Filed under: All Posts, Discovery Events, Town Center | Tags: Discovery Challenge
The 2013 WARF Discovery Challenge Research Symposium took place on May 20.
The winners were:
Matthew Bruss – An in vivo metric of autophagic flux to improve cancer treatment
David Kiefer – Herbal medicine use: A comparison between two research sites
Kaitlin Mitchell – Extracellular matrix mannan in Candida albicans biofilms contributes to antifungal resistance
Harisha Rajanala – Biochemical characterization of bacterial actins
Below are some of the other posters and presenters from the symposium.
Surendra Prajapati discusses the design of an open-source binary micro MLC for small animal radiotherapy.
Michael Rios explains his small scale wind turbine bench for low-cost design testing.
Karen Chen describes her poster on improving employment outcomes in breast cancer survivors.
Katie Brenner explains her poster on early diagnosis of neonatal infection.
Filed under: All Posts, Discovery Events, Town Center | Tags: Discovery Challenge
The Discovery Challenge, part of the WARF Student Ambassador Program, aims to promote campus-wide cross-disciplinary research. It will be a forum for students to share research results, exchange ideas and improve their communication skills. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are eligible to compete for a total of $2,000 in cash prizes at a research symposium to be held on Monday, May 20, 2013. Participants and those who attend the symposium may participate in part two of the Discovery Challenge: a mini-grant competition to be held in the fall of 2013. Up to three mini-grants of $5,000 each will be awarded to research teams to advance their innovative and collaborative projects.
Visit warf.org/DiscoveryChallenge to register, view the agenda and download the abstracts.
by Jennifer Sereno
Participants in this year’s Bike to Work Week will find free bike repairs, bagels and coffee at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building on Monday, May 13, from 7 to 9:45 a.m.
Located on the corner of North Orchard and West Johnson streets near Steenbock’s patio, the commuter station will be the only official stop on the UW–Madison campus as part of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin’s annual Bike to Work Week.
“We’re excited to welcome commuters from campus and the community to the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery for Bike to Work Week,” says Krista Eastman, an avid bike commuter and leader of the institutes’ wellness committee. “The two research institutes in our building — the private Morgridge Institute for Research and the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) — were founded to encourage collaboration and innovation. Supporting Bike to Work Week is a great way to bring people together and it’s not a stretch to say that healthy living helps fuel groundbreaking research.”
Among the scientists and staff in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building are a number of longtime cyclists with racing and touring experience. Their connections led to David Kohli, owner of Perfect Circle Cycling in Fitchburg, who agreed to provide free bike tuneups to participating commuters.
Kohli, who has spent some 25 years in the cycling industry, has worked as a race mechanic for the Phonak Cycling Team, Cervelo Test Team, Planet Bike Cyclocross Team and The Baraboo Sharks Junior Development Team. An expert on bike fitting, or the process of ensuring bike components are well-suited to an individual rider’s physique, he currently serves as a consultant and contractor to a number of cycling industry partners.
“Bike to Work Week is a great opportunity to get people back out on their bikes. In the process, many people realize they need some minor repairs,” Kohli says. “We’ll have tools on-site to help realign wheels, adjust brakes, lubricate chains and we’ll also check seat height and handlebar adjustments for riders. These are important but often overlooked elements that can improve pedaling power and comfort on the bike.”
Eastman says beyond the obvious physical benefits of cycling, numerous scientific studies have drawn a connection between exercise and brain health. For many, biking to work offers a convenient way to maintain physical and mental fitness — while saving money on transportation and reducing environmental impact.
“We figure that if we can encourage even a few people to take up bicycle commuting on a more regular basis, it will have a beneficial impact on their lives while reducing traffic congestion in the city,” Eastman says. “In addition to the bagels and coffee, we’ll be handing out bike maps. With all of the improvements to area trail systems over the past few years, biking to work has never been easier.”
WSUM, UW–Madison’s licensed student radio station, also will be on hand with music and interviews to mark the day. WSUM offers programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 91.7 on the FM dial in Madison and streamed online.
How do ethical scientific practices relate to the fundamental aims of science? Does the data-intensive, distributed and highly collaborative nature of genomics and other ‘-omic’ science raise new questions about the ethical conduct of science? Do we need to update 20th century ethical norms when doing translational research? How can we encourage ethical conduct in our laboratories? Discuss these questions and more in a research ethics symposium at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
The Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery proudly presents the next Science Cafe at Discovery: Making and Remaking Pain.
Pain is a contentious topic in medical research and practice. Over centuries, Western ideas about pain have changed from understanding it as more than a bodily experience to understanding it as only a bodily experience. We still don’t know exactly what pain is, but current medical research suggests that there are strong connections between what we feel and the psychological responses that make us who we are. Offering examples from art and science, Erin Hood (department of theatre and drama) and Julian Motzkin (School of Medicine and Public Health) will discuss shifts in ideas about the relationship between pain and self.
Science Café at Discovery takes place at Steenbock’s on Orchard. Due to being held in an intimate restaurant venue, the event offers limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees can settle in and order a cup of coffee, snack or even dinner from Steenbock’s during the conversation. Guests aged 21 years and up also can enjoy a glass of wine or beer. The science café is free and open to the public, with the exception of food or beverage purchases.
