Nader Morshed

Construction of protein structures from X-ray crystallography data is a difficult, time consuming, and error-prone process. With of 90,000 protein structures currently deposited in online data banks, tools to automatically construct, analyze, and fix models is essential for correct scientific analysis. My research is to apply techniques from the machine learning field to identify elementary ions, such as zinc and calcium, in available data. These atoms are often essential to enzyme function, but their identification requires knowledge of esoteric rules, making it great ground for computational automation.

Catherine Nguyen

Members of the Burkholderia genus are Gram-negative intracellular bacteria that are highly pathogenic to humans and animals. Some species are capable of manipulating the actin cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells for intracellular movement, which promotes cell-to-cell spread and evasion of the host immune system. However, the mechanism of actin nucleation is not understood. This project will determine how actin nucleation mediated by the conserved bacterial factor Burkholderia intracellular motility A (BimA), which is required for actin-based motility, differs among three Burkholderia species. Identification of BimA motifs that are important for actin-binding […]

Nicole Greenfield

Hawaiian riparian zones have a high incidence of invasive plants that threaten the biodiversity of native vegetation and stream habitats. Restoration efforts to replant native vegetation are underway; however, Hawaiis extensive history and abundance of invasive species make it challenging to find natural reference sites. Therefore, my project aims to explore ecological relationships between the riparian zone and stream habitats to help monitor the progress of an ongoing restoration. I will use Heeia Stream in Oahu as my study site, where I will compare stream habitat between invaded and restored […]

Neha Chandra

The innate immune response is the cells first line of defense against viral infection. One of its functions is the production of cytokines, such as interferons (IFN), which are needed to recruit immune cells to the site of infection. In order to create an efficient immune response, IFN production is controlled by highly regulated signal transduction pathways. The E3 ubiqutin ligase protein, TRIM21, has been shown to down-regulate IFN production pathways by targeting the IFN regulatory factor, IRF7, for degradation. However, the factors and mechanism leading to the affinity of […]

Veronica Kim

Normal female reproductive health requires the precise temporal coordination of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Disruptions to circadian rhythms have pronounced negative health consequences, including an increased incidence of heart disease, obesity, ulcers, and cancer. Most relevant to the present studies, women with disrupted circadian rhythms exhibit pronounced deficits in ovulation and fecundity. My project investigates the circadian control of two, opposing neuropeptides that act upstream of the reproductive axis, gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone (GnIH) and kisspeptin. Our lab has shown that both of these neuropeptidergic systems receive […]

Halea Meese

My project will examine the effect of national health insurance on rates of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS (MTCT) in Sub-Saharan Africa. I will compare five nations of the region that have implemented national health insurance and compare their rates of MTCT to a control group of another five that have not. I will utilize data from various sources to compile a large data set on each of the ten nations and thus control for the necessary variables so that the two groups of 5 may be compared and […]

Joshua Penalba

The Eastern Arc Mountains of Africa have been identified as an area of high bird diversity and endemism. The forests on these mountains underwent a contraction creating sky islands. Diversity of the forest habitat suggests that the Eastern Arc Mountains served as a refuge during the Pliocene climate cycling. Current molecular technology has allowed for discovery of cryptic taxa between the sky islands. Insights in the genetic structure of populations lead to further understanding of the driving forces of evolution for endemic taxa. There is a high likelihood that similar […]

Anita Satish

Research has shown that memory for medical and psychological advice hovers between 20 and 30 percent. This may be associated with adverse effects on treatment adherence and outcomes. My research employs memory-enhancing strategies through a reiterative text-message intervention for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Previous research suggests text interventions can have positive treatment outcomes. A more standardized and systematic approach to studying their effects on treatment outcomes and memory, may lead to more conclusive findings. In my study, participants will receive a two-week text-message intervention following a basic lesson in CBT, […]

Amelia Weiss

While there have been relatively many studies of cave ecology in temperate regions, tropical cave ecology is vastly understudied. The purpose of my research is to identify some of the non-living environmental features that influence species distributions through Cueva Nibida, a large cave on an island off Panamas Caribbean coast. It is of growing importance that this ecosystem be understood so that conservation measures can be enacted to mitigate human impact brought upon by increasing tourism to the region. To accomplish this, I will map invertebrate distributions and abundances through […]

Tara Sulur

Choanoflagellates are single-celled eukaryotic organisms that are the most recent ancestor to multicellular animals. As such, they possess most of the proteins required for the transition to multicellularity. One choanoflagellate protein in particular, Homer, has been shown through immumofluorescence to localize to the nucleus. I will be using transmission electron microscopy with Immunogold staining and membrane fractionation to discover the sub-cellular localization of Homer. In animals, Homer plays a crucial role in adhesion and scaffolding at the synapses of neurons. Since neuro-sensory systems are unique to metazoans, I hope to […]