We are delighted to announce award decisions for the Fall 2023 cycle of the Research & Scholarship program of Tufts Springboard, sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), and Tufts Medicine. Each of these high-quality, high-impact research, scholarship, and educational initiatives contributes to vibrant research at Tufts by having an explicit plan leading to extramural funding or other outcomes that further influence research, scholarship, and/or policy.

These grants represent a significant investment in the future vitality of Tufts as a thriving R1, very-high research activity university. In keeping with this cycle’s emphasis on supporting Tufts’ racial justice efforts, many of the projects focused on highlighting racial inequities and promoting access and equity.

The next cycle of Research and Scholarship applications will be due on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the application and review process. Education/Curricular award will be announced the week of January 27.

Please join us in congratulating the following individuals/teams who were selected for awards:

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Identification of Clinically Important Babesia Microti Antigens in Human Erythrocytes
Team Lead: Athar Chishti (TUSM)
Team Member: Toshihiko Hanada (TUSM)

Defining the Role of RIPK1 Kinase in Astrocyte-induced Loss of Blood-brain Barrier Integrity
Team Leads: Alexei Degterev (TUSM), Miranda Good (Tufts Medicine), and Yongjie Yang (TUSM)

Development of an On-chip Light-sheet Microscope for Measuring Endometrial Tissue Morphogenesis
Team Lead: Juan Gnecco (SOE)
Team Members: Aseema Mohanty and Mariana Riquelme (SOE)

Reconstructing the Large Scale Olive Oil/Agricultural Economy of North Africa in the Roman Empire
Team Lead: R. Bruce Hitchner (A&S)
Team Members: Magaly Koch (SOE, Boston University), Abigail Kosnik (A&S), Carolyn Talmadge (TTS), and Uku Uustalu (TTS)

Examining the Impact of Racial Colorblindness among Healthcare Professionals on the Referral of Racial Minorities in Clinical Research Studies
Team Lead: Jennifer Kim (TUSM)
Team Members: Keith Maddox (A&S) and Madison Ford (TUSM)

Measuring Segregation via Optimal Transport on Graphs
Team Lead: James Murphy (A&S)
Team Member: Peter Levine (Tisch)

Research BIPOC History
Team Lead: Kendall Reiss (SMFA)
Team Members: Elaine Donnelly (Tisch), Diane O'Donoguhue (Tisch), and Catherine Zipf (Bristol Historical & Preservation Society)

How Father's Stress Impacts Neonatal Growth and Metabolism via the Placenta
Team Leads: Perrie Faye O'Tierney-Ginn (Tufts Medicine, TUSM) and Larry Feig (TUSM)
Team Members: Robert Sege (Tufts Medicine, TUSM), Erika Werner (Tufts Medicine, TUSM), Taysir Mahmoud (Tufts Medicine), and Francesca Carasi-Schwartz (Tufts Medicine)

Employing HTS and Deep Learning Approaches to Dramatically Enhance the Discovery of VHH Antibodies (Nanobodies) to Therapeutic Targets
Team Lead: Charles Shoemaker (Cummings)
Team Member: Lenore Cowan (SOE)

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Evaluating the Feasibility of a Multidisciplinary Community Health Intervention on Lung Cancer Screening Rates in Massachusetts
Team Lead: Kimberly Dong (TUSM)
Team Members: Archita Goyal (TUSM), Hannah Edenbaum (TUSM), Kenneth Chui (TUSM), Jane Luangrath (Community Action Programs Inter-City), and Keishla Diaz-Hernandez (Community Action Programs Inter-City)

Community Perceived Impacts of Tisch Collaboration (CPITC) Scale: Co-Developed Measures for Understanding Community Organizational Outcomes
Team Leads: Sunah Hyun (Tisch) and Elaine Donnelly (Tisch)
Team Members: Penn Loh (A&S, Tisch), Christy McWayne (A&S), Lorlene Hoyt (Tisch), Alex Pirie (Immigrant Health Service Providers), and Yoyo Yau (Bridges Homeward)