Patricia Enciso
Principal Investigator: Patricia Enciso, Department of Teaching & Learning
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $3,500
Project Sponsor: National Writing Project Corp
Changing directions
Through drama and digital storytelling (Alrutz 2014; Edmiston 2014; Lambert 2010) we want to ‘change directions’ with students so they can tell stories of one another’s experiences in their own and others’ communities. Our Changing Directions project will create the time and space for students to ask questions, collect stories and images, rehearse, write, reflect on, revise, remake, and perform the critical moments in which they recognize new perspectives and intersections in their lives.
Across the nation, teachers and administrators are concerned about student perspective taking and intergroup relationships in and out of school. They know that without a sense of shared community and belonging many aspects of learning break down. Community leaders are equally concerned about youth and adults’ perspectives in the midst of cultural change. Our approach to drama and digital storytelling performances in and out of school creates a productive focus on students’ innovative and energetic capacity to connect with one another’s communities and experiences.
A 2013 report on the status of arts education in Ohio notes that only 2% of elementary and 6% of middle schools offer instruction in drama/theatre. Both national and state drama/theatre standards address the need for multi-media and technology integration to create, perform, and refine dramatic and theatrical works that are personally meaningful. Currently, no program or curriculum is available in CCS middle schools to provide teachers and students with the necessary skills and materials to enact this standard.
Tonya Orchard
Principal Investigator: Tonya Orchard, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $2,150,010
Project Sponsor: National Cancer Institute
Effect of n-3 fatty acids and sugars on chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits
Women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) comprise the largest group of cancer survivors in the United States. Chemotherapy used to treat BC has potentially toxic side effects in the brain, adversely affecting verbal fluency, memory and processing speed in up to 30% of women treated. The biological basis of chemotherapy induced cognitive dysfunction is poorly understood and no effective preventative strategies exist. Our preliminary data illustrate that chemotherapy increases oxidative stress, which in turn promotes neuroinflammation and cognitive changes in a mouse model; maintaining mice on high sucrose diets exacerbates the inflammation. In BC survivors, our data suggest that an unhealthy (i.e. high added sugar) diet increases systemic inflammation post-chemotherapy. Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) is a promising strategy to decrease inflammation and address life-altering cognitive side effects for several reasons: n-3 FAs reduce inflammatory cytokines and lipid peroxidation in rodent models, improve cognition in some older adults, and have established safety and tolerability with chemotherapy. However, high amounts of added sugars in the diet may interfere with the anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 FAs. The primary objective of this proposal is to use a randomized placebo controlled trial to determine the extent to which dietary supplementation with n-3 FAs reduces neuroinflammation and prevents cognitive decline in women receiving chemotherapy after BC surgery, and whether n-3 FAs are more effective in women whose usual diets are lower in added sugars. In addition, we will examine the mechanisms through which chemotherapy impairs cognitive performance and the potential of added sugars to modify the neuroprotective effects of n-3 FAs by including experiments using a translational mouse model that closely approximates the chemotherapy regimen commonly used to treat women with BC. We hypothesize that a low sugar/high n-3 FA diet will reduce neuroinflammation, decreasing inflammatory cytokines and activation of brain macrophages (microglia) in mice, which in turn will lessen chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits. We further hypothesize that n-3 FA supplementation will decrease the cognitive side effects of chemotherapy in women with BC, and that the reduction in side effects will be greater in women who consume lower levels of added sugars in the diet. Understanding the mechanisms by which chemotherapy causes cognitive changes, the potential exacerbating role of added sugars, and intervening with n-3 FAs to alleviate these deficits are the necessary first steps in establishing an effective preventative strategy for chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction, which could vastly improve quality of life for cancer survivors.
Natasha Slesnick
Principal Investigator: Natasha Slesnick, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $57,196
Project Sponsor: Ohio Office of Attorney General
OSU STAR House: Roof Replacement
Natasha Slesnick
Principal Investigator: Natasha Slesnick, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016 Anticipated Total Award Amount: $19,088 Project Sponsor: Ohio Office of Attorney General
OSU STAR House: ADA compliance renovations
Natasha Slesnick
Principal Investigator: Natasha Slesnick, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016 Anticipated Total Award Amount: $20,316 Project Sponsor: Ohio Office of Attorney General
OSU STAR House: Purchase of vehicle
Christopher Zirkle
Principal Investigator: Christopher Zirkle, Department of Educational Studies
Project Dates: 7/06/2015 – 6/30/2016 Anticipated Total Award Amount: $112,000 Project Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
FY16 alternative teacher preparation and retention grant
This grant provides support for the 27 semester hour Career-Technical Licensure program, which brings professionals from business and industry into career-technical education programs in Ohio high schools, career centers and correctional facilities. With a focus on STEM careers, this grant supports teachers in such content fields as engineering, exercise science, visual design, precision machining, culinary arts, and pharmacy technology. The grant covers the costs associated with on-site teacher visits during the first-year of teaching, and a summer workshop designed to prepare these individuals for entry into the classroom and laboratory.