Tuesday marked the 260th anniversary of the birth of Romantic-era poet and artist William Blake. Did you know that the William Blake Archive—cofounded and coedited by Morris Eaves, a professor of English and the Robert L. Turner Professor of Humanities—holds almost 7,000 images from 45 of the world’s research libraries and museums?

Two decades ago, the archive—sponsored by the University with the Library of Congress and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—set out to take advantage of the possibilities of digital media. For the first time, the archive fully brought together Blake’s writings and illustrations, as he had originally produced them. A transformative redesign, launched in December, makes the site more accessible than ever before.

The redesigned archive complements the leading academic journal for Blake studies, Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, which is also coedited by Eaves and marks the 50th anniversary of its founding this year.

Interweaving the journal and the archive allows scholars to move seamlessly between the two. “It’s not as if they’re two different entities, and we think that’s unprecedented,” says Eaves. “There are many journals devoted to Romantic writers, and there are several digital projects related to those writers—but they don’t have anything to do with each other. I think we’re the only ones in that position.”

“All the major Blake collections in the world now are contributors to the archive. Our basic task these days is to go to collections that may only have one or two Blake objects, but they can be very important objects,” says Eaves.

“Recent critical works often credit the Blake Archive with changing the nature of research on Blake. And we’ve also established—because we go back so far, to 1996—the gold standard for what has sometimes been called micro-editing: editing at a very precise, scholarly level, both pictures and text. We stand in the same position as, say, a traditional scholarly editor who would be editing Shakespeare or editing Milton.”

Read more here.

A collaboration between a University chemical engineer and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on a safer lithium ion battery for electric vehicles has received one of this year’s R&D100 awards, also known as the “Oscars of Invention.”

The awards, sponsored by R&D Magazine, have been given since 1963 to honor innovative breakthroughs in materials science, biomedicine, and consumer products by academia, industry, and government-sponsored research agencies.

The Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE), developed by an ORNL team led by Gabriel Veith and by the laboratory of Wyatt Tenhaeff, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Rochester, improves the safety of plug-in electric vehicle batteries.

In typical automotive lithium-ion batteries, the liquid electrolyte, which conducts the electrical current, poses a fire risk in high-speed collisions and requires heavy protective shielding, decreasing the vehicle’s range and efficiency. SAFIRE eliminates this risk by using an additive that transforms the liquid electrolyte to a solid upon impact, blocking contact between electrodes.

It performs as well as conventional electrolytes under normal conditions and can significantly reduce electric vehicle weight and increase travel distance—helping to overcome some of the biggest hurdles to mass electric vehicle adoption.

“The R&D100 is a great acknowledgement of the technology and the concept,” says Tenhaeff, whose lab performed measurements to verify that the stiffening material has the right conductivity for battery cells.

Read more here.

Researchers at Wilmot Cancer Institute are working to improve treatment for esophageal cancer, a disease that affects 17,000 Americans each year. Often diagnosed after the cancer has spread, the disease has a low five-year survival rate.

“Even for patients with early stage cancer, the cure rate there is still 50 percent, probably because our treatment is still not precise enough,” says Mohamedtaki Tejani, assistant professor of medicine (hematology/oncology). “There’s a growing national recognition that these patients need additional systemic therapy, whether in the form of full doses of additional chemotherapy or immunotherapy.”

Standard treatment for esophageal cancer includes combined chemotherapy and radiation followed by surgery. If initial treatment is not successful, patients at Wilmot often receive genomic testing to help determine the next course of action.  The testing may reveal a mutation that makes the patient eligible for a clinical trial or for therapy approved for that mutation.

The FDA recently approved pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, for metastatic esophageal cancer in the third-line setting, meaning two other types of treatment have failed. At Wilmot. Tejani is part of a multi-center clinical trial evaluating whether a similar immunotherapy drug called avelumab works better than chemotherapy in treating metastatic esophageal cancer from the beginning.

He is also leading a clinical trial testing the role of additional chemotherapy prior to surgery in reducing the risk of relapse later.  Timing is important, Tejani says, and there is some evidence that more chemotherapy after surgery helps. However, recovery from surgery can take months, which makes it difficult for patients to receive additional chemotherapy after their tumor has been removed. Giving additional chemotherapy before surgery may also help shrink the tumor before it has an opportunity to leave the primary site.

There are currently five clinical trials specific to esophageal cancer available at Wilmot. Learn more about them and other clinical trials at the Clinical Trials page.

Lynne E. Maquat, the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics who is the recipient of the 2017 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science. Established by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2006, the competitive prize honors women scientists with a “stellar record” of research accomplishments who have made significant contributions to mentoring other women in science. “We are thrilled that Dr. Maquat is being recognized for her pioneering work in RNA biology, which has catalyzed innovative areas of research and provided insight to the role of RNA regulation in human disease,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, Vanderbilt University Medical Center executive vice president for research and director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. “She is a world-renowned scientist and an exceptional mentor, a role model for us all.” Read more here.

Ying Meng, a population health postdoctoral fellow at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and a research associate in the School of Nursing, for receiving the top award for a poster competition at the Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Meng’s award-winning poster focused on how genes and diet work together to influence weight gain during pregnancy. Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can lead to poor health later on for moms and babies. Read more here.

Arjun Krishnan has joined the Department of Mathematics as an assistant professor after serving as a Wiley Assistant Professor/Lecturer at the University of Utah and as a postdoctoral fellow at the Fields Institute in Toronto. His research centers around stochastic growth models that share connections with other problems in number theory, statistical physics, and combinatorics. The growth models provide mathematicians with ways to view certain universal statistical phenomena in his work. Krishnan uses and develops tools from partial differential equations, ergodic theory, and probability theory. He received the William Mirsky Memorial Award for excellence in academics and research at the University of Michigan and won a bronze medal for India at the International Chemistry Olympiad. He received his PhD from New York University

The deadline for tenure-track junior faculty in AS&E to apply for internal fellowships at the Humanities Center in either fall 2018 or spring 2019 is today.  Projects need to connect to the theme of “Expertise and Evidence.”  Click here for the application process.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute is conducting a brief survey of all Medical Center faculty members focused on involvement in research and research collaborations. The survey was created by the CTSI in 2011, and this is the fourth data collection. The CTSI is using the data to conduct a social network analysis of Medical Center research networks and to compare how these research networks grow and change over time. For more information on the survey methodology and how the data is used, read a recent post in the CTSI Stories Blog.

The survey can be completed in a few minutes using this link.

During the fifth annual America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent Student Competition,  students from across the University will compete for a chance to present their regulatory science ideas at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Teams of students develop and present a proposed solution to a current area of need related to regulatory science—the science of developing new tools, standards, and approaches to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of FDA-regulated products.

Additional information, an entry form, and instructions on how to apply are on the America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent web page.

Submit entry forms to Scott Steele by January 31, 2018.

Today: Deadline to apply for UNYTE pipeline pilot awards from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, aimed at stimulating research partnerships between UNYTE member institutions. Click here for more information about the UNYTE Translational Research Network including partner institutions. Click here for the full RFA.

Today: 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.

Today: Deadline to apply for internal fellowships at the Humanities Center for either fall 2018 or spring 2019.  Projects need to connect to the theme of “Expertise and Evidence.”  Click here for the application process.

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.

Dec. 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.

Dec. 8: “Data for Good.” Lecture by Jeannette M. Wing, director of the Data Science Institute and professor of Computer Science at Columbia University. 11 a.m., 1400 Wegmans Hall.

Dec. 8: “A Complex Dissonant Veil of Sound: Influence and Independence in Ruth Crawford’s Chants for Women’s Chorus (1930).” Symposium featuring Ellie Hisama, professor of music theory and historical musicology at Columbia University. 2:30-4 p.m. Messinger Hall, 10 Gibbs Street. Free and open to the public.

Dec.13: Jesse L. Rosenberger Faculty Work-in-Progress Seminar. Matt BaileyShea, associate professor of music theory: “‘Close / in midst of this…’: Lines, Phrases, and Syntax in Song.” Humanities Center Conference Room D. Lunch is served.

Dec. 15: Deadline to apply for a post-doctoral cancer research fellowship from Wilmot Cancer Institute. Go to the Wilmot Cancer Institute website for additional information and application. Contact Pam Iadarola at Pamela_Iadarola@URMC.Rochester.edu or 585-275-1537 with any questions.

Jan. 31: Deadline to enter fifth annual America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent Student Competition,  in which students from across the University compete for a chance to present their regulatory science ideas at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additional information, an entry form, and instructions on how to apply are on the America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent web page. Submit entry forms to Scott Steele by January 31, 2018.

Feb. 1: Deadline to submit initial abstracts for Public Health Science pilot projects to stimulate new collaborations with PHS faculty. Proposals are being solicited that support collaborative relationships between investigators who do not have a recent history (past 3 years) of joint funding or who want to expand their current collaborative efforts in new directions and for whom the pilot project would be catalytic in their effort to obtain extramural funding. More information can be found at the PHS website.

Feb. 8: “Deserts, Dust, and Iron Fertilization of the North Pacific Ocean: Cause or Consequence of Global Cooling?” Presented by Carmala Garzione, Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Phelps Colloquium Series. 4-5:30 p.m., Feldman Ballroom, Frederick Douglass Commons. Click here to register.

March 1: “Doing Better Next Time: Policy Lessons from the Great Recession and Not-So-Great Recovery.” Presented by Narayana Kocherlakota, Lionel W. McKenzie Professor of Economics. Phelps Colloquium Series. 4-5:30 p.m., location TBD. Click here to register.

April 12: “The American Health Paradox: What’s Missing?” Presented by Nancy Bennett, professor of medicine and public health sciences, director of the Center for Community Health, and co-director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Phelps Colloquium Series. 4-5:30 p.m., location TBD. Click here to register.