Michele Maltz-Matyschsyk, Joerg Graf, and Michael Lynes recently received an NIH award to support their work to define biomarker signatures of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C, an adverse effect of SARS-CoV2 infection). They will be working together with a consortium of other universities and research institutes in Connecticut and New York.  Their work will measure multiple protein biomarkers using a grating-coupled fluorescent plasmon microarray, and will combine those measurements with analysis of the oral microbiome, and a large number of clinical phenotypes, and will use machine learning/AI approaches to define diagnostic patterns that may help identify at-risk children, and may also suggest potential new therapeutic interventions.

Nathan Alder and Eric May have been awarded an R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as co-investigators on a project led by Steve Claypool at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The project, entitled “An intimate and multifaceted partnership: cardiolipin and the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier” (R01HL165729), is a four-year award, with a total award amount exceeding $2 million.

The Office of the Vice President for Research provides financial support up to $2,000 to faculty across all disciplines, on a competitive basis, to promote, support, and enhance the research, scholarship and creative endeavors of faculty at UConn. The Scholarship Facilitation Fund (SFF) is designed to assist faculty in the initiation, completion, or advancement of research projects, scholarly activities, creative works, or interdisciplinary initiatives that are critical to advancing the faculty member’s scholarship and/or creative works.

Juliet Lee (The use of zebrafish transgenics to study how stretch-activated calcium channels regulate the molecular dynamics of adhesions in moving cells) and Spencer Nyholm (Developing new molecular and genetic tools for microbiome research in the Hawaiian bobtail squid) received Fall 2022 awards

Adam Zweifach received a Spring 2023 Award (Modeling compound activity to improve drug screening)

According to the Office of the Vice President for Research, these projects represent innovative work within their respective disciplines, as determined by a rigorous review process. They often include exciting interdisciplinary collaborations. And they all make valuable contributions to our shared mission of generating and disseminating knowledge, whether it is through groundbreaking scholarly publications; building important, externally-funded research programs; or great achievements in public engagement or creative endeavors.

We are grateful for the intellectual contributions these faculty members and teams have made through these projects and through the subsequent achievements that are unlocked these internal funding investments.

MCB Department Head, Carol Teschke, recently announced that Patrick Grady has been awarded the Fall '22 MCB Graduate Travel Award in recognition of his outstanding graduate seminar.

This bi-annual award provides support to students for conference attendance to enrich their graduate program study and is offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified student.

Congratulations, Patrick on your accomplishments!

Marjorie “Jean” Romano ’77 MA wanted to both honor her late husband and support graduate students conducting summer research.

So, she decided to set up a bequest that will supplement a scholarship that she and her husband, Antonio, a UConn biology professor and CLAS dean, established several years ago. Her planned gift will support the Antonio H. & Marjorie J. Romano Graduate Education Fund.

Traditional support for graduate students, including teaching assistantships and external grants, usually provides funding only for the school year. The fellowship provides funding for microbiology students so they can continue their research uninterrupted throughout the summer.

“The scholarship helps students concentrate on research through the summer break,” Jean explains. “Previously, many students had to leave and work at Domino’s or someplace else for the summer. It really bothered Tony to see a student who had been right on the edge of doing something really promising lose their scholarship funding and have to take off for the summer.”

Her planned gift will honor Tony’s legacy at UConn.

“I think it’s important to carry Tony’s name and passion on through the university,” Jean says. “I want to leave that for UConn.”

See full article at UConn Foundation