2008 Seed Fund Awards

Molecular Analysis of a Bistable Switch in the Pathogen Candida albicans

Candida albicans is the most commonly isolated fungal pathogen and is responsible for debilitating mucosal infections as well as life-threatening systemic infections. Despite its prominence as a human pathogen, relatively little is known about virulence factors in C. albicans compared to bacterial pathogens. One feature of Candida biology that has been linked with pathogenicity is phenotypic switching, in which strains convert rapidly and reversibly between alternative phenotypic forms. This proposal will examine one such phenotypic transition, the white-opaque switch, which influences both the virulence of C. albicans strains and their ability to form biofilms.

PI: Richard Bennett, Assistant Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology

Co-PIs: Jeffrey Laney, Assistant Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry; Suzanne Sindi, Prager Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics, Division of Applied Mathematics; Joseph Bliss, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics; Nicola Neretti, Assistant Professor of Brain & Neural Science (Research), Institute for Brain & Neural Systems
$90,000

Mapping Monasticism

This project will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to plot the landscape of a French abbey as a monastic eco-system. Diverse disciplines will converge to place the lands, parishes, and other dependencies of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes into the larger regional and European context. Visual data from the long tradition of mapping in Europe , such as seventeenth-century maps, land registries and charters, will be correlated with GIS data. Brown's strengths in both population studies and spatial analysis provide unique support for this endeavor.

PI: Sheila Bonde, Dean of the Graduate School ; Professor of the History of Art and Architecture, Department of the History of Art & Architecture; and Professor of Archaeology, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Co-PIs: Clark Maines , Professor of Art History, Art and Art History Department, Wesleyan University ; Elli Mylonas, Associate Director, Computing and Information Services
$28,850

Pilot research to inform a childhood obesity prevention study to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments of low income children

Childhood obesity is an escalating public health problem, especially for low income and ethnic minorities. There is a pressing need to develop and evaluate effective, practical, sustainable interventions to prevent childhood obesity with these populations. An interdisciplinary team of Brown faculty from multiple departments and centers will conduct research to develop interventions to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments of low income, ethnically diverse families and to inform a future randomized controlled trial that will test the efficacy of these interventions. This research will advance Brown's position in the field by developing expertise in multi-level community-based approaches to prevent childhood obesity, establishing a national reputation in this research area, and fostering Brown's ties with the community on this critical public health issue.

PI: Kim Gans, Associate Professor of Community Health (Research), Department of Community Health, and Deputy Director, Institute of Community Health Promotion

Co-PIs: Michael J. Mello, Assistant Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Community Health, Director of the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital; Bess H. Marcus, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Community Health; Linda Shalon, Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Clinical), Attending Physician, Hasbro Children's Hospital Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, and Liver Diseases, and Medical Director, Kids on the Move, RI
$85,000

High–Resolution X-ray Imaging of Tumor Angiogenesis

This project will pair a new tissue preparation method with state-of-the-art x-ray imaging in the study of liver cancer. The research will afford a detailed look at blood vessel formation using images with hundreds of times higher resolution than that of conventional x-ray images. This effort involves collaboration between the Liver Research Center at Rhode Island Hospital , and Brown University through the Warren Alpert Medical School and the Department of Chemistry.

Co-PIs: Gerald J. Diebold, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry; Christoph Rose-Petruck , Associate Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry; Jack R. Wands, Jeffrey and Kimberly Greenberg-Artemis and Martha Joukowsky Professor in Gastroenterology, and Professor of Medical Science, Brown Medical School, Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, and Director, Liver Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital
$90,000

Developing Highly Efficient Non-Pt Nanoparticle Catalyst for O2 Reduction and CO Oxidation

This joint proposal with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will research nanoparticles toward applications in fuel cells. Specifically, the project will create and evaluate a new catalyst for fuel cell reactions that is not based in platinum. Brown will synthesize and characterize the catalyst while the national laboratory will evaluate its activity. This collaboration will ultimately foster a multi-disciplinary team to develop alternative catalysts for fuel cells.

PI: Shouheng Sun, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry

Co-PI: Sheng Dai, Leader, Nanomaterials Chemistry Group, Chemical Sciences Division and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
$50,000

Transcript Turnover in the Egg-to-Embryo Transition: Basic and Clinical Applications

The growing number of patients seeking assisted reproductive procedures underscores a critical need for a sensitive method to predict an embryo's successful development. Currently, clinicians rely strictly on a visual assessment to decide which and how many embryos to implant. However, the high risks and ethical, emotional, and developmental issues demand more of the clinician. Improved technology and a better understanding of the embryo can enable a more stringent evaluation for embryo prioritization. This collaboration between a clinician, three basic biologists, and two computational molecular biologists will study the mechanism of the oocyte-to-embryo transition and develop a molecular tool to help clinicians.

PI: Gary Wessel, Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology & Biochemistry

Co-PIs: Mark C. Alliegro, Senior Scientist, Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory; Sandra Carson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brown Medical School, and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital; Richard Freiman, Assistant Professor of Medical Science, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry; Charles Lawrence, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Division of Applied Mathematics; William Thompson, Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics (Research), Center for Computational Molecular Biology and Division of Applied Mathematics
$80,000