Charlotte researcher Rosario Porras-Aguilar, whose work includes a focus on learning how cancers spread, is one of 21 early career scientists in the United States and Canada to win funding and other support through the Scialog: Advancing BioImaging initiative. Scialog aims to accelerate the development of the next generation of imaging technologies.

Porras-Aguilar, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Optical Science, and colleague Arnold Hayer, a biologist at McGill University in Montreal, each will receive $50,000 for their interdisciplinary research project, “High-speed 4D Morphodynamic Analysis of Migrating Cells.”

They form one of the 10 teams chosen for grants through Scialog, with funding provided by Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation (FGCF), and Walder Foundation. Their team’s funding specifically comes from RCSA and FGCF.

Their project seeks to answer fundamental questions on cellular migration using the new 4D (four dimensions) quantitative microscopy techniques — which are precise and low-cost — recently invented by Porras-Aguilar’s Charlotte lab. The answers to these questions can help expand understanding of cancer proliferation and cellular evolution.

Looking For Brave Biologists

“One of the most challenging aspects of my work as a microscopist,” Porras-Aguilar said, “is finding collaborators in biology willing to use new imaging techniques. Scialog provides me with the invaluable opportunity to establish collaborations among brave biologists with common research interests.”

Porras-Aguilar’s lab is developing label-free microscopy techniques to obtain quantitative data in three and – with the recent discovery – four dimensions. The innovations harness the optical properties of smart materials to drive applications in microbiology and industry.

Hayer’s research is focused on collective movement of cells, a process with critical importance for development, repair, and disease. The research strives to identify how functional coupling between cells is achieved, through communication across adhesive cell-cell junctions.

Porras-Aguilar also was a 2021 recipient of RCSA’s $100,000 Cottrell Scholar Award, one of 25 teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy recognized for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership.

Scialog, which is short for “science + dialog,” offers more to the researchers than funding. Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research through intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance.

A May 2022 conference in Tucson, Arizona brought together 45 early career chemists, physicists, biologists, bioengineers, and medical imaging specialists. Keynote speakers Brian Pogue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jenn Prescher, University of California, Irvine, set the stage for discussion with talks about their research, current tools and needed breakthroughs in imaging, and what they believe are promising areas for discovery.

Gaining Input On Future Research

“Having an environment where bioimaging is discussed among senior and early career investigators with diverse expertise gave me feedback on my research direction,” Porras-Aguilar said. “It offered the opportunity to establish long-lasting multidisciplinary collaborations, and an open perspective of where the field needs to move forward and what challenges we need to address.”

Teams of two to three fellows who had not previously collaborated competed for the seed funding. They developed new research ideas to bridge their different expertise, methods, and technologies in new ways to enable major advances in bioimaging. They wrote and pitched proposals, competing for the grants.

“Multidisciplinary collaborations create synergies that spark new ideas,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer. “In the same way, funding organizations investing in forward-thinking projects like these can work together to expand the horizons of knowledge.”

Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities.

Research Corporation Technologies established the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation in 1998 to provide financial support for scientific research and educational programs at qualified nonprofit organizations. The Walder Foundation was established by Joseph and Elizabeth Walder. Its five areas of focus are science innovation, environmental sustainability, the performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life.

Words: Lynn Roberson

Charlotte researcher Rosario Porras-Aguilar, whose work includes a focus on learning how cancers spread, is one of 21 early career scientists in the United States and Canada to win funding and other support through the Scialog: Advancing BioImaging initiative. Scialog aims to accelerate the development of the next generation of imaging technologies.

Porras-Aguilar, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Optical Science, and colleague Arnold Hayer, a biologist at McGill University in Montreal, each will receive $50,000 for their interdisciplinary research project, “High-speed 4D Morphodynamic Analysis of Migrating Cells.”

They form one of the 10 teams chosen for grants through Scialog, with funding provided by Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation (FGCF), and Walder Foundation. Their team’s funding specifically comes from RCSA and FGCF.

Their project seeks to answer fundamental questions on cellular migration using the new 4D (four dimensions) quantitative microscopy techniques — which are precise and low-cost — recently invented by Porras-Aguilar’s Charlotte lab. The answers to these questions can help expand understanding of cancer proliferation and cellular evolution.

Looking For Brave Biologists

“One of the most challenging aspects of my work as a microscopist,” Porras-Aguilar said, “is finding collaborators in biology willing to use new imaging techniques. Scialog provides me with the invaluable opportunity to establish collaborations among brave biologists with common research interests.”

Porras-Aguilar’s lab is developing label-free microscopy techniques to obtain quantitative data in three and – with the recent discovery – four dimensions. The innovations harness the optical properties of smart materials to drive applications in microbiology and industry.

Hayer’s research is focused on collective movement of cells, a process with critical importance for development, repair, and disease. The research strives to identify how functional coupling between cells is achieved, through communication across adhesive cell-cell junctions.

Porras-Aguilar also was a 2021 recipient of RCSA’s $100,000 Cottrell Scholar Award, one of 25 teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy recognized for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership.

Scialog, which is short for “science + dialog,” offers more to the researchers than funding. Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research through intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance.

A May 2022 conference in Tucson, Arizona brought together 45 early career chemists, physicists, biologists, bioengineers, and medical imaging specialists. Keynote speakers Brian Pogue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jenn Prescher, University of California, Irvine, set the stage for discussion with talks about their research, current tools and needed breakthroughs in imaging, and what they believe are promising areas for discovery.

Gaining Input On Future Research

“Having an environment where bioimaging is discussed among senior and early career investigators with diverse expertise gave me feedback on my research direction,” Porras-Aguilar said. “It offered the opportunity to establish long-lasting multidisciplinary collaborations, and an open perspective of where the field needs to move forward and what challenges we need to address.”

Teams of two to three fellows who had not previously collaborated competed for the seed funding. They developed new research ideas to bridge their different expertise, methods, and technologies in new ways to enable major advances in bioimaging. They wrote and pitched proposals, competing for the grants.

“Multidisciplinary collaborations create synergies that spark new ideas,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer. “In the same way, funding organizations investing in forward-thinking projects like these can work together to expand the horizons of knowledge.”

Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities.

Research Corporation Technologies established the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation in 1998 to provide financial support for scientific research and educational programs at qualified nonprofit organizations. The Walder Foundation was established by Joseph and Elizabeth Walder. Its five areas of focus are science innovation, environmental sustainability, the performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life.

Words: Lynn Roberson

While blood clotting is important to prevent blood loss and for our immunity, coagulation also can cause health issues and even death. Currently, one in four people worldwide dies from diseases and conditions caused by blood clots. Meanwhile, anticoagulants used to reduce risks can also cause significant issues, such as uncontrolled bleeding.

Now, a new biomolecular anticoagulant platform invented by a team led by UNC Charlotte researcher Kirill Afonin holds promise as a revolutionary advancement over the blood thinners currently used during surgeries and other procedures. The team’s discoveries are reported in the journal Nano Letters, first available online on July 5.

“We envision the uses of our new anticoagulant platform would be during coronary artery bypass surgeries, kidney dialysis, and a variety of vascular, surgical and coronary interventions,” Afonin said. “We are now investigating if there are potential future applications with cancer treatments to prevent metastasis and also in addressing the needs of malaria, which can cause coagulation issues.”

The paper shares the most recent results from three years of collaboration among researchers with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory), University of São Paulo in Brazil, The Pennsylvania State University, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

“All this resulted in a massive international and interdisciplinary effort to develop a completely new technology that we think may revolutionize the field and be picked up by other areas of health research,” Afonin said.

The team’s technology turns to programmable RNA-DNA anticoagulant fibers that, when injected into the bloodstream, form into modular structures that communicate with thrombin, which are the enzymes in blood plasma that cause blood to clot. The technology allows the structures to prevent blood clotting as it is needed, then be swiftly eliminated from the body by the renal system once the work is done.

The fiber structures use aptamers, short sequences of DNA or RNA designed to specifically bind and inactivate thrombin.

“Instead of having a single small molecule that deactivates thrombin,” Afonin said, “we now have a relatively large structure that has hundreds of the aptamers on its surface that can bind to thrombin and deactivate them. And because the structure becomes larger, it will circulate in the bloodstream for a significantly longer time than traditional options.”

The extended circulation in the bloodstream allows for a single injection, instead of multiple doses. The design also decreases the concentration of anticoagulants in the blood, resulting in less stress on the body’s renal and other systems, Afonin said.

This technology also introduces a novel “kill-switch” mechanism. A second injection reverses the fiber structure’s anticoagulant function, allowing the fibers to metabolize into materials that are tiny, harmless, inactive and easily excreted by the renal system.

The entire process takes place outside the cell, through extracellular communication with the thrombin. The researchers note that this is important as immunological reactions do not appear to occur, based on their extensive studies.

The team has tested and validated the platform using computer models, human blood and various animal models. “We conducted proof-of-concept studies using freshly collected human blood from donors in the U.S. and in Brazil to address a potential inter donor variability,” Afonin said.

The technology may provide a foundation for other biomedical applications that require communication via the extracellular environment in patients, he said. “Thrombin is just one potential application,” he said. “Whatever you want to deactivate extracellularly, without entering the cells, we believe you can. That potentially means that any blood protein, any cell surface receptors, maybe antibodies and toxins, are possible.”

The technique permits the design of structures of any shape desired, with the kill switch mechanism intact. “By changing the shape, we can have them go into different parts of the body, so we can change the distribution,” Afonin said. “It gets an extra layer of sophistication of what it can do.”

While the application is sophisticated, production of the structures is relatively easy. “The shelf life is amazingly good for these formulations,” Afonin said. “They’re very stable, so you can dry them, and we anticipate they will stay for years at ambient temperatures, which makes them very accessible to economically challenged areas of the world.”

While the researchers’ work so far has relevance for short-term applications, such as in surgeries, they hope to possibly extend their research into maintenance situations, such as with medications that patients with heart conditions take.

The potential for saving lives and improving health care is a motivator for the team, as is inventing something new, Afonin said.

UNC Charlotte’s Office of Research Commercialization and Development is working closely with Penn State to patent and bring this new technology to market.

Afonin, professor with the Nanoscale Science Doctoral Program in the Department of Chemistry at UNC Charlotte, is the paper’s corresponding author. Other authors are: Weina Ke of UNC Charlotte, Morgan Chandler of UNC Charlotte, Edward Cedrone of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Renata F. Saito of the University of São Paulo, Maria Cristina Rangel of the University of São Paulo, Mara de Souza Junqueira of the University of São Paulo, Jian Wang of Penn State, Da Shi of Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Nguyen Truong, of UNC Charlotte, Melina Richardson of UNC Charlotte, Lewis A. Rolband of UNC Charlotte, Didier Dréau of UNC Charlotte, Peter Bedocs of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Roger Chammas of UNC Charlotte, Nikolay V. Dokholyan of Penn State, and Marina A. Dobrovolskaia of Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.

Words: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director | Images: Lynn Roberson and University Communications | Diagrams: Courtesy of Kirill Afonin

For their exceptional teaching and student engagement, Michael Walter, Alan Rauch, Tiffany Morin and Katie Kutcher have received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ 2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Walter, an associate professor of chemistry, and Rauch, a professor of English, each received the Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, the first time that two faculty members were chosen for the honor. Morin, a faculty member in the Department of English, received the Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Full-Time Lecturer. Kutcher, a faculty member in the Gerontology Program, earned the Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member.

The award recipients were recognized at an awards ceremony and reception in the Halton Reading Room in J. Murrey Atkins Library. In addition to the award recipients, finalists who were honored were:

• Crystal Eddins, Africana Studies, and Paola Lopez-Duarte, Biological Sciences: Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award.
• Kathleen Burke, Psychological Science, and Samantha Furr, Biological Sciences: Outstanding Teaching by a Full-Time Lecturer.
• Leah Walton, History: Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member.

Alan Rauch, English

Alan Rauch has taught in the Department of English since 2002. As a trained scientist with a bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in zoology, and a literary scholar with master’s and doctoral degrees in literature, Rauch has built an innovative research portfolio. He has long been interested in the intersections between science and the humanities, and his research and teaching showcase the dimensions of both.

In one course, ‘Animals, Culture and Society,’ Rauch used the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens to teach about ecology, environmentalism, and zoology, to give students a fuller understanding “of not only what animals mean to humans and how humans respond to animals, but to address the ‘posthuman condition.’ ” 

One student wrote, “I first met Dr. Rauch when I took his animals class my freshman year where I grew an interest in animal toxicity and began to develop chemical questions about animal interactions. I have had the opportunity to expand on these interests with Dr. Rauch through an independent study focusing on the chemical evolution of plant-animal toxicity relationships. As a chemistry major, my study focus has been on the technical aspects of my science and has neglected my philosophically driven questions which led me to pursue science in the first place. With Dr. Rauch I am able to make these connections, which has been a unique and fulfilling experience.”  

Rauch’s teaching practice connects to his research, the development of curiosity, and rigorous interrogation. The same dynamic is present in his mentoring of students, including through the Office of Undergraduate Research Summer Research Scholars program. He also works with students on publications, such as one student’s detailed study of sloths in popular culture that will be included in Rauch’s forthcoming book, “Sloth.”

Michael Walter, Chemistry

Michael Walter joined the faculty at UNC Charlotte in 2011. Since then, he has secured over $2.5 million in external grant funding and published two dozen papers. He is the inventor of co-inventor for three patents, one of the patents is licensed to a local company. 

His research program, and his real-world teaching illustrations, are built around the study of various materials that use light interactions for energy. Students learn how powerful organic chemistry photochemical tools can be used to address scientific challenges. 

Undergraduate students are attracted to Walter’s research laboratory as early as their sophomore year as a result of their experiences in his classes. He has mentored 53 students from a variety of majors, including chemistry, biology, physics, public health, and mathematics.

His interactions with undergraduate students have resulted in over 50 research talks and posters with several invited talks, all presented by the students.

He developed an “e-molecules” activity where students research the structure of widely used organic molecules that might be used in pharmaceuticals or other materials. The course also includes a hands-on photochemistry activity, called  “Juice-from-Juice” where students build blackberry juice, dye-sensitized solar cells. The activity is a powerful example of how an organic molecule extracted from blackberry juice can be used to harness sunlight and convert it to usable electricity and power.

A new activity in his classes looks at the connections among the luminescent materials encountered in daily lives, from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in cell phone screens to the bioluminescence from fireflies seen on a summer night.

He has also worked with undergraduate students from the College of Arts + Architecture on an award-winning collaborative solar energy project.

Tiffany Morin, English

Tiffany Morin has been a lecturer in the Department of English since 2018, after serving as an adjunct lecturer in the department from 2008 to 2018. She has been coordinator of the English Learning Community since 2012. She earned a master’s degree from UNC Charlotte in English Literature in 2008.

The awards committee pointed to Morin’s commitment to engagement and student transformation. Morin publishes and presents talks on themes of villains and horror in children’s literature, with a particular focus on the role of vampires in this imaginary.

Her classes similarly engage students in in-depth and critical thinking about the role of evil, villains, and monsters in literature and daily life. Her classes range from first-year seminars to upper-level English courses and use a variety of innovative teaching and learning techniques, such as an Alice in Wonderland tea party and poetry reading, trips to the Charlotte Ballet and Carolina Renaissance Festival, guest lectures and class visits by authors, and robust debates about the nature of good and evil.

Morin has developed her teaching techniques through a variety of teaching experiences, seminars, and workshops. She now holds “open swim” Zoom hours to help other faculty develop online teaching skills. She advises on library engagement, and presents best practices for engaged learning in student learning communities.

Students in her courses describe “life-changing experiences” and emphasize how Morin’s classes not only teach content but also broader life skills. One student said, “I could see myself grow more and more passionate and excited about my English studies and I can honestly say I feel extremely encouraged and confident about the path I’m on. I have never felt more comfortable in a school setting before.”

Another student said, “I’ve got a lot more out of this class than I ever expected to – actual personal growth – which is crazy considering that this is an online class on monster films.”

Kate Kutcher, Gerontology

Katie Kutcher earned a master’s degree in gerontology from UNC Charlotte in 2011 and added a certificate in non-profit management from Duke University in 2016.

With her full-time employment as an aging programs coordinator with the Centralina Area Agency on Aging, she supervises and supports staff in nutrition, senior centers, transportation and evidence-based health programs. The awards committee described Kutcher as an innovative teacher focused on helping students make real-world connections.

Kutcher has taught classes at UNC Charlotte for the last five years, including courses focused on aging and dementia at the undergraduate and graduate level. In her classes, she connects content with life skills including time management and personal reflection around aging, and engages students  with community partners through service-learning opportunities. She also emphasizes her classroom as a safe space where students’ opinions and input are valued, including students in syllabus and classroom guideline creation at the start of each semester.

One student said, “I feel like Professor Kutcher really helped me and cared for my classmates (and me) and was always respectful and professional.”

A community partner described the impact of one of her engaged learning activities. “The rapid and continual development of technology, combined with the COVID pandemic, has seemed to leave seniors more and more alienated from much of the world, and this conversation program is a great way to keep them involved and feel valued,” the partner said. “I want to thank you and all of the students for this from the bottom of my heart!”

Awards Committees

Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research selection committee members were: committee Chair Didier Dreau, Biological Sciences Department; Kirill Afonin, Chemistry Department; and Matthew Rowney, English Department.

Selection committee members for the part-time and full-time teaching awards were committee Chair Sara Juengst, Anthropology Department; Benita Staples, Geography and Earth Sciences Department; and Sarah Wells, Chemistry Department.

Top Image: Dean Nancy Gutierrez (left to right), Alan Rauch, Katie Kutcher, Tiffany Morin, Michael Walter

Longtime UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Director Larry Mellichamp ’70, who retired in 2014 after almost four decades directing the gardens, is the seventh person ever to receive the prestigious Flora Caroliniana Award from the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

The award recognizes enthusiasm and service to the preservation, restoration, and appreciation of the natural world. Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues, Mellichamp received the award in late April at a ceremony in the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ Mellichamp Native Terrace.

People perched on rock walls, folding chairs and grassy knolls, settling into the sun-dappled space named for Mellichamp and designed to help people learn to use his beloved native plants in home landscapes. Birds swooped overhead, adding their notes to the words offered by colleagues, friends and contemporaries in the botanical field.

“I had the honor and adventure of working with Larry for 18 years here at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, and co-authoring two books together,” said Paula Gross, retired associate director, in a moving tribute. “I’m so pleased to be standing here in a garden co-created with Larry, Ed Davis, Johnny Massengale, and the entire staff, donors, and volunteer community of the Botanical Gardens. A place nourishing to body, mind, and spirit, bearing a very special name – Mellichamp.”

An expert on native wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and carnivorous plants, particularly Sarracenia pitcher plants, Mellichamp is professor emeritus in the Department of Biology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at UNC Charlotte in 1970 and a doctoral degree in botany from the University of Michigan before joining the University as faculty in 1976.

He has written technical and layperson articles on plants and gardening, given hundreds of talks, taught thousands of students and community members, and written or co-authored six books that serve novice and advanced gardeners, including perhaps the best known, “Native Plants of the Southeast.”

The award was presented to Mellichamp by Johnny Randall, NCBG director of conservation programs, and Alan Weakley, director of the UNC Herbarium. Previous Flora Caroliniana Award recipients are:

• Lady Bird Johnson for advocating for native plants and helping the North Carolina Botanical Garden launch its first fundraising campaign, “Celebrating Wildflowers.” (1988)
• John Terres, naturalist and author best known for his work, From Laurel Hill to Siler’s Bog: The Walking Adventures of a Naturalist. (1991)
• William Lanier Hunt to honor him as the Founder of the Botanical Garden Foundation. (1996)
• Ritchie Bell the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s first director from 1961 to 1986. (2000)
• Thomas Wright Earnhardt in recognition of his lifelong contributions to conservation. (2016)
• Charlotte Jones Roe in honor of 44 years of service, tirelessly advocating for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. (2018)

Words and images: Lynn Roberson | Top Image: Larry Mellichamp (center) with Johnny Randall, North Carolina Botanical Garden, and Alan Weakley, UNC Herbarium

Corals are keystone species for reef and marine ecosystems, but coral bleaching due to climate change and ocean warming is killing them. A new open access study led by researchers at UNC Charlotte and the University of California, Riverside aims to shed light on how to reverse the damage and save corals.

Corals, together with sea anemones and jellyfish, belong to a group of animals called cnidarians that receive some of their nutrients through a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae living inside their cells. High ocean temperatures cause a breakdown in the symbiosis, resulting in a ‘bleached’ coral that has expelled the algae. If symbiosis is not initiated within a few weeks, the coral starves to death.

The new study finds that although photosynthesis by algae is a key part of the symbiotic relationship, it is not required to initiate symbiosis.

Tingting Xiang, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UNC Charlotte, and Robert Jinkerson, an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UCR, led the research team. The open-access paper, “Cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis establishment is independent of photosynthesis,” is published in Current Biology.

Jump-starting a Relationship

The study adds to the little-understood relationship between cnidarians and algae at the molecular level and offers insight into how to jump start the symbiotic relationship between the two organisms after a bleaching event. It could also lead to strategies that might prevent warmer oceans from breaking the symbiotic relationship between the two organisms and saving what remains of the world’s corals.

Cnidarians form a mutualistic symbiosis with photosynthetic algae from the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae that live inside their host cells. The algae perform photosynthesis, fix carbon dioxide into sugars, and then give that to their hosts. Some species of coral are completely dependent on the food they receive from their algal symbionts and will die without it. 

In return, the algae receive nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from the prey that the host catches. Photosynthesis is a key part of this symbiotic relationship, but it was not known if this symbiosis can form without photosynthesis. 

Symbiosis establishment can proceed without photosynthesis in coral, jellyfish, and sea anemone hosts, but different aspects of the relationship, such as proliferation of the algae without photosynthesis, depends on the specific host–algae relationship.

Focus Looks at Saving Corals

“Our study highlights the power of forward genetic approaches to probe cnidarian Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis and provides a promising platform to answer key questions in symbiosis and ultimately develop strategies to save corals,” Xiang said.

The research team made the first mutants in Symbiodiniaceae algae – isolate mutants that lack the ability to photosynthesize – and used these mutants to investigate symbiosis with cnidarians.

“We were very excited to be able to generate six photosynthetic mutants and then use those mutants to start to probe the symbiosis between these algae and their hosts,” Jinkerson said.

The team introduced the mutant algae into seawater tanks that contained sea anemones (Exaiptasia pallida) that had not yet established symbiosis with any algae. After just one day the algae could already be found within the sea anemone’s tentacles, even without photosynthesis. 

To learn if the algae could survive in sea anemone host tissue without photosynthesis for longer periods of time, the researchers infected some sea anemones in darkness with mutant and non-mutant algae and kept them in darkness for six months. Even after six months, algal cells were still observable in the sea anemone’s tissues. Although able to infect the host cells and maintain itself for six months, the algae did not reproduce and proliferate in number.

The research group also tested four other species of algae known to form symbiotic relationships with the sea anemones and found that they too could initiate symbiosis in the dark.

Xiang, Jinkerson and their colleague Masayuki Hatta in Japan then introduced the algae in darkness into a tank containing juvenile polyps of a stony coral, Acropora tenuis. The algae infected the coral successfully in the dark. Unexpectedly, the algae were able to proliferate in the coral tissues without photosynthesis, something not observed in the sea anemones.

Finally, to learn if the pattern held true for the third member of the cnidarian group, the researchers added the algae to a darkened tank of upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana) polyps. Once again, the algae infected the polyps, though not as successfully as in the sea anemone and coral.

The discovery that photosynthesis is not essential to begin symbiotic relationships is a step toward finding ways to help cnidarians survive climate change, with time being of the essence in protecting coral reefs.

The latest findings offer additional research opportunities as Xiang works closely with students in her lab, who will contribute to advancements in the research, she said.

“I also am sharing this research in coral-algal symbiosis with the students in my classes in an effort to pass along the enthusiasm we feel for the research, along with our knowledge and expertise,” she said.

Xiang is also affiliated with UNC Charlotte’s Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER). CIPHER focuses on computational and empirical research to counter the spread of current and emerging infectious diseases and addresses some of the most vexing societal challenges, including antibiotic resistance, food safety and ecosystem health. 

Jinkerson, Xiang, and Hatta were joined in the research by Casandra R. Newkirk, a postdoctoral researcher in Xiang’s lab, and UNC Charlotte Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Richard Chi, along with Joseph Russo, Andrea L. Kirk, Mark Q. Martindale, and Arthur R. Grossman.

Words: Courtesy of the University of California, Riverside with added content by UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Images: Courtesy of the study authors

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is showcasing nanotechnology particles designed and produced by leading UNC Charlotte researcher Kirill Afonin’s lab on the cover of a document presented to the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees. NCI is the principal federal agency for cancer research and training.

Each year, when the president submits an annual budget, each executive agency prepares a document called the “congressional justification.” Each agency’s document explains its mission, outlines goals and objectives for the next fiscal year, and gives data and analysis of the budget request and past years’ budgets.

This year’s NCI document features an image of nanotechnology particles in a culture of blood cells developed by a team led by Afonin, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. The team developed the nano particles as part of its research on vaccine adjuvants, substances that enhance the body’s ability to produce an immune response.

Afonin and his team have collaborated closely with the NCI Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. The lab helps cancer researchers study nanotechnology particles and characterize them by measuring their physical and chemical properties. The research seeks applications including cancer vaccines, other cancer therapeutics, and diagnostics.

The Afonin lab’s mission is to “develop novel functional RNA-based nanomaterials that can either  communicate with each other or with cellular machinery, or be readily responsive to various stimuli.” The research seeks to improve the operation of current therapeutic systems and to engineer novel “smart” biomaterials.

Established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of 11 agencies that make up the Department of Health and Human Services.

UNC Charlotte has been recognized for some of the best graduate programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, including the MPA program and statistics track in the Applied Math Ph.D. in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. In total, 11 programs were among the top 100 in the country by the publication. 

Charlotte’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) ranks second among all UNC System universities’ public affairs programs, third among all programs ranked in North Carolina and in the top 18% of all ranked programs nationally, with its ranking of #49. The Gerald G. Fox MPA program includes concentrations in local government management (ranked No. 22) and nonprofit management (ranked No. 32).

Other graduate programs earning national rankings included statistics in the Applied Math Ph.D. program in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The program was ranked #70, moving up from #97 in 2018, the last time statistics programs were ranked.

“Our faculty are among the best in the nation,” said Provost Joan F. Lorden. “They are committed to providing academic programs grounded in research, scholarship, creative discovery and entrepreneurship that equip their students with both a firm theoretical foundation and a practical application of their knowledge and skills. Being recognized year over year by U.S. News and World Report is affirmation of the strength of a graduate education at Charlotte.” 

UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program has soared to its highest national ranking ever. The program is No. 11 in the TFE Times’ 2022 Master of Financial Engineering program rankings.

Over the past six years, the M.S. in Math Finance program has increased steadily in the rankings, rising nine slots since 2016.

“UNC Charlotte’s M.S. in Mathematical Finance is proud to be a leader among financial engineering programs in the country,” said Dr. Yufeng Han, M.S. in Math Finance program director. “This ranking places us among elite institutions and demonstrates the quality of our quantitative graduate programs.”

The growth of the program’s success is a testament to the exceptional faculty, combined with a customizable interdisciplinary approach, Han said.

As the second-largest financial center in the United States, Charlotte relies on UNC Charlotte to supply talent and insights — new financial technology — that drives the region’s economy. As a STEM-designated program of the departments of Finance and Economics in the Belk College of Business and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the program excels as an emerging field in one of the top AACSB accredited business schools in North Carolina.

The program gives students strong preparation for careers in finance, including an emphasis on growing their math and data skills, said Taufiquar Khan, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

“Students apply highly sophisticated mathematical models to identify, measure, and manage risk, preparing them for real-world situations they will face,” Khan said. “The mathematical finance program draws upon the expertise of diverse faculty in economics, finance and mathematics. This interdisciplinary approach yields strong outcomes for students and for employers.”

The TFE Times rankings are among the most comprehensive for graduate financial engineering, financial mathematics, quantitative finance, computational finance and mathematical finance programs in the country.  The rankings are calculated based on several components, including average test scores, starting salaries, undergraduate GPA, acceptance rates and graduate employment rates.

Congratulations to Dr. Raja for being promoted as a SPIE fellow.

Brent Johnson (SPIE Member Recognition Coordinator) sent a congratulatory email message on behalf of the SPIE Board of Directors and Fellows Committee on Dec. 22^nd, 2021 that Dr. M. Yasin Akhtar Raja has been elected to the grade of Fellow of SPIE among 58 professionals for the year 2022. The new fellows will be recognized in one of the SPIE’s 7 upcoming meetings/communities (of fellow’s choice) from Photonics West to Optics+Photonics. Prof. Raja is planning to attend Optics+Photonics scheduled on 21-25, August’ 2022 in the Convention Center San Diego, CA.

Link for 2022 SPIE Fellow: https://spie.org/membership/explore-membership/fellows