School of Biology Theses and Dissertations
Original work in partial fulfillment of a graduate degree in the School of Biology
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Recent Submissions
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A Novel Approach to Restore Proprioceptive Feedback Following Spinal Cord Injuries Using Eccentric Training
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-03)Incomplete spinal cord injuries (SCI) lead to a variety of motor deficits including problems with ambulation. A further understanding of the pathophysiology leading to these deficits is required to develop therapies. ... -
Clinical utility of targeted RNAseq in neuromuscular and immune disorders
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-02)A specific genetic diagnosis leads to lower health care costs and improvement in clinical outcomes for rare congenital diseases. Despite significant advancements in sequencing technology and bioinformatic analysis, only ... -
COMBINING HUERISTIC APPROACHES WITH MACHINE LEARNING TO RECOMMEND POST TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS FOR STUDY
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-28)Post-translational modifications (PTMs) alter the chemistry of amino acid residues within translated proteins and thereby have the potential to expand the function and complexity of the proteome beyond the limits of the ... -
The genetics and epigenetics of plasticity in social insects
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-26)Highly social (eusocial) insects, in particular, comprise some of the most successful species on Earth due in large part to their high levels of cooperation and division of labor. However, these behaviors are subject to ... -
Genetic and Environmental Factors Influencing the Genomic Prediction of Complex Traits
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-19)Precision medicine is an emerging field in health care which aims to synthesize therapeutics precisely targeted towards a subgroup of individuals identified to be at a higher risk of a disease. The subgroups of individuals ... -
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE MAS-RELATED G PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTORS PLAY IN MEDIATING ITCH SENSATION
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-14)Although chronic itch is the most common reason for visiting the dermatologist, there remain few effective treatments. Glabrous skin itch, which occurs on the palms of hands and soles of feet, is extremely debilitating. ... -
GENOMIC ANALYSIS OF COLORECTAL CANCER COMPLEXITY IN COMPARISON OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TO NIGERIAN PATIENTS
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-01-14)Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third ranking diagnosed cancer in the US and worldwide. It is estimated to affect 1 in 25 individuals in the US throughout their lifetime. Mortality and morbidity rates due to CRC have been ... -
Functional roles and underlying mechanism of site-specific N-terminal phosphorylation in a heterotrimeric G protein gamma subunit
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-04-22)Heterotrimeric G-proteins (consisting of Ga, Gb, and Gg subunits) transduce extracellular signals such as hormones and neurotransmitters into intracellular responses that enable cells to communicate with their environment. ... -
Antimicrobial Dynamics of the Vibrio cholerae Type VI Secretion System
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-04-19)Vibrio cholerae is a common bacterial inhabitant of marine ecosystems and some pathogenic strains cause life-threatening cholera disease when ingested by humans. Like approximately 25% of all Gram-negative bacteria, V. ... -
RIBOSOMAL EVOLUTION AT THE INTERSECTION OF SEQUENCE AND STRUCTURE
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-04-22)The ribosome has a central position in the informational transfer within cells, it has produced all coded proteins that have ever existed in the history of life. Its undying presence in living organisms has allowed the ... -
Computational Investigation of the Molecular Basis of Susceptibility and Resilience in Different Macaque Species Infected with Malaria Causing Plasmodium Pathogens
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-12-14)Malaria has a complex pathology with varying manifestations and symptoms, effects on host tissues, and different degrees of severity and ultimate outcome, depending on the causative Plasmodium pathogen species. The studies ... -
Phylotranscriptomics points to multiple independent origins of multicellularity and cellular differentiation in the volvocine algae
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-12-14)The volvocine algae, which include the single-celled species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the colonial species Volvox carteri, serve as a model in which to study the evolution of multicellularity and cellular differentiation. ... -
Quantitative characterization of microbial communities micro-biogeography during infectious disease.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-10-14)Spatial structure, the arrangement of organisms in space, is an essential feature of life. It provides a mechanism for speciation, promotes niche development and shapes community function. Many methods exist to characterize ... -
The Dynamics of death: determining the relationship between within-host pathogen dynamics and host mortality
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-09-01)Infectious diseases remain a major cause of global mortality, yet basic questions concerning the relationship between within-host pathogen processes and epidemiological patterns of mortality remain obscure. Following an ... -
Population genomics and ancestral origins for health disparities research
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-08-25)Ameliorating health disparities – avoidable differences in health outcomes between population groups – is both a social imperative and a pressing scientific challenge. The relative importance of genetic versus environmental ... -
Differential effects of molecular chaperones on various types of protein aggregates
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-12-09)Proteins have the intrinsic ability to convert from their native functional state into insoluble fibrous protein aggregates known as amyloids. The assembly of different misfolded proteins into amyloid fibrils is a key ... -
Star-shaped bubbles and cubic feces: geometry through soft matter
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-12-07)In this thesis, we consider how mammals use soft tissue to generate geometric shapes out of non-living materials. The star-nosed mole sniffs for prey underwater by rapidly exhaling and inhaling bubbles without letting the ... -
Prediction of disease risks across multiple populations using evolutionary genetics
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-11-30)Complex diseases tend to be polygenic and allele frequencies at disease-associated loci vary widely across the globe. Interestingly, while some disease risks are similar across continents, the incidence and mortality rates ... -
Transcriptomic profiling of human cells destined for therapeutic applications
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-03-23)Cell therapy is a growing field as many diseases are still untreatable. Potential applications of cell therapies include treating cancers, autoimmune disease, urinary problems, and infectious disease, rebuilding damaged ... -
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF SIGNAL PEPTIDE PEPTIDASE AND SINGLE PARTICLE CRYO-EM OF THREE PHOTOSYSTEM II COMPLEXES RELEVANT TO PHOTOINHIBITION
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-07-29)This study focuses on structural studies of two membrane proteins: signal peptide peptidase and photosystem II were studied by the electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) approaches of 2D electron crystallography and single ...
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