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Uab Libraries News, 08/09 2026, Uab Libraries

UAB Libraries News

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Vegf-A Mediates Red Light-Induced Enos Expression In Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells, Iman Zuberi, Helen Brown, Nicole Lohr

Expo Student Presentations

2026 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Biological & Life Sciences

From Athens To Jerusalem: Platonism, Richard Owen, And The Road Not Taken In Biology, Michael A. Flannery

Libraries Professional Work

Tertullian provocatively asked (circa 200 AD), “What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church?” The relationship between formal philosophy and religion has been a contentious battleground ever since. It has historically come into sharpest focus in biology generally, and evolutionary theory specifically. Charles Darwin clearly won the day in the short-term. His evolutionary functionalism looked like an inglorious abandonment of time-honored metaphysical realism for positivist empirical reductionism with a concomitant horizontalization of perspective that has secularized and flattened the intellectual landscape. But more recently the rise of evo-devo (evolutionary developmental …

Investigating The Role Of Centromere Deletion In Chromosome Segregation, Azait Imtiaz

ETDs from 2020-2029

Centromeres are critical genomic regions responsible for ensuring accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Disruptions in the structural or functional integrity of centromeric DNA could impair kinetochore assembly, leading to chromosome missegregation and chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark of various human diseases, including systemic sclerosis (SSc). This study investigated the contribution of centromeric DNA damage and deletion to CIN and explored potential pathogenic mechanisms relevant to SSc. We utilized hTERT-immortalized fibroblast cell lines (CHON-002 and BJ-5ta) to implement two complementary approaches: (i) treatment with bleomycin, a chemotherapeutic agent known to induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and (ii) targeted deletion of …

Altered But Adaptive: Network Integration In Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors A Diffusion Mri Graph Theory Analysis, Amanda Cook

ETDs from 2020-2029

Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors face treatment-related risk for late-emerging cognitive difficulties. Chemotherapy can disrupt white-matter structure leading survivors to experience subtle but persistent challenges with processing speed, working memory, and executive functioning. However, cognitive outcomes vary widely even among survivors with similar treatment exposures. To better understand this variability, this study examines how the brain adapts after treatment and how that adaptation is shaped by the environment. This study used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) connectomics to characterize white matter network organization in 18 pediatric ALL survivors compared with 20 typically developing controls (ages 10-18). Structural connectomes were …

A Retrospective Analysis Of Dental Needs Identified By Intraoral Videography In Elderly Patients With Mild To Moderate Dementia In Long-Term Care Facilities: Feasibility Of A Novel Screening Mechanism For Oral Health, Kevin Hahn

ETDs from 2020-2029

This retrospective analysis explores the viability of employing intraoral videography to identify dental needs among long-term care (LTC) facility residents with cognitive impairment and/or mild to moderate dementia. Inadequate oral hygiene in these individuals can lead to dental plaque buildup, oral dysbiosis, gingivitis, dental caries, and periodontitis. Such conditions can impact both oral and systemic health. However, delivering oral hygiene in LTC facilities faces challenges due to care-resistant behavior triggered during mouth care. And many individuals in residential LTC facilities do not have access to dental care outside of severe emergencies due to cost, reimbursement patterns, lack of access to …

A Modular Saponin Adjuvant Platform: Development, Structure–Activity Relationships, And Applications, Di Bai

ETDs from 2020-2029

ABSTRACT Saponin-based vaccine adjuvants have attracted considerable attention owing to the clinical success of QS-21, a potent immunostimulant capable of inducing balanced humoral and cellular immune responses, yet its widespread application is limited by supply constraints, chemical instability, and dose-dependent toxicity. To address these challenges, we previously developed two semisynthetic saponin adjuvants, VSA-1 and VSA-2, derived from abundant Momordica saponins through a single-step modification, which exhibit QS-21–comparable immunopotentiating activity with improved accessibility and stability. Here, we first performed a systematic structure–activity relationship (SAR) study of the VSA series using MS I as the lead scaffold. Modulation of the side-chain length …

Subjection To Chivalry: Agency, Consent, And Assault In Roman De Silence And Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Jeremy Clay Birchfield

ETDs from 2020-2029

Violations of consent and sexual assault occurred frequently within the genre of romance popular across medieval England and France during the late Middle Ages. While many of the characters who experienced sexual assault in these pieces of literature were women, “Subjection to Chivalry” investigates two masculine characters whose consent is violated within their respective romances. The essay explores how the experiences of Silence, the Roman de Silence’s protagonist, and Sir Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can read as violations of consent and assault at the hands of both male and female aggressors, and questions how those violations …

Histone Deacetylases In Kidney Injury: Distribution, Injury-Specific Regulation, And Fibroblast Hdac1 Function, Huy Nguyen

ETDs from 2020-2029

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through maladaptive repair and interstitial fibrosis. Epigenetic regulation has emerged as a critical factor of kidney injury responses, however the injury-specific and cell-type specific roles of histone deacetylases (HDACs) remain poorly defined. This dissertation investigates the regulation and functional significance of HDACs in kidney injury, with a particular focus on fibroblast HDAC1 as a mediator of interstitial fibrosis development following AKI. In my cisplatin-induced AKI model, a single dose of cisplatin caused a significant decline in kidney function in both male …

Mechanisms Of Cyst Initiation And Expansion In Polycystic Kidney Disease: Alterations In Tubule Flow Dynamics And P21- Driven Epithelial Reprogramming, Isis Thomas

ETDs from 2020-2029

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common inherited disorder characterized by progressive cyst formation, kidney enlargement, and eventual renal failure. Mutations in PKD1 or PKD2 disrupt polycystin-mediated mechanosensory signaling in renal epithelial cells, altering calcium signaling, epithelial architecture, and cellular homeostasis. Although cyst expansion has historically been attributed to epithelial hyperproliferation or tubule pinching off to form a cyst that no longer remains connected with the tubule, the early physiological and molecular events that initiate cyst formation remain incompletely understood. This dissertation investigates how alterations in tubule flow dynamics and epithelial stress responses contribute to cyst initiation and …

Evaluation Of Occupational Exposure To Noise And Respirable Particulate Matter In Dentistry, Kabe Fetner

ETDs from 2020-2029

Dental procedures can result in occupational exposures to both noise and particulate matter. Dental professionals routinely operate high-speed instruments and mechanical tools that may produce elevated sound levels and aerosolized particles during clinical treatment. Although these exposures are common in dental environments, limited data exist describing full-shift occupational exposure levels during routine dental procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate occupational exposure to noise and respirable particulate matter (RPM) during routine dental procedures in a clinical setting. Area noise monitoring and real-time aerosol monitoring were conducted over six clinical days while common dental procedures were performed, including fillings, …

Statistical Methods For Mendelian Randomization Under Nonlinearity And Non-Normality, Mary Appah

ETDs from 2020-2029

Instrumental variable (IV) methods are widely used for estimating causal effects in observational studies where unmeasured confounding may bias traditional regression estimates. The core idea is to use a variable referred to as an instrument that is associated with the exposure of interest, independent of unmeasured confounders, and influences the outcome only through the exposure. While originally developed in econometrics, IV methods have been increasingly adopted in epidemiology and genetic research under the framework of Mendelian Randomization (MR), where genetic variants, most commonly single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), serve as instruments. MR provides a powerful tool for investigating causal relationships between …

Contribution Of Phosphorylation To Hp1a Function, James Walts

ETDs from 2020-2029

Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1) family members are highly conserved, non-histone chromosomal proteins essential for heterochromatin formation and transcriptional regulation. In Drosophila melanogaster, HP1a functions both as a transcriptional repressor and activator, as well as other functions, and undergoes post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation. The functional consequences of HP1a phosphorylation remain largely unexplored. This thesis investigates the role of phosphorylation at serines 89/90/91 (S899091) of HP1a by generating two mutant alleles: a phospho-mimic (SE) and a phospho-block (SA). Both alleles produce stable mRNA transcripts; however, Western blot analysis revealed reduced protein accumulation relative to wildtype HP1a. Homozygous phospho-block animals are embryonic lethal …

Culturally Informed Approaches To Support Perinatal Mental Health: Perceptions And Experiences Of Perinatal Depression And Support Systems Among Postpartum African-Born Women In The United States, Joyce O. Imafidon

ETDs from 2020-2029

Perinatal mental health (PMH) of African-born women (ABW) is underrepresented in research and practice in the United States (US) despite known consequences of poor mental wellbeing on one’s overall health, relationships and productivity. Beyond their fundamental role in family support, ABW contribute significantly to the US workforce, education sector, and economy. This three-paper dissertation enhances understanding on PMH outcomes, perception and experiences of ABW in the US. Perinatal depression (PD), one of the most common mood disorders affecting 1 in 8 women, is highlighted. The overarching question is to what extent does the US health system address PMH of ABW …

Behind The Screen: Exploring How Undergraduate Students Experience Sense Of Belonging In Online Learning Environments In The United States, Grace Ellen Kiersznowski

ETDs from 2020-2029

Enrollment in online courses in higher education has been rising rapidly over the past couple of decades and has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made higher learning more accessible for students who would otherwise have difficulty earning a degree. Online education poses many barriers to students’ development of a sense of belonging, something research has been found to be of great importance to student success and well-being. Relatively little was known about students’ sense of belonging in online learning environments prior to the pandemic. Since the pandemic, online education has undergone major changes, changing the landscape in a …

Bone Marrow Adiposity, Obesity, And Tumor Burden In Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma, Ananya Deshpande

ETDs from 2020-2029

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the United States. It is characterized by the accumulation of clonally expanded plasma cells in the bone marrow, which leads to end organ damage and myeloma-defining events requiring treatment. The only modifiable risk factor for MM is obesity. However, associations between obesity, bone marrow adipocytes, and tumor burden at MM diagnosis remain unclear. We evaluated associations of bone marrow adipocytes, body mass index (BMI), and clinical features of tumor burden among 168 patients with histologically confirmed newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) enrolled in the Integrative Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology …

Challenges Of Lutetium-177 Metastable Concentration In Radiopharmaceutical Waste, Cameron Robert Liggitt

ETDs from 2020-2029

Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) is an upcoming radiopharmaceutical with commercial use recently approved for cancer treatment by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). During production, a contaminate, Lutetium-177 metastable (Lu-177m), can also be produced. The concentration of Lu-177m will vary greatly depending on the production method. One of the largest problems posed by this metastable contaminant is disposal challenges due to its longer half-life and more energetic decay process. This research models the potential for the decay in storage method to be used for disposal of Lu-177 waste based on the concentration of Lu-177m. Utilizing varying ratios of metastable per therapeutic dose, this …

Shaping Fibroblast Fate To Drive Fibrotic Remodeling In Pulmonary Fibrosis: Decoding S100a4, Spring Li

ETDs from 2020-2029

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease characterized by persistent fibroblast activation, excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and irreversible remodeling of lung architecture. A central feature of disease progression is the accumulation of fibroblasts that evade apoptosis and persist in a pathologically activated state. However, the molecular mechanisms that sustain this aberrant phenotype remain incompletely understood. The calcium-binding protein S100A4 has been implicated in fibrotic processes, but its role in orchestrating fibroblast fate and profibrotic behavior has not been fully defined, particularly with respect to its influence on fibroblast survival and activation in IPF. In the first …

The Medicalization Of Rapists In Psychiatry From 2000-2024, Lily Plowden

ETDs from 2020-2029

The process of human problems coming to be defined as medical conditions and thus under the purview of medical professionals is called medicalization. This study examines how psychiatrists medicalize perpetrators of sexual violence, looking particularly at debates around whether to include a new disorder, Paraphilic Coercive Disorder, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. Using a content analysis of n=102 articles, it finds that discussions of the pathology of sexual violence perpetration were prevalent among psychiatric journals from 2000-2024. Psychiatrists medicalize rapists through three pathways: advocating for a new medical disorder; attributing the cause of sexual …

Evaluating The Service Life Of A Respirator Cartridge When Exposed To Various Volatile Organic Compounds, Neha Murad Alwani

ETDs from 2020-2029

Inhalation is the most common exposure pathway. With the significant presence of respiratory exposure, respirator cartridges are widely used as personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce exposure to gases, vapors, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study evaluated the breakthrough time of respirator cartridges under various VOC environments commonly encountered in beauty salons and automotive repair shops. Breakthrough time is the duration a respirator cartridge can provide protection before contaminants can be inhaled and the respirator cartridge is no longer effective. The breakthrough time of three VOCs was examined: acetone, toluene, and m-xylene. Using a custom designed test chamber equipped …

Clinical Validation Of Tabpfn-2.5: Zero-Shot Performance, Data-Scarce Robustness, And Distilled Models For Real-Time Clinical Decision Support, Baraa Aljawawdeh

ETDs from 2020-2029

Accurate clinical risk prediction plays an important role in improving patient outcomes, particularly in perioperative settings where early intervention can influence care decisions. Although machine learning has shown promising results using electronic health record (EHR) data, its use in clinical practice is often limited by complex development processes, the need for hyperparameter tuning, and variability in performance across datasets. These challenges are especially relevant in data-scarce clinical settings. This thesis evaluates TabPFN-2.5, a transformer-based tabular foundation model designed to perform classification without dataset-specific training. The model was applied to two real-world perioperative prediction tasks: unplanned care escalation (UCE) following post-anesthesia …

The Role Of Mitochondrial And Lysosomal Damage In Neurotoxicity From Parkinson 'S-Related Environmental Exposures, Neda Ilieva

ETDs from 2020-2029

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive motor neurodegenerative disorder with a predominantly idiopathic etiology. More recently, however, the contribution of exogenous risk factors such as environmental contaminants has become of interest. Some endogenous genetic risk factors have been well characterized, but the mechanisms by which exogenous insults, such as environmental contaminants, drive dopaminergic neurodegeneration remain incompletely understood. This dissertation will address how environmental contaminants converge on mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction to activate parallel neurotoxic signaling pathways, with a focus on the LRRK2 kinase and the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway. Chapter 2 demonstrates that pharmacological inhibition of LRRK2 kinase activity protects …

Emotion Work In Emergency Communication Workers: A Mixed-Methods Analysis On Well-Being, Katherine Luann Sweeney

ETDs from 2020-2029

Emergency communication workers play a vital role in public safety and healthcare, but they are frequently an overlooked population when studying well-being. With a survey sample size of N=336, and an interview sample size of N=24, this dissertation utilizes a mixed-methods approach to explore what kind of factors influence dispatcher well-being. The mixed-methods findings lead to three important outcomes. First, there are detrimental consequences of shift work on dispatchers’ overall health. Second, dispatchers report high levels of emotional exhaustion, stress, and trauma exposure. The qualitative findings suggest that the rewards associated with helping people outweigh the mental health consequences. Lastly, …

Distribution, Abundance And Habitat Utilization Of Sea Turtles In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, With An Emphasis On Coastal Mississippi, Theresa Rose Madrigal

ETDs from 2020-2029

The Gulf of Mexico represents important habitat for a variety of sea turtle species. This includes habitats for the various life history stages ranging from the oceanic stage of hatchling and post-hatchling turtles, neritic subadults, to the adult foraging and reproduc-tive stages. In contrast to many areas of the Gulf of Mexico, there has been a limited amount of data reported on sea turtle nesting as well as sea turtle foraging and develop-mental habitat in the north central Gulf of Mexico. This thesis includes two studies which investigate the importance of the coastal areas of Mississippi as sea turtle habitat. …

Targeting Inflammatory And Growth Signaling Pathways In Breast Cancer Through Diet, Microbiome, And Metabolite Interactions, Brittany Lorraine Witt

ETDs from 2020-2029

Breast cancer (BC) accounts for 1 in 3 (or 30%) of all new female cancers each year and is the most common malignant cancer in women in the United States. Since the 1990s, there has been a 44% decrease in BC, but there is still a significant gap between certain groups in terms of mortality rates. Black women have a higher mortality rate and risk for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This may be due to social (inadequate access to health care facilities, insurance, or completion of therapy) and biological (genetic mutations, tumor characteristics, or comorbidity) factors between races and other …

Novel Oral Fluid Drug Screening Device Evaluation, Sarah Jenkins

ETDs from 2020-2029

Oral fluid (OF) has been determined comparable to blood while being a more accurate specimen to reflect recent use than urine. OF roadside testing devices utilize the ease of access and toxicological information provided by OF. These devices are designed to be used as a roadside screening device that can detect the presence of drugs. In 2018, Alabama was the first state in America to implement a comprehensive state OF drug testing program for screening and laboratory testing. At the current moment, there are five approved devices for use in Alabama. Part of the development of the program involved evaluating …

Inverse Modeling The Geo-Spread Of Covid-19 In Brazil, Cameron Keith Mills

ETDs from 2020-2029

In 2021 Fitzgibbon, Morgan, Webb, and Wu used a modified SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered) model to predict how COVID-19 spread through Brazil [12]. For their model, six constant coefficients were used that were fitted, referenced, or assumed. In this thesis, we geo-spatially modify their SEIR model and formulate an inverse problem to recover the now spatial coefficients of the model. We first show there exists a unique solution to the modified model. To solve the inverse problem, we modify an inverse method [17] that focused on minimizing convex functionals. These recovered spatial coefficients can be used with Matlab’s …

Neuroinflammation And Neuropathology In A Novel Tau, Amyloid-Beta And Alpha-Synuclein Co-Pathology Model, Jhodi Mickayla Webster

ETDs from 2020-2029

Neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) often present with overlapping proteinopathies rather than aggregated proteins in isolation. Amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau are found in a substantial proportion of idiopathic PD cases, while α-synuclein (α-syn) pathology is present in over half of AD cases. The presence of these co-pathologies is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and increase mortality in these patients. In parallel, neurodegenerative diseases are increasingly recognized as being shaped by interactions between central nervous system (CNS) pathology and the immune system. Despite this, most experimental animal models of neurodegenerative disease examine single pathologies in …

Biomedical Applications Of Structurally Defined Natural And Semi-Synthetic Saponins, Chaeeun Lim-Paik

ETDs from 2020-2029

Triterpenoid saponins are amphiphilic glycosides that exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties, including antifungal, antiviral, molluscicidal, hypoglycemic, and hypocholesterolemic effects. These biological and pharmacological properties make saponins attractive for diverse applications. In this work, we demonstrate three biological applications: (i) immunostimulant vaccine adjuvant, (ii) protein delivery enhancement, and (iii) gene transfection enhancement. In light of the strong structure dependence of saponin activity, expanding the structural diversity of available scaffolds is essential for establishing structure-activity relationships (SAR) across these applications. Here, we expanded our saponin collection through semi-synthetic derivatization and the isolation of new saponins from distinct natural …

With A Love So Hard And Filled With Defeat:' A Queer Reading Of Bruce Springsteen, Samuel Tucker Carden

ETDs from 2020-2029

Long an open, yet misinterpreted political artist, Bruce Springsteen has never shied away from calling out injustices through his songs. Over the course of his long career, he has used his platform to lyrically speak out against war, the brutality of American capitalism, and the struggles of marginalized people of all backgrounds. However, the potential queerness of his lyrics has remained an underdiscussed political aspect of his artistry for decades, especially in academic settings. Many of the themes that Springsteen returns to in his writing – the need to hide one’s true self, struggles with self-identity, the desperate desire to …