February 22, 2022 Newsletter

February 22, 2022

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Research News

Iowa State Researchers Receive Barry Award to Investigate Probiotic Cancer Treatments

Professor of veterinary microbiology Gregory Phillips and associate professor of chemical and biological engineering Rizia Bardhan have been selected to receive funding from the 2022 Margaret B. Barry Cancer Research Program to explore bioengineering probiotics to destroy the types of tumors seen in cancer patients. The team will will receive $120,000 in institutional funding over two years. Read more…

Iowa State Scientists Take Major Step in Understanding Domestication of Corn

Iowa State scientists are learning how to peer back through millennia of domestication to learn how a wild grassy plant known as teosinte developed into corn, the modern cash crop grown across the globe. The research allows scientists to compare genes in corn against its wild ancestor, which could help plant breeders identify advantageous traits that may have been bred out of teosinte over the centuries. Read more…

Kevin Moore Joins Iowa State as Chief Technology Officer for Biobased Products

Kevin Moore has joined Iowa State to serve as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Biobased Products, part of the State of Iowa’s Biosciences-based economic growth initiative. As CTO, Moore will serve as a conduit between research and industry. He will work closely with the Biobased Products platform lead and researchers to identify emerging technologies and facilitate their development into commercial products. Read more…

Iowa State Study Reveals Bullying Extends From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood

Social scientists have long documented the impacts of bullying on young children and adolescents. A team of Iowa State researchers took these studies a step further to determine if bullying behavior and victimization continue into young adulthood, and what personality traits both aggressors and victims possess. The team also looked at if college students are more likely to be victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying. Read more…

Announcements

Register Now For Spring 2022 I-Corps Cohort

The National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored I-Corps program gives campus innovators – faculty and graduate students, alike – the entrepreneurial tools and skills they need to bring their big ideas from the research bench to the marketplace. The I-Corps program at Iowa State is now part of the recently announced Great Lakes I-Corps Hub. Registration applications are open now through February 28, for the Spring 2022 cohort, which kicks off March 2.

iThenticate Adds New Feature

iThenticate, the university’s software for plagiarism detection, has added new ‘Doc-to-Doc Comparison’ functionality to its platform. ISU has activated this feature and it is now available to all registered users. For more information on iThenticate, and how to request access, please visit: https://vpresearchstg.wpengine.com/plagiarism-checker-software/.

Current and Pending/Other Support Requirements Resources Available

In order to strengthen protections of U.S. government-supported research against foreign government interference, federal funding agencies are in the process of implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM)-33. Agencies are working toward standardizing disclosure requirements and forms. Until then, agency disclosure requirements for current and pending/other support are available here.

Help us Achieve Gold-Level Sustainability Status

Once every three years the Association of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) reviews and renews institutions for the association’s STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System) international sustainability accreditation program. As part of the university’s ongoing Live Green commitment, we want to regain our previously awarded Gold-level rating, while striving to achieve the program’s pinnacle Platinum status. We need your help, though. By March 15, 2022, please complete this data collection form to share how your research and scholarship addresses the concept of sustainability.

External Funding Opportunities

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

Fulbright Scholar Awards include opportunities for professionals, artists, and scholars at all career-levels. Location and eligibility vary across all awards, and some awards may be restricted to certain career levels or types of scholars. Research unique opportunities within the U.S. Scholar program here. Find Iowa State guidelines for managing Fulbright awards and connect with featured Fulbrighters here. Applications are being accepted now until September.

Training and Development

PI Departure/Change and Revised Goldsheets
February 24 — 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — Virtual

In this session, OSPA, OIPTT, and SPA will present on tips and tricks to make life as a research administrator as easy as possible. Whether participants are dealing with research awards from federal agencies, industry, non-profits, universities, or independent sponsors, they will learn the steps research administrators and PIs should take as research at Iowa State draws to a close an when to transfer or close out awards. The session will also cover the revised GoldSheet process for awards that will stay with the university. Register here.

NSF CAREER Workshop
March 3 — 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. — Virtual

In this session, recent NSF CAREER grant awardees will be talking about their experiences in developing their proposals and provide tips on the process. Additionally, the Grants Hub will be providing information on the differing requirements of the NSF CAREER program, broader impacts plans, and budget planning. Register here.

Voices in Research

“This new study really pulls together a lot of previous research we’ve already done but for a longer period of time. This will help us understand the physical benefits from singing, like stronger swallowing muscles, as well as the social benefits of group singing that could have a big impact on brain activity and how the body responds to stress.”

Elizabeth Stegemoller, associate professor, Kinesiology

“The model we are using is a process-based ecosystem model. It’s similar to mimicking the patterns and processes of an ecosystem in our computer. We divide land into thousands of pixels at a uniform size and run algorithms that simulate how ecological processes respond to changes in climate, air composition and human activities.”

Chaoqun Lu, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology

“There’s this understanding that, in terms of professional authority, titles and education and status don’t cut it anymore. The idea of ‘Doctor’s orders’ doesn’t carry the same weight as it used to, so providers have to use extra strategies to communicate their expert recommendations to patients. These efforts are not aimed at changing the patients’ emotions; they’re aimed at changing their expectations.”

Clayton Thomas, assistant professor,Teaching, Management and Entrepreneurship