Jessica Cope
Peroxisomes are membrane bound organelles found in nearly all eukaryotic cells and are indispensable for human health. The peroxisomal matrix contains many enzymes which are synthesized in the cytosol and then imported into the peroxisomes via the protein, Pex5. Pex5 binds to target proteins in the cytosol then chaperones the client protein into the peroxisomes. An E3 ubiquitin ligase complex made of three proteins: Pex2, Pex10, and Pex12 then mediates the transfer of a ubiquitin from the E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme Ubc4 to Pex5. Once ubiquitinated, Pex5 returns to the […]
Jessica Co
EPG neurons are head direction cells also known as compass neurons found in the ellipsoid body (EB) of the Drosophila brain. They have been shown to store and update heading direction based on self motion and visual cues received via neighboring neuron activity. Further research has shown that dopamine release coincident with visual input from ring neurons can induce rapid plasticity of visual inputs onto EPG neurons. However, two types of dopaminergic neurons synapse onto EPG neurons at two different brain regions, and there are three different types of dopamine […]
Lauren Clawson
With the prevalence of dementia estimated at 50 million people worldwide, cognitive decline proves to be endemic in the older population. Though cognitive deterioration is widely recognized to be linked to aging, its development is a complex process with multiple etiological pathways, making its complete understanding challenging. Two pathological processes contributing to dementia in the aging brain are circadian degradation and blood-brain barrier dysfunction (BBBd). This summer, I will use mouse models to explore the efficacy of a novel, non-invasive gamma light treatment in mitigating these causes of age-associated cognitive […]
Diana Choi
The horror genre — malleable, in some ways, to wider cultural shifts — takes up many different forms, conventions, surfaces, and bodies. Of these different horrific figures, zombies are the surface and body of interest for this project. Taking up a general scope of a “post-Romero” genre of zombie films, to instantiate the impact of the George A. Romero zombies films on the genre conventions of the contemporary zombie movie, the monstrosity of these zombies may be obvious, but the goal of this project is to investigate what lies beneath […]
Zahra Baxi
The number of Multiplayer Online Game (MPOG) players steeply increased during the lockdowns and social distancing of the COVID-19 pandemic. My research will address the question: What factors enhance social connection and build virtual communities in MPOG players? My study is informed by the Self-Determination Theory which states that three basic psychological needs promote well-being: competence (mastery over one’s environment), autonomy (feeling of control over one’s life), and relatedness (sense of belonging and connection). Ethnographic observation on Discord, an online communication platform popular with gamers, will enable me to explore […]
Marissa Batchelor
Point Molate Beach is the archaeological remains of a shrimp camp that operated from 1870-1912. The San Francisco Bay had an influx of Chinese migrants that moved from the Guangdong Province for the promise of economic opportunities. By 1880, Chinese migrants had established a $250,000 fishing business that exported 3,000 tons of dried shrimp, while it provided fresh fish for the California market. Despite their contribution to America’s economy, they were not able to work in peace because of anti-Chinese sentiment. As a result, Point Molate Shrimp Camp was abandoned […]
Daniella Asturias
My project aims to investigate the effects of salinity and atrazine on African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis) development, contributing to our understanding of the impacts of rising salinity levels in freshwater due to climate change. As an ideal model organism to study sensitivity to environmental stressors, I would use Xenopus laevis and it also eases the monitoring of developmental changes. I will simulate a range of salinities found in aquatic environments and expose tadpoles to varying concentrations of atrazine. Measures such as development, sex ratio, growth, and survival rates, will […]
Jake Arft-Guatelli
Duality is a well documented property of operators in classical logic and in algebra. To give an example from natural language, “it’s not the case that it might be raining” sounds equivalent to “it must not be raining”. Generalized work surrounding duality in algebraic settings has only been explored relatively recently, but duality of classical operators for possibility and necessity can be traced back to Aristotle. My project explores the historical, natural language, and computational motivations for modal duality. I plan to depart from the existing literature in focusing on […]
Kriti Achyutuni
The brain is a dynamic system of interconnected regions that work together to support behavior. We can look at the brain as a snapshot in time by taking 3D images using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A brain measure collected at a specific time, like when a participant does a task, is a “state measure” of the brain. Many papers analyze brain measures during resting state, which are treated as immutable “trait measures”. In reality, however, the brain is dynamic, and the resting state is just one possible state of […]
Sima Alavi
Defects in ribosomal biogenesis can lead to cancerous cells via dysfunctional p53 protein (a tumor suppressor). This phenomenon is caused by defective ribosomal biogenesis leading to accumulation of 5S RNP, an intermediate in ribosomal assembly. 5S RNP accumulation in turn represses the p53 repressor, inhibiting its function, and rendering p53 in a state of overexpression. Overexpression of p53 is ultimately associated with higher risk of cancer. Therefore, understanding the pathway of ribosomal assembly can provide insight into causes of defective ribosomal cancer cells as well as allude to targets for […]