School of Biology Undergraduate Research Option Theses
The Research Option offers students majoring in biology the opportunity for a substantial, in-depth research experience. Students are strongly encouraged at the end of their experience to work with their faculty mentor to develop a journal publication or conference presentation on the research in addition to the actual thesis.
All materials in SMARTech are protected under U.S. Copyright Law and all rights are reserved. Such materials may be used, quoted or reproduced for educational purposes only with prior permission, provided proper attribution is given. Any redistribution, reproduction or use of the materials, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior permission of the author.
Recent Submissions
-
An investigation into the multiple Type VI Secretion Systems of Enterobacter cloacae
Enterobacter cloacae is a Gram-negative, opportunistic bacterial pathogen that is commonly acquired by patients in hospitals. The Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) is a harpoon-like apparatus that injects toxins into the ... -
Ischemia induces changes in SOD activity and neuromuscular regeneration
Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is characterized as a neuromuscular disorder of aging that develops due to an occlusion of blood flow to the affected lower limbs. Following ischemic injury, disruption of vasculature interrupts ... -
Single particle cryo-EM structure elucidation of a Photosystem II complex mimicking a critical step in photoinhibition
Photosystem II (PSII) is an essential protein in the photosynthetic process that houses the oxygen evolution center, which is responsible for producing most of the oxygen in the atmosphere. In order to better understand ... -
Investigating effect of oxidative stress during in vitro myogenic differentiation
Stem cell research has been developing new ways to understand the mechanism behind aging in muscles as well as ways to prevent debilitating symptoms of it. In this study, Pax7-CreER-Sod1 floxed cells were used to model ... -
Investigation of the Role of Hyaluronan in Neural Crest Cell Migration, Adhesions, and Morphology
Xenopus laevis neural crest cells are a common and useful model for studying cell migration in many contexts, including developmental biology, cancer, and other basic science. This study examines the role hyaluronan (also ... -
Optogenetic Manipulation of Caenorhabditis elegans Pharyngeal Muscles Inhibit Food Consumption
Obesity, a complex condition that arises from a host of interwoven environmental, cultural, social, and genetic factors, is associated with many devastating diseases. However, resolving the intricacies of obesity-related ... -
Impact of parrotfish predation on coral health: changes in microbiome and pathogen defense
Coral reefs are in rapid decline, and it is imperative to study reef community interactions in order to mitigate and reverse this trajectory. This study explores the relationship between corals and parrotfish, investigating ... -
Activity Budget and Spatial Behavior of the Emerald Tree Boa Corallus batesii
Corallus batesii is a boid snake native to the Amazon basin. C. batesii was declared a distinct species from its sister species in 2009. Because of this recent taxonomic shift, much of the research on the basic biology and ... -
Probing the Dynamic Nature of Mycobacterial Heme Homeostasis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for more human deaths every year than any other bacterium. In order to establish an infection and cause disease, M. tuberculosis requires the nutrient heme. Heme is essential for ... -
Salivary Micro RNA as a Biomarker for Concussion Symptoms in Pediatric Patients
This research project employs an untargeted approach using RNA sequencing to identify miRNA in saliva following a traumatic brain injury, specifically a concussion, to better understand how acute brain injuries can be ... -
Pruritic Activity and Neurogenic Inflammation with S. aureus δ-toxin in Atopic Dermatitis
This study investigates how toxins secreted from Staphylococcus aureus, such as δ-toxin, can produce pruritis and initiate neurogenic inflammation to help characterize the cutaneous neural reaction to S. aureus colonization ... -
USING ASCORBIC ACID AND HIGH SALINITY TO EXTEND THE VIABILITY OF PROALES SIMILIS (ROTIFERA) DIAPAUSING EGGS
Rotifers are sensitive indicators of environmental conditions and serve as model organisms for assessing toxicity. It is understood that rotifer cysts (diapausing eggs) are convenient for toxicity assessment because they ... -
Uncovering the peatland root microbiome: Environmental factors shaping microbial community structure
This study examines the effects of simulated whole-ecosystem warming and elevated levels of carbon dioxide on the microbial communities within the root-soil microbiomes of vascular plants in peatlands. Root samples obtained ... -
Does short term upper limb immobilization affect inter-limb transfer of sequence-specific motor skill?
Previous research has demonstrated that short-term limb immobilization leads to a decrease in corticospinal excitability and a subsequent increase in the capacity for long term potentiation, the neural mechanism underlying ... -
The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Molt Rate and Carapace Area in Juvenile Dungeness Crabs (Cancer magister)
Ocean acidification, the consequence of atmospheric CO2 dissolving in the ocean to form carbonic acid, is rapidly intensifying. A wealth of marine wildlife is known to be vulnerable to the expected drop in pH, including a ... -
Time of day predicts the activity budget in the Emerald Tree Boa (Boidae: Corallus batesii) across multiple behaviors
Exploring the spatial ecology and behavior of organisms is essential to understand an organism’s niche and how to better accommodate animals that are kept in captivity (Ross et al., 2011; Plowman, 2003). Emerald Tree Boas ... -
scRNA-seq dropouts serve as a signal for tissue heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorder
Analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data is plagued by dropouts, zero counts for mRNA transcripts due to low mRNA in individual cells and inefficient mRNA capture. Dropouts are traditionally treated as an ... -
Decoding Disease Persistence in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia One Single Cell at a Time
In order to understand the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying disease resistance to therapy in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we performed an investigation utilizing single-cell RNA-sequencing ... -
Development of a Wireless, Commercial Electromyography System for Use in Athletics and Physical Therapy
Electromyography is a muscle activity recording technique that is not often used in a clinical setting due to difficulties in reproducibility. In this paper I aim to create a wireless, wearable system for electromyography. ... -
Characterization of Primary Rat Astrocytes: a Step Towards Optic Nerve Head on a Chip
The mechanism by which elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) increases risk of glaucoma remains unknown. A proposed pathway suggests astrocytes sense optic nerve head (ONH) deformation due to increased IOP, triggering their ...
RSS 1.0