Martha Belury
Principal Investigator: Nicholas Funderburg, College of Medicine
Co-Investigators: Martha Belury, Department of Human Sciences; Ralf Bundschuh; Susan Koletar; Subha Raman; Abigail Shoben; Pearlly Yan
Project Dates: 9/01/2016 – 6/30/2017
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $2,990,705
Project Sponsor: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Cellular mediators of vascular inflammation in treated HIV infection
In the antiretroviral therapy (ART) era, HIV-infected persons remain at increased risk for cardiovascular disease1-4 that we5-7 and others have linked to persistent inflammation8-13. The precise mechanisms driving persistent inflammation are not known, but may include: low level HIV-1 replication14, copathogens15, microbial translocation16, and pro-inflammatory lipids (e.g. oxidized LDL)17, that can each activate innate defenses, inducing inflammatory cytokines, and altering endothelial cell and immune cell function11,18. Mechanisms whereby these perturbations drive cardiovascular risk in ART treated HIV-infection are also not well understood. We propose that a complex inflammatory interaction among monocytes, effector CD8+ T cells, and the endothelium promotes the development of vascular disease and propose mechanistic studies to define this. We have found profound increases in expression of the procoagulant tissue factor (TF) on monocytes, their subsets19,20, platelets21, and in plasma as circulating microparticles12,19,22 in HIV disease. Proportional representation of CD16+ monocyte subsets are increased in HIV infection20; these cells are enriched for CX3CR1(fractalkine receptor) expression, and monocytes from HIV+ patients have increased expression of the integrin LFA-1, promoting vascular homing and adhesion. We also find that expansion of effector CD8+ T cells is linked to cardiovascular (CV) morbidity in ART treated HIV-infection23,24; and while CD8+ T cell infiltration has been linked to vascular inflammation in uninfected persons25, mechanisms driving this are also not clear. We find that the expanded effector CD8+ T cells in HIV-infection are enriched for expression of both CX3CR1 and protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), a receptor that can be cleaved by thrombin and is then activated. We hypothesize that inflammatory, procoagulant CX3CR1+ monocytes in HIV infection drive vascular inflammation by promoting thrombosis, maturing into foam cells, driving thromb in mediated activation of PAR-1 on proximate CX3CR1+ CD8+ T cells that also patrol the fractalkine+ endothelium and that these activated phenotypes are sustained in part, by low levels of Krüppel-like factors (KLF)-2 and 4 in monocytes and endothelium.
William Kraemer
Principal Investigator: William Kraemer, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 9/15/2016 – 9/14/2017
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $302,833
Project Sponsor: Office of Naval Reserves
Enhancing a stress-recovery-biomarker-performance research platform
The equipment requested in this grant will enhance the depth and breadth of our efforts to improve warfighter stress mitigation, resilience, and recovery. The modern warfighter faces an ever-changing environment with widely ranging adaptability demands. This underscores the need for evaluation techniques that span the physiological continuum, from whole body biomechanics and neuroscience to cellular and molecular biology. With the requested equipment, we will build upon our laboratory capabilities, emphasizing improved dimensionality, throughput, and the integration of analytical capabilities relevant to the stress and recovery demands faced by warfighters. This includes a biochemical analyzer that expands our ability to develop biomarker profiles and monitor stress and recovery in multiple systems through the rapid analysis of biomarkers in the blood and urine. Efforts to intervene on an individual basis will be enhanced through a system that improves the accuracy and speed of venipuncture. An integrated neuronavigation system will improve the accuracy and precision of existing neuroscience techniques to clarify the neurological origins of stress, pain, adaptation, and injury. When combined with our existing neuroscience platform, a wireless movement sensor system will enhance field- and lab-based evaluations of military-relevant movements. An advanced cognitive testing platform will complement existing systems, and provide sensitive information on neural functions affected by TBI, PTSD, and musculoskeletal trauma. A weapons targeting system will allow us to directly assess combat-relevant skills under various environmental conditions, provide access to important aspects of decision-making, and play an important role in evaluating the efficacy of interventions aimed at improving stress mitigation and recovery. Finally, the purchase of two promising recovery technologies: the float tank and recovery chair, will complement our existing recovery modalities. Collectively, the proposed equipment will enhance our ability to evaluate various recovery interventions, and advance our understanding of the biochemical, neurological, and physical basis of warfighter resilience.
Tzu-Jung Lin
Principal Investigator: Tzu-Jung Lin, Department of Educational Studies
Project Dates: 9/01/2016 – 8/31/2018
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $70,000
Project Sponsor: National Education Association
Promoting interpersonal competencies and academic achievement through collaborative social reasoning
The focuses of this study are to examine the impact of a dialogic intervention on early adolescents’ social reasoning, interpersonal competencies, and academic achievement, and to uncover the underlying social-cognitive mechanisms of change. The central hypotheses are that the intervention, using an approach called Collaborative Social Reasoning (CSR), will lead to significant growth in social reasoning, interpersonal competencies and academic achievement; the growth in social reasoning will mediate the changes in interpersonal competencies and academic achievement for students who receive CSR. Results are expected to reveal positive impacts of CSR on early adolescents’ interpersonal competencies and academic achievement, and elucidate the social-cognitive mechanisms underlying CSR discussions. The outcomes are expected to have a significant and positive impact on future designs of a longitudinal social-emotional learning program or school curriculum to simultaneously foster students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development.
Robert Mahlman
Principal Investigator: Robert Mahlman, Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE)
Co-Investigators: James Austin; Brooke Parker
Project Dates: 8/15/2016 – 6/30/2017
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $1,437,382
Project Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
FY 2017 technical testing project scope of work
The Technical Testing Project is a statewide system that provides data on secondary technical skill attainment for the Ohio Department of Education Office of Career-Technical Education. The system is served to stakeholders across Ohio through an online portal (WebXam) operated by the Center on Education and Training for Employment. The system is aligned to the vision and mission of the Office as articulated in the strategic plan (ODE-CTE website), including post-secondary transitions, local report cards, and Federal reporting.
Matthew Mayhew
Principal Investigator: Matthew Mayhew, Department of Educational Studies
Project Dates: 8/1/2016 – 5/31/2020
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $1,386,425
Project Sponsor: Interfaith Youth Core
Implementation of the interfaith diversity experiences and attitudes longitudinal survey (IDEALS)
The goal of this project is to establish a national benchmark for campus climate related to interfaith cooperation, providing campuses with a point of comparison related to their own individual campus climates. It will also establish a baseline of evidence for which precise practices achieve student outcomes related to interfaith learning. For the first time, interfaith and campus leaders will be able to point to a national dataset as a starting place for identifying institutional strengths, weaknesses, and high-impact practices related to interfaith engagement on campus and deploy an ongoing assessment of their own work.
Principal Investigator: Nancy Neef, Department of Educational Studies
Project Dates: 9/1/2016 – 5/31/2017
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $8,003
Project Sponsor: Westfall Local Schools
Buckeye behavior analysis services: Westfall
The project will provide up to 100 hours of service to Westfall Schools from August 2016 to May 2017 through Buckeye Behavior Analysis Services (BBAS). (Hours will include time in schools, travel, meetings, and report preparation.) Services will be provided by one or more graduate students supervised by faculty and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Services will include functional behavior assessments, development and evaluation of positive behavior support plans, training and support of school personnel, assessment-based intervention plans, observational data collection, report preparation, and attending meetings as needed to promote behavioral and academic goals of referred students of teachers who have requested assistance. The project will further OSU’s land grant mission while benefitting (a) children in Westfall Schools in progressing on behavioral and academic targets, (b) their teachers and aids who receive training and support, and (c) BBAS OSU students who gain experience in skills essential to professional development along with financial support.
Kelly Purtell
Principal Investigator: Kelly Purtell, Department of Human Sciences
Project Dates: 9/1/2016 – 8/31/2018
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $34,000
Project Sponsor: American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Head Start classroom age composition and children’s early learning and development: Understanding when and why it matters
Tiffany Wild
Principal Investigator: Tiffany Wild, Department of Teaching and Learning
Project Dates: 8/1/2016 – 7/31/2017
Anticipated Total Award Amount: $135,297
Project Sponsor: Salus University
Salus University – Support for 3 students
This award supports three graduate students.