Findings Staff Report |
Aug. 11, 2020
The UC Office of Research is here to support its researchers from day one, and not just with professional development
and networking opportunities but with financial support, as well.
That’s why, in 2018, the office created the Research Launch Award for first-year full-time faculty. Each
researcher can get $2,500 for attending at least 10
OoR Professional
Development Series events and $3,500 for attending at least six and serving as an internal reviewer
for the Office of Research.
Last academic year, 15 new faculty completed the requirements.
They’re from all across campus. Meet them!
Matthew Bayliss
Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
“My scientific expertise is in observational cosmology and extra-galactic astrophysics with
samples of
distant
galaxies. All of my interactions with Office of Research personnel were excellent, and it was always
clear
to me
that they are dedicated to giving me the tools and information that I need to succeed as a researcher at
UC.”
Elizabeth Berryman
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy
“As a clinical track faculty member, my research focuses on innovative models of pharmacy practice
to
promote
population health. The Research Launch Award provided me the opportunity to develop my understanding of
research
within the University of Cincinnati. The educational sessions covered a wide variety of topics that I
can
apply
both
immediately and down the road in my research journey.”
Daniel Cuppoletti
Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, College of Engineering
and
Applied
Science
“The objective of my research program is to advance and disseminate knowledge in the area of fluid
dynamics
and aeroacoustics related to the next-generation of aerospace propulsion systems. The Research Launch
Award
will
contribute towards the initial startup of my experimental laboratory.”
Vincent Fong
Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, College of
Medicine
“My research goals are to elucidate the relationship between bone and fat metabolism. Specific
projects
include investigating the mechanisms underlying the glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis and obesity, and
the
role of
different sterols in bone development. The faculty development workshops that I attended as part of the
Research
Launch Award will help my research because many were focused around grant writing and grant budgets,
which
are
necessary for a successful research career.”
Eva Fried
Assistant Professor, Nurse-Midwifery Program Director, College of Nursing
“In my first year as a program director, one of the opportunities I am faced with (in response to
the
pandemic) is reimagining an on-campus skills intensive for nurse-midwifery students into a synchronous
distance
delivery format. My team is in the beginning stages of considering what tools and resources the students
will need
to have on hand with them and what resources faculty will need in content delivery. The Research Launch
Award funds
will assist us in acquiring these items.”
Yong-Gyun Ghim
Assistant Professor, School of Design, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
“My research and creativity activities are focused on human-centered design in robotic and
intelligent
products. Through the past RDSS events, I have acquired a great amount of knowledge and understanding of
research.
Those events also helped me find collaboration, that eventually enabled me to be funded with
Collaborative
Research
Advancement Grants.”
Beverly Hittle
Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
“My research is focused on sleep and shift work, particularly with nurses in the acute healthcare
setting. I
am interested in understanding how we can shift the healthcare industry to view sleep as an important
safety measure
to control, as well as what interventions work best to mitigate sleepiness and fatigue in
around‐the-clock healthcare settings. Initially, The Research Launch Award provided an
incentive to attend
the events, but after attending the first few, the value was clear and signing up for future courses
became a
priority.”
Elizabeth Hobson
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and
Sciences
“Research in the Hobson Lab focuses on social information: what animals know about their social
worlds,
how
they come to know it, and what they do with that information. To address these questions, we integrate
aspects
of
ecology and evolution to determine how the combination of sociality and cognition affect the emergence
of group
social structures. The professional development training that I received this year has helped me be
strategic
in thinking about how to effectively start my research group and mentor new lab members, how to
recruit,
and
how to think about turning ideas into strong research proposals.”
Donghoon Kim
Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, College of Engineering
and
Applied
Science
“My research objective is to support the research area of autonomous systems that include ground,
aerial, space,
and
the combination thereof operations in an intelligent manner. Specifically, the space system is the
primary
interest
of my research and a unique ground platform will be designed and developed to simulate space system
operations
and
validate the intelligent operation methodologies that are under development. The Research
Launch Award
and
the events I attended will help to build a network for near-future research collaboration and
publish
research
accomplishments.”
Daniel Kiracofe
Assistant Professor Educator, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied
Science
“Broadly speaking, my interest is mechanical vibration and dynamics. I’ve worked on several
different
application areas over the years. One main focus is Atomic Force Microscopy. As the name implies it is a
type of
microscope, but instead of looking at a sample, you literally feel it with a tiny vibrating probe. The
most
helpful
event was the session about budgeting. I actually just finished my first NSF proposal and knowing all
the
ins
and
outs of the budget spreadsheet and process saved me a lot of time, which I spent instead on writing up
the
technical
part of the proposal.”
Rachel Nolan
Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences Division, Department of Environmental and Public
Health
Sciences, College of Medicine
“As a population health specialist and public health prevention science researcher, the goal of my
research is
to understand the unique social determinants of well-being (e.g. grief) experienced by underserved and
medically
disadvantaged communities, older adults, LGBTQ* folk, and the differently-abled. Being an early
investigator who
moved to the Greater Cincinnati area within the last year, the Research Launch Award and the OoR events
that I
have
attended have helped to further my research by: offering opportunities to network and identify future
collaborators;
to know what research supports are available within UC and the greater SW Ohio/KY area; to better
understand UC
research infrastructure and compliance systems; as well as identify more ways to have fun and learn
something
new at
work.”
Emma Palmer
Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Administration Sciences, College of Pharmacy
“My areas of interest focus around the practice of psychiatric pharmacy and the scholarship of
teaching
and
learning. The Research Launch Award provided much-needed education and guidance on improving the overall
research
process. Budgeting, developing reproducible research methods, and navigating through the various
research and
grant
related resources were important and useful sessions that I enjoyed attending and will utilize in my
future
endeavors to improve efficiency and quality of my research.”
Carrie Rountrey
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied
Health
Sciences
“The overarching goal of my research is to inform current clinical practice with immediately
applicable
research that demonstrates how to efficiently and effectively quantify intelligibility via acoustic
correlates
of
speech intelligibility. The great workshops and activities have been quite valuable for me as a new
member of
the UC
community. As a result, I have submitted one NIH grant application and two pre-applications for national
funding.”
Stacey Schutte
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied
Science
“My research program is focused on engineering of soft tissues both for replacement and for use as
model
systems for studying disease. The events that I attended in order to receive the Research Launch Award
were very
helpful to improve my grant writing skills and to help me understand the support that is available at
UC.”
Gregory Winger
Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, College of Arts and Sciences
“My research examines cyber security as an emerging facet of international security. Conflict has
long
been a
prominent feature of international relations, but the growth of information technology as a critical
component
of
modern society has introduced a bevy of new challenges including attacks on critical infrastructure,
protracted
economic espionage, and information warfare waged via social media. With the support of the Office of
Research,
I will immediately be able to begin working on two research projects examining the link between
terrorism
and
cyber conflict as well as a larger project on how small states have adapted to the challenges of
cybersecurity.”
For more information on the Research Development & Support Series contact Teri Reed, reedtk@ucmail.uc.edu.