Science Research Roundup: September 2018

This month, Arts & Sciences researchers were awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health, Missouri Space Grant Consortium, and other organizations.

Gary Patti, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded $3.02 million from the National Institutes of Health for a research project titled "A comprehensive resource for high-throughput profiling of worm and zebrafish metabolomes." Patti also received a $1.79 million NIH grant for research on profiling the human reference metabolome.

Jay Ponder, professor of chemistry, received a $1.17 National Institutes of Health grant toward the development of a next-generation nucleic acid force field.

Todd Braver, professor of psychological and brain sciences, and ShiNung Ching, of the School of Engineering & Applied Science, will lead a group of researchers working to better understand cognitive control with a $611,000 National Science Foundation BRAIN Initiative grant.

Jeffrey G. Catalano, professor of Earth and planetary sciences, was awarded $540,000 from the Department of Energy to study trace metal dynamics and limitations on biogeochemical cycling in wetland soils and hyporheic zones, which are regions beneath and alongside streambeds where surface and shallow groundwaters mix.

Douglas A. Wiens, Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will undertake a collaborative research project titled "Investigating ice sheet-solid Earth feedbacks in West Antarctica: Implications for ice sheet evolution and stability," with a $424,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Alexander Barnes, assistant professor of chemistry, was awarded a $389,000 National Institutes of Health grant toward research on high-sensitivity NMR at room temperature for molecular structure and dynamics.

Meredith Jackrel, assistant professor of chemistry, won a $57,000 grant from the Longer Life Foundation for research on "Restoring proteostasis to counter human disease." 

Philip Skemer, associate professor of Earth and planetary sciences, won a $14,000 grant from the Missouri Space Grant Consortium in support of augmented reality tools for visualization, teaching, and data exploration in the planetary sciences. The funds will allow expanded student and faculty use of the Fossett Laboratory for Virtual Planetary Exploration

Did we miss something? Let us know.

For assistance with proposal writing, editing, coordination, and other related projects, please contact 
Crystal Gammon, grants and science writer in Arts & Sciences.