Jessica Stewart

My research focuses on a kinase in the MAPK/ERK pathway called BRAF, which is commonly mutated in cancer. This summer, I will isolate BRAF endogenously from 293FT cells and analyze their structure by native mass spectrometry and cryo-electron microscopy. This strategy differs from most conventional approaches, as I will not overexpress the protein. Rather, I aim to study BRAF isolated from its native stoichiometric environment, circumventing assumptions that must be made with overexpression. With this strategy, I seek to learn about BRAFs activation and native binding interactions. This knowledge could […]
Mihir Shah

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal primary brain tumor in adults. Although research has enhanced GBM diagnosis and clinical stratification, overall patient outcome has not significantly improved. This is because GBM is incurable with current treatments, which include surgery, radiation therapy, and Temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. The development of CRISPR-Cas9 systems presents opportunities to study human diseases, and it can be leveraged to create therapeutics. Specifically, CRISPR interference (CRISPRi)-based screens help study GBM dependencies and growth vulnerabilities without DNA damage. I have assisted with in vivo and in vitro […]
Divij Sharma

Strong gravitational lenses (deflection of light into multiple images by gravitational field of mass concentrations like galaxies) have been used as cosmological probes. These techniques involve ratios of distances between the observers, lens, and source. DSPL systems involve two sources lensed by the same foreground mass concentration. They provide a unique cosmological geometric probe through distance ratios involving the source and lens. Cosmic acceleration has been described using a form of energy called dark energy. Previous work by my advisor has shown that the DSPL key distance ratio is nearly […]
Jiayi Tan

People with high level of nearsightedness will have a 5- to 10-fold chance of developing glaucoma, cataract, and sight-threatening diseases such as retinal detachment later in life. Atropine eye drop is one of the most effective therapies for nearsightedness control. I will conduct a small-scaled randomized controlled trial to understand the impact of eye color on the effectiveness of atropine eye drop. Many studies on atropine have focused on Asian populations, and few studies have compared the effect of atropine between Asians and Europeans, who tend to have much lighter […]
Tiffany Tian

Up to half of Wilsons disease patients suffer from sleep disorders, including poor sleep quality, REM behavioral disorders (RBD), and cataplexy. However, the neural basis of these symptoms is poorly understood. My project this summer is to determine whether the ATP7B-/- knockout mouse is a good model system for studying the sleep disorders manifested in Wilsons disease, especially in the context of neural pathways involving copper homeostasis. Using automated sleep scoring methods, we will quantify sleep signatures in ATP7B-/- knockout and wildtype control mice. The brain copper changes in recorded […]
Tania Sodhi

The spotted fever group Rickettsiae (SFGR) are a collective group of Gram-negative obligate pathogens from Rickettesia spp. Most bacteria in the SFGR use two effectors to mediate actin-based motility (ABM). This is in contrast to other intracellular pathogens, which utilize only a single effector for ABM. The goal of my research project is to understand how Rickettsia parkeri, a member of the SFGR family, regulates the expression of two effectors that mediate ABM: RickA and Sca2. While both effectors are involved in mediating ABM, the regulation for both effectors and […]
Britney Weng

In humans, Positive Transcription Elongation Factor b (P-TEFb) is an RNA Polymerase II regulator crucial for proper gene expression. To execute its regulatory function, P-TEFb itself is precisely regulated via reversible interactions with an snRNP complex. Using biochemical techniques, past studies have confirmed LARP7, HEXIM1, and BRD4 to be protein partners of P-TEFb. My project aims to study the dynamic regulatory role of known protein partners LARP7, HEXIM1, and BRD4 in P-TEFb regulation. I will apply a new technique called proximity-assisted photoactivation (PAPA) to single particle tracking (SPT) and […]
Zhicheng Li
Data loss is a major issue in modern electronics. Charged-based devices are vulnerable to ionizing radiation, while ferromagnetic-based memory devices are susceptible to data loss from external magnetic fields. However, Antiferromagnetic (AFM)-based memory devices are robust to both charge and magnetic field perturbations. There exist a few materials whose AFM spin textures can be electrically switched”: an applied current induces a spin polarization, exerting a spin-orbit torque on the magnetic domains. This torque rotates the conductivity tensor, providing a switch between distinct resistance states. My research seeks to leverage the […]
Jacob Krantz
Geometric flows, such as the Ricci flow, Yang-Mills flow, and harmonic map flow, are natural ways to smooth out geometric objects (metric, connection, and maps, respectively). In this project, we will explore the idea of using geometric flows to develop new analytic tools for studying geometric objects. A possible goal of this project is to use geometric flows to solve problems in dispersive PDEs that involve geometric objects.
Erin Lee

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and strokes are ongoing public health crises, taking millions of lives annually and leaving survivors chronically disabled. They commonly affect the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), an integrative center for the brain’s reward and decision-making circuit. Thus, damage to the OFC can cause behavioral deficits, including impulsivity and impaired decision-making. My research examines the brain’s capacity for compensatory and functional reorganization in intact tissue following injury or lesion, which is crucial to furthering the clinical potential of neurorehabilitation. Previous analyses done by the D’Esposito Lab have found that […]