Charles IV of Bohemia (1316-1378), King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, ruled in what is often called a Golden Age of outstanding cultural achievements, centered at his cosmopolitan court in Prague. He famously founded a university, supported humanists, spoke five languages and wrote an autobiography. But of his four wives, Blanche of Valois (1316–1348), […]

With the rise in electronic health records, we are seeing more reports of clinician job dissatisfaction that is attributed to the amount of data entry work they are now required to do. Therefore, there is a lot of interest to use a speech recognition system to reduce the burden clinicians have by automating the documentation […]

States have built their climate institutions in a diversity of ways, rooted in their traditions of governance. Our collective thinking in responding to climate change lacks an understanding of the effects created by these institutions; they incentivize certain forms of politics and diminish others. This research project aims to understand the institutional architectures that create […]

In 2013, North America’s 1st ‘sustainable’ landscaping rating system will be launched: the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES: www.sustainablesites.org). A major component of this guideline is the preference for native plants because they are assumed to provide greater ‘ecosystem services’ than non-natives. However, to date no research has been conducted in North America that compares the […]

The objective of the proposed project is to better understand how the brain recovers language functions after a stroke. We want to determine what the changes are in the brain of a person who has had a stroke when they can say more words after treatment for their speaking difficulties. We want to know if […]

My doctoral research examines the ways in which the state facilitates the political participation of some of its most vulnerable citizens. Although individuals experiencing homelessness possess the same rights as their societal counterparts, their relationship with the state is governed by several policies that shape their citizenship. The public policies within a given welfare state […]

We combine quantitative experimental measurements of immune cells with mathematical models to systematically study the body’s anti-viral response. In particular, we are looking at how immune cells communicate with each other to coordinate an immune response. We want to understand how biochemical reactions in the cell can be used to process the complicated pattern of […]

Through a pre-post design, I will examine the impact of UL rehabilitation followed by UL rehabilitation combined with BT on arm function. Patients with stroke and spasticity are unique; thus, the effect of BT is specific and it is difficult to compare groups of subjects. Using subjects as their own control is the most suitable […]

Working memory impairments are a common co-morbidity of pediatric epilepsy and adversely impact school performance and quality of life. Research in adults with temporal lobe epilepsy suggests that brain networks established in long-term memory (i.e., hippocampus in the mesial temporal lobe) may be involved in working memory, but it is not yet known whether these […]

The objective of this project is to apply machine-learning algorithms for the assisted computational search of new energy materials. In particular, cathodes for Li-ion batteries and solid-electrolyte interphase systems will be explored. Development of new high-performance battery materials is an integral component of overcoming the dependence on fossil fuels and ending the energy and climate […]

Differences in our genes can increase or decrease susceptibility to certain diseases and influence response to drugs. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genetic variation impacts efficacy and toxicity of drugs. To date there are more than 1200 pharmacogenes described in literature, but only a small fraction of them have been implemented into clinical practice […]

This research project seeks to develop new low-cost and abundant materials for energy storage, like batteries, with an improved performance. The work will include the design, synthesis and characterization of the new materials, and, ultimately, will use them in fully functional devices. The project will focus in novel ways of combining elements and alloys with […]