Round up of research events and funding deadlines
PostedJanuary 8, 2025
Data Science Research Bazaar Returns in March (Jan. 15 deadline)
The Data Science Research Bazaar, March 19-20 at the Discovery Building. The Research Bazaar welcomes submissions for lightning talks, posters, workshops, and interactive discussions. This year’s theme is AI and ML in Research: Navigating Opportunities and Boundaries. While AI and machine learning will be a key focus, submissions from all areas of data science and computational work are encouraged. Learn more and apply by Jan. 15.
Crossroads of Ideas: Gut Instincts – Microbes, Addiction, and Immunity (7-8 p.m. Jan. 16) — Part 1 of the Microbiome Miniseries, with Margaret Alexander and Vanessa Sperandio
Location:
Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street , Madison, WI 53715
- or streaming at https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/95175400747
Kick off an exciting three-part mini-series on the gut-brain superhighway with UW–Madison researchers Vanessa Sperandio and Maggie Rose Alexander. In this thought-provoking conversation, they will unpack the complex interplay between gut microbes, addiction, and immunity, sharing cutting-edge research and visionary perspectives on how these connections shape the future of brain and gut health in society.
Margaret Alexander, assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, studies the mechanistic interactions between diet, the microbiota, and immune responses and the functional consequences of these interactions for autoimmune diseases. Alexander did her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco in the laboratory of Peter Turnbaugh in the department of Microbiology and Immunology. She attended Carleton College for her undergraduate degree in Biology and the University of Utah for her PhD in the lab of Ryan O’Connell studying immune cell communication.
Vanessa Sperandio, is chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and the Robert Turell Professor. She was the Jane and Bud Smith Distinguished Chair in Medicine, and a Professor in the departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She got her bachelors in biology, and her masters and PhD in Molecular Genetics in the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil.
All Crossroads of Ideas sessions are recorded and shared post-event. Due to popular request, we will also be livestreaming the Microbiome Mini-series. Please register through the provided link if you intend to join in person or via the livestream link which will be shared upon registration.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crossroads-of-ideas-gut-instincts-microbes-addiction-and-immunity-tickets-1004773112427
ICTR Learning Health System Educational Workshop Jan. 17
The UW–Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR)’s Learning Health System (LHS) Program is hosting a Learning Health System Educational Workshop 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 17.
This hybrid workshop, “Igniting Improvements through Data Science, Pragmatic Trials, and Cross-Discipline Collaboration,” will introduce participants to the benefits of ICTR’s collaborative LHS approach to improving health care. This workshop is designed primarily for clinical faculty, who are invited to learn how LHS projects align research goals and methods with UW Health’s strategic priorities and operations to maximize intervention impact and sustainability in the local health system.
Learn more about the LHS Demonstration Project Award as well—letters of intent for this exciting funding opportunity are due Jan. 27. There is no cost to attend. Please help us spread the word in your departments about this workshop and opportunity.
Registration is required for this hybrid event. Please sign up to join us either onsite or via Zoom by following the provided registration link: https://redcap.ictr.wisc.edu/surveys/?s=RHEE4NAAJJRX7JXD
Questions? Please direct any questions to the LHS program at lhs@ictr.wisc.edu.
Save the date: The Symposium returns May 15, 2025
Submit your breakout session or poster proposal by Jan. 24. This year’s theme is “Engage and Inspire: The New College Classroom. Proposals are invited from faculty, staff, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for breakout sessions and poster presentations.
AI’s Energy Future: Balancing Growth, the Grid, and the Environment – Forward in Energy Forum – 4:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in-person at the Wisconsin Energy Institute or online via Zoom Webinar
As use of artificial intelligence grows, so does the demand for electricity and water to power and cool hyper-scale data centers. Many utilities have proposed building additional fossil fuel power plants or keeping older ones running to meet this new demand. Meanwhile, most major computing companies have made commitments to power their operations with clean energy.
In this Forum, we’ll explore the potential demands that the growth of AI and data centers may place on the grid and what can be done to mitigate its environmental impact (e.g. improving energy efficiency of computing, or locating and operating data centers in ways that maximize use of renewable energy). How much will electricity demand from data centers truly grow? How might that growth affect both the environment and other electricity customers? And what can we do to ensure that we address that growth in the most sustainable way?
Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 4:30 p.m. CT either in-person at the Wisconsin Energy Institute or online via Zoom Webinar. Registration is recommended for all and required for online attendance.
Hybrid: WEI room 1115 and via Zoom Webinar
Moderator: Line Roald, associate professor, Grainger Institute Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UW–Madison
Line Roald’s research focuses on modeling and optimization of energy systems to ensure reliable grid operations as renewable sources such as solar and wind replace traditional forms of generation such as coal and nuclear. Her group is developing mathematical tools and software implementations to model and optimize system operation and energy markets, while taking into account the impact of uncertain events such as variations in renewable energy production, component failures and large-scale outages
Panelists:
Amy Barrilleaux, communications director, Clean Wisconsin
Costa Samaras, director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University
Matt Sinclair, assistant professor of computer sciences, UW–Madison
More speakers to be announced.
Crossroads of Ideas: Mindfulness and the Microbiome(7-8 p.m. Feb. 4) — Part 2 of the Microbiome Miniseries, with panelists Richie Davidson and Jo Handelsman
Location:
Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street , Madison, WI 53715
Join Richie Davidson and Jo Handelsman as they explore the intricate connection between the microbiome and mindfulness, and the immense impact they both have on our wellbeing. This is the second part of our three-part microbiome miniseries!
Davidson is the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at UW–Madison. Davidson is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, he is a highly sought after expert and speaker, leading conversations on well-being on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, where he served on the Global Council on Mental Health. Time Magazine named Davidson one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2006. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.
Handelsman is the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at UW–Madison, a Vilas Research Professor, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. She previously served as a science advisor to President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) where she served for three years until January 2017, and was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin and Yale University before that. She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama in 2011 and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.
We value inclusion and access for all participants. If you would like to request reasonable accommodations to enhance your participation experience, please email idhub@wid.wisc.edu no later than 2 weeks prior to the event. This event is wheelchair accessible.
All Crossroads of Ideas sessions are recorded and shared post-event. Due to popular request, we will also be livestreaming the Microbiome Mini-series. Please register through the provided link if you intend to join in person or via the livestream link which will be shared upon registration.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crossroads-of-ideas-mindfulness-and-the-microbiome-tickets-1004774416327
Wisconsin Energy Institute Research Showcase – 9 a.m. to noon, Feb. 7
The Wisconsin Energy Institute is an ecosystem: a community of hundreds of students, scientists, faculty, and staff working on some of the world’s most pressing challenges in sustainable energy. It’s time for us to gather, to learn from each other, to reconnect, and perhaps meet a new collaborator or friend.
Join us on Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. -12 p.m. at the Wisconsin Energy Institute for our third annual Research Showcase. The Showcase will feature flash talks, posters, awards, and a reception.
The event is free and open to all.
Wisconsin Energy Institute
Present a 3 minute flash talk or poster!
Awards will be given for the top three student flash talks (undergraduate or graduate) and for a People’s Choice Poster. For undergraduate or graduate student awardees, $100 scholarships will be given.
Abstracts are due Jan. 16.
Learn. more and register: https://energy.wisc.edu/events/wisconsin-energy-institute-research-showcase-0
John D. Wiley Seminar Series featuring Donna Werling, “Gene Expression in Brain as a Tool for Identifying Sex-Differential Risk Mechanisms for Autism”
About the Speaker: Donna Werling, PhD, is interested in the mechanisms by which genetic variation and sex-differential biology influence risk for neuropsychiatric conditions, with a major focus on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. During her doctoral work in the laboratory of Dan Geschwind at the University of California, Los Angeles, Werling used functional genomics, human genetics and bioinformatics approaches to understand the relationship between sex and genetic risk in ASD.
During postdoctoral work in the laboratories of Matt State and Stephan Sanders at the University of California, San Francisco, Werling continued working on mechanisms underlying sex differences in ASD, while also expanding her expertise on ASD genetic risk through her collaborative efforts to develop the Category-Wide Associate Study (CWAS), an analytical framework for association testing of functional defined categories of coding and noncoding de novo variants.
Werling utilizes the expertise gained over the course of her PhD and postdoctoral training to characterize sex differences at both the cellular and tissue level in both ASD mouse models and individuals with ASD to understand the mechanisms underlying male bias in ASD prevalence.
For Further Information, Contact: Clark Kellogg at kellogg@waisman.wisc.edu
The seminar series is funded by the John D. Wiley Conference Center Fund, the Friends of the Waisman Center and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) grant P50HD105353.
D2P accepting proposals for State Economic Engagement & Development (SEED) Research Program grant– deadline for proposals for FY2026 is Feb. 14
The State Economic Engagement & Development (SEED) Research Program grants are administered by Discovery to Product (D2P). SEED grants allow UW–Madison faculty and academic staff with ownership in a Wisconsin company to apply for funding to engage in innovative research, generate additional private and public sector support for their research programs, and promote technology transfer between the University and industry.
The State Economic Engagement & Development (SEED) Research Program grants are administered by Discovery to Product (D2P). SEED grants allow UW–Madison faculty and academic staff with ownership in a Wisconsin company to apply for funding to engage in innovative research, generate additional private and public sector support for their research programs, and promote technology transfer between the University and industry.
WARF Therapeutics Lecture featuring Jeffrey Neul, MD, “Gene Discovery to Clinical Trials: How Clinical and Basic Research Have Intersected to Develop and Test New Therapies for Rett Syndrome”
John D. Wiley Conference Center, Room T216, Waisman Center
noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 14
John D. Wiley Seminar Series
About the Speaker: Jeffrey Neul, Vanderbilt University, received his medical degree and PhD in developmental biology from the University of Chicago. He subsequently then completed child neurology residency at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, during which time he became involved in both clinical care and research in Rett syndrome as well as conducting basic/translational work on Rett syndrome in the laboratory of Huda Zoghbi. He served as the Division Chief of Child Neurology at the University of California, San Diego, prior to assuming his current position as the Director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the Annette Shaffer Eskind Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Neul’s research is focused on Rett syndrome and related genetically-based neurodevelopmental disorders and integrates laboratory-based exploration of disease mechanisms, biomarker discovery, and preclinical therapy evaluation with clinical research including longitudinal natural history studies, development of outcome measures and biomarkers, and clinical trials of novel therapeutic approaches to Rett syndrome.
For Further Information, Contact: Clark Kellogg at kellogg@waisman.wisc.edu
The seminar series is funded by the John D. Wiley Conference Center Fund, the Friends of the Waisman Center and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) grant P50HD105353.
Designing or redesigning a course?
Awards and calls for proposals
