UC Merced Connect: Research projects earn Catalyst Awards

University of California President Janet Napolitano recently announced the 2016 recipients of the President’s Research Catalyst Awards, and professors from UC Merced are contributors to three of the four projects.

Professors Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Michael Dawson, Teamrat Ghezzehei, Jason Sexton and Nicola Lercari will collaborate with principal investigators at other UC campuses to advance knowledge about protecting biodiversity, enhancing agricultural resilience in times of drought, and preserving cultural heritage sites in the Middle East.

The four winning projects were chosen from a pool of more than 180 proposals. This is the second year Napolitano has given out Catalyst Awards, and the second year UC Merced faculty members have been co-recipients of awards from this competition.

“Some of the most important research happening today is interdisciplinary and collaborative,” Napolitano said. “With these awards we are creating new opportunities for those kinds of productive partnerships while furthering research that ranges from archaeology to particle physics.”

Catalyst awards channel $10 million over three years to fund research in areas of strategic importance, such as sustainability and climate, equity and social justice, health care and basic discovery. The 2016 awards total more than $4.8 million and will involve faculty members and students from nearly every UC campus.

To qualify, projects must be multicampus, multidisciplinary efforts that offer research, teaching and learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. This year, applicants were also asked to incorporate public engagement and faculty mentorship components into the projects.

▪ Dawson and Sexton will join a UCLA-led project to develop a bioinformatics toolkit to understand changes in gene expression and how threatened populations respond to changes in their habitats and in the climate. Undergraduate students and the public will also help with a statewide DNA-based biodiversity survey.

▪ Berhe and Ghezzehei will apply their knowledge of soil to a project led by UC Riverside, with the goal being to examine how crops respond to drought using varying farming practices and irrigation methods.

▪ Lercari, whose research involves using digital technology to capture and document cultural heritage sites and artifacts, will be part of a UC San Diego-led project using 3-D archaeological data to study, forecast and model the effects of human conflict, climate change, natural disasters, and technological and cultural changes in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Greece and Cyprus.

As part of the inaugural Catalyst Awards last year, UC Merced professors Jessica Blois, Elliott Campbell, Martha Conklin and LeRoy Westerling were part of a project studying the effects of climate change. The proposal formed the Institute for the Study of Ecological and Evolutionary Climate Impacts, which is serving as a hub for the knowledge being gathered and analyzed.

Professor wins major award for ‘Time Machine’

UC Merced professor Miriam Barlow was honored with a major award last month for her role in developing a method to restore the efficacy of antibiotics and help doctors deal with resistant bacteria.

Barlow, a biologist, worked with American University mathematician Kristina Crona on the “Time Machine” software to rewind the evolution of bacteria. For that project, Barlow and Crona were chosen from among five finalists in the health and medicine category of the annual World Technology Network awards.

Barlow accepted the award at the World Technology Awards Gala in New York City on Nov. 20. The ceremony was part of the World Technology Summit, which brought together some of the most innovative people and organizations in science and technology from around the world to explore what is imminent, possible and important in and around emerging technologies.

This year’s speakers, moderators and performers included world-renowned scientist and entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, author and United Therapeutics CEO Martine Rothblatt and award-winning composer Kenji Williams.

“Honestly, it was hard for me to believe I was even a finalist for this award,” Barlow said. “As I listened to the talks given by the other finalists, I recognized that they were among the world’s top scientists and that their work is important to the whole world in helping to ensure a positive future. Being recognized among these individuals is an incredible honor.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 2:24 PM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: Research projects earn Catalyst Awards."