Faculty and Staff Grants from August 2023

Congratulations to the following faculty and staff members who received grants and awards in August 2023:

Doug Clements and Julie Sarama, faculty at the Morgridge College of Education

• Grant from the National Science Foundation
• Abstract: The Learning Strand project will create a scalable, accessible and viable resource for early math. The project will make a substantive contribution to the advancement of knowledge in three fields: cognition, curriculum and the scale-up of educational innovations through technology.

Brian Michel, faculty at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Institutes of Health
• Abstract: While ethylene has long been known as an important plant hormone, it has also been demonstrated to be produced in mammals as a result of oxidative stress that is hallmark to numerous diseases. Important questions remain for broad applications in the detection of endogenous ethylene related to modifications that further improve sensitivity while retaining robust stability in biological systems. The next stage of developing this technology will build on mechanistic insight and recent advancements in catalytic olefin metathesis.

Brian Michel, Scott Horowitz, Sunil Kumar, Brady Worrell and Allegra Aron, faculty at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Science Foundation
• Abstract: This proposal requests funds for the acquisition of a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) system with a cryoprobe in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at DU. The instrument is needed to support biomolecular research by our faculty and has significant broader impacts ranging from facilitating research training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at DU to enhancing regional access to high-field NMR instrumentation.

Andrei Kutateladze, faculty at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Science Foundation
• Abstract: A recent renaissance in photoredox catalysis and photochemistry imparts confidence that photoinduced reactions finally became prominent and broadly used, effective tools in the synthetic chemistry toolbox. Photochemical reactions hold unmatched promise for building complex molecular scaffolds, offering expeditious access to challenging synthetic targets that are not accessible via the ground state chemistry. In this project, we will employ recently discovered new reactions of azaxylylenes to develop new powerful synthetic methodologies accessing complex polyheterocyclic molecular architectures.

Schuyler van Engelenburg, faculty at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Institutes of Health
• Abstract: The detailed mechanisms of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) assembly constitute a significant gap in our understanding of the infection cycle of this devastating pathogen. This proposal aims to delineate the underpinnings of HIV-1 assembly on a single molecule basis and in a native cellular context.

Kevin Morris and Jaci Gandenberger, faculty and staff at the Graduate School of Social Work

• Grant from the Morris Animal Foundation
• Abstract: This project will test the hypothesis that the documented improvements in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms when clinically diagnosed military veterans are paired with trained psychiatric service dogs involve consistent physiological pathways. It will also test the service dogs' experiences, both positive and negative, and the effect on their physiology in ways that can be detected as longitudinal changes in behavior and physiological pathways.

Trudy Mickel, graduate student at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Grant from the National Science Foundation
• Abstract: The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time, research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education. NSF especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, persons with disabilities, veterans and undergraduate seniors to apply.

Kailey Hicks, graduate student at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Science Foundation
• Abstract: The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.

Jesse Owen, faculty at the Morgridge College of Education

• Grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Abstract: This project features the experience of author and fellowship applicant Shane Trujillo, a DU MCE graduate student. Shane was raised in a socially conservative Latinx community, where there was not much talk around issues of mental health, sexual health or even diverse identities outside of what was considered typical.

Erin Anderson, faculty at the Morgridge College of Education

• Grant from The Ohio State University
• Abstract: The work with Educational Leadership and Policy Studies will revolve around being a consultative thought partner and supporting the Equity Centered Pipeline Initiative’s development work.

Kristin Klopfenstein, faculty at the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab

• Grant from the RAND Corporation (subaward Institute of Education Sciences)
• Abstract: This project will inform Colorado’s efforts to increase college attainment by supporting students’ needs for food and related human services. Many college students struggle with food insecurity, and evidence increasingly suggests that food insecurity can act as a barrier to postsecondary success. Colorado state agencies and postsecondary institutions are looking for ways to expand student participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure that students receive nutritional support, and to advance equity in postsecondary education.

Elysia Clemens, faculty at the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab

• Grant from the Anschutz Foundation
• Abstract: The Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI) and Trendlines Colorado are collaborating with the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the University of Denver to launch a new four-year initiative to build stronger evidence of effectiveness for a cohort of training and postsecondary providers operating in Colorado, with the goal of launching in 2023. We will work with a first cohort of providers to measure wage and completion outcomes across key demographic, geographic and socioeconomic factors to address equity gaps by accessing anonymized longitudinal data from key state agencies.

Mohammad Mahoor, faculty at the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

• Grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade
• Abstract: The recent development of artificial intelligence allows extracting high signal features among a large set of features that are potentially associated with early cognitive decline. Using free conversations between older adults and interviewers recorded via the internet/webcam, we aimed to examine whether multimodal fusion of features (e.g., language and facial expression) extracted from the video recording could lead to improved detection of mild cognitive impairment, compared with those using single modality of features.

Jonathan Moyer, faculty at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies

• Grant from the United Nations Environment Programme
• Abstract: This project will use Ifs, an integrated assessment modelling platform which integrates forecasts across different sub-models, to contribute socioeconomic outcomes —the marker model for socioeconomic results in the modelling framework—as well as results for economic, agriculture and energy indicators which will be used for comparison with other models.

Paul Rullkoetter, faculty at the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

• Grant from ZimVie
• Abstract: The primary objectives of this work will be a computational comparison of healthy cervical spine mechanics with an implanted model using ZimVie cervical implant concepts. Secondary objectives include expansion of the model beyond the current 3-level cervical model (C4-C7) to enable assessment of mechanics when two levels are implanted.

Johnny Kim, faculty at the Graduate School of Social Work

• Grant from Catholic Relief Charities
• Abstract: This project will provide in-country training to social workers to upgrade their case management and counseling skills using solutions-focused approaches to support refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable Greek community members. The consultant will also provide remote coaching support to the teams to further learning as they apply the skills acquired through the training.

Jonathan Moyer, faculty at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies

• Grant from the Kaizen Company (subaward U.S. Agency for International Development)
• Abstract: Restricted.