Reach Applications with Abstracts
1. Bryan Ballif, Biology and Antonio DiCarlo, Surgery
Grant: Identifying Antigens Responsible for Antibody-Based Graft Rejection in Human Transplant
Recipients.
Successful tissue transplants are a wonder of modern medicine and can increase patient
lifespans by several decades. Still, roughly one quarter of transplant recipients exhibit signs of
skin graft rejection, due in part to antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). At the heart of AMR is
the variability in the molecular makeup between the donor and recipient; the recipient rejects
the transplant due to molecules (typically protein variants or their modifications) on the graft
that the recipient doesn’t have. Thus, the recipient recognizes the graft as “non-self” and
generates antibodies to these “foreign” antigens—ultimately the graft fails. Several proteins are
known to cause rejection and are the basis of pre-screening protocols to match donors and
recipients. However, AMR is also caused by unknown antigens that if identified could produce
more powerful screening methods and anti-AMR therapies given AMR-dependent graft failure
can take years, while antigen identification may, in some cases, take only months. It is proposed
to use pre-transplant and post-transplant sera from ten graft recipients showing signs of AMR to
enrich for and identify by mass spectrometry the proteins harboring the antigens responsible for
the rejection. This is a novel collaboration between UVM PIs Ballif (Biology) and Di Carlo
(Surgery).
2. Sean Stilwell, History
Grant: Pestilence and Planning: The Plague, Public Health and Colonial Urbanism in Lagos, 19031960
My research project, currently entitled Pestilence and Planning: The Plague, Public Health and
Colonial Urbanism in Lagos, Nigeria stands at the intersection of urban and medical history to
examine how colonial conceptions about disease, Africans and urban space led to attempts to
remake and reshape life in and the landscape of Lagos. I will argue colonial urban planning in the
1920’s, 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s might be best described as coercive urbanism. Colonial planners
attempted to remake Lagos in a way that kept the colonial state secure. Initially, these British
officials often used coercion and violence to impose their policies, which were predicated on the
social construction of Africans and their cities as unhygienic, primitive and diseased. Although
British officials later adopted more technical, developmentalist and less directly coercive
methods, their ideas throughout the period were always informed by their own perceptions
about the deficiencies of Africans and African urban life. These deficiencies were directly
contrasted in the minds of the British by the modern and universalistic planning and public
health policies of the colonial state. Thus, colonial planning marginalized Africans and ignored
their roles in both imagining and shaping Lagos in the twentieth century. This project will
contribute to our knowledge about cities in the Global South, comparative urban planning and
the history of health and disease in Africa and beyond.
3. Susan Lakoski, Medicine
Grant: An Exercise Training and Behavioral Weight Loss Program after an Acute Blood Clot:
TRAIN ABC
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a blood clot that forms in a deep vein of leg and can travel to
the lung. It is the third most common cardiovascular illness after heart attack and stroke.
Obesity is a major modifiable risk factor driving occurrence of VTE, and it’s recurrence after an
initial event. While exercise training through Cardiac Rehabilitation is proven effective in heart
patients to induce weight loss and improve clinical outcomes, no similar exercise program exists
for VTE patients, though this is urgently needed given the strong link between obesity and blood
clot formation. In our proposed pilot trial, we will randomize patients after acute VTE to 3
months of a high-caloric energy expenditure exercise program or to usual care. We advocate
that high-caloric energy expenditure is a bold approach after acute VTE to reduce obesityrelated VTE recurrence. Furthermore, we will challenge the prevailing notion that obesityrelated VTE is due to mechanical factors affecting venous return, and hypothesize it is secondary
to dysregulated adipose tissue function. The current proposal is innovative in developing an
exercise and behavioral weight loss program (VTE Rehabilitation) in a high-risk patient
population to reduce comorbidities and obesity-related vascular risk by leveraging existing
infrastructure and strengths of the University of Vermont.
4. Luis Vivanco, Anthropology
Grant: Culture, Politics and Sustainability of Bicycle Transportation in Bogota, Colombia
This project examines the intersections of culture, politics of sustainability, and bicycle
transportation in Bogota, Colombia, a city recognized globally for its investments in accessible
and environmentally-sustainable urban transportation initiatives, urban bicycle advocates, and
everyday cyclists, the goal of this project is to track in qualitative terms how deeply, in what
ways, and for whom bicycles have been woven into the fabric of everyday life; to detail how
everyday bicycle use and car-free events shape individuals’ perceptions of their city and urban
mobility; and to understand the role that a new political actor- the civil society bicycle advocacy
group- is playing in city politics. This research advances understanding of the conditions under
which cities can redevelop transportation systems around principles of equity and sustainability.
REACH funding is sought to leverage a Fulbright Teaching/Research Award which will take place
January-April 2014, to support a period of initial fieldwork during summer 2013 and the ability
to stay an extra month beyond the Fulbright to continue fieldwork. The outcomes of this
research project will include at least one peer-reviewed publication and an NSF application for
further research.
5. Anthony Morielli, Pharmacology and John Green, Psychology
Grant: Novel Approaches Towards and Understanding of the Physical Basis of Memories
More than 4.5 million children and adults in the US currently have learning disabilities, and many
others have learning and memory related disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease. Pathologies
related to diseases such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders, are
also intimately intertwined with learning and memory. Finding treatments or even cures for these
devastating diseases requires understanding how learning occurs in the normal brain. The
healthy human brain performs the almost unimaginably complex task of storing a vast array of
information in the form of long-term memories. This involves creating long-term changes in how
the brain processes information, and a major way this happens is by regulating the function of
specialized proteins in the brain called ion channels. Thus, disordered ion channel regulation is a
prime candidate for the physical cause of learning and memory disorders. In this grant, Drs Green
and Morielli propose to join forces to use cutting edge conceptual and technical advances arising
from their ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration to create an innovative systems-approach for
advancing a fundamental but poorly understood area in neuroscience, namely the complex
interplay of molecular, cellular and behavioral processes governing ion channel regulation and
learning and memory in the normal brain.
6. Richard Single, Statistics
Grant: Analysis of Supertypes to Assess the Units of Selection in a Global Immunogenetic
Database
This project involves population-level research to gain a better understanding of the
evolutionary mechanism shaping the human immunogenome. This proposal is for a multiple
disciplinary collaboration with researchers at NCI, UC Berkeley, Yale, and University of San
Paulo. As part of the project, we would be adding immunogenetic data for the largest set of
global populations to the Human Genome Diversity Project (a long-term goal of the proposal).
The addition of HLA typing on a global set of populations to this publicly available database will
be a tremendous resource for the study of any of the hundreds of immune-related diseases. The
potential for impact in translationary medicine is large. In addition to the expansion and
integration of the database, the proposal involves conducting novel analyses of the
immunogenetic data, using alternative groupings of immune gene variants (alleles) and an
innovative resampling procedure that will be adapted to these alternative groupings. To date
several of these methods have not been applied to population-level studies of selection in this
complex genetic system. Those that have been applied previously have suffered from low
statistical power due to small population sizes in multi-ethnic studies.
7. Joe Roman, RSENR, John Barlowc, Animal Science, and Juan Alvez, Extension Ctr for
Sustainable Agricultural
Grant: Biodiversity and Cattle Well-being: Forage Diversity, Microbial Diversity, Herd Health, and
Milk Composition
Humans are in the midst of an epidemiologic transition, in which globalization and ecological
disruption are associated with newly emerging infectious diseases as well as reemerging
infections previously thought to be under control. As an important livestock species in frequent
close contact with humans, cattle may be similarly affected by ecological changes; they also
represent a potential source of zoonotic disease. Our proposed research examines the impact of
switching from conventional confinement dairy production (low-diversity) to pasture-based
management (higher diversity) on microbial diversity and composition, cattle rumen and udder
health, and milk quality and composition. This cutting edge work represents the first step in a
long-term collaborative research project that will allow the four principle investigators to
embark on a new and little studied field: the relationship between biodiversity and cattle health,
the role of competitors and predators in disease regulation, and the relationship between
habitat structure and cattle well-being. The work, which includes an international workshop
held at UVM, has the potential to alter farmer and rancher perceptions of wildlife and native
habitat, reducing the ecological impact of livestock rearing in Vermont and globally.
8. Carmen Smith, Education
Grant: Motion-Controlled Games and Mathematics Learning
In an information-based, technology-driven society, proficiency in mathematics is increasingly
important, yet too many students are not receiving the instruction they need to succeed.
Instead, mathematics instruction is frequently dominated by lecture and decontextualized
problems that fail to connect with students. There is a critical need to reconceptualize
mathematics as an engaging, interactive, relevant activity. Recognizing the body as a resource
for mathematical thinking is one way to significantly change how students learn and teachers
teach. New research demonstrates increased achievement when students physically act out
mathematics concepts. Further, motion-controlled game systems like the Nintendo Wii or Xbox
Kinect offer innovative opportunities for body-based learning. Yet, we know very little about
how to effectively design and implement these kinds of activities in the classroom. The
objectives of this project are to develop two applications for the Xbox Kinect for use with
elementary and middle school students and to identify key design principles that support
learners assigning mathematical meaning to their actions. The resulting applications will support
more students developing strong mathematical reasoning skills and will propel research on
body-based learning into new territory by enabling new methods of collecting and analyzing
data about students’ actions.
9. Deb Ellis, English
Grant: End of Love- a Feature Documentary Film
END OF LOVE is a feature length documentary film about the growing phenomena of adolescent
boys and men who become addicted to adult on-line pornography, and how this addiction can
lead them down a path to seeking sexual arousal through child pornography. Caught in this web,
these men and boys lose their ability to create and maintain intimate and healthy relationships
with others. Law enforcement officials say that the possession and trading of online child
pornography is the fastest growing crime in the US. The film asks: What is Going on?
10. Jill Preston, Plant Biology
Grant: Determining the Genetic Basis of Flowering Time Variation in the North American
Mimulus guttatus Species Complex
Most plant species use seasonal cues to synchronize their reproductive output with favorable
environment conditions. In the temperature zone, and extended period of winter cold
(vernalization) can ready certain species to flower, resulting in rapid blooming in response to
warm conditions of the spring. Conversely, if winter is too warm/short, species that respond to
vernalization experience delayed flowering, often coinciding with conditions not conducive to
seed set. Thus, depending on the climates in which they live, plants vary greatly in their
flowering time responses. Despite the importance of flowering time evolution in explaining
plant distributions and responses to climate change, little is known about the genetic basis and
evolutionary lability of this complex trait. As part of my long-term goal to understand genetic
constraints on flowering time evolution across angiosperms, the proposed project aims to
identify/characterize adaptive flowering time genes in the Mimulus guttatus species complex. By
uniquely integrating quantitative genetics, comparative transcriptions, and candidate gene
expression analyses, results from this innovative project will strengthen our knowledge of
how/to what extent gene networks can evolve in response to locally changing climates.
Furthermore, funding for this project will allow generation of data that can be used to secure
collaborative extramural funding.
11. David Novak, Business Administration and James Sullivan, Transportation Research Center
Grant: Evaluating how Disruptions in the Roadway System Affect Accessibility to Essential
Services in Vermont
This proposal extends previous research related to rural accessibility and the development and
implementation of a link-based accessibility measure called critical closeness accessibility (CCA).
CCA is derived from concepts in network science, location science, and transportation
accessibility and is used to identify the roadway links in a transportation network that are the
most important in facilitating system-wide access to essential services such as hospitals and
fire/rescue services. The CCA accounts for the spatial distribution of essential facilities, the
topology of the road network (relative locations and connections between roadway links and
essential locations), geographical topography (the shape and features of the service area), and
the engineering characteristics of the road network such as road types, capacities, volumes, and
travel speeds. The CCA can be applied at different geographical scales and to disconnect
networks. The approach is implemented using geographic information system (GIS) mapping
and travel-demand modeling software and the state of Vermont’s road network. The specific
areas of the state that are highly vulnerable to disruptions in the network due to events such as
heavy rain, flooding, snow/ice, traffic accidents, and roadway maintenance projects are
identified. Vulnerable areas include regions of the state and the surrounding populations that
are at risk of becoming isolated from essential services as the result of a disruptive event.
12. Michelle Commercio, Political Science
Grant: Retraditionalization from Below: Women’s Attitudes in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan
My project analyzes the rise of traditional values among young, educated, urban women in
Kyrgyzstan, a modern secular state. What accounts for the popularity of such views among
women in a state governed by elites who encourage gender equality? I will explore attitudes of
young women regarding Soviet gender equality policies, traditional gender and familial roles,
Islam’s understanding of the role of women in the family and society, and formal and informal
religious education. I will also investigate secular and religious elite understandings of the
“proper” place of women in post-Soviet society. The qualitative research I propose, focus groups
with Kyrgyz students from secular and religious universities and interview with secular and
religious elites, will generate hypotheses that will serve as the basis for the quantitative piece of
my project, which is a large N survey I will conduct in the future after analyzing data collected
this fall. I will seek external funding for this survey from the National Science Foundation and the
Social Science Research Council.
13. Barry Guitar, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Grant: Emotional Reactivity and Treatment Outcomes in Pre-school Age Children Who Stutter
The purpose of this study is to determine if emotional reactivity (ER), or sympathetic autonomic
arousal, predicts treatment time in preschool age children who stutter (CWS). Pre-treatment ER
will be quantified in 16 CWS (ages 3:0-5:11) by (a) skin conductance levels in two non-speech
and speech stressor tasks (b) a validated parent report questionnaire with an ER subscale
(Behavioral Style Questionnaire). The Lidcombe Program (LP) will be used as the behavioral
intervention to determine treatment time in number of weeks. Speech-language variables will
also be included as covariates to prevent the misattribution of variance to group differences in
ER. It is hypothesized that CWS with higher pre-treatment ER will take longer to achieve fluency
in therapy and will be at higher risk of relapse long term. We propose that ER, which is not
directly addressed in LP treatment, is associated with childhood stuttering. The results of this
study can be expected to shed critical light on maintaining factors in childhood stuttering and
motivate experimental changes in treatment protocol for those children who take longer or do
not do as well in treatment.
14. William McDowell, Art and Art History
Grant: Ground: Killed Negatives from the Farms Security Administration
I plan to produce an exhibition portfolio of photographs and an inkjet-printed book maquette
(or book dummy). The portfolio and book maquette would be used to secure exhibition venues
and publications for my project, “Ground: Killed Negatives from the Farm Security
Administration”. The killed negatives were created between 1935-1939 when Roy E. Stryker, the
director of the photographic division of the FSA, routinely used a hole punch to destroy
photographic negatives he considered unsuitable for publication. My primary interest in the
killed negatives resides in their potential for abstraction. When enlarged, the hole in a killed
negative prints a deep black circle. Depending on the placement of the hole within the picture
frame and the tonal value of its surroundings, the black circle dominates the photograph and
thus alters its reading and comprehension. The photographs in Ground have a dual temporality,
with the black hole suggesting a recent intervention and the background harkening the past. In
concert with the subject matter found in the photographs, the black hole poetically draws
parallels between our current environmental, economic, and agricultural challenges and those
of post-Depression America.
15. Jonah Steinberg, Anthropology
Grant: The Disappearing Gypsy: Spatialized Modernities, Pollutive Bodies, and Urban Cleansing
in the European Union
A contradiction emerges between EU discourses of pluralism, on the one hand, and the legal and
lived experiences of the marginal and minority subjects that test these principles, on the other. A
tension resides in the meeting place between European official languages of multiculturalism and
diversity, and sensibilities about what constitutes a properly “modern” or “traditional” urban space
(and on how that space should be policed and regulated) which push the former’s limits or render
it meaningless. I explore the boundaries of liberal European narratives of tolerance through a
consideration of new restrictions and regulations keeping Romani people (“Gypsies”), one of the
minorities in Europe most subject to persecution and segregation, out of sight in spaces in which
their movement was once more widely accepted. I seek to understand the growing regulation on
Romani movement in iconic and monumental public space in urban France in the context of
ideologies and moralities about “clean” space (and “clean” identities), modernity, nation, and
consumption. It is not “Gypsies” that are to be kept out of high-profile space, but “visible Gypsies.”
Thus it is embodied, and ultimately racialized, elements of appearance, comportment, adornment,
body, and movement that emerge as the object to be policed.
16. Michael Rosen, Engineering, Susan Edelman, Education, and Michael Coleman, Engineering
Grant: A Pilot Study: Teaching and Assessing the Requisite Skills for Recognition and Production
of Tactile Drawings
The proposed project is one facet of a larger longer-term engineering and research effort in the
area of tactile graphics for the blind. The eventual outcome is meant to be a system of products
and methods, integrated into school and workplace, to provide visually impaired people with
access to the full range of free-hand drawing, editing, copying, communication and remote
reproduction available on visual media for sighted people. This REACH project will generate
novel fundamental data on how to assess school children for their skills in recognizing tactile
images and drawing tactile images; and how most effectively to teach these skills. Our “reach” on
this campus will be extended by developing a new axis of collaboration between CEMS and
CESS, both linked to a UVM-spawned commercial venture. Our research “innovation” resides in
the development of an empirical basis for teaching blind children use and appreciation of tactile
graphics to support vital curriculum content and self-expression. Our eventual “impact” should be
felt in the gradual population of the STEM and the arts by the blind and visually impaired (BVI),
and perhaps a perceptible reduction in the 70% unemployment rate of blind working-age adults.