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GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

CAMPUS BASED-FWS

CAMPUS BASED-FWS

CAMPUS BASED-FSEOG

CAMPUS BASED-FSEOG

SCHOOL BASED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL PIPELINE TRAINING PROGRAM

SCHOOL BASED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL PIPELINE TRAINING PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS OF LEARNING IN DYNAMICS AND CONTROL: EXPLORING THE SYNERGY OF LOW-COST PORTABLE LAB EQUIPMENT, VIRTUAL LABS, AND AI WITHIN STUDENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY DEVELOPING DYNAMICS AND CONTROL LEARNING PACKAGES WITH FOUR OPEN-SOURCE COMPONENTS TO IMPROVE ENGINEERING EDUCATION. ENGINEERING STUDENTS TAKING DYNAMICS, VIBRATIONS, AND CONTROL THEORY COURSES OFTEN STRUGGLE TO ACQUIRE A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX ENGINEERING CONCEPTS DUE TO THE HIGHLY MATHEMATICAL NATURE OF THE CONTENT, LACK OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, AND LIMITED TEACHING TOOLS. THIS ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING LEVEL 2 PROJECT INTENDS TO DEVELOP LEARNING PACKAGES TO OFFER MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN HELP STUDENTS BRIDGE THEORY WITH PRACTICE, DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, AND GAIN A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF VIBRATIONS AND CONTROL THEORY IN A PRACTICAL CONTEXT. THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE ADVANCEMENTS IN UNDERSTANDING OF STUDENT LEARNING BY EXPLORING WHAT WAYS THESE MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS. THE PROPOSED LEARNING PACKAGES INCLUDE FOUR MAIN COMPONENTS: (1) 3D PRINTED LAB EQUIPMENT DESIGNS; (2) VIRTUAL SIMULATIONS; (3) VIRTUAL ASSISTANT-BASED AI SUPPORT; AND (4) GUIDED LEARNING ACTIVITIES. THE PROJECT TEAM PLANS TO EXPLORE THREE RESEARCH QUESTIONS: (1) TO WHAT DEGREE CAN LEARNING PACKAGES ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING CAPABILITIES AROUND DYNAMICS AND CONTROLS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CAREFULLY DESIGNED AI-ASSISTED LEARNING EXPERIENCES USING HANDS-ON EQUIPMENT AND VIRTUAL SIMULATIONS? (2) WHY DO POTENTIAL USERS CHOOSE TO USE ONE OR MORE PARTS OF THE DYNAMICS AND CONTROL LEARNING PACKAGE? (3) WHICH ELEMENT OR COMBINATIONS OF ELEMENTS IN THE DYNAMICS AND CONTROLS LEARNING PACKAGE ARE MOST BENEFICIAL FOR ITS USERS? THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH NSF?S VISION TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN STEM, AND WITH ITS GOAL OF EMPOWERING STEM LEARNERS WHILE CREATING NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE LEARNING PROCESS. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH THE ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE CREATION, EXPLORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROMISING PRACTICES AND TOOLS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ENHANCING ENGINEERING STUDENT MOTIVATION, ACADEMIC SUCCESS, AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF A LONG-TERM MULTI-CONSTRUCT TASK VALUE INTERVENTION -CULTIVATING A MORE ACADEMICALLY SUCCESSFUL ENGINEERING STUDENT BODY WILL NOT ONLY PRODUCE MORE AND BETTER ENGINEERS BUT IT WILL ALSO BROADEN THE TALENT POOL IN SUPPORT OF OUR NATION?S STEM INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM. TWO SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES THAT ENGINEERING PROGRAMS FACE THOUGH ARE STUDENT RETENTION AND CAREER READINESS. EXPECTANCY-VALUE THEORY OFFERS A RELEVANT MOTIVATIONAL GROUNDING TO UNDERSTAND THESE CHALLENGES FACED BY ENGINEERING STUDENTS. THE PROJECT WILL ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A LONG-TERM, MULTI-CONSTRUCT TASK VALUE INTERVENTION (MTVI) INTENDED TO PROMOTE ACADEMIC AND CAREER SUCCESS BY CONNECTING STUDENT MOTIVATION TO ACADEMIC TASKS. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT INTERVENTIONS TO ENHANCE TASK VALUES STRONGLY INFLUENCE STEM OUTCOMES AND COULD ADDRESS RETENTION AND CAREER READINESS CHALLENGES. THIS RESEARCH WILL ENABLE THE EXPLORATION OF UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF COMBINING MULTIPLE TASK VALUE INTERVENTIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE CONSEQUENCE OF REPEATED EXPOSURE OVER TIME, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERVENTIONS ON WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING AND CAREER-RELATED OUTCOMES. THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH NSF?S MISSION TO ENHANCE STEM LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND PROMOTE STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WHILE PROVIDING FRESH SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS INTO THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVENTIONS ON STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. STUDENT SUCCESS AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE ARE INFLUENCED BY ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES (E.G., TASK VALUES, PARTICIPATION, ENGAGEMENT). THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EMPLOY A LONGITUDINAL, ACTIVE-CONTROL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF THE MULTI-CONSTRUCT TASK VALUE INTERVENTION (MTVI) THAT IS GROUNDED IN SITUATED EXPECTANCY-VALUE THEORY. TARGETING FOUR TASK VALUES (I.E., UTILITY, INTRINSIC, ATTAINMENT, AND COST) THROUGH WRITING EXERCISES, STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AN INTRODUCTORY ENGINEERING COURSE WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO THE MTVI GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. MTVI STUDENTS WILL COMPLETE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN TARGET COURSES FOR THE REMAINING FOUR ACADEMIC YEARS. THIS APPROACH WILL PROVIDE LONGITUDINAL MOTIVATION DATA TO UNDERSTAND ENGINEERING STUDENTS? JOURNEY DURING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. THE KNOWLEDGE TO BE GENERATED FROM THIS RESEARCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INFORM CHANGES AND TRANSFORM EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND STEM EDUCATION MORE BROADLY. THE FINDINGS, WHICH WILL BE DISSEMINATED WIDELY ACROSS ENGINEERING AND STEM EDUCATION COMMUNITIES, WILL BENEFIT UNIVERSITIES BY INFORMING EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURES, PRACTICES, AND CURRICULAR EXPERIENCES. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY NSF'S EDU CORE RESEARCH (ECR) PROGRAM. THE ECR PROGRAM EMPHASIZES FUNDAMENTAL STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH THAT GENERATES FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD. INVESTMENTS ARE MADE IN CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL, BROAD AND ENDURING: STEM LEARNING AND STEM LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM, AND STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

OPTIMIZATION AND MODES OF ACTION OF NEU-4438, A NEW ANTI-TRYPANOSOME LEAD DRUG - ABSTRACT NEW DRUGS WITH DIFFERENT MODES OF ACTION THAN SCYX-7158, THE CURRENT CLINICAL CANDIDATE, ARE NEEDED FOR CHEMOTHERAPY OF HUMAN AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS (HAT) CAUSED BY T. BRUCEI SPP. STARTING WITH THE FDA- APPROVED DRUG LAPATINIB (EC50 = 1600 NM; SELECTIVITY INDEX (SI) = 4 (COMPARED TO HUMAN HEPG2 CELLS), WE HAVE SYNTHESIZED OVER 540 ANALOGS IN A MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY CAMPAIGN FOCUSED ON OPTIMIZING SI, TOXICITY PROFILE, METABOLISM, PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, AQUEOUS SOLUBILITY (AQ. SOL.) AND CNS PENETRANCE. OUR NEW LEAD NEU4438 IS ORALLY BIOAVAILABLE AND EXTENDS THE LIFE OF TRYPANOSOME-INFECTED MICE 2.4 (P = 0.008; KAPLAN- MEIR ANALYSIS), ACCOMPANIED BY A 109-FOLD REDUCTION IN PARASITEMIA. A QUINOLINIMINE, NEU-4438 HAS EXCELLENT POTENCY (GI50: 0.013 ΜM), SELECTIVITY (SI: >2000), PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES (AQ. SOL.: 880 ΜM; LOGD7.4: 0.9; CLOGP: 2.52) AND IN VITRO ADME (HUMAN PPB%: 15; HLM CLINT: 21.8 ΜL/MIN/MG PROTEIN; RH CLINT: 13.1 Μ//MIN/106 CELLS). SIX NEU4438-RELATED ADVANCED HITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR EVALUATION AS POSSIBLE LEADS, SHOULD NEU4438 FAIL TO CURE HAT IN MURINE MODELS OF THE DISEASE. WE WILL FURTHER OUR WORK BY OPTIMIZING THE QUINOLINIMINE SCAFFOLD USING SINGLETON AND PARALLEL MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY APPROACHES AFTER CONSTRUCTING A VIRTUAL LIBRARY, SHAPED BY DRUG-LIKE EXPECTATIONS IN SILICO. COMPOUNDS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED AND SCREENED THROUGH A FUNNEL ESTABLISHED TO SELECT THOSE WITH THE BEST SELECTIVITY INDEX, SOLUBILITY, AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES. ADVANCED HITS WILL BE EVALUATED IN MICE FOR SAFE SAFETY, TISSUE EXPOSURE, AND BRAIN PENETRANCE, AFTER WHICH THOSE WITH THE BEST FEATURES WILL BE TESTED FOR EFFICACY IN MICE MODELS OF HAT TO SELECT LEAD DRUGS (EXEMPLIFIED BY NEU4438), THAT MAY BE PROGRESSED INTO PRECLINICAL CANDIDATES. TOWARDS IDENTIFICATION OF THE TARGETS OF THE DRUG LEAD, NEU4438- BINDING PROTEINS WILL BE IDENTIFIED USING PHOTOAFFINITY PROBES. CONCURRENTLY, MOLECULAR MODES OF ACTION WILL BE STUDIED BY NEU4438 PERTURBATION OF THE TRYPANOSOME PROTEOME, FOLLOWED BY TESTS OF HYPOTHESES FORMULATED FROM THE PROTEOMICS DATA. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY PHYSIOLOGICAL TARGETS, THE PHENOTYPES OBSERVED AFTER KNOCKDOWN OF GENES ENCODING NEU4438-BINDING PROTEINS WILL BE EXPECTED TO “PHENOCOPY” THE EFFECT OF ADDING NEU4438 TO T. BRUCEI. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS PUT US ON TRACK TO DELIVER TWO NEW PRECLINICAL CANDIDATES, AND TO IDENTIFY THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL TARGETS AS WELL AS MODES OF ACTION IN THE NEXT FUNDING PERIOD.

OPTIMIZATION AND MODES OF ACTION OF NEU-4438, A NEW ANTI-TRYPANOSOME LEAD DRUG - ABSTRACT NEW DRUGS WITH DIFFERENT MODES OF ACTION THAN SCYX-7158, THE CURRENT CLINICAL CANDIDATE, ARE NEEDED FOR CHEMOTHERAPY OF HUMAN AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS (HAT) CAUSED BY T. BRUCEI SPP. STARTING WITH THE FDA- APPROVED DRUG LAPATINIB (EC50 = 1600 NM; SELECTIVITY INDEX (SI) = 4 (COMPARED TO HUMAN HEPG2 CELLS), WE HAVE SYNTHESIZED OVER 540 ANALOGS IN A MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY CAMPAIGN FOCUSED ON OPTIMIZING SI, TOXICITY PROFILE, METABOLISM, PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, AQUEOUS SOLUBILITY (AQ. SOL.) AND CNS PENETRANCE. OUR NEW LEAD NEU4438 IS ORALLY BIOAVAILABLE AND EXTENDS THE LIFE OF TRYPANOSOME-INFECTED MICE 2.4 (P = 0.008; KAPLAN- MEIR ANALYSIS), ACCOMPANIED BY A 109-FOLD REDUCTION IN PARASITEMIA. A QUINOLINIMINE, NEU-4438 HAS EXCELLENT POTENCY (GI50: 0.013 ΜM), SELECTIVITY (SI: >2000), PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES (AQ. SOL.: 880 ΜM; LOGD7.4: 0.9; CLOGP: 2.52) AND IN VITRO ADME (HUMAN PPB%: 15; HLM CLINT: 21.8 ΜL/MIN/MG PROTEIN; RH CLINT: 13.1 Μ//MIN/106 CELLS). SIX NEU4438-RELATED ADVANCED HITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR EVALUATION AS POSSIBLE LEADS, SHOULD NEU4438 FAIL TO CURE HAT IN MURINE MODELS OF THE DISEASE. WE WILL FURTHER OUR WORK BY OPTIMIZING THE QUINOLINIMINE SCAFFOLD USING SINGLETON AND PARALLEL MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY APPROACHES AFTER CONSTRUCTING A VIRTUAL LIBRARY, SHAPED BY DRUG-LIKE EXPECTATIONS IN SILICO. COMPOUNDS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED AND SCREENED THROUGH A FUNNEL ESTABLISHED TO SELECT THOSE WITH THE BEST SELECTIVITY INDEX, SOLUBILITY, AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES. ADVANCED HITS WILL BE EVALUATED IN MICE FOR SAFE SAFETY, TISSUE EXPOSURE, AND BRAIN PENETRANCE, AFTER WHICH THOSE WITH THE BEST FEATURES WILL BE TESTED FOR EFFICACY IN MICE MODELS OF HAT TO SELECT LEAD DRUGS (EXEMPLIFIED BY NEU4438), THAT MAY BE PROGRESSED INTO PRECLINICAL CANDIDATES. TOWARDS IDENTIFICATION OF THE TARGETS OF THE DRUG LEAD, NEU4438- BINDING PROTEINS WILL BE IDENTIFIED USING PHOTOAFFINITY PROBES. CONCURRENTLY, MOLECULAR MODES OF ACTION WILL BE STUDIED BY NEU4438 PERTURBATION OF THE TRYPANOSOME PROTEOME, FOLLOWED BY TESTS OF HYPOTHESES FORMULATED FROM THE PROTEOMICS DATA. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY PHYSIOLOGICAL TARGETS, THE PHENOTYPES OBSERVED AFTER KNOCKDOWN OF GENES ENCODING NEU4438-BINDING PROTEINS WILL BE EXPECTED TO “PHENOCOPY” THE EFFECT OF ADDING NEU4438 TO T. BRUCEI. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS PUT US ON TRACK TO DELIVER TWO NEW PRECLINICAL CANDIDATES, AND TO IDENTIFY THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL TARGETS AS WELL AS MODES OF ACTION IN THE NEXT FUNDING PERIOD.

GRANT PROGRAM