University Research Foundation: April 2	Print Issue
February 16, 2010, Volume 56, No. 22

The University Research Foundation (URF) is now accepting applications for the April 2 deadline. The URF is an intramural funding program that provides up to $50,000 support for research projects and up to $3,000 for conference support.

The objectives of the URF research program are to: (1) Help junior faculty undertake pilot projects that will enable them to successfully apply for extramural sources of funding and aid in establishing their careers as independent investigators; (2) Help established faculty perform novel, pioneering research to determine project feasibility and develop preliminary data to support extramural grant applications; (3) Provide support in disciplines where extramural support is difficult to obtain and where significant research can be facilitated with internal funding; and (4) Provide limited institutional matching funds that are required as part of a successful external peer-reviewed application. URF Review Panels comprise established Penn faculty members and are charged with giving preference to projects that meet one of the aforementioned criteria.

Faculty members are invited to submit their research applications to one of four disciplinary areas: Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Science and Management. In addition, URF offers a Conference Support program to provide funding for meetings designed to enhance existing research and scholarly programs, particularly in disciplines where external funding is difficult to obtain. Conferences that promote interdisciplinary and multi-school participation are given priority.

Complete details about the URF and links to the forms can be found on the Office of the Vice Provost for Research website at: www.upenn.edu/research/FoundationGuidelines.htm.

—Steven J. Fluharty, Vice Provost for Research

In the most recent cycle, Fall 2009, of Penn’s internally-funded University Research Foundation, and URF Conference Support (noted with *), the Office of the Vice Provost for Research has announced awards to the following members of the faculty for the projects listed below.

University Research Foundation Awards and Conference Support Awards Fall 2009

*Phil Scott, School of Veterinary Medicine, Pathobiology; Phi Zeta Penn Vet Student Research Day

*Anil Rustigi, School of Medicine, Medicine; The Biology of Pancreatic Development, Regeneration, and Malignancy

Joseph Libonati, School of Nursing; Can Fish Oil Supplementation Offset Cardiac Dysfunction in Hypertension?

Michael Freed, School of Medicine, Neuroscience; Retinal Circuits Overcome the Unreliability of Chemical Synaptic Transmission

Paul Axelsen, School of Medicine, Pharmacology; Biosynthesis of U-14C-Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid

Efrei Bi, School of Medicine, Cell & Developmental Biology; Upgrading Imaging System for Exploring Protein Dynamics During Cell Polarization and Cytokinesis in Live Cells

Oriol Sunyer, School of Veterinary Medicine, Pathobiology; Phagocytic B Cells Discovered in Mammals: Distribution and Role in the Ingestion and Presentation of Particulate Antigen

Francis Golder, School of Veterinary Medicine, Clinical Studies; The Role of Phrenic Motoneuron Gap Junctions in Respiratory Recovery After SCI

Mortimer Civan, School of Medicine, Physiology; Novel Approach to Mast Cell Secretion

Eleanor Pollack, School of Medicine, Pathology; Understanding Cardiovascular Disease Implications of the Procoagulant Factor VII Gene

Howard Goldfine, School of Medicine, Microbiology; Finding the Genes for Plasmalogen Biosynthesis in Clostridia

Dieter Schifferli, School of Veterinary Medicine, Pathobiology; Correlation of Salmonella Colonization Factors and Antibiotic Resistance By Next Generation Sequencing

Beth Winkelstein, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Bioengineering; Electrophysiological Methods for Understanding Chronic Pain in Vivo

Deborah Bruner, School of Nursing, Biobehavioral Health; Feasibility of Biospecimen Sampling for Assessment of Vaginal Stenosis

Brian Rose, School of Arts & Sciences, Classical Studies; Who Owns Underwater Cultural Heritage? Perspectives on Archaeological Law and Ethics in the Mediterranean

Julia Verkholantsev, School of Arts & Sciences, Slavic Languages; (Book) The Slavonic Letters of St. Jerome: The Roman Glagolitic Rite and the Slavic Idea

Emma Dillon, School of Arts & Sciences, Music; The Sense of Sound: Musical Meaning in France, 1260-1330 (A companion website for the book)

Campbell Grey, School of Arts & Sciences, Classical Studies; Excavating the Roman Peasant

*Ezekiel Dixon-Roman, School of Social Policy & Practice; The Achievement Gap: Possibilities and Challenges in Theory, Research, and Practice

Debra Wolfe, School of Social Policy & Practice; Field Center Community Symposium Series: Critical Issues in Child Welfare: Integrating Research, Policy and Practice

Emilio Parrado, School of Arts & Sciences, Sociology; Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia: Tracking Their Social and Spatial Mobility

Jeanne Anne Grisso, School of Medicine, Family Medicine & Community Health; Intimate Partner Violence: Developing an Intervention in the Workplace

Angela Duckworth, School of Arts & Sciences, Psychology; Waning Willpower or Menial Motivation? Testing Two Possible Mechanisms for Self-Control Failure

Elliot Lipeles, School of Arts & Sciences, Physics; A New Data Flow Strategy for the Upgrade of the ATLAS Experiment Trigger System at the Large Hadron Collider

Ernest Petersson, School of Arts & Sciences, Chemistry; Voltage-Sensitive Quantum Dots for High Resolution Imaging of Neuronal Activity

*Liliane Weissberg, School of Arts & Sciences, Germanic Languages; Envisioning the Real: Writing and Painting in Late Nineteenth Century Germany

Siyen Fei, School of Arts & Sciences, History; Chastity and Empire: A Comparative Study of the Chsisty Cult in Ming Border Areas

*Randall Mason, School of Design, Historic Preservation; Heritage Recording and Information Management in the Digital Age (SMART doc)