UMCP and UMB Celebrate 10 Years of Collaboration and MPowering the State

UMCP and UMB Celebrate 10 Years of Collaboration and MPowering the State

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) celebrated the 10th Annual Joint Research and Innovation Seed Grant Program with an awards ceremony and reception at the University of Maryland BioPark at the Baltimore campus on October 2. The event honored university inventors, entrepreneurs, and partners, and recognized achievements in the academy for innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration between the two universities as part of the University of Maryland: MPowering the State initiative.

The seed grant partnership, which began in 2008, has produced innovative research across multiple disciplines and is a source of pride for UMCP President Wallace D. Loh.

“Someday I’ll retire and look back, and if I were ever asked what is the thing you’re most proud of when you were president of University of Maryland, College Park, I would say the partnership with University of Maryland, Baltimore that was forged because of the personal relationship between Jay Perman and I,” said Loh.

Written into Maryland law with the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership Act of 2016, the MPower program is now a formal agreement that extends beyond presidents Loh and Perman. The collaborations are now “permanent for generations to come,”said Loh.

The celebration began with presentations by the 2016 Seed Grant awardees discussing their collaborative research and the progress they have made since receiving the grant. The 2016 awardees presented the following research projects:

"Development of Computational Modeling to Identify Symptom Changes in Schizophrenia and Depression"

Deanna Kelly (UMB School of Medicine) and Philip Resnik (UMCP College of Arts and Humanities/UMCP Institute for Advanced Computer Studies)

"Geospatial Mapping and Access to Cancer Screening Services in Nigeria, a Low and Middle Income Country"

Clement Adebamowo (UMB School of Medicine,) and Kathleen Stewart (UMCP College of Behavioral and Social Sciences)

These presentations were followed by a reception where UMCP President Wallace D. Loh, UMB President Jay A. Perman, and UMCP Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin delivered remarks. UMCP Vice President for Research Laurie E. Locascio, and UMB Chief Academic and Research OfficerBruce Jarrell announced the following 2017 Seed Grant Awardees:

“Local engineering of the lymph node microenvironment in non-human primates to support translational therapies targeting autoimmunity and transplant rejection”

Christopher M. Jewell (UMCP, A. James Clark School of Engineering), Richard N. Pierson (UMB, School of Medicine), Agnes M. Azimzadeh (UMB, School of Medicine) & Jonathan S. Bromberg (UMB, School of Medicine)

“Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Willingness of African Americans in West Baltimore and Southern Prince George’s County to Participate in Genomics Research”

Stephen B. Thomas (UMCP, School of Public Health) & C. Daniel Mullins (UMB, School of Pharmacy)

“Noninvasive and Direct Imaging Methods for Characterizing Protein Aggregates in Biologics”

Taylor Woehl (UMCP, A. James Clark School of Engineering) & Bruce Yu (UMB, School of Pharmacy)

“Utilizing peer-recovery advocates to implement an evidence-based intervention to decrease substance use among low-income minority adults”

Julia Felton (UMCP, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences) & Kelly Doran (UMB, School of Nursing)

The MPowering the State initiative was created to help transform the way the University of Maryland Baltimore and College Park campuses approach research, education, and service in the state, promoting innovation and impact through collaboration. Since 2008, the initiative has overseen the creation of more than 65 projects across 6 UMCP schools/colleges, and 4 UMCP schools, resulting in over 50 publications, 100+ research presentations, and 7 invention disclosures and patents.

For more information, visit UMCP Division of Research and UMB Office of Research and Development.

October 9, 2017