Previous Seed Grant Winners
Where are they now?
Since the initial funding of seven small seed grants in 1999, the research and collaborative efforts of Stony Brook and Brookhaven scientists, faculty and students through the SBU/BNL Seed Grant Program have led to numerous publications in noted journals, funding from the NSF, NIH, DOE and NAR as well as several joint proposals to these organizations and other private foundations. The Seed Grant program has not achieve its goal of bringing the creative activities at SBU and BNL closer together but has had the added benefit of giving Stony Brook students research opportunities at one of the nation's leading laboratories, many of these students have used their research under the Seed Grant program as the basis of their dissertations and early publications.
For an update on some of the research performed under the Seed Grant program, please click on the links below:
Winners
1999
Vitaly Citovsky,
Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
& Geoffrey Hind, Dept. of Biology, BNL
"Protein Kinase Involved in Regulation of Plasmodesmata"
Plasmodesmata (PD), one of the major routes of intercellular communication within plants, will be studied.Evidence suggests that a protein kinase (PK) associated with plant cell walls may be a functional component of PD. PK will be purified at Brookhaven for study at Stony Brook to further investigate the composition and regulation of PD channels.
Robert
Crease, Dept. of Philosophy and Historian, BNL
"Science Study Forum"
Seed
support for an interdisciplinary group of faculty in the social sciences and
humanities who discuss society's reactions to perceived environmental threats,
ethics in science, and related topics.
Manuel
Lerdau, Dept. of Ecology and Evolution &
Carmen Benkovitz, Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, BNL &
George Hendrey, Dept. of Applied Sciences, BNL
"Influences of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on
Herbivory in Terrestrial Ecosystems"
This project will study the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on plant ecology in terrestrial ecosystems, focusing particularly on the impacts on plants the their insect herbivores. This general topic is of great importance in understanding basic ecological processes and the effects of large-scale changes on ecosystems.
Andreas
Mayr, Dept. of Chemistry
&
Bruce Brunschwig, Dept. of Chemistry, BNL
"Metal-Carbon Multiple Bonds as Building Blocks
for Molecular Materials"
This is a continuation of a project begun last year on the use of metal-carbon multiple bonds as functional and structural components in molecular materials. The development of molecular materials has become an active area of research, especially with regard to the potential to modify or even control the materials properties via the nature of molecular building blocks.
Duane
Waliser, Marine Sciences Research Center &
Joyce Tichler, Dept. of Applied Science, BNL
"Acquisition of a Real-Time Satellite Receiving System
for Regional Environmental Research and Education"
This project involves the acquisition of a satellite receiving system to be located at Stony Brook and provide feeds to Brookhaven National Laboratory. The system will be an excellent classroom resource for the teaching of meteorology and education outreach programs. As well, this shared resource will tie together environmental research, monitoring and on-going education efforts at Stony Brook, Brookhaven and the Eastern Regional offices of the National Weather Service.
Winners
2000
Wen-Tien
Chen,
Department of Medicine
& Subramanyam Swaminathan, Dept. of Biology, BNL
"Regulation of Tumor Angiogenesis by Membrane Proteases."
The long-term goal of this collaborative project is to understand
the molecular mechanisms that control extracellular matrix degradation on the
surface of endothelial cells during tumor angiogenesis. The specific aim of
this seed grant project is to obtain primary data on x-ray crystallography of
recombinant seprase at atomic resolution, which may lead to new approaches toward
identifying potential inhibitor and substrate-binding molecules for cell surface
seprase and its complexes as therapeutic agents in controlling angiogenesis
of human cancer.
Robert
Crease, Dept. of Philosophy and Historian, BNL
"Science Study Forum"
Seed
support for an interdisciplinary group of faculty in the social sciences and
humanities who discuss society's reactions to perceived environmental threats,
ethics in science, and related topics.
William
Lennarz, Department of Biochemistry
& Paul Freimuth, Department of Biology, BNL
"Recent Advances in Proteomics
- Joint SB/BNL Symposium on Molecular Biology"
This grant will support the combined two-day symposium on Recent Advances in
Proteomics. Topics covered include: DNA and protein chip technologies, protein-protein
interactions and protein modifications, and structural and computational aspects
of proteomics.
Andreas
Mayr, Dept. of Chemistry
&
Bruce Brunschwig, Dept. of Chemistry, BNL
"Metal-Carbon Multiple Bonds as Building Blocks
for Molecular Materials"
This is a continuation of a project begun last year on the use of metal-carbon multiple bonds as functional and structural components in molecular materials. The development of molecular materials has become an active area of research, especially with regard to the potential to modify or even control the materials properties via the nature of molecular building blocks.
E.
Troy Rasbury, Department of Geosciences & Antonio Lanzirotti, Department
of Applied Science, BNL
"Use
of NSLS X-Ray Microprobe and FTIR Beam Lines to Evaluate the Distribution of
Trace Elements and Organic Materials in Caliche Paleosols."
This project is a microbeam/trace element study of calcite from soils at micron
resolution. This has implications for the determination of how areas contaminated
with radioactive waste should be cleaned up and how where such waste should
be stored.
Suzanne
Scarlata,
Dept. of Physiology
& Biophysics John Sutherland, Dept. of Biology, BNL
"Role of Lipid Membranes in the Initiation and Formation
of Protein Synuclein Fibrils."
This project will study the processes involved in the binding of
alpha-synucleins to membranes. Alpha-Synuclein is of particular interest as
it has been found to be associated with Parkinson and Alzheimer Disease.
Winners
2001
Pelagia
Gouma,
Department of Materials Science and Engineering & Yimei Zhu, Department
of Applied Science, BNL
"High-Resolution Characterization of the Effect
of C and Si Additions in TiAl-Based Structural Alloys."
The purpose of this work is to understand the effects of light element additions, particularly carbon and silicon, to the microstructural development and the deformation behavior of the latest generation of TiAl-based alloys for high temperature structural applications. The results of this work will guide the design of optimized alloy compositions and processing techniques for the development of structural intermetallics having the desired properties
John
Parise,
Department of Geosciences & Laura Henderson Lewis, Department of Environmental
Science and Technology, BNL
"High
Pressure Synthesis and Characterization with Synchrotron X-Rays of BiMnO3."
This project is part of a wider program in Meta Materials (nanocomposites). High dielectrics and other materials with unusual properties for high frequency and high power applications. This work is a pilot project concentrating on the synthesis and characterization of a specific class of hybrid materials, "multiferroics", which are materials that are simultaneously ferromagnetic and ferroelectirc.
Peter Tonge, Department of Chemistry & John Shanklin, Department of Biology, BNL
"Inhibitors of Human Fatty Acid Biosynthesis as Putative Anticancer Drugs."
The central hypothesis of this proposal is that human fatty acid synthase is a target for anticancer drug development. The long-term goal of this work is the development of selective inhibitors of this enzyme complex for use in the treatment of cancer in humans.
Winners 2002
Anne
McElroy, Marine Science Research Center, SBU
& Bruce Brownawell, Marine Science Research Center, SBU
Lynn Mendelman, Department of Biology, BNL
Richard Setlow, Department of Biology, BNL
Richard Winn, School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia
"Development of a Transgenic Fish Model for use
in Assessing Genotoxins in the Environment."
The purpose of this work is to conduct dose response experiments with known environmental mutagens to characterize the responsiveness and sensitivity of a newly developed transgenic fish model to evaluate environmental mutagens. This proposal provides many possibilities for mutation research in that it offers the ease of an in vitro assay with the complexity of a whole animal exposure and can be used to address tissue or life stage dependent responses to a host of environmental agents.
Kanokporn
Rithidech, Department of Pathology
& John Dunn, Department of Biology, BNL
"Gene
Expression Profiles following in vivo exposure to ionizing radiation."
The objective of this proposal is to establish a serial analysis of gene expression facility at SBU to detecting differences in gene expression in tissues obtained from mice exposed to ionizing radiation. Understanding how cells or tissues respond to radiation will be of importance to accurately predict the effects on the health of individuals living in populations exposed to radiation and develop better strategies to protect such populations.
Nancy
Squires, Department of Psychology & Linda Chang, Medical Department,
BNL; Thomas Ernst, Medical Department, BNL; Rita Goldstein, Medical Department,
BNL; Nora Volkow, Department of Life Sciences, BNL
"Optimizing
Functional Neuroimaging Techniques to study the Psychological Mechanism underlying
Violence in Cocaine Addiction."
The purpose of this work is to assess the relationship between the neurophysiological measures and violence of cocaine users and increase understanding of the vicious cycle of drug addiction, the factors that contribute to violence, provide clinicians with neuroimaging and neuropsychological data that serve to identify individuals at a higher risk for committing violent crimes and answer the fundamental questions of biopsychology.
Stanislaus Wong, Department of Chemistry & Joseph Wall, Department of Biology, BNL
"Microscopy of Biomolecular Structures."
This proposal intends to provide a foundation for understanding structure-function relationships in biomolecules under physiological conditions. The results of these experiments will have an impact on molecular absorption and provide broader applications in other projects including systems as diverse as protease complexes.
Winners
2003
Manuel
Lerdau, Department of Ecology and Evolution, SBU
& Richard Ferrieri, Chemistry Department, BNL
Alistair Rogers, Environmental Sciences, BNL
"Nitrogen
Fixation in Plants: Physiological Studies using Short-lived Isotopes."
This proposal aims to improve understanding of plant responses to environmental stress to allow for the realization of the Green Revolution in developing crops with the potential to enhance productivity in agricultural systems by using a complementary approach that addresses the integration of physiological processes with visualization and quantification of molecular movement and disposition across the scale of the entire plant.
Steven
Skiena, Department of Computer Science & Daniel van der Lelie,
Department of Biology, BNL; Sean McCorkle, Department of Biology, BNL
"Computational
Analysis of Genomic Sequence Tags."
The aim of this proposal is to provide a method of computational analysis that will support the genomic sequence tag in studying the structure, functional roles, and diversity of complex communities of microbes, previously indescribable as vast types of microorganisms cannot exist under laboratory conditions for examination.
Winners
2004
Stefan
Judex , Department
of Biomedical Engineering, SBU & Chris Jacobsen, Department of Physics &
Astronomy, SBU and Center for Functional Nanomaterials, BNL; Lisa Milleri, National
Synchrotron Light Source, BNL; Helmut Strey, Department of Biomedical Engineering,
SBU
"Chemical and Physical Factors Controlling
Bone Fragility in Osteoporosis."
This proposal hypothesizes that differences in bone’s chemical and nano-structural composition can be directly related to bone strength. The specific aim is to use detailed chemical, mechanical, and nano-structural assays in situ to identify which specific physical, chemical, and structural properties determine the strength and quality of bone.
Miriam
Rafailovich, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, SBU
& Elaine DiMasi, National Synchrotron Light Source, BNL
Nadine Pernodet, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, SBU
"Which
Comes First, the Eggshell or its Genes? Mimicking Biomineralization with Artificial
Protein Networks."
This proposal endeavors to answer the questions, What are the functions of the associated biomacromolecules? and What stabilizes the non-equilibrium mineral phases? in specific ways for calcium carbonates, combining polymer science, tissue engineering and environmental AFM imaging with the cutting-edge synchrotron x-ray scattering methods developed at BNL to study mineralization in-situ.
Stanislaus
Wong, Chemistry Department, SBU & Barbara Panessa-Warren, Department
of Materials Science, BNL
"Probing
Potential Cellular Toxicity of Purified Carbon Nanotubes and Perovskite Nanotubes."
The aim of this proposal is to examine the effect of functionalized carbon nanotubes/perovskite nanostructures on tissue culture cells and measure cell death, either necrosis or apoptosis, if cell death does not occur, the effect of nanomaterials on cellular function will be measured.
Winners
2006
Serge
Luryi, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, SBU &
& Alexander Kastalsky, Senor CAT, SBU; Aleksey Bolotnikov, Nonproliferation
and National Security Department, BNL; Zheng Li, Instrumentation Division, BNL;
Paul O'Connor, Instrumentation Division, BNL
"Semiconductor
Scintillator: Detector of High-Energy Radiation."
This
team proposes a new scintillation-type detector in which high-energy radiation
produces electron-hole pairs in a direct-gap semiconductor material that subsequently
recombine producing infrared light to be registered by a photo-detector. The
key goal is to make the semiconductor essentially transparent to its own infrared
light, so that photons generated deep inside the semiconductor could reach its
surface without tangible attenuation. This holds a major promise for homeland
security applications, where the key issue is positive identification of the
radiation source and elimination of false alarmsThe primaryD.
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