Elina Serrano

KCNK18 is a two-pore potassium channel that is hypothesized to play a key role in pain and touch. Mutations in the KCNK18 gene have been found in people suffering from familiar migraine. Furthermore, this channel is targeted by a variety of anesthetics as well as hydroxy–sanshool, the active ingredient in Szechuan peppercorn responsible for its tingling and numbing analgesic properties. Since the parts of the protein responsible for function and modulation of the channel have not been identified, the specific goal of my project is to create and screen a […]

Xinkang Wang

This project aims at providing constraints on the dark energy parameters through galaxy surveys. In theory, given the precise values of cosmological parameters, including the dark energy parameters (e.g., the density parameter ), we are able to determine the history and the ultimate fate of the universe.Therefore, to better understand the evolution of the universe and to improve current related theories in physics, we need to determine the values of dark energy parameters with higher precision to put in another way, we need to put further constraints on the parameters. […]

Yechong Yu

My current project is about reading performance across different methods of text presentation. The standard form of text presentation is by printed words on a page or screen in blocks of sentences and paragraphs. This way of text presentation is difficult for people who have diseases of the eye that hinder eye movement. One way to correct this problem is through rapid serial visual presentation, or RSVP, where text is presented one word at a time in sequence on a monitor. Do reading speed and comprehension improve when this method […]

Hai Le

It is essential that the cell preserves the integrity of its DNA by initiating a proper response when there is damage to its genome. As a fellow of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, I am utilizing this summer and the senior academic year to study the DNA repair pathway in heterochromatin. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, I propose to fluorescently tag different DNA repair proteins and conduct experiments to understand the kinetics of these proteins following DNA damage induced by X-ray treatment. This research is promising: knowledge of […]

Albert Yu

In the human body, the liver is the only organ that can regenerate following substantial damage. But if all cells contain the same genetic information, how is this function unique to the liver? This summer I will study regeneration in the wing imaginal discs of developing Drosophila larvae. My goal is to develop a system that introduces localized cell death in these discs. Following cell death, I will visualize the amount and location of cell proliferation in the remaining cells. With this system, I can assess the ability of mutant […]

Elliot Miles Asher Cohen

Brandon Endo

There are forms of the gecko species, Heteronotia binoei, that reproduce sexually that gave rise to forms that reproduce asexually through the process of parthenogenesis. Parthenogens have sections of duplicated genes in their mitochondrial genome while sexual forms do not. My project is to sequence and compare the mitochondrial genes of the sexual and parthenogenic forms to characterize their evolution since their divergence. I will also compare duplicated gene copies to one another within the parthenogenic individuals to characterize evolution of each gene since the duplication event. Gene duplication and […]

Abhiram Gande

My research will focus on the effects of stress on neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the adult rat hippocampus. The hippocampus is essential for memory and learning function. Interestingly, chronic stress has been shown to decrease cell proliferation in the DG and reduce the effectiveness of hippocampuss memory function. My project will investigate one potential factor that may prevent stress-induced reduction of neurogenesis: controllability. Studies have shown that animals that can control the onset/offset of stress do not show many negative effects of […]

Isabela Le Bras

This summer I will be working in ion trap quantum computing. Quantum computing is an alternate form of computation that uses a quantum bit, called a “qubit”, in place of the binary system. My professor, Hartmut Haeffner, isolates ions in radio frequency traps to create qubits. This trapping must take place in an ultra high vacuum so that air molecules do not interfere with the ion. My project entails building RC filters for the ion trap that are compatible with the vacuum. These filters need to remove any radio frequency […]

Matthew McElroy

I am interested in the thermal ecology of two tropical skinks, Emoia cyanura and E. impar, in Tahiti, French Polynesia. Since these skinks are so similar in morphology and ecology, they likely compete for essential resources, including sources of heat. So far, through field observations and lab experiments, I have found that E. cyanura prefers open canopy habitats and warmer body temperature relative to E. impar. To expand my study, I will test sprint speed of each species at different body temperatures to see if they are thermal “generalists” or […]