Read the research blog Further Findings.
NOTE: NEW WEB PAGE FOR STIMULUS PACKAGE OPPORTUNITIES ADDED TO UT AUSTIN RESEARCH RESOURCES
The Office of the Vice President for Research has set up a Web page on the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus package. The page includes summaries of the act and links to federal agencies that have been charged with dispersing money to stimulate the economy. Funding opportunities available under the stimulus plan will be listed in the Research Alert under the heading RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT.
Research Prizes and Honors
[Have you or a colleague won a research-related prize or honor? Let the Research Alert know.]
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING PROFESSOR RECEIVES ‘MOST CITED AUTHOR’ AWARD
A paper co-authored by Dr. Ivo M. Babuska, aerospace engineering professor, has received Elsevier Journal’s “Most Cited Author 2005-2008” award. The paper, titled “Solving Elliptic Boundary Value Problems with Uncertain Coefficients by the Finite Element Method: The Stochastic Formulation,” was published in the Elsevier journal, “Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering.”
News and Information
CENTRAL TEXAS CLINICAL RESEARCH FORUM EXTENDS
DEADLINE OF CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The Clinical Education Center at Brackenridge will hold the second Annual Central Texas Clinical Research Forum on Thursday, May 7, 2009. Faculty, residents, students, physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and staff interested in research are invited to attend. Registration is free.
The abstract submission deadline has been extended to March 25, 2009. Authors will be informed of acceptance by April 7, 2009. Register or submit an abstract.
“AUDITS AND THE AUDIT PROCESS” VIDEO SCREENING MARCH 13
A video presentation, “Audits and the Audit Process,” from the National Council of University Research Administrators, will be screened at 9:30 a.m. March 13, 2009 in ACE Room 2.402.
David Dockwiller, assistant director of the awards administration section in the Office of Sponsored Projects, will be available to answer questions. The TxClass registration code is SP201.
The program will discuss the audit process and the differences between audits, reviews, inspections and investigations. It also will look at how auditors approach an audit, and the various institutional roles including that of the institutional audit and compliance officer, the central research administrator, and the departmental research administrator.
QuotedUT Researchers in the News
[A sampling of recent quotes by university faculty members and researchers. To be included in this section, let the Research Alert know when you or a colleague have been quoted.]
San Francisco Chronicle
March 8, 2009
HEADLINE: Obama taking big political risk with budget
If the polls are accurate, the economic meltdown has altered public attitudes about government, be it the appetite for health care reform, regulation of banks or higher taxes on the wealthy.
“What you’ve got is a context that makes a very ambitious budget strategy possible in a way that wouldn’t be possible in times we would call normal,” said Bruce Buchanan, a presidential scholar at The University of Texas. “This is a rare moment.”
Research Opportunities
Important university research deadlines:
Awards and Grants
Limited Submissions
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
NIH Recovery Act Limited Competition: Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program
Deadline: March 25, 2009 (Office of the Vice President of Research)
NIH Recovery Act Limited Competition: Core Facility Renovation, Repair, and Improvement
Deadline: May 22, 2009 (Office of the Vice President of Research)
NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research
Deadline: April 27, 2009
NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research – NCRR Topics
Deadline: April 27, 2009
EPA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program
Announcement to be posted by March 17, 2009
EPA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program
Announcement to be posted by March 17, 2009
EPA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program
Announcement to be posted by March 17, 2009
DOE Recovery Act (Arra) – R & D On Alternative Isotope Production Techniques
Deadline: April 20, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Enhanced Geothermal Systems Component Research and Development/Analysis
Deadline: April 30, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Geoscientist Intern Program for BLM
Deadline: April 12, 2009
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Quantifying Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential Through Improved Pasture Management
Deadline: April 20, 2009
NASA
Opportunities in SMD Education and Public Outreach
Deadline: July 1, 2009
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
Novel Interventions for Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, April 12, 2009; Application, May 12, 2009
Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, May 2, 2009; Application, June 2, 2009
Research on Clinical Decision Making in People with or at Risk for Life-Threatening Illness
Deadline: June 16, 2009
Biomedical Research on the International Space Station
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, Aug. 31, 2009; Application, Sept. 30, 2009
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring
Deadline: April 21, 2009
Social Psychology
Deadline: July 15, 2009
Law and Social Sciences
Deadline: Aug. 15, 2009
Political Science
Deadline: Aug. 15, 2009
Decision, Risk and Management Sciences
Deadline: Aug. 18, 2009
Chemical and Biological Separations
Deadline: Sept. 15, 2009
Research Project
[Let the Research Alert know about your research projects.]
HOME-BASED DIABETES SYMPTOM SELF-MANAGAEMENT FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS
RESEARCHER: Alexandra Garcia, assistant professor, School of Nursing, principal investigator
AGENCY: National Institute Of Diabetes And Digestive And Kidney Diseases
AMOUNT: $260,418
Mexican Americans are affected by type 2 diabetes at twice the rate of non-Hispanic whites and they suffer higher rates of diabetes-related complications. Because Mexican Americans are more likely to lack health insurance or access to medical care, many may depend solely on self-evaluation and self-management of diabetes and its symptoms. The proposed study uses a repeated measures experimental design to determine the feasibility of delivering a culturally-specific intervention focusing on diabetes symptom self-management for Mexican Americans, examines preliminary measures of the intervention’s effectiveness and costs, and assesses participants’ perceptions of the intervention.
The proposed intervention is both standardized and tailored to participants’ unique symptoms. Participants in the experimental condition will receive eight weekly in-home 90-minute interactive one-on-one educational and behavior modification sessions with a registered nurse focusing on symptom awareness, glucose self-testing, and subsequent appropriate treatment (weeks 1-8) and eight bi-weekly follow-up support telephone calls (weeks 10-24). A wait-listed control group (WLC) will serve as a comparison for the intervention group at all data points. Participants in the WLC will be offered the home-based portion of the intervention beginning in week 26. A total of 72 Mexican American adults, aged 25-75, with type 2 diabetes will participate in the study (36 in each group).
The feasibility and costs of conducting the home-based intervention will be evaluated using process evaluation and basic cost analyses. Data to assess the effects of the intervention (including symptom-related knowledge, glucometer use, physiologic indicators of health: glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, weight, lipids, confidence in diabetes self-management, and quality of life) will be collected from participants in both intervention and WLC groups at three points: baseline (week 0), immediately post-intervention (week 9), and 120 days post-intervention (week 25) to examine long-term effects of the intervention on A1c levels. Intervention participants’ perceptions about the intervention will be evaluated using focus groups.
The proposed study provides an essential public health service by pilot testing a symptom-focused, culturally meaningful, diabetes self-management program aimed at reducing barriers to lifestyle modification, increasing health literacy, improving diabetes control and quality of life, and relieving the physical, societal, and economic burdens of Mexican Americans’ worsening diabetes prevalence and consequences.
