This proposal requests support for a new SCORE Program to replace the existing, traditional MBRS grant at the University of Southern Colorado (USC). The three departments participating in this new SCORE application are the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology; each of these departments has submitted two research subprojects. The overall goals of this program are to enhance institutional biomedical research capabilities and to attract and recruit underrepresented minority participation in the biomedical research enterprise. The individual and program goals support this mission. The specific goals of the overall program are as follows: (1) to increase the research competitiveness or productivity of SCORE research faculty in the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology; and (2) to increase the participation of faculty and students on campus, especially minorities, in biomedical research. Measurable objectives and activities accompany each of these goals. For the first specific goal, productivity will be measured in terms of numbers of refereed presentations, publications, grant submissions, and collaborations. A specific standard of 3 publications and 10 presentations has been instituted as the minimum standard for the SCORE Program subprojects. For the second specific activity, the number of supplemental applications to SCORE and participation of USC faculty in grantmanship workshops, seminars, and faculty research roundtables will be used to assess the achievement of the goal. An evaluation plan and an external advisory committee are vital components of this grant and will enhance the activities proposed and will promote the completion of the goals. To achieve the overall SCORE program goals, six subprojects and an administrative component are participating in this grant. The six research projects include two in Biology, two in Chemistry, and two in Psychology. One of the biology projects examines the mechanisms of psoralen-induced reproductive toxicity. The second biology project, a reproductive physiology project, is a comparative study of events surrounding the zona escape in mammals. The Chemistry projects are in Biochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. The biochemistry project examines fungal cell surfaces by using standard chemical methods and the recently developed technique of atomic force microscopy, with the potential of providing valuable information for the design of antifungal agents. The analytical project characterizes novel silica surfaces that may be potentially used in separation of complex biological mixtures and pharmaceuticals. One of the Psychology projects examines the interactions of peptides with alcohol satiation and the second investigates the relationship between reading disabilities in children and neuroanatomy.
