2024 Catalyst Grant Awardees
Non-viral gene therapy in naturally occurring pre-clinical dog models of back pain
- Topic area: cell and gene therapeutics; genomics
- Lead PI: Devina Purmessur Walter (College of Engineering)
- Co-investigators: Nina Rogers (College of Veterinary Medicine); Elizabeth Yu (College of Medicine)
- Project description: This project will rigorously interrogate the safety and efficacy of novel non-viral gene delivery-based strategies to program degenerate disc cells back to their original healthy state using clinically relevant in vitro and in vivo canine animal models of discogenic back pain.
Combined therapeutics for combatting antibiotic-resistant bacteria (CTCARB)
- Topic area: cancer science and engineering, immunology and therapeutics
- Lead PI: Daniel Wozniak (College of Medicine)
- Co-investigators: Brian Ahmer (College of Medicine); Mark Mitton-Fry (College of Pharmacy)
- Project description: Antibiotic resistance is a public health crisis. To meet this global challenge, the team will leverage and advance existing technologies to create a cross-disciplinary program composed of three research teams. The infectious agents targeted by these teams inflict disease on millions of people worldwide.
Platform for the synthesis of ribonucleotide analogs for incorporation into RNA for cancer chemotherapy and cancer mRNA vaccines
- Topic area: cancer science and engineering, immunology and therapeutics
- Lead PI: Peixuan Guo (College of Pharmacy)
- Co-investigators: James Fuchs (College of Pharmacy); Wayne Miles and Raphael Pollock (College of Medicine); Karin Musier-Forsyth (College of Arts and Sciences)
- Project description: This project provides an interdisciplinary approach to develop and produce nucleoside analogs into 1) phosphoramidites for the chemical synthesis of RNA nanoparticles for cancer treatment and 2) nucleoside triphosphate analogs for t cancer mRNA vaccine development.
2023 Catalyst Grant Awardees
A Novel Electrons-to-Chemicals Process to Produce Greener Value-added Chemicals
- Lead PI: Umit Ozkan (College of Engineering)
- Co-investigators: Seval Gunduz (College of Engineering), Yehia Khalifa (College of Arts and Sciences)
- Research topical area: renewable energy, smart grid, energy storage
- Project description: Electrocatalytic oxidation offers an alternative for producing light olefins from an abundant source, shale gas. This process, when coupled with renewable energy sources, will have a minimum carbon footprint and lend itself to a distributed olefin production strategy, including on-board production.
Artificial Metalloenzymes for the Sustainable Production of Renewable Fuels: Conversion of Solar Energy and Plant Waste to Hydrogen and Ethylene by Microorganisms
- Lead PI: Justin North (College of Arts and Sciences)
- Co-investigators: Patrice Hamel and Hannah Shafaat (College of Arts and Sciences), Ajay Shah (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences)
- Research topical area: renewable energy, smart grid, energy storage
- Project description: This project will engineer industrially scalable biological systems for the renewable conversion of sunlight, CO2, and agricultural biomass into hydrogen and ethylene by photosynthetic algae and bacteria. Hydrogen and ethylene are commodity chemicals and emerging fossil fuel replacements for energy.
Biomimetic and microfluidic technologies to identify and target dormant disseminated tumor cells to improve cure rates in invasive lobular breast cancer
- Lead PI: Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy (College of Medicine)
- Co-investigators: Eduardo Reategui (College of Engineering), Xiaoli Zhang and Daniel Stover (College of Medicine), Sarmila Majumder (Health Sciences)
- Research topical area: cancer science and engineering, immunology and therapeutics
- Project description: Invasive lobular cancer of the breast has poor prognosis due to drug-resistance and delayed recurrence caused by dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). Using in vivo and in vitro biomimetic and microfluidic tools, we propose to identify the DTCs, their dormant signature and test a novel therapy.
Industrial food processing waste valorization using electro-fermentation
- Lead PI: Katrina Cornish (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences)
- Co-investigators: Beenish Saba (College of Engineering), Ann Christy and Thaddeus Ezeji (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences)
- Research topical area: novel social science research concepts that address societal challenges related to food, water, health, racial equity and inclusion, and national security
- Project description: The proposed electro-fermentation process will convert industrial food processing waste into valuable products. This carbon capture and waste valorization technology will lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce industrial food waste, and provide a model which may be applicable to household waste.
Psychological Stress, Bone Health, and Aging
- Lead PI: Do-Gyoon Kim (College of Dentistry)
- Co-investigators: Beth Lee (College of Medicine), John Sheridan (College of Dentistry)
- Research topical area: aging, healthy aging
- Project description: This work will initiate novel studies on the interactions between psychological stress, inflammation, and skeletal health in young and elderly patients. The ultimate goal of this proposed work is to determine whether drugs to treat osteoporosis may also alleviate anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
2022 Catalyst Grant Awardees
Pathways for the Hydrogen Economy to Enhance Sustainability
- Lead PI: Jeff Bielicki, College of Engineering
- Co-investigators: Claudia Turro, Arts and Sciences; Jeffrey Jacquet, CFAES; Daniel Gingerich, Martina Leveni and Shang Zhai, Engineering; Cinnamon Carlarne, Law
- Research Topical Area: Renewable Energy, Smart Grid, Energy Storage
- Project Description: This project will investigate transitions to a hydrogen economy that enhance sustainability. It is a multi-disciplinary, convergent collaboration of faculty from engineering, chemistry, law, policy, and sociology and positions Ohio State to respond to many basic, applied, and convergent opportunities.
Aging and Metabolic Plasticity of Adipose Tissue
- Lead PI: Kristin Stanford, College of Medicine
- Co-investigators: Natalia Higuita-Castro and Daniel Perez-Gallego, Engineering; Kristy Townsend, Medicine; Loren Wold, Nursing
- Research Topical Area: Aging, Healthy Aging
- Project Description: This project will investigate age-induced impairments specific to adipose tissue, their effects on inter-tissue communication, and whether or not promoting adipose tissue plasticity mitigates aging-induced risks for cardiovascular or metabolic diseases.
2021 Catalyst Grant Awardees
A New Paradigm in Foods for Health at Ohio State: Multi-Omics Integration in the Era of Precision Nutrition
- Lead PI: Steven Clinton, College of Medicine
- Co-investigators: Devin Peterson, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; Vicki Wysocki and Matthew Sullivan, College of Arts and Sciences; Martha Belury and Jiangjiang Zhu, College of Education and Human Ecology
- Research Topical Area: Food, nutrition, metabolism, behavior and health
- Project description: We will use a multi-omic approach with advanced data analytics and machine learning to integrate across the food-nutrition-microbiome-health continuum
Radioisotopically-Substituted Perovskites for Self-Powered Energy Storage and Photonic Applications
- Lead PI: Anne Co, College of Arts and Sciences
- Co-investigators: Raymond Cao and Praneeth Kandlakunta, College of Engineering; Jose Lorie Lopez, College of Arts and Sciences
- Research Topical Area: Renewable energy, smart grid, energy storage
- Project description: This team’s proposed betavoltaic batteries are energy generation devices based on harvesting a continuous flow of charge emitted from a radioactive source. These are very long-lived (20-100 years) sources of stable energy, providing reliable power and nearly zero maintenance for a range of applications.
University Collaboration on Overcoming Attitudinal and Situational Barriers to Collaborative Initiatives to Advance Racial Equity: A Confluence of Dispute Process Design, Law & Social Science
- Lead PI: Sarah Cole, Moritz College of Law
- Co-investigators: Tijs Van Maasakkers, College of Engineering; Teri Murphy and Korie Little Edwards, College of Arts and Sciences; Tom Gregoire, College of Social Work; Carl Smallwood, Moritz College of Law
- Research Topical Area: Novel social science research concepts that address societal challenges related to food, water, health, racial equity and inclusion, and national security
- Project description: Ohio State joins strengths in dispute system design, social work, peace efforts, sociology and architecture/planning to study, inform and transform the hoped-for success of government-convened racial equity initiatives through evidence-based tools to overcome attitudinal/situational challenges.
Hybrid Autonomous Point-of-Care Manufacturing
- Lead PI: David Dean, College of Engineering
- Co-investigators: Michael Groeber and Steve Niezgoda, College of Engineering; Stephen Jones, College of Veterinary Medicine; Kelly Kennedy, College of Dentistry; Andrew Glassman, College of Medicine
- Research Topical Area: Digitalized and next generation manufacturing
- Project description: This proposal seeks to establish a center of excellence at Ohio State in the field of Point of Care Manufacturing. This center would demonstrate real time methods that close the loop between the design and fabrication of personalized medical devices.
Brain Infrared Modulation of Pathways for Aging, Cognition, and movemenT (Brain IMPACT)
- Lead PI: Sanjay Krishna, College of Engineering
- Co-investigators: Zeynep Saygin, College of Arts and Sciences; Kingh Luan Phan and Kevin Reeves, College of Medicine
- Research Topical Area: Aging, healthy aging
- Project description: This team’s vision is to develop a non-invasive therapeutic tool that can treat brain disorders including Parkinson’s Disease and Major Depressive Disorder. We will use infrared photobiomodulation to stimulate brain activity and cognitive functions in healthy and aging populations.
Creating quantum bits based on rare-earth ions for quantum networking
- Lead PI: Ronald Reano, College of Engineering
- Co-investigators: Dan Gauthier, Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, Roland Kawakami, Gregory Lafyatis and Alexander Sokolov, College of Arts and Sciences
- Research Topical Area: Quantum information science and technology, next generation wireless communication
- Project description: This comprehensive research effort will create quantum bits based on the integration of erbium into transformative host systems in integrated photonics platforms. Our team brings together interdisciplinary expertise allowing for both fundamental science and technology to be advanced in tandem.
CRANEES - Convergent Research for the Advancement of National Environmental Equity & Security
- Lead PI: Mark Weir, College of Public Health
- Co-investigators: Karen Patricia Williams, College of Nursing; Kareem Usher, College of Engineering; Jiyoung Lee, College of Public Health; Kara Morgan, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
- Research Topical Area: Food, nutrition, metabolism, behavior and health
- Project description: CRANEES will generate the fundamental and applied data to make drinking water quality equity achievable in the United States. Using field data with community-informed sampling plans, we will develop a community-focused decision-making framework, which will be the foundation of a NIEHS P30 proposal in year 2.