Relationships—with partners and friends, coworkers and siblings, roommates and neighbors—can bring moments of pure delight. But they can also take you on a bumpy ride. And often the last thing it all feels like is something systematic.

But there are patterns underlying the day-to-day drama, and it’s the life’s work of psychologist Harry Reis to understand them. Since joining the faculty in 1974, he has contributed prominently to creating the field of relationship science, writes Kathleen McGarvey in Rochester Review.

In 2012, the International Association for Relationship Research presented Reis with its Distinguished Career Award, the association’s most significant honor. And in 2015, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology gave him its annual Career Contribution Award.

Reis helped transform social psychology research as one of the Rochester investigators who developed the use of daily experience records, a now widely adopted technique that’s still known as the Rochester Interaction Record. Researchers value the method because it lessens the impact of flawed recollections and other forms of bias on reports people provide of their own behavior.

New directions for research have opened since Reis began his work. His and other researchers’ findings about men and women’s interactions “need to be investigated in non-heterosexual couples, and that’s an exciting area for research,” he says—but adds that indications so far are that the psychological processes of committed, monogamous relationships are fundamentally alike for all couples.

“The experience of being in a same-sex couple in the U.S. is very different than being part of a heterosexual couple. But issues of intimacy and commitment, and what people fight about—that’s the same,” he says. “We need to understand and appreciate the differences, but what’s striking is the similarity.”

For the last 25 years, Reis has been zeroing in on the issue of “responsiveness” in relationships. “It’s the idea that your partner ‘gets’ you, that they understand you in a fairly deep way, and that they appreciate the person they understand. It’s a combination of understanding and what we call ‘validation’—but appreciation is just as good a word for it,” he says.

Responsiveness is a theme that comes up repeatedly in Reis’s research, but his career has been characterized, as much as anything, by a wide-ranging curiosity. “I don’t follow the model of ‘take one thing and stay with it until you’ve beaten it into the ground,’ ” he says. “That’s not my approach at all.”

Probing friendship, examining marriage’s effects on health, investigating what social benefits men and women accrue from physical appearance: it’s all fallen under Reis’s scrutiny.

As Margaret Clark, a professor of psychology at Yale, noted in her nominating letter for his career award in 2012: “If you look at his vita, you’ll see that his contributions in recent years are actually speeding up, not slowing down.”

“This guy,” she wrote, “is amazing.”

Read more here.

Generally considered the greatest pianist who ever lived, Franz Liszt is the subject of a three-day event at the University of Rochester and its Eastman School of Music next month. While scholars and academics from around the world examine his legacy amid burgeoning virtuosity studies, some of Eastman’s most distinguished and award-winning piano students will show their own virtuosity performing an all-Liszt recital.

“Liszt and Virtuosity – An International Symposium,” taking place Thursday, March 2, through Saturday, March 4, features 11 of the world’s most prominent Liszt scholars, including keynote speaker Alan Walker of McMaster University in Canada. Walker is the author of a monumental award-winning three-volume biography that is considered the definitive work on the Hungarian composer.

The symposium includes presentations on topics ranging from “Liszt and 19th-Century Pianos” to his early techniques, his compositions, his teaching, and his improvisational practices.

“In Liszt’s hands, virtuosity is a highly complex and musically potent phenomenon that is irreducible to the simple showmanship that has often unjustly marred Liszt’s reputation as a composer,” says Robert Doran, associate professor of French and comparative literature, who is the principal organizer of the conference, along with Jonathan Dunsby, professor of music theory at Eastman, and Ralph Locke, professor emeritus of musicology at Eastman. “We will look at the legacy of his virtuosity at the intersection of musicology, music theory, music analysis, biography, performance studies, and cultural history.”

More information on the symposium, which is part of the University’s Humanities Project initiative, can be found online.

The Medical Center’s Flaum Eye Institute is one of five institutions partnering with Microsoft to share data and apply artificial intelligence to better understand eye diseases and improve eye care delivery around the world.

“The Flaum Eye Institute is proud and excited to be a part of this international network,” says Steven E. Feldon, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology. “The network will offer great opportunities to leverage data science and preventative medicine to improve vision worldwide, which aligns with several elements of University of Rochester and URMC strategic plans.”

The Microsoft Intelligence Network for Eyecare (MINE) will allow Flaum Eye Institute researchers to share Electronic Health Record information with partners at LV Prasad Eye Institute (India), Bascom Palmer – University of Miami (USA), Federal University of Sao Paolo (Brazil), and Brien Holden Vision Institute (Australia). Not only will this vastly increase the volume of data at each institution’s disposal, but will also add geographic, socioeconomic, and genetic diversity.  

In addition to sharing data, MINE will provide each partner institution with access to a trove of Microsoft analytical tools, which use machine learning to determine patterns and predict outcomes in eye care.

“A lot of institutions don’t have access to these Microsoft tools,” said Rajeev S. Ramchandran, associate professor of ophthalmology. “This helps democratize or level the playing field – not only sharing data, but also sharing the tools to analyze it.” Read more . . .

Feng Vankee Lin, assistant professor of nursing, and Rajeev Raizada, assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences, have been awarded a Collaborative Pilot Award in Health Analytics from the Goergen Institute for Data Science.

The one-year project will use big data in an effort to develop an algorithm for predicting Alzheimer’s disease. The project will analyze large brain-imaging datasets and use multiple machine-learning approaches to uncover diagnostic patterns and create a more reliable predictive model for detecting Alzheimer’s disease.

“It will help initiate a new research area focusing on neuroimaging methodology development in relation to Alzheimer’s disease,” said Lin.

The award includes a $35,000 grant for the project, which runs from Feb. 1, 2017 to Jan. 31, 2018.

Located in Wegmans Hall, the Goergen Institute for Data Science is a hub for interdisciplinary data science research. Its work in health analytics – using data to predict individual health outcomes – includes advances in using data to help analyze the brain more effectively and sharing the data with other researchers to discover more ways to improve outcomes for patients.

Medical Center scientists have discovered new information about omega 3 fatty acids contained in fish oil and how they could be used for asthma patients.

In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation—Insight, researchers using cell cultures from local asthma patients, found that:

Omega-3 fatty acid products can reduce the production of IgE, the antibodies that cause allergic reactions and asthma symptoms in people with milder cases of asthma;

But in patients with severe asthma who use high doses of oral steroids, the omega-3 fatty acids are less effective because the corticosteroids block the beneficial effects.

Lead author Richard P. Phipps, the Wright Family Research Professor of Environmental Medicine, and his lab had previously shown that certain fatty acids contained in fish oil regulate the function of immune cells (B cells). They wanted to further investigate the effects on asthma. Read more . . .

Scott Steele, director of the Regulatory Science Core at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, who has been selected to serve on the Food and Drug Administration’s Science Board. The board provides advice to the commissioner and other FDA officials, exploring issues from gene editing or regulation of opioids to food safety. The board also helps the FDA keep pace with technical and scientific developments. Steele, who is also the director of the Rochester Center of Excellence in Data Science at the Goergen Institute for Data Science and an associate professor of public health sciences, will serve as one of the 21 voting members of the Science Board. Read more . . .

Full-time faculty from any discipline are invited to apply for the Inbound Research Mobility Scheme for 2017–18 to promote academic and research partnerships between Rochester and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The program supports short-term research visits of up to seven nights at CUHK.

Applications are due Thursday, April 13. Guidelines and the application are available here.

The Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience (SPIN), in conjunction with the Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, announces the availability of pilot and feasibility awards (up to $50,000 per award) for basic science and translational projects that advance understanding of both normal and abnormal brain functioning.

The funds enable new and established investigators to generate preliminary data that will lead to competitive applications for extramural funding. The SPIN program emphasizes interdisciplinary collaborative approaches to novel research questions.

SPIN will support new research projects in the neurosciences and neuromedicine broadly defined, from cognitive and systems to cellular and molecular approaches.  Areas of traditional concentration include:

1. Learning, plasticity, and memory.
2. Sensory systems and multisensory integration processes in health and disease.
3. The neurobiology of aging.

They will continue to be high priorities, but exciting proposals from any branch of neuroscience will be given full consideration.

In addition, as part of the 2017 competition, additional funds have been made available in concert with a major initiative by the Institute for Neuroscience to launch an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at the University of Rochester. Budgets of up to $75,000 will be considered for projects that draw together interdisciplinary teams to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The application deadline is Monday April 10, 2017.

Click here for more information and to download the RFA.

The Furth Fund, established in 1986 by Valerie and Frank Furth, provides early career scientists with $10,000 in research funds to help foster the development of promising scientists.

Nominees should be junior, tenure-track faculty appointed in natural or biological science departments within Arts, Sciences & Engineering or the School of Medicine and Dentistry who have been hired within the past three academic years.  Preference will be given to nominees who wish to use the award to support the active engagement of graduate students or postdocs in their research.

Nominations for the 2017–18 Furth Fund are being accepted through Monday, March 20.

Additional information about the Furth Fund may be found here.

Vanessa Assibey-Mensah, epidemiology, “Gestational Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution and Risk of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Western New York.” 9 a.m., March 9, 2017, Helen Wood Hall, 1W502. Advisor: David Rich.

Today: Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) symposium. Elaine Hill from the Department of Public Health Sciences will present findings on the health consequences of shale gas development using spatially-identified data. Cara Brand from the Department of Biology will discuss a new approach for identifying a major modifying locus and selfish gene complex. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. URMC 2-6424 (Whipple Auditorium).

Feb. 22: “Identification of Genetic Risk Variants for Radiotherapy Toxicity—Common SNPs, Rare Variants, or Both?” Presented by Sarah Kerns, assistant professor of radiation oncology. 2 to 3 p.m., MRBX Room 1.11211. Sponsored by Human Genetics Research Group. For more information, contact Tom Mariani.

Feb 22: School of Nursing Grand Rounds: Focus on NIH Grant Applications.  Kimberly Arcoleo, associate dean for research, and Mary Carey, associate professor, will discuss the requirements for grant applications to the National Institutes of Health, how to prepare an application, and what to expect during the review process. Noon to 1 p.m., School of Nursing Auditorium (1W304). Lunch provided.

Feb. 24: Pangaea: “Big Data and the Future of Understanding the Mind” with discussion leader Krishnan Padmanabhan, assistant professor of neuroscience. 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Medical Center Specialty Room 2-7536 (URMC). Pangaea, sponsored by the Graduate Student Society and the Graduate Student Association, is a free-flowing group discussion centered around a topic of universal interest and importance, bringing together perspectives from multiple academic disciplines to discover creative ideas and opportunities. Snacks, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate provided.  The GSS and GSA Facebook pages have information on upcoming student events.

Feb. 27: 5 p.m. deadline to apply for Center for AIDS Research funding for projects that use the center’s Pharmacology Shared Resource to address key gaps in understanding HIV/AIDS pharmacology and therapeutics. Read more here.

Feb. 28: “Informatics and Neurogenetics: From the Cluster to the Clinic,” presented by Alex Paciorkowski, assistant professor of neurology. Projects involving massively parallel genomic sequencing and what the next generation in cllnical genomic medicine may hold. Noon to 1 p.m., Lower Adolph Auditorium (1-7619). Center for Biomedical Informatics. Lunch will be served.

March 20: Deadline to submit applications for a University Research Award of up to $37,500, matched by the applicant’s home school for a total of $75,000. The program provides seed money on a competitive basis for innovative research projects that are likely to obtain external support.  Completed applications should be directed to adele.coelho@rochester.edu. Click here to view the full RFP.

March 20: Deadline to submit applications for an AS&E PumpPrimer II award. Click here for more information. Faculty in the School of Arts & Science should refer questions to Debra Haring, and those in the Hajim School of Engineering to Cindy Gary.

March 20: Deadline to nominate early career faculty in AS&E and SMD in natural and biological sciences  for the Furth Fund. Additional information can be found here.

March 25: Brainstorming for the Healthy Weight Initiative, which aims to increase the proportion of people with healthy weight in Rochester and beyond. The goal is to identify potential collaborators and research topics in any area related to body weight development as a first step toward developing new transdisciplinary research teams to obtain more research funding.  For more information, contact Diana Fernandez.

April 10: Deadline to apply for pilot and feasibility awards offered by the Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience (SPIN), in conjunction with the Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience. Click here for more information and to download the RFA.