Congratulations to the 2014-2015 awardees for Researcher of the Year and Outstanding Creative Endeavor!

The Sponsored Programs Office is happy to announce the 2014-2015 awardees for Researcher of the Year and Outstanding Creative Endeavor.

Researcher of the Year Melody Bernot focuses on aquatic ecosystem ecology and contaminants. Outstanding Creative Endeavor awardee Christie Zimmerman is recognized for her contributions in dance and choreography. Their work will be featured in the fall edition of Ball State Research, available Nov. 19.

SPO appreciates the hard work of these wonderful faculty members and looks forward to seeing their future contributions. Congratulations!

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend

It's that time again! The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering summer stipends to support individuals pursuing advanced, full-time research on a humanities project. An outright award of $6,000 is provided for two consecutive months of full-time research and writing that must be of value to humanities scholars, general audiences or both. Research typically results in articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. In accordance with NEH guidelines, Ball State may nominate two faculty proposals.

Deadlines:

• August 28, 2014 - Ball State Internal Application
• September 30, 2014- Final submission to NEH for projects beginning in May 2015

Materials to Submit by August 28, 2014:

• Ball State NEH Summer Stipend Internal Application Coversheet
** This form is in lieu of ATTACHMENT 1: Supplemental Information for Individuals Form **
• A single copy of the application including:
* 3 page (single-spaced) narrative
* 2 page (single-spaced) resume
* 1 page (single-spaced) bibliography
* 1 page appendix (graphical materials or edition/translation sample, if applicable)
• NO reference letters needed at this time 
• You do NOT need to have a processed Ball State Clearance Sheet

Click here for full guidelines, FAQ, and sample applications.
Please submit your completed internal application to Augusta Wray by August 28, 2014.
All proposals will be submitted electronically through grants.gov. 

Braaaaaaiiiins

Contributed by Brenda Mackey
Graduate Assistant, Research Publications
Sponsored Programs Office, Ball State University

What do zombies and Stephanie Simon-Dack, assistant professor of psychological science, have in common?

“Neuroscientists almost always tend to be obsessed with zombies. And it’s because zombies love brains, we love brains,” she explained. “There’s an affinity.”

Simon-Dack can now explore her (and the zombies’) favorite thing more thoroughly thanks to an MRI grant from the National ScienceFoundation.

The grant allowed her to purchase Electroencephalography (EEG) equipment to record event-related potentials, which show highly accurate timing of brain response – exactly when the brain is doing what.

As displayed in the photo below, the EEG looks like something from a science fiction movie consisting of a cap with a series of electrodes that are attached to an amplifier. “When you append those electrodes to somebody’s scalp, on the top of the surface of their head, they record the electrical activity being generated from the surface of the cortex, from the brain,” Simon-Dack explained. “EEG uses these amplified recording mechanisms to pick up the synchronized power of all these cortical neurons firing together – if they’re all firing together, then that’s going to be a powerful enough signal that you’re going to be able to get it up outside of the scalp.”

Professor Stephanie Simon-Dack performs test using EEG equipment.

The researcher sets participants’ neurons to firing by giving them a task. One simple test shows pictures of frogs, asking participants to push a button when a blue frog appears. The EEG is programmed to put a 1 in the data readout every time a green frog is displayed and a 2 for each blue frog. “That becomes super powerful. So I’m not just getting a general processing idea. I can look at the recordings we were making of their brain activity and I can look across all of those green frog trials – what did their brain do that was the same every time they saw the green frog, and did that vary when they saw the blue frog?”” Simon-Dack said. “Now I’m getting what parts of the brain are processing that information. And not so much what parts, but when are they processing it?”

A big part of Simon-Dack’s research involves how individuals process time. To do this, she is examining how fast the two hemispheres of the brain communicate with each other. “Does that efficiency or inefficiency of transfer coordinate with how well or poorly we process time?” she pondered. “There’s some evidence it may be related to our ability to put together events in a linear fashion in time. Now I’m looking very small, within hundreds of milliseconds, but that eventually might lead to different types of time subjectivity.”

To test this, participants will perform a simple response time task that lets Simon-Dack probe how fast the brain is sending information back and forth based on where the target is and which hand they respond with.

When it comes to transmitting information between the right and left hemispheres, “how efficiently or inefficiently individuals transfer information influences a whole variety of spatial and intentional processing,” Simon-Dack explained. “It’s an unconscious activity. I’m not looking at anything at an upper level, like decision-making or anything crazy. I’m very interested before all that, before we hit the conscious brain – what are these very basic, automatic underlying processes doing to influence how we later consciously interact with the world?”

Simon-Dack hopes that her research will someday inform education and treatment for individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). “There’s some evidence that individuals with ADHD have trouble with processing time, with how information entering into their brains gets sorted into the correct timing of when it happened,” she explained. “So if we can figure out what exactly is the disconnect, and how is it related to ADHD, that would become interesting for maybe giving people with ADHD some compensation techniques.”

Obviously, having an EEG is great for those who study brains. But is it useful for other researchers?

“I think it expands the context in which people can perform their research,” Simon-Dack said. “Most people aren’t into neuroscience like me. But it allows somebody like Mike Tagler [associate professor of psychological science], who’s on this grant, who looks at how context and how past information exposure influences decision making to actually add this element where they can look online at what the brain is doing while somebody is performing that decision, based on the context they’ve been given.

“It gives them a new tool, not just to examine behavior, but even if they’re not a neuro person they can actually now look at the underlying neuro mechanisms involved with a behavior and that might give them better information for informing their theories about it. And I think that anyone in the department could actually do a study with this equipment and learn something new about their area without it involving this huge shift from what they’re doing.”

Simon-Dack is excited to have this equipment at Ball State. “The idea of an MRI grant is you’re bringing equipment that a university otherwise wouldn’t have access to,” she said. “It’s going to benefit the whole university and potentially even outside the university, individuals who otherwise would not be able to perform this kind of research.”

Assistant Professor Stephanie Simon-Dack poses with EEG analysis equipment.

2013-14 Researcher of the Year and Creative Endeavor Awardee Lectures

Researcher of the Year and Creative Endeavor Awardee Lecture

Monday, April 14, 2014

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Art & Journalism Building, Room 225

The Sponsored Programs Office is pleased to invite you to attend the annual Researcher of the Year and Creative Endeavor Awardee Lecture! Each year following the announcement of the Outstanding Researcher of the Year and Outstanding Creative Endeavor of the Year,  the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) hosts a presentation event for each recipient to lecture and discuss their work for the campus community. This year's event will by held on Monday, April 14th at the Arts & Journalism Building (Room 225) from 2 pm to 3:30 pm. 

For additional information regarding previous Researchers of the Year and Creative Endeavor Awardees, please visit the SPO website at www.bsu.edu/spo. 

Tom Holtgraves

Department of Psychological Science

2013-14 Researcher of the Year

Researching Language to Span Academic Boundaries

Matt Mullins

Department of English

2013-14 Creative Endeavor Awardee

Interactive Literature and Digital Media

Ball State Professor Studies Effects of Hypoglycemia

Contributed by Brenda Mackey 

Graduate Assistant, Research Publications

Sponsored Programs Office, Ball State University

The police pull over a driver, worried that he is drunk. He seems confused and unable to concentrate.  However, he has no alcohol in his system. What’s going on?

It turns out that this driver has diabetes and has become hypoglycemic. Bart Pederson, Associate Professor of Medical Education, explains that this is something people with diabetes deal with on a regular basis – especially those who have Type 1 diabetes, where they are taking insulin every day. “There’s a good chance of them going hypoglycemic. They give themselves too much insulin and their glucose drops too low. Some papers say this happens as much as twice a week. It has major effects on their ability to think clearly. It makes them tired, confused,” Pederson explains. “There’s definitely a need to understand this disorder better and how to treat it.”

Understanding hypoglycemia is what Pederson is working to do. While studying glycogen metabolism during his post-doctoral research, he investigated genetically engineered mice whose bodies couldn’t make glycogen. Having that resource available led Pederson to his current project, which involves studying the importance of brain glycogen in memory formation and the protection it may provide for the brain under hypoglycemic conditions. “Hypoglycemia is the major obstacle preventing the benefits associated with intensive insulin therapy in individuals with diabetes. Low glucose levels can lead to cognitive impairment and even brain damage,” he says.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have seen the value in Pederson’s work, awarding him grants in 2008 and 2013. His current project pursues two aims. “The first aim is investigating the less severe cases, where people can’t think well,” he explains. “We’re using these mice, we give them insulin, make them hypoglycemic, and there’s different sorts of memory or learning tests we can do.”

How does one determine if a mouse is learning? One test, which Pederson calls “log rolling for mice,” measures motor learning skills. Mice are put on a rod that rotates and they try to stay on it. A normal mouse gets a little better at this every day. But a hypoglycemic mouse does not perform nearly as well. It has a harder time with coordination and learning to adjust for the rotation.

The second aim of the grant involves looking at severe conditions. “These are conditions that in humans can actually lead to coma. Brain cells are dying off because there’s not enough fuel for them to survive – they’re just deprived. And so in that case what we do is make our mice hypoglycemic and then again we compare – does it make any difference whether you have glycogen in your brain?” Pederson says. “Under these conditions where you basically can’t measure any glucose in their brains, the only fuel left would be glycogen. So you’d expect that if you don’t have any glycogen you don’t have any fuel, so more brain cells would die. And that seems to be the case from what we’ve seen so far.”

Working with students has become essential to Pederson’s research. “When I first came, I did a fair amount of things in the lab,” he says. “But now my role is mainly teaching the students the techniques and helping them to troubleshoot problems that arise, teaching them the background behind what we’re doing and the relevance.”

Immersive learning with students in research can lead to some interesting results. “I joke with them that I’m always rewriting my protocols because they come up with some way to do things wrong that I never would have thought of before!” Pederson says. “It just shows that you can’t assume things.”

Despite any hiccups the students may cause, they are essential to Pederson’s research. “If I didn’t have any students, nothing would get done! They’re the hands that do everything.”

Associate Professor Bart Pederson and his student researchers. 

Pederson was inspired to study diabetes because of the sheer number of people with the disease – 350 million worldwide. He was also inspired by one specific person – his grandfather, who struggled with diabetes throughout his life.

Pederson also just enjoys conducting research. “You’re getting to explore something that’s new. People haven’t been able to answer this question. You get to study it and hopefully find some answers. It’s exciting to make a new discovery.”

Third Annual Grantsmanship Information Session

Each year, the Sponsored Programs Office offers a number of Grantsmanship Information Sessions (GIS) for Ball State affiliates and this year, the third annual (GIS) will be held on Monday, February 3rd, 2014. The event will take place on the second floor of the Student Center from 1:30 - 4:00 pm.

Dr. David Stone, Associate Vice President for Research at Northern Illinois University will present a keynote address titled Research at Ball State Redefined: Empowering Faculty. A Knowledge Unit Meet & Greet that fosters interdisciplinary research and explores potential opportunities for collaboration is scheduled to follow the keynote address.

Campus Knowledge and Support Units in attendance will include:

• Applied Anthropology Laboratories
• Center for Energy Research/Education/Service
• Center for International Development
• Center for Middletown Studies
• Center for Peace and Conflict Studies  
• Social Science Research Center 

A number of Concurrent Information Sessions are scheduled to take place at various locations throughout the Student Center:

Positioning New Faculty for Success in Research 

Dr. David Stone will present several research practices to help build a solid foundation for new faculty members to successfully begin their research agenda.  

Fulbright Scholar Information Session

Mr. Justin Miller, Director of Sponsored Programs will introduce the Fulbright Scholar Program which sends both faculty and professionals abroad each year as they conduct research in various academic and professional fields.

Professionalize Your Approach to Grantsmanship

SPO Program Manager, Dr. Stanley Geidel will discuss a professional approach to seeking external funding by examining three important roles that faculty occupy in the Academy: the roles of professor, principal investigator, and grantseeker. 

New Ways to Approach Private and Foundation Funding
This presentation will explore the current state of private funding while examining the trends that colleges and universities should consider when applying for grants offered by corporations and foundations. 

To RSVP for this event click here. For questions, please contact the Sponsored Programs Office at SPO@BSU.edu or call 5-1600. You can also join the event Facebook page!

2014 Student Symposium is Here!

It's that time of year again, registration for the 2014 Student Symposium is now open!

The Student Symposium at Ball State University offers students an opportunity to present their research and creative endeavors to the campus community. Presentations may be in the form of a poster, a creative work or a digital display. A new feature this year is the addition of moderated paper presentations.

All Ball State University students are eligible including those from Burris Laboratory and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. Students from all disciplines are welcomed and encouraged to participate. Participating students must have engaged in academic activities either inside or outside the classroom and must have been advised by a Ball State faculty mentor.

The Student Symposium is a great way to gain practical and professional experience as well as learn about the broad range of opportunities available on campus. As with previous years, CASH PRIZES will also be awarded for the most outstanding poster presentations so don't miss out on your opportunity to be apart of the 2014 Student Symposium here at Ball State University.

Registration Details: 
* Deadline is Friday, February 3rd at 5 pm
* Registration is available online at www.bsu.edu/spo
Event Date: Tuesday, April 1st (1:30 pm - 5:00 pm)
Event Location: L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom, 2nd Floor
Contact Information: Ms. Jessie Roark at SPO.BSU@gmail.com or (765) 285-5003

The Student Symposium at Ball State University social media outlets:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studentsymposiumatbsu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BSU_SPO ‐‐ Hashtag #ssbsu14

Spring 2013 Update of Ball State Research Now Online!

The Spring update of Ball State Research is now available online!

Ball State Research is an online magazine produced by the Sponsored Programs Office in order to highlight some of the amazing sponsored projects taking place at Ball State. The spring update focuses on the Global Health Institute, a campus knowledge unit established in 2009 to encourage interdisciplinary investigation of critical issues that are impacting local and global health.

Please, take a few moments to read all about the exciting work taking place at the Global Health Institute.