Quantitative and Systems Biology Awards
Congratulations to the 2024 QSB award recipients!! Two proposals have been funded.
Dr. Sandra Rugonyi - An enriching experience in quantitative biomedical science for high school students
This award will fund the HEART (High school students Engaged in Applied sciences, Research, and Technology) internship for high school students during Summer 2024. Initially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the HEART internship provides high school students with an opportunity to explore career options in STEM while immersing themselves in a biomedical lab experience and participating in lectures by experts. An important goal of the HEART internship is to spark interest in quantitative science and technology applied to biology and medicine among young students
Mr. Eric Cramer, Ms. Haylie Helms, and Ms. Ashley Anderson (Mentors Drs. Luiz Bertassoni, Melissa Wong, and Young Hwan Chang) - Combining bioprinting and agent-based modeling for simulating biological systems
The award will support Ashley, Eric, and Haylie as they develop a tool that combines single cell biofabrication with custom software to simulate biological systems. This will enhance our understanding of complex biological phenomena by interrogating the foundational patterns of individual cell behavior (i.e., movement, growth, division, interactions, and apoptosis), and how cells cooperate to promote tumor evolution. Furthermore, this will improve our ability to rapidly and cost-effectively test the effects of changes to the system in a virtual setting (“virtual twins”).
2023 Awardees
Profs. Clara Mosquera-Lopez and Peter G. Jacobs - Bias, Equity, and Inclusion in Artificial Intelligence for Medical Systems (BE-In-AIMS) Internship
The award will fund expansion of an existing internship program which provides opportunities for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to participate in research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and medical systems design and development. The new effort will go beyond algorithm bias detection by investigating how AI explainability can be used for mitigating bias and building trust in the safety of critical AI-powered medical systems such as automated drug delivery systems.
Mr. Ian McLean (Mentor: Prof. Laura Heiser) - Travel award for Directed Cell Migration Gordon Research Conference
The award will support Ian to attend and present his doctoral research at the Directed Cell Migration Gordon Research Conference. The aim of the conference is to bring together cancer cell biologists and cell migration experts to work together to better understand the mechanisms of cancer metastasis. Ian’s research investigates how cytokines can shift breast cancer cells into a more invasive cell state.
2022 Awardees
Dr. Lamya Benameur (Mentor: Prof. Arpiar Saunders) - Growing “systems virology” at OHSU through programmable RNA targeting
Summary. Many RNA viruses make a copy of their genomes during replication, but how these “antisense genomes” shape virus and host cell molecular responses is largely unknown because we lack tools to degrade strand-specific RNAs. Dr. Ben Ameur will target rabies virus sense- and anti-sense genomes using a recently discovered RNA-targeting CRISPR enzyme called Cas7-11 and couple these manipulations with single-cell expression profiling to systematically study the effects on host and virus expression across diverse types of brain cells. Dr. Ben Ameur and the Saunders Lab will host a workshop to facilitate the design and execution of Cas7-11-based genomics experiments for the OHSU research community.
Profs. James Galbraith and Catherine Galbraith - A one-day symposium: Pacific Northwest (PacNoW) Quantitative Biology
Summary. The QSB award will be used to sponsor the annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Quantitative Biology (PacNoW QB) consortium. PacNoW QB is a community of nine regional universities. Founded in 2015, its mission is to advance, encourage, and advocate all aspects of quantitative biology. The all-day symposium provides a venue for interns, undergraduate, graduate and postdoc students to learn how to present their research at a scientific conference. This year’s meeting, underwritten by QSB funding, will take place at OHSU and feature both platform and poster presentations with prizes for best presentations.
The QSB Program will award small grants of up to $10,000 for OHSU members seeking to advance their expertise or research in quantitative and systems biology, or to improve the strength of QSB at OHSU. For example, training experiences such as courses, and research expenses such as reagents or computing costs, will be considered; likewise efforts to improve the recruitment of systems biology trainees to OHSU are appropriate. Applicants may propose any QSB activity, however. Proposals that benefit the broader OHSU QSB community, that help to build new collaborations, and that currently are unfunded will be viewed as most responsive, particularly for larger awards. Proposals that would advance established efforts in a single laboratory are less suitable. Proposals for the purchase of computer hardware will need to be extremely well justified in terms of impact to the QSB community.
Due date. Applications will be accepted annually by the deadline September 1 (midnight).
Eligibility. Any member of the OHSU community may apply. Precedence will be given to applicants who demonstrate the award is likely to have a significant impact on their training or research, such as students and postdocs or faculty members with limited financial resources.
How to apply. Applicants should submit their CV and a proposal that is a single page (one side) pdf document following NIH font/margin rules. The one-page limit includes figures and references. Longer applications will not be considered. The document should describe the motivation, plan, expected outcomes, and budget (costs and justification). Additional PI approval documents should be submitted as appropriate - see below. Submit documents by email to qsb@ohsu.edu.
PI Approval. If the applicant is a student, postdoc, or staff member working under the supervision of one or more faculty members, all faculty supervisors must submit a signed or emailed statement attesting the following: “I support the attached application by [[applicant name]] for QSB financial support, and confirm that the applicant will be permitted the necessary time and infrastructure support to carry out the proposed plan.”
Budget. Any amount up to $10,000 may be requested.
Selection process. Awards will be announced within one month from each due date whenever possible.