2022 Past Research 

Biological Sciences

Dec. - Dr. James Adelman, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $114,708 from Virginia Tech with the National Institutes of Health for his project “Ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of host heterogeneity induced by prior exposure.”

Nov. - Dr. Cassandra Nunez published, "Laissez-Faire Stallions? Males’ Fecal Cortisol Metabolite Concentrations Do Not Vary with Increased Female Turnover in Feral Horses" Link to full article (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/1/176)

Oct. - Dr. Bernie Daigle and colleagues have received a grant from the Department of Defense. Led by PI Dr. Charles Marmar at NYU, and Dr. Daigle and with collaborators at UCSF, Harvard, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), and the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), the grant "Advancing Precision Psychiatry for Military Service-Related PTSD by Enhancing Knowledge of Clinical Subtypes and Their Endophenotypes” addresses the urgent need to better prevent and manage treatment-refractory PTSD. Read more about work in the Daigle lab. (link Daigle lab to https://daiglelab.org/)

Oct. - Dr. Emily Puckett, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $389,999 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for her project “Building a Future for the Louisiana Black Bear through Habitat Restoration, Public Relations, and Genetic Rescue Planning.”

Sep. - Dr. Shawn Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $23,757 from the Mississippi State University with the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board for his project “Impacts of charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) epidemiology on drought resistant soybean cellular metabolism and accompanying tissue microbiome for identifying alternative breeding targets under increasing environmental stress.”

Sept - Dr. Bernie Daigle supervised a high school student and first author, Sohini Banerjee, on, "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder biomarker identification using a deep learning model" Link to article (https://emerginginvestigators.org/articles/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-biomarker-identification-using-a-deep-learning-model

Sep. - Dr. Jennifer Mandel, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $811,531 from the National Science Foundation for her project “Collaborative Research: RESEARCH-PGR: Comparative genomics of the capitulum: deciphering the molecular basis of a key floral innovation.”

Aug - Dr. Jim Adelman and colleague wrote the following book chapter: "The behavior of infected hosts: behavioral tolerance, behavioral resilience, and their implications for behavioral competence" Link to chapter (https://academic.oup.com/book/44164/chapter-abstract/372360727)

Aug. - Dr. Duane McKenna, William Hill professor in the department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $24,999 from the National Science Foundation for her project “Investigating chemosensory evolution in longhorned beetles using a comparative phylogenomic framework that integrates genomic, morphological, and biochemical data.”

Aug - Dr. Lynette Strickland, @lrstric and colleagues published, "Variation in contact chemical cues may mediate differential predator response in the colour polymorphic tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha alternans" Link to publication (https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/een.13191)

Center for Earthquake Research and Information

Jan. - Dr. Robert Smalley, research professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, was awarded $93,079 from the US Geological Survey for his project “Determining GNSS strain rate and uncertainty in low strain rate regions: Application to the New Madrid Seismic Zone and Northeastern Oklahoma.”

Nov. - Dr. Christodoulos Kyriakopoulos, assistant professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, was awarded $20,000 from the Southern California Earthquake Center with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Is topography part of the "key" in the Cajon Pass earthquake.” 

Aug. - Dr. Mitchell Withers, associate research professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, was awarded $154,194 from the U.S. Geological Survey for his project “Operation of the Mid-America Integrated Seismic Network 2020-2024-CERI.”

Department of Anthropology

Sep. - Dr. Lindsey Feldman, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, was awarded $26,798 from Innovate Memphis for her project “Ethnographic Support for City Innovation.”

Department of Chemistry 

Nov. - Dr. Nathan DeYonker, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded $52,546 from the University of Arizona with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Examining Fundamental 3d Transition Metal Bonding: A Combined Spectroscopic and Theoretical Approach.” 

Sep. - Dr. Qianyi Cheng, research scientist in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded $327,646 from the National Institutes of Health for their project “Data Mining and Machine Learning Guided QM/MM and QM-Cluster Modeling of Enzymatic Reactions.”

Sep. - Dr. Gary Emmert, interim dean in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded $1,242,933 from the Memphis and Shelby Crime Commission for his project “Public Safety Institute” and $44,179 from the U.S. Geological Survey for his project “Cooperative Research Agreement between the University of Memphis and USGS Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center.”

Department of City and Regional Planning

Dec. - Dr. Charles Santo, associate professor and department chair in the Department of City and Regional Planning, was awarded $52,580 from Iowa State University with the National Science Foundation for his project “DISES-RCN: Developing new strategies for urban-rural systems to overcome interconnected social, environmental, and technological challenges.”

Department of Computer Science

Sep. - Dr. Christos Papadopoulos, professor and Sparks Family Chair of Excellence in Global Research Leadership in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded $871,098 from the National Science Foundation for his project “Collaborative Research: CCRI: NEW: Open Community platform for Sharing Vehicle Telematics Data for Research and Innovation.”

Sep. - Dr. Deepak Venugopal, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded $16,000 from the National Institutes of Health for his project “RI: Small Investigating techniques that couple Markov Logic and Deep Learning with applications to discovering strategies to improve STEM learning.”

Aug. - Dr. Lan Wang, department chair and Dunavant Professor in the department of Computer Science, was awarded $26,613 from the Peraton Labs Inc with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for his project “Mission-Integrated Network Control.”

Aug. - Dr. Kan Yang, assistant professor in the department of Computer Science, was awarded $397,084 from FedEx Corporate Services, Incorporated for his project “Designing Machine Learning-based Solutions for APT Detection.”

Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Oct. - Dr. Timothy McCuddy, assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was awarded $49,999 from the Shelby County Community Services Agency for his project “Evaluation of Shelby County Youth Assessment Center.”

Sep. - Dr. James McCutcheon, associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was awarded $11,473 from the City of Memphis Police Department with the U.S. Department of Justice for his project “Evaluation of Sexual Assault Kit Testing.”

Aug. - Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui-Greenfield, associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was awarded $14,994 from the City of Memphis Police Department with the U.S. Department of Justice for her project “LEV Mini-Grant.”

Department of Earth Sciences

Dec - Check out this @ConversationUS piece on the record low levels in the Mississippi River by three department professors, Ray Lombardi @paleo_ray, Dorian Burnette @DJBurnette, and Dr. Angela Antipova! Read the article (https://theconversation.com/record-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-in-2022-show-how-climate-change-is-altering-large-rivers-193920)

Oct. - Dr. Daniel Larsen, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was awarded $166,147 from the City of Collierville for his project “Collierville Water Quality.”

Sep. - Dr. William Jackson, assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was awarded $34,952 from the U.S. Geological Survey for his project “Geology of the Leapwood 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, McNairy County, Tennessee.”

Department of History

Nov. - Dr. Suzanne Onstine, associate professor in the Department of History, was awarded $43,806 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project “In Search of the Ancient Nile and its Defunct Branches.” 

Department of Mathematical Science 

Sep. - Dr. Bentuo Zheng, professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, was awarded $8,400 from the Simons Foundation for his project “The Geometry of Banach Spaces.”

Aug. - Dr. Irena Lasiecka, distinguished university professor and chair in the department of Mathematical Science, was awarded $340,000 from the National Science Foundation for her project “PDE Control of 3D Fluids, Flow/Fluid-Structure interactions: Finite dimensional strategies for flutter/turbulence suppression.”

Department of Molecular Biology

Dec. - Dr. Thomas Sutter, professor and W. Harry Feinstone Chair of Excellence in the Department of Molecular Biology, was awarded $252,560 from the University of Pennsylvania with the National Institutes of Health for his project “Microbial Regulation of the keratinocyte AHR.”

Department of Political Science

Dec - Dr. Eric Groenendyk has been awarded a Professional Development Assignment (PDA) for the Spring Semester of 2023-24! He will use the PDA to work on his book project provisionally entitled "The Politics Effect." The project examines Americans’ tendency to associate politics with conflict and demonstrates how this mental association influences their reasoning and behavior in contexts deemed “political.”

Dec - Here is the link to the official announcement that the Contemporary Political Theory Annual Prize for 2022 has been awarded to:

Sharon Stanley for her article “The Persistence of Myth: Brazil's undead ‘racial democracy’”, in Contemporary Political Theory, Volume 20, Number 4 (2021), pp. 749-770.

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41296/about/news

An excerpt from the judges' citation reads as follows: Sharon Stanley’s “The Persistence of Myth: Brazil's undead ‘racial democracy,’” is a beautifully written article, showing with great clarity how the myth of “racial democracy” in Brazil refuses to die, despite repeatedly being declared as already dead for years. The piece is a great work of political theory in being simultaneously committed to the work of concepts or theoretical apparatuses and to the political present—a present Stanley makes accessible and alive – to the many readers who may be unfamiliar with it.

Department of Psychology

Oct. - Dr. Xiangen Hu, professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $70,000 from the American Institutes for Research for his project “AIR and University of Memphis AutoTutor Project.”

Oct. - Dr. James Murphy, professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $32,680 from Washington State University with the National Institutes of Health for his project “Integration of Motivational Interviewing and Behavioral Economics Theories to Enhance Measurement of Client Language as a Mechanism of Behavior Change.”

Oct. - Dr. M. David Rudd, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $513,967 from The Ohio State University with the U.S. Department of Defense for his project “Examining the Efficacy of a Digital Therapeutic to Prevent Suicidal Behaviors.”

Sep. - Dr. Alexandrea Golden, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $11,500 from the Society for Research in Child Development for her projects “Understanding Peer Racial Socialization Amidst a Pandemic of Racism: A Qualitative Study with Black Adolescents” and “Need for Mentoring, Cohort support, and Research Funding.”

Sep. - Dr. Kathryn Howell, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $203,606 from the University of Notre Dame with the National Institutes of Health for her projects “Pregnant Moms' Program.”

Sep. - Dr. Xiangen Hu, professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $25,000 from the American Institutes for Research for his project “AIR and University of Memphis AutoTutor Project.”

Department of Public Health and Nonprofit Administration

Dec. - Dr. Erin Nelson, associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Nonprofit Administration, was awarded $12,211 from Momentum Non-Profit Partners aka Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence for her project “State of Nonprofit Sector Report.

Institute of Intelligent Systems

Jan. - Dr. John Sabatini, professor in the Department of Institute for Intelligent Systems, was awarded $50,000 from the Trustees of Boston College with the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement for his project “TIMSS/PIRLS Boston College Expert Committee.”

Dec. - Dr. John Sabatini, professor in the Department of Institute for Intelligent Systems, was awarded $24,122 from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst with the US Department of Education for his project “Adult Skill Assessment Program: Actionable Assessments for Adult Learners.”

Oct. - Dr. John Sabatini, distinguished research professor in the Institute of Intelligent Systems, was awarded $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for his project “Developing and implementing a technology-based, reading comprehension instruction system for adult literacy students.”

Public Safety Institute

Oct. - Dr. William Gibbons, executive director of the Public Safety Institute, was awarded $75,000 from the Downtown Memphis Commission for his project “DMC Safety Plan.”

School of Social Work

Jan. - Dr. Susan Elswick, professor in the Department of Social Work, was awarded $46,800 from Porter-Leath Children's Center with the State of Tennessee for her project “Building Strong Brains Proposal.”

Dec. - Dr. Susan Elswick, professor in the Department of Social Work, was awarded $17,400 from the United Way of Greater Memphis with the State of Tennessee for her project “ACES Building Stronger Brains Tennessee.”

Oct. - Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes, professor, director and chair of the Department of Social Work, was awarded $196,803 from the Health Resources and Services Administration for her project “INTEGRATE (INterprofessional TEams GRounded in Apprenticeship, Telehealth, and Evidence).

Aug. - Dr. Melissa Hirschi, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, was awarded $331,508 from the Health Resources and Services Administration for her project “Peers Engaging and Empowering Recovery.”

Fall 2019

Prof. Rus Receives $2.58M Grant to Begin Learner Data Institute

Led by William Dunavant Prof. Vasile Rus, this NSF-funded project will lay the foundation for a future Learner Data Institute (LDI). Its mission will be to harness the data revolution to further our understanding of how people learn, how to improve adaptive instructional systems (AISs), and how to improve the learning ecosystem's effectiveness and cost-efficiency as well as the learners' and instructors' engagement and satisfaction while learning with technology. Visit the Computer Science website for more information.

Department of Psychology

Frank Andrasik is co-PI on a $500,000 NSF grant titled "CPS: Inkjet Printed Flexible Electronic CPS with Context-aware Events of Interest Detection." Grant period is January 2020 through December 2022.

Co-investigators Nick Simon and Helen Sable have been awarded $395,791 by NIH for a project titled "Identifying the Neurophysiological Basis of Risky Decision-Making." The research will help identify the biological mechanisms that promote compulsive reward seeking in the face of punishment.

Katie Howell has received an NIH grant to conduct a randomized clinical trial of the Pregnant Moms' Empowerment Program. The study will be conducted at the UofM and the University of Notre Dame. Funding is $2.5 million over the next five years.

Dr. Deranda Lester is part of an interdisciplinary team that has been awarded $897,342 by HRSA to establish the Memphis Opioid Workforce Paraprofessional Expansion Program. The three-year grant will provide training and stipends to undergraduate students in psychology, counseling, criminal justice, human services and social work who complete a certificate in substance abuse with an emphasis on opioid addiction. Dr. Melissa Hirschi of the School of Social Work is principal investigator.

Opioid Addiction Research: Drs. Meghan McDevitt Murphy (principal investigator), James Murphy and Frank Andrasik were awarded a $1M grant from the Health and Services Administration (HRSA) to train future behavioral health services providers in substance abuse and opioid treatment. Partners for the three-year grant are Church Health Center and UT Health Science Center for Addiction.

IES Grant: Phil Pavlik (PI) and Andrew Olney (Co-PI) have been awarded a $1.24 million grant from the National Center for Education Research, a center at the Institute for Education Sciences. Their project will further develop and refine Phil's online system, Mobile Fact and Concept Training System (MoFaCTS), to help students at Southwest Tennessee Community College in introductory anatomy and physiology courses better understand and remember course content. (Stevens Amendment Notice: This project will be 100% financed with Federal funds at a dollar amount of $1,240,151. No non-governmental funds will be used to finance this project.)