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| Wednesday, October 11, 2023 science.gmu.edu
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A promising research future for new frontiers
by Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm
Looking back at the first blog I ever wrote as Mason Science dean, I had just finished multiple tours of our colleges, research facilities, and met the many faculty and staff responsible for our science research enterprise. We were in pandemic mode, having just made the difficult decision to augment or suspend some of our efforts due to limited campus access. On the other hand, our biomedical research teams were gearing up for stretches of 15-18+ hours plus days in the lab analyzing COVID -19 samples and creating the processes that would help our Mason community build our resiliency and preserve our health throughout the pandemic.
We have come a long way. Our Mason Science research impact continues to expand, with research expenditures growing an accumulated 13 percent between July 2020 and July 2023. We've built on our focused biomedical research in proteomics and molecular medicine, genetics, and fighting infectious diseases. Our faculty are also leading collaborations and advising governments and organizations across diverse domains of space, data, energy, climate, agriculture, and quantum materials among many diverse disciplines. And our productivity is high; our Mason Science researchers have the most patents and largest commercialization in Mason’s history.
We continue to provide unique and impactful research and educational experiences at the R1 university level for our students, bringing forward a diverse STEM workforce equipped with scientific knowledge and collaboration skills necessary to address the current challenges of today while also providing solutions for the difficult situations we anticipate our society will face in the future.
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Have you registered to attend Mason Space Day 2023 yet?
You and your family are invited to attend the second annual Mason Space Day on Sunday, October 22 from 3 to 9 p.m. on Mason's Fairfax Campus. This FREE, family-friendly event offers opportunities to learn about the technology and science behind some of the leading aerospace projects in the area, with lectures from the former head of NASA and former astronaut Charles F. Bolden, Jr. and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientist Michelle Thaller.
You will also hear from several Mason experts including Anamaria Berea, Computational and Data Sciences; Hakeem Oluseyi, Physics and Astronomy, Piotr Pachowicz, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Donglian Sun, Geography and Geoinformation Sciences; Robert Weigel, Physics and Astronomy; and Erdal Yiğit, Physics and Astronomy.
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Discover how the NSF I-Corps program can help take your research to the market
Learn about the NSF I-Corps Program and why you should consider this highly successful and impactful program to help commercialize your research. Hear from Fatah Kashanchi, Remi Veneziano, and Shrishti Singh about their experiences with the I-Corps regional and national programs and how it benefited them. The session will take place October 20 from noon to 1 p.m. Photo: George Mason University's NSF I-Corps Program is now part of the new Mid-South Hub led by Vanderbilt University.
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#FacultyFriday highlights chemistry and biochemistry assistant professor
This past #FacultyFriday highlighted one of the newest members of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ozlem Dilek, Assistant Professor. Dilek works in the Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research (IABR) on the SciTech Campus, where they focus on developing transformative fluorescent probe and click chemistry technologies by leveraging the lab’s unique multidisciplinary strengths in organic synthesis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cell biology. View the original Instagram post.
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Exploring innovative approaches to silence HIV in the central nervous system
by Elizabeth Grisham and Tracy Mason
A research team led by Fatah Kashanchi, professor of Virology and Director of the Mason Science Laboratory of Molecular Virology, received $2.95M in NIH funding to study cell-derived extracellular vesicle mediated epigenetic HIV silencing in the brain. The collaboration, with researchers from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Mason scientists Yuriy Kim, Anastasia Marie Williams, and Heather Branscome, is developing and characterizing a highly innovative modular approach that will utilize extracellular vesicles to deliver anti-HIV genes to virus-infected cells in the brain in an effort to epigenetically silence HIV expression in a long-term and stable manner. Photo by Arian White.
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4-VA@Mason awards funding for several Mason Science investigations
4-VA@Mason, part of a statewide collective of higher education institutions, recently announced the Collaborative Research Awards for the 2023-2024 academic year with 12 projects spearheaded by Mason faculty and eight with Mason faculty acting as co-PIs. The College of Science 4-VA@Mason 2023-24 Collaborative Research Grant recipients include Karen Akerlof, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science and Policy (ESP); R. Christian Jones, Professor, ESP; David Straus, Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences; Benoit Van Aken, Associate Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Yun Yu, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry. Mason Science faculty who received funding as Co-PIs collaborating with other 4-VA institutions includes Ahsan Chowdhury, Term Assistant Professor, Mathematical Sciences, Hao Jing, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Benoit Van Aken. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services.
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Researchers explore future climate in Africa, using clues from the past
by University of Connecticut
A team of paleoclimatologists from George Mason University, Syracuse University, and the University of Connecticut are studying an ancient source to determine future rainfall and drought patterns: fossilized plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago. The team's work was inspired by collaborator and study co-author Natalie Burls, associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences and an oceanographer and climate scientist from South Africa who received a PhD at the University of Cape Town. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services.
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President’s Town Hall meetings scheduled for the fall semester
Mason President Gregory Washington will host two 90-minute town halls to discuss the state of the university and to engage with faculty and staff. The first town hall, for Mason employees working in nonacademic units, will take place on Tuesday, October 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. on the Fairfax Campus in the Hub ballroom. The second town hall, for employees working in academic units, will take place on Monday, November 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. on the Fairfax Campus in the Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall. For those unable to attend in person, both town halls will be livestreamed on Zoom. Please contact your respective unit leadership for Zoom links and passwords. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding.
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Join Mason's first Inclusive STEM Teaching Project Local Learning Community
Sign up to participate in Mason's first Local Learning Community (LLC) in collaboration with the NSF funded Inclusive STEM Teaching Project. The goal of this six-week, asynchronous course is to “advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of STEM faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff to cultivate inclusive learning environments for all their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners.” The course will provide the opportunity to learn how to best serve Mason's diverse student body while also reflecting on what makes you unique as an instructor. After completion of the course, you will receive a certificate that can become part of your teaching portfolio.
To participate in this LLC, you must register for the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project Course and through Mason's LLC facilitator form. If you are interested in participating but this semester/day/time doesn’t work for you, fill out this survey.
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American Society for Intercellular Communication (ASIC)
October 12, 2023 | 9 a.m. to October 14, 2023 | 5 p.m. | Bolger Center, Potomac, MD
This year the meeting is organized by a committee of investigators seeking to create a platform for informal exchange of ideas on emerging questions and cutting-edge developments in the field of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), Extracellular Particles (EPs), and particulate carriers of extracellular RNA (exRNA) as biological mediators, regulators and diagnostic analytes. Registration is now closed.
Compassionate Conversations Workshop
October 12, 2023 | noon to 2 p.m. | Exploratory Hall, 3301
Join Erikca Brown, Inclusive Education Manager in the Office of DEI and Paula Danquah-Brobby, Director of AJEDI in the College of Science for a faculty and staff workshop that develops skills for communication and interaction across cultures and expand opportunities to engage in authentic and compassionate communication.
October 13, 2023 | 10 to 11 a.m. | Virtual
University Career Services has launched a new on-campus internship program to create more experiential learning opportunities, particularly for international students and those limited to working on campus. Could your office benefit from the support of a student to support functions such as data analysis, accounting, project management, or software development? Learn about the spring 2024 program.
Compassionate Conversations Workshop
October 16, 2023 | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Virtual
Join Erikca Brown, Inclusive Education Manager in the Office of DEI and Paula Danquah-Brobby, Director of AJEDI in the College of Science for a faculty and staff workshop that develops skills for communication and interaction across cultures and expand opportunities to engage in authentic and compassionate communication.
Woman In Motion Documentary Event
October 16, 2023 | 6 to 8:30 p.m. | Johnson Center Cinema, Fairfax Campus
The College of Science Women Leaders in STEM, STEM Accelerator, and CVPA's Visiting Filmmakers Series are pleased to collaborate on a free screening and discussion of the documentary film Woman In Motion. Register on Mason 360 to attend. Guests can be registered on the night of the screening
Biology Greenhouse Giveaway
October 17, 2023 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Exploratory Hall 1200
The Department of Biology is giving away excess educational plants from their greenhouse to Mason Science faculty and staff. Stop by their office to spruce up your office or take a plant home.
State of the College Address
October 18, 2023 | 2 to 3:30 p.m. | Exploratory Hall, 3301 and Virtual
Staff, faculty and students—mark your calendars to join Dean Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm as he provides this important annual update.
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