Damian Kim

During gastrulation in Xenopus, a specific group of cells located at the organizer, called Bottle Cells, undergo apical constriction and invagination, forming the dorsal lip of the blastopore. Immediately after, the neighboring cells involute inwards towards the anterior end of the embryo, forming the mesoderm and the archenteron. Although the behaviors of cells have been described, the genes that control the processes are only beginning to be discovered. The Harland Lab believes the process of Bottle Cells formation resembles aspects of cell invasion, metastasis, and immunological processes, so studying the […]

Mason Sakamoto

Stem cells have been heralded as the future of medicine for their ability to develop into new tissues, repair regions damaged by disease or injury, and give rise to entirely new organisms. However, in order to fully harness the power of stem cells, we must first understand the environmental cues responsible for the cells behavior. Evidence is accumulating that the fate of stem cells is tightly controlled not only by biochemical signals but also by biophysical cues within the tissue microenvironment. This finding is particularly pertinent in human embryonic development […]

Bayan Duwaik

CRISPR-Cas systems are indispensable tools in genome editing because they allow scientists to edit an individuals DNA to correct harmful mutations that cause disease. CRISPR-Cas systems are derived from bacteria and archaea where they act as an adaptive immune system of these organisms by targeting viral DNA and RNA for degradation and elimination. Recently, studies have shown that CRISPR-Cas12a can cut non-target sequences of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) intrinsically. This information is exciting because cells that are constantly replicating, like cancer cells, have a lot of transiently exposed ssDNA which makes […]

George Wang

Herbivory is a key innovation that accounts for half of all insects and one-third of all living orders. It is believed that loss-of-function in chemoreceptor genes is the driving force behind the transition to herbivory in insects, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. One such chemoreceptor gene within the ionotropic receptor (IR) family, IR92a, mediates behavioral attraction of amines in microbe-feeding flies and mosquitoes through a population of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). I will investigate the hypothesis that in herbivorous flies, this chemoreceptor protein has diminished sensitivity toward […]

Alex Ripperton

Populations of Mimulus guttatus commonly known as yellow monkeyflower, have rapidly adapted to grow on soils contaminated with high levels of copper in regions of Northern California. Im interested in better understanding the evolutionary mechanism that allowed this organism to adapt so quickly to these extreme conditions at a genetic level. Using RNA sequencing data from copper tolerant and non tolerant lines of M. guttatus I will be able to look for genes that are differentially expressed between the two different lines of plants in order to get a better […]

Amy Yan

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is a conserved cellular pathway that internalizes receptors from the cell membrane that is coordinated by a wide assortment of proteins. This process is crucial for cellular growth, maintenance, and nutrient uptake. Nucleation of actin proteins has been shown to provide crucial forces for the internalization process. While well-studied and well-characterized in yeast cells, the exact roles of actin in mammalian CME still requires further investigation. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome-edited human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), I will study the spatiotemporal regulation of branched actin network assembly by […]

Allison O’Brien

In the radiological sciences, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are often used for measuring scintillation, light emitted from certain materials in the presence of radiation. For example, the neutron response of organic scintillating materials is currently being measured at LBNL using photomultiplier tubes. When incident neutron radiation strikes an organic scintillator, the fast neutrons interact with the nuclei present, primarily through elastic scattering. The recoiling nuclei move through the medium causing excitation and ionization of the scintillating molecules. These molecules de-excite through the emission of light and this light can then be […]

Jordan Huang

The recent interest in the properties of multiferroic materials is due to its proposed application in a variety of technologies such as sensors and data storage devices as well as its application in the miniaturization of technological devices. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM), with its capabilities to study materials on the atomic level, is a very useful tool that can be used to understand the nature of multiferroic materials. The majority of multiferroic materials, however, are oxides and STM study on multiferroic oxides is largely unexplored. This is due to […]

Curtis Beck

In mammals, Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) plays a crucial role in maintaining the gene-expression patterns that enforce cell differentiation during embryonic development. Mutations in the core components of PRC2 or its associated cofactors result in early embryonic lethality. PRC2 represses transcription by mono-, di- and tri-methylating histone H3 at lysine 27 of nucleosomes, the smallest structural unit of chromatin. The molecular basis and mechanistic insight into the modulation of methyltransferase activity of PRC2 by the presence of other histone modifications remains poorly understood. Previous biochemical studies of PRC2 activity […]

Allison Zau

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