October 11, 2022 Newsletter

October 11, 2022

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Research News

Iowa State Lab Aims to Repair Severed Nerves, Foster Undergraduate Research

Traumatic damage to peripheral nerves may cause a loss of muscle control, severe pain, burning sensations, and tingling or numbness in the area affected by the injury. In an effort to relieve their symptoms, around 700,000 people in the U.S. each year undergo surgery. Undergraduate students at Iowa State are part of a research team testing different structures that could be used to help patients better recover from traumatic nerve injuries. Read more…

Iowa State Professor’s New Book Unlocks the Secret History of the Farm Crisis

A new book – When a Dream Dies: Agriculture, Iowa, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s – authored by Iowa State University Distinguished Professor of History Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, was recently published by the University Press of Kansas. Five years of research followed by two years of writing yielded an outstanding example of how understanding the past illuminates the present: farm crises are never far away in contemporary Iowa. Read more…

CDC Grant Spurs Iowa State Research for Fall Prevention 

Fueled by a recently awarded $1 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Iowa State researchers and community partners will study new strategies to help reduce risks of falls in older adults. The project will build on an evidence-based program called Walk with Ease, which was developed by the Arthritis Foundation and broadly endorsed by the CDC. Read more…

$80 Million Grant Aims to Make Regenerative Farming Practice a Moneymaker for Farmers

A new grant of up to $80 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund a project meant to spur more farmers to plant cover crops and perennial prairie grass. Iowa State will receive roughly $10 million from the new grant and is one of 14 partners involved in the project, which is called Horizon II and is led by Roeslein Alternative Energy, a St. Louis-based company. Read more…

Internal Funding Opportunities

Biobased Products Emerging Technology Seed Funding

Proposals are being accepted for Biobased Products Emerging Technology Seed Grantsfocused on the emerging key industrial technology areas of biobased chemicals and biomaterials, biobased fertilizers, ag biologicals (microbial soil treatments, biobased pesticides), alternative proteins and nutritional probiotics, and advanced biofuels. The projects are generally for 12 months with the potential for second year funding based on progress and availability of funds. Any Iowa State faculty member wanting to develop commercial-relevant expertise in biobased products for soil enhancement, pesticides, alternative proteins, or nutrition probiotics is eligible for this funding opportunity. Applications are due October 15, 2022.

Biobased Products Technology Feasibility Demonstration Funding

Funding opportunities are available for Biobased Products Technology Feasibility Demonstrations focused on demonstrating technology feasibility on the pathway towards commercialization. The projects are generally for six to 12 months and must be centered around translating research to technology development. Any Iowa State faculty member interested in translating their biobased product research to technology demonstration is eligible for this funding opportunity. Applications are due October 15, 2022.

Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grant program (PIRS)

Proposals are now being accepted for the Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grant program (PIRS), designed to support the initial stages of innovative, high-risk, high-reward projects that have an interdisciplinary focus and strong potential for external, competitive funding. PIRS projects are expected to build new or expand existing teams to pursue innovative, ambitious, interdisciplinary research programs that have the potential to obtain sponsored funding from government agencies, corporations, and/or foundations. Activities typically focus on performing preliminary work, facilitating collaboration, and connecting with funding agencies. Full-time, tenured/tenure-eligible and term faculty with the rank of assistant professor — including assistant teaching professor, clinical assistant professor, and adjunct assistant professor, or higher-ranking faculty from any discipline — may apply for this program. Applications are due November 11, 2022.

Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics Innovation Fellowships

Applications are currently sought for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics Innovation Fellowships, which provide resources to allow active pursuit of technology licensing, commercial partnerships, or new venture formation by research-focused entrepreneurs who have motivation to identify and commercialize novel technologies. Applicants should have a suitable technical knowledge and a strong interest in developing entrepreneurial talents to form a successful new venture or actively support technological commercialization in the vaccines and immunotherapeutics field. Applications are due December 2, 2022.

Training & Development

2022 NIAMRRE Fall Quarterly Symposium
October 19 — 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. — Zoom

The National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMRRE) Fall Symposium will showcase the 2022 One Health Interprofessional Education Cohort’s Capstone projects. Participants of this cohort started at the May 2022 NIAMRRE Conference. Since then, individuals have been able to interact with others across the One Health sectors while learning how to implement an IPE mindset in solving AMR case studies. During the symposium you will see the different teams showcase what they have learned about IPE in a selected case of their choice. In addition, come and listen to Katie Kuehl, Peter Rabinowitz and Vickie Ramirez from University of Washington share how they use IPE in the One Health Clinic. Register here.

Broader Impacts Identity
October 25 — 1:10 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. — Memorial Union Cardinal Room

Most researchers are comfortable thinking about and discussing their research identity — who they are as researchers and what contributions they hope to make to their discipline through their research over the course of their careers. It is far less common, however, for researchers to think about their impact identity — the lasting impacts they aspire to have on their community and on society, as a whole, through their broader impacts work. This interactive workshop will introduce the concept of a broader impacts identity and walk investigators through a process for starting to define BI identity. Register here.

Voices in Research

“We’re going to use advanced computational chemistry toolkits to understand how germanium and tin interact on an atomic level. With these fundamental insights, we can then engineer systems and surfaces by introducing some stabilizing agents into the environment and controlling the amount of tin we can incorporate into germanium.”

Luke Roling, assistant professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering

“The Frontier Science Fund allows us to engage in rigorous experimentation that we hope will lead to the discovery of new thermoelectric materials. We are often tweaking atoms in these materials. After we see where the atoms are, we measure the thermoelectric properties; then we adjust the thermoelectric efficiency of the compound by judiciously replacing atoms – and we repeat the process again and again.”

Julia Zaikina, assistant professor, Chemistry

“There is nothing like this in the science education space. We’re looking at what skills students need to complete the course, what skills they need help with, and giving instructors the tools to provide customized instruction and resources throughout the course. This will help physics instructors go beyond teaching to the ‘average student,’ who is most often White men, to create differentiated lesson plans that support all learners.”

Ben Van Dusen, assistant professor, School of Education