Christopher Deeney has been named the new director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, succeeding Michael Campbell, who retired in December.

Deeney was named deputy director of the LLE in October 2021 and has served as interim director since Campbell’s retirement. He previously served as chief science and technology officer, National Security Directorate, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and before that at the Nevada National Security Site, the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the Sandia National Laboratories.

Deeney is known as a scientific and innovation leader with direct experience running complex operations. “The University is fortunate to have such a visionary leader for our Laboratory for Laser Energetics,” says University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “Chris Deeney is internationally known and respected. We’re looking forward to the creative partnerships and projects he will continue to cultivate with scholars and institutions around the world.”

LLE has a long tradition of innovating and advancing laser and optical technology. As LLE director, Deeney will provide guidance to ensure the development and implementation of LLE’s scientific and technical mission. He will participate in the day-to-day management of LLE while fostering successful relationships among the University’s senior leadership, medical center, academic and administrative departments, and students; federal, local, and state government officials; peer organizations and laboratories; the DOE, NNSA, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense; and private industry and the local community. Learn more.

University Research Awards provide seed money to help launch particularly innovative projects that would likely attract external funding once they are sufficiently developed. An award of up to $37,500 is made as a match to funds committed by the applicant’s home school (or applicants’ home schools) for a total of $75,000.

This year, awards have been given to 19 projects involving 34 faculty members and researchers from 17 different departments and research centers. They are:

• Brian Altman of biomedical genetics and Scott Gerber of microbiology and immunology: Role of the Macrophage Molecular Circadian Clock in Pancreatic Cancer.
• Zhen Bai and Ehsan Hoque of computer science: CatMoment: Promoting Inclusive Conversation in Small-Group Learning.
  
• Nathaniel Bayer and Suzannah Iadarola of pediatrics, Christie Petrenko of Mt. Hope Family Center, and Thomas O’Connor of psychiatry: Developing an Intervention to Improve Family Adaptation Among Children with Medical Complexity.
• Dora Biro and Jude Mitchell of brain and cognitive sciences, and Kuan Wang of neuroscience: Marker-Free Tracking of Group Foraging: A Window to the Primate Social Brain.
• Machiel Blok of physics and astronomy and Ignacio Franco of chemistry: Quantum Alchemy: Floquet Engineering of Qutrits Hamiltonians.
• Mark Buckley of biomedical engineering: Modulation of Cartilage Mechanical Properties and Health by Absorbed Macromolecules.
• Kavaljit Chhabra of medicine: Discovery of a Glucoreceptor that is Essential for Glucose and Energy Homeostasis: Novel Target for Treatment of Diabetes and Obesity.
• Manuel Gomez-Ramirez and Jude Mitchell of brain and cognitive sciences, and Kuan Wang of neuroscience: Neural Mechanisms Generating Affective Touch Sensation.
• Kathryn Knowles of chemistry: Photoinduced Polaron Formation in Lead Halide Perovskite Semiconductors.
• Edmund Lalor of biomedical engineering and Brian Keane of psychiatry: Visual perception in schizophrenia: assessing predictive processing in the earliest stages of the visual cortical hierarchy.
• Joyce McDonough of linguistics and Chung-Lin Yang of brain and cognitive sciences: Learning New Categories: an EEG Study of Second Language Learners of Mandarin Consonants.
• Astrid Müller of chemical engineering: Electrocatalytic degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous solution.
• Bradley Nilsson of chemistry and Danielle Benoit of biomedical engineering: Hydrogels for Localized Delivery of Therapeutics to Promote Bone Regeneration.
• Alexander Paciorkowski of neurology and Andrew White of chemical engineering: Improvement of genomic variant interpretation in intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Marc Porosoff of chemical engineering: Vanadium Oxide Sorbents for Reactive Separations of Carbon Dioxide from Air.
• Yan Sun of microbiology and immunology, Thomas Mariani of pediatrics, and Xing Qiu of biostatistics and computational biology: Defective Viral Genomes as a Mechanistic Determinant of COVID-19 Pathogenesis.
• Martha Susiarjo of environmental medicine and Patrick Murphy of biomedical genetics: Gene-environment Interaction Modulates Susceptibility to Gestational Diabetes.
• Gary Wicks of optics: Quantum Dot Sources of Quantum Light at Telecom Wavelengths.
• Peng Yao of medicine: Development of Novel RNA-based Therapeutics for Heart Disease.

Healthy human T-cell, at left, and T-cell infected with HIV. (Courtesy of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

The rapid discovery of effective COVID-19 vaccines has armed Medical Center researchers with valuable data and lessons in their quest of 40-plus years to find a vaccine for the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

“HIV is a much tougher nut to crack,” says Stephen Dewhurst, vice dean for research and a professor of microbiology and immunology. “One profound difference from COVID is the number of mutations in a single individual. In an untreated person, HIV can replicate and mutate for years; COVID doesn’t do that. The rate at which HIV generates new mutations is off the charts.”

However, HIV researchers can take hope from the impact of investments in fundamental aspects of RNA vaccine technology and structure-based antigen design—which allowed them to be immediately applied to SARS-CoV-2.

In addition, an enormous global infusion of resources into the search for a COVID-19 vaccine enabled the very rapid evaluation of a huge number of vaccine concepts. Both of these advances can now be applied to HIV. Learn more here.

This year’s recipients of President’s Staff Awards, several of whom have had a direct or indirect impact on research and medical care at the University. They are, left to right, top to bottom:

• Mark Ott, assistant quality officer at the Medical Center, who has been at the forefront of the University’s COVID-19 employee vaccination program, collaborating with Employee Health, the pharmacy, and nursing practice to set up immunization vaccine clinics and develop electronic systems to track appointments and vaccination-related documentation.
• Eric Snyder, director of informatics at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, for his transformative contributions to helping Wilmot faculty and staff to pull, manage, and visualize patient data.
• Gunta Liders, associate vice president for research administration and leader of the Office of Research and Project Administration, whose commitment, knowledge, leadership, and creativity make her stand out as one of the most effective and central figures in the University’s research mission.
• Chris Apple, men’s soccer coach for the past 21 years, who has inspired many students and colleagues through his teaching, mentorship, coaching, and campus involvement.
• The Strong Memorial Hospital Infection Prevention Team, led by Lynne Brown, includes Karen Dugan, Lynn Fine, Margaret Gowin, Paul Graman, Melani McDonough, Gates McMahon, Mary Kay Moore, Vicki Sage, Hillary Schlosser, Brenda Tesini, and Michael Van Roo. Their dedication helped protect staff and patients from hospital-acquired infections, especially as they embraced additional roles and responsibilities throughout the COVID-19 public health crisis.
• Jennifer Harris, director of nursing safety, quality, and patient outcomes at Strong Memorial Hospital, for her outstanding contributions in support of nurses, staff, and students as well as patients and their families, including Covid-19 vaccine clinics.
• Rebekah Lewin, senior assistant dean for admissions and programs at Simon Business School, for managing diverse projects with skill, empathy, and respect, including a study local program for Chinese students during the height of COVID-19.
• Brian McIntyre, director of operations for URnano and lecturer in optics, for numerous contributions, including the first generally available scanning microscopy lab on the River Campus, his key role in creating URnano, and mentoring students.
• Ray Teng, senior laboratory engineer in the Department of Chemistry, for several key roles in the department, including designing and planning research space, servicing a wide range of instruments, and keeping undergraduate laboratories functioning.

Learn more about the awardees here.

Taylor Uccello, microbiology and immunology, Identifying Factors that Mediate the Anti-Tumor Immune Response to Rectal Cancer Following Short Course Radiotherapy. Advisor: Scott Gerber.
1 p.m. today, June 3, Adolph Auditorium 1-7619 and online
https://urmc.zoom.us/j/96694259171?pwd=ZGJTWlNpQmFaZVBWamRNZDdVN0tIZz09 Passcode: 168998

How are artists reimagining the world we live in? How do the arts play a pivotal role in promoting justice, equity, and citizenship?

Register for a free four-day virtual conference as worldwide artists of all disciplines consider and discuss. Hosted by the University’s Institute for the Performing Arts, now through this Sunday, June 5. Register at uofr.us/arts2022.

The School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD) is partnering with Valor to offer an innovative, one-on-one leadership development program to SMD faculty, at whatever career stage, who are interested in customized coaching in confidence, communications, strategic thinking, resilience, mental agility, goal setting, accountability, and leadership.

This year’s program will kick off July 12. Participants will spend about 30 minutes each week over the following six months either in confidential conversations with a coach or working independently in the online exercises. Participants also receive unlimited access to Valor’s digital platform, which includes ongoing course content, continuous messaging with their coaches, and the chance to connect with a community of engaged high performers.

“As an organization, we believe our members should constantly challenge themselves, grow professionally and expand their skillsets,” says Michael Rotondo, CEO of URMFG (University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group). “That’s why we’ve always offered a robust faculty development program, and why we’re proud now to expand our offerings with Valor Engagement, which has been successfully deployed at leading health care institutions like Mass General Brigham and leading private-sector businesses like Oracle. We see it as an integral part of our effort to develop the future leaders of URMFG and URMC. And our message to faculty is clear: Especially in these challenging times, we value you and are investing in your future.”

Applications for the URMC Valor Leadership and Coaching Program are due June 17. Cohort size is limited, and successful applicants will be notified in July.​ For general questions regarding this program and application process, please contact Janine Shapiro.

Learn about medRxiv and bioRxiv, the most influential health science and biology preprint servers, during a free zoom presentation by Joseph Ross and Samantha Hindle from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, sponsored by the Miner Library and myHUB.

Ross, a University of Rochester alumnus, is a medRxiv co-founder and professor of medicine and public health at Yale University. Hindle is a neuroscientist who joined bioRxiv as content lead before becoming the content manager for bioRxiv and medRxiv.  Register here.