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Research News - November 2022

Nov. 7, 2022
Dr. Jessica Cooperstone in the field, holding a vine under the newsletter title, Research News - November 2022

Inside this Issue

  • A message from Dr. Gary Pierzynski: Curiosity, Motivation, and the Process of Inquiry and the OSU Research Enterprise
  • An RFA is now open for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise’s Interdisciplinary Innovation Team Development Award
  • NIH will invest $130 M over four years to accelerate the use of AI in biomedical and behavioral research
  • A new Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) is now available from the NSF

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Funding Opportunties 

As funding opportunities are announced we will compile a full list on our website. The web page will be updated periodically as new opportunities are discovered.

  • Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program
    FASLP aims to increase the capacity for food, garden, and nutrition ed. within host organizations, like school cafeterias and classrooms, while fostering higher levels of community engagement between farms and school systems by bringing together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system.
    Deadline: December 8, 2022

  • (BETHA) Grant Competition 2023
    Through this annual competition, the Battelle Engineering, Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA) Endowment seeks innovative projects that examine the relationship between science and technology and its impact on broader social and cultural issues.
    Deadline: December 9, 2022

View All Funding Opportunities


River flowing through a forestCuriosity, Motivation, and the Process of Inquiry

Gary Pierzynski, Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Education

“As the banks of a river both define and are defined by a stream of water, so curiosity both defines and is defined by the process of inquiry.”

— Curious Minds: The Power of Connection by Perry Zurn, Dani S. Bassett

This quote provides an excellent analogy for curiosity, and by extension, the path followed over time by those conducting research. Curiosity is of course an integral part of the scientific method as it provides the spark for the next round of experiments, whether building upon previous knowledge discoveries or embarking on a new line of inquiry motivated by our desire to understand. The banks of a river confine the water, but the water also influences the characteristics of the banks. From a practical viewpoint, we must recognize that faculty do not have the luxury of freely pursuing lines of inquiry that may be of the greatest interest to them since it takes resources to conduct research and their ideas might not align with funding opportunities. Thus, the nature of the funding opportunities influences the research that can be conducted, and one’s curiosity may not be completely fulfilled.

In the longer view, however, as inherent curiosity is directed toward the topics that receive funding, future funding opportunities emerge that have been influenced by that curiosity. As one’s research career progresses, and major milestones such as promotion and tenure are reached, faculty members can take greater risks in seeking funding or even accumulate discretionary resources to allow them to pursue ideas purely driven by their curiosity. It is also clear that academia offers the greatest freedom for faculty to pursue their curiosity, as compared to research careers in private industry or the federal government, which is a privileged position in society for which I am grateful.


Large, red brick college building Spotlight

  • Supplemental Funding Request Prep & Submission
    NSF will transition the preparation and submission of all new supplemental funding requests from FastLane to Research.gov when the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1) is effective in late January 2023.
  • Learn More About The Ohio Innovation Exchange
    Access more than 13,000 faculty and 600 resources from campuses and laboratories around the state, with a mission to facilitate collaboration between Ohio’s leading academic and business minds.
  • OSU Spin Funding Opportunities Database
    Looking for a funder for your idea? Ohio State University subscribes to a database called SPIN that makes it easy to sort through funders by your area of interest, location, and more. The Office of Research provides a campus-wide subscription.

Analyst looking at data on a computer with two screens in an officeNew & Newsworthy

Explore LabArchives
LabArchives is a cloud-based electronic lab notebook that is safe and secure, allowing principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, lab managers, staff and collaborators (both internal and external) to create, save, share, and retain research data. Researchers can store any type of data classified as S1-S3 (Public – Private). LabArchives is accessed using your Ohio State credentials.

Learn More

PI Portal
The PI Portal provides principal investigators and their staff with online access to award financial information. Access to the Portal is restricted to principal investigators and co-investigators with activated Ohio State credentials. PI’s can also provide delegated access to grant support staff. Check out the PI Portal Tip Sheet to learn more.

View Tips Visit Portal

Sustainability Proposal Development Grant
The Sustainability Institute (SI) at Ohio State is pleased to announce a request for proposals for the FY2023 Sustainability Proposal Development Grant Program. This funding mechanism supports teams of scholars from two or more distinct disciplines in the development of external funding proposals relating to one or more of the Sustainability Institute research program areas. Proposals must take an interdisciplinary approach and clearly consider key components and interactions of both human (social, behavioral, economic, or engineered) and natural (geophysical, environmental, or ecological) systems. To be eligible, the target funding opportunity must have a submission date on or before December 31, 2024. Preference will be given to teams that are pursuing funding in one or more of SI’s research program areas that also address climate change mitigation, adaptation, health, and/or justice.

Learn More Program Areas

Team working in around a table in a conference room Interdisciplinary Innovation Team Development Award Funding
An RFA is now open for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise’s Interdisciplinary Innovation Team Development Award. This team development seed funding mechanism is offered as part of BIIG Collaborations, a program that helps researchers overcome traditional silos and conquer barriers to interdisciplinary research. 

These awards provide financial and programmatic support to Ohio State faculty as they explore exciting ideas for interdisciplinary collaboration, form unified and effective teams, and prepare to launch novel research agendas positioned for future extramural funding. Research focus areas for the 2023 awards are (1) Biotechnology and (2) STEM Education & Workforce Development.

Awarded teams will receive up to $5,000 to fund proposed team formation activities as well as access to a series of team development support and resources from OKE, including guided workshops from a team science expert and consultation with OKE Research Development Office staff to enhance and shape the strategic funding potential of their research ideas. Applications are due 11/18/22.

BIIG Collaborations Learn More

NIH Expands Role of AI in Funding Solicitations 
NIH will invest $130 M over four years to accelerate the use of AI in biomedical and behavioral research (Data Generation Projects for the NIH Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program). The NIH Common Fund’s Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program is assembling team members from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to generate tools, resources, and richly detailed data that are responsive to AI approaches. Through collaboration across projects, Bridge2AI researchers will create guidance and standards for the development of state-of-the-art, AI-ready data sets to help solve some of the most pressing challenges in human health — such as uncovering how genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors influence a person’s physical condition throughout their life (see Funded Projects).  

All Resources Bridge2AI FAQs AI at NIH

Bayh-Dole Certification reminder for researchers receiving federal funds
To comply with federal law and university policy, all Ohio State researchers – including faculty, staff and students – who work on federal grants are required to sign an agreement stating that any intellectual property that comes out of federally sponsored research is assigned to Ohio State and not to the federal government. Researchers only need to sign this form one time while at Ohio State.  

Read More

New NSF Workforce Development Program Opens New Doors in Emerging Technology Fields
The U.S. National Science Foundation launches a new $30 million workforce development program, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies, or ExLENT.

Read More

NSF Update:
A new Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) is now available. There are many significant changes this year they will be effective for any proposals being submitted on or after January 30, 2023. Please visit the NSF website for resources & additional information.

Learn More


Recent Awards

Kelley Tilmon - ENT, $60,000: Monitoring and management of soybean insect pests, Ohio Soybean Council

Kelley Tilmon - ENT, $571,234: Research and extension on emerging soybean pests in the North Central region, North Central Soybean Research Program

Feng Qu - Plant Path, $55,000: Combating soybean root rot with a new virus vector, Ohio Soybean Council

Jonathan Jacobs - Plant Path, $48,000: Genomics of Asimini triloba, the American pawpaw, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Jamie Strange - ENT, $166,478: CRP impacts on habitat – OSU, USDA Farm Service Agency

Josh Blakeslee - HCS, $474,000: Acquisition of a PTR-ToF-MS-4000 for volatile analyses from biogenic sources, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Equipment Grant)

Thomas Worley - South Centers, $762,653: MEP small manufacturer's grant FY23, Ohio Department of Developmen

Leah McHale - HCS, $574,509: Manipulating the soybean seed oil and protein reserves for the development of high value soybean cultivars and germplasm (year 1 of 3)

Melvin Pascall - FST, $495,825: Corrosion resistance of metal can ends (lids) in selected heat-treated foods, Eastman Chemical Company

Robyn Wilson - SENR, $150,628: DISES: Coproducing actionable science to understand, mitigate, and adapt to cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABS), Univ of Connecticut, (NSF)

Stephen Matthews - SENR, $49,996: Literature review and database development of life-history traits for tree species of the United States, USDA Forest Service

Christopher Taylor - Plant Path, $200,000: SBIR Phase II: Application of pseudomonas spp. for biocontrol of plant diseases in hydroponic systems, 3Bar Biologics

Mark Partridge - AEDE, $26,894: White paper on an economic development model for communities challenged by energy transition, Community Foundation of Greater Johnstown

Kirk Bloir, OSU Extension 4-H, $20,000: 4-H Ag innovators experience, National 4-H Council

Pierce Paul - Plant Path: Institutional Biological Safety Committee (IBC) Agreement - Ohio State University, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Doug Karcher - HCS, $20,000: Take action on weeds - Multi state weed science extension project, Purdue University

Sheryl Barringer - FST, $1,100: Consulting agreement on CTAG, Ohio Department of Higher Education

Gonul Kaletunc - FABE, $12, 000: Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis of model close combat assault Ration (CCAR) prototypes, Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center

Alex Lindsey - HCS, $35,000: Cold temperatures and water effect on emergence, Ohio Soybean Council

Osler Ortez - HCS, $10,000: Corn genomes 2 fields, Ohio Corn Marketing Program


Events & Opportunities


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