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Our next fall deadline is October 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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My project investigates the role performing arts NGOs play in empowering underserved youths in South Africa. By examining the cases of two highly impactful arts NGOs, Jazzart Dance Theatre and the Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation, I found that these organizations' students are more effectively able to engage in school, find meaningful employment, and reject criminality than most township youths. Through holistically incorporating programmes centered on mental health and life skills into their arts curriculum, the NGOs have established a three-pronged approach—teaching the arts, communication, and health—that successfully deters students from high-risk behavior. Ultimately, performing arts education is a unique and necessary tool for youth empowerment, especially in disadvantaged communities.

African-American History and Culture, Theater and Performance, Black Cultural Studies, Literature

Social Programming for Townships: Where do Arts NGOs Fit?

Sarcoptic mange is an epizootic skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It is perhaps the most prevalent and most conspicuous ectoparasite found in wild gray wolves (Canis lupus), though its extreme host adaptability allows it to infest other canids, such as foxes and coyotes, and over 100 different mammalian species. Scabiei mites burrow into and under the epidermis of the affected animal, causing intense irritation as a result of an allergic reaction to the mite’s feces. All active stages of the mite’s life cycle can burrow into the skin, but the most common culprit in sarcoptic mange is the fertilized adult female mite, which lays its eggs inside the burrow. The burrowing and resulting allergic reaction leads to pruritis (itchy sensation), alopecia (hair loss), hyperkeratosis (thickening of the skin), seborrhea (flaky skin), and scab formation. Sarcoptic mange, like most parasitic diseases, is rarely lethal, but cases of host mortality typically result from secondary bacterial infections facilitated by a weakened immune system or exposure to the elements due to severe hair loss. Wolves with severe late-stage mange show extreme emaciation, with significantly less body fat and mass compared to mange-free wolves. Scabiei mites are easily spread among members of a pack due to the wolf’s proclivity for contact-based social interaction, and severe sarcoptic mange outbreaks in the blizzard conditions of winter can decimate a pack. 
Despite its pervasiveness among wolves and its pathological potential to influence wolf population dynamics, the impact of sarcoptic mange on wolves is still a relatively obscure and infrequently discussed topic in scientific literature. This literature review article will outline the known effects of sarcoptic mange on wolf physiology and behavior, summarize current and past important scientific literature on sarcoptic mange in wolves, and evaluate the effects of sarcoptic mange on the health, status, and conservation of wild gray wolf populations.

biology, microbiology, ecology, evolution, genomics, zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance, biodiversity conservation

How does sarcoptic mange affect wolf physiology, behavior, and population dynamics?

Iola is interested in exploring what the role of GMOs may play in the future of regenerative agriculture, if any. Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and plays an important part in how we address climate change; it is also an industry that will be most affected by it in in the coming decades. Already, we are seeing the devastating effects of fires, droughts, and storms on this industry. GMOs can be a way to make agriculture more resilient -- but it also has been historically controversial and further, could face significant opposition from organic and regenerative agriculture advocates. How should we think about where GMOs should and shouldn't be used as population grows and as we continue to seek to solve climate change?

Environmental science, climate change, climate change communications, social impact, social enterprises, philanthropy,

What is the role of GMOs in a future of regenerative agriculture

There are many cases where a person needs to create a slideshow video with narration. However, many people either don’t know how to create these videos or creating them would take too much time. I created Text2Video, a web application that aims to make it easier and faster to create narrated slideshow videos. I investigated how Text2Video affects the video presentation creation process by comparing narrated slideshows created with Text2Video to ones created with PowerPoint. Each participant in the experiment created the same narrated slideshow with Text2Video and PowerPoint. The time it took to create the video using each software was recorded as well as the quality of each video according to the participant. I found convincing evidence that people create narrated slideshows quicker with Text2Video than PowerPoint, but I didn’t find convincing evidence that videos created with Text2video are better quality than those created with PowerPoint. Text2Video helps people who aren’t experienced with editing videos create slideshow videos quicker and easier than with popular presentation creation software. This technology could be expanded to fields like healthcare, business, and education. People in these fields who don’t have the time to make slideshow videos can use Text2Video to make them quickly.
 

Computer Science, Software engineering, Software design

How much faster will adults who have no prior experience editing videos be able to create a narrated slideshow video with Text2Video vs. PowerPoint?

This question analyzes the variety of different risk factors researchers have confirmed that are linked to Alzheimer's. Risk factors can be grouped into genetic and nongenetic categories, but sex differences affect many of them. The paper will start with an overview describing what Alzheimer's disease is, how common it is, common symptoms, progression of the disease, and possible underlying causes or mechanisms. The introduction will also include a brief synopsis of each risk factor that the paper will later address. Then, I will go into the genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's including the different genes that have predisposed people to either early-onset or late-onset Alzheimer's. Some of these genes including APP or Tau proteins that can be detrimental to Alzheimer's progression because of the buildup of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. 

neuroscience, stem cells, gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9

How are risk factors for Alzheimer's affected by sex differences in the male and female bodies?

In this project we will design a drug that will stop a type of regulatory RNA (called a miRNA) from being formed in the liver. Previous research has shown that depleting this miRNA is helpful in several liver diseases. We will then propose three separate branches of a research project using this molecule. 

organic chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, intellectual property

Proposed research to selectively deplete a regulatory liver miRNA

Traditional nanotherapeutics encounter biological barriers such as macrophage mediated phagocytosis, which hinder persistent circulation and efficacious response. Phagocytes are capable of engulfing and absorbing foreign particles and cells in the body while avoiding clearance of “self” cells. Shielding nanotherapeutics with biomaterials derived from cell membranes of blood cells can enable escape of biometric nanoparticles from clearance by the immune system. Here, biomimetic shielding of nanoparticles with membrane signaling peptides is reviewed as a methodology to improve the efficacy and site specificity of nanoparticle mediated drug delivery.

Chemical engineering & data science applied to biology

Biomimetic blood cell coated nanoparticles for improved site specificity and enhanced bioavailability

One of the most successful methods to characterize an exoplanet is through the use of high-resolution spectroscopy (R > 25,000). Light from the exoplanet is collected and analyzed to determine properties about the planet, including the presence of certain molecules in its atmosphere. However, there are many factors that can modify the spectrum of light that is detected by our telescopes, and the resulting spectrum often has noticeable differences compared to an unaltered spectrum. In this project, I present a review of the most prominent factors that can affect the observed spectrum, such as the planet’s radial velocity (RV), rotation, and temperature. I also review the current methods that are used to analyze the spectra detected from exoplanets. Finally, I develop a Python code that can both computationally implement these effects to generate a model spectrum, and analyze a given spectrum to determine these parameters.

Astronomy, exoplanets, instrumentation, programming, robotics, engineering, interdisciplinary

What effects do the properties of an exoplanet have on its transmission spectrum? How can we computationally model these effects to generate a theoretical spectrum given properties of the planet, or determine these properties given the planet's transmission spectrum?

## Since 2015, National Football League (NFL) head injuries have reached upwards of 1500, threatening to trigger ever-lasting and critical complications in the world’s most premiere athletes. Through data analysis and filtration methods, I extract insight the root cause of such concussions and their effect on the human brain. Through my research, I hope to provide the necessary information for athletes and football leagues to insure safety. In fact, although current-day equipment is used as protection, it still does not prove effective in preventing injury. In this work, I explain why this is the case, how gear can be designed to better fit the safety needs of competitors, and what brain conditions are unfortunately acquired later in life. 

Data analytics and exploration across the landscape of sports. Interests include NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, and UFC! Secondary interests include strategic sport sponsorship and corporate partnerships, sports business, sport and entertainment ticketing, stocks, sports marketing, cryptocurrency, music, movies, tv shows, and other pop culture.

The Instrumental Role of Contact Sports in the Development of Clinical Brain Conditions 

This conference paper examines recent American political activism through the lens of the performativity of politics. All politics entails performance: Political ideals become realities by being enacted in the world in embodied form. On January 6, 2021, the US Capitol was the scene of countless individual political performances. After identifying the principles of performance at the heart of phenomena like QAnon, this paper concludes by using the concept of performance, truth, and ambiguity to draw links with political activism at the other end of the political spectrum.

literature, philosophy, aesthetics, political thought, history, comics, graphic novels of empire and colonialism

Political Performance in American Activism

Astrophysics Theory, Astrophysics Experiment, Particle Physics Theory

to be filled by Lucas in session 4

*As depression rates increase among Americans, neuroscientists seek for more efficient targets for treating major depressive disorder (MDD)  by focusing on biological mechanisms. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic protein, has been shown to be associated with the development of neuropsychological disorders such as MDD. Thus, BDNF mechanisms are an ideal target in the search for effective treatments for depression, through antidepressants, physical exercise, and gene therapy.*

Neuroscience, Cellular Biology, viruses, Pharmacology, Addiction, Science Communication, GABA, Dopamine, Neuropharmacology, Substance Abuse, Substance Use Disorders, Neural Circuitry, Mechanisms Underlying Disease, Cellular and molecular biology and developmental biology

How can the BDNF gene be used as a gene of interest in genetic treatment of MDD?

The use of chatbots in the business sectors has been growing in the past few years. These chatbots bring in many positive benefits to the companies using them.  Some of these benefits include saving money and time as a physical person required for customer support can be replaced by these bots. The chatbot industry is expected to grow from 2.9 billion dollars in 2019 to 9.4 billion dollars by 2024 with ~$0.70 being saved for every interaction between a customer and chatbot [1]. 5 billion hours are projected to be saved by 2023 with the use of chatbots [1]. These bots are made by companies like Openxcell, BotsCrew, Peerbits, Kevit Technologies, Manychat, Chatfuel, and Botsify and are sold to bigger companies that run online websites. But how good are these bots and are they worth it? To answer this question, research will be conducted where many large sites are grouped into categories such as retail, education, food delivery, marketing, etc., and a set of questions will be created for these bots. The questions will vary based on what category of website it is and the bots will be tested on if they can give an accurate and specific answer that addresses the question. These bots are nowhere near their potential and still have a long way to be developed. From personal experience, bots are traditionally less helpful than an actual person as they have difficulty answering specific questions properly and can end up wasting time rather than saving time. This experiment will provide a survey of how effective and useful chatbots are for a customer.

[1] 75 Chatbot Statistics, Trends & Analysis (chatbotbusinessframework.com)
[2] Chatbots And Their Increasing Role In Business - TRO (techresearchonline.com)


Electrical Engineering, Circuit Design, Electricity and Magnetism, Integrated Circuits, Integrated Photonics

The Effectiveness of Chatbots in the Business Sector

Our project is a box with propellers on the bottom. A piece moves from front to back, compressing the trash onto a platform. The platform rises to open up space below for more carrying capacity. The robot can operate either autonomously or by remote control. [Project Name Here] is targeted for use in retention ponds and small lakes.

Biophysics, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Quantum Physics, General Physics, Physical computing

Floating robot that collects trash from small to medium bodies of water.

The abstract sums it up nicely: This project examines how and why people use Discord, a messaging application launched in 2015 that has gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being initially designed to support online gaming, previous research suggests that Discord is generally user friendly and supportive of non-gaming communication, such as in student’s online learning activities. However, the extent to which individual attitudes and characteristics predict Discord use is still unknown. Hence, we will conduct a survey-based study to examine how user attitudes (e.g., about advertising) and traits (e.g., gaming experience, age, gender) relate to perceptions of Discord and other messaging platforms. This research will provide insights into the larger context of messaging application adoption, guided by the research questions and hypotheses below. 


Video Game Effects; Avatar Effects; Social Interactions in Virtual Reality; Educational/Health Gaming; Games and Gender; Gaming Toxicity; Gamification; Media Psychology; Human-Computer Interaction; Computer-Mediated Communication

Title: How and Why Do People use Discord as a General Messaging Application?

Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease that affects many spheres of life beyond its own onset. It has the ability to affect human biology in a way that affects many other disorders and diseases, and can be influenced by a number of external factors, including the environment, an individual’s lifestyle, sociocultural identity, and in relation to other diseases. Beyond the black and white science of Alzheimer’s that is traditionally studied, the political and economic impacts reflected by our government and public responses play a large role in how we tackle Alzheimer’s, and various social aspects of Alzheimer’s can affect the psychology of oneself, expanding to relationships and even has the potential to bring about discussions of cultural bias and impact in healthcare and caregiving.



Project outcome: Project outcome: a literature review on the impact of sociocultural identity, lifestyle, and non communicable diseases, as well as original research on the demographics primarily affected by Alzheimer's: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zkva6eKagVU1plH3KyXUHcSJAB9Gdbpvm4GVml5aTZc/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zkva6eKagVU1plH3KyXUHcSJAB9Gdbpvm4GVml5aTZc/edit?usp=sharing)

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