Eric H. Chudler - US grants

The Internet, specifically the World Wide Web (WWW), has the potential to deliver science education materials directly to classrooms, media centers, libraries and homes. The current application seeks to use this new technology through a collaborative effort of an active scientist and a group of middle school science teachers to develop, disseminate and evaluate educational materials related to neuroscience for use in middle school science classes. This project attempts to introduce new technologies into the science classroom, extend science education to include the information superhighway and increase parental involvement in their children's education. Materials will be integrated with the existing middle school science curriculum and will include l) on-line and off-line experiments and activities covering a range of topics in neuroscience, 2) a "virtal neuroscience laboratory", 3) an Internet neuroscience resource list and 4) a "Neuroscientist Network" consisting of active neuroscientists around the world who will serve as experts answering student questions. All activities will be designed will attention to being self-paced, hands-on, entertaining and to involve Cooperative learning. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to evaluate the usage of the Intemet Neuroscience Resource. It is hoped that this project will serve as a model to other scientists and teachers and to encourage them to develop Internet resources in their own areas of expertise for use in the classroom.

This project will disseminate neuroscience materials to secondary school science teachers via a CD-ROM. These materials will be evaluated to 1) determine changes in student attitudes toward science; 2) to assess changes in student knowledge of neuroscience concepts and 3) to quantify how students and teachers are using the Internet Neuroscience Resource. The Scientific Attitude Inventory-II will be used to evaluate middle school student attitudes toward science before and after exposre to the Neuroscience Resource. Pretesting and posttesting of middle school students will be performed to evaluate content knowledge of neuroscience-related concepts and principles. Questions that comprise the content evaluation inventory will be based on the guidelines and benchmarks established by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993), the National Research Council (1996) and the National Science Teachers Association (Aldridge and Strassenburg, 1995). Prior to general distribution, pretests and posttests for both attitude and content knowledge will be evaluated for validity and reliability with pilot group of middle school students. An Internet version of the Neuroscience Resource will continue to be available. An on-line survey and analysis of daily use log files will determine how the Internet Neuroscience Resource is utilized.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The motor symptoms and underlying neuropathology resulting from damage to the basal ganglia such as that in Parkinson's disease (PD) have been described extensively. However, the basal ganglia role in somatosensory function, including that of pain and nociception, has been largely ignored. The proposed use of electrophysic-logical methods explores how the basal ganglia modulate the response of nociceptive neurons in the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus to persistent trigeminal nociceptive stimuli. Our long range goal is to understand how the basal ganglia modulate nociceptive information. Dopaminergic degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway is expected to enhance the response of thalamic neurons to persistent nociceptive trigeminal stimuli. The first specific aim is to analyze the connectivity between the caudate- putamen (CPu) and intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus by testing the effects of electrical CPu stimulation on the responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus. Activation of the CPu by electrical stimulation is expected to alter the discharge frequency of nociceptive thalamic neurons to noxious chemical and mechanical stimulation of the face. These electrophysiological experiments will also permit functional characterization,of a nociceptive thalamostriatal pathway. This thalamostriatal pathway has not been described previously. The second specific aim is to test the effects of dopamine depletion on the responsiveness of trigeminal nociceptive neurons in the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus and investigate how dopamine depletions affects pain behavior. Unilateral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine into the CPu to destroy dopamine-containing neurons is expected to alter the evoked discharge frequency of nociceptive neurons in the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus and increase nociceptive behavioral responses. These experiments will provide new insights about the role of the basal ganglia in pain and nociception and will shed light on a new dopaminergic pain modulatory system. It is possible that pain observed patients with PD is caused by an impairment of this pain modulatory system. These studies will help explain the complex sensory symptoms exhibited by patients with PD and may suggest new treatment strategies to alleviate such pain. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

EEC-0647918
Eric H. Chudler

This award for an REU site at the University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) will expose undergraduate students to cutting-edge research at the biology and engineering interface in a team setting that stresses the value of interdisciplinary approaches to engineering problems such as biomaterial development. Each undergraduate will be a member of a collaborative team with a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow mentor and a faculty member as they undertake a research project. The team will focus on a UWEB project that is as a good example of interdisciplinary engineering research and one that has ties to industry research interests. To enhance the research experience the students will be required to:1)participate in a weekly communications course and journal club that deals with both oral presentation and writing skills, 2) write a journal style report of their research for publication; and 3) deliver an oral and poster presentation of their summer research in a mini-symposium session.

Emphasis will be placed on recruiting students from underrepresented groups using established recruiting contacts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and predominately minority institutions.

Participants will gain valuable knowledge in an area of research that has significant and growing global impact on the quality of life (e.g. heart valves, hip joints, pacemakers, dental implants, drainage shunts, intraocular lenses, and heart-assist devices.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Building Bioengineering Bridges (B3) will work with underrepresented minority students from Seattle Community College as they transition to baccalaureate degree programs at the University of Washington (UW) and other four-year universities. The B3 program will focus on how bioengineering and biotechnology can be used to solve global health problems. The B3 program will provide both academic opportunities and mentored research experiences for students and will include workshops and seminars to provide students will experience giving scientific presentations. The program will provide students with the background and experiences necessary to successfully transition from their community college to four-year universities. Through this effort, the partnering institutions will provide a source of outstanding URM students'interested biomedical research to a variety of departments within the UW and other universities. The B3 program will involve 10-20 African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and/or Natives of the US Pacific Islands students who are currently enrolled at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC). These students will enroll in a new course "Biotechnology &World Health." Students will also attend workshops and seminars presentations to gain experience presenting scientific research to various audiences. These experiences will provide students with the skills necessary to give scientific poster and oral presentations and to write for technical journals. A cohort of students who complete this course will be offered mentored-laboratory experiences within laboratories in the Department of Bioengineering, Material Sciences or other departments at the UW. Students who participate in the mentored laboratory program will present their work with other undergraduate students enrolled in other UW programs during a summer research symposium. We expect that in five years: a) the overall institutional transfer rate of students from targeted groups/populations from the participating associate degree-granting institution(s) to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences will increase by 50%;b) at least 70% of the Bridges students, upon or before graduation from the associate degree program, will transfer to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences;and c) at least 75% of the transferring Bridges students will successfully complete their bachelor's degrees in biomedical/behavioral sciences. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Building Bioengineering Bridges (B3) will work with underrepresented minority students from Seattle Community College as they transition to baccalaureate degree programs at the University of Washington (UW) and other four-year universities. The B3 program will focus on how bioengineering and biotechnology can be used to solve global health problems. The B3 program will provide both academic opportunities and mentored research experiences for students and will include workshops and seminars to provide students will experience giving scientific presentations. The program will provide students with the background and experiences necessary to successfully transition from their community college to four-year universities. Through this effort, the partnering institutions will provide a source of outstanding URM students interested biomedical research to a variety of departments within the UW and other universities.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The high incidence of neurological and mental illnesses in our society makes it likely that children will encounter someone they know who has been affected by a disease or disorder of the brain. The significant economic and emotional costs of neurological and mental illnesses make it imperative that we all understand the implications of these disorders and help people learn how to avoid the disorders and make better health decisions. The proposed project will develop, evaluate and disseminate a new neuroscience education resource for middle school students that focuses on the neuroactive properties of plants and herbs. The resource will be created to be culturally relevant and responsive to national and state guidelines for science standards. Research neuroscientists and classroom teachers will work collaboratively throughout the project to ensure the scientific accuracy and educational benefits of the materials. Teachers will attend a summer professional development workshop where they will learn to use the new resource. These teachers will then borrow kits to use with their students. In addition to the kits, the program will develop a summer camp for middle school students and a web site where materials can be downloaded and data can be shared. Formative and summative evaluation will be performed by an external evaluator to assess the effectiveness of each component of the new resource. Successful implementation of "Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience" should improve student knowledge about neuroscience, provide teachers with new materials to use in the classroom, and encourage students to pursue career in science. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The project will improve public understanding, especially in middle school students, teachers and parents, about neuroscience, mental health, and neurological fitness. The resource is intended for middle school students and teachers and will consist of inquiry-based, hands-on science education activities. These activities should improve learning about health and science and encourage students from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences.

a technical description
The project proposes a joint NSF-DFG workshop titled "New Perspectives on Neuroengineering and Neurotechnologies" to foster research collaborations with other researchers around the world. The NSF ERC Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) was established at the University of Washington in 2011, with the mission to forge both physical and conceptual connections between neural systems and devices to develop integrated systems that may help people with neurological and mobility deficits such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, paralysis, and limb loss. The CSNE seeks to connect a mathematical understanding of how biological systems acquire and process information with the design of effective devices that interact seamlessly with humans. These devices take input from implantable, wearable or interactive interfaces to build integrated systems that provide sensorimotor solutions for the disabled and elderly population. The CSNE research builds on expertise in computational neuroscience, brain-computer interface, robotics, control theory, and microelectronics/wireless technology. The confluence of neuroscience and engineering presents a unique set of challenges to address. To contribute to the advancement of this interdisciplinary field, the CSNE has partnered with the German Research Foundation Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools to advance the field of neural engineering. The CSNE and BrainLinks-BrainTools have common scientific interests especially in the design of brain controlled interfaces and have forged a working partnership including collaborative research projects and student exchange programs.
Intellectual Merit of the proposed project focuses on a collaborative scientific workshop that will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the questions, challenges and opportunities in the field of neural engineering. The mission of the researchers involved with the workshop is to develop innovative ways to connect a deep mathematical understanding of how biological systems acquire and process information with the design of effective devices that interact seamlessly with human beings. This singular approach reverse engineers the nervous system?s sensorimotor functions to develop engineering models that correct or compensate for neural deficits and augment neural capabilities. Using these mathematical and structural models, it is possible to design neural interfaces integrated with external control devices.


a non-technical explanation
Participants will gain valuable knowledge in areas of research that have significant and growing global impact on the quality of life. Publication of the workshop proceedings in leading scientific journals will help disseminate the findings of workshop attendees. This effort will likely lead to new collaborations and joint research projects that will benefit society by reducing the emotional, physical and financial toll caused by sensorimotor disorders. The workshop may identify key technologies according to market significance and technical risk thereby impacting innovations over the near and long term.

This REU Site award to the University of Washington, located in Seattle, WA, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2015-2017. The REU program is open to all undergraduate students who are citizens, nationals or permanent residents of the United States. Students who participate in the program gain skills in lab research, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, understand the process of science, and communicate their research results to their peers and the general public. Students will have an opportunity to present their results in a national conference. The REU program provides students an experience that is typically not available to them in their academic curriculum. Students from schools with limited opportunities for research and from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

The goal of this REU Site is to provide a carefully mentored research experience for talented undergraduate students at the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE). Each undergraduate student will enter a collaborative team with a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow mentor and a faculty member as they undertake a research project. The team will focus on a CSNE project that has been carefully selected as a good example of interdisciplinary biosciences and engineering research and one that has ties to industry interests. The students will also participate in a weekly communications course and journal club that deals with both oral presentation and writing skills. Each student will be required to write a journal style report of their research for publication and deliver an oral and poster presentation of their summer research in a mini-symposium session. Emphasis will be placed on recruiting students from under-represented groups. The common assessment tool provided by the NSF BIO program will be used to assess the REU program.

Students are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting http://www.csne-erc.org , or by contacting the PI (Dr. Eric H. Chudler at chudler@u.washington.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Thomas Daniel at danielt@uw.edu).

Diseases of the nervous system represent an existing and growing emotional and economic burden to society. Neuroscientific research is critical to the discovery of new therapies and treatments for these disorders. With this goal in mind, it is imperative that we train research scientists who represent US society, including ethnic minorities, people from economically disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities. Underrepresentation of minorities in science and technology emerges in part from the fact that underrepresented minority students either fail to enter or leave the pathway that starts with a STEM college education and continues with graduate school in science-related fields. The University of Washington Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (UW-ENDURE) program will capitalize on the NIH Blueprint Program to help community college students in the Puget Sound region transition into graduate research careers by exposing them to summer and academic-year mentored research experiences in the field of neuroscience at the University of Washington. Our first Specific Aim will be to recruit each year 8 undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to participate in academic-year and summer research as well as training in the field of neuroscience. Our second Specific Aim to assure that each recruited student is incorporated into the research program of a neuroscience laboratory within the UW, and is part of a comprehensive set of educational and mentoring opportunities including summer workshops and academic-year courses, and a one-on-one mentoring plan that starts during their stage at UW-ENDURE and continues for year after their completion of the Program. Finally, our third Specific Aim is to thoroughly evaluate UW-ENDURE?s immediate impact on students? quantitative skills and understanding of neuroscience principles, and on the students? success in applying to and entering competitive STEM graduate careers. The Puget Sound region represents an ideal combination of underrepresented minorities in STEM careers within community colleges and a top neuroscience research institution like the UW. UW-ENDURE will capitalize on this scenario to help underrepresented minorities transition into and remain in the fascinating world of neuroscience research.