360 Dust Analysis program at IUPUI offers free test of household dust contaminants

Dust is almost everywhere. It's certainly annoying, but is it harmful?

Now, U.S. and Canadian households can easily determine whether the dust in their homes is harboring dangerous contaminants such as lead or chromium by sending what they collect when vacuuming to the Center for Urban Health at IUPUI for free analysis as part of the global 360 Dust Analysis project.

"We spend a lot of time indoors, but we don't know what we are being exposed to -- contaminants can't be seen or smelled." said Gabriel Filippelli, founding director of the Center for Urban Health and professor of earth sciences in the School of Science at IUPUI. "It's important to our health, and especially the health of children, to see if there are things in the indoor environment that are of concern."

Dust can be tracked inside by shoes or pets; it can be blown in from outside or generated by home repairs. Dust may come from deteriorating old paint, insulation or other indoor materials.

External sources of contaminated dust may not be obvious. For example, soil containing lead from the use of long-banned leaded gasoline can still be found close to roadways and streets lined by homes decades after the fuel ceased to be used. Without analysis, there is no way to know if exposure levels in daily life should be cause for concern.

The IUPUI 360 Dust Analysis project will initially focus on lead and chromium because of their known negative effects on health, but the study will also look for other contaminants including arsenic, copper and zinc.

Filippelli and his team of IUPUI students will conduct an analysis of each sample and email a report to the individual who submitted the dust sample. Participants will be sent detailed information about their dust and helpful suggestions on ways to mitigate any health risk associated with the contaminants found in their home.

"By sending us their indoor dust samples, individuals are acting as citizen scientists," Filippelli said. "We can't go into a large number of people's homes and sample dust and ask questions. But people know about their own homes and can do this themselves."

The results of this hands-on approach to science will both benefit those who send in their sample and inform environmental researchers around the world.

There has been little previous research on the composition of, and risks associated with, house dust, and even less available information on how households can manage and reduce any identified risks, according to Filippelli.

Work on this project in the Filippelli lab is funded, in part, by a Charles Bantz Community Fellowship from IUPUI to support the project, titled "Building Healthy Cities Through Community-Engaged Science and Action: Getting the Lead Out."

The 360 Dust Analysis program is a global research initiative based at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia; Northumbria University in Newcastle, United Kingdom; Education University of Hong Kong; and IUPUI.

Anyone in the U.S. or Canada who would like to have their dust analyzed should email cuh@iupui.edu or leave a message at 317-274-3795 to be sent instructions. After completing a short survey about their home environment, participants will then vacuum their home according to the instructions, put what the vacuum has picked up into a resealable, gallon-size plastic bag and send it to the Center for Urban Health at IUPUI.

New program launches in pediatric research

A new research program in gene and cell therapy has launched within the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at Indiana University School of Medicine. Directed by Roland Herzog, PhD, the Gene and Cell Therapy Program seeks to improve current treatments, develop corrective therapies and explore the use of new technologies to address genetic diseases.

The primary focus of the research group is to examine the interaction between gene therapies and the immune system. By examining these therapies in hemophilic models, Herzog and his team have already been successful in reversing the disease and hope to address the issue of immune rejection. While the group uses hemophilia as a model, progress in their discovery has major implications for other diseases such as diabetes, asthma and cancer.

“I am especially excited that Dr. Herzog’s group has the potential to provide technologies that augment the work of each program within the Wells Center,” says Wells Center director Raghu Mirmira, MD, PhD. “His group has the expertise to deliver genes to specific cells in a way that could fundamentally reverse--or cure--the diseases we study.”

This Faculty News blog post has more information about the new program.

New video helps seriously ill patients make decisions about their medical care preferences

A new video will help seriously ill patients in Indiana decide what kind of medical care they want at the end of their lives.

The video was written and produced by Susan Hickman, an Indiana University School of Nursing professor who co-directs the IUPUI Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Communication and Training Signature Center. It was made in collaboration with the Indiana Patient Preference Coalition, a volunteer group of stakeholders who provide education.

The video was made possible through a grant to the School of Nursing from the Walther Cancer Foundation.

The release of the video coincides with changes in Indiana law that took effect July 1 to ensure that patients' decisions about their medical treatment are honored.

Titled "An Overview of Important Treatment Decisions for People with Advanced Illness or Frailty," the 12-minute video guides viewers through key treatment decisions to help prepare them for conversations about the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment form. The POST form is an advance-care planning tool for people with advanced illness, frailty or terminal conditions. It helps ensure that health care providers in all settings know and honor patient treatment preferences.

The video addresses decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, medical interventions, antibiotics and artificially administered nutrition.

It also addresses some misconceptions. For example, Dr. Lindsay Weaver, assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at the IU School of Medicine, tells viewers that while CPR always seems to succeed in a television show or a movie, only 13 percent of older hospitalized patients with one or more serious chronic conditions survive CPR. Those who survive may suffer significant injury, including brain damage from lack of oxygen.

The right answers to what kind of medical treatment a patient should choose rest with each patient, according to the video. Patients are encouraged to talk with their health care professionals so treatment decisions reflect their goals, values and preferences.

Based on feedback from stakeholders, the 2018 Indiana General Assembly updated the POST Act with House Enrolled Act 1119. Changes included authorizing advance-practice nurses and physician assistants as signers of POST forms, in addition to physicians. Other changes include allowing health care providers to honor POST forms from other states if those states' POST laws are similar to Indiana's. The bill passed unanimously in the Indiana House and Senate.

The updated POST form is now available for downloading

Three Decades of Research Culminates in FDA Drug Approval

Indiana CTSI-supported research led by two Indiana University School of Medicine faculty members has culminated in U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a new drug for patients with an uncommon, painful and deforming bone disease.

The drug, burosumab, treats X-linked hypophosphatemia, or XLH. It is being brought to market by Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. in collaboration with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. and its European subsidiary, Kyowa Kirin International PLC, under the brand name Crysvita.

XLH is a phosphate-wasting disease that causes rickets and osteomalacia, or softening of the bones. It is typically inherited and affects more than 12,000 patients in the United States and one out of every 20,000 people worldwide. Patients are typically diagnosed as children and have bowed legs, short stature, and experience bone pain and dental abscesses.

The first ever human dose of burosumab was administered by an Indiana CTSI Clinical Research Center (CRC) nurse on January 27, 2009. CRC staff conducted study procedures for all clinic study visits associated with the Phase I – III studies (eight studies total), which included 46 patients (aged 1 year to 70 years) and 822 total study visits, and the CRC continues to support this important work with an upcoming Phase IV study.

From one generation to the next, research offers a world of opportunity

Bright. Popular. Optimistic.

Those are the words Debbie Moore uses to describe her son Colton who, at 16 months of age, was diagnosed with a deforming bone disorder called X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH). Both uncommon and painful, XLH causes rickets and osteomalacia, or softening of the bones. Patients are typically diagnosed during childhood and have bowed legs, short stature, and experience bone pain and dental abscesses.

Debbie knows firsthand the debilitating effects of XLH. Diagnosed with the disease at 18 months, she spent much of her childhood wearing leg braces. She also underwent several surgeries to remove pieces of bone from her femurs and tibias in an effort to straighten her legs.

Debbie also knew there was a 50/50 chance of her children inheriting XLH. Colton fell into the 50 percent who develop it.

“You could see from birth that his Colton’s legs were bowed,” Debbie said. “But it wasn’t until he was about 7 or 8 that the XLH began having an impact in his day-to-day life. He started having to use tables and chairs – whatever was around – to pull himself into a standing position if he was sitting down. We had to do something.”

Debbie knew exactly who to turn to for help: Michael Econs, MD. Econs, chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Indiana University School of Medicine, had been Debbie’s physician for years. He is also a trailblazer for XLH research and began treating patients with the disease in the mid-1980s.

“With XLH, your kidneys essentially view phosphate in the blood as waste and gets rid of it,” Econs said.

Phosphate is essential for the growth and repair of body cells and tissues. Approximately 85 percent of the body’s phosphate supply is found in bone.

When he was 8-years-old, Debbie enrolled Colton in a clinical trial, led in part by Erik Imel, MD, to test a developing therapy based on the research of Econs and his colleague, Kenneth White, PhD, the school’s David D. Weaver Professor of Genetics. The goal of this therapeutic drug – burosumab – was to normalize phosphate in the blood, which in turn would heal rickets, improve the bowing of legs, reduce pain and stiffness, and promote bone healing.

Colton, now 12, has been taking burosumab for four years. Debbie says Colton’s improvements have been nothing short of extraordinary.

“When Colton began this trial, his toes and feet were so turned in, he would literally trip over his own toes. Now, he loves running around outside with his friends and roller skating. He has even performed as part of the Peru Amateur Circus for a few years.”

Traditionally, patients like Debbie and Colton were treated for XLH with high-dose Vitamin D and phosphorus several times a day. Now, Colton receives an injection of burosumab every two weeks. He will continue taking the drug until the growth plates in his legs fuse together.

“It’s amazing to see Colton thrive,” Debbie exclaimed. “The world closed up for me. I had always wanted to become a nurse but I knew after high school, that was no longer in the cards for me. Colton’s world is wide open for him to do and to be anything he wants. The medical advancements that have been made between when I was a kid and now are astounding.”

Econs’ 30-year journey that led to the development of burosumab recently hit a monumental milestone. On April 17, 2018, it received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adults and children living with XLH.

“We’re so fortunate to have been a part of this experience,” Debbie said. “Dr. Econs has been working on this medication for nearly two-thirds of my life, and I’m so happy Colton and other children now have the opportunity to live fulfilling lives because of this research.”

Debbie offers words of advice for other parents whose children have been diagnosed with disease.

“If your child has the opportunity to qualify for a clinical study, go for it. The technology and the medical advancements are there so let’s use it.”

Yen awarded $1.1 million NIH grant to study stroke inflammation

Jui-Hung (Jimmy) Yen, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Indiana University School of Medicine-Fort Wayne, has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on repurposing interferon-beta to potentially reduce inflammation in the brain due to ischemic stroke.

The five-year, NIH-funded project builds upon previous research led by Yen and funded by the American Heart Association and an Indiana University School of Medicine Research Enhancement Grant. In addition to increasing scientific knowledge of stroke and potential treatments, Yen’s project will enable IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne to expand its research program, adding both research personnel and equipment.

“This NIH grant will provide resources for our campus to expand our research for stroke treatment. We will further examine ways to extend the therapeutic effects of tPA and additional potential treatment options for stroke,” Yen said.

“This is a remarkable achievement for Dr. Yen and for the medical school,” said Fen-Lei Chang, MD, PhD, associate dean and director of IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne and executive committee chair of Indiana University Fort Wayne. “IU School of Medicine-Fort Wayne faculty collaboratively focus on neuroscience and aging research, and the research made possible with this grant will enable our faculty to expand their research efforts.”

Research provides unexpected lessons for Roy and Bhattacharjee

Research is the quest to uncover the unknown. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for in the process, which is exactly what happened to IUPUI's Josh Roy and Abhinaba Bhattacharjee when they signed on with faculty-led startup Health Smart Technologies.

Roy is a junior studying medical humanities and health studies in the School of Liberal Arts and the Honors College; Bhattacharjee is a graduate student in the School of Engineering and Technology. Both joined School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences associate professor Terry Loghmani'sresearch team knowing they would learn more about manual therapy.

With the duo's assistance, Health Smart Technologies continued to develop a device allowing medical professionals to measure the pressure and direction of force used during treatment. This will allow for improved and more consistent treatment in fields such as physical therapy and chiropractic care.

Those technical lessons, gaining knowledge related directly to the research itself, were what Roy and Bhattacharjee expected. Seeing firsthand how the research will likely impact their own futures was the added bonus.

"Seeing this side of physical therapy is so unique that some physical therapists never see it in their whole career. I'm not even a therapist yet, and I'm already getting an opportunity to see it," Roy said. "That will help show me my interests, and if I'm interested in research, if getting my Ph.D. one day would be possible. It's good to be a fly on the wall and see it."

The project also widened Bhattacharjee's perspective.

"I had some enthusiasm in electronics initially when I was a kid. At that time, there wasn't much robotics in the country where I'm from," said Bhattacharjee, who is originally from India. "But electronics always used to make me happy and inquisitive about how things work. Now I'm studying electrical and computer engineering during my master's degree.

"When I started this project, I really wondered how it would be implemented and how it would satisfy a need. But now, at this stage, I know how it works because I have been through the whole journey. I've gained a lot of experience in medical robotics, so it will help me pursue a career in medical device development and medical robotics."

A hands-on approach to improving manual therapy

The Health Smart Technology team says Quantifiable Soft Tissue Manipulation, or QSTM, is the key to helping medical professionals understand their actions during treatment. When a therapist massages an injured muscle, for example, they can't determine with any certainty how hard they are pressing. That makes it difficult to replicate successful treatment -- both from session to session or from one clinician to the next -- and train future therapists.

"Some therapists have gone their whole lives not knowing how many newtons of force they've applied. They're just like, 'Oh, it's moderate," which could be accurate, but they don't really know. QSTM makes it a lot more reliable," Roy explained.

Improving consistency and reliability across the board would go a long way toward reducing pain and healing injuries more quickly. Bhattacharjee specifically mentioned how the device's use could eventually benefit athletes trying to get back on the field sooner, something that should interest sports-crazy Indianapolis.

In search of a solution, the team developed device prototypes that can measure and record valuable information. Bhattacharjee was part of the engineering team that worked on the electrical architecture, ensuring communication between the device and computer software.

Multidisciplinary approach

Quantifiable Soft Tissue Manipulation research has benefited from researchers and students across campus, including those involved with computer, electrical and aeronautical engineering; health and rehabilitation sciences; and liberal arts.

"What's cool is that Abhinaba is an engineer in grad school, and we have some other engineers on the team. Dr. Loghmani's a Ph.D. physical therapist, and we have some physical therapy students and me," said Roy, who recently switched majors to medical humanities in the School of Liberal Arts because he wanted to improve his writing and speaking skills while also continuing in the medical field. "It's a very multitalented team. It helps because we're coming at this device from a bunch of different angles. One field would fail without the other."

Roy focused on data entry and interviewed practicing therapists to help identify their specific needs, bringing Health Smart Technologies that much closer to putting the device in clinicians' hands. He modestly downplays his duties as "just intern work," but he also can't be thankful enough for the opportunities he has received.

"Being part of such a cool team with Health Smart and Dr. Loghmani, even doing data entry feels like an honor."

As Bhattacharjee completes his thesis, Roy will continue working with Loghmani throughout the summer. His Life-Health Sciences internship, which matched him with Loghmani during the school year, has ended, but a grant from the Center for Research and Learning will keep him with Health Smart Technologies for a few more months.

"How cool it is that Dr. Loghmani and Health Smart are allowing me to be on that team, giving me the chance," Roy said. "They could find someone else. They could pay someone or get another physical therapy student, but they've given me, an undergrad student, an opportunity."

Researchers at IUPUI lead effort to identify extent of dental erosion

Researchers at IUPUI are working on a study to examine the ability of U.S. dental professionals to identify erosive tooth wear, determine its prevalence among different age groups and evaluate patient perceptions.

Erosive tooth wear, or ETW, is the progressive loss of tooth hard tissue by acid dissolution. Unlike tooth decay, the acids causing ETW are not produced by bacteria after sugar consumption. Instead, excessive consumption of acidic beverages and foods, gastroesophageal reflux, or frequent vomiting may result in ETW.

Funded for the first phase of research by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, this investigator-initiated, public domain study will develop a web-based platform that includes ETW identification tools and a data-collection repository. This platform will provide a significant foundation for the next three years of planned research and will guide the development of clinic-ready procedures that will inform how professionals and patients identify ETW.

ETW is an underdiagnosed condition in the U.S., most likely because of a lack of awareness in dental professionals, said co-principal investigator Gerardo Maupomé, associate dean for research in the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI.

"Findings from this study will serve as an important steppingstone to characterize how dental professionals identify ETW," Maupomé said. "Erosive tooth wear appears to be considerably out of the radar of dental professionals. We think it is important to understand how much exists in the U.S. population, and why."

Maupomé and Dr. Anderson Hara, also co-principal investigator and director of the cariology division of the Department of Cariology, Operative Dentistry and Dental Public Health at the Indiana University School of Dentistry, will lead an effort aimed at raising the profile of ETW as a clinical and epidemiological problem in the United States. Their research group also includes Adam Hirsh, a co-investigator from the School of Science at IUPUI. Future research resulting from this initial effort includes an exploration of the perceptions about ETW and related factors using the National Dental Practice Based Research Network, the flagship practice platform for dental research in the United States.

Funding opportunities in this section include selected current grant announcements from federal agencies for new initiatives and changes to existing programs. Announcements with limited scope are not listed here but instead are sent directly to IUPUI School Deans. For comprehensive coverage of funding opportunities, please use the links below to search online tools.

National Institute of Health

Investigator Initiated Research in Computational Genomics & Data Science (R01)

This opportunity invites applications for a broad range of research efforts in computational genomics, data science, statistics, and bioinformatics relevant to one or both of basic or clinical genomic science, and broadly applicable to human health and disease. This opportunity supports fundamental genomics research developing innovative analytical methodologies and approaches, early stage development of tools and software, and refinement or hardening of software and tools of high value to the biomedical genomics community.

Research topics appropriate for this FOA include, but are not limited to, development of novel computational, bioinformatics, statistical, or analytical approaches, tools, or software for:

1. Interactive analysis and visualization of large genomic data sets.
2. Identification or prioritization of disease-causal genetic variants.
3. Causal statistical modeling related to genomic research.
4. Analysis of single-cell or sub-cellular genomic data both in situ and in dissociated cells.
5. Integrating model organism data and information with human data.
6. Integrating/ interpreting various genomic data types, including sequence data, functional data, phenotypic data, and clinical data.
7. Processing sequence data for sequence assembly, variant detection (SNPs, SVs), imputation, and resolution of haplotypes.
8. Development of efficient and scalable algorithms for compute-intensive genomic applications.
9. Achieving major cost reductions in genomic data processing and analysis.
10. Enabling scalable & cost-effective curation of FAIR metadata for genomic & phenotypic data.
11. Enhancing secure sharing and use of genomic data in combination with clinical data.
12. Processing or analyzing new genomic data types, or major improvement in processing or analyzing existing genomic data types.
13. Rigorous benchmarking of tools, methods, or algorithms for genomics.
14. Hardening an existing widely-used genomic data processing pipeline to enable its reproducible implementation by the biomedical research community.

Deadlines: Letter of Intent: Oct. 16, 2018; Application: Nov. 16, 2018
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-18-844.html

Oncology Co-Clinical Imaging Research Resources to Encourage Consensus on Quantitative Imaging Methods & Precision Medicine (U24)

The objective of this opportunity is to invite Cooperative Agreement applications to develop research resources that will encourage a consensus on how Quantitative Imaging (QI) methods are optimized to improve the quality of imaging results for co-clinical trials.

The scientific goals of this opportunity are to: a) perform the appropriate optimization of the pre-clinical quantitative imaging methods, b) implement the optimized methods in the co-clinical trial, and finally c) populate a web-accessible research resource with all the data, methods, workflow documentation, and results collected from the co-clinical investigations.

Co-clinical trials are defined herein as investigations in patients and in parallel (or sequentially) in mouse or human-in-mouse models of cancer that mirror the genetics and biology of the patients' malignancies or pre-cancerous lesions.

The co-clinical trial should include either a) a therapeutic goal, such as the prediction, staging, and/or measurement of tumor response to therapies, or b) a screening and early detection or a cancer risk stratification goal for lethal cancer versus non-lethal disease. Applicants are encouraged to organize multi-disciplinary teams with experience in mouse models research, human investigations, imaging platforms, QI methods, decision support software and informatics to populate the research resource.

Deadline: Nov. 19, 2018
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-18-841.html

Simulation Modeling & Systems Science to Address Health Disparities (R01)

This opportunity is intended to support studies in Simulation Modeling and Systems Science (SMSS), which provides avenues for modeling relevant multiple processes, testing plausible scenarios, understanding the magnitude of intended and unintended consequences of specific interventions, and having the option to adjust and refine simulated intervention designs prior to actual implementation testing in the real world. SMSS approaches have been used to guide interventions in clinical preventive care, disaster planning, and for analyzing national health reform strategies. They have also been used to model potential public health outcomes in cases where it is not feasible to test various intervention strategies on real populations, particularly where interventions may involve factors far upstream from health outcomes, such as societal causes embedded in political, legal, economic and cultural factors.

The importance of using SMSS to address population health has been highlighted in Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, including: For the Public's Health: The Role of Measurement in Action and Accountability (2011) and Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making (2010). Moreover, results from simulation models developed under NCI's Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) were used to inform guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (e.g., breast cancer screening and colorectal cancer screening). However, SMSS have not been widely adopted in health disparities research to help understand the causes of disparities, guide efficient interventions, and/or inform policy making.

SMSS are also highly relevant to late-stage translation research because they integrate information and evidence from various sources such as epidemiology, clinical guidelines, sociology, behavioral science, psychology, neuroscience, and economics, to formulate complex predictive models. The etiology, pathways, and mechanisms that result in health disparities mimic a complex adaptive system. Models of health disparities seek to illuminate critical elements and intervention points that can tip the system for improved health or provide insights into why health has not improved. Modeling multi-level interventions is important for addressing how the interactions and influences of health determinants function.

Research Objectives

1. Foster trans-disciplinary partnerships and collaborations in understanding the etiology and causal pathways of health disparities using SMSS.
2. Use SMSS to identify modifiable barriers and cost-effective factors to reduce/ eventually eliminate health disparities.
3. Provide evidence-based simulation or prediction of the impact of effective or ineffective health disparities interventions delivered in real-world settings.
4. Promote big data harmonization and novel analytic methods in SMSS to address minority health/ health disparities.

Research Methodology

Examples of research methods could include, but are not limited to: System dynamics, Network analysis, Agent-based modeling, Microsimulation, Discrete event analysis, and Markov modeling.

Deadlines: Letter of Intent: Dec. 08, 2018; Application: Jan. 08, 2019
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-18-331.html

National Science Foundation

Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier: Advancing Cognitive & Physical Capabilities

The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF) is one of 10 new and far-sighted Big Ideas for Future Investments announced by NSF in 2016. NSF aims to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the changing landscape of jobs and work by supporting convergent research to: understand and develop the human-technology partnership; design new technologies to augment human performance; illuminate the emerging socio-technological landscape and understand the risks and benefits of new technologies; and foster lifelong and pervasive learning with technology. In order to be nimble and responsive to new opportunities and challenges as they are recognized, focus areas for the FW-HTF solicitation, the centerpiece of the FW-HTF Big Idea, may change from year to year.

This solicitation focuses on advancing cognitive and physical capabilities in the context of human-technology interactions. The solicitation will support two themes: Theme 1 will focus on Foundations for Augmenting Human Cognition and Theme 2 will focus on Embodied Intelligent Cognitive Assistants. In shaping projects responsive to these two themes, PIs consider the importance of understanding, anticipating, and shaping the larger implications at the individual, institutional, corporate, and national levels, including issues arising from the needs or consequences for training and education. In addition, projects should be framed in terms of their focus on the potential contribution toward a) transforming the frontiers of science and technology for human performance augmentation and workplace skill acquisition; b) improving both worker quality of life and employer financial metrics; c) enhancing the economic and social well-being of the country; and d) addressing societal needs through research on learning and instruction in the context of augmentation. Projects must include a Collaboration Plan which outlines the way in which the project will leverage and integrate multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Deadlines: Letter of Intent: April 16, 2019; Application: June 04, 2019
https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505528

Computing & Communication Foundations (CCF)

Core Programs: This opportunity supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in four core programs: Algorithmic Foundations (AF), Communications and Information Foundations (CIF), Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET), and Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF).

The Algorithmic Foundations (AF) program supports potentially transformative projects in the theory of algorithms. Projects should be characterized by algorithmic innovation accompanied by rigorous analysis. Of interest is research on algorithms for problems that are central to computer science and engineering, as well as new techniques for the rigorous analysis of algorithms and computational complexity.

The CIF program supports basic research in communication theory, information theory, and signal processing. Included in the CIF program is the reliable transmission of information in the presence of a variety of resource constraints (e.g., energy, bandwidth, computation, time, and privacy) and channel impairments (e.g., noise, multipath, interference, and eavesdroppers). CIF likewise has a strong interest in the role of signal processing, coding, and information theory in distributed processing systems handling massive amounts of data and impacting the control, operation and robustness of real-time systems and networks, including human-in-the-loop modeling, processing, and learning.

Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET) is a new program within CCF that aims to enable radical innovations across all areas traditionally supported by CCF, including the theory, algorithms, software, hardware, and architecture of computing and communication systems, through research at the intersection of computing and biological systems, nanoscale science and engineering, quantum information science, and other nascent, yet promising, areas. Interdisciplinary collaborations between computer and information scientists as well as those in various other fields such as biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics are highly encouraged, with the aim of pursuing foundational breakthroughs in computer and information science.

The SHF program supports fundamental research on formal and semi-formal methods for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. This includes, but is not limited to, abstraction, compositional, refinement-based, and probabilistic methods for the modeling and validation of systems involving discrete and continuous behavior. The program seeks proposals that enhance the applicability, usability, and efficiency of techniques such as abstract interpretation, model checking, theorem proving, automated decision procedures, and constraint solving. Research topics involving the semantics, logics, verification, and analysis of concurrent systems are in scope. SHF supports foundations, algorithms, and tools for software and hardware synthesis.

Deadline: Nov. 15, 2018
https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18568

Smart and Autonomous Systems

The Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS) program focuses on Intelligent Physical Systems (IPS) that are capable of robust, long-term autonomy requiring minimal or no human operator intervention in the face of uncertain, unanticipated, and dynamically changing situations. IPS are systems that combine perception, cognition, communication, and actuation to operate in the physical world. Examples include, but are not limited to, robotic platforms, self-driving vehicles, underwater exploration vehicles, and smart grids.

Most current IPS operate in pre-programmed ways and in a limited variety of contexts. They are largely incapable of handling novel situations, or of even understanding when they are outside their areas of expertise. To achieve robust, long-term autonomy, however, future IPS need to be aware of their capabilities and limitations and to adapt their behaviors to compensate for limitations and/or changing conditions.

To foster such intelligent systems, the S&AS program supports research in four main aspects of IPS: cognizant, taskable, adaptive, and ethical. Cognizant IPS exhibit high-level awareness of their own capabilities and limitations, anticipating potential failures and re-planning accordingly. Taskable IPS can interpret high-level, possibly vague, instructions, planning out and executing concrete actions that are dependent on the particular context in which the system is operating. Adaptive IPS can change their behaviors over time, learning from their own experiences and those of other entities, such as other IPS or humans, and from instruction or observation. Ethical IPS should adhere to a system of societal and legal rules, taking those rules into account when making decisions. Each of these research areas requires the IPS to be knowledge-rich, employing a variety of representation and reasoning mechanisms, such as semantic, probabilistic, commonsense, and meta-reasoning.

Deadline: June 03, 2019
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505325

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

Pragmatic Clinical Studies to Evaluate Patient-Centered Outcomes

For this solicitation, applicants are not required to demonstrate that patients and other stakeholders are already engaged as research team members at the time an application is submitted. However, applicants should outline how patients and other stakeholders will participate as partners in various phases of the proposed research, once awarded. Applicants should describe their plan to form a Study Advisory Committee (SAC) or other appropriate engagement body, to ensure that a broad spectrum of patients and other stakeholders advise and assist the research team with refining the study questions, outcomes, and protocols. For this cycle, the special area of interest is Anxiety Disorders in Children, Adolescents, and/or Young Adults.

Compare the effectiveness of one or more digital applications of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to an appropriate active control (e.g., face-to-face CBT) for treatment of mild-to-moderate anxiety in children, adolescents, and young adults (thru age 25). Digital applications may include computer-based therapy (e.g., delivered via Internet or downloadable software) and CBT smartphone applications that are appropriate for treating anxiety.

PCORI is particularly interested in:

• Comparisons of patient-important treatment outcomes across CBT interventions with differing levels and types of support (e.g., parent, therapist, peer, and school counselor involvement).
• Studies in pediatric and primary-care clinics, community mental health centers, schools, and community social service organizations.
• Broad patient populations (e.g., comorbidities and range of severity) and a spectrum of developmental stages represented by patients ages 5 through 25 years.
• Outcomes to include child and family functioning, symptom response, progression, and acceptability of and adherence to recommended care.
• About 2-3 years of follow-up from baseline/randomization, with a minimum of 12 months. Applicants should make clear the length of the active intervention and whether maintenance or booster sessions are included.

Deadlines: Letter of Intent: Oct. 31, 2018; Application: Feb. 06, 2019
http://www.pcori.org/funding-opportunities/announcement/pragmatic-clinical-studies-Cycle-2-2017

Susan G. Komen

Career Catalyst Research Grants (CCR)

Over the past 10 years, Career Catalyst Research (CCR) Grants have fostered promising breast cancer researchers who are in the early stages of their faculty careers by providing support for up to three years of "protected time" for research career development under the guidance of a Mentor Committee. It is expected that following the successful completion of a CCR Grant, awardees will launch independent research careers, successfully compete for subsequent research project funding, and emerge as key leaders in the fight against breast cancer. The focus area for the FY19 Career Catalyst Research Award is Conquering Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Susan G. Komen is requesting Letters of Intent for the FY19 CCR Grant program that propose outstanding translational research into the understanding, detection, and treatment of metastatic breast cancer which will lead to a reduction in breast cancer deaths by 2026.

Deadlines: Letter of Intent: Aug. 01, 2018; Application: Oct. 17, 2018
https://ww5.komen.org/ResearchGrants/FundingOpportunities.html

Note

All faculty, researchers, and scientists on continuing contracts at IU interested in applying for Department of Defense funding are eligible for assistance by the consulting firm--Cornerstone Government Affairs-arranged by the Vice President for Research. Those interested in securing assistance from Cornerstone must submit a 2 page summary of their research project and a CV or biosketch to the VP for Research Office at vpr@iu.edu. Prior to submission, the IUPUI Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is offering assistance with the 2 page summaries. For more information, contact Steven Chin schin@iupui.edu.