Faculty research spotlight | | |
Julio C. Hernandez Pavon, assistant professor, psychological sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Research overview:
I study how different areas of the human brain are connected and how those connections change across the lifespan or during neurological or psychiatric disorders. I use a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, to stimulate the human brain non-invasively. When the brain is stimulated with TMS, brain activity is produced which can be recorded using electroencephalography, or EEG. In my research, I combine TMS with EEG to conduct basic and clinical research. I study motor and language disorders, and I am interested in developing new therapies for post-stroke patients.
| | |
What motivated you to pursue research in this specific field, and how has your focus evolved over time?
My main motivation is to produce translational research that helps people. Since I was a child, I wanted to invent something. When my grandmother had a stroke, I saw how her quality of life was dramatically reduced. I think that working in this field I can help people.
What is your approach to this research?
In my research lab, we use state-of-the-art techniques. We combine transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography. We also use magnetic resonance imaging and advanced signal analysis methods to study brain excitability and connectivity. We work with healthy participants and patients.
Have there been any significant challenges or breakthroughs in your recent research, and how have you addressed or leveraged them?
Only a few people in the world combine transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography because it is technically challenging. I led an international project, and we published a seminal paper in the field on how to address these challenges. I am very proud of this effort.
What is the potential impact of your research on your field and on broader societal issues?
My research is relevant to understanding different neurophysiological mechanisms of the human brain. Additionally, our research findings can be used to help people who suffer from neurological or psychiatric disorders.
Each week The Office of the Vice President for Research will feature one faculty member and their scholarly work in Research Weekly. If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague, please fill out the online form.
*Please note that not all nominations will be accepted as there are limited publications each semester.
| | | K-State events and announcements | | DURC and PEPP Policy Update | | Nominations now open for Presidential Engagement Fellows program | | |
Nominations are now open for the prestigious Presidential Engagement Fellows program. Fellows are dynamic faculty members who are passionate about sharing K-State's extraordinary story across the state.
The Presidential Engagement Fellows program is designed to amplify K-State's impact throughout Kansas. Fellows will be ambassadors of learning and inspiration, showcasing the university's exceptional academic environment while engaging with civic organizations, schools and community colleges across the state.
Selected fellows will be crucial to inspiring the next generation of K-State students and championing the university's vision as a next-generation land-grant university. Fellows selected for this prestigious program will receive:
- Annual training to enhance presentation and engagement skills
- Comprehensive support from K-State Research and Extension
- Travel opportunities throughout Kansas
- Resources to effectively communicate K-State's commitment to advancing Kansas
The program seeks faculty members who are engaging and dynamic presenters, passionate about K-State's mission, eager to connect with communities and committed to inspiring future students.
Submit a nomination for yourself or someone else. Please note: If nominating someone other than yourself, please submit the nomination by 5 p.m. on May 9 to allow the nominee plenty of time to complete the nomination form.
Nominations close at 5 p.m. on May 23. Faculty are encouraged to nominate themselves or colleagues who embody K-State's spirit of engagement and excellence. A committee of peers and administrators will make the selection.
Please visit the Presidential Engagement Fellows webpage for the most current information and FAQs regarding this new program.
| | | | |
Please join us at the Food as Medicine Research Summit taking place on Friday, May 30th at the K-State Olathe Campus from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
This summit is designed for all K-State faculty who are currently participating in or focusing their research within areas connected to the burgeoning field of food as medicine. This will be a dynamic opportunity to come together with colleagues from across disciplines to identify existing research strengths within K-State and foster new interdisciplinary collaborations in this exciting area.
| | Halo Can Help Faculty Find Industry Partners | | |
Halo is an artificial intelligence-powered technology platform that helps corporate research and development (R&D) teams more efficiently connect with scientific partners and bring innovations to market faster. On the first of each month Halo announces on its marketplace new research that is sought by its industry partners. These announcements are included in the Funding Connection each month. Typical awards are $50k to $175k with potential for follow on funding. Each funding opportunity (i.e. partnering request) on Halo accepts a single, standardized proposal that requires the minimum amount of information for an industry partner to determine the next steps. This is intended to save innovators/faculty time. The entire proposal is the equivalent of a page and takes most faculty less than an hour to complete. There is no contractual obligation, and a more detailed proposal may be requested should a researcher be selected as a finalist.
Halo is not involved in the review process and every proposal is sent directly to the industry partner. Once a faculty member submits a proposal, they will receive an email from Halo's system letting them know what the estimated response timeline is from the industry partner. Typical response time is 2 months or less. The industry partner will either advance or decline the proposal as an initial response. The innovator will learn if their proposal is relevant to the request and the industry partner’s current business needs. The innovator can then expect a detailed response within 3 months from receiving their initial response. In the detailed response, the industry partner will either select the proposal for the finalist evaluation or decline it with feedback. If the innovator is selected as a finalist, they have reached the end of the review process on Halo. This means that the industry partner is interested in taking the conversation off of Halo’s platform and further evaluating the proposal alongside other finalists.
Since launching in 2020, nearly 8,000 academic scientists, 2,000 startups and 1,500 university administrators across 100 countries have created profiles on Halo describing their research interests. Of the more than 2,300 universities represented on the platform, more than 450 universities are U.S. based. Industry Partners include such companies as Cargill, Mars, Corteva, General Mills, Bayer, Under Armor, Eli Lily, UPL, PepsiCo, Unilever, Tata Steel, Proctor & Gamble and many more. The National Science Foundation is currently partnering with HALO in a $1.2 million effort designed to create new, diverse partnerships among emerging research institutions in U.S. higher education and industry innovators.
Some Halo opportunities announced in April include:
| | Internal Notification and Preproposal Due Dates for NSF’s MRI and ESPCoR Collaborations (RII-FEC) Opportunities | | |
The National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII-FEC, formerly EPSCoR Track 2) funding opportunities are both limited submission programs, restricting the number of proposals that K-State can submit to each program. So that the Office of Research Development (ORD) can make sure that our institution does not go over the number of allowed submissions, ORD requires that you notify (a working title, team list, short synopsis) us via ordlimitedsubs@ksu.edu before a certain date if you are interested in either of these programs. If there are more interested groups than there are submission slots, our office holds an internal competition, requiring the submission of preproposals, to determine which groups can go forward.
Because there is typically a large amount of interest in these programs, ORD has set the notification and potential preproposal due dates for them as shown in the table below.
| | | Program | Notification Due Date (5 pm) | Preproposal Due Date (5 pm) | | MRI | 6/24/2025 | 7/24/2025 | | RII-FEC | 9/3/2025 | 9/30/2025 | | | External events and announcements | | National Science Foundation office hours and webinars | | |
The National Science Foundation is hosting a variety of office hours and webinars throughout 2025 covering a wide range of programs and topics. Links to register and more information for each series can be found below:
| | DOE Grant Applications Update: Research Security Training Required for Covered Individuals | | |
Beginning May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will require all “covered individuals” listed in grant applications to complete annual research security training. We expect all other federal funding agencies to follow suit in mandating this training including the National Science Foundation later this year when the agency issues its 2025 Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
Kansas State University is offering research security training to help researchers fulfill these requirements. The Research security training can be accessed through CITI. More information can be found on the CITI training page.
Additional information about the update and a link to the National Science Foundation's research security training can be found on the DOE's website.
| | White House Issues Executive Order on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research | | |
On May 5, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research, which pauses dangerous research that could or will make a naturally occurring pathogen or toxin more dangerous to American citizens, and directs the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Security Advisor to work with funding agencies to develop such a policy within 120 days. This new Policy is intended to replace the 2024 United States Government Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential (DURC/PEPP Policy) and supersedes its implementation at NIH previously set to take effect today.
NIH will work closely with OSTP and our federal partners to ensure the safe and secure conduct of biological research. NIH will also provide more guidance regarding implementation of this Executive Order in the coming weeks.
Questions may be sent to SciencePolicy@od.nih.gov.
| | NIH Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award | | |
This Notice alerts the extramural research community of a new Civil Rights term and condition that modifies the current terms and conditions for all NIH grants, cooperative agreements, and other transaction (OT) awards. This term applies prospectively to new, renewal, supplement, or continuation awards issued on or after the date of this Notice. This new requirement supersedes Section 4.1.2 “Civil Rights Protections” of the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) as well as the negotiated terms of OT awards.
This Notice is applicable to domestic recipients of new, renewal, supplement, or continuation awards that are issued on or after the date of this Notice.
Effective with the issuance of this Notice, the following term and condition applies:
Recipients must comply with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of 31 U.S.C. § 372(b)(4).
(1) Definitions. As used in this clause –
(a) DEI means “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
(b) DEIA means “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
(c) Discriminatory equity ideology has the meaning set forth in Section 2(b) of Executive Order 14190 of January 29, 2025.
(d) Discriminatory prohibited boycott means refusing to deal, cutting commercial relations, or otherwise limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or with companies doing business in or with Israel or authorized by, licensed by, or organized under the laws of Israel to do business.
(e) Federal anti-discrimination laws means Federal civil rights law that protect individual Americans from discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, and national origin.
(2) Grant award certification.
(a) By accepting the grant award, recipients are certifying that:
(i) They do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI, DEIA, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws; and
(ii) They do not engage in and will not during the term of this award engage in, a discriminatory prohibited boycott.
(3) NIH reserves the right to terminate financial assistance awards and recover all funds if recipients, during the term of this award, operate any program in violation of Federal anti-discriminatory laws or engage in a prohibited boycott.
The NIH GPS Section 4.1.2 “Civil Rights Protections” will be updated to incorporate this standard term and condition of award. As a reminder, civil rights requirements do not apply to foreign and international organizations (see Section 4.1 of the GPS).
Inquiries
Questions about specific awards may be directed to the Grants Management Specialist identified on the Notice of Award. Questions related to the “Civil Rights Protections” term may be directed to the Division of Grants Policy at: grantspolicy@nih.gov.
| | Accelerating Access to Research Results: New Implementation Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy | | |
The 2024 Public Access Policy, originally slated to go into effect on December 31, 2025, will now be effective as of July 1, 2025.
Since the release of NIH’s 2008 Public Access Policy, more than 1.5 million articles reporting on NIH-supported research have been made freely available to the public through PubMed Central. While the 2008 Policy allowed for an up to 12-month delay before such articles were required to be made publicly available, in 2024, NIH revised the Public Access Policy to remove the embargo period so that researchers, students, and members of the public have rapid access to these findings.
NIH is the crown jewel of the American biomedical research system. However, a recent Pew Research Center study shows that only about 25% of Americans have a “great deal of confidence” that scientists are working for the public good. Earlier implementation of the Public Access Policy will help increase public confidence in the research we fund while also ensuring that the investments made by taxpayers produce replicable, reproducible, and generalizable results that benefit all Americans.
Providing speedy public access to NIH-funded results is just one of the ways we are working to earn back the trust of the American people. Trust in science is an essential element in Making America Healthy Again. As such, NIH and its research partners will continue to promote maximum transparency in all that we do.
| | Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grants Program | | |
BioNexus KC is currently accepting applications for the Health Outcomes Research Grant.
These funds will support innovative research to address health inequities that exist in Kansas City regional communities. The scope of the Health Equity grant focuses on innovative insights and intervention research that aims to make meaningful systemic and structural changes to reduce or eliminate inequities in healthcare delivery and realize measurable improvements in health outcomes across all areas of healthcare.
A Letter of Intent is due May 14, 2025.
| | HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge | | |
APHIS is making up to $100,000,000 available in FY 2025 to support high-value and high-impact projects that explore vaccines, therapeutics, research, and other strategies to combat avian influenza, lower egg prices, and protect the U.S. poultry industry. Eligible applicants are invited to submit proposals that align with and support the priority topics listed below by the deadline on May 19, 2025. Priority topics include:
1. Develop novel vaccines to protect poultry from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that are safe, potent, and efficacious across multiple avian species and against current circulating clades.
2. Develop novel therapeutics to address HPAI in poultry, including preventing, controlling, or eliminating HPAI virus, characterizing genomic targets for disease resistance, and supporting poultry health.
3. Conduct research to further understand avian influenza in poultry and to improve response strategies.
For questions about the HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge program and about this funding opportunity, required documents, or the ezFedGrants application process, please refer to the detailed information provided on the HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge website or contact SM.AP.HPAI.Challenge@usda.gov.
| | Office of Science Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2025 Undergraduate Internships | | |
Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2025 term of two undergraduate internship programs offered by the Department of Energy Office of Science: The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program and the Community College Internships (CCI) program. The application deadline is May 21, 2025.
Through SULI and CCI, undergraduate students and recent graduates discover science and technology careers at the DOE national laboratories and gain new knowledge, skills, and experience to further their educational and career goals. Interns work directly with national laboratory scientists, engineers, and technical professionals, assisting them on research or technical projects that support the DOE mission. SULI is open to full-time students attending either 2-or 4-year colleges and universities or recent graduates within two years of receiving their bachelor’s degree or associate degree, while CCI is exclusively for community college students. Both programs are stipend-based and offered three times annually in fall, spring, and summer terms.
The program office invites applicants and letter of recommendation writers to attend SULI and CCI Office Hours to answer administrative questions such as those pertaining to uploading transcripts, submitting letters of recommendation, and general inquiries. Office hours are scheduled on April 30, May 7, and May 14. Registration (register here) is required for attendance.
| | Submit LOI for Frontiers Renewal Application Element E: Clinical and Translational Science Research Program | | |
Letter of Intent Deadline: May 28, 2025
Frontiers is seeking Letters of Intent (LOIs) for clinical science projects that will be able to utilize a newly formed Practice Based Research Network (PBRN). LOIs should describe innovative research projects to include in Element E: CTS Research Program of our UM1 renewal application. Information about the proposed PBRN goals and the LOI requirements are described below.
Consistent with the NCATS mission to catalyze translation of discoveries, the projects must focus on CTS rather than on basic discovery research. Project(s) should not only address a translational research question in a particular disease or intervention development / dissemination context but also provide generalizable CTS innovations or insights that can be applied to other translational research projects and thereby increase the overall efficiency or effectiveness of translation.
Additional information and applications are available here.
| | 2025 BioNexus KC Science2Art | | |
You bring the research; we’ll bring the spotlight! Science isn't just about discovery—it's about wonder.
We invite you to submit your scientific images to be showcased in a professional exhibit and auctioned online, with all proceeds supporting STEAM education in the Kansas City region. The BioNexus KC Science2Art program provides regional scientists the opportunity to transform complex scientific concepts into visually compelling artwork, fostering a deeper connection with the community.
Why should you submit your research or data as art?
- Selected images will be professionally curated and featured in our prestigious exhibition
- Connect with both scientific and artistic communities
- Support the next generation of STEAM talent
Submit your art today!
Submission deadline: June 7, 2025
| | Agency news and trending topics | | |
k-state.edu/research
researchweekly@k-state.edu
785.532.5110
| | | | |
