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View our website for access to research communication resources.
If you have story ideas or suggestions for the next issue, please email them toCary ShimekorNaomi DeMarinisby the end of August.
We are especially interested in exciting work by researchers and scholars not covered before in Vision.
If you know of someone doing work worthy of acknowledgment, we want to know about it. And don’t be afraid to nominate yourself! Your input is welcome, and ideas not used in the 2026 issue may appear in future issues of Vision as well as stand-alone news releases, social media posts or mentions in our Under the M e-newsletter and the ORCS e-newsletter.
Traditionally, Vision has included a “Student Spotlight” section which highlights great work by our undergraduate and graduate researchers. If you know of such students, please send us your ideas.
Beyond Vision, we want rich, compelling undergraduate and graduate student stories that demonstrate the value of a UM education – stories we can share all year. Do you know of a student finding great success at UM? Do you have a student whose life was changed for the better by your class, UM program or lab? Do you have a student with an interesting backstory who has prospered on campus? If so, we want to hear from you.
September 1 through September 20. Apply by August 16, 2026.
Join UM's five-week Regional I-Corps program to evaluate the commercial potential of your research or technology through customer discovery. Gain tools to translate research beyond the lab while strengthening future SBIR/STTR and other translational research funding proposals. Applications are now open.
Research & Creative Scholarship Stories
UM-Providence Partnership Targets Improving Healthcare for Rural Kids
Missoula pediatrician Laurie Carter is piloting a program with University of Montana researchers as part of RESOLVE, a new strategic healthcare partnership between UM and Providence Health.
The new program, the Montana Child Abuse Network (MT CAN), uses a telehealth model to help rural health providers and child welfare professionals care for children who may have experienced abuse and neglect, said Dr. Carter, who is a pediatric hospitalist.
UM Scientists: World’s Highest-Dwelling Mammal Could Boost Cancer Treatments
A team of University of Montana scientists shares a curiosity about how animals survive at extreme altitudes, leading them to follow a remarkable species to the edge of the “death zone” in the Chilean Andes.
Having analyzed their samples, they believe studying a mouse that thrives in a low-oxygen environment may pave the way for improved drug and chemotherapy treatments for tumors in human bodies.
The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 SMART FIRES project will award increments of up to $5,000 to early career faculty and trainees at The University of Montana to pursue professional development activities through the 2026-27 academic year.
SMARTFIRES Research Grant
Deadline: October 16, 2026
The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 SMART FIRES Research Seed Award program funds transformative research and capacity building aligned with SMART FIRES goals up to $25,000. Awards may cover equipment, personnel costs (faculty, postdocs, student researchers), field data collection and analysis, research travel, and collaboration costs; all supported participants must be from Montana institutions. The program aims to: (1) advance novel prescribed-fire research that increases productivity and attracts new external funding, and (2) expand research access for graduate and undergraduate students. UM faculty are encouraged to apply with novel research proposals within the SMART FIRES scope. Priority goes to projects likely to produce publications, follow-on grants, or strong education/workforce outcomes; proposals are also assessed for their impact on broadening participation.
Montana INBRE
Accelerated Deadlines: LOI, October 5, 2026; full proposal, November 2, 2026
The Montana INBRE Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) is soliciting proposals for 2027-2028 Major Research Projects and Pilot Research Projects, as well as CAB Planning Grants, in the areas of basic biomedical science, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, environmental health, public health, community wellness, and health-related challenges facing rural or Native American communities.
The NIH Director’s Early Independence Awardhelps exceptional new scientists start independent research careers right after finishing their doctoral degree or clinical training, forgoing postdoctoral training. This award is intended for early-stage investigators who have a record of scientific innovation and research productivity and have demonstrated unusual scientific vision and maturity.
If you are considering applying for this funding opportunity, please reach out to Lauren Fritzsche (lauren.fritzsche@umontana.edu) by August 21, 2026. In your email, include a brief description of:
Your proposed research focus, highlighting its significance and innovation
Brief overview of career development plan
Eligibility confirmation
Internal Deadline: August 21, 2026
Funder Deadline: September 10, 2026
Limited Submissions
When a program announcement limits the number of proposals that we may submit, we have an internal process to ensure that we do not exceed that limit. If you're interested in one of the following opportunities, follow the instructions to submit a concept by the Internal Deadline indicated below. PIs must confirm eligibility prior to submission.
Currently Open
NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program
The NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program is still awaiting a new solicitation. In advance of the anticipated program announcement, the Office of Research Development is running a limited submission competition based on the previous RFP to give researchers time to write and develop a project ahead of a potentially short submission turnaround window. If the new RFP has substantial changes, we may require another round of internal submissions and review. Please contact ORD with any questions.
Kristina Berger, Missoula College, Perkins Reserve, funded by Commissioner of Higher Education through U.S. Department of Education, $52,725.
Kristina Berger, Missoula College, Perkins Local, funded by Commissioner of Higher Education through U.S. Department of Education, $264,873.
Brandon Cooper, IOE/DBS, Habitat preference in sandfly vectors, funded by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill through NIH, $64,959.
Daniel Decato, CBSD Chemistry, Topochemical AA Synthesis, funded by American Chemical Society, $110,000.
Hilary Faxon, Society & Conservation, Carbon Farming, funded by Lund University, $43,306.
Erim Gomez, Ecosystem & Conservation Sciences, Research Fellowship, funded by Smithsonian Institution, $25,384.
Deborah Good, Physics & Astronomy, NANOGrav Physics Frontier Center, funded by West Virginia University through NSF, $13,101.
Jeffrey Good, CBSD Biological Sciences, MSU INBRE 5 Year Data Science Core, funded by Montana State University through NIH, $228,254.
Ciara Hansen, Psychology, Indians into Psychology, funded by Indian Health Service, $201,483.
Mark Hebblewhite, College of Forestry & Conservation, Using Bioacoustics to Study Carnivore in Yellowstone, funded by Yellowstone Forever, $55,310.
Anoop Basavanahalli Jagadeesh, Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences, INBRE Pilot Research Project, funded by Montana State University through NIH, $68,704.
Troy Magney, College of Forestry & Conservation, DEB_TreeGrowth, funded by the National Science Foundation, $349,289.
Troy Magney, Forest Management, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), funded by the National Science Foundation, $53,000.
Sophia Newcomer, Center for Population Health Research, PBI R01, funded by NIH, $727,781.
Curtis Noonan, Center for Population Health Research, CMC, funded by HRSA, $399,999.
Lucy Owen, CBSD Computational Sciences, Improving and applying a Gaussian process regression model of human brain data, funded by Montana State University through NIH, $138,455.
Thomas Riecke, Ecosystem & Conservation Sciences, Revising Waterfowl, funded by Delta Waterfowl Foundation, $433,962.
Robert Saldin, Political Science, Constitution Day Initiative, funded by JMC, $3,000.
Christopher Vassallo, CBSD Biological Sciences, Novel anti-phage defense systems, funded by Montana State University through NIH, $131,785.
Daniel Walsh, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae in Bighorn Sheep, funded by Idaho Fish and Game Department through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $134,314.
Elizabeth Barrs, Mansfield Center, LTC 2026-27, funded by Institute of International Education through U.S. Department of Defense, $1,500,000.
Contracts
Austin Blank, CIRE, YPG EC and HWS, funded by U.S. Army, $1,855,608.
Elizabeth Barrs, Mansfield Center, CIWT Solicitation, funded by U.S. Department of Defense, $158,640.
Nancy Berg, Montana Safe Schools Center, Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI), funded by Missoula County Public Schools, $31,580.
Nancy Berg, Montana Safe Schools Center, UKERU, funded by Missoula County Public Schools, $44,254.
Sherrill Brown, Pharmacy Practice, UM Pharmacy-St Patrick Hospital Shared Faculty Line, funded by Providence Health & Services MT, $102,542.
James Elser, Biological Station, Early Detection AIS Monitoring 2024, funded by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, $5,079.
Lauren McKeague, Center for Population Health Research, Policy Project, funded by The Nature Conservancy, $100,000.
Alexandria Sobin, Research Outreach, STEM-azing Careers, funded by the University of Montana Foundation, $82,500.
Tony Ward, School of Public and Community Health, MTUPP FY 27, funded by MT Department of Public Health and Human Services, Amount not listed.
Cooperative Agreements
Patricia Cox, Research Administration, Montana APEX 2026-27, funded by Big Sky Economic Development Corporation through U.S. Department of Defense, $233,498.
Andrew Larson, College of Forestry & Conservation, Northern Rockies Fire Science Network, funded by University of Idaho through Bureau of Land Management, $24,391.
Shawn Johnson, Center for Natural Resources, Montana Beaver Working Group, funded by the National Wildlife Federation, $27,153.
Andrew Whiteley, Ecosystem & Conservation Sciences, Genomics of Cutthroat Hybridization, funded by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks through Bonneville Power Administration, $255,336.
University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana 59812
