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Research Paper about how tide pools are affected from distance to the ocean.

Biogeochemistry, Chemistry, Ecology, Microbial ecology, Geochemistry, Plant-microbe interactions

Diversity and abundance of organisms in tide pools as a function of distance from the ocean in Southern California

Sonya's project explores what an optimal workplace program for employees impacted by cancer could look like, and the various factors relevant to designing such a program. Survivor rates of those impacted by cancer have increased due to improvements in cancer research and treatments. As a result, many current or former cancer patients are active members of the workforce. Sonya will be researching what an optimal workplace program that provides both structured and flexible accommodations for employees impacted by cancer could look like. 

Cognitive Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, Psychology, Political Science, Multiculturalism, Human Rights, Restorative Practices, Anti-Racism

Optimal Workplace Program for Employees Impacted by Cancer

Meera is working on writing a review paper covering machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies as they apply to skin cancer. She will be primarily reading the scientific literature on this topic and synthesizing it into a survey-type paper. She is also reading in less detail about breast cancer diagnostics, to provide a point of comparison. In addition to surveying the literature, she is looking for evidence to answer specific questions she has - such as, do these algorithms perform more poorly on certain demographics of patients, or is there a diagnostic advantage to using biopsy data rather than imaging only? Her paper will synthesize the literature survey, comparison of skin cancer to breast cancer diagnostics, and her analysis of differential performance.

Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematical Modeling, Political Writing, Policy Analysis, Technical Writing

Skin Cancer in Machine Learning

Research Paper wherein we will be doing exploratory data analysis on mainly 3 variables - mobility, pollution, and COVID-19 cases and death rates in India to find relationships between them.

Analyses will examine New Delhi mainly, and compare differences in mobility trends, pollution, and COVID-19 case and death rates over time to determine how patterns of mobility relate to changes in pollution levels, and how pollution levels may relate to COVID-19 outcomes. Pollution data covers 5 different types of particulates, while google mobility data looks at facets of mobility such as mobility in transportation, workplaces, residential areas, parks, retail and recreation centers, and grocery and pharmacy locations.

Epidemiology, Statistics, Statistical Programming (R, SAS, Python), Data Science, Nutrition, GIS (ArcGIS, QGIS)

Interrelationship between mobility, pollution, and COVID-19 outcomes in India

Stem cell therapy is an important treatment in the context of cancer, both as a replacement for affected cells after chemotherapy destroys them and as a drug delivery vector. However, the use of embryonic stem cells in the treatment of various diseases has been long disputed for its accessibility and ethical implications. These cells are controversial due to their origin from fetal cells. Allogeneic stem cells have been a proposed alternative to this controversial treatment. While a preferred treatment, donor stem cells are accompanied by a host of issues like being recognized as a foreign substance by the host and triggering an immune response, chemoattraction by tumor cells, and host engrafting. Relatively recent advancements in the field have contributed to the search for a solution to these problems. Modifications to the surface of stem cells have been used to help them evade the host immune response and engraftment. Chemoattraction causes tumor tropism–the movement of a stem cell towards a tumor–but what was initially a problem is being used as a solution to efficiently deliver cancer treatments with the help of improved targeting through Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) technology. CAR technology is also being used to edit donor stem cells to find and kill cancer cells. This technology adds a tumor targeting receptor onto the surface of stem cells to decrease off target effects. Additional research is being conducted to further improve the accuracy of cancer targeting treatments through the use of integrins. Clinical trials have yielded promising results for these advancements in the treatment of various cancers.

Immunology and immunotherapy in cancer

How have stem cell therapies advanced to address barriers in the efficiency of the cancer treatment?

The Andes orthohantavirus is a strain of virus from the Hantavirus family which is known to cause Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome, an upper respiratory infection. As there is currently no FDA approved treatment for Andes orthohantavirus infection, an infection which has a 35 to 50% mortality rate, it is imperative that a treatment be developed to address this issue. The Andes orthohantavirus is known to bind to human cells via the glycoprotein c on the virus fusing with the extracellular cadherin-repeat domain one on the PCDH1 receptor. PCDH1, a type one membrane protein, is a protocadherin protein that’s primary function is in cell to cell adhesion. In order to develop a treatment to the Andes orthohantavirus an inhibitor of the extracellular cadherin-repeat domain one of the PCDH1 receptor will be developed. Identified structures of the PCDH1 extracellular cadherin-repeat domain one have been identified and will be used for in silico evaluation of its binding to both the Andes orthohantavirus exterior glycoproteins, which have also been identified, and compounds that will be developed to mimic it. It is expected that an inhibitor with strong binding to PCDH1 will be identified and can be used for further testing in vivo and in vitro.

Bioengineering, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Biology

Is it possible to use in silico methods to identify an inhibitor of the ectodomain 1 of PCDH1 receptor in order to inhibit Andes orthohantavirus fusion to the cell surface?

Carcinoma, the most common type of cancer worldwide, may stem from numerous pathways including inflammation. In the epithelial tissue, chronic inflammation and acute inflammation have been recognized as major contributors to the development, growth, and metastasis of carcinoma. Because of the relationship between inflammation and carcinoma, current research has been aimed at identifying the causes of inflammatory responses. Fascia dysfunction has recently been recognized as a potential pathway to inflammation by regulating lymphatic flow. This presentation analyzes the processes linking fascia densification and fibrosis, lymphatic dysfunction, and inflammation as well as inflammation’s relationship with carcinoma.  

Orthopedic Devices, Tissue Engineering, Morphogenics, Biomechanics, Mechanobiology, Finite Element Analysis, Medical History

Effects on Fascia Densification and Fibrosis on Carcinoma

There has been research conducted that shows a correlation between cognitive test-taking anxiety and scores. Higher test taking anxiety results in lower test scores. However, which factors induce this test taking quality? In this informative paper, I look to use reviewed articles to research on how factors of anxiety such as peer pressures, parental pressures, society expectations, and mental setbacks affect high school students’ academic performance. 
This review aims to define how these factors of anxiety impact the academic performance of high school students on a daily basis.

Children's Clinical psychology, Risk and resilience, Trauma, Personality Disorders, Gun Violence, Video Games

How do factors of anxiety affect the academic performance of high school students?

The purpose of this paper is to inform the general public of how their Heart can or has been affected upon the diagnosis of COVID-19. This article serves to answer the question of why COVID-19 has been so impactful and detrimental considering the other types of viruses we have seen throughout the years. This paper digs deeper in terms of the methods in which the Heart can be repaired and does a thorough comparison between COVID-19 and the flu. It hopes to engage and inform the public on simple practices they must do from now on to prevent further complications and severity on Heart.

Genetics, biology, chemistry, medicine/human disease related projects, data science / coding in R unix or python

Detrimental COVID-19 effects on the Heart

A review article explaining the correlation between using food as a reward for children and obesity in later life. Sanjana is mainly interested in how the reward circuitry is disrupted in Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS). Also, in her review she will propose alternate strategies or solutions for preventing RDS.

Neuroscience-pain research, neurodegenerative diseases, gene therapy, cellular and molecular biology

The relation of Reward Deficiency Syndrome in Children to Obesity in Late Stages of Life 

The student is working on developing a device that is capable of monitoring arm/hand movements so that the wearer can be notified when they have performed a habitual nervous motion. When nervous, people often perform habitual motions, and a device that is able to recognize those motions and notify the user that they have done so would be useful in breaking those habits. The purpose of the students project is to develop a wrist-worn device that monitors and identifies these motions. The device will consist of wrist-worn sensors that measure accelerations and angular velocities. A machine learning approach will be utilized to develop classifier model that recognizes the desired nervous input motion, and can then notify the wearer via a vibratory actuator. 

Mechanical engineering, dynamics, physics, biomechanics, assistive devices, device design, machine learning, deep learning, movement disorders, promoting healthy movement

A wrist-worn device for the identification of nervous hand gestures.

Ria is going to build analyze many related sequences of HIV reverse transcriptase and related proteins, build a phylogenetic tree, and compare her data to experimentally solved protein structures in order to generate hypotheses about the evolution of this enzyme. 

Biophysics, biochemistry, computational biology, protein evolution

Investigating the evolutionary history of reverse transcriptase

bioengineering, computational biology, computer science, physics, biology

The main question that the project is trying to answer is how do you classify Parkinson’s patients based on genetic data. Parkinson’s disease is seen in older patients, and is often misdiagnosed in the early stages. Catching the disease earlier can lead to a better quality of life, but because of the lack of symptoms early on the disease progression, early onset Parkinson's is usually mistaken for other types of diseases. Thus, catching the disease from patterns in a person’s genetics can lead to that better quality of life. The project aims to train machine learning algorithms to identify these patterns in the genes that could be indicative of Parkinson’s, by utilizing varied datasets of genetic information from Parkinson’s patients and comparing them to patients without Parkinson’s who are in the same age range. Using machine learning expands on previous research because it creates algorithms that can be applied to other patients to catch the disease in the early stages. A final addition to the project would be to compare the genetic patterns of Parkinson’s to the genetic patterns of other diseases to identify the possible correlations between the genes that are affected in order to be afflicted by the disease.

Neuroscience, Behavior, Sensory perception, Working memory, Artificial Intelligence

Classification of Parkinson's Patients using Machine Learning Algorithms

There are many noteworthy areas of improvement when it comes to women's healthcare and I aim to address the substantial gaps between women's experiences and the often unheard voices of women when it concerns their own health. Simply put, intersectionality refers to the connection between social categorizations such as gender, race, class, etc. and in this review, I explore the connection between gender and racial bias in women's healthcare. Addressing many sections of healthcare, I explore the effects of these bias in research, education, patient care and treatment. Within this exploration the study delves into the phenomena known as "medical gaslighting" and sheds light on the unfortunate tendency of the medical field to overlook women's voices regarding this issue. My research is meant to explore unconscious bias as a cause for these disparities and a proposed research design to give a platform for women to be heard.

gender-based violence prevention and intervention; global health; public health; racial disparities in programs and health outcomes; program evaluation, culturally-responsive approaches to teaching, policy advocacy,  community-based research methods

Voices Unheard: Exploring an Intersectional Analysis of Women's Health

Vaccines and immunization serve as the cornerstone of public health. The COVID-19 pandemic mobilized the development of mRNA vaccines, which was expedited by prior research in mRNA technology. Traditional vaccines include recombinant protein vaccines, as well as inactivated viral vaccines, which utilize an inactive or weakened strain of the virus. By contrast, next-generation vaccines take advantage of new technology in nucleic acid, lipid nanoparticle, and viral vector cell delivery. mRNA vaccines are a type of nucleic acid-based next-generation vaccine that provide the genetic code that instructs the cell to produce the protein via direct translation. While traditional vaccine methods have been successful, mRNA technologies pose new opportunities to elicit a stronger immune response, specifically within the context of B and T cell responses. mRNA technology is only continuing to advance, and has future applications in cancer and other infectious diseases. In conclusion, mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 illustrated the potential of mRNA technology, and brought next-generation vaccines to center stage in the discussion of future of vaccine development.

Immunology, infectious disease, vaccines, antibodies, virology, cancer

Current Next-Generation Vaccines for COVID-19: The Success and Challenges of mRNA Technology

The electromagnetic energy from the sun travels through space in the form of solar radiation which causes space weather (e.g. solar flares) and affects earth’s climate (e.g. greenhouse effect). Considering all the effects of solar radiation including space weather is extremely important to gain a more complete understanding of climate change and therefore act accordingly. In this paper, we are going to provide a technical definition of space weather as well as all other events that accompany it drawing from the findings of other research papers. To study the local effects of space weather on North Africa, we are going to use citizen science data and open source programs.

Environmental Engineering, Air Quality and Atmospheric Chemistry, Sustainability, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Justice

How does solar radiation affect North Africa?

This review paper primarily deals with potential next-generation methods of diagnosing endometrial cancer through the integration of physical sciences with oncology (PS-ON). Cancer is typically considered a genetic condition, but the microenvironment in which tumor cells are located is similarly important. Amongst the various cancer types, our focus is on endometrial cancer, a type of cancer that begins when cells lining the uterus undergo abnormal changes and multiply uncontrollably. It is one of the most common gynecological cancers in women, and it usually occurs after menopause, although it can also affect women who are still menstruating. While the diagnosis of endometrial cancer typically involves a combination of medical history assessment, physical examination, imaging tests & biopsy, there remains an unmet need for the development of non-invasive assays. While there have been notable advancement in cancer research, mortality rates for endometrial cancer continue to fall short compared to other diseases; therefore, this gap can be narrowed by creating non-invasive, cost-effective, and less painful assays, allowing for widespread early detection and easier treatment to ultimately enhance survival rates. In our estimation, blood spectroscopy represents one of the most promising diagnostic methods thus it will be detailed in depth within this review. In conclusion, this work seeks to advance the available literature on endometrial cancers by offering a concise summation of future approaches aimed at detecting & combating this malady.

Pharmaceutical sciences, nanomedicines, drug delivery, virology, cancer biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, biotechnology, biotech entrepreneurship

Advancing Novel Physicochemical Approaches for the Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer 

We will be writing a systematic review paper examining our current understanding of fMRI data in patients with depression.

Neurosurgery, Neuro-Oncology, Neurology, Medical Imaging

Current Understanding of Depression: an fMRI Perspective

Leukemia is a type of cancer which affects the body’s blood-forming tissue, bone marrow, and lymphatic system. There are two classifications of acute leukemia, which are acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). AML refers to myeloid cells which give rise to various blood cells, such as red and white blood cells. ALL refers to a type of leukemia which affects lymphocytes and the lymphatic system. While AML and ALL impact different parts of the body and blood system, they both stem from the bone marrow. Both adults and children are at risk of developing either AML or ALL, but there are significant differences between pediatric leukemia and adult leukemia. The genetic landscape differs greatly between children and adults, and contributes to differences in clinical presentation. This article aims to review and explore the differences between pediatric and adult AML and ALL using published clinical studies.

Molecular Biology

What are the differences between AML and ALL when observed in pediatric vs adult patients?

The formative period of childhood consists of positive and negative experiences, which shape the concepts that the child internalizes. Childhood adversity can generate intense feelings that only build up over time, and can lead to significant structural changes in the victim’s cognitive pathway, emotional thoughts, that could drive them to extreme behaviors such as substance abuse. The oversized impact of childhood stressors into adolescence and adulthood has not been adequately understood and hence remains unmitigated. Parents are expected to provide emotional support, communicate the recognition of safe situations, and catalyze personality development. However, children who have been abused, neglected, or deprived of a parent are prone to more risky behavior due to the lack of ingrained values, decreased self-esteem, the stress of independence at a young age, and decreased development in emotional regulation areas such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-amygdala axis (HPA axis). Bullying creates a power dynamic that emotionally manipulates the victim, and can lead to suicidal thoughts, and increased activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which can lead to more emotional responses when decisions must be made, stemming into aggressive behavior and lack of trust with others. Isolation from peers can not only lead to stronger feelings of loneliness, but can lead to social anxiety, imbalances in hormones, and less emotional intelligence. Being part of a minority and experiencing systemic racism, or experiencing sexism can lead to less academic achievement and confidence, narrowing of career directions, loss of trust with healthcare providers, and increased substance abuse as a coping mechanism. Understanding the severity of these impacts, solutions can be explored, such as increasing emotional development in socially struggling children and academic support for minorities, and recognizing the signs of parent-child relationship adversity. Studies investigating the role of family life in benevolent sexism, and the effects of situating a parental abuse victim in a kinder setting would be beneficial for science to better the lives of these affected children.

Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Science, Cognition, Learning, Attention, Memory, Infancy, Perception

The behavioral and neural impact of childhood stressors

Over 6 million Americans have dementia and Black older adults are at increased risk of developing the disease. Despite this, there are many barriers that prevent Black older adults from receiving treatment or even a simple, timely diagnosis. While dementia treatment is not a cure, it can slow the progression of the disease and aid the symptoms. That being said, a timely diagnosis is essential for a slowly progressing neurodegenerative disease, as the earlier one is diagnosed, the more interventions available. Individuals affected by the disease and their families are able to prepare. One of these barriers is mistrust toward the healthcare system, driven by this country's past racial treatment of Black Americans. This systemic racism has caused a lot of harm to Black Americans, as race justified oppressive treatment and allowed society to use the concept of race as a genetic divider. Another barrier is access to education, and this is crucial due to the fact that higher education is associated with longer and healthier life expectancies. Gisele wrote a paper that reviews compiled evidence of racial disparities in dementia care, and systemic racism within the United States, and proposes solutions to counter these injustices. After researching, her proposed strategies to combat these inequities were community-based organizations to spread dementia awareness, diversity in the healthcare workforce, and specifically, diversity in dementia research. She concluded that with diversity, culturally sensitive research can be achieved and that all perspectives are necessary to the process of finding a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.

Psychology, Neuroscience, Pre-Medical Studies, Health & Medicine

Black Americans & Dementia: Racial Disparities in Dementia Care and The Impact of Systemic Racism

This project is a research paper analysis of NFL players' statistical success and contract details before and after tearing their ACL. The research focuses on Quarterbacks (QB), Running Backs (RB), Wide Receivers (WR), and Tight Ends (TE). The pre and post-ACL tear performance metrics of Quarterback rating (QBs) and yards per game (RBs/WRs/TEs) will be compared to similar players in their respective positions to determine what impact ACL tears have on NFL players.

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