Danh Tran
Microbiome editing is a new and growing area in machine learning, focused on understanding and controlling how groups of bacteria behave and interact, something that has been hard to study previously. This research could lead to breakthroughs in personalized medicine and the environment. The Rubin Lab is integrating machine learning into microbiome editing to improve how we understand and change these bacterial communities. We are creating advanced models of bacterial DNA and mobile genetic elements, which will help predict bacterial behavior and make the editing process more efficient. By using […]
Nicole Khatibi
Turbulent flows are everpresent in engineering and nature. Turbulent flows are characterized by a wide range of flow scales, intense mixing, high rates of heat and momentum transfer, and significant energy dissipation rates. A question of paramount importance in the field is how do turbulent flows achieve these ‘extreme’ properties. The practical and scientific importance of this question can hardly be overstated. A thorough insight into the principal components of turbulence will facilitate the development of better control strategies in engineering and explain the physical mechanism behind the enhanced angular […]
Corina Dunn
In materials with “flat-bands” where electrons have suppressed kinetic energy, effects of electron-electron interactions give rise to exotic quantum phases including superconductivity. While two-dimensional flat-band materials have been broadly studied in recent years, flat-bands are only just beginning to be realized in three dimensional networks. 3D flat-band materials are an interesting laboratory for the competition between superconductivity and magnetism and may even permit their coexistence. This project will focus on synthesizing and characterizing 3D flat-band materials to identify what exotic quantum phases can be discovered and to understand how electron […]
Anthony Neil Tan
Maker programs for middle school and high school students have become commonplace as the demand for STEM professionals has exponentially increased in the 21st century. Many of these academic enrichment programs are administered by non-profit initiatives and they serve as a stepping stone for pre-engineering students on a trajectory towards higher education. However, metrics for assessing the impact of out-of-school programs have been poorly defined and data points that track student learning have been sparse. One area of interest is quantifying students’ mastery of skills gained through these programs and […]
Meisen Wang
The physiological blind spot is a region in the visual field that corresponds to the location of the optic nerve of an eye. The optic nerve is a bundle of nerve fibers that connect the eye and the brain. Because there are no photoreceptors (light sensors) in the optic nerve, this region is “blind” in that the brain receives no visual input from this location. However, as we do not see a black spot in the periphery of our vision even with only one eye, the lack of informational input […]
Morgan Apolonio
Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis) is a fast-growing unicellular photosynthetic microorganism comprising a potential cell factory for the generation of bioactive compounds, therapeutic proteins, and biofuels. Fusion constructs of recombinant proteins with the CpcB β-subunit of the light-harvesting phycocyanin in Synechocystis has enabled the over-expression of proteins of interest up to 10-20% of the total cellular protein. I will use human interferon α-2 protein (IFN), a human immunoprotein that protects cells from infection, as a case study of over-expression and downstream signal processing of IFN. One problem in the biosynthesis […]
Luyang Zhang
Plants defend themselves against disease using germline-encoded innate immune receptors. Even so, pathogens are particularly challenging in that they often reproduce more rapidly than plants and tend to accumulate mutations that drive their evolution and diversification at an elevated pace. This accelerated evolutionary process necessitates the development of equally dynamic plant mechanisms of pathogen recognition. Deaminases are enzymes that remove amine groups from their nucleotide substrates. Existing literature indicates that certain classes of deaminases are capable of creating cytosine to uracil point mutations in DNA that contribute to bacterial and […]
Brandon Tu
Prostate cancer is among the most prevalent forms of cancer in the United States. Recent research studies in both mouse and human prostate tumors have uncovered a heightened dependency on small molecules known as polyamines. Polyamines are crucial signaling molecules for cellular growth and survival, supporting enhanced protein expression, nucleic acid synthesis, and chromatin remodeling. Understanding the factors which regulate polyamine production can provide insights into tumorigenesis and suggest targets for therapeutic benefit. The polyamine producing enzyme adenosyl-methionine decarboxylase 1 (AMD1) is highly upregulated in prostate cancer models. The cellular […]
Hong Joo Ryoo
My research operates at the intersection of computer science and Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD), focusing on quantum computations of real-time three-body correlation functions in 1+1 dimensions. Our primary objective is to determine how quantum computing can effectively simulate three-body interactions that evolve over time within physically realistic quantum states. By implementing the finite-volume formalism, integral equation methods, and other computational techniques, we aim to lay the groundwork for future quantum simulations that operate in real-time and can be extended to higher dimensions beyond 1+1D within the LQCD framework.
Sona Asatryan
Every 40 seconds, someone in the US experiences a stroke. Ischemic stroke triggers a stress response in the body, inducing hyperglycemia which exacerbates outcomes following stroke. One mechanism by which hyperglycemia worsens stroke symptoms is by fueling NADPH oxidase-2 (NOX2) activity, producing superoxide and increasing cellular damage through oxidative stress. Inhibiting NOX2 activity may serve as a potential treatment. While hyperglycemia after stroke is common, its treatment with insulin is not a viable option due to the risk of developing hypoglycemia. Therefore, a thorough investigation of hyperglycemia after stroke is […]