Despite changes in federal funding agencies and a record 43-day government shutdown, researchers at CU Denver are hard at work on seven new projects.
The Office of Research Services (ORS) and the schools and colleges listed below partnered to fund research work that impacts our daily lives. Research topics include gun violence, the use of psilocybin for stress management, the impact of exercise during pregnancy, and more. “It was quite a competitive process,” Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Phillip De Leon, PhD, said of the selection process. “We received top-notch proposals. I mean, really exciting stuff from strong research groups. I’m looking forward to seeing the teams’ results.”
For the researchers, the funding provides the critical, early support needed to launch innovative and high-impact studies, said Associate Professor Benjamin Greenwood, PhD, who is leading one of the research teams. “[It enables] our team to generate the foundational data essential for competitive external funding,” he said. “This investment will accelerate our efforts to advance psilocybin-based stress-resilience research, train the next generation of scientists, and strengthen CU Denver’s position as a future hub of psychedelic neuroscience.”
Meet the Research Teams
*Project descriptions are from the ORS webpage.
School of Public Affairs
Project Name: Local Responses to Mass Violence: A Comparative Study of Gun Violence Prevention Policies in Colorado
Principal Investigator: Professor Desirai Anderson, PhD
Research Team: Assistant Professor Sheila Huss, PhD, and Assistant Professor Alejandra Medina, PhD
About the Project: Researchers are exploring how local governments in Colorado respond to mass shootings through the adoption and implementation of gun violence prevention (GVP) policies. Using a comparative approach, their research will analyze differences between Colorado jurisdictions in terms of policy development, implementation, and effectiveness.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Project name: Resilient Cities at the Heat-Water-Carbon Nexus: A Foundation for the Urban CORE Collaborative
Principal Investigator: Assistant Professor Benjamin Crawford, PhD
Research Team: Professor Austin Troy, PhD, and Assistant Professor Katharine Kelsey, PhD
About the Project: This study aims to advance understanding of how urban design influences the interconnected dynamics of water, heat, and carbon by identifying landscape characteristics that enhance cooling and carbon storage efficiency while using less water.
Project Name: Does Psilocybin Enable Stress Resistance?
Principal investigator: Associate Professor Benjamin Greenwood, PhD
Research Team: Associate Professor Erik Oleson, PhD, and Professor Jim Grigsby, PhD
About the Project: Researchers aim to use existing expertise in stress, drug addiction models, and the clinical use of psychedelics to test the hypothesis that psilocybin helps with stress resistance.
Project Name: Center for Advanced Computational Molecular Science
Principal investigator: Professor and Chair Hai Lin, PhD
Research Team: Professor Haobin Wang, PhD, Professor Scott Reed, PhD, Assistant Professor Emilie Guidez, PhD, Assistant Professor Woonghee Lee, PhD, and Professor Kenneth Lipkowitz, PhD
About the Project: Researchers envisiona self-sustaining center of excellence in computational molecular science that is recognized globally for innovation in research, creativity in education, successful workforce development, and having a large societal impact.
College of Engineering, Design and Computing
Project Name: The Human-Centered Transportation at CU Denver (HCT@CU)
Principal Investigator: Professor Wesley Marshall, PhD
Research Team: Aditi Misra, PhD, Manish Shirgaokar, PhD, and Kevin Rens, PhD
About the Project: Researchers will explore how the design of streets influences physical activity and community connection, how wide-ranging transportation access supports health, and how technology and data can make transportation systems more responsive to people’s needs.
Project Name: Maternal Exercise Reprograms the Epigenome to Shape Offspring Brain Health
Principal Investigator: Professor Christopher Phiel, PhD
Research Team: Associate Professor Ben Greenwood, PhD, and Associate Professor Greg Ragland, PhD
About the Project: Researchers propose to use maternal exercise as a model to begin to explore how changes in the environment can shape the developing epigenome to produce transgenerational effects on the brain.
School of Education & Human Development
Project Name: Meeting the Moment: Evaluating the Potential of AI to Support Families with Children with Early Behavioral Concerns
Principal Investigator: Professor Elizabeth Steed, PhD
Research Team: Associate Professor Rachel Stein, PhD, Professor Nancy Leech, PhD, and Associate Professor Farnoush Banaei-Kashani, PhD
About the Project: This project seeks to extend the research team’s prior collaborative efforts in the area of early childhood intervention by developing an AI model to provide responsive and individualized support to families who have concerns about their young children’s behavior.