Barry Komisaruk - US grants

Based on recent funded research in this laboratory, there is evidence that the vagus nerve (Cranial nerve X) can convey sensory responses to vaginocervical stimulation directly into the brain, completely bypassing the spinal cord. The proposed experiments critically test this evidence and test two means by which the responsiveness of the pathway might be intensified. If this pathway proves to exert behavioral (e.g. analgesia) and/or physiological (e.g. neuroendocrine reflex) effects, then it could be of potential clinical significance in rehabilitation of sexual function after spinal cord injury. The following ar e the research questions that the MBRS students on this subproject would address in physiological and behavioral studies in the laboratory rat: 1. Does vaginocervical sensory activity project via the vagus nerve directly to the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract of the medulla oblongata of the brain, bypassing the spinal cord? This question would be addressed using c-fos bypassing the spinal cord? This question would be addressed using c-fos immunocytochemistry. 2. Can the vagus-mediated response to vaginocervical stimulation be intensified by sensory and/or hormonal treatment; Specifically, a. Does repeated vaginocervical stimulation accelerate recovery of function via the vagus nerve after spinal cord injury? b. Does estrogen stimulate recovery of function in this system? 3. Does vaginocervical stimulation release oxytocin from the neural lobe of the pituitary gland via the vagus nerve? The MBRS students on this subproject would be directly involved in the all phases of the research from formulation of the specific experiments to coauthorship of the publications based on it. They would be trained in methodologies of immunocytochemistry, computerized image analysis, animal microsurgery, polygraph and oscilloscope recording of physiological responses, non-invasive blood pressure and heart rate recording, blood sampling for hormone assays, behavioral bioassay, hormonal radioimmunoassay, behavioral observation and recording, and intensive postsurgical care of the rats after spinal cord transection and/or vagus nerve transection.

This is a proposal to continue the MBRS Program at Rutgers- Newark, now to start in the IMSD format, which has superseded the existing Associate Investigator format. We are currently in our 15th year of continuous funding. The current proposal is to maintain the existing MBRS faculty with the exception of one member who is retiring this year (Ian Fryer), for a total of 13 faculty members. We propose to provide training and support of 10 undergraduate students and 11 graduate students to enable them to perform original biomedical research research. The main goals of the proposed continuation of our MBRS Program are: 1.To increase the number of qualified applicants into the Program, 2.To improve the academic performance and thereby the competitiveness of the MBRS students in our Program, 3. To increase the number of MBRS students entering a career in biomedical research, and 4. To continually improve our MBRS Program's responsiveness to the needs of its participants. The specific objectives and methods to achieve these goals are specified in the proposal. The productivity of our MBRS Program until now has included: production of 9 PhD's (3 in the past year plus one more expected next month), 12 Masters degree awardees, 7 RN's, 5 MD's, 3 Assistant Professors, and 1 Full Professor. We propose means of maintaining and increasing this level of productivity.

DESCRIPTION (adapted from investigator's abstract): In the proposed study, spinal cord transection followed by nerve transection will be utilized in the rat to test the parent grant hypothesis that in women with complete spinal cord injury as high as T12, sensibility of the reproductive tract (e.g. cervix) persists because the hypogastric and/or vagus nerve pathways to the brain retain their integrity. Behavioral, autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to vaginocervical stimulation will be measured after spinal cord transection, after which they hypogastric and/or vagus nerves will be transected, in order to ascertain whether these nerves mediate the responses that persist after the spinal cord transection. Thus, the proposed study would extend and expand the parent grant without overlapping it. The specific aims of the current proposal are to ascertain whether: a) Analgesia in response to vagino-cervical stimulation will persist above the level of spinal transection at L5 or T7, which blocks ascending pathways from pelvic and hypogastric nerves, respectively. We will ascertain whether subsequent bilateral transection of hypogastric and then vagus nerves will block and residual effects, b) Autonomic responses, i.e. increases in heart rate and pupil dilatation, in response to vagino-cervical stimulation will be affected by the transections of spinal cord and these nerves, c) Oxytocin release in response to vaginocervical stimulation will be affected by the transections of spinal cord and these nerves. The present application is proposed in collaboration with Carlos Beyer, Ph.D., and Rafael Cueva-Rolon, M.D., Ph.D., who provide expertise in spinal cord neurophysiology-neuropharmacology. The proposed research would provide an experimental neurological foundation on which to base interpretation of the responses to reproductive tract stimulation in women with complete spinal cord injury in the parent grant. Evidence of a role of the vagus nerve in mediating these responses would have significance for rehabilitation medicine, since it would indicate the existence of a sensory pathway via which sensory impulses from the cervix and uterus could enter the brain directly, completely bypassing the spinal cord, and thus remaining functional even in women who are complete tetraplegic. The proposed study would provide a significant opportunity to formally support the active long-term collaborative research interaction that exists between these two research groups in the U.S. and Mexico.

The Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program at the Newark campus of Rutgers University has three objectives: First, to provide opportunities for Minority Undergraduate and Graduate Students to work with established research scientists on significant research projects in an extensive spectrum of the biomedical sciences, in areas of specialization that encompass biology, psychology, psychobiology, neuroscience, chemistry, physics and nursing; Second, to encourage Minority students to do advanced Undergraduate and Graduate research in the biomedical sciences, and Third, to inform Minority Students in Colleges and Universities throughout the country, in New Jersey, and especially in the Newark area about the possibility of careers in the biomedical sciences and about programs at Rutgers-Newark that can give students substantial assistance in entering the biomedical field. To achieve these goals, the MBRS Program at Rutgers-Newark has: First selected 13 members of the Graduate Faculty to serve as Associate Investigators in MBRS subproposals for biomedical research projects in which Minority Students are participating; Second, appointed an Advisory Committee to develop and monitor local policies and procedures for the MBRS Program at Rutgers, regarding recruitment, selection of applicants, salary supplements, special University programs linked to the MBRS Program e.g. a Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship, etc. Third, organized a weekly series of seminars and a research workshop series in which distinguished Minority Investigators from other Institutions and MBRS Investigators and Students discuss their research; Fourth, increased efforts at Essex County College to attract more Minority Students to Rutgers; and Fifth, recruited students to the Rutgers-Newark MBRS Program via the Annual MBRS Symposium, a program brochure, and speaking engagements.

The Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program at the Newark campus of Rutgers University has three objectives: First, to provide opportunities for Minority Undergraduate and Graduate Students to work with established research scientists on significant research projects in an extensive spectrum of the biomedical sciences, in areas of specialization that encompass biology, psychology, psychobiology, neuroscience, chemistry, physics and nursing; Second, to encourage Minority students to do advanced Undergraduate and Graduate research in the biomedical sciences, and Third, to inform Minority Students in Colleges and Universities throughout the country, in New Jersey, and especially in the Newark area about the possibility of careers in the biomedical sciences and about programs at Rutgers-Newark that can give students substantial assistance in entering the biomedical field. To achieve these goals, the MBRS Program at Rutgers-Newark has: First selected 13 members of the Graduate Faculty to serve as Associate Investigators in MBRS subproposals for biomedical research projects in which Minority Students are participating; Second, appointed an Advisory Committee to develop and monitor local policies and procedures for the MBRS Program at Rutgers, regarding recruitment, selection of applicants, salary supplements, special University programs linked to the MBRS Program e.g. a Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship, etc. Third, organized a weekly series of seminars and a research workshop series in which distinguished Minority Investigators from other Institutions and MBRS Investigators and Students discuss their research; Fourth, increased efforts at Essex County College to attract more Minority Students to Rutgers; and Fifth, recruited students to the Rutgers-Newark MBRS Program via the Annual MBRS Symposium, a program brochure, and speaking engagements.

technology /technique development; reproductive system; psychology; human tissue; biomedical resource; bioengineering /biomedical engineering; Mammalia; biomedical equipment development; carbohydrates; nervous system; behavioral /social science research tag;

The MBRS Program at Rutgers-Newark is continuing to fulfill its three main objectives: first, to provide opportunities for Minority Undergraduate and Graduate students to work with established research scientists on significant research projects in the biomedical sciences; second, to encourage Minority students to do advanced Undergraduate and Graduate work in the biomedical sciences; and third, to inform Minority students in New Jersey and especially in the Newark area about the possibility of careers in the biomedical sciences and about programs at Rugers-Newark that can give students substantial assistance in entering the biomedical field. The student participants in this MBRS Program have achieved substantial goals, including awards of Federal fellowships, grants, and acceptance into major institutions, including Rockefeller, MIT, Yale and Boston Universities. Because of a substantial increase in the interest and enthusiasm for the MBRS Program on the Rutgers-Newark campus among faculty and students, the present application includes subproposals for 20 Associate Investigators, an increase from the current level of 11. The increase is due in large measure to applications from 5 faculty members of the new Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience; in addition, there are now 4 applications from Biological Sciences, 4 from Chemistry, 4 from the Institute of Animal Behavior/Psychology, 2 from the College of Nursing, and 1 from a new Minority faculty member in Physics. The components of the MBRS Program at Rutgers-Newark include a biweekly Seminar Series/Research Workshop, at which invited visiting Minority scientists, the participating MBRS faculty members (Associate Investigators [AI's] and the MBRS students present research seminars. The visiting scientists also are asked to speak to the MBRS students about biomedical career opportunities and their personal career experiences as Minority scientists. Our MBRS Advisory Board monitors and advises the Program. The Admissions Subcommittee evaluates and votes on each applicant who any AI wishes to accept. All applications are sent to all AI's who have openings for students as applications are submitted, and as openings become available.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is in response to Program Announcement PAR-00-022 to continue the MBRS-IMSD Program at Rutgers University-Newark. Currently, we are beginning our nineteenth year of continuous funding. The current proposal is to maintain the existing MBRS-IMSD faculty and to add five additional faculty members for a total of 16 faculty members. We propose to provide training and support for ten undergraduate students and eleven graduate students to enable them to perform original biomedical research. The main goals of the proposed continuation of our MBRS-IMSD program are: 1) to increase the number of qualified applicants into the Program, 2) to improve the academic performance and, thereby, the competitiveness of the students in our program, 3) to increase the number of students entering a career in biomedical research, and 4) to continually improve our MBRS program's responsiveness to the needs of its participants. The specific objectives and methods to achieve these goals are specified in the proposal. The productivity of our MBRS program until now has included the production of 16 PhD degrees, 18 master's degrees, 71 bachelor's degrees, and four post-doctorates. We propose several means of maintaining and increasing the level of productivity. A significant improvement was provided with the addition of the career counselor, who has been invaluable in catching potential problems and working with the students to maintain their progress in the program. They and she have identified and solved many problems. What has emerged through this counseling is the need for specific training in scientific/technical writing. Meeting this need will be a major objective of this proposal.

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of our proposed IMSD Program is to increase the number of minority students who enter careers in biomedical and behavioral research in which they are under-represented. Our proposed comprehensive program will play a significant role in overcoming the still-existing disparities, between minority and non-minority undergraduate and doctoral students at Rutgers, in their progressing into careers in biomedical/behavioral research. Through accomplishing this goal, our proposed IMSD Program will improve our overall Institutional outcomes. To accomplish this goal, our objectives are to provide the undergraduate and doctoral students in our Program with the academic and research skills, self-efficacy, motivation, and credentials that are essential to developing their competitiveness toward entering the next phases of their career - i.e., doctoral programs or post doctorates, respectively. In order to accomplish these objectives and attain our goal, our proposed IMSD Program will: Provide the undergraduate and doctoral students with a carefully-mentored, rigorous research experience that includes supervised conceptualization, formulation, performance, analysis, presentation at professional scientific conferences, and publication of their own research or doctoral dissertation project; *Provide a sequentially-coordinated, closely and continuously monitored spectrum of academic and personal support components to promote the students' highest academic performance levels, including, e.g., our Research Career/Fellowship Writing Workshop, mentored graduate school and postdoctoral application processes, an academic skills workshop, psychological counseling services, academic enrichment classes in gate-keeper courses, etc., all designed to develop the students' professional self- efficacy, ensure their personal wellbeing and retention through to completion of their undergraduate or doctoral training on campus, and facilitate their entry into doctoral or postdoctoral programs; Mainstream the students into the academic campus community by articulating our IMSD Program with other relevant University programs, prominent among which are the Garden State LS-AMP Program and the Honors College. The lead institution for this major new Program is Rutgers-Newark, so our campus plays a major role in its functioning, and it will continue to be a major interaction opportunity for our IMSD Program. *Cast a wide net to recruit potential IMSD students -- especially doctoral students, who are particularly underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral-related departments on our campus -- from multiple venues both on and off-campus, including the Garden State LS-AMP Program and its participating New Jersey institutions, and the greater metropolitan New York City institutions (e.g., Hunter College, LIU, Medgar Evers) with significant underrepresented minority student populations totaling several hundred IMSD-eligible students in relevant major fields. *Monitor continuously the performance of our IMSD Program via data gathering, analysis, and review of our quantitative goals by the IMSD PD and Program Coordinator, and regular meetings with our IMSD participants, toward eliminating any gaps in performance between our IMSD students and the students in the university community at large. We will perform annual internal evaluations by a clinical psychologist, primarily via student and faculty focus group discussions, as this has proven to be the most informative venue for obtaining valuable feedback and recommendations from the students, mentors, and advisory board for recommending improvements to our Program (e.g., leading to requested increased career guidance activities). *Among the quantitative expected outcomes for our IMSD undergraduate students: at least 90% of the undergraduates accepted into our IMSD Program will earn the baccalaureate, of whom at least 70% will proceed to enter a Ph.D. or Ph.D./M.D. program. And at least 90% of the doctoral students accepted into our IMSD Program will earn the Ph.D., of whom at least 80% will proceed to a postdoctoral position. We believe that these proposed Program components will continue to play a significant role in overcoming the still-existing disparities, between Minority and non-Minority undergraduate and doctoral students in our Institution, in their progressing into careers in biomedical/behavioral research. Through accomplishing this goal, our proposed IMSD Program will improve our overall Institutional outcomes. To accomplish this goal, our objectives are to provide the undergraduate and doctoral students in our Program with the academic and research skills, self-efficacy, motivation, and credentials that are essential to developing their competitiveness toward entering the next phases of their career - i.e., doctoral programs or post doctorates, respectively.

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through the development of highly competitive students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. The goal of the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity is to increase the quantity and quality of STEM graduate students from underrepresented populations, with emphasis on PhD matriculation and completion. BD programs implemented in the nation's institutions of higher education contribute to addressing one of the objectives in NSF's 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, namely to "foster the growth of a more capable and diverse research workforce and advance the scientific and innovation skills of the Nation." The vision of this grant is to provide a national model to produce underrepresented scientists and engineers with doctoral degrees in STEM.

The performance site for this LSAMP BD Activity is Rutgers University, Newark, one of the eight college and universities included in the Garden State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (GSLSAMP). The project will recruit a cohort of 12 qualified LSAMP fellows and support them financially, academically and socially through their graduate program using an innovative flexible structure that is individualized to the desires and needs of the fellow. In addition to providing substantial financial support to enable students to focus full time on graduate-level course work and research, the project provides an integrated set of best practices designed to advance BD students toward completion of doctoral level studies. The best practices include tracking/monitoring, critical point interventions, Graduate Research Fellowship Program and other support workshops, bridge-to-the-bridge orientation, post-doctoral application workshops and others. The optional activities include opportunities with the Minority Biomedical Research Support program, GSLSAMP, the Newark STEAM coalition ecosystem and the wealth of professional, educational, outreach and research STEM opportunities in the New York metropolitan area.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

ABSTRACT The mission of the proposed G-RISE Program is to increase the number of PhDs underrepresented in the diverse fields of Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience and Psychology who will proceed to postdoctoral research fellowships/positions, on a trajectory to enter the biomedical/behavioral research workforce. To accomplish this goal, our main program objectives are: 1) to foster in each trainee: self-efficacy in their chosen specialty, self-identification as a research scientist, and the confidence that they are integral, contributing members of their scientific community; 2) to develop our trainees? technical and professional skills required to conduct research in an ethically responsible and rigorous manner; 3) to develop our trainees? didactic, research, mentoring, and career development skills; 4) to promote our trainees? timely fulfillment of the institutional requirements for the Ph.D.; 5) to foster and facilitate each trainee?s appointment to a postdoctoral position in preparation for entering the biomedical/behavioral research workforce in their specialty. The rationale for the current G-RISE proposal is to build on the success of our current IMSD Program (24 PhDs in the last 3 grant cycles and 5 more expected this year) and take the opportunity to develop programmatic innovations within the G-RISE format. The following key activities comprise part of the design of the proposed G-RISE Program: 1) Research Communication Workshop to develop the trainees? skills in communicating their scientific research to a multidisciplinary audience, 2) Fellowship Writing Workshop to foster a knowledge base to develop a fellowship application, 3) Research Career Preparation seminar series and 4) Responsible Conduct of Research and Research Reproducibility seminar series. A mentor-training component is included in the proposed G-RISE program with a healthy balance between established and early career investigators. The proposed program measurable outcomes are: 1) Earning the PhD degree; 2) Applying for at least one predoctoral fellowship, 3) Successfully vying for a postdoctoral research fellowship/position by the completion of the doctorate. Taken together, the proposed G-RISE Program will continue the development of a successful training program aimed at fostering the entrance of the trainees into fields of behavioral/biomedical research in which they have been traditionally underrepresented.