Under the UB 2020 Scholars Program, four UB faculty members recently received seed funding for creative and research projects.
John E. Roberts, associate professor of psychology, received $11,500 for a study on non-adherence to the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapies (HAART), a treatment for HIV.
According to Roberts, the treatment works well for treating HIV, but only if it is followed aggressively. The study will examine the possible reasons for non-adherence, in order to increase the chances of success for the treatment.
"This research has potentially important implications," he said. "Non-adherence can contribute to medication resistance, which can make medications ineffective even if patients were to become fully adherent in the future... Even the most vigilant of individuals may experience serious consequences as a result of occasional bouts of non-adherence."
Mehrdad Hadighi, associate professor of architecture, received $12,000 for research leading to the publication of the book "Buffalo Experiments." Hadighi's book will examine the history of research done in the City of Buffalo.
"The project is research based, involving the location, acquisition, organization, and structured analysis of great quantities of historical material related to the city of Buffalo and UB," Hadighi said. "The intention of the book is to highlight the history of Buffalo as a hub for experiments."
Melanie Aceto, visiting professor of theatre and dance, received $2,515 for the production of "Blurred - A New Choreographic Work," which will explore the boundaries between musician and dancer. Traditionally musicians provide accompaniment to the dance on stage from the sidelines, but her work will change the traditional setup.
"'Blurred,' a duet with dancer and pianist brings the musician onto the stage with the dancer incorporating the physicality of playing the piano into the dance as movement, as well as incorporating the dancer into the creation of sound at the piano," Aceto said. "'Blurred' asks the questions, 'when is the physicality of the musician considered dance?' and 'when is a performer considered a musician?"
The funding will be used for the creation of the choreographic work.
Associate professor of anthropology Ana Mariella Bacigalupo also received $10,650 for research leading to the publication of a book entitled "Francisca Colipe: A Mestiza Shaman at the Crossroads of Mapuche and Chilean History and Memory."
According to her proposal, the funding will be used primarily for research assistants, as well as travel and living expenses related to a research trip to Chile during June and July of 2007.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
