(Press-News.org) The National Science Foundation is awarding a new grant to support the Virginia Assuring Controls Compliance of Research Data project, known as ACCORD, a program that has helped students and faculty at universities across Virginia gain access to critical research computing resources.
The ACCORD program has provided a platform for researchers to securely share and store data as well as take on projects that require the protection of sensitive data. Participants have included minority-serving institutions, those that do not grant Ph.D. degrees, and others that lack this computing infrastructure.
Neal Magee, an associate professor with the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science, has helped lead this project since its creation in 2019 when he was with UVA’s Research Computing group.
The new funding will help Magee and the ACCORD team identify barriers to entry and address them as quickly as possible, he explained, easing access, and building trust among participating institutions.
“Defining data ownership clearly, and having a clear mapping of rights and responsibilities, is critical,” Magee said.
Magee is working with Ron Hutchins, a former vice provost for information technology at UVA and the principal investigator for the project, and Anita Nikolich, a security expert who works at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The group’s efforts will focus on three areas aimed at streamlining access to the ACCORD system, strengthening its controls, and broadening access: 1) creating a responsive security system that reduces barriers to access; 2) developing new policies that support data rights; and 3) establishing a pilot program with current users of ACCORD and additional partners from historically black colleges and universities in Tennessee.
Hutchins, Magee, and Nikolich hope that this last objective, in which the group will further expand access to the ACCORD computing infrastructure, could lead to new discoveries in a variety of scientific fields while enhancing research and teaching outcomes.
The ACCORD program, a collaboration between UVA and the University’s College at Wise, was launched in 2019 following a $2.5 million NSF grant. The next year, the agency awarded the program an additional $1.2 million to focus on COVID-19 research.
It is estimated that the new NSF grant of $600,000 for the initiative to augment ACCORD, classified as award number 2419788 by the agency, will run through July 2026.
END
NSF awards new funding to bolster UVA research computing project
2024-08-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
FDA approves engineered cell therapy for treating rare sarcoma
2024-08-02
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for the immunotherapy afamitresgene autoleuecel (Tecelra®, also known as afami-cel) for the treatment of adults with a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma.
Afami-cel is the first engineered T cell therapy to receive FDA approval for a solid tumor cancer.
The clinical trial that resulted in the drug’s approval was led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) sarcoma specialist and immunotherapy expert Sandra D’Angelo, MD.
“This treatment offers an important new option for people with this rare cancer,” Dr. D’Angelo ...
Emory researchers help discover source of deadly fungal infections in bone marrow transplant patients, new study finds
2024-08-02
Emory researcher David Weiss has spent years studying a baffling phenomenon called heteroresistance, in which a tiny fraction of bacteria remain resistant to antibiotics, while the remainder succumb. Recently, he brought his scientific acumen to the equally deadly threat of fungal bloodstream infections in patients receiving bone marrow transplants. Bloodstream infections can be lethal in these patients, including infections from Candida parapsilosis, a species of fungi that can live in the digestive tract and occasionally make it into the bloodstream.
Weiss partnered ...
Brain activity associated with specific words is mirrored between speaker and listener during a conversation
2024-08-02
When two people interact, their brain activity becomes synchronized, but it was unclear until now to what extent this “brain-to-brain coupling” is due to linguistic information or other factors, such as body language or tone of voice. Researchers report August 2 in the journal Neuron that brain-to-brain coupling during conversation can be modeled by considering the words used during that conversation, and the context in which they are used.
“We can see linguistic content emerge word-by-word ...
Prescription fills for semaglutide products
2024-08-02
About The Study: The number of prescriptions filled for semaglutide has increased substantially, reaching 2.6 million prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies by December 2023. While Ozempic persistently accounted for most semaglutide fills, increases were considerably greater for Wegovy since its approval for weight loss in June 2021. These increases, which primarily occurred following increased awareness of weight-loss benefits in late 2022, are likely contributing to the FDA-reported shortage of Ozempic and Wegovy first issued in March 2022. Despite the disproportionate burden of obesity in Medicaid and Medicare Part D populations, and recent increases in public spending ...
Safety and risk assessment of no-prescription online semaglutide purchases
2024-08-02
About The Study: This qualitative study found that semaglutide products are actively being sold without prescription by illegal online pharmacies, with vendors shipping unregistered and falsified products. Two websites evaluated were sent FDA warning letters for unlawful sale of unapproved and misbranded semaglutide. U.S. poison centers have reported a 1500% increase in calls related to semaglutide, highlighting the need for enhanced pharmacovigilance including for online sourcing harms.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD, email tkmackey@ucsd.edu.
To ...
Glycated hemoglobin A1c time in range and dementia in older adults with diabetes
2024-08-02
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that for older adults with diabetes, maintaining hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) stability in individualized target ranges over time is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Lower HbA1c time in range may identify patients at increased risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Paul R. Conlin, MD, email paul.conlin@va.gov.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...
Mast cells trap and use living neutrophils during allergic reactions
2024-08-02
Inflammation is the body's response to harmful stimuli, characterized by heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of tissue function. When balanced, inflammation protects the body by clearing harmful agents and initiating tissue repair. However, excessive inflammation can cause tissue destruction and disease. Key players in this process are various immune cells, which work together during inflammation. The type of immune cells involved often varies depending on the harmful stimulus, influencing the outcome of the inflammatory response.
Immune cell trapping during allergic responses
Mast cells, residing in tissues and critical for initiating ...
Exploding popularity of Ozempic and Wegovy among privately insured patients may worsen disparities
2024-08-02
A new USC study suggests that publicly insured individuals who are most likely to benefit from new drugs for diabetes and obesity are less likely to get them than those with private insurance.
Prescription fills for the drug best known as Ozempic or Wegovy — semaglutide — increased by more than 400% between January 2021 and December 2023, according to research out today in JAMA Health Forum.
Approved first for type 2 diabetes, then for weight loss, studies show that semaglutide also improves blood pressure and reduces cardiovascular disease — problems that plague millions of Americans. Yet the lion’s share of prescriptions ...
Sizing up microplastics: Nanofiltration uncovers environmental bioactivity
2024-08-02
A new study reveals the bioactivity of microplastics in Lake Ontario using cutting-edge nanomembrane filtering technology. Researchers found all samples contained microplastics ranging between 8 and 20 µm. The study highlights varying bioactivity levels, such as aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity and IL-6 levels, indicating potential health risks. These findings underscore the urgent need for further research to comprehend the impact of microplastics on human health and the environment. This pioneering approach offers fresh insights into tackling the challenges posed by microplastic pollution.
Microplastics ...
What gave the first molecules their stability?
2024-08-02
The origins of life remain a major mystery. How were complex molecules able to form and remain intact for prolonged periods without disintegrating? A team at ORIGINS, a Munich-based Cluster of Excellence, has demonstrated a mechanism that could have enabled the first RNA molecules to stabilize in the primordial soup. When two RNA strands combine, their stability and lifespan increase significantly.
In all likelihood, life on Earth began in water, perhaps in a tide pool that was cut off from seawater at low tide but flooded by waves at high tide. Over billions of years, complex molecules like DNA, RNA and proteins ...