Elena Kharitonova

Aryl esters are a class of organic molecules that have a wide range of applications. They are common active ingredient of pharmaceuticals, food flavorings, perfumes, and cosmetics. They are useful building blocks for other molecules in synthetic chemistry, structural elements in material science, and components of many biological tools. Traditionally, these esters are prepared by the addition of strong electrophiles to arenes under harsh conditions, often for long periods of time. Because of the harsh conditions, these classical reactions occur with a very limited scope. In addition, the reaction occurs […]

Yein Ra

The study of members of the bacterial genus Streptomyces is motivated by their impressive capacity to produce clinically-applicable secondary metabolites, including antibiotics and anti-tumor compounds. It has been widely observed that the production of these secondary metabolites and natural products by Streptomyces species can be increased when in the presence of other bacterial species. However, the factors that control secondary metabolism and its induction by interspecies interactions are still not fully understood. Through my research project, I will study a potential mechanism of secondary metabolism regulation in the model organism, […]

Xammy Nguyenla

IFN- is a cytokine that has essential immunostimulatory and modulatory roles in innate and adaptive immune responses. More specifically it is released by host CD4+ T cells and has been shown to be essential in macrophage-mediated control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Many downstream pathways have been proposed, including ones involving inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), autophagy induction, and GTPase activity; however, some models are contradictory and others unclear, leaving IFN-dependent immunity against M.tb poorly understood. Previous RNASeq. data from the Stanley Lab identified a pool of genes upregulated by IFN- in […]

Mariel Nelson

Shallow landslides are a primary method of sediment transport and a dominant hillslope erosion process in many steep, soil-mantled landscapes. However, testing models that predict shallow landslide size and location is challenging due to a lack of high resolution datasets that map where landslides occurred following major storms. In February 2017, an intense rainfall event caused more than 400 shallow landslides at a field research site near Williams, California. This project will use a comprehensive landslide dataset that I created from field surveys over the past year to statistically analyze […]

Hien Nguyen

Advancement of lithium-based battery technology is extremely important as demand for safer and higher capacity batteries continues to increase. Commercial lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology has an inherit safety concern as the electrolyte mixture of ethylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, and lithium hexafluorophosphate is highly flammable. One way to address this problem is to switch to a nonflammable electrolyte while maintaining high levels of electrolyte performance. Performance metrics include conductivity, which is the reverse of the resistance to ion flow, transference number, which is a measure of the percentage of charge carried by […]

Holly Barnhart

For SURF 2017, I studied a travertine fissure ridge in Bridgeport, California to characterize trace element partitioning between thermal spring water and travertine carbonates. I will further analyze this system to establish an empirical temperature-oxygen isotope relationship for regional paleotemperature reconstruction. For use in paleoclimate reconstruction, temporal changes in carbonate precipitation conditions and their effect on carbonate trace element and isotopic composition must be characterized. In my earlier study, bulk solids were analyzed to capture overall travertine system dynamics. Analysis of travertine fluids and instantaneous precipitates can reflect present conditions […]

Ivan Chernyshev

The ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN collides lead nuclei and observes the particles ejected from the collision to study quark-gluon plasma, a highly energetic state of matter that existed during the first microsecond after the Big Bang. ALICEs current systems have been successful in measuring a variety of aspects of quark-gluon plasma, but they are unable to produce the resolution and statistics necessary to observe every aspect of quark-gluon plasma or observe particles of all momenta. To reduce this limitation, the Large Hadron Collider will […]

Hannah Chi

Mitochondria often decline in function as a normal part of aging. However, mitochondrial dysfunction often has severe consequences and has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and infection. Understanding the ways in which mitochondria recover when exposed to proteotoxic environments is therefore a crucial element in constructing better novel treatments to mitochondrial related disease such as Parkinsons. The mitochondrial unfolded protein response has been identified as a key stress signaling pathway regulated by the ATFS-1 transcription factor in the Caenorhabditis elegans model organism system. However, relatively little is known about […]

Elizabeth Coda

Quantum dots are tiny, semiconducting particles with unique electronic properties that distinguish them from larger particles. Notably, quantum dots have discrete energy levels. Thus, by changing the size of the dot, the difference between these energy levels change. As the size of a quantum dot decreases, the energy difference increases between the highest and lowest bands. Thus, more energy is needed to excite the dot and more is released when it returns to its ground state. As a result, quantum dots can emit light of any frequency. Notably, two-dimensional transition […]

Catherine Jung

In normal pregnancies, cardiac output increases to accommodate increased metabolic demand. There are changes in pacemaker cells that cause an increase in resting heart rate. Currently, the mechanisms that connect changes in hormones to changes in gene expression in pacemaker cells are unknown. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to an increase in heart rate in pregnancies could provide insight on how to prevent cardiovascular complications in pregnancies. For my project, I will be studying changes in gene expression between pregnant and non-pregnant mice. Through laser capture microdissection, I will be […]