Faculty and Staff Grants from June 2019

Congratulations to the following faculty and staff members who received grants and awards in June 2019:

Marie Berry, assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, director of the Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative (IGLI) and public impact fellow; and Jill Hereau, executive director of the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy

• Grant from the Arca Foundation for "The Inclusive Global Leadership Institute 2019"
• Project abstract: This grant will support the 2019 Summer Institute, which will convene 15-20 frontline women activists from around the world who are leading movements to promote peace, security, justice and human rights. Over the course of the Institute, these activists will interact with one another, share stories about their particular challenges and successes, and receive advanced training from some of the world's leading experts on nonviolent organizing and women's leadership in social movements.

Gary Bishop, senior research engineer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the Coordinating Research Council for "CRC Project No. E-119-3"
• Project abstract: This study will evaluate the EDAR system's ability to measure on-road emissions, making real time comparisons to the Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test (FEAT) device.

Lynn Schofield Clark, professor and chair of the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Rebecca Arno, director of the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise

• Grant from New York University/The Democracy Fund for "Membership Puzzle — Colorado Media Project"
• Project abstract: This project will support the Colorado Media Project's experiment with an "Epic Pass for local news" that brings news outlets together in a partnership to test and develop a staged plan for joint marketing, membership and revenue strategies. The Colorado Media Project will bring together a variety of local news outlets to design, beta test and launch a joint marketing pilot and staged membership, revenue sharing and possibly content bundling effort.

Elysia Davis, professor in the Department of Psychology at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and director of the Neurodevelopmental Research Program

• Grant from University of California, Irvine, subaward from the National Institutes of Health for "Fragmented Early-Life Experiences, Aberrant Circuit Maturation, Emotional Vulnerabilities"
• Project abstract: This project, integrated with the Conte Center, investigates the processes and mechanisms by which early adversity influences the development and psychopathology. The project probes early-life signals that influence late adolescent and early adult anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure) and emphasizes the use of trajectories of brain functions, structure, networks and circuits as potential predictive markers.

Natasha Dobrinen, professor in the Department of Mathematics at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Science Foundation for "Logic, Ramsey Theory and Relational Structures"
• Project abstract: Ramsey Theory is a central area of mathematics aptly characterized by Motzkin's motto, "complete disorder is impossible." This project aims to develop Ramsey Theory more fully in the following directions: infinite structures, finite structural Ramsey Theory, topological Ramsey spaces and associated ultrafilters and Ramsey Theory of uncountable structures.

Jenalee Doom, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Grant from the National Institutes of Health for "Testing Cortisol Dysregulation as a Mediator Between Early Stress and Adolescent Cardiovascular Health"
• Project abstract: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The goal of this project is to understand whether cortisol dysregulation and altered diet and eating behaviors are pathways between early childhood stress and poorer cardiovascular health in adolescence. This work will identify targets for interventions to promote ideal cardiovascular health in populations who have experienced early stress.

George Edwards, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

• Grant from the Department of Commerce for "LTE, AMC and MIMO Research"
• Project abstract: This project will perform an assessment of EMC analyses associated with OFDM-based communications systems for LTE modem and investigate the interference protection criteria for LTE systems that utilize AMC and MIMO.

Meg Franko, director of research and evaluation at the Butler Institute for Families at the Graduate School of Social Work, and Amy Roberts, senior researcher at the Butler Institute.

• Grant from the Colorado Department of Human Services for "CO Shines Brighter Analytics"
• Project abstract: The Colorado Shines Brighter effort includes activities related to the mining and analysis of data to inform a long-term training and technical assistance plan for the Office of Early Childhood. These plans support the early childhood educators and early care and learning programs participating in the Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System.

Melanie Harris, American Council of Education fellow at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion

• Grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning for "Flow of Life: Teaching, Research, Administration and Service"
• Project abstract: This project will be a mentoring cluster where three scholars have ongoing conversations about teaching, learning and scholarly life. The group will discuss how better to scaffold teaching and writing so that the academic remains generative and does not become deadly. Topics will include: "approximate whiteness" and its dangers for women of color, how most of the literature on teaching and learning focuses on student stress, and how this conversation has helped us to develop strategies for work-life balance, and share those strategies.

Brian Michel, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Science Foundation for "Fluorescent Probes for the Detection of Ethylene"
• Project abstract: This grant will continue work utilizing the recent development of a fluorescent probe for the detection of the important plant hormone ethylene. This study will focus on optimizing probe characteristics, and detection of biological ethylene and water soluble probes and gaseous ethylene.

Donald New, senior project manager at the Applied Research Technology Institute at the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

• Grant for "MBX Selectable Effects"
• Grant for "Asymmetric Shock Testing"

Jesse Owen, professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the Morgridge College of Education, and Patrick Sherry, associate professor at the Morgridge College of Education and executive director at the National Center for Intermodal Transportation

• Grant from Predictive Safety SRP, Inc. for "Using AlertMeter to Measure the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance"
• Project abstract: This study will monitor a group of volunteers using AlertMeter, another performance task and various self-reporting instruments, as they experience periods of sleep deprivation and recovery, in order to measure the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance.

Yan Qin, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Grant from the National Institutes of Health for "Regulations of Organellar Zn2+ Homeostasis and Dynamics by TRPML 1 in Neurons"
• Project abstract: Zn2+ (or zinc ion) in brain function may be related to neurological diseases such as Mucolipidosis type IV disease (MLIV). However, the molecular mechanisms, nor the biological impacts of Zn2+ dysregulations are understood. Collectively, the proposed research will provide ultra-sensitive tools for monitoring cellular Zn2+ dynamics, develop a better understanding about the roles of organellar Zn2+ dynamics in neuronal function, as well as significantly expand our knowledge about the pathological mechanisms of MLIV diseases.

Laura River, second-year doctoral student in the clinical child psychology program at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Grant from the National Science Foundation for the 2019 Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Project abstract: This study will examine the effects of chronic prenatal stress on infant emotional and cognitive development and assess whether these effects are malleable, by examining the moderating role of parenting sensitivity. Greater levels of prenatal stress may predict greater infant negative affectivity and lower infant cognitive ability.

Galena Rhoades, research associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Grant from the Buell Foundation for "MotherWise Workshops and BabyWonder Workshops"
• Project abstract: MotherWise services include a six-week, group-based workshop in which pregnant women and new mothers consider ways to communicate effectively in close relationships, solve problems, manage conflict in their families and exit unhealthy relationships safely, as well as coordinated case management. Mothers attend classes on healthy relationships. These workshop series use an evidence-based curriculum, Within My Reach, and include information on self-care and caring for and connecting with a newborn that were developed for MotherWise by a neonatal pediatrician.

Garrett Roberts, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning Sciences at the Morgridge College of Education

• Grant from the Institute of Educational Science for "Small Group Reading Intervention to Support Children with Pervasive Learning and Attention Needs (RISC-PLAN) in the Upper Elementary Grades"
• Project abstract: This grant will allow for the understanding of content and methodological issues on delivering and analyzing intervention research for students with or at risk of a learning disability in reading (i.e. reading comprehension) and co-occuring inattention. This award will also support the iterative development and innovation of a pilot intensive small group reading intervention to support children with pervasive learning and attention needs (RISC-PLAN) in the upper elementary grades.

Julie Sarama, professor and Kennedy Endowed Chair in Innovative Learning Technologies at the Morgridge College of Education

Douglas Clements, professor and Kennedy Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning at the Morgridge College of Education; and co-executive director of the Marsico Institute of Early Learning and Literacy

Crystal Day-Hess, assistant director at the Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy

• Grant from the Institute of Educational Science for "Evaluating the Efficacy of an Interdisciplinary Preschool Curriculum (EPIC)"
• Project abstract: Although the importance of young children gaining competence in four core curricular domains — social-emotional, language and literacy, mathematics, and science — is well established, research results on the efficacy of comprehensive curricula is dismal. Connect4Learning (C4L) is a newly-published comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum which builds upon and integrates empirically-tested practices, connecting the four domains to achieve more than the sum of its parts. This project will evaluate the efficacy of C4L.

Elizabeth Sperber, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Grant from the University of Notre Dame for "Motivating Peaceful Political Participation with Religious Interventions"
• Project abstract: While in residence at the University of Notre Dame, Sperber will advance her research and writing around a journal article focusing on the relationship between religion and civic engagement programming in Zambia. This paper will provide the first systematic consideration of the role of different Christian traditions in the provision of civic engagement training in the region.