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.]
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR ELECTED AS MATERIALS RESEARCH SOCIETY FELLOW
Dr. Donald Paul, chemical engineering professor, has been elected as a Fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS). The award is in recognition of Paul’s distinguished research accomplishments and outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research.
Paul will be recognized for this honor at the 2009 spring meeting in San Francisco April 13-17. He holds the Ernest Cockrell, Sr. Chair in Engineering and is director of the Texas Materials Institute at the University.
News and Information
SPONSORED PROJECTS AWARD ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER RELEASED
The Sponsored Projects Award Administration (SPAA) in the Office of Sponsored Projects has released a new edition of its periodic newsletter. The research community will discover statistics about the services SPAA provides, helpful tips and reminders and a personal look at the people who help make research happen at The University of Texas at Austin.
The newsletter (PDF) can be found online.
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.]
The New York Times
March 17, 2009
HEADLINE: Mistrial by iPhone: Juries’ Web Research Upends Trials
[From an article about how jurors use technology to get information from outside the courtroom.]
But the rules of evidence, developed over hundreds of years of jurisprudence, are there to ensure that the facts that go before a jury have been subjected to scrutiny and challenge from both sides, said Olin Guy Wellborn III, a law professor at the University of Texas.
“That’s the beauty of the adversary system,” Professor Wellborn, co-author of a handbook on evidence law, said. “You lose all that when the jurors go out on their own.”
Research Opportunities
Important university research deadlines:
Awards and Grants
Limited Submissions
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements
Deadlines: Open (See Institute/Center Web sites for specific deadlines)
NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications
Deadline: April 21, 2009
NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators
Deadlines: Open (See Institute/Center Web sites for specific deadlines)
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications of Nuclear Science and Technology
Deadline: April 20, 2009
Life Sciences Research
Deadline: Sept. 30, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Wound Stasis System Program
Deadline: March 16, 2010
Dynamic Prevention of Biofouling
Deadline: March 16, 2010
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Brayton Cycle Research and Development Opportunities
Deadline: April 30, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Head Start Graduate Student Research
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, April 30, 2009; Application, June 1, 2009
NASA
Ground-Based Studies in Radiobiology
Deadline: Step-1 Proposal, April 23, 2009; Invited Full Proposal, June 25, 2009
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)
Deadline: April 30, 2010
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
Preservation and Access Education and Training
Deadline: July 1, 2009
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
Alcohol Research Resource Awards
Deadline: May 25, 2009
Exploratory Grants for Behavioral Research in Cancer Control
Deadline: June 16, 2009
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Social Psychology
Deadline: July 15, 2009
Perception, Action & Cognition
Deadline: Aug. 1, 2009
Law and Social Sciences
Deadline: Aug. 15, 2009
Marine Geology and Geophysics
Deadline: Aug. 15, 2009
Political Science
Deadline: Aug. 15, 2009
OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
University of Texas System
Texas Ignition Fund
Deadline: April 3, 2009 (Office of the Vice President for Research)
National Operating Committee for Standards in Athletic Equipment
Athletic Injury Research
Deadlines: Application, May 1, 2009; Invited Full Proposal, Oct. 1, 2009
Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation
Lindbergh Grants (for technological growth and environmental balance)
Deadline: June 11, 2009
Universities Research Association
Fermilab Visiting Scholars Program (for students, postdocs, or faculty)
Deadline: Sept. 18, 2009 (fall round)
Research Project
[Let the Research Alert know about your research projects.]
CEREBELLAR ANATOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
RESEARCHER: Douglas G Allen, associate professor, Department of Educational Psychology, principal investigator
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health
AMOUNT: $254,625
Abnormal neural connectivity is increasingly thought to be a key contributor to the neurobiology of autism. The cerebellum is one of the most widely connected structures in the central nervous system, and it is also the most consistent site of brain abnormality in autism. The most common defect is a reduced number of Purkinje cells (PC), which will drastically impact connectivity within the cerebellum and between the cerebellum and other brain regions. PC reduction will disinhibit excitatory output leaving the cerebellum for other brain regions. Such aberrant activity may in turn lead to the abnormal strengthening of anatomic connections and the emergence of aberrant functional connectivity with limbic, thalamic and cerebrocortical sites. This will disrupt the cerebellum’s ability to coordinate cognitive and socioemotional behaviors, thereby contributing to many of the deficits characteristic of autism.
To investigate cerebellar connectivity in autism, we will employ diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an MRI method that allows the quantification of white matter tract structure, and functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (FCMRI), which assesses interregional coherence of MRI signal change as an index of functional connectivity. DTI and FCMRI will be used to examine the anatomic and functional integrity of cerebellar connections with limbic, thalamic and cerebrocortical sites in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and in healthy controls. Connectivity measures will be correlated with volumes of specific cerebellar sub-regions to assess the impact of anatomic abnormality on connectivity. We will also investigate associations between these anatomic and connectivity measures and independent measures of cerebellar function.
Findings from this study will improve our understanding of the neural basis of autism. Such should lead to better-informed treatments, and it should focus the search for the etiology of this common and devastating neurodevelopmental disorder.
