Category: Undergraduate Entries 2024
U68 – ER network stability promotes organized microtubule disassembly during Compartmentalized Cell Elimination
April 10, 2024Karen Juanez / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Piya Ghose Cell elimination is a key feature of both development and homeostasis, as well as pathological states. Specialized…
Hannah Selvarathinam / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Piya Ghose Pharyngeal pumping and its reduction following mechanical insult are well-studied C. elegans behaviors. Here, we assessed new…
U70 – Exploring overlapping molecular mechanisms of aberrant cell outgrowth and cell death
April 10, 2024Abigael Oshodi / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Piya Ghose Normal brain development is achieved through both regressive and progressive events that must be precisely regulated. Part…
U71 – Functional study of the testis-specific nuclear transport retrogenes, Ntf-2r and Ran-like, in Drosophila melanogaster
April 10, 2024Ana Ledesma / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Esther Betran In Drosophila, many of the recent gene duplications are expressed only in the testes, and their proteins…
Nathan Rather / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Piya Ghose Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a critical role in conferring organismal development and homeostasis. We discovered a…
U73 – Exploration of Tunable Anti-Cancer Metallodrugs
April 10, 2024Joshua Rahmon / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Sherri McFarland Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a complementary approach to conventional forms of cancer treatment, such as…
U74 – Identification of Loess from Fluvial Deposits at Flagstaff Rim, Wyoming by Machine Learning
April 10, 2024Mary Ann Moody / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Majie Fan Grain size analysis has played a pivotal role in interpreting sedimentary environments. The…
Irene Pham / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Alison Ravenscraft Leptoglossus phyllopus, commonly known as the Eastern Leaf-Footed bug, is a polyphagous agricultural pest. However, unlike most…
U76 – Age Differences in Setting Reminders for Future Plans
April 10, 2024Dylan Ellis / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Hunter Ball Prospective memory (PM) – the process of establishing intentions for future action and remembering to fulfill these…
U77 – Impact of Leptoglossus phyllopus Population Density on Free-Living Symbiont-Caballeronia
April 10, 2024John Teodosio / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Alison Ravenscraft With the growing global population, agriculture has become more important than ever. There has been increased interest…
U78 – Experimental and Computational NMR Strategies to Identify Constrained Conformers of Modified Calix[4]arenes
April 10, 2024Jacqueline Medina / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Frank Foss Jr. Calix[4]arenes are cyclic oligomers renowned for their unique molecular architecture, offering a versatile platform…
U79 – Ventifact Education: Bridging Science and Public Awareness of Wind-Sculpted Landscapes
April 10, 2024Julia Alvarez / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Nathan Brown Ventifacts are rock formations sculpted by the abrasive action of wind-driven particles in arid…
U80 – Chemical Desymmetrization of Trehalose
April 10, 2024Ashton Drake / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Joseph Buonomo Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of the transmissible disease tuberculosis. The complex structure…
U81 – Shining a Light on Drug-Resistant Bacteria
April 10, 2024Ryan White / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Sherri McFarland Drug–resistant bacteria and viruses are one of the most dangerous developments in recent medical history….
U82 – Mindfulness Engagement and it’s Relationship with Mental Health in College Students
April 10, 2024Aastha Arora / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Tracy Greer Mindfulness practice has a strong potential for improving mental health outcomes and well-being among college students. However,…
U83 – Light-activated natural product extracts for Photodynamic Inactivation of Bacteria
April 10, 2024Debby Sunday / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Sherri McFarland Bacterial infections have a huge impact on human health across the world. Conventional antimicrobials are…
Ohitha Reddy Sana / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Sen Xu Evolutionary theory suggests that fitness decreases with hybridization as a result of negative epistatic interactions between…
Seth Vallee / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Peter McLemore In the world of leadership, discussions about how age impacts effectiveness are common, especially in politics where…
Myan Le / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: He Dong Peptides are adaptable structures that can be used to create a variety of nanostructures, which…
U87 – Baseflow and storm-based water quality: from observations to urban stream imagery analysis
April 9, 2024Katherine Atkins / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Ricardo Sanchez-Murillo Persistent droughts, extreme precipitation events, and increasing water needs are shaping the co-evolution of…
U89 – The Role of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) on Neuronal Development: A Cell Biological Perspective on the Treatment of ADHD
April 9, 2024Chris Casarez / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Piya Ghose As one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often…
U90 – Effects of climate-smart practices and a drought-tolerant Bradyrhizobium isolate across the Mid-South region
April 9, 2024Jordyn Waters / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Woo-Suk Chang No-till farming is an agricultural practice that involves cultivating crops without disturbing soils and offers numerous benefits…
U91 – Investigating The Impact Of A Single-Session Mindfulness Intervention on College Students with Varying Anxiety Levels
April 9, 2024Ope Oyeyemi / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Tracy Greer This project will investigate the potential impact of brief mindfulness practice and mental health among university students….
Giang Thanh Tran / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Carl Lovely The preparation of the key ketone from Fiedel-Craft acylation from 4-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)butanoic acid and 1,4-dimethoxybenzene…
Katy Arias / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Purnendu Dasgupta Polymers are an integral part of our lives. While fully solid polymers serve many purposes,…
Darsh Gandhi / Mathematics / Faculty Mentor: Mette Olufsen Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a fatal disease, causing high blood pressure and unresolved lesions in…
U95 – Leader Effectiveness in Underrepresented Groups and Majority Groups in Popular Movies
April 9, 2024Wilfredo Rodriguez / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Logan Watts Women and people of color are underrepresented across top executive and political leadership positions in the United…
Keeley Williamson / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Peter Kroll This research surrounds chemical kinetics in single process mechanisms with the main focus being on…
U97 – Investigating Bradyrhizobium japonicum as a potential biodegrader for glufosinate
April 9, 2024Renee Ralston / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Woo-Suk Chang Glufosinate serves as a potential herbicide alternative to glyphosate because of the rapid increase of the herbicide…
Neeka Mardani-Kamali / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Alicia Rogers Understanding gene regulation mechanisms is crucial for unraveling the complexities of biological processes. Our research aims to…
Austin Carlson / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Frank Foss Jr. Neutrinoless double beta decay is a theoretical process converting two neutrons into two protons,…
U100 – Designing, Cloning, and Testing Genetically Engineered Metabolic Pathways to Produce Therapeutics in Gut Bacteria
April 9, 2024Omar Elkassih / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Justyn Jaworski Equol, a natural isoflavone metabolite derived from daidzein found in soy products, has been linked to various…
U101 – The Effects of Resveratrol on Neuroinflammation
April 9, 2024Lucine Devejian / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Subhrangsu Mandal Alzheimer’s disease is a neuroinflammatory disorder causing dementia, cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. According to the…
U102 – Analysis of the polar constituents in mixed plastic waste pyrolysis oils using different extraction techniques
April 9, 2024Sadid Morshed / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Kevin A. Schug There is active research to seek alternative energy sources with the goal of reducing…
Tanner Dabbert / Biology / Faculty Mentor: Alison Ravenscraft Insects and plants have coevolved over millions of years, with herbivorous insects having evolved the ability to…
U104 – Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay: Investigating Effective Field Theories with NuDoBe
April 9, 2024Nafisa Nawrin Labonno / Physics / Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Jones Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is a rare nuclear phenomenon hypothesised to involve the conversion of…
U105 – Reward learning and Its Relationship to Depression in Adolescents with Epilepsy
April 9, 2024Daniela Ventura / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Tracy Greer, Crystal Cooper Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in youth and is often correlated…
U106 – Resting-State Brain Activity and its Relationships to Mental Health in Epilepsy Using Magnetoencephalography
April 9, 2024Florencio Gobellan Rodriguez / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Tracy Greer, Crystal Cooper Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, a chronic disease of the…
U107 – Barium Sensing Calix[4]arene Derivatives for the Detection of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
April 9, 2024Lawrence Garcia / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: Frank Foss Jr. The phenomenon of neutrinoless double beta decay is a rare nuclear event where two…