Arthur Satz ’51—a music major and the late president emeritus at the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID)—has bequeathed the largest endowed gift ever in support of the humanities at the University’s School of Arts & Sciences. Satz’s visionary generosity will establish the school’s first named department—the Arthur Satz Department of Music—and a minimum of five professorships in humanities-related fields.

Honey Meconi, a professor with appointments at both the School of Arts & Sciences and Eastman School of Music, has been awarded the first of these honors, the rest of which will be awarded in the next few years. She has been named the Arthur Satz Professor for the Department of Music.

“We are tremendously grateful to Arthur Satz for his generosity, his commitment to academic excellence, and his passion for music and the humanities,” says Sarah C. Mangelsdorf, University president and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor. “At a time when there are so many immediate and pressing needs facing us, his gift provides us invaluable resources that will forever support our mission.”

“Arthur’s gift underscores the importance of a liberal arts, humanities-focused, and music-inspired education—one offered through the best faculty in their fields,” says Gloria Culver, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. “This is an unprecedented gift—it allows us to look long term and know that we can forever support areas that are vital to the educational experience here and the human experience everywhere.” Read more here.

A group of University psychologists and the Israeli-based Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya have discovered that we see possible romantic partners as a lot more attractive if we have what the scientists call “a sexy mindset.” Under the same condition we also tend to overestimate our own chances of romantic success.

The researchers examined what would happen if a person’s sexual system is activated—think “feeling frisky”—by exposing test subjects to brief sexual cues that induced a “sexy mindset.” Such a mindset, the team found, reduced a person’s concerns about being rejected, while simultaneously inducing a sense of urgency to start a romantic relationship.

The US-Israeli team noticed that people often have overly optimistic views when it comes to a potential partner and their own chances of landing a date. Their latest research, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, sought to explain the biased perception. It’s precisely this bias, the team concluded, that may provide people with the necessary confidence to worry less about rejection and instead motivate them to take a leap of faith to pursue a desired romantic relationship without hesitation. Read more here.

Someday, scientists may be able to prevent cancer by controlling two proteins that operate deep inside the quagmire of epigenetic cell fate transitions, a new paper suggests.

Published by Nature Communications, the article describes a dynamic push and pull between the proteins ANP32E and H2AZ. Their relationship is significant because too little of H2AZ promotes cell division and aggressive tumors, while high levels of H2AZ promotes chaos and metastatic cancer — and ANP32E acts as a “chaperone” that directs H2AZ, says the study’s corresponding author, Patrick Murphy, an assistant professor of biomedical genetics.

With a “normal” amount of H2AZ, Murphy says, healthy cells can turn off the signals that permit cancer cells to divide and tumors to grow.

Epigenetics — understanding how two cells can have the same DNA but have different functions in the body — is at the root of Murphy’s work. His lab shows that when they eliminated ANP32E from connective tissue of mice, H2AZ spreads wildly. Therefore, if researchers can find a way to inhibit ANP32E and control the H2AZ protein in humans, it might make cancer cells more sensitive to anti-cancer drugs or immune-system attack. Read more here.

Although preprint articles are used in a variety of disciplines, they remain largely uncharted territory in the humanities.

Speed of publishing and time-sensitive information is usually not a priority in the humanities, but preprints’ open access and wider visibility could be of value to humanities scholars.

For a primer in thinking of the possibilities of preprint accessibility and usage in the humanities, check out this article: Laporte, Steven. 2016. “Preprint for the Humanities – Fiction or a Real Possibility?” SocArXiv. December 15. doi:10.31235/osf.io/jebhy.

Preprints are not peer-reviewed, but many of them end up as peer-reviewed publications –with modifications– after their submission to a scholarly journal. Check the examples below to see if you can catch the differences between the two versions:

• Perreault, K. “Heritage Ethics and Human Rights of the Dead.”Genealogy 2018, 2, 22. https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201805.0183/v1
• Avdeeff, M. Artificial Intelligence & Popular Music: SKYGGE, Flow Machines, and the Audio Uncanny Valley. Arts 2019, 8, 130. https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201907.0271/v1
• John, P. The Silent Researcher Critique: A New Method for Obtaining a Critical Response to a Holographic Artwork. Arts 2019, 8,117. https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201907.0236/v1

Have any questions or want to share what you have been reading? Get in touch with Lindsay Cronk, head of Collection Strategies & Scholarly Communications at River Campus Libraries. Have any questions about humanities preprints? Contact Kristen Totleben, humanities librarian.

David Allen Brewster ’18 MS, a PhD student in the lab of Kathryn Knowles, assistant professor of chemistry. Brewster is one of 52 recipients nationwide of a Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Award from the US Department of Energy. The awards provide supplemental funds for graduate awardees to conduct part of their thesis research at a host DOE laboratory in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist.

Brewster will be working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, on his project entitled, “In situ Spectroelectrochemical Analysis of the Structural Evolution of Ni(III) Oxides Upon Intercalation of Sodium Ions.”

His project will take advantage of the unique spectroelectrochemical tools developed at NREL, which include in situ/operando Raman and UV-visible absorption spectroscopies, as well as NREL’s battery testing facilities to study the electrochemical properties of a unique nanocrystalline nickel(III) oxide material Brewster synthesized during his research in the Knowles lab. The proposed analysis has implications for understanding capacity fade in sodium-ion batteries, necessary for enhancing next-generation electrical energy storage systems.

The University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI) has partnered with the Accrual to Clinical Trials (ACT) Network to bring real-time cohort exploration and discovery to University researchers. Through the network, researchers can query de-identified data from 125 million patient records to validate the feasibility of their clinical trials or identify potential collaborating institutions for multi-site trials.

The ACT Network can be used in conjunction with UR CTSI’s existing local cohort discovery tool, TriNetX, which was launched last year. While TriNetX allows researchers to determine if there are enough local patients who meet their study criteria, the ACT Network provides options for studies that would not be feasible if they relied solely on the local population. Read more here.

The Population Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship, offered by the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI), aims to produce interdisciplinary researchers trained in team science and competency-based skills who can conceptualize research across the translational continuum from basic research through population health.

Over the course of one year, postdocs develop and complete a population health research project within an existing research program and participate in didactic and hands-on training experiences through virtual learning and research platforms. The first round of rolling applications are due by Sunday, November 15.

Hosted by the Junior Faculty Biomedical Research Association, J. Edward Puzas, the Donald and Mary Clark Professor of Orthopaedics, will offer his insights into crafting a finely-honed specific aims page that will offer the best chance of capturing a reviewer’s interest and enthusiasm for a proposal from 4 to 5:30 p.m. October 28.

A University-wide half-day retreat, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, October 30, will focus on enhancing cross-campus research collaborations that advance the development, approval and use of innovative digital health tools and approaches.

The retreat will also inform plans for the forthcoming Digital Health Seedling Award program of the University’s Clinicial and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI).

The retreat will include brief presentations and breakout sessions exploring emerging digital health technologies, tools and methods for analyzing digital health data and issues related to health data access and privacy.

Register for the UR Digital Health Retreat by Monday, October 26.

Here are 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.

UHS flu vaccine clinics: Staff and faculty who would like to receive a flu shot at a University Health Service Flu Vaccine Clinic can now schedule an appointment online. Clinics for staff and faculty will be held on October 22, 27, 28, and 29. Check the UHS website for the links to each clinic. The clinic on October 29 will be held at the Eastman School of Music. The other clinics will be held in the Goergen Athletic Center (use the entrance on the Library Road side of the building). Part-time students and spouses of staff and faculty are welcome to schedule an appointment at one of these clinics; anyone coming to a UHS flu vaccine clinic for faculty and staff must complete and bring the consent form and a copy of both sides of their health insurance card.

Reminder about student travel during the semester: Since the beginning of the academic year, a policy has been in effect that restricts unnecessary student travel away from campus during the semester. This policy remains in effect and is intended to help prevent the introduction of COVID to the campus as a result of traveling to different parts of the country, or New York state. If students do travel more than 100 miles away from the University, they must plan to quarantine away from campus for 14 days upon return. There are some limited exceptions to the 100-mile student travel rule, such as necessary travel for personal or family reasons. These exemptions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis; students should contact their school or college dean to discuss their circumstances.

Education Abroad update for spring 2021: The University continues to carefully monitor the COVID-19 situation globally and due to uncertain conditions abroad has made the difficult decision to cancel all spring 2021 undergraduate and graduate Education Abroad semester-long programs. However, the University’s Travel Review Subcommittee will review and consider petitions from students or faculty who wish to host or embark upon spring 2021 abroad programs that are shorter in duration and in destinations deemed to be low risk. The minimum criteria for students or faculty leaders to submit a petition are: the Education Abroad program is of short duration (less than a semester-length program) and the destination falls below a CDC Level 3 Health Notice, as well as a Department of State Level 3 Travel Advisory for a period of two months at the time of a petition’s submission. If you have questions, contact the Center for Education Abroad at (585) 275-7532 or Global Engagement at travelsecurity@rochester.edu.

Protestant Chapel Community offers socially distant blessings: Laurie Tiberi, chaplain of the University’s Protestant Chapel community, will be available for socially distant personal blessings on Monday, October 19 from noon to 1 p.m. on the Wilson Commons front porch. Please wear a mask and maintain six feet of distance between yourself and others.