Impactful Research

ANNA GRINATH, PhD

Associate Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences

Grinath’s research examines how undergraduate students learn science through participation, and is designed to support effective biology teaching and learning. 

“At its heart, science moves forward through the construction and critique of knowledge claims — two central and interrelated practices that scientists use to do their work,” Grinath says. “Student participation in science practices through construction and critique is an essential, but largely absent, part of learning in university science classrooms.”

Grinath’s Biology Learning and Teaching lab addresses this challenge by studying how undergraduate students shape their ways of participating in construction and critique of knowledge claims and examining how such participation in science practices supports science learning. Grinath’s research has examined these concepts in a variety of biology courses, summer research experiences, and as part of novel course-based research experiences, resulting in instructional tools and design recommendations for effective biology teaching and learning. 

“Dr. Grinath was an exceptional mentor throughout my master’s research experience,” says Alyssa Freeman, a graduate student in Grinath’s lab. “She fostered a nurturing environment among her students that encouraged curiosity, critical thinking, and community. Her support gave me the confidence to continue my education by pursuing a Ph.D. in biology education. I will always be grateful for her guidance and the lasting impact she has had on my professional growth.” 

CORI JENKINS, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry

Jenkins’ goal is to use green chemistry principles to create sulfur-based polymers to help solve environmental problems that plague our world today. 

Sulfur is extracted from crude oil to prevent the release of SO2 during combustion, which can cause respiratory problems and form acid rain. This leads to millions of tons of excess sulfur produced each year making it inexpensive and abundant. 

“Our primary methodology, inverse vulcanization, offers an efficient, solvent-free path to turn reclaimed sulfur waste into functional polymers,” Jenkins explains. “The simple, rapid synthesis and inexpensive reagents make these materials practical and cost-effective for large scale applications.” 

Jenkins and her students have also been able to create polymers from garlic oil, a renewable sulfur source, and incorporate other renewable monomers to create more sustainable adhesives. Slight modification to the methodology led to the first water-soluble, sulfur-based polymers, limiting the need for volatile and sometimes toxic solvents and expanded the applications. These polymers can selectively remove gold ions from a mixture of different metals allowing precious resources to be reclaimed from complex waste streams, like electronics waste, helping create a circular economy.  The same material also undergoes a color change in the presence of heavy metals, providing an easy way to detect lead in water. 

The NSF funding provides undergraduates with the training in critical thinking, safety and scientific communication necessary to be successful in the STEM workforce.

“Most of the research in our lab deals with synthesizing sulfur-based polymers from sulfur waste generated by the petroleum industry, and I find it pretty cool that we take ‘waste’ and convert it to materials with relevant uses in society,” said Cal Norby, a student working in Jenkins’ lab.

SARAH GODSEY, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Geosciences

Dr. Sarah Godsey's CAREER research is focused on how streams respond to droughts, with a focus on mountain and polar systems. Her work aims to improve understanding of how interactions between climate and plants affect the way that water moves from mountains to rivers across Eastern Idaho. One recent study led the non-profit Henry's Fork Foundation to look at how they can improve summer water flow predictions by including precipitation amounts being used by headwater forests. 

Her current mountain research focuses on the rain-to-snow transition zone – those locations on the landscape where precipitation may fall as rain or as snow during the winter (or even during a single storm), making both floods and droughts difficult to predict. She’s particularly intrigued by where, when, and why streams go dry during droughts. In polar systems, she studies permafrost in northern Alaska, collecting field data and modeling future trends in how water and nutrients may respond to climate change. 

“In Idaho, we actually have many streams that are dry for much longer than just a few days; they'll dry for a few months or even longer each year,” Godsey says. “It turns out that when streams dry, they can have impacts downstream on water bodies like streams and rivers that flow year round, and so understanding what's going on up in the tips of a watershed, in the headwaters that drain down, turns out to be really important for both water quantity as well as water quality, which can have an impact on us year round from year to year.” 

In addition to scientific instruments, studying water levels in the Idaho outdoors requires survival skills as well. 

Godsey adds, “You never know what's gonna happen when you're doing field work, but collecting this really difficult to collect data is one of the joys of doing field science and then seeing the data streams at the end, and what you can learn from these is just so important.”

DEVALEENA PRADHAN, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences

Over the past two decades, including the last seven years at Idaho State University, Dr. Devaleena Pradhan has been at the forefront of utilizing non-traditional species of wild-caught songbirds and fish to understand how hormones shape anatomical features and complex social behavior. She and her trainees combine approaches in chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and engineering design to unravel these intricate and specialized behavioral processes. 

Through the development of a “Vertically Integrated Project” course, she has enhanced the opportunities for scholarship and scientific exploration in the Department of Biological Sciences.

The NSF CAREER grant has enabled her to expose those at all levels to not only develop hands-on innovative research approaches using field and lab techniques but also provided professional development opportunities through attending and presenting research at national scientific conferences. 

“We are focused on the systematic investigation of hormone-function relationships in socially living animals using innovative and cutting-edge technology from different scientific disciplines,” Pradhan explains. “We create an active learning environment that engages scientific discovery at all levels – including high school, undergraduates, post baccalaureate, graduate students and postdoctoral.”

ERIKA COLES, PhD

Associate Professor of School Psychology and Educational Leadership
College of Education

Erika Coles conducts research focused on interventions for ADHD and other related disorders, specifically highlighting the correlation between evidence-based interventions  that have been well documented, and significant barriers that remain in their implementation in real life settings, including schools and home. Dr. Coles’ work seeks to explore ways of reducing these barriers through innovative research methods and training. She has received over $15 million of grant funding from both federal funding sources such as the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Education and Institute of Education Sciences, as well as state and local funding from the Idaho Department of Education and Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County. This funding and her work combine to support three interrelated lines of research:

1. Investigating ways to increase treatment integrity in the implementation of school-based classroom interventions
2. How to best sequence evidence-based treatments for ADHD (i.e., behavioral interventions and stimulant medication) to improve child outcomes in school settings
3. Developing innovative behavioral consultation methods to address barriers that teachers face in the implementation of evidence-based interventions for ADHD and related disorders in the classroom, including teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs.

SEAN MCBRIDE

Industrial Cybersecurity Engineering Technology Clinical Sr. Instructor
Informatics Research Institute and ESTEC, College of Business and College of Technology

Civilization depends on computerized systems to provide clean drinking water, reliable electricity, and affordable manufactured goods. But these systems have never been secured from cyber-attacks. McBride’s research has helped create a foundation for formally preparing a new class of engineering/cybersecurity professionals capable of seamlessly interacting among previously disparate fields of practice.

McBride's research led to a formalized Knowledge Unit that other colleges and universities can follow (published by the Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity), an OT Security Engineering Work Role (published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology), and the development of a DOE-sponsored community of practice for cyber-informed engineering education and workforce development.

KAVITA SHARMA, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor
College of Pharmacy, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Kavita Sharma's research identifies novel biomarkers and elucidates molecular mechanisms governing biological processes. Her work focuses on the connection between aging, gut bacteria, and the immune system. Specifically, her lab investigates how gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, and the gut bacteria that produce it can impact health during the aging process.

Recognizing that aging is often associated with gut dysbiosis and declining GABA levels, Dr. Sharma's research targets GABA-modulating bacteria to determine viable strategies for maintaining gut homeostasis, balancing circulating GABA levels, and rejuvenating declining immune function. To study these relations at a molecular level, she uses liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to perform proteomic, lipidomic, and metabolomic studies.

KRISTINA M. BLAISER, Ph.D.

Professor
College of Health, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Kristina M. Blaiser, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has significantly advanced family-centered early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing through decades of research, telepractice, workforce development, and policy work, consistently translating evidence into practical, widely used tools that empower families and providers to improve developmental, educational, and communication outcomes for children with hearing differences.