Noteworthy: Research grants, awards and publications

Igor Lednev, with PhD student Alexis Weber, in his lab in March. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

• Chun-Yu Ho and Pinka Chatterji from the Department of Economics have received a $151k grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development to fund research investigating whether lack of access to hospital-based obstetric care plays a role in adverse maternal outcomes in rural areas. The work aims to shed light on health consequences of rural hospital and obstetric unit closures, and how public policy can help mitigate impacts. 

• Thomas Begley, professor of biological sciences and associate director of the RNA Institute, has been granted a SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) award for developing RNA analysis software that can dramatically simplify drug discovery as well as patient stratification for personalized medicines. SUNY TAF investments are awarded to faculty-led research teams to help bring commercial-ready innovations to market. 

• Igor Lednev, distinguished professor of chemistry working in the RNA Institute, will receive the 2022 Charles Mann Award — a prestigious recognition by the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies that is the highest international award in Raman spectroscopy. The award highlights Lednev’s contributions to developing novel laser spectroscopy techniques for forensic and medical applications, as well as uses in fundamental biochemistry. Three of Lednev’s PhD students will also be recognized at the national conference next week: Alexis Weber received the FACSS Graduate Student Award and the SAS Barbra Stull Graduate Student Award; Lamyaa Almehmadi received the 2022 Coblentz Student Award; and Anna Wójtowicz also received the FACSS Graduate Student Award. 

• Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Assistant Professor Md. Aynul Bari’s project, “Source apportionment and source characterization modeling for the Calgary Spatial and Temporal Modeling (CSTEM) Study” has been sponsored by Health Canada for $27,999. The project’s goal is to improve understanding of air pollutants across the Calgary region. 

• Mathematics and Statistics Assistant Professor Michael Lesnick has been sponsored by the Simons Foundation for $42,000 for his project, “Multiparameter Persistence: Theory, Algorithms, and Applications.” Lesnick’s goal is to develop practical algorithms and software for 2-parameter persistence theory.