San Antonio Area Foundation funds 12 UTSA grants
(July 31, 2002)--The San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) has funded a dozen grant proposals submitted by faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio. UTSA was awarded $142,936 for the 12 projects, which comprise nearly half of the total requests made of the SAAF by the university this year.
Projects range from the support of educational outreach programs, UTSA student learning communities and classroom technology upgrades to basic research on Alzheimer's disease, genetically engineered viral resistance and a book recalling the history of Black Seminole women.
Funded grants are listed below with photos of some of the project participants.
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"Altered Synaptic Inhibition in an Alzheimer's Disease Model" ($16,900)
Led by Associate Professor of Neurobiology David Jaffe, the project's long-term quest is information on specific abnormalities observed in an animal model that may provide a basis for therapeutic approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease. Jaffe's working hypothesis is that if function between nerve cells is impaired in Alzheimer's disease, then the ability for principal cells to "fire together and wire together"--a generally accepted theory of cellular learning--would also be impaired.
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Kathryn Fischbach
"Mouse Model for Alzheimer's Disease: Characterization of Genetic Background" ($20,938)
Kathryn Fischbach, researcher in transgenic molecular development, and her team are performing advanced genetic background comparisons on mice that carry human genes associated with Alzheimer's disease using state-of-the-art, fluorescent marker analysis with an eight-capillary sequence detection system.
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"Chisholm Living and Learning Community" ($7,000)
Director Patricia Glenn and other staff members from the UTSA Tomas Rivera Center for Student Success are implementing an academic support program for freshman living in the university's dormitory. Participants will be housed together on the same floor in Chisholm Hall. They will take the same block-scheduled freshman classes, study together and will be provided in-house sections of supplemental instruction and tutoring to complement their classes.
One key program element is the dedicated academic advising team of Sabina Bhattathiry and Windy Lopez, who are coordinating the effort and advising all participants. The program will also include some social activities and an end-of-year Success Banquet.
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"Communication Technology Classroom and Laboratory-Computer Acquisition" ($8,000)
The College of Sciences neurobiology/biology program is using the funds to purchase computers for the MBRS-RISE Communications Technology Classroom and Laboratory, located in Biosciences Building Room 2.03.10.
According to Gail Taylor, neurobiology research evaluator, the new acquisitions will include a high-end personal computer for instructors' as well as a data analysis computer. This lab provides student-researchers and faculty access to a state-of-the-art classroom, sophisticated data analysis and graphics software, video teleconferencing facilities and equipment for creating scientific poster presentations.
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Hans Heidner
"Genetic Engineering of Virus Resistance in Cultured Mosquito Cells" ($12,600)
In the wake of last week's widespread flooding, a mosquito population explosion has followed, bringing with it health concerns. One strategy for combating mosquito-transmitted infectious diseases, such as encephalitis and dengue fever, is to create mosquitoes that cannot replicate an infectious agent and then, to let the genetically modified mosquitoes spread their pathogen-resistant genes by mating.
"Our goal is to develop and test potential strategies for engineering mosquito cell lines that are resistant to alphavirus infection, in order to identify a strategy that could then be applied in living mosquitoes, according to principal investigator and Assistant Professor of Microbiology Hans Heidner.
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Bernard Arulanandam
"Interactions Between IgA and Commensal Bacteria in Gastrointestinal Inflammation" ($17,498)
With inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease afflicting an estimated one million people in the United States alone, having a better understanding of what triggers the onset or recurrence of these painful, debilitating conditions is an important goal for researchers and clinicians, alike. The diseases, characterized by ulcerations in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, are thought to result from a genetic predisposition or environmental factors, including infectious agents.
Assistant Professor of Immunology Bernard Arulanandam is investigating how deficiency of a specific antibody known to be one of the body's main defenses against bacterial pathogens may be linked to a higher incidence of both diseases. Found in the GI tract, the antibody is IgA.
Arulanandam will explore how the presence or absence of IgA affects the behavior of commensal bacteria flora. In biology, a commensal relationship is one in which two or more organisms live in close association, and in which one may derive some benefit from the relationship without harming the other. Specifically, he will look for a correlation between genetically induced disruption in IgA production and the expression of inflammatory mediators.
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"Student Scholarships for Legacy: Hands on the Past" ($5,000)
The SAAF grant will support entrance-fee scholarships for students participating in an excavation project at Mission Concepcion. According to Steve Tomka, interim director of the UTSA Center for Archaeological Research, students and high school teachers began the project this summer assisting in excavating and mapping a site adjacent to the mission, analyzing stone building remains and artifacts. Students also toured the neighboring 18th-Century missions and learned about the city's colonial-period history.
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"My Black Seminole Ancestors: Running to Freedom" ($8,000)
Relatively few Texans know the contributions of black Seminoles to the state's history or that many black Seminoles live in South Texas today. Fewer still are aware of the crucial role that women played in keeping the community together, commencing with their journey out of Florida on the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory and, finally, to Texas.
Anthropologist Shirley Mock knows. The Institute of Texan Cultures curator has focused research on the black Seminoles since1994 and will use the SAAF grant to share her findings with a broader audience. She will pen both English and Spanish versions of a book--working title, "My Black Seminole Ancestors: Running to Freedom"--combining interviews, archival documents and contemporary photographs to tell the story of Black Seminole women. An abbreviated version of the text will be incorporated into the ITC's Web site.
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Manuel Berriozabal
San Antonio Prefreshman Engineering Program ($20,000)
The grant supported this summer's eight-week session of the nationally acclaimed San Antonio Prefreshman Engineering Program, a mathematics-based academic enrichment experience for students in grades six through eleven. Founded by UTSA Professor of Mathematics Manuel Berriozabal, the program is aimed at identifying and nurturing high-achieving students with the interest and potential for careers in science, engineering, technology or other mathematics-related fields.
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"San Antonio Regional History Fair" ($4,400)
The grant will be used to help underwrite the 2003 Regional School History Fair, part of a local and statewide competition which include exhibits, performances (acting and musical) and documentary video presentations by San Antonio-area high school students. The goal of the fair, held at UTSA, is to motivate more students to learn about history, according to coordinator John Reynolds, history department.
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"School Readiness Trainer-Enhancement Project" ($10,670)
Working in conjunction with the UTSA Hispanic Research Center, College of Education and Human Development faculty member Suzanne Winter is leading this effort to develop and test a research-based instructional model to be used in training those who will, in turn, educate other early childhood professionals and parents in effective ways of preparing young children to succeed in school.
The model's primary focus will be to impart strategies for training childcare-facility staff and parents to implement developmentally appropriate learning activities and other sound practices in promoting school-readiness. The model will be pilot tested within the San Antonio's Kindergarten Readiness Project, which includes 34 childcare-facility sites throughout the city. Ten trainers from five area agencies currently working with the city project will be invited to participate in enhancement-training sessions.
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"UTSA and University Hospital English-as-a-Second-Language Workplace Initiative" ($11,930)
Juliet Langman, associate professor in the bicultural-bilingual studies division, and Beth Guajardo, English as a Second Language (ESL) Services coordinator, will develop and provide adult literacy-education programs geared toward the linguistically diverse population of South Texas. The grant provides funds for teaching workforce English as a Second Language to employees at the UT Health Science Center and University Hospital.
UTSA students who are pursuing master's degrees with an ESL-teaching component, will gain service-learning experience by teaching the courses in workforce literacy as part of an internship experience, under the supervision of master teachers.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Parking changes in the next fiscal year at UTSA CampusesNational engineering honor society installed at UTSA
UTSA holds workshop to help prepare for SAT, ACT, GRE and GMAT
Tri-Campus community invited to Week of Welcome events
UTSA welcomes new employees to Tri-Campuses
San Antonio Area Foundation funds 12 UTSA grants
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002