Vaccine-Induced Immunity: Insights Into Sars-Cov-2 And Orthopoxvirus, Valter Monteiro

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Emerging infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 and re-emergent pathogens such asmpox (formally known as monkeypox) have posed substantial challenges to global health, often due to immune escape and antigenic variability. My research addresses these challenges by evaluating and designing vaccine strategies to enhance immune responses and cross-protection, focusing on SARS-CoV-2 variants and members of the Orthopoxvirus family. The central aim of my research is to understand and overcome limitations in immune responses to antigenically variable pathogens. My studies focus on humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants through targeted booster regimens, exploring cross-protective immunity in Orthopoxvirus vaccines, and testing new mRNA vaccines to …

Chemosensory Variation Within And Across Bacterial Species, Jeremy Philippe Moore

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Bacteria use a highly conserved sensory pathway to navigate chemical gradients. In particular, the chemotactic signaling pathway of Escherichia coli is one of the best-characterized systems in biology. However, despite decades of study, there are still open questions about bacterial chemotaxis, including how clusters of receptors cooperatively amplify signals, how variability in the composition of these arrays affects behavioral diversity, and how findings in E. coli generalize to diverse motile behaviors across bacteria. In this thesis, we explore diversity in chemosensory capabilities within and across bacteria species. First, we characterize the distribution of sensitivities to various chemical attractants in populations …

Investigations Of Allosteric Mechanisms In Proteins, Brandon C. Allen

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation examines how allosteric communication governs the dual catalytic and immunomodulatory functions of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) superfamily, with an emphasis on D-dopachrome tautomerase (MIF-2). Despite limited primary sequence identity, MIF and MIF-2 share a conserved trimeric fold centered on a solvent-accessible channel that connects their catalytic N-terminal proline to distant receptor-binding loops. Experimental work using NMR spin relaxation, site-directed mutagenesis, and in vivo inflammatory assays suggest that single-residue mutations near this channel can dramatically alter tautomerase activity of MIF-2 and its ability to recruit neutrophils in murine lung models, thereby cementing the link between local perturbations …

Limbic Circuit Control Of Stress And Neuroinflammation, Alexa Renee Soares

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Individuals are constantly subjected to various forms of stress, which shape the brain in different ways. The brain, in turn, must coordinate a response to adapt to the demands of the stressor. This response is coordinated via interactions between several neuromodulatory and neuroinflammatory signaling pathways. The limbic system, particularly the amygdala and hippocampus, has been highlighted as an important site for integration of these signals. These areas are critical for engaging neural, autonomic, and behavioral responses to acute stress and for plasticity-driven learning that can shape future responses to stress through a process called allostasis. Chronic exposure to stress can …

Building Intelligent Robots For Social Regulation Therapy, Rebecca Ramnauth

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Throughout life, we learn the rules of social behavior by observing others, by exposure to diverse social contexts, and, in some cases, through targeted intervention. More than learning the rules and expectations on how to behave, social regulation involves the dynamic, real-time coordination of one's internal states and outward behaviors to meet those expectations. Regulation becomes challenging when internal states conflict with external demands, such as in moments of heightened emotion, sensory overload, or social ambiguity. In certain contexts (such as isolation during a global pandemic) or for some individuals (such as those with autism), social regulation can be difficult …

Neurocognition In Youth With Prediabetes, Jade Ivey Quillian

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cognitive impairment has been well established. This is critical because T2D is a key risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. However, these studies often fail to account for adiposity and other co-morbid conditions that accompany T2D in older adults. As a result, the mechanisms linking connecting T2D and cognitive impairment consequently remain unclear. The overall aim of this dissertation is to understand the precise effects of dysfunctional glucose metabolism on neurocognition. To do this I capitalized on a unique opportunity to study dysregulated glucose in youth from the Pathogenesis of Youth Onset Diabetes …

Unwanted Transitions Of A Superconducting Qubit Induced By Microwave Drives, Pavel Kurilovich

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Quantum bits built from microwave superconducting circuit components such as capacitors, inductors, and tunnel junctions are one of the leading platforms for realizing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. A roadblock towards this goal is the insufficient fidelity of operations -- single-qubit gates, two-qubit gates, and readout measurements -- performed on the quantum bits via microwave pulses. The main limitation of operation fidelity comes from decoherence. If the operation is performed too slowly compared to the decoherence time, a qubit error will happen. Usually, it is possible to speed up the operations by increasing the power of the microwave pulse. However, reducing …

Light Sheet Microscopy For 3d Nanoscale Imaging, Hannahmariam Mekbib

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Advances in expansion microscopy, a super resolution microscopy technique in which samplesare expanded up to ~8,000 times their original volume, require new microscope modalities to image the large sample sizes. These new techniques should be suitable for imaging large sample volumes, yet need to maintain the high 3D resolution of 250-500 nm of high-end confocal microscopy to provide the maximum level of detail and thereby reveal nanoscale cellular ultrastructure. Axially Swept Light Sheet Microscopy (ASLM) has emerged as a promising technique for generating high-resolution images at high-throughput. However, current designs struggle with the trade-off between limited resolution and field-of-view (FOV) …

The Independent And Redundant Roles Of Tbx16 And Msgn1 In Mesodermal Differentiation, Guoyu Zhu

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Tbx16 and msgn1 genes are key genes responsible for the mesodermal progenitor cells to undergo mesodermal fate transition during zebrafish embryonic body elongation. Here we elucidated their previously unclear independent and redundant roles of mesodermal fate regulation. Using heat-shock induced tbx16 and msgn1 overexpression, in situ hybridization, quantitative PCR, RNA sequencing, and systematic analysis of differentially expressed genes, we found that tbx16 and msgn1 promotes mesodermal differentiation by repressing the progenitor niche that maintains the mesodermal progenitor cell state. Tbx16 and msgn1 repress the expression of many of the same genes in the mesodermal progenitor niche, but tbx16 also represses …

Mediating Power: How Hybrid Media Disrupts Elite Messaging In Japan, Colin Moreshead

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

How does political communication function when the channels between elites, media, and the public become fragmented and unpredictable? This dissertation investigates how influence is exercised in a shifting media environment, where traditional broadcast-era assumptions about information flow and audience exposure no longer hold. Rather than assuming stable pathways from elite messaging to public response, the projects examine how political actors, media institutions, and citizens operate under new constraints and opportunities for choice. It asks whether elites can still shape media tone in ways that affect public support, whether media outlets retain agenda-setting power in a competitive landscape, and how citizens …

Circuit And Cell Class Specific Effects Of Psilocybin And Serotonergic Psychedelics, Pasha Davoudian

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Psychedelics are compounds that can alter perception and cognition and are being explored as treatments for depression, anxiety, and substance-use disorders. Yet, the mechanisms by which they reshape brain function remain poorly understood. This dissertation presents four studies in rodent models examining how psychedelics act across synapses, microcircuits, and whole-brain networks. Chapter 1 shows that a single dose of psilocybin promotes plasticity in the frontal cortex. Chapter 2 maps brain-wide activity induced by psilocybin and ketamine, linking shared and distinct effects to gene expression. Chapter 3 extends this approach to multiple psychiatric drugs, using machine learning to classify drug-specific circuit …

In Terms Of Theory, Samuel Steinmetz

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

In Terms of Theory attends to theory in relation to the eighteenth-century novel and to early twentieth-century film, primarily as the taking account of the possibility of form—of the novel, of film, and of theory. The overarching argument of the dissertation, developed in chapter 1, is that the novel and film, as modern forms unknown to classical aesthetics, present particularly rich cases for exploring what theory does, what it looks like, how it relates to its subject, and what kind of knowledge it offers. The rest of the dissertation presents independent case studies: chapter 2 analyzes and contextualizes the style …

The Science Of Not Knowing: Systems Thinking Between Vienna And The United States, 1900-1972, Libby S. O'Neil

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of the interdisciplinary field of systems theory from the perspective of Central European scientists and intellectuals who migrated to North America during the 20th century. It is a story about how people, ideas, and techniques circulated in new ways across a period of global upheaval, about how the philosophy of science became a stage for urgent political questions, and about how scientists tried to grasp the whole without surrendering authority over its constituent parts. This project reveals how European interwar debates were encoded into technical practices of control and communication in the postwar United States, …

Exploration Of The Mechanisms Regulating Genomic Stability In Plants, Wenxin Yuan

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Genomic stability is a cornerstone of cellular integrity, with implications spanning genetic engineering, epigenetic regulation, and disease modeling. However, most studies rely on yeast or mammalian models, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of plant chromatin biology and genome stability mechanisms. Exploring the conserved and divergent processes regulating genome stability in plants has become increasingly important, especially as global climate change threatens crop yields and biodiversity. Furthermore, the developmental resilience of plants provides a unique opportunity to study genes essential in mammals, offering translational insights for agriculture and human health. This dissertation investigates the molecular and genetic mechanisms underpinning T-DNA …

Mechanistic Insights Into Respiratory Tract Susceptibility In Whim Syndrome, Yawen Jiang

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis (WHIM) syndrome is a rare congenital immunodeficiency caused by gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in CXCR4. Although respiratory infections are common in WHIM patients, the underlying mechanisms of susceptibility remain unclear. Using a mouse model of WHIM syndrome, we show that myelokathexis does not impair lung immune surveillance under homeostatic conditions. During acute viral and bacterial respiratory infections, neutrophils and monocytes are efficiently recruited from circulation into the lung vasculature and parenchyma. However, these cells fail to reach the airways due to their retention in adventitial cuffs enriched with CXCL12-producing fibroblasts, where potentially function as niches typically …

From Individuals To Ecosystems: The Role Of Intraspecific Variation And Phenotypic Plasticity In Ecosystem Function, Nathalie Rose Sommer

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Understanding how organisms shape ecosystems is a central goal of ecology, particularly in an era of rapid environmental change. While ecosystem models have traditionally emphasized species-level diversity and abiotic controls, this dissertation provides evidence that trait variation within species—driven by phenotypic plasticity and transgenerational effects—can have consequences for ecosystem structure and function. Intraspecific variation is increasingly recognized as a key component of biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships, yet its effects remain underrepresented in empirical studies and predictive frameworks. By integrating multigenerational field experiments, multi-trait assessments, and detailed ecosystem measurements in a long-term, well-characterized study system, this dissertation bridges evolutionary ecology and ecosystem …

Perceptions, Limitations, And Impacts Of An Outdoor Learning Garden On Elementary-Age Students In A Rural North Carolina District, Kimberly M. Smith

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Outdoor learning gardens are environments where science meets the wonder of a child as they cultivate crops within the boundaries of their schoolyard. When students have opportunities to leave the four walls of their classroom and move outdoors, their minds are awakened and they can explore, analyze, and synthesize information. This mixed methods research investigation took place in a rural North Carolina district on an elementary school campus. The study sought to consider the perceptions of teachers and parents of outdoor learning and the limitations that prevent teachers from including experiential learning opportunities for students. The methodology for the research …

Study On The Interaction Between Agricultural Practices, Religious Activities, And Cultural Relics, Fengyi Zhou, Isarachai Buranaut

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Community participation and how socio-cultural practices in cultural landscapes affect the protection of cultural heritage and their importance in the field of heritage protection among countries in the Mekong River Basin. This is a case study based on qualitative research methods and the theoretical framework of the eco-cultural complex, which aims to explore how community groups in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province, China, participate in the shaping and protection of the cultural landscape. The study shows that religious activities run through all stages of the agricultural cycle, and agricultural practices have a profound impact on their content and form. Religious activities …

Dynamics Of Landscape Transformation And Governance Of Bangkok’S Urban Waterways, Wanida Numsuk

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This paper critically examines the shortcomings of traditional Thai institutions in urban governance focusing on Bangkok Urban Waterways (BUW) conceptualised as dynamic and essential landscape elements. Framing BUW through the lens of ‘landscape governance’, the paper explores how institutional practices and management actions have led to erosion of cultural heritage, ineffective flood control, and the marginalisation of local communities. The research asks: To what extent does the governance of BUW contribute to these changing landscapes? To do this, the paper draws on extensive qualitative fieldwork, including interviews with government agencies, experts, practitioners, NGOs, and in-depth fieldwork with residents. The findings …

Reassessing Pet Allergy Prevention In Children Through Early Pet Exposure In Toddlerhood, Reynaldo A. Adalin Iii

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: Allergies are among children's most common health issues growing up, impacting them daily and into adulthood. Among these allergies, pet allergies have become increasingly common with children around the globe developing sensitization to common household pets such as cats and dogs. Several factors cause pet allergies, including proteins found in an animal's skin, saliva, urine, and dander, which are the most problematic due to their ability to remain airborne for a prolonged period. Objective: To examine the relationship between early exposure to pets during toddlerhood versus later exposure at school age and the development of pet allergies. By studying …

Medical-Grade Honey And Standard Dressings In Burn Wound Care: Evaluating Effectiveness, Cost, And Patient Outcomes, Andrew Golonka, Chloe Shin

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: Burn injuries burden the healthcare system globally as silver sulfadiazine (SSD) is the standard treatment even though it delays healing and is highly costly. Medical-grade honey (MGH) demonstrates superior antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, however, there are still evidence gaps when comparing effectiveness, cost efficiency, and patient centered outcomes. Purpose: This study aims to compare MGH and SSD amongst these gaps to inform evidence based burn care. Methods:A randomized controlled trial will enroll 100 people between 25-50 years of age with first and second degree burns, < 20% total body surface area within two hospital burn units. Participants will be assigned to either MGH or SSD treatment. The study will be a single blind design where dermatologists evaluating the wound photographs will not know the treatment given. Primary outcomes include wound healing time, infection rates, and patient reported pain scores. Secondary outcomes will focus on cost effectiveness analyses and patient quality of life. Standardized protocols will be implemented for data collection, wound assessment, and safety monitoring. Results: We anticipate that MGH will have lower infection rates, promote faster wound …

The Effectiveness Of Botulinum Toxin Injections In The Management Of Chronic Neck And Shoulder Myofascial Pain: A Nursing Perspective, Jia Zhou

Nursing | Senior Theses

Abstract

Background

Chronic neck and shoulder myofascial pain has long been challenging patients and medical professionals due to its limited response to traditional therapies on top of high recurrence. Physical therapy, oral analgesics, and trigger point injections have only provided partial or short-term relief. As a result, botulinum toxin type A injections have been explored as an alternative treatment. Previous studies have shown promising short-term outcomes, but concerns regarding long-term safety, cost-effectiveness, and potential adverse effects, particularly in older adults, have remained unresolved. These gaps have highlighted the need for comprehensive evaluation from both clinical and nursing perspectives.

Objective

The …

Impact Of Non-Pharmacological Interventions On Immunization-Related Anxiety Among Pediatric Patients, Jessica Ho

Nursing | Senior Theses

Immunization-related anxiety can lead to vaccine hesitancy, which can be detrimental to public health by reducing herd immunity and increasing the spread of preventable diseases. This research proposal aims to investigate how nurses implementing non-pharmacological interventions can reduce immunization-related anxiety among pediatric patients. The literature critique focuses on examining the efficacy of various non-pharmacological interventions on reducing procedural pain, fear, and anxiety in pediatric patients. Research shows that those who received non-pharmacological interventions experienced decreased pain, fear, and anxiety levels. This proposal will use a randomized control trial design with a convenience sample of 200 pediatric patients from flu clinics …

Nursing Education On Sleep Health And Its Impact On Insulin Resistance In Adolescents, Salamasina Tufa

Nursing | Senior Theses

Modern-day adolescents are increasingly at risk for poor sleep quality due to rapid physical and physiological changes and stressors from technology and social media. Recent research suggests poor sleep affects endocrine function and contributes to insulin resistance (IR), a precursor to Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). This proposed quasi-experimental study will examine if a nurse-led sleep education program can improve sleep quality and decrease the incidence of IR in adolescents with poor sleep. A total of 100 participants aged 12-18 across Berkley, California who score ≥ 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be randomly assigned to either …

How To Know A Person: The Art Of Seeing Others Deeply And Being Deeply Seen, David A. Winkler

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.

Christian Higher Education: An Empirical Guide, Roy Y. Chan

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.

Admissions Essays After Sffa, Sonja Starr

Indiana Law Journal

The Supreme Court concluded its 2023 decision barring affirmative action in university admissions with a qualification: Although they may not give weight to “race qua race,” universities may consider individual applicants’ discussion of race-related life experience that bears on their strengths and potential. This “essay carveout” provides a potential path forward for universities (and other entities to which the affirmative action ban may eventually apply). But the Court also warned against using it to enact “indirect” affirmative action, and legal advocates of colorblindness stand poised to challenge any use of essays that appears to stray over this line. So where …

Jbs’S Initial Public Offering: Threats To Environmental And Human Rights, Kayla Thompson

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

This paper centers around the decision to be made regarding JBS, the world’s largest meat company, wanting to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the environmental and social impacts that could result from the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval. JBS has been at the center of various controversies over the last several years, including sourcing cattle from ranches acquired through illegal deforestation, engaging in greenwashing practices, incorrectly reporting greenhouse gas emissions, and engaging in human rights abuses. Many environmental groups have filed complaints with the SEC concerning JBS’s bid to list on the NYSE. The …

Prescribing A Balance: Sustaining Environmental Health With Pharmaceutical Interest In Puerto Rico, Derek Warzel

Indiana Law Journal

Puerto Rico, often referred to as the “Medical Cabinet of the U.S.A.,” is a hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, contributing significantly to the American medical supply chain and Puerto Rico’s economy. However, decades of industrial activity, compounded by climate events like Hurricane Maria, have led to severe environmental damage, particularly through groundwater contamination and damaged Superfund sites. This Note examines the historical intersection of economic incentives and environmental neglect in Puerto Rico, focusing on the pharmaceutical industry’s impact. By critically analyzing the Superfund program and proposing reforms, this Note advocates for a balanced approach: introducing proactive environmental protections and financial incentives …

The Interaction Between Privacy Laws And Restrictive Licensing Agreements In Cross-Border Satellite Imagery, Ida Samardar

IP Theory

No abstract provided.