The University Research Foundation (URF) is now accepting grant applications for the October 14, 2022 deadline. The URF is an intramural funding program that provides up to $75,000 support for research projects and up to $3,000 for conference support. The URF provides seed funding for research activities that are expected to lead to external sponsorship and/or peer-reviewed research publications. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) will operate one URF cycle for FY23, accepting proposals in two categories: research support grants and conference support grants.  Each program has its own guidelines and budget requirements. Details are below, and more information is available online at: https://research.upenn.edu/urf.

Research Support Grants: This program provides up to $75,000 for research support. The objectives of this program are to: (a) Help junior faculty undertake pilot projects that will enable them to successfully apply for extramural sources of funding and aid in establishing their careers as independent investigators; (b) Help established faculty perform novel, pioneering research to determine project feasibility and develop preliminary data to support extramural grant applications; (c) Provide support in disciplines where extramural support is difficult to obtain and where significant research can be facilitated with internal funding; and (d) Provide limited institutional matching funds that are required as part of a successful external peer-reviewed application. 

Conference Support Grants: This program is designed to provide funding (up to $3,000) for meetings to enhance existing research and scholarly programs, particularly in disciplines where external funding is difficult to obtain. Conferences that promote interdisciplinary and multi-school participation are given priority. 

Disciplinary Areas: Faculty members are invited to submit their research applications to one of four disciplinary areas: biomedical sciences, humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and social science and management.

Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to Penn assistant, associate, and full professors in any track. Note: the biomedical panel limits applications for research grants to assistant and early-stage associate professors. Instructors and research associates must provide a letter from their department chair establishing that the applicant will receive an appointment as an assistant professor by the time of the award. Adjunct and emeritus faculty are not eligible to apply. Only one application is allowed per PI per cycle. Awards must be expended on University of Pennsylvania facilities, equipment and/or associated University technical staff and undergraduate students.

—Office of the Vice Provost for Research 

University Research Foundation Awardees from Fall 2021

In the fall 2021 cycle of Penn’s internally funded University Research Foundation, the OVPR has announced awards to the following members of the faculty for the projects listed below. Note: URF conference support is noted with an asterisk.

James Aguirre, School of Arts and Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Metamaterial Antennas for Radio Cosmology

*Ericka Beckman, School of Arts and Sciences, Spanish and Portugeuse, Marxist Literary Group Institute on Culture and Society:  “Transition”

*Anne Berg, School of Arts and Sciences, History, Racist Environmentalism: The Deceptive Glare of Green

Vijay Bhoj, Perelman School of Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Plant-Based Oral Tolerance to Support Red Blood Cell Transfusion Therapy

Andres Blanco, School of Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Investigating the Role of KAT6A as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

*Edward Brodkin, Perelman School of Medicine, Psychiatry, Views of Autism Genetics Research from Different Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Venkata Chavali, Perelman School of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Retinal Ganglion Cell (iPSC-RGC) Therapy for the Treatment of Glaucoma

*Hsiao-Wen Cheng, School of Arts and Sciences, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Global Lives of Medicines: Materials, Markets, and Healing Practices Across Asia

Joseph Cichon, Perelman School of Medicine, Anesthesiology, Rapid Reconfigurations of Active Neuronal Networks by NMDA-Receptor-Based Antidepressants Drive Chronic Therapeutic Effects in a Rodent Depression Model

Ivan Dmochowski, School of Arts and Sciences, Chemistry, Proposed CD Spectrometer Will Advance Multidisciplinary Research Projects with Undergraduates and Seed NSF Proposal for MCD Spectrometer To Enhance University Research Capabilities in Chemistry and Materials Science

Reyhan Durmaz, School of Arts and Sciences, Religious Studies, Publishing Piety: Syrian Orthodox Community and Religion in Kawkab Amrika in 19th-Century New York City

Erick Gagne, School of Veterinary Medicine, Pathobiology, Evaluating the Establishment of North America Wildlife Reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2

Wayne Gao, School of Arts and Sciences, Economics, Robust Semiparametric Methods Based on Single-Crossing Conditions

Sharath Guntuku, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Computer and Information Science, Computational Social Listening of Global Vaccine Attitudes to Increase Provider Efficacy

Kushol Gupta, Perelman School of Medicine, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Pathways to the Activation of Phenylalanine Hydroxylase

Emily Hannum, School of Arts and Sciences, Sociology, Flooding, Schooling and Learning in Rural India: A Mixed Method Study

Kevin He, School of Arts and Sciences, Economics, Learning Under Misspecifications in Economic Games

Stefanie Hinkle, Perelman School of Medicine, Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Maternal Nutritional Status in Pregnancy and Offspring Metabolic Health

Hyejeong Hong, School of Nursing, Biobehavioral Health Sciences, Sputum-Based Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Approaches to Elucidate Molecular Determinants and Predictors of Post-TB Treatment Lung Disease

Daniel Hopkins, School of Arts and Sciences, Political Science, Nationalization in Developed Democracies Outside the United States

Mongying Hsieh, School of Engineering and Applied Science, MEAM, Connecting Underwater Weather to River-Bed Dynamics

Kyu Sang Joeng, Perelman School of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, The Function of mTORC1 Signaling in Tenocyte Differentiation and Stromal Fibroblast Activation in Tendon

*Michael Kahana, School of Arts and Sciences, Psychology, Context and Episodic Memory Symposium 2022

David Kim, School of Arts and Sciences, History of Art, Groundwork: A Theory of the Renaissance Picture

Allison Lassiter, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, City and Regional Planning, Can Smart Water Technologies Contribute to Equitable Adaptation of Drinking Water Systems to Seawater Intrusion?

Nilam Mangalmurti, Perelman School of Medicine, Medicine, Role of Red Cell Nucleic Acid Sensing in Sepsis

Arnold Mathijssen, School of Arts and Sciences, Physics & Astronomy, Unravelling Respiratory Pathogen Clearance Using Artificial Cilia

Monica McCallum, School of Arts and Sciences, Chemistry, Environmental Remediation with Marine Sponge Microbes

Laia Mogas-Soldevila, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Architecture, Large-Scale Biomaterial Architectures

*Jennifer Morton, School of Arts and Sciences, Philosophy, Institutional Inequality in Higher Education

Kenji Murakami, Perelman School of Medicine, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Analyze Synthetic Lethality of Nucleotide Excision Repair

*Anna Papafragou, School of Arts and Sciences, Linguistics, Experiments in Linguistic Meaning 2 (ELM-2) Conference

Andrea Roe, Perelman School of Medicine, Ob/Gyn, Contraceptive Decision-Making Among Females with Sickle Cell Disease

Halley Ruppel, School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, Evaluating Associations Between Nurse-Reported Medical Device Alarm Burden, Hospital Characteristics, and Nurse Job Outcomes

Andrea Schneider, Perelman School of Medicine, Neurology, Feasibility of Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Measure Glycemic Variability in Hospitalized Acute Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Patients and Associations of Glycemic Variability with TBI Outcomes

Kelly Sloane, Perelman School of Medicine, Neurology, TDCS and Rehabilitation to Ameliorate Impairments in Neurocognition After Strokes

Xi Song, School of Arts and Sciences, Sociology, The Long-Term Evolution of Occupational Structures: Linking U.S. Census Data with Occupational Outlook Handbooks

Margaret Souders, School of Nursing, Behavioral Health Sciences, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare a Home-Based Tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) versus Web-Based Way to Health CBT-I Intervention to Improve Sleep in Caregivers with Insomnia in the Context of Caring for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Insomnia

Meredith Tamminga, School of Arts and Sciences, Linguistics, An Experimental Approach to the Locus of Variation

Stephen Tinney, School of Arts and Sciences, NELC, Ur Archaeological Project: First Season

Liang Wu, School of Arts and Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, A New Scanning Confocal Microscope at High Magnetic Fields for Quantum Materials Research

Mantha Zarmakoupi, School of Arts and Sciences, History of Art, The Multivalent Meaning and Function of Public Buildings in Greek and Roman Cities: The Bouleuterion at Teos, Turkey

Bo Zhen, School of Arts and Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Quantum and Classical Optoelectronic Devices in CMOS-compatible AlScN Systems