Kayla Washington IUUR STEM Summer Research Program Major: Biology Mentor: Heather Bradshaw Exposing the adolescent brain to abuse of drugs is associated with increased risk for adult-onset psychopathologies. Cannabis use peaks during adolescence, and still the effects on the developing brain are largely unknown. Cannabis’ major psychoactive component, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alters neuronal, astrocytic, and… Read more »
Entries by Angie Gast, Office of Engaged Learning
HSF1 Downregulation of CCL5 Reduces CD8 + T Cell Trafficking in Breast Cancer
Jalynn Waites LSAMP Scholar Major: Biology Mentor: Richard Carpenter Breast Cancer is very deadly and can evolve to become invasive over time. In the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in women. The role of HSF1 contributes to the upregulation of tumorigenesis and metastasis in breast cancer…. Read more »
Effects of ADAR 2 and 3 on Translation and Expression of Genes
Andrew Umana IUUR STEM Summer Research Program Major: Biology Mentors: Heather Hundley, Priyanka Mukherjee, and Ananya Mahapatra In recent years there has been an increase in focus on RNA editing and its effects on various diseases. Through several research projects it has been uncovered that irregular levels of RNA editing have a strong correlation… Read more »
Identification and metabolic analysis of microbes cultivated from dung beetle (Onthophagus taurus)
Damien Sparks Groups STEM Summer Research Program Major: Biology Mentor: Joshua Jones The utilization of acquired resources is of major importance to an organism’s development and research has shown that organisms can be heavily dependent on microbes for breaking down and supplementing tough to digest, nutrient poor resources. Onthophagus dung beetles have been shown… Read more »
Resources in the Rockies? Economic Geology: An Analysis of PGE Ore Deposits from the New Rambler Mine, Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming
Katie Snodgrass IUUR STEM Summer Research Program Major: Earth Science Mentor: Shelby Rader Platinum group elements (PGE) are important for a wide variety of uses including industrial, medical, electronic, as well as jewelry production, making them an important prospect for materials such as catalytic converters, phones, laptops, rubber, and nylon to name a few. An… Read more »
Assembly Behaviors of Octahedral Nanocrystals
Ashley Sanchez Groups STEM Summer Research Program Major: Intelligent Systems Engineering Mentor: Baixu Zhu Superlattices are three-dimensional ordered arrangements of nanoscale units with a fixed geometrical position rather than a randomly distributed position. When superlattices are obtained by nanocrystals, this allows for further understanding of nanocrystals’ unique applications. Typically, the crystallographic orientation of these sphere… Read more »
Histone Modifications in Heterochromatin’s Effects on Neurogenesis
Daisy Robles-Magallanes LSAMP Scholar Major: Biology Mentors: Manuel Baizabal and Sen Xiong Histone modifications have the ability to modify chromatin structures and either bolster or reduce gene expression. Alterations in the epigenome have the ability to give insight into the specific functions of genes specifically in the neurogenesis of fetal mice. In order to… Read more »
Integrating Embedded Sensing with User Interface Design for Music Therapy Applications
Augustus Richter IUUR STEM Summer Research Program Major: Audio Engineering & Sound Production Mentor: Patrick Shih There are many existing software applications that can greatly benefit the field of music therapy; however, their features are often buried under layers of complexity and hidden affordances. Our research focuses on developing an application for music therapists… Read more »
The effect of a serotonin-modulating drug on social behavior in a species of weakly electric fish
Marie Renahan IUUR STEM Summer Research Program Major: Neuroscience Mentor: Troy Smith Parapternotus hasemani, the pig-duck knifefish, is a species of weakly electric fish that can generate and perceive electric signals. The fish’s electric organ, composed of neural tissue, sends out Electric Organ Discharges (EOD) to communicate information between fish and better navigate the… Read more »
Musical Expectancy and Lexical-Syntactic Information Interactions in Syntax Processing
Decker Pope Advanced Summer Research Scholar Major: Linguisics, French Mentor: Ann Bunger Music and language are systems that both display syntax. Discrete elements combine in specific ways to form complex structures: in language, there are rules for the way that words combine to create sentences; in music, there are conventions for how chords combine… Read more »