The Wesleyan Connection

Rex Pratt

Rex Pratt, the Beach Professor of Chemistry, received a grant for $414,750 from the National Institute of Health and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The continuation grant was awarded July 30. Pratt’s research is titled “Beta-Lactamases & DD-Peptidases: Active site Chemistry.”

Edward Moran, chair and associate professor of astronomy, director of the Van Vleck Observatory, received a grant from the National Science Foundation for his research titled “Black Holes in the Milky Way’s Backyard.” The grant, worth $275,164, will be applied over three years. The award, presented on Aug. 26, is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Charles Sanislow, assistant professor of psychology, received a $349,939 grant from the National Institute of Health for his research titled “Cognitive Control in Borderline & Trauma Psychopathology.” The grant, awarded Aug. 24, will be applied over two years. It is a continuation of a six-year grant transferred from Yale University.

Wesleyan University received a grant worth $177,918 from the U.S. Department of Education to help establish a Middle Eastern Studies Certificate Program at Wesleyan. The grant will be applied over two years.

Bruce Masters, the John E. Andrus Professor of History, says he and other interested faculty will propose to the Educational Policy Committee an interdisciplinary cluster of courses that will allow interested students to graduate with a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies, in addition to their departmental/program major.

The grant, along with a commitment from Academic Affairs, is supporting a long-term contract adjunct instructor in Arabic language.

Amy MacQueen, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $746,997 grant from the national Institute of Health for her research titled “Regulation of Synaptonemal Complex Assembly During Meiosis in S. cerevisiae.” The grant, awarded Aug. 21, will be applied over three years.

Robert Lane, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a grant from the National Science Foundation/American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for this research titled “Cross-Disciplinary Science & Investigation of Olfactory Receptor Gene Regulation.” The award, worth $299,955 will be distributed over two years.

Steven Horst

Steven Horst, professor of philosophy, received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation on July 9.

The award, worth $55,000, will be applied over five years for his research on “Cognitive Psychology of Religion: Philosophical Implications.”

Horst’s areas of expertise are philosophy of mind, cognitive science, philosophy of psychology and moral psychology.

The Etherington Scholarship Program received a grant worth $2,000 from the Liberty Bank Foundation on July 6. The Etherington Scholarships offer outstanding students from Connecticut community colleges a chance to attend Wesleyan.

Ann Burke, associate professor of biology, received a three-year, $395,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the development and evolution of the shoulder girdle using transgenic mice, frog and salamander. She also received a two-year $100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use the same amphibian systems (salamander and frog) to develop a model system for understanding body wall defects in humans.The grants will provide funds for a team of researchers at Wesleyan working with Burke on these projects, including a postdoctoral fellow, graduate students and undergraduates.

Evan Perkoski ’10 is a recipient of a 2009-10 Undergraduate Research Program grant sponsored by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

Perkoski, who is majoring in government, will study “Counterterrorism and ETA in Spain.” His faculty advisor is Erica Chenoweth, assistant professor of government.

Undergraduate Research Program recipients are actively engaged in critical research related to the study of terrorism and responses to terrorism, consistent with the mission of START. Each recipient is paid $3,000 to enhance his/her START research and professional development and receives funds to attend the 2010 START Annual Meeting in College Park, MD.