Category: College of Arts & Sciences
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Barcoding the Unknown: Primer Development for Diverse Nematode Strains
By Alegria Bautista Faculty Mentor: Dr. Theresa Grana Abstract DNA barcoding has significantly advanced species identification and revealed many cryptic species with significant biomedical and agricultural research applications. Nematodes are frequently used in DNA barcoding due to their short generation times and ease of laboratory maintenance. However, the rapid increase in newly discovered species presents…
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Effect of Genetic Modulation of Activin β Expression Levels on Skeletal Muscle Function and Structure
By Ashlyn Rauch Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Abstract Activin β (Actβ) is a dimeric protein that regulates muscle growth and differentiation as part of the TGF-β superfamily of proteins. In humans, Actβ stimulates muscle atrophy; however, in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, Actβ can positively regulate muscle growth. The goal of this project was…
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Expression, Characterization, and Comparative Analysis of Bacteriophage Endolysins
By Stephen Zdgiebloski Faculty Mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Abstract Bacteriophages present a promising alternative for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria without disrupting the normal microbiome or harming human cells. The antibacterial properties of lytic bacteriophages are largely attributed to endolysins, enzymes active in the lytic cycle. Endolysins recognize bacterial cell walls and cleave the peptidoglycan matrix, leading…
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Graph Theory for AI
By Kaylie Curran Faculty Mentor: Dr. Debra Hydorn Abstract This project explores how the BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) language model embeds text based on word context. By analyzing excerpts from famous novels, the study examines how BERT generates different embeddings for the words. Techniques such as co-occurrence graphs, dot product similarity, and pairwise…
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Serotonin has anti-inflammatory effects in macrophages
By Ryan Scheiderer, Saud Abdul Aziz Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laura Sipe Abstract Serotonin (5-HT) is a neurotransmitter and hormone involved in immune regulation. This study examines inflammatory modulation by exposure of RAW264.7 macrophages. At 10-5 M, serotonin significantly reduced inflammatory markers. An MTT assay revealed reduced cell viability across all conditions, thus necessitating the normalization…
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Video Game Design and Audio Implementation
By Nathaniel Harvey, Matthew Fenton, Patrick Lynch Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Callaway Abstract Throughout this semester, we researched tools and approaches for the implementation of audio into original video games that we constructed in Unity, a video game development program. From storyboarding to creating final builds, we learned the process of assembling a video game, including…
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From Worms to Wonders: Improving Phenotype Recognition in C. elegans for Genetics Students
By Stephanie Bailey Faculty Mentor: Dr. Theresa Grana Abstract Genome sequencing has significantly advanced our understanding of biological pathways across organisms, with Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) serving as a widely used model due to its short generation time and well-characterized genetics. In undergraduate genetics labs, students often use RNA interference (RNAi) to explore gene function…
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Exploring Education Policy and Resources in Virginia Secondary Special Education
By Gabby Lyon Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rosalyn Cooperman Abstract The study examines the intersection of federal special education policy within Virginia’s secondary schools, specifically focusing on teachers’ compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study explores educators’ awareness and usage of the Virginia Department of Education’s hearing decisions index, which documents IDEA…
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Iditarod’s effect on DM1 disease progression in a Drosophila melanogaster model
By Carleigh Wood Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Abstract This research investigated how increasing Iditarod (Idit), the Drosophila melanogaster homolog of irisin, affects the progression of Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1). DM1 is caused by an expansion of CTG repeats in the DMPK gene, which leads to muscle weakening and wasting. Given irisin’s role in…
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Beyond Langmuir and Freundlich: Quantifying Adsorbate-Adsorbate and Adsorbate-Substrate Interactions Using the ABC Isotherm.
By Grayson Camp Faculty Mentor: Dr. Leanna Giancarlo Abstract Adsorption processes are essential in environmental science and industry, especially for contaminant removal. Many of these adsorption processes have been described utilizing traditional adsorption isotherms such as the Langmuir and Freundlich. Even with these known isotherms a clear understanding of the underlying adsorbate-adsorbate and adsorbate-substrate interactions…
