Engineering Commons^™

Identification And Characterization Of Two Novel Kcnh2 Mutations Contributing To Long Qt Syndrome, Anthony Owusu-Mensah, Jacqueline Treat, Joyce Bernardi, Ryan Pfeiffer, Robert Goodrow, Bright Tsevi, Victoria Lam, Michel Audette, Jonathan M. Cordeiro, Makarand Deo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We identified two different inherited mutations in KCNH2 gene, or human ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG), which are linked to Long QT Syndrome. The first mutation was in a 1-day-old infant, whereas the second was in a 14-year-old girl. The two KCNH2 mutations were transiently transfected into either human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells or human induced pluripotent stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes. We performed associated multiscale computer simulations to elucidate the arrhythmogenic potentials of the KCNH2 mutations. Genetic screening of the first and second index patients revealed a heterozygous missense mutation in KCNH2, resulting in an amino acid change (P632L) in the …

Multiple And Consecutive Genome Editing Using I-Gonad And Breeding Enrichment Facilitates The Production Of Genetically Modified Mice, Carolina R Melo-Silva, Cory J Knudson, Lingjuan Tang, Samita Kafle, Lauren E. Springer, Jihae Choi, Christopher M. Snyder, Yajing Wang, Sangwon V. Kim, Luis J. Sigal

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Genetically modified (GM) mice are essential tools in biomedical research. Traditional methods for generating GM mice are expensive and require specialized personnel and equipment. The use of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) coupled with improved-Genome editing via Oviductal Nucleic Acids Delivery (i-GONAD) has highly increased the feasibility of producing GM mice in research laboratories. However, genetic modification in inbred mouse strains of interest such as C57BL/6 (B6) is still challenging because of their low fertility and embryo fragility. We have successfully generated multiple novel GM mouse strains in the B6 background while attempting to optimize i-GONAD. We found …

Exposure To Pcb126 During The Nursing Period Reversibly Impacts Early-Life Glucose Tolerance, Brittany B. Rice, Keegan W. Sammons, Sara Y. Ngo Tenlep, Madeline T. Weltzer, Leryn J. Reynolds, Cetewayo S. Rashid, Hollie I. Swanson, Kevin J. Pearson

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental organic pollutants known to have detrimental health effects. Using a mouse model, we previously demonstrated that PCB126 exposure before and during pregnancy and throughout the perinatal period adversely affected offspring glucose tolerance and/or body composition profiles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the glucose tolerance and body composition of offspring born to dams exposed to PCB126 during the nursing period only. Female ICR mice were bred, and half of the dams were exposed to either vehicle (safflower oil) or 1 µmole PCB126 per kg of body weight via oral gavage on postnatal …

An Investigation Of The Impact Gender-Specific Course Grouping Has On Female Middle-School Students' Concept Of And Interests Toward Technology And Engineering, Thomas Broderick Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

Attempts to improve retention, interest, and enrollment of females in Technology & Engineering Education courses have included a variety of approaches including female-only classes. However, the implications of such courses have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, an investigation of female-only classes was undertaken; the findings revealed that the overall enrollment of females went up in the course and in subsequent classes, these students maintained their interests and attitudes towards Technology and Engineering, their perceptions of an engineer's gender changed from that of mostly male to mostly female, and their concepts of what an engineer does changed from mostly building or …

Exploring Young Women’S Interest In Fluid Power With Workshop Experiences, Anne M. Lucietto, Jennifer D. Moss, Jose M. Garcia, John H. Lumkes

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Fluid power is not an engineering topic usually presented to students in grades K-12. However undergraduate students in various programs are required to learn this concept. Evidence exists that indicates college students are more easily engaged when fluid power has been introduced earlier in their schooling. Thus, a variety of organizations are beginning work toward providing programs to creatively present the topic to younger students. After an examination of existing literature, we found minimal evidence of this type of work having been carried out and reported on. This study examines data from workshops designed to introduce fluid power to middle …

Women And Bipoc In Aerospace: Where Did They Come From And How Did They Get Here?, Tracy L. Yother, Anne M. Lucietto, Geanie Umberger, Mary E. Johnson

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

The low number of women and black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) compared to their population, is well-documented in engineering, engineering technology, and other STEM fields. Through this and ancillary documentation there is agreement that increasing the numbers of women and other minorities in these areas will enhance productivity and the breadth of new innovation. Many efforts have been made to increase the number of women and BIPOC in STEM fields. The result of those efforts has been disappointing as they have resulted in minimal growth in engineering and virtual stagnation in other areas of STEM. The aviation and …

Nanoceria Distribution And Effects Are Mouse-Strain Dependent, Robert A. Yokel, Michael T. Tseng, D. Allan Butterfield, Matthew L. Hancock, Eric A. Grulke, Jason M. Unrine, Arnold J. Stromberg, Alan K. Dozier, Uschi M. Graham

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Prior studies showed nanoparticle clearance was different in C57BL/6 versus BALB/c mice, strains prone to Th1 and Th2 immune responses, respectively. Objective: Assess nanoceria (cerium oxide, CeO₂ nanoparticle) uptake time course and organ distribution, cellular and oxidative stress, and bioprocessing as a function of mouse strain. Methods: C57BL/6 and BALB/c female mice were i.p. injected with 10 mg/kg nanoceria or vehicle and terminated 0.5 to 24 h later. Organs were collected for cerium analysis; light and electron microscopy with elemental mapping; and protein carbonyl, IL-1β, and caspase-1 determination. Results: Peripheral organ cerium significantly increased, generally more …

System Reliability Analysis Of The Scoliosis Disorder., Fatemeh Nouri, Seyed Hooman Ghasemi, Ji Yun Lee

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Scoliosis is a spine abnormal deviation, which is an idiopathic disorder among children and adolescents. As a matter of the fact, distribution of loads on the patient's spine and load-carrying capacity of the vertebral column are both random variables. Therefore, the probabilistic approach may consider as a sophisticated method to deal with this problem.

METHOD: Reliability analysis is a probabilistic-based approach to consider the uncertainties of load and resistance of the vertebral column. The main contribution of this paper is to compare the reliability level of a normal and scoliosis spinal. To do so, the numerical analyses associated with …

Post-Acquisition Processing Confounds In Brain Volumetric Quantification Of White Matter Hyperintensities, Ahmed A. Bahrani, Omar M. Al-Janabi, Erin L. Abner, Shoshana H. Bardach, Richard J. Kryscio, Donna M. Wilcock, Charles D. Smith, Gregory A. Jicha

Neurology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Disparate research sites using identical or near-identical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition techniques often produce results that demonstrate significant variability regarding volumetric quantification of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the aging population. The sources of such variability have not previously been fully explored.

NEW METHOD: 3D FLAIR sequences from a group of randomly selected aged subjects were analyzed to identify sources-of-variability in post-acquisition processing that can be problematic when comparing WMH volumetric data across disparate sites. The methods developed focused on standardizing post-acquisition protocol processing methods to develop a protocol with less than 0.5% inter-rater variance.

RESULTS: A series …

Comparing Record Linkage Software Programs And Algorithms Using Real-World Data., Alan F. Karr, Matthew T. Taylor, Suzanne L. West, Soko Setoguchi, Tzuyung D. Kou, Tobias Gerhard, Daniel B. Horton

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Linkage of medical databases, including insurer claims and electronic health records (EHRs), is increasingly common. However, few studies have investigated the behavior and output of linkage software. To determine how linkage quality is affected by different algorithms, blocking variables, methods for string matching and weight determination, and decision rules, we compared the performance of 4 nonproprietary linkage software packages linking patient identifiers from noninteroperable inpatient and outpatient EHRs. We linked datasets using first and last name, gender, and date of birth (DOB). We evaluated DOB and year of birth (YOB) as blocking variables and used exact and inexact matching methods. …

Distinct Patterns Of Default Mode And Executive Control Network Circuitry Contribute To Present And Future Executive Function In Older Adults, Christopher A. Brown, Frederick A. Schmitt, Charles D. Smith, Brian T. Gold

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Executive function (EF) performance in older adults has been linked with functional and structural profiles within the executive control network (ECN) and default mode network (DMN), white matter hyperintensities (WMH) burden and levels of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Here, we simultaneously explored the unique contributions of these factors to baseline and longitudinal EF performance in older adults. Thirty-two cognitively normal (CN) older adults underwent neuropsychological testing at baseline and annually for three years. Neuroimaging and AD pathology measures were collected at baseline. Separate linear regression models were used to determine which of these variables predicted composite EF scores at baseline …

Diagnosing Growth In Low-Grade Gliomas With And Without Longitudinal Volume Measurements: A Retrospective Observational Study., Hassan M Fathallah-Shaykh, Andrew Deatkine, Elizabeth Coffee, Elias Khayat, Asim K Bag, Xiaosi Han, Paula Province Warren, Markus Bredel, John Fiveash, James Markert, Nidhal Carla Bouaynaya, Louis B Nabors

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Low-grade gliomas cause significant neurological morbidity by brain invasion. There is no universally accepted objective technique available for detection of enlargement of low-grade gliomas in the clinical setting; subjective evaluation by clinicians using visual comparison of longitudinal radiological studies is the gold standard. The aim of this study is to determine whether a computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) method helps physicians detect earlier growth of low-grade gliomas.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We reviewed 165 patients diagnosed with grade 2 gliomas, seen at the University of Alabama at Birmingham clinics from 1 July 2017 to 14 May 2018. MRI scans were collected during …

A Pilot Study Identifying Brain-Targeting Adaptive Immunity In Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patients With Acquired Brain Injury, Sterling B. Ortega, Poornima Pandiyan, Jana Windsor, Vanessa O. Torres, Uma M. Selvaraj, Amy Lee, Michael Morriss, Fenghua Tian, Lakshmi Raman, Ann M. Stowe

Neurology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation provides short-term cardiopulmonary life support, but is associated with peripheral innate inflammation, disruptions in cerebral autoregulation, and acquired brain injury. We tested the hypothesis that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation also induces CNS-directed adaptive immune responses which may exacerbate extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-associated brain injury.

DESIGN: A single center prospective observational study.

SETTING: Pediatric and cardiac ICUs at a single tertiary care, academic center.

PATIENTS: Twenty pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients (0-14 yr; 13 females, 7 males) and five nonextracorporeal membrane oxygenation Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score matched patients.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Venous blood samples were …

Dynamic Light Scattering Optical Coherence Tomography To Probe Motion Of Subcellular Scatterers., Nico J J Arezza, Marjan Razani, Michael C Kolios

Medical Biophysics Publications

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is used to provide anatomical information of biological systems but can also provide functional information by characterizing the motion of intracellular structures. Dynamic light scattering OCT was performed on intact, control MCF-7 breast cancer cells and cells either treated with paclitaxel to induce apoptosis or deprived of nutrients to induce oncosis. Autocorrelations (ACs) of the temporal fluctuations of OCT intensity signals demonstrate a significant decrease in decorrelation time after 24 h in both the paclitaxel-treated and nutrient-deprived cell groups but no significant differences between the two groups. The acquired ACs were then used as input for …

Distinct White Matter Changes Associated With Cerebrospinal Fluid Amyloid-Β1-42 And Hypertension, Omar M. Al-Janabi, Christopher A. Brown, Ahmed A. Bahrani, Erin L. Abner, Justin M. Barber, Brian T. Gold, Larry B. Goldstein, Richard R. Murphy, Peter T. Nelson, Nathan F. Johnson, Leslie M. Shaw, Charles D. Smith, John Q. Trojanowski, Donna M. Wilcock, Gregory A. Jicha

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and hypertension (HTN) are risk factors for development of white matter (WM) alterations and might be independently associated with these alterations in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the independent and synergistic effects of HTN and AD pathology on WM alterations.

METHODS: Clinical measures of cerebrovascular disease risk were collected from 62 participants in University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center studies who also had cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling and MRI brain scans. CSF Aβ_1-42 levels were measured as a marker of AD, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging and diffusion tensor imaging were obtained to assess …

Blood Transfusions In Preterm Infants: Changes On Perfusion Index And Intermittent Hypoxemia, Katrina T. Ibonia, Henrietta S. Bada, Philip M. Westgate, Enrique Gomez Pomar, Prasad Bhandary, Abhijit R. Patwardhan, Elie G. Abu Jawdeh

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion decreases intermittent hypoxemia (IH) events beyond the first week of life. This benefit may be related to improved perfusion to the respiratory control network. Perfusion index (PI) is a perfusion measure provided by the pulse oximeter. We hypothesized that the benefit in IH after RBC transfusion is associated with an increase in PI. In addition, we assessed the value of PI and clinical measures in predicting the effect of RBC transfusion on IH.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We prospectively enrolled infants less than 30 weeks' gestation age. PI and oxygen saturation (SpO₂) …

Girls Who Code 3rd-5th, Khristina Polivanov

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

The goal of the club is to encourage girls to be confident in themselves and their abilities while teaching them basic concepts used in computer science.

Mechanical Demands On The Lower Back In Patients With Non-Chronic Low Back Pain During A Symmetric Lowering And Lifting Task, Iman Shojaei, Elizabeth G. Salt, Quenten L. Hooker, Babak Bazrgari

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

There is limited information in the literature related to the lower back loading in patients with LBP, particularly those with non-chronic LBP. Toward addressing such a research gap, a case-control study was conducted to explore the differences in lower back mechanical loads between a group of females (n=19) with non-chronic, non-specific LBP and a group of asymptomatic females (n=19). The differences in lower back mechanical loads were determined when participants completed one symmetric lowering and lifting of a 4.5 kg load at their preferred cadence. The axial, shearing, and moment components of task demand at the time of peak moment …

Objectively Measuring Effects Of Electro-Acupuncture In Parkinsonian Rhesus Monkeys, Rui Zhang, Anders H. Andersen, Peter A. Hardy, Eric Forman, April Evans, Yi Ai, Jin Yue, Guihua Yue, Don M. Gash, Richard Grondin, Zhiming Zhang

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center Faculty Publications

Acupuncture has increasingly been used as an alternative therapy for treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the efficacy of acupunture for PD still remains unclear. The present study was designed to objectively and safely monitor anti-parkinsonian effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and brain activity in nonhuman primates modeling human PD. Six middle-aged rhesus monkeys were extensively studied by a computerized behavioral testing battery and by pharmacological MRI (phMRI) scans with specific dopaminergic drug stimulations. All animals were evaluated for behavior and phMRI responses under normal, parkinsonian, parkinsonian with EA treatment and parkinsonian after EA treatment conditions. Stable parkinsonian features were observed …

Phenomenological Study On Female Engineering Leaders In The New York Utility Industry, Shelanda Gonsalves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the development of women with an engineering background who became leaders. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of female engineering leaders in the New York utility sector. The research problem was why few women with engineering degrees obtain leadership positions. Women comprise half the total working population, yet few hold leadership positions, especially in the utility sector. In this study, 28 women in the New York utility sector shared experiences on their progression from engineer to leadership. The conceptual framework was the Moustakas phenomenological approach, investigating the humanistic properties of …

Ethical Decision-Making In Construction Engineering Projects, Monique Sidaross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Problems exist with ethical decision-making in U.S. construction engineering projects.

The purpose of this study was to explore factors that affect ethical decision-making in engineering construction in the United States. The general concepts of marketing ethics, Kohlberg's discussion of ethical and moral reasoning development, and Gillian's discussion of ethical care served as the basis of the conceptual framework. Factors that inhibit ethical decision making were addressed in the research questions. The resulting narrative framework included implementable initiatives based on these factors that could improve the quality of ethical decision-making and the impact of these initiatives on the cost and quality …

White Matter Hyperintensity Associations With Cerebral Blood Flow In Elderly Subjects Stratified By Cerebrovascular Risk, Ahmed A. Bahrani, David K. Powell, Guoqiang Yu, Eleanor S. Johnson, Gregory A. Jicha, Charles D. Smith

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective: This study aims to add clarity to the relationship between deep and periventricular brain white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebrovascular risk in older persons. Methods: Deep white matter hyperintensity (dWMH) and periventricular white matter hyperintensity (pWMH) and regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) blood flow from arterial spin labeling were quantified from magnetic resonance imaging scans of 26 cognitively normal elderly subjects stratified by cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk. Fluidattenuated inversion recovery images were acquired using a high-resolution 3-dimensional (3-D) sequence that reduced partial volume effects seen with slicebased techniques. Results: dWMHs but not …

Using A Respiratory Navigator Significantly Reduces Variability When Quantifying Left Ventricular Torsion With Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Sean M. Hamlet, Christopher M. Haggerty, Jonathan D. Suever, Gregory J. Wehner, Kristin N. Andres, David K. Powell, Richard J. Charnigo, Brandon K. Fornwalt

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Left ventricular (LV) torsion is an important indicator of cardiac function that is limited by high inter-test variability (50% of the mean value). We hypothesized that this high inter-test variability is partly due to inconsistent breath-hold positions during serial image acquisitions, which could be significantly improved by using a respiratory navigator for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) based quantification of LV torsion.

Methods: We assessed respiratory-related variability in measured LV torsion with two distinct experimental protocols. First, 17 volunteers were recruited for CMR with cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) in which a respiratory navigator was used to measure …

Timing And Magnitude Of Lumbar Spine Contribution To Trunk Forward Bending And Backward Return In Patients With Acute Low Back Pain, Iman Shojaei, Milad Vazirian, Elizabeth G. Salt, Linda R. Van Dillen, Babak Bazrgari

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Alterations in the lumbo-pelvic coordination denote changes in neuromuscular control of trunk motion as well as load sharing between passive and active tissues in the lower back. Differences in timing and magnitude aspects of lumbo-pelvic coordination between patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) and asymptomatic individuals have been reported; yet, the literature on lumbo-pelvic coordination in patients with acute LBP is scant. A case-control study was conducted to explore the differences in timing and magnitude aspects of lumbo-pelvic coordination between females with (n=19) and without (n=19) acute LBP. Participants in each group completed one experimental session wherein they performed …

Comparison Of Lumbo-Pelvic Kinematics During Trunk Forward Bending And Backward Return Between Patients With Acute Low Back Pain And Asymptomatic Controls, Iman Shojaei, Elizabeth G. Salt, Quenten L. Hooker, Linda R. Van Dillen, Babak Bazrgari

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background—Prior studies have reported differences in lumbo-pelvic kinematics during a trunk forward bending and backward return task between individuals with and without chronic low back pain; yet, the literature on lumbo-pelvic kinematics of patients with acute low back pain is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study was set to investigate lumbo-pelvic kinematics in this cohort.

Methods—A case-control study was conducted to investigate the differences in pelvic and thoracic rotation along with lumbar flexion as well as their first and second time derivatives between females with and without acute low back pain. Participants in each group completed one …

Effects Of Vocal Fold Nodules On Glottal Cycle Measurements Derived From High-Speed Videoendoscopy In Children, Rita R. Patel, Harikrishnan Unnikrishnan, Kevin D. Donohue

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this study is to quantify the effects of vocal fold nodules on vibratory motion in children using high-speed videoendoscopy. Differences in vibratory motion were evaluated in 20 children with vocal fold nodules (5–11 years) and 20 age and gender matched typically developing children (5–11 years) during sustained phonation at typical pitch and loudness. Normalized kinematic features of vocal fold displacements from the mid-membranous vocal fold point were extracted from the steady-state high-speed video. A total of 12 kinematic features representing spatial and temporal characteristics of vibratory motion were calculated. Average values and standard deviations (cycle-to-cycle variability) of …

Noncontact Diffuse Correlation Tomography Of Human Breast Tumor, Lian He, Yu Lin, Chong Huang, Daniel Irwin, Margaret M. Szabunio, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Our first step to adapt our recently developed noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) system for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of blood flow distribution in human breast tumors is reported. A commercial 3-D camera was used to obtain breast surface geometry, which was then converted to a solid volume mesh. An ncDCT probe scanned over a region of interest on the mesh surface and the measured boundary data were combined with a finite element framework for 3-D image reconstruction of blood flow distribution. This technique was tested in computer simulations and in vivo human breasts with low-grade carcinoma. Results from computer simulations …

Effects Of Individualized Centrifugation Training On Orthostatic Tolerance In Men And Women, Nandu Goswami, Joyce Evans, Stefan Schneider, Melanie Von Der Wiesche, Edwin Mulder, Andreas Rössler, Helmut Hinghofer-Szalkay, Andrew P. Blaber

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

AIMS: Exposure to artificial gravity (AG) at different G loads and durations on human centrifuges has been shown to improve orthostatic tolerance in men. However, the effects on women and of an individual-specific AG training protocol on tolerance are not known.

METHODS: We examined the effects of 90 minutes of AG vs. 90 minutes of supine rest on the orthostatic tolerance limit (OTL), using head up tilt and lower body negative pressure until presyncope of 7 men and 5 women. Subjects were placed in the centrifuge nacelle while instrumented and after one-hour they underwent either: 1) AG exposure …

Optimization Of Image Reconstruction For Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Guided Near-Infrared Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy In Breast, Yan Zhao, Michael A. Mastanduno, Shudong Jiang, Fadi Ei-Ghussein, Jiang Gui, Brian W. Pogue, Keith D. Paulsen

Dartmouth Scholarship

An optimized approach to nonlinear iterative reconstruction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–guided near-infrared spectral tomography (NIRST) images was developed using an L-curve-based algorithm for the choice of regularization parameter. This approach was applied to clinical exam data to maximize the reconstructed values differentiating malignant and benign lesions. MRI/NIRST data from 25 patients with abnormal breast readings (BI-RADS category 4-5) were analyzed using this optimal regularization methodology, and the results showed enhanced p values and area under the curve (AUC) for the task of differentiating malignant from benign lesions. Of the four absorption parameters and two scatter parameters, the most significant …

African American Female Engineering Students' Persistence In Stereotype-Threatening Environments: A Critical Race Theory Perspective, Stacie Lesure Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

African American women are grossly underrepresented in engineering. Despite their low representation in engineering colleges, some are able to persist and earn their degrees. This qualitative study sought to better understand the strategies 10 African American women employed to help them remain resilient in engineering degree programs. For this investigation, there was an underlying assumption that African American women who persist in engineering must contend with stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is a psychosocial phenomenon in which people in stigmatized social categories fear confirming negative stereotypes about their group.

Ten African American female women who have persisted in engineering degree programs …