Connie Wang
My research project is designed to tease apart the contribution of circadian irregularities on reproductive performance. Circadian rhythms are essential for the maintenance of ~24 hour cycles in behavior, physiology, and neural function required for normal health. In humans, chronic or acute loss of synchrony between the circadian clock in the brain and the environment through shift work, jet lag, poor sleep hygiene, etc., leads to numerous health problems. Of great concern, many studies show that disruptions in circadian function lead to infertility, spontaneous abortion, and low birth weight in […]
Kenny Hoo Chow
Zachary Westrick
My experiment examines two possible models of how the brain determines which arm to use during reaching movements. Under the non-competitive model, the motor areas in each hemisphere formulate a plan and race until one has reached some threshold level of activation for movement, while the competitive model has the two hemispheres race while sending inhibitory signals to each other. I’ll be giving subjects a simple reaching task in which they must respond to cues on a screen, but occasionally withhold their movement in response to a later stop cue. […]
Stefano Iantorno
My research project revolves around the population genetic structure of the white-ruffed manakin, Corapipo altera, a species of passerine bird native to Costa Rica that has been previously studied to determine the effects of deforestation and habitat fragmentation on the genetic diversity of bird populations. By sequencing 15 microsatellite DNA loci from blood samples of individuals of different subpopulations, we hope to detect some genetic structuring indicating an absence of gene flow as expected by theoretical population genetics models. This result, if actually observed, would contradict previous research in this […]
Eric Pang
This summer I will be researching the interaction between Transmembrane AMPA-receptor regulatory proteins (TARPS) and AMPA glutamate receptors at the single molecule level. In order to do this I will have to make constructs containing fluorescent proteins paired with various members of the TARP family and AMPA glutamate receptor family. The interaction between TARPs and AMPA receptors particularly interesting because TARPs play a critical role in the regulation of synaptic AMPA receptor trafficing. While TARPs are not the only protein involved in this regulation it is believed that the regulation […]
John Wang
Muscle fibers are lined with small, non-fiber cells that reside between fiber bundles. These cells are called satellite cells. They are muscle stem cells which repair muscle upon injury. Satellite cells are important for use in stem cell therapies as they can self-renew and maintain their numbers following transplantation. Pax7 is a protein that has previously been reported to be uniquely expressed in satellite cells. As such, it is often used to verify the identity of cells collected from whole muscle biopsies. My project aims to show that Pax7 is […]
Jane Yu
We are studying the role that a gene called KST245 plays in joint formation in mice. Currently, little is known about the regulation of joint development in the field of skeletal biology. However, through our research we hope to advance the field and share information that may be important in treating poorly understood joint diseases, such as arthritis. Mice that lack the functional KST245 gene (KST245 mutants) show irregular cartilage growth and misplaced joints. By examining the differences between the KST245 mutants and unaltered mice, we hope to understand the […]
Maansi Shah
DivL is an essential protein in Caulobacter crescentus that acts upstream of the master cell-cycle regulator, CtrA. Sequence analysis shows DivL to be homologous to histidine protein kinases, however, it has a tyrosine at its active site rather than a histidine. DivL is an essential protein but a mutant form of the protein, in which autophosphorylation is prevented by the substitution of phenylalanine for the tyrosine at the phosphorylation site, is still capable of supporting viability. Thus, DivL activates CtrA by a mechanism other than phosphorylation. The goal of my […]
Sun Young Jeong
I am studying how birds time their reproductive systems in response to local environmental changes. For instance, the European great tit has expanded northward as temperatures have increased and these northern populations have delayed the timing of breeding, an advantageous adaption because spring conditions come later in the year with increasing latitude. It is thought that the delay occurs via an increase in the photoperiodic threshold to induce gonadal growth. We think that a delay in the activation of genes that regulate photoperiodic response in the northern population is responsible […]
Carissa Pardamean
This summer, my research involves point mutations in genomic sequences encoding for the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, which is a part of the neural tube formation pathway. The mutations cause spina bifida or neural tube defect (NTD), one of the most common neonatal defects in the US. A common method for NTD prevention is folate (vitamin B9) supplementation but this is not always effective. Thus, my hypothesis is that the success of the folate salvage depends on the type of point mutation that is present in the fetus. Additionally, though NTD […]