Research Highlights

Dr. Kazi Javed took a small Kentucky NSF EPSCoR grant for nanotube research at the University of Kentucky and evolved it into a program at Kentucky State University supporting hundreds of undergraduate students.

In July 2022, Dr. Javed retired, concluding his work as a teacher, mentor, and leader. “I mean this from the bottom of my heart, it’s not about me. It’s about how we started, how we performed, and how we can sustain it. I’d like to think of myself simply as the catalyst.”

With Kazi’s retirement, Dr. Suzette Polson, his longtime faculty colleague, is picking up the torch. “Dr. Polson has been coordinating the PLTL organic and biochemistry workshops since the inception of the program. I trust she will continue to grow the program. If it continues to have the impact, it is still worth supporting. For the STEM pipeline, and as the only HBCU university in the Commonwealth, it is incredibly important to do the best we can for our STEM students to succeed. I’ll be rooting for their success in every way I can.”

The Iowa Space Grant Consortium was recently at STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair. ISGC Interim Director, Sara Nelson (right), met with Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds (left).

Prizes were given out. Attendees participated in a variety of STEM activities and filled out postcards to go out on a rocket to space.

SC INBRE researcher Mike Giuliano, College of Charleston, and lab have recently published, “The neuropeptide galanin adopts an irregular secondary structure,” in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. Said Giuliano, “Happy to share the the outstanding work of CofC Chem undergrad researchers Rachel Wilkinson, Katie Kraichely, and Cecilia Hendy! [Thank you to] SC INBRE for their support of my lab, and flexibility in funding during the pandemic – that let me pay our first author and rockstar Rachel Wilkinson.”

Each year, the North Dakota EPSCoR State Office accepts competitive proposals for equipment that helps advance scientific inquiry and R&D. Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) received an award to procure a carbon flux measurement instrument. This instrument is designed to provide detailed measurements for carbon and water fluxes at a field scale, as well as detailed weather and soil information important to climatic effects on net ecosystem carbon gains and water losses. TMCC is working with the Tribal Agriculture and Natural Resources Departments to assist them with research pertaining to environmental quality and the effects of land management on carbon sequestration.

Little is known about what drives rare biodiversity in cities. Rare plant species in urban gardens may be the answer. The plants in turn attract rare bee and bird species, according to a Dartmouth College-led study looking at urban gardens in northern California.

The NSF-supported results, published in Ecological Applications, show that women, older gardeners, and those who live near the gardens tend to curate more rare plants. "There appears to be a cascading effect of people planting uncommon species on the accumulation of other uncommon bee and bird species," says lead author Theresa Ong.

Nebraska EPSCoR Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation researcher Jinliang Yang and others have recently published, “Estimating the genetic parameters of yield-related traits under different nitrogen conditions in maize,” in bioRxiv.

Nitrogen (N), as a fundamental macronutrient, is a major constituent of proteins, nucleic acid, and metabolites and is critical for the high yielding of crops. Since the 1960s, subsequent to the Green Revolution, due to the Haber-Bosch process, inorganic N fertilizers became increasingly available for crop production, especially in maize, where about 20% of the N fertilizers was applied for maize production. However, inefficient N usage causes ammonia emission to the environment, accounting for a considerable proportion of fine particulate matter pollution (i.e., PM2.5) and reducing human population life span. Meanwhile, N runoff imposes substantial adverse effects on natural ecosystems, such as reduced water quality and impaired soil health. Therefore, understanding the plant response to N in crop production is crucial for human health, food security, and environmental sustainability and is a long-standing research topic in plant breeding and genetics.

KY INBRE’s weekly newsletter series introduces the 2022 KY INBRE funding recipients. This week, meet Dr. Katrina Burch, Western Kentucky University, recipient of a KY INBRE IDeA award. “I’m investigating the short and long-term effects of experiencing workplace incivility, which has been on the rise in the last few years. Funding from KY INBRE has helped to tremendously, allowing the time and resources necessary to conduct this research which I am passionate about.”

In a new study, biologists at the University of Iowa looked at why a type of freshwater snail that has invaded ecosystems worldwide has been so successful. Their conclusion: The lineages that were the most successful invaders matured and reproduced more quickly than noninvasive counterparts within the species.

The NSF-supported study was published in the journal Oecologia.

A device that aims to lessen the pain of nerve damage caused by diabetes is available to people with the disease thanks in part to a trial led by Erika Petersen, neurosurgeon and professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The Nevro HFX spinal cord stimulator was approved by the FDA in 2021 after Petersen's trial showed the device could reduce by 50% the pain of diabetic neuropathy, which afflicts around half of people with diabetes.

Alaska NSF EPSCoR Fire & Ice faculty hire Simon Zwieback co-authored a recent study of the contribution of thawing Arctic hillsides to climate change. The findings were published July 15, 2022, in The Cryosphere, a journal of the European Geosciences Union. They are the first based on the use of satellite imagery to estimate carbon release from slumping Arctic hillsides.