Research Highlights 2014-15 by Marshall University Research Corporation

Research Highlights 2014-15

Dear Colleagues, Supporters and Friends, I hope you enjoy this look back at some of the year’s activities by Marshall University’s accomplished researchers. These folks are engaged each day in finding solutions for many of mankind’s most challenging issues—from cancer diagnosis and treatment to learning more about lung disease, and from workforce preparedness to space travel and living with disabilities. They also are serving as an economic development engine in our region and state. As you flip through this report, be sure to take note of the article inside the back cover. Although not technically a research accomplishment, this selfless initiative by the faculty of the Department of Chemistry will benefit our student researchers for years to come. On a final note, we have had some exciting changes here at the Marshall University Research Corporation this spring. As the semester drew to an end, our offices moved from downtown to the fourth floor of the Huntington campus’s brand new Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex. We are now more convenient to the university community and are looking forward to continuing to serve Marshall’s research enterprise from our new location. With classes slated to begin in this beautiful complex this fall, not only will the engineering program have a state-of-the-art space in which to grow and thrive, but research overall at Marshall will be immensely enhanced by the proximity of high-tech facilities and faculty along the Third Avenue corridor. Researchers in engineering will be closer to colleagues in medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, biology and physics, and Marshall’s already considerable strengths in collaborative, multidisciplinary research will be taken to new heights by this forwardlooking investment. Stop by to visit and we’ll be happy to show you around! Thank you for your continued support and interest. Sincerely,

John M. Maher, Ph.D. Vice President for Research

Providing the edge against cancer

ancer rates are rising nationwide. In West Virginia alone, 3,600 new Medicaid cancer cases are diagnosed each year. Doctors choose drugs to treat cancer based largely by trial and error, searching until they find the right medicine for each tumor and each patient. This process not only results in the possible delay of effective treatment, but in unnecessary side effects and tremendous expense. A collaborative effort between two researchers at Marshall, Dr. Pier Paolo Claudio, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, and Dr. Jagan Valluri, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, has produced technology with the potential to revolutionize how cancer is treated. The researchers’ patented ChemoID® testing process allows doctors to personalize cancer treatment by predicting the drugs that will be most effective in treating a specific tumor. “Oncologists every day face many challenges in determining the best course of therapy for an individual cancer patient,” Claudio said. “The basic problem is that patients with similar diagnoses don’t always respond to the same chemotherapy. This technology we have developed could help physicians select the appropriate chemotherapy for an individual patient—giving them an edge in the fight against cancer.” While further testing is needed, small-scale, clinical trials conducted at the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center found that ChemoID predicted the most effective combination of drugs on brain tumors with 100 percent accuracy. Excerpted in part from “Renewed Focus” by Molly McClennen; Marshall Magazine, Autumn 2014 issue. Photo by Rick Lee.

Estimating regional economic impact “The Hatfield-McCoy Trails system provides the state an increasing economic and fiscal benefit due to its operations and the visitors it attracts.” Elizabeth Pardue

esearchers at Marshall’s Center for Business and Economic Research recently completed a study for the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, concluding the authority’s trails contribute an estimated $22.2 million to West Virginia’s economy each year, approximately 85 percent of which is attributable to nonlocal visitor spending. According to Elizabeth Pardue, a demographic research specialist at the center, the study gave the authority’s leaders valuable information. For example, researchers found the total economic impact of the trails increased nearly 74 percent since CBER did a similar analysis in 2006. “The Hatfield-McCoy Trails system provides the state an increasing economic and fiscal benefit due to its

operations and the visitors it attracts,” said Pardue. “In addition to the quantified impacts, we also observed improvements in regional economic characteristics— including growth in per capita income and labor force participation that has exceeded changes statewide—in the seven West Virginia counties with a current trails presence.” Jeffrey Lusk, the authority’s executive director, added, “The idea that our project is providing that much impact in the local economy was truly impressive. We have always known that our riders and activities made a net positive impression on the economy and that the trails’ presence created jobs and economic development, but the fact we had grown so much since our last study and that the impact had increased so much during that period was truly a surprise.”

CBER provides economic research to the public, private and non-profit sectors, and specializes in the areas of energy, policy, education and health.

Preparing students to work in local industries

Marshall math professor has been awarded a competitive grant to help prepare students for local careers in applied mathematics. The grant is part of the Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematical Sciences (PIC Math) program.

at Marshall and other universities nationwide this spring. In the course, students analyze realworld problems in detail, and produce video and written reports of their proposed solutions.

“Students are sometimes not aware of the relationship between careers and what they learn in class,” said Dr. Michael Schroeder, assistant professor of mathematics. “The goal of PIC Math is to show students how mathematics is integral to business, industry and government.”

Schroeder said he is reaching out to local businesses such as Amazon.com in Kinetic Park to find problems of interest to local employers. “We want to engage local businesses to foster a relationship between Marshall and the business community. Our students often stay in the area after graduating, and this program can help them find lucrative jobs in the region.”

He was selected by the program to teach a section of a special course for mathematics majors, in which students focus on semester-long research problems provided by local businesses. The first section of this course was offered

The PIC Math program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Mathematical Association of America and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Documenting a biodiversity hotspot

arshall’s herbarium is playing a key role in a National Science Foundation-funded effort to digitize collections that chronicle a global hotspot of plant diversity in the southeastern U.S. The herbarium, which houses West Virginia’s secondlargest collection of dried plant specimens, is located on the third floor of the Science Building and is directed by Dr. Emily Gillespie, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Marshall is working with dozens of other southeastern universities in the project, which will make the collections at Marshall and its partner institutions instantly accessible to anyone with Internet access. The effort will develop an imaged and databased set of more than 3 million of the estimated 15 million southeastern U.S. specimens from 107 herbaria in the region.

“The data generated through this effort will be of significant value in basic fields of biology, such as ecology and evolution, as well as in applied areas of conservation and regional planning,” said Gillespie.

Digging in to personality and pop culture Two faculty members and two students from Marshall’s Psychology Department presented a session at the 45th Comic-Con International Convention in San Diego in July. Dr. April Fugett and Dr. Keith Beard, along with doctoral students Elijah Wise and Britani Black, presented “From Spider-Man to Darth Vader—How Your Personality Influences Our Favorite Characters.” The session at the famous comic book and popular art convention was attended by nearly 200 people. The Marshall researchers surveyed more than 400 people from across the country on the characters that they liked and with which they identified. Participants took a personality test as well. From there, the researchers looked to see if there was any relationship between personality characteristics found from the test and the characters that participants liked and identified with. The study results showed that people who like pop culture characters are often imaginative, like variety and have numerous interests. They also tend to be energetic, talkative, optimistic and friendly. “There were also differences between the characters selected based on gender, income and age,” Fugett said.

“Younger individuals tended to like characters from more recent movies such as characters from Batman, The Avengers and X-Men, and Hunger Games, while those older individuals tended to like more classic characters like those in Star Wars and Star Trek.” For the students, the presentation was an exciting opportunity. “I hadn’t presented at many conferences or conventions, and this was huge,” Black said. “It was Comic-Con! For someone who loves pop culture and does research in that area, there isn’t really anything bigger than that.” “Never in my life did I expect that I could discuss the character profile of Batman through a psychological lens, in an academic way, and as part of an international conference,” Wise added.

Improving the lives of people with disabilities in Appalachia Communications disorders graduate student Megan Foster has been working with a team of researchers to improve the lives of people with various disabilities living in Appalachia. For her work, she received a travel grant to present the research at the annual American Speech-LanguageHearing Association convention in Orlando, Fla., in November. “I worked with classmates Jordan Lewis and Hillary Johnson to explore Appalachia’s reputation for being a culturally rich region and how these cultural factors influence what it means to have a disability in Appalachia,” Foster said. “This award is a recognition of our collective efforts. It’s great to know that our hard work is being recognized nationally and that others are interested in our research.”

She said the results of their study led them to establish clinical implications involving rehabilitation goals and strategies for treatment within the Appalachian region. “We found that acceptance of a disability is ongoing throughout the rehabilitation process for those with disabilities. Additionally, people with disabilities seem to change their identities based on a ‘give-and-take’ relationship with their support systems,” Foster said. “One of our biggest implications reinforces the need to consistently reach out to caregivers and support systems when treating clients with disabilities. People living in Appalachia heavily rely on their support systems and prefer to stay close to the region when receiving treatment.”

Partnering in drug development ventures

he Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine are partnering with an international biosciences company to develop potential anti-cancer drugs. Under the agreement with Shanghai-based HD Biosciences Co. Ltd., the three partners will share the costs and risks of discovery and development of the new drugs. They also will jointly own any intellectual property and commercialization rights to products developed through the collaboration. According to Dr. Zijian Xie, MIIR’s director, getting new drugs from the research laboratory to clinical trials—where it is determined if the treatment is safe and effective for humans—is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. “Normally, it would take tens of millions of dollars and as long as a decade to translate the technology MIIR and the school of medicine have developed over the last several years into viable drug candidates,” he said. “This joint effort with HD Biosciences will significantly shorten the process because of their expertise in drug discovery, and ultimately will reduce the risk for all the partners. “In short, this represents a bold approach that will not only advance MIIR’s mission of innovation, discovery, enterprise and advancement, but will also create new business opportunities and add value for all of us.”

Using technology to explore history

group of Marshall faculty members and librarians have launched Clio—a website and mobile application for the study of history. The team, including Dr. Dan Holbrook and Dr. David Trowbridge of the Department of History, Burnis Morris of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and Dr. Monica Brooks of Marshall Libraries, also received a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to help fund the project. Named after the ancient muse of history, Clio was built by Trowbridge and his students over the past two years. Clio picks up a user’s location anywhere in the U.S. and tells them about the history and culture that surrounds them, with a growing database that includes nearly 4,000 museums, art galleries, monuments, sculptures and historical sites. In addition, contributors across the nation are adding hundreds of sites each month. “Clio creates a fascinating journey that illustrates historical events, people and places across America,” said Jackie Wheeler, one of the students who worked on the project. “By creating an entry on Clio, you can help to broaden the availability of rich American history and passionately share events, some of which are less known. I have enjoyed being a part of Clio and bringing history to others in a new and wonderful way.”

“Clio creates a fascinating journey that illustrates historical events, people and places across America.” Jackie Wheeler Clio provides a summary and backstory for each location, along with links to more information. Clio can also connect users to relevant books, articles and websites. In addition to guiding the public to physical sites such as monuments and museums, Clio includes “Time Capsule” entries that allow users to hold their smartphones up to the modern landscape and see images and videos of historic events that have not yet been commemorated with markers. Clio can be found online at www.theclio.com.

Supporting biomedical research across West Virginia

r. Gary Rankin of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and co-investigators at institutions around West Virginia, including West Virginia University, have received a five-year renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health, totaling more than $17 million for the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence. Rankin serves as the grant’s principal investigator. “We are really happy to be able to continue the work of the WV-INBRE program across our state,” he said. “These funds will provide much-needed support for investigators at West Virginia colleges and universities to develop biomedical research programs and receive critical new equipment for their research activities.” Rankin explained that researchers with the WV-INBRE research network are studying many important health issues germane to West Virginia, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, and the grant allows for expansion in those areas. “The grant will also allow us to continue providing biomedical research opportunities for undergraduate students and faculty in all parts of West Virginia and help us train the state’s future workforce in science and technology,” he added.

Helping develop 21st century skills

he universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing hosted challengers from across the state in November during the FIRST LEGO League Regional Qualifier, which was held in downtown Huntington. Students ages nine to 14 competed in several challenges, including one in which they programmed LEGO robots to maneuver a playing field. Winners qualified for the FIRST LEGO League State Championship held in December at Fairmont State University. The event was sponsored by RCBI, Marshall University, the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the Bharti family and the NASA IV & V Robotics Alliance Project. FIRST LEGO League events are designed to help young people develop the knowledge and skills required to succeed in the 21st century. Founded in 1998, the FIRST LEGO League now has more than 25,000 teams in 80 countries. Across West Virginia, there were 102 FIRST LEGO League teams from 30 counties that competed for spots in the state tournament.

Conducting biomechanics testing at NFL Combine

he director of Marshall’s biomechanics laboratory headed to February’s NFL Combine to assist in the medical evaluation of more than 300 professional football hopefuls.

Brandi Anders, assistant athletic trainer for the Marshall women’s basketball and tennis teams, said, “Dr. K does an excellent job of explaining the benefits of this testing to the athlete and the gains it can help him or her achieve athletically. By providing these numbers, the athletes can focus more on ways to improve their body and decrease risk of injury moving forward.”

Dr. Suzanne Konz said this was her seventh year attending the combine to conduct isokinetic testing on collegiate athletes from across the country.

Dr. Gary McIlvain, chair of the School of Kinesiology and associate dean for the college, said, “Dr. Konz and her expertise in isokinetic testing is a valuable resource for the School of Kinesiology programs, our students and campus athletes. Her experience in testing Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes is a resource students seek out when learning to administer and interpret isokinetic testing. There is nothing that brings the classroom to life more than real-life experience and that is exactly what Suzanne Konz brings to those studying biomechanics here at Marshall University.”

“Isokinetic testing is a speed-based test which measures the strength and endurance of a muscle. This type of testing is necessary to determine the stability of the knee and possible longevity of these athletes,” she said. “To be invited back for the seventh year in a row gives me the opportunity to build upon my knowledge of these testing devices, which benefits our own athletes here at Marshall University.” Isokinetic testing was performed on members of the Marshall football, basketball, soccer and baseball teams this past year. Information provided by the testing helps show if the players are at risk for injury or already have an injury that may need to be addressed further.

Studying microgravity for NASA

Marshall researcher has received a grant aimed at better understanding how microgravity will impact crew members on extended missions. Dr. Kumika Toma received the NASA-funded award to study sex and age differences in skeletal muscle responses to weakness and recovery. According to Toma, who is the program director for the undergraduate exercise science program in the School of Kinesiology, the study will use rats to examine the long-term exposure to microgravity. She said decreased skeletal muscle size, or what is known as atrophy, due to space flight is well known and research has been conducted to investigate the degrees of atrophy and recovery.

“The principle of skeletal muscle is ‘use it or lose it,’ “ she added. “In the environment of microgravity, muscle hardly works because there is no resistance. The skeletal muscle of astronauts is weak and since NASA estimates about nine months of space flight, significant muscle atrophy occurs among Type I muscle fiber and other adverse health effects are a major concern. Given the range of expertise required for a Mars mission, it is anticipated that crew members may be diverse in age and sex. However, there is no systematic study investigating the age and sex differences of skeletal muscle atrophy and recovery.” Toma said because microgravity is the example of extreme disuse, the results from the study will be applicable to anyone who is sedentary or bedridden.

Celebrating 25 years as research partners

or just over a quarter of a century, Ronald J. Stanek and Dr. Maurice A. Mufson have worked as a team in the Virus Research Laboratory in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Stanek received his master’s degree in biological sciences from Marshall in 1984 and began working with Mufson five years later. Mufson had been hired in the late 1970s as the inaugural chairman of the department of internal medicine. He and Stanek set about conducting virus research in the areas of pulmonary diseases, including pneumonia and bronchiolitis in children, serious lung diseases due to respiratory syncytial virus, and pneumonia and meningitis in adults due to the most common bacterial pathogen, the pneumococcus. “Ronald’s technical expertise quickly moved our research forward and eventually into interesting investigations on the molecular biology of the pneumococcus,” Mufson said.

Undergraduate Research

Mufson began the research on the pneumococcus more than 35 years ago—10 years before Stanek joined the effort. Mufson said he believes it is the longest continuous research on the occurrence of the bacterial pathogen in one community in the U.S. Stanek and Mufson also were the first investigators to demonstrate and report that serious pneumococcal pneumonia responded significantly better to treatment with two antibiotics rather than with one. “My achievements were only possible through the exceptional mentoring from Dr. Mufson,” Stanek said. “Our years together in the lab have been good ones.”

Key Research Contacts John M. Maher, PhD Vice President for Research, Marshall University Executive Director, Marshall University Research Corporation 304.696.4748 maherj@marshall.edu Joe Ciccarello Director, Grants and Contracts/Associate Executive Director 304.696.4837 ciccarello@marshall.edu Karla Murphy, CPA, MBA Chief Financial Officer 304.696.7118 murphy72@marshall.edu Bruce Day, CIP Director, Office of Research Integrity 304.696.4303 day50@marshall.edu Amy Melton, MBA Assistant Director, Technology Transfer Office Conflict of Interest Coordinator 304.696.4365 amy.melton@marshall.edu

Photo Credits: Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority; Rick Haye/Marshall University; Rick Lee; Megan Archer/Marshall University; Dr. David Trowbridge

Chemistry department establishes endowment to fund scholarships, research fellowships

Faculty members in the Department of Chemistry have donated more than $50,000 to the Marshall University Foundation Inc., this year, earning the department membership in the university’s prestigious John Marshall Society. About 12 years ago, faculty members in the department wrote lab manuals for their freshman chemistry classes and agreed to collectively donate the proceeds to support their majors. Over the years, more than half of the department’s faculty have written labs or helped manage the manuals, said Dr. Michael Castellani, department chairman. To date, the money raised has contributed to endowments for two undergraduate scholarships and three summer undergraduate research fellowships. Students work in the department’s research labs as part of both awards. “Beginning in 2005, we used the proceeds from the lab manuals to leverage alumni donations,” Castellani said. “In that year, we wrote to alumni, pledging to fully support a student working in our labs in exchange for their donations to an endowment.” He estimated the sum of the department’s endowments now to be at $325,000— all of it raised in partnership with their alumni. “Original research, as part of the undergraduate curriculum and directly mentored by a faculty member, is one of the most important learning tools available to students. Because of this, we believe it is our responsibility to help as many students as possible participate and this is one way we can do that,” he said.

www.marshall.edu/murc Marshall University Research Corporation Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex One John Marshall Drive Huntington, West Virginia 25755 304.696.6598