(Input from faculty, staff, and students is vital to the University’s strategic planning now underway. This is the first in a series of articles looking at key areas in which faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to submit ideas for new research initiatives, or for policies, practices, or resources that will strengthen the University’s competitive position as a premier research institution. Suggestions can be made until November 17.)

Among the University’s key goals is to “lead through research.” The first step in crafting a strategic plan to achieve this goal is to harvest the very best ideas of the faculty.

Please note: The term “research” as used here encompasses all the scholarly activities of the University, including the arts, humanities, science, engineering, and clinical research.

The Lead through Research Strategic Plan Working Group seeks ideas for big-picture, transformational initiatives — in addition to the substantial commitments the University has already made to data science and neuroscience — that will make the University an even more vibrant and impactful intellectual community,

Examples of new initiatives under review range from augmented and virtual reality, to translational science that fosters mental health, to a better understanding of aging, and an exploration of early worlds.

Faculty are encouraged to submit additional initiatives that will:

• Represent transformational–not incremental–research and scholarship;
• Be accessible and exciting for society at large, with significant societal impact;
• Distinguish the University of Rochester from our competitors;
• Engage many faculty members within the institution and possibly other institutions;
• Identify a committed leader or a process for identifying a leader;
• Have a high probability of garnering external support, including philanthropic support.

All submissions will remain anonymous unless a direct response is requested. Click here to learn more and to submit a suggestion by November 17. The suggestion form can be submitted more than once if you have multiple ideas.

Rochester alumni and faculty have now received a total of nine Nobel Prizes, after Richard Thaler ’74 (PhD), a professor at the University of Chicago, was awarded the prize this week in economic sciences.

A leading scholar on the intersection between human behavior and economic decision making, Thaler has been instrumental in arguing that traditional economic models don’t adequately account for how people approach economic decisions. Over the course of his career, he has been highly regarded for work that explores how ideas in psychology influence decision making in economics and other areas. According to Thaler, people are prone to a variety of influences, ranging from altruism to laziness, that affect how they behave and that should be considered by economic and other policy makers.

He’s the sixth Rochester alumnus to be recognized and the second member of the University community to be awarded the prize in economics.

Click here to see the University’s other laureates.

A $3.6 million National Institute of Aging grant will enable University researchers to study why people who are HIV positive are more susceptible to a progressive cerebrovascular disease that can ultimately give rise to dementia. One of the goals of the research is to identify new ways to prevent the blockages that occur in blood vessels and cause damage in the brain.

The project will be led by neurologist Giovanni Schifitto and Sanjay Maggirwar of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Treatments such as combined antiretroviral therapies (cART) have transformed HIV into a manageable chronic illness. However, as the population living with HIV ages, the long-term effects of both the infection and treatment have given rise to additional health problems, such as cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). which is the second leading cause of cognitive impairment and dementia in the general population, and is even more prevalent in individuals with HIV.

The new study will examine the interaction of two types of blood cells – platelets and monocytes. When these cells become stuck together and form complexes, the resulting blockages can lead to a hardening of the arteries.

When complexes of platelets and monocytes accumulate in the brain they can promote inflammation, which can cause vessels to become leaky, plugged, or to burst, resulting in micro-strokes or micro-hemorrhages that damage neurons and other tissue in the brain.

The new study will follow 110 HIV positive and 110 healthy individuals for three years. Using advanced neuroimaging technologies, the researchers will trace blood flow in the brain, determine the integrity of the blood vessels, identify micro-bleeds or ruptured vessels, and measure damage to white matter. Studying these factors over time will enable the researchers to understand the progression of CSVD and potentially identify targets for new therapies.

Read more here.

Laura Elenbaas has joined the Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology as an assistant professor after completing her PhD in human development at the University of Maryland, where she was a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow. Elenbaas studies social cognition, intergroup attitudes, and morality in childhood and adolescence. Her recent research examines children’s perceptions of social inequalities, stereotypes about social groups, and reasoning about complex moral issues like rights and discrimination. The integrative work links children’s everyday decision making with issues of exclusion and inequality in broader society. Elenbaas is also committed to the application of developmental science through community collaborations. Elenbaas has received funding from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Foundation, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Developmental Psychology, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, and Cognition.

Ehsan Hoque, assistant professor of computer science, who has been named to the Science News “10 Scientists to Watch” list for 2017. Now in its third year, the list spotlights the work of 10 early- and mid-career scientists, age 40 and under, who stand out to mentors and peers as people who will make a difference. Hoque is an expert in human-computer interaction and a pioneer in developing apps that help people hone their speaking and social skills. Read more here.

Mary Ann Mavrinac, the University’s vice provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of University of Rochester Libraries, who has started her term as the new president of the Association of Research Libraries. The ARL represents 125 leading research libraries in the United States and Canada. The ARL’s aim is to transition the research library from its role as a knowledge service provider within a single university to become a collaborative partner within a broader ecosystem of higher education. Part of that, Mavrinac says, is to strengthen international partnerships through the International Alliance of Research Library Associations and to harness the power of the collective. Read more here.

Robert McCrory, who has retired as director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics after leading it to international prominence during the past 35 years. McCrory, who holds the title of University Professor—one of just eight current or former members of the faculty to receive that distinction—and vice president and vice provost, will step down from the University as of December 31. Read more here.

Michael Campbell, deputy director of LLE, who will become director of the lab, pending approval of the University’s Board of Trustees. Campbell is an internationally known expert in inertial fusion, high-energy-density physics, high-power lasers and their applications, and advanced energy technologies including Generation IV nuclear fission reactors and biofuels. He has won numerous awards including the Department of Energy’s E. O. Lawrence Award, the American Nuclear Society’s Edward Teller Award, the American Physical Society’s John Dawson Award, the Department of Energy’s Excellence in Weapons Research Award, and the Leadership Award of Fusion Power Associates. Read more here.

Nora Rubel, who has been named the inaugural holder of the Jane and Alan Batkin Endowed Professorship in Jewish Studies. Rubel is also an associate professor of religion at Rochester and director of the University’s Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. She is the author of Doubting the Devout: The Ultra-Orthodox in the Jewish American Imagination (Columbia University Press, 2009), a coeditor of Religion, Food, and Eating in North America (Columbia University Press, 2014), and the author of multiple journal articles and essays. Read more here.

(This is part of a monthly series to help principal investigators understand their role in ensuring that human subject protection requirements are met in their studies.)

Principal Investigators are responsible for submitting a final continuing review report via the RSRB Online Submission System (ROSS) when a study is closed or completed.

Studies are considered completed once all interventions, data collection, and data analysis activities, as described in the protocol, are completed. (Note that additional analyses may be conducted once the study is closed, as long as all identifiers are removed from the dataset.)

Alternatively, studies may be closed because the study was approved but never initiated or was initiated but closed before all data collection and analysis were achieved.

Allowing a study’s approval to lapse is not the equivalent of submitting a closure report. If an Investigator has a study that has lapsed in approval, he or she will not be able to have new research reviewed by the Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB) until a progress report is submitted to appropriately close the study.

Similarly, research submitted for initial review by the RSRB that is later abandoned prior to approval should be withdrawn by the study team. This can be accomplished by selecting the ‘Withdraw’ option on the study homepage in ROSS. Beginning October 1, the RSRB will administratively withdraw unapproved applications with no activity after 90 days. Investigators will receive automated notifications regarding inactive initial applications after approximately 60 days, and again after 90 days. The 60-day notification will indicate there has been no action in response to RSRB requested changes and after 90 days, the initial submission will be administratively withdrawn. Investigators can “reset the clock” by re-submitting the application to the RSRB, providing an update on study status.

Additional information is available in Office for Human Subject Protection Policies 502 Types of RSRB Submissions and 901 Investigator Responsibilities. Questions concerning study closures can be directed to your RSRB Specialist.

An upcoming conference will open a window into the state of research in medieval manuscript studies in the digital age. “Machine-Reading and Crowdsourcing Medieval Music Manuscripts” will bring together scholars for a half-day symposium that in part focuses on a thirteenth-century manuscript, currently on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. The symposium will take place on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at the Eastman School of Music and will also be live streamed for the international scholarly community.

The symposium will provide updates from researchers in machine-reading technology with early music notation and will present initiatives for employing collaborative techniques to catalog manuscripts. There will be presentations on issues in machine-reading and crowdsourcing of medieval music manuscripts by researchers involved with the international database of Latin plainchant known as CANTUS.

Special guest speakers Debra Lacoste (University of Waterloo) and Jennifer Bain (Dalhousie University) will lead the half-day sessions, along with a handful of other prominent scholars who combine the digital humanities in their studies of medieval musicology.

The conference is organized by Michael Anderson, associate professor of musicology at the Eastman School. “I look forward to welcoming an enviable slate of speakers from Canada and the United States for a stimulating discussion of their research on medieval manuscripts of music,” he says. “Major strides in digital photography and technological strides in online data management have changed how we approach and understand these important artifacts of medieval life. We’re delighted to have digital access to a thirteenth-century Italian liturgical source from the Art Institute of Chicago to drive some of our proceedings.”

The conference is funded by a grant from the University’s Humanities Project, which helps fund public events in humanistic disciplines that raise the profile of the humanities at the University.

Read more here.

A University-wide Annual Research Conference on “Food Justice: Exploring Our Cultures’ Complexity” will create opportunities for multidisciplinary dialogue and innovative research to expand our lens on the complexity of food within various cultures. The conference will be held from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., November 10 at the Interfaith Chapel and at 305 Schlegel Hall, Simon School of Business.

Click here to register and see the conference schedule and speaker profiles.

The conference aims to promote diversity and inclusion through the advancement of scholarship and showcasing scholarly activity.  Potential faculty members are encouraged to attend.

The conference objectives: (1) spark and share meaningful dialogue within the University’s academic community concerning issues on culture; (2) inform pedagogy for sustainable and meaningful learning environments; and (3) create a space for scholarly exchange at the University to ask questions, get assistance, and seek collaborative opportunities around investigating our commonalities through culture.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute has developed one of the first massive open online courses (MOOC) focused on translational science. Anyone interested in learning more about translational science can audit the course for free. Click here for more information.

Funds are available to support laboratory staff for short-term, early-phase work necessary to allow investigators to translate their ideas into computer code or models, and to get new biocomputational/health-related scientific projects up and running in the following areas:

• Modeling Complex Biological Systems and Integration of Big Data
• Biomedical Imaging
• Molecular and Fluid Dynamics
• Biomedical Applications of Integrated Photonics
• Biomedical Informatics
• Data Analysis and Visualization

Initial salary support will be permitted for periods up to 12 months, including academic semesters and summer terms. All laboratory research staff including students, technicians, and fellows are eligible.

To receive more information regarding the RFA, contact Ben Miller at benjamin_miller@urmc.rochester.edu. To view the Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation web page, click here.

Applications are due Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute is issuing a second call for submission of abstracts for novel biostatistical and epidemiologic methods (NBEM) awards.  Submissions will be due Monday, October 23 at 5 p.m.  Information about the program and instructions for submission can be found in the RFA.

Yuncheng Li, Computer Science,”Weakly Supervised Learning From Noisy Data: From Practice to Theory.” 10 a.m. October 13, 2017. Wegmans Hall 3201. Advisor: Jiebo Luo.

Christopher Farrar, Biomedical Engineering, “The Influence of Extracellular Matrix Fibronectin on Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Signaling.” 2:30 p.m., October 19, 2017. Med 1-9576. Advisor: Denise Hocking.

Michael Trembley, Pharmacology, “Linking the Cytoskeleton to Transcription: A Role for Myocardin-related Transcription Factors in Heart Development and Disease.” 9:30 a.m. October 20, 2017. Adolph Auditorium (1-7619). Host: Eric Small.

Makaia Papasergi-Scott, Pharmacology, “Phosphorylation Regulates Molecular Chaperoning and GEF Functions of RIc-8A in Heterotrimeric G Protein Signaling.” 8:30 a.m., October 24, 2017. Ryan Case Method Room (1-9576). Advisor: Robert Freeman.

Rebecca Rausch, Neuroscience, “Notch and BMP Signaling Ligands in Ocular Development: An Analysis of Altered Spatiotemporal Expression and Gene Dosage.” 1 p.m., November 3, 2017. Medical Center K-207 (2-6408). Advisors: Richard Libby and Amy Kiernan.

Adan Becerra, Epidemiology, “Childhood and Adulthood Stress Exposures in Relation to Late-Life Cognitive Function: A Life Course Perspective.” 11 a.m., November 13, 2017. Saunders Research Building 1.416. Advisor: Christopher Seplaki.

Oct. 18: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses A Crack in Creation, by Jennifer Doudna. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

Oct. 20: Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) symposium. John Ashton from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Genomics Research Center will discuss sequencing technologies for single cell RNA. Binshuang Li from the Department of Biology will demonstrate the use of second- and third-generation sequencing techniques to identify a master genetic switch. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wegmans Hall 1400. Lunch will be provided.

Oct. 23: 5 p.m. deadline to apply to Center for AIDS Research for joint funding through SMD, SON, and Program of Excellence. Click here to find full pilot announcement.

Oct. 23: 5 p.m. deadline to submit abstracts for novel biostatistical and epidemiologic methods (NBEM) awards from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Information about the program and instructions for submission can be found in the RFA.

Oct. 26: “Machine-Reading and Crowdsourcing Medieval Music Manuscripts” symposium. Eastman School of Music. Read more here.

Oct. 31: Deadline to submit applications for funding to support health sciences research using high performance computational resources. For more information, contact Ben Miller at benjamin_miller@urmc.rochester.edu. To view the Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation web page, click here.

Nov. 4: Immune Imaging Symposium hosted by the Program for Advanced Immune Bioimaging.  International speakers, poster session, and oral presentations from students and postdoctoral fellows. 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Saunders Research Building. Submit poster abstracts here by October 16. Lunch and refreshments will be served. For more information, click here. Registration is free.

Nov. 7: The Historical Roots of Machine Learning. CTSI Analytics Colloquium. Noon to 1 p.m. Lower Adolph Auditorium, Medical Center.

Nov. 8: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

November 8: “Figures and Forms: Thoughts on the ‘Inside’ and the ‘Outside’ of Music.” Oliver Schneller, professor of composition and director of the Eastman Audio Research Studio (EARS) at the Eastman School of Music.  Phelps Colloquium. 4 to 5:30 p.m. Max of Eastman Place. Click here to register.

Nov. 9: Wilmot Cancer Institute Scientific Symposium. Oral presentations and poster session.  9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Class of ’62 Auditorium and Flaum Atrium, Prizes for best posters. Deadline for poster registration submission is November 1. For questions about the symposium, the poster presentation, or to obtain a poster registration form, contact Chelsea Costanzo at chelsea_costanzo@urmc.rochester.edu or at 273-1447.

Nov. 10: “Food Justice: Exploring Our Cultures’ Complexity.” University-wide Annual Research Conference. 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Interfaith Chapel and 305 Schlegel Hall. Click here to register and see the conference schedule and speaker profiles.

Nov. 13: Initial abstracts due for Incubator Awards from the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Find more details and application instructions online.

Nov. 15: Deadline to apply for Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Junior Investigator Award, for Collaborative Pilot Studies Targeting New NCI Funding, and for Brain Tumor Pilot Studies. For additional information and applications, click here. Applications should be submitted electronically to Pam Iadarola, research administrator, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Pamela_iadarola@urmc.rochester.edu. Questions should also be directed to her at 585-275-1537 or by email.

Dec. 1: Center for AIDS Research ninth annual HIV/AID Scientific Symposium. Keynote speakers and poster session. Click here for more information. Contact Laura Enders for more information about World AIDS Day events.

Dec. 6: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses Weapons of Math Destruction, by Cathy O’Neil. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

December 7: “Including Disability in the Diversity Conversation.” Susan Hetherington, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities.  Phelps Colloquium. 4 to 5:30 p.m. Evarts Lounge, Helen Wood Hall. School of Nursing. Click here to register.