Inside Research & Funding Opportunities
04/15/2020, 11:00:01 AM
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Inside Research
News, Events and Resources for the UH Research Community
 
Latest News Upcoming Events Announcements Recent Grant Awards Featured Funding Ops
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Answers for PIs Regarding Research Continuity

Last Friday, we had our second 30-minute Virtual VPR Office Hours session. Quite a few faculty asked questions during this session, so we will continue our weekly session to address your concerns and listen to your suggestions. The next session is this Friday, April 17 at 3 p.m

To join the session, please join the Research & Innovation Teams site and accept the session invitation in the VPR Office Hours channel. If you'd like to post a question in advance, please post the question to the channel.

Read VP Elnashai's April 14 letter to the research community

Campus News

UH Engineer Awarded Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

Pradeep Sharma, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor of mechanical engineering and chairman of the department, has been selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship, this year’s only recipient in the engineering category.

Discovery Offers New Avenue for Next-Generation Data Storage

The demands for data storage and processing have grown exponentially as the world becomes increasingly connected, emphasizing the need for new materials capable of more efficient data storage and data processing.

An international team of researchers, led by physicist Paul Ching-Wu Chu, founding director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston, is reporting a new compound capable of maintaining its skyrmion properties at room temperature through the use of high pressure. The results also suggest the potential for using chemical pressure to maintain the properties at ambient pressure, offering promise for commercial applications. 

The work is described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NSF CAREER: Adapting Smartwatches to Improve Distance Learning and Health

As schools and universities around the globe pivot to online teaching, and millions of students stare at screens during their school day, it is hard to imagine a personalized learning experience. But UH assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Rose Faghih sees it differently, and it all starts with students wearing smartwatches that deliver information about their emotional and cognitive states. For her proposal to create algorithms that deliver that kind of information about brain states, Faghih won a five-year, $525,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

New Hardware Project Would Boost 5G Networks

Harish Krishnamoorthy, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is creating a roadmap toward that 5G future, using a $1.7 million grant to design and build a system capable of supporting 5G infrastructure. He is working on the Department of Defense-funded project with New Edge Signal Solutions, a Massachusetts company which builds high-speed broadband radio frequency systems.

Upcoming Events

Online: VPR Virtual Office Hours
Friday, April 17
3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
A weekly Q&A Session for the UH Research Community to ask questions to the DOR leadership
Join the UH Research and Innovation Teams site to access the Zoom meeting

Online: Identifying Grant Opportunities Using PIVOT and GrantForward
Monday, April 20
1 p.m.-2 p.m.
University Research Explained Series Hosted in the Virtual Faculty Cafe 
Register

Online: Real-Time Well Data Analysis in the Cloud
Thursday, April 23
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Register

Online: COVID-19 Related Funding Opportunities for Research
Friday, April 24
1 p.m.-2 p.m.
University Research Explained Series Hosted in the Virtual Faculty Cafe 
Register

Online: Mastering the Craft of Research: Architecture
Tuesday, April 28
11 a.m-1 p.m.
Professor Bruce Race will be interviewed by Professor Patrick Peters
Register

Announcements

Join us for this online University Research Explained Session!

Monday, April 20
1 p.m.-2 p.m.
Hosted in Zoom

During this session, we will demonstrate the creation of profiles and custom grant opportunity searches in two funding databases, PIVOT and GrantForward. A short introduction into searching federal grant opportunities in grants.gov will also be given.

This 50-in-5 session is part of the Division of Research’s University Research Explained series, developed to support faculty in a variety of research and innovation efforts. It is held in partnership with the Faculty Engagement and Development office.

The session will be hosted in Zoom. An email will be sent 24 hours before the event with the login information.

REGISTER

View past announcements on the Division of Research website.

Recent Grant Awards

A WEB-BASED TURNKEY SOLUTION FOR FAST 3D SIMULATIONS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC TELEMETRY IN OILFIELD AND GEOTHERMAL DRILLING

PI/Department: Jiefu Chen, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Co-PIs: Xin Fu, Xuqing Wu
Sponsor: Cyentech Consulting LLC / U.S. Department of Energy
Amount: $120,000

INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR THE COMBINED CONTROL OF SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR AND INVERTER TO MINIMIZE THE DC LINK CAPACITOR VALUE

PI/Department: Kaushik Rajashekara, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sponsor: GE Aviation Systems EPIS Center
Amount: $55,000

OPTIR MICROSCOPY FOR CHEMICAL IMAGING OF LIVING CELLS

PI/Department: Rohith Reddy, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sponsor: Photothermal / National Cancer Institute
Amount: $50,000

SALARY REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT

PI/Department: Hien Nguyen, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sponsor: Houston Methodist Research Institute
Amount: $20,128

RESISTANT CANCER STEM CELL PROFILE IN MULTI-SITE METASTASIS OF HGSC

PI/Department: Wa Xian, Biology & Biochemistry
Sponsor: Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer
Amount: $15,931

ENERGY SCENARIO PLANNING WITH PHYSICAL CLIMATE RISK ANALYTICS

PI/Department: Hongyi Li, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Sponsor: Houston Advanced Research Center / Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Amount: $12,500

IMPORTANCE OF THE SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITY FOR COASTAL PRAIRIE GRASSES IN TEXAS

PI/Department: Kerri Crawford, Biology & Biochemistry
Sponsor: Braun & Gresham Attorneys at Law
Amount: $1,887

 

Recent Patents

POROUS SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL ANODE WITH NANOPOROUS SURFACE AND PROCESS FOR FABRICATION

Inventors: Rabi Ebrahim, Mukhtar Yeleuov, Alex Ignatiev
Date Issued: January 20, 2020
Patent Number: 10,547,076

FABRICATION OF POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE OPTICAL MATERIAL

Inventors: Wei-Chuan Shih and Yu Lung Sung
Date Issued: April 28, 2020
Patent Number: 10,634,820

Featured Funding Opportunities

Health Science, Engineering & Technology Social Sciences, Art & Humanities Education
Image Health

Funding Agency: National Institutes for Health (NIH)
Title: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers 2021 (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)
Limited Submission Internal Deadline: 06/16/2020
LOI Deadline: 07/14/2020
Application Deadline: 08/14/2020

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to seek applications for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRCs). This FOA invites applications for research center grants designed to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Funding Agency: National Institutes for Health (NIH)
Title: NIAMS Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Centers (P30 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Limited Submission Internal Deadline: 06/16/2020
LOI Deadline: 09/06/2020
Application Deadline: 10/06/2020

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) requests applications for the NIAMS Resource-based Centers Program (P30) for rheumatic diseases research areas within its mission.

Funding Agency: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -Dept. of the Army
Title: PRMRP Investigator-Initiated Research Award for Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health
Pre-Application Deadline: 05/28/2020
Application Deadline: 06/12/2020

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award is designed to support research with the potential to yield highly impactful data that could lead to critical discoveries or major advancements. The application must clearly demonstrate the project’s potential short-term and long-term outcome(s)/product(s) (knowledge and/or materiel) and how they will impact a critical problem or question in the field of research and/or patient care in one or more Focus Areas published in this funding opportunity for the FY20 PRMRP Topic Area(s) of Emerging Viral Diseases and/or Respiratory Health.

Funding Agency: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -Dept. of the Army
Title: PRMRP Technology/Therapeutic Development Award for Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health
Pre-Application Deadline: 05/28/2020
Application Deadline: 06/12/2020

The PRMRP Technology/Therapeutic Development Award is a product-driven award mechanism intended to provide support for the translation of promising preclinical findings into products for clinical applications in one or more Focus Areas published in this funding opportunity for the FY20 PRMRP Topic Areas of Emerging Viral Diseases and/or Respiratory Health.

Funding Agency: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -Dept. of the Army
Title: PRMRP Clinical Trial Award for Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health
Pre-Application Deadline: 06/08/2020
Application Deadline: 06/22/2020

The PRMRP Clinical Trial Award supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials with the potential to have a significant impact in one or more of the Focus Areas published in this funding opportunity for the FY20 PRMRP Congressionally specified Topic Areas of Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health

Funding Agency: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -Dept. of the Army
Title: PRMRP Clinical Trial Award for Emerging Viral Diseases and Respiratory Health
Pre-Application Deadline: 07/29/2020
Application Deadline: 08/13/2020

The PRMRP Clinical Trial Award supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials with the potential to have a significant impact on a disease or condition addressed in at least one of the Congressionally directed FY20 PRMRP Topic Areas. Clinical trials may be designed to evaluate promising new products, pharmacologic agents (drugs or biologics), devices, clinical guidance, and/or emerging approaches and technologies. Proposed projects may range from small proof-of-concept trials (e.g., pilot, first in human, Phase 0), to demonstrate feasibility or inform the design of more advanced trials, through large-scale trials to determine efficacy in relevant patient populations.

Funding Agency: Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals
Title: 2020 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award
LOI Deadline: 05/18/2020

For the 2020 RFP, targets related to emerging therapeutic areas for dementia are of high priority, particularly proteostasis and neurovascular health.

Funding Agency: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
Title: Answering the Call on COVID-19
Application Deadline: TBD

The Board of Governors approved up to $50 million to fund a healthcare workers registry and rapid-turnaround clinical trial of whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) can prevent healthcare workers at high risk of contracting COVID-19 from becoming infected and unintentionally spreading the virus to others.      

Funding Agency: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Title: Drug Development Science Support (U01) Clinical Trials Optional
LOI Deadline: 04/29/2020
Application Deadline: 06/08/2020

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) and FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Office of Medical Policy (OMP) is announcing its intent to accept and consider applications for the award of a co-operative agreement to protect and promote the health of the American public by creating new, applied scientific knowledge, tools, standards and approaches to evaluate products more effectively, predictably and efficiently.

Funding Agency: Brain Research Foundation (BRF)
Title: Scientific Innovations Award
Limited Submission Internal Deadline: 05/21/2020
LOI Deadline: 06/25/2020

This funding opportunity is for projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings in a very short time frame. It is expected that investigations supported by these grants will yield high impact findings and result in major grant applications and significant publications in high impact journals.

Image Science, Engineering, & Technology

Funding Agency: Department of Defense (DOD)
Title: Newton Award for Transformative Ideas during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Application Deadline: Rolling until 05/15/2020

This award will be presented to a single investigator or team of up to two investigators that develops a “transformative idea” to resolve challenges, advance frontiers, and set new paradigms in areas of immense potential benefit to DoD and the nation at large.

Funding Agency: Department of Defense (DOD)
Title: Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution (ASTARTE)
Application Deadline: 06/23/2020

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution (ASTARTE) program seeks to provide real-time, low-risk joint de-confliction between airspace users and joint fires at an Army Division-level to enable responsive support to tactical units and build a resilient air picture in an Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environment while conducting Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) operations.

Funding Agency: Department of Defense (DOD)
Title: Department of Defense (DoD) – Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Outreach Programs
Limited Submission Internal Deadline: 04/27/2020
Application Deadline: 05/18/2020

The purpose of this announcement is to solicit Applicants capable of providing in person training, support, assessment, and evaluation services sponsored by the DoD and other federal agencies in partnership with local DoD laboratories, STEM education organizations, professional societies, and local education activities.

Funding Agency: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Title: COVID-19 Telehealth Program
Application Deadline: 07/31/2020

While the COVID-19 Telehealth Program reflects our consideration of the immediate need for connected care services during this pandemic, and is designed to distribute the $200 million appropriation from Congress to help health care providers provide connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the broader Pilot Program we establish today reflects our careful consideration of the record, the Commission’s statutory authority, relevant precedent for the existing USF programs, and the administrability of the Pilot Program.

Funding Agency: Department of Energy (DOE)
Title: SHARKS
Application Deadline: 05/27/2020

The SHARKS Program seeks to develop new designs for economically attractive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) for tidal and riverine currents. Tidal and riverine energy resources are renewable, have the advantage of being highly reliable and predictable, and are often co-located with demand centers, while HKT devices can be designed with low visual profiles and minimal environmental impact.

Funding Agency: Department of Energy (DOE)
Title: Scientific Machine Learning for Modeling and Simulations
Pre-Application Deadline: 05/01/2020
Application Deadline: 05/29/2020

The DOE SC program in Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) hereby announces its interest in research applications to explore potentially high-impact approaches in the development and use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) for predictive scientific modeling and simulations.

 

Funding Agency: Department of Energy (DOE)
Title: Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support for Complex Systems
Pre-Application Deadline: 05/06/2020
Application Deadline: 06/05/2020

The DOE SC program in Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) hereby announces its interest in research applications to explore potentially high-impact approaches in the development and use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the context of computational decision support for complex systems

Social Science, Arts and Humanities

Funding Agency: National Endowment for the Arts
Title: NEA Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, FY2020
Limited Submission Internal Deadline: 04/20/2020
Application Deadline: 04/22/2020

The National Endowment for the Arts will award funds to nonprofit arts organizations across the country to help these entities and their employees endure the economic hardships caused by the forced closure of their operations due to the spread of COVID-19.

Education

Funding Agency: Department of Education
Title: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – IHEs
Application Deadline: 09/30/2020

Congress set aside approximately $14.25 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the CARES Act for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The Department will award these grants to institutions of higher education (IHE) based on a formula stipulated in the legislation.

For more information about available grants, visit our Pivot system or Grants.gov.

Lindsay Lewis | University of Houston Division of Research
lrlewis@uh.edu | uh.edu/research | 713-743-0951

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