黑料吃瓜

鈥淎t 黑料吃瓜, the emphasis on research and funding is very high. 黑料吃瓜 is punching way above its weight class.鈥�

Updated as of 10/11/2018, 9:58 a.m.

When psychologist Phillip Holcomb received a surprise call from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) congratulating him on receiving a MERIT award, he immediately did a Google search. The grant is so rare, Holcomb had never heard of it. 

He quickly learned that NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Awards are not only rare, but also highly prestigious grants given to researchers with well-established records of success in the lab. They allow for a broader range of investigation and a less intensive renewal process than standard NIH grants. 

In the conventional world of research, MERIT Awards are unconventional. A researcher cannot apply for one. NIH chooses recipients based on their 鈥渄istinctly superior鈥� experience and productivity. Just one percent of all NIH grants are MERIT Awards, and 黑料吃瓜 has four of them鈥攁 number that鈥檚 competitive with some of the most active research universities in the nation.

鈥淭he NIH gives the award to people with proven track records and people who have contributed to their field, and 黑料吃瓜 has a lot of heavy hitters,鈥� explained Holcomb, whose MERIT Award also named co-researcher Katherine Midgley. 鈥淎t 黑料吃瓜, the emphasis on research and funding is very high. 黑料吃瓜 is punching way above its weight class.鈥�

Fundamental discoveries

Holcomb鈥檚 research looks at how the  and the neurocognitive functions that give people the ability to read. Only in recent history has reading become a cornerstone of daily existence. The ability to read is so new, and it developed so quickly, that Holcomb and many of his colleagues don鈥檛 believe it evolved in the same way as other human abilities such as speech and fine motor skills.  

Instead, he hypothesizes that the brain co-opts a different function鈥攖he ability to distinguish between objects鈥攁nd combines this with the capacity to process language. Holcomb鈥檚 lab explores this further by studying how the brain鈥檚 different regions coordinate to support reading.

Jennifer Thomas is 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 . She studies how the essential nutrient choline, plentiful in food like eggs and liver, may improve the cognitive and behavioral function of a fetus or infant exposed to alcohol prenatally. 

Her research considers how choline affects areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory and holds out the possibility of postnatal treatment for these children, many of whom have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

鈥淲e鈥檝e known since the 1970s that prenatal alcohol exposure can be damaging to the fetus,鈥� Thomas explained. 鈥淏ut intervention may not be possible during alcohol exposure time. What鈥檚 exciting is that we may be able to intervene after the baby is born.鈥� 

Mark Sussman and Sanford Bernstein are also 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 MERIT Award recipients and distinguished professors of biology. Both have been named Albert W. Johnson University Research Lecturer, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 ultimate recognition of outstanding research and scholarship.   

Sussman studies the molecular and cellular basis of heart failure. His research considers the molecular signaling pathways involved in the maintenance, aging, and regeneration of heart muscle, with the goal of developing therapeutic strategies to regenerate damaged heart tissue. Sussman鈥檚 2008 MERIT award came at a time when research in myocardial regeneration was a relatively new concept. 

鈥淭he MERIT award recognized not only our consistently high impact contributions to the field of myocardial stem cell research, but also allowed us to pursue long term detailed studies to understand the molecular regulation of stem cell activity in the damaged heart,鈥� Sussman said.

The university's first MERIT Awards date back 30 years. Psychology professor Claire Murphy received a MERIT Award in 1990 to study the aging brain, and fellow psychologist Ed Riley received one in 1989 to research fetal alcohol exposure. 

Intellectual exploration

Bernstein investigates how myosin, a protein that helps muscles contract, malfunctions in those who suffer from heart and skeletal muscle diseases.

His MERIT Award enables him to explore research questions that may not have received funding through other grant application processes. For example, he hopes to study how  for organisms with heart and skeletal muscle diseases.

鈥淕iven the additional time and freedom the award allows, we might be able to conduct that deeper long-term research,鈥� Bernstein said. 鈥淚t 鈥淚t is more risky, but it might have a positive outcome, and that is the sort of research the MERIT Award wants to support.鈥�

Initially, MERIT Awards include five years of funding. Researchers can apply for another five years by submitting a progress report that sidesteps the lengthy peer-review process. If the researcher can show progress toward his or her objective, the additional funding is generally awarded. 

Holcomb calls this progress report a 鈥渕ini-proposal鈥� because it鈥檚 less onerous than typical renewal applications and has a good chance of approval. Under normal circumstances, the NIH awards less than 20 percent of funding applications.

John Crockett, senior director of research advancement, said MERIT Awards are structured to be highly effective funding mechanisms for researchers trying to solve complicated problems. 

鈥淭he MERIT Award is long-term funding that allows recognized researchers to engage in more risky, challenging intellectual exploration that can't be done under programs requiring near-term outcomes,鈥� he explained. 鈥淥ur MERIT awardees are engaging in the process of fundamental discovery that will drive clinical interventions for the next century.鈥�