Inès Huret
Why do so many species coexist? One possible explanation is how species differ in sharing key resources. This division of resource needs is often called “trophic niche partitioning” and it can occur through symbiosis, in which invertebrate hosts rely more or less on receiving nutrition from algal symbionts. Recent work has demonstrated this in tropical coral species. This project, however, seeks to provide a comparative study of temperate symbioses in a nutrient rich environment by exploring trophic niche partitioning via symbiosis in four anemone species: Anthopleura elegantissima, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, Anthopleura […]
Francesca Cohn
The complex spatiotemporal control of gene expression is orchestrated by regulatory genomic elements called enhancers. Mutations in these enhancer regions have been linked to phenotypic evolution and human disease, however there is still little known about their regulatory logic; particularly whether individual enhancers are active in a single or multiple tissues, i.e. modular or pleiotropic. My research addresses this question by testing putative enhancers of the developmental gene Pitx2 using transgenic reporter assays in threespine stickleback fish.For each putative enhancer, I am asking: 1) does it drive expression of GFP […]
Rebecca Ferreira Alves
Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a facultative intracellular pathogen used as a vaccine vector in over 20 cancer vaccine trials for its ability to induce robust CD8+ T-cell responses. Lm is also capable of inducing the V𝛾9V𝛿2 T-cells subset of the 𝛾𝛿 T-cells which possess strong cytotoxic capabilities against tumors. The Portnoy lab identified that the non-mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis that produces HMBPP, the activator of V𝛾9V𝛿2 T-cells, functions only anaerobically. To fully understand how Lm can produce HMBPP and induce the V𝛾9V𝛿2 T-cells immune response, I seek to investigate […]
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 […]
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 […]
Pritika Acharya
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype that accounts for approximately 20% of all cases and is difficult to treat due to the lack of targeted therapies. The immune system is highly integrated with the breast cancer microenvironment, and macrophages play a large role in breast cancer progression. I am interested in studying the interplay between breast cancer cells and macrophages using high throughput DNA-directed patterning (htDNA-dp). This platform allows for the selective patterning of single […]
Xiaokun Yang
We live in a world of microbes, many of which are pathogenic and contribute to human diseases. Vertebrates evolved an adaptive immune system consisting of B and T cells for efficient and specific clearance of pathogens upon infection. Furthermore, the adaptive immune system exhibits “memory” that can be exploited for vaccination purposes. T cells are essential for the clearance of pathogens via the elimination of pathogen-infected cells, B cell activation, and the production of signaling molecules activating other immune responses. MHC molecules on cellular surfaces present antigens to T cells, […]