Four interdisciplinary projects were awarded $10,000 each in the Interdisciplinary Teams and Networks Program for 2008-09:
Center for Glial-Neuronal Interactions: Symposium, Public Outreach and Collaborative Research Development
PIs: Monica Carson (Biomedical Sciences), Glenn Hatton (Cell Biology and Neuroscience), Iryna Ethell (Biomedical Sciences), Peter Hickmott (Psychology), Emma Wilson (Biomedical Sciences), Mike Adams (Entomology)
Research Plan: To develop and interdisciplinary center for glial-neuronal interactions that will result in the development of high impact novel collaborative research efforts and successful NIH grant proposals. In addition to monthly meetings, the center will organize an annual regional symposium to provide visibility for the UCR research programs and a forum for Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences graduate students.
Structural characterization of bound protease-activated-receptor agonists and antagonists
PIs: Kathryn DeFea (Biomedical Sciences), Leonard Mueller (Chemistry)
Research Plan: To understand the mechanism and structure-function relationship between multiple agonists and antagonists of protease-activated-receptor-2 in order to lead the way for developing pathway-specific agonists and/or antagonists and set the stage for successfully competing for NIH funding under established NIH roadmaps for interdisciplinary studies and structural biology.
Molecular analysis of circuit dynamics in mouse somatosensory cortex
PIs: Iryna Ethell (Biomedical Sciences), Peter Hickmott (Psychology)
Research Plan: To understand the mechanisms that underlie the dynamic growth and elimination of neuronal connections and the ways they relate to the function of neural systems by combining the results of projects that involve surgery, anatomical and physiological circuit analysis and the results of projects that involve microscopy, molecular biology and behavior; to set the stage for successfully competing for NIH funding given the cross-disciplinary nature and potential clinical applications of the research and also NSF funding to train students.
Modeling the interactions between parallel neural pathways involved in two different behaviors
PIs: Khaleel Razak (Psychology), Angelika Dimoka (Bioengineering), Vasilis Marmarelis (Electrical Engineering, USC)
Research Plan: To bring computational modeling and neuroscience approaches together to answer the fundamental question of how mammals use their auditory system to perceptually separate important sounds by applying a non-linear model to capture the dynamic interactions between neural pathways processing two different sounds arriving within short time intervals, and to set the stage for successfully competing for NSF funds under the “Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience” program as well as support from the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Transportation.