Update for December 2007

UC’s research enterprise hit an all-time high of $333.5 million in 2007. The university’s success can be credited to the continued push by investigators to win difficult-to-come-by National Institutes of Health funding and grants from industry and nonprofit sources.

Sandra Degen, PhD
Vice President for Research

NEWS/GRANTS
University Research Council Announces Faculty Award Winners
The University Research Council (URC) has selected 17 projects across seven colleges for funding in the latest round of Faculty Research Support Grants. The URC funded nearly one-third of the 53 applications received, for a total of more than $107,000. The awardees include:

College of Allied Health Sciences
Kari Dunning, rehabilitation sciences
Fawen Zhang, communication sciences and disorders

McMicken College of Arts and Sciences
Bruce Ault, chemistry
Ann Burlew, psychology
Jeremy Koster, anthropology
Hilda Smith, history
David Smithrud, chemistry

College of Business
Dong-Gil Ko, information systems

College-Conservatory of Music
bruce mcclung, composition, theory and musicology

College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning
Benjamin Britton, fine arts/School of Art
Theresa Leininger-Miller, art history
Michael Zaretsky, architecture and interior design

College of Engineering
David Klotzkin, electrical and computer

College of Medicine
David Fleck, psychiatry
Alexey Porollo, environmental health
Zhenyu Qin, cardiology
Jinsong Zhang, cell and cancer biology

‘Show Off’ at Showcase 2008
UC researchers are invited to apply to exhibit their work at Showcase 2008, set for March 7, 2008, in Tangeman University Center. Showcase focuses on the university's applied research, technology and other projects that have created strategic partnerships (or have the potential to do so) with industry and regional groups. Space for Showcase exhibits will be limited. Download the Showcase application (.pdf) and apply today!

Apply Now for Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowships
The University Research Council (URC) is currently accepting applications for its 2008 Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowship program. Stipends—up to $3,000—will be awarded to outstanding graduate students interested in pursuing scholarly activities on a full-time basis from July 1, 2008, through Aug. 31, 2008. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Jan. 25, 2008. Application materials and more details are available at uc.edu/ucResearch/funding_opportunities.html.

Two grant-writing workshops will be offered to help graduate students as they prepare their URC applications. The first is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2008, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., in the Vontz Center’s Rieveschl Auditorium. The second session is Jan. 15, 2008, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., in Tangeman University Center Room 400B. Questions about the application process or grant-writing workshops should be directed to Linda Minton at linda.minton@uc.edu.

RGAC Makes Recommendations
The Research Grants Advisory Committee (RGAC), formed in early 2007 to address concerns related to new grant deadlines and Sponsored Research Services (SRS) functions, has completed its review of the grant-submission process and has made several key recommendations relating to proposal preparation, the five-day deadline, proposal prioritization, communications and feedback. The Office of Research will work directly with SRS to make changes in response to RGAC’s recommendations.

New Grants Awarded in November
Writing winning grants is tough. We understand the hard work that goes into preparing a proposal and want to make sure that effort doesn’t go unnoticed. Check out your great work—and that of your colleagues—at uc.edu/ucresearch/new_grant_winners.html.

A CLOSER LOOK
Minimally Invasive Medical Technologies Center (MIMTeC)
Translational research that enables U.S. companies to bring the next generation of minimally invasive medical technologies to market is the focus of UC’s Minimally Invasive Medical Technologies Center (MIMTeC). The center, led by Balakrishna Haridas, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is a collaboration between biomedical engineering and UC’s Center for Surgical Innovation and is supported by a five-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Additional support comes from membership fees from a consortium of national biomedical device companies. MIMTeC will allow competing biomedical companies to pool their funding to develop new medical technologies for minimally invasive surgical procedures. Companies will commit to at least a three-year, renewable membership in MIMTeC, which entitles them to propose, review and vote on research projects that may benefit the entire group. Device manufacturers are also eligible for affiliate membership in the center, which will allow them to stay up to speed on the emerging technologies they will need to produce future devices. More information is available at http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/4952/.

SPOTLIGHT
Gary Dean, PhD
Gary Dean, PhD, associate professor in the department of molecular genetics, biochemistry and microbiology, chairs UC’s Institutional Biosafety Committee and serves as the university’s biological safety officer and director of the UC’s biosafety laboratory. Dean received his PhD in molecular physics and biochemistry and completed postdoctoral training at Yale University. He joined UC’s faculty in 1985. His own research focuses on the interaction between intracellular pathogens and the intracellular spaces they come to occupy. He holds one patent and is co-founder of several start-up companies. In addition to biosafety work, Dean is committed to student research and education and serves on the board of UC’s Women in Science and Engineering program and was a founding member and former secretary and treasurer of the National Association of Health Science Education Partnerships.