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
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Establishing a Working Protocol for Plasmid Cloning and shRNA Design in Endogenous Brachionus manjavacas Gene TRP7
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07-18)Current transfection protocol in rotifers only allows for temporary transfection within rotifers and does not allow for the continuous knockdown of endogenous genes, thereby inhibiting the possibility of observing long-term ... -
Morphological Variation in Hemiphractus Fasciatus (Anura: Hylidae: Hemiphractinae)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07-18)We describe morphological variation within the species Hemiphractus fasciatus, with special focus on populations in Panama, and determined the two allopatric populations are morphologically distinct, suggesting that there ... -
Effects on the Pocillopora verrucosa microbiome when in contact with macroalgae under ocean acidification
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07-18)Hard coral cover is in decline and this decline has generally coincided with macroalgal proliferation in coral reefs. Coral degradation can be caused by many variables but this study is focused on potential degradation due ... -
Changes in Nutrient Dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico due to Increase in Mississippi River Flow
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-25)The Gulf of Mexico underwent multiple environmental changes in 2010 and 2011, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and a large in increase of freshwater input from the Mississippi River. Both of these events had the ... -
The Effect of Environmental Factors on Bacteria Associated with Sphagnum Mosses
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-25)Sphagnum peat mosses play an important role in the global carbon cycle by sequestering carbon as biomass thorough photosynthesis. Biodegradation in the northern peatlands is slow in part due to acidic and nutrient-poor ... -
Finding Food in an Aquatic Desert: How cruising copepods detect their next phytoplankton meal
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-25)Copepods exist in an aquatic food desert where finding food is difficult given the constraints of their environment. They live in a three dimensional world and must filter 106 times their own body volume to cover their ... -
Factors that Increase the Efficiency of DNA Repair when Using Transcript RNA as a Template
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-25)Interaction with various chemicals and environmental agents can cause damages to DNA. In this study, we particularly focus on double stranded breaks (DSBs) and a repair mechanism that uses transcript RNA to repair the ... -
Identifying Promoters of Hepatic Regeneration in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Following an Acetaminophen Liver Ablation
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-12-12)Identifying chemicals that can promote regeneration in damaged liver tissue could be critical for curing various liver diseases and accelerating the healing of liver damage. In order to study the regeneration of developing ... -
Use of RNAi in Brachionus manjavacas to Inhibit Cold-Related Genes Implicated in Aging
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-08-18)Aging can be affected by a number of factors, including temperature; for example, organisms tend to live significantly longer when exposed to colder temperatures. Previous studies suggest that this change in life expectancy ... -
Knockdown of the Yes-associated Protein 1 pathway provides a basis for targeted therapy to treat infantile hemangioma
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-08-18)Hemangioma is a type of tumor commonly found in infants that is characterized by heavy vascularization and a disfiguring appearance. Hemangioma, though benign, can sometimes proliferate and be threatening to infants. Current ... -
Macrophage Activation in Sickle Cell Disease: The Role of Sphingolipid Metabolism in the Disease State
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-04-22)Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a disorder in which defective hemoglobin causes sickling of red blood cells, inducing painful vaso-occlusive crises when blood flow is blocked at sites of red blood cell (RBC) clotting that can ... -
Characterizing a novel direct target of the quorum-sensing controlled small RNAs in V. cholerae
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-12-13)n/a -
Cellular mechanisms of high-frequency alternating current block in peripheral nerves
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-01-28)High-frequency alternating currents (HFAC) can be applied to nerves to reversibly stop the conduction of signals in peripheral nerves. This can be useful in treating conditions such as chronic pain, inflammation, and ... -
The Effects of Flow on Swimming Behavior of Brachionus manjavacas (Rotifera)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-12-11)Rotifers serve as model species and are crucial to the zooplankton communities in terms of feeding and nutrition as well as their overall contribution to aquatic food webs (Wallace et al., 2010). Rotifers experience fluid ... -
Ribonucleotides embedded in yeast genomic DNA are targets of RNase H2 and the nucleotide excision repair system
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-04)Increasing evidence suggests that ribonucleotides may represent one of the most common non-standard nucleotides found in genomic DNA. Therefore, it is important to understand the extent to which ribonucleotides alter genomic ... -
The Effects of Variation in Electron Donor Concentration and Type on Deep-Sea Endosymbiont Community Composition and Gene Expression
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-02)Chemosynthetic symbioses are among the most prevalent microbial symbioses found in marine systems. These associations often dominate reducing environments such as hydrothermal vents, where they play critical roles in ... -
Significant changes in microbial community composition in the Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone" over a diel cycle
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-02)The structure and diversity of microbial communities associated with the oxygen minimum zone located on the Louisiana Shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico deadzone was studied through amplicon analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. ... -
Effects of biofilm production on horizontal gene transfer to Vibrio cholerae
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-02)The waterborne bacterial pathogen Vibrio cholerae utilizes a cell-cell communication system called quorum sensing to coordinate group behavior in both a human host and in aquatic environments. Virulence genes like the ... -
Examining allelopathic competition of a red tide alga within two different marine communities
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-04-17)Blooms of the marine dinoflagellate Karenia brevis exist in two distinct habitats: far offshore where blooms initiate at low densities and inshore where dense blooms are driven by wind and water currents. Two competing ... -
Ribonucleotides in yeast genomic DNA are targets of RNase H2 and nucleotide excision repair
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-12-13)Ribonucleotides can be incorporated into the yeast genome through a variety of mechanisms, including through DNA polymerazation, DNA priming, and oxidative damage. Ribonucleotides contain a reactive 2’ hydroxyl group on ...
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