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Combination Therapies Of Guadecitabine And Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors In A Murine Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Model, Jamie-Jean Gilmer

Undergraduate Research Posters

Combination Therapies of Guadecitabine and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in a Murine Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Model

Jamie-Jean Gilmer, Depts. of Biology and Chemistry, with Dr. Sarah Golding, Dept. of Biology

Triple-negative breast cancer (negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER-2) currently carries a poor prognosis, and new treatment regimens are highly sought after. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a next-generation DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, guadecitabine, alone and in combination with other agents for treating the murine E0771 medullary breast adenocarcinoma model. In vitro, we combined guadecitabine with trametinib, a MEK1/2 inhibitor, and observed suppressed E0771 tumor cell growth …

Game-Theoretical Model Of Retroactive Hepatitis B Vaccination In China, Vooha Putalapattu

Undergraduate Research Posters

Game-Theoretical Model of Retroactive Hepatitis B Vaccination in China

Vooha Putalapattu, Depts. of Psychology, Chemistry, & Biology, with Dr. Jan Rychtar, Dept. of Mathematics

Hepatitis B (HepB) is one of the most common infectious diseases affecting over two billion people worldwide. About one third of all HepB cases are in China. In recent years, China made significant efforts to implement a nationwide HepB vaccination program and reduced the number of unvaccinated infants from 30% to 10%. However, many individuals still remain unprotected, particularly those born before 2003. Consequently, a catch-up retroactive vaccination is an important and especially cost-effective way to …

Mental Health Comorbidities In Adolescents With Asd: Indirect Effects Of Family Functioning Through Youth Social Competence, Marie Johnson, Jessica Greenlee, Cathryn Richmond

Undergraduate Research Posters

Mental Health Comorbidities in Adolescents with ASD: Indirect Effects of Family Functioning through Youth Social Competence

Marie Johnson, Depts. of Psychology and Product Innovation, and Jessica Greenlee and Cathryn Richmond, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Marcia Winter, Dept. of Psychology

Recent research has established the high comorbidities of mental health problems in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; see Strang, et al., 2012), prompting researchers to examine factors that may contribute to elevated anxiety and depression. Given the centrality during adolescence of both the family and peer contexts (Greenlee, Winter, & Diehl, 2018) as well as the stage …

The Induction Of Dendritic Cell Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress By Irradiated-Tumor Derived Extracellular Vesicles Supports The Adoption Of A Pro-Tumor Phenotype, Sitara Mahmoodi

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Induction of Macrophage Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress by Irradiated-Tumor Derived Extracellular Vesicles Supports the Adoption of a Pro-Tumor Phenotype

Sitara Mahmoodi, Depts. of Biology and Chemistry, with Dr. Sarah Golding, Dept. of Biology

Recent studies have shown that long term exposure of tumor cells to sub-lethal levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress leads to the suppression of anti-tumor immunity through the manipulation of myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment.1 While this effect seems to be dependent upon the ability of cancer cells to “transfer” the state of ER stress to myeloid cells, i.e. to initiate ER stress signaling in myeloid …

The Use Of Physician Assistants For Health And Wellness In Aging Populations, Desiree Longmire

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Use of Physician Assistants for Health and Wellness in Aging Populations

Desiree Longmire, Depts. of Kinesiology and Health Science, Biology, & Chemistry, with Dr. Christine Booker, Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Science

I conducted a study to expand my research on the demographics of Physician Assistant (PA) programs and how the programs can benefit from having Gerontology in their curriculum. I was able to record data on an excel spreadsheet on the demographics and pass rate scores of PA program graduates. This data was used to assess if PA programs have Gerontology in their curriculum as separate courses. Also, …

Gabra2 And Alcohol Dependence In College-Aged Students, Abaiz Chaudhri

Undergraduate Research Posters

GABRA2 and Alcohol Dependence in College-aged Students

Abaiz Chaudhri, Depts. of Biology and Chemistry, with Dr. Amy Adkins and Dr. Sally Kuo, Dept. of Psychology

Problematic alcohol use and associated consequences is a major problem in college-aged students. These outcomes, and alcohol dependence (uncontrolled alcohol consumption despite consequences), are complex and influenced by genetics and environmental factors, and the interplay between both. Variants in the gene GABRA2 have been shown to be associated with alcohol dependence in adolescents and older adults, yet the association is not studied nearly enough in the college-aged population, a high-risk period for the development of …

The Impact Of Submersion On The Quantification Of Host And Bacterial Dna, Grace Sprouse

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Impact of Submersion on the Quantification of Host and Bacterial DNA

Grace Sprouse, Depts. of Forensic Science and Chemistry, with Dr. Catherine Connon, Dept. of Forensic Science and Dr. Baneshwar Singh, Dept. of Forensic Science

Microorganisms, which contribute to carrion decomposition, can be used as a clock to estimate time since death. There has been an increase in the amount of studies looking into how bacteria can be used to estimate time since death. Much of this research has been aimed at examining how microorganism communities can be used to determine post mortem interval (PMI) in land environments, for …

Oral Health Prevention Interventions Targeting The Latinx Population In United States: A Scoping Review, Anyi Rodriguez, Sara Debab, Jay Lawson

Undergraduate Research Posters

Oral Health Prevention Interventions Targeting the Latinx Population in United States: A Scoping Review

Anyi A. Rodriguez, Dept. of Forensic Science, with Dr. Dina Tamar Garcia, VCU Health Behavior and Policy

The Latinx population is the second-largest ethnic group in the United States (U.S.). This large and growing population is disproportionately impacted by oral diseases, including Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and periodontitis. They also face several barriers accessing dental care such as lacking a regular source of care, being uninsured/underinsured, and language barriers. Despite the high oral health needs and barriers to dental care present within this population, little has …

Polo-Like Kinase 1 Mediated Regulation Of Androgen Receptor: Potential Role In The Development Of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer, Xavier Moore

Undergraduate Research Posters

Polo-Like Kinase 1 Mediated Regulation of Androgen Receptor: Potential Role in the Development of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer

Xavier Moore, Depts. of Chemistry and Biology, with Dr. Zheng Fu, Ph.D., Department of Human and Molecular Genetics

Brief Description:

Primary therapy for advanced prostate cancer (PCa) is androgen deprivation therapy. This therapy is effective for generally one to two years, however, the disease then progresses to lethal castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). There is significant interest in determining the molecular underpinnings of this transformation. Preliminary data suggests that polo-like kinase one (PLK1) may play a role in the development of CRPC. This …

Gender And Ethnic Differences In Sound Tolerance, Nicole Concepcion, Rachel Wallace

Undergraduate Research Posters

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Sound Tolerance

Nicole Concepcion, Depts. of Psychology, Social Work, and Human Resource Management, and Rachel Wallace, M.S., Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Scott Vrana, Dept. of Psychology

Misophonia, hyperacusis, and tinnitus are related to decreased sound tolerance (DST). Misophonia is characterized as strong aversive reactions to specific sounds. Hyperacusis is a heightened sensitivity to certain sounds below the loudness sensitivity levels. Tinnitus is a condition that includes continuous ringing or buzzing in the ears. Current research has shown that misophonia symptoms have many commonalities with psychiatric diagnoses and these symptoms result in substantial …

Exploration Of The Neuronal Subtype Specificity Of An Ethanol Responsive Gene: Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b), Dalton Huey, A Van Der Vaart, G M. Harris, M F. Miles

Undergraduate Research Posters

Exploration of the Neuronal Subtype Specificity of an Ethanol Responsive Gene: Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b)

Dalton Huey, Depts. of Bioinformatics, Biology & Chemistry, A. van der Vaart, G. M. Harris, and M. F. Miles, with Dr. Sarah Golding, Dept. of Biology

Previous work done in our laboratory revealed that Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (Gsk3b) functions as a hub gene in a network of genes regulated by acute ethanol in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) across a mouse genetic panel. Adult mice treated with acute ethanol showed increased phosphorylation of GSK3B on the Ser9 residue in prefrontal cortex. …

Tobacco Use Prevention: Culturally-Specific Protective Processes In College Students With Asthma, Vanessa Atra

Undergraduate Research Posters

Tobacco Use Prevention: Culturally-Specific Protective Processes in College Students with Asthma

Vanessa Atra, Depts. of Biology, Psychology, & Chemistry, with Dr. Rosalie Corona, Dept. of Psychology

The African American and Latinx communities are disproportionately affected by health disparities such as cancer. Recent cancer statistics shows death rates of African American men and women at a high of 33% and 16%, respectively, as compared to Caucasian men and women1 it is the leading cause of death in Latinx individuals.2 Minority college students of this group have higher risk of developing cancer later in life; thus this study focuses on examining associations …

How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck If This Wood Was Sediment: The Effect Of Marmota Monax On The Archaeological Record, Megan Scalzo

Undergraduate Research Posters

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck if this Wood was Sediment: The Effect of Marmota monax on the Archaeological Record

Megan Scalzo, Dept. of Anthropology, with Dr. Bernard Means, Dept. of Anthropology

Geomorphology is the study of the topographic effects of different physical, chemical, biological processes occurring along and within the landscape. Biological processes can occur from different faunal influences and subsequently get called geomorphic agents. In the majority of North American woodlands, Marmota monax (common names include: groundhog, woodchuck) can be found and thus can be assumed to be geomorphic agents of these woodland areas. In this poster, …

The Role Of Pyrethroids On Cell Cycle Regulation And Craniofacial Development In Xenopus Laevis, Kylee Hockaday, Deborah Howton

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Role of Pyrethroids on Cell Cycle Regulation and Craniofacial Development in Xenopus laevis

Kylee Hockaday, Depts. of Biology and Chemistry, with Dr. Amanda Dickinson, Dept. of Biology

Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides that are found in many household items such as pet flea medication. Pyrethroids are used more so than organophosphate pesticides due to increasing concerns about non-target effects. However, there is some concern with pyrethroid exposure resulting in teratogenic effects including craniofacial defects. Using a Xenopus model, three pesticides (AMDRO Quick Kill, Pyrethrum, and Cypermethrin) were tested for their effect on craniofacial development. Following AMDRO treatment, embryos developed edemas, …

Molecular Mechanisms Of The Dyrk1a-Regulated Dna Repair, Polina Bukina, Varsha Ananthapadmanabhan

Undergraduate Research Posters

Molecular Mechanisms of the DYRK1A-regulated DNA Repair

Polina Bukina, Dept. of Biology, with Dr. Sarah Golding, Dept. of Biology

The functions of human Dual-specificity tyrosine (Y)-Regulated Kinase 1A, or DYRK1A, include cell cycle control and differentiation. DYRK1A is required for assembly of the DREAM complex and repression of the cell cycle-dependent genes, such as BRCA1 and RAD51, in quiescence. Our lab previously reported that overexpression of DYRK1A inhibits the accumulation of a DNA repair protein 53BP1, at the DNA double-stranded breaks (DSB). Accumulation of 53BP1 is attributed to repair by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) over homologous recombination (HRR). The function …

[2019-12-12] Meeting Of The Academic And Health Affairs Policy Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

[2019-12-12] Meeting Of The Board Of Visitors Of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

Commonwealth Times 2019-09-04

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Turning Gender Inside-Out: Delivering Higher Education In Women’S Carceral Spaces, Giulia Federica Zampini, Linnéa Anna Margareta Österman, Camille May Stengel, Morwenna Bennallick

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article is a critical reflection of the role of gender in the delivery of a higher education course based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme. Related concepts such as hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and intersectionality are discussed within the prison education setting. This reflection primarily draws on critical incidents from the experiences of the first three authors facilitating a higher education course in a women’s prison in England. One major reflection is that learning in a group of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students, all self-identified women, who vary along the dimensions of age, class, ethnicity, nationality and sexual expression, presented unique …

Spotlight - Rva Street Singers, Robin Rio, Colette Dailey, Cameron Carter, Meghan Mack

Community Engagement Institute

No abstract provided.

Spotlight - Richmond Openair Project, Jeremy Hoffman, S S. Fong

Community Engagement Institute

No abstract provided.

English As A Foreign Language (Efl) In Captivity: The Case Of Iranian Prisoners Of War In The Iraq-Iran War, Abbas Emam

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

During the Persian Gulf War of Iraq-Iran (1980-1988), thousands of Iranians were taken captive by Iraqi troops. These prisoners of war (POWs) had to find ways to enrich and fill their time in prison camps. Learning English was one such activity. This study was carried out to appraise the motivations of the Iranian POWs for learning English, and to understand more about their textbooks, their classroom environment, the teaching methods and techniques employed, the skills emphasized, the teaching aids improvised, the types of exercises mobilized, as well as the test-taking techniques adopted. A relevant corpus of 21 memoirs and 7 …

Socially Regulated Neural Circuits Activation Via Endocannabinoid And Dopaminergic Signaling In Zebrafish, Choongseok Park

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Predicting Tgf-Β-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Using Data Assimilation, Mario J. Mendez, Matthew J. Hoffman, Elizabeth M. Cherry, Dr. Christopher Lemmon, Seth Weinberg

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Phylogenetic Inference Of Multiscale Selection Pressures Using A Continuous State Birth-Death Process, Marco Hamins-Puertolas, David Rasmussen

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Characterizing The Permanence And Stationary Distribution For A Family Of Malaria Stochastic Models, Divine Wanduku

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Predator Diversity On Optimal Communities For Prey Suppression, Amanda N. Laubmeier

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Network Analyses Of Glomerular Capillaries, Jason Cory Brunson, Justin Sardi, Mark Terasaki

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Stochastic Modeling Of Neuronal Transport In Various Cellular Geometries, Abhishek Choudhary Mr., Peter Kramer

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Heterogeneous Cardiac Pacemaker Tissue Models And Traveling Wave Dynamics, Cheng Ly, Seth H. Weinberg

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.