Daven Lim
Genetic diversity has been widely associated with the adaptability and survival of populations, and extensive research has focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Despite also contributing substantially to genetic diversity, structural variation (SV) has been comparatively less studied. In particular, there has been little research that broadly surveys SV diversity and explores its relevance to conservation across the tree of life. This research aims to a) identify SVs that segregate within a single individual across diverse taxonomic groups, b) characterize the diversity, origin, and potential functional impact of SVs in […]
Matthew Liu
Understanding how and why proteins evolve is vital to grasping the fundamental biological processes governing everything from disease treatment to evolutionary biology. Classical sequence-based models of protein evolution make unrealistic assumptions ignoring behavior like coevolution of amino acids, which limits their explanatory power. Capturing such complex interactions requires a deep understanding of protein structure and how sites interact. To do this, my project introduces the first structure-based model of its kind for protein evolution, adapting models from protein design to contribute to a novel literature on deep models of protein […]
Charles Long
The United States faces challenges in its criminal justice system, with high rates of incarceration and recidivism. Volunteer programs targeting incarcerated populations offer potential avenues for rehabilitation and recidivism reduction. UC Berkeley’s Teach in Program exemplifies this approach, wherein UC Berkeley students assist San Quentin State Prison students in obtaining their G.E.D. While research supports the positive effects of volunteer work and interaction with marginalized populations on empathy development, limited studies have specifically examined the impact of volunteering in prisons. With religious outreach dominating the space of prison volunteerism, a […]
Jasmine Lopez
This project aims to enhance emotion perception training for individuals with Autistic traits by developing a guided-gaze assistance program using eye-tracking data from the best 10% of participants in the Inferential Emotion Tracking (IET) task (Chen & Whitney, 2019). The IET task requires observers to infer emotions from contextual cues alone, which has proved to reveal deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Ortega, Chen, & Whitney, 2022). Existing Autism interventions for emotion perception often focus solely on facial expressions, neglecting the complexity of real-life social interactions. By distinguishing […]
Chloe Ma
Ayesha Mahfuz
My research project as a SURF fellow focuses on developing innovative DNA probes to enhance the capture of targeted genomic sequences. Utilizing our lab’s open-source tool, AncestralClust, I aim to refine and expand the design of probes that can accurately and efficiently target specific regions within genomes such as ITS2 and C01. The latter comprises over 2 million sequences, presenting a complex challenge in bioinformatics. By adjusting various parameters within AncestralClust, such as the number of sequence clusters and the minimum descendants per branch, I strive to optimize probe design […]
Yasmine Kaki
My project focuses on the role family and its creation and extension through marriages played in the consolidation of political power for the ruling family of Tunisia under its Ottoman regency. Since the Ottomans allowed for a great degree of political autonomy for the Bey (the governor of Tunis), rather than appointing a Bey to the region, the Ottoman government allowed for a continuous hereditary ruling family to control Tunisia. I will be looking specifically at the Husaynid Dynasty reigning from 1705-1956 but bracketing my period of research with the […]
Dana Kim
My research focuses on developing and implementing advanced deep-learning models to significantly enhance the interpretative accuracy and efficiency of medical imaging, thereby improving disease diagnosis processes. This initiative addresses the urgent need for sophisticated diagnostic tools capable of managing complex diseases effectively and seeks to overcome the limitations associated with human-dependent analysis. The research utilizes a diverse array of medical images such as MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays as primary data for the training and refinement of algorithms. The research methodology is organized into distinct phases: Data Collection and Labeling, […]
Tony Kim
Fatty liver disease is a global burden for public health, and is commonly associated with obesity and type-2 diabetes. Fatty liver mainly results from an impaired lipid metabolism in livers, showing reduced fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. However, the exact mechanism behind this phenomenon is not well understood. Our body begins producing ketone bodies by breaking down fatty acids during extended fasting, which are used as a substitute for glucose. However, one problem with studying ketogenesis is that ketogenesis is not well observed in hepatocytes isolated from an organism. A […]
Mel Kritikopoulos
Diasporic storytelling is not without the acknowledgement of language shifts. My research focuses on how contemporary authors in the Vietnamese diaspora use their inherited languages (French and English) to create works of multigenerational autofiction that offer insight into the experiences of their respective diasporic communities through a literary analysis of Line Papin’s ‘Les Os des Filles’ and E.M. Tran’s ‘Daughters of the New Year.’ I will use close reading, bibliographic research, and person-based reportage to ask two major questions: first, how does the form of autofiction reveal these modern female […]