News & Updates

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) and Office of AIDS Research (OAR) announce a new Funding Opportunity Announcement inviting applications from qualified research institutions to seek funds to develop or renovate research facilities that support HIV/AIDS research in areas of basic, translational, clinical, and social and behavioral science research. Targeted are institutions that serve underrepresented and underserved populations or that are in Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible states. Research-intensive institutions are not eligible. The facilities must support research aligned with the NIH-established priorities for HIV/AIDS research. Any request must be justified by current and anticipated future research needs.

America’s economic competitiveness is tied directly to the pace of scientific and technological discovery, which requires sustained, long-term support as well as agility. To help the United States stay at the forefront of research and innovation — and maintain its leadership in the global economy — the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering has launched the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA), the first engineering research visioning organization of its kind.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan recently wrote an OpEd that appeared in the April 1, 2021 issue of The Hill, a news media outlet based in Washington, DC. In the article entitled “We need to strengthen and accelerate US science and technology progress,” Panchanathan recounted many of the advances and innovations as a result of NSF funding over the past 70 years. Of the NSF EPSCoR Program, he wrote:

An at-home COVID-19 test developed by researchers at the University of Kansas is moving toward commercial production.

Kansas State University is continuing to help in the fight with a licensed technology against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Of all the pandemic questions bedeviling scientists, the one that Juan Perilla is asking might be among the strangest: If a shrunk-down hand were to squeeze the coronavirus, would it squish, or would it shatter?

Two new monoclonal antibody treatments for outpatients with COVID-19 are being tested at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Known as BRII 196 and 198 and produced by Brii Biosciences, these investigational treatments are both monoclonal antibodies designed to block the ACE receptor, the protein that enables the virus to enter human cells, in the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“No!” The doctor snapped. “Look at me!”

Dr. Brian Hendricks, a research assistant professor with the West Virginia University School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, is trying to better understand the needs of a historically underserved population in West Virginia — pregnant women with substance use disorder. Hendricks plans to explore telehealth utilization rates, barriers to use and the potential advantages for pregnant women with substance use disorder.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa startup is shining in a national competition designed to energize U.S. solar manufacturing. Hawaiʻi Innovation Lab is among 20 teams representing 12 states that have been selected to advance into the semifinals of the American-Made Solar Prize, a $3 million competition funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Each team won $50,000 and will continue to the next phase of competition.