This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

This award will provide funds to renovate research laboratories in the Science Building of Lawrence Technological University, which was founded in 1932. Its College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1967. This project involves the renovation of laboratories that have not been altered or upgraded since their original construction in the late 1960s. The ARI project includes the complete renovation of three existing research laboratories. The renovations will transform Lawrence Tech's antiquated Life Sciences Research Laboratories (LSRL) into a state-of-the-art research facility that promotes research and research training activities in the Metro Detroit Area. The LSRL constitute a shared facility that supports faculty and student research from an interdisciplinary Life Sciences Group encompassing five academic departments and two colleges at Lawrence Tech. It also supports collaborative research with a myriad of Michigan institutions including several major public universities, medical schools, hospitals, and life sciences companies. A number of Lawrence Tech's outreach programs utilize this facility for research training purposes involving a diverse array of community colleges, high schools, and education-based non-profit organizations, including the highly successful University High School - Lawrence Technological University (UHS/LTU) partnership and the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP).

Project Report

" has successfully transformed Lawrence Tech’s antiquated Life Sciences Research Laboratories (LSRL) into a state-of-the-art research facility that promotes research and research training activities in the Metro Detroit Area. The LSRL are a shared facility that supports faculty and student research from an interdisciplinary Life Sciences Group encompassing five academic departments and two colleges at Lawrence Tech. It also supports collaborative research with a myriad of Michigan institutions including several major public universities, medical schools, hospitals, and life sciences companies. A number of Lawrence Tech’s outreach programs also utilize this facility for research training purposes. These include a newly created "High School Quest Program" that partners talented high school students with Lawrence Tech seniors and sponsoring faculty members in well-focused, manageable research opportunities (www.ltu.edu/arts_sciences/quest.asp), our year-long "Extreme Science Saturdays" outreach program (www.uticak12.org/districtinfo/news/extremescience.asp), our popular "Summer Technology camps" (www.ltu.edu/community_k12/summer_camps.asp), and our "Summer Science Institute" – the longest running summer camp in the Metro Detroit Area (www.ltu.edu/community_k12/forensic_science_students.asp). Our extended community consists of a diverse array of community colleges, high schools, and education-based non-profit organizations, including the highly successful University High School – Lawrence Technological University (UHS/LTU) partnership and the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP). The renovation of our LSRL has further strengthened these partnerships, and provided a much needed stimulus to diversify Michigan’s focus from the automotive sector into new and emerging life sciences related fields. During the grant period, we have engaged over two hundreds of students in these outreach efforts. These initiatives should have significant impact on the number of women and underrepresented students entering science and engineering, as well as the number of students who will be qualified and interested to pursue graduate studies in these fields. This project involves the renovation of laboratories that have not been altered since their original construction in the late 1960s. The project includes the complete renovation of three existing research laboratories, which is funded by NSF through its Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R2; NSF Program Solicitation 09-562). A total of 18.68 FTE jobs were created and/or retained during the construction phase of this project. The PI and four Co-PIs has utilized the renovated LSRL to address fundamental scientific questions within their respective fields. Dr. Hsiao-Ping Moore (PI) has dissected the molecular mechanisms underlying lipolytic regulation within oxidative tissues. Dr. Morrissette (Co-PI) has utilized animal models to investigate the anti-arrhythmic properties of hearts that tolerate extreme temperatures. Dr. Julie Zwiesler-Vollick (Co-PI) has studied the roles of the SOS response and pH sensing pathways in controlling the virulence of apoplast-infecting pathogens. Dr. Shannon Timmons (Co-PI) has worked out novel synthetic routes for the development of new carbohydrate-based drugs. Dr. Matt Cole (Co-PI) has investigated the mechanisms of alcohol dependence using a new behavioral assay. In addition, the renovated LSRL facility has enabled additional collaborative research activities with our biomedical engineering and computer science programs. The work has resulted in three publications, two manuscripts to be submitted, and thirteen conference presentations. A total of eleven LTU students and two high school students have been involved in the above research and research training projects.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
0963120
Program Officer
Elizabeth R. Blood
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2010-10-01
Budget End
2012-09-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$1,342,276
Indirect Cost
Name
Lawrence Technological University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Southfield
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48075