About

The Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) is a new mandatory component for INBRE 3 with a goal to select and support the most promising research within the Wyoming INBRE scientific themes of “cardiometabolic syndrome” and “technology for chronic disease research and therapeutics”. Our goal is to augment and strengthen the Network by providing research opportunities to faculty and students and requiring standards for research excellence. Both themes tackle rather significant health issues in the State of Wyoming and the INBRE goal is to build a collaborative interdisciplinary research team to develop and apply new targets and tools to address intractable biomedical problems. The DRPP is required to: 1) provide an internal mechanism (internal Funding Opportunity Announcement) for obtaining and awarding multidisciplinary developmental research projects, 2) review and prioritize those projects for funding, 3) develop a plan for their general mentoring, and 4) offer oversight, and evaluation, as well as assure their full compliance with all applicable federal policies, rules, and guidelines for research involving human subjects, vertebrate animals, and/or biohazards. The DRPP offers several mechanisms to foster research collaborations between the lead and partner PUI institutions. To overcome the major barriers for PUI researchers due to being isolated in their research and lack of institutional support for research in a PUI environment where teaching is the primary responsibility, we will increase resources allocated to PUIs and facilitate collaboration between INBRE funded UW investigators and PUI faculty by increasing the number of collaborative grants available, requiring UW investigators to dedicate 10% of their award to PUI collaboration, and increasing the number of INBRE Network workshops, trainings and networking events to increase cross network interaction. The DRPP has established an internal mechanism for soliciting grant applications, reviewing and prioritizing applications. The DRPP offers a plan for general mentoring, career development, faculty retention, and evaluation, as well as assurance in compliance with all applicable federal policies, rules, and guidelines. These approaches provide a step-by-step mechanism to better engage PUI faculty and students into biomedical research and foster career development of junior investigators for competitive research across the network.

David Fay, Ph.D.
INBRE Developmental Research Project Program Director
Professor of Molecular Biology 
Office: (307) 766-766-4961; Lab: (307) 766-4962; FAX: (307) 766-5098
davidfay@uwyo.edu

---

Types of Research Proposals and Awards

Thematic Project Research Proposals and Awards: Compete every year 

• Target RFA population: tenure-track assistant professors;
• Focused studies that fit within Wyoming INBRE thematic research areas “Cardiometabolic syndrome” and “Technology for chronic disease research and therapeutics”;
• Amount: Up to $75K per year for 2 years;
• Can be independent or collaborative projects ($$ remain in IDeA states);
• Publish in each year of the award;
• Expected to submit NIH R-type grant at the end of two years;
• 10% of budget allocated to the PUI collaboration.

Pilot Project Research Proposals and Awards: Compete every year

• No specific target population for application, faculty at all ranks;
• Studies that can be broadly defined as biomedical or behaviour studies;
• Amount: Up to $35K per year for 2 years;
• Can be independent or collaborative projects ($$ remain in IDeA states);
• Expected to submit NIH R-type grant at the end of two years;
• 10% of budget allocated to the PUI collaboration.

Proposals and Awards to Support Graduate Students: Compete every year

• Support promising PhD students, usually after passing qualifying exams;
• No specific target population for faculty advisor, faculty at all ranks;
• Studies that can be broadly defined as biomedical or behaviour studies;
• Amount: the standard PhD stipend scale, plus tuition and fees (typically provided by University of Wyoming academic affairs as a part of institutional support) for 1-2 years;
• Expected to present at national conference and publish 1 peer-reviewed article;
• Commitment to interacting with PUIs as seminar speaker, undergraduate student mentor, etc.

University of Wyoming-PUI Collaborative Research Awards: Compete every other year

• Target University of Wyoming and PUI faculty:
• Studies that can be broadly defined as biomedical or behaviour studies;
• Amount: up to $25,000/year to be shared by UW and PUI collaborators. Focus on enhancing research at PUI, enhancing undergraduate student pipeline between college and university, and increasing access to research infrastructure at UW for college faculty;
• Expected to present at national conference and/or publish peer-reviewed articles;
• Plan to seek external funding to sustain project and pipeline activities beyond two-year award.

---

Current INBRE Phase 4 Awards:

Thematic Research Projects (2 year awards):

1. Eunsook Park, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology. Autophagy: a new target biological process to develop effective antifungal drugs for human fungal diseases. Year 2.
2. Emily Schmitt, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Health. Physical activity as a novel tool to reset the misalighed molecular clock. Year 2.
3. Thomas Boothby, Assistant Professor Molecular Biology. Developing strategies for the long-term preservation of Drosophila stocks. Year 1.
4. Danielle Bruns, Assistant Professor Kinesiology and Health. Identification of juvenile factors to treat age-related declines in cardiac adrenergic reserve. Year 1.
5. Todd Schoborg, Assistant Professor Molecular Biology. Role of glial cells and the inflammatory response in brain growth control. Year 1.
6. Pejman Thamasebi. Assitant Professor Chemical Engineering. Cell-based Blood Flow Simulation Using a Coupled Blood Cell Modeling. Year 1.

Pilot Research Projects (2 year awards):

1. Dan Levy, Professor Molecular Biology. Organelle size scaling in living sea urchin embryos.
2. Jason Gigley, Associate Professor Molecular Biology. Dissecting how host available iron impacts pathogenesis of and immunity to chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection.
3. Brian Cherrington, Associate Professor Zoology and Physiology. Estrogen Mediated Epigenetic Regulation of miRNA Biogenesis in Lactotrope Cells.

Wyoming Community College- Univ. of Wyoming Collaborative Research Projects (2 year awards):

1. Amy Navratil and Florence Teule-Finley. UW and UW at Casper. Microtubule function and dynamics in gonadotrope cells. Year 2.
2. Nic Blouin and David Tanner. UW and Western Wyoming Community College. Microbiome Analysis of Bumble Bee Castes. Year 1.
3. Brian Cherrington and Florence Teule-Finley. UW and UW-Casper. The Effects of Citrullination on Tubulin Function. Year 1.
4. Maysam Mousaviraad, Danielle Bruns, and Bud Chew. UW and Western Wyoming Community College. Animal and Computational Models for Progression of Cardiac Dysfunction between the Right and Left Ventricles. Year 1.
5. Peter Stahl and Chris Wenzel. UW and Eastern Wyoming College. Passive Motility by Extracellular Matrix Production by Algae in Biotic Crusts. Year 1, Year 2.

---

Past INBRE Phase 3 Awards:

Thematic Research Projects

1. Johnson, Evan, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Health. Genetic and Hematological Risk for Acute Kidney Injury during High Intensity Exercise.
2. Jill Keith, Assistant Professor, Family & Consumer Sciences. Reclaiming indigenous food and health: a pilot RCT on health impacts of sovereign nation diets.
3. Breanna Krueger, Assistant Professor, Communication Disorders. Age-related correlates of treatment efficacy and efficiency for late-acquired sounds.
4. Dongmei (Katie) Li- Oakey, Associate Professor Chemical Engineering. Tunable Biodegradable Multimodal Hydrogel Nanoparticles for Targeted Therapeutics.
5. Alison Looby, Assistant Professor Psychology. Examining Expectancy Challenges to Prevent Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant Use.
6. Maysam Mousaviraad, Assistant Professor Mechanical Engineering. Computational FSI Modeling for Heart Failure Treatment with Titin Manipulation.
7. Rebecca Carron, Assistant Professor School of Nursing. POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME IN AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY.
8. Brian Cherrington, Assistant Professor Zoology and Physiology. The Effect of Obesity Induced Hyperinsulinemia on Lactation.
9. Wei Guo, Assistant Professor Animal Sciences. ROLE OF RBM20 IN THE REGULATION OF CARDIAC GENE SPLICING IN HEART FAILURE.
10. Guanglong He. Associate Professor School of Pharmacy. CARD9 Signaling and Childhood Obesity-Associated Cardiac Dysfunction.
11. Anya Lyuksyutova, Assistant Researcher, Molecular Biology. OPTOGENETIC CONTROL OF GCS VIA MICRORNAS AS TREATMENT FOR LIVER STEATOSIS.
12. Amy Navratil, Assistant Professor Zoology and Physiology. MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF LUTEINIZING HORMONE DYSREGULATION IN PCOS.
13. John Oakey, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering. CIRCULATING TUMOR CELL CAPTURE AND RELEASE FROM DEGRADABLE HYDROGEL SURFACES.
14. Christine Porter, Assistant Professor Kinesiology and Health. GROWING RESILIENCE PHASE II: ALBANY COUNTY REDESIGN AND WIND RIVER EXPANSIONS.
15. Baskaran Thyagarajan. Assitant Professor School of Pharmacy. TRPV1 ACTIVATION PREVENTS FROM HIGH FAT DIET-INDUCED NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD) IN OBESITY VIA SIRT-1.

Pilot Research Projects:

1. Grant Bowman, Assistant Professor Molecular Biology. Genetic, Biophysical, and Structural Analysis of Network Connectivity at an ntrinsically Disordered Hub Protein Interface.
2. Kyle Patrick De Young, Assistant Professor Psychology. A pilot test of mood and circadian rhythm driving binge eating. 
3. Rebecca Carron, Assistant Professor Nursing. POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME IN AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY.
4. Jay Gatlin, Associate Professor Molecular Biology. Engineered approaches to study aster positioning biomechanics. 
5. Cynthia Hartung, Associate Professor Psychology. Acute effects of exercise and stimulant modification in college students with ADHD. 
6. Karen Wawrousek, Assistant Professor Chemical Engineering. Bacterial magnetic nanoparticles for diagnostic assays.
7. Domen Novak, Assistant Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering. Pilot evaluation of a spinal exoskeleton for prevention and relief of low back pain.
8. Caleb Hill, Assistant Professor Chemistry. Investigating the Uptake of Nanoparticles by Individual Cells.
9. Jared Bushman, Assistant Professor Pharmacy. Localized immunosuppression for peripheral nerve allografts.
10. Carl Frick, Professor Electrical Engineering. Removable and Replaceable Glaucoma Treatment Device Pilot Study.
11. Jason Gigley, Assitant Professor Molecular Biology. Transition Metal Chelators as Novel Therapeutics Against Toxoplasma gondii.
12. Karen Gaudreault and Stacy Carling. Department of Kinesiology and Health. Healthy Pokes: a multi-disciplinary effort promoting healthy lifestyles in Wyoming children at risk for developing overweight and obesity.
13. Dongmei (Katie) Li, Assistant Professor Chemical Engineering. Hydrogel nanoparticles for the encapsulation and delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic molecules.

Collaborative Research Projects:

1. Marie Yearling, Laramie County Community College and Kerry Sondgeroth, Dept. of Veterinary Sciences, UW. How the intestinal microbiome affects the severity of Toxoplasmosis infection.
2. Chris Wenzel, Eastern Wyoming College and John Oakey, Chemical Engineering, UW. Passive Motility by Extracellular Matrix Production by Algae in Biotic Crusts.
3. Ami Erickson, Sheridan College and Nic Blouin, Wy INBRE Bioinformatics Core, UW. Biodiversity discovery and analysis of soil microbial communities: stress responses to increased salinity.
4. Bud Chew, Western Wyoming Community College and Wei Guo, Dept. of Animal Sciences, UW. Restoring Cardiac Function in Failing RBM20-/- Rats.
5. Eric Atkinson, Biology Northwest Wyoming College and Matt Carling, Assistant Professor Zoology and Physiology, UW. Which factors influence the distribution and impacts of diseases in wild birds?
6. Bud Chew, Biology Western Wyoming Community College and Jun Ren, Professor Pharmacy, UW. Environmental Exposure and Cardiometabolic Syndrome.
7. Ami Erickson, Biology Sheridan College and Sadanand Dhekney, Agricultural Experiment Research Station, UW. Studying Grapevine Cellular and Physiological Response to Abiotic Stress.
8. Hayley Lanier, Assistant Professor Zoology and Physiology, UW Casper and Merav Ben-David, Professor of Zoology and Physiology, UW. Genomic assessment of the role of relatedness in spatial overlap in chipmunks.
9. Steve McAllister, Biology Central Wyoming College and Baskaran Thyagarajan, Assistant Professor Pharmacy, UW. Analyses of mechanisms by which TRP protein activation protects from vascular dysfunctions in metabolic syndrome.
10. Florence Teulé-Finley, Biology UW Casper and Patrick Johnson, Assistant Professor Chemical Engineering, UW. Generation of Electrospun Spider Silk Nanofiber Mats for Medical Applications.