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OARS Research News, November 2011 Edition

OARS Research Newsletter
November, 2011

Message from Dr. James Oris,

Interim Associate Provost for Research and Scholarship, and Dean of the Graduate School

Welcome to this edition of OARS Research News. I am writing this on the heals of our 3rd Annual Graduate Research Forum. The program grew again, with over 125 presentations by students in 23 departments and four academic divisions. Poster and oral presentations were evaluated by an engaged group of graduate alumni (24) and faculty/staff (13). The Forum could not have worked without these volunteers, and I appreciate their help and insights. Thanks go out to Associate Dean Ann Frymier and the rest of the Graduate School staff, who put on an outstanding program.

Miami is now home to three Ohio Centers of Excellence with the recent announcement of the Institute for Entrepreneurship as a center in Societal and Cultural Transformation. The Institute for Entrepreneurship joins the Center for Structural Biology and Metabonomics and the Scripps Gerontology Center as part of a state-wide effort to develop a network of centers that serve as magnets for talent and leadership in innovation and entrepreneurial activity within Ohio. I extend my warmest congratulations to all three groups, and we will see this list grow in the near future.

Inside you will see stories about faculty and students who have been awarded grants and internships from competitive programs. Featured are Brooke Flinders (Nursing – MUH) who received funding from DHHS Office of Adolescent Health to conduct creative, service-learning activities for student nurses, Amit Shukla's (MME) studies on the use of nonlinear models to predict the effect of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's patients, Paul Schaeffer (ZOO) NIH-funded work on how energy metabolism affects the development of obesity and diabetes, and Brett Smith (MKT) as director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Ohio Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship. We also highlight Miami senior Lyndsey McMillon (MME) who is in a NASA Undergraduate Research Internship at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Lindsey is working on photovoltaic systems and optical instrumentation with her advisor at NASA and Osama Ettouney (MME) here at Miami.

As the semester draws to a close, we will try to keep you up to date on deadlines and news of funding opportunities. The team in OARS is here for you, so don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.

View the November, 2011 Newsletter (PDF).

Previous newsletter editions.