2017-2018 Undergraduate Research Projects

Research Faculty & Dept Project Title
Arnsten, Amy
(Neuroscience)
The M1 Muscarinic Receptor as a Potential Therapeutic Target for Schizophrenia
Bahmanyar, Shirin
(MCDB)
Examining Nuclear Envelope Rupture and Repair in Caenorhabditis elegans Embryos
Bazell, Robert
(MCDB)
The Molecular Mechanisms of Pembrolizumab, a Cancer Drug that Targets the Disease Based on its Genetic Profile and not the Tissue of Origin with Context from a Review of Cancer Immunotherapy
Ben Mamoun, Choukri
(Infectious Diseases)

Targeting Pantotherate Phosphorylation for Development of New Antimaloral and Antifungal Therapies

The Role of Pantothenate Kinase 1 and 2 in Pantothenate Metabolism and Malana Pathogenesis and Transmission in Plasmedium Falciparum

Bender, Jeffrey
(Immunobiology)
Posttranscriptional Control of Microglia-Derived Neurotrophic Factors
Bergwitz, Clemens
(Endocrinology)
Exploring the Effects of Renal Sodium-Phosphate Cotransporters on the Endocrine Regulation of Phosphate Homeostasis
Bindra, Ranjit
(Therapeutic Radiology)
Characterization of Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase inhibitors: PARP Trapping Capability and Therapeutic Utility
Bordey, Angelique
(Neuroscience)

Examining the Role of Exosomes on Neuronal Morphology in the Context of TSC Disease

Role of HCN Ion Channels in Epilepsy

Braddock, Demetrios
(Pathology)
Therapeutic Effects of Subcutaneous NPP1 Delivery in Mouse Model of Generalized Arterial
Breaker, Ronald
(MCDB)

Characterization of the DNA/RNA Binding Properties of EARO Type B Protein by EMSA

Analysis of a Sam Riboswitch Candidate in Streptomyces

Determining the Role of a Conserved Bacterial Noncoding RNA in Stress Response

Discovery of Novel Non-Coding RNA Structure

Genetic Screen of Magnesium-Resistant B Halodurons to Provide Insight into the Function of Ole RNA.

Cafferty, William
(Neurology)
Inpp5K Stimulates CNS Axon Growth and Enhances Functional Recovery after Stroke
Callender, Glenda
(Endocrinology)
Effect of Preoperative Medical Blockage on Perioperative Hemodynamic Parameters in Patients with Pheochromocytoma
Cantley, Lloyd
(Nephrology)

Chasing a Tail: Examining the Localization of the Cleaved C-Terminus of Polycystin-1

The Effect of Oxygen Concentration on Upc2 Expression in ADPKD

Carling, Tobias
(Endocrinology)
Molecular Genetics of Adrenocortical Tumorigenesis
Chang, William
(Nephrology)
Investigation of Interactions Between Human Endothelial Cells and Renal Glomeruli
Colon-Ramos, Daniel
(Cell Biology)

Transforming Sensation into Behavior: Examining the Regulation of C. elegans Temperature Preference and Thermotaxis Behavior

The Role of ATG-4.2 in Autophagy in Neurons

Crews, Craig
(MCDB)

Development of Protac Against Pseudo Kinases

Development of Small Molecule Prothls Targeting the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein

Investigation into the Effect of P53 Upregulation on Anti-Cancer Efficacy of Bet-Targeting

DeLanerolle, Nihal
(Neurogsurgery)
Neurobiology of Hyperthermic Seizures in Rats
DiMaio, Daniel
(Genetics)

Cellular Uptake of HPV L2-Fusion Proteins

Mapping the Molecular Basis for Interactions between Simple Artificial Proteins and the Erythropoietin Receptor

Understanding the Mechanism Through Which Class II Transmembrane Protein Aptamers Inhibit CCR5 Expression

Dimitrova, Nadya
(MCDB)
Investigating the Role of LNCRNA-RAPT1 in the P53 Tumor Suppressor Pathway
Dominguez-Villar, Margarita
(Neurology)
Investigating the Metabolic Pathway Differences between Tregs and Th1-Like Tregs
Eisenbarth, Stephanie
(Immunology)

Investigating the Role of DOCK8 in LGA Production

The Role of Toll-Like Receptor 4 and Dedicator of Cytokinesis 8 in LGE Production During Allergic Sensitization in C3H/He5 Mice

Hoffman, Ellen
(CSC)
Investigation of Scn1 Lab and Other ASD-Risk Gene Mutant Zebrafish
Emonet, Thierry
(MCDB)
Parametric Complexities and Bacterial Strategies in an Agarose Sea of Aspostate
Fikrig, Erol
(Infectious Disease)

Agonists of Rev-Erb 2/B Inhibit Viral Replication

Identification of Mosquito Salivary Proteins that Impact the Pathogenicity of Zika Virus

Investigating the Sufficiency of Select Acdes Acgypti Salivary Protein Anticrums for Protection of Zika Virus-infected Mice and the Mechanisms by Which Protection is Delivered

Investigation of Mosquito GILT Saliva Protein in the Inhibition of Plasmodium Transmission

The Tick Gut Microbiota and its Effects on Pathogen Transmission

Flannery, Clare
(OBGYN)
Characterizing the Molecular and Cellular Relationship between Gestational Diabetes, Mellitus, Obesity and Fetal Outcomes
Flavell, Richard
(Immunobiology)
Defining the Translation Potential of Unannotated Protein Coding Genes in the Innate Immune Response
Galvani, Alison
(Epidemiology)
Dynamic Model Predictions of Carbapenem Resistance in Response to Antibiotic Sparing Interventions
Gendron, Joshua
(MCDB)

Pharmaceutical Molecular Pharming

Studying how F-Box Protein Degradation Couples the Plant Circadian Clock to Post Translational Pal Regulation and Further Downstream Processes

Goodman, Andrew
(Microbial Pathogenesis)
How the Gut Microbiome Affects the Effectiveness of Cancer Immunotherapy Treatments and the Role of the Gut Microbiota in this Process
Gorelick, Fred
(Digestive Diseases)
Zinc-Mediated Attenuation of Caerulein-Induced Pancreatitis
Greer, Charles
(Neurosurgery)

Embryonic Development of the Mouse Olfactory Tubercle

Investigating the Role of Microglia in Directing Neural Precursor Cells in the Rostral Migratory Stream

Grutzendler, Jaime
(Neurology)
Expansion Microscopy Optimization
Hatzios, Stavroula
(MCDB)
Strain Dependent Secretion of a Bacterial Serine Protease Active in Cholera
Higley, Michael
(Neuroscience)

Analysis of Gephyrin and Gaba a Receptor Interaction on Regions of Neocortical Pyramidal Cells

Arousal Associated Activity in Cortical Interneurons

Hirschi, Karen
(Genetics)
Connexin 43 Regulates Neural Stem Cell Behavior within the Sub Ventricular Zone of the Brain Via Gap Junctions with Neighboring Endothelial Cells
Hoffman, Ellen
(CSC)
Investigating the Function of Scallab in Zebrafish Mutants
Horsley, Valerie
(MCDB)
Examining the Role of Reddi in Adipocyte Differentiation
Hudnall, S. David
(Pathology)
Role of Human Herpesvirus 6 (Hhv6) in Human Disease
Isaacs, Farren
(MCDB)

Developing a Fully Orthogonal Translation System to Accommodate Non-Proteogenic Monomers at the Ribosome

Implementing Multiplex Adapted Genome Engineering in Rhizobia

The Geobacter Sulfer-Reducens Type IV Pilus: Expression, Structure and Unique Applications of Electrically Conductive Pili Proteins

Jacob, Yannick
(MCDB)

Biological Tools for Plant Biology Using Temperature-Optimized Crisp/C09

Gene Editing at the Lyc2 in Chns for Altered Lycopene Levels

Precise Engineering of Plant Genomes Using Heat-Activated Retrotransposons

Role of Histone H3 Mutations in the Development of Pediatric Gliomas

Khokha, Mustafa
(Genetics)
The Spatial and Temporal Characterization of Ciliary Transition Zone Proteins during Cilia Regeneration in MCCS
Kibbey, Richard
(Endocrinology)
Regulation of Insulin Secretions through Pep Synthesis Observed Effects of Edopic Pepck-C Expression in Rat Ins-1 832/13 Cells
Kliman, Harvey
(OBGYN)
The Role of Serotonin in Colon Cancer Growth
Koleske, Anthony
(MB&B)
Investigating the Role of Triple Functional Protein in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Krause, Diane
(Cell Bio/Pathology)
Structure-Function Analysis of Mkl1 in Megakaryopoiesis
Kriegel, Martin
(Immunobiology)
Ameliorating Autoimmunity through Diet-Microbiota-Host Immune System Interactions
Kyriakides, Themis
(Pathology)
Bulk Metallic Glass as a Bone Implant
Lin, Chenxiang
(Cell Biology)
DNA Origami Fluorescent Standard for Tirf
Lin, Haifan
(Cell Biology)

Cloning of Miwi2 and Interactors Dnmt3L and DNAj-a1 for Insect Cell Expression

Transcriptional Regulation by Material Hpia Is Essential for Drosophila Embryogenesis

Lindenbach, Brett
(Microbial Pathogenesis)
Bacterial Effector Proteins as a Toolkit to Study Viral Replication
Lu, Lingeng
(Epidemiology)
Weight Loss intervention in Breast Cancer Survivors: Predicting Recurrence Risks using Three Biomarkers
MacMicking, John
(Microbial Pathogenesis)
Crispr/Cas9 Interrogation of IFN-Mediated Defense Networks against Bacterial Infection
Mani, Arya
(Genetics)
Role of DYRK B in Insulin Resistance
Medzhitov, Ruslan
(Immunobiology)

Responses to Bitter Components in the GI Tract

Zinc Finger Proteins and Transcriptional Repression in Macrophages

Melia, Thomas
(Cell Biology)
Post Translational Regulation of Lc3 Proteins During Autophagy
Mooseker, Mark
(MCDB)
Beta-Catenin and E-Cadherin Regulators of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Metastasis
Nelson, Kenneth
(MCDB)
The Specific Nature of antibodies Allows them to Bind to Targets that may be Specific to Cancer Cells
Nguyen, Don
(Pathology)
Targeting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Responses in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Paintsil, Elijah
(Infectious Disease)
Regulation within Dyx2 Locus
Palm, Noah
(Immunobiology)
Nanobody Targeting of Lactobacillus
Pollard, Thomas
(MCDB)

Arp2 Phosphorylation is Not Essential for ARP213 Complex Activity

The Role of the Sin Pathway in Cytokinesis

Pyle, Anna
(MCDB)

Biosynthetic Engineering of the 6-Deoxyerythronolide B Synthase Pathway for Novel Natural Product Synthesis

Use of Antisense Oligonucleotides (ASOS) in Treating Lung Cancer by Binding to Different Targets Implicated in Lung Cancer, Such as Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Receptor and Sigma Receptor

Rodeheffer, Matthew
(Comp Medicine)
How Genetics and Sex Interact to Influence Obesity and Diabetes
Rothlin, Carla
(Immunobiology)
Tam RTK Signaling in Glial Biology
Rothman, James
(Cell Biology)
Characterization of the Na-acetyltransferease Naa60 and a Novel Role for Aberrant Acetylation in Familial Basal Ganglia Calcification
Schatz, David
(Immunobiology)
Gfp-Based Reporter Assay to Detect Apobec Activity
Simon, Matthew
(MB&B)
Deciphering the Structure of incRNA Noradin Vivo Use of Carbodiimide Reagents for the Chemical Probing of RNA Structure
Strittmatter, Stephen
(Neurology)

Determining aßo and Pyk2 Regulation of Tau

Poly-5 Inhibition of PCP for Rescue of Synaptic Deficits in Transgenic Alzheimer’s Disease Mice

Sutton, Richard
(Infectious Disease)
Exploring Transcriptional Regulation of Ccr5 in HIV Elite Controllers
Taylor, Hugh
(OBGYN)
Effects of MicroRNAs on Liver Genes that are Involved in Endometriosis
Tomayko, Mary
(Pathology)
The Role of Bmpr1a in Differentiation and Survival of Germinal Center B Cells
Toomre, Derek
(Cell Biology)
Inpp5E and Pi(4,5)P2 Signaling at the Primary Cilium
van Wolfswinkel, Josien
(MCDB)
DNA Methylation in Major Depressive Disorder and Schizophrenia
Wajapeyee, Narendra
(Pathology)
Sex Differences in DNA Repair Mechanisms
Weinberger, Daniel
(Epidemiology)
Environmental Adaptation of Streptococcus Pneumonia and the Effect on Virulence
Wyman, Robert
(MCDB)
Applications of CatSper in Male Contraception
Wysolmerski, John
(Endocrinology)
The Role of PTHrP Secretion in Lipolysis and Tumor Cachexia
Yang, Xiaoyong
(Comp Medicine)
Identifying Synthetic Genetic Interactions with Perturbed O-Gicnacyation in Pdac Via Genome-Wide Crispr Screen
Zenisek, David
(C&M Physiology)
Determining the Effect of Ribeye’s Two Variants on Neuromast Regeneration and Synaptic Ribbon Assembly
Zhao, Hongyu
(Genetics)
Hierarchical Bayesian Model Identifies Risk Genes in Congenital Heart Disease