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Genome Characterization And Annotation Of Two Newly Discovered Bacteriophages Makomanhole And Penjamin420, Janelle Bachman Rodríguez, Sara Faruqui, Caleb Siguenza, Taylor R. Butler, Christopher Huang, Brianna Khrakovsky, Kayle Mederos, Monserrat Montanez, Gabriella Nazarov, Ilan Nedjar, Anneliese Rodriguez, Laurent F. Zayas Diaz, Megana S. Guntur, Naitik K. Patel

Undergraduate Student Symposium

While many bacteria are beneficial, some can have negative impacts on humans, animals, and the environment. One avenue of exploration to combat these effects is using bacteriophages (phage). Phage are viruses that target and kill specific bacterial host cells. While approximately 10³¹ bacteriophages exist, 99% of them are undiscovered. In recent years, scientists have utilized phage in real-world applications including fighting antibiotic resistance, food biocontrol, bioremediation, and treating wastewater. Therefore, it is essential to genetically characterize novel bacteriophages for their use in these different bacterial control applications. The aim of this research was to annotate the genomes of newly …

How Do Residents Of South Florida Perceive Aquaculture?, Jayce Oldham

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Aquaculture is the raising of fish either extensively, in cages located in public waterways or coastal waters, or intensively, in closed-circuit tanks on land. Aquaculture is mainly done to produce seafood for human consumption. This study used an IRB-approved survey of South Florida residents to assess attitudes regarding the potential ability of aquaculture to produce seafood and how the process of aquaculture is viewed by the public. The survey used voluntary participants for the main results, with stratified sampling to select participants for a subsequent voluntary focus group. The focus group collected additional information about the views of the participants. …

Identification Of Regulatory Roles For Stress Responsive Transposable Elements In Rice, Jenna Handal, Paul Lup, Emalynn Tobias, Andy Pereira Ph.D.

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Transposable elements, or mobile DNA sequences, are known for their structural and functional roles in the rice genome. As sources of genetic variation and drivers of evolution, transposable elements have been extensively studied for their role in regulation of gene expression. In addition, transposable elements are shown to be activated in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses and can possibly serve as a contributor to heat stress adaptation by modification of gene expression. As the global temperature rises, heat stress threatens crop production worldwide by affecting optimal rice growth, development, and yield. Concern for food security amidst a growing …

Identifying The Binding Residues On Cyp3a4 To Naringin Using Protein Modeling And Docking, Parth Shah, Vraj Patel, Sanjana Ananthula

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cytochrome p450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is one of the most abundant cytochrome enzymes and is involved in the detoxification of many medically relevant drugs. Inhibition of CYP3A4 can increase the bioavailability and duration of the availability of medications in the bloodstream and is therefore of great medical relevance. CYP3A4 has been noted to be inhibited by naringin, a flavanone found in grapefruits and other citrus fruits. As no structure exists of naringin bound to CYP3A4, the binding residues to naringin were investigated using 3-D protein modeling and in-silico molecular docking simulations. The CYP3A4 protein structure was obtained from the RCSB Protein …

Influence Of Growth Efficiency, Bacterial Density, And Metabolism On Antibiotic Resistance In Staphylococcus Aureus, Shreeya Patel, Estefania Marin Meneses

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Antibiotic resistance presents a formidable challenge in medicine, with rising mortality rates and escalating hospital expenses attributed to infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To address this critical issue, comprehending the mechanisms of bacterial resistance is paramount to the development of innovate drugs and treatment strategies. One such mechanism is the inoculum effect (IE), where the initial bacterial population density determines the minimum concentration of antibiotic required to eliminate the population. While previous work has shown that for gram negative bacteria, the relationship between ATP production and growth rate can account for the IE. However, it remains unclear as to if …

Invertebrate Cover Within A Submerged Lava Tunnel, Concha De Perla Lagoon, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Giavanna Iglio

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Shallow water (<10m depth) coastal benthic invertebrate communities in the Galápagos Archipelago are well-described. However, the submerged Concha de Perla lava tunnel is undescribed, despite being at a main tourist area in a lagoon near (~150m east) the main dock for the town of Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island. The tunnel is oriented along an east-west axis, is ~15m long, with an interior diameter of ~2m. This creates habitat for cavernicolous fauna in the interior, with more typical benthic cover at the entrances. Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) trees surround and grow on top of the tunnel. Benthic cover on the tunnel interior includes sponges, cnidarians, sea urchins and bryozoans. The most common invertebrates include the endemic sea urchin Eucidaris galapagensis, white sponges, bryozoans and the azooxanthellate orange cup coral Tubastrea coccinea. Algae is absent except for a patch of crustose coralline algae on the northern wall near the west opening that receives dim light in the late afternoons. This descriptive survey quantifies the contribution of each taxonomic group to the lava tunnel walls, ceiling, and floor. Community structure is …

Ketogenic Diet Improves Cognitive-Behavioral Function In A Mouse Model Of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Victoria Pulido-Correa, Chana Vogel, Lauren Rosenburg, Iliana Uribe, Ariana Hernandez, Bianca Echeverria

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), characterized by the accumulation of amyloid protein in cerebral vessels, is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), stroke, and cognitive impairment. Currently, there is no effective treatment or prevention for this condition. The ketogenic diet (KD), which is characterized by high fat, low carbohydrate, and moderate protein consumption, has gained considerable attention in recent years for its potential therapeutic use in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Studies in AD rodent models have found that KD and/or ketogenic supplements attenuate cognitive-behavioral impairments and dementia-related pathology. However, it is unknown whether KD can similarly benefit individuals with CAA. Considering KD’s …

Learning From Louisiana: How Legislation And Location Affect Lgbtq+ Youth Mental Health, Abhay Dharanikota

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Queer youth are disproportionately vulnerable to mental health challenges including elevated risks of social isolation and suicide ideation. Disparities in mental health outcomes among queer students exist across states, but the underlying factors contributing to these variations remain unclear. This research aims to understand why certain states exhibit better mental health outcomes among queer youth than others by analyzing nationwide LGBTQ+ mental health statistics. This knowledge can then inform effective programs and approaches to improving outcomes in other states. It is hypothesized that states offering accessible mental health services, safe spaces such as Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), and LGBTQ-affirming …

Linguistics And Math: Using Math To Understand The History Between Languages, Diana E. Dancea

Undergraduate Student Symposium

We investigate the idea of calculating distances in higher dimensions and then mapping them to 2D data visualizations and observing the results. Applying the experiment to a real-world representation, we consider the linguistic concept of the Swadesh list, a list of 207 standard concepts across languages, and use mathematical methods to analyze the lexical distances between languages. A lexical distance is a measure that defines a method to analyze the similarity or difference between two distinct languages. In Linguistics, the Levenshtien distance represents the number of characters needed to transform one word into another, which fits perfectly with what we …

Long-Term Outcomes Of Covid-19 Survivors With Pre-Existing Dementia, Roham Hadidchi

Undergraduate Student Symposium

It is known that patients with dementia are at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to older age and may be susceptible to worse acute outcomes. Whether or not acute COVID-19 infection predisposes patients with pre-existing dementia to worse longer-term outcomes is unknown and few studies compare COVID-19 survivors with non-COVID controls. This retrospective study evaluated 9,806 patients with dementia in the Montefiore Health System in the Bronx (January 2016 to July 2023), which serves a large minority population in the epicenter of the pandemic. Patients who had pre-existing dementia at the time of COVID-19 infection (COVID-19 group) or the …

Metabolic Potentation Of Antibiotic Lethality From Carbon Source Preference In P. Aeruginosa And S. Aureus, Pooja Parikh, Trent Moudler

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health concern with a dire need for new solutions. This problem has only been exacerbated in recent years due to the misuse of antibiotics and globalization. As new antibiotic drugs are costly and time-intensive, it is imperative to understand and study creative new ways to combat AMR. In both natural ecosystems and clinical infections, microorganisms seldom exist in isolation. Rather, they flourish within polymicrobial communities, presenting unique challenges for therapeutic interventions owing to elaborate inter-species interactions. Two such pathogens are Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA); bacteria commonly found in patients with …

Microbial Insights Into Green Iguanas: Unraveling Gut Microbiome Composition And Pathogenic Implications In Invasive Species, David Giordano

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Green iguanas (Iguana iguana) pose a significant threat as invasive species in Florida and parts of the Caribbean, exerting a detrimental impact on local ecosystems. While their herbivorous diet has been recognized for its adverse effects, the microbial composition of their gut remains poorly understood, especially in terms of potential pathogens. This study aims to characterize the gut microbiome of wild Green iguanas in South Florida, focusing on the 16S ribosomal RNA (V4 region) gene. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed using QIIME2, revealing a dominance of Enterobacteraceae, Mycoplasmataceae, and Bilophila genus taxa in Green iguana gut microbiomes. …

Modeling Cysteinyl Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist Knw For Possible Optimized Asthma Treatment, Sreejani Jonnalagadda, Shalet James

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Under-diagnosed and under-treated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, asthma has affected 262 million people globally in 2019. Cysteinyl leukotriene receptors (Cys-LTRs) are a δ-branch of class A G protein-coupled receptors associated with physiological functions in airways with allergic inflammation. Current antiasthmatic medications such as pranlukast inhibit CysLT1R, yet many patients still do not respond to this drug. To better understand this process, the related receptor CysLT2R has been identified as a promising drug target for not only asthma but also other conditions such as brain injury and cancer. CysLT1R is associated with bronchoconstriction, inflammation, and mucus production in the …

Molecular Diagnostics Of Toxoplasma Gondii, The World's Most Interesting Parasite, In Diverse Floridian Avifauna, Trisha Jaganathan, Sri Vaishnavi Konagalla, Roshini Bodicherla, Sonia Rao, Mihir Kurup, Adam Sewnarine, Pari Cribbins

Undergraduate Student Symposium

T. gondii is an intracellular parasite that infects terrestrial mammals and birds worldwide; it also has important impacts on human and wildlife health. Data on this parasite’s prevalence in our local (South Florida) ecosystem is lacking, which could help inform both public health and conservation efforts. Our questions for this study include: a) how prevalent is this parasite locally? b) do avian species differ in infection rates? c) does parasite abundance differ between localities?

Thus far, tissues have been dissected from carcasses provided by partner conversation facilities, including two very common South Florida bird species: Green Herons (a large wetland-associated …

More Than Movement, Allison Holland

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The documentary film “More Than Movement” explores the different aspects that make dance what it is, from the perspective of dancers. There are many different arguments about what dance is considered, such as a sport, an art, a hobby, exercise, or all of the above. Professional dancers spend many hours in rehearsals training their bodies for performances, similar to any athlete who goes to practice to train for a game. It can also be compared to 2-dimensional art, where time and space would be the canvas and the dancer would paint the canvas with the movements of their body. The …

Porphyromonas Gingivalis Raga Protein Induces Rankl-Independent Osteoclastogenesis, Maria Castellon, Shin Nakamura, Satoru Shindo, Maria Rita Pastore, Alireza Heidari, Xiaozhe Han, Jade Lubin, Maria Hernandez, Saynur Vardar-Sengul, Jan Potempa

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Periodontal diseases (PD; gum diseases) are arguably the highest prevalent disease of mankind (Guinness World Records 2001). Emerging paradigms support that PD can predispose individuals to several systemic diseases, such as, cardiovascular disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease. Over-reaction of host immune responses to oral pathobionts, including, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), is responsible for the development of pathogenic inflammatory bone resorption lesions of PD. Pg present in deep, but not shallow, periodontal pockets possess Rag gene locus distinctively. However, possible pathogenic roles of RagA and RagB proteins encoded in Rag locus of Pg are largely unknown. This study aims …

Psychosocial Impacts Of Celiac Disease: Insights Into Quality Of Life, Social Challenges, And Coping Mechanisms Of Celiac Disease Patients, Michelle Milman, Mit Patel

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes one’s immune system to launch an inflammatory attack in response to the ingestion of gluten which damages the lining of the small intestine and leads to health complications. For optimal management and treatment of celiac disease, a strictly gluten-free diet is essential. This review analyzes the psychosocial effects and well-being of living with a celiac disease diagnosis based on peer-reviewed primary research articles found in PubMed and Google Scholar. Studies reveal a profound impact of celiac disease on psychological and social well-being across various demographic groups. Pronounced psychological distress can be linked …

Quantifying Respiratory Plasticity Of Checkered Pufferfish Under Climate Change Conditions, Logan Exton

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Increasing water temperatures resulting from global climate change introduce new energetic demands for marine organisms. Higher energy input will be required to cope with a subsequently higher metabolic rate, affecting all aspects of an individual’s life and therefore their survival. Because estuaries act as a link between rivers and oceans, they and their inhabitants are considered to be the most threatened by climate change. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how these organisms will respond to increased stressors due to climate change. Checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus) are among the most common teleost fish in the Indian River Lagoon, …

Red Dog Loess, A Peoria Equivalent, Last Glacial Desert Loess Of The White River Badlands, South Dakota, Usa, John Nichols, Corinne Renshaw, Lillie Suthers, Amanda Altree, Tava Boeckel, Ritika Vonguru

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Understanding how ecosystems in the Great Plains responded to droughts and prehistoric climate change is important for interpreting future climate disturbances and water resource planning. There is a correlation between glacial periods and atmospheric dust distribution, with significant dust deposition in the Great Plains during the Last Glacial Maximum, ~23,000 years ago (23ka). Continuous freezing and thawing events in the mid-continent led to erosion in the Great Plains, transporting a significant deposit of windblown dust, or loess, and an ecological collapse of the grassland ecosystems. This research aims to determine if the White River Badlands (WRB) region was the source …

Reducing Inoculum Effect By Modulating Growth Productivity Through The Superpathway Of Purine, Pyrimidine And Histidine Synthesis In Escherichia Coli, Ruth Thomas, Daniella M. Hernandez, Melissa Marzouk

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Antibiotic overuse has driven the evolution of multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria that complicate infections that were once easily treatable. While mechanisms by which individual bacterium resist or tolerate antibiotics are well explored, less studied are the mechanisms by which populations of bacteria tolerate antibiotics as a collective. One such mechanism bacteria employ to tolerate antibiotic treatment as a collective is the inoculum effect (IE). We recently discovered that growth productivity, which describes the relationship between ATP production and growth rate, can account for IE for multiple antibiotics and pathogens. However, the underlying pathways for determining growth productivity have yet to be …

Relationship Between Amount Of Sleep And Academic Focus, Nikhila Paleati

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Many college students are regularly taking a full course load while simultaneously working a part-time job, studying for graduate school exams, and participating in school activities. With the growing demands inside and outside the classroom, students may find it difficult to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Generally, individuals with a sleep duration shorter than six hours report many negative effects such as depression, automobile accidents, and cardiovascular disease. The few existing studies that link sleep and academic focus do so by focusing on the effects of sleep deprivation. This study focused on investigating a potential relationship between various amounts of …

Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring: An Innovative Intervention For Managing High Risk Of Cardiac Diseases For Pregnant Women To Prevent Poor Maternal Outcomes, Anvita Dogiparthy, Sreekari Samudrala

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Pregnant women at high risk of cardiac disease encounter various challenges leading to poor maternal outcomes, and fatalities. Recent studies show how the rate of cardiac disease/hypertension susceptibility has increased to 33.9%, with an associated high rate of negative fetal outcomes of 15% to 17%. In addressing these concerns, researchers are actively exploring alternative treatment strategies for pregnant women at high risk of cardiac diseases, as standard treatment options have limited efficacy. Intriguingly, research points to the success of a new innovative treatment called Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring (RPM), a medical device that utilizes a cuff and sensors to monitor …

Reproductive Experience Protects Against Cognitive Decline In A Mouse Model Of Dementia, Chana Vogel, Aditi Gorthy, Ariana Hernandez, Natalia Noto

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, are devastating conditions lacking safe and effective treatments. Despite the striking sex/gender difference in the prevalence of dementia, few studies have investigated sex-specific factors that may influence the greater risk and faster progression of disease in females. These factors include but are not limited to prior pregnancy and motherhood. Women with children have slower rates of cognitive decline and lower risk for developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia than women with no children. However, other studies have reported mixed results, suggesting that the influence of reproductive/maternal experience may depend on an individual’s number …

Running Kinetic Asymmetry Indices Are Associated With Concentric But Not Eccentric Jump Asymmetry Indices, Alexis Arena, Riley Schemel, Isabella Vargas-Blanchard

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Decreases in right versus left limb asymmetry of kinetic characteristics of a countermovement jump (CMJ) positively influence running velocity and injury prevention. The relationship between CMJ kinetic asymmetry to kinetic asymmetry during a distance run is less known. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between kinetic asymmetries for both the eccentric (loading) and concentric (propulsion) phases of a CMJ and kinetic asymmetries during a treadmill run. Twenty-two university cross-country runners (age, 20.0±1.8 yrs; height, 1.73±0.09 m; mass, 61.7±8.8 kg) completed a 6-minute run on an instrumented treadmill that collected mean vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) for …

Demonstrating Physical Control Over Others Changes One’S Sense Of Power: Testing A Novel Manipulation Of Physical Formidability, Tamara Bogdanova, Morgan Fala, Ned Vaitkevicius, Nissipriya Pill, Ariana Gonzalez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between physical formidability and social power in modern humans. Previous research has shown that factors related to physical power, such as height, can affect a person’s perception of their own social power. We hypothesized that exercising physical power by engaging in the physical control of the behavior of another individual would affect people’s sense of their own social power and influence. To test this hypothesis, we employed a novel manipulation that used a human-to-human Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) device and a confederate to allow participants to feel as though …

Distributional Patterns Of Mesopelagic Scyphozoa Within The Monterey Submarine Canyon, California, Diana Phillips, Manuel Ploner

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Scyphozoans are a historically understudied taxonomic class, and it is unknown how genera that potentially compete coexist in resource-limited environments within the Mesopelagic Zone (200-1000m depth). Monitoring the affinities of various genera to fine-scale water mass differences demonstrates how apparent competitors in resource-limited environments occupy different habitats. Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROVs) pinpoint location information and oceanographic conditions of individual specimens, while providing better identification than other survey method options. During a 21-year period (2000 - 2020), images obtained by ROV operators annotated visual captures of scyphozoans, while integrating in situ sensor measurements of conductivity, temperature, depth, and dissolved oxygen (CTDO) …

Evolution Of Sequencing Technologies And Implications For Transposon Research, Renita Varghese, Janseen Meghadri, Jennifer Pulido-Luis

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This study explores the complex field of transposable elements (TEs) and how Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies are used to identify them, including their limitations. Transposons, also known as transposable elements, are dynamic DNA segments that have the ability to shift locations within a genome, impacting gene regulation, evolutionary processes, and genomic stability. TEs play vital roles in genetic research. They provide pathways for precise genetic alterations and mutagenesis, which facilitate the investigation of gene function and disease mechanisms in many organisms. Rapid DNA and RNA sequencing capabilities provided by NGS technologies have transformed genetic research. Improvements in DNA sequencing …

Impacts Of Pre- And Pro-Biotic Supplements On Microbial Composition Related To Colorectal Cancers, Shanay Patel

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Early in the field of oncology, colorectal cancer was a rarely diagnosed form of cancer and often went undetected. Today, colorectal cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer and is responsible for over one million deaths annually worldwide. The human gut microbiome is a keystone of daily health and living, serving to help absorb nutrients, boost immune function, and is considered to be another organ within the human body. However, the gut microbiome is also thought to have a role in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal disease like colorectal cancer. There has been extensive discussion within the …

Investigating The Impact Of Lipogenesis Inhibition On The Phospholipid Composition Of Melanoma Cells Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Zahra Aziz, Alekya Mallampalli, Ana Sales, Emmanuela Pierre, Trisha Seal

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Melanoma, the most lethal variant of skin cancer, has a rate of incidence that continues to increase globally. The upregulation of lipogenesis is a primary feature of melanoma. However, the role of phospholipids (PLs) in the onset and progression of melanoma is not well-characterized. In this study we employed high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to elucidate alterations in the phospholipidomic profile of human melanoma cells after inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme in lipogenesis. Our results show that inhibition of FASN decreased cell viability by ~30%, underscoring the importance of lipogenesis for the survival of melanoma …

Synthetic Psychedelic Phenethylamine Drugs After Microtubule Formation And Neurogenesis In Human Neural Progenitor Cells, Amelia Zannoni, Chase A. Gonzalez, Peter Stringer, Roberto G. Fileni, Nitisha S. Gajavalli, Julia Langman, Grace K. Wong

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Understanding how psychedelic phenethylamines affect neural plasticity is essential in understanding effects associated with recreational drug use. Intracellular scaffolding proteins and downstream effectors, i.e., the microtubule cytoskeleton, have been proposed to modulate the effects of psychedelics. Microtubules are polymers of the protein tubulin that contribute to the cytoarchitecture, protein transport, and synaptic stability in cells. Our group has shown that psychedelic substituted phenethylamines interact with microtubules in a dose dependent manner to affect its ability to form. These interactions would prevent microtubule dependent protein transport within cells leading to altered cytoarchitecture of the cell and may be associated with adverse …