Alina Boltunova
Emmetropization is a normal developmental process in which the eyes growth is regulated to achieve a match between eye length and its refractive power. It results in the reduction of refractive errors present at birth and has been observed in all animal species, including humans, studied thus far. The guinea pig is increasingly used to model myopia (near-sightedness), but there appear to be differences between guinea pig strains in their susceptibility to myopia-inducing stimuli. To understand the origin of these differences, I plan to compare the emmetropization of different strains […]
Ariella Megory
I am studying the Israeli perspective of the Israeli-Palsestinian Conflict as a case study to understand how personal perspectives shift in directions contrary to the dominant national discourse. I will be interviewing individuals who have shifted their perspective from the right-wing ideology common in Israel today to a more liberal (pro-Palestinian/anti-Zionist) viewpoint. My research will shed light on the types of life-histories which promote ideological resilience and curiosity, by identifying common life experiences, interpersonal interactions, and historical contexts which this small group of Israelis share.
David Yufan Yang
Between 2004 and 2011, China implemented the largest secondary education reform in its history. Although the reformed textbooks embody many shifts in ideology (such as perspectives on Confucius), the primary goal of secondary education remains to enforce an overt set of ideologies onto Chinese students. My research project asks: how effective is Chinas centralized education system in passing down these changed ideologies to students through the textbooks? This project consists of two major stages. First, I will quantitatively measure and compare the ideological content across different textbooks. Then, I will […]
Megan Clement
The mirror literally and symbolically reflects opposites. In medieval times, it seems that the mirror symbolized a gateway to the divine; now the mirror is more often associated with the monstrous. Spending the summer studying Dante’s Divine Comedy, I will begin my research into how the evolution of the meaning of the mirror perhaps parallels the move from a societal focus on religion to a focus on individual actions and psyches. I aim to prove or disprove the assertion that the perceived split between the body and soul mirrors the […]
Vivek Musinipally
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States . It has long been known that improper cell division often leads to proliferation of tumors eventually resulting in cancer. Thus, studying the proteins involved in cell division is important to the process of eventually preventing and curing the malignancy. My project involves the characterization of a protein, CENP-F (mitosin), associated in the outer kinetochore of cells that is known to bind microtubules, an essential component that drives cell division. I aim to characterize the microtubule binding activity […]
Adam Storer
Social theorist Andr Gorz explores the irrationality of a society dominated by distinctly economic motives in his book Critique of Economic Reason. A practical philosopher, Gorz ends his theoretical work with suggestions on limiting the sphere of economics, expanding the role of leisure, and allowing individuals to pursue work they actually enjoy, instead of simply pursuing a wage by limiting the amount of time a person can work. My research focuses on France’s highly contested 35-hour work week legislation, which limits the amount of time an employer can demand from […]
Sarah Cohen
Climate change, whether one believes in it or not, is an undeniably large presence in discourses about environmentalism, policy, and morality. Though the consensus among scientists about the reality and anthropogenic origin of global warming is solid, the general public is much less convinced. I am therefore interested in examining how an individuals understanding of the mechanism of the greenhouse effect is related to their political attitudes about climate change. To study this association, I will be running a survey project in “America’s Finest City,” San Diego. Once the data […]
Sivapratha Nagappan Chettiar
Neurogenesis, the production of new neurons, occurs via the asymmetrical division of neural stem cells in specific regions of the mammalian and Drosophila brain. It is a highly regulated process as proper neuron type and number is crucial to allow the proper formation and functioning of the brain. In Drosophila brain, much is known about the pathways that regulate asymmetric cell division. However, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate its termination. In PTEN tumor suppressor gene mutants, neural stem cells aberrantly persist in the brain of adult Drosophila. […]
Robert Stevenson
This project is investigating conflicts in the representation of plant assemblages in the middle Pennsylvanian (Moscovian, 311.7 1.1 to 306.5 1.0 Mya) fossil record. Currently, the held belief is that the tropical lowlands of the Moscovian were dominated by swamp forests (coal forests) during periods of deglaciation. However, recent studies of the Baker Coal from the Cottage Grove mine of southeast Illinois show xerophytic (dry) plants sandwiched in-between layers dominated by the more common coal forest plants. This discovery infers that these floras may have been growing in close proximity […]
Hasan Dani
The immune system monitors the inner workings of all cells of the body in its search for abnormal cells, whether they be infected or otherwise transformed. Every cell displays its intracellular peptides on its surface, and specialized cells of the immune system called T cells examine these peptides. The repertoire of peptides presented on the surface is a representation of the state of the cell; an abnormal peptide repertoire indicates an abnormal cell. An important part of the processing pathway that peptides undergo before being presented is ERAAP, an enzyme […]