or select your discipline:
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The Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Biological Technologies Broad Agency Announcement supports the mission of the Biology Technology Office to foster, demonstrate, and transition breakthrough research, discoveries, and applications that integrate biology, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and the physical sciences.
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Spring 2021 Seek magazine out now |
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How are K-State engineers making our electric grid smart and safer? Why is it important to study tick-borne diseases? How can we leverage technology to address teacher supply in rural areas?
The spring issue includes five feature stories:
Seek is a collaboration among the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Division of Communications and Marketing and other university communicators.
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New research security online resources |
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Federal agencies have recently expressed growing concerns regarding inappropriate influence by foreign entities over federally funded research. This has resulted in new legislation, guidance and policy statements clarifying and adding additional research security.
The Office of the Vice President for Research is actively working with our partners across the university to address these new and evolving requirements to develop and implement new processes and procedures in an open and transparent manner.
A new section of the K-State research website has been launched as a one-stop-shop for all K-State research security information including:
- Messages from federal funding agencies.
- Federal agency links.
- Information about the Research Security Enclave.
- Resources and information about Controlled Unclassified Information.
- Updates from the Research Security and Integrity Working Group.
- Links and directions for Foreign Influence and Academic Security Training.
Please take time to review the new information and resources that are available on the website.
For any questions related to foreign research and academic security, please contact Cheryl Doerr, associate vice president for research compliance, at cdoerr@k-state.edu.
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Spring 2021 Faculty Development Award and University Small Research Grants announced |
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The Office of Research Development is pleased to announce the winners of the spring 2021 Faculty Development Award and University Small Research Grants.
Two Faculty Development Award proposals were submitted for a total amount requested of $5,679 and 14 proposals for University Small Research Grant proposals were submitted for a total amount requested of $54,981. Spring 2021 Faculty Development Awards and University Small Research Grants awarded totaled $60,660.
Faculty Development Award:
- Geraldine Craig, art, “la Moua Yang and Nhu Fang Yang: Mother-in-laws, Migration, and Mennonites." Textiles in Motion & Transit conference late fall 2021, The International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, The Netherlands,” $2,272.
University Small Research Grants:
- Genevieve Baudoin, architecture, “Form/Material: The Architectural Potential of Additive Manufacturing,” $4,500.
- Sam Bell, political science, “The Blame Game: When do citizens hold their governments accountable for human rights violations?” $4,000.
- Adulsak (Otto) Chanyakorn, architecture, “An interconnectivity of architecture & urban piazzas of the 1748 map of Rome (Nolli map) for the American Academy in Rome Proposal,” $2,216.
- Jeba Jesudoss Chelladurai, diagnostic medicine/pathobiology, “Whole-genome sequencing to identify resistance-associated genes in a zoonotic tapeworm,” $4,500.
- Sim Jung Jun, social work, “Social Isolation, Loneliness, Social Connection, and Depressive Symptoms among Rural Older Adults during the Pandemic,” $4,500.
- Shakil Kashem, landscape architecture and regional & community planning, “Exploring the nexus between social vulnerability, built environment, and the spread of COVID-19: a multi-city study,” $4,050.
- Meena Kumari, anatomy & physiology, “Effect of chronic cannabis exposure on human astrocytes,” $4,485.
- Sarah Lancaster, agronomy, “Using residual herbicides to reduce the weed seed bank and manage herbicide-resistant weeds,” $4,400.
- Abigail Langston, geography & geospatial sciences, “Determining absolute ages of erosion-inhibiting talus piles in wide and narrow bedrock valleys: Quantifying conceptual frameworks of bedrock valley development,” $4,500.
- Amy Rosine-Underwood, music, “Recording of commissioned works by American composer Gwyneth Walker,” $4,500.
- Anthony Warnick, art, “A Blank on The Map,” $3,045.
- Leslie Wren, landscape architecture and regional & community planning, “Landscape Architects’ Awareness & Actions in Support of Landscape Laborer Safety,” $2,815.
Faculty Development Awards support travel expenses to present research, scholarly or creative work or a performance at an international meeting or to visit an external funder or sponsor. University Small Research Grants are seed grants to support small research projects, scholarly activity, and other creative efforts. Both programs are meant to catalyze a faculty member's RSCAD career success. As such, new faculty and faculty from disciplines with minimal outside support are given priority for both awards, as are trips or projects that enhance awardees' abilities to compete for extramural funding. All proposals are peer-reviewed and discussed in a panel. Unsuccessful applicants are given feedback on how to improve their proposals.
Faculty Development Award and University Small Research Grant reviewers were Carl Ade, kinesiology; Joel Anderson, Office of Research Development; Hugh Cassidy, economics; Jennifer Francois, family studies and human services; Jessica Lane, special education counselling and student affairs; Andrew Long, political science; Mary Lou Marino, Office of Research Development; Edward Nowlin, marketing; and Chad Schwartz, architecture. The contributions of our peer reviewers are greatly appreciated.
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A New Frontier
with Justin Kastner, associate professor of diagnostic medicine/pathobiology
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Kastner co-directs the interdisciplinary Frontier program, which is focused on crossing disciplinary borders, and overseeing scholarly activities for several academic units. Since food production, shipping and trade are all managed through regulation and international policy agreements, students in Kastner’s courses benefit from his experience in international trade policy at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
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VPR Brown Bag: Research security, integrity and academia |
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Noon
Thursday, April 29
Join Beth Montelone, interim vice president for research, at noon on Thursday, April 29 for a Brown Bag virtual lunch on research security, integrity and academia.
The Brown Bag will focus on new federal government policies on research security, including:
- New requirements related to conflict of interest and conflict of commitment disclosures.
- Foreign government talent recruitment programs.
- International travel outlined in the January 2020 National Security Presidential Memorandum 33.
We will also discuss the role of the newly formed K-State Research Security and Integrity Working Group and how this group is addressing these new federal requirements.
Register in advance for this meeting. Please use your K-State email address to register for this event.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Minerva Research Initiative Information Session |
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2:30-4 p.m.
Thursday, April 29
This session with the director of the Minerva Research initiative will provide information on how Minerva supports social science research aimed at improving basic understanding of security.
All supported projects are university-based and unclassified, with the intention that all work be shared widely to support thriving stable and safe communities. The goal is to improve the Department of Defense's basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S. In addition, updated information on the pending funding opportunity announcement will be provided.
Please register to attend. A Zoom link will be provided a few days before the session.
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US Agency for International Development Information Session |
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1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5
Zachary Stewart, production systems advisor for the Center for Agriculture-Led Growth in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, will present an overview session via zoom on the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
The USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity, demonstrates American generosity and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. The majority of USAID’s funding opportunities are awarded through a competitive process.
Plan to attend this session to find out more about this directorate and learn more about funding protocol, opportunities and when opportunities will become available.
Please register to attend. A Zoom link will be sent a few days prior to the event.
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DARPA Biological Technologies Office Information Session |
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2-3 p.m.
May 6, 2021
This session with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, Biological Technologies Office, known as BTO, will provide an overview of the mission of the office, programs and related funding opportunities.
The BTO serves to foster, demonstrate, and transition breakthrough research, discoveries and applications that integrate biology, engineering, computer science, mathematics and the physical sciences. BTO’s research investment portfolio includes combating pandemic disease, innovative physiological interventions, human performance and readiness and deep exploration of changing ecologies and environments for improving U.S. capabilities and resilience. BTO’s programs operate across a wide range of scales, from individual cells to global ecosystems.
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Updated NIFA Policy Guide Ready for Review |
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The updated NIFA Policy Guide is now available for your review. We’ve made changes to align with regulations in 2 CFR 200 and the current NIFA Terms and Conditions. The Policy Guide is now in an updated format for easier use and reference.
The Policy Guide provides comprehensive guidance on:
- Roles and responsibilities
- Application and review processes
- Award notification and administration procedures
- Award terms and conditions
- Uniform administrative requirements
- Allowable costs
- Reporting requirements
- Close-out procedures
- Audit requirements
To help you navigate the updated guide, NIFA will offer a webinar to walk through the guide at 3 p.m on May 5. Stakeholders will have until May 24 to offer input into the next round of updates on any further improvements needed to make the guide the best tool it can be for you. Register for the May 5 webinar online.
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Expanding Requirement for eRA Commons IDs to All Senior/Key Personnel |
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Targeting due dates on or after January 25, 2022, the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Office of Research and Development Department of Veterans Affairs will require all individuals listed on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile Expanded Form to have an eRA Commons username (Commons ID). Extension of the existing eRA Commons ID requirement to include all senior/key personnel will facilitate better data collection for individuals contributing to federally funded research as well as assist in disambiguating data on applications and facilitating the identification of conflicts of interest in peer review. |
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K-State RSCAD in the news |
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Agency news and trending topics |
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By last October, about three out of every four residents of Manaus, Brazil already had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. And yet, despite hopes of achieving “herd immunity” in this city of 2.2 million in the Amazon region, the virus came roaring back in late 2020 and early 2021 to cause a second wave of illness and death. How is this possible? nih.gov
A Phase 2/3 trial to evaluate a new fully-human polyclonal antibody therapeutic targeted to SARS-CoV-2, called SAB-185, has begun enrolling non-hospitalized people with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19. The trial, ACTIV-2, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The therapeutic was developed by SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Sioux Falls, South Dakota). nih.gov
In two landmark studies, researchers have used cutting-edge genomic tools to investigate the potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. One study found no evidence that radiation exposure to parents resulted in new genetic changes being passed from parent to child. The second study documented the genetic changes in the tumors of people who developed thyroid cancer after being exposed as children or fetuses to the radiation released by the accident. nih.gov
Astronomers have found two close pairs of quasars in the distant universe. The quasars are closer together than any pair of quasars found so far away, providing strong evidence for the existence of supermassive black hole pairs as well as insights into galaxy mergers in the early universe. nsf.gov
Sea urchins receive a lot of attention in California. Red urchins support a thriving fishery, while their purple cousins are often blamed for mowing down kelp forests and creating urchin barrens. Yet for all the notice we pay them, we know surprisingly little about the microbiomes that support these spiny species. nsf.gov
Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) has long captivated viewers with its fluid swirls of yellow, blue and white. Now, scholars have recreated the iconic Impressionist painting with the help of an unexpected tool: lasers. smithsonianmag.com
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k-state.edu/research
researchweekly@k-state.edu
785.532.5110
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