Current Research Funding

At the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) at Kennesaw State University (KSU) we take immense pride in our dedicated faculty members who consistently demonstrate their commitment to excellence in research and education. Many of our distinguished faculty members have earned recognition and support for their groundbreaking work through extramural grants and awards. This page is dedicated to celebrating their achievements and shedding light on the vital research and projects they're working on, thanks to these current research funding grants and awards.

Photo of research faculty and student working in a lab

Federal

Sponsor Principle Investigator (PI) Date Project Title Award Amount
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tom Leeper 2022-2026 Comparative structural and functional analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa inhibitor of vertebrate lysozyme paralogs $540,000
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Anton Bryantsev 2022-2025 Regulation of cardiac patterning via Akirin/NuRD Interactions $406,267
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brandon Carpenter 2023-2026 Elucidating the mechanisms by which ectopically expressed genes and piRNAs perturb somatic cell function when histone methylation is inappropriately regulated. $432,000
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Carol Chrestensen 2023-2026 NOS3 and p38 MAP kinase - is the interaction between them a mechanism of p38 regulation? $405,650
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Martin Hudson and Melanie Griffin 2022-2027 Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) at Kennesaw State $1,220,000
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dongyu Jia 2023-2025 Developmental regulation of epithelial cell cuboidal-to-squamous transition in Drosophila follicle $426,000
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Jonathan McMurry 2023-2026 Cell-penetrating peptide adaptors for intracellular cargo delivery $406,500
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Kojo Mensa-Wilmot, Martin Hudson and Melanie Griffin 2023-2028 Peach State Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program (T32) $2,000,000
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Kojo Mensa-Wilmot 2016-2026 Optimization and Modes of Action of NEU-4438, a New Anti-trypanosome Lead Drug $675,005
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scott Nowak 2023-2024 The role Akirin and Pannier interactions during myogenesis $135,500
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Vishnu Suppiramaniam 2020-2026 Elucidation of molecular mechanisms of prenatal cannabinoid exposure: Identification of targets and therapies. $1,723,450
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Michael Van Dyke 2024-2028 Transcription Factor Discovery in the Opportunistic Pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa $576,000
National Science Foundation (NSF) Timothy Faver 2024 – 2027 Nonlinear Waves in Discrete Heterogeneous Media $134,001
National Science Foundation (NSF) Carl Saint-Louis 2022-2024 Molecular Design, Synthesis, Properties, and Application of 2,5-bis(2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethynyl)thiophene Photolabile Protecting Groups for the Synthesis of Hydroxamic Acids $99,604
National Science Foundation (NSF) John Barrows 2022-2024 NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Regulation and response to environmental metals in thermophiles $138,000
National Science Foundation (NSF) Michael Stollenz 2022-2025 Highly Luminescent Multinuclear Coinage Metal Arrays with a Twist: A New Approach to Design Light-Emitting Molecular Strings and Coils $348,917
National Science Foundation (NSF) Michael Van Dyke 2021-2024 RUI: Transcription Factor Discovery in the Extremophile Thermus Thermophilus $330,011
National Science Foundation (NSF) Somayeh Mashayekhi 2021-2024 Collaborative Research: Reproductive heterogeneity in the structured coalescent framework $112,256
National Science Foundation (NSF) Anton Bryantsev 2021-2024 RUI: Studying B-bodies, a novel type of nuclear domains: from organization to practical exploitation. $419,789
National Science Foundation (NSF) Melanie Griffin 2022-2027

Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation

$2,499,998
National Science Foundation (NSF) Melanie Griffin 2022-2027

Louis Stokes Renewal STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: Peach State LSAMP

$267,000
National Science Foundation (NSF) Andreas Papaefstathiou 2022-2025 Deciphering Electro-Weak Scale Physics at Particle Colliders $147,051
National Science Foundation (NSF) Chetan Dhital 2022-2024 LEAPS-MPS: Investigation of topological spin texture and magnetoelectric coupling in non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic oxides $223,728
National Science Foundation (NSF) Jianming Wen 2023-2026 ExpandQISE: Track 1: Exceptional entanglement transition and supersensitive quantum sensing empowered by anti-Hermiticity and symmetries $796,083
National Science Foundation (NSF) Mahmoud Asmar 2022-2024 LEAPS-MPS Quantum vortex states and non-collinear magnetic interactions in light-driven quantum materials $159,653
National Science Foundation (NSF) Nikolaos Kidonakis and Marco Guzzi 2021-2024 Particle Theory for High-Energy Collider Physics $300,001
National Science Foundation (NSF) Nikolaos Kidonakis and Marco Guzzi 2024 – 2027 Theoretical Calculations for Particle Physics at Hadron Colliders $360,000
National Science Foundation (NSF) Kadian Callahan 2023-2024 Conference: Eliminating the Mathematics Barrier for All Students: Bringing Innovation to Scale in High Education Mathematics $99,957
National Science Foundation (NSF) Kadian Callahan, Ben Sloop, and Katie Christensen 2022-2025 Achieving Critical Transformations in Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics (ACT UP Math) $174,054
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Kyle Gabriel 2021-2024 Testing the Efficacy of Aerosolized Treatments in Reducing Prevalence of White-Nose Syndrome (GA) $87,163
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Troy Mutchler 2022-2024 Quantifying the Role of Water Quality on Nitrogen Cycling in a Tropical Estuary $59,998
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Todd Pierson 2022-2025 Distribution and genetic diversity of Chamberlain's Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea chamberlaini) $92,072
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Scott Reese and Kadian Callahan 2018-2025 KSU Inclusive Excellence Initiative $1,000,000
Army Research Office Eric Stachura 2024-2027 Analysis of the bi-anisotropic Maxwell equations on domains with Rough Boundaries $223,206

State/Private

Sponsor Principle Investigator (PI) Date Project Title Award Amount
American Heart Association (AHA) Scott Nowak 2022-2024 The role of Akirin and Pannier interactions during cardiac development $77,000
Biology Leadership Community  Dovid Kozlovsky and Liz Harrison 2023-2024 Enhancing Visual Literacy of Biology Concepts Using Figure Analysis Instruction: A Multi-Institutional Study $10,000
Georgia Department of Agriculture Mario Bretfeld 2022-2025 Offsetting the Quality-Quantity Tradeoff of Hydroponically-Grown Tomatoes via Foliar Inoculation $98,945
Georgia Department of Agriculture Christopher Cornelison 2021-2024 Piloting Sustainable Controlled Environment Mushroom Cultivation for Georgia Growers $102,341
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Premila Achar and David Joffe 2020-2024 KSU Applied Leadership Program G16 $10,000
Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Christopher Cornelison 2023-2024 MycoLogic Inc $100,000
Herpetologists League Todd Pierson 2023-2024 Spatial Variation in the Frequency of Alternative Reproductive Tactics $5,000
Herpetologists League Todd Pierson 2021-2024 Spatial Variation in the Frequency of Alternative Reproductive Tactics $130,680
Juniata University Kimberly Cortes 2023-2026 NSF RCN UBE $46,445
Lemelson Foundation Kadian Callahan 2023-2025 EOP framework $160,129
Purafil, Inc. Bharat Baruah 2023-2024 RESEARCH CONSULTING AGREEMENT $19,067
University of California-Irvine Jonathan McMurry 2022-2024 A single-molecule protein nanocapsule for targeteddelivery of diverse cargo $26,466
University of Georgia (UGA) Melanie Griffin 2023-2024 Kennesaw State LSAMP-Kennesaw Campus $53,550