Research

Research News

Taras Oleksyk
Wednesday, March 06, 2024


Taras K. Oleksyk, associate professor in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences, has been named a U.S. Fulbright Scholar for the 2024-25 academic year. 


Meir Shillor
Monday, February 26, 2024


Oakland University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Meir Shillor was recently named a Specialist in the Fulbright-Nehru Program, and he will spend five weeks this summer at the Assam Don Bosco University in Assam, India. 


flags of the world
Monday, February 19, 2024


Oakland University has joined the United States Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab, a public-private partnership between the Department of State and a network of U.S. academic institutions that harnesses research and innovation of students and faculty to solve global challenges. 


Dr. Dawn Woods
Wednesday, February 07, 2024


Dr. Dawn Woods, an assistant professor in the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University, has received a five-year, $781,196 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in support of her research project, entitled “Sparking ‘Number Talks’ to Strengthen Mathematical Identities.”


Beaver dam in OU Preserve
Wednesday, January 31, 2024


A recent beaver sighting on the campus of Oakland University has researchers optimistic about what the animal’s return to the OU Biological Preserve could mean for the ecosystem.


Zhe Wang and Erin Witherspoon
Wednesday, January 10, 2024


Oakland University Assistant Professor of Chemistry Zhe Wang is helping combat the opioid crisis and protect law enforcement officers with his project, “Development of a Low-Cost, Portable, Rapid Opioid Detection Tool for Enhanced Field Decision-Making,” which just received a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice.


Vereena Salib, Kristin Henein, Olivia Racette, Morgan Markel, Dr. Gerard Madlambayan, Provost Britt Rios-Ellis, Dr. Sarah Hosch, President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, Danielle Dorsen, Huong Tran, Daniela Me
Thursday, December 07, 2023


The Oakland University chapter of Sigma Xi took home an impressive nine awards in various categories at the second annual International Forum on Research Excellence (IFoRE), which took place Nov. 9-12 in Long Beach, Calif.


NSF CAREER Award recipients
Wednesday, November 22, 2023


Oakland University researchers garnered three CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation in 2023, the fourth-most among Michigan’s public universities. The recipients are Ngong Kodiah Beyeh, Jun Chen and Wing-Yue Geoffrey Louie and their work has potential to revolutionize many fields, from materials science to transportation to healthcare and education. 


Zhang lab researchers
Wednesday, November 15, 2023


Each year, nearly 40,000 infants (10% of total live births) are born prematurely (before 37 weeks of gestation) in the United States, and that number is growing. Premature infants have a high risk of developing lifelong low vision. Their eyes can also develop myopia, a common vision condition in which near objects appear clear, but objects farther away look blurry. 


Lizz Parkinson
Tuesday, October 31, 2023


OU graduate student Lizz Parkinson, with the support of her Department of Biological Sciences faculty adviser, Professor Scott Tiegs, has published an article regarding her light pollution research in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.


2023 ERI SUPER Symposium
Thursday, October 05, 2023


The Summer Undergraduate Program in Eye Research (SUPER) at Oakland University held its 21st annual student research symposium in the Oakland Center this summer.


Ngong Kodi Beyeh
Friday, September 22, 2023


Dr. Ngong Kodiah Beyeh, assistant professor of organic chemistry at Oakland University, has received a five-year, $700,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The award will support research and education on halogen bonding, a process that could transform the field of materials science. 


Guatemalan students at Paint Creek
Monday, July 31, 2023


A group of students from Guatemala recently visited Oakland University to learn more about freshwater ecology and sustainability in Michigan as part of a collaborative program with OU’s Office of International Education and the Department of Biological Sciences.


Wolfsberger, Shchubelka, Smolanka and Oleksyk
Thursday, July 27, 2023


In the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the global scientific community rallied to support Ukraine’s scientists, offering paid positions, education programs, funding programs and other assistance. 


Students in OU ERI Summer Undergraduate Program
Thursday, June 01, 2023


Oakland University’s Eye Research Institute (ERI) recently welcomed eight students — the most since 2013 — into its Summer Undergraduate Program in Eye Research.


Ann Marie Dennis
Wednesday, May 31, 2023


Ann Marie Dennis wore many hats during her 20-year career in law enforcement. 


Fatima Bhatti
Monday, April 24, 2023


Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 32 million U.S. adults. The condition, caused by the breakdown of joint cartilage between bones, can result in pain, stiffness, swelling and even disability. 


Dr. Daniel Goble
Monday, April 17, 2023


Good balance is a critical aspect of everyday life. From performing simple day-to-day activities like walking and climbing stairs to more complex, athletic activities, balance is required in order to prevent falls and injuries.Seeing the need for more accessible and affordable methods of balance measuring and training, Dr. Daniel Goble, Oakland University director and associate professor of exercise science, created the Balance Tracking System, or BTrackS for short.


Jun Chen and Wing-Yue Geoffrey Louie
Wednesday, April 12, 2023


Assistant Professors Jun Chen (left) and Wing-Yue Geoffrey Louie received CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation to support research and academic programs in the School of Engineering and Computer Science.Jun Chen and Wing-Yue Geoffrey Louie, assistant professors in Oakland University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have received CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation to support their respective research projects and expand academic and research opportunities for students. 


Alexandra Atang, Adam Avery and Sarah Denha
Thursday, March 09, 2023


Three Oakland University researchers are part of a team that developed a new method to screen FDA-approved drugs to determine if they could be repurposed or improved to help patients with Spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 (SCA5), a rare genetic disease of the nervous system. 


Cybersecurity
Monday, March 06, 2023


Responding to critical industry needs in Michigan, the U.S. and around the world, Oakland University's Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) will launch a new Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (pending final approvals), building on the university’s reputation as a center for cybersecurity education, research and support. 


Vaccine stock image
Monday, February 20, 2023


Many vaccine trials use age de-escalation with the goal of safeguarding the interests of younger, more vulnerable populations. After a vaccine’s safety and efficacy are established in adult populations, progressively younger cohorts are enrolled and studied. Although age de-escalation approaches are widely used, including in the recent development of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, ethicists have not comprehensively addressed the benefits and risks of such approaches. 


Yasmeen Hassan and Dao Qi Zhang
Friday, February 10, 2023


Oakland University undergraduate student Yasmeen Hassan has received a $2,500 grant from the Sigma Xi Society to support her research on the underpinnings of human vision. The electrical and computer engineering major is investigating how the human eye senses motion. 


Artishia Moore with dynamometer
Monday, January 30, 2023


Cardiometabolic diseases are a group of common but often preventable conditions, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Detecting cardiometabolic disease risk in younger populations is important because children with higher cardiometabolic risk are more likely to develop those conditions, and other health complications, when they become adults. Oakland University researchers have published a study using grip strength to help assess cardiometabolic disease risk among adolescents and young adults in the U.S. 


Nationally ranked Oakland University’s Department of Bioengineering receives prestigious ABET accreditation
Wednesday, January 04, 2023


A long journey for Oakland University’s Department of Bioengineering has resulted in prestigious, formal accreditation from ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) — the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technologies.


Long-spined sea urchin
Monday, December 05, 2022


A team of Oakland University researchers has published the first complete mitochondrial genome of Diadema antillarum, commonly known as the long-spined sea urchin. The invertebrate marine herbivore inhabits the shallow waters of the Western Atlantic and Caribbean and serves a crucial ecological function: grazing on algae along the region’s coral reefs, preventing overgrowth that can threaten the reefs and the biodiversity they support. About a quarter of the ocean’s fish depend on coral reefs for habitat, which makes recurring die-offs of the long-spined sea urchin particularly troubling. The species has experienced die-off events during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as in the current year, with mortality rates reaching 90-95%. 


Sigma Xi award winners
Thursday, December 01, 2022


Oakland University students received a total of six awards — the most of any other university in attendance — at the inaugural International Forum on Research Excellence (IFoRE), which took place November 3-6 in Alexandria, Va.


OUSWE members
Thursday, November 10, 2022


Members of the Society of Women Engineers Oakland University student chapter recently attended the organization’s national conference where they presented research, gleaned inspiration from women leaders and learned about diverse career paths for aspiring engineers. 


Dr. Zissimos P. Mourelatos
Tuesday, November 08, 2022


The Research Office at Oakland University presented awards to several OU faculty members in recognition of their outstanding research and initiative during the Research, Innovation and Engagement Town Hall, which was held on Thursday, November 3. The awards were presented virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Elizabeth Parkinson
Thursday, September 15, 2022


Elizabeth Parkinson, a doctoral student in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences, has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The fellowship supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees with a focus on NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. 


OU professor helps discover, describe new species of gecko in Puerto Rico
Tuesday, August 23, 2022


Up to this week, there have been six previously recognized species of geckolettes (or dwarf geckos, genus Sphaerodactylus), endemic to Puerto Rico. However, this number has just been updated.


Dr. Dao-Qi Zhang, Dr. Ken Mitton, Gabrielle Abdelmessih, Alexander Seidel, Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, Paul Negoita, Yasmeen Hassan, Dr. Amany Tawfik, and Dr. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey
Tuesday, August 02, 2022


The Summer Undergraduate Program in Eye Research (SUPER) at Oakland University held its 20th annual student research symposium on Friday, July 29.The highly selective 12-week program allows students to perform research on the causes and potential cures for eyes diseases — such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, and very rare inherited retinal diseases in infants — with guidance from faculty members in the university’s Eye Research Institute (ERI).


Luis Villa-Diaz
Thursday, July 21, 2022


As NASA prepares to return to the moon in 2025, Dr. Luis Villa-Diaz and a team of researchers at Oakland University have been studying the effects of microgravity — the closest that we can get on Earth to zero gravity, like that found on the International Space Station — on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). These cells have the ability to remain undifferentiated by self-renewal mechanisms or to differentiate into virtually any cell type in the human body.


STEM at OU
Wednesday, June 01, 2022


Oakland University has been selected by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) to participate in a Master’s Career Path Exit Survey project, which is designed to expand our understanding of how master’s education across all fields prepares the STEM workforce.


Chiaoning Su
Friday, May 27, 2022


Oakland University has named Chiaoning Su as director of its Barry M. Klein Center for Culture and Globalization. 


Healthology 2022
Monday, May 02, 2022


Oakland University’s Healthology Symposium — “where science, practice and social interests meet” — will return next month to celebrate impactful research and collaborative approaches for addressing upstream social determinants of health, in achieving better downstream care.


Sigma Xi Lecture
Friday, April 22, 2022


The Oakland University chapter of Sigma Xi, the national scientific research honor society, celebrated the research achievements of students and faculty during its annual lecture and banquet on April 7 on OU’s campus. The lecture was given by David Good, an author, filmmaker and member of the Yanomami tribe, an isolated indigenous people who reside deep in the Amazon Rainforest across parts of southeastern Venezuela and western Brazil. 


OU Research Development team
Thursday, April 14, 2022


The Research Development team at Oakland University has decades of experience working with investigators across all disciplines to develop and refine their project ideas, identify appropriate funding sources, craft targeted proposals, and secure funding.


Research, Innovation and Engagement Town Hall
Thursday, April 07, 2022


The Research Office at Oakland University presented awards to several OU faculty members in recognition of their outstanding research and initiative during the Research, Innovation and Engagement Town Hall, which was held on Thursday, April 7. The awards were presented virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


GryphonHR
Friday, March 18, 2022


GryphonHR, an OU INC client company specializing in human resource management and compliance, is being recognized as one of the best small businesses in Michigan. The company has been selected as the 2022 SmartZone Best Small Business Award recipient by Michigan Celebrates Small Business, an initiative of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to honor and promote entrepreneurship across the state. 



Wednesday, March 02, 2022


Oakland University biology researchers banded with scientists across the world to understand the relationship between  greenhouse gas emissions produced by ecosystems and environmental change. Their findings offer new methods and baseline information to follow changing ecosystems as the earth warms.


Tom Raffel and Jason Sckrabulis
Friday, February 18, 2022


Researchers in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences have published a study that employs statistical models to analyze host-parasite relationships – in this case between tadpoles (hosts) and flatworms (parasites). The study, published in The American Naturalist, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed publications in ecology, evolution and behavior research, uses the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) to describe the role temperature plays in that relationship. 



Wednesday, February 16, 2022


A research study conducted by Oakland University and Beaumont Research Institute is providing new insights that could lead to more effective treatment in lung cancer patients. 


Ilias Cholis
Thursday, January 20, 2022


Oakland University Professor Ilias Cholis was recently awarded a $60,000 grant from the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science in support of his research on dark matter, a form of matter that has never been detected absorbing, reflecting or emitting light and is, therefore, extremely hard to spot.


Puerto Rican Paso Fino
Thursday, January 13, 2022


Puerto Rican Paso Fino Caballo Cuentas Claras, ridden by René Concepción, on the grounds of El Morro, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Hostos Gallardo)Researchers in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences collaborated with researchers from the United States, Ukraine, Sweden and Belgium on a study examining the genetic ancestry of two horse breeds, the common Puerto Rican Non-Purebred and the Puerto Rican Paso Fino, a horse noted for its smooth, sure-footed gait. 


Pawley Lean Partnership
Wednesday, January 12, 2022


The Pawley Lean Institute has partnered with the Lean Learning Center as it pertains to the Lean Lab housed in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department (ISE) at Oakland University.The partnership includes a $60,000 pledge by the Lean Learning Center as part of the funding requirements for the Lean Lab.


Khalid Malik
Monday, January 10, 2022


Oakland University Professor Khalid Malik has been awarded $92,500 by the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Innovation Hub for Advanced Computing for his work on an Anti-Deep Fake technology and Deep Forgery Detector, which incorporates Deep Learning, Knowledge Graphs, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to detect visual deepfakes, as well as voice cloning.


Oil Pipelines
Friday, December 10, 2021


Oakland University Professor Ngong Kodiah Beyeh is using his extensive knowledge of chemical compounds to keep crude oil pipelines from clogging.