2019 ASRC Seed Program Winners – The Advanced Science Research Center

Eight science faculty members from across CUNY have been selected to receive ASRC Seed Grants in 2019 for their early-stage research projects.

Learn more about the ASRC Seed Grant Program.

The Winners:

	Ana Carnaval Associate Professor, Biology Department, The City College of New York ASRC Partner: Andrew Reinmann, Environmental Sciences Initiative Project Name: Harnessing Ecophysiology and Evolutionary Theory to Improve Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Goal: The team aims to develop a more accurate model for predicting distribution patterns of plant species under future climate conditions in order to mitigate the effects of environmental change on plant biodiversity ecosystem function.
	Jacek Dmochowski Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering Department, The City College of New York ASRC Partners: A. Duke Shereen, Neuroscience Initiative, and Dmitriy Korobkin, Photonics Initiative Project Name: Deep Brain Light Stimulation Goal: The team is working to develop and validate a new, noninvasive technique to stimulate deep brain regions using near-infrared light as a therapy for neurological and psychiatric disorders.
	M. Lane Gilchrist Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, The City College of New York ASRC Partner: Xi Chen, Nanoscience Initiative Project Name: Isolation of Peptifoglycan from Hyperthemophillic Microorganisms for New Bioinspired Water Responsive Materials Goal: The research team aims to develop a scalable method of creating water-responsive nanomaterials that can enable a new method of clean energy harvesting.
	Igor Kuskovsky Professor, Physics Department, Queens College co-PI: Maria Tamargo Professor, Chemistry Department, The City College of New York ASRC Partner: Milan Bergliarbekov, Nanoscience Initiative Project Name: Development of High Efficiency Intermediate Band Photovoltaic Devices Goal: Kuskovsky’s team is endeavoring to use a novel material system developed by City College researchers to create solar cells that are significantly more efficient.
	Mohammad-Ali Miri Assistant Professor, Physics Department, Queens College ASRC Partner: Gabriele Grasso, Photonics Initiative Project Name: Slow Light Based on Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers Goal: The team aims to create nanofabricated structures capable of slowing the movement of light in order to better facilitate light-matter interactions with 2D materials and ultimately advance development of quantum computers.
	Erika Niwa Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Brooklyn College co-PI: Monica Trujillo Professor, Biology Department, Queensborough Community College ASRC Partner: Peter Groffman, Environmental Sciences Initiative Project Name: Seeking Ground: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Restoration of Newtown Creek Goal: This team aims to develop an emerging multidisciplinary collaboration between a microbiologist, a psychologist, and a biogeochemist to research links between ecological and community health.
	Ghada Soliman Associate Professor, Environmental Health Department, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy ASRC Partners: Rinat Abzalimov, Structural Biology Initiative, and Ye He, Neuroscience Initiative Project Name: mTORC1/mTORC2 Impact on the Untargeted Metabolomics and Mitochondrial Functions in Pancreatic Islet β Cell Lines. Goal: Soliman’s team is endeavoring to elucidate the role of two protein complexes (mTORC1 and mTORC2) in the development of type 2 diabetes.
	Mariana Torrente Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, Brooklyn College ASRC Partner: Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle, Structural Biology Initiative Project Name: Prions Meet Phase Separation: Rnq1/[PIN+] Goal: The research team aims to determine whether the yeast prion protein Rnq1 undergoes a process called phase separation; the sequence determinants for this process; and how it might have a role in normal and aberrant cell biology.