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Research at Brown
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2019 Seed and Salomon Awardees
2019 RESEARCH SEED AWARDS
"Education, Not Deportation": Immigrant Law and Medical Students' Experiences Across Legal Status
As scholars and policy makers alike have noted, currently there is urgent need for increased numbers of culturally competent professionals in the legal and medical fields. This is particularly important given the decisive role medical and legal services play in the everyday lives of community members. Also, given recent developments in federal immigration policies, increased numbers of undocumented students have been able to enroll in professional degree programs. Social science research has largely examined undocumented students' experiences along the educational pipeline separate from that of their U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident peers. This project seeks to bridge this gap by examining the experiences of immigrant students -- documented and undocumented -- alongside one another to focus on the role legal status plays in shaping educational access and post-graduate opportunities. Employing the use of a mixed methods approach consisting of an online survey of immigrant law and medical degree students and in-depth interviews, this project aims to create a database that can be of use to future scholars interested in issues of immigration, educational equity, and the legal and healthcare professions.
PI: Kevin Escudero, Assistant Professor of American Studies
Co-PIs: Tina M. Park, Ph.D. candidate in Sociology; Rachel Freeman, Ph.D. candidate in Education, UCLA; Vania Pereira, M.A. candidate in American Studies; Marco Antonio Flores, M.A. candidate in Art History, Williams College
Funded: $25,000
A Collaborative Research Initiative on Children's Alternative Care
UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 153 million orphaned and abandoned children worldwide, most in low- and middle-income countries. While roughly 2.7 million children reside in formal institutional care such as orphanages (Petrowski et al 2017), millions more live in "alternative care," which includes care with extended kin, foster care, and family-like care. Efforts to support children in need of alternative care are complicated by a lack of rigorous academic research that can be used to inform best practices and program design. Our project on children's alternative care will bring together Brown faculty in anthropology, sociology, public health who have expertise in studying children's alternative care and child and family health and well-being. Our goal is to develop a large-scale, multi-disciplinary project on alternative care in low- and middle-income countries. In partnership with global and local care providers, we propose to study how different experiences of alternative care affect child health and resilience, shape conceptions of identity for children and their caregivers, and explore how public health, policy, community and family contexts are related to caregiver and child experiences and well-being. In so doing, we seek to produce results that expand scientific understanding of alternative care, and inform efforts to advocate for and provide care for children in need around the world.
PIs: Jessaca Leinaweaver, Professor of Anthropology, and Susan Short, Professor of Sociology
Co-PI: Caroline Kuo, Associate Professor (Research) of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Political Knowledge and Citizenship in Developing Country Democracies
James Madison famously wrote that a "popular government, without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy." In recent years, citizen political knowledge and the challenges of misinformation have received substantial attention in the United States and other wealthy democracies. Of note, however, is the fact that a majority of citizens living under democratic governments today live in lower and middle-income countries. In these contexts, citizen knowledge is crucial not only for making voting decisions, but for gaining access to basic rights and entitlements. There is surprisingly little research on citizen political knowledge in lower and middle income democracies, how that knowledge affects voting and other political behaviors, and the conditions under which citizens invest greater time and effort in acquiring relevant political knowledge. This is part of a larger project in which we will carry out large citizen surveys in a number of lower and middle-income democracies, including Brazil and Indonesia (the latter funded by Brown's Seed grant). These surveys will explore how best to measure political knowledge, the links between knowledge and the ability to exercise the full rights of citizenship, as well as the conditions that lead citizens to acquire political knowledge from reputable sources. Another outcome of this project will be the development of a new battery of political knowledge questions that can be used in single-country and cross-national surveys in democracies across the developing world.
PI: Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro, Associate Professor of Political Science
Co-PI: Matthew Winters, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Biological and Life Sciences
The neural architecture of political polarization: How polarized perception arises and how to overcome it
Humanity's greatest triumphs require extensive cooperation between people with opposing viewpoints, but this principle is under threat from political polarization. At the heart of polarization lies 'polarized perception': our political beliefs fundamentally change the way we perceive the world. This can, in turn, intensify our beliefs and undermine cooperation. To design effective interventions against polarization, it is crucial to understand which psychological mechanisms drive polarized perception. Despite the urgency of this problem, it remains largely unknown which psychological mechanisms contribute to polarization, impeding finding successful interventions. The aims of this proposal are to establish a new theoretical and methodological model for studying polarization, and to use cutting-edge methods in neuroscience, including inter-subject neural synchrony, to identify which components of this model give rise to political polarization. Crucially, this approach will identify which elements of political communication (e.g. emotional language) elicit the greatest polarized perception, which can yield promising new avenues for tackling the increasing polarization we see unfolding in society. This project will thus initiate a highly innovative research line aimed at understanding polarization from a neuropsychological perspective, while also providing practical solutions. By building bridges between traditionally distant fields and bringing in knowledge on state-of-the-art methodology, this research will advance the position of Brown University in psychology, political science, and neuroscience. An OVPR Research Seed Fund award will allow us to demonstrate how neuroscience can revolutionize polarization research, forge collaborations with leading experts around the world, and secure the external funding needed to discover how we overcome political polarization.
PI: Oriel FeldmanHall, Assistant Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences
Co-PI: Jeroen Van Baar, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences
Progressive neurodegeneration in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive degradation of neuromuscular connectivity, leading to widespread paralysis and ultimately death of affected individuals. Effective therapeutic intervention in ALS presents an unmet medical need, and accurate animal models of the disease are required as a proving ground for treatment approaches. We have recently begun to characterize a novel genetic knock-in model of ALS in mice, and our preliminary findings provide strong evidence for muscle denervation and motor deficits in this mouse line. We hypothesize that these mice are an accurate disease model that recapitulates the progressive neurodegenerative features, focal spread, and sex-specific differences of ALS. We propose to further characterize neuromuscular deficits in this mouse line, using both anatomical and behavioral criteria to follow symptomatic progression in different muscle groups of both male and female mice over time. Insights gained from these initial studies will position us to compare multiple ALS models, discover common disease mechanisms, and provide a reference framework for assessing the effectiveness of various manipulations that might delay or prevent symptomatic progression. Thus, our work is an important step towards the development of therapeutic strategies for ALS.
PI: Alexander Jaworski, June G. Zimmerman Assistant Professor of Brain Science, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
Key Personnel: Diane Lipscombe, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Science, Professor of Neuroscience; Justin Fallon, Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior; Eric Morrow, Mencoff Family Associate Professor of Biology, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Drug discovery for falciparum malaria
The overall aim of this application is to discover novel therapeutics for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. P. falciparum is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, infecting hundreds of millions of individuals and killing over one million children each year. The spread of parasites resistant to the artemisinin family of compounds threatens recent progress achieved by antimalarial campaigns and underscores the urgent need to identify new anti-malarial drugs. In previous work, we discovered PfGARP, a previously unrecognized parasite protein found on the exofacial surface of parasite-infected erythrocytes. Antibodies to PfGARP inhibit parasite growth in vitro by 99% compared to controls in the absence of any immune effector molecules (complement) or cells- thus the remarkable anti-parasite effect of anti-PfGARP results from antibody binding alone. The Scientific Premise of this application is that PfGARP is a high value, druggable target based on: 1) its surface expression on infected RBCs, 2) the absence of any significant amino acid homology with human host proteins, and 3) the ability of antibody binding to PfGARP to kill essentially all exposed parasites within 12 hours.In this application, we will screen a large drug library (30 million compounds) to identify drugs that bind to PfGARP and mimic the activity of anti-PfGARP antibodies, resulting in rapid parasite death.
PI: Jonathan Kurtis Stanley M. Aronson Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Redox-Mediated Control of Protein Structure as a Potential Therapy for Inflammation
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is critical to the pathophysiology of inflammation and MIF inhibition or its deficiency in MIF-/- mice is strongly correlated with a reduction in respiratory disease symptoms. MIF promotes pro-inflammatory signaling through interactions with proteins involved in cellular redox regulation and its structure is believed to be sensitive to changes in cellular redox conditions. The potential to leverage this sensitivity to design effective MIF inhibitors will be enhanced by a detailed understanding of its redox-dependent properties, which have not been characterized. Such inhibitors have promising therapeutic value for treatment of inflammatory diseases, but these efforts are stalled by the lack of structural and dynamical information about the redox-dependent interactions of MIF with partner proteins, receptors and small molecules. Our preliminary data show that the MIF structure and conformational motions are altered by solution redox properties. I hypothesize that MIF modifies its structure in response to local redox potentials and that this conformational flexibility allows MIF to toggle its interactions with pro-inflammatory proteins, modulating downstream biological responses. This hypothesis will be tested by investigating the redox-dependent structure and conformational dynamics of MIF as well as its structure in complex with its CD74 receptor and redox proteins thioredoxin and ribosomal protein S19. The redox-dependence of drug-like ligand interaction with MIF will be determined to advance a novel approach toward selective MIF inhibition that will add to a strong track record of quality investigations into inflammatory/respiratory pathologies at Brown and may ultimately aid in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
PI: George Lisi, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Collaborator: Elias Lolis, Professor of Pharmacology, Yale School of Medicine
Structural Basis of Viral Attack on Innate Immunity
Promyelocytic Leukemia Nuclear Bodies (PML-NBs) are dynamic sub-nuclear organelles formed by protein PML and Sp100, with important contributions from the Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) and numerous different partner proteins. Traditionally these have been studied in association with the acute promyelocytic leukemia, and are known to indirectly regulate diverse cellular processes like transcription, apoptosis, DNA replication, and epigenetic silencing. PML-NBs are also known to regulate the innate immune signaling pathways and have emerged as integral components of the host antiviral response. Recent studies show viruses have evolved mechanisms to disarm PML-NBs suggesting new functional roles played by them. Despite the high functional significance, we lack an understanding of interactions between PML-NB constituents and viral proteins. We show that JC and BK human polyomavirus interact differently with PML-NBs. This proposal is an attempt to bridge enigmatic knowledge gap by applying powerful NMR spectroscopy to elucidate the structural basis for PML-NB disruption by BKPyV.
PI: Mandar Naik, Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology (Research)
Collaborator: Walter Atwood, Professor of Medical Science
The function of the extraocular Opsin 3 receptor in the brain
Visual phototransduction has received much attention over the past decades, while nonvisual phototransduction has been slower to gain interest despite sustaining equally important functions: from entraining circadian rhythms, to facilitating photorelaxation of blood vessels. The first mammalian extraocular opsins was identified twenty years ago in the hypothalamus and aptly named encephalopsin or opsin 3 (OPN3). Although we have recently discovered a function for OPN3 in the regulation of skin pigmentation, its function in the brain remains unknown. The goal of the proposed experiments is to understand the signaling mechanisms of OPN3 in the mammalian hypothalamus. Based on our preliminary data, the central hypothesis of this proposal is that OPN3 physically and functionally regulates melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) in the hypothalamus to negatively mediate energy balance. We will first investigate the cellular co-localization of OPN3 and MC3R in the hypothalamus using a novel OPN3-mCherry mouse that we recently generated, then test the functional interaction of the two receptors by measuring the receptor-mediated changes in cellular cAMP. These studies will uncover a novel functional role of mammalian OPN3 in the brain and will broaden our understanding of nonvisual phototransduction
PI: Elena Oancea, Associate Professor of Medical Science
Neural mechanisms of object recognition by hand and eye
The connection between eye and hand, or vision and touch, has puzzled philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists for hundreds of years. In the past few decades, considerable progress has been made in understanding mechanisms of visual recognition. Indeed, for primates, perceptual experience is very much dominated by vision and a large proportion of the brain is dedicated to visual processing. At the same time, however, knowing how we recognize objects by vision should not be mistaken for understanding how we know what objects are. This project will explore how we recognize objects by vision and by touch, and attempt to uncover the neural circuits by which this information is shared through the concerted activity of neurons in the brain. Understanding how the brain merges multiple sources of information into stable and meaningful representations of objects is of significant interest in that it can provide clues as to how these same circuits may result in dissociations between the senses in psychiatric disease.
PI: David Sheinberg, Professor of Neuroscience
Collaborator: Ryan Miller, Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience
Structure and mechanics of the bat shoulder: Testing a new model for human rotator cuff disorders
To date, mice have served as the primary animal model for disorders of the human shoulder. However, mice differ from humans in fundamental and critical ways that limit this approach: during locomotion, impact loads apply compression/bending to the forelimb; mice experience relatively few loading cycles over their short lives; and mouse shoulder anatomy and patterns of motion differ greatly from those of humans. In contrast, bats are long-lived (typically 15 to 35 years), and their natural flight patterns entail a very large number of locomotor cycles (over 1,200,000 over 15 years). Anatomy of the bat shoulder skeleton, muscles, and tendons resembles that of humans remarkably closely, and shoulder motions used by bats during flight appear to closely match those of humans during high stress, injury-causing activities (throwing, swimming, racquet power strokes, overhead hammering). Moreover, the structures of the human-like bat rotator cuff appear to withstand mechanical demands that are extreme, in magnitude and number of repetitions, without the wear or damage that frequently result from occupational and athletic activities in humans. To determine feasibility of use of our laboratory bat colonies as a model for ongoing study, and specifically to develop collaborative proposals to NSF and NIH (with G. Genin, Washington University and S. Thomopolous, Columbia University), we propose to carry out two foundational analyses. We aim to demonstrate achievability of 1) accurate capture of 3D shoulder kinematics during controlled flight (wind tunnel and obstacle course) and swimming with XROMM, and 2) direct measurement of shoulder muscle activity patterns.
PI: Sharon Swartz, Professor of Biology, Professor of Engineering
BMP4 signaling in brain development and epilepsy
Epilepsy, often a consequence of abnormal neurological development, is a major co-morbidity of intellectual disability. Disruptions in brain development result in abnormal circuits that underlie functional neuronal deficits and alterations in homeostasis causing seizures. BMP4 is expressed in areas of the developing ventral forebrain that give rise to interneuron populations implicated in epilepsy. Studying the role of critical developmental signals, such as BMP4, that also appear to be important in epilepsy, has been hindered by the lack of good models, since the complete loss of gene function results in lethality early in development. We have generated mouse models that are partial loss of function for BMP4 signaling. These BMP4 mutant mice display severe epilepsy as adults with evidence of a change in the size of the cortex at 2 months. At that age, we observe the onset of epileptiform discharges. By late adulthood, we see an increase in cortical thickness in the mutant brains vs control. We propose that loss of fine-tuned BMP signaling causes neuronal and glial defects leading to epilepsy. We will test this hypothesis: Aim 1: Determine effect of dysregulated BMP4 signaling on cortical activity. Using video EEG, we will test our hypothesis that dysregulation of BMP signaling leads to progressive abnormal circuit dysfunction and epilepsy. Aim 2: Determine effect of compromised BMP4 signaling on brain structures implicated in epilepsy. We will test our hypothesis that abnormal BMP4 signaling causes structural changes underlying epilepsy, including changes in neural architecture and possible alterations in glial structure and function.
PI: Kristi Wharton, Professor of Biology
Co-PI: Judy Liu, Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Assistant Professor of Neurology, and Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Key Personnel: Allyson Sherman-Roe, Research Assistant in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Bio-Physical Sciences
A novel gene therapy targeting cardiac fibroblast electrical remodeling to reduce fatal arrhythmias after heart attack
When an athlete suddenly drops to the ground and dies during competition, the cause is often "sudden cardiac death," a medical term that means there was a severe problem with the electrical activity of the heart that caused it to stop beating. As we age, we all have an increased likelihood of developing heart disease, like having a heart attack or developing atrial fibrillation. Many of these heart conditions have interrupted electrical activity, called arrhythmias, yet current medical care for arrhythmia is technically challenging and often carries great risks, including worsening the problem. We aim to develop new, targeted gene therapies for arrhythmia by specifically instructing the fibroblasts of the heart to help manage the electrical patterns. These cells are very active and change their behavior as we age and particularly after a heart attack, becoming more agitated and excitable. Our research aims to calm down the electrical activity of fibroblasts and reduce fatal arrhythmias. To do this, we formed a multi-disciplinary team of experts in cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms, tissue engineering, and gene therapy. This project is expected to launch a new research enterprise at Brown that will lead the field in developing an understanding of fibroblast-driven arrhythmia mechanisms and advancing novel therapeutic strategies to treat arrhythmia and lessen the risks for sudden cardiac death.
PI: Kareen Coulombe, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology
Co-PI: Bum-Rak Choi, Associate Professor of Medicine (Research)
Collaborators: Peng Zhang, Assistant Professor of Medicine; Ulrike Mende, Professor of Medicine
Key Personnel: Collin Polucha, Research Technician, Engineering; Tae Yun Kim, Postdoctoral Fellow, Medicine; Peter Bronk, Research Scientist, Medicine; Karim Roder, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research)
Probing the role of mechanical forces in tissue assembly using in situ force sensors
The forces cells exert, and have exerted on them in return, play a critical role in early development, wound healing, and disease. However, these forces are not easily investigated, nor have they been quantified within 3D, cell-dense tissues. This information is critical for understanding cellular interactions necessary for tissue assembly and repair. The proposed project will investigate the role of intercellular forces in cell-dense structures. To accomplish this, we will quantify cell traction forces in 3D constructs by embedding discrete, hyper-compliant microparticles (HCMPs) alongside living cells and monitoring the resultant deformations. Existing approaches for quantifying traction forces require measuring the displacement of fiducial markers in bulk, deformable materials. That approach is not compatible for studying cell-only neotissues that serve as models of native tissue building. Instead, we will embed a small number of HCMPs of defined size (25 µm) and elastic modulus (100 Pa) alongside thousands of cells as they self-assemble into geometrically defined microtissues (spheroid and toroid shapes). Serial images of deformed HCMPs will be captured using a high-content confocal microscope and then computationally assessed to determine applied cellular forces. We will investigate differences for mesenchymal and epithelial cell types, as well as for integrin- vs. cadherin-coated HCMPs. Mechanistic understanding will be pursued using cytoskeleton-targeting drug treatments. This project will produce critical knowledge about how mechanics influences neotissue self-assembly and organization. By better understanding how cells exert forces on one another, we can begin to grasp how to direct these behaviors towards regenerative applications.
PI: Eric Darling, Associate Professor of Medical Science, Associate Professor of Engineering, Associate Professor of Orthopaedics
Co-PI: Haneesh Kesari, Assistant Professor of Engineering
Co-PI: Jeffrey Morgan, Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Engineering
Forecasting Patterns of Delirium and Early Recovery After Acute Stroke*
Delirium is common after acute stroke, and likely represents an impediment to recovery. However, the concrete manifestations of delirium comprise a spectrum, and it is unclear whether various patterns of symptoms may have differential effects on outcomes. Many of these symptoms are intimately connected, including arousal, attention, and activity level, and as a result, delirium phenotypes have been traditionally labeled as hyperactive, hypoactive, and mixed. Unfortunately, patients with hypoactive delirium are known to be underdiagnosed using standard screening tools, and the presence of pre-existing neurological symptoms only magnifies this challenge. We therefore propose an innovative approach aimed at diagnosing and categorizing delirium using wearable sensors capable of measuring activity on a granular scale. Activity data will then be analyzed using machine learning techniques to identify delirium phenotypes corresponding to patient activity patterns. We hypothesize that such patterns may also be predictive of early motor recovery after stroke, and we propose to apply similar machine learning techniques to identify activity-based phenotypes corresponding to post-stroke functional outcomes. We aim to leverage Rhode Island Hospital's strength in clinical stroke care and Brown University's expertise in biomedical informatics to build a collaborative partnership that will allow both institutions to become leaders in the field of translational stroke research. It is anticipated that the co-PIs of the proposed study will continue their collaboration to build a competitive research program based on novel data acquisition and analysis techniques. The insights obtained from this study will be used as crucial preliminary work enabling future NIH R01 funding applications.
PI: Michael Reznik, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Co-PI: Carsten Eickhoff, Assistant Professor of Medical Science, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Enhancing Wound Healing Using Hydrogels for Localized Chemokine Delivery
Wound healing is an essential process in human health, and poorly healing wounds can lead to secondary infections, permanent disablement, and increased mortality. The Jamieson lab studies the role of the innate immune response in wound healing. We found that poorly healing wounds have a decrease in innate immune cells infiltrate. The immune suppression included lower levels of chemokines, which are essential to attract cells of the immune system. The wound healing rate could be restored by exogenous addition of the chemokines CXCL1 and CCL2. However, the materials used to apply chemokines had to be applied daily, which is not practical in a clinical setting. Therefore, we propose to develop chemokine delivering biomaterials that can be used to enhance wound healing. In the proposed work, we will build on expertise from PI Shukla's lab on the development of hydrogel drug delivery materials and the expertise of PI Jamieson's lab in the innate immune response and in vivo wound models, to develop and examine the efficacy of new chemokine releasing hydrogel materials. The mechanical properties of these hydrogels will be investigated along with the in vitro release and chemokine activity. Hydrogel formulations will be tested in vivo in two animal models of wound healing. Successful completion of this collaboration will pave the way for the development of a new research program using novel materials to improve wound healing. This research will be relevant to a variety of patient populations.
PI: Anita Shukla, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology
Co-PI: Amanda Jamieson, Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Building a Large Dataset of Articulated 3D Object Models
People spend a large percentage of their lives indoors: in bedrooms, living rooms, offices, kitchens, etc. The demand for virtual versions of these spaces has never been higher, with virtual reality, augmented reality, online furniture retail, computer vision, and robotics applications all requiring high-fidelity virtual environments. To be truly compelling, a virtual interior space must support the same interactions as its real-world counterpart: VR users expect to interact with the scene around them, and interaction with the surrounding environment is crucial for training autonomous robots (e.g. opening doors and cabinets). Most object interactions are characterized by the way the object's parts move or articulate. Unfortunately, it is difficult to create interactive scenes at the scale demanded by the applications above because there do not exist enough articulated 3D object models. Large static object databases exist, but the few existing articulated shape databases are several orders of magnitude smaller.To address this critical need, I propose to create a large dataset of articulated 3D object models: that is, each model in the dataset has a type and a range of motion annotated for each of its movable parts. This dataset will be of the same order of magnitude as the largest existing static shape databases. I will accomplish this goal by aggregating 3D models from existing static shape databases and then annotating them with part articulations. I will conduct the annotation process at scale using crowdsourcing tools (such as Amazon Mechanical Turk) by developing an easy-to-use, web-based annotation interface.
PI: Daniel Ritchie, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Real-time View Synthesis for Robot Virtual Reality Teleoperation
Live virtual reality (VR) video is important for robotic teleoperation because the greater situational awareness and presence from VR help to increase robot control efficiency and effectiveness. However, in VR video, there is often a large difference between the freedom of movement afforded to the human operator by the VR tracking system and the freedom of view afforded by the camera system. This means that VR video often causes fatigue or sickness. To overcome this, light field cameras are required to help match the camera view to the VR motion parallax. We aim to develop a new real-time technique for view interpolation for VR robot teleoperation. A cheap and high-quality motion parallax solution will make VR video formats more able to meet the needs of complex robot remote control tasks.
PI: James Tompkin, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Co-PI: Stefanie Tellex, Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Next Generation Brain Mapping of Meditative States: Toward Clinically-Viable Neurofeedback
There is a growing evidence base for the benefits of meditation on health, ranging from addiction to anxiety, depression, chronic pain and others. Much progress has been made in linking the quality of meditation to brain activity for the purpose of identifying neural mechanisms and developing neurofeedback for clinical use. This includes identification of key brain regions (e.g. the posterior cingulate cortex) associated with crucial aspects of the meditative experience (e.g. effortless awareness). This causal link between meditation and brain activity has been established by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), though the clinical utility of this modality is limited by prohibitive cost and low temporal resolution among others. We have been exploring source-estimated electroencephalography (EEG) as an alternative, though it has its own limitations, including proneness to artifact and low signal to noise ratios. Brown University is somewhat unique in having equipment that can bridge the gaps and capitalize on simultaneous strengths of fMRI and EEG by combining the two (simultaneous fMRI/EEG measurement). Our aims are to identify EEG correlates of PCC activity (as measured by simultaneous fMRI/EEG recording); and to develop a setup that can confirm that identified EEG correlates are specific to PCC activity and can be used for real-time neurofeedback. The methods and technology that will result from this project will benefit the Brown neuroscience research community, as it will lay the groundwork and foundation for simultaneous fMRI/EEG neurofeedback methods that can be used by cognitive neuroscientists across the university for studying a multitude of research questions.
PI: Judson Brewer, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Co-PI: Remko van Lutterveld, Investigator in Epidemiology
Markers of Premature Biological Aging in Chronically Homeless Individuals*
Individuals that experience homelessness have higher age-adjusted mortality than domiciled counterparts. Multiple factors might contribute to these effects, but one understudied possibility is that exposure to homelessness may cause a phenomenon known as premature biological aging (PBA). PBA occurs when an individual's biology suggests they are older than their years. Epidemiologic research, including our work, indicates that geriatric conditions in the chronically homeless are found at levels that suggest PBA of as much as 20 years, yet molecular studies have not been done. We must understand the effects of chronic homelessness on a molecular level to inform the development of targeted interventions (i.e., pinpointing the biological systems that contribute to increased mortality to identify new targets for treatment). We propose to fill key gaps in the literature and develop pilot data (i.e., big epigenetic data) to support an R01 grant application. Our primary study aims are to: 1): Examine associations of chronic and one-time short-term homelessness and premature biological aging (via DNA methylation and telomere length profiles), and 2) Identify which CpG sites are most differentially methylated by chronic and one-time homelessness. Our proposed work is highly innovative and would be the first in the country to examine PBA in individuals with prolonged exposure to an environmental stress (i.e., homelessness). We have assembled an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Brown and the Department of Veteran Affairs with a shared long-term goal of developing a research program centered on using state-of-the-art data analytics to improve health care for homeless individuals.
PI: Eric Jutkowitz, Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice
Co-PI: John McGeary, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Co-Is: James Rudolph, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Thomas O'Toole, Professor of Medicine; Hung-Teh Kao, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior (Research), Lorin Crawford, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
Medications and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes in Older Drivers
Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are a major source of morbidity and mortality for adults aged ≥65, resulting in 6,800 deaths and over 191,000 non-fatal injuries treated in emergency departments annually. Despite the common belief that prescription drug use is a leading cause of MVCs, after nearly three decades of research, data are scarce and controversy remains about the effects of medications on MVCs in older adults. A major barrier to progress has been the lack of detailed linked data on MVCs, prescription drug use, and age-related medical conditions. We propose to close this gap by linking detailed licensing and crash histories from over 2.3 million licensed drivers aged ≥65 to rich clinical and prescription drug data. Our aims are to 1) compile and link the New Jersey Traffic Safety Outcomes data to Medicare Parts A and D claims, and 2) describe the frequency and patterns of driving in older adults stratified by medication use and dose. Our proposal builds on Brown's world-renowned reputation in aging and growing reputation in pharmacoepidemiology by expanding to a critical new area—transportation. Three products will result from the proposed initial effort: 1) a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary research group with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; 2) a unique data source that can be used to answer a wide array of medication-related and other research questions on transportation in older adults; and 3) conception of a research portfolio of topics centered on transportation and aging. Thus, we will be well-positioned to submit an R01 proposal responsive to National Institute on Aging Strategic Goals C and E.
PI: Andrew Zullo, Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Key Personnel: Nina Joyce, Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Allison E. Curry, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and Senior Scientist and Director of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Melissa R. Pfeiffer, Senior Biostatistician, Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
*Big Data Collaborative Seed Award co-funded with the Data Science Initiative
2019 SALOMON AWARDS
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Leticia Alvarado
Assistant Professor of American Studies
Cut/Hoard/Suture: Aesthetics in Relation
Cut/Hoard/Suture: Aesthetics in Relation analyses pairs of contemporary artists of color from distinctly racialized communities whose work shares both formal qualities and strategies for negotiating a hostile present. In the pairing of artists conventionally siloed along identitarian lines in studies of art and race, this project elaborates a relational black and brown aesthetic attentive to the ways cultural products move through fields of distinction calcified within systems of capital through which taste is established and mounted. The featured artistic pairings reflect on legacies of slavery and colonization honing in on what scholars have theorized as racial capitalism; histories of pathology in which race and gender serve as critical rubrics; and alternative frameworks for living organisms that are future-oriented, historically rooted, and deeply resonant in the present. Foundationally animated by the question of how to enter the political through the aesthetic given the later epistemology's development with projects of empire, Cut/Hoard/Suture roots in feminist theory and queer of color critique, the scholarship of the black radical tradition and Latin American Subaltern Studies in order to orient us to artistic maneuvers of informed and resistant engagement. During the tenure of the fellowship artist interviews, studio visits, and major exhibition attendance will take place to augment secondary theoretical, historical and analytical scholarship research and build toward to completion of a first full manuscript.
Sheila Bonde
Professor of History of Art and Architecture
The Sensory Monastery
This new and intentionally innovative project engages with the sensory experiences of monasticism across time. It will focus on the abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes (France), and will use Saint-Jean as a case study for aspects of the phenomenological that were typical of medieval and early modern monastic life. Chapters will include analysis of the abbey's soundscape; visual signs and the experience of visuality at the abbey; smell and the tactile aspects of monastic experience; the changing architectural frame for liturgy and daily experience (the conversion of the dormitory into single-celled rooms in the early modern period, or the addition of a smokehouse adjacent to the refectory to accommodate changing diet, for example). Within the scholarship of the 'sensory turn,' our work will interrogate the deliberate absence or 'claustration' from sensory experience that was an important part of monastic life. One important part of the study will take the form of semi-fictional 'narratives.' We have selected seven individuals that are found in the texts relating to Saint-Jean and will expand their descriptions in order to help explore their sensory experiences. These narratives will complement the visual, CAD reconstructions of the architecture, and the audial aspects of the monastery's soundscape. This digital book project will combine a scholarly book project with creative writing and digital imaging. It will advance the digital humanities at Brown, and will contribute not only to our understanding of sensory experience in the past, but also to our strategies for analysis and re-presentation of the sensory.
Colin Channer
Assistant Professor of Literary Arts
A modern retelling of Gilgamesh — the 4,000 year-old Akkadian epic that continues to shape literary practice across the world. Mine will be a contemporary epic set in the Caribbean and the North America over the course of the 20th century. In it, characters with echoes of Gilgamesh and Enkidu are recontextualized as musical collaborators during the sociopolitical and creative upheavals of the late 1960s.
Kaijun Chen
Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies
The Culture of Expertise in Eighteenth Century Qing China: The Imperial Porcelain Industry
The proposed research project, a book manuscript titled "The Culture of Expertise in Eighteenth Century Qing China: The Imperial Porcelain Industry," reveals the vital role that bondservant-experts, working within the constraints of Qing imperial ideology and political institutions, played in producing technological knowledge and distinctive artistic forms central to cultural policies of the state. Most broadly this project, grounded in the methods of science and technology in society, literary and art history, and studies of global empires, contributes to the field of the historical sociology of knowledge. It joins the traditionally strong scholarship on Chinese history at Brown University with its fast growing Program in Science, Technology, and Society. In its focus on imperial institutions and ideologies in early modern East Asia and on technological exchanges between Chinese and European Jesuits, it adds an important new dimension to the study of early modern Western history and cultures at Brown. Finally, this research, based in part on analysis of archaeological excavations at the Imperial Porcelain Manufacture in Jingdezhen, engages, too, the interest of scholars in the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. Drawing on first-hand archaeological evidence from Jingdezhen, as well as the voluminous Archive of the Imperial Handicraft Workshops (Zaoban chu dang'an), the book manuscript consists of six chapters investigating the industrial regulatory institutes at court, regional factory in Jingdezhen, the imperial design system, technological treatises and experiments deployed in porcelain manufacture. The manuscript will be completed in Spring 2020.
Sreemati Mitter
Kutayba Alghanim Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History and International and Public Affairs
A History of Money in Palestine: From the 1900s to the Present
This project investigates how the condition of statelessness, which is usually thought of as a political problem, affects the economic and monetary lives of ordinary people. It approaches the question by examining the economic lives of a stateless people, the Palestinians, over a hundred-year period, from the last decades of Ottoman rule in the early 1900s to the present. With a particular focus on the violent transition, in 1948, from the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine to the creation of the State of Israel, this historical narrative investigates what happened to the financial assets and economic lives of the Arab Palestinians when they no longer had access to the protections of a sovereign state. The award will enable me to complete the final stages of research for the manuscript. Brown's position will be enhanced by this project as (1) no histories currently exist that tell the story of Palestine in the 20th century from the perspective of banks, both local and foreign, and their customers (2) it makes arguments that contribute to our understanding of the economic dimensions of statelessness, which is of interest not just to historians but also economists, political scientists, and policy makers interested in sovereignty (3) it makes use of international and local banking and legal archives which have not yet been used by historians of Palestine (4) it brings economic and financial history into conversation with legal history (5) it interjects a new class of actors into the narrative of Middle Eastern history.
Paul Myoda
Associate Professor of Visual Art
Complicity Clocks
I am creating a series of interactive kinetic sculptures that have visible clockwork mechanisms. Viewers provide the energy required to keep the sculptures moving, via legible user interfaces such as hand cranks, adjustable weights and pull cords (no electrical components are used). Once set in motion each sculpture begins a series of movements that will result in a small-scale catastrophic event unless the viewer continues to provide additional energy, thereby making them instrumental in either abetting the catastrophic occurrence or staving it off. I am imagining a spectrum of these small-scale catastrophes, each with its own particular physical and metaphorical resonance, e.g., liquids spilled, objects harmed or destroyed. I plan to design and fabricate approximately six "cuckoo clock" sized kinetic sculptures, each with different clockwork mechanisms and actions, and one larger-scale sculptural installation for exhibition in a public gallery and/or museum.
Tech-washing Trafficking: Corporate Vigilance, Worker Voice, and Labor Organizing
As global supply chains become increasingly multi-tiered and vertically de-integrated, new anti-trafficking laws have called upon global businesses to become vigilant in eradicating slavery from their supply chains. Such demands have launched a host of new corporate endeavors to increase transparency across the supply chain--many heralding the promise of technology to identify, expose, and reduce labor abuse. This research project takes a close look at various worker voice reporting technologies that have emerged to elucidate labor risks and abuses in supply chains. The global proliferation of mobile phone-based technology tools – including SMS, smartphone apps, hotlines, polls, and other methods – offer exciting opportunities to integrate the feedback of workers, in large numbers, into supply chain monitoring. However, despite universal claims to target "modern day slavery," this research is interested in understanding how such worker feedback technologies may enhance, dilute, or displace traditional labor organizing strategies.
Jason Protass
Buddhist Rituals across Social Topography of China, 1065-1130
My second-book project investigates socio-spatial differences in Buddhist teachings during the latter half of China's Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). I will demonstrate how a network of Chinese monksmoved across the lateral expanses of geographical landscape and adapted to differences in social and religious conditions. This will develop my recently completed digital mapping project and build on publications that analyzed regional patterns of patronage. My work
will make several contributions to the study of Chinese religions. First, this work will demonstrate productive ways to incorporate digital methods into humanistic inquiry. Second, my work will bridge a long-standing divide in the academic study of Buddhism between the
study of ideas and the study of social institutions. I investigate how the Buddhist teachings of a single network of monks differed across geographical space and social topography. Across five chapters, I use diverse sources, including rare woodblock-printed materials, legal
codes, medieval ghost stories, and my GIS database of the geospatial distribution of Chan abbacies. This research is informed by modern Western, Chinese, and Japanese scholarship. The result of this work will be a single-author monograph. This work will contribute to developing the PhD program in Religious Studies at Brown as a desirable destination for graduate students seeking to study the history of Chinese religions in ways that combine digital methods with
humanistic inquiry.
Andrew Scherer
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Associate Professor of Archaeology and the Ancient World
War, Food Security, and Water Management in a Classic Period Maya Kingdom
Funding will support a first season of archaeological research at the capital of the ancient Maya kingdom of Sak Tz'i' ("White Dog" in the Classic Mayan language), located near the modern indigenous community of Lacanja Tzeltal, Chiapas, Mexico. This important Classic period (AD 350-900) polity capital was only recently located by my colleagues and me in 2014. We have completed one exploratory visit to the site in 2018 and will initiate a multi-year project (minimum of three years) at Sak Tz'i'-Lacanja Tzeltal to begin in the summer of 2019. Aside from reconstructing the culture history of the site through excavation and decipherment of its hieroglyphic texts, research is aimed at understanding the diachronic dynamics of war, food security, and water management within the kingdom. Specifically, my colleagues and I will test the hypothesis that investment in defense, intensive agriculture and hunting, and water management was unchanging over the course of the Classic period. This simplistic hypothesis is a point of departure for exploring more nuanced questions pertaining to the relationship among food production, water management, and the threat of violence. More broadly, this study ties into research on resiliency and collapse, among the Maya and other ancient societies. This research will involve four Brown Ph.D. students. As a newly identified Maya kingdom, research at Sak Tz'i'-Lacanja Tzeltal will be of significant interest and the questions to be tested are of current interest in Maya archaeology and in the study of ancient societies.
Daniel Vaca
A Religious History of Taxes in America
In the contemporary United States, taxes serve as a primary site of political, economic, and moral conflict. Drawing upon the methods and historiographies of religious studies, this book-length research project reveals key ideals, behaviors, and practices that have propelled disagreements about taxes and taxation. Because tax revenues constitute the financial foundation of contemporary economies, taxes can seem little more than a requirement of secular citizenship. Yet tax policies and practices always have premised their fiscal strategies upon metaphysical and moral priorities. A Religious History of Taxes in America accordingly treats tax policies and practices as means by which Americans have articulated divergent understandings of society's ideal shape, including but not limited to understandings of social and economic inequality. Focusing on the nineteenth- and twentieth-century United States, this project not only examines prominent tax innovations—including income taxes, consumption taxes, and exemptions for religious corporations—but also excavates some of the religious ideals and behaviors that have oriented debates about those innovations. That religious history includes forms of financial stewardship, church finance, understandings of religious freedom, concepts of religious community, and theories of social reform.
Haneesh Kesari
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Understanding the potential of architecture in enhancing material toughness through mechanical testing of robot-assembled, bio-inspired, composite materials
Stiff structural biological materials (SSBMs), such as bone and shell, are an interesting class of materials. Despite predominantly being composed of brittle ceramic materials, they have been shown to possess extraordinary toughness. SSBMs are composites that consist of a ceramic phase and an organic phase mixed together in intricate 3D architectures. The highly organized nature of these architectures is thought to be at the root of the SSBMs' remarkable toughness. However, SSBMs' toughness has only rarely been reproduced in synthetic composites. The key hurdle behind this is the lack of the scientific knowledge that connects how small-scale architectural motifs affect overall toughness. The proposed project addresses this key hurdle. In it, we propose a new method—robot-assisted large-scale assembly—to manufacture idealized physical models of a prototypical SSBM. In this method, brittle polymers will be laser cut into millimeter-sized tablets that will then be positioned, with micrometer precision, and glued back together into centimeter-sized specimens using (4) four-axis robotic arms. We will develop the robotic-end effectors for our robotic arms so that the first arm positions and orients the tablets, the second applies glue to the tablet's edges, and the last two apply force to the tablet as the glue sets. We will guide our robotic arms using computer vision. Through systematically varying the key parameters in the architectural motifs and mechanically testing the robot-manufactured material specimens, we aim to gain key insights into how small-scale architectural motifs affect large-scale toughness.
Stephen Gatesy
Professor of Biology, Professor of Medical Science
Fibular Mobility and the Evolution of Avian Bipedalism
The origin of birds from predatory dinosaurs represents one of the major transitions in vertebrate history. Although the emphasis of most studies is on the evolution of powered flight, changes in the hind limbs are equally important. Based on preliminary data from living guineafowl, turkeys, and alligators, I propose that the splint-like fibula in the drumstick of modern birds has biomechanical significance for locomotion. Specifically, I hypothesize that a reduced fibula allows for extreme long-axis rotation at the knee, better foot reorientation, and thus improved maneuvering. Salomon Funds will advance this research through X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) analyses of 3-D fibular movement and related studies. Support for a Brown undergraduate in the summer of 2019 is sought to assist in data recording, analysis, and synthesis. These XROMM data from extant taxa will form a solid foundation for future in-depth studies of the fossil record.
Jennifer Merrill
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Mobile-delivered feedback on drinking events: Pilot testing an intervention for heavy drinking college students
College students report high rates of heavy drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences. Given substantial morbidity and mortality associated with alcohol among college students, continued refinement of interventions is essential. Augmenting motivation to change among heavy drinking college students and improving intervention outcomes requires innovations in the timing and targets of intervention. The goal of the proposed study is to develop and pilot test a personalized feedback intervention delivered to heavy drinking college students via smartphones. A primary innovation of the proposed intervention is delivery the morning after drinking - a "teachable moment" not previously exploited for harm reduction. An initial intervention prototype is under development and will be refined through end-user input gathered in 3-4 focus groups (n=18-28, Phase I). A second set of participants will be recruited for a 30-day pilot test of the intervention and follow-up interview (n=20, Phase II), in order to establish feasibility and acceptability. During the pilot, in response to submission of a morning survey indicating prior day drinking, a participant will receive an immediate feedback report delivered via smartphone, targeting a range of determinants of behavior change (e.g., social norms). This highly innovative study capitalizes on advances in mobile health, with direct implications for reducing risk among college student drinkers, their non-drinking peers, and the larger community. Moreover, the current funding will provide the necessary pilot data for a full-scale NIH grant in which the intervention is tested in a randomized controlled trial.
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Lu, C. ORCID: 0000-0002-0064-4725, Hodgman, C.H. and Wu, P., 2011. Gene Regulatory Networks to investigate nitrogen use efficiency in crops. In: International Workshop on Molecular Breeding of Ultra Sustainable Crops, Hangzhou, China, 27-29 May 2011.
Lu, C., Hodgman, C.H. and Wu, P.


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"Operation School Bell Prom Day '
Six of the fifty-five girls selected from LAUSD schools were Garfield students. They swirled in their prom dresses as part of "Operation School Bell Prom Day".
Article from:
Annenberg Radio News
By Claire Pires, Posted 3/7/13
"They are fifty-five girls who are graduating high school despite their difficult circumstances so we're really happy to be able to provide this for them," said co-chair of Operation School Bell Wendy Silver.
The girls are referred by the Los Angeles Unified School District's Homeless Education Program, and they come from schools all over the district. The Operation School Bell Prom Day has existed for eight years, and this year, they are providing dresses for twenty girls more than in the past. Psychiatric social worker Lorna Gregory brought a student, Jennifer Martinez, whom she feels needs a boost.
"She's got a really sad situation where her parents are no longer with her because they were deported, so I've been kind of like the parent for her on campus and trying to make her last year, her senior year, the very best it could possibly be," said Gregory.
As she gushes with excitement in a floor-length mint-green gown, Martinez said "To think you could just come to a place and pick out a dress and your heels and just say 'That one!' and just make it happen, like, it's amazing and I'm so appreciative," said Martinez.
There to lend his support and zesty personality was fashion guru Stephen Cojocaru, or "Cojo," who had girls strutting out of the curtain as if they were on the red carpet.
"Okay, Raya, are you ready to show yourself to the world in your new punk edge prom look?" Cojo exclaimed as a girl beamed with excitement as she slid the curtain aside.
The girls received free prom dresses, shoes, purses, wraps, jewelry, and make-up all provided by JC Penney, Nickolodeon, television shows from CBS, and friends of co-chairs Wendy Silver and Linda Levine who volunteer their time to help these disadvantaged girls.
"I would say every girl has a dream, and every girl wants to be a princess," said Levine.
As they twirled in prom dresses adorned with sparkling shoes, clutches, and classic wraps, the girls were guided past news cameras like princesses receiving their award for finishing school despite the hardships.
For a video presentation by NBC, please follow this link:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/LAUSD-Students-are-Pretty-for-Prom/196135461

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is the first rule of organizing almost anything and definitely applies to a pantry. Decide on categories based on your cooking habits and store accordingly, i.e. canned goods in one area, dry goods in another, condiments in their own basket, baking supplies together and exotic ingredients for special meals in their own special corner.
A lazy susan is an excellent tool for storing small or narrow items like vitamins canisters or oils, vinegars and syrups. No more having to reach (and knock) over what's in front to get to something in the back row!
Narrow shelves on the inside of a pantry door can create a wealth of storage possibilities for items like spices, cake mixes or coffee. Some shelving units can be attached directly to the door while others hang on hooks and leave no mark.
4. Make it Kid Friendly.
Put healthy snacks in bins or baskets on lower shelves, along with plastic cups, bowls and plates. Children appreciate being given responsibility and will enjoy getting to choose what they want when allowed to have a snack or treat.
5. Keep Dry Goods Dry.
Containers like the OXO Good Grips Pop series for food storage are not only stackable for efficient use of shelf space, but they also have a seal to keep moisture and bugs out. Flour, sugars, rice, pasta, even coffee can all be stored in containers. Don't forget to add labels!


Full sound with good feedback rejection.
The great downsides of lavalier wireless systems are thin sound, feedback and high prices. All three pitfalls are addressed and mitigated with the BLX14/CVL system from Shure. This outfit includes the BLX4 half-rack wireless receiver, the BLX1 bodpack transmitter and the CVL lavalier microphone.
The BLX4 is a single channel wireless receiver with microprocessor-controlled internal antenna diversity. The BLX1 transmitter offers up to 14 hours of continuous use with 2 AA batteries and a 300' transmission radius. The CVL is a clip-on lavalier condenser microphone in a discreet, miniature form factor, ideal for professional presentations.
Shure BLX Wireless Systems combine professional-quality sound with simple setup and an intuitive interface for legendary audio performance right out of the box. Precision-built and available in a variety of configurations, it's the most accessible way to own the stage. Includes power supply, lavalier clip, windscreens, and user guide.
Receiver: 7-3/8 x 4 x 1-5/8"
Transmitter: 4-3/8 x 1/2 x 7/8"
Order soon and let your message be heard.


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1,000 years of history in South Oxford
Grandpont, New Hinksey and Cold Harbour are Victorian and 20th-century suburbs, but the history of this area goes back to the early medieval period, when south of what is now Folly Bridge was all open marshy meadowland, bisected by a huge causeway or grand pont of forty arches, the site of the original oxen ford which gave the city its name. Later South Oxford was home to Oxford's first waterworks, its first railway station and its first football ground. Folly Bridge itself accommodates a number of historic and somewhat eccentric buildings, including Salter's Steamers' warehouses, workshops and offices, a toll house and a castle.
Click on the links below to find out more about the history of this fascinating but often overlooked part of Oxford:
Interesting aspects of the rich history of South Oxford
66 men of Grandpont, 1914-18:
the St Matthew's WWI memorial project
This website was commended in the Royal Historical Society's 2018 Public History Prize. This national prize recognises work which promotes public understanding of history and communicates a critical understanding of the past.


The tuition for the 2019-2020 school year has been finalized and will increase $100 per student from last year's rates. The annual cost to educate a student in the day school is approximately $5,000. Tuition and fees cover about 75% of the cost. The difference comes from state funding, fundraising, donations, and parish support. Most of the expenses of the school relate to salaries and benefits. While we do not offer multiple child discounts, we are able to offer tuition rates lower than our local peer schools in Avon, Avon Lake, and Westlake. We do this while maintaining one to one technology (each student has a personal technology device), utilizing proven technology integration into the learning process, and consistently performing on the leading edge of standardized testing and academic achievement.
Tuition for the students enrolled in K-8 for the 2019-2020 school year is $3300 per student ($330/month over 10 month payment plan) for parishioners and $4100 for non-parishioners ($410/month over 10 month payment plan). Tuition can be paid semi-annually by September 15th and February 15th or monthly August through May utilizing FACTS Tuition Management system. There is a $45 fee each year to enroll in FACTS.
There is an annual registration fee of $150 per student due at registration.
All students entering grades 6-8 are required to purchase a Chromebook through HTS. Students will be allowed to take these Chromebooks home and they will belong to the student at the end of 8th grade. The technology fee of $375 includes the computer as well as the enrollment fee and warranty for the device. Holy Trinity School pays for the cost of the security software and labor for set up.
Registration and Technology Fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.


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Country Championships
Gallery / Downloads
SWRSLSC History
Surf Life Saving Club
Patrol Roster
Boulders Bar and Bistro
SOUTH WEST ROCKS SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB
Club History 1919 - 1980
A club steeped in history.......
South West Rocks Surf Club very nearly didn't happen.
At the first meeting held to form a club, those present voted 11-9 against the proposition. However, enthusiasm of men like D.J. Lancaster forced the day and by 1919 the club was formed.
In 1922 a deputation from the Surf Club consisting of Reverend Harris-Walker, Messrs L.J.Molloy and Roy Sanders approached the reserve trustees for permission to use the men's bathing shed as a drill hall and store room for the members of the Surf Club. The trustees were agreeable pointing out that 'if only one life was saved it would justify the granting of the request, and would justify the existence of the surf club.' For some years after this, a paling enclosure on the rocks overlooking Main Beach was all that was available for gentleman bathers.
The inspired leadership of Mr Frank Range, President for over 20 years, eventually brought the club to the forefront of Australian surf swimming. In the 1947-48 season (March 28 1948), the club won the Junior R and R Championship of Australia. Members of the team were Brian (Cookles) Jeffery, Reg Young, Geoff Lawrence, George Crossingham, Glen Putland and Keith Thompson with coach Reg Saunders. The carnival was held on Manly beach NSW. The following year the same members won the NSW Junior R and R Championship at Bondi. The team members were Brian Jeffery, Reg Young, Geoff Lawrence, Allan Miles, Glen Putland and Keith Thompson.
W Tom Saul (or old Tom as he was known) was a keen active member, who went on to be one of the best officials the Association had. Tom was a top instructor with SWR. He held the Examiners Certificate, was a District Supervisor and held the executive positions of President and Club Captain with South West Rocks SLSC. Tom was also made a Life Member and Life Governor of South West Rocks SLSC, Life member of Surf Life Saving Mid North Coast Branch and a Life member of Surf Life Saving New South Wales.
Kevin Ruscoe came to the forefront during the mid 1960's and is still active in the movement. Kevin held the position of club President from the late 1960's until the early eighty's. While he was club President he also held the position of Branch Secretary and than moved onto the Branch Presidents roll. Kevins efforts also gained him the awards of Club Life Member and Life Governor of South West Rocks SLSC. Life Member of Surf Life Saving Mid North Coast Branch and Life Member of Surf Life Saving New South Wales.
The club had great difficulty in maintaing any substantial membership in the first few years and it was not until the establishment of the original surf club building that stability was achieved.
Many members of the local community and surrounding district volunteered their time and expertise and donated materials to help build the club house to a usable state by Christmas 1924. Some of the volunteers who were very prominent during the building of the club house were Reverend Harris-Walker, Frank Range, Dick Saul,Mr Ling, Norm Savage, Bob Glasshoff, Mr Broderick and Tim Carey. The existence of a club house seemed to spur support for the surf life saving movement at the Rocks. The opening of the fifth official Surf Life Saving season on the 15 th November 1925, drew what was reported in the Macleay Argus of that week as a record crowd of 1000 people with seventy to eighty cars paying an entry fee.
The 1926 season saw a new committee elected. The officers were President H Eschmann, Vice Presidents T.Wilson and L.Molloy, Captain R.Saunders, Vice Captain A. Kinghorn, Secretary D.J.Lancaster, Treasurer H.Boyter, Auditor A.Kinghorn. During this meeting the retiring President, the Reverend Harris-Walker was granted the first life membership of the Club for his excellent services rendered to the club.
There have been many members of the Club worthy of distinction, however three who stand out are Reg Saunders, W. Tom Saul and Kevin Ruscoe.
Reg Saunders devoted most of his life to Surf Life Saving, being an active member, he also had the responsibility of being the Branch Superintendent for eight years and Branch President for eight years, the positions on some occasions being held concurrently. For his outstanding service he was made a life member of South West Rocks SLSC, Surf Life Saving Mid North Coast Branch, Surf Life Saving New South Wales and Surf Life Saving Australia.
In 1952 Reg Saunders was training a group of aboriginal boys from the Kinchela Boys Home for their Bronze Medallion, but unfortunately before they could be examined for their award some of the boys had to leave the district to gain employment. The boys that had to leave the area were Stanley Harradene, Raymond Franks, Charles Pender, William Hughes and David Perry.
During Kevin Ruscoe's reign as Club President, the club had some outstanding successes in the competition side of Surf Life Saving. The most notable being the success of four outstanding Cadet members (13-15 year age group) during the 1976-77 season, these being Robert Younger, Richard Clarke, Kevin Ball Jnr and Peter Dufty. Robert Younger competed at local Branch, Country Championship, State Championship and Australian Championship carnivals to be undefeated in the Cadet Beach Flags and the Cadet Beach Sprint events. He teamed up with Richard, Kevin and Peter to be undefeated in the Cadet Beach Relay event for that season.
In the mid 1960's history was made when a group of Aboriginal teenagers from the Kinchela Boy's Home (half way between Kempsey and South West Rocks) gained their Qualifying Certificates and their Bronze Medallions with South West Rocks on the 17th December, 1966. The boys who gained their Qualifying Certificates were R. Smith, T.Johnson, G.Cromlin, A. Cooper, W.Whyman, K Whyman, C.Leon, T.Clayton, G.Ward and P.Knight. The Bronze Medallion boys were C Jarrett, R Murray and M.Perry.
History was also created in the 1980 season when women were made full members of Surf Clubs. South West Rocks was the first club in the Mid North Coast Branch Branch and possibly New South Wales to have a group of females gain their Bronze Medallion and become full members of the movement. Annalise Eyles, Jenny Keough, Tracy Harris, Christine Younger, Tracy Ball, Regina Hayes, Therese Henry and Mandy Hinchcliffe gained their Bronze Medallion on the 19th October 1980. Instructors of the squad were Graham Jeffery, Tony Hayes and Bruce Caldwell.
A number of members who have been made Life Members of South West Rocks SLSC, these being Reverend W Harris-Walker, F.N.Range, A.W.Fowler. Jack Saul, W.Tom Saul, C. Lawrence, D. Single, C.J.Edwards,Reg Saunders, C.A.Constable, C.R.Sanders, G Lawrence, K.M.Ruscoe, G.Gillies, B.M.Caldwell, J.E.Watson, A.J.Hayes ,G Coleman, S.Bickell, C.Ball and P.Ball.
Six members of South West Rocks have been made Life Members of Surf Life Saving Mid North Coast Branch for their outstanding efforts. These members are Reg Saunders, W Tom Saul, K.M.Ruscoe, A.J.Hayes, J.E.Watson and B.M.Caldwell.
Reg Saunders, W Tom Saul, K M Ruscoe, A J Hayes and B.M. Caldwell have been made Life Members of Surf Life Saving New South Wales. One member, Reg Saunders has the honour of being made a Life Member of Surf Life Saving Australia.
South West Rocks SLSC has been prominent in staging many successful Club, Branch, Country and State Surf Carnivals for both seniors and Juniors over the years, not only in traditional carnivals but also in Inflatable Rescue Boat Events.
Over the years a number of SWR members have been selected in Country ,State and Australian teams to tour overseas. This is a great honour to be able to represent your club at this level in the Surf Life Saving Movement.
Harry Penrith 1936 - 1997
(Later known as Burnum Burnum)
Harry Penrith was born in 1936 at Wallaga Lakes on the South Coast of New South Wales, and suffered the sad loss of his mother who died in giving him birth. Separated then from his family and deprived of family life and training, Harry was taken by the government to a mission orphanage at Bomaderry on the South Coast of New South Wales. This mission was run by devoted Christian women of the United Aborigines Mission and had a great influence on his later life.
After a few years at the Bomaderry Mission Harry Prenith was sent to the Kinchela Boys Home, which is situated half way between Kempsey and South West Rocks on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Whilst living at the Kinchela Boys Home Harry attended Kempsey High School where he completed Fifth year and gained his leaving certificate. During his school years Harry became a top sportsman. He was a member of Kempsey High Schools First XI Cricket team, captained the school's Rugby League First XIII. He also played football for Smithtown Rugby League Football Club in the under 18 team. Harry Prenith was also captain of the Kinchela Boys Home.
As a resident of Kinchela Boys Home Harry also joined South West Rocks Surf Lifesaving club where he gained his Bronze Medallion on the 3 rd of January 1953. His Bronze Medallion number was N42287. Other members of the Bronze Medallion group where Kevin Ruscoe, Allan Cannane and Barry Porter. Harry was the first aboriginal to gain his Bronze Medallion with South West Rocks SLSC and possibly the first aboriginal in New South Wales and Australia to achieve this.
Upon leaving school Harry moved to Sydney where he took up a position as a clerk with the offices of the Department of Agriculture. He boarded at the Petersham Baptist Young Men's Hostel. In 1960 whilst living at the Hostel Harry Penrith started a tennis club for lonely aboriginal people in Sydney. The club meet on Friday nights on a hired court in Prince Alfred Park in Sydney.
Harry Penrith was a versatile sportsman. Not only did he excel at Rugby League, cricket and surf lifesaving, he also played Rugby Union for the Riverina district against the New Zealand All Blacks and played Rugby Union for New South Wales against Victoria. In 1963 Harry won the Wayling Medal for the best and fairest player in Group 13 Rugby League. He also played first grade Rugby Union for Parramatta.
At the age of 37 Harry Penrith was appointed to the position of Executive Officer of Aboriginal Hostels Ltd. He was the first aboriginal to be appointed to the company's staff. Aboriginal Hostels Ltd was formed by the Australian Government in June of 1973. The Board of Directors was chaired by Mr Charles Perkins.
Later in life (1976) Harry took an aboriginal name (Burnum Burnum) after his great grandfather. He became an activist for aboriginal affairs and one of his most famous stunts was when he landed at Dover, England in 1988, raised the aboriginal flag and claimed the island of Britain for the aboriginals.
Thursday - Sunday: Bar from 3pm
Bistro Dinner - Thursday to Sunday 5.30pm and Sunday Lunch 11:30-2 pm
functions@swrslsc.org.au


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How My MBA In France Got Me A Top Marketing Job In London
For Italian Alessandro Ibelli, EMLYON Business School's focus on international strategy perfectly suited his career goals
Written by Breikhna Khan
Alessandro is an MBA graduate from France's EMLYON Business School
Alessandro Ibelli had always aspired to do an MBA—it was only a matter of selecting the right school. France's EMLYON Business School—combining internationality and innovation—provided the ideal environment.
For Alessandro, EMLYON's inclusion in The Financial Times' list of the world's top 100 business schools was a key factor that drew him there. But it was the school's focus on entrepreneurship and the diversity of its cohort that entrenched his decision.
"EMLYON's cohorts are small, yet represent over 20 nationalities," he says.
Alessandro worked in Italy and the US before business school. He sought to consolidate his understanding of business strategy within a global setting during his MBA, specializing in international strategy.
The international strategy track at EMLYON provides students with a grounding in how to maintain competitiveness in complex multinational firms, the challenges of implementing strategies across different political and regulatory contexts, and how to internationalize new entrepreneurial ventures.
At the same time, EMLYON Business School's Entrepreneurial Leadership Project provided Alessandro with further insight into the formulation of business strategy. The scheme enables students to apply theory they have learnt within a practical business environment.
Alessandro undertook a nine-month consulting project with Salomon, a company known for producing winter sports gear and originating in a city close to the French Alps.
"Our group worked with the snowboard unit of the company," Alessandro recalls. "Salomon is well known among skiers, but the aim of our project was to deliver recommendations on how they could increase their brand equity for snowboarders.
"The project involved investigating the behaviors of skiers and snowboarders, digging into government regulations, and learning about other products, technologies, and resorts."
Alessandro, who completed his MBA in 2015, now works at the interface of strategy and international business in his role as global brand manager for cosmetic and pharmaceutical company, NAOS, which has a presence in over 100 countries worldwide.
Based in London, he's required to oversee multiple departments, from sales, finance, and marketing to strategy, human resources, and logistics. He notes that the MBA equipped him to perform such key roles effectively, and enhanced his ability to coordinate an enterprise at a global scale.
"I like to join a company at the beginning of a specific project, build a team and strategy from scratch, and take to the project to the next level," he says.
"I've been in London for three years now, in charge of the UK business unit of NAOS's premium brand, Institut Esthederm. I joined the unit basically alone, and year after year built a successful, young team."
Rich discussion stimulated by diverse perspectives nurtures the innovative nature of EMLYON Business School's MBA program. And, in an increasingly interconnected world, such diversity prepares students for a truly global business landscape.
Despite having lived in cosmopolitan cities like London, Miami, and New York, Alessandro does not hesitate to stress Lyon's charm.
"The gastronomic scene, two rivers dividing the city, Vieux Lyon, and proximity to the Alps, distinguishes Lyon from anywhere else I've lived," he says. "I loved it, and I hope to live there again one day."
Borges International Group
Marketing & PR Healthcare & Pharma