Research

A nursing home resident using a wheelchair receives an injection from a health professional

CIDER program supports new approach to measuring nursing home quality, plus more research collaborations

Mar 19, 2023 / 5 min read

Assessing the quality of nursing home care has historically been a challenging and complex process that considers only a portion of the factors involved—generally, clinical indicators reported by the nursing homes themselves. UMBC researchers are collaborating on a new measure of nursing home quality that combines care experiences with clinical data. And they are doing it with funding from a new UMBC program designed to support novel research across different teams.  Continue Reading CIDER program supports new approach to measuring nursing home quality, plus more research collaborations

Four researchers in lab coats stand in a lab, two holding petri dishes up to the light. Glass-doored cabinets in the background.

Deepak Koirala to grow understanding of how enteroviruses replicate with $786K NSF CAREER Award

Mar 14, 2023 / 6 min read

Diseases such as polio, the common cold, and meningitis are all caused by closely related enteroviruses and the way that these viruses multiply in the body is poorly understood. Deepak Koirala hopes to change that by investigating how the RNA structures within these viruses’ genetic material enable them to multiply. The answers could lead to drugs that attack specific mechanisms critical for viral replication, stopping these diseases in their tracks. Continue Reading Deepak Koirala to grow understanding of how enteroviruses replicate with $786K NSF CAREER Award

Portrait of a woman in a fuschia top outside a brick building with some greenery.

Mercedes Burns to study arachnid evolution in Japan through prestigious NSF CAREER Award

Mar 14, 2023 / 6 min read

“The questions I’m asking in this CAREER grant set the stage,” she says, for discovering how arachnid species that can reproduce both sexually (with a mate) and asexually (without a mate) “control whether it’s going to be one reproductive mode or the other,” Mercedes Burns says. “Ultimately we want to understand what allows for this kind of reproductive strategy in these systems, which we don’t see commonly in animals.” Continue Reading Mercedes Burns to study arachnid evolution in Japan through prestigious NSF CAREER Award

Man in white lab coat standing in front of a chemical hood with lots of colorful containers.

UMBC’s Smith lab discovers enzyme ATE1’s role in cellular stress response, opening a door to new therapeutic targets

Mar 14, 2023 / 5 min read

A new paper in Nature Communications illuminates how a previously poorly understood enzyme works in the cell. Many diseases are tied to chronic cellular stress, and Aaron T. Smith and colleagues discovered that this enzyme plays an important role in the cellular stress response. Better understanding how this enzyme functions and is controlled could lead to the discovery of new therapeutic targets for these diseases. Continue Reading UMBC’s Smith lab discovers enzyme ATE1’s role in cellular stress response, opening a door to new therapeutic targets

Smiling woman stands outside.

Unlocking the secrets of materials that turn heat into electricity: UMBC’s Deepa Madan wins NSF CAREER Award

Mar 6, 2023 / 4 min read

Deepa Madan, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UMBC, has received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for research on materials that could improve wearable medical devices, reduce energy waste, and power sensors to monitor everything from the safety of infrastructure to the paths pollutants travel. Continue Reading Unlocking the secrets of materials that turn heat into electricity: UMBC’s Deepa Madan wins NSF CAREER Award

A group of 4 people hold hand-sized drones.

UMBC experts guide TV viewers through the promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence

Mar 6, 2023 / 2 min read

Over the past week, UMBC faculty and students have given primetime TV news watchers in Baltimore a glimpse of the frontiers of artificial intelligence (AI) research. WZJ, Baltimore’s CBS News affiliate, aired the AI series in six segments, four of which featured UMBC researchers. Continue Reading UMBC experts guide TV viewers through the promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence

A group of students and a professor stand stand close together holding small gold and black signs, civic engagment

Inaugural UMBC Paw Poll reveals high levels of student civic engagement

Mar 2, 2023 / 5 min read

“My guiding philosophy is to create applied-learning projects that have legs—that go beyond the classroom context. Paw Poll is one example,” says Ian Anson, associate professor of political science. “I want students to experience how political science theories and applications impact communities—in this case, the UMBC community.” Continue Reading Inaugural UMBC Paw Poll reveals high levels of student civic engagement

A postcard from the 1950s showing color and black and white photos of African American families at the beach.

UMBC humanities faculty receive NEH fellowships for research into “the why and how of our past”

Mar 7, 2023 / 3 min read

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced that George Derek Musgrove ‘97, associate professor of history, and Elizabeth Patton, associate professor of media and communication studies, have received the highly competitive 2023 NEH fellowship for research on Black political and cultural mobilizations and Black leisure and tourism, respectivel. Continue Reading UMBC humanities faculty receive NEH fellowships for research into “the why and how of our past”

An artist's computer generated drawing of the STAR X space craft in space

UMBC partners on STAR-X, a $3M NASA mission concept study through the CRESST II research consortium

Feb 24, 2023 / 3 min read

UMBC researchers are partnering on STAR-X, a nine-month mission concept study investigating black holes, galaxy clusters, and often-elusive transient cosmic events like supernova explosions. STAR-X is one of two Explorer missions to receive $3 million from NASA for this concept phase, before NASA selects one in 2024 to proceed with implementation, targeted for launch in 2028. Continue Reading UMBC partners on STAR-X, a $3M NASA mission concept study through the CRESST II research consortium

Three people work with machinery in a lab. They wear protective glasses and gloves. One wears a sweater reading "UMBC Rerievers."

UMBC researchers listed among the world’s top 2% of most-cited scientists and engineers

Feb 21, 2023 / 3 min read

More than 40 active UMBC researchers are listed among the top 2% of the world’s most-cited scientists and engineers in an analysis recently published by Elsevier. “This analysis shows that our researchers are truly impacting the scientific community in a significant way,” says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research and creative achievement. Continue Reading UMBC researchers listed among the world’s top 2% of most-cited scientists and engineers

A researcher stands smiling at camera. Large room-sized machines with wires and metal cylinders in background is for testing fusion concepts.

Star power: UMBC’s Carlos Romero-Talamás explains why fusion is grabbing headlines

Mar 2, 2023 / 5 min read

On a recent Tuesday in December, UMBC’s Carlos Romero-Talamás escorted a TV crew from Baltimore into one of his labs. The reporters were there to talk about a just announced fusion power milestone achieved at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, but they quickly became interested in Romero-Talamás’s own experiments too. He is questing after the same fusion milestone using equipment that’s much simpler and cheaper. Continue Reading Star power: UMBC’s Carlos Romero-Talamás explains why fusion is grabbing headlines

A person with shoulder length, brown, straight, hair, wearing a black blazer and a spotted black and beige blouse.

NSF awards UMBC’s Lauren Clay $624K Convergence Accelerator grant to address food insecurity in disasters

Feb 15, 2023 / 3 min read

“Food security is a basic human need and is highly susceptible to disruption when families and communities experience disasters,” says Lauren Clay. She is working to improve food system resilience and decrease disaster-induced food insecurity in communities impacted by hurricanes. Continue Reading NSF awards UMBC’s Lauren Clay $624K Convergence Accelerator grant to address food insecurity in disasters

 

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