The complex and vast family of neurological disorders that comprise Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) is being met head on by researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience. These efforts are bolstered by a large contingent of clinician researchers who serve patients and families with these disorders and are critical partners in efforts to advance care through research.

The Medical Center is home to many recognized female leaders and innovators in the field of IDD, which is one of the flagship research programs of the Del Monte Neuroscience Institute. This foundation is being strengthened by a new generation of female researchers who are studying IDD with an eye toward developing new tools that will lead to early diagnosis, more effective behavioral interventions, and ultimately, new treatments that slow the progress of IDD.

For example:

Emily Knight, second year developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, is collecting data by measuring brainwaves as children listen to specific patterns of sounds while participating in an activity they enjoy. She is investigating whether this brain activity will be able to offer insight into how children with autism process sounds, and how that relates to their interactions with other people and their environment.

Leona Oakes, a senior instructor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Pediatrics, is combing through the data of a 15-year follow-up study on the long-term outcomes of early intervention in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is one of several researchers studying whether the benefits of early intervention are sustained as the people with ASD age.

Laura Silverman, an associate professor in developmental and behavioral pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics, is studying how individuals with autism process language and hand gestures during typical social interactions. Her focus is communication and multisensory functioning in ASD. Silverman employs eye-tracking and computational linguistic methodologies, in collaboration with colleagues in music and neuroscience.

Tufikameni Brima, a research assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience, has focused much of her career on understanding rare neurodevelopmental disorders, like Batten disease and Rett syndrome – another rare genetic disorder. Working in the URMC Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab, Brima is focused on developing objective quantitative measures of brain function in patients who cannot be evaluated with standard cognitive tests due to the nature of their disease.

Read more here.

We tend to like people who like us—a basic human trait that psychologists have termed “reciprocity of attraction.” This principle generally works well to start relationships because it reduces the likelihood of rejection. Yet, making the chase harder also has its advantages. So which one is the better strategy?

A pair of researchers from the University of Rochester and the Israeli-based Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya have spent the last few years studying the dynamics of human sexual attraction. In a 2018 study, they found that when people feel greater certainty that a prospective romantic partner reciprocates their interest, they will put more effort into seeing that person again.

But in a new study published this spring in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, the team examines the effects of playing hard to get, a mating strategy that is likely to instill a certain degree of uncertainty.

The researchers discovered that making the chase harder increased a potential mate’s desirability.

“Playing hard to get makes it seem as if you are more in demand—we call that having higher mate value,” says Harry Reis, a professor of psychology and Dean’s Professor in Arts, Sciences & Engineering at Rochester.

So, how do you reconcile these two approaches—playing hard to get on one hand and removing uncertainty on the other?

Coauthor Gurit Birnbaum, a social psychologist and associate professor of psychology at the IDC Herzliya, advises showing initial interest in potential partners so as not to alienate them. At the same time, don’t reveal too much about yourself. People are “less likely to desire what they already have,” she explains. Instead, build a connection with a potential partner gradually, thereby creating “a sense of anticipation and a desire to learn more about the other person.”

Playing hard to get may work as long as potential partners feel that their efforts are likely to be successful—eventually. Read more here.

Geemi Wellawatte, a PhD student in the lab of Andrew White, assistant professor of chemical engineer. Wellawatte has received a fellowship from the Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) to apply a coarse-grained modeling system to study the molecular dynamics of the proteins that the coronavirus uses to bind to host cells in human tissue. Detailed simulations could greatly speed the identification and testing of potential vaccines and therapies that could disrupt the process by which the COVID-19 virus binds to and then penetrates human cells.

An online summer research experience (REU) in the Mathematical Foundations of Data Science will be offered to undergraduates at the University of Rochester and other colleges in the Rochester region Aug. 10 through Sept. 4.

Offered through the Greater Data Science Cooperative Institute, the National Science Foundation-funded program is designed for rising juniors or seniors with strong backgrounds and records of accomplishment in mathematics, computer science, physics, or related fields, such as electrical and computer engineering. In exceptional circumstances, rising sophomores will be considered as well.

The first part of the program will focus on “High Dimensional Probability, an Introduction with applications in Data Science,” by Roman Vershynin. During the second part, students will be organized into groups and begin research under the direction of the participating University of Rochester and Cornell University faculty on small research projects, some involving computer-aided computation designed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-life applications. Interested participants will be given the opportunity to conduct further research activities in the third phase of the program which does not have a definite end date.

Each of the 15 participants will receive a $1,600 stipend. Applications should be emailed to tripodsreu2020@gmail.com by June 30. Learn more here.

Interested in building collaborations?  The Golisano Children’s Hospital is hosting a local “Pediatric Academic Society” poster session via zoom.

Seven to eight mini research “spotlights” will be showcased over two sessions : June 17  and June 24 — join here.   Each presentation will be 3-5 minutes.  We welcome you to join!

The NIH’s All of Us Research Program is building one of the largest biomedical data resources of its kind to store health data from a diverse cohort of participants. Approved researchers can learn more about the types of data participants are providing and can use the data and tools to conduct studies that may speed up medical breakthroughs.

The All of Us Researcher Workbench, with data from nearly 225,000 participants, is now available for beta testing. Researchers can begin using the initial dataset and tools in studies and provide All of Us with feedback on what worked and what needs improvement. After this beta phase, All of Us will enhance identity verification and will open the platform more broadly.

Here are four important links for researchers:

• University’s COVID-19 website for important updates and guidance on working, teaching, and learning remotely
• University of Rochester Medical Center website for restrictions, resources, and news
• Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA) site on Coronavirus 2019 resources related to sponsored programs
• University’s COVID-19 “Restart and Recovery” web page.

COVID-19 Biobank helps researchers share patients’ samples: With funding from the Mangurian Foundation, the UR CTSI and URMC Shared Resource Labs have developed a dedicated biorepository that will safely collect and store serum, plasma and immune-cell samples from COVID-19-positive and -negative patients. Researchers will be able to request access to the samples, which will be linked to the patients’ de-identified clinical data. Read more here.

How to clean and disinfect — the right way: With reopening under way, many are wondering how to continue to keep their loved ones safe from coronavirus. Now that trips to a wider variety of stores, visits to salons and hairdressers, and appointments for routine medical care are possible again—the risk of infection may also rise. Experts at the University of Rochester Medical Center have a few tips on how to disinfect your home safely. Most urgently, however, they warn against accidental poisoning, respiratory distress, burns, and other health problems as a direct consequence of misuse or overuse of disinfectants. “Some of the things people use [to disinfect] could expose them to chemicals that actually cause more harm, and that poison them, or endanger them, or their children,” says Katrina Korfmacher, an associate professor of environmental medicine and the director of Community Engagement Core at the University’s Environmental Health Sciences Center. Read more here.

Testing for antibodies has begun: UR Medicine Labs have begun testing blood samples for antibodies to novel coronavirus. Patients need a testing order from a provider, and can have their blood drawn by the provider or at any UR Medicine Labs testing location. UR Medicine’s provider guidelines call for testing patients who:

• Are being diagnosed or treated for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of Children (MIS-C)
• Have fully recovered from COVID-19 and would like to donate convalescent plasma
• Previously had symptoms of COVID-19 but did not receive a test to learn if they were infected

Faculty and staff members of URMC and UR Medicine affiliates can also receive antibody tests at no charge to determine if they have previously been exposed to the virus. UR Medicine Labs anticipates volumes of about 500 antibody tests per day at its central processing facility on Bailey Road, with the ability to process more if demand grows higher. Results will be available within one or two days, and will be posted immediately for patients who use the MyChart patient portal. Read more here.

URMC telehealth appointments skyrocket: Since April, telehealth appointments have gone from about 200 visits per day to 2,000 a day at the Medical Center, reports Wendy Wright at Spectrum News. “I think we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible,” says Ray Dorsey, URMC Center for Health and Technology director, and professor of neurology. Read more here.

New COVID-19 Funding Opportunities:

• NIH will publish four funding opportunity announcements in early June as part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics for Underserved Populations initiative, a $500 million initiative to reduce COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality disparities for vulnerable and underserved populations that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Opportunities will include three notices of special interest to solicit community-engaged research to understand COVID-19 disparities and increase access to and effectiveness of diagnostic testing interventions among underserved and vulnerable populations and to understand the social, ethical and behavioral implications of testing in these populations. An RFA to support a Coordination and Data Collection Center will also be announced. Apply by Monday, August 31.
• The NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award supports individuals or teams proposing transformative projects that are inherently risky and untested but have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms and may require very large budgets. For both RFAs, apply by Wednesday, September 30.
• Non-COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-013.
• COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-020.
• The NIH Director’s Early Independence Award supports outstanding junior scientists with the intellect, scientific creativity, drive, and maturity to bypass the traditional postdoctoral training period to launch independent research careers. For both RFAs, apply by Friday, September 4, 2020.
• Non-COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-014.
• COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-021.

Expiring Deadlines for COVID-19 Funding:

• The Office of Strategic Coordination, which manages the Common Fund, is seeking new, innovative perspectives and approaches to the prevention of, preparation for or response to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, domestically or internationally. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 5 p.m. Friday, June 19, 2020.
• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is seeking applications for research on COVID-19 and the effects of its causative agent, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), on cancer and vice versa. Topics of specific interest to NCI include understanding the basic mechanisms of interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and cancer cells, co-morbidities of cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection (especially in disparately affected patient populations) and the impacts on treatment and clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infected persons in the context of cancer. Apply by 5 p.m. Thursday, June 25. Learn more.