Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is being added to the atmosphere through both natural processes and human activities, such as energy production and agriculture.

To predict the impacts of human emissions, researchers need a complete picture of the atmosphere’s methane cycle.

To help develop this understanding, Tom Weber, an assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences; undergraduate researcher Nicola Wiseman ’18, now a graduate student at the University of California, Irvine; and their colleague Annette Kock at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Germany, used data science to determine how much methane is emitted from the ocean into the atmosphere each year. Their results, published in the journal Nature Communications, fill a longstanding gap in methane cycle research and will help climate scientists better assess the extent of human perturbations.

Read more here.

David A. DiLoreto, Jr. has been named chair of the Medical Center’s Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Flaum Eye Institute, pending approval by the Office of the Provost. He succeeds Steven Feldon, who will transition to associate vice president and director of the Office of Biomedical Research Development.

The Flaum Eye Institute is the leading vision care and research center in Upstate New York. The department includes more than 45 full- and part-time physicians and scientists and the clinical team has seen double-digit volume increases annually since 2002. Last year, they charted more than 70,000 visits in five locations and performed 4,000 surgeries.

DiLoreto joined the faculty in 2003 and is an active clinician-scientist focused on treatment and prevention of diabetic retinopathy and age-related eye disease.

Read more here.

Medical Center researchers have been selected as part of a national initiative by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new non-addictive treatments for pain to improve patient care and curb the use and abuse of opioids.

The URMC awards are part of $945 million in grants recently announced under the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (NIH HEAL), which was created to improve treatments for chronic pain, reduce opioid use disorder and overdoses, and achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction. This initiative represents the largest ever financial commitment by NIH to a single research program.

Read more here.

• Sharon Elad, professor and chair of oral medicine at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, who was named the 2019 Outstanding Study Group Leader by the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. In addition, the Mucositis Study Group she chaired was named the 2019 Outstanding Study Group. Elad is an international expert on oral complications of cancer treatment as well as dental management of these patients. Read more here.
• Neil Blumberg, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and director of the Transfusion Medicine Unit, Blood Bank, and Stem Cell Storage Facility, who was inducted into the National Blood Foundation Hall of Fame. For more than 30 years, Blumberg and a team of collaborators have been investigating how to make blood transfusions safer for hospitalized patients. He’s been an ardent advocate for fewer transfusions, despite push-back from many in the medical field.
• David Dodell-Feder, an assistant professor of clinical and social sciences in psychology, who received the 2019 Excellence in Research Award from the National Alliance on Mental Health–New York State. The award acknowledges his work to address social disconnection among people with schizophrenia.
• Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy, who was selected to receive the American Physical Society’s 2020 Joseph A. Burton Forum Award for his “multichannel promotion of public understanding of physics, of science in general, and of the relationship between science and society, using methods and venues that effectively engage and provoke discussion among policymakers, scientists, and the public regarding important issues.” Frank’s most recent book, Light of the Stars was awarded the 2019 Phi Beta Kappa Award for Science, bestowed annually to scholarly books published in the United States to recognize “superior books by scientists written to illuminate aspects of science for a broad readership.”
• Zahira Quiñones Tavares, a doctoral student in translational biomedical science, who is the winner of the first annual Tobacco Regulatory Science Student Competition, hosted as part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Center for Research on Flavored Tobacco (CRoFT) at the University of Rochester and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Read more here.

Bonnie Le joins the faculty of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology from the University of Toronto, where she earned her PhD in 2015 in psychology. Most recently, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Her research focuses on how emotions and motivation shape well-being in interpersonal relationships. In particular, she examines how and when the regulation of emotions, the perception of emotions, and the motivation to care for others predict well-being. Given that supportive relationships are vital to psychological and physical health, Le explores how emotional and motivational processes may help or hinder the maintenance of satisfying relationships.

Le has authored scholarly articles that have appeared in Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Science, and Social Psychological and Personality Science, among other journals, as well as in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

A recipient of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Le also received a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, an Ontario Trillium Scholarship, and a University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Science award.

Nominations are invited for the 2020 President’s Ferrari Humanities Research Award.

Endowed by University Trustee Bernard T. Ferrari ’70, ’74M (MD) and his wife, Linda Gaddis Ferrari, the award promotes and supports humanities research by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E) who is affiliated with the University’s Humanities Center.

The award is in the amount of $25,000, which may be spent over two or three academic years.

The recipient of this annual award must demonstrate a creative research approach that either builds on a previous record of published work in peer-reviewed journals or books, or charts a direction that promises a new publication stream.

Self-nominations or nominations by department chairs and peers at the University of Rochester must be submitted by December 30, 2019.

Read more here.

Kelly Unsworth, director of research education and training in the Office for Human Subjects Protection, will discuss common problem areas and issues that arise during the Click IRB submission process from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, November 14 at Helen Wood Hall Fiaretti Classroom (1W-501).

There will also be an open forum for study teams to bring their Click IRB questions to the table. Learn more on the URMC Events Calendar.

The deadline to register for the annual CFAR World AIDS Day Scientific Symposium poster session has been extended to November 11.

The symposium will be held 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on December 3. Keynote addresses will be presented in the Class of ’62 Auditorium (G-9425) at the Medical Center.  The poster will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Flaum Atrium.  Contact Laura Enders for more information.

Phillip Koyoumjian, history, “Maps and the Making of Geographical Knowledge, 1660-1730.” 2 p.m. today, November 8, 2019. Gamble Room, Rush Rhees Library. Advisor: Stewart Weaver.

Andrew Davies, physics and astronomy, “Picosecond Thomson-Scattering Spectroscopy Investigation of Thermodynamics in Laser-Plasma Amplifiers.” 2 p.m. November 11, 2019. Coliseum Room, Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Advisors: Daniel Haberberger and Dustin Froula.

Bokai Wang, statistics, “A Novel Variable Selection Procedure in Biomedical Research.” 10 a.m. November 12, 2019. Saunders Research Building 1.412. Advisor: Changyong Feng.

SYMPOSIUMS

Nov. 14: Wilmot Cancer Institute Annual Scientific Symposium. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Class of ’62 Auditorium/Sarah Flaum Atrium. The Underberg Lecture will be given by Ari M. Melnick, Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Weill Cornell Medicine-Sackler Center for Biomedical and Physical Sciences. Posters are being accepted for a presentation from 1 – 3 p.m. All members of the University community are invited to present posters on basic or clinical cancer-related research. The poster registration form must be submitted electronically to Michael Powers. Learn more.

Dec. 3: Annual CFAR World AIDS Day Scientific Symposium. 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Keynote addresses will be presented in the Class of ’62 Auditorium (G-9425), Medical Center.  A poster session will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m .in Flaum Atrium.  Register your poster by November 11. Contact Laura Enders for more information.

LECTURES

Nov. 14: “Can Computers Create Meaning?: A Cyber-Bio-Semiotic Perspective,” Fairbanks Lecture by N. Katherine Hayles (’77 PhD), Distinguished Research Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, and the James B. Duke Professor Emerita from Duke University.  5 p.m., Humanities Center Conference Room D. Sponsored by Advancement and the Humanities Center.

Nov. 15: Public Health Grand Rounds: “Socio-Cultural, Economic, and Internal Drivers of HIV-Related Stigma among Female and Male Sex Workers in Niamey, Niger” presented by P. Amina Alio, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and at the Center for Community Health and Prevention.  Lunch will be available as supplies last; bring your own beverage. Noon to 1 p.m., Helen Wood Hall Auditorium. Contact Carolyn Settle at 224-2061 with requests or questions.

Nov. 21: Phelps Colloquium Series:

• From the bedside to the cloud: The digital revolution in behavioral health. Michael Hasselberg, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry.
• Emergence of cardiometabolic risk: The childbearing years. Susan Groth, associate professor, School of Nursing.

4–5:30 p.m., Feldman Ballroom, Douglass Commons, River Campus. Reception preceding the talks. Click here to register. Questions? Contact Adele Coelho, faculty outreach coordinator, at (585) 273-2571 or by email at adele.coelho@rochester.edu.

WORKSHOPS & TRAINING

Today: “Making Connections: How Scientists Can Write about Science for the Rest of the World.” Second day of two-day workshop by Julie Sedivy, a cognitive scientist, writer, and editor. Co-hosted by Center for Language Sciences, Writing Speaking and Argument Program, and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University. Sign-up required at event website. This event is open to the public and welcomes all members of the UR community.

Nov. 11: Create an ORCID profile in less than 10 minutes. Librarians at Miner Libraries will be outside the CTSI Directors’ Suite in the Saunders Research Building from 1-3 p.m. to help researchers set up ORCID identifiers. Read more here about the importance of doing so.

Nov. 20: Training workshop for the TriNetX cohort discovery tool that will replace the current i2b2 tool. With TriNetX investigators can search a limited set of electronic medical record data to determine the feasibility of their clinical trials. Participants should have a basic understanding of the TriNetX interface and be able to build simple queries. 2-4 p.m. SRB 1412. Register now. Learn more about TriNetX here.

GRANT DEADLINES

Nov. 11: Initial abstracts due for UR CTSI funding through the Novel Biostatistical and Epidemiologic Methods Program, which supports the development of novel biostatistical and epidemiologic methods that help overcome specifically identified limitations and significantly enhance the validity and accuracy, scope or speed of clinical or translational research. Learn more and view the RFA.

Nov. 12: Initial abstracts due for SAC Incubator projects to foster the establishment of extramurally funded, nationally recognized centers of excellence in biomedical research with the potential to generate new strategic directions for the University and its School of Medicine and Dentistry. Read the full Request for Applications.

Nov. 22: 5 p.m. deadline to apply for up to two awards, with a maximum funding of $25,000 each, through the joint School of Nursing/School of Medicine and Dentistry Program of Excellence in HIV/AIDS, administered by the Center for AIDS Research. This pilot program is intended to provide support for investigator teams to generate preliminary data that will facilitate the submission of subsequent competitive proposals for NIH-sponsored or other grants. Applications should be submitted as a single file attachment in PDF format. Click here for additional information. Contact Laura Enders at Laura_Enders@urmc.rochester.edu with any questions.

Nov. 29: Deadline to apply for a Medicines Discovery Award through the Empire Discovery Institute. a new partnership of the University of Rochester, the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to convert the institutions’ scientific breakthroughs into viable pharmaceuticals for commercialization and strengthen the region as a hub for life sciences research and development. The program provides up to $7.5 million in support for two opportunities annually. Learn more here.

Dec. 6:  5 p.m. deadline for postdoctoral fellows and early-career faculty to file letters of intent for the UR CTSI Career Development Award (KL2). The award provides two years of support for the early career development of multidisciplinary clinical and translational scientists. The program fosters the transition of KL2 scholars to an independent career as a clinical and translational investigator, generally by means of an individual K- or R-award. View the request for applications.

Dec. 30: Deadline for self-nominations, or nominations by peers or department chairs for the 2020 President’s Ferrari Humanities Research Award. The $25,000 award promotes and supports humanities research by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E) who is affiliated with the University’s Humanities Center. The recipient of this annual award must demonstrate a creative research approach that either builds on a previous record of published work in peer-reviewed journals or books, or charts a direction that promises a new publication stream. Read more here.