Asian Salad

The Office of Sponsored Programs is  pleased to report that Unfunded Agreements (Data Use Agreements, Teaming Agreements, and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) are now being routed through Kuali Research.  If your unit has one of these types of Agreements, they are now to be routed through Kuali.  Please go to the following link for the Training Guide and instructions on Unfunded Agreements as well as  a separate and distinct Training Guide for Data Use Agreements:

https://research.umbc.edu/kuali-training/

Do note that at this time (Summer 2020), Material Transfer Agreements and Non-Disclosure Agreements are not yet operational in Kuali and will not be routed in Kuali at this juncture.   Please see the following link for instructions and forms for MTAs and NDAs :

https://research.umbc.edu/documents-forms-and-agreements/

Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contract your OSP Manager and Specialist.

Kathleen Hoffman, professor of mathematics and statistics, thrives on solving puzzles. She has spent her career working to create and refine mathematical models of notoriously complex biological systems. For the last decade, she and colleague Katharine Gurski at Howard University have been working together to model the spread of HIV. Now, the pair has received two new grants to support their work.

Funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will support their efforts to improve the model of how HIV spreads between people. A grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM) will support work to model how HIV infects cells in the body and develops resistance to drug treatments.

Pieces of the puzzle

The CURM grant will support undergraduates in Hoffman and Gurski’s labs to model how HIV behaves inside the body. In particular, they want to know how it responds to a common treatment known as highly-active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART). 

“Some strains of HIV are less likely to respond to treatment,” Hoffman says, “and when patients don’t follow the treatment regimen carefully, that can also lead to resistance.” If a person’s HIV becomes resistant to their current treatment, they can more easily pass the infection to others. So a better understanding of the presence of drug resistance in the population is critical to building accurate population-based models of HIV spread. 

Hoffman enjoys working with undergraduates to give them exposure to research. Rebecca Laws ’21, mathematics, and Michael Klos ’21, mathematics, will work with her on this project. 

“How can you expect people to enjoy research, if they don’t know what it is?” Hoffman asks. She says being accountable to students and their projects also helps keep her own research on track. “It accomplishes small but meaningful things toward my research that I might not do if I wasn’t working with a student,” she says. “They each contribute their own piece of the puzzle.”

Refining the model

Hoffman and Gurski’s previous collaboration on an HIV-transmission model included factors like demographic information and sexual behavior. Through their new NSF grant they will make the model more precise by incorporating two more major factors. They will account for the role of long-term relationships and usage of PrEP, a drug that reduces one’s risk of contracting HIV when taken every day. Hoffman’s Ph.D. student, Sylvia Gutowska, is taking the lead on the PrEP modeling.

Classical models of disease spread treat people “basically like molecules in a gas, where they’re moving all over the place, and there’s some probability that they will touch each other. And then, if they touch each other, there’s some probability that one will pass the infection to the other,” Hoffman says. “That’s the underlying assumption of all of these models.”

But the analogy between people and molecules breaks down when you start looking at complex human behaviors. For example, long-term partnerships dramatically reduce the likelihood of risky encounters between individuals. 

Using PrEP adds more complexity. When taken regularly, PrEP reduces the likelihood of a person passing the disease to someone else. But research shows that if someone is taking PrEP, they are also more likely to behave in riskier ways. And if they forget to take their daily dose, they’re at higher risk again temporarily.

These factors “make the modeling way more complicated from a mathematical perspective,” Hoffman says. Incorporating those two parameters will be the primary work of the NSF grant.

Hoffman and Gurski also want to validate the new model they develop. To do that, they’ll give the model real data from 2005 on disease rates, and then see how well it is able to predict disease rates a few years later (e.g. 2010 and 2015). Because these data already exist, they’ll be able to compare the real data to the model’s predictions.

Informing disease prevention

Once they have an upgraded model, the researchers can test individual parameters in the model to see which would have the biggest effects on the level of disease in a population. This can then inform public health decisions.

“By measuring the sensitivity of the parameters, it’s kind of like looking for the biggest bang for your buck in terms of resource allocation,” Hoffman explains. “For instance, if you have money to put toward an education campaign, should you put it toward making sure people take PrEP diligently? Or will it have more of an impact if you put it toward promoting condom use? Which will have a bigger impact on decreasing the amount of disease in society? That’s the kind of question this kind of work can usually answer, if the model is accurate.”

But even figuring out what the parameters are to begin with can be very difficult. The work goes way beyond math into HIV biology and even the sociology and psychology behind people’s behavior and relationships.

It’s hard, “but what I like about science and research is the fact that I’m not constrained by siloes. Sometimes I have to go read literature in the psychology and sociology fields, and I have to read biology papers that I struggle through,” Hoffman says. “That’s why I like it, because I never know what I’m going to need to learn next.”

Banner image: UMBC Biological Sciences Building. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Call for work & art! Please consider submitting to the commonvision Physical Distanzine. A lot has changed since we left campus in March of 2020. We want to create a platform and outlet for work themed and/or created during this time. 

We are open to any type of media that can be shared in print or digitally. Submissions are open to all UMBC students (undergraduate and graduate), staff, faculty, and alumni. 

Deadline is August 2, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Submit at tinyurl.com/physicaldistanzine - questions? Email commonvision@umbc.edu #UMBC #UMBCTogether

Mobile devices are now an integral part of our daily lives. They make communication and access to information incredibly convenient from virtually anywhere. This convenience can make it easy to forget that mobile devices are vulnerable to many of the same threats as computers. Here are some common risks to watch out for when using your device.

Unsecured internet connections – Free public Wi-Fi is often unencrypted, meaning other people on the network may be able to access any data you send or receive. Depending on your settings, your device may connect to these networks automatically in order to decrease mobile data use. Consider turning off this feature for more control over your data. However, wired connections in public places may not be secure either, and can be tampered with and monitored or used to send malware to your device. In either case, it is important to know where your connection is coming from and limit transmission of private and sensitive data accordingly.

Malicious apps – Downloaded apps often request a number of permissions that they claim are necessary in order for the app to function. If granted, a malicious app can easily take control of your device. To avoid this risk, only download verified apps from reputable sources, like Apple’s App Store or Google Play. For an example of a malicious app and the damage it can do, check out this article about how one app spreads ransomware:https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/critical/?id=93247.

Loss or theft – Mobile devices contain a plethora of personal data, all of which can be valuable to unscrupulous individuals. Therefore, it is just as important to use a strong password for your phone as it is for your computer. A short PIN may not be enough to stop determined thieves from stealing your data. Consider adding 2-factor authentication by enabling both the password and fingerprint recognition settings, if possible. Finally, remember that remote wiping is an option for cases where your device is permanently lost. This will allow you to delete all data remotely, preventing it from being stolen. For more information on remote wipe, seehttps://insights.samsung.com/2020/05/28/3-things-you-should-know-about-remote-wipe-2/.

For additional information, check out: 

https://cybersecurity.osu.edu/cybersecurity-you/protect-personal-devices/mobile-devices

https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/panda-security/mobile-security-tips/

Forbes posted an article of a phishing attack discovered by Abuse.ch. This attack is using a Black Lives Matter-themed email phishing campaign with the goal of having readers unknowingly install malware. The attack is said to be sending out emails with the subject “Vote anonymous about ‘Black Lives Matter’ ”. 

The email is said to contain the statement: “Leave a review confidentially about Black Lives Matter… Claim in the attached file”. If the reader clicks on the attached file it will install known at "Trickbot" onto the reader's device. 

If you do receive any email that you suspect is a scam, please do not click on any URL or reply. Either of those actions confirms to the sender that your email address is valid. As well please do not click on or download any attachments from suspicious emails, this action could put your device at risk. Please forward the message (with the email headers) to security@umbc.edu. 

How do I forward full email headers?

https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1867970

For more information, please check out: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/06/11/watch-out-theres-a-big-black-lives-matter-scam-about/#7449987a62d8

The image as well as original tweet from abuse.ch can be found at: 

https://twitter.com/abuse_ch/status/1270739166716989443?s=20

According to the article linked below, a recent work-from-home scam has been targeting college students. These malicious actors are targeting students via emails that appear to be sent from a college or company advertising fake work-from-home job opportunities.

The malicious actor will use these emails to obtain the students personal information. Once the malicious actor has the students information, they will send a counterfeit check instructing the students to deposit the check into their personal checking account. The malicious actor will then ask the student to withdraw the money and make a payment necessary for the job.

The article states that students who do fall victim to this scam can experience bank accounts being closed due to fraudulent activity and a report filed by the bank with a credit bureau or even law enforcement. The student would also be responsible for reimbursing the bank.

Tips to help spot and avoid these type of scams:

• Research the company first, look for a legitimate website and contact information. Try to find what others are saying about the company as well.

• If they are contacting you and claiming to be from the University, locate the sender’s information through the school website and confirm whether the offer is real or not.

• Look for bad grammar and spelling.

• Offers of employment or pay without an interview are red flags. Legitimate jobs usually want to see who they are hiring.

• Never send funds in the form of cash, check, gift cards or wire transfer to secure a job.

• If you do receive a check from a scam similar to the one above, please do not cash the check.

• If you have provided any banking or financial information to the suspected scammers, please notify your bank or financial institution immediately.

If you do receive any email that you suspect is a scam, please do not click on any URL or reply. Either of those actions confirms to the sender that your email address is valid. Please forward the message (with the email headers) to security@umbc.edu. 

How do I forward full email headers?

https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1867970  

For more information, please check out:

https://www.winknews.com/2020/06/17/work-from-home-scam-targets-florida-college-students/

With COVID-19 causing many to shop online instead of in person, many scamming websites have appeared selling fake products. The Better Business Bureau created a list of tips for shopping online safely.

• Make sure you know who you are dealing with. Check the spelling and the domain names, then google the website to see if the site has had any complaints against it.

• Scam websites usually have poor grammar and spelling, very little information, and capital letters in the middle of sentences.

• Make sure the website is using https:// at the beginning. A trusted website will have a secure domain so that your information is safe. Make sure to check the address bar for a “not secure” message as that is another red flag.

• If at all possible try to find the age of the website to see if it was recently established. Many malicious actors establish new websites in response to current events.

• Check the website's ‘about me’ and ‘contact us’ links, as many malicious actors will not take the time to fabricate a history for the brand such as you would see on a legitimate website.

• Check for the website's privacy policy to understand what personal information is being requested. If there isn’t a privacy policy that is a big red flag.

• If you receive a phishing email from a malicious actor, the Better Business Bureau says that they are usually without personalization. They say legitimate companies will usually refer to the customer by name, while malicious actors might not.

• Research the business first to make sure it is legitimate before giving them any of your personal and/or financial information.

• If the deal feels too good to be true then it probably is too good to be true.

• The Better Business Bureau recommends using a credit card when purchasing any product or service through a website. If your transaction is protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act, and you receive a defective product or it doesn’t arrive at all, you can dispute the charge and temporarily hold the payment while the credit company investigates them.

For more information, please check out: 

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22474-bbb-warning-be-careful-purchasing-from-unknown-websites-during-covid-19

https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/14040-bbb-tip-smart-shopping-online

Looking for a roommate for our townhouse at Riverchase Condominiums (Kelfield Dr). Safe neighborhood, lots of parking available, very close to UMBC. More pictures can be provided upon request.

Text or call 4439836832 if interested. (Updated Number)