The high volume of applications submitted to arecent Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education initiative underscores the serious impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison last spring.The OVCRGE received 110 applications for the Pandemic-Affected Research Continuation Initiative and will support 70.Funded projects come from across campus and represent each of the four research divisions.Last spring,some researchers were faced with spending down their existing funds while the pandemic limited certain on-site research activities.This included face-to-face human subjects research,research travel and most research activities conducted in-person in university research facilities.The PARCI supports projects that are now facing ashortage of funds to complete those activities,and is helping to replace critical and time-sensitive research supplies and resources lost due to pandemic-related restrictions.The awards vary,up to$50,000.“We heard many stories about how research progress and funding were impacted by the closure of labs,field work suspension and limitations to other research activities,”says Steve Ackerman,vice chancellor for research and graduate education.“We knew there was aneed for this initiative,even as research activity has successfully restarted on campus.”For example,chemistry professor Tina Wang’s research efforts,delayed by the pandemic and resulting campus closures,are being supported by PARCI funding.Her lab is working to develop and use new methods for research in chemical biology,exploring the interplay between protein folding and function,and development of robust sensors and gene circuits.Dysfunctional protein folding is ahallmark of anumber of diseases,most notably neurodegenerative disorders.Michael Cahill,professor of comparative biosciences,received funding to support his work with animal models and to continue funding agraduate student.Cahill’s research focuses on understanding how gene-based alterations identified in schizophrenia,major depressive disorder and autism spectrum disorders influence neuronal morphology and function.PARCI is also supporting Dan Vimont,professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and co-director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research—along with others at the center—to help them more fully resume research into climate variability and climate change,interactions between weather and climate,and global and regional impacts of climate change.“While this initiative will help CCR maintain our pursuit of the Wisconsin Idea through world-class research and outreach on the causes and impacts of climate change,it does more,”Vimont says.“In addition to recognizing the importance of our colleagues for what they do,it also recognizes the importance of who they are:parents,spouses and family members who are also world-class scientists.As we face what we expect will be achallenging time for the university and for research funding,this is welcome help to our center and to our scientists.“Due to COVID-19,the OVCRGE also has extended end dates on other OVCRGE research-related funding affected by the pandemic and considered reallocations from existing budget line items.COVID-19 also has had an impact personally on researchers,including faculty members,postdocs,technicians and graduate students.It has affected their educational progress,their career development and their work-life balance.For graduate students and early-career scientists,the disruptions have made it increasingly challenging for them to complete necessary research and to advance their careers.In response,the Graduate School also recently sponsored aprogram to support PhD and MFA students facing pandemic graduation delays.The Dissertation Completion Emergency Fellowships program provides one-semester fellowships for students whose graduation has been unavoidably delayed by pandemic-related restrictions who cannot be supported through normal program appointments or endowment funds in Spring 2021 but who now expect to graduate by August 2021.Thirty-nine fellowships are being funded through the DCEF program. 查看详细>>

Campus leaders are using the results from two just-completed student surveys—one for undergraduates and one for graduate students—to improve the student experience during the remainder of the fall semester and to guide planning for the spring semester.Both surveys sought to help university administrators better understand what has worked well and what has been challenging during ayear upended by aglobal pandemic.“This feedback will be immensely valuable in helping us maintain our commitment to student safety,health and success,”says Provost Karl Scholz.“COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of society,forcing all of us into uncharted territory.It is crucial that we continue to listen to our students as we plan for the months ahead.”The surveys were provided to all students Oct.27,with responses due by Nov.10(undergraduates)and Nov.16(graduate students).The undergraduate survey was acollaborative effort by the Provost’s Office,Student Affairs and the Division of Diversity,Equity and Educational Achievement.Its questions covered everything from academics and housing to food insecurity,campus resources and disability accommodations. 查看详细>>

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed amethod combining sticky nanoparticles with high-precision protein measurement to capture and analyze acommon marker of heart disease to reveal details that were previously inaccessible.The new method,a system known as nanoproteomics,effectively captures and measures various forms of the protein cardiac troponin I,or cTnI,a biomarker of heart damage currently used to help diagnose heart attacks and other heart diseases.An effective test of cTnI variations could one day provide doctors with abetter ability to diagnose heart disease,the leading cause of death in the U.S.UW–Madison Professor of Cell and Regenerative Biology and Chemistry Ying Ge,Professor of Chemistry Song Jin and chemistry graduate students Timothy Tiambeng and David Roberts led the work,which was published Aug.6 in the journal Nature Communications.The researchers now plan to use their new method to associate the various forms of cTnI with specific heart diseases as astep toward developing anew diagnostic test.Doctors currently use an antibody-based test called ELISA to help diagnose heart attacks based on elevated levels of cTnI in the patient’s blood sample.While the ELISA test is sensitive,patients can have high levels of cTnI in the blood without having heart disease,which can lead to expensive and unnecessary treatments for patients. 查看详细>>

The Research Core Revitalization Program has funded 17 projects that will strengthen campus research core capacities by supporting the upgrade,replacement or duplication of heavily used shared research resources.The funded projects range from upgrading video recording capabilities for intellectual and developmental disabilities research to delivering increased computational speed for the analysis of large biomedical data sets.These projects were among 37 proposals submitted from across campus.The pilot Research Core Revitalization Program is supported by an investment from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.Awards range from$20,000 to$300,000.Cores provide specialized equipment and expertise that benefit many individual research labs.These shared resources allow the university to support many investigators at once by maintaining and upgrading high-end instrumentation that would be cost-prohibitive for any single lab.Each core supports dozens to hundreds of research programs.“These resources play acritical role in UW’s research enterprise,”says Vice Chancellor Steve Ackerman.“The Research Core Revitalization Program continues our investment in improving these critical tools and capabilities,enabling progress and catalyzing collaboration in basic and translational sciences.”The Office of Campus Research Cores has developed aResearch Cores Directory for shared equipment and services on campus,including data for about 170 core units,700 shared instruments and resources,and 450 professional services.The directory is publicly available.Isabelle Girard,co-director of the Office of Campus Research Cores,explains that these resources have alimited lifespan.Although the cores are essential and highly used,they may not be eligible or competitive for federal and other external grant programs targeting new capabilities and technologies.Cores typically recover all or aportion of their costs through user fees,although some subsidized core services may be accessible without direct charge to the user.“Researchers across campus depend on the shared workhorse resources managed by cores,and reinvestment in these capabilities ensures continuity and productivity,”Girard says.Industry partners also consult with and hire many UW–Madison cores.Core facilities help these businesses stay on budget,provide access to new software tools,data storage and computing capacity,and help biotech and pharmaceutical companies bridge the gap in the early phases between academic and translational research.Along with access to equipment,industry partners benefit from the expertise of the campus staff who operate that equipment.“Many of our research accomplishments would not be possible without cores support that includes specific technologies and expertise.Core facilities enable researchers to design their studies using technologies and instruments that they otherwise could not afford or manage on their own,”says Cynthia Czajkowski,associate vice chancellor for research in the biological sciences.“Our facilities help foster the collaborative research environment that is crucial for competitive interdisciplinary science.”Learn more about the Research Core Revitalization Program and read the project descriptions. 查看详细>>

When Lauren Schilling studies the statistics on early literacy,she knows more must be done:Children who lack foundational reading skills fall behind academically,and the gap grows exponentially over the years.As an undergraduate at UW–Madison,Schilling is already tackling the problem.Her research investigates how first-grade phonics curricula lay the foundation for important third-grade reading benchmarks.Now,as the recipient of amajor national scholarship,Schilling will receive substantial financial assistance to continue her research in graduate school.She is among 18 college juniors nationwide selected to receive a2020 Beinecke Scholarship,which provides$34,000 for graduate study in the arts,humanities or social sciences.Lauren Schilling leaning against arailing by alake In graduate school,Schilling hopes to work with researchers who are developing novel literacy interventions and exploring cognitive mechanisms that predict individual differences in reading.The Beinecke Scholarship Program was established in 1971 by the Sperry&Hutchinson Company to support the graduate education of students with exceptional promise.UW–Madison’s last Beinecke Scholars were BrontëMansfield(art history and English,2014),Joanna Lawrence(anthropology,2013)and Asad Asad(political science,2010). 查看详细>>

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts will contribute climate data informing the work of astate task force charged with advising Wisconsin Gov.Tony Evers on climate change adaptation and mitigation.In October,Evers established the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change in an effort to better understand the impacts of climate change on Wisconsin.Chaired by Lt.Gov.Mandela Barnes,the task force brings together state agencies and legislators,tribes,business leaders,and economic and conservation organizations from across the state—including WICCI,which is led by the UW–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources(DNR).WICCI was created in 2007 to produce and share information that can limit vulnerability to climate change in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest.That trove of impartial scientific data and research will be available to task force members,who have asked WICCI to focus on updating and reissuing its 2011 climate assessment report,Wisconsin’s Changing Climate. 查看详细>>

At the emcee’s signal,participants flock to different tables.They quickly get down to discussing their common interests,intent on discovering whether to meet up again soon.This is speed dating,of asort.But while participants indeed search for new partners,romantic matches aren’t the goal.Over appetizers on acool fall afternoon at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum,dozens of scientists and environmental educators are hashing out collaborations that can advance research,build new partnerships,and improve the experiences of hundreds of thousands of visitors to educational sites across South Central Wisconsin.“These nature groups are really the first to be teaching kids about what’s happening,and they really want to be up to speed on the latest science in these fields,”says Jack Williams,professor of geography at UW–Madison and event organizer along with the Arboretum’s education coordinator,Gail Epping Overholt,and Betsy Parker from the organization Nature Net.“A big part of both UW’s mission and Nature Net’s mission is to help the broader public understand achanging world.This was an opportunity to connect these two groups.” 查看详细>>

The Open Doors Report has listed the University of Wisconsin–Madison among the top 25 U.S.universities for study abroad participation and for hosting international students.The report is published by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S.Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.UW–Madison is ranked No.18 among all U.S.universities for the number of students studying abroad,according to report.The number of UW–Madison students studying abroad increased to 2,410 for the 2017–2018 academic year.Open Doors listed 2,276 UW–Madison students studying abroad in the 2016–2017 academic year.“It is gratifying that the number of UW–Madison students who study abroad continues to increase,”said Guido Podestá,vice provost and dean of the university’s International Division.“The university continues to offer diverse programs to help students meet their academic goals,while adding acrucial international component to their studies.” 查看详细>>

UW-Madison launched Handshake in July 2018 making it easier than ever for students to connect with employers in Wisconsin and nationally.Since July,more than 15,000 UW students have activated their personal Handshake accounts connecting them to thousands of job listings individually tailored to their major,interests,and skills.In addition,Handshake connects students to job fairs,resumélabs,mock interviews,company info sessions,and on-campus interviews insuring that UW–Madison students are well prepared to find and secure internships and jobs.“Handshake gives students access to more opportunities and employer connections than ever before,”says Renee Smith,Career Advisor in the UW School of Human Ecology.“Many students are raving about Handshake’s clean,user-friendly interface and the ease in which they can find positions they haven’t seen on any other job search platform.” 查看详细>>

Among the many new faces on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus last fall were eight people resuming their college education after asignificant break.They were the first students served by the Badger Ready program,which gave them achance to enter the state’s flagship university and complete adegree.Badger Ready offers an opportunity for adults 25 and older and veterans of any age who have at least 24 transferable college credits but no degree.Those selected for Badger Ready can establish their current academic readiness by completing at least 12 credits on the UW–Madison campus as special students(defined as those who aren’t seeking adegree at the university).If participants earn a3.0 grade point average,they can be admitted as undergraduate transfer students and continue their progress to afour-year degree.A joint project of Adult Career and Special Student Services(ACSSS)and the Office of Admissions and Recruitment,Badger Ready is geared toward adult students determined to overcome obstacles to earning aUW–Madison degree. 查看详细>>