Allison Rothrock

High metal content, low levels of essential nutrients, and poor water retention make serpentine soil a uniquely challenging environment and a source of strong selective pressure. The yellow monkey flower, or Mimulus guttatus, an annual wildflower native to the western United States, has adapted to these harsh conditions; coupled with its wide range, this ability to survive on serpentine soil makes Mimulus guttatus a model organism for studying how plants adapt to local environments. This study will focus on three genes ‚Äî involved in root architecture and the uptake and […]

Paolo Sanchez

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction, 66 million years ago, is considered a major landmark in Earth’s history with the demise of many prehistoric taxa and development of modern species. Famously known for the extinction of the dinosaurs, this event is linked to a high-energy meteor impact on the coast of Chicxulub, Mexico. However, the actual extent to which the impact influenced global changes remains obscure due to the vaporization of the meteor upon impact and satisfactory preservation of the K-Pg rock record. Thus, studies have analyzed microtektites, tiny bedrock-derived droplets […]

Samantha Lieberman

In tropical regions around the world, the cassava plant’s starchy tuberous roots are relied on as a staple source of calories. The crop is naturally drought tolerant and can be stored underground for extended periods of time – preventing the need for immediate harvesting and storage. However, prior to consumption, cassava requires significant processing due to the cyanogenic glucosides that it naturally produces. The cyanogenic glucosides linamarin and lotaustralin are synthesized in the leaves of the cassava plant and transported basipetal in the plant to the tuberous roots. The cassava […]

Xavier Tao

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are a family of enzyme complexes that synthesize a diverse class of secondary metabolites including clinically important antibiotic, antifungal, and anticancer compounds. In order to accomplish this, PKSs utilize a modular assembly with a wide variety of catalytic building blocks, passing molecular intermediates between modules until a product is finished. Due to their unique modular nature and deterministic mechanisms, PKSs have inspired engineering efforts to biosynthesize various useful new molecules. However, designing active variants still face difficulties due to a lack of understanding for the reasons behind […]

Evan Juan

With an estimated 105 million infections globally, dengue virus (DENV), the causative agent of dengue fever, places a severe burden upon global public health. Severe manifestations of dengue fever are characterized by leak of plasma from the vascular system; these symptoms can develop into hypovolemic shock and organ failure if left untreated. The Harris laboratory and others have discovered that DENV non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is critical to dengue pathogenesis and can directly trigger vascular leak. The exact mechanism of NS1-induced vascular leak is still unknown, but recent work has […]

Sara Smith

Microbial communities are ubiquitous and intimately involved in environmental cycles, human health, and industrial processes. Despite the fact that microbes live in diverse microbiomes, much of our knowledge about them comes from studying isolates. This creates gaps in understanding of how microbes interact with each other in communities. One such interaction is the production of siderophores in low iron environments. Iron is required for essential functions such as respiration and DNA synthesis. Siderophores, small iron chelating molecules excreted into the environment, are the most prevalent method bacteria use to scavenge […]

Tina Li

Cellular aging is a nearly universal trait of all organisms and is a risk factor for a variety of human diseases. Cellular rejuvenation occurs in every human body during gametogenesis, the process by which we form gametes, also known as sperm and egg. In yeast, overexpression of a gametogenesis-specific transcription factor, Ndt80, has been shown to extend lifespan and rejuvenate the nucleolus in aging cells. Using genome-wide screening of gametogenesis genes, the Ünal lab has identified 86 rejuvenation candidates that can extend yeast lifespan. My research will focus on characterizing […]

Derek Ning

Muscle injuries from accidents, blast trauma, surgical situations, and sports can lead to acute muscle tissue loss and severe permanent damage to the body. Therefore, it is essential to develop methods to enhance the wound healing and regeneration process. This project aims to promote muscle regeneration through stem cell transplantation. However, a major challenge is that immediately after transplantation into damaged tissue, donor cells encounter a harsh environment with substantial death-promoting stimuli. This project aims to provide a hyaluronic acid environment that helps stimulate mechanisms of cell engraftment within the […]

Amy Yan

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is an intricately-coordinated cellular pathway that is crucial for cellular growth, maintenance, and nutrient uptake. Functionally, CME internalizes receptors from the cell membrane, and nucleation of the protein actin protein has been shown to provide crucial forces for this internalization process. While 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 timing and regulation of branched actin network assembly by the proteins ABP1 and CTTN, which are […]

Lilian Zhang

Behavior in the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea, an animal without a centralized nervous system (CNS), is controlled by their decentralized net of ganglia that initiate pulsing activity. This activity decreases at night, during sleep, and we study how this activity is regulated. Pacemaker neurons hold the intrinsic ability to generate rhythmic bursts of action potentials that play an integral role in the function of nervous systems from humans to jellyfish. For this project, I will perform electrophysiological recordings on pairs of pacemakers during behavioral recordings to detect the action potential of […]