This book includes a plain text version that is designed for high accessibility. To use this version please follow this link.
SCIENCE RESEARCH GRANTS


The halls and laboratories of Winthrop’s science facilities in Dalton and Sims bustled this summer despite restrictions due to COVID-19.


FALL 2020


SCIENCE RESEARCH GRANTS ENHANCE THE WINTHROP EXPERIENCE


they have brought to the state, either through under- graduate and graduate training or through faculty recruitment.


ENHANCE THE WINTHROP EXPERIENCE


Juniors Alexandra Perez, above, and Brandon Ellison, right, worked with Chemistry Professor Nick Grossoehme on a grant to test proteins in the body.


The latest SC INBRE grant, which was renewed for the fourth time and began in September, allotted Winthrop $920,000 of the state’s $18.9 million portion. Funded from the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the grant will last through 2025.


It will support continued undergraduate research train- ing, expand recruiting efforts to attract additional mo- tivated science students to Winthrop and grow the Ea- gle STEM Scholars Program, which prepares students from underrepresented, low-income and first-genera- tion groups to matriculate into doctoral programs.


Winthrop is one of 14 South Carolina member institu- tions participating in the grant.


Faculty researchers wrapped up the third phase of the university’s South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomed- ical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) grant to enhance the state’s biomedical research and infrastructure. Additionally, faculty and student collaborators worked on a National Science Foundation-funded Materials Assembly and Design Excellence in South Carolina (MADE in SC) grant.


Through grants like these, particularly SC INBRE, Winthrop has provided hundreds of student-centered research experiences since 2005, increasing the ma- triculation of participating students into graduate and professional programs. These grant-funded initiatives also have been a catalyst for enhancing STEM-specific infrastructure and brought more than $12 million to Winthrop over the years.


Takita Sumter, dean of the College of Arts and Scienc- es and a former researcher in the program, said Win- throp’s biomedical research for the past 15 years with SC INBRE has greatly enhanced its regional reputation in science.


“The first rounds of INBRE positioned Winthrop to recruit a critical mass of faculty and provided the


2 More Departments Involved


necessary equipment infrastructure for Winthrop’s competitive selection for MADE in SC,” Sumter said. Also, the collaboration with faculty at South Carolina’s research institutions helped provide additional expertise.


The Department of Chemistry, Physics and Geology recruited materials science faculty — in the areas of solid state photochemistry, hydrothermal crystal growth and supercapacitors — which positioned Winthrop to join nine other S.C. institutions in the Es- tablished Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Track I funding for Research Infrastructure and Improvement.


Winthrop’s MADE in SC grant portion is $1.2 million. Chemistry Professor Nicholas Grossoehme, who also is director of the university’s undergraduate research, has worked with students on INBRE-funded work and for the past two years on a separate $25,000 collabo- rative research grant in the materials science field.


One of the main benefits of SC INBRE and MADE in SC, said Sumter, is the number of new scientists that


Thanks to the success of these initiatives over the years, other disciplines and departments now are involved.


The Department of Human Nutrition joined in this latest grant so faculty-student research teams can assess interactions among stress, diet quality and gastrointestinal health. This funding will expand the department’s emphasis from community engagement research to include the basic science of nutrition for humans.


Another related effect of SC INBRE was the creation of a new degree program at Winthrop. The Department of Mathematics has participated in the grants by offer- ing students the chance to apply mathematical models to health problems. The department launched a new bachelor’s degree in data science this fall to broaden applications to various disciplines.


Students Benefit Most


Since 2004, more than 350 students have been engaged in research aimed at improving the state’s understanding of health and disease.


Positive Outcomes Achieved; More Grants on Horizon


The biology, chemistry and mathematics departments all observed increases in retention within those majors and in the number of degrees conferred between 2013-18.


Because undergraduate research is a high-impact practice, Sumter said, she believes that the research experiences and close interactions with faculty played a key role in students choosing to remain in their ma- jor and at Winthrop.


The benefit of INBRE funding to students and faculty cannot be overstated, Sumter said.


And there is more exciting work ahead, she added, with at least four proposals for federal funding current- ly under review totaling more than $1 million.


3


“In all, the programs have provided cutting edge re- search experiences for Winthrop students with many lasting up to two years. These students have pre- sented and published about their research and then competed for positions in industry, graduate programs or pre-health programs across the country,” said Robin Lammi, the INBRE grant’s principal investigator and chair of the Department of Chemistry, Physics and Geology.


More than 100 students have gone on to pursue doctoral and professional studies.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13