Pilot grants are an indispensable tool to support the initial experiments designed to pursue new fields of investigation and generate the data needed to secure external support, publish findings, and share data with scientific colleagues across the globe.

At the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, 13 novel research projects received pilot funding in 2020, almost three times the number from five years ago. In the past five years, more than $2.7 million in pilot funding has generated more than $31 million in external research support.

For example, Margot Mayer-Proschel, professor of biomedical genetics and neuroscience, received a $40,000 Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience pilot grant in 2016. This initial support has led to more than a million dollars in funding, and generated data and findings that have resulted in multiple publications and presentations. The recently designated Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at the University can also be linked back in part to the award of this pilot.

Read more here about similar successful outcomes from Del Monte Institute seed funds involving the labs of Ed Freedman and Anton Porsteinsson, Ania Busza, Ania Majewska, and Harris Gelbard.

REMINDER: DEADLINE FOR PILOT FUNDING IS APRIL 19

The Del Monte Institute is offering up to $900,000 in support of 17 pilot projects for 2021 with a focus on novel basic, clinical, and translational research in the neurosciences. This is the largest funding opportunity in the program’s history.

The awards are open to all faculty in the Medical Center and at the University. Submission deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, April 19.

Learn more here.

University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf has announced that she plans to make separate appointments for Rochester’s next provost and next vice president for research.

Separating the two cabinet-level positions marks a return to a previous organizational structure, Mangelsdorf noted, and represents the importance of having designated leadership to focus on each of the key areas of academic affairs and the research enterprise.

In a message to members of the University community, she also announced several important updates:

• Sarah Peyre, currently dean of the Warner School of Education, will serve for six months as interim provost
• Stephen Dewhurst, currently vice dean for research at the School of Medicine and Dentistry and associate vice president for health sciences research for the University, will serve a one-year appointment as interim vice president for research
• a University-wide committee, chaired by Mark Taubman, CEO of the Medical Center and UR Medicine, has been named to identify candidates for the next provost
• the organizational responsibilities for both roles have been reorganized.

Peyre and Dewhurst begin their new roles on July 1, when Rob Clark, currently the provost and senior vice president for research, steps down from the roles to return to the faculty in the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.

Read more here.

Dharshani Lakmali Jayasinghe, who will receive her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University this spring, will join the Humanities Center to support its Sawyer Seminar on “Unbordering Migration in the Americas:  Causes, Experiences, Identities.”

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore neglected but vital aspects of human migration in the Western hemisphere with biweekly seminars, public lectures, monthly workshops, film screenings, and an art exhibition through June 2022.

“Lakmali brings impressive, wide-ranging knowledge and skills to the Sawyer team and to the University campus,” says Joan Rubin, the Ani & Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center.

“Her dissertation examines the nature of the visa as a dimension of migration by exploring novels, films, and international law.  She has expertise in the digital humanities as well.”

Jayasinghe, who was born in Sri Lanka, was selected by the Sawyer Seminar organizing team as its first choice from a pool of 92 applicants for the postdoctoral position, Rubin says.

As part of her responsibilities, Jayasinghe will be organizing monthly work-in-progress and reading and discussion sessions for graduate students and anyone else who wishes to attend.  She is also working on a film series.

• Sarah Howd, an assistant professor of geriatrics and aging, who has been inducted as a member of the 2021–22 Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging Program by the American Geriatrics Society.
• Martina Poletti, an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences, who has received the 2021 Elsevier/Vision Sciences Society Young Investigator Award for her fundamental contributions to better understanding the fovea—a small region of the retina that is essential for high-resolution vision—and how it works in tandem with microscopic eye movements and attention to enable vision.

This year’s America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent student competition at the University was the largest in its eight-year history. Twelve teams presented innovative solutions to a wide range of regulatory science challenges, but only the first-place team will have the opportunity to present their idea to FDA scientists in April or May. Congratulations to this year’s winning teams:

• First Place: Preparing for POC: A Proposed Infrastructure for 3D Printing in Hospitals, presented by Alex McMullen, Aaron Craig, and Megan Luzenski, masters students in the Center for Medical Technology and Innovation (CMTI) medical design program of biomedical engineering.
• Second Place: Blood Contacting Device Testing Without the Bloodhound, presented by Julia Schroth and Matt Izard, also masters students in the CMTI program.
• Third Place (tie): Team Organoid, presented by Yunpeng Pang, PhD student in neuroscience; and My Health, presented by Aliza Panjwani, ’23 of chemistry and physics & astronomy.

Learn more about the winning projects on the UR CTSI Stories Blog.

An 80,000-word thesis would take 9 hours to present. Nine graduate students and postdocs from across the University will have only three minutes to summarize their research in a competition starting at noon, Friday, April 9.

The University’s fifth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition, which will be held virtually, challenges doctoral students and postdoctoral appointees to describe their research within that time frame to a general audience. A panel of judges will select the first-place winner and runner-up from the nine finalists. Audience members will cast their votes electronically for a People’s Choice Award. Anyone can register to attend.

The event will be interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing. If you would like to request accommodations, please contact Jen_Prosceo@urmc.rochester.edu at least three business days prior to the event.

The academic competition was developed by The University of Queensland in Australia for research students. This event is sponsored by the SMD myHub, ASE Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs Office, the Graduate Student Society (GSS), and the Graduate Student Association (GSA).

For more information, visit the event’s website.

The University’s observance of Graduate Student Appreciation Week will include several events next Monday through Friday to emphasize the contributions, impact, and value of its graduate and professional students.

The events include a virtual fireside chat by University President Sarah Mangelsdorf, Vice Provost and University Dean Melissa Sturge-Apple, and Raven Osborn, a PhD candidate in translational biomedical sciences and president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering (ADSE) chapter. The chat will be from 7 to 8 p.m., next Monday, April 5. Register here.

Many of the other events this year are also virtual. Event information can be found on the GSAW Events Webpage.

The annual University Technology Showcase, to held virtually from 1-5 p.m. on April 29, is an opportunity for faculty and researchers in optics, imaging and photonics, data science, energy and materials, and biomedical technology to share their work with industry professionals.

The showcase, hosted by the Center for Emerging & Innovative Sciences and the Center of Excellence in Data Science at the University of Rochester, will feature these guest speakers:

• Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic: “The Future of the American City: Superstars, Supercommutes, and Super Convenience.”
• Joe Stefko, president and CEO of ROC2025: “The Impact of the ‘Remote Work Revolution’ on economic development strategy.”
• Jim Poore, CEO and cofounder, and Dave Horan, CTO, at Immersitech: “Immersive Communications, a Game Changer for Remote Work.”

Students and faculty alike are encouraged to participate in a poster session following the speakers. To present a poster virtually send poster title and brief abstract to ceisweb@ur.rochester.edu 

Register for the Showcase here. Contact Paul Ballentine with any questions.

Here are important links for researchers:

• The University’s COVID-19 Resource Center for important updates and guidance on working, teaching, and learning remotely
• University of Rochester Medical Center website for restrictions, resources, and news
• The University’s COVID-19 “Restart and Recovery” web page

PLEASE NOTE that the University’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily and dashboard numbers may reflect additional cases confirmed later in the day. When a new case is known, the contact-tracing process begins immediately with the Monroe County Health Department, with confirmed exposures being contacted and required to quarantine. Remember:

If you feel like you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, it’s best to report them through Dr. Chat Bot immediately. Even if you think your symptoms might be something else, like a cold, seasonal congestion, or allergies, it’s still important to tell University health professionals and contact tracers what you are experiencing—they always want to receive more, not less, information.

Common COVID-19 symptoms include:

• A temperature of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or higher
• Chills
• Muscle or body aches
• Severe fatigue
• Headache
• Congestion or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Loss of taste, smell, or appetite
• Cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea