In addition to teaching students, CSH faculty research their areas of expertise to advance human knowledge and solve problems. Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Department of Biology conduct research that requires significant investment in staffing and advanced equipment. To secure this capital, our faculty regularly apply for research grants.

In keeping with Ball State’s focus on educating students and providing them with high-impact learning opportunities, one of the primary objectives of this funding is to provide paid staffing opportunities for undergraduate students.

Recently, the faculty in the biology and chemistry departments applied for several National Institute of Health grants and were awarded over $1.2 million in grant money to study their topics of interest.

Grant Award Winners

Dr. Mary Konkle, department of chemistry, and her team will use their grant to investigate ways to combat the negative effects of oxidative stress on human health:

“Oxidative stress is a convergent endpoint for a number of human diseases and conditions such as cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration. The roles of sulfur-containing molecules that make up the thiolome are emerging as a mechanism for cells to counteract the damaging impact of oxidative stress.

This study investigates the role(s) of mitoNEET’s enzymatic activity on maintaining the cellular thiolome in order to combat oxidative stress found in so many human diseases. In doing so, we will arm future scientists to better find treatments.

This grant will employ modern biochemistry and chemistry techniques to analyze sulfur-containing metabolites. The funding in this grant will employ 15 undergraduate students over three years to carry out this important work. Additionally, our collaborative partners (Drs. M. Menze and W. Geldenhuys) will apply what we learn from chemistry to cellular and organismal models.”

Dr. Philip Smaldino, department of biology, and his Smalidino Lab will use their grant funding to study dementia and ALS, and hopefully find more ways to treat these debilitating diseases:

“We study a common form of frontal temporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which are related neurodegenetive diseases. There is no cure and no life-extending treatment options for these patients. It is essentially a death sentence to be diagnosed with one of these diseases. The patients and their families have to endure unthinkable sufferings from the patient’s diagnosis to their blessed last breath. Our goal is to understand these diseases at a cellular and molecular level and then use this information to develop novel treatment strategies that extend patient survival and improve quality of life.

To study these diseases, we use mice in which DNA mutations are integrated into the mice that gives them a “mouse version” of FTD or ALS. We then add additional mutations into the mice in our gene of interest, DHX36. We then assess whether the DHX36 mutations make the disease symptoms and outcomes better or worse.

There are two major goals for this work. First, we hope to better understand the diseases and to then develop new life-extending therapies for these patients. Secondly, my goal for this work is to train Ball State students in cutting-edge research and to encourage them professionally and personally to pursue excellence in their life. In doing so, my hope is that Smaldino lab alumni will be at the top of the up-and-coming generation of biomedical researchers and clinicians.”

Dr. Elsayed Zahran, department of chemistry, and his co-investigators purchased a brand new scanning electron microscope for nano-science research. This will open up many new areas for students and faculty to study and make continued scientific advancements:

“Dr. Zahran spearheaded an interdisciplinary team of faculty across the College of Sciences and Humanities to receive a $300K National Science Foundation award to acquire a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM). This state-of-the-art electron microscope will enable faculty and students from the departments of Chemistry; Biology; Physics and Astronomy; and Environment, Geology, and Natural Resources to conduct interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The FE-SEM will be a cornerstone of the Imaging Suite in Ball State’s new state-of-the-art Foundational Sciences Building. It will serve as a regional nano-materials characterization facility, promoting collaboration among Indiana’s primarily undergraduate institutions.

The acquisition of the FE-SEM is a game-changer for student training in nanotechnology. It will equip graduate and undergraduate students from Ball State’s STEM departments with essential skills in nanoscale material characterization, improving their comprehension and productivity in research projects and significantly enhancing their employability and interest in scientific fields. The FE-SEM will provide valuable educational opportunities for graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 students by offering access to cutting-edge research in nanotechnology and material science. Dr. Zahran and the CO-PIs, Dr. Zubkov, Dr. Li, and Dr. Bwambok, will utilize the FE-SEM to promote awareness of multidisciplinary nanotechnology among high school students in the region through outreach presentations and site field trips. This will enhance Ball State’s capacity to attract and retain academically qualified students, particularly those from underrepresented minorities, and contribute to increasing diversity in the STEM workforce.

This FE-SEM runs at variable pressure and is equipped with secondary electron, backscatter, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy detectors to enable structural, morphological, and compositional characterization of multicomponent metal/metal oxide nano-materials, organic nanoparticles, soft matter micro and nano-structures, micropaleontology fossils, and biological samples in student-mentored research projects in more than a dozen laboratories across Ball State University.”

Join us in congratulating our faculty on their accomplishments in securing this funding.