Cross-college Collaboration

Ten FAU researchers recently earned seed funding for cutting-edge research projects through a competition hosted by the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Sensing and Embedding Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE).

The projects connect investigators from across Florida Atlantic’s colleges and research institutes including the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, I-SENSE and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Here’s a look at the winners and their projects:

• Behnaz Ghoraani, associate professor, electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and I-SENSE faculty fellow Co-Investigator: James E. Galvin, MD, MPH, professor, neurology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences; director, Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Project: Developing a Multimodal Assessment of Abnormal Cognitive Decline from Gait and Electroencephalogram Award: $32,000
• Jianning Wei, associate professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Co-Investigator: Sarah E. Du, Ph.D., associate professor, department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Project: A Novel Biophysical Progression Marker for Huntington’s disease Award: $30,000
• Chi-Tay Tsai, professor, department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Co-Investigators: Anthony Miniaci, MD, professor of surgery, College of Medicine, deputy chief medical executive, Baptist Health Orthopedic Care; Maohua Lin, postdoctoral fellow, and Utpal Dhar, doctoral student, both department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Project: Personalized non-spherical Humeral head design for improving mechanics, function, and reduce complication in total shoulder arthroplasty Award: $30,000
• Ilknur Telkes, assistant professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Co-Investigators: Juyoung Park, professor, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, and Lisa Ann Kirk Wiese, associate professor, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Project: Feasibility of Objective Pain Assessment Using Multimodal Sensing Signals in Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease Award: $30,000
• Renjie Wang, assistant professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Co-Investigator: Ilyas Yildirim, assistant professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Project: Preliminary study for the development of ultra-sensitive portable microchip system for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in-situ detection Award: $29,732.50
• Mahsa Ranji, associate professor, electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and I-SENSE fellow Project: Quantification of mitochondrial redox status: oxidative stress modulating agents targeting lung cancer Award: $26,000
• Yunqing Kang, associate professor, department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Co-Investigator: James Hartmann, professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Project: Biomimetic Hydrogel for Esophageal Cancer Model Award: $30,000
• Vivian Merk, assistant professor, chemistry and biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Co-Investigator: Joshua Voss, research associate professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Project: Nanoscale chemistry and mesoscale organization of stony coral tissue loss disease lesions Award: $30,000
• Oscar Curet, associate professor, department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Co-Investigators: Xing-Hai Zhang, professor, biological sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and George Sklivanitis, research associate professor, electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering and Computer Science Project: CubeSat Research Platform for Space Farming and Communication Award: $30,000
• Jordon Beckler, assistant research professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Co-Investigator: Aditya Nayak, assistant professor, department of ocean and mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science Project: Continuous Measurement of Sediment Fluxes of Ammonium for Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring Award: $30,000