Scaling Grants
- Eric Beckman: Attacking the Global Plastics Waste Problem
- Abstract:
"Plastic waste is a growing problem on a global scale, with the annual global production of synthetic polymers (now >500 million tons per year) predicted to triple by 2050. At present, large volumes of polymeric waste migrate directly into the environment, and less than 2% of polymeric waste is collected and reused in high-value applications. A key obstacle to effective recycling is the vast number of formulations—each tailored to address a particular type of application—which is key to commercial success of polymers but creates a near-impossible separation problem during mechanical recycling and renders current approaches to chemical recycling inefficient.
We are proposing to address this problem by creating a convergent academic center focused on the circular economy of synthetic polymers. This center will tightly integrate the science and engineering of plastics recycling (via a novel approach to chemical recycling of polyolefins using liquid metal catalysts and the a priori design of recyclable thermoset plastics) into the framework of life cycle and techno-economic analyses, and law and governance assessments. Towards this goal, the center will convene faculty from the Swanson School of Engineering, the Dietrich School or Arts & Sciences, and the Law School, with the required complementary expertise.
Efforts in year one will be focused on nucleating the collaborative efforts and producing initial results, which then will form the basis for convening a workshop at the start of year 2. This workshop will be used to scale up the effort by connecting to other US academics, industrial partners, and NSF and DOE program managers, in order to position ourselves for large center grants (e.g. NSF ERC, DOE EFRC), and create interest among potential industry sponsors (in particular members of the Alliance to End Global Plastic waste) to join and support this effort."
Team members include:
- Eric Beckman (team lead), School of Engineering
- Melissa Bilec, School of Engineering
- Vikas Khanna, School of Engineering
- Götz Veser, School of Engineering
- Peng Liu, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Amy Wildermuth, School of Law
- Joshua Galperin, School of Law
- Shandong Wu: Pittsburgh Center for Artificial Intelligence Innovation in Medical Imaging
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Abstract:
We propose to create a medical imaging artificial intelligence (AI) center (name: Pittsburgh Center for Artificial Intelligence Innovation in Medical Imaging). AI is the new revolutionary technique for medical research and is reshaping tomorrow’s clinical practice in medical imaging (radiology and pathology). Our long-term vision is to build a center for innovative AI in clinical translational medical imaging by combining computational expertise and clinical resources across Pitt, UPMC, and CMU. The Center concept is a formalization of a group of researchers and clinicians that are united by the common theme: “building advanced and trustworthy imaging AI for clinical applications.” Our short-term plan is to assemble dedicated members from the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the School of Computing and Information. We seek a Scaling grant from the Momentum Funds to foster collaborative activities of the Center between these three Pitt schools to provide the essential components of a competitive P41 (Biomedical Technology Resource Centers) center grant in 2 years. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) P41 mechanism aligns with the overall vision of this initiative to develop specific AI imaging tools and to support the dissemination and commercialization pathways that are essential to bringing AI imaging tools to clinical practice. These projects will include key components: 1) Clinical need-driven medical imaging AI development and evaluation of tools, models, systems, and informatics, 2) Core imaging AI theory, methodology, and algorithm investigation, and 3) Linking imaging phenotypes to the biological (genomics and proteomics) underpinnings. To date, we have already 35 members for the Center. The Pitt Momentum Funds will provide critical scaling support to promote communication between the three Pitt schools to develop a competitive P41 grant application and a sustainable framework to ensure the clinical impact of these AI imaging tools.
Team members include:
- Shandong Wu (team lead), School of Medicine
- David Vorp, School of Engineering
- Ashok Panigrahy, School of Medicine
- John Gilbertson, School of Medicine
- Seong Jae Hwang, School of Computing and Information
- Wendie Berg, School of Medicine
- Kayhan Batmanghelich, School of Medicine
- Rivka Colen, School of Medicine
- Michael Becich, School of Medicine
- Jules Sumkin, School of Medicine
- Robert Nishikawa, School of Medicine
Teaming Grants
- Dara Mendez: A Black Women’s Health Agenda: Applying an Intersectional Systems Approach and Reproductive Justice Lens
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Abstract:
The Reproductive Justice (RJ) framework states that it is a “human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent children in safe and sustainable communities.” RJ is critical in addressing the glaring racial, ethnic, social and economic inequities that exist in Allegheny County and surrounding areas. Black women and femmes carry the disproportionate burden of health inequities in Allegheny County, but their lives and experiences are not centered in the development and execution of solutions. Black women/femmes throughout the county lead critical work to address a multitude of inequities, often with limited support and resources. Concurrently, they deal with multiple systems of oppression designed to devalue and derail their work. This Pitt Teaming Grant proposal is designed to: A) Uplift the ongoing work led by Black women and femmes; B) Interrogate systems that exacerbate inequities in health C) Develop plans for dismantling systems of oppression specifically in Allegheny County that have a disproportionate impact on the health and well-being of Black women/femmes. The specific aims of this proposal are: Aim 1. Investigate if and how systems (health and social) may or may not address the health and well-being of Black women and femmes in Allegheny County and surrounding areas. This will include an environmental scan of existing programs, policies and local funding resulting in Black Paper and compendium of equity assessment tools and frameworks for further use by the team and others in the larger community. Aim 2. Develop a strategic plan and health agenda focused on centering the health and well-being of Black women and femmes in Allegheny County that includes actions related to research, practice and policy. The Black Women’s Health Agenda for Allegheny County will be developed through continuous community engagement and facilitation from Black-women led experts in strategic development.
Team members include:
- Dara Mendez (team lead), School of Public Health
- Tiffany Gary-Webb, School of Public Health
- Esa Davis, School of Public Health
- Abi Fapohunda, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Tomar Pierson-Brown, School of Law
- Jada Shirriel, Healthy Start, Inc.
- Alysia Tucker, Allegheny County Health Department
- Dannai Wilson, Allegheny County Health Department
- La’Tasha Mayes, New Voices for Reproductive Justice
- Yuri Bunimovich: Deciphering Redox Free Radical Mechanisms of 15LOX/PEBP1-Driven Ferroptosis in Skin
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Abstract:
This proposal will uncover critical molecular mechanisms governing a new class of death signaling pathway (ie ferroptosis) and its relevance to ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced skin injury and cutaneous malignancies. The team will focus on the key role played by protein 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) in ferroptosis using a broad interdisciplinary approach. Specifically the team will: (1) Elucidate the local structure around the catalytic site of 15-LOX as well as in a complex of 15-LOX with PEBP1 in order to understand how metal-protein interactions affect 15-LOX function and how PEBP1 binding to 15-LOX opens the active site; (2) Measure the atomic structure and molecular interactions of 15-LOX active site in the presence of newly designed specific inhibitors of 15-LOX/PEBP1 complex in order to understand the mechanism of inhibition; and (3) Characterize the previously unexplored role of 15-LOX/PEBP1 complex in triggering ferroptotic death of skin cells (melanocytes and keratinocytes) and its regulation by selective new inhibitors and melanin biosynthesis. The interdisciplinary team brings together the experts from the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. The project builds on the expertise of the Kagan group in the discovery and understanding of the biochemical network that underpins ferroptosis. The Saxena group brings in the knowledgebase to measure at the atomic level key interactions that are essential for ferroptosis in order to aid the development of new ferroptosis inhibitors. Finally, the Bunimovich group will expand the mechanistic studies to skin cell models and will explore the relevance of ferroptosis and 15LOX/PEBP1 inhibition in dermatological diseases. Understanding the mechanisms and regulation of ferroptosis in the skin will be critical for the prevention and treatment of radiation and drug-induced skin injury, as well as inflammatory, autoimmune and neoplastic cutaneous diseases such as psoriasis, lupus and melanoma.
Team members include:
- Yuri Bunimovich (team lead), School of Medicine
- Valerian Kagan, School of Public Health
- Sunil Saxena, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Kevin Binning: Developing University Infrastructure to Foster Equity and Inclusion in College Classrooms
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Abstract:
In our increasingly diverse society, it is imperative to understand how higher education can serve as an engine for equity and success for all students. This proposal seeks to build the infrastructure to change university culture in ways that foster equity and inclusion in college, both at Pitt and nationally. To do so, we propose the formation of an interdisciplinary, multi-campus team of researchers and practitioners that is based at the University of Pittsburgh and draws on expertise from two other, large public research universities, Indiana University (IU) and the University of Minnesota (UM). Our teaming grant proposal seeks immediate funding to 1) support a GSR for 12 months to support data analytics, lead focus groups, and help manage the collaborative, 2) travel funds to foster collaboration with our partners at IU and UM, and 3) participant payments for focus groups and course instructors to establish proof-of-concept for the proposed CAFE Scholars Program
Team members include:
- Kevin Binning (team lead), Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Lorna Kearns, University Center for Teaching and Learning
- Linda DeAngelo, Department of Administrative and Policy Studies
- Christian Schunn, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Erica McGreevy, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Mari Webel: History and Future of the “Neglected Tropical Diseases”: Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research to Improve Public Health Outcomes
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Abstract:
"We propose a new, multidisciplinary research team to explore historical and ongoing dynamics that have influenced the scientific priorities, funding resources, and research capacities focused on the “neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs). The NTDs are a suite of high-morbidity, low-mortality illnesses, generally affecting impoverished populations, that have animated significant financial, human, and technical resources toward their elimination or eradication in the past several decades. Little is known about the historical evolution of this fundamental category in global health research, or of how the designation of an illness as an NTD has impacted the development of new knowledge, diagnostic tools, vaccines, treatments, or laws and policies.
A successful Dietrich School Social Science Research Initiative (SSRI)-funded project (2018-19) began to explore the evolution and impact of NTD strategies on global health. Awarded to Professors Dietrich, Sirleaf, and Webel, that SSRI grant funded the development of a comprehensive new database of NTD publications and research trends from 1945 to the present, from which we have identified several crucial inflection points for further research. We have started to analyze preliminary data on a single NTD test case (onchocerciasis), for which we will incorporate additional geographical data on researchers, institutional affiliations, and origins of research samples, as well as funding sources and country-level data on disease prevalence, in order to map and visualize how research and research capacity of this NTD changed over time.
We now seek to expand and formalize collaboration with colleagues in Public Health and Medicine. This new collaboration will allow us to marry quantitative and qualitative analysis of NTD publications data and real-world observational data to explore how comprehensive knowledge of the origins, development, and trajectory of the NTD category can shape future policy and research. Understanding historical inflection points in NTD research, as well as their long-term outcomes in new policies, drugs, or interventions, will clarify how different funding strategies, new and changing collaborative networks, and complementarities and tensions in research have impacted NTD research since the 1970s. This new understanding of the NTDs will allow our research team to connect global political agendas to research funding and public health outcomes in unprecedented ways.
The team’s goal is the development of a major grant application suitable for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and/or a proposal for co-application with the WHO’s Programme in Tropical Diseases Research to private funders."
Team members include:
- Mari Webel (team lead), Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Sarah Krier, School of Public Health
- Thuy Bui, School of Medicine
- Matiangai Sirleaf, School of Law
- Michael R. Dietrich, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Wilbert Van Panhuis, School of Public Health
- Richard Boyce: Identification of Factors Associated with Subsequent Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis Using Machine Learning over Complex Large-scale Longitudinal Health Data
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Abstract:
We seek a Pitt Momentum Teaming Grant to support the data extraction, analysis, and planning needed to secure large-scale research funding for a new Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research initiative among faculty and trainees who have never worked together, most of whom have never worked on AD but whose skill set will support a novel approach to understanding this intractable disease. Because AD pathogenesis begins a decade or more before the onset of clinical symptoms, we seek to identify in electronic health records (EHRs) antecedents of disease that warrant additional scrutiny as possible contributors to or protectors against disease onset. We have identified over 37,000 unique patients in the UPMC EHR with a diagnosis of AD or dementia since 2016, almost 15,000 of whom have EHR data from visits 10 or more years before this diagnosis. With IRB approval, we will apply both case-control and machine learning approaches to the EHR datasets extracted (diagnoses, medications, test results). The results of these initial analyses will be used to plan larger scale studies that incorporate neuroimaging, genetics, neuropathology, lifestyle, and other types of data (including longitudinal causal time series modeling) combined with natural language processing and literature-based discovery to develop causal models of disease predictors, onset, and progression. We will seek funding from the National Institute on Aging to conduct these follow-on larger scale analyses with the guidance of an AD program officer, Suzana Petanceska, who has indicated her enthusiasm for helping us plan projects focused on secondary data analyses and causal discovery. Toward this goal, in October, our team of faculty and trainees from the Schools of Medicine (Boyce, Silverstein, Aizenstein, Malec, Karim, Ly), Public Health (Albert, Shaaban), and Computing and Information (Munro, Taneja) began weekly meetings to work on IRB protocols, analysis strategies, data interpretation, and manuscript and grant preparation.
Team members include:
- Richard Boyce (team lead), School of Medicine
- Steven Albert, School of Public Health
- Paul Munro, School of Medicine
- John Williams: Pittsburgh Phage Project
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Abstract:
"Antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health problem causing millions of infections and thousands of deaths in children and adults annually. An increasing number of infections are due to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) resistant to most or even all antibiotics. MDRO cause serious and life-threatening infections among high-risk children and adults including those with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, immunocompromise, and stem cell or organ transplant. However, there are few new antibiotics in development, and the rapid evolutionary capacity of bacteria facilitates the emergence of resistance. An emerging approach is bacteriophage or phage therapy.
Phage are naturally occurring viruses that infect and kill specific bacterial species, and in some cases, specific strains. Several recent reports describe cases of successful phage therapy against MDRO infections, including by Graham Hatfull in collaboration with UK physicians to treat a lung transplant recipient with severe mycobacterial infection. However, the field is nascent, much remains undiscovered, and more basic and clinical research are needed to discover the potential of phage therapy.
We propose to form a multi-disciplinary team to develop a complete phage discovery-to-patient entity, the Pittsburgh Phage Project (P3). This team is designed to leverage scholarly excellence in phage biology, infectious diseases, viral immunity, epidemiology, ethics, and clinical trials to form a new multi-disciplinary collaboration. We will conduct phage discovery from environmental sources and human subjects, determine phage biology and immunogenicity, identify panels of phage for specific MDRO, establish an ethical framework, and conduct clinical trials. The long-term goal will be to develop phage therapy candidates for major MDRO. Hospitals affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh provide advanced tertiary care for high-risk patients with complex conditions; thus, the P3 program is highly relevant. The Pitt environment provides a unique opportunity to leverage our strengths to create a world-class program in phage therapy."
Team members include:
- John Williams (team lead), School of Medicine
- Jennifer Bomberger, School of Medicine
- Vaughn Cooper, School of Medicine
- Tim Corcoran, School of Medicine
- Yohei Doi, School of Medicine
- Balasubramani Goundappa, School of Medicine
- Graham Hatfull, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Ghady Haidar, School of Medicine
- Alina Iovleva, School of Medicine
- Geoff Kurland, School of Medicine
- Seema Lakdawala, School of Medicine
- Marian Michaels, School of Medicine
- Stephanie Mitchell, School of Medicine
- Lisa Parker, School of Public Health
- Joe Pilewski, School of Medicine
- Jim Pipas, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Doug Reed, School of Medicine
- Ryan Shields, School of Medicine
- Fernanda Silveira, School of Medicine
- Daria Van Tyne, School of Medicine
- Anna Wang-Erickson, School of Medicine
- Steve Wisniewski, School of Public Health
- Michele Reid-Vazquez: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies
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Abstract:
"Throughout the Americas, a range of societal shifts have advanced the need for a more transnational framework for studying the hemisphere, particularly the population of African descent in Latin America and its diasporic communities. Notably, contemporary Latin America has witnessed an expansion of social movements and policies addressing race, gender, and citizenship. In the U.S., the Midwest has experienced a dramatic increase in Spanish-Caribbean populations – from 33 percent in Pennsylvania to 229 percent in Ohio (Pew Research Center, 2008). Building on the momentum of the Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies Initiative (ALALS), funded by a Pitt Seed Project grant in 2018, Transnational Dialogues seeks to expand transnational, transregional, and interdisciplinary research, education, and programming at the core of the ALALS initiative. In addition, established relationships with scholars in the departments of History, Hispanic Languages and Literatures, Administrative and Policy Studies in Education, the Center for Latin American Studies, and Hillman Library, make this a highly collaborative endeavor.
Transnational Dialogues addresses all areas of the Plan for Pitt. Seven interrelated programs highlight the four key arenas: personalized and experiential education, curriculum development, professional development, and multidisciplinary collaboration and public engagement. The programs include a major conference, curriculum workshop, working group, and a professional development seminar abroad. These activities center scholarly exchange to foster research, educational excellence, foundational strength, and diversity. The experiential learning and personalized education programs include certificate concentrations, undergraduate summer research, and semester-long internships. Such opportunities promote academic engagement, diversity, inclusion, and global involvement. The overarching project positions the Dietrich School, the School of Education, the University Center for International Studies, and University Library System to engage in broad-scale and global research alliances that advance the mission of the University of Pittsburgh."
Team members include:
- Michele Reid-Vazquez (team lead), Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Shawn Alfonso-Wells, Dietrich School Advising Center
- George Reid Andrews, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Jerome Branche, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Gina Garcia, School of Education
- Martha Mantilla, Hillman Library
- Luis Van Fossen Bravo, Center for Latin American Studies
Seeding Grants (now Priming)
A Vile, Filthy Book: The Sensational Trial Prosecuting Birth Control in Victorian England
Michael Meyer, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Achieve Real-time Object Detection for 4K and 8K Endoscopes with FPGA
Jingtong Hu, Swanson School of Engineering
Alzheimer’s Disease and the Axon Initial Segment: A Powerful New Disease Model
Karl Herrup, School of Medicine
Benjamin Benosman, School of Medicine
Building Workplace Democracy
Trevor Young-Hyman, College of Business Administration
Chemistries for Targeted Delivery of Agrochemicals: Development and Feasibility Testing
Leanne Gilbertson, Swanson School of Engineering
Closed Circuit Electronic Playground
Zachary Horton, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Common Sense for Visual Reasoning Tasks
Adriana Kovashka, School of Computing and Information
Determinants of Executive Function Development: A Motor Training Study
Klaus Libertus, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Development of Real Gas Kinetic Chemistry at High Pressures
Shervin Sammak, Swanson School of Engineering
Diophantine Geometry and Galois Representations
Carl Wang-Erickson, Department of Mathematics
Dynamic Repositioning of Condition-based and Opportunistic Maintenance Resources
Lisa Maillart, Swanson School of Engineering
Economic Inequality, “Status” Threat, and Support for Exclusionary Rhetoric among Right-wing Populists in the United States and Europe
Emily West, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Epigenetic Aging and Cognitive Health: A Pilot Study
Rebecca Reed, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Anna Marsland, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Steve Manuck, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Evaluating Prescription Drug Subsidies for Diabetics: Effects on Medication Adherence and Health Outcomes
Eric Roberts, School of Medicine
Inmaculada Hernandez, School of Medicine
Fuel Recycling at Copper Catalysts
Raúl Hernández Sánchez, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Genetic Tools for Identifying Regulators of Cell Morphology
Jeffrey Hildebrand, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Strength-Based Perspective and Intervention
Fengyan Tang, School of Social Work
Elizabeth Farmer, School of Social Work
Investigating Targettable Pathways in Robinow Syndrome
Heather Szabo Rogers, School of Dental Medicine
Killing “Nicely”
Elizabeth Pitts, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Laser-induced Formation of Nanocarbons with Tunable Morphology Directly on Polymers
Mostafa Bedewy, Swanson School of Engineering
Locomotor Adaptability for Community Mobility of Older Adults: The Role of Gait Automaticity
Andrea Rosso, School of Public Health
Gelsy Torres-Oviedo, Swanson School of Engineering
Andrea Weinstein, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Naval Nostalgia and Racial Memory in the United States, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands
Peter Campbell, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Plasticity and Possibility in Regenerative Biology: Model Organisms and New Human Biologies
Emily Wanderer, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Proposal for Support of the UPJ Soil Judging Team
Mitzy Schaney, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Reimagining Silent Film through Screenshot: Silent Asia
Charles Exley, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Russian Sovereign, Islamic Dynast: Papering Over Semicolonialism in 19th Century Central Asia
James Pickett, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Safely Staging Sex and Violence for the Academic Performer
Karen Gilmer, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Scalable Artificial Synapses with Tunable Spatiotemporal Dynamics for Neuromorphic Computing
Feng Xiong, Swanson School of Engineering
The Bonn Lancelot Manuscript and Its Illustrations
Alison Stones, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
The Emergence of Corporate Venture Capital in China: A Field Study
Ravi Madhavan, College of Business Administration
The Evolutionary Potential of the Determinants of Species Coexistence
Martin Turcotte, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Pitt Seed Special Cycle: Prevention of Sexual Misconduct (2020)
Adrian Ballard, School of Social Work
Mary Besterfield-Sacre, Swanson School of Engineering
Eddie Buggie, Office of the President, Pitt-Bradford
Carla Chugani, School of Medicine
Christy Clark, Office of the President, Pitt-Bradford
Ronna Colland, Administrative Services, Pitt-Greensburg
Matthew Comito, Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management
Sheila Confer, Student Services and Humanities, Pitt-Greensburg
Ann Emmerling, Blackburn Center
Laura Fink, Department of Athletics
Rachel Gartner, School of Social Work
Ashley Hill, School of Medicine
Tim Holler, Division of Behavioral Sciences, Pitt-Greensburg
Holger Hoock, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Jackie Horrall, Academic Affairs, Pitt-Greensburg
Ron Idoko, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Adam Lee, School of Computing and Information
Mandi Mahramas, Department of Athletics
Chase McIntyre, Department of Athletics
Elizabeth Miller, School of Medicine
Michele Montag, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Lauren Risser, School of Medicine
Penny Semaia, Department of Athletics
Briar Somerville, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Lynissa R. Stokes, School of Medicine
Katie Stumpp, Department of Athletics
Janine Talis, School of Medicine
Michelle Therminy, Office of the President, Pitt-Bradford
Anthony Verardi, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Organization
Darren Whitfield, School of Medicine