NASA’s Spitzer Telescope, which was retired last week after more than 16 years of discoveries, is being celebrated for exploring stars and planets in the faintest depths of the universe and providing data allowing researchers to better understand the life cycles of stars and planetary systems.

As charter members of the telescope’s instrument team, University faculty members Bill Forrest, Judith Pipher, and Dan Watson in the Department of Physics and Astronomy were deeply involved in the design of Spitzer and two of its three instruments: the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS).

Senior research engineer Craig McMurtry also worked on the development of the IRAC. The infrared instruments on Spitzer were designed to penetrate the thick dust and dense interstellar clouds that obscure most of the visible spectrum of light.

In addition to designing Spitzer’s instrumentation, Rochester faculty also led the observatory’s largest observational programs on star and planet formation, making a specialty of those which used the infrared spectrograph. Highlights include the discovery of Jupiter-like planets around the youngest stars, which reduced the previous consensus age of giant-planet formation by a factor of about 100 and required the standard models of giant-planet formation to be substantially rebuilt.

Read more here.

When Julie Natale began working with pediatric patients in Radiation Oncology at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, she quickly recognized that pivotal moment every family faces.

“The child would be playing in the waiting area, and then the nurse would come out,” Natale says. “There would just be this change. The fear would set in, and the child would cling to the parent or caregiver. It would be a rigid walk to the treatment room, with the child burying their head in the parent or caregiver’s chest.”

Then she found a video from a dental practice that used a battery-operated, remote-controlled mini car to bring young patients in for their procedures. One of the nurses in the video talked about how using the car had decreased the use of anti-anxiety medications by 75 percent, but the data had never been published.

As a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) student at St. John Fisher College, Natale saw an opportunity to bring evidence into practice. She presented the idea for using a mini-car to Radiation Oncology leadership. Within a few weeks, a mini white Mercedes arrived — complete with seat belt, lights, a radio, and windshield wipers — courtesy of an anonymous donor.

As part of her DNP scholarship project, she is collecting data to evaluate the impact of the car on the use of anti-anxiety, induction, and sedation medications, as well as on parent and staff satisfaction. She is also measuring the impact on resources and how potential reductions in the use of sedation may reduce the need for additional staff to help during treatments.

Read more here.

Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski has been named director of the newly established Clinical and Translational Research Core at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH).

The research core manages a wide variety of research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources & Services Administration, NYS Department of Health, and industry that include EIOH scientists who study different aspects of Early Childhood Caries (severe tooth decay among preschool children), how to improve oral health outcomes in daily dental practices, dental implant outcomes, school based dental sealants, and many others, with several grants currently under review.

Kopycka-Kedzierawski, an EIOH professor and deputy director of the Northeast Region, National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, is widely published and has been actively involved in teaching and mentoring for 20 years.

Read more here.

Rosa Terlazzo joins the faculty as an associate professor of philosophy. A specialist in social, political, and moral philosophy, she previously was at Kansas State University, where she was an assistant professor.

Terlazzo has published research in the Journal of Global Ethics, the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, the Journal of Political Philosophy, and the Journal of the American Philosophical Association. At Kansas State, she taught courses on such topics as the philosophy of law, global justice, the philosophy of race and gender, and contemporary debates in feminism.

She received her PhD from Australian National University.

At Rochester, she will teach courses in social and political philosophy, global justice, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of law. She will also coach the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team, which is jointly sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program.

She spent the 2016–17 academic year at Tulane University, where she was a Faculty Fellow at the Murphy Institute, which is in part a center dedicated to understanding the moral and ethical bases of social systems.

The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience will fund up to 21 pilot project awards (maximum budget of $50,000 per award) to support novel basic, clinical, and translational projects in the neurosciences. These awards will be supported under five programs for 2020 and are open to all faculty members across both the Medical School and the River Campus.  Funds available for this year’s program are $810,000.  Del Monte supports the following programs:

The Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience supports pilot and feasibility awards (up to $50,000 per award) for basic science and translational projects that advance our understanding of both normal and abnormal brain functioning (4-5 awards available).

The Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation offers pilot and feasibility awards (up to $50,000 per award) for basic, clinical, and translational projects that specifically support research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (2 awards available).

Rochester Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research supports pilot and feasibility awards (up to $50,000 per award) for basic science and translational projects that advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Funds for one award are generously donated by the Feinberg Family Fund.  An additional donation from the Sally J. States Pilot Fund in Alzheimer’s Research will partially support an additional pilot (4 awards available).

The Center for Health + Technology Clinical Neuroscience Pilot Program offers pilot and feasibility awards (up to $50,000 per award) for clinical research projects leveraging novel digital technologies that advance our understanding of areas of unmet need in clinical neuroscience (4 awards available).

University of Rochester Center for Advanced Brain Imaging and Neurophysiology offers pilot and feasibility funds (up to $10,000 per award) to support innovative, investigator-initiated basic and clinical neuroscience research using the PRISMA 3T magnet (up to 6 awards available).

For more information on the awards, download the RFA. Application submissions are due on Monday, March 16.

The Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties & Aging Research (The STAR Center) is a newly funded research center at the Medical Center that is focused on promoting the social well-being and healthy aging of those caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.

The STAR Center currently has two pilot award opportunities—the STAR Constellation Pilot Award and the ProtoSTAR Pilot Award. Apply by Wednesday, April 15.  Learn more.

• Encourage them to submit an application for the Undergraduate Research Expo. Submissions from students of all disciplines are welcome and are due March 1. The expo will take place on Friday, April 17, in the Palestra, Goergen Athletic Center. Students, faculty, staff, family, and friends are welcome to attend.
• If you are planning to mentor an unpaid undergraduate student this summer, note that there have been changes made to the Discover Grant process for summer undergraduate research funding. The new student application deadline is March 20. Supplemental information from supervisors and recommenders is due March 27. Student projects must be mentored by a supervisor from the University, including faculty, graduate student, and research staff. Students conducting unpaid research with a supervisor from a different institution should apply for Summer Internship Funding through the Greene Center.

The Mediterranean Seminar, an international conference to be held at Rochester February 21-22, will address “Emotions, Passions, and Feelings.”

The seminar, organized by Thomas Devaney, associate professor of history, and PhD student Marianne Kupin-Lisbin, is a pilot project of the Humanities Center’s Early Worlds Initiative.  The program consists of three workshop papers, two keynote presentations, and two round-table discussions.

Open to the public, the two-day event is sponsored in part by the Humanities Project, the Robbins Library, and the AS&E Dean for Research. The full program is here. Register here by February 12 to be included in any of the lunches, dinner, or final reception.

Read more here.

Manuel Ramirez Garcia, biomedical engineering, “Engineering Approaches to Elucidate the Causes of Endothelial and Stromal Corneal Dystrophies.”  11:05 a.m., February 13, 2020. 108 Goergen Hall. Advisor: Mark Buckley.

CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS

LECTURES AND TALKS

Feb. 19: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Sue Uselmann (ESM Humanities) . 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

Feb. 26: Phelps Colloquium. “Surgery of the Future: 3D-Printed Patient-Specific Organs Guide the Way for Complex Cancer Surgery,” by Ahmed Ghazi, associate professor, Department of Urology. “Structural Engineering to the Rescue of Cultural Heritage,” by Renato Perucchio, professor and chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and director of the Program in Archaeology, Technology, and Historical Structures. 4-5:30 p.m. Feldman Ballroom, Douglass Commons, River Campus. Register here.

March 4: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Eduardo Herrera (Musicology, Rutgers) (external fellow). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

March 18: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Elena Bellina (ESM Humanities). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

March 26: Phelps Colloquium. “Harnessing Immunity to Fight Cancer: Clues from the Tumor Microenvironment,” by David Linehan, professor and chair, Department of Surgery. “Preparing for the Worst: Portrayal of Downside Risk in Professional Investment Advice,” by Joanna Wu, professor of business administration,  Simon Business School. 4–5:30 p.m. Eisenberg Rotunda, Schlegel Hall, River Campus. Register here.

April 2: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Alexandra Lindgren-Gibson (History, Univ. of Mississippi) external fellow). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

April 16: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Ash Arder (Studio Art) (visiting artist). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

April 22: Phelps Colloquium. “Making Fuel and Fertilizer from Sun, Air, and Water,” by Kara Bren, professor in the Department of Chemistry. “A Black Musician in the Court of Henry VIII. You’re Kidding, Right?” by Lee Koonce, president and artistic director of the Gateways Music Festival in association with Eastman School of Music, and senior advisor to the dean, Eastman School of Music. 4–5:30 p.m. Max of Eastman Place, 25 Gibbs Street, Rochester.  Register here.

April 30:  Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Khan and Sullivan (Public Humanities fellows). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

GRANT DEADLINES

Feb. 17: Applications due for NY Public Humanities Fellowships. Interested Rochester graduate students can contact Joan Shelley Rubin, Ani & Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center, for more information. The Fellows Application is currently open, read the call for 2020-2021 applicants.

Feb. 28: Deadline for new investigators to submit proposals for pilot project funding ($25,000 maximum for one year) from the Resource-Based Center for Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine for research relevant to musculoskeletal diseases. Proposals must be submitted by email to Kristin Smith (585-275-1397). Learn more.

March 16: Deadline to apply for pilot project funding from five programs, through the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience. For more information on the awards, download the RFA.

April 15: Deadline to apply for pilot funding from the Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties & Aging Research (The STAR Center) to promote the social well-being and healthy aging of those caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. There are two pilot award opportunities—the STAR Constellation Pilot Award and the ProtoSTAR Pilot Award. Learn more.

FELLOWSHIPS, TRAINING PROGRAMS

Feb. 14: Applications due for the Wilmot Cancer Research Fellowship program, which funds physicians for up to three years allowing them to investigate the causes, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer. Mentored research training for physicians with MD or MD/PhD degrees who have completed their residency training and intend to pursue an academic career in clinical, translational or basic cancer research. Learn more. For questions and to submit applications, email Pam Iadarola.

Feb. 14: Applications due for Wilmot Cancer Institute Predoctoral Cancer Research Fellowship Program. Contact Thom Fogg with questions.