Four University graduate students—Jeffrey Baron, Bridget Fleming, Elif Karakaya, and Christian de Mouilpied Sancto—are inaugural recipients of Meliora Global Scholars grants. Offered by the Humanities Center, the grants provide doctoral candidates an opportunity to conduct thesis research in archives and communities abroad.

Available to doctoral students in English, history, philosophy, and visual and cultural studies, the awards of $3,000 to $8,000 are intended to help scholars explore “the interconnected nature of our world, from climate and natural resources to trade and intellectual exchange, in the past as in the present.” The awards also stress the importance of accessing primary and unpublished source material as the “foundation of building new knowledge and promoting epistemic fidelity in the humanities.”

Baron, a PhD candidate in the Department of History, will conduct research at several archives in Spain to support his dissertation examining Spanish treasure law as it transformed around 1492.

Fleming, Karakaya, and Sancto are each PhD students in the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies (VCS).

Fleming, who studies women’s artistic and curatorial practices in art collectives in the former Yugoslavia during the postwar era, will gather materials related to the Student Cultural Center (SKC), a collective that formed in 1968 in Belgrade, in present-day Serbia, as a result of the local student protest movement.

Karakaya examines the displacement of the Arab, Greek, and Armenian communities that accompanied the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, and the legacy of that displacement up to today.

Sancto studies the history of environmental sound media in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is particularly interested in how technological inventions like omnidirectional microphones, artistic movements like Fluxus, new interdisciplinary concepts like soundscape, and a “burgeoning awareness of environmental degradation instigated new kinds of global dialogue among artists, musicians, scientists, and policymakers.” Learn more.

In a study published in the Counseling and Values journal, Warner School of Education and Human Development PhD student Maureen Sharp; Thomas Killian of Montclair State University, and Michele Rivas of Nova Southeastern University seek to understand the identity development process for sexual/affectional minorities who identify as religious and spiritual.
 
The research team conducted two rounds of interviews with 16 participants who self-identified as a sexual/affectional minority, religious and spiritual. They employed a robust qualitative research method, called Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (ECIT), to give voice to the participants through self-reflection and to highlight the turning points in their identity development.

“Our study focused broadly on the incidents that were harmful and helpful components of identity construction—to be able to identify within the LGBTQ community and to also be able to identify as religious and spiritual when those identities can sometimes be conflictual,” says Sharp.

Among the findings, participants of the study identified six major themes that capture critical life moments impacting the successful integration of their sexual and religious identities. Those emerging themes, which can inform culturally sensitive counseling practice and interventions, include soliciting confirmation, unsolicited messages, spiritual respite, seeking community, building spiritual resiliency, and creating a palatable experience. Learn more.

Led by Wilmot Cancer Institute investigator AnnaLynn Williams, researchers have found that accelerated aging in 215 adults in their 30s who were treated as children for Hodgkin lymphoma tended to impact memory most often, and was consistent with very early signs of dementia.

The data was showcased at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting 2022.

Researchers are still studying ways to intervene, says Williams, an assistant professor of surgery, Division of Supportive Care in Cancer. In the meantime, she suggests that enhanced health screenings and a healthy lifestyle are the best strategies to ward off faster aging.

“Try to be active, quit smoking, eat healthy, see your primary care physician to get proper testing, and exercise your brain,” she says.

Williams is a cancer survivor herself — having been treated for leukemia in 2008 at age 22. Learn more.

Isreal Moreno,  biochemistry,10 a.m., January 9. 2023, K-207 Auditorium (Medical Center). Hybrid Event Zoom
Enolase 2: A novel determinant of Human Cytomegalovirus infection.
Advisor: Joshua Munger.

Michael M. Lutz , immunology, microbiology and virology, 10 a.m., January 11, 2023, Hybrid Event
Mechanisms of Host Adaptation of Influenza A Virus through Polymerase PA Mutations.
Advisor: Toru Takimoto.

The Office of the Vice President for Research will host a webinar Tuesday, January 10, from 3 to 4 p.m. EST to present and answer questions on the new NIH data management and sharing policy taking effect January 25.

Representatives from the Office of Research and Project Administration, the Office for Human Subject Protection, the University Libraries including both the River Campus Libraries and the Edward G. Miner Library, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, will provide:

• A brief overview of the new policy.
• How it will affect research.
• How to write and budget for a data management and sharing plan.
• Resources available at the institution to help with compliance.

Register here.

A panel of Medical Center assistant and associate professors who have a variety of hiring experiences will provide their advice and insights for early-stage PhD and MD faculty in hiring their first employees.

During the webinar from 4-5 p.m. January 18, Anna DeBenedetto, associate professor of dermatology, and Matthew McGraw and Regina K. Rowe, assistant professors of pediatrics, will talk about:

• The pros and cons of hiring staff with different levels of education and experience.
• Developing and writing a job description.
• The interview process.
• Mentoring and training your new employee.

Register here.

Sponsored by the Junior Faculty Biomedical Research Association, the School of Medicine and Dentistry Office for Faculty Development, and the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

University and Medical Center faculty can apply for pilot awards of up to $75,000 from the UR Intellectual Developmental Disability Research Center.

Project proposals should pertain to one or more of the seven focus areas listed in the RFA. Pilot award applications will be considered for the center’s new principal research project.

Apply by Thursday, January 26. Learn more.

The tenth annual America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent student competition, scheduled for March 1, is now accepting applications. Organized by the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the competition aims to promote student interest in regulatory science.

The winning team will meet with the FDA to present their ideas.

Students are welcome to submit a 50-word entry and provide a five-minute presentation during the competition. The proposed solution should align with the FDA Focus Areas of Regulatory Science.

Visit the UR CTSI website to learn more. Entry forms are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 1. 

Registration is now open for the inaugural Finger Lakes Microbiome Symposium (FiLMS).

FiLMS is a student-led conference with the goal of bringing together the microbiome research communities in the Finger Lakes, NY region and surrounding areas including academic institutions, medical centers, and industry.

With keynote talks, oral/poster presentations, a career panel, and a networking session, there will be many opportunities for attendees to present and discuss their work. All are invited.

Register and submit abstracts here.