IBB Hamill Innovations Grant Program

The Hamill Innovation Award program at Rice provides the seed funding to initiate new, potentially-high impact yet high risk collaborative research projects.

The purpose of the IBB Hamill Innovations Grant Program, now in its fifth year, is to provide funding for the initiation of new collaborative research projects led by faculty of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering at Rice.  Grants in 2009 will be awarded at a level of up to $25,000 (direct costs) for a duration of 1 year.  Funds can be used in any way to support the establishment of a new collaboration except for travel expenses.  Projects must include at least two IBB faculty members, preferably from different disciplines.  Proposals are judged on the originality of the idea, the soundness of the scientific plan, the potential impact of the work, and the integration of the interdisciplinary collaborative team. 

  IBB's list of Hamill funded projects 2009

Dr. Yousif Shamoo, Director of IBB, presented Hamill Innovations awards to Dr. Laura Segatori, Dr. Sibani Lisa Biswal, Dr. Michael Wong, Dr. Jonathan Silberg, and Dr. Michael Covington at the 5th Annual IBB Symposium.

• Dr. Sibani Lisa Biswal, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Dr. Laura Segatori, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and T.N. Law, for their project "Engineering a nanomechanical sensor to translate protein conformations for disease detection."
• Dr. Kenneth Whitney, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Dr. Michael Covington, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, for their project "Seed-seed signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana: evolutionary ecology and molecular mechanisms of a newly-discovered process."
• Dr. Michael S. Wong, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry, Dr. Ramon Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Dr. Jonathan Silberg, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, for their project "Synthesis and characterization of bionanoparticles for light-triggered control of protein function."

IBB's list of Hamill funded projects 2008

• Dr. George Bennett, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Dr. Lydia Kavraki, Professor of Computer Science and Bioengineering, for their project “Computational Discovery and Evaluation of Novel Metabolic Pathways.”
• Dr. Jane Grande-Allen, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, and Dr. Jun Lou, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, for their project “The Development and Application of an In-situ SEM Nanoindenter for Localized Quantitative Measurements of Heart Valve Mechanical Heterogeneity.”
• Dr. Yizhi Jane Tao, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Dr. Ching-Hwa Kiang, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Bioengineering, for their project “Assembly of the Influenza A Virus Ribonucleoprotein Complex.”
• Dr. Jason Hafner, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and Dr. Jeffrey Hartgerink, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Bioengineering, for their project “Heterotrimeric Collagen Assembly on Gold Nanorods.”
• Dr. Jonathan Silberg, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Dr. Junghae Suh, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, for their project “Engineering Protein Switches that Control Adeno-Associated Virus Disassembly for Gene Therapy Applications.”

IBB's list of Hamill funded projects 2007

• Dr. Robert Raphael (Bioengineering) and Dr. Jonathan Silberg (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled "Creating a Biosensor for In Vivo Measurements of Membrane Cholesterol in Single Cells."
• Dr. Vicki Colvin (Chemistry), Dr. Rebekah Drezek (Bioengineering), Dr. Mary Ellen Lane (Biochemistry and Cell Biology), and Dr. Daniel Wagner (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled "A Zebrafish Model for the Assessment of the Biological Properties of Nanomaterials."
• Dr. Kathleen Beckingham (Biochemistry & Cell Biology) and Dr. Bruce Weisman (Chemistry) for their project titled "Use of a Model Organism to Develop Tissue Targeting of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes."
• Dr. Cecilia Clementi (Chemistry) and Dr. Jeffrey Hartgerink (Chemistry) for their project titled "A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach to the Design and Characterization of PBX-Binding Peptides with Cancer Suppressing Activity."
• Dr. Janet Braam (Biochemistry) and Dr. Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled "Ion Binding by Novel Sensor Proteins in Plants."

IBB's list of Hamill funded projects 2006

• Dr. Bonnie Bartel (Bioengineering and Chemistry) and Dr. James McNew (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled “Uncovering New Roles for Peroxins.”
• Dr. Michael Diehl (Bioengineering and Chemistry) and Dr. Anatoly B. Kolomeisky (Chemistry) for their project titled “Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Biomotor Cooperativity.”
• Dr. Robert Raphael (Bioengineering) and Dr. Thomas Killian (Physics and Astronomy) for their project titled “Development of a Microfabricated Magnetic Force Transducer On-a-Chip System for Cell Mechanics Studies.”
• Dr. Jennifer Rudgers (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and Dr. Carrie Masiello (Earth Sciences) for their project titled “Isolating AM Fungi as Keystone Regulators of Carbon Sequestration in Dune Ecosystems.”
• Dr. Michael Kohn (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and Dr. Michael Liebschner (Bioengineering) for their project titled “The Calcification Paradox in a Novel Rodent Model may be Explained with Hereditary Vitamin K-deficiency.”

IBB's list of Hamill funded projects 2005

• Dr. Rebekah Drezek (Bioengineering) and Dr. Jane Tao (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled “The Development of a Nanoparticle-Based Point-of-Care Influenza Detection Test.”
• Dr. Ching-Hwa Kiang (Physics) and Dr. Jane Tao (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Dr. Michael Deem (Bioengineering) for their project titled “Investigations of the Mechanical Properties of Human Cardiac Titan.”
• Dr. Jane Grande-Allen (Bioengineering) and Dr. Jonathon Silberg (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) for their project titled “The Development and Application of New Tools to Sequence and Manipulation Complex Carbohydrates.”
• Dr. George Bennett (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Dr. Ka-Yiu San (Bioengineering) “Exploring New Routes to the Biosynthesis of Pharmaceuticals.”