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Top Story
COSHP Grants to Recruit Underrepresented Ph.D. Students,
Study Cell Function, and Find Treatment for Thalassemia
The College of Sciences and Health Professions (COSHP) has received several new grants that will further health-related research at CSU. Dr. Meredith Bond, Dean of COSHP, is Co-Principal Investigator for a five-year, $1.2 million T32 training award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute (LRI). LRI’s Christine Moravec, Ph.D., is also co-PI on the grant, titled “CD-Cavs: Cross-Disciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences Training to Diversify the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Workforce.” The two institutions will partner to recruit underrepresented minority Ph.D. students and students underrepresented in the science and technology workforce.
| Andrew Resnick Receives Collaborative NSF Funding to Study Flow Sensing by Cells |
Dr. Andrew Resnick, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Interim Associate Dean for Curriculum and Operations in the College of Sciences and Health Professions (COSHP), is Co-PI for a three-year, $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Resnick, who is also a member of the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD), will work with colleagues from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and University of Illinois at Chicago to study the physiological role of primary cilia in health and disease. The title of the grant is "Collaborative Research: Mathematical, Numerical, and Experimental Investigation of Flow Sensing by the Primary Cilium." The researchers seek to understand how primary cilium is used by cells to sense fluid flow and thus, how fluid flow can regulate biological processes.
| Nithya Gnanapragasam Funded for Research on Cooley's Anemia/Thalassemia |
Dr. Merlin Nithya Gnanapragasam, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (BGES) and a member of GRHD, has been awarded a 2020-2021 Research Fellowship in the amount of $50,000 by the Cooley's Anemia Foundation for her research on post-transcriptional regulation of human fetal hemoglobin. The Cooley's Anemia Foundation is dedicated to serving people afflicted with various forms of thalassemia, most notably the major form of this genetic blood disease, Cooley's anemia/thalassemia major. The mission of Cooley's Anemia Foundation is to advance the treatment and cure for this fatal blood disease and enhance the quality of life of patients. The title of Dr. Gnanapragasam's project is "Investigating the post-transcriptional regulation of human fetal hemoglobin by the RNA binding protein PUM1."
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Meet CSU's New Faculty
Patrick McGinty, Health Sciences
Dr. Patrick McGinty, PT, DPT, OCS joined Cleveland State University in August 2019 as a clinical assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2003 and, after serving as an Army Infantry Officer for six years, earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2012. He also earned a post-degree orthopedic clinical specialist certification in the Cleveland Clinic orthopedic residency program. Dr. McGinty’s research interests include chronic pain treatment and prevention, including the over-medicalization of health and illness.
Prior to joining CSU, Dr. McGinty worked clinically at the Cleveland Clinic. He served as faculty in the orthopedic residency and was instrumental in implementing a novel multidisciplinary chronic back pain program emphasizing pain neuroscience education and cognitive behavioral therapy. During this time, he co-authored the paper, “A Biopsychosocial Approach in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain in a Large Hospital System: Program Feasibility and Initial Outcomes.” He now continues his clinical work consulting on worksite ergonomic assessments, injury prevention, and injured worker case management.
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Featured Research Video Series
Lab Research Returns to Campus
The COVID-19 pandemic caused CSU to close its campus in March and transition to remote learning and remote work, disrupting work in research labs across campus. After careful planning and the implementation of rigorous disinfection, health monitoring, and social distancing protocols, researchers are picking up where they left off.
This month’s featured research video includes interviews with students and faculty telling their stories of returning to the lab.
Click here to watch. |
Office of Research News
Changes in the Office of Research
At the start of the fall semester, Dr. Dan Simon is stepping down as Associate Vice President for Research and returning to his faculty position as a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Dan joined the office in 2015, and his tireless efforts since then to support faculty and students in their pursuit of impactful research are greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dan!
Dr. Ben Ward, Director of Research Development, will serve as the main point of contact for the CSU Office of Research until further notice, and you can always reach out to our research staff with questions about grants, proposals, technology transfer, and more.
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CSU Scholar News
Michael Horvath, Psychology
Dr. Michael Horvath is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. His specialization, Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology, applies psychological principles and research methods to the workplace with the goals of understanding and enhancing worker wellbeing and performance. He regularly collaborates on research with students in the I-O Psychology Master’s specialization, as well as with faculty and undergraduate students across multiple disciplines. He teaches a variety of courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels and occasionally consults for local and global organizations.
Dr. Horvath explores a variety of workplace-related topics, including religion, work-nonwork balance, and motivation. For instance, he recently received a Jack Shand research grant from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion to fund his research on how religiosity affects employees’ forgiveness of workplace conflicts. Another ongoing study will examine how individuals’ strategies for balancing work and non-work activities were impacted by the pandemic. His most recent publication examines what motivates adult learners to participate in the “flipped classroom” style of teaching, wherein lectures are typically watched outside of class so that more engaging activities can happen in person. Other projects investigate why teachers choose to leave or remain in the profession and what enhances and sustains job-seeker motivation.
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Inspired Creativity
Alan Harrell: Classical Kiddos with Alan
Alan Harrell, an adjunct professor of cello in the School of Music and a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, has created a series of videos to entertain and educate children during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Classical Kiddos with Alan” began as a series of livestreams intended to provide positive distractions for children, and now includes a six-part musical storybook titled “Sebastian the Social-Distancing Swan.”
You can watch Prof. Harrell’s videos on Facebook and on YouTube.
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News from the Technology Transfer Office
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TeCK Fund is Accepting LOIs
The TeCK Fund is accepting letters of intent for commercialization support. Applicants selected to submit a full proposal will be required to make a presentation to the selection committee.
The TeCK Fund provides faculty pursuing applied research projects with funding (up to $100,000) to assist with commercialization activities, including prototype creation, third-party validation, and market research, which are required to successfully spin off technologies. LOIs submitted by August 21 will be prioritized for review. |
Patent Application Pipeline
Two provisional patent applications by Dr. Girish Shukla, a professor in the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (BGES) and a member of the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD), have been converted to utility patent applications and have entered the prosecution stage.
The patent applications, both filed under a common title of “Methods for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer,” relate to a microRNA drug candidate miR-149-5p that downregulates key pathways to pancreatic cancer.
Contact Jack Kraszewski for assistance with a disclosure to begin the process of protecting your invention or intellectual property. |
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Research Events
Reminder: NSF/NIH Proposal Writing Seminar September 17-18
The Office of Research will sponsor a proposal-writing seminar for CSU faculty on September 17-18 that will be held online. The seminar will focus on NSF and NIH proposals, and is suited to both early career faculty and senior faculty. Faculty interested in attending the seminar must obtain approval from their college/school dean prior to attending. The cost is free, but participants must apply ahead of time. Each attendee is required to purchase a workbook for $75, but the Office of Research will pay for the workbooks for the first 20 tenured / tenure-track faculty registrants.
For additional information please contact Ben Ward at b.j.ward@csuohio.edu. The registration deadline is August 24. To apply for seminar attendance, please complete the registration form.
| NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Workshop Series in September |
The Office of Research will sponsor a Workshop Series on the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) hosted by Dr. Shawn Ryan, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and a past NSF GRFP reviewer. The workshops will be held via Zoom on Sept. 1, 8, 15, 22 to allow enough time for the development of applications and a round of internal review at CSU before submission. Two CSU students from last year’s workshop received NSF fellowships, which include a $34,000 annual stipend for three years of graduate school. If you know a graduate student who would benefit from the workshop, please forward this registration link.
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Funding News
Roby Simons Funded for Innovative Payment System Project
Dr. Robert A. (Roby) Simons, a professor in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, has received a $250,000 award from the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) to support SARTA’s development of an innovative alternate payment system. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration under the Integrated Mobility Innovation (IMI) Demonstration Program. SARTA is collaborating with a range of stakeholders to develop an alternative payment system for mobility, business, and personal applications that will benefit populations that are unbanked, underbanked, low-income, elderly, students, or otherwise underserved or disadvantaged. Dr. Simons will lead the program evaluation component of the project, focusing on behavioral aspects and increased social well-being of bringing the app-driven integrated transit payment card to lower-income populations in the region.
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Research Compliance
Institutional Biosafety Committee Must Approve Any Use of Recombinant or Synthetic DNA
Thirteen Cleveland State University faculty currently hold active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, which generated over $2.6 million in research funding during the 2020 fiscal year. The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is the administrative and decision-making body having responsibility for review and approval of research at CSU involving recombinant or synthetic DNA. Before any research involving recombinant or synthetic DNA can be initiated it must have received IBC review and approval. Dr. Aaron Severson, an associate professor in the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (BGES) and a member of CSU’s Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD), serves as the chair of the IBC.
Additional information regarding the IBC review process, biosafety requirements, and NIH guidelines for research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules can be found on the IBC web page.
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Research Resources
NSF Updates PAPPG and Forms
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), including several required forms for proposals such as Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending Support. The new NSF forms are required for new proposals submitted or due on or after October 5, 2020.
A summary of these changes can be found here.
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Please share with us important news or updates on your research, scholarly, or creative activities. Updates may be related to a paper that has been accepted for publication in a high-impact journal, a book you've just published, your work that will be exhibited at a prominent institution, or other updates you wish to share with our office. Send details to j.yard@csuohio.edu and b.j.ward@csuohio.edu.
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This newsletter is compiled and published by
The Office of Research
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