April 8 Research Bulletin (Texas A&M University)

How to Submit an Item to Research Bulletin

Send: Research-related news about Texas A&M faculty, staff or students at our colleges, schools or member agencies, including honors, publications, presentations and appearances in news media.
Note: The Research Bulletin does not publish links to scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles. If your work appears in a journal, please work with your college or school communications team to develop a news story, then submit the link to that story for inclusion.
Include: A URL that links directly to your news coverage, research story or professional development.
Email: rcomm@tamu.edu

News-Media Coverage

Businesswire, Sanjay Mathew (Medicine), about clinical research on NTX-1955, a novel therapy designed to target anxiety-related neural circuits, as it advances through Phase 1b trials for generalized anxiety disorder.

CNBC, Ximena Garcia-Rada (Business), about study findings that couples often experience greater agreement and connection than expected when discussing finances.

Inside Higher Ed, Kalena Cortes (Government and Public Service), about research showing that community college baccalaureate degrees increase earnings compared to associate degrees but typically trail four-year degrees, with outcomes varying widely by field.

KLTV, Blake Bennett (Agriculture and Life Sciences), about how Tyler, Texas home prices are projected to rise in 2026 despite market concerns and have a generally strong outlook, though competition, affordability pressures and potential recession riskscould require caution.

MSN, Cliff Young (Government and Public Service), about an analysis on rising oil prices driven by geopolitical tensions, highlighting market volatility amid uncertainty over conflict with Iran.

New York Post, Tung Nguyen (Engineering), about creating a benchmark that tests artificial intelligence against expert human reasoning and highlights the ongoing importance of human expertise.

The Associated Press, Mark Barteau (Engineering), about how current efforts to ease oil shortages are only incremental patches that fall far short of replacing lost supply, underscoring the scale and persistence of the global energy crisis.

U.S. Department of Energy, Suresh Pillai (Agriculture and Life Sciences), about the advancement of electron beam technology as a safer, more effective alternative to radioactive materials for treating wastewater and breaking down harmful contaminants like PFAS.

Articles From Colleges and Schools

Alexander Obeng, Genny Carrillo and Taehyun Roh (Public Health) discovered that combining education on asthma and the use of HEPA air purifiers can significantly improve the quality of life for adults with asthma. Cleaner Indoor Air and Asthma Education Improve Adult Asthma Outcomes
Bonnie Dunbar (Engineering) contributed to research on human spaceflight systems and technologies supporting missions like the Artemis II, which will send astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby to test deep-space systems and human capabilities, and Michael Fossum (Galveston), who serves as vice president and chief operating officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston, supports and advocates for university-led space research like TAMU-SPIRIT. Same Moon, Different Day: Artemis II Begins New Era of Space Exploration
Christopher Owens (Public Health) reviewed research about LGBTQ+ health in rural areas, identifying a lack of intervention studies and testing for solutions to health problems. School of Public Health Leads Review of 25 years of Research on the Health of Rural LGBTQ+ Americans
Guilherme Verocai, Joe Luksovsky and Tiana Sanders (Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences) co-authored a global genomic study of heartworms that revealed the parasite’s ancient, complex evolutionary history and provided a genetic baseline to track its spread and potential drug resistance. Texas A&M Research Sheds New Light on Heartworm’s Ancient Global History
Jennifer Dulin (Arts and Sciences) and team identified a rare group of stem-cell-derived neurons that can integrate into spinal cord circuits and restore signals to leg muscles after injury, advancing potential therapies for paralysis. Study Identifies Key Neurons That Can Jump-Start Leg Movement After Spinal Cord Injury
Jun Wang (Medicine) found a connection between the brain’s stress centers and the dorsal striatum, the region responsible for decision-making, helping explain how stress can drive addiction-related behaviors such as drinking. Stress and Addiction: New Research Reveals What Connects Them
Rupak Mahapatra and David Toback (Arts and Sciences) developed semiconductor detectors with cryogenic quantum sensors that are being used in an experiment to detect dark matter. Search for Dark Matter Intensifies as Leading Detector Reaches Milestone
The College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts faculty and students highlighted their projects, from historical and scientific studies to performances and digital innovations, during its fourth-annual Research and Creative Works Day. ‘Curiosity,Creativity and Connection’: Faculty and Students Share Their Research and Creative Works During Annual Symposium
Ze Zhu (Arts and Sciences) studied workers’ resilience and how work stress affects productivity, discovering that starting the workday with difficult tasks does not work for everyone. The Role of Resilience in Navigating Work Stress and Achieving Daily Work Goals

Accomplishments

Nicole Peters Kroll and Matthew Sorenson (Nursing) will be inducted as Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners this summer.

Funding

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved a $133.36 million investment in a new Meat Sciences and Technology Center, expanding facilities to strengthen research, teaching and industry engagement in animal agriculture. Texas A&M Regents Keep Meat Science Center on Main Campus, Expand Investment To Anchor Future Agriculture District

Professional Development

Research Development Services offers faculty development programs and research funding workshops to assist in the process of applying for grants.       

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) offers virtual workshops that meet the face-to-face requirements of University SAP 15.99.99.M0.04. Please note that it is the responsibility of each college or school (with support or information from individual principal investigators) to ensure that all student and postdoctoral researchers associated with them are compliant with the RCR training requirements.       

High Performance Research Computing offers an ongoing series of short training courses for beginning, intermediate and advanced researchers.       

University Libraries presents a series of online workshops in research-related subjects, such as managing citations, managing research data, searching databases and publishing and copyrighting. 

The Animal Welfare Office (AWO) offers virtual workshops that meet the continuing education requirements for investigators as described in the “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” (“the Guide”). Common topics include understanding and applying Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) guidelines and crafting a well-written animal use protocol. Course offerings change quarterly.

Events

The “Workshop on Food-Energy-Water-Health Nexus as a Catalyst for a Resource-Secure and Resilient Texas” will take place April 16 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center, Room 2400. This event aims to position Texas A&M as a leader in integrated Food-Energy-Water-Health systems research, highlight innovations addressing resource security challenges, and define actionable opportunities to expand impact in Texas and globally. Registration is closed.