECTS IN NER CAN CAUSE HYPER-UV SENSITIVITY AND INCREASE MUTATIONS THAT LEAD TO DISEASES INCLUDING CANCERS IN HUMANS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO OBTAIN DETAILED MOLECULAR AND STRUCTURAL UNDERSTANDING OF CRITICAL STEPS IN THE INITIATION OF NER. TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS IN THIS PROJECT WILL BE APPLICABLE TO MANY OTHER SYSTEMS INVOLVING COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC PROTEIN-DNA INTERACTIONS. THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE RESEARCHERS AND ENHANCE THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY THROUGH CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL SCHOOL. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE PARTICIPATION IN AN ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION WORKSHOP AT BAYLOR, HELD FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS FROM LOCAL COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO HIGH-LEVEL INSTRUMENTATION; DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH-BASED BIOLOGY CURRICULUM ?GUARDIANS OF THE GENOME? IN COLLABORATION WITH A HIGH SCHOOL IN TEXAS, AND PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS THROUGH THE NSF-FUNDED ?PORTAL TO THE PUBLIC? PROGRAM AT BAYLOR?S MAYBORN MUSEUM. NER IS AN ESSENTIAL GENOME MAINTENANCE MECHANISM WHOSE MOLECULAR MACHINERY IS CONSERVED IN ALL EUKARYOTES RANGING FROM YEAST TO HUMANS. THOUGH MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BIOCHEMICAL STEPS OF NER, LITTLE IS KNOWN AT THE STRUCTURAL LEVEL DUE TO CHALLENGES IN PREPARING KEY MULTIPROTEIN COMPLEXES (E.G., TFIIH AND RAD4 (YEAST HOMOLOG OF MAMMALIAN XPC)) ON SUITABLE NER LESIONS FOR STRUCTURAL STUDIES. BUILDING ON THE TEAM?S PRIOR SUCCESSES AND BY COMBINING CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (CRYO-EM), CROSS-LINKING/MASS SPECTROMETRY (XL-MS), AND FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME (FLT)-BASED CONFORMATIONAL ANALYSES AS WELL AS YEAST GENETICS, THIS PROJECT AIMS AT COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF NER INITIATION THROUGH DYNAMIC 3-D VIEWS OF THE COMPLEX STRUCTURES AND THEIR TRANSITIONS. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS: (1) HOW TFIIH-RAD4 FIRST STARTS UNWINDING THE DNA ON BONA FIDE NER LESIONS, (2) HOW HOLOTFIIH IS ACTIVATED FOR NER BY DISENGAGING THE TRANSCRIPTION-SPECIFIC TFIIK KINASE MODULE, AND (3) HOW THE TFIIH-RAD4 COMPLEX TRANSITIONS TO LESION VERIFICATION STAGE. THIS RESEARCH USING THE YEAST SYSTEM WILL ALSO OPEN NEW DOORS TO UNDERSTANDING VARIOUS NER-LINKED PHENOTYPES IN HUMANS AND SHED LIGHT ON HOW NER MAY BE MODULATED IN VIVO. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE GENETIC MECHANISMS AND MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS PROGRAMS OF THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES DIVISION IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DIRECTORATE. 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.

NEW CATALYTIC STEREOSELECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR HYDROCARBON FUNCTIONALIZATION VIA IONIC INTERMEDIATES - PROJECT SUMMARY CHEMICAL METHODOLOGIES FOR THE PREDICTABLE TRANSFORMATION OF HYDROCARBONS TO FUNCTIONAL SYNTHETIC INTERMEDIATES HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED THE PREPARATION OF SMALL-MOLECULE THERAPEUTICS. NONETHELESS, THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CHEMICAL TOOLS THAT COMPLIMENT CURRENT EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES AND ADDRESS GAPS IN SYNTHETIC STRATEGY OFFER THE POTENTIAL TO FURTHER ACCELERATE DRUG INNOVATION AND IMAGING TECHNIQUES. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP NEW AREAS OF ASYMMETRIC CATALYSIS BY MEANS OF CHIRAL IONIC INTERMEDIATES. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE TWO RESEARCH AREAS PROPOSED HERE ARE CENTERED ON THE STUDY OF CATALYSTS THAT PROMOTE THE STEREOSELECTIVE TRAPPING OF CATIONIC INTERMEDIATES TO ADDRESS LONGSTANDING CHALLENGES IN SYNTHESIS. THE FIRST RESEARCH AREA WILL FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR CATALYTIC ENANTIOSELECTIVE HALOGENATION VIA CHIRAL LEWIS BASE CATALYSIS. THIS WORK DRAWS UPON OUR INITIAL FINDINGS IN THIS AREA REGARDING THE LEWIS BASE ACTIVATION OF LATENT HALIDE SOURCES FOR THE CATALYTIC GENERATION OF CHIRAL HALOGENATING REAGENTS. THE SECOND RESEARCH AREA DETAILS A CONCEPTUALLY NOVEL APPROACH FOR THE GENERATION OF CHIRAL MOLECULES VIA HYDRIDE ABSTRACTION PROCESSES. SPECIFICALLY, WE AIM TO EXPLOIT THE REACTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY OF SUPERACID CATALYSTS TO ENABLE THE REGIO- AND STEREOSELECTIVE FUNCTIONALIZATION OF SATURATED HYDROCARBONS. THIS STRATEGY REPRESENTS THE STARTING POINT FOR A BROADER RESEARCH PROGRAM AIMED AT DEVELOPING A NEW MODE OF ASYMMETRIC CSP3–H FUNCTIONALIZATION. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE RESEARCH PROGRAMS WILL EXPAND THE AVAILABLE CHEMICAL SPACE AND STREAMLINE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS FOR DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT.

INCREASING ACCESS TO CHEMISTRY FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS WITH BLINDNESS: A PROGRAM TO JUMP START CENTRAL TEXAS - PROJECT SUMMARY: STUDENTS WITH BLINDNESS FACE EXPLICIT BIAS AND SYSTEMIC EXCLUSION IN CHEMISTRY. THE CHEMISTRY LABORATORY REMAINS ESPECIALLY INACCESSIBLE—“OFF LIMITS”—TO STUDENTS WITH BLV. THE EXQUISITE 3D IMAGERY OF CHEMISTRY ALSO REMAINS INACCESSIBLE, AS VISUALIZING EACH IMAGE IN A TEXTBOOK WOULD REQUIRE A LARGE HAND-HELD MODEL. EXCLUDING STUDENTS FROM THE “CENTRAL” SCIENCE—FROM ITS TOOLS, DATA, AND IMAGERY— CAN INHIBIT LEARNING IN OTHER STEM FIELDS. IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, 11,000 CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS (AGE 0- 22) HAVE BLINDNESS OR LOW VISION (BLV). THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED (TSBVI) EDUCATES ~ 600 K-12 STUDENTS PER YEAR. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CHEMISTRY LABS, INSTRUMENTATION, DATA, AND IMAGERY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT TSBVI (GRADES 9-12). THE PROJECT TEAM INVOLVES: (I) FIVE PHD-LEVEL CHEMISTS (THREE HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY BLIND FROM CHILDHOOD OR BIRTH), (II) ONE SPECIAL EDUCATOR AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, (III) FIVE TSBVI TEACHERS AND ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALISTS, AND (IV) THE LABORATORY SAFETY PROGRAM MANAGER AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY. SPECIAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES (SRE’S) HAVE BEEN PLANNED AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY FOR 30 NEW TSBVI HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PER YEAR. THESE TWO-DAY EXPERIENCES WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY PRE-LAB AND POST-LAB TACTILE CURRICULUM, SAFETY TRAINING, AND ROLE MODELING FROM PHD CHEMISTS WITH BLINDNESS. IN AIM 1, ACCESSIBLE CURRICULUM IS BEING DEVELOPED FOR SRE’S VIA 3D PRINTING, TACTILE PRINTING, BRAILLE PRINTING, AND AUDIO RECORDING. IN AIM 1, MILLIMETER-SCALE “MICRO MODELS” OF 3D IMAGES ARE ALSO BEING DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED (AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL LARGE TACTILE MODELS). THE ABILITY OF TSBVI STUDENTS TO VISUALIZE THESE MICRO MODELS BY ORAL AND MANUAL STEREOGNOSIS IS TESTED DURING SRE’S. IN AIM 2, LAB SPACES AT BAYLOR ARE BEING MODIFIED TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO TSBVI STUDENTS, TO CONDUCT THE FOUR SRE’S DESCRIBED IN AIM 3. OUTFITTING THE LAB INVOLVES USE OF “HIGH TECH” SOLUTIONS (E.G., ROBOTS THAT WEIGH, DISPENSE AND MIX SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS) AND “LOW TECH LAB HACKS”. IN AIM 3, FOUR DIFFERENT SPECIAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES WILL BE PROVIDED TO 15 NEW TSBVI STUDENTS PER SEMESTER (STUDENTS ASSIGNED A DIFFERENT SRE EACH YEAR). TWO SRE’S INVOLVE THE SYNTHESIS OF INDUSTRIALLY IMPORTANT MOLECULES, USING A ROBOTIC REACTOR AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY THAT IS SAFELY ENCLOSED INSIDE AN AIR-TIGHT, BLAST-PROOF GLOVE BOX. TWO OTHER SRE’S ALLOW STUDENTS TO USE ELECTRON AND ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY AND TACTILE PRINTING TO VISUALIZE NANOSCALE MOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES (E.G., PROTEIN FIBRILS AND CARBOHYDRATE SCALES OF BUTTERFLY WINGS). THE FOUR EXPERIENCES WILL PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF MICROSCOPY; MASS SPECTROMETRY; SIMPLE ORGANIC REACTIONS; AND PROTEIN AGGREGATION. STUDENTS WILL LEARN THAT THEY CAN VISUALIZE THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION IMAGERY FROM MICROSCOPY VIA TACTILE GRAPHICS. STUDENTS WILL LEARN THAT THEY CAN SAFELY DO CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS USING ROBOTS INSIDE GLOVE BOXES. THE HYPOTHESIS, TESTED IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL, IS THAT SRE’S WILL INCREASE TSBVI STUDENT INTEREST, CONFIDENCE, AND SENSE OF BELONGING IN STEM.

METHOD AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF PHYSIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT NATURAL PRODUCTS

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY RONALD E. MCNAIR POST BACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

IT INFRASTRUCTURE

PURPOSE:THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO SUPPORT ACQUISITION OF MATERIALS MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS ALLOWING FOR THEDEVELOPMENT OF NEW AVENUES OF MEASUREMENT SCIENCE, MEASUREMENT STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY ATBAYLOR UNIVERSITY.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:THE RESEARCHERS WILL ACQUIRE NEW MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION EQUIPMENT (X-RAY DIFFRACTION SYSTEM, AND A FLASHTHERMOGRAPHER TESTING SYSTEM) FOR INSTALLATION AT THE BAYLOR MATERIALS TESTING AND CHARACTERIZATION CORE FACILITY(MTAC). THE INSTRUMENTATION WILL SUPPORT MATERIALS RESEARCH AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, AS WELL AS PROVIDE FORENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:THE INSTRUMENTATION IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE VITAL INFORMATION ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION IN A VARIETY OFMATERIALS PRODUCED VIA ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES. MOREOVER, THE INSTRUMENTATION WILL ALLOW FOR THEQUALIFICATION AND INSPECTION OF A VARIETY OF CUTTING-EDGE MATERIAL STRUCTURES OF INTEREST TO THE AEROSPACE,AUTOMOTIVE, BOATING, AND OTHER HIGH TECHNOLOGY FIELDS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:MATERIALS RESEARCHERS FROM ACROSS BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IN MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM ACCESS TO THEINSTRUMENTATION THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN THE MATERIALS TESTING AND CHARACTERIZATION CORE FACILITY.LOCAL SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES WHO CURRENTLY USE BAYLOR'S MTAC WILL BENEFIT FROM ACCESS TO THE ACQUIREDEQUIPMENT TO SUPPORT THEIR MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS TESTING AND QUALIFICATION NEEDS. BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SERVES THEDALLAS-FORT WORTH, HOUSTON, AND AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TECHNOLOGY TRIANGLE INDUSTRIES.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.

HDR DSC: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MODERNIZING WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT THROUGH DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION & RESEARCH (MOWATER)

ASCENT: LARGE-SCALE ELECTRONIC-PHOTONIC CIRCUITS WITH HETEROGENEOUSLY INTEGRATED CONDUCTIVE OXIDE FOR HIGH-THROUGHPUT AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPUTING -OF ALL EXISTING SEMICONDUCTOR PLATFORMS, SILICON IS UNDENIABLY THE MOST CRITICAL ONE FOR HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION BETWEEN PHOTONIC AND ELECTRONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS THAT CAN REVOLUTIONIZE FUTURE SEMICONDUCTOR SYSTEMS. THE AIM OF THIS ASCENT PROJECT FOCUSES ON ENERGY-EFFICIENT SILICON PHOTONIC CIRCUITS WITH CO-DESIGNED ELECTRONIC APPLICATION-SPECIFIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS BY HETEROGENEOUSLY INTEGRATING HIGH-MOBILITY TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE OXIDE THROUGH WAFER- AND PANEL-SCALE MANUFACTURING. THE APPROACH IS COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING SILICON PHOTONICS FABRICATION AND WILL RESULT IN UNPRECEDENTED IMPROVEMENT IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND BANDWIDTH DENSITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE MATERIALS, DEVICE DESIGN, ELECTRONIC-PHOTONIC OPTIMIZATION AND PACKAGING. THIS PROJECT ALSO GENERATES BROAD IMPACTS ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BY PROVIDING UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH THE PROPOSED FOUNDRY-UNIVERSITY CO-FABRICATION AND UNIQUE CO-INTEGRATION APPROACH. STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY BY PARTICIPATING IN SUMMER INTERNSHIPS TO RECEIVE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES IN CIRCUIT DESIGN, DEVICE FABRICATION, OPTOELECTRONIC INTEGRATION, AND HIGH-SPEED CHARACTERIZATION. LEADING-EDGE APPLICATIONS SUCH AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), 6G-AND-BEYOND COMMUNICATIONS, QUANTUM AND NEUROMORPHIC COMPUTING HAVE UNMET REQUIREMENTS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND BANDWIDTH DENSITY. THIS ASCENT PROJECT TARGETS THIS CHALLENGE BY AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE IN PHOTONIC DEVICES, ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS, AND SYSTEM-LEVEL INTEGRATION. SPECIFICALLY, THE TEAM WILL DEVELOP A WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING PHOTONIC TRANSCEIVER CONSISTING OF SILICON MICRORING MODULATOR ARRAY AND TUNABLE OPTICAL FILTER ARRAY COUPLED WITH RESONANT NANO-PHOTODETECTORS, CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING 10 TERABITS PER SECOND FULL-DUPLEX BIDIRECTIONAL LINK WITH 100 FEMTO-JOULE PER BIT SYSTEM-LEVEL ENERGY EFFICIENCY. THE CORE PHOTONIC ENGINE IS DRIVEN BY A METAL-OXIDE-SEMICONDUCTOR CAPACITOR STRUCTURE WITH ATHERMAL TITANIUM DIOXIDE CLADDING, WHICH WILL BE PACKAGED WITH SUB-VOLT ELECTRONIC DRIVER CIRCUITS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS CRITICAL FABRICATION CHALLENGES THROUGH COMBINING COMMERCIAL SILICON PHOTONIC FOUNDRIES WITH UNIVERSITY FABRICATION AND PACKAGING TO PROVE THE FEASIBILITY OF COMMERCIALIZATION. THE TEAM WILL ALSO DEMONSTRATE CRITICAL STEPS FOR WAFER- AND PANEL-SCALE INTEGRATION SUCH AS RF-SPUTTERING, STEPPER LITHOGRAPHY, AND HIGH-PITCH-DENSITY PACKAGING. THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT WILL ELEVATE THE PERFORMANCE OF HETEROGENEOUSLY INTEGRATED SEMICONDUCTOR SYSTEMS TO MEET THE STRINGENT REQUIREMENT OF FUTURE HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING. 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.

RECONFIGURABLE POWER AMPLIFIER AND FILTER TECHNOLOGY FOR REAL-TIME ADAPTIVE NEXT GENERATION RADAR (RESPONDING TO ARL BAA FOCUS AREAS 1.2.6.D AND 1.2.

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY RONALD E. MCNAIR POST BACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

TRACER-MAP: MAPPING AEROSOL PROCESSES ACROSS HOUSTON DURING CONVECTIVE CELL EVENTS

ASSESSING THE BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURES THAT RESULT FROM ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT GLYCANS, HETEROGENEOUS POLYMERS OF CARBOHYDRATES, INTERACT WITH PROTEINS TO INITIATE A MULTITUDE OF BIOLOGI- CAL PROCESSES, INCLUDING MOLECULAR RECOGNITION, CELLULAR SIGNALING, AND HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONS. MASS SPEC- TROMETRY (MS) METHODS HAVE BECOME POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CHARACTERIZING THE STRUCTURES OF GLYCANS AND THEIR INTER- ACTIONS WITH PROTEINS. ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION (ESI) IS A COMMON IONIZATION METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING THESE BIO- MOLECULES FROM SOLUTION TO THE GAS-PHASE FOR MS ANALYSIS. HOWEVER, BOTH GLYCANS AND PROTEINS EXHIBIT STRUC- TURAL CHANGES DURING ESI. THUS, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURES ARE MODIFIED DURING AND AFTER THE ESI PROCESS TO DETERMINE (1) HOW RESEARCHERS CAN DEDUCE SOLVATED STRUCTURES FROM THESE TECHNIQUES AND (2) HOW ANALYTICAL METHODS CAN BE IMPROVED. TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE, THE GALLAGHER LAB USES A COMBINATION OF MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATIONS AND MS METHODS TO DEVELOP A FUNDAMENTAL, MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVE OF ESI. THE GALLAGHER LAB PERFORMS MD SIMULATIONS OF ESI TO OBSERVE CARBOHYDRATE IONIZATION USING METAL IONS AS CHARGE CARRIERS. HOWEVER, TO MORE ACCURATELY MODEL PROTEIN IONIZATION, THE GALLAGHER LAB IS DEVELOPING METHODS TO SIMULATE PROTONATION DURING ESI. THESE METHODS WILL BE FURTHER DEVELOPED TO EXAMINE ANALYTE IONIZATION BY DEPROTONATION IN NEGATIVE-ION MODE, AND THEN APPLIED TO ACHIEVE A MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVE ON THE IONIZATION OF GLYCANS AND PROTEINS. IN PARAL- LEL TO THE MD SIMULATIONS, THE GALLAGHER LAB WILL PERFORM MS ANALYSIS OF METAL-ADDUCTED GLYCANS. GLYCANS READILY IONIZE BY COORDINATING TO METAL IONS, WITH DIFFERENT METAL-ADDUCTS ENABLING ISOMERIC DIFFERENTIATION IN BOTH TANDEM MS AND ION MOBILITY-MS. HOWEVER, GLYCANS ARE OFTEN ANALYZED AS SODIUM ADDUCTS BECAUSE SO- DIUM IS A UBIQUITOUS CONTAMINANT. THE GALLAGHER LAB IS PERFORMING SYSTEMATIC STUDIES EXAMINING THE RELATION- SHIP BETWEEN METAL-ION PROPERTIES AND GLYCAN CHARACTERIZATION BY MS. FINALLY, THE GALLAGHER LAB IS APPLYING NATIVE MS TO CHARACTERIZE PROTEIN COMPLEXES. IN NATIVE MS, NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS ARE MAINTAINED IN THE GAS PHASE; YET PAST WORK HAS SUGGESTED THAT PROTEINS ANALYZED AS POSITIVE VERSUS NEGATIVE IONS HAVE DIFFER- ENCES IN GAS-PHASE STABILITY. THE GALLAGHER LAB WILL EXAMINE HOW CHARGING IN ESI TO FORM EITHER POSITIVE OR NEG- ATIVE IONS IS RELATED TO GAS-PHASE PROTEIN STRUCTURE, STABILITY, AND LIGAND-BINDING INTERACTIONS. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE GALLAGHER LAB IS TO DEVELOP AND APPLY NOVEL METHODOLOGIES TO CHARACTERIZE GLY- CANS, PROTEINS, AND THEIR BINDING INTERACTIONS. THE RESEARCH DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL PROVIDE A FUNDAMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON ESI-MS AND THE MOLECULAR INSIGHTS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL ENABLE THE RATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE ESI-MS METHODS FOR CHARACTERIZING THESE MOLECULES. ULTIMATELY, THIS WORK WILL FACILITATE THE ANALYSIS OF GLYCANS, GLYCOCONJUGATES, AND PROTEIN COMPLEXES IN CELL BIOLOGY AND DISEASE STATES, ENABLING THESE METHODS TO BE APPLIED TO ADDRESS IMPORTANT BIOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES.

THE IMPACT OF AN EVIDENCE-BASED, BEHAVIORAL CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING INTERVENTION AMONG WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN GHANA (HOPE-ING): A TYPE 2 HYBRID EFFECTIVENESS IMPLEMENTATION TRIAL - ABSTRACT OVER 69,000 WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV, (WLWH) IN GHANA HAVE A SIX-FOLD INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING CERVICAL CANCER1 AND REQUIRE EARLY AND FREQUENT CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING (CCS).2-4 HOWEVER, AVAILABLE DATA IN GHANA SHOW THAT THE CCS RATE AMONG ELIGIBLE WOMEN IS AS LOW AS 2.7%, AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT WLWH SCREEN AT HIGHER RATES.5 IN RESPONSE TO THE NEED TO INCREASE THE UPTAKE OF CCS AMONG WLWH, OUR TEAM DEVELOPED A HOME-BASED SELF-SAMPLING FOR CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION EDUCATION (HOPE) INTERVENTION. HOPE CONSISTS OF HPV SELF-SAMPLING COMBINED WITH A 3R (REFRAMING, REPRIORITIZING, AND REFORMING) COMMUNICATION MODEL FOR PROMOTING CCS. IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) IN GHANA, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT HOPE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED CCS AMONG WLWH (100%) VS ROUTINE CLINIC-BASED SCREENING (14.64%).8 PARTICIPATING WOMEN FOUND THE SELF-SAMPLING AND 3R COMMUNICATION MODEL ACCEPTABLE AND CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE.8 HIGH-IMPACT IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES ARE NEEDED TO INTEGRATE AND SCALE UP HPV SELF-SAMPLING INTO WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE IN GHANA. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP AND/OR ADAPT IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE THE SUCCESS OF THE HOPE INTERVENTION IN INCREASING ITS HEALTH SYSTEM ADOPTION, PATIENT UPTAKE, AND THE SUSTAINMENT OF CCS AMONG WLWH. OUR PROPOSED HYBRID TYPE 2 EFFECTIVENESS-IMPLEMENTATION RCT TRIAL WILL LEVERAGE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SECONDARY-LEVEL HEALTH FACILITIES IN GHANA. WE WILL SELECT FOUR SECONDARY-LEVEL HEALTH FACILITIES WITH COMPARABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND WLWH PATIENT ENROLLMENT. USING THE EXPLORATION, PREPARATION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND SUSTAINMENT (EPIS) FRAMEWORK,10,11 WE WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS. AIM 1: TO DEVELOP A CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE, EVIDENCE-BASED HEALTH SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND PROVIDER TRAINING CONTENT FOR SUCCESSFUL HOPE IMPLEMENTATION (PREPARATION PHASE). THROUGH NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUES, WE WILL SUPPORT ENGAGED STAKEHOLDERS IN SELECTING, PRIORITIZING, AND ADAPTING CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT STRATEGIES (ISS) FOR HOPE. AIM 2: ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HOPE 2.0 INTERVENTION AND SUCCESS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IN A HYBRID TYPE 2 TRIAL (IMPLEMENTATION PHASE) WE WILL CONDUCT A HYBRID TYPE 2 EFFECTIVENESS-IMPLEMENTATION RCT TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES. FOUR HIV SECONDARY-LEVEL CLINICS WILL BE CLUSTER-RANDOMIZED 1:1 IN A TWO-ARM RCT. HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP (IG, ARM 1) WILL RECEIVE EVIDENCE-BASED TRAINING VALIDATED IN AIM 1. AFTER TRAINING, TRAINED PROVIDERS WILL RECRUIT WLWH (N = 576) FROM THEIR HIV FACILITIES AND IMPLEMENT HOPE. PROVIDERS IN THE CONTROL GROUP (CG, ARM 2) WHO WILL NOT BE TRAINED WITH OUR ISS MATERIALS, WILL RECRUIT WLWH (N = 576) AND IMPLEMENT HOPE IN THEIR CLINICS. AIM 3: ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ON THE SUSTAINMENT OF THE HOPE INTERVENTION AT STUDY SITES (SUSTAINMENT PHASE). WE WILL ASSESS THE IMPACT OF HOPE ON WLWH SCREENING BEHAVIORS AND THE IMPACT OF STRATEGY MATERIAL ON PROVIDERS' SELF-EFFICACY FOR IMPLEMENTING HOPE ACROSS THE STUDY ARMS.

SCC-CIVIC-FA TRACK A: NOVEL FUEL-FLEXIBLE COMBUSTION TO ENABLE ULTRA-CLEAN AND EFFICIENT WASTE-TO-RENEWABLE ENERGY IN CHANGING CLIMATE -THIS BAYLOR UNIVERSITY AND CITY OF WACO NSF CIVIC PARTNERSHIP PILOTS A CLIMATE-SMART, WASTE-TO-ENERGY MULTI-FUEL COMBUSTOR (CSWEC) ON WACO?S HANNAH HILL LANDFILL, ENABLING CLEAN LANDFILL FLARE; CLEAN WASTE-TO-ENERGY (WTE) WITH HIGH FUEL FLEXIBILITY; NEAR-ZERO-EMISSIONS; AND HIGHER ENERGY RESILIENCE FOR THE AREA. THIS JOINT EFFORT WILL SEEK TO REDUCE METHANE AND KEY AIR POLLUTANTS (PARTICULATE MATTER, UNBURNED HYDROCARBONS, AND NITROGEN OXIDES IN LANDFILL GAS (LFG), AND HELP FULFILL WACO?S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO THE 2021 TX WINTER STORM URI. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CSWEC SYSTEM CAN POTENTIALLY HELP NOT ONLY REDUCE SURFACE AREA NEEDED FOR LANDFILLS BUT ALSO COMBAT LANDFILL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND COMBUSTION WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. SIGNIFICANTLY, LANDFILL METHANE HAS A GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL 28-36 TIMES THAT OF CO2; THEREFORE, THE U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACTION PLAN URGES TO REDUCE LANDFILL METHANE EMISSIONS AND THOSE FROM INDUSTRY AND FARMS. ALONG WITH REDUCING POLLUTION, CSWEC DEVELOPS A UNIQUE PROCESS OF WTE COMBUSTION WHICH ENABLE THE USE OF WASTE SOURCES WITH A VARIETY OF PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITIONS NOT PREVIOUSLY ABLE TO BE TURNED INTO ENERGY EFFECTIVELY. IN ALIGNMENT WITH NSF?S PRIORITIES, CSWEC WILL ADVANCE NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RELATED TO WTE AND CLIMATE. SUCCESS AND EVENTUAL SCALING OF THIS NOVEL CSWEC WITH BAYLOR?S PROPRIETARY ?DROP-IN? COMPONENTS WILL DECREASE LOCAL WASTE TREATMENT BURDENS, BOOST ENERGY RESILIENCE, AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT U.S. AND GLOBAL POOR AND PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO SUFFER MOST FROM AIR POLLUTION, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND HIGH ENERGY COSTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL ADVANCE TECHNICAL AND SOCIAL GAPS IN WTE BY (1) DEMONSTRATING ULTRA-CLEAN FLARING AND POWER FROM VARIOUS WASTE-FUELS WITH MINIMAL PROCESSING VIA PILOT TESTING OF THE CSWEC AT THE WACO LANDFILL; (2) EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF THE CSWEC PILOT SYSTEM ON LOCAL EMISSIONS, ENERGY RESILIENCE, ECONOMY, AND ENERGY EQUITY. RESULTS WILL ALSO SHOW THE FEASIBILITY, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, AND SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS OF SCALING AND TRANSFERRING THE CSWEC TO (1) OTHER LANDFILLS AND INDUSTRY-OPERATING NON-ZERO-EMISSION FLARES, AND (2) THE EPA-IDENTIFIED 951 OPERATIONAL AND POTENTIAL LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY SYSTEMS IN THE U.S (74 IN TEXAS), AND (3) WTE SYSTEMS FOR NON-LFG WASTE-BASED FUELS. IN ADDITION TO CONVENTIONAL PUBLICATIONS, RESULTS WILL ALSO BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH INFORMAL EDUCATION AT BAYLOR?S MAYBORN MUSEUM THROUGH THE NSF PORTAL-TO-THE-PUBLIC PROGRAM, AND COLLABORATION WITH WACO SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK, AND DEVELOPED FOR COMMERCIALIZATION THROUGH BAYLOR?S LAB-TO-MARKET TEAM. THE CIVIC INNOVATION CHALLENGE IS A COLLABORATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, AND THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 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.

PURPOSE: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AN ENVIRONMENTAL SLEEP CHAMBER TO SERVE AS AN ADVANCED COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND TESTING FACILITY TO ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS AND BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES TO ASSESS AND MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF MULTI-STRESSOR ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS ON SLEEP, COGNITION, AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE PROPOSED PROJECT¿S PRIMARY AIM WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THREE OBJECTIVES OVER A 24-MONTH PERIOD. FIRST, TO ENHANCE EXISTING RESEARCH LABORATORY CAPABILITIES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY¿S HUMAN & ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY AND THE SLEEP NEUROSCIENCE & COGNITION LABORATORY TO ENABLE ACUTE STUDIES AT THE INTERSECT OF SLEEP AND ARCTIC-SIMULATED CONDITIONS AND STRESSORS. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY ENHANCING THE PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES OF THE EXISTING HUMAN & ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY BY INCLUSION OF A CUTTING-EDGE NIRX FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY DEVICE AND A HOKANSON RAPID CUFF INFLATION SYSTEM WHICH WILL ALLOW HEMODYNAMIC MONITORING IN EXTREME-COLD ENVIRONMENTS. SECOND, TO DEVELOP A NEW RESEARCH AND TESTING LABORATORY CAPABLE OF SIMULTANEOUS AND/OR LONGER-TERM SIMULATIONS OF ARCTIC CONDITIONS AND MULTI-STRESSOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON SLEEP, COGNITION, AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY OUTFITTING A LABORATORY WITH A CUSTOM, CLOSED LOOP COOLING SYSTEM AND HUMIDITY CONTROLLER ALLOWING TEMPERATURE CONTROL REACHING AT LEAST -30ºC FOR LONG DURATION STUDIES. HUMIDITY WILL BE HELD CONSTANT USING A CUSTOM HUMIDIFIER AND DE-HUMIDIFIER COMBINATION SYSTEM THAT WILL ALLOW FOR CONTINUOUS RELATIVE HUMIDITY TO BE BETWEEN 20% TO 80%. THE LAB WILL ALSO BE OUTFITTED WITH A LARGE CUSTOM HYPOXIC GENERATOR SYSTEM WHICH EXTRACTS AIR FROM THE CLOSED-LOOP ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER, REDUCES THE OXYGEN CONTENT, AND RETURNS THE LOW OXYGEN AIR INTO THE CHAMBER ALLOWING FOR FRACTIONAL INSPIRED OXYGEN LEVELS FROM 0.12 TO 0.21 TO SIMULATE ALTITUDE UP TO 14,500 FT. THIRD, TO PERFORM A PILOT STUDY TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE NEWLY DEVELOPED ENVIRONMENTAL SLEEP CHAMBER. THIS TEST WILL REQUIRE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY¿S IRB TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE PROPOSED TEST. THE TEST WILL INVOLVE VOLUNTEERS RECRUITED FROM BAYLOR UNIVERSITY¿S RESERVE OFFICERS¿ TRAINING CORPS TO PARTICIPATE IN THREE OVERNIGHT SLEEP STUDIES IN A RANDOMIZED, CROSSOVER DESIGN WITHIN THE NEWLY DEVELOPED RESEARCH FACILITY OUTLINED IN OBJECTIVE 2. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE RESEARCH CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY OF EXISTING LABORATORIES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY TO IMPROVE SLEEP AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE RESEARCH OUTPUT. IT WILL DEVELOP A NEW RESEARCH AND TESTING LABORATORY WITH THE CAPABILITY TO DEVELOP RAPID ACCLIMATIZATION PROTOCOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES, HUMAN-MACHINE TEAMING, AND GROUP DYNAMICS IN MULTI-STRESSOR ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS BY EXAMINING SLEEP AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AS WELL AS COGNITIVE AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE DURING VARIOUS OCCUPATIONAL TASKS. FINALLY, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT LONG-TERM COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH START-UP COMPANIES, INDUSTRY, AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERS TO FOSTER FUTURE JOINT RESEARCH ENDEAVORS FOCUSED ON ENHANCEMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE GENERATED. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE INITIAL BENEFICIARIES WILL BE THE RESEARCHERS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY THROUGH ENHANCED RESEARCH CAPABILITIES. THESE ENHANCED CAPABILITIES WILL LEAD TO RESEARCH WHOSE OUTCOMES WILL BENEFIT MINORS, ENGINEERS, AND MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO MAY BE UNACCLIMATIZED AND UNFAMILIAR WITH THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE ARCTIC ENVIRONMENT. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY -MCLENNAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE CENTRAL TEXAS CYBER INITIATIVE (CTCI)

CAREER: TRANSLATING INNOVATIONS FROM THE SLEEP LABORATORY TO ENHANCE CLASSROOM EDUCATION AND INFORMAL SCIENCE LEARNING

BEGINNINGS: GROWING THE UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOP INTO AN UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM -WITH THE CONTINUING EMERGING NEED FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES, POLICIES, AND APPROACHES TO SHARING THE WIRELESS SPECTRUM, A NATIONWIDE WIRELESS SPECTRUM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT IS NEEDED. THIS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT BUILDS UPON A FOUNDATION OF PREVIOUSLY RUN UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOPS, ORGANIZED BY NATIONAL SPECTRUM INNOVATION CENTER SMART HUB, AND HELD BETWEEN 2023 AND 2025. IN THIS PROJECT, WE EXPAND THE SUMMER WORKSHOP WITH ACADEMIC YEAR, COHORT-BASED MENTORING PROGRAM THAT IS CRAFTED AROUND THE SUMMER WORKSHOP EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP A SPECTRUM WORKFORCE PIPELINE, AND TO LAUNCH KNOWLEDGEABLE STUDENTS INTO WIRELESS SPECTRUM CAREERS. THIS ?SPECTRUM SIZZLE? PROGRAM INCLUDES A PROGRESSION OF UNDERGRADUATE WORKSHOPS, CONNECTED BY CAREER MENTORING, INTERNSHIPS, AND ULTIMATELY CAREER PLACEMENT, THAT WILL SPAN A STUDENT?S COLLEGE EXPERIENCE. THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE THE FOLLOWING: (1) DEVELOP AND EXECUTE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUMMER SPECTRUM SIZZLE UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOPS (BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED) TO BE HELD AT SMART HUB UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, DESIGNED FOR THREE SUMMERS WITHIN THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE; (2) DEVELOP A SPECTRUM SIZZLE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM WHEREBY CLINICIANS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS ARE PUT IN REGULAR CONTACT WITH STUDENT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS TO MENTOR THEM TOWARD WIRELESS SPECTRUM CAREERS, AND TO CONNECT STUDENTS WITH INTERNSHIP AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES; AND (3) FOLLOW UP WITH SPECTRUM SIZZLE PARTICIPANTS AFTER THEIR PLACEMENT INTO THE SPECTRUM WORKFORCE AND INVESTIGATE GAPS IN TRAINING, USING THIS KNOWLEDGE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE PROGRAM. SUMMER HANDS-ON, RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOPS WILL SPARK INTEREST AND PROVIDE INTENSIVE CONTACT WITH SPECTRUM SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND POLICY FOR PARTICIPANTS. BUILDING FROM THE WORKSHOP EXPERIENCES, A COHORT-BASED CURRICULUM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO FOSTER CAREER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCES OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. STUDENTS WILL BE MENTORED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR BY INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS, AND WILL GAIN ASSISTANCE WITH INTERNSHIP AND CAREER PLACEMENT WITHIN THE SPECTRUM METADISCIPLINE. THIS PROGRAM WILL USHER PARTICIPATING STUDENTS FROM THEIR FIRST EXPOSURE TO SPECTRUM ALL THE WAY THROUGH PLACEMENT INTO A FRUITFUL SPECTRUM CAREER, AND WILL BUILD THE NATION?S FUTURE SPECTRUM WORKFORCE. THE EXLENT PROGRAM, SUPPORTED BY THE NSF TIP AND EDU DIRECTORATES, SEEKS TO SUPPORT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS TO INCREASE THEIR INTEREST IN AND ACCESS TO CAREER PATHWAYS IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

INCREASING DEGREE-COMPLETION FOR ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE SCHOLARS

BIOMARKER DISCOVERY IN GULF WAR VETERANS: DEVELOPMENT OF A WAR ILLNESS DIAGNOSTIC PANEL

IN SITU PROBING AND INVESTIGATION OF THE CRYSTAL GROWTH OF HIGHLY CORRELATED INTERMETALLICS

ELUCIDATING BEHAVIOR AND NEURAL CIRCUITS UNDERLYING OPIOID ADDICTION AND DEPENDENCE - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT PRESCRIPTION OPIOID ADDICTION IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM CHARACTERIZED BY COMPULSIVE DRUG SEEKING, WITHDRAWAL AND CHRONIC RELAPSE. DESPITE THE GROWING IMPACT OF PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS ON PUBLIC HEALTH, RELATIVELY FEW PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF OXYCODONE, A COMMONLY PRESCRIBED MEDICATION. NEURAL CIRCUITS IN THE EXTENDED AMYGDALA MEDIATE EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS, AND DYSREGULATION OF THESE REWARD AND STRESS SYSTEMS IS A HALLMARK OF DRUG DEPENDENCE AND WITHDRAWAL. MODELS OF INTRAVENOUS DRUG SELF-ADMINISTRATION ARE A STANDARD PARADIGM FOR INVESTIGATING THE REINFORCING EFFECTS OF DRUGS, AND I HAVE DEVELOPED A MODEL OF OXYCODONE SELF-ADMINISTRATION UNDER EXTENDED ACCESS CONDITIONS (12 HOURS/DAY) THAT PRODUCES ROBUST ESCALATION OF DRUG-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND PROVIDES A TRANSLATIONALLY RELEVANT MODEL OF OPIOID ABUSE. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ESCALATION OF OXYCODONE ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE ARE MEDIATED BY WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED CHANGES IN NEURAL SIGNALING MECHANISMS, AND THAT THE MANIPULATION OF THESE UNDERLYING NEURAL SYSTEMS WILL ATTENUATE THE PROMOTION OF DRUG-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. WE WILL TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS USING BEHAVIORAL PHARMACOLOGY, CHEMOGENETICS, AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY IN A RAT MODEL OF OXYCODONE SELF-ADMINISTRATION UNDER EXTENDED ACCESS CONDITIONS. MY RESEARCH TRAINING WILL BE SUPERVISED BY MY MENTORS, DRS. MICHAEL TAFFE, THOMAS KASH AND CANDICE CONTET, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM DR. BRYAN ROTH AS CONSULTANT AND DRS. MARISA ROBERTO, KIM JANDA AND MICHAEL FORSTER AS ADVISORS FOR MY CAREER DEVELOPMENT. WE HAVE DESIGNED A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT THAT UTILIZES DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTAL MODALITIES THAT ALLOW FOR BEHAVIORAL, BIOCHEMICAL, AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF OXYCODONE ADDICTION AND DEPENDENCE. PRECISE CHARACTERIZATION OF KOR ACTIVATION WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF THE CHEMOGENETIC TECHNOLOGY, DESIGNER RECEPTORS EXCLUSIVELY ACTIVATED BY DESIGNER DRUGS (DREADDS). WE WILL EMPLOY NEURAL CIRCUIT MANIPULATIONS, SPECIFICALLY THE INHIBITORY GI-COUPLED KAPPA OPIOID RECEPTOR DREADD (KORD) IN THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF THE AMYGDALA (CEA) GABAERGIC PROJECTION TO PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS (PVN) TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECT OF OPIOID-INDUCED NEUROADAPTATIONS MEDIATING DRUG-SEEKING BEHAVIOR. I WILL TRAIN IN DREADD-BASED AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES TO COMPLEMENT MY EXPERIENCE IN BEHAVIORAL OPIOID PHARMACOLOGY. THESE SKILLS WILL BE ACQUIRED DURING MY K99 PHASE AT THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND WILL BE FURTHER IMPLEMENTED AT MY NEW INSTITUTION DURING THE R00 PHASE. MY MENTOR TEAM WILL HELP ME ESTABLISH THESE TECHNIQUES IN MY INDEPENDENT LABORATORY TO ENSURE EXPERIMENTAL REPRODUCIBILITY. COLLECTIVELY, THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE INFLUENCE OF KAPPA OPIOID RECEPTOR SIGNALING IN AMYGDALAR PATHWAYS MEDIATING OPIOID ADDICTION AND DEPENDENCE-INDUCED BEHAVIOR.

CONSTRUCTION AWARD TO BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $900,000

GAS-PHASE PRECURSORS, AEROSOL COMPOSITION AND NEW PARTICLE FORMATION DURING TRACER USING SPATIALLY RESOLVED TRACER-MAP DATASETS; TRACER-MAP-NPF

DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL, NEAR REAL TIME APPROACH TO GEOTHERMAL SEISMIC EXPLORATION AND MONITORING VIA AMBIENT SEISMIC NOISE INTERFEROMETRY

DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL-SCHEME TIP-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY AND ITS APPLICATION IN REALISTIC CONDITIONS -- PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF MOS2

PHENOTYPIC REFINEMENT OF EXTERNALIZING PATHWAYS TO ALCOHOL-RELATED BEHAVIORS

DECOUPLING OF DNA UNWINDING AND SYNTHESIS IN THE REPLISOME INDUCES GENOME INSTABILITY

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS AT BAYLOR

EVOLVED DNA CONTACTS REQUIRED FOR HEXAMERIC HELICASE UNWINDING

THE ROLE OF THE FOXO PATHWAY IN THE CONTROL OF CULEX PIPIENS DIAPAUSE

NEW AWARD

TIME-RESOLVED AND MULTI-TEMPERATURE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY TO UNDERSTAND DYNAMIC ENZYME CATALYSIS - PROJECT SUMMARY ENZYMES, PROTEINS WHICH PERFORM CHEMICAL REACTIONS, ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL OF LIFE. THESE PROTEINS ARE AMAZING AND SPECIFIC CATALYSTS THAT ARE TIGHTLY REGULATED TO ENSURE PROPER CELLULAR FUNCTION. DYSREGULATION OF ENZYMES IS ASSOCIATED WITH MANY DISEASES, AND INHIBITORS, WHICH BIND TO AND TURN OFF ENZYMES, ARE OFTEN USED AS DRUGS TO MODULATE AN ENZYME’S ACTIVITY AND CURE OR MANAGE DISEASES. MUCH HAS BEEN LEARNED ABOUT ENZYME FUNCTION AND MECHANISM VIA STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, WHICH INFORMS RESEARCHERS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENZYME, AND KINETICS EXPERIMENTS, WHICH YIELD INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WELL THE ENZYME BINDS ITS SUBSTRATE AND HOW FAST THE REACTION PROCEEDS. HOWEVER, THESE EXPERIMENTS DO NOT CAPTURE THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENZYME AS IT PERFORMS ITS CATALYSIS OR GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHANGES IN ENZYME STRUCTURE UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. SUCH INFORMATION WOULD IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ENZYMES FUNCTION, IMPROVING RATIONAL ENZYME DESIGN OUTCOMES THAT DESIGN ENZYMES WITH NEW ACTIVITIES OR OTHER BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES LIKE IMPROVED STABILITY OR TEMPERATURE ADAPTATIONS, AND IMPROVING INHIBITOR AND DRUG DESIGN OUTCOMES WHICH WOULD BENEFIT FROM KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENZYME IN DIFFERENT STATES. ONE OF THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO COMBINE ENZYME STRUCTURE AND ENZYME KINETICS INTO ONE EXPERIMENT USING TIME-RESOLVED STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, WHICH COLLECTS ATOMIC RESOLUTION ENZYME STRUCTURE ALONG THE BIOCHEMICAL REACTION PATHWAY, UNCOVERING REACTION INTERMEDIATES AND STRUCTURAL FLUCTUATIONS WITH MILLISECOND TIME RESOLUTION. THIS WORK BUILDS UPON OUR PREVIOUS WORK AND METHOD DEVELOPMENT BY APPLYING MILLI-SECOND MIX-AND- QUENCH CRYSTALLOGRAPHY (MMQX) TO NEW ENZYME SYSTEMS WHICH ARE ACTIVE DRUG TARGETS DUE TO THEIR IMPORTANCE IN METABOLISM. SPECIFICALLY, WE ARE APPLYING OUR METHODS TO AMINO ACID CATABOLISM ENZYMES, WHICH BREAK DOWN AMINO ACIDS, THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF PROTEINS, INTO OTHER COMPONENTS TO DRIVE GROWTH IN THE LIVING CELL. IN ADDITION, WE ARE ALSO DEVELOPING METHODS AND STUDYING THESE AND OTHER ENZYMES VIA MULTI-TEMPERATURE CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, WHICH PERTURBS THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE OF THESE ENZYMES AND CAUSES THEIR STRUCTURES TO FLUCTUATE AS THEY FIND THEIR EQUILIBRIA AT THE NEW TEMPERATURE. THESE MULTI-TEMPERATURE EXPERIMENTS HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO OBSERVE LOOP OPENING AND CLOSING, CRYPTIC AND ALLOSTERIC BINDING SITES, AND DIFFERENTIAL INHIBITOR BINDING TO STANDARD CRYO-CRYSTALLOGRAPHY EXPERIMENTS. THESE RESEARCH PROGRAMS SEEK TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ENZYME DYNAMICS AND CATALYSIS, WHICH WILL IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH BY INCREASING THE SUCCESS RATE OF FUTURE ENZYME ENGINEERING AND INHIBITOR DESIGN STUDIES.

EVOLUTION AND COEVOLUTION OF INVASIVE ANOPHELES STEPHENSI AND SYMPATRIC PLASMODIUM POPULATIONS IN AFRICA: A GENOMIC INVESTIGATION - ABSTRACT ANOPHELES STEPHENSI, A MOSQUITO CAPABLE OF SPREADING MALARIA, IS A MAJOR THREAT TO THE PROGRESS OF MALARIA CONTROL. IT IS A NATIVE VECTOR IN SOUTH ASIA AND PORTIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST BUT WAS REPORTED IN DJIBOUTI IN 2013 AND IS NOW WELL ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT EAST AFRICA. THIS INVASIVE VECTOR IS A THREAT TO MALARIA CONTROL BECAUSE IT HAS THE CAPACITY THRIVE IN BOTH URBAN AND RURAL AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE HAS BEEN REPORTED ACROSS SEVERAL PORTIONS OF THE INVASIVE RANGE. MOST RECENTLY, AN. STEPHENSI HAS BEEN THE CAUSE OF MALARIA OUTBREAKS IN HISTORICALLY LOW TRANSMISSION REGIONS. THERE ARE CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS RELATED TO AN. STEPHENSI ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT THAT FACILITATED ITS SPREAD AND ESTABLISHMENT, AND THE GENOMIC FEATURES THAT FACILITATE THE COMPATIBILITY WITH LOCAL PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM STRAINS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY THE GENOMIC BASES OF ADAPTATION IN INVASIVE AN. STEPHENSI IN AFRICA AND AN. STEPHENSI’S SUSCEPTIBILITY TO LOCAL AFRICAN P. FALCIPARUM STRAINS. IN ADDITION, WE WILL USE THESE DATA TO DEVELOP SURVEILLANCE TOOLS TO BETTER PREDICT AN. STEPHENSI’S IMPACT ON MALARIA EPIDEMIOLOGY. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTINUE OUR LONG-STANDING COLLABORATIONS WITH ACADEMIC AND PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN THE US, ETHIOPIA, AND SOMALIA. ULTIMATELY, GROWING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENOMIC DIVERSITY OF AN. STEPHENSI WILL PROVIDE THE BASES FOR ENHANCED MOLECULAR SURVEILLANCE AND UNDERSTANDING OF RISK FOR FUTURE MALARIA OUTBREAKS ACROSS THE INVASION RANGE. OUR SPECIFIC AIMS ARE: 1) EVALUATE THE EVOLUTION AND SPREAD OF AN. STEPHENSI OVER THE COURSE OF THE INVASION TO IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATIONS, 2) WE WILL IDENTIFY AN. STEPHENSI GENOMIC FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH P. FALCIPARUM INFECTION. 3) DEVELOP TOOLS TO IMPROVE THE REPORTING OF EPIDEMIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT GENOMIC MARKERS IN AN. STEPHENSI. OVERALL, THIS MULTIREGIONAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WILL FILL GAPS RELATED TO INVASIVE AN. STEPHENSI ADAPTATION IN EAST AFRICA. OUR RESULTS WILL PROVIDE THE SCIENTIFIC BASES FOR APPROACHES TO CONTROL OF THIS INVASIVE MOSQUITO AND ULTIMATELY THE PREVENTION OF MALARIA.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WAIXENICIN A PHARMACOPHORE AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION FOR NEONATAL HYPOXIC BRAIN INJURY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT NEONATAL AND PERINATAL HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC BRAIN INJURY (HIBI) IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF ACUTE MORTALITY AND CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL MORBIDITY IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN OCCURING IN 2% OF FULL-TERM INFANTS AND APPROACHES 60% IN PREMATURE INFANTS. 20% TO 50% OF ASPHYXIATED NEWBORNS DIE. AMONG THE SURVIVORS, UP TO 25% SHOW PERMANENT NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL HANDICAPS SUCH AS CEREBRAL PALSY, GENERATING LIFETIME COSTS TO THE US HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AT AN ESTIMATED $11.5 BILLION USD. THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA WAS THE FIRST EVIDENCE-BASED NEUROPROTECTIVE THERAPY FOR NEONATES WITH HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHY (HIE) AND HAS BECOME THE CLINICAL STANDARD OF CARE (SOC). DESPITE REDUCING THE COMBINED RATE OF DEATH AND DISABILITY, THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA HAS TO BE INITAITED WITHIN 6 HOURS OF HIE, A VERY NARROW DIAGNOSTIC WINDOW. NEONATES DIAGNOSED WITHIN THIS TIME FRAME ARE TREATED WITH HYPOTHERMIA FOR 3 DAYS. CURRENTLY ABOUT HALF OF HYPOTHERMIA-TREATED HIE NEONATES EXPERIENCE ADVERSE OUTCOMES WITH PERSONAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS. CLEARLY, THERE IS AN UNMET NEED FOR ADEQUATE THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS AGAINST HIBI BEYOND CURRENT SOC. THE DIVALENT ION CHANNEL-KINASE FUSION PROTEIN TRPM7 CONTROLS CRITICAL CELLULAR PROCESSES INVOLVED IN ISCHEMIC EVENTS, INCLUDING EXPERIMENTAL HIBI, AND IS A BIOLOGICALLY LOGICAL AND HIGHLY PROMISING TARGET FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE DISCOVERY OF A HIGHLY SELECTIVE AND POTENT INHIBITOR, WAIXENICIN A (WAIXA). THIS PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT STARTING POINT TO DEVELOP SEMI-SYNTHETIC DERIVATIVES OF WAIXA WITH IMPROVED PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES TOWARDS THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN HIBI. DUE TO THE ESTABLISHED INVOLVEMENT OF TRPM7 IN HYPOXIA AND WAIXA EFFECTIVENESS IN HIBI, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT SEMI- SYNTHETIC WAIXA DERIVATIVES PROTECT AGAINST HIBI; THAT SEMI- SYNTHETIC ANALOGS OF WAIXA COVALENTLY BIND TO TRPM7; AND THAT, BASED ON ITS EXCELLENT PREDICTED BLOOD-BRAIN- BARRIER PROPERTIES, OPTIMIZED SEMI-SYNTHETIC ANALOGS OF WAIXA WITH IMPROVED PHYSIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES CAN SERVE AS THERAPEUTIC LEADS AGAINST HIBI. TO ADDRESS THE ABOVE, OUR INTERDISCIPLINARY IGNITE TEAM PROPOSES TO EMPLOY A COMBINATION OF COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES THAT REST ON OUR RESPECTIVE CORE EXPERTISES AND COMPETENCIES: (1) SEMI- SYNTHETIC OPTIMIZATION OF WAIXA ANALOGS THROUGH PROPOSED DERIVATIZATION OF ISOLATED WAIXA (R61); (2) POTENCY, SELECTIVITY, ADME AND SAFETY SCREENS OF SEMI-SYNTHETIC WAIXENICIN DERIVATIVES IN VITRO THROUGH A MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY SCREENING CASCADE AND SELECTION OF 3 WAIXA ANALOGS AS LEAD COMPOUNDS FOR IN VIVO WORK (R61); (3) THERAPEUTIC VALIDATION OF THESE 3 QUALIFYING SEMI-SYNTHETIC WAIXENICIN DERIVATIVES IN AN ESTABLISHED MOUSE MODEL OF NEONATAL HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC BRAIN INJURY (HIBI) IN VIVO (R61 AND R33) TO ULITMATELY ENABLE TRANSITION TO BLUEPRINT.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF 30KV ELECTRON BEAM LITHOGRAPHY SYSTEM FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ON NANO-PHOTONICS, NANO-BIOPHYSICS, NANO-CHEMISTRY, AND NANO-ELECTRONICS

IDBR: TYPE A ULTRAHIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION SUB-ORGANELLE MOLECULAR MASS SPECTROMETRY IMAGING USING LIQUID METAL ION BEAM DESORPTION AND RADIOFREQUENCY

BRAIN SUBSTRATES FOR CARDIOVASCULAR STRESS PHYSIOLOGY

CAREER: CONSTRUCTING CONJUGATED HETEROARENE ARCHITECTURES VIA RING-EXPANSION REACTIONS WITH ANTI-AROMATIC BOROLES

CAREER: RAPID H/D EXCHANGE-MASS SPECTROMETRY: NOVEL METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING GLYCAN ISOMERS AND GLYCOCONJUGATE DYNAMICS

FY 15 ASHA AWARD

PREPARING EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR EXPERTISE (PEACE)

WHERE IS THE GREATEST THREAT OF MHD-E3 - ON THE HIGH VOLTAGE POWER GRID, OR ON THE MEDIUM VOLTAGE POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND CUSTOMERS?

HYPNOSIS TO IMPROVE SLEEP IN MENOPAUSE: DETERMINATION OF OPTIMAL DOSE AND METHOD

CHARGING AND TRANSPORT OF DUST IN THE PRESENCE OF MAGNETIC FIELDS

"BAYLOR PHYSICAL SCIENCES LABORATORY ENHANCEMENT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY"BAYLOR IS PROPOSING TO USE THI

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS: USING EPIDEMIOLOGIC ASSESSMENTS TO INFORM SUSTAINABLE INTERVENTION

DEVELOPING A CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE VOLUNTEERING PROGRAM TO REDUCE STRESS OF DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS IN CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

CAREER: MULTISCALE MECHANICS OF BIO-BASED, REPROCESSABLE, RECYCLABLE AND MECHANICALLY ROBUST POLYMER COMPOSITES -THIS FACULTY EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT (CAREER) GRANT WILL SUPPORT FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND COMPLEX MECHANICAL BEHAVIORS OF BIO-CROSSLINKED POLYMER COMPOSITES. COVALENTLY CROSSLINKED ELASTOMERS AND THERMOSETTING POLYMERS HAVE BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT MATERIALS IN INDUSTRY, NATIONAL DEFENSE AND OUR DAILY LIFE. ALTHOUGH THE STRONG COVALENT CROSSLINKS CONFER THESE CONVENTIONAL THERMOSETS DESIRABLE PROPERTIES, THEY ALSO PRECLUDE REPAIRING, RESHAPING, REPROCESSING AND RECYCLING, WHICH HAS CAUSED SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND RESOURCE WASTAGE. BY INTRODUCING BIO-DYNAMIC COVALENT BONDS AND ADDING REINFORCING FILLERS, A NOVEL GREEN TYPE OF POLYMERS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY RECYCLABLE, REPROCESSABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE REPORTED BIO-CROSSLINKED POLYMERS ARE STILL FAR FROM BEING EXTENSIVELY USED IN REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS DUE TO THE LIMITED UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR PROCESSING-STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO DISCOVER THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN THE MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BIO-BASED POLYMER COMPOSITES, WITH THE AID OF MULTISCALE COMPUTATIONAL MODELING, DATA SCIENCE (STATISTICAL ANALYSIS), AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION. WITH QUANTIFIED MICROSTRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONS AND UNRAVELED DEFORMATION MECHANISMS, ADVANCED BIO-BASED REPROCESSABLE AND MECHANICALLY ROBUST POLYMER COMPOSITES CAN BE DEVELOPED FOR WIDE APPLICATIONS, WHICH WILL SIGNIFICANTLY MITIGATE THE SEVERE PLASTIC POLLUTION ISSUE. THE PROJECT INCLUDES AN EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PLAN TO TRAIN DIVERSE GROUPS OF NEXT-GENERATION OF ENGINEERS: ORGANIZING WORKSHOPS, SEMINAR TALKS AND LOCAL RECYCLING CENTER TOURS TO K-12 STUDENTS, PROVIDING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH SUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS THE RESEARCH SKILLS OF CODING, WRITING AND PRESENTING. PARTICULARLY, RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE CREATED FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS INCLUDING PHYSICALLY DISABLED STUDENTS. THROUGH DEVELOPING A NOVEL MULTISCALE FRAMEWORK THAT INTEGRATES DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT), ALL-ATOM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (AA-MD) AND COARSE-GRAINED MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (CG-MD), THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF EXCHANGEABLE BIO-CROSSLINKS IN ASSISTING THE POLYMER COMPOSITES STRIKE THEIR EXCELLENT BALANCE AMONG MECHANICAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND REPROCESSING PROPERTIES. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES INCLUDE: (I) SEAMLESSLY BRIDGING DFT, AA-MD AND CG-MD BY FORCE FIELD CALIBRATION/OPTIMIZATION/PARAMETERIZATION; (II) UNDERSTANDING THE FRACTURE MECHANISMS OF TWO REPRESENTATIVES: BIO-BASED STYRENE-BUTADIENE RUBBER (SBR) AND BIO-BASED EPOXY VITRIMER. THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE GAPS WILL BE ADDRESSED: (1) THE MECHANISMS OF DE-CROSSLINKING/RE-CROSSLINKING DURING CURING; (2) THE ADVANTAGES OF BIO-CROSSLINKS OVER CONVENTIONAL LINKAGES (E.G., S-S, C-S BONDS); (3) THE INTERFACIAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NANOFILLER AND POLYMER; (4) THE INFLUENCE OF REPROCESSING ON STRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF RECLAIMED POLYMERS; (5) MICROSCALE AND MESOSCALE STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONS. THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES WILL ADVANCE THE KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANICS IN BIO-BASED POLYMER COMPOSITES, AS WELL THE INTEGRATED MULTISCALE FRAMEWORK CAN BE EXTENDED TO OTHER AMORPHOUS MATERIALS, SUCH AS HIERARCHICAL BIOMATERIALS. 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.

INSPIRE: PHOTONIC QUANTUM HEAT ENGINES INCLUDING: LASERS WITHOUT INVERSION, PHOTO-CARNOT ENGINES, QUANTUM PV CELLS AND QUANTUM COHERENCE EFFECTS IN P

CELLS TO ECOSYSTEMS: FOSSIL XYLEM IS THE MISSING LINK IN RECONSTRUCTING WATER USE BY PLANTS, FORESTS, AND GLOBAL VEGETATION IN DEEP TIME -PLANT COMMUNITIES RESPOND TO CLIMATE CHANGE BY MOVING AND CHANGING, BUT CURRENT PREDICTIONS LACK MECHANISTIC CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PLANT FUNCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. PLANT COMMUNITY RESPONSES ARE OBSERVED REPEATEDLY IN THE FOSSIL RECORD, AND COULD HELP PREDICT FUTURE CHANGES BY MEASURING TRAITS FROM PLANT FOSSILS. MUCH EFFORT HAS FOCUSED ON THE WAYS THAT LEAVES RESPOND TO AND RECORD ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, LEAVES DEPEND ON LONG-LIVED ORGANS, SUCH AS STEMS, TO ENABLE PLANT FUNCTION. THIS STUDY WILL ESTABLISH A NEW DATABASE DEDICATED TO PLANT STEM TRAITS FROM FOSSIL XYLEM TO UNDERSTAND PLANT COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO MAJOR INTERVALS OF ANCIENT CLIMATE CHANGE. MORE BROADLY, THIS PROJECT WILL PREPARE A NEW GENERATION OF EARTH SCIENTISTS FOR THIS HIGHLY INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK AND EXPAND PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH THROUGH TRAINING AND MENTORING TARGETED TOWARDS UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN PALEONTOLOGY THROUGH THE CREATION OF A PALEONTOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM MODELING SHORT COURSE. THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON ASSESSING WATER TRANSPORT IN THE XYLEM OF PALEOZOIC AND MESOZOIC PLANTS AS AN ADAPTATION THAT INFLUENCED SURVIVORSHIP ACROSS TWO MAJOR INTERVALS OF CLIMATE CHANGE: THE LATE PALEOZOIC ICE AGE OF THE CARBONIFEROUS-PERMIAN (~300 MILLION YEARS AGO [MA]) AND THE HOTHOUSE CLIMATE OF THE TRIASSIC-JURASSIC (~200 MA). THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) ESTABLISH A UNIFIED XYLEM FOSSIL FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY DATABASE TO FACILITATE (2) PREDICTION OF HYDRAULIC TRAITS FOR EXTINCT TAXA AND (3) INTEGRATION OF FOSSIL-OBSERVED LEAF AND XYLEM TRAITS TO PREDICT WHOLE-PLANT FUNCTION USING A MODIFIED ECOSYSTEM PROCESS MODEL (PALEO-BGC). INVESTIGATORS WILL USE THIS APPROACH TO ASSESS EXTINCT PLANT WATER STRESS AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION THROUGH PERIODS OF EXTREME GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT COORDINATION OF LEAF AND STEM WATER TRANSPORT TRAITS DISTINGUISHED TAXA AS CASUALTIES, SURVIVORS, AND THRIVERS DURING FLORAL COLLAPSE AND RECOVERY DURING BOTH GLOBAL COOLING AND WARMING EVENTS. THIS PROJECT PRIORITIZES TRAINING A NEW GENERATION OF INTERDISCIPLINARY EARTH SCIENTISTS THROUGH TRAINING AND MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS. ADDITIONALLY, A SHORT COURSE FOR UNDERREPRESENTED AND EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS FOCUSED ON LINKING PALEOBOTANY, PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE CREATED. PRE- AND POST-COURSE SUMMATIVE EVALUATIONS WILL BE APPLIED WITH AN AIM TO IMPROVE FUTURE COURSE ITERATIONS? DELIVERY OF CLIMATE-CHANGE-FOCUSED INTERDISCIPLINARY GEOSCIENCE TO THE TARGET AUDIENCE. 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.

ELEMENTS: HIGH-PERFORMANCE SIMULATION OF TIME-DEPENDENT PROBLEMS VIA DOMAIN-SPECIFIC LANGUAGES -THE ACCURATE AND EFFICIENT SIMULATION OF SYSTEMS GOVERNED BY TIME-DEPENDENT PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (PDE) IS A CRITICAL TOOL IN MODELING A WIDE RANGE OF PHENOMENA ACROSS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. MODELING SUCH SYSTEMS IN COMPLEX GEOMETRY NOT ONLY REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT COMPUTING RESOURCES, BUT DEVELOPING THE SOFTWARE TO PERFORM THE SIMULATIONS IS ITSELF A MAJOR UNDERTAKING. ALTHOUGH MANY LIBRARIES PROVIDE EFFECTIVE SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF THE SIMULATION, COORDINATING THESE TO PRODUCE AN EFFECTIVE SIMULATION IS STILL A NONTRIVIAL TASK. DOMAIN SPECIFIC LANGUAGES (DSLS) ALLOW USERS TO EXPRESS THEIR PROBLEMS IN PROGRAMS WITH SYNTAX CORRESPONDING CLOSELY TO MATHEMATICAL NOTATION. BEHIND THIS TOP-LEVEL INTERFACE, DSLS COMBINE AUTOMATED CODE GENERATION AND EXISTING LIBRARIES TO MINIMIZE USER DEVELOPMENT TIME WHILE MAINTAINING HIGH PERFORMANCE AND A RICH FEATURE SET. HOWEVER, SUCH DOMAIN-SPECIFIC LANGUAGES LIKE FENICS OR FIREDRAKE FOR SOLVING PDE WITH FINITE ELEMENT METHODS LACK A NATIVE ABSTRACTION FOR REPRESENTING TIME EVOLUTION. THE IRKSOME LIBRARY DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT MOVES BEYOND THIS LIMITATION, ALLOWING USERS TO DESCRIBE AND SIMULATE TIME-DEPENDENT PROBLEMS WITHIN FIREDRAKE. THE MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT ENHANCE WIDELY-USED OPEN-SOURCE PROJECTS, PROVIDING CRITICAL CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE TO PUSH FORWARD THE STATE OF THE ART IN SCIENTIFIC SIMULATION. MOREOVER, THIS PROJECT PROVIDES TRAINING FOR A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER AND A DOCTORAL STUDENT IN MATHEMATICS. ADDITIONALLY, IT PROVIDES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THROUGH THE MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY. THE UNIFIED FORM LANGUAGE (UFL) IS A PYTHON LIBRARY ENCODING A DOMAIN-SPECIFIC EMBEDDED LANGUAGE FOR VARIATIONAL FORMULATION OF PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS. IT IS EMPLOYED BY WIDELY-USED FINITE ELEMENT PROJECTS SUCH AS FIREDRAKE AND FENICS, WHICH COMPILE UFL SYNTAX INTO LOW-LEVEL CODE FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE SIMULATIONS, RUNNABLE ON A RANGE OF MACHINES FROM LAPTOPS TO SUPERCOMPUTERS. DESPITE ITS SUCCESS AT DESCRIBING A WIDE CLASS OF VARIATIONAL PROBLEMS AND FINITE ELEMENT DISCRETIZATIONS, IT LACKS A NATIVE ABSTRACTION FOR TIME-DEPENDENCE. CONSEQUENTLY, USERS OF UFL-BASED PROJECTS MAY OBTAIN SOPHISTICATED AND HIGH-ORDER SPATIAL DISCRETIZATIONS AUTOMATICALLY BUT ARE LEFT TO WRITE COMPARATIVELY SIMPLE AND NAIVE TIME-STEPPING LOOPS. TO ADDRESS THIS LIMITATION, THE IRKSOME PROJECT PROVIDES AN EXTENSION OF UFL TO MODEL TIME-DEPENDENCE AND PERFORM TIME-STEPPING WITH RUNGE-KUTTA METHODS. IRKSOME PERFORMS A SOURCE-TO-SOURCE TRANSFORMATION MAPPING SEMI-DISCRETE UFL FORMS INTO UFL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FULLY DISCRETE VARIATIONAL PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED AT EACH TIME STEP. THESE CAN BE SOLVED AT EACH TIME STEP WITH FIREDRAKE'S INTERFACE TO PETSC, A LEADING LARGE-SCALE SOLVER LIBRARY. IRKSOME ENABLES A VERY BROAD CLASS OF RUNGE-KUTTA SCHEMES, NOTABLY INCLUDING FULLY IMPLICIT METHODS. THE THEORETICAL OPTIMALITY OF THESE METHODS HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR MANY DECADES, BUT THEY ARE CONSIDERABLY MORE COMPLEX THAN ALTERNATIVES AND LARGELY UNSUPPORTED IN TIME-STEPPING LIBRARIES. IRKSOME PROVIDES AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR THESE METHODS, AND THIS WORK DELIVERS MAJOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS AND FEATURE ENHANCEMENTS. EFFECTIVE MULTIGRID ALGORITHMS REQUIRE SPECIALIZED, STAGE-COUPLED SMOOTHERS ASSOCIATED WITH SMALL MESH PATCHES. THIS PROJECT ACCELERATES THOSE SMOOTHERS THROUGH MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF SPARSE DIRECT METHODS AND A DATA-DRIVEN CLUSTERING ALGORITHM. ADDITIONALLY, THE INTRODUCTION OF SECOND ORDER TIME DERIVATIVES IN IRKSOME ALLOWS USERS TO EXPRESS HIGHER-ORDER EQUATIONS AND MODEL THEM DIRECTLY WITH RUNGE-KUTTA-NYSTROM METHODS. NEWLY DEVELOPED INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS PROJECT IS APPLIED TO TIMELY RESEARCH PROBLEMS SUCH AS MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS AND NEMATOACOUSTICS. THIS OFFICE OF ADVANCED CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE AWARD IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE DIVISION OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES IN THE MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIRECTORATE. 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: COMBINING EXPERIMENT AND THEORY FOR IMPROVED H/N/O KINETICS -AMMONIA IS A CHEMICAL CONSISTING OF NITROGEN AND HYDROGEN, AND IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED FOR WIDESPREAD USE AS A COMBUSTION FUEL. TO MANAGE AMMONIA COMBUSTION EFFICIENTLY AND TO AVOID THE FORMATION OF NITROGEN OXIDES, A CLASS OF POLLUTANTS, THE REACTION RATES FOR SYSTEMS INVOLVING HYDROGEN, NITROGEN, AND/OR OXYGEN (H/N/O) MUST BE WELL UNDERSTOOD. DESPITE DECADES OF PROGRESS, DISCOVERIES ARE STILL BEING MADE, AND SURPRISING DISCREPANCIES PERSIST IN UNDERSTANDING H/N/O REACTION RATES. THIS PROJECT WILL COMBINE EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS THESE DISCREPANCIES. THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE GAINED WILL BE MORE ACCURATE RATE CONSTANTS FOR H/N/O REACTING SYSTEMS, ESPECIALLY AT TEMPERATURES RELEVANT TO COMBUSTION. THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE WILL IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF EFFICIENT ENGINES, WILL HELP ENABLE THE USE OF AMMONIA AS A FUEL, AND WILL HELP STRENGTHEN AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY. THE PROJECT IS DIVIDED INTO THREE OBJECTIVES. OBJECTIVE I WILL OBTAIN MULTI-SPECIES PROFILES OF SEVERAL SPECIES (NO, N2O, NO2, AND H2O) DURING SHOCK TUBE EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE KINETIC INFORMATION (E.G., INDIVIDUAL RATE CONSTANTS) USING LASER ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY. OBJECTIVE II WILL CALCULATE AB INITIO RATE CONSTANTS TO SUPPORT THE MEASUREMENTS IN OBJECTIVE I AND WILL QUANTIFY INTERFERING SIDE REACTIONS THAT CAN BE TROUBLESOME EXPERIMENTALLY. OBJECTIVE III WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL LASER ABSORPTION DIAGNOSTIC FOR THE INTERMEDIATE SPECIES HONO, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN MEASURED PREVIOUSLY IN A SHOCK TUBE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL INVOLVE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HANDS-ON ?POP-UP? EXHIBITS FOR CHILDREN?S MUSEUMS THAT WILL TEACH PARTICIPANTS OF ALL AGES THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CHEMICAL KINETICS. 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.

ELECTRICALLY TUNABLE QUASIOPTICAL FILTERS ENABLED BY INVERSE DESIGN OF EPSILON-NEAR-ZERO METASURFACES

ACCRETION AND COMPACTION OF CHONDRULE DUST RIMS

THE FINE-GRAINED DUST RIMS (FGRS) FORMED AROUND CHONDRULES ENCODE CRUCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT HOW ASTEROIDS FORMED. UNFORTUNATELY DESPITE BOTH LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL STUDIES

METALLOPROTEINS: EVOLUTION, CATALYSIS AND MATERIAL DESIGN - PROJECT 1: RECENTLY, WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED FOR THE FIRST TIME THE PREDICTIVE LINK BETWEEN NMR CHEMICAL SHIFT PERTURBATION, PROTEIN DYNAMICS AND PROBABILITY OF FINDING PRODUCTIVE MUTATIONS, WHICH ALLOWED US TO CREATE AN UNNATURAL METALLOENZYME WITH WITH A 107-FOLD IMPROVEMENT OVER THE BACKGROUND RATE AND LESS THAN 100-FOLD AWAY FROM THE DIFFUSION LIMIT. I PROPOSE TO EXPAND NMR-GUIDED DIRECTED EVOLUTION TO 1) UTILIZE OTHER PROTEIN DYNAMICS PROBING MODALITIES TO AAPLY THE APPROACH TO LARGER PROTEINS; 2) DEVELOP CATALYSTS FOR PRACTICALLY USEFUL REACTIONS; 3) DEVELOP OF METAL-BINDING PROTEINS WITH HIGH METAL AFFINITY. RESULTS GENERATED IN THE PROPOSED WORK WILL HELP ADVANCE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT DEFINE FUNCTION IN METALLOPROTEINS AND DRIVE ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY. FROM THE PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, THIS WORK WILL ALLOW FOR CREATION OF SMALLER FUNCTIONAL PROTEINS CAPABLE OF PROMOTING CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND PRODUCE INEXPENSIVE AND BIOCOMPATIBLE PROTEIN CATALYSTS THAT COULD BE EASILY HANDLED IN THE APPLIED SETTING FOR PESTICIDE/CHEMICAL WEAPONS REMEDIATION, DNA HYDROLYSIS AND PHENOL OXIDATION. PROJECT 2: I WILL DEVELOP NEW APPROACHES TO OSTEOARTHRITIS TREATMENT USING SMART, STIMULI- RESPONSIVE, SELF-HEALING BIOCOMPATIBLE ANTIMICROBIAL HYDROGELS. IN ADDITION TO DIRECT BIOMEDICAL APPLICATION OF THE DESIGNED HYDROGEL MATERIALS, STRUCTURAL MODELS FOR THE HYDROGEL ASSEMBLIES WILL FACILITATE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISM OF GELATION OF METALLOPEPTIDES AND WILL GUIDE RATIONAL DESIGN OF IMPROVED MATERIALS. 1

INCREASING THE ELECTROPHILICITY AT BORON VIA CARBORANE SUBSTITUENTS -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, CALEB MARTIN AND HIS RESEARCH TEAM AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY WILL STUDY THE SYNTHESIS OF STRONG BORON LEWIS ACIDS THAT FEATURE NON-CONVENTIONAL ELECTRON WITHDRAWING SUBSTITUENTS. STRONG LEWIS ACIDS ARE ESSENTIAL TO MANY IMPORTANT CATALYTIC INDUSTRIAL AND LABORATORY PROCESSES. CURRENTLY, BORON COMPOUNDS THAT CONTAIN FLUORINE ARE USED IN THESE REACTIONS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE PENDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY MANDATES THAT WILL RESTRICT THE USE OF FLUORINE CONTAINING REAGENTS THAT ARE SET TO BEGIN 2025. THUS, REPLACEMENTS FOR THE CURRENT BORON-FLUORINE CATALYSTS ARE ESSENTIAL. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AN ALTERNATIVE TO FLUORINE FOR BORON-BASED CATALYSTS FOR BOND ACTIVATION CHEMISTRY. THIS PROJECT ALSO INVOLVES EFFORTS TO ENGAGE HOMELESS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO STIMULATE THEIR INTEREST IN SCIENCE FIELDS. ADDITIONALLY, AN ANNUAL ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION WORKSHOP WILL HOST STUDENTS AND FACULTY FROM LOCAL SMALL COLLEGES. IN THIS PROJECT, THE MARTIN RESEARCH TEAM WILL SYNTHESIZE BORANES THAT FEATURE ICOSAHEDRAL CARBORANE CLUSTERS AS ELECTRON WITHDRAWING GROUPS. A GOAL IS TO OBTAIN BORANES WHOSE LEWIS ACIDITY IS ENHANCED OVER THAT OF THEIR FLUOROARYL COUNTERPARTS. THIS ENHANCEMENT WILL REFLECT ELECTRONIC EFFECTS OF THE CARBORANE SUBSTITUENT AS WELL AS THE IMPACT OF CARBORANE STERIC PROFILES UPON THE LEWIS ACID PROPERTIES OF THESE NEW BORON-CENTERED SYSTEMS. THE BULK AND LEWIS ACIDITY OF TRIS(ORTHO-CARBORANYL)BORANE WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN FRUSTRATED LEWIS PAIR CHEMISTRY. THE OTHER TARGET, BIS(1-METHYL-ORTHO-CARBORANYL)BORANE, FEATURES A HIGHLY POLAR B-H BOND. THE REACTIVITY OF THIS BOND AS WELL AS THE STABILITY OF ARYL VARIANTS WILL BE STUDIED. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INVESTIGATE THE REACTIVITY AND PROPERTIES OF THE NEWLY SYNTHESIZED BORANE LEWIS SUPER-ACIDS. IF SUCCESSFULLY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH NEW CLASSES OF NON-FLUORINE-BASED BORON-CENTERED LEWIS ACIDS, COULD HAVE A BROAD IMPACT ON SYNTHETIC AND MECHANISTIC CHEMISTRY, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 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.

NSL - BACCALAUREATE NURSING - LOAN GRANT WITH FUNDS FOR NEW BUDGET PERIOD

CTCF-MEDIATED REGULATION OF PARTIAL EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION STATES - PROJECT SUMMARY CELLULAR PLASTICITY, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL AND MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT), WHETHER PARTIAL, COMPLETE OR REVERSED, AS MESENCHYMAL-EPITHELIAL TRANSITION-(MET), IS CRITICAL THROUGHOUT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLICATED IN WOUND HEALING, CANCER METASTASIS, AND FIBROTIC DISORDERS. THE REVERSIBILITY OR IRREVERSIBILITY OF EMT IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE CELLULAR PROGRAMS YET IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. WE HAVE SHOWN THAT EMT RESULTS IN DIMINISHED EXPRESSION AND CHROMATIN INTERACTION OF THE DNA-BINDING CHROMATIN LOOPING FACTOR, CTCF. CTCF HAS BEEN WELL CHARACTERIZED AS A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR AND INSULATOR PROTEIN CAPABLE OF REGULATING FORMATION OF TOPOLOGICALLY ASSOCIATING DOMAINS (TADS) WHEN BOUND TO CTCF BINDING SITES (CTCF-BSS). TADS DEFINE SEMI-STABLE LOOPING STRUCTURES WHICH CAN INCORPORATE MULTIPLE GENES AND WHICH IMPACT GENE EXPRESSION. WE HAVE SHOWN THAT CTCF LOSS ACCOMPANIES EMT AND YET, PARADOXICALLY, CAUSES A MORE EPITHELIAL PHENOTYPE AS MEASURED BY E-CADHERIN AND N-CADHERIN EXPRESSION. MOREOVER, CELLS WITH LOW CTCF EXPRESSION RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO TGF-Β INDUCED EMT BY RETAINING E-CADHERIN WHILE STILL ELEVATING N-CADHERIN, THUS ELICITING A DISTINCT PARTIAL EMT STATE. HOW CTCF AND TADS EFFECT THESE OUTCOMES IS UNKNOWN. TO ACHIEVE OUR LONG-TERM GOAL WHICH IS TO UNDERSTAND THE EPIGENOMIC IMPACTS ON EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY AND ELUCIDATE ASSOCIATED MECHANISTIC UNDERPINNINGS, WE PROPOSE TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS PLASTICITY OR IRREVERSIBILITY BETWEEN EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL STATES, INCLUDING DISTINCT PARTIAL STATES, IS FOUNDED UPON DYNAMIC CHROMATIN LOOPING PATTERNS, DRIVEN BY WITHDRAWAL AND RE-ENGAGEMENT OF CTCF FROM CTCF-BSS AT KEY EMT GENES. IN AIM 1, WE WILL MAP THE EMT-ASSOCIATED REDISTRIBUTION OF CHROMATIN LOOPS AND TADS, IN COMBINATION WITH GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES, DURING REVERSIBLE EMT. WE WILL UTILIZE A MODEL OF REVERSIBLE EMT TO DETECT AND QUANTIFY CHANGES IN CTCF BINDING, CHROMATIN LOOPING, AND ENHANCER-PROMOTER INTERACTIONS USING CHIP-SEQ AND HIC-SEQ AT DISCRETE TIMEPOINTS. FURTHERMORE, WE HAVE UNCOVERED KEY CTCF ENGAGEMENT SITES AT CDH1, CDH2, AND ZEB1 WITH POTENTIAL REGULATORY ROLES FOR EMT. IN AIM 2A: WE WILL DETERMINE THE FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME OF REDUCED CTCF EXPRESSION TO THE PHENOTYPE OF PARTIAL EMT. WE WILL INTERROGATE THIS HYBRID EMT PHENOTYPE BY PHENOTYPIC ANALYSIS INCLUDING AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELEVANCE OF THE DUAL-CADHERIN STATE TOWARDS COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL CELL MIGRATION. IN AIM 2B: WE WILL DELINEATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPECIFIC CTCF-BSS WITHIN THESE LOCI TO CHROMATIN LOOPING AND EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY. WE WILL ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISM THROUGH A FOCUS ON THE EPIGENETIC STATE OF THESE LOCI BY PERFORMING 3C-QPCR AND CHIP-QPCR AT THE RELEVANT LOCI IN TIMECOURSE AND KNOCKDOWN MODELS. OVERALL, WE WILL UNCOVER FUNDAMENTAL MECHANISMS USED BY CELLS TO THAT HAVE UNDERGONE REVERSIBLE EMT AT THE LEVEL OF CHROMATIN LOOPING AND TAD DISTRIBUTION. FURTHERMORE, THIS WORK PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO PERFORM INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IN CELLULAR AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, WHILE ADDRESSING FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS IN EPIGENETICS AND CELLULAR PLASTICITY.

PFI-TT: DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF BORANE WITH HIGH THERMAL STABILITY AND UNIQUE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE -THE BROADER IMPACT OF THIS PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION - TECHNOLOGY TRANSLATION (PFI-TT) PROJECT IS TO SATISFY THE MARKET DEMAND FOR A CHEMICAL COMPOUND CALLED BORANE. BORANES ARE COMPOUNDS COMPOSED OF BORON AND HYDROGEN ATOMS THAT ARE OFTEN USED AS CATALYSTS OR REAGENTS. THE PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A BORANE WITH HIGH LEWIS ACIDITY AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE LEVEL. THE COMPOUND, WITH HIGH THERMAL STABILITY AND UNIQUE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, WILL PRESENT NEW OPPORTUNITIES AS THE REACTIVITY IS BETTER THAT THE CURRENT BORANES ON THE MARKET. THE CATALYTIC REACTIVITY WILL BE LEVERAGED IN THE POLYMER MATERIALS AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES. SIGNIFICANT IN ENERGY REDUCTIONS IN LARGE SCALE PROCESSES AS WELL AS ACCESS TO NEW COMPOUNDS AND MATERIALS WILL RESULT FROM THIS PROJECT. THE DISCIPLINES THAT MAY BENEFIT FROM COMMERCIALIZATION INCLUDE CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS SCIENCE, ENERGY TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE PROJECT IS AIMED AT OPTIMIZING THE SYNTHESIS OF TRIS(ORTHO-CARBORANYL)BORANE AND SCALING UP PRODUCTION TO THE KILOGRAM QUANTITY TO ENABLE DISTRIBUTION. THE CURRENT PROBLEMS WITH PRODUCTION OF THIS COMPOUND ARE THE LOW YIELD IN THE SYNTHESIS, UNOPTIMIZED WORK UP, AND NEED FOR SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT TO HANDLE MOISTURE SENSITIVE COMPOUNDS. THE RESEARCH WILL OPTIMIZE THE SYNTHESIS AND DEVELOP METHODS TO HANDLE THE COMPOUND WITHOUT A GLOVEBOX OR SCHLENK LINE. THE APPROACH TO SOLVE THE LATTER WILL BE THROUGH REACTION OPTIMIZATION IN EXPLORING ALL REAGENTS AND SOLVENT COMBINATIONS, CONDITIONS, AND ISOLATION METHODS TO ACHIEVE A SAFE SCALABLE SYNTHESIS FOUNDED ON MANUFACTURING COSTS. WITH MANY VARIABLES, THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE METHOD AND MINIMIZE WASTE FROM THE CURRENT SYNTHESIS. PACKING AND DISTRIBUTION ARE NOT AN ISSUE FOR CUSTOMERS WITH INERT ATMOSPHERE DEVICES AS THE COMPOUND IS A FREE-FLOWING SOLID. HOWEVER, TRIS(ORTHO-CARBORANYL)BORANE IS SENSITIVE TO MOISTURE AND THUS, ALTERNATIVES TO HANDLING THE BULK POWDER NEED TO BE DEVELOPED IN DISTRIBUTION AND PACKAGING. THE OVERARCHING GOALS ARE TO DEVELOP THE PROCESS AND ACCESS OF TRIS(ORTHO-CARBORANYL)BORANE TO ENABLE A BROAD CUSTOMER BASE TO ACCESS IT AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE. 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.

PFI-TT: IMPROVING SILICON PHOTONICS PROCESS WITH CONDUCTIVE OXIDE MATERIAL FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTING -THE BROADER IMPACT OF THIS PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION - TECHNOLOGY TRANSLATION (PFI-TT) PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE SILICON CHIP PROCESSING TO PRODUCE MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT PHOTONIC DEVICES AND CIRCUITS BY INCORPORATING HIGH PERFORMANCE MATERIALS. SILICON PHOTONICS CHIP TECHNOLOGIES USE LIGHT (PHOTONS) TO TRANSFER DATA INSTEAD OF ELECTRICAL SIGNALS. THE SILICON PHOTONICS MARKET WAS VALUED AT $1.3 BILLION IN 2022 AND IS PROJECTED TO REACH $5 BILLION BY 2028, FUELED BY THE GROWTH OF DATA CENTERS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HIGH-PERFORMANCE SILICON PHOTONIC CIRCUITS WILL ALSO ENABLE APPLICATIONS IN MANY EMERGING MARKETS SUCH AS AUTONOMOUS DRIVING, OPTICAL NEURAL NETWORKS, HIGH PRECISION OPTICAL COMPUTING, AND MILITARY USES. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, TWO DOCTORAL STUDENTS, AND TWO UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS. THEY WILL ALL RECEIVE TRAINING TO BECOME FUTURE LEADERS IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPS TECHNOLOGY AREAS. THE PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE A NEW CONDUCTIVE OXIDE MATERIAL, HYDROGEN-DOPED INDIUM OXIDE (IHO), INTO AN EXISTING SILICON PHOTONICS PROCESS. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE ENHANCED PERFORMANCE WHILE STILL MAINTAINING PROCESS COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING SILICON PHOTONIC FOUNDRIES. BECAUSE OF UNIQUE MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF IHO, THE NEW FABRICATION PROCESS WILL IMPROVE SILICON PHOTONIC DEVICES AND CIRCUITS TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED ENERGY EFFICIENCY. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS CRITICAL CHALLENGES IN SCALABLE MANUFACTURING TO INCLUDE THE NEW MATERIALS INTO COMMERCIAL FOUNDRIES. BY PROMOTING COLLABORATION BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY, THIS PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 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.

TUMOR CELL AUTONOMOUS AND NON-AUTONOMOUS MECHANISMS OF LIPOCALIN-2 FUNCTION IN METASTASIS - PROJECT SUMMARY METASTASIS IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF MORTALITY AMONG PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH SOLID TUMORS. IN THIS REGARD, IDENTIFYING COMMON MECHANISMS WITHIN PRIMARY, PREMETASTATIC AND METASTATIC NICHES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO PROGRESSION OF SOLID TUMORS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT NEED. THE LIPOCALIN-2 GENE (LCN2, NEUTROPHIL GELATINASE- ASSOCIATED LIPOCALIN OR NGAL) ENCODES A CYTOSOLIC AND SECRETED PROTEIN (LCN2) THAT REGULATES RECEPTOR TRAFFICKING, INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSES, INFLAMMATION, MICROBIOME DYNAMICS AND IRON HOMEOSTASIS. PREVIOUS WORK FROM OUR GROUP AND OTHERS HAS SHOWN THAT LCN2 CAN PROMOTE STEMNESS AND TUMORIGENESIS IN MODELS OF SOLID TUMOR PROGRESSION. HOWEVER, UNCERTAINTY PERSISTS ABOUT THE STAGE OR STAGES AT WHICH LCN2 EXERTS TUMORIGENIC EFFECTS AND WHETHER THE MECHANISMS OF LCN2 ACTION VARY BASED UPON STAGE OR TUMOR LOCATION. IN THIS REGARD, WE HAVE RECENTLY PERFORMED UNBIASED SINGLE-CELL SPATIAL PROTEOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC SCREENS OF BREAST AND PANCREATIC CANCER PATIENT SAMPLES LEADING US TO DEFINE TUMOR CELL AUTONOMOUS AND NON-ATONOMOUS ROLES FOR LCN2/LCN2 IN PROMOTING SOLID TUMOR PROGRESSION. BASED UPON THESE FINDINGS, THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT LCN2 PROMOTES FGFR2 SIGNALING AND ADAPTIVE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY IMMUNITY TO SUPPORT SOLID TUMOR PROGRESSION. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DETERMINE THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF LCN2- GOVERNED TUMOR CELL AUTONOMOUS AND NON-AUTONOMOUS MECHANISMS DRIVING METASTATIC PROGRESSION OF SOLID TUMORS. OUR RATIONALE FOR PURSING THIS WORK IS THAT UNDERSTANDING THESE MECHANISMS WILL POSITION LCN2 AS A BIOMARKER FOR IMMUNE THERAPY RESISTANCE AND TARGET FOR IMPROVING IMMUNE THERAPY SUCCESS IN IMMUNOLOGICALLY COLD TUMORS. TO TEST THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS, WE PROPOSE TO SPECIFIC AIMS THAT WILL (I) IDENTIFY THE TUMOR CELL AUTONOMOUS SIGNALING MECHANISMS GOVERNING LCN2-DEPENDENT FGF2-INDUCED TUMOR CELL INVASION AND (II) DEFINE THE INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION MECHANISMS BY WHICH LCN2 REDUCES INFLAMMATION AND ENRICHES REGULATORY T CELLS WITHIN THE METASTATIC NICHE. THE BASIS OF THIS PROJECT IS CONCEPTUALLY INNOVATIVE AND EMPLOYS TECHNICALLY INNOVATIVE TRANSGENIC, PHARMACOLOGY, CELL CYCLE REPORTER, PROTEIN REPORTER TAGGING, SINGLE-CELL SPATIAL OMICS, SPINNING DISC TIME-LAPSE CONFOCAL AND CRISPR METHODS IN COMBINATION WITH PRECLINICAL ALLO- GRAFT/XENOGRAFT MODELS OF SOLID TUMORS AND HETERO-MULTICELLULAR CANCER SPHEROID CULTURES. THIS WORK IS EXPECTED TO (1) PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATES WHILE ENHANCING THE RESEARCH ENVIRON- MENT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY AND (2) ELUCIDATE TARGETABLE MECHANISMS THAT GOVERN SOLID TUMOR PROGRES- SION/METASTASIS. AS SUCH, THE PROPOSED STUDIES WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BAYLOR STUDENT SUCCESS AND IDENTIFY NOVEL TREATMENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE CANCER OUTCOMES.

EFFICACY OF AN ACTIVITIES-BASED LOCOMOTOR TRAINING PROGRAM IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY - PROJECT SUMMARY CEREBRAL PALSY (CP) IS A COMMON LIFELONG NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER AFFECTING MOVEMENT AND POSTURE, REQUIRING ONGOING PHYSICAL THERAPY TO ACHIEVE FUNCTIONAL GAINS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF AN ACTIVITIES- BASED LOCOMOTOR TRAINING (AB-LT) PROGRAM FOR YOUNG NON-AMBULATORY CHILDREN WITH CP, ADDRESSING THE GAP IN CURRENT RESEARCH WHICH PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON AMBULATORY CHILDREN OVER SIX YEARS OLD. AB-LT IS DESIGNED TO TARGET ALL THREE COMPONENTS OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONING, DISABILITY, AND HEALTH (ICF) FRAMEWORK, INCORPORATING PARTIAL BODY WEIGHT-SUPPORTED TREADMILL TRAINING, OVERGROUND FUNCTIONAL TRAINING, AND PLAY-BASED ACTIVITIES. THIS STUDY WILL EMPLOY A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER DESIGN COMPARING 3 WEEKS OF AB-LT WITH 3 WEEKS OF USUAL THERAPEUTIC CARE IN 19 CHILDREN AGED 2-6 YEARS. OUTCOMES WILL BE ASSESSED ACROSS THE ICF FRAMEWORK USING FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FNIRS) TO MEASURE HEMODYNAMIC SHIFTS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX, THE GROSS MOTOR FUNCTION MEASURE (GMFM-66) FOR GROSS MOTOR SKILLS, AND THE CHILD ENGAGEMENT IN DAILY LIFE (CEDL) FOR PARTICIPATION. THE PROPOSED STUDY AIMS TO DETERMINE: 1) HEMODYNAMIC SHIFTS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX DURING FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENTS FOLLOWING AB-LT COMPARED TO USUAL CARE, HYPOTHESIZING IMPROVED REGULATION OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX, AND 2) CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY AND PARTICIPATION, HYPOTHESIZING GREATER IMPROVEMENTS FOLLOWING AB-LT. THE PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE NICHD’S MISSION TO ADVANCE THERAPEUTICS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AND WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL DATA TO REFINE REHABILITATION STRATEGIES, INFLUENCING CLINICAL PRACTICE BY OFFERING ALTERNATIVE, MORE EFFICIENT THERAPIES. THE STUDY INCLUDES A RESEARCH MENTORING COMPONENT, ENGAGING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE-LEVEL PHD STUDENTS, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES IN NEUROIMAGING AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH IN CHILDREN WITH CP. THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM WILL INVOLVE UP TO FOUR STUDENTS OVER THE PROJECT DURATION, ENHANCING THEIR SKILLS IN CLINICAL RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE. THIS PROJECT WILL STRENGTHEN THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, PREPARING FUTURE CLINICIANS AND RESEARCHERS TO CONTRIBUTE TO ADVANCING THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH CP.

PK-4: SELF-ORDERING OF INTERACTING COMPLEX PLASMA PARTICLES IN MICROGRAVITY

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

DESIGNING PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS THAT INHIBIT THE AGGREGATION OF SOD1 BY INCREASING THE NET NEGATIVE CHARGE OF THE PROTEIN

UTILITY AND APPLICATION OF UNSATURATED ACYLAMMONIUM SALTS -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS (SYN) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR DANIEL ROMO OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IS STUDYING THE DEVELOPMENT OF REACTION PROCESSES THAT GENERATE CARBON-CARBON AND CARBON-HETEROATOM BONDS IN A SINGLE OPERATION. THESE METHODS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCT AND PHARMACEUTICAL SYNTHESIS. IN THE PROPOSED RESEARCH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX CASCADE OR DOMINO REACTIONS ARE TARGETED THAT BUILD UP STRUCTURALLY COMPLEXITY VERY RAPIDLY. ORGANOCATALYSIS INVOLVES THE USE OF SMALL, CHIRAL ORGANIC MOLECULES TO ACTIVATE SUBSTRATES AND INITIATE VARIOUS BOND CONSTRUCTIONS. DESPITE RECENT ADVANCES IN COVALENT ORGANOCATALYSTS, THERE IS A PAUCITY OF GENERAL SUBSTRATE ACTIVATION MODES, WITH ONLY LIMITED TYPES REVEALING MULTIPLE REACTIVE SITES IN A SINGLE CATALYTIC CYCLE. THIS RESEARCH, IN COLLABORATION WITH A COMPUTATIONAL CHEMIST, WILL CONTINUE EXPLORATION OF A NOVEL ACTIVATION MODE THAT IS ALREADY PROVING BROADLY USEFUL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL ORGANO-CASCADE REACTIONS THAT GREATLY IMPACTS EFFICIENCY IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS. IN ADDITION, THE METHODS BEING DEVELOPED ARE EXPECTED TO ENABLE BIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF COMPLEX NATURALLY-OCCURRING COMPOUNDS WITH POTENTIAL ACTIVITY AS ANTICANCER AND ANTIBIOTIC AGENTS. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, IN PARTICULAR THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE BAYLOR UNDERGRADUATE MINIPHARMA PROGRAM, WORKING ON THESE PROJECTS ARE GAINING TEAMWORK AND LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE, A TASTE OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, NEW SPECIALIZED RESEARCH SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT. IN ADDITION, THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION WORKSHOP PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS FROM LOCAL PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS TO VISIT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY TO GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WITH THESE ADVANCED SYNTHETIC METHODS AND STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT. THROUGH THIS AWARD, PROFESSOR DANIEL ROMO FROM BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IS PURSUING A NOVEL AND BROAD DESIGN PRINCIPLE BASED ON READILY GENERATED CHIRAL UNSATURATED ACYLAMMONIUM IONS, ADDING AN IMPORTANT FORAY INTO THE GROWING FIELD OF SCALABLE, ASYMMETRIC ORGANOCATALYSIS. THE ORGANO-CASCADE PROCESSES TO BE STUDIED INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF (I) A DYNAMIC KINETIC RESOLUTION INVOLVING A PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED DIELS-ALDER-LACTONIZATION CASCADE AND (II) A GIESE-TYPE RADICAL-INITIATED CYCLIZATION. THESE APPROACHES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE NEW, PRACTICAL, ENANTIOSELECTIVE SYNTHETIC ROUTES INTO BOTH CARBOCYCLES AND HETEROCYCLES COMMONLY FOUND IN BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS. MECHANISTIC STUDIES OF THE REACTIONS OF THE CHIRAL UNSATURATED ACYLAMMONIUM SALTS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN COLLABORATION WITH PROFESSOR DEAN TANTILLO (UC DAVIS). IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THESE COLLABORATIVE STUDIES WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO MECHANISTIC PATHWAYS AND PROBLEMATIC SUBSTRATES AND PROVIDE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MODE OF ACTIVATION AND OF ENANTIOSELECTION OBSERVED IN THESE REACTIONS. THE METHODS BEING DEVELOPED WILL BE APPLIED TO THE STEREOCONTROLLED SYNTHESIS OF NATURAL PRODUCTS INCLUDING BETA-LACTONE NATURAL PRODUCTS WITH GREAT POTENTIAL FOR STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIP STUDIES. IN PARTICULAR, SEVERAL OF THESE ARE BEING TARGETED AS PROTEOMIC PROBES IN A CHEMICAL BIOLOGY COLLABORATION WITH PROFESSOR STEPHAN SIEBER OF THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH, GERMANY. 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: SWIFT: LARGE: BROKER-CONTROLLED COEXISTENCE OF 5G WIRELESS ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT POWER AMPLIFIER ARRAY (AIPAA) WITH PASSIVE WEATHER RADIOMETERS

2018 ASHA COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND COMMODITIES

OPTIMIZING LANGUAGE OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: A WRITTEN LANGUAGE INTERVENTION USING FUNCTIONAL TEXTS - INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (IDD) OFTEN PRESENT WITH LIMITED LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT WHICH RESULTS IN AN ABSENCE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO FOSTER WRITTEN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (MONI ET AL., 2011). HOWEVER, WHEN YOUNG ADULTS WITH IDD ARE PROVIDED OPPORTUNITIES TO BROADEN THEIR LITERACY EDUCATION EVEN AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, THEY CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND IMPROVE THEIR WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE SKILLS, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED VOCATIONAL AND INDEPENDENT LIVING OPTIONS (ERICKSON 2006; HUA ET AL., 2019). TO DATE, FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION INTERVENTIONS FOR THE OFTEN UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATION OF YOUNG ADULTS WITH IDD. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY, ACCEPTABILITY, AND INITIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF A FUNCTIONAL WRITTEN LANGUAGE INTERVENTION EMBEDDED IN NATURALLY OCCURRING DAILY ACTIVITIES (E.G., TEXT MESSAGES, EMAILS) FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH IDD. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS: (A) THAT EXPLICIT WRITTEN LANGUAGE INTERVENTION FOR FUNCTIONAL TEXTS (WLIFT) WILL RESULT IN GREATER USE OF READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER READING AND (B) THAT USE OF READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE OUTCOMES. THE SPECIFIC AIMS INCLUDE (1) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF WLIFT INTERVENTION ON USE OF READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES IN FUNCTIONAL TEXTS BY YOUNG ADULTS WITH IDD, 2) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTION ON DISTAL WRITTEN LANGUAGE OUTCOMES, AND (3) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTION ON DISTAL SPOKEN LANGUAGE OUTCOMES. THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL ENROLL 40 YOUNG ADULTS WITH IDD. INDIVIDUALS IN BOTH GROUPS WILL BE ASSESSED: (A) AT THE START OF THE STUDY, (B) AT THE CONCLUSION OF INTERVENTION, AND (C) SIX MONTHS FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF INTERVENTION. INDIVIDUALS WITH IDD IN THE WLIFT GROUP WILL RECEIVE 3-MONTHS OF INTERVENTION THAT: (A) UTILIZES FUNCTIONAL TEXTS—ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING THAT INVOLVE WRITTEN LANGUAGE (E.G., TEXT MESSAGES), (B) IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED BASED ON THE PHENOTYPE OF COMMONLY OCCURRING IDDS AND IS DELIVERED AT A CRITICAL TIME AS YOUNG ADULTS TRANSITION TO INDEPENDENCE, (C) INVOLVES TEACHING AND ASSESSING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER READING THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH STRONGER WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE SKILLS IN STRUGGLING READERS, AND (D) IS IMPLEMENTED VIA TELEPRACTICE TO PROMOTE SERVICE DELIVERY IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL WITH IDD. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT IS EXPECTED TO APPLY, ADAPT, AND EVALUATE WRITTEN LANGUAGE STRATEGIES FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE IN OTHER POPULATIONS OF STRUGGLING READERS, THEREBY ADVANCING THE FIELD OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIVIDUALS WITH IDD, WHERE THERE IS A STRIKING PAUCITY OF COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION RESEARCH. THIS INITIAL PILOT STUDY WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY, ACCEPTABILITY, AND INITIAL EFFECTS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT A FULL-SCALE CLINICAL TRIAL IN A FUTURE R01 APPLICATION.

IMPLEMENTATION OF MICROWAVE COLLECTIONEFFICIENCY SYSTEMS IN NASA ICING WIND TUNNELS

CAREER: LEVERAGING EARLY OXOPHILIC TRANSITION METALS FOR ORGANIC SYNTHESIS -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR LIELA ROMERO OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IS DEVELOPING NEW STRATEGIES FOR CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS USING EARLY TRANSITION METAL CATALYSTS. THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF THESE METAL COMPLEXES ARE SELECTIVELY TRANSFORMING OXYGEN-CONTAINING MOLECULES INTO VALUABLE CHEMICAL BUILDING BLOCKS THROUGH UNCOMMON, HIGHLY SELECTIVE INTERCONVERSIONS. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE IMPROVING SYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY WITH APPLICATIONS ACROSS VARIOUS INDUSTRIES. THIS PROGRAM IS ALSO PROVIDING GRADUATE STUDENTS WITH TRAINING IN SYNTHETIC CHEMISTRY AND CATALYSIS, WHILE ALSO CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO INCORPORATE CONCEPTS OF CATALYSIS INTO UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM. FURTHER, PROFESSOR ROMERO IS WORKING TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN HANDS-ON CHEMICAL EDUCATION THROUGH (1) ORGANIZING AN INSTRUMENTATION WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS AND FACULTY AT SMALL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE REGION, AND (2) DEVELOPING AND SHARING EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP EDUCATORS BETTER SUPPORT VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS WITHIN THE CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY. WHILE DECADES OF LITERATURE ON ZIRCONIUM HYDRIDES HAVE ESTABLISHED THEIR USEFULNESS IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS, MUCH OF THIS WORK IS STOICHIOMETRIC IN METAL AND CARRIED OUT THROUGH MULTI-STAGE PROCESSES. MOREOVER, ACCESS TO THESE COMPLEXES USING CONVENTIONAL METHODS CAN REQUIRE THE USE OF AGGRESSIVE REDUCTANTS OR HARSH CONDITIONS. THE ROMERO GROUP IS DEVELOPING NEW STRATEGIES TO GENERATE AND TURNOVER ZIRCONIUM HYDRIDE CATALYSTS FOR REDUCTIVE FUNCTIONALIZATION APPLICATIONS SUCH AS THE CONVERSION OF ESTERS TO NITRILES AND THE USE OF ENONES IN ALLYL PALLADIUM CHEMISTRY. BY EXPLOITING THE INNATE PROPERTIES OF THIS EARLY OXOPHILIC TRANSITION METAL, A VARIETY OF UNCONVENTIONAL REDOX-EFFICIENT FUNCTIONAL GROUP INTERCONVERSIONS ARE MADE POSSIBLE. THESE STUDIES ARE ADVANCING THE FUNDAMENTAL CHEMISTRY OF GROUP IV TRANSITION METALS, EXPANDING THE UTILITY OF METAL HYDRIDE CATALYSIS, AND DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE SYNTHETIC TOOLS. 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.

METACOGNITION-GUIDED REAL-TIME ADAPTABLE CIRCUIT, WAVEFORM, AND ARRAY OPTIMIZATIONS FOR RADAR AND ELECTRONIC WARFARE

UTILITY AND APPLICATION OF UNSATURATED ACYLAMMONIUM SALTS IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS

AQUATIC N2-FIXATION RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK (ANF-RCN)

MOVE, ADAPT, OR CHANGE: EXAMINING THE ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF A SOUTHERN OCEAN APEX PREDATOR, THE LEOPARD SEAL -THE LEOPARD SEAL (HYDRURGA LEPTONYX) IS AN ENIGMATIC APEX PREDATOR IN THE RAPIDLY CHANGING SOUTHERN OCEAN. AS TOP PREDATORS, LEOPARD SEALS PLAY A DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING AND ACT AS SENTINEL SPECIES THAT CAN TRACK HABITAT CHANGES. HOW LEOPARD SEALS RESPOND TO A WARMING ENVIRONMENT DEPENDS ON THEIR ADAPTIVE CAPACITY, THAT IS A SPECIES? ABILITY TO COPE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. HOWEVER, LEOPARD SEALS ARE ONE OF THE LEAST STUDIED APEX PREDATORS ON EARTH, HINDERING OUR ABILITY TO PREDICT HOW THE SPECIES IS RESPONDING TO POLAR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. INVESTIGATING THE ADAPTABILITY OF ANTARCTIC BIOTA IN A CHANGING SYSTEM ALIGNS WITH NSF?S STRATEGIC VISION FOR INVESTMENTS IN ANTARCTIC AND SOUTHERN OCEAN RESEARCH. THIS RESEARCH, WHICH IS TIGHTLY INTEGRATED WITH EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES, WILL INCREASE DIVERSITY IN STEM AND ANTARCTIC SCIENCE BY RECRUITING STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM AND PROVIDING TRAINING, MENTORING, AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AT AN EMERGING HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION AND A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CAMPUS. THIS PROJECT WILL IMPROVE STEM EDUCATION AND SCIENCE LITERACY VIA MUSEUM COLLABORATIONS, CREATION OF INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS AND ORIGINAL ARTWORK DEPICTING THE RESEARCH. THE PROPOSAL SUPPORTS DATA AND SAMPLE REUSE IN POLAR RESEARCH AND LONG-TERM REUSE OF SCIENTIFIC DATA, THEREBY MAXIMIZING NSF?S INVESTMENT IN PREVIOUS FIELD RESEARCH AND REDUCING OPERATIONAL COSTS. THE RESEARCHERS WILL INVESTIGATE LEOPARD SEALS ADAPTIVE CAPACITY TO THE WARMING SOUTHERN OCEAN BY QUANTIFYING THEIR ABILITY TO MOVE (DISPERSAL ABILITY), ADAPT (GENETIC DIVERSITY), AND CHANGE (PLASTICITY). AIM 1 OF THE RESEARCH WILL DETERMINE LEOPARD SEALS? DISPERSAL ABILITY BY ASSESSING THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND MOVEMENT PATTERNS. AIM 2 WILL QUANTIFY GENETIC DIVERSITY BY ANALYZING GENETIC VARIABILITY AND POPULATION STRUCTURE AND AIM 3 WILL EXAMINE PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY BY EVALUATING CHANGES IN THEIR ECOLOGICAL NICHE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES. THE INTERNATIONAL, MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM WILL ANALYZE EXISTING DATA (E.G., PHOTOGRAPHS, CENSUS DATA, LIFE HISTORY DATA, TISSUE SAMPLES, BODY MORPHOMETRICS) COLLECTED FROM LEOPARD SEALS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN OCEAN OVER THE LAST DECADE. ADDITIONALLY, LAND- AND SHIP-BASED FIELD EFFORTS WILL GENERATE COMPARABLE DATA FROM UNSAMPLED REGIONS IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ANALYZE THESE HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY DATASETS TO EVALUATE THE ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF LEOPARD SEALS AGAINST THE RAPIDLY WARMING SOUTHERN OCEAN. THIS RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE CHANGES IN THE DISTRIBUTION, GENETIC DIVERSITY, AND ECOPHYSIOLOGY OF LEOPARD SEALS CAN DRAMATICALLY RESTRUCTURE POLAR AND SUBPOLAR COMMUNITIES. FURTHER, THE RESEARCH WILL EXPAND UNDERSTANDING OF LEOPARD SEALS? ECOLOGICAL ROLE, LIKELY CHARACTERIZING THE SPECIES AS FLEXIBLE POLAR AND SUBPOLAR PREDATORS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. THE FINDINGS OF THIS RESEARCH WILL BE RELEVANT FOR USE IN ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT DECISIONS?INCLUDING THE DESIGN OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS? ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS. THIS STUDY WILL HIGHLIGHT INTRINSIC TRAITS THAT DETERMINE SPECIES? ADAPTIVE CAPACITY, AS WELL AS SHOWCASE THE DYNAMIC LINKS BETWEEN POLAR AND SUBPOLAR ECOSYSTEMS. 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.

IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTITATION OF CELLULASE AND MICROBIAL INHIBITORS RESULTING FROM CHEMICAL PRETREATMENT OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS

HIERARCHICAL MODELS OF MOLECULAR CIRCUITS AND DEVICES FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPUTING USING QUANTUM-DOT CELLULAR AUTOMATA

WRITING TO HEAL: DEVELOPING AN INTERNET-BASED COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL WRITING INTERVENTION FOR ALZHEIMER?S DISEASE SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT CAREGIVING FOR A SPOUSE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIA (ADRD) IS EXTREMELY STRESSFUL AND OFTEN PROLONGED, RANGING FROM 3.3 AND 11.7 YEARS. FOR MANY CAREGIVERS, THIS PERIOD SERVES AS A “LIVING BEREAVEMENT,” OR A TIME OF GRIEVING THE LOVED ONE THEY ONCE KNEW BEFORE THE ADRD PROGRESSION. HEIGHTENED INFLAMMATION AND ITS ASSOCIATED SICKNESS BEHAVIORS MAY NEGATIVELY INFLUENCE CAREGIVER’S HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE. LOW HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) REFLECTS POOR VAGAL TONE, OR A DIMINISHED CAPACITY TO EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY RECOVER FROM STRESS AND ENGAGE IN ONE’S SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, WHICH COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO GIVE CARE. HOWEVER, IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT IMPROVING CAREGIVER GRIEF, INFLAMMATION, AND HRV AMONG ADRD SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS ARE FEASIBLE OR EFFECTIVE. GUIDED BY THE NIH STAGE MODEL FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT, THE CANDIDATE’S PAST RESEARCH IN STAGE 0 INFORMS THE STAGE 1 & STAGE 2 RESEARCH PROPOSED HERE, PROVIDING VALUABLE TRAINING IN TRANSLATING OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT, AND TESTING FOR PRELIMINARY EFFICACY. THESE STUDIES WILL LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR A FUTURE NIH-FUNDED RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL (R01 APPLICATION SUBMITTED IN YEAR 5) TO TEST THE EFFICACY OF THE TARGETED WRITING INTERVENTION IN DECREASING CAREGIVING GRIEF, IMPROVING HRV, REDUCING INFLAMMATION AND SICKNESS BEHAVIORS, AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE AND CAREGIVING SELF-EFFICACY AMONG ADRD SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS. TRAINING ACTIVITIES SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO COINCIDE WITH THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF FORMAL COURSEWORK, MENTORSHIP WITH DIRECTED READINGS, WORKSHOPS, HANDS-ON TRAINING, GRANT WRITING, AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. THE TRAINING WILL TAKE PLACE PRIMARILY AT RICE UNIVERSITY’S BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE (BRC), AN INNOVATIVE SPACE WHERE SCIENTISTS AND EDUCATORS FROM RICE UNIVERSITY AND ITS NEIGHBORS IN THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER (TMC) CAN COME TOGETHER TO CONDUCT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH THROUGH SCIENCE. THIS FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR THE PROPOSED MENTOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD IS AIMED AT LAUNCHING THE CANDIDATE’S INDEPENDENT RESEARCH CAREER IN IDENTIFYING AND TARGETING BIOBEHAVIORAL MECHANISMS THAT INFORM INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT, REDUCE DISEASE BURDEN, AND PROMOTE QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG THE AGING.

RURAL COMMUNITY BANKS AND SMALL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

ADVANCING TEXAS BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

KDM6A FUNCTION IN EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY - CELLULAR PLASTICITY, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL AND MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT), WHETHER PARTIAL (PEMT), COMPLETE (CEMT) OR REVERSED (MET) IS CRITICAL THROUGHOUT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLICATED IN WOUND HEALING, CANCER METASTASIS, AND FIBROTIC DISORDERS. THE REVERSIBILITY OR IRREVERSIBILITY OF EMT IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE CELLULAR PROGRAMS YET IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. WE HAVE SHOWN THAT EMT RESULTS IN DIMINISHED EXPRESSION AND ALTERED LOCALIZATION OF THE HISTONE DEMETHYLASE, KDM6A. KDM6A HAS BEEN WELL CHARACTERIZED AS A DEMETHYLASE CAPABLE OF REMOVING H3K27ME3 FROM THE CHROMATIN LEADING TO LOSS OF SILENCING AT TARGET GENES. MOREOVER, WE AND OTHERS HAVE SHOWN THAT KDM6A LOSS IS SUFFICIENT TO INDUCE PARTIAL EMT. HOWEVER, HOW CHANGES IN KDM6A EXPRESSION AND NUCLEAR LOCALIZATION AFFECT THE DISTRIBUTION OF H3K27ME3 DURING REVERSIBLE OR IRREVERSIBLE EMT IS UNKNOWN. MOREOVER, MANY FACTORS INITIALLY CHARACTERIZED AS HISTONE-TARGETING ENZYMES HAVE ADDITIONAL PROTEIN TARGETS THROUGHOUT THE CELL. WE HAVE OBSERVED THAT KDM6A IS NOT STRICTLY LOCALIZED TO THE NUCLEUS BUT CAN ALSO BE LOCALIZED TO THE GOLGI BODY. WHETHER KDM6A TARGETS NON-HISTONE PROTEINS FOR DEMETHYLATION IS UNKNOWN. TO ACHIEVE OUR LONG-TERM GOAL WHICH IS TO UNDERSTAND THE EPIGENOMIC IMPACTS ON EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY AND ELUCIDATE ASSOCIATED MECHANISTIC UNDERPINNINGS, WE PROPOSE TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHANGES IN KDM6A PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND LOCALIZATION FACILITATE EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY. MOREOVER, WE WILL ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS DRIVING KDM6A SUPPRESSION AND SUB-CELLULAR LOCALIZATION. IN AIM 1, WE WILL DETERMINE CHANGES KDM6A AND H3K27ME3 HISTONE MODIFICATION PATTERNS IN CEMT, PEMT AND MET, ASSESS THE IMPACT OF PERSISTENT, NUCLEAR-LOCALIZED KDM6A ON THE PROCESS OF MET, AND DETERMINE THE MECHANISM BY WHICH KDM6A PROTEIN IS SUPPRESSED. IN AIM 2, WE WILL DETERMINE THE FUNCTIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF NON-NUCLEAR LOCALIZED KDM6A TO EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY AND DETERMINE THE ROLE OF KNOWN GOLGI BODY COMPACTION FACTOR, PAQR11, TO THE ENHANCED LOCALIZATION OF KDM6A TO THAT ORGANELLE. IN AIM 3, WE WILL IDENTIFY NOVEL PROTEIN TARGETS OF KDM6A-MEDIATED DEMETHYLATION USING PROTEOMICS APPROACHES COUPLING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPH WITH TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY AND ALSO EVALUATE THE FUNCTIONAL ROLES OF THESE TARGETS IN EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY. COMPLETION OF THIS WORK WILL LEAD TO INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS IN THE CONTRIBUTION OF KDM6A TO THE INTRINSIC ABILITY OF A CELL TO REVERSE EMT AND ESTABLISH MECHANISMS USED BY CELLS TO CONTROL KDM6A EXPRESSION AND LOCALIZATION. WE WILL ALSO IDENTIFY NOVEL TARGETS OF KDM6A, EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTION OF THIS ENZYME. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS BASIC RESEARCH WILL BE RELEVANT TO DIVERSE GROUPS OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS AS EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL PLASTICITY IS A CRITICAL DRIVER IN VARIOUS DISEASE STATES WHICH MAY BE AMENABLE TO CHROMATIN-TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. FURTHERMORE, THIS WORK PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO PERFORM INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IN CELLULAR BIOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, WHILE ADDRESSING FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS IN THE BIOLOGY OF LYSINE DEMETHYLASES AND CELLULAR PLASTICITY.

COLON-MD: COLON CANCER LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE MICROBIAL AND DIETARY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE RESPONSE TO TREATMENT

NURSE EDUCATION PRACTICE QUALITY RETENTION SIMULATION EDUCATION TRAINING

CAS: NOVEL PLASMON-ASSISTED REACTION PATHWAYS ON WELL-DEFINED TIO2 SINGLE MICROCRYSTALS IN REALISTIC CONDITIONS USING IN-SITU SPECTROSCOPIES -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL CATALYSIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR ZHENRONG ZHANG AND DR. WEIGANG LU OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ARE STUDYING NEW ENABLING CATALYSTS BASED ON THE NOVEL DESIGN OF OPTICAL MATERIALS FOR HIGHLY-EFFICIENT PHOTOREACTIONS. ECONOMICAL PLASMONIC MATERIALS (TIN) WILL BE FABRICATED IN A PRECISELY DESIGNED NANOSTRUCTURE FORM ON TRADITIONAL OXIDE CATALYSTS TO UNDERSTAND NEW PHOTOREACTION PATHWAYS. THE DEVELOPED CATALYSTS WILL ADVANCE THE FIELD OF PLASMON-ENHANCED CATALYST RESEARCH WITH NEW CATALYTIC MATERIALS AND WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE CATALYTIC EFFICIENCIES. THE NEW CONCEPTS OF CATALYSIS WILL OPEN THE PATH FOR IMPROVED INDUSTRIAL CATALYTIC PROCESSES AND NEW OPTOELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS. THE TEAM WILL ENGAGE IN RESEARCH TRAINING ACTIVITIES ON ADVANCED IMAGING AND PHOTONIC TECHNOLOGY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM SMALL FOUR-YEAR SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC OUTREACH AT BAYLOR?S MAYBORN MUSEUM TO PROMOTE OPTICS AND SPECTROSCOPY IN THE WACO COMMUNITY. THIS FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND UNDERSTANDING NEW PHOTOREACTION CHANNELS. ZHENRONG ZHANG AND WEIGANG LU WILL UTILIZE ECONOMICAL PLASMONIC CATALYST MATERIALS (TIN) AND NOVEL DESIGNS TO ENABLE NEW PLASMON-ENHANCED PATHWAYS AND POSSIBLE MANIPULATION OF THE REACTION PROCESSES FOR HIGHLY EFFICIENT PHOTOCATALYTIC REACTIONS. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL DESIGN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ENHANCED ELECTRIC FIELD SURROUNDING THE PLASMONIC NANOSTRUCTURE TO EFFICIENTLY INJECT HOT ELECTRONS FROM THE PLASMONIC MATERIAL INTO THE TIO2, FABRICATE WELL-DESIGNED PLASMONIC NANOSTRUCTURE ARRAYS ON WELL-DEFINED MICRO-SIZED TIO2 CRYSTALS, ESTABLISH EFFICIENT PLASMON-COUPLING THROUGH SPATIALLY-RESOLVED STUDIES, AND INVESTIGATE NOVEL PLASMON-ASSISTED PHOTOREACTION PATHWAYS AND MECHANISMS THROUGH IN SITU MICROSCALE AND NANOSCALE STUDIES IN AMBIENT AND IN LIQUID. THIS PROJECT UNIQUELY INTEGRATES THE OPTICAL FUNCTIONALITIES OF NOVEL PLASMONIC MATERIALS WITH WELL-DEFINED TRADITIONAL OXIDE CATALYSTS TO DEVELOP NEW PHOTOCATALYST FUNCTIONALITIES. THE PROPOSED WORK HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ADVANCE THE FIELD OF PLASMON-ENHANCED CATALYST RESEARCH BY PROVIDING ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF REACTION MECHANISMS AT NANOMETER SPATIAL RESOLUTION. 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.

PLASMON ENHANCED PHOTOVOLTAICS: MODELING ENERGY AND CHARGE TRANSFER IN SOLAR NANOASSEMBLIES

PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO LITHIUM AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) IS A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN, WITH RISING PREVALENCE AND SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIETAL COSTS. EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVIDENCE LINKS ABNORMAL MATERNAL THYROID FUNCTION DURING PREGNANCY TO INCREASED RISK OF CHILD ASD AND OTHER NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. LITHIUM, WIDELY USED AS A PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATION FOR BIPOLAR DISORDER AND DEPRESSION DUE TO ITS MOOD-STABILIZING EFFECTS, ALSO PRESENTS CONCERNS AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE DURING PREGNANCY. LITHIUM INHIBITS THYROIDAL IODINE UPTAKE, IS CONCENTRATED IN THE THYROID, AND HAS KNOWN NEUROTOXIC EFFECTS. ADDITIONALLY, MORE THAN 56% OF U.S. GROUNDWATER SAMPLES EXCEED THE EPA’S HEALTH ADVISORY LEVEL FOR LITHIUM, AND CONVENTIONAL WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES DO NOT REMOVE IT. FINDINGS FROM PRIOR CASE-CONTROL STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRENATAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE AND ASD RISK ARE LIMITED BY RETROSPECTIVE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT, EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR DIRECT MEASURES OF LITHIUM EXPOSURE DURING PREGNANCY. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT HIGHER PRENATAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE INCREASES THE RISK OF MATERNAL THYROID DYSFUNCTION, WHICH IN TURN ELEVATES THE RISK OF CHILD ASD. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, NO PRIOR STUDY HAS EXPLORED A PATHWAY LINKING PRENATAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE TO ASD THROUGH THYROID DYSFUNCTION AS A POTENTIAL MECHANISM. TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS, WE PLAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TWO ESTABLISHED ASD STUDIES: (1) MARBLES (MARKERS OF AUTISM RISK IN BABIES – LEARNING EARLY SIGNS), A PROSPECTIVE COHORT OF OVER 550 PREGNANT WOMEN WHO HAVE A CHILD WITH ASD AND CHARGE (CHILDHOOD AUTISM RISK FROM GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENT), A POPULATION-BASED, CASE-CONTROL STUDY WITH OVER 2000 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ENROLLED. IN THIS PROJECT, AFTER SELECTING MARBLES PREGNANT WOMEN WHO PROVIDED URINE SAMPLES DURING PREGNANCY AND SUBSEQUENTLY DELIVERED A CHILD WITH A FINAL DIAGNOSIS, WE WILL ANALYZE THEIR URINE SAMPLES FOR LITHIUM. THEN, WE WILL EXAMINE WHETHER PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO LITHIUM IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILD ASD. WE WILL ALSO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF PRENATAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE ON THYROID DYSFUNCTION. FOR CHARGE, WE WILL RECONSTRUCT PRENATAL RESIDENTIAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE FOR 500 CASES AND 500 CONTROLS BY INTEGRATING LITHIUM LEVELS OF NATIONAL DATABASES WITH GEOCODED RESIDENTIAL HISTORIES AND DRINKING WATER SOURCE DATA, APPLYING THE SAME HYPOTHESIS TESTS AS MARBLES. TO EXPLORE THE BROADER IMPACT OF EXPOSURE MIXTURES, WE WILL APPLY STATE-OF-THE-ART MODELING STRATEGIES, AND MEDIATION ANALYSES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE THYROID DYSFUNCTION AS A POTENTIAL MEDIATOR IN THE PATHWAY FROM LITHIUM EXPOSURE TO ASD. THIS STUDY IS EXPECTED TO (1) PROVIDE ROBUST EVIDENCE OF A CAUSAL PATHWAY LINKING PRENATAL LITHIUM EXPOSURE, THYROID DYSFUNCTION, AND ASD ETIOLOGY; (2) IDENTIFY CRITICAL WINDOWS OF EXPOSURE TO LITHIUM THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THYROID DYSFUNCTION AND/OR ASD; AND (3) ELUCIDATE THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE MIXTURES ON THYROID DYSFUNCTION AND ASD RISK. BY FOCUSING ON MODIFIABLE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, THIS RESEARCH WILL INFORM INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES TO REDUCE LITHIUM EXPOSURE AND MITIGATE ASD RISK, OFFERING ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.

ORGANIC CARBON OXIDATION STATE AND DECOMPOSITION DURING BURIAL IN INTERTIDAL MICROBIAL MAT ECOSYSTEMS -PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN PRODUCING OXYGEN AND REMOVING CARBON DIOXIDE FROM OUR PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE. THE COMMUNITIES OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROBES LIVING NEAR SEA LEVEL ON COASTAL BAY SEDIMENTS FORM COHESIVE MAT STRUCTURES. MICROBIAL MATS ARE CONSIDERED THE OLDEST ECOSYSTEM, AND THEY INCLUDE MICROBES THAT ARE PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS OF ORGANIC CARBON. THESE MATS ACT AS NATURE'S STORAGE UNITS, LOCKING AWAY CARBON AND HELPING TO REGULATE EARTH'S CLIMATE. SINCE MICROBIAL MATS ARE FOUND ON NEARLY 128,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS OF EARTH?S COASTLINE, THEY ARE LIKELY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. HOWEVER, THE CHEMICAL, GEOLOGICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT DETERMINE HOW EFFECTIVE MATS ARE AT STORING CARBON ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW WELL MICROBIAL MATS STORE CARBON ON TIMESCALES OF TENS TO THOUSANDS OF YEARS. TO ADDRESS THIS QUESTION, THE TEAM OF SCIENTIST WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH ON THE TIDAL FLATS AROUND CORPUS CHRISTI BAY IN TEXAS. THEY WILL USE A SUITE OF FIELD- AND LAB-BASED ANALYTICAL METHODS TO STUDY MATS AT MULTIPLE SITES. RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL HELP IMPROVE PREDICTIONS OF HOW SEA-LEVEL RISE AFFECTS CARBON CYCLING IN COASTAL SYSTEMS. THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED WILL BENEFIT THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING NEW DATA ON CARBON STORAGE, WHICH IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT A NEW COLLABORATION BETWEEN RESEARCH GROUPS AT TWO UNIVERSITIES, INCLUDING ONE DESIGNATED AS A HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION AND A MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION. THESE GROUPS WILL SHARE RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE AND PROVIDE STUDENT RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL HELP TRAIN NEW SCIENTISTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. THE PROJECT INCLUDES OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THAT ENGAGE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, A HIGH PROPORTION OF WHOM ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND FROM MINORITIZED POPULATIONS. THE FATE OF ORGANIC CARBON IN SEDIMENTS IS A FUNCTION OF THE INTRINSIC CHEMICAL STRUCTURES IN ORGANIC MATTER AND EXTRINSIC FACTORS RELATED TO THE BURIAL ENVIRONMENT. THE HIGH ORGANIC CARBON CONTENT OF INTERTIDAL MICROBIAL MATS MAKES THEM POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT CARBON SINKS WHEN MAT-DERIVED ORGANIC MATTER IS BURIED, ESPECIALLY DURING PERIODS OF SEA LEVEL RISE WHEN SEDIMENT ACCOMMODATION SPACE INCREASES. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO QUANTIFY SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DIFFERENCES IN THE BURIAL RATES AND PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC CARBON IN INTERTIDAL MICROBIAL MAT ECOSYSTEMS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF PHYSIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN THE TIDAL FLAT ENVIRONMENT ON (1) THE COMPOSITION OF BULK ORGANIC MATTER PRODUCED IN MICROBIAL MATS, (2) THE CONTROLS ON ORGANIC MATTER OXIDATION AND DECOMPOSITION IN TIDAL FLATS THROUGH DIEL AND SEASONAL VARIABILITY OF REDOX AND LIGHT CONDITIONS, AND (3) THE DOWN-CORE EARLY DEGRADATION OF BURIED MAT-DERIVED ORGANIC MATTER DURING LATE HOLOCENE/ANTHROPOGENIC SEA LEVEL RISE. THE SCIENCE TEAM WILL MAKE FIELD MEASUREMENTS, COLLECT SEDIMENT AND PORE WATER SAMPLES FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, AND CONDUCT LABORATORY ANALYSES OF PORE WATER CHEMISTRY, REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT ORGANIC ACIDS, PIGMENTS, LIPIDS, BULK ORGANIC MATTER CHARACTERIZATION, 16S-RRNA METAGENOMIC ANALYSIS, AND GEOLUMINESCENCE DATING. THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE OXIDATION STATE OF CARBON IN BULK ORGANIC MATTER AND SPECIFIC MOLECULES AND HOW THE CARBON OXIDATION STATE AFFECTS ORGANIC MATTER DECOMPOSITION. VARIATION IN THE BALANCE BETWEEN AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC HETEROTROPHY IS HYPOTHESIZED TO AFFECT THE DECOMPOSITION OF SPECIFIC CHEMICAL STRUCTURES IN ORGANIC MATTER. BY ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MAT-DERIVED ORGANIC MATTER AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING ITS DECOMPOSITION, THIS WORK WILL HELP DEFINE THE ROLES OF MICROBIAL MAT ECOSYSTEMS IN THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS PROGRAMS IN THE DIVISION OF OCEAN SCIENCES. 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.

LAKE WHITNEY COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PHASE 1B

CAREER: CHARGING AND COAGULATION OF DUST GRAINS I ASTROPHYSICAL AND LABORATORY ENVIRONMENTS

DUST AND IONS: SELF ORGANIZATION AND STABILITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: STUDY OF ANISOTROPIC DUST INTERACTIONS IN THE PK-4 EXPERIMENT -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN AUBURN UNIVERSITY AND BAYLOR UNIVERSITY TO STUDY BEHAVIOR OF A COMPLEX PLASMA UNDER MICROGRAVITY IN THE PLASMAKRISTALL-4 (PK-4) EXPERIMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. COMPLEX PLASMAS, ALSO KNOWN AS DUSTY PLASMAS, ARE COLLECTIONS OF MICRON-SIZED DUST PARTICLES IMMERSED IN A PLASMA, OR IONIZED GAS. THE DUST GRAINS TYPICALLY BECOME CHARGED BY COLLECTING ELECTRONS AND IONS ON THEIR SURFACE. WHEN DUSTY PLASMAS ARE PLACED IN EXTERNAL ELECTRIC FIELDS, ANISOTROPIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DUST GRAINS AND ION FLOWS CAN LEAD TO THE FORMATION OF FILAMENTARY DUST STRUCTURES. ANISOTROPIC INTERACTIONS, WHICH DEPEND ON THE RELATIVE ORIENTATION OF INTERACTING PARTICLES, ARE KNOWN TO ARISE IN SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING COMPLEX SYSTEMS, INCLUDING PROTEINS AND SMART MATERIALS. A FUNDAMENTAL OPEN QUESTION IN THE STUDY OF THESE SYSTEMS IS HOW ANISOTROPIC INTERACTIONS LEAD TO STRUCTURE FORMATION. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS QUESTION USING A COMBINED ANALYTICAL, NUMERICAL, AND EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE HOW ANISOTROPIC INTERACTIONS LEAD TO STRUCTURE FORMATION IN DUSTY PLASMA EXPERIMENTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS). THIS PROJECT WILL USE DATA FROM SEVERAL PK-4 CAMPAIGNS TO INVESTIGATE THE FORM AND ORIGINS OF THE ANISOTROPIC DUST-DUST INTERACTION POTENTIAL THAT LEADS TO THE FORMATION OF FILAMENTARY DUSTY PLASMA STRUCTURES. DATA COLLECTED FROM PK-4 EXPERIMENTS WILL BE USED TO QUANTIFY STRUCTURAL ANISOTROPY AS A FUNCTION OF PLASMA CONDITIONS USING STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATA-DRIVEN METHODS. MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATIONS OF DUST AND IONS WILL BE USED TO CALCULATE THE DUST?ION WAKEFIELD POTENTIAL. A MACHINE LEARNING (ML) MODEL WILL BE APPLIED TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA TO IDENTIFY THE MOST LIKELY FORM OF THE INTERACTION FORCES AS A FUNCTION OF PLASMA PARAMETERS. INTERACTION FORCES AND POTENTIALS LEARNED WITH THE ION-DUST MD SIMULATION AND THE ML MODEL WILL BE APPLIED IN MD SIMULATIONS OF LARGER DUST CLOUDS TO VALIDATE AGAINST THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA. EXPERIMENTS IN THE PK-4 BU DEVICE, A GROUND-BASED REPLICA OF THE PK-4 ISS WITH ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTIC CAPABILITIES, WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASMA CONDITIONS AND THE ONSET OF PLASMA IONIZATIONS WAVES. FINALLY, AN ANALYTIC MODEL WILL BE EMPLOYED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRUM OF ENERGY STATES OF THE HAMILTONIAN REPRESENTING THE ANISOTROPIC INTERACTION POTENTIAL. THIS METHOD WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PK-4 FILAMENTARY DUSTY PLASMA AND OTHER FILAMENTARY STRUCTURES, SUCH AS ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL MATERIALS AND LIQUID CRYSTALS. 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.

THE EFFECT OF FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE VOICE OF FEMALE PROFESSIONAL VOICE USERS - PROJECT SUMMARY PROFESSIONAL VOICE USERS, PEOPLE WHO NEED THEIR VOICE TO BE CONSISTENT AND APPEALING TO DO THEIR JOB, OFTEN EXPERIENCE VOCAL FATIGUE THAT CAN IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO DO THEIR JOB AND LEAD TO MORE SERIOUS VOICE PROBLEMS. THE LARYNGEAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH VOCAL FATIGUE ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, BUT SMALL-SCALE STUDIES HAVE FOUND INCREASES IN INFLAMMATORY BIOMARKERS FOLLOWING A VOCALLY FATIGUING TASK. AS SUCH, PROFESSIONAL VOICE USERS AND RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR SAFE METHODS TO REDUCE VOCAL FOLD INFLAMMATION IN RESPONSE TO VOICE OVERUSE. OMEGA-3 (O3) POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACID (PUFA) SUPPLEMENTATION PRESENTS A PROMISING OPTION DUE TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS SUPPLEMENT IN REDUCING INFLAMMATION FOLLOWING EXERCISE IN OTHER BODY SYSTEMS OF ATHLETES. THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO 1) DETERMINE THE IMPACT AND FEASIBILITY OF AN INTERVENTION USING OMEGA- 3 PUFA SUPPLEMENTATION OR A PLACEBO ON RECOVERY FROM A VOCAL LOADING TASK, AND 2) THE IMPACT OF THAT SAME INTERVENTION ON VOCAL FOLD MARKERS RELATED TO INFLAMMATION, SPECIFICALLY, INTERLEUKIN-6, INTERLEUKIN-10, AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA. WE PROPOSE A PARALLEL GROUP-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN WHICH CIS-GENDER, PRE- MENOPAUSAL FEMALES OVER THE AGE OF 18 WILL BE ASSIGNED TO TAKE EITHER 3.0 GRAMS OF OMEGA-3 PUFAS/DAY OR 3.0 GRAMS OF PLACEBO/DAY FOR 10 WEEKS. WE WILL MEASURE THE EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTION AS IT RELATES TO CHANGES EXPERIENCED IN THE VOCAL MECHANISM DUE TO A VOCAL LOADING TASK. OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE, INCLUDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM MULTIPLE MAJORS, SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, LARYNGOLOGISTS, PHYSIOLOGISTS, DIETICIANS, BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS, AND ELITE VOCAL PERFORMERS PUTS US IN AN ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS. THIS WORK NOT ONLY PROVIDES THE MUCH-NEEDED LARGE-SCALE DATASET EXAMINING LARYNGEAL BIOMARKER CHANGES IN HUMANS UNDER CONDITIONS OF VOCAL FATIGUE, BUT IT ALSO PRESENTS A NOVEL AND NATURAL METHOD FOR ADDRESSING VOCAL FOLD INFLAMMATION BEFORE IT DEVELOPS INTO A LONG-TERM VOICE DISORDER.

DEVELOPMENT OF NEW STRATEGIES FOR COMPLEX MOLECULE SYNTHESIS

CALCIUM REGULATION AND OUTER HAIR CELL SENSITIVITY TO COCHLEAR INJURY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ACQUIRED SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS (SNHL) REFLECTS A COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF ACQUIRED SNHL ARE COCHLEAR INJURY FROM NOISE, AGING AND INFECTION. HALLMARKS OF ACQUIRED SNHL ARE LOSS OF OUTER HAIR CELLS (OHCS) AND LOSS OF AFFERENT SYNAPSES BELOW THE INNER HAIR CELLS (IHCS). BOTH OHCS AND AFFERENT SYNAPSES ACT AS SENTINELS OF COCHLEAR INJURY. COMPARATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ENDOGENOUS MECHANISMS NECESSARY TO PROTECT OHCS FROM THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF COCHLEAR INJURY AND WHETHER OHCS USE A SINGLE MECHANISM IN RESPONSE TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF COCHLEAR INJURY. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS THAT AMELIORATE THE EFFECTS OF COCHLEAR INJURY. THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF CA2+ SIGNALING IN OHCS IN MITIGATING RESPONSES TO COCHLEAR INJURY. OUR OVERALL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT CALCIUM REGULATION IN OHCS MEDIATES THE SENSITIVITY OF THE COCHLEA TO INJURY, WHICH DETERMINES THE EXTENT OF HAIR CELL LOSS AND HEARING LOSS. SPECIFICALLY, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT INNER EARS LACKING ONCOMODULIN (OCM) WILL DEMONSTRATE HIGHER THRESHOLD SHIFTS, PURINERGIC SIGNALING AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES TO COCHLEAR INJURY. WE WILL USE IN VIVO FUNCTIONAL ASSAYS ASSESSING COCHLEAR THRESHOLDS, MRNA AND PROTEIN ASSAYS, AND CONFOCAL AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IN OCM MUTANT AND WILD-TYPE (WT) MICE. SPECIFIC AIM 1 INVESTIGATES OHC CA2+-DEPENDENT FUNCTIONAL SENSITIVITY TO COCHLEAR INJURY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT OCM DELETION INCREASES VULNERABILITY TO NOISE AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF CA2+ SIGNALING IN OHCS. THUS, IN THE ABSENCE OF CA2+ BUFFERING, OHCS BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO TRAUMA RESULTING IN HIGHER HEARING THRESHOLDS INDEPENDENT OF THE TRAUMATIZING STIMULUS. WE WILL USE NOISE AND LPS TREATMENTS TO TEST WHETHER ANY INCREASED SENSITIVITY OF OHCS TO COCHLEAR INJURY USES A COMMON, CA2+ DEPENDING PATHWAY. SPECIFIC AIM 2 INVESTIGATES PURINERGIC RECEPTOR SIGNALING MEDIATION OF OCM DEFICIENCY FOLLOWING COCHLEAR INJURY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT A LACK OF CA2+ BUFFERING THROUGH OCM TRIGGERS INCREASED PURINERGIC RECEPTOR EXPRESSION LEADING TO EXAGGERATED CA2+ RESPONSES IN OHCS. CHRONIC ABNORMAL CA2+ SIGNALING MAY INCREASE PURINERGIC SIGNALING AND THUS, PRIME OHCS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO HAVE INCREASED OR EXAGGERATED RESPONSES TO LOW-LEVEL DAMAGING STIMULI THAT LEAD TO INCREASED HEARING THRESHOLDS. SPECIFIC AIM 3 INVESTIGATES CA2+-DEPENDENT SURVIVAL FOLLOWING COCHLEAR INJURY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT A LACK OF CA2+ BUFFERING THROUGH OCM NEGATIVELY IMPACTS OHC SURVIVAL, TRIGGERING PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH AND UP REGULATING PRO-INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS. IF NOISE AND LPS PRODUCE SIMILAR CHANGES, IT FURTHER SUPPORTS, NOT ONLY THAT CA2+ REGULATION IS CRITICAL FOR OHC SENSITIVITY TO INJURY, BUT ALSO THAT CA2+ REGULATION IN OHCS IS LINKED TO PATHOGEN RECOGNITION RECEPTOR PATHWAYS. THUS, COCHLEAR INJURY SHOULD LEAD TO A GREATER LOSS OF OHCS IN OCM MUTANTS. IN SUMMARY, THESE STUDIES SHOULD ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF CA2+ REGULATION IN PROTECTING AUDITORY FUNCTION. UNDERGRADUATES WILL PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN THE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA OF EACH AIM.

CRYSTAL GROWTH OF INTERMETALLIC SUBUNITS FOR EMERGENT PROPERTIES: CORRELATED, TOPOLOGICAL, AND EXOTIC MAGNETIC PHENOMENA -PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY THIS PROJECT, SUPPORTED BY THE SOLID STATE AND MATERIALS CHEMISTRY PROGRAM IN NSF?S DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, IS FOCUSED ON CREATING NEW MATERIALS BY STACKING ULTRA-THIN LAYERS OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS. WHEN THESE LAYERS ARE COMBINED IN JUST THE RIGHT WAY, THEY CAN SHOW SURPRISING BEHAVIORS, SUCH AS CONDUCTING ELECTRICITY IN UNUSUAL WAYS OR REACTING TO MAGNETS IN WAYS WE DO NOT SEE IN EVERYDAY MATERIALS. BY CAREFULLY GROWING THESE MATERIALS INTO HIGH-QUALITY CRYSTALS, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND HER RESEARCH GROUP AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY EXPLORE HOW THE ARRANGEMENT OF LAYERS LEADS TO THESE UNEXPECTED EFFECTS. THE GOAL IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE STRUCTURE OF A MATERIAL IMPACTS WHAT IT CAN DO. USING ADVANCED TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES, THIS RESEARCH COULD LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF NEW MATERIALS THAT POWER FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES LIKE QUANTUM COMPUTERS AND NEXT-GENERATION ELECTRONICS. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT TRAINING IN MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND ENABLES SCIENCE-THEMED OUTREACH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARY WITH THIS PROJECT, SUPPORTED BY THE SOLID STATE AND MATERIALS CHEMISTRY PROGRAM IN NSF?S DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, RESEARCHERS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATE THE GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH-QUALITY SINGLE CRYSTALS OF RARE EARTH LAYERED ANTIMONIDES AND TELLURIDES, MATERIALS THAT OFFER FERTILE GROUND FOR DISCOVERING EMERGENT PHYSICAL PHENOMENA. COMPRISING INTERGROWN, STRUCTURALLY DISTINCT SUBUNITS, THESE COMPOUNDS PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR PROBING CORRELATED ELECTRON BEHAVIOR, TOPOLOGICAL PHASES, AND EXOTIC MAGNETIC ORDERS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WORK LIES IN ITS POTENTIAL TO UNCOVER HIGHER-ORDER EMERGENT PROPERTIES, COMPLEX BEHAVIORS THAT ARISE FROM THE INTERPLAY OF MULTIPLE QUANTUM PHENOMENA AND CANNOT BE PREDICTED FROM THE PROPERTIES OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS ALONE. BY LEVERAGING RECENTLY DISCOVERED STRUCTURE TYPES WITHIN A TUNABLE SYSTEM, THIS STUDY ADVANCES CRITICAL INSIGHTS INTO HOW STRUCTURAL INTERGROWTH DRIVES THE FORMATION OF NOVEL QUANTUM STATES. THE RESEARCH INTEGRATES THERMAL ANALYSIS, IN SITU EXPERIMENTATION, BULK CRYSTAL GROWTH, AND SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS OF ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES IN SINGLE CRYSTALS. THROUGH THE STRATEGIC SELECTION OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND THE APPLICATION OF ADVANCED METHODOLOGIES, THIS WORK ESTABLISHES A FOUNDATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HETEROSTRUCTURE-INSPIRED TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS. THE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF EMERGENT QUANTUM PHENOMENA AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESIGN OF NEXT-GENERATION FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE, SPINTRONICS, AND OTHER TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGIES. 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.

PERFUSION-BASED RENAL ALLOGRAFT MODIFICATION TO ATTENUATE ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT PERFUSION-BASED RENAL ALLOGRAFT MODIFICATION TO ATTENUATE ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY REDUCING THE TIMING AND DOSE OF SYSTEMIC IMMUNOSUPPRESSION IN TRANSPLANT PATIENTS IS AN IMPORTANT CLINICAL NEED. PRE-TRANSPLANT EX VIVO ORGAN PERFUSION PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF ALLOGRAFT SURFACES TO FACILITATE ENGRAFTMENT AND REDUCE INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNOGENICITY FOLLOWING TRANSPLANTATION. IN OUR PUBLISHED AND PRELIMINARY STUDIES, WE HAVE USED COVALENT MODIFICATIONS TO DELIVER POTENT THERAPEUTICS TO DONOR GRAFT IN MURINE ISLET AND RENAL TRANSPLANT MODELS. ADDITIONALLY, RECENT PRELIMINARY DATA SUPPORTS THAT THE COVALENT MODIFICATION OF RENAL TISSUE BY EX VIVO PERFUSION IS WELL-TOLERATED (WITH NO ADVERSE IMPACT ON RENAL FUNCTION OBSERVED) AND DURABLE (WITH INTACT MODIFICATIONS OBSERVED AT 35 DAYS POST-TRANSPLANT). THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO TEST THE POTENCY AND SAFETY OF THIS NOVEL STRATEGY FOR LOCALIZED DRUG DELIVERY IN TRANSPLANTATION. THE PROPOSED STUDIES WILL EXPLORE THE PREPARATION AND TARGETED AND SUSTAINED DELIVERY OF AN INTEGRIN INHIBITOR, IMMOBILIZED VIA PRE-TRANSPLANT EX VIVO PERFUSION, IN A WELL-CHARACTERIZED MURINE MODEL OF KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT COVALENT KIDNEY GRAFT MODIFICATION WITH A RELEASABLE SMALL MOLECULE INTEGRIN INHIBITOR PRIOR TO TRANSPLANTATION WILL DECREASE IMMUNE CELL RECRUITMENT TO THE GRAFT AFTER REPERFUSION. THE AMELIORATED TISSUE DAMAGE AND DONOR ANTIGEN RELEASE WILL TRANSLATE INTO REDUCED ANTI-DONOR ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES AND IMPROVED TRANSPLANT OUTCOME WITHOUT IMPAIRING SYSTEMIC PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY. SPECIFIC AIM 1. TO TEST THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF RENAL GRAFT MODIFICATION WITH SMALL MOLECULE INTEGRIN INHIBITOR FOR THE MODULATION OF ISCHEMIA REPERFUSION INJURY AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL AND FUNCTION. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED IN FOLLOWING STEPS: 1.A. TO EVALUATE DRUG DELIVERY BY, AND IN VIVO EFFECTS OF, THE EX VIVO COVALENT MODIFICATION OF RENAL TISSUE. 1.B. TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF RENAL GRAFT CHEMICAL MODIFICATION WITH SMALL MOLECULE LFA-1 INHIBITORS ON THE EXTENT OF ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY (IRI) AND SUBSEQUENT LOCAL AND SYSTEMIC ALLOIMMUNE RESPONSES. 1.C. TO TEST THE EFFECTS OF LOCAL VS SYSTEMIC LFA-1 INHIBITION ON PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES. 1.D. TO TEST THE EFFICACY OF DONOR GRAFT CHEMICAL MODIFICATION WITH LFA-1 INHIBITOR IN PROLONGING RENAL ALLOGRAFT SURVIVAL IN SENSITIZED RECIPIENTS. 1.E. TO USE THE RESULTS FROM EXPERIMENTS IN 1.A-D TO FURTHER OPTIMIZE THE STRATEGY FOR RENAL GRAFT MODIFICATION WITH SMALL MOLECULE INTEGRIN INHIBITORS. THIS HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD APPLICATION WILL ESTABLISH THE PROOF OF PRINCIPLE FOR PRETRANSPLANT DONOR GRAFT CHEMICAL MODIFICATION AND LOCALIZED INTEGRIN INHIBITION AND WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE MECHANISTIC EXPERIMENTS AND TRANSLATIONAL STUDIES USING LARGE ANIMAL AND HUMAN ORGANS.

CAREER: USING ADVANCED ORGANIZATIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO COMMUNICATE COMPASSIONATELY -USING ADVANCED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES (AIT) IN THE WORKPLACE CAN EXPEDITE INFORMATION SHARING AND IMPROVE COST EFFICIENCY, BUT CAN ALSO CAUSE A SOCIAL DISCONNECTION THAT ENCUMBERS COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION, WHICH IS VITAL TO HEALTH CARE. COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION INVOLVES NOTICING THE NEED FOR COMPASSION AND THE DETAILS OF PATIENTS? LIVES, CONNECTING EMOTIONALLY AND COGNITIVELY THOUGH EMPATHY AND PERSPECTIVE-TALKING, AND RESPONDING WITH EFFECTIVE (NON)VERBAL STRATEGIES. AITS CAN INHIBIT (NON)VERBAL COMMUNICATION WITH PATIENTS, AND ALTHOUGH AITS ENABLE MORE ONLINE INTERACTION, ESTABLISHING COMPASSION WITHIN THESE VENUES CAN BE TAXING. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES HOW HEALTH CARE WORKERS INNOVATE THEIR COMMUNICATION PRACTICES FOLLOWING AIT IMPLEMENTATION TO PRACTICE COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION AND PATIENT PERCEPTIONS ON BEST PROVIDER PRACTICES. BECAUSE COMPASSION IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN SERVING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, THIS PROJECT STUDIES COMPASSIONATE AIT USE IN (A) A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER PROVIDING CARE TO A POVERTY-STRICKEN POPULATION (B) A HIGH-TECH HOSPITAL SERVING HIGHER INCOME PATIENTS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM TECHNOLOGY POSES FOR COMPASSIONATE HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATION BY INTERVIEWING AND OBSERVING PROVIDERS AND SURVEYING PATIENTS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON HOW NEW AITS BOTH CONSTRAIN AND AFFORD PATIENT-PROVIDER COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING. SEMI-STRUCTURED, IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WILL ALLOW PROVIDERS TO REFLECT ON AND EXPLAIN THEIR AIT BEHAVIORS, AND VIDEO OBSERVATION TOOLS WILL EXPOSE PROVIDERS? AIT BEHAVIORS AND PATIENTS? RESPONSES. THE RESEARCHER WILL COMPLETE 100 VIDEO OBSERVATIONAL HOURS AT TWO HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONAL SITES, 100 HOURS OBSERVING CURRENT IN-PERSON COMMUNICATION WORKSHOPS AT THESE SITES, 60 PROVIDER INTERVIEWS, AND 300 PATIENT SURVEYS. RESULTS WILL BE USED TO CREATE A COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION FOR PROVIDERS AT EACH RESEARCH SITE, TO DESIGN AN ONLINE CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION, AND TO GENERATE AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE FOR PRE-HEALTH STUDENTS, EQUIPPING EACH RESPECTIVE GROUP WITH SKILLSETS TO EMBRACE THE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX INTERPERSONAL CHALLENGES POSED BY HEALTH AITS. THIS PROJECT ALSO OFFERS HEALTHCARE LEADERS PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING: (A) (NON)EFFECTIVE AIT COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES FOR SERVING BOTH LOW AND NORMAL/HIGH LITERACY POPULATIONS, AND (B) IMPROVED AIT DESIGNS. 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.

ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS AT BAYLOR

MEASURING AND MANIPULATING HOW PROTEINS CONTROL THEIR NET CHARGE: REDOX ENZYMES, CROWDED ENZYMES, AND AGGREGATED PROTEINS. -WITH THE SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE PROCESSES PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR BRYAN F. SHAW FROM BAYLOR UNIVERSITY WILL INVESTIGATE NEW WAYS TO MEASURE AND MANIPULATE THE ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS. IN CONTRAST TO OTHER PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS, THE NET ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE (DENOTED ?Z?) IS NOT TYPICALLY MEASURED OR STUDIED. CONSEQUENTLY, IT IS NOT KNOWN HOW OR BY WHAT MAGNITUDE THE NET CHARGE OF A PROTEIN CHANGES WHEN ELECTRONS ARE TRANSFERRED TO OR FROM A PROTEIN AND HOW MOLECULAR CROWDING WITHIN A CELL MAY AFFECT THIS CHANGE. THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP MAY LIMIT THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW LIVING CELLS WORK. DR. SHAW?S RESEARCH GROUP IS USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS TO MEASURE HOW THE NET CHARGES OF DIFFERENT PROTEINS CHANGE DURING PROTEIN CROWDING AND ELECTRON TRANSFER. THE SHAW RESEARCH TEAM WILL EVALUATE HOW THE ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS MAY BE CONTROLLED OR ALTERED BY SMALL MOLECULES OR MUTATIONS, TO ULTIMATELY AFFECT CATALYSIS AND PROTEIN SELF-ASSEMBLY. IN PARALLEL WITH THESE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, NEW TOOLS WILL BE DEVELOPED, TESTED, AND IMPLEMENTED, TO MAKE CHEMICAL IMAGERY AND DATA ACCESSIBLE TO COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH BLINDNESS. DR. SHAW?S RESEARCH TEAM CONVERTS 2D DATA AND IMAGERY INTO ?LITHOPHANE? FORMAT. LITHOPHANES ARE TACTILE GRAPHICS THAT GLOW WITH VIDEO-LIKE RESOLUTION WHEN HELD UP TO AMBIENT LIGHT. PERSONS WITH BLINDNESS CAN VISUALIZE THE LITHOPHANE DATA BY TOUCH (TACTILE SENSING), WHEREAS SIGHTED PERSONS CAN VISUALIZE THE EXACT SAME LITHOPHANE DATA USING EYESIGHT. THIS LITHOPHANE DATA FORMAT (LDF) PROMOTES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION BY ENABLING DATA SHARING BETWEEN SIGHTED AND BLIND SCIENTISTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH FOCUSES ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGE IN NET CHARGE OF A PROTEIN UPON PROTON-COUPLED ELECTRON TRANSFER (PCET), AS OPPOSED TO ELECTRON TRANSFER THAT IS NOT COUPLED TO PROTON TRANSFER. EXPERIMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY WHICH AMINO ACID RESIDUES IN CERTAIN METALLOPROTEINS AFFECT THE CHANGE IN NET CHARGE DURING THESE REDOX PROCESSES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ALSO MEASURE HOW THE ACTIVITY OF AN ENZYME (E.G., RNASE) IS AFFECTED BY THE NET CHARGE OF A CROWDED PROTEIN NEIGHBOR AT DISTANCES UP TO 8 ?. INVESTIGATING HOW THE CATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF ENZYMES CAN BE ALTERED BY THE NET CHARGE OF ITS NEAREST CROWDED NEIGHBOR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CELLULAR PROTEIN LOCALIZATION AND FUNCTION. THE RESEARCH ALSO INVOLVES THE DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF SMALL MOLECULES THAT ELECTROSTATICALLY DISRUPT COULOMBIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PROTEINS AND BIOLOGICAL SURFACES. THE RESEARCH HAS POTENTIAL IMPACT IN BIOCHEMISTRY, INCLUDING ENZYMOLOGY, BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY, AND PROTEIN BIOPHYSICS BECAUSE IT EXAMINES FUNDAMENTAL ELECTROSTATIC EFFECTS UPON PROTEIN-BASED ELECTRON TRANSFER, PROTEIN CROWDING AND SELF-ASSEMBLY, AND UPON CATALYSIS. 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.

ENHANCING MULTISYSTEMIC THERAPY (MST) EFFECTIVENESS: A NOVEL APPROACH USING MY-SCOPE AND MACHINE LEARNING FOR WITHIN SESSION COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ADOLESCENTS EXHIBITING SERIOUS EXTERNALIZING SYMPTOMATOLOGY, REPRESENT LARGE AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS THAT ARE AT HIGH RISK OF PRESENTING SIGNIFICANT DELETERIOUS OUTCOMES AND LONG-TERM COSTS FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND SOCIETY. EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FAMILY-BASED TREATMENTS FOR ADOLESCENTS PRESENTING SUCH SERIOUS CLINICAL PROBLEMS (I.E., SUBSTANCE ABUSE, SERIOUS AND CHRONIC DELINQUENCY) HAS LED TO EFFORTS TO DISSEMINATE THESE AND OTHER EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENTS (EBTS) INTO REAL-WORLD PRACTICE SETTINGS. WHILE MODEL-SPECIFIC TRAINING, SUPERVISION, AND FIDELITY MONITORING HAS BEEN A MAJOR FEATURE OF CURRENT STRATEGIES TO TRANSPORT AND IMPLEMENT A VARIETY OF EBTS FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS INTO COMMUNITY PRACTICE SETTINGS, WHERE MOST CHILDREN ARE TREATED, EVEN THE MOST EXTENSIVELY STUDIED AND EFFECTIVE EBTS ARE NOT UNIVERSALLY EFFECTIVE WITH EVERY FAMILY. ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY STUDIED AND DISSEMINATED EBTS TARGETING ADOLESCENTS WITH SERIOUS CLINICAL PROBLEMS, MULTISYSTEMIC THERAPY (MST), HAS SHOWN LARGE EFFECT SIZES IN EFFICACY STUDIES CONDUCTED IN CONTROLLED SETTINGS, BUT LIKE OTHER EBTS, ITS EFFICACY IN REAL-WORLD PRACTICE SETTINGS REMAINS FAR FROM OPTIMAL, ESPECIALLY FOR UNDERSERVED, MULTI-PROBLEM AND MULTI-STRESSED FAMILIES. THE MODEST SUCCESS OF EBTS IN REAL-WORLD SETTINGS CAN, IN PART, BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE EMPHASIS PLACED ON THERAPISTS ACHIEVING TREATMENT FIDELITY DURING IMPLEMENTATION RATHER THAN PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON HOW TO MANAGE THE COMPLEX, NUANCED INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION PROCESSES THAT INEVITABLY OCCUR DURING THE DELIVERY OF EBTS. A LARGELY IGNORED AREA OF RESEARCH IN IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE HAS BEEN THE EXAMINATION OF THERAPISTS’ SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES IN MANAGING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION PROCESSES AT THE HEART AND SOUL OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE. RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN MULTIVARIATE TIME-SERIES ANALYSES AND MACHINE LEARNING ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENTS IN THE STUDY OF PSYCHOTHERAPY PROCESSES BY EXAMINING THERAPIST-CLIENT COMMUNICATION SEQUENCES THAT ARE DIFFERENTIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH CLASS MEMBERSHIP IN TREATMENT RESPONSE TRAJECTORIES. USING AUDIO SESSION RECORDINGS, TAKEN FROM A SECONDARY DATA SOURCE, A COMPLETED NIMH-FUNDED LONGITUDINAL EFFECTIVENESS STUDY OF MST, WE WILL USE SUPERVISED AND UNSUPERVISED MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES, COUPLED WITH A VALIDATED OBSERVATIONAL BEHAVIORAL CODING SCHEME (MINORITY YOUTH SEQUENTIAL CODE FOR OBSERVING PROCESS EXCHANGES; MY-SCOPE) AS LABELS TO TRAIN ALGORITHMS, TO RECOGNIZE COMMUNICATION PATTERNS ASSOCIATED WITH CLASS MEMBERSHIP IN TREATMENT RESPONSE TRAJECTORIES. IDENTIFYING COMMUNICATION SEQUENCES USING MY-SCOPE AND MACHINE LEARNING, THE PROPOSED R21 STUDY SEEKS TO PROVIDE ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFINING MST TRAINING MATERIALS AND ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF THERAPIST-CAREGIVER-YOUTH COMMUNICATION SEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH MST OUTCOME.

EARS: JOINT CIRCUIT AND WAVEFORM OPTIMIZATION FOR COGNITIVE, SPECTRALLY CONFINED RADAR TRANSMISSION

CAREER: MEAN FIELD GAMES WITH ECONOMICS APPLICATIONS: NEW TECHNIQUES IN PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS, IODINE DEFICIENCY, AND THYROID DYSFUNCTION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT AUTISM IS A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN WITH A HIGH ECONOMIC COST. THE RAPID INCREASE IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) PREVALENCE SUGGESTS THAT NON-HERITABLE FACTORS ARE LIKELY CONTRIBUTING TO ASD ETIOLOGY. EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN THAT MATERNAL HYPOTHYROIDISM (UNDERACTIVE THYROID) DURING PREGNANCY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF CHILD ASD AND OTHER NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODY (TPO-AB), A MARKER OF THYROID AUTOIMMUNITY, IS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN FAMILIES OF AUTISM PROBANDS THAN IN COMPARISON SUBJECTS. THYROID DISRUPTORS, PERCHLORATE, THIOCYANATE, AND NITRATE ARE CHOSEN FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE THEY ARE KNOWN TO INHIBIT IODIDE UPTAKE AT THE SODIUM/IODIDE SYMPORTER (NIS). IODIDE UPTAKE AT THE NIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR THYROID HORMONE SYNTHESIS BECAUSE IODINE DEFICIENCY DURING PREGNANCY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF MATERNAL AND FETAL HYPOTHYROIDISM AND EVEN MILD IODINE DEFICIENCY IS KNOWN TO CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE. A POTENTIAL CASUAL PATHWAY FROM PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS THROUGH THYROID DYSFUNCTION TO ASD ETIOLOGY IS CONCEPTUALIZED WITH RICH EVIDENCE IN EXPERIMENTAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC RESEARCH. THUS, WE PROPOSE TO EXAMINE WHETHER PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO PERCHLORATE, THIOCYANATE, AND NITRATE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THYROID DYSFUNCTION, RESULTING IN GREATER RISK OF ASD. TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS, WE PLAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A LARGE AUTISM EPIDEMIOLOGY PROJECT INITIATED UNDER THE NIEHS-FUNDED UC DAVIS CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH KNOWN AS “MARBLES” (MARKERS OF AUTISM RISK IN BABIES – LEARNING EARLY SIGNS). MARBLES IS A PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION THAT HAS ENROLLED OVER 520 PREGNANT WOMEN WHO ALREADY HAVE A CHILD WITH ASD AND IS DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY CAUSES AND EARLY MARKERS OF ASD BY CAPITALIZING ON A FAMILIAL RECURRENCE RATE OF ~20%. IN MARBLES, WE HAVE AVAILABLE MULTIPLE URINE AND BLOOD SAMPLES PROSPECTIVELY COLLECTED FROM THE MOTHER DURING PREGNANCY. TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS, WE WILL SELECT 250 MOTHERS WHO PROVIDED BOTH URINE AND BLOOD SAMPLES DURING PREGNANCY AND HAVE A CHILD WITH A FINAL DIAGNOSIS. FOR PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS AND MATERNAL IODINE STATUS, WE WILL ANALYZE 750 URINE SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM 250 MOTHERS. FOR THYROID HORMONES AND TPO-AB, WE WILL ANALYZE 500 BLOOD SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM 250 MOTHERS. THEN, WE WILL DETERMINE WHETHER PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THYROID DYSFUNCTION (AIM 1). WE WILL ALSO DETERMINE WHETHER PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS OR MATERNAL THYROID DYSFUNCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF ASD (AIM 2). TO DISCOVER THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE MIXTURES ON THYROID DYSFUNCTION AND ASD, WE WILL APPLY VARIOUS CUTTING-EDGE MODELLING STRATEGIES. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS PROJECT LEVERAGING RICH RESOURCES OF A RIGOROUS AUTISM PROJECT WILL (1) YIELD ROBUST AND RICH INFORMATION ABOUT A POTENTIAL CASUAL PATHWAY FROM PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS THROUGH THYROID DYSFUNCTION TO ASD ETIOLOGY; (2) IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL TIME WINDOW OF EXPOSURE TO NIS INHIBITORS THAT MAY LEAD TO THYROID DYSFUNCTION AND/OR ASD; AND (3) DISCOVER THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE MIXTURES ON THYROID DYSFUNCTION AND/OR ASD.

MINIATURIZED RECONFIGURABLE WEARABLE ANTENNA FOR DYNAMIC ON-BODY WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

SPEECH PERCEPTION ENHANCEMENT USING NOVEL SIGNAL PROCESSING IN BIMODAL HEARING - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT SPEECH PERCEPTION FOR THOSE WHO USE COCHLEAR IMPLANTS (CIS) IN COMBINATION WITH HEARING AIDS (HAS) IN OPPOSITE EARS (I.E., BIMODAL HEARING) VARIES GREATLY. THIS VARIABILITY DEPENDS ON THE USERS’ ABILITY TO PROCESS FREQUENCY AND TIME INFORMATION CRITICAL FOR SPEECH PERCEPTION. BY IDENTIFYING AND ENHANCING THIS ACOUSTIC INFORMATION, SPEECH PERCEPTION WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE. IN THIS AREA PROJECT, WE AIM TO ESTABLISH AND VERIFY A TAILORED IDENTIFICATION SCHEME FOR THE SPECTRAL AND TEMPORAL CUES RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSONANT RECOGNITION. OUR RECENT BIMODAL STUDY SHOWS THAT SOME FREQUENCY RANGES AND TIME SEGMENTS OF CONSONANTS ARE CRITICAL FOR CONSONANT ENHANCEMENT (CALLED “TARGET FREQUENCY OR TIME RANGES”) WHILE OTHER FREQUENCY AND TIME RANGES CAUSE CONSONANT CONFUSIONS (CALLED “CONFLICTING FREQUENCY OR TIME RANGES”). OUR ARTICULATION INDEX-GRAM (AI-GRAM) SIGNAL PROCESSING CAN ADD AND SUPPRESS INTENSITY ON THESE TARGET AND CONFLICTING RANGES. IN AIM 1, WE WILL DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF THE DEAD REGIONS ON CONSONANT RECOGNITION. TARGET AND CONFLICTING RANGES WILL THEN BE IDENTIFIED ON AN INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT BASIS FOR EACH CONSONANT IN THE HA ALONE, CI ALONE, AND CI+HA IN QUIET. THE TARGET FREQUENCY RANGE WILL BE DETERMINED BY FINDING THE FREQUENCY REGIONS CREATING DRAMATIC CONSONANT ENHANCEMENT, WHILE THE CONFLICTING FREQUENCY RANGES WILL BE DETERMINED BY FINDING THE FREQUENCY REGIONS CREATING CONSONANT CONFUSION. THE TARGET TIME RANGES WILL BE DETERMINED BY FINDING THE SEGMENT OF THE CONSONANTS RESPONSIBLE FOR DRAMATIC CONSONANT IMPROVEMENT WHILE SYSTEMATICALLY TRUNCATING THE CONSONANT. THE TARGET TIME RANGE WILL BE USED AS THE CONFLICTING TIME RANGES BECAUSE THE CONFLICTING FREQUENCY RANGES WOULD BE THE MOST DETRIMENTAL FACTOR AFFECTING THE TARGET FREQUENCY RANGES IF THEY COINCIDE IN TIME. IN AIM 2, CONSONANT RECOGNITION WILL BE MEASURED IN QUIET AND NOISE UNDER THE THREE AI-GRAM PROCESSING CONDITIONS: 1) TARGET RANGES ALONE WITH +6 DB GAIN; 2) CONFLICTING RANGES ALONE WITH -6 DB SUPPRESSION; AND 3) BOTH INTENSIFIED TARGET AND SUPPRESSED CONFLICTING RANGES. FOR EACH AI- GRAM PROCESSING CONDITION, CONSONANT RECOGNITION WILL BE MEASURED IN THE MATCHED LISTENING CONDITIONS (E.G., THE TARGET OR CONFLICTING RANGES IDENTIFIED IN THE HA ALONE WILL BE PRESENTED IN THE HA ALONE LISTENING CONDITION). TO DETERMINE HOW THE UNILATERAL DETECTION ABILITY AFFECTS BIMODAL BENEFIT, THE CONSONANTS PROCESSED ON THE TARGET OR CONFLICTING RANGES IDENTIFIED IN THE HA ALONE AND CI ALONE WILL EACH BE PRESENTED TO THE CI+HA LISTENING CONDITION. THIS PROPOSED WORK WILL IDENTIFY ACOUSTIC CUES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO BIMODAL BENEFIT AND WILL REVEAL HOW THESE CUES ARE INTEGRATED OR INTERFERED WITH ACROSS MODALITIES. DEFINING THE RELATIVE IMPACT OF THE TARGET AND CONFLICTING RANGES ON THE AI-GRAM-SENSITIVE CONSONANTS IN THE HA ALONE, THE CI ALONE, AND THE CI+HA TOGETHER WILL HELP DETERMINE THE UPPER AND LOWER CUTOFF FREQUENCIES OF A HA AND A CI AND FINE-TUNE THESE CUTOFF FREQUENCIES. THIS DATA IS MUCH NEEDED FOR THE LONG-TERM GOAL: DEVELOPING A TAILORED BIMODAL FITTING PROCEDURE. THE AREA PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CLINICAL RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOUR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PER YEAR AT BAYLOR.

DIRECT THERMODYNAMIC QUANTIFICATION OF SINGLE-STRAND DNA BINDING PROTEINS COOPERATIVITIES AND CONFORMATIONS

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL ADDRESS TOPIC "2.3 ADVANCED ICE ACCRETION MODELING STUDIES" OF THE NNH10ZEA001N-AEST1 SOLICITATION. SPECIFICALLY THE PROPOSED EFFORTS WILL ADDRESS THE SUBTOPIC OF "NAVIER-STOKES HEAT TRANSFER METHODS WITH ROUGHNESS EFFECTS." THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE EFFORT IS TO IMPLEMENT CORRELATIONS OR ADVANCED NAVIER-STOKES BASED APPROACHES FOR PREDICTING CONVECTIVE HEATTRANSFER FROM REALISTIC ICE ROUGHNESS DISTRIBUTIONS IN CURRENT AND FUTURE ICE ACCRETION PREDICTION CODES. THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL EFFORTS WILL ENABLE AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW REALISTIC ROUGHNESS DISTRIBUTIONS AFFECT HEAT TRANSFER IN THE FORMATION OF ICE ACCRETIONS IN REALISTIC FLOW AND THERMAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS. THE EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON USING REALISTIC DISTRIBUTIONS OF ROUGHNESSELEMENTS OBSERVED ON ICE ACCRETIONS VARIATIONS IN THERMAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS TO REPRESENT HEATED AND UNHEATED WINGS AND BOTH STAGNATION REGION HEAT TRANSFER AND FLAT PLATE FLOWS WITH VARIATIONS IN FREE STREAM ACCELERATION. THE PROPOSED EFFORTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE BAYLOR SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL AND IN THE NASA VERTICAL ICING STUDIES TUNNEL (VIST). AN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING CONVECTIVE ENHANCEMENT OF FLOWS OVER ROUGH SURFACES EMPLOYING VARIOUS THERMAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED IN THEBAYLOR SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL. A SIMILAR CONVECTION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FOR THE VIST. ADVANCED CORRELATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON THE MEASUREMENTS THAT INCLUDE THE FLOW ACCELERATION PARAMETER THE THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER THICKNESS AND A PARAMETER TO DESCRIBE GENERALIZED THERMAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS IN ADDITION TO THE PARAMETERS THAT APPEAR IN TRADITIONAL CORRELATIONS FOR PREDICTING CONVECTION FROM ROUGH SURFACES. IN ADDITION TO THE DEVELOPED CORRELATIONS THE DATA ACQUIRED THROUGH THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL EFFORT WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DISCRETE-ELEMENT OR NAVIER-STOKES MODELING APPROACHES.

HEPATOCYTE SURFACE ENGINEERING FOR IMPROVED POST-TRANSPLANT VIABILITY

DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, AND REACTIVITY OF DIBORYL- AND AMINOBORYL CARBENES -IS SYNTHESIZING COMPOUNDS OF THE CARBENOID CLASS THAT FORMALLY ARE ELECTRON DEFICIENT AT CARBON. WHILE MOST COMPOUNDS FEATURE CARBON ATOMS THAT FORM FOUR CHEMICAL BONDS, THERE ARE A HANDFUL IN WHICH CARBONS FORM THREE OR FEWER BONDS. THE ISOLATION OF SUCH NEW CARBON SPECIES HAS BEEN IMPEDED BY THE BELIEF THAT THEY ARE INHERENTLY UNSTABLE. THIS PROJECT WILL USE METHODS DEVELOPED BY THE PI TO PREPARE COMPOUNDS CALLED CARBENES, WHICH CONTAIN ONLY TWO BONDS TO CARBON. IN THIS PROJECT, THESE METHODS WILL BE EXTENDED TO PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN CARBENES WHERE THE CARBON ATOM IS BONDED TO TWO BORON ATOMS. THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE SPECIES HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ADD TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF CARBON TAKE PLACE, PERMITTING CONTROL OF THE REACTIVITY OF CARBON-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS. ULTIMATELY, RESULTS DERIVED FROM THESE STUDIES ARE EXPECTED TO ADVANCE THE MANUFACTURING OF FINE CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS BY PROVIDING MORE SELECTIVE APPROACHES TO SYNTHESIS. PROFESSOR HUDNALL'S LABORATORY PARTICIPATES IN LOCAL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WITH HIGH SCHOOLS, A CHILDREN?S MUSEUM TO CONNECT THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE WITH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE RESEARCH. THE IDEA THAT SINGLET CARBENES FEATURE A P2 ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN THEORIZED SINCE THE 1960S, BUT THUS FAR THESE SPECIES HAVE LARGELY ELUDED ISOLATION IN THE LABORATORY. UTILIZING SYNTHETIC METHODOLOGIES DEVELOPED BY THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, DIBORYLCARBENES (R2B-C-BR2) AND THE RELATED AMINOBORYL CARBENES (R2N-C-BR2) WILL BE PREPARED. AS SOME OF THE TARGETED SPECIES MAY BE NON-ISOLABLE, THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS SEEN AS A HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD EFFORT. THE TARGETED DIBORYLCARBENES ARE PREDICTED TO HAVE THE P2 ELECTRON CONFIGURATION, A CONFIGURATION NOT OBSERVED IN OTHER CARBENES. IMPORTANTLY, THESE CARBENES ARE PREDICTED TO BE QUITE ELECTROPHILIC AT THE CARBENE CARBON ATOM AND MAY PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW MANIFOLDS OF CARBENE REACTIVITY. 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.

AN INVESTIGATION OF HYPERGLYCEMIA-INDUCED REGION-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN BRAIN METABOLISM AND BEHAVIOR - PROJECT SUMMARY DEPRESSION REMAINS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DISABILITY WORLDWIDE. DESPITE THE NUMBER OF PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS, APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF PATIENTS ARE TREATMENT RESISTANT. THE VARIABILITY IN TREATMENT RESPONSE SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS DIVERSITY IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF DEPRESSION. THEREFORE, IMPROVING RESPONSE RATES WILL REQUIRE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR DISTINCT PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND THEN PERSONALIZE TREATMENT. ONE PROPOSED DEPRESSIVE SUBTYPE IS IMMUNO-METABOLIC DEPRESSION. THIS IS CHARACTERIZED BY ELEVATED LEVELS OF PERIPHERAL INFLAMMATION AND INCREASED EXPRESSION OF NEUROVEGETATIVE SYMPTOMS. THIS SUBTYPE MAY ENCOMPASS UP TO 25% OF ALL DEPRESSIVE CASES. INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC DISEASE, SUCH AS DIABETES AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, ARE MORE LIKELY THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION TO DEVELOP DEPRESSION AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO FALL INTO THIS “IMMUNO-METABOLIC” CATEGORY. WHILE THERE ARE DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES ON THIS DEPRESSIVE SUBTYPE, EMPIRICAL STUDIES DIRECTLY EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFLAMMATION, METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION, AND BEHAVIOR IN A REGION-SPECIFIC MANNER ARE LIMITED. WITHIN THIS GRANT WE AIM TO IDENTIFY THE REGION-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN BRAIN METABOLISM IN TWO MODELS OF HYPERGLYCEMIA AND TO EVALUATE BEHAVIORAL DOMAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE BRAIN REGIONS. WE PROPOSE TO USE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF REGION-SPECIFIC TISSUE ANALYSES INCLUDING MITOCHONDRIAL STRUCTURE, MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION, AND GENE TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES RELATED TO INFLAMMATION AND METABOLISM. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA WILL INDUCE REGION-SPECIFIC NEUROINFLAMMATION, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES. WE WILL FOCUS ON THE HYPOTHALAMUS, AMYGDALA, BASAL GANGLIA, CEREBELLUM, AND AUDITORY CORTEX AS THESE REGIONS REPRESENT AREAS WITH HIGH AND LOW EXPRESSION OF GLUCOSE SENSING NEURONS. THE PROPOSED STUDIES WILL PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING IMMUNO-METABOLIC DEPRESSIVE AND MAY INFORM FUTURE PERSONALIZED THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. THESE STUDIES WILL ALSO ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN MERITORIOUS RESEARCH, HELPING TO FOSTER THEIR ENTHUSIASM FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CAREERS.

MOLECULAR CONTROL OF TRANSLESION SYNTHESIS FIDELITY BEYOND THE LESION - PROJECT SUMMARY – MAINTAINING ACTIVE HIGH-FIDELITY REPLICATION DESPITE A CONSTANT BARRAGE OF DNA DAMAGE OR BLOCKS THAT ARE ENCOUNTERED BY THE REPLISOME REQUIRES SEVERAL INHERENT GENOMIC PROTECTIVE FUNCTIONS. AN IMMEDIATE FIRST ‘ON-THE-FLY’ RESPONSE CAN BE THE RECRUITMENT OF TRANSLESION SYNTHESIS (TLS) DNA POLYMERASE TO DIRECTLY BYPASS DAMAGE THAT STALLS A HIGH-FIDELITY (HIFI) POLYMERASE. HOWEVER, THIS PROCESS IS COMPLEX AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL AND REQUIRES SEPARATE SUBSTITUTION EVENTS THAT CAN RECRUIT ONE OF SEVERAL TLS POLYMERASES, FACILITATE INSERTION OPPOSITE THE LESION AND BEYOND, AND THEN SUBSTITUTE BACK TO THE HIFI POLYMERASE. ALTHOUGH TLS POLYMERASES HAVE GENERALLY ACCURATE INSERTIONS OPPOSITE COGNATE LESIONS, THEIR FIDELITY OPPOSITE UNDAMAGED DNA MUST BE RESTRAINED TO PREVENT DOWNSTREAM MUTATIONS GIVING RISE TO CANCER INITIATION. THE KINETIC AND STRUCTURAL MECHANISMS FOR TLS INSERTIONS HAVE BEEN WIDELY STUDIED, PROVIDING A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ON LESION SPECIFICITIES; HOWEVER, THESE RESULTS ARE PRIMARILY DERIVED FROM TRUNCATED CORE POLYMERASE ENZYMES THAT LACK N- AND C-TERMINAL DOMAINS IMPORTANT FOR INTERACTING WITH REPLISOME COMPONENTS TO FACILITATE TLS SUBSTITUTIONS. MOREOVER, THE MOLECULAR AND STRUCTURAL MECHANISMS TO LIMIT DOWNSTREAM SYNTHESIS AFTER INSERTION BY TLS POLYMERASES ARE UNEXPLORED. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT INTRINSIC CONTACTS OUTSIDE THE ACTIVE SITE OF TLS DNA POLYMERASES RESTRICT SYNTHESIS DOWNSTREAM OF A LESION TO MAINTAIN GENOMIC FIDELITY. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL VALIDATE OUR PRELIMINARY DATA SHOWING THAT SPECIFIC ‘PINK-TRIGGER’ RESIDUES IN TLS POLYMERASES SENSE SYNTHESIS AT DISTINCT POSITIONS PAST LESIONS TO KINETICALLY PROMOTE DISSOCIATION. UTILIZING PRIMARILY FULL-LENGTH HUMAN DNA POLYMERASE ENZYMES, ACCESSORY FACTORS, AND STABILIZING BRIDGES, WE WILL CHARACTERIZE THE SUBSTITUTION STEPS NEEDED TO BYPASS SEVERAL COGNATE LESIONS, VALIDATING IMPORTANT CONTACT POINTS THAT HELP RECRUIT, SYNTHESIZE PAST, AND ENABLE REINSTATEMENT OF HIFI DNA POLYMERASES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROGRAM IS HIGHLY INTEGRATED USING ADVANCED BIOCHEMICAL, ENZYMOLOGICAL, KINETIC, AND STRUCTURAL APPROACHES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE TLS PROCESS AND WILL BE PERFORMED BY SEVERAL EXCELLENT UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH SCIENCE TRAINING OPPORTUNITY AT A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE UNIVERSITY. RESULTS FROM THIS PROPOSAL WILL PROVIDE A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE STEPS AND CONTACTS REQUIRED TO PERFORM EFFICIENT TLS BUT ALSO RESTRICT DOWNSTREAM LOW-FIDELITY SYNTHESIS PAST TEMPLATE LESIONS. CONCLUSIONS FROM THESE STUDIES WILL BE INFLUENTIAL IN PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO PATIENT MUTATIONS LEADING TO CANCER AND RAPID AGING AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING NOVEL TARGETS TO PREVENT CHEMORESISTANCE.

DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW COST, LABEL-FREE, AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE OPTICAL CAVITY-BASED BIOSENSOR FOR POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTICS - PROJECT SUMMARY EACH YEAR, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD SUFFER AND DIE FROM DISEASES SUCH AS CANCERS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. EARLY DETECTION AND THE ABILITY TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE STATUS OF THE DISEASE ARE CRITICAL FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SEEKING TO HELP DISEASED PATIENTS. THE EARLY DETECTION OF DISEASES NOT ONLY HELPS PATIENTS TO RECEIVE PROPER TREATMENT AND INCREASES THE CHANCE OF FULL RECOVERY BUT ALSO IS IMPORTANT TO REDUCE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT DUE TO TREATMENT COSTS AND OUTPUT LOSSES. THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DETECTION HAS BEEN WIDELY RECOGNIZED RECENTLY AS WE FIGHT AGAINST THE CURRENT GLOBAL OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 19 (COVID-19). POINT-OF-CARE (POC) BIOSENSORS COULD ALLOW PATIENTS TO REGULARLY CHECK THEIR HEALTH CONDITION AT THE BEDSIDE OR NEAR THEM WITHOUT BEING DEPENDENT ON THE CENTRAL LABORATORY TESTING. EFFECTIVE POC BIOSENSORS WOULD BE LOW COST AND WOULD HAVE LABEL-FREE OPERATION, HIGH SENSITIVITY, HIGH SPECIFICITY, MULTIPLEXABILITY (I.E., ABILITY TO DETECT MULTIPLE ANALYTES IN A SAMPLE FLUID SIMULTANEOUSLY), A SHORT TURNAROUND TIME, AND QUANTITATIVE DETECTION. HOWEVER, CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGIES ARE NOT SUITABLE TO BE USED AS POC BIOSENSORS AND THE VARIOUS OPTICAL BIOSENSORS DEVELOPED STILL HAVE DRAWBACKS FOR POC USE. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE PI IS TO DEVELOP A POC BIOSENSOR WITH ALL THE REQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE PI AND HIS TEAM HAVE DEVELOPED AN OPTICAL CAVITY-BASED BIOSENSOR (OCB) WITH A DIFFERENTIAL DETECTION METHOD. AN OPTICAL RESONATOR STRUCTURE IS INHERENTLY ATTRACTIVE FOR THE BIOSENSING APPLICATION DUE TO ITS LABEL-FREE OPERATION AND RESONANT CHARACTERISTICS. THE INNOVATIVE ASPECT OF OUR OCB IS THE USE OF LOW- COST COMPONENTS WITH ENHANCED SENSITIVITY BY EMPLOYING A DIFFERENTIAL DETECTION METHOD. RECENTLY, WE WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATE LOW-COST, LABEL-FREE, AND PORTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OCB. THE LIMIT OF DETECTION (LOD) WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE WAS 377 PICOMOLAR (PM) FOR THE C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) MOLECULES. THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO IMPROVE THE LOD OF THE OCB. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THREE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE LOD IN OUR OCB. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH COULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS FIELD, IT WILL STRENGTHEN THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, AND IT WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH PROJECT. IN AIM 1, WE WILL ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE LOD BY USING AN IMPROVED OPTICAL CAVITY STRUCTURE AND EQUATION USED FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL DETECTION METHOD. IN AIM 2, WE WILL INVESTIGATE DIFFERENT SILANIZATION PROCESSES USING VAPOR-PHASE AND SOLUTION-PHASE DEPOSITION OF 3- AMINOPROPYLTRIETHOXYSILANE (APTES). FINALLY, IN AIM 3, WE WILL DEVELOP PROPER DISPENSING AND INCUBATION PROCESSES FOR A PICOLITER FLUID DISPENSER TO CREATE A SMALLER SENSING AREA AND INVESTIGATE THE LODS OF THE OCB WITH VARIOUS SENSING AREAS. IN THE END, WE ANTICIPATE ACHIEVING THE LOD OF THE OCB IN THE FEMTOMOLAR (FM) RANGE WHICH IS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF THE STATE-OF-THE-ART BIOSENSORS.

HEME PROTEIN CATALYSIS AND THE BIOCOORDINATION CHEMISTRY OF HNO

THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENTERIC DYSFUNCTION ON THE GROWTH AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN: ANALYSIS OF UNIQUE LONGITUDINAL DATA AND FINGER-PRICK DRIED BLOOD SPOT BIOMARKERS - PROJECT SUMMARY ENVIRONMENTAL ENTERIC DYSFUNCTION (EED), AN ACQUIRED SUBCLINICAL CONDITION OF THE SMALL INTESTINE, IS NOW VIEWED AS A LEADING CAUSE OF CHILDHOOD LINEAR GROWTH FALTERING AND ITS ASSOCIATED LIFETIME DISPARITIES IN HEALTH AND HUMAN CAPITAL. A COMPLEX CONDITION, EED IS CHARACTERIZED PRIMARILY BY POOR INTESTINAL ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY, INCREASED PERMEABILITY TO MICROBES, AND RESULTING MUCOSAL AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. ONCE ACQUIRED UNDER UNSANITARY CONDITIONS AND PATHOGEN EXPOSURE DURING INFANCY, EED TYPICALLY PERSISTS INTO ADULTHOOD, AND THE NUMBER OF CASES GLOBALLY IS THOUGHT TO BE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS. DESPITE PRESUMED LIFETIME EFFECTS, THE IMPACT OF EED ON GROWTH HAS NEVER BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY INVESTIGATED BEYOND THE AGE OF 5 YEARS. MOREOVER, THE IMPACT OF EED ON ENERGY EXPENDITURE – THOUGHT TO BE CENTRAL TO THE ETIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD GROWTH FALTERING – HAS NEVER BEEN STUDIED, AT ANY AGE. THESE GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE RELATE, IN PART, TO THE BURDEN OF TRADITIONAL INVASIVE SAMPLING METHODS FOR ASSESSING EED. THE PROPOSED STUDY HAS THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: FIRST, TO OPTIMIZE PRELIMINARILY VALIDATED ASSAYS FOR MEASURING KEY EED BIOMARKERS IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE FINGER-PRICK DRIED BLOOD SPOT SAMPLES. SECOND, TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF EED ON LONGITUDINAL GROWTH AMONG SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN. THIRD, TO DEFINE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHILDHOOD EED AND MEASURED ENERGY EXPENDITURE. WE ARE WELL- POSITIONED TO UNDERTAKE THIS WORK BECAUSE WE CAN CAPITALIZE ON A UNIQUE EXISTING DATA AND BIOSPECIMEN SET FROM 320 SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN (AGE 4-12 YEARS) AMONG THE INDIGENOUS SHUAR PEOPLE OF AMAZONIAN ECUADOR. PREDOMINANT ENERGETIC MODELS IN HUMAN NUTRITION ARE ADDITIVE, IMPLYING THAT CALORIES HABITUALLY SPENT ON ANY SINGLE METABOLIC TASK (E.G., IMMUNE ACTIVITY) CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASE TOTAL ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TEE) AND OVERALL DAILY ENERGY REQUIREMENTS. IN THE CASE OF EED, THIS MODEL SUGGESTS THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION SHOULD INCREASE TEE, RESULTING IN GROWTH FALTERING DUE TO SUBSEQUENT ENERGY DEFICIT. CHALLENGING THIS MODEL, WE HAVE SHOWN THAT INFLAMMATION AND OTHER FORMS OF IMMUNE ACTIVITY HAVE NO IMPACT ON TEE AMONG SHUAR CHILDREN AND, IN FACT, THAT CHILDREN LIVING IN RURAL AND URBAN CONTEXTS SPEND THE SAME TOTAL NUMBER OF CALORIES EACH DAY. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT, RATHER THAN ADDITIVE, CHILDREN’S HABITUAL TEE IS RELATIVELY STABLE (I.E., “CONSTRAINED”) ACROSS DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS. CONSTRAINED TEE IN CONTEXTS OF EED CAN EXPLAIN GROWTH FALTERING AS THE RESULT OF ENERGY ALLOCATION TRADE-OFFS WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, IRRESPECTIVE OF ENERGY AVAILABILITY, A PREDICTION THAT IS SUPPORTED BY DATA FROM NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTATION STUDIES SHOWING NEGLIGIBLE IMPROVEMENTS IN GROWTH. HERE, WE WOULD ADVANCE OUR WORK AMONG THE SHUAR TO INCLUDE KEY MEASURES OF EED. RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO FURTHER CHALLENGE THE ADDITIVE MODEL OF CHILDREN’S ENERGY EXPENDITURE, IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING OF THE ETIOLOGY OF GROWTH FALTERING, ENERGY BALANCE, AND LIFETIME HEALTH AND HUMAN CAPITAL DISPARITIES. AS AN R15 AREA, THIS PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE UNDERGRADUATE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT BAYLOR AND WILL SUPPORT HANDS-ON TRAINING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR A MINIMUM OF FOUR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS EACH YEAR IN THE PI’S LAB.

DEVELOPMENT OF METAL-FREE PHOTOCATALYSTS

DECODING THE ROLE OF ALTERED BIOTRANSFORMATION PATHWAYS IN THE RAPID ADAPTATION OF GULF KILLIFISH TO LEGACY POLLUTANTS: USING DIFFERENTIAL POPULATION SENSITIVITY TO UNDERSTAND CHEMICAL VULNERABILITY - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT DIOXIN-LIKE COMPOUNDS (DLCS), SUCH AS POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS), AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS), ARE OFTEN PRESENT IN CONTAMINATED HABITATS AND HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO DRIVE EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION IN ORGANISMS INHABITING POLLUTED ENVIRONMENTS. THIS PROJECT UTILIZES PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED ADAPTED POPULATIONS OF GULF KILLIFISH (FUNDULUS GRANDIS) AS A MODEL SYSTEM TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE LINKAGES BETWEEN CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY AND BIOTRANSFORMATION. GULF KILLIFISH HAVE ADAPTED TO RESIST PCB- AND PAH-ASSOCIATED CARDIOVASCULAR TERATOGENICITY IN RESPONSE TO CHRONIC CHEMICAL EXPOSURES IN GALVESTON BAY. SIMILAR TO OTHER ADAPTED FISH POPULATIONS, THIS ADAPTED POPULATION PHENOTYPE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DELETION IN THE ARYL HYDROCARBON RECEPTOR (AHR) AND A RECALCITRANT AHR PATHWAY. THIS IS COUNTER-INTUITIVE, GIVEN THE CRITICAL ROLE OF THE AHR PATHWAY IN THE BIOTRANSFORMATION AND SUBSEQUENT EXCRETION OF XENOBIOTIC CHEMICALS. WHILE NOT FULLY ELUCIDATED, PREVIOUS WORK HAS SHOWN THAT ADAPTED FISH MORE SLOWLY BIOTRANSFORM SOME PAHS, INCLUDING BENZO[A]PYRENE (BAP). ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT DIFFERENT METABOLIC PATHWAYS ARE BEING FAVORED. WHAT IS NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN IS WHETHER THE OBSERVED ALTERATIONS IN THE BIOTRANSFORMATION PROCESS PRODUCE SAFER OR MORE TOXIC METABOLITES. IN OTHER WORDS, ARE THE ALTERATIONS TO BIOTRANSFORMATION INDICATIVE OF A FITNESS COST, OR DO THEY REPRESENT A COMPENSATORY ADAPTATION OR ACCLIMATION, PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION FOR THE SUCCESSFUL BIOTRANSFORMATION AND EXCRETION OF PAHS? IT IS CLEAR FROM EXISTING LITERATURE THAT A RECALCITRANT AHR PATHWAY PROVIDES STRONG PROTECTION AGAINST DLC-INDUCED CARDIOVASCULAR TERATOGENICITY AND THAT A DELETION IN THE AHR CAN PROVIDE THIS PROTECTION. GENOMIC STUDIES OF ADAPTED POPULATIONS SUGGEST THAT MULTIPLE GENES ARE LIKELY INVOLVED IN OBSERVED RESISTANT PHENOTYPES. WE AIM TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF THE AHR DELETION ON THE BIOTRANSFORMATION OF BAP, A MODEL PAH, AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AS AN EXAMPLE OF A NON- BIOTRANSFORMATION AHR-ASSOCIATED PATHWAY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE AHR DELETION HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE RATE OF BIOTRANSFORMATION AS WELL AS ON THE DECREASE OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN DIFFERENT TISSUES. WE PROPOSE THAT OTHER NATURALLY EVOLVED COMPENSATORY CHANGES ARE A CRITICAL SECOND STAGE OF ADAPTATION TO DLCS, THAT THEY EXPLAIN PREVIOUSLY DOCUMENTED CROSS-RESISTANCE TO OTHER CONTAMINANT CLASSES WITH DIFFERENT MODES OF ACTION, AND CAN PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHTS INTO THE VULNERABILITY OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS TO A VARIETY OF CHEMICAL STRESSORS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL BE THE FIRST STEP IN A CONTINUUM OF RESEARCH THAT WILL SYSTEMATICALLY IDENTIFY SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS OF BIOTRANSFORMATION PATHWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH CHEMICAL RESISTANCE RESULTING FROM SELECTION PRESSURE. FURTHERMORE, THE WORK OUTLINED IN THIS PROPOSAL WILL PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN HANDS-ON RESEARCH THAT WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EVOLUTION, TOXICOLOGY, BIOTRANSFORMATION, METABOLOMICS AND TRANSCRIPTOMICS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

NSF/GEO-NERC: UNLOCKING NEW HORIZONS - HOW FEEDING MORPHOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE IMPACTS ADAPTIVE EXPANSION IN DEEP TIME -THE WAY ANIMALS GATHER FOOD IS IMPORTANT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL. FEEDING STRUCTURES LIKE JAWS, TEETH, AND BEAKS COME IN A VARIETY OF SHAPES, SIZES, AND WAYS OF WORKING. HOW WELL THESE FEEDING STRUCTURES WORK (THEIR PERFORMANCE) CAN AFFECT HOW ANIMALS ADAPT AND SURVIVE IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS. HOWEVER, SCIENTISTS DON?T FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE STRUCTURES HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME AND HOW THIS INFLUENCES THEIR LONG-TERM EVOLUTION AND ECOLOGY. TO STUDY THIS, THE RESEARCHERS WILL USE SEA URCHINS, WHICH HAVE A VARIETY OF FEEDING STRUCTURES, AN EXCELLENT FOSSIL RECORD, AND A WELL-DOCUMENTED FAMILY TREE. THIS WILL HELP TO UNDERSTAND HOW CHANGES IN THE FEEDING STRUCTURES ENABLE ANIMALS TO ADAPT AND DIVERSIFY OVER TIME. THE RESEARCHERS PLAN TO CREATE A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ONLINE DATABASE OF 3D DIGITAL SCANS OF ALL KNOWN SEA URCHINS, BOTH LIVING AND EXTINCT. THE DATABASE WILL ALSO INCLUDE INFORMATION ON WHERE AND WHEN THESE ANIMALS LIVED, AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS. THE RESEARCHERS WILL ALSO USE THIS DATA TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT HELP TEACHERS UNDERSTAND EVOLUTION AND TEACH IT EFFECTIVELY. THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE LARGEST 3D DATABASES FOR ANY GROUP OF ANIMALS AND WILL BE USEFUL FOR FUTURE STUDIES ON EVOLUTION, CONSERVATION, AND EDUCATION. THIS IS A PROJECT JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION?S DIRECTORATE FOR GEOSCIENCES (NSF/GEO) AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL (NERC) OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (UK) VIA THE NSF/GEO-NERC LEAD AGENCY AGREEMENT. THIS AGREEMENT ALLOWS A SINGLE JOINT US/UK PROPOSAL TO BE SUBMITTED AND PEER-REVIEWED BY THE AGENCY WHOSE INVESTIGATOR HAS THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF THE BUDGET. UPON SUCCESSFUL JOINT DETERMINATION OF AN AWARD RECOMMENDATION, EACH AGENCY FUNDS THE PROPORTION OF THE BUDGET THAT SUPPORTS SCIENTISTS AT INSTITUTIONS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES. DESPITE THEIR KNOWN IMPORTANCE, PRECISELY HOW THE EVOLUTION OF FEEDING STRUCTURE MORPHOLOGY IS INFLUENCED BY FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE, AND HOW PERFORMANCE INFLUENCES MACROEVOLUTIONARY AND MACROECOLOGICAL PATTERNS IN DEEP TIME REMAINS UNCLEAR. THE RESEARCHERS WILL BUILD A COMPREHENSIVE 3D DATASET OF ECHINOID FEEDING MORPHOLOGIES OF ALL LIVING AND FOSSIL GENERA PAIRED WITH GLOBAL OCCURRENCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: THE DIVERSIFICATION OF ECHINOID FEEDING MORPHOLOGY FITS A MODEL OF ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION; DEEP TIME EVOLUTION OF FEEDING STRUCTURE MORPHOLOGY IS REGULATED BY PERFORMANCE; DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE EXPLAIN DIFFERENTIAL MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSIFICATION AND ECOLOGICAL EXPANSION ON GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALES. 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.

DECODING THE ROLE OF BACTERIAL OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLE AND SMALL RNAS IN HOST INFLAMMATION - PROJECT SUMMARY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH MOST NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, WHICH AFFECT OVER 40% OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE U.S.. WHILE DRUGS ARE AVAILABLE THAT TARGET SUPPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY EFFECTOR PATHWAYS, NONE TARGET RESOLUTION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, IN PART DUE TO A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO RE-ESTABLISH IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS. BACTERIA IN THE COLON PLAY A KEY ROLE IN REGULATING THE BALANCE BETWEEN ACUTE AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AND UNDERSTANDING HOW TO RE-ESTABLISH IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS IS PARAMOUNT IN PREVENTING CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE DEVELOPMENT. ENTEROTOXIGENIC BACTEROIDES FRAGILIS (ETBF) IS REPRESENTATIVE OF ONE SPECIES THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIARRHEA, COLITIS AND COLON CANCER. YET, THE COMMENSAL NON-TOXIGENIC STRAIN OF B. FRAGILIS (NTBF) APPEARS TO PREVENT INFLAMMATION. OUR RESEARCH GROUP AND OTHERS HAVE DOCUMENTED A MAJOR COMMUNICATION TOOL OF BACTERIA ARE EXTRACELLULAR SMALL RNAS, WHICH CAN DAMPEN OR ACTIVE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. LITTLE IS KNOWN, HOWEVER, ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTION OF SRNA SPECIES IN GOVERNING MICROBE-HOST COMMUNICATION. RECENTLY, BACTERIAL SMALL RNA (SRNA) SPECIES WERE IDENTIFIED WITHIN OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLES (OMVS) THAT ARE SHED BY BACTERIA. SMALL RNAS REPRESENT A CRITICAL TRIGGER GOVERNING WHETHER HOST CELLS RESPOND WITH PRO- OR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS. INTRIGUINGLY, OMVS FROM THE COMMENSAL B. FRAGILIS AND E. COLI PREVENT CHEMICALLY INDUCED MURINE COLITIS, WHILE THOSE FROM PATHOGENIC E. COLI INDUCE SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FROM OUR LAB INDICATE THAT OMVS FROM ETBF AND NTBF DIFFERENTIALLY ACTIVATE THE TLR PATHWAY, AND THEIR OMVS CARRY DISTINCT SRNA CARGO. RESULTS FROM OUR PRELIMINARY RESEARCH DEMONSTRATE THAT OMV-DERIVED SMALL RNAS ARE DIFFERENTIALLY ABUNDANT IN OMVS FROM ETBF AS COMPARED TO NTBF. WE ALSO SHOW THAT OMVS FROM ETBF SPECIFICALLY ACTIVATE TLR7 AS COMPARED TO OMVS FROM NTBF. IN THIS STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE DIFFERENTIAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO OMVS FROM TOXIC AND NON-TOXIGENIC BACTEROIDES FRAGILIS IS GOVERNED, IN PART, BY SRNA ENGAGEMENT WITH TLRS, AND THAT THIS MECHANISM PARTIALLY EXPLAINS THE PREVENTION OR DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DETERMINE IF OMVS OR OMV-DERIVED SRNA FROM THE PATHOGENIC ETBF EITHER PREVENT OR INDUCE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AS COMPARED TO THE COMMENSAL STRAIN NTBF. OUR SPECIFIC AIMS WILL 1) ELUCIDATE THE DIFFERENTIAL ACTIVATION OF THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE BETWEEN COMMENSAL AND ENTEROTOXIGENIC OMVS FROM B. FRAGILIS USING AN ESTABLISHED TRI-CULTURE SYSTEM, 2) IDENTIFY THE MECHANISM OF IMMUNE- STIMULATING INTRACELLULAR UPTAKE AND SUB-CELLULAR LOCALIZATION FROM COMMENSAL VS. ENTEROTOXIGENIC B. FRAGILIS OMVS INTO HOST CELLS., AND 3) DETERMINE THE COMMENSAL VS. ENTEROTOXIGENIC B. FRAGILIS SMALL RNA HOST TARGETS IN SILICO USING BIOINFORMATICS TOOLS AND VALIDATE IN VITRO USING TRI-CULTURE AND NANOLIPOVESICLE TRANSFECTION. CONFIRMATION OF THIS HYPOTHESIS WOULD RESOLVE AN OUTSTANDING GAP IN THE FIELD TO EXPLAIN HOW OMVS FROM COMMENSAL VS PATHOGENIC STRAINS INDUCE OR PREVENT INFLAMMATION.

TRACKING THE SPREAD OF A SOUTH ASIAN MALARIA VECTOR IN THE HORN OF AFRICA: A GENETIC APPROACH

OP: SURFACE- AND COHERENCE-ENHANCED RAMAN SENSING ON MOS2 HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSTS

FROST THICKNESS AND ROUGHNESS EVOLUTION OF COLD-SOAKED, FUEL-LADEN WINGS

NOVEL GRAFT-LOCALIZED DRUG DELIVERY PLATFORM FOR REDUCING INNATE INFLAMMATION AND OPTIMIZING IMMUNOSUPPRESSION IN VASCULARIZED COMPOSITE ALLOTRANSPLANTATION

INVESTIGATION OF COPPER HOMEOSTASIS MRNAS REGULATED BY THE NONSENSE-MEDIATED MRNA DECAY PATHWAY

CAREER: QUANTIFYING THE NET CHARGE OF METALLOPROTEINS: A FUNDAMENTAL BUT ELUSIVE PROPERTY

COMPOSITE OVERWRAPPED PRESSURE VESSELS (COPVS) ARE A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF NUMEROUS SPACE VEHICLES AND IN PARTICULAR THEY ARE FOUND IN A RANGE OF SU

CHARGE REGULATION IN METALLOPROTEINS: FROM ELECTRON TRANSFER TO SELF-ASSEMBLY.

CARBOXYLIC ACID RECEPTORS IN MOSQUITOES - PROJECT SUMMARY MOSQUITOES UTILIZE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SENSORY STRUCTURES AND CHEMICAL RECEPTORS TO DETECT VOLATILE ODORS AND TO ORIENT TOWARD POTENTIAL HOST SPECIES. RESOURCES THAT ARE GENERALLY ESSENTIAL TO MOSQUITO SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION INCLUDE BLOOD FOR EGG DEVELOPMENT, WATER FOR EGG LAYING AND IMMATURE STAGES, AND NECTAR FOR CELLULAR RESPIRATION. CURRENTLY, A CRITICAL GAP EXISTS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR RECEPTIVE BASIS OF BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO VOLATILE COMPOUNDS LIKE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS (CAS), WHICH SERVE AS ATTRACTANTS FOR HOST SEEKING FEMALES. THE ACT OF BLOOD FEEDING IS A CRITICAL LINK IN THE TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE-CAUSING PATHOGENS LIKE ARBOVIRUSES BETWEEN HUMANS, AND BETWEEN ANIMALS TO HUMANS. THEREFORE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MECHANISMS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO MOSQUITO CHEMICAL SENSING, ESPECIALLY IN VECTOR SPECIES SUCH AS AEDES AEGYPTI AND AEDES ALBOPICTUS. HERE WE PROPOSE TO APPLY A HETEROLOGOUS EXPRESSION SYSTEM TO CHARACTERIZE THE RESPONSES OF A PRIORITIZED SUBSET OF CANDIDATE CA CHEMORECEPTORS THAT ARE CONSERVED ACROSS MOSQUITO TAXA. IN PARALLEL, WE WILL APPLY CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES TO GENERATE GENETIC DISRUPTIONS OF HIGH-PRIORITY CHEMORECEPTORS, BASED UPON THEIR CONSERVATION AND THEIR POTENTIAL TO MEDIATE RESPONSES TO CAS. WE WILL UTILIZE A UNIPORT OLFACTOMETER AND DUAL-CHOICE ASSAY PARADIGMS TO EXAMINE THE IMPACTS OF CAS ON ADULT FEMALE BEHAVIORS UNDER VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES, COMPARING WILD-TYPE VERSUS GENE-DISRUPTED LINES. THE EXPERIMENTS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL WILL HELP ILLUMINATE THE ROLES THAT CAS PLAY IN THE BIOLOGY OF AEDES SPECIES. BY EXTENSION, THE DISCOVERIES MADE ARE LIKELY TO APPLY TO OTHER INSECT TAXA, INCLUDING THOSE WITH MEDICAL, VETERINARY, AND AGRICULTURAL IMPORTANCE. AS THE EFFICACY OF CURRENT CONTROL STRATEGIES ERODES IN THE WAKE OF INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE AND BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS, DEEPENING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHEMOSENSORY ABILITIES OF AE. AEGYPTI AND AE. ALBOPICTUS MAY FACILITATE FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS IN SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES AND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL METHODS FOR DISRUPTING ARBOVIRUS TRANSMISSION.

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY REU/RET SITE PROPOSAL

NATIONAL STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR, REGULATORY FOCUS, AND RELIGION

CALCIUM BINDING PROTEINS REGULATE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DAMAGE IN THE INNER EAR - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT APPROXIMATELY 15% OF AMERICANS HAVE HIGH FREQUENCY HEARING LOSS CAUSED BY EXPOSURE TO LOUD SOUNDS AND 50% OF AMERICANS OVER 75 YEARS OLD ARE AFFECTED BY PRESBYCUSIS. ALTHOUGH SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN DETERMINING THE GENETIC AND CELLULAR FUNCTIONS DISRUPTED BY ACQUIRED HEARING LOSS, COMPARATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ENDOGENOUS CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS USED TO PROTECT COCHLEAR HAIR CELLS FROM THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF AGING AND NOISE. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF MOBILE CA2+ BUFFERS IN THE INNER EAR ESPECIALLY DURING DEVELOPMENT AND AGING. IT IS OUR CONTENTION THAT UNDERSTANDING MATURATIONAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR DURING DEVELOPMENT MAY PROVIDE IMPORTANT CUES TO UNDERSTANDING ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR DAMAGE DURING AGING. IN THE COCHLEA, OUTER HAIR CELLS (OHCS) ACT AS SENTINELS OF COCHLEAR INJURY. CALCIUM REGULATION IS FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANT TO OHC DEVELOPMENT, FUNCTION AND AGING. THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND AGE-RELATED ROLE OF ONCOMODULIN (OCM), A MAJOR CA2+-BINDING PROTEIN PREFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED IN OHCS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT OCM IS NECESSARY FOR THE MATURATION OF CALCIUM SIGNALING IN OHCS AND PROTECTS OHCS FROM THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF CELLULAR STRESS. SPECIC AIM 1 DETERMINES THE ROLE OCM HAS IN REGULATING CA2+ SIGNALING IN PRE-HEARING AND POST-HEARING OHCS. WE WILL USE CA2+ IMAGING TECHNIQUES AND ORGANOTYPIC AND CELL CULTURE METHODS TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: 1. OCM SHORTENS CA2+ SIGNALING KINETICS AND MAGNITUDES IN PRE- AND POST-HEARING OHCS; 2. OCM MODULATES THE EXPRESSION OF OTHER PROTEINS INVOLVED IN OHC CA2+ SIGNALING; 3. OCM CA2+ SIGNALING DEPENDS ON THE CA2+ SOURCE. SPECIC AIM 2 TESTS WHETHER OCM MEDIATES SENSITIVITY TO AGING AND NOISE. USING IN VIVO FUNCTIONAL ASSAYS ASSESSING COCHLEAR THRESHOLDS (ABRS AND DPOAES) AND LIGHT, CONFOCAL AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IN OCM MUTANT MICE, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: 1. TARGETED DELETION OF OCM ACCELERATES ARHL INDEPENDENT OF GENETIC STRAIN LEADING TO DECREASED SUPRATHRESHOLD RESPONSES, LOSS OF OHC CHOLINERGIC EFFERENT SYNAPSES, AND CELL DEATH; 2. OCM DECIENCY MAKES OHCS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DAMAGE AFTER COCHLEAR INJURY. SPECIC AIM 3 TESTS WHETHER OCM MODULATES CA2+-MEDIATED CELLULAR STRESS AND PROMOTES CELL SURVIVAL. USING QRT-PCR, WESTERN BLOTS, AND IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY IN WILD-TYPE AND MUTANT EARS AND IN TRANSFECTED CELL LINES, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: 1. IN RESPONSE TO STRESS, OCM TRANSLOCATES FROM CYTOPLASM TO THE NUCLEUS ; 2. OCM MODULATES CELLULAR RESPONSES TO MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS; AND 3. OCM INTRACELLULAR LOCATION AND MODULATION OF CELL STRESS PROMOTE OVERALL CELL SURVIVAL. IN SUMMARY, THESE STUDIES ON OCM PROVIDE NEW TOOLS THAT SHOULD SIGNICANTLY ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF CA2+ REGULATION IN PROTECTING AUDITORY FUNCTION. UNDERGRADUATES WILL PLAY SIGNICANT ROLES ROLES IN THE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA OF EACH AIM.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CONTROLLING THE MICROSTRUCTURE FOR IMPROVED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LARGE-SCALE POLYMER COMPOSITE STRUCTURES MADE BY BIG AREA ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

USING SMARTPHONE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROSPECTIVE MEMORY IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

AF: SMALL: METANUMERICAL COMPUTING FOR EMERGING ARCHITECTURES: AUTOMATED EMBEDDED ALGORITHMS FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ON MULTICORE PLATFOR

ENHANCING AMMONIA REACTIVITY WITH UV LIGHT: EXCITED-STATE KINETICS -AMMONIA HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL AS A FUEL FOR FUTURE ENERGY APPLICATIONS BUT SUFFERS FROM LOW REACTIVITY. A POSSIBLE REMEDY TO THIS DEFICIENCY IS THE LARGELY UNEXPLORED TECHNIQUE OF ULTRAVIOLET-ENHANCED COMBUSTION, WHICH UTILIZES ULTRAVIOLET (UV) LIGHT TO ACCELERATE COMBUSTION. WHILE UV LIGHT SOURCES HAVE BEEN USED IN MANY OTHER APPLICATIONS TO CONTROL CHEMICAL REACTIONS, IT HAS NOT YET BEEN APPLIED TO CONTROL AMMONIA REACTION PATHWAYS, ESPECIALLY THE FORMATION AND DESTRUCTION OF INTERMEDIATE SPECIES. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO QUANTIFY THE RATE PROCESS OF AMMONIA DECOMPOSITION IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT SOURCE. THROUGH A COMBINATION OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS, AND THEORY, THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE FUNDAMENTAL REACTION RATES OF THIS PROMISING TECHNIQUE FOR APPLICATION TO AMMONIA COMBUSTION, WHICH WILL PAVE A PATHWAY TO HIGHER-EFFICIENCY ENGINES AND TURBINES THAT RUN ON AMMONIA. THE RESEARCH WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGH A SERIES OF HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES INTENDED TO CONVEY BASIC SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF UTILIZATION OF UV LIGHT IN CONTROLLING CHEMICAL REACTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS WILL HELP TRAIN GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON HOW TO PRESENT SCIENCE TO THE PUBLIC. THE PROJECT GOAL WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THREE OBJECTIVES. FIRST, TEMPERATURE- AND PRESSURE-DEPENDENT ULTRAVIOLET ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS OF AMMONIA WILL BE MEASURED AT AMBIENT TO HIGH TEMPERATURES. SECOND, AMMONIA TIME HISTORIES WILL BE MEASURED DURING PYROLYSIS OF AMMONIA IN A SHOCK TUBE, BOTH WITH AND WITHOUT ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. THIRD, THEORY-BASED RATE CONSTANTS WILL BE CALCULATED FOR BOTH GROUND- AND EXCITED-STATE AMMONIA KINETICS. SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THESE OBJECTIVES WILL YIELD A DETAILED KINETIC MECHANISM FOR ULTRAVIOLET-ENHANCED AMMONIA PYROLYSIS AND WILL ADVANCE THE PREDICTIVE CAPABILITIES FOR MODELING SUCH PROCESSES?WITH THE GOAL OF EVENTUALLY BEING APPLIED TO ULTRAVIOLET-ENHANCED AMMONIA OXIDATION. THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING PRESENTATIONS AT A LOCAL CHILDREN?S MUSEUM USING HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES) WILL GENERATE INTEREST IN STEM FIELDS AMONG THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS, AND THE DESIGN/IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE ACTIVITIES WILL THEN BE SHARED ONLINE FOR A BROADER REACH. 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.

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY REU/RET SITE PROGRAM

MECHANISMS OF DNA DAMAGE PROCESSING AND THE INITIATION OF NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR - PROJECT SUMMARY: MECHANISMS OF DNA DAMAGE PROCESSING AND THE INITIATION OF NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE STRUCTURAL MECHANISM OF NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR (NER) INITIATION. NER IS THE MOST VERSATILE DNA REPAIR MECHANISM THAT REPAIRS A WIDE VARIETY OF DNA LESIONS THROUGH A MULTISTEP PROCESS INVOLVING OVER 30 DIFFERENT PROTEINS. BEING ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAINING GENOME INTEGRITY, THIS PATHWAY IS ALSO HIGHLY CONSERVED FROM YEAST TO HUMANS. GENETIC DEFECTS IN NER FACTORS LEAD TO PHENOTYPES RANGING FROM EXTREME CANCER PREDISPOSITION SYNDROME (XERODERMA PIGMENTOSUM) TO SEVERE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DEFECTS (COCKAYNE SYNDROME), THUS PROVIDING A UNIQUE PARADIGM TO UNDERSTAND DIVERSE CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF DNA DAMAGE. RECENT STUDIES ALSO REVEALED NER AS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR OF SOMATIC MUTATION HOTSPOTS IN VARIOUS SPORADIC CANCERS AND NER HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS AN ATTRACTIVE TARGET FOR ANTI-CANCER THERAPY. DESPITE ITS BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL IMPORTANCE, DELINEATING THE MECHANISMS OF NER HAS BEEN A LONG-TERM CHALLENGE DUE TO THE COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF NER FACTORS AND THE LACK OF COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURAL UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR INTERPLAY ON DNA. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO DEFINE THE MECHANISM OF NER INITIATION IN DETAILED 3D STRUCTURES USING CRYO-EM COMBINED WITH TIME- RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY AND CROSSLINKING/MASS-SPECTROMETRY. THE OUTCOME WILL ANSWER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REGARDING (1) HOW THE TWO KEY NER INITIATORS, RAD4-RAD23-RAD33 (YEAST HOMOLOG OF XPC-RAD23B-CETN2) AND TFIIH, TOGETHER START THE DNA ‘OPENING’ AROUND THE DAMAGE - A CRITICAL STEP IN NER INITIATION, AND (2) HOW THE TORSIONAL STRESS IN DNA IMPACTS THIS PROCESS. THIS UNDERSTANDING WILL PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION TO EXPLAIN VARIOUS PATHOPHYSIOLOGIES INVOLVING NER, WHICH IN TURN CAN LEAD TO NOVEL STRATEGIES TO COUNTER VARIOUS NER-LINKED DISEASES INCLUDING CANCER. IMPORTANTLY, OUR RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE SOLID TRAINING GROUNDS FOR SEVERAL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS EVERY YEAR AND WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, AN UNDERGRADUATE-FOCUSED INSTITUTION, THROUGH ITS INTIMATE COLLABORATION WITH UPENN MEDICAL SCHOOL. IMMERSED IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROJECT WITH ACCESS TO CUTTING- EDGE TECHNOLOGIES, OUR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS WILL GAIN EXPERTISE IN VARIOUS BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL APPROACHES AND GROW AS KEY DRIVERS OF SIGNIFICANT SCIENCE.

CAREER: MEASURING THE TECTONIC AND VOLCANIC STRESSES* PRESERVED IN CRYSTALS

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY (CASPER) REU/RET SITE PROPOSAL

HYBRID DELIBERATIVE-BEHAVIOR BASED REACTIVE CONTROL IMPLEMENTED IN A HETEROGENEOUS BLIMP SWARM

CHILD NUTRITION DISCRETIONARY GRANTS LIMITED AVAILABILITY

ENGINEERING FOR STUDENTS WITH EXTENSIVE SUPPORT NEEDS -ALTHOUGH NOTEWORTHY GROWTH IN RESEARCH ON MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CONTENT INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH EXTENSIVE SUPPORT NEEDS (E.G., STUDENTS WITH MODERATE/SEVERE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, AND AUTISM; ESN) HAS OCCURRED OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, RESEARCH ON ENGINEERING PRACTICES WITH THIS STUDENT POPULATION IS SIGNIFICANTLY LACKING. BY ADDRESSING THE RELEVANCE OF ENGINEERING TO HELP PEOPLE IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS, ENGINEERING INSTRUCTION MAY PROVIDE A UNIQUE WAY TO ENGAGE STUDENTS WITH ESN. WITH INCREASED FOCUS ON STEM EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH ESN, ENGINEERING PRACTICES HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS (E.G., SYSTEMS THINKING, CREATIVITY). FURTHER, FOR STUDENTS WITH ESN, ENGINEERING LESSONS/UNITS MAY PROVIDE A VIABLE FORMAT FOR SYSTEMATICALLY PLANNED MATH AND SCIENCE INSTRUCTION, THAT NATURALLY EMBEDS OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH STUDENTS SKILLS PROMOTING INCREASED SELF-REGULATED LEARNING. DUE TO LACK OF PRIOR EXPERIENCE TEACHING ENGINEERING, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH ESN SCAFFOLD INSTRUCTION TO BUILD THEIR STUDENTS? ENGINEERING PRACTICES. THUS, THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON TEACHERS? DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING PRACTICES, INCLUDING HOW TEACHERS SUPPORT THEIR STUDENTS? DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING-FOCUSED BEHAVIORS AND MINDSETS THROUGH INSTRUCTION. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES FOUR STRANDS OF WORK: (A) EMPIRICALLY INVESTIGATING TEACHERS? ENGINEERING INSTRUCTION, (B) DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK OF CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH ESN, (C) CONDUCTING DESIGN-BASED IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH TO SUPPORT UNIVERSALLY DESIGNED ENGINEERING INSTRUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, AND (D) PRODUCING AND DISSEMINATING THE INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT FRAMEWORK AND MATERIALS. FIRST, THE TEAM WILL DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK OF CONCEPTUAL AND EPISTEMIC UNDERSTANDING OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH ESN. DATA WILL THEN BE COLLECTED ACROSS MULTIPLE MIXED METHODS STUDIES USING (A) TEACHER INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS; (B) EVALUATION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING; (C) CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS AND BEHAVIOR CODING; (D) FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ENGINEERING CURRICULUM; AND (E) ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ENGINEERING-FOCUSED BEHAVIORS AND MINDSETS. FINALLY, AFTER SEVERAL ROUNDS OF ITERATIVE DESIGN FOR EACH COMPONENT OF THE CURRICULUM, THE TEACHER PARTICIPANTS WILL PILOT IMPLEMENTATION WITH STUDENTS. FEEDBACK OBTAINED FROM THIS PROCESS, AS WELL AS UNIT ENACTMENTS AND DATA ANALYSIS, WILL BE USED TO FURTHER REFINE THE UNIVERSALLY DESIGNED FOR LEARNING ENGINEERING UNIT. ADDITIONALLY, INSIGHTS FROM PROJECT RESEARCH WILL BE USED TO FURTHER REFINE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS TO BETTER SUPPORT TEACHERS' ABILITY TO SUPPORT ENGINEERING FOCUSED BEHAVIORS OF STUDENTS WITH ESN. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NEWSPECTRUM: SEMICONDUCTOR PLASMA PHASED ARRAYS WITH INTEGRATED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE-TO-RADIATOR MAPPING -DEMAND FOR SPECTRUM HAS INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY OVER THE LAST DECADES, MAKING THE AVAILABLE SPECTRUM A SCARCE AND VALUABLE RESOURCE. HOWEVER, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, SPECTRUM HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN MANAGED IN AN INFLEXIBLE MANNER, A SITUATION THAT EXACERBATES THIS SCARCITY AND RESULTS IN UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIORS OF THOSE THAT HAVE ACCESS TO SPECTRUM. THIS CREATES A POTENTIAL TO STIFLE THE INCREDIBLE INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT WIRELESS SYSTEMS HAVE CREATED IN THE LAST 40 YEARS, WHICH PRESENTS A RISK TO THE ECONOMY AND POTENTIALLY COULD RESULT IN DISRUPTIONS TO CRITICAL COMMUNICATION, RADIOLOCATION, PUBLIC SAFETY AND DEFENSE SERVICES. TO MOVE FORWARD, A RADICALLY MORE FLEXIBLE PARADIGM IS NEEDED. AND WHILE THE LAST FEW DECADES HAVE SEEN GREAT INNOVATION IN RADIO DESIGN AND EVEN IN SPECTRUM POLICY, THE CURRENT INFLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT MODEL HAS HAMSTRUNG EVERYTHING. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES A VISION OF A NEW SPECTRUM ERA THAT RELIES ON ADAPTIVITY AND RECONFIGURABILITY AS ITS CORE ELEMENTS. ADAPTIVITY AND RECONFIGURABILITY MUST BE USED FROM THE COMPONENTS ON THE DEVICE ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE POLICIES THAT GOVERN THE INTERACTIONS OF MANY SYSTEMS. THIS CONCEPT CAN BE ENVISIONED SIMILAR TO DRIVING ON ROADWAYS. PROTOCOLS AND POLICIES (ROAD RULES) ARE NEEDED THAT ENABLE REAL-TIME SPECTRUM SHARING IN A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY FOR ALL INVOLVED USERS. A SPECTRUM SHARING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, PARALLELING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND TRAFFIC SIGNALS, MUST BE DEVELOPED FOR REAL-TIME COORDINATION BETWEEN DEVICES IN MORE CONGESTED SCENARIOS WHERE COLLISIONS ARE LIKELY IF AUTONOMOUS OPERATION REMAINS. DEVICES, CIRCUITS, AND SYSTEMS ARE REQUIRED THAT CAN RECONFIGURE THEIR SYSTEMS TO AUTOMATICALLY OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE UPON CHANGING OPERATION TO DIFFERENT SPECTRUM. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BE THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION OF THE CAPACITY TO DIRECTLY MAP A SET OF DESIRABLE SYSTEM METRICS (E.G., FREQUENCY, BANDWIDTH, BEAM PATTERN, POWER, IMPEDANCE, ETC.) TO A NEARLY ARBITRARY LAYOUT OF LIGHT-ACTIVATED PLASMA PIXEL ANTENNA RADIATORS. THE KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGY IS A SEMICONDUCTOR PLASMA PIXEL PHASED ARRAY WITH THE UNPRECEDENTED ABILITY TO CREATE NEARLY-ARBITRARY-SHAPED RADIATORS, INCLUDING THE ELIMINATION OF THE RADIATORS ALTOGETHER. THE KEY ATTRIBUTES INCLUDE: (A) A PIXEL-BY-PIXEL ADAPTIVE GEOMETRY USING LIGHT-ACTIVATED PLASMA PIXEL RADIATORS, (B) RECONFIGURATION AT HIGH SPEED, HIGH LINEARITY, AND WITH HIGH POWER HANDLING, (C) ?PAINTING? THE SYSTEM-INFORMED RADIATOR PROFILE OVER A FIXED FEEDING NETWORK, AND (D) FAST OPTIMIZATION APPROACHES INFORMED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) TO CREATE ARRAY CONFIGURATIONS MAPPED TO DESIRED RADAR RESOLUTIONS, SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, AND DYNAMICALLY IMPOSED SPATIAL-SPECTRAL LIMITATIONS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (1) DEVELOP THE PLASMA PHASED ARRAY FOCUSING ON FEED NETWORK SOLUTIONS, AND (2) DEVELOP FAST AI/ML SUPPORTED RECONFIGURATION ALGORITHMS TO ENABLE THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE-TO-RADIATOR MAPPING IN REAL TIME. BROADER OUTCOMES OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT INCLUDE: (1) WIRELESS AND SPECTRUM ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, (2) PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EVENTS INCLUDING THE NSF-FUNDED ?SPECTRUM SIZZLE? UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOP, (3) CONTRIBUTION TO WORKSHOPS AND SPECIAL SESSIONS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ENGAGING SPECTRUM STAKEHOLDERS, (4) INTEGRATION OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TOPICS AND FINDINGS INTO MICROWAVE AND COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COURSES, AND (5) A COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING DIVERSITY IN RESEARCH TEAMS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS TO UNDERSERVED SCHOOLS TO FOSTER INTEREST IN STEM RELATED 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REDUCTION OF DROOP FOR ANTIMONIDE-BASED MID-INFRARED LASERS

TAS::57 3600::TAS "(YIP) THE INFLUENCE OF MULTIPLE INTERACTING PRIMARY MODES AND MODE REPRESENTATION ON HYPERSONIC BOUNDARY-LAYER STABILITY AND

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FUNDAMENTAL CHARGING PROCESSES OF DUST IN COMPLEX PLASMAS

TAILORING THE PROPERTIES OF MOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES VIA NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS -MOLECULAR SCALE NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS PERVADE BIOLOGICAL, MATERIALS, AND CHEMICAL SYSTEMS. ALTHOUGH RELATIVELY WEAK ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, THEY CAN HAVE A STRONG IMPACT ON MOLECULAR STRUCTURING AND DYNAMICS WHEN ACTING IN CONCERT. THE EFFECTS OF HYDROGEN BONDING ARE WELL-KNOWN, WHILE THE ANALOGOUS INTERACTION IN SOME HALOGEN-CONTAINING MOLECULES, TERMED HALOGEN BONDING, IS FAR LESS STUDIED. THE EXTENT THAT HALOGEN BONDING CAN DIRECT THE ASSEMBLY OF SUPRAMOLECULAR STRUCTURES WITH SPECIFIC MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS IS UNDETERMINED. THROUGH THE PROPOSED STUDIES, A NEW MODELING PARADIGM WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT AIMS TO PROVIDE UNIQUE CHEMICAL INSIGHT REGARDING THE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE MOLECULAR-LEVEL AND LARGER-SCALE MATERIAL PROPERTIES. THIS WORK IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL IDENTIFY MOLECULAR SIGNATURES IN HALOGEN BOND DONORS AND ACCEPTORS THAT CONTROL THE ASSEMBLY OF THESE BUILDING BLOCKS INTO SUPRAMOLECULAR STRUCTURES, THEREBY ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT DICTATES THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND PROVIDING A CHEMICAL ROUTE TO MODULATE THE OBSERVED BEHAVIOR. THE PREDICTIVE APPROACH REPRESENTS AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT DESIGNING SUPRASTRUCTURES WITH DESIRED PROPERTIES FROM THE BOTTOM UP USING NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS AS THE ASSEMBLY MECHANISM. THE TUNABILITY OF HALOGEN BONDS MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ADJUST THE INTERACTION STRENGTH ON A FINE LEVEL, ALLOWING FOR ADDITIONAL CONTROL OVER ASSEMBLY FORMATION. ONCE THE DATA-ENABLED OPTIMIZATION PROCEDURES ARE IMPLEMENTED, IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO CREATE ASSEMBLIES WITH DESIRED PROPERTIES FOR PARTICULAR TASKS, WHICH WILL REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCE IN FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS DESIGN. MOREOVER, THE GENERAL APPROACH IS NOT SPECIFIC TO A PARTICULAR PROPERTY AND COULD BE ADAPTED FOR ANY APPLICATION INVOLVING SIMILAR DONOR/ACCEPTOR BUILDING BLOCKS. CONTROLLING MATERIAL ASSEMBLY WILL ENABLE VAST NEW FUNCTIONALITIES AND CATALYZE TRANSFORMATIVE ADVANCES ACROSS A NUMBER OF FIELDS. CONCURRENT WITH THE RESEARCH, THE TEACHING AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS ON FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS AND ENGAGE A DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION ON STEM TOPICS, INCLUDING HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND THOSE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE BASIC SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE GAP ASSOCIATED WITH DIRECTED ASSEMBLY, AND IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NSF MISSION OF SUPPORTING FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH, TIGHTLY INTEGRATED WITH SCIENCE EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH. THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP MOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES, BOUND BY HALOGEN BONDS AND OTHER NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS, WITH CHARACTERISTICS THAT FACILITATE MORE EFFICIENT CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT TUNING THE STRENGTH AND NATURE OF HALOGEN BONDING BETWEEN THE MOLECULAR COMPONENTS WILL ENABLE THE ABILITY TO DIRECT ASSEMBLY FORMATION AND TAILOR THE STRUCTURAL, ELECTRONIC, AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SYSTEM. MODELING STUDIES WILL GUIDE BOTTOM-UP MATERIALS DESIGN USING MOLECULAR-LEVEL BUILDING BLOCKS TO GENERATE SUPRAMOLECULAR STRUCTURES AND CONTROL THEIR FUNCTION. MOLECULAR QUANTUM CHEMISTRY AND ATOMISTIC SIMULATION WILL BE USED TO PRODUCE A PREDICTIVE FORMALISM THAT IS WELL SUITED FOR FUTURE INTEGRATION OF ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS. SPECIFIC AIMS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (1) CHARACTERIZE THE MOLECULAR PROPERTIES OF HALOGEN BOND DONORS AND ACCEPTORS TO ASCERTAIN THE EFFECTS OF GEOMETRY, ATOMIC SUBSTITUTION, AND FUNCTIONALIZATION; (2) ASSESS STABILITY, QUANTIFY HALOGEN BONDING STRENGTH, AND DETERMINE THE NATURE OF NONCOVALENT INTERACTIONS IN DONOR/ACCEPTOR UNITS; AND (3) DIRECT THE ASSEMBLY OF EXTENDED TWO- AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL HALOGEN BONDED NETWORKS WITH TAILORED STRUCTURAL, ELECTRONIC, AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES. THESE AIMS ALIGN WITH THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF DIRECTED ASSEMBLY OF SUPRAMOLECULAR STRUCTURES WITH DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS, WHILE CONCURRENTLY ADDRESSING RESEARCH THAT ENABLES MORE EFFICIENT CHEMICAL PROCESSES, IMPROVES ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, AND ADVANCES THE DESIGN OF FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS WITH TAILORED PROPERTIES. THESE STUDIES WILL PROVIDE PREDICTIVE CAPABILITIES FOR A PARTICULAR CLASS OF DONOR/ACCEPTOR NETWORKS; HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF DIRECTED ASSEMBLY ARE HIGHLY RELEVANT TO OTHER MATERIALS AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. THUS, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS OF GREAT FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE AND IMPACTFUL TO MANY SCIENTIFIC FIELDS IN CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY, PHYSICS, AND MATERIALS SCIENCE. 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.

CAREER: STIMULI-RESPONSIVE BIOMATERIALS FOR WOUND HEALING AND DRUG DELIVERY -NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT WOUND HEALING AND ARTHRITIS TREATMENT ARE TWO AREAS THAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT. NEW CLASSES OF ?SMART? HYDROGELS THAT RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENT AND CHANGE THEIR STIFFNESS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR REMOVABLE WOUND DRESSINGS AND ARTHRITIS TREATMENT. THIS WORK WILL IMPROVE HEALING OUTCOME FOR MILLIONS OF PATIENTS EACH YEAR. IN ADDITION TO PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS, THESE MATERIALS WILL PROVIDE TOOLS AND METHODS THAT COULD BE USED BY EVERYONE TO RATIONALLY DESIGN HYDROGEL MATERIALS AND WILL CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPMENT OF THE WIDER FIELDS OF DYNAMIC NANOMATERIALS, DRUG DELIVERY AND BIOSENSING. THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT INTEGRATES RESEARCH EFFORTS AND SEVERAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN BIOMATERIALS BY 1) DEVELOPING A RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (SCSD); 2) PROVIDING RESEARCH TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THAT PARTICIPATE IN RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS (ROTC) AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY AND 3) DESIGNING AN OUTREACH MODEL OF BIOMATERIALS FOR THE MILTON J. RUBINSTEIN MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MOST) IN SYRACUSE. THROUGH THESE MULTI-PRONG OUTREACH PROGRAMS, STUDENTS ACROSS DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS WILL BE INCLUSIVELY ENGAGED WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON TRAINING WOMEN, UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, AND REFUGEES. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WILL NOT ONLY PROVIDE A TRAINING GROUND FOR FUTURE BIOCHEMISTS BUT WILL ALSO GENERATE VALUABLE RESULTS TO ADVANCE THE RESEARCH FIELD. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DESIGN PEPTIDE-BASED, SMART, STIMULI-RESPONSIVE BIOCOMPATIBLE ANTIMICROBIAL MATERIALS THAT CHANGE THEIR STIFFNESS IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN REDOX STATE AND PH. SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION OF MULTIPLE PROPERTIES IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE SELF-HEALING IS ESSENTIAL FOR DELIVERY OF THE HYDROGEL VIA A SYRINGE, ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES AND CYTOCOMPATIBILITY ARE CRITICAL FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS, AND REDOX SWITCHING ALLOWS THE REMOVAL OF THE GEL UPON ADDITION OF A MILD REDUCTANT OR DRUG RELEASE IN RESPONSE TO REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS). TOWARD THIS GOAL, THREE CLASSES OF STIMULI-RESPONSIVE MATERIALS WITH SELF-HEALING PROPERTIES WILL BE DESIGNED: 1) REDOX-SENSITIVE PEPTIDE HYDROGELS; 2) PH-RESPONSIVE HYDROGEL TO DELIVER FIBROBLAST CELLS INTO WOUND BED; 3) HYDROGELS THAT RESPOND TO BOTH CHANGES IN PH AND ROS. THIS WORK WILL GENERATE HYDROGEL MATERIALS FOR WOUND CARE AND ARTHRITIS TREATMENT AND WILL PROVIDE TOOLS AND METHODS FOR RATIONAL DESIGN OF FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE DOSAGE OF IRRADIATION NECESSARY TO STERILIZE INSECTS FOR STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE AND THEREFORE IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF FIELD RELEASED SIT INSECTS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SIT PROGRAMS. ACTIVITIES

THE ROLE OF STARCH FINE STRUCTURE IN THE SUPPRESSION OF THE OPAQUE ENDOSPERM PHENOTYPE

GOALI: HYBRID SILICON-TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE OXIDE DEVICES FOR LARGE-SCALE ON-CHIP WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS -LARGE-SCALE PARALLEL OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS HOLD THE KEY TO RESOLVING THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF ENORMOUS BANDWIDTH REQUIREMENT BETWEEN ON-CHIP CORES AND WITHIN MULTI-CHIP MODULES. SILICON PHOTONICS, WHICH IS THE MOSTLY AVAILABLE INTEGRATED PHOTONIC PLATFORM, MUST EXCEL IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND BANDWIDTH DENSITY IN ORDER TO MEET THE STRINGENT REQUIREMENT OF FUTURE EXTREME-SCALE PHOTONIC INTERCONNECTS. THE GOAL OF THIS GOALI PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP HYBRID SILICON-TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE OXIDE (SI-TCO) DEVICES, ESPECIALLY MICRORING RESONATORS INCLUDING MICRODISKS, WITH UNPRECEDENTED ELECTRO-OPTIC (E-O) TUNABILITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR LARGE-SCALE ON-CHIP WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM) OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS HIGHLY INTERDISCIPLINARY AND WILL IMPACT ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, AND PHOTONICS COMMUNITY BY PROVING A UNIQUE PATH TO INTEGRATE HIGHLY EFFICIENT TCO MATERIALS WITH SILICON PHOTONICS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS GOALI PROJECT WILL LAY A SOLID FOUNDATION TOWARD DEVELOPING A NEW TYPE OF SILICON PHOTONIC DEVICES FOR FUTURE EXTREME-SCALE ON-CHIP WDM OPTICAL COMMUNICATION. THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL BENEFIT GRADUATE, UNDERGRADUATE AND K-12 STUDENTS, AND BROADEN THE PARTICIPATION OF UNDER-REPRESENTED MINORITIES AND WOMEN STUDENTS AT OSU. THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO PROMOTE INDUSTRIAL COLLABORATION WITH HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE AND AIM PHOTONICS, AND BROADEN THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU). TECHNICAL: TCO MATERIALS HAVE ATTRACTED ESCALATING RESEARCH INTERESTS IN INTEGRATED PHOTONIC DEVICES, METAMATERIALS AND METASURFACES IN RECENT YEARS DUE TO THE EXTRAORDINARY REFRACTIVE INDEX TUNING ACHIEVED EITHER THROUGH OXYGEN VACANCY DOPING OR ELECTRICAL GATING. IN ADDITION, TCO MATERIALS CAN BE DEPOSITED WITH HIGH QUALITY USING DC- OR RF-SPUTTERING ON VARIOUS PLATFORMS, WHICH ALSO POSSESS LONG-TERM STABILITY. THEREFORE, TCO MATERIALS ARE FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH SILICON PHOTONICS AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE READILY INTEGRATED WITH EXISTING SILICON PHOTONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (PICS). THIS GOALI PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF METAL-OXIDE-SEMICONDUCTOR (MOS) CAPACITOR-DRIVEN ACTIVE SILICON-TCO PHOTONIC DEVICES AS WELL AS EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF SCALABLE INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING SILICON PHOTONIC PLATFORMS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE: 1) DEMONSTRATING HYBRID SI-TCO MICRO-RING FILTERS WITH EXTREMELY LARGE E-O TUNING EFFICIENCY TO COMPENSATE FABRICATION ERRORS AND TEMPERATURE VARIATION WITHOUT ANY THERMAL HEATER; 2) IMPLEMENTING AN ATHERMAL ON-CHIP 4-CHANNEL WDM TRANSMITTER MODULE USING DUAL-FUNCTIONAL MICRORING RESONATORS, WHICH CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY FUNCTION AS WAVELENGTH TUNABLE FILTERS AND HIGH SPEED E-O MODULATORS; AND 3) VERIFYING PROCESS COMPATIBILITY AND HYBRID INTEGRATION WITH SILICON PHOTONICS FOR FUTURE SCALABLE MANUFACTURING USING AIM PHOTONICS FOUNDRY SERVICE. WE EXPECT THAT THE ELECTRICALLY TUNABLE SILICON MICRORING RESONATORS WITH NEAR-ZERO WAVELENGTH TUNING POWER WILL REPLACE THE POWER-HUNGRY THERMAL HEATERS THAT HAVE BEEN USED FOR DECADES. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE WILL PROVE THAT SUCH SCALABLE MOS-DRIVEN PHOTONIC DEVICES CAN BE FABRICATED BY COMBINING AIM PHOTONICS PASSIVE SILICON-ON-INSULATOR MULTI-PROJECT WAFER (SOI-MPW) RUNS AND IN-HOUSE TCO PROCESSES AT OSU. 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.

CONFERENCE: SPREAD THE SIZZLE: EXPANDING THE UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOP -THIS PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA TECH, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AND COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY TO CONDUCT UNDERGRADUATE WORKSHOPS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN SUMMER 2025 AT EACH OF THE FOUR CAMPUSES. WITH GREAT CHALLENGES CREATED BY WIRELESS SPECTRUM CONGESTION AND THE ONGOING EMERGENCE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, POLICIES, AND SPECTRUM SHARING APPROACHES, A NATIONWIDE EFFORT IS NEEDED TO DEVELOP THE FUTURE SPECTRUM WORKFORCE. THIS NEED WAS EMPHASIZED BY THE 2023 NATIONAL SPECTRUM STRATEGY, OF WHICH ONE PILLAR IS EXPANDED SPECTRUM EXPERTISE AND ELEVATED NATIONAL AWARENESS. THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING FUNDS FOR A FOUR-DAY RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP, THE ?SPECTRUM SIZZLE,? ON EACH CAMPUS. IN THE SPECTRUM SIZZLE, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES RELATED TO SPECTRUM POLICY, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, RADAR SYSTEMS, PASSIVE SYSTEMS, AND CIRCUITS. ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE PANEL SESSIONS DISCUSSING SPECTRUM CAREERS AND GRADUATE SCHOOL, AS WELL AS FUN EVENTS (SUCH AS A CAMPUS TRANSMITTER HUNT). PARTICIPATING STUDENTS ARE RECRUITED FROM THE REGION SURROUNDING EACH HOST LOCATION, NOT JUST THE HOST CAMPUS. THE FIRST TWO SPECTRUM SIZZLE EVENTS WERE HELD AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY IN SUMMER 2023 AND SUMMER 2024, BEGINNING WITH 15 STUDENTS IN 2023 AND EXPANDING TO 40 STUDENTS WITH A WAITING LIST OF OVER 100 IN 2024. COORDINATED THROUGH THE BAYLOR-LED SMART HUB ORGANIZATION (HUB FOR SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT WITH ADAPTIVE AND RECONFIGURABLE TECHNOLOGY), WORKSHOPS WILL BE HELD AT FOUR CAMPUSES IN SUMMER 2025, SPREAD AROUND THE COUNTRY SO MORE STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE. ORGANIZERS INTENTIONALLY RECRUIT STUDENTS FROM MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS, AND A SIGNIFICANT GOAL OF IMPLEMENTING THESE SIZZLE EVENTS IS TO DEVELOP WORKFORCE DEVELOPERS WHO WILL MULTIPLY SPECTRUM OUTREACH TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND OTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. EACH SPECTRUM SIZZLE UNDERGRADUATE SPECTRUM WORKSHOP WILL BE SCHEDULED OVER THREE AND A HALF DAYS DURING SUMMER 2025 AND WILL HOST APPROXIMATELY 30-40 STUDENTS (150-160 TOTAL ACROSS FOUR WORKSHOPS SUPPORTED BY THE AWARD). PLANNED LECTURE AND LABORATORY TOPICS INCLUDE A MOCK FCC PROCEEDING IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS ARGUE AND THEN ADJUDICATE A SPECTRUM CASE INVOLVING INTERFERENCE; A MODULE ON COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS COEXISTENCE IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS USE SPECTRUM ANALYZERS AND LEARN ABOUT MODULATION TECHNIQUES; A MODULE ON RADAR SYSTEM TESTING INCLUDING OPERATING AND UNDERSTANDING A HOMEMADE RADAR SYSTEM; A MODULE ON PASSIVE SYSTEMS/SPECTRUM ANALYSIS INCLUDING LECTURES ON SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS AND LABORATORY WORK TO MEASURE DIFFERENT FREQUENCY BANDS; AND A MODULE ON FILTER CIRCUITS INCLUDING DESIGN AND MEASUREMENT OF A FILTER THAT MEETS A SPECIFICATION. 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.

LONG-TERM ALCOHOL DRINKING ALTERS STRESS ENGAGEMENT OF BNST CIRCUIT ELEMENTS - PROJECT SUMMARY ALCOHOL USE DISORDER IS A CHRONICALLY RELAPSING BRAIN DISEASE THAT IS OFTEN PRECIPITATED BY STRESS. THE SOURCE OF THE STRESS CAN EITHER BE EXTERNAL, SUCH AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSOR ACTING UPON THE AFFECTED INDIVIDUAL, AND/OR INTERNAL, WITH ENDOGENOUS SIGNALS CHALLENGING THE SYSTEM FOR MORE ALCOHOL. THIS K99/R00 APPLICATION AIMS TO STUDY THE NEURAL CIRCUITS MODULATING LONG-TERM, INTERMITTENT ALCOHOL (IA) DRINKING AND STRESS. THE DYNORPHIN (DYN)/KAPPA OPIOID RECEPTOR NEUROPEPTIDE SYSTEM HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DYSPHORIC PHASES OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE IN PRECLINICAL STUDIES. THE K99 PORTION OF THIS PROPOSAL WILL INVOLVE MORE EXTENSIVE TRAINING USING CELL-SPECIFIC OPTOGENETICS AND CHEMOGENETICS TO INFLUENCE ALCOHOL-AFFECTED BEHAVIOR. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROPOSAL TESTS THE CONTROL OF STRESS COPING BEHAVIOR IN RESPONSE TO A PREDATOR ODOR DURING PROTRACTED WITHDRAWAL FROM ALCOHOL IN THE BED NUCLEUS OF THE STRIA TERMINALIS (BNST), A BRAIN AREA THAT HAS DYN ADAPTATIONS FOLLOWING CHRONIC IA DRINKING. ADDITIONAL TRAINING WILL BE GAINED DURING THE SECOND K99 PHASE USING A DISCOVERY-BASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFY WHOLE BRAIN CIRCUIT MAPPING AFTER ESCALATED ALCOHOL DRINKING AND STRESS. TO PROBE WHICH BNST INPUTS ARE RECRUITED IN AN UNBIASED MANNER, AN INDUCIBLE CRE-DEPENDENT RETROGRADE VIRUS WILL BE USED IN FOS-CRE (TARGETED RECOMBINATION OF ACTIVE POPULATIONS, TRAP2) MICE TO IDENTIFY ACTIVATED INPUTS TO THE BNST THAT ARE TIME-LOCKED TO ACUTE PREDATOR ODOR STRESS; THESE INPUTS MAY BE DIFFERENTIALLY MODULATED BY A HISTORY OF IA DRINKING. NEXT, THE TRAPED BNST CIRCUITRY WILL BE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE IDISCO+ WHOLE BRAIN TISSUE CLEARING AND IMMUNOLABELING METHOD USING LIGHT SHEET MICROSCOPY AND COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS ALIGNED WITH THE ALLEN BRAIN ATLAS. FURTHER, WHOLE CELL PATCH CLAMP RECORDINGS OF DYN CELLS WILL BE PERFORMED TO DESCRIBE THE SYNAPTIC ALTERATIONS IN THE STRESSED, ALCOHOL-EXPOSED BNST-PROJECTING PATHWAYS. THESE K99 EXPERIMENTS WILL YIELD NEWLY IDENTIFIED WHOLE BRAIN NEURAL SYSTEMS RECRUITED AFTER ALCOHOL AND STRESS AS FUTURE AVENUES FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES FOR THE R00 PHASE. THE R00 STUDIES WILL ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DISTINCT CIRCUITS USING BOTH IN VIVO OPTOGENETICS AND A MULTIPLEXED DREADD APPROACH TO INHIBIT SPECIFIC BNST PROJECTIONS. THIS RESEARCH WOULD THEREBY ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTIONAL CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN AND INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF TARGETED TREATMENTS FOR STRESS AND ALCOHOL DISORDERS. THE POSTDOCTORAL CANDIDATE, DR. LARA HWA, WILL USE THE K99/R00 CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD TO MASTER THESE MODERN NEUROSCIENCE TECHNIQUES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WITH HER QUALIFIED MENTORING TEAM TO BECOME AN EXPERT NEUROSCIENTIST IN ALCOHOL AND STRESS INTERACTIONS. SHE HOPES TO LEAD A STRONG RESEARCH AND TEACHING PROGRAM AT AN R1 ACADEMIC INSTITUTION, POISED TO PROBE THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP OF ALCOHOL AND STRESS UNDERLYING PATHOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH ADVANCED NEUROSCIENCE TECHNIQUES.

MILITARY FAMILY COPING PROJECT - PHASE II

DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKITS TO PROMOTE HPV SELF-SAMPLING BEHAVIOR AMONG WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN GHANA - ABSTRACT WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV, (WLWH), IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES (LMICS) HAVE A SIX-FOLD INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING CERVICAL CANCER (CC) COMPARED TO THEIR UNINFECTED COUNTERPARTS. OUR STUDIES IN GHANA SHOW THAT SELF- SAMPLING IS ACCEPTABLE, EASY TO USE, AND EFFICACIOUS IN DETECTING PRECANCER LESIONS AMONG WLWH. HOWEVER, THIS SCREENING MECHANISM HAS NOT BEEN TRANSLATED TO HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IN GHANA. SYSTEMATIC ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKITS ARE NEEDED TO TRANSLATE SELF-SAMPLING INTO HEALTHCARE PRACTICES. WE DEVELOP A HOME-BASED SELF-COLLECTED SAMPLING FOR THE CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION EDUCATION (HOPE) TOOLKITS TO PROMOTE CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING IN GHANA. HOPE TOOLKIT CORE COMPONENTS SUCH AS (A) SELF- SAMPLE HPV TESTING KITS AND (B) THE 3R (REFRAME, REPRIORITIZE, AND REFORM) COMMUNICATION MODEL WILL NOT CHANGE AS THEY ARE EVIDENCE-BASED. THE CONTENT AND THE INTERVENTION DELIVERY MODALITIES OF HOPE WILL GO THROUGH THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION ITERATIVE PROCESSES. THIS R21 RESUBMISSION SEEKS TO DEVELOP CONTEXTUALLY APPROPRIATE ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKITS IN GHANA. A THREE-STEP APPROACH WILL BE USED FOR THE ADAPTION PROCESS AND EVALUATION OF THE TOOLKIT. FIRST, WE WILL ORGANIZE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS TO IDENTIFY CONTEXTUAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE TOOLKIT ADAPTATION AND NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENT COMPOSITIONS OF THE TOOLKITS AND SELECT THE FINAL TOOLKIT. A SAMPLE OF 35 STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS REPRESENTING THREE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS: POTENTIAL INTERVENTION PARTICIPANTS (I.E., WLWH), COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS (E.G., DOCTORS, NURSES, ADMINISTRATORS) WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE FGDS AND NGTS. SECOND, WE WILL RECRUIT 45 PARTICIPANTS INCLUDING WLWH AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY, ACCEPTABILITY, APPROPRIATENESS, AND ADOPTABILITY OF THE SELECTED TOOLKIT. THIRD, WE WILL TEST THE PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF HOPE ON CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING DEFINED AS CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING UPTAKE AMONG WLWH IN THE INTERVENTION ARM (N=54) AND CONTROL ARM (N = 54). PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM THE CAPE COAST TEACHING HOSPITAL (CCTH). SPECIFIC AIMS OF HOPE ARE: AIM I: DEVELOP AND ADAPT THE HOPE TOOLKIT: HYPOTHESIS: STAKEHOLDERS WILL IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND TRANSLATE FINDINGS INTO A CULTURALLY ADAPTED TOOLKIT. AIM II: EVALUATE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HOPE TOOLKIT: HYPOTHESIS: WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT 80% OF PARTICIPANTS WILL FIND HOPE TOOLKITS FEASIBLE, ACCEPTABLE, APPROPRIATE, AND ADOPTABLE. AIM III: ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF HOPE ON CCS. HYPOTHESIS: WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT CCS BEHAVIOR WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY AMONG WOMEN IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED TO THOSE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. AIM IV: IDENTIFY ACTIONABLE FACTORS AND IMPLEMENTATION COSTS THAT INFLUENCE THE ADOPTION OF THE TOOLKIT. HYPOTHESIS: THE ACTIONABLE FACTORS AND IMPLEMENTATION COSTS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE THE TOOLKIT ADOPTION.

UTILIZING SENOLYTICS TO ENHANCE THE RESPONSE TO EXERCISE IN CACHECTIC MICE - PROJECT SUMMARY. SKELETAL MUSCLE MASS AND FUNCTION ARE KEY DETERMINANTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S HEALTHSPAN AND ARE TIGHTLY CORRELATED WITH BOTH PHYSICAL AND METABOLIC HEALTH. IN CANCER SURVIVORS, THE LOSS OF MUSCLE MASS THAT OCCURS FOLLOWING CANCER, TERMED CANCER CACHEXIA, IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO MORTALITY, AS WELL AS REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE DURING AND AFTER THE DISEASE. UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVELY USED TREATMENTS FOR CANCER PATIENTS, CHEMOTHERAPY, IS ALMOST AS BAD AS THE CANCER ITSELF DUE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS THAT CHEMOTHERAPY HAS ON HEALTHY CELLS. CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENTS SUCH AS CISPLATIN, INDUCE DNA DAMAGE, THEREBY COMPOUNDING AN ALREADY DELETERIOUS PROCESS IN HEALTHY TISSUES AND CELLS. SEVERE OR UNREPAIRED DNA-DAMAGE CAUSES CELL DEATH AND TISSUE ATROPHY, IN ADDITION TO BEING A MAJOR INDUCER OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE. RECENT WORK BY OUR LAB HAS LINKED AN ACCUMULATION OF SENESCENT CELLS AS A NOVEL CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO CISPLATIN-MEDIATED LOSS OF MUSCLE MASS AND FUNCTION. IN RESPONSE TO CISPLATIN, THERE IS AN ACCUMULATION OF SENESCENT CELLS IN MUSCLE, WHICH IS CORRELATED TO A REDUCTION IN MUSCLE FIBER CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA. CONSIDERING SENESCENT CELLS HAVE BEEN LINKED TO SARCOPENIA, REMOVAL OF THESE SENESCENT CELLS USING SENESCENT CELL KILLING COMPOUNDS, SENOLYTICS, COULD HELP SLOW MUSCLE LOSS DURING CISPLATIN TREATMENT. EXERCISE TRAINING IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO INCREASE SKELETAL MUSCLE MASS, IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND WHOLE-BODY METABOLISM. FOLLOWING CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT, THE RESPONSE TO EXERCISE IS ATTENUATED (TERMED ANABOLIC RESISTANCE), AND INDIVIDUALS TREATED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY FOLLOWING SURGERY HAVE A BLUNTED RESPONSE TO EXERCISE COMPARED WITH SURGERY ALONE. GIVEN THAT ELIMINATION OF SENESCENT CELLS AUGMENTS MUSCLE GROWTH AND REGENERATION IN OLD MICE, SENOLYTICS COULD SERVE AS A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION TO NOT ONLY DELAY CISPLATIN-INDUCED ATROPHY BUT ALSO IMPROVE THE RESPONSE TO EXERCISE TRAINING. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT CISPLATIN-TREATED MICE RECEIVING SENOLYTICS WILL EXPERIENCE LESS ATROPHY AND AN AUGMENTED RESPONSE TO EXERCISE WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROLS. WE WILL UTILIZE THE PLANT-BASED FLAVONOIDS, FISETIN AND QUERCETIN (F+Q), AS OUR SENOLYTIC COCKTAIL. IN ADDITION TO THEIR EXCELLENT SENOLYTICS PROPERTIES, F+Q EXERT MANY OTHER BENEFICIAL EFFECTS, SUCH AS ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND PROMOTING MITOCHONDRIAL BIOGENESIS. TO ADDRESS OUR HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL PURSUE THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) DELETE SENESCENT CELLS IN MICE TREATED WITH F+Q TO DETERMINE IF CELLULAR SENESCENCE MEDIATES CISPLATIN-INDUCED MUSCLE ATROPHY, 2) EXAMINE SENESCENT CELLS AS CONTRIBUTORS TO ANABOLIC RESISTANCE FOLLOWING PROGRESSIVE WEIGHTED WHEEL RUNNING, AND 3) CHARACTERIZE THE CELLULAR LANDSCAPE AND IDENTIFY THE MOLECULAR SIGNATURE OF MUSCLE SENESCENT CELLS. WE WILL UTILIZE AN AGE-APPROPRIATE MOUSE MODEL TO IDENTIFY THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF SENESCENT CELLS TO SLOW BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND METABOLIC ASPECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED CACHEXIA AND ANABOLIC RESISTANCE. IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT, THE RESULTS FROM OUR PROPOSED STUDIES COULD INFLUENCE THE TREATMENT OF CACHEXIA AND ASSOCIATED METABOLIC DERANGEMENT, THEREBY CREATING NEW INTERVENTIONS AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES.

PFI-TT: NANOSCALE CHEMICAL IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY USING NOVEL FIBER PROBES

EAGER: DCL: SATC: ENABLING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION: USING NLP TO IDENTIFY SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS IN OMNICHANNEL ONLINE C2C MARKETPLACES -INCREASINGLY, PEOPLE BUY AND SELL GOODS AND SERVICES DIRECTLY FROM OTHER PEOPLE VIA ONLINE MARKETPLACES. WHILE MANY ONLINE MARKETPLACES ENABLE TRANSACTIONS AMONG REPUTABLE BUYERS AND SELLERS, SOME PLATFORMS ARE VULNERABLE TO SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS. THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES WHETHER IT IS POSSIBLE TO AUTOMATE THE DETECTION OF ILLEGAL GOODS OR SERVICES WITHIN ONLINE MARKETPLACES. FIRST, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL ANALYZE THE TEXT OF ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS AND MARKETPLACE POLICIES TO IDENTIFY INDICATORS OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY. THEN, THE TEAM WILL ADAPT THE FINDINGS TO A SPECIFIC CONTEXT TO LOCATE STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLE PARTS ADVERTISED VIA ONLINE MARKETPLACES. TOGETHER, THE WORK WILL LEAD TO GENERAL WAYS TO IDENTIFY SIGNALS OF ILLEGAL ONLINE SALES THAT CAN BE USED TO HELP PEOPLE CHOOSE TRUSTWORTHY MARKETPLACES AND AVOID ILLICIT ACTORS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND ONLINE MARKETPLACES WITH INSIGHTS TO GATHER EVIDENCE ON ILLICIT GOODS OR SERVICES ON THOSE MARKETPLACES. THIS RESEARCH ASSESSES THE FEASIBILITY OF MODELING ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IN ONLINE CONSUMER-TO-CONSUMER (C2C) PLATFORMS, USING PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS, SELLER PROFILES, AND ADVERTISEMENTS TO PRIORITIZE INVESTIGATIONS USING ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE EXTRACTED FROM OPEN-SOURCE INFORMATION. THE PROJECT IS ORGANIZED AROUND THREE MAIN STEPS. FIRST, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL COMBINE KNOWLEDGE FROM COMPUTER SCIENCE, CRIMINOLOGY, AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO ANALYZE ONLINE MARKETPLACE TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM POLICIES AND IDENTIFY PLATFORM FEATURES, POLICIES, AND TERMS OF SERVICE THAT MAKE PLATFORMS MORE VULNERABLE TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. SECOND, BUILDING ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF PLATFORM VULNERABILITIES DEVELOPED IN THE FIRST STEP, THE RESEARCHERS WILL GENERATE AND TRAIN DEEP LEARNING-BASED LANGUAGE MODELS TO DETECT ILLICIT ONLINE COMMERCE. FINALLY, TO ASSESS THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE IDENTIFIED MARKERS, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL APPLY THE MODELS TO MARKETS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE PARTS, A LICIT MARKETPLACE THAT SOMETIMES INCLUDES SELLERS OFFERING STOLEN GOODS. THIS PROJECT ESTABLISHES A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PARTNERSHIP AMONG A DIVERSE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS FROM DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES WITH COLLABORATORS FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP PRACTICAL, ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS. 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.

MULTI-AGENT SYSTEM BASED INTELLIGENT DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR POWER PLANTS

RECONSTRUCTING STRESS AND STRESSOR PROFILES IN BALEEN WHALE EARPLUGS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH SPEED STEREO-PIV AND PLIF SYSTEM FOR FLUID VELOCITY AND TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS

NASCENT EMPLOYER AND THEIR FIRST EMPLOYEES: HOPE FOR DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AMERICA