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Using virtual reality to prevent falls in older adults

Katarina Benson — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 18:51:03 +0000

Using virtual reality to prevent falls in older adults Katarina Benson Tue, 07/01/2025 - 14:51

Annually, one in four senior citizens seek emergency care from a fall-related injury. Traditionally, conventional physical therapy rehabilitation approaches have been used to help prevent falls, which are often the result of poor balance. However, many in the physical therapy field now view immersive virtual reality (VR) technology as an intriguing option. While laboratory-based experiments provide promising findings, to date this technology has yet to be translated into clinical settings.

Tiphanie Raffegeau of George Mason �鶹�� ’s School of Kinesiology in the College of Education and Human Development, and Christopher Rhea, Old Dominion �鶹��’s associate dean for Research and Innovation in Ellmer College of Health Sciences, envisioned a future where clinicians could use affordable VR technology to outperform traditional diagnostics, therapeutics, and pharmaceutical approaches in fall prevention. They saw an opportunity to develop effective uses of VR technology to detect cognitive-motor function in older adults and identify fall-risk factors for this population. They were awarded a 4-VA grant for the project.

Neuroscience major Sammana Waziri tries out the rehabilitative VR in the lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of �鶹�� Branding

Raffegeau’s prior research focused on inducing anxiety during walking to study the fear of falling with an elevated height VR paradigm, while Rhea has primarily concentrated on examining how people adapt their steps to avoid obstacles in virtual environments. Through a 4-VA partnership, they aimed to increase accessibility to rehabilitative VR technology for interventions focused on reducing older adult fall-risk, while developing a framework for future scalable and fundable research.

Raffegeau hired three student programmers, Trevor Hsu, Chara Canfield, and Micah D Williams, from George Mason’s Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI) to help. The student programmers were supervised by VSGI research faculty member Jacob Enfield. Two George Mason �鶹�� graduate students are also working on the project: Kelly Poretti and Mackenzie Barrowman.

After a year of research, Raffegeau noted, “�鶹�� testing proved fruitful, and we identified a number of important results.”

First, they found that experiencing fall-related anxiety in immersive VR can further impair a senior’s walking performance. Interestingly, they also found that the anxiety response tapers over time, suggesting that experiencing virtual high-elevation settings may reduce fall-related anxiety overall. They also saw that anxiety-provoking VR settings could promote stability-related adaptations during non-VR walking in impaired populations. This suggested that the VR experience could serve as a clinical intervention to improve walking.

Tiphanie Raffegeau, Mackenzie Barrowman, and Kelly Poretti with the poster of their study. Photo provided

They shared their findings at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society’s annual meeting, the American Society of Biomechanics annual meeting, and the College of Education and Human Development’s Research Symposium.

Poretti, who is working on a PhD in Education, was awarded the Switzer Research Fellowship for Doctoral Dissertation Research by the Administration for Community Living for her dissertation “Using Virtual Reality to Reduce Mobility-Related Anxiety in Lower-Limb Prosthetic Users,” which uses preliminary data from the VR project.

“This 4-VA funding provided crucial funds to support my work as an early investigator, and it has made my future grant applications stronger as evidence of institutional support for my career trajectory,” Raffegeau said.

Raffegeau and Rhea will continue to pursue this line of research. They recently submitted a proposal to the National Institutes on Aging on “Investigating Biobehavioral Responses to Mobility-Specific Anxiety Across the Menopause Transition and the Effects on Mobility and Fall-Risk,” focusing on the effect of VR-induced fall-related anxiety on walking in pre- and post-menopausal older women.

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4-VA team studies wastewater treatment systems

Katarina Benson — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 16:17:50 +0000

4-VA team studies wastewater treatment systems Katarina Benson Wed, 04/16/2025 - 12:17

Editor’s note: This story references a grant awarded in 2023. Furst is now at 4Va partner school Virginia Tech.

One of the most pressing issues in human and ecological health is the abundance of poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and phthalate esters (PAEs) in our ecosystem—two classes of synthetic chemicals known as “forever chemicals.” In addition to their destructive nature affecting wildlife, soil, and agriculture, they are also responsible for causing human health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, fertility issues, and cancer.

While scientists worldwide are racing to learn more about how to combat PFAS and PAEs in a variety of settings, George Mason �鶹�� researcher Kirin Emlet Furst has been focused on PFAS AND PAEs in water treatment and wastewater reuse.

Working at the site. Photo provided

Furst, an assistant professor in George Mason’s Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering Department, reasoned that wastewater treatment facilities are a major avenue through which PFAS and PAEs can contaminate drinking water and air, as many of these compounds are insufficiently removed by typical treatment processes. Furst specifically wanted to explore the air-water interface. PFAS have a high surface activity, which results in their attraction to the air-water interface. And while PAEs have a lower surface activity, they might be attracted to other materials that accumulate at the air-water interface. Research in full-scale treatment systems was needed to understand these interactions.

The 4-VA@George Mason Advisory Board recognized the importance of this research and awarded Furst’s 4-VA proposal, “The role of the air-water interface in breakthrough of PFAS and phthalate esters during wastewater treatment.”

Joining Furst in the research was 4-VA partner Zhiwu (Drew) Wang, a specialist in wastewater treatment and biological processes at Virginia Tech. Furst also tapped Mason graduate student Meghana Kuppa who was already developing analytical methods to measure PFAS and PAEs. Ethan Gasper, an undergraduate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, assisted Kuppa with much of the bench work on the project.

Meghana Kuppa using the sink. Photo provided

Kuppa collected water samples and scum, which is the material that accumulates at the air-water interface, from process unit tanks at a wastewater treatment plant to measure the target contaminants and water quality parameters known to impact partitioning behavior. Their goal? Quantify the role of the air-water interface in enabling breakthrough of PFAS and PAEs in wastewater treatment facilities and identify potential engineering solutions.

Although developing the complex methodologies for the project was a challenge, several important outcomes were realized. First, high levels of multiple PFAS were found in the scum from both the primary and secondary treatment processes. The team concluded that the PFAS levels in the primary scum samples were much higher than they could accurately measure due to interference from particulates and oily substances in the water. However, analysis of the secondary treatment determined any PFAS present are more likely to be found in the treated water and may also contaminate the facility air.

While fewer PAEs were found in the scum samples, Kuppa’s experiments show that phthalates can bind to organic material in the scum. This may contribute to the difficulty in removing phthalates during wastewater treatment.

“The 4-VA award empowered my group to pursue this new line of research and helped to support Kuppa’s innovative thesis projects,” said Furst.

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George Mason to lead cross-institutional course redesign and experiential learning project

Katarina Benson — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:50:25 +0000

George Mason to lead cross-institutional course redesign and experiential learning project Katarina Benson Wed, 03/05/2025 - 14:50

George Mason �鶹�� Professor Younsung Kim has received a 4-VA grant to conduct collaborative multidisciplinary research with colleagues at partner schools in Virginia. The results will be implemented as learning modules into undergraduate courses.

Although 4-VA has awarded Collaborative Research Grants for more than 10 years, the grants have been funded separately by each institution. This new 4-VA effort is the first to be supported collectively by the statewide partnership and has added a course redesign and experiential learning element. The project will include faculty members from George Mason, Virginia Tech, and the �鶹�� of Virginia and will focus on growing 4-VA’s collaborative research success.

Kim’s proposal, “Designing Experiential Learning Modules for Stormwater Management and Climate Adaptation via Spatial Analysis Tools,” plans to use spatial mapping tools to incorporate appropriate green infrastructure to best reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. The team will migrate this information into environmental policy coursework at their respective institutions. They also plan to ultimately make the content available statewide.

Kim, who has taught in George Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy for 15 years, will collaborate with B. Brian Park, an engineering professor at the �鶹�� of Virginia, and Mintai Kim of Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. Also joining the team is George Mason PhD student Colin Chadduck.

From left, B. Brian Park, Younsung Kim, and Mintai Kim. Photo provided

In reviewing the proposal, 4-VA evaluators noted Kim’s proposition as a standout, citing a number of key factors, including that it “addresses an important topic affecting the state and beyond,” features an “inherent interdisciplinary approach incorporating science policy, data science techniques, and architecture,” and “lends itself to creative cross-school collaborations.”

“As climate change is increasing faster than climate prediction models have suggested, it is critical that we place more emphasis on integrating green infrastructure in climate vulnerable regions,” said Kim. “I am delighted and honored to accept this award as we work together across the commonwealth to raise the bar for our faculty and students studying this important work. Together, we can tackle this critical challenge.”

“4-VA has a long track record of success with the Collaborative Research Grants program, and we are excited to expand this model to support course redesign initiatives,” said 4-VA’s State Working Group Chair Matt Banfield of UVA. “4-VA collaborative projects have built bridges between our institutions, nurtured hundreds of faculty and student relationships, provided valuable opportunities for experiential learning and hands-on research, and jumpstarted novel research projects that have gone on to receive national and international attention. We are looking forward to supporting this project proposed by Professor Kim and her team.”

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George Mason scientists partner to create genetic markers for endangered species

Katarina Benson — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:37:16 +0000

George Mason scientists partner to create genetic markers for endangered species Katarina Benson Wed, 01/29/2025 - 10:37

Scientists have long recognized that both wild and captive populations of endangered species are at a high risk for loss of genetic diversity due to their rarity. With small or isolated populations, genetic diversity can be lost through stochastic or random genetic drift, or through breeding between close relatives. Therefore, proper management of captive populations is critical to ensure long-term sustainability.

Haw Chuan Lim. Photo provided

The struggle, however, is how to efficiently and economically collect and analyze high-resolution genetic data that can fill the knowledge information gaps in effective breeding practices.

Haw Chuan Lim, associate professor in George Mason �鶹��’s Department of Biology, saw an opportunity to combine the experience and knowledge of other experts in the field to develop a novel genomic tool to address this issue.

Lim’s proposal, “Development of a novel genotyping panel for powerful and cost-effective evaluations of population structure and kinship in the critically endangered mountain bongo,” was approved for funding by the 4-VA @ Mason Advisory Board.

Lim and his PhD student Karen Holm assembled their team — Aakrosh Ratan, assistant professor, �鶹�� of Virginia; Klaus-Peter Koepfli, senior research scientist, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation; and Budhan Pukazhenthi, research physiologist, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. 4VA funding was used to purchase the necessary supplies, reagents, and equipment, including DNA tests and probe sets.

The team reasoned that a study conducted on one animal could provide a platform for application to other endangered species. The Eastern mountain bongo, or antelope, a critically endangered native to Kenya, was chosen as a test species. Although fewer than 140 bongos remain in the wild, there are approximately 160 bongos in U.S. zoos and several hundred more on private ranches. As such, breeding and transfer strategies that increase genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding of captive animals are critical for the survival of the species.

Eastern mountain bongo. Photo courtesy of the Lim Lab

The researchers created and validated the application of a novel genetic probe-set that was used to generate data from different types of genetic markers, such as ease of genotyping, presence throughout the genome, and high information content.

Researchers collected four types of samples—whole blood, fecal swabs, tissues, and extracted DNA—from 39 North American conservation centers and zoos to begin the project. This resulted in a total of 207 samples from both current and historical ex situ populations (populations outside of the native ranges).

Lim and his team evaluated the effectiveness of the probe-set in generating high-quality genetic data from different sample types and for different genetic marker types. The data obtained are now being accessed for their ability to produce accurate information on animal kinship, genetic diversity, and population structure, which will ultimately be used to guide precise captive breeding programs.

Some preliminary data, as well as a chromosome-level genome assembly, have already been published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and online at DNA Zoo, a conservation consortium website.

A high-quality genome serves as an invaluable resource for species conservation because it can be used for many types of research such as those focused on detecting deleterious mutations. The results from this study will contribute to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for the species.

“The 4-VA@Mason funding got us started, and now we have obtained external funding to move the research even further,” said Lim.

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George Mason and Virginia Tech collaborate to build science policy connections

Katarina Benson — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 18:50:00 +0000

George Mason and Virginia Tech collaborate to build science policy connections Katarina Benson Mon, 01/13/2025 - 13:50

Today, Virginia is one step closer to bridging the gap between science and policy—a critical relationship necessary to navigate a range of socio-technical issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, and poverty. This connection was the result of a yearlong research project to identify U.S. and Virginia-based science policy programs that engage STEM-H scientists and engineers in science policy, with the goal of helping both elected officials and others access technical information to assist in decision making.

Adriana Bankston and K.L. Akerlof. Photo provided

This work was completed thanks to a coalition of faculty and students supported though a 4-VA@Mason grant. The team was led by K.L. Akerlof in George Mason �鶹��’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Todd Schenk, chair and associate professor in the Urban Affairs and Planning Program of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech and director of the Science, Technology and Engineering in Policy Program.

“This funding supported our cross-institutional collaboration and ability to conduct baseline research and networking that have been fundamental to understanding how the landscape of science policy training programs is evolving across the United States,” Akerlof said.

The team created a database of U.S. science policy programs and conducted a case study of those in Virginia through surveys and interviews with their leaders, with the goal of advancing best practices for professional mentorship of early career researchers and building capacity for training researchers to engage in public policy. Akerlof and Schenk were assisted in the study by science policy expert Adriana Bankston; George Mason students Kelsey Mitchell, Kate Saylor and Aniyah Syl; and Kenneth Dewberry at Virginia Tech.

Following the yearlong collaboration, the results of their research have been developed and are featured on a new website—along with program blogs and a listserv—created to support this emerging network of science policy programs.

The results showed that the majority—57%—of U.S. science policy programs are state based. These programs include student organizations, government placements and fellowships, academic certificates, degrees, and other training. However, it was recognized that there is a limited ability to implement evidence-based approaches within these programs.

The team compared program outcomes from Virginia’s science policy programs with those described in academic literature. Academic and professional scholarship in science communication and public affairs suggests that curricula for engaging scientists and engineers should broadly cover communication and policy processes, which could be improved.

In addition, they found that training programs would benefit from evaluation models and measures, although the lack of consistent theoretical foundations across this highly multidisciplinary scholarship reduces their utility. It was concluded that a common framework, which includes shared terms and relationships, is needed to promote the growth of the field.

With the results of their analysis in hand, the team, including George Mason undergraduate student Aniyah Syl and PhD student Kelsey Mitchell, helped lead a state webinar on science policy programs featuring Virginia program leaders. Syl co-presented on the project at a Virginia Sea Grant Symposium which was also the topic of an American Geophysical Union e-lightning talk.

Master’s student Kate Saylor successfully defended her thesis on the Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Policy Fellowship and subsequently presented her results to James Aylor, president of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

The first of two research articles based on the project has just been accepted by the journal Evidence & Policy. A second article has also been submitted for publication. Syl and Mitchell participated as co-authors on the publications.

The team is also in conversation with the leadership of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine about the development of a new weeklong science policy program for undergraduate students from across the commonwealth’s public universities.

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Research using AI to track Amazon rainforest species produces landmark results

Colleen Rich — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 13:47:06 +0000

Research using AI to track Amazon rainforest species produces landmark results Colleen Rich Mon, 11/25/2024 - 08:47

Thanks to the tenacity of a George Mason �鶹�� biology professor, animals in the Amazon have a lot less privacy these days, but that’s good for scientists who to want know what’s going on in the Brazilian rainforests.

David Luther recognizes the importance of playing the long game in research, but even he couldn’t have imagined the hurdles and roadblocks ahead of him following the approval of his 2019 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant proposal, “Species richness resilience to habitat fragmentation and restoration in tropical rainforests.”

His plan was to install recording equipment at 50 sites as part of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. These audio and video devices were meant to document and measure differences in animal community composition and the rate of animal recovery in secondary forest and forest fragments.

The proposed budget was devoted entirely to purchasing the wide array of materials necessary for the effort — cameras, acoustic recorders, and batteries—along with the international travel needed to bring the project to fruition.

In March 2020, all of Luther’s efforts came to a halt due to the pandemic. Additionally, one of the key members of the planning team, Tom Lovejoy, passed away in December 2021. Lovejoy was recognized as one the world’s leading conservation biologists and often referred to as the “godfather of biodiversity.” With Lovejoy’s passing, Luther lost a mentor and a critical member of the team.

Tens of thousands of animal images, such as this ocelot, have been collected for the project from camera traps. Photo provided

However, Luther stayed the course, revamping his team and rewriting the schedule. Finally, in June 2022, he received the green light to move ahead. Between June and October 2022, 136 cameras and 81 acoustic devices were installed across 50 sites at BDFFP.

Today, to Luther’s great delight, the results have proved far more successful than he could have ever anticipated. Tens of thousands of animal images from camera traps and audio recordings have already been collected.

To analyze the data, Luther built a team of 15 George Mason undergraduate researchers, artificial intelligence (AI) experts, and members of Arbimon, a nonprofit organization that specializes in analyzing acoustic recordings from the tropics to identify animals.

The student volunteers on this project included Alexis Lembke, Amanda Jones, Adriana Em, Madison Cheung, Morgan Ellingsworth, and Grace Carriero. Aline Medeiros, a PhD student in environmental science and policy, helped manage the undergraduate researchers working on the audio files. Medeiros will also use the captured data as the basis of her PhD research.

Another set of students helped identify animals in the camera images and entered that information into a large database. Hibo Hassan, Jordan Seidmeyer, Katie Russell, Carolian Sanabria, Adrian Em, Alix Upchurch, Piper Robinson, Tristan Silva-Montoya, and Estefany Umana spent hours creating this treasure trove of records. Emilia Roberts, a master’s student in environmental science and policy, managed these undergraduate researchers.

Discussing the project, Luther explained that, for the acoustic recordings, they built templates for 250 bird species and trained AI models to automatically detect and classify songs for each.

Channel-billed toucan. Photo provided

“The model performed very well in our evaluations. We have already detected 201 of the 250 species,” said Luther, who teaches in the Biology Department of George Mason’s College of Science. “Thanks to our model, new recordings can be passed through it to automatically detect species calls, facilitating long-term monitoring and efficient analyses moving forward. We are now working with local experts in Manaus, Brazil, to apply the same platform for frogs at our study sites in the Amazon rainforest.”

The biodiversity data is being used to assess how each species responds to variations in forest structure and recovery from forest fragmentation. Luther brought on Konrad Wessels from George Mason’s Geography and Geoinformation Science Department to assist with satellite information from the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation instrument, which uses high-resolution lasers to provide detail in three-dimensional forest structure. These results will build predictive models to study how the forest structure can forecast mammal and bird diversity and individual species occurrence in tropical rainforests.

In an important finding, the team has determined that the three-dimensional complexity of the forest structure, as measured by foliage height diversity, is the biggest predictor of mammal and bird diversity at this research site, and potentially others, in the Amazon rainforest.

The project continues to gain traction. The team has created a website featuring the results of the acoustic portion of the research, which has been very well received. Some of the acoustic training models have been used by teams competing for the X-Prize, a competition designed to encourage technological developments supporting “radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.”

Building on the 4-VA funded study, Luther also received a $200,000 National Science Foundation grant to continue both the camera and acoustic research. Luther and Wessels recently submitted a grant to NASA to expand on the research findings and apply them to the entirety of the Amazon basin.

“Through 4-VA@Mason, this project is up, running, and delivering fantastic information that will help scientists worldwide better design monitoring schemes for biodiversity in remote tropical forests, as well as those interested the relationship between habitat structure and degradation and species resilience to disturbance,” said Luther.

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George Mason team identifies technology to enhance artificial photosynthesis

Colleen Rich — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 18:12:52 +0000

George Mason team identifies technology to enhance artificial photosynthesis Colleen Rich Tue, 09/17/2024 - 14:12

When a 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant results in the production of a novel concept for technology solutions to support energy and climate issues, while also sharing resources and data between higher education institutions in Virginia and providing faculty and student research opportunities, it is a win for all involved.

Yun Yu. Photo provided

This was achieved following 4-VA’s approval of a proposal by George Mason �鶹��’s Yun Yu, an assistant professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, for a grant titled “Nanoscale Visualization of Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction Activity at Cu Nanocatalysts.”

Yu’s goal was to investigate options in catalytic electrode materials to improve and enhance electrocatalysis, a process essential for harnessing sustainable energy sources for artificial photosynthesis. While nanostructures are currently recognized as the most successful catalyst for many chemical reactions, there is more to understand about tailoring their crystalline planes to improve activity and selectivity.

Yu wanted to gain deeper insights into various nanocatalysts used in carbon removal technologies. The conventional approach to conducting this study often involves measuring the entire catalyst, composed of numerous small particles with varying sizes and shapes. However, critical information, such as the impact of heterogeneities on performance, is often lost in such ensemble measurements.

Yu saw the potential for leveraging the nanoscale scanning electrochemical microscopy at George Mason to obtain detailed surface reactivity maps of nanocatalysts. However, to do so, Yu needed to acquire shape-controlled nanostructures, including copper nanowires, copper nanocubes, and nickel–iron layered nanosheets. He did so through a partnership with Sen Zhang, associate professor of chemistry at the �鶹�� of Virginia.

Graduate student Dan Tran operating the scanning electrochemical microscope. Photo provided

Yu’s team—graduate student Dan Tran and undergraduate students Solyip Kim, Melissa Nguyen, and Mackenzie Dickinson—played a key role in the project, receiving funding and real-world research experience. Together, they identified furfural reduction, an important reaction for sustainable biofuel generation, and they noted a distinct contrast in activity between copper and graphite support.

“These preliminary experiments have demonstrated the viability of our scanning electrochemical technique in spatially resolving catalytic activity across nanoscopic structures,” said Yu. They further expanded the application to the study of nickel–iron catalysts.

“�鶹�� data suggested that adding trace amount of cerium oxide to the catalysts significantly enhances water oxidation activity. We would not have these insights without this powerful electroanalytical technique,” said Yu.

The initial results have provided Yu with a springboard to develop external grant proposals to systematically study the role of cerium oxide and quantify the effects of its loading on the apparent catalytic activity of the developed catalysts.

“This 4-VA opportunity allowed us to create a partnership with UVA, create a team to implement further investigation via George Mason’s nanoscale scanning electrochemical microscopy, and now apply for further funding to move this project forward,” Yu said.

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4-VA supports childhood working memory research collaboration

Colleen Rich — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:06:22 +0000

4-VA supports childhood working memory research collaboration Colleen Rich Thu, 08/08/2024 - 09:06

As an undergraduate, Sabine Doebel became fascinated by children’s thinking and how it changes with age. Now, as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at George Mason �鶹��, she spends much of her time in the Developing Minds Lab designing studies to understand how young children learn to think.

Photo provided

Although these executive function skills are vital to children’s success in school and beyond, much remains unknown about their development. Particularly important for academic success is working memory—the capacity to maintain and manipulate information in mind, such as words, numbers, and other symbols. Working memory is often measured using tests including the Backward Digit Span, in which children repeat increasingly long sequences of digits in backwards order.

“I have always been interested in how experience may shape working memory skills,” said Doebel. She was particularly curious about how early learning experiences at home— specifically in the domains of literacy and numeracy—could foster growth in working memory span.

With the support of a 4-VA award, Doebel had the opportunity to share this new project idea with her colleague and mentor Angeline Lillard, a widely respected developmental psychologist and researcher in the Department of Psychology at the �鶹�� of Virginia (UVA).

“�鶹�� collaboration would not have taken off the way it did if it hadn’t been for Angeline, because she was the one who sent me an email about 4-VA,” said Doebel. “She said, ‘Have you heard of 4-VA? We should consider this option.’”

The core purpose of 4-VA is to improve efficiencies in higher education and research and promote collaborations among the Virginia public universities. So Doebel’s project, How Does Experience Support Working Memory Development?, was a perfect fit.

Doebel’s lab recruited and tested more than 100 children on four different variations of the backward span tasks. Parents also completed a detailed survey reporting frequency and variety in various home learning practices. At UVA, Lillard leveraged her own participant pool and school connections to recruit an additional sample of conventionally schooled and Montessori-educated children.

Doctoral student Nicole Stucke working with a student in the lab. Photo provided

Doebel enlisted George Mason students Jordan Hassani, BA Psychology ’23, and Nicole Stucke, PhD Psychology ’24, to collect the data. Hassani created the survey, tested the children, and coded the data. Stucke, who has functioned as the Developing Minds Lab manager, helped with testing. Other team members, including George Mason undergraduate Scarlett Bird-Guerra, BS Psychology ’23, were involved in community-based recruitment efforts.

UVA undergraduate Maksud Juraev and graduate student Abigail Kissinger led the UVA data collection efforts.

The team noted that the results were both as predicted and surprising. As expected, they found that children show larger backward spans for items that are relatively familiar—for example, performance on trials that involved the digits 1, 2, 3 was better than on trials involving 7, 8, 9.

However, while Doebel expected that children who engaged in more numeracy practices at home might show better performance on a backward span task involving digits, support was not found for this hypothesis. Instead, it was observed that children’s backward digit span was related to home literacy practices, and that this was true even after accounting for other home learning practices and age.

Doebel presented the findings at meetings of the American Psychological Association and at the Society for Research on Child Development. She and Lillard are also preparing manuscripts for publication in academic journals in the field.

Next up for the team is to dive deeper into Lillard’s connections in Charlottesville with Montessori schools to test whether children who are Montessori-educated show larger backward digit spans than children who are educated in conventional schools, as expected given the emphasis Montessori schools place on literacy and numeracy.

Doebel said the 4-VA support not only helped the project be successful but made a difference for the student researchers as well. “As a result of this funding, my students have progressed in their career trajectories—Jordan is now at the �鶹�� of Maryland as a research coordinator in a National Institutes of Health-funded lab, and he’s hoping to gain admittance to a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. He got that opportunity in part because he participated in this project where he engaged real research experience.”

The original project has also led to a further study that will investigate the role of language in working memory by exploring how bilingual children with varying degrees of exposure to numerical language perform on the backward digit span task. This project is led by Victoria Rabii, a PhD student in George Mason’s Applied Developmental Psychology Program. Funded by a Presidential Scholarship, Rabii is being mentored by Doebel and psychology professor Adam Winsler.

The goal of this project is to better understand how young children’s working memory performance may be affected by their proficiency with relative linguistic concepts. “Previously, when children scored low on the task, it was pretty common for this to be interpreted as indicating low working memory ability,” said Doebel. “But now things are changing a bit, and we are asking whether children may show better performance if they are more fluent with the specific content that is integral to the task.”

Personally and professionally, Doebel is grateful for the collaboration with Lillard. “Angeline has been a major mentor for me. We have published together previously, and we are always thinking about new project ideas that could lead to external funding. This likely never would have happened if not for 4-VA,” said Doebel.

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Seventeen George Mason faculty awarded 4-VA grants

Colleen Rich — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 19:35:18 +0000

Seventeen George Mason faculty awarded 4-VA grants Colleen Rich Tue, 07/30/2024 - 15:35

Through 4-VA@Mason, George Mason �鶹�� faculty members have embarked on new pilot research projects in collaboration with higher education institutions throughout Virginia.

The 4-VA Collaborative Research Grants, first launched in the 2013-14 academic year, are designed to forge relationships in Virginia higher education to leverage the strengths of each school, decrease working in silos, and launch novel research projects that can provide a springboard for future external funding.

Other schools in the 4-VA system are the College of William and Mary, James Madison �鶹��, Old Dominion �鶹�� (ODU), �鶹�� of Virginia (UVA), Virginia Commonwealth �鶹�� (VCU), Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia Tech (VT). Christopher Newport �鶹�� is also participating in Collaborative Research Grants.

During the 2024-25 year, nine of the Collaborative Research Grants are being led at George Mason and 11 faculty members will serve as co-principal investigators (co-PIs) for research spearheaded at partner institutions.

“Each year, we are more and more impressed with the breadth and depth of the proposals,” said Janette Kenner Muir, vice provost, academic affairs, and campus coordinator of 4-VA at Mason, adding that this year’s 25 proposals were especially strong.

The 4-VA@Mason 2024-25 Collaborative Research Grant awardees, proposal title, and partner schools (in parentheses) are the following:

Rosalina Christova, College of Science, Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, “Integrative Characterization of the Anatoxin-a-Producing Benthic Cyanobacterial Genus Microcoleus in the Shenandoah River” (UVA/Wise)
Arie Croitoru, College of Science, Department of Computational and Data Sciences and Center for Social Complexity, “Quantum-Inspired Modeling for Understanding Social Complexity” (ODU)
Nadine Kabbani, College of Science, School of Systems Biology, “Proteomic profiling of molecular changes associated with chemotherapy induced neuropathy” (VCU)
Myeong Lee, College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, “Understanding Multidimensional Measures of Social Capital: Impacts of Ethnic Heterogeneity, Social Classes, and Historical Legacies of Urban Policy” (VCU)
Rayanne Luke, College of Science, Department of Mathematical Sciences, “Data-Driven Modeling of the Time-Dependent Immune Response to Infection and Vaccination” (UVA)
Amanda Madden, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of History and Art History, “Historical Mapathons: Team-Based GIS Training and Transformation of Seventeenth Century Maps” (VT)
Sang Nam, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Computer Game Design Program, “Developing A Multimodal LLM AI Agent for the XR, Extended Reality Platform for Personalized and Highly Immersive Trauma Training” (UVA)
Xiaokuan Zhang, College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Computer Science, “Uncovering Secrets from Virtual Reality Headsets via Electromagnetic Side Channels” (VT)
Xijin (Emma) Zhang, College of Engineering and Computing, Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, “Multifunctional Fungi-Based Biosurfactants for Durable Concrete Structures” (UVA)

The following George Mason faculty received funding as co-PIs for the 2024-25 academic year collaborating with other 4-VA institutions:

Shaghayegh Bagheri, College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, “MOMENTUM: Assessing the Merits of Personalized Feedback with Generative AI for Foundational Engineering Mechanics Courses” (VT)
Michael S. Bloom, College of Public Health, Department of Global and Community Health, “A new green space exposure index utilizing AI methods and an eye-tracking device” (VT)
Harrison Bray and Anton Lukyanenko, College of Science, Department of Mathematical Sciences, “Collaborative workshops in topology” (UVA)
Pei Dong, College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, “Printing of Ultrathin Conductive Films on Liquid for 3D Wearable Electronic” (UVA)
Jessica Otis, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of History and Art History, and Heidi Lawrence, Department of English, “Human Dimensions of Infectious Diseases” (VT)
Jingyuan Yang, Costello College of Business, “Building Machine Learning Resilience During Disasters” (UVA)

In This Story

Sang Nam

Research at Mason

Topics

Research

4-VA at Mason

Strategic Direction

George Mason team creates augmented reality campus tour for transfer students

Shayla Brown — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 18:03:10 +0000

George Mason team creates augmented reality campus tour for transfer students Shayla Brown Thu, 07/18/2024 - 14:03

A team from George Mason �鶹�� is using augmented reality (AR) to create a smartphone app that will provide first-generation ADVANCE students with a virtual tour of the Fairfax Campus as they prepare to transfer from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).

ADVANCE is a collaborative effort between George Mason and Virginia’s community colleges to create a seamless pathway for students’ transfer to a four-year institution.

Kelly Schrum. Photo provided.

The AR project is co-directed by Kelly Schrum, a professor in George Mason’s Higher Education Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron, an associate professor in the School of Integrative Studies.

The app, created using ARway, will provide students with interactive GPS tracking and indoor visual positioning through a geolocation feature, directing students to their location as they travel from point A to point B.

“One of the things this tool does really well is, if you say, ‘I’d like to find the gender-neutral bathroom,’ or ‘I would like to take the elevator,’ or ‘I would like to find disability services,’ you can select it from the directory, and it’ll basically hold your hand and guide you the whole way there,” said Schrum.

The team is focusing on the four floors in Student Union Building (SUB) I, which houses on-campus student support services including the Mason Student Services Center, Student Health Services, Student Success Coaching, and many more. Each floor gets a separate AR map, Pagliarulo McCarron said. After they map SUB I, Pagliarulo McCarron said they will start work on Fenwick Library and then the Johnson Center.

The app is funded by grants from George Mason’s Office of the Provost and 4-VA@Mason, which receives funding from the state to build collaborations across institutions as well as create new technologies that promote first-generation student transfer pathways to higher education.

Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron. Photo provided.

Representatives from the First-Gen+ Center and undergrad, graduate, and PhD students are researching the common challenges transfer students face, including the need to find community, to incorporate those aspects into the app.

“Kelly and I talked a lot about possible tangible resources that would help create a stronger connection to George Mason for our students,” said Janette Muir, vice provost for academic affairs.

The team conducting the technology and digital humanities-based research includes many who are first in their family to go to college.

“Throughout this process, we learned that students felt disconnected and disoriented when they didn’t know how the campus was laid out,” said Muir, who is also director of the 4-VA@Mason program. “With the work that this team is doing, we could decrease that anxiety and help students access the services that are available to them.”

ADVANCE students currently attending NOVA are testing the app and providing feedback to the team.

In addition to student testers, ADVANCE has provided the team with aggregate data of qualitative and quantitative feedback received directly from students through an Ask an ADVANCE Student Ambassador forum on the program’s Canvas course. This information helps the program identify what students are most focused on throughout through transfer journey and time in ADVANCE.

“My hope with providing that additional data is to help narrow down what should be covered in the tours and what could be helpful to incorporate into the app,” said Jason Dodge, the executive director of community college partnerships at George Mason.

Mariya Khan. Photo provided.

“The AR campus tour and ADVANCE both highlight that transfer is not the responsibility of a single office, but that it takes a collective of folks across the university in order to pull something like that off,” said Dodge.

Schrum said several students from the graduate course HE 703 Higher Education in the Digital Age are working on the project. Team instructional designer Mariya Khan gave an in-person interactive presentation on AR and gamification to the class.

“Kelly saw how the AR I used in my presentation could be infused into what she envisioned for this project,” said Khan, who works in the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning.

“I’m a first-generation American, so I understand why projects like this are important,” Khan added. “It would be super helpful to students who want to feel more engaged and like they’re part of something.”

Veronica Visser. Photo provided.

Veronica Visser, a master’s student in higher education and leadership, has been a part of the project since its inception.

“As a first-gen international student, sometimes it can feel like you just go to campus, go to your lecture, and then you go back home,” said Visser, who is from Paraguay. “But with resources like the AR app, you learn that there are people available to help you with your resume, to help you with time management, getting your Mason [ID] card, or other resources that will make you a better student and person.”

The team will conduct a second round of user testing on the app this summer.

“Although we are focusing on first-gen transfer students for now, the project has a lot of potential to expand to other underrepresented minorities, and we’re excited to explore that,” said Schrum.

Take a look at the app in action

Currently this augmented reality experience is only mapped for Student Union Building I. The Johnson Center and Fenwick Library are both on the list to receive a similar AR map.