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Our next winter deadline is December 15, 2023 11:59pm PT. Apply today to lock in your spot!

10-session deep dive into a research topic of your choice

6-week research project with an expert and peers who share your passion

A career discovery experience with 3 expert mentors in your chosen fields

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This project will be a literature review focused on the relationship between music and dreams. There are several potential avenues for exploring this connection-- for example, whether falling asleep to music generally improves our sleep, which would in turn influence the frequency of dreaming. Additionally the valence of music might influence our dream content.

Neuroscience, electrophysiology of the brain, digital signal processing, psychology, data science, coding, programming, neuroimaging, ethics, social science

How does music influence our dreams?

Music generation is an intriguing machine learning task due to the necessity of both short and long-range structure. With the increasing relevance of pre-trained language-based transformer models such as ChatGPT, we are interested in applying a similar transformer architecture to music generation. Transformers are unique in their ability to represent long-range structure, a clear advantage over recurrent neural networks. In this work, we will fine-tune pre-trained transformers for MIDI music generation. We will first obtain a database of MIDI files, using existing MIDI databases such as Lakh Pianoroll Dataset and the MAESTRO Dataset. Then, we will fine-tune a large transformer model for next-note prediction to generate new music given a user input of a short composition. Overall, in this project we leverage the power of transformers for generation of MIDI music given music input from a user.

Renewable energy (solar), heat transfer, computational materials science

How can we apply pre-trained transformers for generation of MIDI music files given input by a user?

Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot obstructs the blood flow to the brain. This particular type of stroke is also responsible for causing long term disability and death, which calls for therapeutic approaches. Stem cell based treatments have emerged as an avenue for stroke management offering the potential to restore lost brain functions and expedite recovery. This study delves into the potential, safety and effectiveness of stem cell based therapies in patients with stroke by examining research papers and review articles. Various types of stem cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells have demonstrated benefits through different pathways like synaptogenesis (formation of new synaptic connections), angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), and neurogenesis (generation of new neurons). These diverse therapeutic mechanisms are believed to contribute towards restoring brain tissue and improving outcomes. Furthermore, the review explores safety considerations associated with stem cell-based interventions. In addition, this paper discusses the challenges and limitations that need to be addressed in order to advance further in utilizing stem cell-based therapies for stroke treatment; these include optimizing targeted delivery of injected cells towards affected areas, determining the effective route for administering these cells, and understanding early engraftment and distribution patterns post injection. Stem cell transplantation holds promise in revolutionizing the treatment of stroke patients improving their quality of life and aiding in their recovery. Ongoing advancements in stem cell research may pave the way for trials and the development of innovative treatment approaches, for individuals affected by stroke.

Bioengineering, Bioprinting, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Epigenetics, Biophysics

Stem Cell Therapies on Patients Suffering Ischemic Stroke

This research examines 
Questioning the validity of the irreversible physical advantages of a transwoman who has gone through male puberty
Examining the experience of trans-athletes and those competing with/against them
Implications for single-sex sports/co-ed sports why can’t trans-athletes just compete in their self-id-ed sports (what's the big deal) 

Middle Eastern Studies, Arabic Literature, LGBTQ Literature, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Creative Writing: Poetry, Popular Literature, Fandom Studies

The Experience of Trans-Athletes 

Ketamine is known in clinical settings as an anesthetic with trainsent dissociative properties. In recent years, ketamine is shown to improve symptoms for psychiatric conditions such as major depressive disorder, potentially via pro-cognitive effects on brain function. Here, we will review literature on this topic and present evidence to support this hypothesis. We will also discuss potential applications of ketamine as a treatment for cognitive deficits in other diseases.

Clinical Neuroscience; Applications of Neuroimaging; The Emotional Human Brain: Integrating Neuroscience and Psychology

Ketamine's Pro-Cognitive Potential in Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Systematic Review and Future Perspective

cell and molecular biology, genetics, gene therapy

In this project, Raylene will complete a review paper on the topic of ozone pollution and photochemical smog in urban areas. The paper will cover the chemical composition of ozone and photochemical smog, their sources, their effects on humans and environments, current regulations, and the future trends of ozone and photochemical smog. She will learn how to read and synthesize scientific papers, do scientific writing with citations, make figures from publicly available datasets, etc. We aim to publish this in a journal for high school students. Raylene is making very good progress in learning scientific writing so far!

Climate Change Biology, Ecology, experimental design, environmental sciences, environmental justice, evolutionary biology, genetics, botany, microbial DNA analyses (bioinformatics), data science, meta-analyses, science communications

Ozone pollution and phytochemical smog in urban areas with a special focus on Los Angeles Metro Area

Several studies have reported the relationship between financial funding of education and its effects on education, and how underfunded districts experience lower graduation rates. Previous studies have demonstrated a general report of this relationship through a broader lens. In this study, we explore this topic further and analyze the conditions found specifically within school districts in the state of California. By using data released by the government of California, we are able to examine total district funding and its direct relationship to graduation rates. Our findings indicate that districts with more plentiful resources and higher funding do in fact lead to higher graduation rates. With these discoveries, we are then able to predict a rough estimate of the graduation rate if given a specific amount of funding.

mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, fluent in English and Chinese

How does district funding affect the graduation rate?

This paper aims to outline how ethnicity and sexuality intersect for second-generation queer Asian Americans. I delineate three difficulties that second-generation queer Asian Americans may face in the process of coming out and reckoning their own identity: 1. The influence of traditional Asian cultures on queer attitudes of parents, 2. Acculturation complicating communication between parent and child, and 3. The intersection of being queer and ethnic at the same time in a heteronormative, white society. Within this framework, I will conduct a comparative critique of how the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once and the essay Sewing Patches Through Performance portray the conflict and resolution between a first-generation Asian immigrant and their queer child. These two works showcase the importance of understanding the unique space that queer Asians occupy in extending support toward them and the significance of personal narratives in shaping queer lives.

mental health counseling, trauma and resiliency, race-related stress and racial trauma, gender-affirming mental health treatment, qualitative research skills,

Queer Asian American Belonging and Narrative in Everything Everywhere All At Once (Kwan & Scheinert, 2022) and Sewing Patches Through Performance (D’Lo, 2021)

King is going to be writing a research paper on social issues in sports. We are going to do a deep dive on how key social issues have manifested themselves within sports over the last 10 years including racism, wage gap, growing cost of attendance and mental health awareness. For each of these topics we will bring up case studies, new articles and research papers to help provide context and examples of these issues. While we know the solution is not easy we will look to talk about steps that can be taken to solve some of these issues. 

Currently an adjunct professor at La Salle University teaching Sports Finance to undergraduates & Managerial Accounting to MBA students, been in the sports industry now for 5 years revolving around accounting, finance, sports business analytics etc.

Social Issues In Sports

We are planning on creating a survey that will be administered to high school student athletes to evaluate the relationship between caffeine intake and sleep quality/quantity. The survey will use the Pittsburg Sleep Quality index and record average caffeine intake. After administering the survey, we will write a report on the results. Our goal is to share the results in the polygence symposium and publish a paper. 

kinesiology, exercise psychology, exercise cognition, exercise physiology, motor behavior

The relationship between caffeine intake and sleep quality in high school student athletes

Johnny will fill this out by Monday (so please overwrite this, Johnny). The project will be about IMUs and Visual Odometry for either a drone or a date from a cell phone camera

navigation, estimation, controls, machine learning, dynamics, aerospace, finance, Monte Carlo methods

How well does the integration of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and Visual Odometry (VO) contribute to accurate and drift-free navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in GPS-denied environments? 

CRISPR-Cas9 engineered organoids represent the novel application of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology in three-dimensional stem cell cultures, and have gained significant attention in recent years. These organoids, miniaturized 3D structures derived from stem cells, faithfully replicate the functional and structural characteristics of real organs. Their potential for disease modeling, providing insights into human development and disease mechanisms, and their ability to replicate complex organ structures and functions in vitro make organoids invaluable in medical research and drug discovery. The utilization of CRISPR-Cas9 technology enables precise genome editing of the stem cells, thereby enhancing the fidelity and accuracy of organoid models and enabling the study of mutations and diseases that were previously unable to be replicated in vitro. Recently, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising approach to advance this technology. The convergence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology and AI can speed up and improve the CRISPR-Cas9 process for organoids by analyzing large and/or complicated datasets, predicting CRISPR-Cas9 off-target effects, improving CRISPR-Cas9 splicing accuracy, and even creating better CRISPR-Cas9 gene knockout plans. Though the technology is still at an early stage, this comprehensive review discusses the current and future utilization of AI in CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology for organoid creation, research, and improvement.

Case reports in medicine, computational protein design, cryo-EM image analysis, computational genomics, telemedicine, AI in medicine, biochemistry, web development, data journalism

Systematic Review on the Usage of Artificial Intelligence in CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing Technology for Organoid Research

Language taken from Caroline's IRB proposal: Caroline is conducting a mixed methods research study to pinpoint sources of depression and anxiety in LGBTQ+ adolescence. Origins of struggle can be utilized to produce blueprints for newly tailored and specialized therapy resources for the prevention of identity crises and prejudice, build societal empathy through psychological clarity, and facilitate progress towards holistic health and wellness in LGBTQ+ teens.

This is a two part study. Part one will be a 45 minute virtual focus group with about 15 LGBTQ teens. Qualitative data will be collected from personal stories and anecdotes. Part two is a survey that will take around 20-30 minutes, asking a wide range of questions on the topics of political affiliation, family life, religion, social constructs, government, school systems, social media, and physical health in relation to one's LGBTQ+ identity and severity of mental illness.

Gray Chameleons on the Rise: Mental Illness in the LGBTQ+ Community
What biological and environmental factors influence increased rates of suicide and depression in the LGBTIQ community? (political affiliation, family life, religion, social constructs, government, school systems, social media, and physical health)

Meet Polygence Scholars and explore their projects