How do religious and spiritual beliefs influence terminally ill patients and their approach to dying?

Why is Emily Dickinson’s poetry often set to music?

How did tourists influence the development of Cuba from the turn of the 20^th century until the beginning of the Socialist period in 1959?

What levels of ultraviolet exposure will irreversibly damage manuscripts?

How do we know what we know?

The University recently hosted the College’s annual Undergraduate Research Exposition, in which students presented work addressing these and a range of other questions.

“This is a particularly momentous week to be celebrating research,” said University President and CEO Joel Seligman at the event, which was held on the eve of the March for Science. “It is a week in which it is worthwhile reflecting on the extraordinary curiosity, the great work ethic, and the thoughtful contributions our undergraduates are making.”

Seligman spent time talking to students about their research at the poster presentation and later presented several awards.

Steve Manly, director of undergraduate research and a professor of physics, said: “We are surrounded by many interesting teachers and people doing fascinating research, and the spirit of this event is that we are recognizing and celebrating examples of unequivocal excellence.”

Click here for a list of individual student awards.

The Graduate Studies office has awarded these AS&E Outstanding Dissertation Awards for 2017:

Engineering
Winner: Justin Schultz, optics, “Singular Atom Optics Via Stimulated Raman Interactions in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates.”
Commendation: Andrew Shubin, biomedical engineering, “Poly (Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels for Salivary Gland Regeneration.”

Humanities
Winner: Matthew Bayne, English, “Tarrying with Useless Things: Reparative Readings of Victorian Social Inequality.”
Commendation: Mitchell Gruber, history, “The Degradation of the Food Retail Landscape.”

Natural sciences
Winner: Xiao Tian, biology, “Identification of Longevity and Cancer Resistance Mechanisms in Long Lived Rodent Species.”
Commendation: Dave Kleinschmidt, brain and cognitive sciences, “Perception in a Variable but Structured World: the Case of Speech Perception.”

Social sciences
Winner: Michael Gibilisco, political science, “Three Essays on Political Economy.”
Commendation: Marc Jambon, clinical and social sciences in psychology, “Approach to Conceptualizing Individual Differences in Early Moral Understanding.”

Lauren DiMonte has joined the River Campus Libraries as a data and research impact librarian. “An important part of my role is to facilitate creative engagements with data across campus, and support students, faculty, and staff who want to work with data analysis and data visualization tools,” she explains in a Q&A in the Tower Talk newsletter.

She will develop new ways to share the research outputs of graduate and undergraduate students and will collaborate on projects that measure and demonstrate the impact of the University’s research enterprise.

DiMonte also hopes to make River Campus Libraries an important partner in the University’s data science initiatives in three main ways:

• Make data science hardware, software, and methods more accessible to users at all levels of expertise.
• Work to position the library as an interdisciplinary nexus for data-focused research, teaching, and learning.
• Develop programs, workshops, and events that will connect data science faculty and students with colleagues outside of the University to form an inclusive community across disciplines and across institutions.

Read more here.

Learn about basic and applied research science and technology funding opportunities at the Department of Defense from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 23, in the Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library.

The information session will be presented by experts in the field and will provide an opportunity to learn more about current research trends and strategic outlook, hear recommendations on how to engage with program officers, and to ask proposal-specific questions.

The session is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Research; Arts, Sciences & Engineering; and the Office of Government & Community Relations.

Coffee and donuts will be provided.  Please RSVP by the end of today, May 19, by emailing Laurie Chiumento, director of UR Federal Relations, or by calling (585) 273-5955.

University researchers, working with counterparts at Harvard and MIT, have discovered a new, targetable pathway in treating acute myeloid leukemia.

The team, including Archibald Perkins, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and Yi “Stanley” Zhang, research associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, studied EVI1, a gene that, when active, makes certain types of leukemia and some solid tumors virtually untreatable.

Their study, published in the high-impact journal Nature Medicine, showed that when EVI1 is abundant in leukemia, it changes the metabolism of immature blood cells as they progress toward becoming cancer—but also leaves EVI1-positive cancers vulnerable to treatments that can strike down that pathway.

The Perkins/Zhang laboratory has been investigating the EVI1 gene for several years, resulting in a solid track record of publications on the topic. Their goal is to discover new treatments that will target the underlying pathways involved in EVI1-positive cancers. The Perkins/Zhang data supported Harvard’s and MIT’s investigation of what drives the EVI1 gene.

Read more here.

University researchers have discovered a simple, practical way to use light and optics to steer killer immune cells toward tumors – a method that Minsoo Kim, professor of microbiology and immunology, says is similar to “sending light on a spy mission to track down cancer cells.”

Kim’s laboratory focused on how to overcome the immune-suppressive environment that cancer creates in two separate projects:

• A biological study to understand and develop light-sensitive molecules that could efficiently guide T cells toward tumors. They discovered that a molecule called channelrhodopsin (CatCh), which is active in algae and is light sensitive, could be introduced to the immune system via a virus and activated to control the T- cell response to cancer.  UR Ventures, the university’s technology transfer office, has filed for patent protection on the invention.
• An engineering study to invent an LED chip to test in mice. The chip could eventually be implanted in humans. For this project, Kim’s lab collaborated with UR scientists in optics and photonics.

The team evaluated their methods in mice with melanoma on the ears. The animals wore a tiny battery pack that sent a wireless signal to the LED chip—allowing researchers to remotely shine light on the tumor and surrounding areas, giving T cells a boost for their cancer-killing function.

The optical control was sufficient to allow the immune system to nearly wipe out the melanoma with no toxic side effects, the study reported.

Future studies, Kim said, would determine whether the wireless LED signal can deliver light to a tumor deep within the body instead of on the surface area, and still have the ability to stimulate T cells to attack.

Read more here.

Ranolazine, a chest pain drug marketed as Ranexa®, reduced the likelihood of experiencing ventricular tachycardia – an abnormally fast heart rhythm – by 27 percent, according to University researchers who led a randomized clinical trial conducted at 95 sites in the U.S. and Canada.

The drug also decreased the risk of recurrent episodes of ventricular tachycardia by 35 percent. The findings are important because ventricular tachycardia can lead to ventricular fibrillation, an even faster and more dangerous rhythm that can trigger cardiac arrest and death.

Lead study author Wojciech Zareba, professor of cardiology and director of the Heart Research Follow-Up Program at the Medical Center, says no new anti-arrhythmic drugs have been developed in the past 25 years, leaving patients with few options.

“Physicians can prescribe beta blockers to slow the heart rate, but they don’t provide enough protection for high-risk individuals; and currently available anti-arrhythmic drugs aren’t always used long-term due to negative side effects,” noted Zareba, an international expert on heart rhythm disorders. “We found that ranolazine has a positive effect on the risk and frequency of ventricular arrhythmias and we should encourage physicians to use it for prevention.”

Read more here.

Arthur J. Moss, the Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine, who has received the Heart Rhythm Society’s Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology Award. Moss has dedicated his career to understanding and treating electrical disturbances of the heart and has made some of the most significant discoveries in the treatment and prevention of cardiac arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, heart failure, and long QT syndrome. Read more here.

Matthew Baddorf, Philosophy, “The Bank Isn’t Like a Man: Collective Moral Responsibility and Virtue.” 10 a.m. May 22, 2017. Dewey 2110E. Advisor: Brett Sherman.

Katherine Grzesik, Statistics, “Local Cross-Validated Smoothing Parameter Estimation for Linear Smoothers.” 1 p.m. June 1, 2017, Saunders Research Building Room 1.412. Advisor: Derick Peterson.

Today: Discussion: “What is modern society wrong about that will be ridiculed by our descendants?” Led by Randall Curren of the Department of Philosophy. Pangaea Discussion Group. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Natapow Conference Room, 1-9545 (Medical Center). Hosted by Graduate Student Society (SMD) and the AS&E Graduate Student Association. Snacks, coffee, and tea provided.

May 22: Deadline to apply for pilot awards from the Center for AIDS Research, including awards of up to $50,000 each focusing on: HIV-associated cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease; stress, trauma, and vulnerable populations; and HIV cure (click here for RFA). Also awards of up to $25,000 focusing on the National Institutes of Health HIV/AIDS High Priority Research Topics (click here for RFA).

May 22: Deadline to apply for research awards from the Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences to collaborate with New York state companies on projects in ophthalmic and vision science, fiber optic communications, biomedical imaging, geospatial imaging, precision optics, consumer imaging and displays. Click here to learn more.

May 23: Donuts and DOD: The ins and outs of successfully competing for Department of Defense funding. Presented by Lewis-Burke Associates LLC. 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library. Sponsored by the Office of Provost and Senior Vice President for Research; Arts, Sciences & Engineering, and the Office of Government & Community Relations. RSVP by May 19 to laurie_chiumento@urmc.rochester.edu or (585) 273-5955.

May 23: Deadline to submit pre-proposals for University Technology Development Fund awards. Submissions should be sent to omar.bakht@rochester.edu. Click here for more details.

May 26: Neuroscience Retreat, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Memorial Art Gallery. Register here.

May 26: “Biomimetic and Anti-Fouling Interfaces,” a Frontiers in Materials Science for the 21st Century Symposium, sponsored by the Rochester Advanced Materials Science Program. 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sloan Auditorium, Goergen Hall. More information at the program website. Contact gina.eagan@rochester.edu for further details.

May 30: Deadline to apply for awards of up to $10,000 from the Center for AIDS Research for collaborative clinical and translational pharmacology proposals involving University of Rochester and University at Buffalo faculty. Click here for RFA.

June 1: “Excellence Through Equity: Creating Schools that Serve All Children Well,” presented by Pedro Noguera, professor of education at UCLA. Followed by panel discussion. Hosted by Warner School’s Center for Urban Education Success. 6 p.m., Edward J. Cavalier Auditorium at East High School. Free and open to the public. Read more here.

June 12: “So you want to publish? Tips, tools and techniques for identifying and choosing the ‘right’ publication.” 2016-2017 Faculty Development Workshop Series. 4 to 5:30 p.m., CEL 2-7544. Faculty, students, residents, fellows, and staff are welcome to attend. To register, contact Nina Koski.

June 14: Science, Technology, and Culture multidisciplinary reading group, discussing When Breath Becomes Air, the memoir of Paul Kalanithi — a neurosurgeon whose diagnosis with terminal lung cancer at the end of his residency drives him to examine the brain, the mind, and what makes us human.  5 p.m., Humanities Center at Rush Rhees Library. To learn more, email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu