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The Connection Between Medicaid And Obesity In Northeast Ohio, Emmie Kelley, Sophie Kheder Jan 2026

The Connection Between Medicaid And Obesity In Northeast Ohio, Emmie Kelley, Sophie Kheder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Obesity is a major public health concern in the United States that is projected to increase exponentially over the next few years. Obesity is commonly associated with a lower socioeconomic status. Lower-income individuals tend to be supported by Medicaid, a federal insurance program for low-income Americans. Prior studies have shown a positive correlation between income status and obesity prevalence. Our goal was to find if there was a correlation between Medicaid patients and obesity in Northeast Ohio, to provide physicians with a set of characteristics to better combat obesity, since preventative and treatment guidelines are tailored to national trends. We …

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Physiological Development Of Hypertension As A Result Of High-Fat Diet Induced Obesity, Michael Nguyen Jan 2026

Physiological Development Of Hypertension As A Result Of High-Fat Diet Induced Obesity, Michael Nguyen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This literature review focuses on the physiological development of obesity due to the consumption of diets rich in fats and the resulting pathophysiological development of hypertension. This review aims to identify causes of obesity and hypertension as well as current treatments to propose future areas of study. The literature review analyzed a wide variety of literature sources on obesity and hypertension published between the years 1995 and 2025. The review identifies high-fat diets as a cause of obesity and the resulting health effects of elevated leptin, insulin, and nervous system activity as contributors to the development of hypertension. Future areas …

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The Effects Of Habitual Temperature And Diet On Crayfish Physiological Processes, Tyler D. Deramo, Sunny Rana, Victor Popoviciu Jan 2026

The Effects Of Habitual Temperature And Diet On Crayfish Physiological Processes, Tyler D. Deramo, Sunny Rana, Victor Popoviciu

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We will use crayfish to test the individual and combined effects of temperature and diet to see how they impact physiological processes such as metabolism, growth rate, molting patterns, and behavioral analysis. A total of forty-eight crayfish will be used throughout the experiment, and they will be housed in separate containers. A plant-based diet (consisting of fresh kale) and an animal-based diet (consisting of dried bloodworms) will be tested alongside room temperature (~18 degrees Celsius) and a warmer habitual temperature (~24 degrees Celsius). Metabolism will be measured via O2 consumption, and growth will be measured by weighing and measuring the …

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Neurobiological Determinants Of Psychopathy And Their Ethical Implications In Capital Punishment Cases, Brooklyn Lewis Jan 2026

Neurobiological Determinants Of Psychopathy And Their Ethical Implications In Capital Punishment Cases, Brooklyn Lewis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This literature review examines the relationship between the neurobiological determinants of psychopathy and the ethical implications of applying capital punishment to violent offenders. Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, and criminal justice, the paper explores how structural and functional differences in brain regions associated with emotional processing, impulse control, and moral reasoning are linked to psychopathic traits. The review synthesizes findings on how these neurobiological factors may contribute to an increased risk of violent behavior while emphasizing that such influences are not deterministic. The paper further analyzes how neuroscientific evidence is interpreted within legal contexts, particularly in relation to assessments …

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Moving Positively: A Review Of Positive Psychology Interventions In Counseling, Spencer M. Fleming, Ingrid Weigold Ph. D Jan 2026

Moving Positively: A Review Of Positive Psychology Interventions In Counseling, Spencer M. Fleming, Ingrid Weigold Ph. D

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Positive psychology is a relatively new and developing subfield of psychology which examines the machinations and roles of various character strengths and traits such as growth, well-being, meaning, life satisfaction, character strengths, and more. Positive psychology holds various implications for counseling, therapy, individual growth, and self-determination. However, current literature on positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are scattered, nuanced, and lack overall consensus. Thus, encompassing research is necessary to identify common trends, areas for improvement, and a clear direction moving forward. The present review analyzes positive psychology interventions (PPIs) within psychology and counseling. This review examined forty-eight articles, including fifteen meta-analyses, on …

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Toadally Not A Frog: A Neuromuscular Physiology Study, Iris Renna Jan 2026

Toadally Not A Frog: A Neuromuscular Physiology Study, Iris Renna

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Upper-level physiology labs in undergraduate education use freshly isolated bullfrog and/or leopard frog tissue to teach core concepts in nerve and muscle physiology. Sourcing live animals for routine educational use raises ethical and conservation concerns. Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are an invasive species that are routinely culled, can provide a potential source of laboratory animals which would remove pressure to native amphibian populations. This study tested the hypothesis that cane toads can serve as a functional substitute for bullfrogs and/or leopard frogs in the muscle and nerve physiology lab. Isolated sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle preparations from cane …

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Methods Of Euthanasia In Laboratory Animals, Jaiden L. Corley Jan 2026

Methods Of Euthanasia In Laboratory Animals, Jaiden L. Corley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The current honors research project will focus on the current use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a means of euthanizing laboratory mice. CO2 is commonly used as a means of euthanizing laboratory animals and has been a standard of practice for mamy years. it is regarded as fast, painless, and efficient in overwhelming the respiratory control centers of the brainstem and resulting in respiratory depression and death. However, there continues to be debate and ongoing research regarding the 'humaneness' of this approach to euthanasia, and the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA) suggests the inclusion of isoflurane (a volatile anesthetic) as …

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Dysregulation Of Alternative Splicing Patterns In The Ovaries Of Reproductively Aged Mice, Adnan T. Alsamaraee, Vanessa L. Correll, Julius O. Nyalwidhe, Pavla Brachova, Nehemiah S. Alvarez Jan 2026

Dysregulation Of Alternative Splicing Patterns In The Ovaries Of Reproductively Aged Mice, Adnan T. Alsamaraee, Vanessa L. Correll, Julius O. Nyalwidhe, Pavla Brachova, Nehemiah S. Alvarez

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

Female reproductive aging is characterized by progressive deterioration of ovarian function, yet the molecular mechanisms driving these changes remain incompletely understood. Here, we used long-read direct RNA-sequencing to map transcript isoform changes in mouse ovaries across reproductive age. Comparing young and aged mice after controlled gonadotropin stimulation, we identified widespread alternative splicing changes, including shifts in exon usage, splice site selection, and transcript boundaries. Aged ovaries exhibited increased isoform diversity, favoring distal start and end sites, and a significant rise in exon skipping and intron retention events. Many of these age-biased splicing events altered open reading frames, introduced premature stop …

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Finding, Founding, And Forging: Queer Formulations Of Family In Nineteenth-Century British Novels, Brian Hicks Jan 2026

Finding, Founding, And Forging: Queer Formulations Of Family In Nineteenth-Century British Novels, Brian Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how nineteenth-century British novels imagine and negotiate queer formulations of family at moments when biological kinship, marriage, and inheritance were increasingly formalized as social and legal imperatives. Reading canonical texts by Austen, Shelley, Wilde, Brontë, and Hardy, alongside the proto-modern and modernist work of Joseph Conrad and Virginia Woolf, I argue that these novels resist consanguinity as the sole basis of family and instead theorize queer kinship as something found, founded, or forged through affinity, care, and shared orientation rather than blood or reproduction. Drawing on queer theory, feminist criticism, phenomenology, and Foucauldian accounts of power and …

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15-Last Lecture, Heinrich Blücher Jan 2026

15-Last Lecture, Heinrich Blücher

Bazelow Transcripts

Heinrich Blücher’s Last Lecture, transcript edited by Alexander Bazelow, presents a sweeping philosophical reflection on meaning, freedom, nihilism, and the unfinished task of humanity. Confronting the modern experience of meaninglessness—especially among the young—Blücher argues that philosophy’s enduring task is the transformation of life into meaningful existence through conscious thought and responsible action. He traces the historical development of nihilism and metaphysical belief from ancient myth, through Greek philosophy, Christianity, and modern systems culminating in Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, whom he treats as prophetic figures of the modern crisis. Blücher criticizes the deification of history, science, power, and ideology, insisting …

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Red Clover Isoflavones And Establishment In The Context Of Tall Fescue Toxicosis Mitigation In The Mid-South, Jonathan L. Stephens Jan 2026

Red Clover Isoflavones And Establishment In The Context Of Tall Fescue Toxicosis Mitigation In The Mid-South, Jonathan L. Stephens

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Low levels of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) have been shown to mitigate tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) toxicosis symptoms. This is because of the presence of plant-produced compounds known as isoflavones. Production of a red clover supplement on a commercial scale would require industrial-level processing of raw plant material into granules or pellets. The first study of this thesis evaluated the impact of drying temperature on bioavailability of isoflavones. Drying temperatures up to 104°C had minimal impact on isoflavone concentrations. Additionally, varietal differences in isoflavone concentrations were documented. The second study of this thesis evaluated optimal establishment …

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Will It Tear? Creating A Collegiate Athlete Cutting Mechanics Grading Process, Abigail Savoy, Matthew Morgan, Nicholas Totaro Jan 2026

Will It Tear? Creating A Collegiate Athlete Cutting Mechanics Grading Process, Abigail Savoy, Matthew Morgan, Nicholas Totaro

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Collegiate athletes push their bodies to compete at the top level of their sport. Through 5 years, collegiate athletes had 729 ACL tears. To aid in training and the reduction of injury risk, there are several procedures for grading the ability of an athlete to make a cut or change-of direction motion. Through this research project, we defined a procedure for analyzing motion capture video and data of the cutting mechanics of collegiate athletes. This was done to identify which athletes have a higher or lower risk of an ACL injury by comparing knee valgus and other biomechanical indicators on …

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Characterizing The Role Off The Sp1/Klf Transcription Factor Huckebein In The Drosophila Melanogaster Ventral Nerve Cord, Benjamin Almond Jan 2026

Characterizing The Role Off The Sp1/Klf Transcription Factor Huckebein In The Drosophila Melanogaster Ventral Nerve Cord, Benjamin Almond

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Over the course of embryonic development, the ectodermal cell layer gives rise to a vast array of neurons and glia patterned across the central nervous system (CNS). Neurulation and specification is achieved in the ectoderm through temporospatial patterns of transcription factor (TF) expression, many of which are conserved across evolutionary history. These conserved regulatory motifs allow the use of Drosophila melanogaster to study the mechanisms of neurodevelopment across the animal kingdom. The huckebein (hkb) gene encodes a conserved SP1/KLF TF known to play important roles in cell cycle regulation, tissue morphogenesis during tubular organ development, and gut specification in Drosophila. …

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Examining The Pre-Columbian Use Of Psychotropic Plants In The South American Andes: Tobacco, Coca, And Ayahuasca, Jalayne Allison Jan 2026

Examining The Pre-Columbian Use Of Psychotropic Plants In The South American Andes: Tobacco, Coca, And Ayahuasca, Jalayne Allison

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This thesis offers a literature review that traces the origins and variations in the use of tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), coca (Erythroxylum coca spp.), and ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) in the Andean highlands and Amazon region along the western coast of South America. This mountainous region stretches across seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Diverse South American Indigenous groups and ancient civilizations, such as the Inca Empire, have inhabited this area. This review delves into key concepts of Andean cosmology, especially those related to ecology and hydrology as interpreted through Inca beliefs. These concepts are pivotal in the application …

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Novel Abietane Derivatives: Evaluation Of Therapeutic Potential Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Sydney Lawson, Fatima Rivas Jan 2026

Novel Abietane Derivatives: Evaluation Of Therapeutic Potential Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Sydney Lawson, Fatima Rivas

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Of the estimated 2.3 million women globally who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, nearly 25% will be diagnosed with the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. Because TNBC lacks specific targets present in other breast cancers, conventional selective treatments are ineffective making TNBC more difficult to treat. TNBC is the most lethal subtype of breast cancer in women and causes approximately 150,000 deaths annually, highlighting the critical need for effective therapeutics. Therefore, our aim is to identify new potential therapeutic agents for TNBC.

The abietane natural product family is a group of tricyclic diterpenoids which have been …

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Physiological Leptin Replacement Does Not Reverse Metabolic Adaptations To Starvation In Sprague Dawley Rats, Sydney Junot, Layla Deprimo, Camille Meaux, Arline Narez, David Mcdougal Jan 2026

Physiological Leptin Replacement Does Not Reverse Metabolic Adaptations To Starvation In Sprague Dawley Rats, Sydney Junot, Layla Deprimo, Camille Meaux, Arline Narez, David Mcdougal

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Historically, low insulin levels were the signaling event considered responsible for metabolic adaptations to starvation, such as increased sympathetic outflow and increased serum levels of ketones, glucagon, and free fatty acids. Leptin, a hormone produced by adipose tissue, is known to decrease in response to caloric restriction. Recent work in the field suggested that leptin infusion in the final hours of a 48-hour fast reversed all metabolic adaptations to starvation, thus raising questions about an underappreciated role of leptin in the starvation response. This study tested whether physiological leptin replacement, maintaining fed plasma leptin concentrations, during a 72-hour fast in …

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The Role Of Laminin Isoforms In Glioblastoma Migration, Aseel Ahmed, Faezeh Ghobadi, Hanna Devillier, Qi Cai Jan 2026

The Role Of Laminin Isoforms In Glioblastoma Migration, Aseel Ahmed, Faezeh Ghobadi, Hanna Devillier, Qi Cai

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains the most prevalent and lethal invasive brain tumor, denoted by a median survival of 12-15 months despite standard procedures such as safe surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. This limited effectiveness largely arises from the infiltrative nature of GBM cells, which interact with the brain’s extracellular matrix (ECM) by migrating along blood vessels and axonal pathways. The ECM contains the interstitial matrix (IM) and the
basement membrane (BM) made up of proteins and glycans which interact with the malignant cells. While research has mainly been focused on understanding how GBM cells interact with IM components, our knowledge about …

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Passing In Plain Sight: Visibility, Activism, And Identity, Rei Zimmerman Jan 2026

Passing In Plain Sight: Visibility, Activism, And Identity, Rei Zimmerman

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

The act of passing would seem to be the opposite of activism because it is an act meant to avoid detection. While the language of passing is, itself, problematic, African-descended people passing as white might be read as attempting to capitulate to a racial binary. Similarly, trans people passing as cis or cishet might be read as attempting to capitulate to the gender binary rather than challenging it. But this paper explores the potential for reading passing as a surprising act of activism that foregrounds resistance, resilience, and solidarity rather than disappearance. I focus on Leslie Feinberg’s groundbreaking trans novel …

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Synthesis Of Aza-Bodipy Fluorophores For Conjugation With Egfr- Targeting Molecules, Jada Yeboah, Mistura Olajuwon, Graca Vicente Jan 2026

Synthesis Of Aza-Bodipy Fluorophores For Conjugation With Egfr- Targeting Molecules, Jada Yeboah, Mistura Olajuwon, Graca Vicente

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Aza-BODIPY’s are a class of fluorescent dyes characterized by
a boron-difluoride core coordinated to a dipyrromethene-like
framework, where a nitrogen atom replaces the central meso-
carbon atom-referred to as the "aza" position. These dyes are
highly valued in biomedical research where there can be limitations in imaging systems, due to their photophysical properties and the ease with which their structures can be chemically modified. Its structure causes a bathochromic (red) shift in both absorption and emission, typically extending into the
near-infrared (NIR) region. Such properties make them useful
fluorescent markers for applications like tumor imaging and
targeting.

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Developing A Comparative Framework For Organic Matter Loss Using Standardized Soils To Mimic Urbanized Areas, Madison Woodson, Michael (M.P.) Hayes Jan 2026

Developing A Comparative Framework For Organic Matter Loss Using Standardized Soils To Mimic Urbanized Areas, Madison Woodson, Michael (M.P.) Hayes

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Rapid urbanization is an ongoing challenge to the natural ecosystem across Louisiana as the state invests in development to accommodate the challenges of flooding in nearby towns and cities. Across Louisiana waterways, flooding from urban developments along with coastal subsidence and relative sea level rise increase the transport of complex organic matter into local water channels. These events lead to higher concentrations of nutrients, specifically bioavailable carbon which can be lost from breakdown of soil organic matter in water. To better understand and predict organic matter transportation due to flooding events caused by urbanization, we studied the availability of organic …

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Impacts Of Real Microplastic Leachates On The Development And Behavior Of Developing Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Emma Tsai, Melanie Wilson, Mohamed Ateia, Ahmed Abdelmoneim Jan 2026

Impacts Of Real Microplastic Leachates On The Development And Behavior Of Developing Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Emma Tsai, Melanie Wilson, Mohamed Ateia, Ahmed Abdelmoneim

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Plastic pollution in aquatic environments has increased, raising concerns about the toxicity of microplastics (MPs) and their additives to developing organisms. Additives from the MPs can desorb into the surrounding environment, generating leachates that may impact early development. This study evaluated the effects of early developmental exposure to MP leachates on early developing zebrafish (Danio rerio), quantifying effects on larval survival, development, activity, and behavioral responses to acute stressors. MPs—acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide 66 (PA66), and reinforced glass fiber (MIX)—were processed into particles (< 500 µm) and incubated in embryo media for 24 hours under UV-C, 35 °C, and agitation to generate leachates. Zebrafish embryos were exposed from 6 to 120 hours post-fertilization (hpf) to varying leachate dilutions (corresponding to 0.063 to 10,000 mg MPs/L). At 120 hpf, larvae were assessed for survival, prevalence of morphological defects, overall growth, baseline activity, and behavioral responses to acoustic, visual, and peripheral irritant stressors. MIX leachate significantly increased mortality, while PET leachate exposure reduced growth. No significant morphological defects were observed across treatments. ABS, PA66, and PET leachates altered larval activity and behavioral stress responses. These preliminary findings suggest that MP leachates pose varying developmental and behavioral risks to developing organisms at critical exposure concentrations. Understanding these risks is crucial for assessing the environmental impact of MPs pollution and informing regulatory policies.

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Semantic Control In The Prefrontal Cortex: An Ale Meta-Analysis, Francesca Thomassee, Christopher Cox Jan 2026

Semantic Control In The Prefrontal Cortex: An Ale Meta-Analysis, Francesca Thomassee, Christopher Cox

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Semantic control is the ability to manage our knowledge about the world to ensure that the information produced is appropriate to a given context (Lamdon Ralph et al., 2017). While the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) has been found to be significantly involved in semantic control (Jackson, 2021), it remains unclear if there is a region of the LIFG that is specific to semantic control and is not involved in any other executive tasks. To investigate this, we employed an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of prior PET and fMRI research including strong-weak association and feature selection tasks. Based on …

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Bird Diy: Building An Rfid System To Study Behavior In Free-Living Starlings, Raedan Stephens, Keegan Stansberry, Christine Lattin Jan 2026

Bird Diy: Building An Rfid System To Study Behavior In Free-Living Starlings, Raedan Stephens, Keegan Stansberry, Christine Lattin

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can be effectively utilized to gain insights into animal behavior, such as avian responses to environmental change. In our established field system of free-living European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), we sought to implement a new system of RFID readers with antennas encircling the entrances of bird boxes and RFID leg bands with unique identifiers that record when birds pass through the antennas. To limit costs, we used Arduino RFID readers built by Eli Bridge and Jay Wilhelm and constructed the rest of the system components ourselves. We designed and 3D printed a new device to efficiently …

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Mtor Signaling And Macrophage Recruitment In Polypterus Senegalus, Icyss Sargeant Jan 2026

Mtor Signaling And Macrophage Recruitment In Polypterus Senegalus, Icyss Sargeant

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Tissue regeneration is marked by significant macrophage activity. Macrophages aid in signaling pathways for tissue growth and differentiation. Salamanders are the only limbed vertebrates capable of complete limb regeneration. However, Polypterus senegalus can fully regenerate its fins after injury. It has been determined that mTOR signaling by macrophages is active in early regeneration. In this project, we will test whether mTOR signaling is necessary for the recruitment of macrophages to regenerate fins in Polypterus senegalus. We began with immunofluorescence of liposomes in tissue sections to quantify macrophages recruited by mTOR signaling in fish treated with DMSO and RAPA. RAPA has …

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Imposter Syndrome And Coping-Motivated Cannabis Use: The Impact Of Race, Lan Qiu, Katharine Thomas, Julia Buckner Jan 2026

Imposter Syndrome And Coping-Motivated Cannabis Use: The Impact Of Race, Lan Qiu, Katharine Thomas, Julia Buckner

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Cannabis use among college students has become increasingly prevalent, with coping being
one of the primary motives for use. Imposter syndrome, characterized by persistent self-doubt
and fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of competence, is particularly common
among students. Given its association to social anxiety and social anxiety’s relation to coping
motives and cannabis-related problems, imposter syndrome may contribute to coping-motivated
cannabis use and related problems. Yet, no known research has examined the impact of race
on the relation of imposter syndrome and cannabis use behaviors among Black and non-
Hispanic/Latine White students. The current sample included …

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Deriving Mercury Exposure Risk From The Feeding Ecology Of Coastal Sharks In Coastal Louisiana, Mallory Miller, Jeffrey Plumlee, Owen Henderson, Sydney Moyo, Michael Hayes Jan 2026

Deriving Mercury Exposure Risk From The Feeding Ecology Of Coastal Sharks In Coastal Louisiana, Mallory Miller, Jeffrey Plumlee, Owen Henderson, Sydney Moyo, Michael Hayes

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Coastal sharks have high concentrations of mercury (Hg) in tissues, but what increases mercury exposure is unclear. Blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus) and bull (Carcharhinus leucas) sharks are commonly harvested in Louisiana’s commercial shark fishery. Because of health risk from mercury consumption, we ask: Are there food web characteristics that increase exposure of sharks to mercury? Biomarkers, such as stable isotopes sulfur (δ³⁴S) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) indicate feeding habits linked to prey trophic level and prey use of freshwater which influences total mercury (THg) concentrations. We hypothesize increasing trophic level (higher δ¹⁵N) and increasing reliance on freshwater prey (higher δ³⁴S) will increase …

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Memory For Everyday Chores In Younger And Older Adults, Cameron Mccleary, Katie Cherry Jan 2026

Memory For Everyday Chores In Younger And Older Adults, Cameron Mccleary, Katie Cherry

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

This study examined episodic memory performance for everyday household chores in younger (18-32 years) and older adults (65-79 years). With the increasing older adult population in the United States, understanding age-related memory differences and identifying strategies to enhance memory performance in later life is needed. Building on previous research demonstrating the pictorial superiority effect and benefits of semantic encoding across the adult lifespan, this study utilized a 2 × 2 × 2 between-groups factorial design to investigate the effects of age group (younger, older), encoding task (standard intentional learning, semantic elaboration), and stimulus format (text only, text with pictorial illustrations) …

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The Healing Power Of Nanoparticles: Bioengineering Gelatin Films With Lignin-Graft-Plga Nanoparticles For Enhanced Tissue Repair, Marie Howe, Cristina Sabliov, Thanida Chuacharoen, Willyam Nikiema Jan 2026

The Healing Power Of Nanoparticles: Bioengineering Gelatin Films With Lignin-Graft-Plga Nanoparticles For Enhanced Tissue Repair, Marie Howe, Cristina Sabliov, Thanida Chuacharoen, Willyam Nikiema

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Fish gelatin, a biocompatible material, can be methacrylated to enable its photo-crosslinking and formation of hydrogels for tissue-repair applications (1). This study investigated the incorporation of lignin-grafted PLGA nanoparticles (LNPs) into 3D-printed fGelMA hydrogels as controlled drug delivery systems. Lignin has UV absorbing properties, which could potentially interfere with photocrosslinking of fGelMA (2). These LNPs possess hydrophobic PLGA core and hydrophilic lignin forming the shell providing ample opportunities for delivery of drugs of different chemistries (3). Fluorescent LNPs (FLNPs) were engineered by covalently bonding a fluorophore to the shell prior to nanoparticle synthesis to allow for fluorophore tracking. The understanding …

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Motor Planning And Execution During Feeding In Autistic Children, Iresa Lincoln Jan 2026

Motor Planning And Execution During Feeding In Autistic Children, Iresa Lincoln

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Autism is one of the most common pediatric developmental disability diagnoses, diagnosed in approximately 1 in 31 children in the U.S. and 1 in 100 children globally. Autism is often characterized by differences in social communication and repetitive patterns of behavior, activities,
or interests; however, prevalence of clinically significant motor differences in autistic individuals is between 50-95%. These motor differences often interfere with activities of daily living and community participation. Research assessing motor control in autism has yielded mixed findings as to whether the motor differences observed in autistic individuals are associated with differences in motor planning or motor execution. …

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Evaluation Of Liberty® Herbicide For Zygosity Verification In Transgenic Maize (Zea Mays) Expressing The Bar Gene From Streptomyces Hygroscopicus, Isabel Hau Jan 2026

Evaluation Of Liberty® Herbicide For Zygosity Verification In Transgenic Maize (Zea Mays) Expressing The Bar Gene From Streptomyces Hygroscopicus, Isabel Hau

Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Program

Maize (Zea mays) is a major global crop cultivated for food and feed. Most commercial varieties grown in the United States contain herbicide-resistant traits to facilitate weed management. One such herbicide trait is Liberty-Link, which contains the bialaphos resistance (bar) gene from Streptomyces hygroscopicus that confers resistance to glufosinate-ammonium, the active
ingredient in Liberty herbicide. This bar gene is also widely used as a selectable marker in plant transformation. In non-transgenic plants, glufosinate-ammonium inhibits plant glutamine synthetase by acting as a glutamate analog, thereby disrupting amino acid biosynthesis and leading
to plant death. In contrast, transgenic plants expressing the bar …

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