Archives
Six research teams receive IRDF funding
By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor
Six research teams have been awarded seed funding in the May funding cycle of the UB 2020 Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF).
The six projects were among 47 proposals submitted for funding from the IRDF, the goal of which is to encourage collaboration among faculty across disciplines for new research projects that ultimately will attract external grant support. Proposals must be for new projects within the 10 strategic strength areas of the UB 2020 planning process.
The 47 proposals covered the strategic strength areas of Civic Engagement and Public Policy; Cultural, Historical and Literary/Textual Studies; Extreme Events: Mitigation and Response; Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan; Information and Computing Technology; Integrated Nanostructured Systems; and Molecular Recognition in Biological Systems and Bioinformatics. They were reviewed by 30 faculty experienced in securing external funding in their fields; six were recommended by the reviewers for funding.
Kenneth Tramposch, associate vice president for research and director of the IRDF program, noted that with a success rate of 13 percent, the IRDF program is "highly competitive."
"We are delighted to be able to fund the early phase of team projects," he said. "All of the projects funded this round represent exciting initiatives that have high potential to bring external funding to further the teams' larger vision for their research programs."
The projects receiving funding, with abstracts supplied by the Office of the Vice President for Research, are:
"Mechanisms of Phytoxicity of Pharmaceutical Contaminants in the Environment": James O. Berry, Biological Sciences, corresponding investigator; Diana Aga, Chemistry, co-investigator. Antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals that are used to treat illness in humans and animals often pass through treated organisms in a form that is largely intact and still active. Estimates of veterinary use alone indicate millions of pounds of active antibiotics entering the environment, their primary point of entry through the application of manure and sewage onto croplands as fertilizer. While crop fertilization is highly beneficial, scientists are beginning to realize the impact of so much active antibiotic entering the environment. Some antibiotics are highly mobile in soil, allowing them to enter surrounding surface and ground waters, which can lead to human exposure via drinking water. Others persist in soils, affecting plants and their associated microorganisms. It has been determined that chlortetracycline (CTC), an antibiotic used for human and animal treatment, negatively impacts some crop species (such as pinto beans), while having no effect on others (such as maize). In greenhouse studies, CTC-exposed maize plants induced the detoxification enzyme glutathione s-transferase (GST), while pinto beans did not. This project will combine the expertise Berry (plant molecular biology) and Aga (analytical chemistry) to understand the remediation by plants of antibiotic contaminants in soil. The goals are to characterize the induction and activity of plant GSTs by CTC and to determine the mechanism of CTC toxicity in pinto beans. These experiments will provide knowledge for the biological remediation of contaminated soils, and for the development of more environmentally beneficial agricultural practices to reduce future contamination.
"Glass Bottom Float": Marc Bohlen, Media Study, corresponding investigator; Joseph Atkinson, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, and Mark Shepard, Architecture, co-investigators. This project combines robotics, real-time water-quality monitoring and ubiquitous computing to create a new experience of shared natural resources, in particular fresh-water lakes. The Glass Bottom Float (GBF) will have a double life: It will be a state-of-the-art measurement platform to monitor water quality, as well as a sentient machine in the form of a float that lets one experience a dip in the lake in a novel way. It will combine established physical, chemical and biological input parameters with experimental monitoring methods, such as audio and sonar, to create a site-specific, complex and robust representation of lake water quality that experts can use and the public can relate to.
"Structural and Functional Analysis of Archaea RNA Ligase": Kiong Ho, Biological Sciences, corresponding investigator; Barnali Chaudhuri, Structural Biology, co-investigator. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a molecule that carries information encoded by the genetic material, DNA. Damage in RNA can lead to cell death, if not repaired properly. Although RNA is generally more prone to breakage then DNA, it is not well understood how cells correct such damage. RNA ligase is an enzyme responsible for repairing breaks in RNA molecules and is essential for cellular RNA maturation. This research project aims to understand the molecular basis of RNA repair pathway using archaeal RNA ligase as a model system. The goal is to elucidate the mechanism of how RNA ligase recognizes and restores the damaged RNA. Since RNA breaks are triggered by exposure to certain drugs used in cancer treatment, this study may aid in developing new approaches in cancer therapeutics.
"Remote Control of Proteins and Neurons by Magnetic Field": Arnd Pralle, Physics, corresponding investigator; Feng Qin, Physiology and Biophysics, and Hao Zeng, Physics, co-investigators. This project aims to understand the signaling circuits of nerve cells in the brain by remotely turning on and off the signaling of a specific nerve cell in an intact brain, thus disrupting a brain circuit. The ability of nerve cells to signal depends on the ratio of the concentration of certain ions on the outside of the cell to those inside the cell. This ratio is controlled by channels in the cell's surface. Most of these channels are triggered to open by voltage or small molecules. Some special channels can be opened by heat, although these usually are not found in nerve cells. The researchers plan to introduce these channels into nerve cells and develop a way to heat them, triggering the channels to open and temporarily disrupt the nerve cells' ability to signal. Since researchers can express the temperature-sensitive channels selectively in only specific cells, the method allows for cell-by-cell dissection of circuits in the brain.
"Effects of Social-Skills Training on Recreational Activities in Youths": Sarah Jeanne Salvy, Pediatrics, corresponding investigator; James R. Roemmich, Pediatrics, and Julie Wojslawowicz Bowker. Psychology, co-investigators. Considerable research has been conducted on the impact of peer relationships and social isolation on the cognitive, psychological and emotional health of youth. Yet, the impact of peer relationships on other important health behaviors, such as weight control and physical activity, has not been systematically studied. Previous research indicates that the presence of peers promotes healthier eating and physical activity in overweight children. Building on these findings, the researchers contend that part of the motivation to engage in physically active play is likely a function of the social context in which these activities are performed. By contrast, social isolation resulting from teasing and weight criticism may decrease the motivation to be physically active and involvement with peers. These constraints may account for the impediments met when trying to substitute physical activity for sedentary behavior in overweight youth. This project aims to assesses whether a validated social-skills training intervention increases overweight and normal-weight youths' social involvement and, as a result, their time spent in physically active leisure activities. The intervention is designed to teach overweight children the social skills that will enable them to form new friendships and minimize peer difficulties, including peer victimization and rejection. These improvements in peer relationships could, in turn, lead to increases in physical activity.
"Micromachined Implantable Gradient Scaffold for Guided SGN Cell Culturing": Yong-Kyu Yoon, Electrical Engineering, corresponding investigator; Wei Sun, Communicative Disorders and Sciences, co-investigator. This project aims to develop a solid-state, implantable, biodegradable scaffold for the guided culturing of spiral ganglion neurons in the inner ear. The development of a timed-releasing bio-nano composite device can be used for therapeutic applications, such as the regeneration of peripheral nerve and central nerve systems.