Research and Sponsored Programs | April 2022
More than 150 presenters participated in the 43rd annual Central California Research Symposium, which took place on April 20. We were thrilled to present the event, which celebrates undergraduate and graduate excellence in research and attracts presenters from many disciplines.

The complete list of award winners is available online. Special thanks to award sponsors UCSF-Fresno, the American Chemical Society, the Educational Employees Credit Union, the Division of Research and Graduate Studies, the College of Science and Mathematics, the Lyles College of Engineering, College of Social Sciences, and Kremen School of Education.

Kudos also to everyone who participated in this year’s event, including judges, moderators and our tech support team. We hope to see you all back in person for next year’s event!
APRIL 2022 MONTHLY AWARD REPORT
The Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) are federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Fresno State has a long-standing history with TRIO, and three of our programs were recently awarded new five-year funding cycles. Project directors Olga Nunez, Juan Figueroa, Jr., and Jenny Amaro received funding for the following programs: Educational Talent Search Fresno, Central California Educational Opportunity Center, and Educational Talent Search Porterville.
  • The APIDA Initiative group of five faculty/administrators across the CSU (including Jenny Banh: Asian American Studies/ Anthropology and Vang Vang: Library) received a $500,000 award from the Chancellor’s Office to stop Asian hate and support Asian American underserved students for the entire California State Student Body.

  • Alejandro Calderon-Urrea (Biology) received a four-year, $519,759 award via the NIH/NIGMS R16 (SuRE) program for his project, Nematicidal Chalcones: A Genetic Approach to Uncovering the Action Mechanism.

  • Amber Crowell and Andy Levine (Sociology) from the Center for Community Voices at Fresno State received a $35,000 grant from the McClatchy Foundation for their project, “Lifting Local Voices.”

  • Steven Pao (Food Science) received two-year funding from the Citrus Research Board (via Cal Poly Corporation) for his project, "Identification of a Surrogate for Use in Citrus Specific Validation Studies."

  • Betsy Hays (MCJ) received a grants from the Friends of the Fair for her video project, "Italian Heritage: Oral Histories."

  • Marianne Jackson (Psychology) received a $40,000 grant from Telecare for her project, "Behavior Intervention Services - Telecare Contract 2022-23."
UPCOMING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Limited Submission: The USDA Equipment Grant Program (EGP) serves to increase access to shared-use special purpose equipment/instruments for fundamental and applied research for use in the food and agricultural sciences programs. Proposal deadline: June 15. Click here for more info about the limited submission process, and visit InfoReady to express your interest in the EGP program.
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Andrew Fiala (Philosophy) was interviewed on KVPR about his new book, “Tyranny from Plato to Trump: Fools, Sycophants and Citizens.”

  • Anil Shrestha (VERC) received an Editor's Citation for Excellence Award for his outstanding service as an associate editor for the Agronomy Journal.

  • Alex Alexandrou (Industrial Technology) and Dennis Nef (JCAST) were quoted on the important role a practical lab can play in a quality agricultural education, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley.

  • Matthew Sharps (Psychology) wrote an article for Psychology Today on how patterns of thought and speech can prove very maladaptive when under stress.

  • Charles Hillyer (California Water Institute) received a $50,000 contribution from Jain Irrigation, Inc. for the project, “Closing the loop on sustainable plasticulture.”

  • The College of Health and Human Services coordinated the Interprofessional Telehealth Simulation on March 14. Faculty included Nupur Hajela, Leslie Zarrinkhameh, Cheryl Hickey, Jamie Hutcherson (Physical Therapy); Harkirat Bal and Eileen R. Jimenez (Nursing); Candida Madrigal (DSWE); and Mohammad Rahman (Public Health).
COMPLIANCE CORNER
Fresno State has added the Export Compliance (EC) module to its CITI online research ethics and compliance training package. The EC course provides an introduction to export compliance, as well as information focused on export compliance as it relates to biosafety, operational departments, international shipping, purchasing, international and foreign waters, collaborations and U.S. sanctions programs, distance education, and technology.

The course is designed for use by investigators, members of the research team, key personnel across operational departments, and others who work with or may be responsible for federally controlled devices, materials, or technologies. The training, just like all CITI Program modules, is free to all faculty, students, staff, and administrators.
PIVOT-RP | ORCID
Have you checked out Pivot-RP yet? The searchable database of external opportunities features approximately $50 billion of available funding from federal, non-federal, and international sponsors in all disciplines. The Pivot funding database is available to all Fresno State faculty, staff and students. Begin now by creating your account and claiming your profile.

We also encourage you to visit ORCID, which provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and distinguishes you from every other researcher. You can connect your iD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more.
VIRTUAL EVENTS

  • Watch graduate students from across the state compete at the CSU Grad Slam on Friday, May 6. The live virtual event showcases the wide array of excellent research and creative activity taking place across the CSU system. Click here to register.
NIH GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP
San Jose State is hosting a free two-day Interactive Mentoring to Enhance Research Skills (iMERS) workshop on National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant writing. The event will take place on May 17-18.

The event is for MSI/PUI faculty, postdocs and research development professionals, who are interested in pursuing NIH funding for their research. Visit their website for more information and to register. The event will take place on May 17 and 18, from 10 a.m to 5 p.m, in person on the San Jose State campus.
FACULTY PROFILIES
  • Qin Fan (Economics): “I believe encouraging undergraduate students to discover their academic identity through research is important to promote student growth and prepare them for career success.”

  • Thomas Loewenheim (Music): “Fresno State is a unique learning environment that gives both students and faculty a safe space to grow and explore their intellectual and artistic limits.”

  • Kristina Rios (LEBSE): “I love seeing families learn about the various opportunities available for them to support their children with disabilities.”
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
  • Interim Provost Xuanning Fu has announced the recipients of the Provost Awards for 2021-22, including Steve Blumenshine (Biology), who received the Research, Scholarship or Creative Accomplishment award.

  • Aly Tawfik (Fresno State Transportation Institute and Civil and Geomatics Engineering) was quoted in a CNN feature on how ventilation works on public transit.

  • Inorganic Chemistry’s newest issue presents the research articles of 38 LGBTQIAPN+ scientists, each of whom has provided a personal statement on being out in academic and other professional settings.

  • The CSU AGEP Alliance for Diversity & Strengths of STEM Faculty is accepting applications from early career and tenured faculty to participate in its 2022-23 NSF-funded program, Culturally-Informed Strengths-Based Approach to Advance Early-Career Faculty Success. 

  • The Gazarian Real Estate Center in the Craig School of Business is awarding two Summer 2022 grants for high-quality research related to real estate and/or land use. Proposals should be submitted to Andres Jauregui at andresjauregui@mail.fresnostate.edu by Friday, April 29.


  • Check out the latest issue of The Normal School magazine, which is staffed by graduate students and faculty from Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing.

Please don't hesitate to contact the grants administrator for your college/unit as you explore potential funding opportunities. Also, be sure to share with us important news or updates on your research, scholarly, or creative activities. Include NEWSLETTER in the subject line and send details to orsp@csufresno.edu.

This newsletter is compiled and published by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Part of the Division of Research and Graduate Studies, RSP helps faculty and staff apply for and secure external grant funds.
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