The University Cabinet has decided that more stringent social distancing measures must be taken until the end of the semester to limit the impact of Coronavirus. This means that:

• For the rest of this academic year, instruction for undergraduate and graduate students in AS&E and for most schools at the University will take place online.
• Spring Break for Eastman and AS&E (undergraduate and graduate) will be extended by two days, with classes re-commencing online on Wednesday, March 18.
• Undergraduates should complete the semester remotely at their permanent home residence; students may return to (or remain on) campus if their individual circumstances warrant it.
• Graduate and Professional Students may remain on campus to continue their research and studies.
• Non-essential gatherings and meetings on campus will now be limited to 25 attendees until the end of the semester.
• However, essential meetings specifically related to the administrative, academic, or performance obligations of the University are limited to 100 participants until the end of the semester.
• With the exception of University medical and clinical care facilities, outside visitors are strongly discouraged until the end of the semester.
• Processing of requests for academic and research visitors will be suspended for six months.
• To clarify, international and domestic business travel is prohibited for faculty and staff and for campus visitors.
• River Campus staff managers should begin to identify employees who could work from home and make plans for the possibility that they may be asked to do so.

Read more here.

To keep abreast of new developments, go to https://www.rochester.edu/coronavirus-update/

Kara Finnigan, a professor of education policy and leadership, is using her Inclusive Climate Leadership (ICL) Fellowship from the University to create a process to measure community perceptions of the University. She is also developing resources to help equity-minded, community-engaged scholars assist University faculty and staff embarking on community-engaged projects.

New in 2018, the Provost’s Office and the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity announced the Inclusive Climate Leadership Fellowship Program aimed at building and embracing a diverse community.

As part of her fellowship, Finnigan conducted interviews in spring/summer 2019 with community members to understand how they perceive the University’s community engaged work. She is also developing resources that will help better prepare faculty for engaging the community based on the results of the interviews. Finnigan’s fellowship and her interaction with the community will lead to a framework for how to ensure community engagement aligns with broader diversity and equity goals at the University.

Read more here.

Nominations are open for the Furth Fund, providing research funds to foster the development of promising scientists.

Nominees should be junior, tenure-track faculty appointed in natural or biological science departments within Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, or the School of Nursing 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.

All nominations must include the nominee’s curriculum vitae, a short letter from the department chair describing the nominee’s research activities and proposed use of the funds, and an endorsement from the dean of the school.

Completed nominations should be directed to Adele Coelho at adele.coelho@rochester.edu no later than Friday, March 20.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite feedback from stakeholders throughout the scientific research, advocacy, and clinical practice communities as well as the general public on the framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025.

This plan expresses a vision for biomedical and behavioral research and strives to capitalize on new opportunities for scientific exploration within our mission and address new challenges for human health. Comments must be received by Wednesday, March 25. Learn more.

Rifat Ahmed, electrical and computer engineering, “Shear Wave Elastographic Imaging of Pancreatic Cancer Murine Models.” 11:30 a.m., March 17, 2020. 1400 Wegmans Hall. Advisor: Marvin Doyley.

Rasoul Shafipour, electrical engineering, “Learning Representations for Signal and Data Processing on Directed Graphs.” 3 p.m. March 20, 2020. Computer Studies Building 601. Advisor: Gonzalo Mateos Buckstein.

(In light of the University’s new guidance on Coronavirus —and to help eliminate confusion about the status of upcoming University events during this rapidly evolving situation — Research Connections will not be including any event listings, at least for the short term. The best way to stay up to date on the status of University events is to check events.rochester.edu, which will include cancellations or other changes as they are announced. Thank you for your understanding.)

COMPETITIONS

Today: Registration ends today for the Three Minute Thesis competition, open to current PhD and professional doctorate (research) candidates who have passed their qualifying exam or are in their third year of study or greater.  For more information, contact: Daniel Curran, PhD student in chemistry, or Olivia Marola, PhD student in pathology.

March 20: Deadline to submit images for the annual Art of Science competition. Read more here.

GRANT DEADLINES

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.

March 20: Nominations due for the Furth Fund, providing research funds for junior, tenure-track faculty appointed in natural or biological science departments within Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, or the School of Nursing who have been hired within the past three academic years. Completed nominations should be directed to Adele Coelho at adele.coelho@rochester.edu

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.

May 3: Deadline to apply for pilot project funding from the Center for Research on Flavored Tobacco (CRoFT) for research to inform FDA regulation of tobacco products. The application should be submitted through the REDCap portal at http://j.mp/39bC1WF. Questions?  Application contact: Jacqueline Attia, WNY_CRoFT@urmc.rochester.edu Scientific/research contacts:  Scott Steele, scott_steele@urmc.rochester.edu or Deborah Ossip, deborah_ossip@urmc.rochester.edu