RISE 2023

Carlotta Y. Abascal

Wellesley College

Mentors:
Julia Hauss M.A., Jinjing (Jenny) Wang, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science

Trustworthy Technology: Do five- and six-year-olds trust digital devices and predict them to be accurate?

Children that grow up in today’s digital age face the challenge of figuring out how technology works, how to manipulate it to find information, and dec iding what information to trust. According to a post-COVID study, at least two thirds of families surveyed reported that their children have access to the internet, tablets, and smartphones (Sonnenschein, S., Stites, M. L., Gursoy, H., & Khorsandian, J., 2023). However, surprisingly, little is known about how children perceive these digital devices– do children think that digital devices can always provide useful information, or do children have a more nuanced understanding of the limitations of digital devices, their access to different types of information, and their suitability to answer certain questions? In the current study, we explore this question by asking 5- and 6-year-old children to predict and examine an actor’s responses to a variety of questions. The actor will be shown to have access to either a digital device or a non-digital notebook. Specifically, some of the questions posed may plausibly benefit from having access to a digital device, such as when solving an arithmetic problem, whereas other questions should not benefit from having a digital device, such as estimating the number of dots in a briefly-shown picture. Results from the current study will provide important insights into how children understand digital media and will hold implications for the development of critical thinking in an era of exploding misinformation and increasing access to digital devices both in and out of the classroom.

Biography: Carlotta “Lottie” Abascal is a rising junior at Wellesley College in Massachusetts studying Cognitive Linguistic Sciences and Spanish. Lottie holds deep curiosity in how the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience can intersect to better understand typical and atypical cognitive processing takes place. This summer, Lottie is working in the Cognition and Learning Center, a developmental cognition lab which emphasizes in numerical cognition (how children think about numbers). This experience has sparked a deep interest in research.

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Erica J. Acox

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Grace N. Anderson

East Tennessee State University

Mentors: Ziyad Abouelenin and Dr. Aaron Mazzeo
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

The effect of porosity on paper-based biosensors

In most cases, disease progression after infection increases exponentially rather than linearly. To prevent deaths caused by undiagnosed diseases, a more affordable and accessible method of disease detection is required. Paper-based sensors show promise as both a low-cost and efficient detection device, allowing those with low incomes to potentially have access to this resource, as well. The Mazzeo lab group has demonstrated previously that paper sensors are capable of accurately detecting aberrant quantities of biomarkers such as dopamine, cytokines, and IL-6, as an indication of developing pathologies. Continuing the efforts of our lab group, we aim to solidify the fabrication process of these sensors and explore the effects of porosity on sensitivity. For the fabrication process, the biosensors are dipped in conductive ink containing graphene oxide, poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT-PSS), and deionized water and then air dried for 24 hours. Then, silver is applied to the reference, working, and counter electrodes and cured in the oven. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is added to avoid the liquid Ferri-Ferro concentrate solution and Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS) from migrating into the adapter. This fabrication process has increased the yield of usable sensors significantly compared to the previous method. We will then vary the porosity of the paper by pressing the paper and/or changing the type of paper used. As a result of decreasing the porosity of the fibers and ensuring their conductivity, it is hypothesized that the electrode measurements will be more sensitive. Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) will be utilized to examine the change in charge transfer resistance as a function of protein concentration to probe the relationship between porosity and electrochemical sensitivity. As a result of the improved biosensors, early detection will be easier and more affordable, allowing patients to benefit from early treatment and a higher chance of curing.

Biography: Grace Anderson is a rising senior studying Physics at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. In addition to being a McNair Scholar, Grace is a member of the Society of Physics Students. From developing a planetarium show aimed at educating the public about Appalachian Astronomy to working in the Mazzeo lab on paper-based biosensors, she has been involved in a variety of research projects. Grace plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering after graduating from ETSU.

 

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Sophie Anderson

Vassar College

Mentors:
Dr. Gregory Dignon

Development of computational methods to predict partitioning of GFP into FG nucleoporin condensates 

Biomolecular condensates are unique assemblies of biomolecules that form liquid-like droplets, which are able to function without lipid membranes in a surrounding cellular or extracellular environment. These condensates are formed by the thermodynamic process of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of one or more components, typically through interactions between proteins or nucleic acids. Biomolecular condensates carry out specific functions integral to various biological processes, including DNA repair responses, stress response, filtration, transcription, and signal transduction. Dysregulated cellular condensates are associated with the development of cancer, as well as neurological diseases. However, the molecular interactions underlying LLPS, and their contributions to the process of phase separation, are not comprehensively understood. The goal of this research is to gain an improved understanding of the molecular determinants of phase separation, as well as provide insight into the manner in which cells promote and regulate functions driven by LLPS. We used a computational model to predict partitioning of GFP variants into FG-nucleoporins in the nuclear pore complex (NPC), which are intrinsically disordered proteins in the NPC that undergo LLPS. We utilized chimera software to model the mutations and structural characteristics of each protein variant. These variants were then analyzed using the hipatch code, which calculates solvation free energy of a protein’s surface, and can be used to predict each GFP variant’s ability to partition into condensates. We compared our predictions to experimental results from a 2018 study, which produced data on the partition coefficient of phase separation of GFP protein variants into the NPC. It has been well established that ?Gtransfer varies with the logarithm of the partition coefficient (p). Therefore, we are attempting to determine whether ?G_solvation values calculated by hipatch are a sufficient proxy for ?G_transfer. Furthermore, there was a strong linear correlation between ?G_solvation and ln(p), with an R² value of 0.82. Variants that were underpredicted by our methods are enriched in amino acid residues that are known to participate in specific interactions between GFP and FG nucleoporins within condensates, which can be accounted for in further analytical work. Overall, these results suggest that ?G_solvation is a credible representation of ?G_transfer, and is able to qualitatively distinguish each GFP variant’s ability to partition into the NPC.

Biography: Sophie Anderson is a rising senior at Vassar College from Franklin Lakes, NJ. She is pursuing a major in biochemistry and a minor in Art History. At Vassar, Sophie conducts biochemistry and organic chemistry-based research, and is involved in non-profit organizations such as Project Sunshine and Partners in Health. Sophie was selected to participate in the 2023 RISE/Advanced Materials REU program. This summer, she worked with Dr. Gregory Dignon on the development of computational methods to predict phase separation of protein variants.

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Janette Arellano

Brooklyn College

Mentors: Kenneth D. Irvine, Cordelia Rauskolb

Exploring Notch intracellular domains (ICD) in dorsal-ventral (DV) compartment determination

To gain insights into organ growth and development, it is crucial to investigate intracellular signaling pathways that play a pivotal role. The Notch signaling pathway, renowned for its role in intracellular communication, has emerged as an essential player in many developmental processes in Drosophila. Previous studies on the developing wing revealed that Notch activation generates a unique property termed a “fence” of actin at the boundary between dorsal and ventral cells. A proposed explanation is that Notch activation influences cell behavior at the boundary to prevent dorsal and ventral cells from intermingling. This study aimed to identify which parts of the intracellular domain (ICD) of Notch are required to make the actin fence and maintain a compartment boundary. By using Notch constructs with different deletions in the ICD we expect to narrow down which domains are essential.

Biography: Janette Arellano is a rising senior at CUNY Brooklyn College majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Janette is a part of her home institution’s NIH MARC program where she has been given multiple research opportunities. At Brooklyn College, she has done research on a broad spectrum of bioorganic and synthetic chemistry in both solution and solid phase. This summer, she was a part of RISE at Rutgers. Janette worked under her mentor Dr. Kenneth Irvine where she investigated intercellular signaling networks and the influence of these signaling networks on cell fate and development in Drosophila Melanogaster. With her experience in biomedical research, she is open to a diverse field of opportunities after graduating.

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Oliver M. Baumeyer

Stockton University

Mentors:
Kate M. Waldie, Ph.D. & Navar M. White
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Rutgers University – New Brunswick

Electrochemical reduction of carbonyls for the synthesis of alcohols

Carbonyl compounds can be converted to alcohols via reduction reactions for use in pharmaceutical and manufacturing applications. These reductions can be facilitated by homogenous transition metal complexes; however, these reactions usually require pressurized hydrogen gas, high reaction temperatures, and hazardous stoichiometric reducing agents (such as lithium aluminum hydride). Thus, these procedures are not environmentally conscious and generate significant amounts of hazardous waste. The objective of our research is to develop a more eco-conscious alternative that uses electricity in place of reactive chemical reagents, eliminating the need for pressurized hydrogen gas and harsh reaction conditions. However, the main problems with electrochemical systems are that they use strong acids or evolve a lot of hydrogen gas as a byproduct. By using acid co-catalysts and mild hydride donors, our approach to electrochemical hydrogenation will overcome these challenges. A well-established Iridium complex, [Cp*Ir(bpy)Cl]Cl (Complex 1) (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) (bpy = 2,2’-bipyridine), has been previously synthesized in order to act as the catalyst in these reactions. In this research, similar complexes were synthesized with different para-substituted bpy ligands (4-4’-(R)-2,2’-bipyridine, R = dimethyl (2), dimethoxy (3), bis(trifluoromethyl) (4), diamine (5)) in order to examine the effectiveness in acting as a catalyst in facilitating the reduction of carbonyl groups to alcohols. Complexes 1, 2, and 3 were yellow powders, while Complexes 4 and 5 were orange powders, all with high synthesis yields. These complexes were characterized by ¹H-NMR and cyclic voltammetry (CV). In the future, these complexes will be analyzed for their ability to act as electrocatalysts to facilitate the conversion of carbonyl groups into alcohols.

Biography: Oliver Baumeyer is entering her last semester of her senior year at Stockton University, earning dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Professional Studies. At Stockton, she is doing research under Daniel Ki, Ph.D., working on novel indium-based crystals for UV-fluorescence applications. Upon graduation from Stockton in December of 2023, Oliver will be publishing her research and will pursue a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry.

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Angel Beebe

Smith College

Mentors: Brian Buckley, Ph.D
Executive Director, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute

Hilly Yang, Ph.D
Director of Organic Analysis Facility, EOHSI/Chemical Analytical Facility Core
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Martin Geraghty (Undergrad)
Technological University Dublin

Tracking environmental toxic exposure using silicone wristbands as passive dosimeters 

Research has shown that environmental pollutants found in the air can have significant adverse health effects, some include disruption in the endocrine system, complications with reproduction, and cancer. One such class of pollutants – volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -have high vapor pressure and low water solubility while a subgroup of VOCs – semi-volatile compounds (SVOCs) – tend to have a higher molecular weight and boiling points. VOCs and SVOCs are ubiquitous in modern infrastructure, comprising a measurable fraction of our environmental contaminant exposures. Past research methods for estimating exposure include hand wipes, blood/urine testing, and solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fiber. Our aim is to use silicone wristbands to test their effectiveness in detecting exposure to different air pollutants from the 2023 Canadian forest fire. Wristbands were placed on the third-floor EOHSI patio for 4 days. Some wristbands were exposed for half the day and others for 24 hours. The exposed wristbands were extracted using methylene chloride and ethyl acetate (1:1 v:v) and evaporated under nitrogen. An Agilent Technologies 240 Ion Trap gas chromatography-mass spectrometer was used to analyze the samples. The SWBs were able to detect different classes of toxic compounds. Tentatively identified compounds (TICs), were fluorene, benzyl butyl phthalate, naphthacene, and diethyl phthalate. Knowing that the wristbands are able to effectively track one’s everyday exposure, they can be used for people in different occupational settings, especially for people who are at a higher risk of being exposed such as pregnant women, children, firefighters, or a farmer. In the future human participants will wear wristbands to track their everyday exposure.

Biography: Angel Beebe is a rising senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry at Smith College- Northampton, MA. She is a transfer student from Hudson County Community College where she obtained her associate’s degree in chemistry earning the highest honor, Summa Cum Laude. During her time at Hudson Angel received many awards from being named a semi-finalist for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship, and being a part of the Kaplan Leadership Program through the Kaplan Education Foundation. While at Smith, she joined the Achieving Excellence in Mathematics, Engineering, and Sciences (AEMES) mentorship program to better guide her through her first semester at her new school. In the summer of 2023, Angel became a SURF-RISE research fellow at Rutgers University. She worked at the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Buckley, Dr.Yang, and Martin Geraghty, enhancing her knowledge on environmental and analytical chemistry. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Angel plans to pursue a Ph.D. in toxicology or chemistry to pursue a career in Forensic toxicology doing research in the field.

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Rusham R. Bhatt

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Mentors: Santiago Blaumann
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

Dennis Piehl, Brinda Vallat, Christine Zardecki, Stephen K. Burley
Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ

Enabling computational biology research using python-based application

The RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB) is an open-access digital database that stores 3D structures of DNA, RNA, and proteins. It is an integral resource for many millions of researchers, educators, and students worldwide, with varied applications in the fields of virology, immunology, cell and molecular biology, and computational biology. Following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles, RCSB PDB makes research data freely available. RCSB.org web portal provides extensive search and data access capabilities powered by Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These APIs are programmatically accessible but require an understanding of RCSB PDB’s software architecture. Our goal is to build a python tool that allows users to programmatically access RCSB PDB APIs to search and retrieve data easily and quickly. Easy programmatic access of RCSB PDB APIs will enable computational biologists to seamlessly automate data flow into their research pipeline. Here we build upon a python tool that was originally developed to support a small subset of functionalities provided by the RCSB PDB search API. We have expanded the functionalities of the tool to support the full complement of search types allowed by the RCSB PDB search API. These include simple text and attribute searches as well as advanced scientific searches such as macromolecular sequence and structure similarity searches. The tool can be incorporated within a larger research workflow to quickly and seamlessly retrieve structural biology data from the RCSB PDB in an automated way.

Biography: Rusham Bhatt is a rising sophomore undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science. He is a Meyerhoff Scholar and part of the Honors College at UMBC. This summer, under the guidance of his mentors Dr. Dennis Piehl and Dr. Brinda Vallat, Rusham worked on a project with another RISE/PDB student Santiago Blaumann that built upon a Python tool for the easy use of the RCSB Protein Data Bank search API.

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Imani N. Birchett

Hudson County Community College

Mentors:

Mason Hooten
Biomedical Engineering Department
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Meenakshi Dutt
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Department
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

PACE2: automated design of materials with targeted properties

Biomaterials are formed by self-assembly and fusion. This process can be resolved computationally using Molecular Dynamics simulations. The material’s composition (i.e., chemistry of molecular species and their concentrations) is used as inputs for the simulations. However, managing a larger material composition phase space for creating biomaterials with desired properties is challenging. Controlling multiple Molecular Dynamics simulations can be facilitated by a computational framework called Pipeline for Automated Compliance-based Elimination and Extension (PACE²). Termination of simulations that are not heading towards yielding materials with desired properties would be the first step, as it decreases the duration of unproductive simulations along with being able to identify one. PACE² is made up of simulation-analysis pipelines, in each pipeline an individual Molecular Dynamics simulation is run followed by an analysis task. Its job is to pinpoint whether the simulation is heading toward compliance. When it is heading towards compliance it is then moved into the next Molecular Dynamics simulation phase, with a higher sample rate for a more extensive simulation. When non-compliant, the simulation is stopped and eliminated from its pipeline, with the computational resources being redistributed to a new pipeline. This framework runs on local desktop computers as well as high-performance computing clusters and can be used to design other classes of materials.

Biography: Imani Birchett is a rising sophomore and an Electronics Engineering Major at Hudson County Community College. New Jersey has been her home for half her life since she immigrated to the United States from Panama at the age of nine alongside her brother and mother. How a computer works and how they are built was a big mystery for her. The earliest connection to advanced technology was brought upon curiosity as a child when Imani was first introduced to a desktop computer. In her free time, she usually draws, plays video games, watches anime, or immerses herself in a plethora of genres of music. Music has become a necessary component for any mundane task in her daily life such as walking, cleaning, or working out. As a low-income Latino woman in STEM, this has been a great opportunity for her, and she hopes it continues to help future undergrads as much as it has done for her.

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Caylee A. Brown

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Mentors:

Morgan James, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Michelle Bilotti
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Rutgers – Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy

Exploring the role of microglia cells in dysregulated orexin system function in rats exposed to Bisphenol-A during the peripubertal period

Early life exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as Bisphenol-A (BPA), have been associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety, particularly in young adult females. BPA is known to cause hormone dysregulation following neonatal exposure, yet there is a lack of research on the impact of BPA exposure during puberty, a developmental period characterized by heightened hormonal reorganization. Our lab has previously shown that female rats exposed to BPA during postnatal days 28-56 exhibit decreased reward motivation, which is accompanied by a reduction in the number and activity of neurons that produce orexin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in motivated behavior. The mechanisms underlying these changes remain unclear. Microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain. They survey their environment in a ramified morphological state before being activated by cellular distress signals.This project aims to investigate whether peripubescent BPA exposure is associated with increased neuroinflammation which may, in turn, affect orexin system functionality. To test this, we processed brain tissue from BPA-exposed (0, 25, 250ug/kg/d) rats for immunohistochemical detection of orexin-containing neurons and microglia. Based on the decrease in motivation and orexin expression indicated by previous studies, we hypothesize that there will be lower numbers of orexin-containing neurons, a higher presence of activated-state microglia, and higher extent of colocalization between these cell populations in BPA-treated rats than untreated controls. This study will contribute to our understanding of how BPA exposure during puberty impacts motivational behavior in adolescents and young adults, predisposing them to motivation-linked disorders.

This work is financially supported by the NIH R25ES020721 Grant, a NIDA R00 award (DA045765), a New Jersey Health Foundation award, a NIEHS P50 Pilot Grant Award, and a NIH T32 Training Grant.

Biography: Caylee Brown is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she studies Chemical Engineering. Caylee is a dedicated member of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, Center for Women in Technology, and American Institute of Chemical Engineers at UMBC. She has been heavily involved in undergraduate research at her home institution, earning two Undergraduate Research Awards to fund her independent research projects. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology with hopes to contribute to the discovery of novel treatments for the neurotoxic effects of substance use.

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Madison Brown

Wake Forest University

Mentors: Joseph W. Freeman, Ph.D.
Rick Cohen, Ph.D.
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

3D bioprinted bovine myoblast constructs for the creation of lab-grown meat

Limited access to food is a problem that affects people from all walks of life. Bioprinting lab-grown meat has the potential to improve the livelihood of people affected by food insecurity by increasing the number of food options available. However, the process of growing lab-grown meat via bioprinting has yet to be practiced and perfected. In this proof-of-concept study, we determined if bovine myoblasts could be bioprinted in a hydrogel to grow lab-grown meat. To bioprint the cells, a fibrin-based hydrogel was created due to its biocompatibility. The hydrogel was made using a combination of fibrinogen, gelatin, glycerol, and other components. The bovine myoblasts were suspended in the fibrin-based hydrogel and bioprinted using a 0.21mm diameter needle onto a polylactic acid (PLA) support frame. After printing with the hydrogel, there were issues with long term gel integrity. In conclusion, a fibrin-based hydrogel was able to be bioprinted with cells. This project is supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Madison Brown is a rising senior at Wake Forest University. They are majoring in Engineering with minors in Mathematics and Japanese. Since her freshman year, Madison has been doing research under the guidance of Dr. Weaver at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, Center for Injury Biomechanics. Madison is on the executive board of the Engineering Support Center and American Sign Language Club. After graduation, they plan to attend graduate school for biomedical engineering.

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Yeissette M. Burgos Amengual

University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez

Mentors:
Alvin Crespo Bellido
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources

Siobain Duffy
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources

A revised phylogeny of the Begomovirus coat protein

Begomoviruses are single-stranded DNA plant viruses that cause substantial crop losses worldwide. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of these viruses is vital for effective viral disease management and ensuring food security. Due to recent advancements in cloning and the advent of low-cost sequencing technologies, the past decade has witnessed an exponential surge in the identification of novel begomovirus species. However, a reassessment of evolutionary relationships among established begomovirus species has been noticeably absent throughout this period. This research was aimed to update the phylogenetic evolutionary model by analyzing the differences within the mostly conserved coat protein (CP) sequences of begomoviruses, thereby providing a modern phylogeny for future studies. The analysis involved a comprehensive examination of publicly-available amino acid sequences of the coat protein, employing computational methods such as sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis using appropriate software. Manual corrections and evaluation of amino acid substitution models refined the analysis. By inferring a coat protein phylogeny, the study identified clusters within the begomovirus group and elucidated implications for virus variation. The resulting phylogenetic tree was constructed and rigorously assessed for reliability, indicating few cases of recombination within this highly conserved protein. The findings from this study hold significant implications for disease management, crop production, and fundamental virus research. They will contribute to a broader understanding of viral taxonomy, variation, and the evolutionary dynamics of begomoviruses across diverse geographic regions and host plants.

Biography: Yeissette M. Burgos Amengual is a promising senior student at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, majoring in Industrial Microbiology. Her involvement in research on microbial ecology has earned her a prestigious RISE research fellowship at Rutgers University, where she is working under the guidance of Dr. Siobain Duffy, exploring the evolutionary relationship of the begomovirus coat protein. Apart from her academic pursuits, Yeissette finds joy in cooking, listening to music, drawing, and beachcombing for seashells. With a particular interest in Ecological Toxicology, she aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in this field, aiming to contribute significantly to conservation efforts.

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Samuel Carlos

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Mentors:
Andrew Baker, Ph.D.
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Munira Hoosain
Department of Astronomy
University of Cape Town

Constraining the neutral atomic hydrogen content of the circumgalactic medium

Determining how neutral atomic gas (HI) content varies by galaxy type and redshift is an important step for understanding how galaxies have evolved over cosmic time. The MeerKAT array located in South Africa is now being used to survey HI emission out to a redshift of z ~ 1.4 through the Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) survey. Using early LADUMA data, I have extracted spectra of individual galaxies over apertures of different sizes; the difference between these spectra for an individual galaxy contains information about how much neutral hydrogen gas exists outside the main body of the galaxy, i.e., in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). By averaging together the difference spectra for multiple galaxies in a procedure known as “stacking,” it is then possible to place a statistically stronger constraint on what fraction of the HI detected by LADUMA “in” a typical galaxy is actually coming from its CGM. This research was supported by grant AST-2050950 from the National Science Foundation.

Biography: Samuel Carlos is a rising junior at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey. He is pursuing a double major in Computer Science & Physics with a minor in Mathematics. Following his summer 2022 software engineering internship at Apple in Cupertino, California, this summer’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Rutgers has helped him in seeing the differences between industry and academia. Outside of academics, Samuel loves playing the piano, reading, and contributing to open source projects. After graduating, he plans to work as a software engineer for a few years before transitioning to graduate school where he plans to pursue his passion in Astrophysics further.

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Spencer N. Corn

Monmouth College

Mentors:

Dr. Richard Riman, Paul Antonick & Noemie Denis
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Production & analysis of the mechanical properties of a CaSiO3-Polypropylene composite

The goal of this project is to create a material from polymer & ceramic powders that could be used as a substitute for building materials such as wood through a process that results in a carbon-negative composite. Polypropylene & CaSiO₃powders were consolidated in order to combine the polymer’s high ductility and tensile strength with the ceramic’s high stiffness & compressive strength. The pellet is put through a curing process, which densifies the pellet & integrates the polymer evenly throughout. During this curing process, a maximum temperature limit was found at which the polymer within the pellet melted & exfiltrated. The curing step was optimized to a favorable temperature at which the polymer remained within the pellet. The experiment demonstrated that the pellet densification was able to fortify the pellet’s overall strength, and that using the favorable curing temperature enabled the polymer to remain within the system. The effects of the curing temperature on the mechanical properties of the composites will be examined further using compressive strength and scanning electron microscopy to investigate the structure-property relationship.

Biography: Spencer Corn is a rising junior at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. He is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and is majoring in Chemistry with minors in Spanish and Physics. Spencer is involved in the band at his school and is also a player on the tennis team. Spencer was selected to participate in the 2023 NSF Advanced Materials REU, in partnership with the RISE program. He worked under Dr. Richard Riman, focusing on the production & analysis of the mechanical properties of a CaSiO₃-Polypropylene composite. He plans to attend graduate school following graduation.

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Liz A. Cortes

Brooklyn College

Mentors: Zongliang Chen, Ph. D., Andrea Gallavotti Ph. D.
Department of Plant Biology
Waksman Institute of Microbiology

Enhancing grain-related traits by elevating ZmWUS1 gene expression

Maize is an indispensable food source worldwide, highly demanded in industrial production, and a great model plant species for genetic studies (Mingyue Zhang et al., 2023). Scientists look to improve crop yield by using technological advances to supply the increasing worldwide population while addressing environmental sustainability (Tilman D et al., 2011). Maize crop yield improvement can be achieved by enhancing grain-related traits controlled by the CLAVATA-WUSCHEL pathway on highly organized structures called meristems. This negative feedback loop controls the population of stem cells in the ears of maize. Previous studies showed that in the maize Barren Inflorescence3 (Bif3) mutant, high expression levels of the WUSCHEL gene produced by a novel insertion of extra binding sites for Type-B RESPONSE REGULATORS (type-B RRs) transcription factors caused larger inflorescence meristems than the wild-type specimens and yielded small ears with fewer kernels (Chen Z et al., 2021). The number of type-B RR binding sites in the Bif3 mutant has been edited by CRISPR-Cas9, and a series of specific deletions that show normal-looking ears while still overexpressing the stem-cell promoting factor ZmWUS1 has been obtained. The slight overexpression of the ZmWUS1 in these deletion alleles is hypothesized to yield a normal-looking ear with an enlarged inflorescence meristem and give rise to ears with extra rows of kernels. To test this hypothesis, these alleles were genotyped using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and collected to compare inflorescence meristem size and kernel row number between homozygous, heterozygous, and wild-type specimens. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to photograph meristem and measure their width and height. Preliminary results showed an increase in the inflorescence meristem size in one allele, promising to increase the number of kernels in mature ears. Enhancement of these grain-related traits represents a significant finding that may be useful to improve crop yield and to understand plant development in economically relevant crops better.

Biography: Liz Cortes is a rising Junior at Brooklyn College, New York, majoring in Biology, where she is part of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) honors program financed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her first research experience on the antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities of Xylopia aethiopica with Dr. Adolfina Koroch led her to pursue a career in research and join the MARC program. She is interested in understanding how external factors such as environment, nutrition, and stress affect human health. She has also collaborated in the Memory and Metacognition laboratory at Brooklyn College by understanding how acute stress is related to previous feelings of anxiety and depression. Her research at Rutgers University Waskman Institute of Microbiology focuses on enhancing grain-related traits in maize inflorescence meristems that promise new agricultural techniques to improve crop yield. In her time off, she enjoys riding her scooter, biking, hiking, dancing, and listening to live music events. She aims to apply for a Ph.D. program in food science, epidemiology, biotechnology, or plant biology.

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Jenny Cruz

Kean University

Mentors:

Dr. Nicole Fahrenfeld, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers University

Lilia Ochoa, Masters Student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers University,

A Microplastic Puzzle: Stormwater and a Possible Secondary Source

Microplastics are synthetic polymers smaller than 5000 µm in length. These tiny plastics can be found in lakes, rivers, and the ocean, and dispersed throughout the surrounding ecosystems. Stormwater is a significant pathway of entry for microplastic pollution in the environment. The current study includes two parts: (1) the analysis of plastics <500 µm from samples previously collected at eight urban collection sites with low to high traffic, and (2) analysis of recycled plastic that will be tested for durability and dependability if repurposed into asphalt binder in a future study. The samples from part one were collected in 2022, and the size range of 500-5000 µm was previously analyzed. The samples were previously wet sieved and separated into size classes before undergoing wet peroxide oxidation (WPO) and cellulose digestion to remove other organic suspended solids. The microplastics underwent chemical identification using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) in transmittance mode. For part two, previously collected spectra for the recycled plastic materials were analyzed and identified using the online library-based program OpenSpecy. Results presented will include the spectra for the MP <500 um, particle size, color, and morphology. Qualitative comparisons to observations from the larger size classes can provide insight into the relative importance between sampling sites. and Spectra and chemical confirmation will be provided for the recycled plastics for the asphalt binders. The work will help distinguish how land use affects the abundance of microplastics in stormwater runoff, thereby informing mitigation strategies, and the classification of the recycled plastics will serve as a comprehensive reference for future studies.

Biography: Jenny Cruz is a rising senior undergraduate student who is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Environmental Science at Kean University in Union, NJ. Her current research at Rutgers University involves the observation, quantification and identification of microplastics in stormwater.

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Cierra R. Faries

Delaware State University

Mentors:

Ms. Stephanie Totilo, Amanda Jetzt, Ph.D., Wendie Cohick, Ph.D.
Department of Animal Sciences
Rutgers University

Ms. Kristyn Lambert
Department of Nutritional Sciences
Rutgers University

Identification of stem-like/progenitor cells in MMTV-Wnt1 transgenic mice

Alcohol is a known carcinogen that increases the risk of breast cancer. The MMTV-Wnt1 transgenic mouse model is currently being used to study the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on mammary tumorigenesis in adult offspring. Previous studies show that PAE causes an increase in tumorigenesis and mammary epithelial cell populations. This shift in mammary epithelial cell subpopulations may include an increase in stem-like/progenitor cells. Mammary stem-like/progenitor cells have increased aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity because it is associated with therapeutic resistance. To further characterize the MMTV-Wnt1 mouse model, ALDH activity will be measured in the mammary epithelial cells (MECs) of female Wnt1 transgenic mice. Using the ALDEFLUOR assay, we will analyze ALDH activity in MECs from wild-type and MMTV-Wnt1 transgenic mice. We will also compare ALDH activity in MECs from 5-week-old and 10-week-old mice. We will be analyzing these fluorescent cells using flow cytometry, which will show us the different fluorescence levels between the types of cells. We anticipate that the 5-week-old MMTV-Wnt1 mice will have the highest amount of fluorescence compared to the other mice. As a result, this will help elucidate the mechanisms by which PAE affects tumorigenesis in the MMTV-Wnt1 transgenic model.

Biography: Cierra Faries is a rising senior at Delaware State University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. During Cierra’s time at DSU, she has been on the President’s and Dean’s list, while maintaining a GPA of 3.8. Her research at DSU focused on cell surface ß-Lactamase recruitment and antibody recruitment to breast cancer cells. Other than research, she has mentored fellow undergraduate students by tutoring and helping them develop professional skills. This summer, she was accepted into the RISE program at Rutgers where she conducted research in Dr. Wendie Cohick’s lab. This research focuses on prenatal alcohol exposure and its effects on mammary tumorigenesis and adult offspring. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she plans on attending graduate school and pursuing a Ph.D in cancer research.

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Nacala Gadsden

Lehman College

Mentors:

Chelsea Cary
Dr. Phoebe Stapleton

Impacts of cadmium on placental BH4 cofactors 

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. The increased use and physical degradation of bulk for plastic material leads to the production of micro- and nanoplastics particles, defined as less than 5 mm or 100 nm in diameter, respectively. Human exposure to MNPs often occurs through inhalation, which is supported by the detection of MNPs in human lungs. We investigate the microvascular effects of xenobiotic exposure from a reproductive standpoint and have demonstrated vasomotor functional impairment in uterine radial arteriole exposed to MNPs. Previous studies have demonstrated that particulate inhalation can alter the placental structure, potentially leading to abnormal fetal development. The purpose of these studies were to determine any structural changes to the placental tissue. Herein, we assessed placental development after MNP exposure from gestational day (GD) 6 through GD 20 through the morphometric analysis of H&E-stained placental sections and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Using Image-Pro Premier, the area of the different placental zones (i.e., labyrinth, junctional, and decidua) was acquired. Furthermore, vascular development in the labyrinth zone was quantified by measurement of the maternal and fetal blood spaces. Using IHC we targeted smooth muscle actin to measure trophoblast invasion of vessels in the metrial gland and pericyte density in the labyrinth zone. No significant differences were detected in the area of placental zones, however, exposed males demonstrated a 42% increase in pericyte density (p< 0.05) in comparison to the naive males. Future studies will assess how markers of vascular development are affected after MNP inhalation during pregnancy.

Biography: Nacala Gadsden is currently pursuing a second bachelor’s degree at Lehman college where she is majoring in chemistry. Nacala has spent her summer at RISE/SURF researching toxicology in the Stapleton laboratory and hopes to continue this path of academic research in the future.

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Paola V. Garay Martis

University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Mentors:

Gustavo Rios, Jeffrey M. Boyd, Ph.D.
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Staphylococcus aureus iron usage: Characterization of a novel antibiotic target

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a commensal bacterium that causes mild to severe infections that are most common in healthcare facilities. It is responsible for a high mortality rate worldwide because of its increasing antibiotic resistance, thus, highlighting the importance of finding new antimicrobial targets. Previous studies have shown that the biogenesis of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters is an essential process in S. aureus. Synthesis of Fe-S clusters in S. aureus is controlled by the genes in the sufCDSUB operon. This study aims to find the genetic loci regulating suf expression in S. aureus. For our experiments, we constructed a suf transcriptional reporter plasmid that has green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the transcriptional regulation of the suf promoter. The suf transcriptional reporter plasmid was transduced into a transposon mutant library to screen for mutants with differential GFP expression. From this screen, we isolated and further characterized ten strains with transposon insertions that alter suf promoter activity. Some of these mutations increased GFP expression suggesting a potential role as a suf repressor, while others decreased GFP expression, which suggests that they are activators of suf. Currently, we are mapping the location of the transposon insertions in the genome. Overall, this work will uncover genes that control suf transcription providing basic knowledge about an understudied phenomenon and potential insights into novel antimicrobial targets.

Biography: Paola V. Garay Martis, a motivated rising senior at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, is majoring in Industrial Microbiology. Her research experience in extremophiles metagenomic studies led her to become a RISE research fellow at Rutgers University, where she studies Staphylococcus aureus iron usage under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey M. Boyd. Paola’s passions extend beyond academia, as she enjoys reading, crocheting, and spending time with friends and family. With a special interest in the human microbiome, she aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences to become a researcher in the industry.

 

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Soumay Garg

Ohlone College

Mentors:

Dr. Amitabh Lath, Connor Houghton, Akshat Shrivastava, Rongshi Zhao
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Using deep neural networks to improve the efficiency of HPS in identifying Tau leptons

Tau particles (??) are the heaviest generation of leptons in the standard model. Due to their extraordinarily short lifetimes, ~3*10^-13s , identifying taus is done by examining the decay products. Due to the mass of the tau, they can decay to hadrons, or to leptons. By examining the reconstructed decay products of tau-like events, various algorithms, and neural networks have shown promising results in their ability to distinguish genuine tau particles from hadronic jets.

The Hadron Plus Strips algorithm (HPS) is used to reconstruct the decay modes of hadronic tau candidates. It then determines whether the decay originated from a genuine tau. This determination of genuine taus is still prone to some error, and can often mistag jets as taus. As such, using deep neural networks in addition to HPS could potentially increase the efficiency of tau tagging.

Since the HPS-tagged data can be formatted as image grids, convolutional neural networks can be used to improve the tagging efficiency, as these types of neural networks are very effective in the realm of image processing. Currently, various convolutional network architectures are being tested in order to assess whether the tagging efficiency of HPS can be improved upon or not.

Biography: Soumay Garg is a third-year Physics student that is transferring from Ohlone College to UC Berkeley in the coming fall. At Ohlone College, Soumay has been the President and co-founder of the Ohlone Physics Club and the premier Ohlone Rocketry Team. Through those organizations, Soumay has helped lead Ohlone College to become one of 50 qualifying teams/institutions in the NASA USLI 2023 competition. Additionally, through the Ohlone Physics Club, he was elected to the position of Associate Zone Counselor (AZC) in the Society of Physics Students, and he currently serves as the AZC for SPS Zone 18. His research interests include high-energy physics, and through the Rutgers Physics and Astronomy REU, he has completed his first research experience. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in high-energy/particle physics down the line and go into research.

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Hannah S. Gleckler

Ohio State University

Mentors:

Dr. Mahak Dihman

Influence of iron doping on Ni2P

In recent years, the importance of renewable energy has gained recognition and drawn considerable interest as a result of climate change, biodiversity loss, and depletion of natural resources. Over the past 60 years, the rate at which CO₂ has been accumulating in the atmosphere has increased approximately 100 times faster than historical levels. This rise in CO₂levels has contributed to various adverse effects on the global economy and human well-being including temperature changes, rising sea levels, infrastructure damage, and changes in ocean acidity. To address this issue, the field of CO₂RR (CO₂ Reduction Reaction) has experienced rapid growth, and offers a solution by transforming waste CO₂ into valuable products. Iron phosphide has been previously found to be a selective catalyst for converting CO₂ to ethylene glycol, albeit suffers from poor selectivity at higher currents. Here, we introduce a series of iron doped nickel phosphides, ranging from 25% to 75%. These doped catalysts were synthesized via. solid state synthesis method, which results in highly crystalline and phase pure powders. Each catalyst was investigated using chronoamperometry analysis at a potential of -10mV versus RHE. Data from chronoamperometry and cyclic voltammetry experiments was used to determine the best performing catalyst. Based on our preliminary findings, we conclude that 25% Fe-doped Ni₂P was the most efficient catalyst. This data suggests a new efficient catalyst that has potential in industrial use and insight on the functionality of doping transition metal phosphides.

Biography: Hannah Gleckler is a rising junior currently pursuing a B.S. in chemistry at the Ohio State University. Her current research at Rutgers University in the department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology involves using electrochemical methods to reduce CO2 to usable fuel sources and industrial products.

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Mariam A. Haroun

Caldwell University

Mentors:

Dr. Zheng Shi, Ph.D. (PI), Huan Wang, Bineet Sharma, Ph.D., Shilong Yang
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Studying the effects of dopamine induced vesicles on the phase separation of a-synuclein

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder that is associated with neuronal damage, loss of dopamine, and the patient’s progressive loss of motor skills. However, the pathological process of protein buildup and neuronal damage is still enigmatic. a-Synuclein (a-Syn) is a neuronal protein abundant in the brain, and whose aggregation serves as a biomarker of PD. a-Syn has been shown to participate in regulating dopamine homeostasis and trafficking of dopamine active transporter (DAT). We hypothesize that the formation and trafficking of the vesicles induced by the activity of DAT and dopamine triggers phase separation of a-Syn, causing it to aggregate and form insoluble fibrils. The plasmids of fluorescently tagged DAT and a-Syn have been transfected in HeLa cells and various amounts of dopamine have been tested to induce vesicle formation. Using fluorescence microscopy, we have imaged the formation of vesicles and the colocalization of DAT and a-Syn. We expect to observe that the formation of DAT-rich vesicles can serve as nucleation sites for aSyn to form condensates inside the cell. Our work will explore the experimental conditions necessary for future studies to examine the material properties of a-Syn condensates for drug design and for the reversal of a-Syn pathological dysfunction.

Biography: Mariam is a rising junior who is pursuing a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences at Caldwell University, NJ. During her time at Caldwell university, Mariam has been on the Dean’s list each semester since freshman year and has worked on three research projects at her time. She was a volunteer and student presenter for ‘In Vitro Effect of Ginger on Colorectal Cancer Cell Death’, where the project was awarded top presentation in the Cancer Biology Category at Caldwell Research and Creative Arts Day (CRaCAD). Mariam was also an author and student presenter for ‘‘The laboratory of Writing’, where, the project was awarded top 2 in English/Creative Arts at Caldwell Research and Creative Arts Day (CRaCAD). Her work was published in the 2023 edition of Calyx Literary Magazine of Caldwell University. Mariam was an author of “Meta-analysis of Mood regulating genes in Cancer Tissues” and presented her research at the Middle State Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) in Pennsylvania as well as Caldwell (CRACAD). Along with her research and studies, she served as the president of the Caldwell Student Honors Program and the Tennis club, and was part of the Health Profession Club and National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). In the future, she plans to attend Medical School after graduation.

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Kyra D. Harris

Wayne State University

Mentors:

Simone I. Boyd, M.A

Jessica L. Hamilton Ph.D

Identifying the role of cyberbullying in interpersonal risk factors for depression and suicide: social support as a buffer

Poor mental health and suicide are major concerns among adolescents, especially among racially/ethnically minoritized youth. Interpersonal factors, such as cyberbullying, perceived burdensomeness (PB), and thwarted belongingness (TB), influence risk for depression and suicide. However, limited research examines the relationship between these factors amongst racially minoritized youth, or considers whether social support impacts these relationships. The current study examines whether racial identity and social support moderate the relationship between cyberbullying and both TB and PB. It is hypothesized that a) cyberbullying is associated with higher levels of TB and PB for racially minoritized youth, and b) social support buffers the effects of cyberbullying on TB and PB. The Teen Social Media Experience (TSME) study included a total of 367 adolescents (ages 14-17; Mean=16.02 years; SD=.85), who completed an online survey assessing social media experiences with cyberbullying, interpersonal risk factors (PB and TB), and social support. Linear regressions and moderation analyses were used to examine the current hypotheses. Results indicated that cyberbullying is positively associated with PB (B=5.84, SE=8.12, p<.001), but not TB (B= -.02, SE= .82, p<.05), controlling for depression. Social support is negatively associated with PB (B=-.74, SE=.36, p<.001) but not TB (B= -.04 , SE=.15, p<.05). Neither race nor social support moderated the relationship between cyberbullying and PB (B=-.75, SE=2.7, p<.05; B=-.57, SE=.95, p<.05) or TB (B=-.76, SE=1.36, p<.05; B= .51, SE=.57, p<.05). Results of this study suggest that cyberbullying and social support do influence perceived burdensomeness, which may be an important target for prevention of depression and suicide for adolescents. Findings also advance our understanding of how cyberbullying affects PB and TB to inform possible areas of intervention and suicide prevention.

Biography: Kyra Harris is a rising senior at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI currently pursuing a major in Psychology with a minor in Social Work & Social Justice. She is a McNair Scholar at her home institution and an active member on campus. One of her roles consist of being a peer mentor for incoming freshmen. This summer Kyra worked in the Hamilton Lab at Rutgers University where she studied the relationship between cyberbullying and interpersonal suicide risk factors, and whether race and social support moderated these relationships. Throughout her time in the Hamilton Lab, she has gained valuable research and professional development experience. Kyra’s research interests consist of understanding the effects of trauma and systemic racism on development and mental health amongst adolescents and young adults within the Black community. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree, she plans to pursue her Masters in Social Work and a post-baccalaureate research position in anticipation of a doctoral program in clinical psychology. In the future, Kyra plans to become a clinical psychologist and open her own practice within the Black community. She hopes to utilize research to provide quality clinical services to youth who suffer from adverse childhood experiences and mental health problems. Likewise, she plans to also start her own nonprofit that centers on equipping underrepresented communities with a variety of resources in different sectors, such as education, financial literacy, etc.

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Angel E. Hernandez

University of Arizona

Mentors:

Adam Leverant, Maribel Vazquez
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Comparing the effect of chemical and electrochemical gradients on retinal progenitor cell migration

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disorder of the retina that damages photoreceptors of the eye and leads to vision loss. While biomedical causes for its onset have yet to be clearly established, AMD disproportionately affects Americans over the age of 55. Retinal progenitor cell (RPC) transplantation is a promising treatment for people with AMD, with a large challenge being RPC migration into host retina. Our lab has examined RPC migration towards ligand gradients, electrical gradients, and combinatory electrochemical gradients (EC). Of these, EC gradients produced the biggest overall net migrations of RPCs. This project uses a migration-focused microfluidic device, called the glia-lane (gLL), to examine the effects of Stromal Cell Derived Growth factor (SDF-1a) in combination with electrical gradients on RPC migration. We have previously shown that EC gradients cause increased migration by stimulating cell-cell adhesion and collective migration via RPC clusters. Therefore, we hypothesized the EC gradient condition would therefore have a greater total displacement. Additionally, the use of a trans-well plate allowed us to observe migration of RPCs in response to a chemical gradient of SDF-1a. Using the images gathered from the EC gradient in the gLL, we measured the migration using cell displacement. We quantified the number of cells remaining in the lower-half of the trans-well plates after an SDF-1a gradient was established. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Angel Hernandez is a rising senior enrolled in the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. His academic pursuits revolve around Biomedical Engineering, with a minor in Biochemistry. From his very first year at the university, Angel delved into various research fields available to him, such as nutritional sciences, neuroscience, and biomaterial sciences. As he explored these different areas, he discovered a profound interest in the convergence of biomedical engineering and neuroscience, particularly in developing therapeutic solutions for neurodegenerative diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. During his junior year, Angel achieved the prestigious status of a Ronald E. McNair Achievement Scholar. Under the guidance of the accomplished Dr. Shang Song, a professor at the University of Arizona, Angel took the lead in a project involving the 3D-printing of a nerve scaffold using polymers for regenerative purposes. Outside of the lab, Angel actively participates in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and also volunteers as a tutor for middle school students. Additionally, he serves as a Resident Assistant for the University of Arizona, contributing to the campus community and fostering a supportive environment for his fellow students. Balancing his academics, research, and extracurricular activities, Angel still finds time to pursue his hobbies, such as skateboarding, trying out new foods with friends, and exploring the vibrant city of Tucson. Looking ahead, Angel aspires to continue his academic journey and achieve a Ph.D. in either biomedical engineering or regenerative biology. This summer, Angel had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the RISE at Rutgers: Cellular Bioengineering REU program in New Jersey. He is grateful to Dr. Maribel Vazquez for her generosity and unwavering commitment to ensuring the success of his project. Angel extends his heartfelt appreciation to everyone in the VazLab, the wider RISE staff, and Dr. Shreiber for creating an incredible and enriching summer experience.

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Jose Hoyos Sanchez

University of Central Florida

Mentors:

Anand D. Sarwate, Ph.D.
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Federated Low Separation Rank Tensor Regression

Maintaining patient privacy is a major concern in collaborative medical studies between different institutions. Federated learning is an approach to designing machine learning algorithms that learn from data distributed among many different sites without collecting it all in a central location by allowing data holders to exchange messages with a central coordinator. Federated learning allows institutions to collaborate on analyses without directly exposing their patient data to another party. However, many machine learning algorithms that medical researchers want to use lack an existing federated implementation. We designed a federated method for biomedical imaging data using the recently proposed Low Separation Rank Tensor Regression (LSRTR). We created several variations of federated LSRTR algorithms to understand the tradeoffs between differing amounts of communication between the central coordinator and the accuracy of the learned machine learning model. We used both synthetic data and datasets from MedMNIST, a suite of medical datasets commonly used for benchmarking machine learning models. Our experiments show that with enough rounds of communication we can achieve accuracy on par with an LSRTR algorithm that uses all the data. Federated LSRTR can thus be used in collaborative medical research settings without sacrificing the accuracy of the analysis conducted, potentially facilitating large scale research in the future. Similar approaches to those taken in this work may also be generalizable to federating other tensor regression methods.

Biography: Jose Hoyos Sanchez is a rising junior at the University of Central Florida majoring in computer science with minors in mathematics and cognitive sciences. He is a board member for his school’s Artificial Intelligence club, where he leads group discussions about recently published research. His primary interests are reinforcement learning in sparse reward environments and intrinsic motivation. This summer he worked under Dr. Anand Sarwate to devise and study federated learning approaches to a recently proposed tensor regression algorithm. After graduation, Jose plans to attend graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence.

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Caroline E. Hurley

Emerson College

Mentors:

Dr. Steven R. Brechin, Seungyun Lee

The fight to save agriculture and build a new food system in coastal communities of Northern Michigan

Since the 1930s, America has seen a growth of large-scale, corporate farming and the decline of small, family-owned farms. Our study area, a three-county area in Northern Michigan, is not exempt from this phenomenon. Small farmers in this area are facing many of the challenges that small farmers are facing everywhere, such as global competition and rising input costs. Yet, the communities in this area have had notable success in developing an active, resilient local food system that is working to support and bolster small farmers. Through interviews with relevant stakeholders, archival sources, local news coverage, and data from the United States Agricultural Census (2012-2017), we are researching the development of the food system in our study area over the past 20 years. In the face of global challenges to agriculture, how has the food system in our study area evolved to retain small farming as an economically viable occupation? Early results have suggested that direct to consumer sales, the prioritization of value-added products, and agritourism development have had positive economic impacts for small farmers. We’ve also observed the importance of communal support in the area, including the development of farmers’ cooperatives and the intentional construction of a culture of localism. We observed a practice of storytelling that has allowed the community to craft a decades-long narrative celebrating agricultural achievements and positioning local food entrepreneurs as important community members. Further research is needed to determine if the strategies that have been successful in this area may be applicable in other areas with different geographic and demographic characteristics.

Biography: Caroline [Cari] Hurley (she/her) is a journalism student in the honors program at Emerson College. She is driven by curiosity and loves to expand her knowledge through engagement with diverse perspectives. As a rising senior, she has regularly maintained a spot on the Dean’s Honor List and was recently inducted into the Gold Key Society, indicating the top 5% of GPAs in the junior class. While at Emerson, her fondness for research grew and she began working with Dr. Paul Mihailidis on equitable media literacy education. She also discovered her passion for sociology, picking up a minor in this field and developing a strong interest in socio-environmental relationships. At RISE, she’s worked under the mentorship of Dr. Steven R. Brechin on the development of local food systems and agricultural sustainability in Northern Michigan. After graduating, Cari plans to earn a Ph.D. in environmental sociology. With this education, she aspires to help create a world where environmental and climate policy decisions are influenced by community-based, socially-informed research. Drawing on her background in journalism, she aims to use her writing to bridge the gap between academia and the public. She believes that environmental sociological research should be accessible and engaging, so that we might all be informed citizens in the creation of more sustainable communities.

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Ryan E. Jaworski

Fairfield University

Mentors:

Kolattukudy P. Santo, Alexander V. Neimark
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Adsorption of pulmonary surfactants on SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein

The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is transmitted by airborne virions. SARS-CoV-2 virions contain the viral genome RNA enclosed by a lipid membrane envelope of ~85 nm in diameter, which is decorated with a crown of 20 nm long Spike protein protrusions. The virions penetrate into the Type II epithelial cells in the lung alveoli by binding of the Spike protein’s receptor binding domain (RBD) to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors of the cell membrane. The virions traveling through the lung airways are exposed to the pulmonary surfactant molecules present at the alveolar interface. Surfactants adsorb onto the virion proteins and envelope and may eventually inhibit the virion-cell binding. Here, we analyze adsorption of pulmonary surfactants on the RBD through coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations to determine the preferential surfactant binding sites, which may have direct or allosteric effects on the RBD-ACE2 binding. Interestingly, we observe the spontaneous preferential and strong adsorption of the lung surfactants cholesterol and palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidyl inositol to fatty acid binding sites (FABS), which have been found to be determinant in the RBD-ACE2 binding. The observed affinity of surfactants to the FABS, consistent with the experimental findings, reveals the molecular mechanisms of binding explored with a quantitative analysis. These findings may have implications in the ongoing clinical search for therapeutic surfactants inhibiting virus-cell interactions.

Biography: Ryan Jaworski is a rising junior undergraduate student who is currently pursuing a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with minors in Biochemistry and Health Studies at Fairfield University. Ryan’s current research at Rutgers University in the Neimark Lab is studying the adsorption of lung surfactants on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. At Fairfield University Ryan is a part of the Macwan Lab studying poly vinyl alcohol and carbon nanotube based scaffolds for applications in biosensors and the inhibition of interactions between the enzyme nucleoside diphosphate kinase – B and the guanine nucleotide-binding protein via graphene oxide. Ryan is a highly motivated individual with career goals of becoming a physician scientist.

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Diego A. Jiménez Rivera

University Of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez

Mentors:

Ryan Sills, Yurui Zhang, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University

Strengthening of Al-Cu alloys with plate-like precipitates via orowan looping

Precipitation-strengthened Aluminum-Copper alloys are widely employed as structural materials for aerospace and aviation applications due to their combination of strength, lightweight properties, and corrosion resistance. In this study, we investigate the behavior of Al alloys containing copper plate-like precipitates under stress at the microscale by employing discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations. By examining the interaction of dislocations with the precipitate through computer simulations, we gain valuable insights into the strengthening mechanisms and the resulting material behavior, as well as the creation of Orowan Loops, which are rings of energy surrounding a precipitate when a dislocation passes through it, creating more resistance for the motion of the dislocations. A vast number of tests were simulated by changing the stress levels as well as the size of area to be studied, the volume, size, and shape of the precipitates, and the timesteps recorded. After studying visually the simulations, we obtain a series of strain vs. time values that when analyzed, can give us the strain rate of the material under a certain stress. These results enable us to predict the strength of the alloy as a function of precipitate size, shape, and density. Furthermore, by constructing precipitate microstructures containing spheres instead of plate-like precipitates, we determine the influence of precipitate shape and size on strengthening and the rate of plastic flow. We noted that the dislocation velocity is proportional to the size and shape of the precipitates, being higher in plate-like and smaller on spherical particles, and inversely proportional to the amount of Orowan Loops.

Biography: Diego Jiménez Rivera is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico and is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. He has always been interested in how our surroundings come to be, sparking an interest in the Materials Science and Engineering . After graduating, he aspires to become a graduate student in the MSE field to further expand his knowledge and contribute to the community by developing manufacturing methods for novel materials.

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Shauna S.R. Kearney

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Mentors:

Lisa C. Klein, Ph.D.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Phase change materials for thermal insulation

Phase change materials are materials that can be used for energy storage through the process of changing phases, for example, melting and solidifying. The latent heat of transformation needed for changing phases allows the phase change materials to store and release heat. This cycle of storing and releasing heat can be used to make more effective thermal insulation that reduces the energy used to heat buildings. Research has also shown that aerogels are effective insulators, though they are more expensive than the materials used for insulation today. This study seeks to combine phase change materials with aerogels to form composites that are more effective at insulation and more cost effective. Using premade aerogel samples and paraffin wax, the composites were formed in three different ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1 aerogel to wax by weight in test tubes. These samples were then submerged in a hot water bath of 50° C, and their temperature was measured with a thermocouple. The time it took for the composites to melt and solidify was recorded, as well as the physical qualities they displayed. The aerogels were classified as chunky and powdery solids, with the powdery aerogel-wax composites displaying longer times to melt and adhering better together. This suggests that the powdery aerogels have a higher heat of fusion, making them good candidates for future research into this type of insulation material.

Biography: Shauna Kearney is a rising junior from LaPlata, Maryland, who is currently pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. There she engages in research on inhibitors for metallo-ß-lactamases in the lab of Dr. Paul J. Smith. In her spare time, Shauna enjoys writing novels and drawing, as well as spending time with family and friends. During the summer of 2023, she was a participant of the RISE and Advanced Materials REU at Rutgers University, where she tested the phase changing capabilities of aerogel and paraffin wax composites with her faculty mentor, Dr. Lisa C. Klein. After completing her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Shauna plans to pursue a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.

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Rahim A. Khan

Farmingdale State University

Mentors:

Dr. Pal Maliga

Department of Genetics

Rutgers, Waksman Institute of Microbiology

Dr. Kerry Lutz

Department of Biology

Farmingdale State University

Development of a routine protocol for chloroplast transformation from leaf tissue in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Chloroplast transformation is a powerful tool for plant genetic engineering because plastid genes have high expression levels, maternal inheritance, and can be expressed from operons. An efficient chloroplast transformation protocol requires source tissue that can regenerate efficiently in tissue culture and is sensitive to the antibiotic spectinomycin, which is necessary for transformant selection. Chloroplast transformation is inefficient in Arabidopsis thaliana, an important model plant, because it is naturally tolerant to spectinomycin and has poor regeneration ability in tissue culture. Inactivation of a nuclear-encoded acc2 gene resulted in spectinomycin-sensitive plant lines that increased the chloroplast transformation efficiency in Arabidopsis 100-fold. We overexpressed a steroid-inducible BBM gene in spectinomycin-sensitive Arabidopsis plant lines to improve the regeneration capacity. Leaves from the new Arabidopsis acc2-BBM plant lines were used as source tissue for chloroplast transformation experiments and we have bombarded 21 plates of CIM. Spectinomycin resistant cells will appear as green growths on white callus and can be due to spontaneous mutations in the chloroplast encoded 16S rRNA gene or from transformation of the aadA gene. Results of current experiments are still pending. Previous experiments using Arabidopsis acc2-BBM leaf tissue resulted in spectinomycin-resistant plants that formed siliques, although, spectinomycin resistance was due to a point mutation in the 16s rRNA subunit. This protocol is expected to enable chloroplast transformation and enhance regeneration in Arabidopsis, which will significantly impact biotechnology applications, including the use of plants for medicine and therapeutics.

Biography: Rahim Khan is a rising senior at Farmingdale State University in Long Island, New York. He is a Bioscience major who is highly interested in genetics and research. His time at Farmingdale University has given him the chance to conduct innovative research on Chloroplast transformation with the help of Dr. Kerry Lutz. He is part of the S-STEM scholars society as well as the RAM scholar’s society in Farmingdale. He has earned the president’s and dean’s list throughout his semesters and continues to focus on his studies. Other than academic skills, he enjoys painting and digital art as one of his hobbies. He is passionate about research and interested in earning a Ph.D. in genetics for higher education.

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Gigi Lin

CUNY Hunter College

Mentors:

Dr. Wei Dai, Ph.D.
Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, School of Arts and Sciences
Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Jennifer Jiang, Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate Program in Quantitative Biomedicine
Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

A multidisciplinary approach towards elucidating the molecular sociology of fungal plasma membrane

Fungal infections caused by Candida species have been increasing significantly and are a serious threat to human health. Multiple lines of antifungal drugs have been developed to target the fungal-specific cell wall and plasma membrane protein complexes. With the rise in drug resistance, elucidating the molecular mechanisms of drug-target interactions in their native state will facilitate ongoing antifungal drug development efforts. Multiple classes of antifungal drugs target the cell wall because it serves as a protective armor and it is also absent in humans. There are antifungal drugs that target glucan synthase (GS), a membrane protein that synthesizes glucan, which is a critical cell wall component. Here, we established an interdisciplinary approach by integrating mass spectrometry, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), and structural modeling to study visual proteomics of the plasma membrane from Candida glabrata, a human fungal pathogen. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that two drug targets, glucan synthase (GS) and the proton pump, Pma1, are among the most abundant fungal membrane proteins. Cryo-ET and subsequent structural modeling using high-resolution structures from the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) revealed the 3D structure and spatial relation of GS and Pma1 within their cellular environment. Interestingly, tomograms of plasma membranes treated with echinocandin antifungals showed disrupted distribution of these two protein complexes. Through characterizing the molecular landscape of membrane proteins in fungal plasma membranes, our study will advance our understanding of how echinocandins work and allow for future development of more effective antifungal drugs.

Biography: Hi, I’m Gigi, and I am a human biology and studio art major at CUNY Hunter College. I am from the Chinatown/ Lower East Side area of Manhattan where there is a growing and fostering community of Asian American artists, educators, and social activists. My growing interest in research ignited when I was in high school bio class, from observing food debris found in owl pellets to comparing our own DNA to those found in strawberries. This showed me the broad horizon and endless areas of exploration the field of science had to offer. As an aspiring research scientist and growing artist, I am interested in integrating visual language into the sciences, as well as understanding the role of arts and technology in improving scientific communication and education to uplift our communities.

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Bridget A. Linders

University of Colorado Boulder

Mentors:

Fleurie Kelley, Benjamin Schuster, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Specific recruitment of nanoparticles into protein condensates through streptavidin-biotin binding

Protein condensates form through liquid-liquid phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins to create membraneless compartments. These condensates have various roles in cells, such as stress response and gene regulation. This research focuses on controlling the inclusion of molecules inside condensates. Partitioning of molecules enables reactions in the cell to occur because it concentrates the reaction into a small space. Condensates are also implicated in many disease states, and molecule partitioning into condensates could help with therapeutics for these diseases. To study the interaction between condensate and molecule we altered protein and nanoparticles that will specifically cause nanoparticles to embed in the condensates or be excluded. The streptavidin-biotin complex is the system used for this affinity based recruitment of nanoparticles. We used this system because streptavidin and biotin is a high affinity bond and is also a very specific interaction. Streptavidin (SA) was expressed in E. coli as a fusion protein with an RGG domain, a protein known to phase separate well. This fusion protein was able to form condensates, so we combined this protein with polystyrene nanoparticles conjugated to PEG-biotin molecules. These biotinylated particles embed within the SA-RGG protein droplets. We know this is a specific recruitment because when the SA-RGG protein was tested with PEG-azide conjugated particles, these particles were excluded. By creating a system that is able to specifically include or exclude certain molecules we can use this information for increased biological understanding of the condensates, drug delivery, and biomanufacturing.

Biography: Bridget Linders is a rising senior at the University of Colorado Boulder majoring in biomedical engineering. This summer, she participated in the Advanced Materials REU under the guidance of Dr. Benjamin Schuster on protein condensates. At CU, she has been working on tissue engineering research in Dr. Stephanie Bryant’s lab. After finishing her undergraduate education this year, she hopes to go to graduate school for a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.

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Patrick Martins

Kean University

Mentors:

Dr. Adam Gormley, Dr. Chris Radford

Development of a fluorescence-based technique to screen for single-chain nanoparticles that mimics cell signaling 

Ligand-receptor interactions form the basis of numerous signaling events that underlie cellular communication. In cell signaling, when one cell interacts with another cell through receptor engagement, multivalent ligand-receptor systems involving multiple points of interactions are often key facets in guiding cell response. Such systems have been identified in numerous pathologies; as such they represent an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in regenerative medicine and treatment of diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders.

Synthetic ligands aim to mimic this behavior by presenting the appropriate ligand epitopes on synthetic scaffolds. In particular, polymer-based single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) represent an appealing scaffold to create synthetic ligands. Like native proteins, SCNPs form from folding of a linear chain into a collapsed structure on the order of tens of nanometers. The synthetic flexibility of polymers provides significant opportunities to alter peptide presentation on this SCNP scaffold and find optimal designs to replicate cellular signaling responses.

Herein, we aim to support elucidation of these synthetic ligands with the development of a fluorometric technique to screen for polymers capable of serving as SCNPs for subsequent ligand presentation. Specifically, we aim to use differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) to screen for protein-like SCNP scaffolds. DSF is a common technique to monitor the unfolding of compact proteins in response to heating; as such, we hypothesize it can also be applied to monitor unfolding of protein-like SCNPs and differentiate them from random (unfolded) polymer coils.

To test this hypothesis, a library of fifteen polymers containing hydrophobic and hydrophilic comonomers was synthesized using photoinduced electron/energy transfer reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (PET-RAFT). The polymer library was evaluated with DSF. Of this initial library, four polymers demonstrated protein-like melt curves. These polymers were selected for further physicochemical characterization with dynamic light scattering, gel permeation chromatography, and ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR).

This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: My name is Patrick Martins of Kean University and I pursued advanced research in preparation for real-world experimentation and research.

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Isabel M. Meléndez

University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

Mentors:

Mentors:

Erika McCarthy, Sölen Ekesan, Ph.D., Darrin M. York, Ph.D.,

Laboratory for Biomolecular Simulation Research (LBSR)

Institute of Quantitative Biomedicine (IQB)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Computational Studies of the 8-17 DNAzyme in solution with the presence of Mg²⁺

The 8-17 DNAzyme is a synthetic nucleic acid enzyme composed of a DNA strand and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) substrate, which is in the active site. The active site is the region of the system that carries out the catalytic reactions or activity. Despite its simple building blocks, the 8-17 DNAzyme can carry out complex biochemical reactions such as RNA cleavage. RNA cleavage is a fundamental reaction in biology that occurs when RNA’s backbone is broken. It has shown to have great potential for gene silencing, gene regulating and virus control. Enzymes that catalyze this reaction often utilize four catalytic strategies which are four ways the reaction’s rate can be enhanced. Previous studies have shown a predictive understanding of how this system reacts and folds in the presence of a Pb²⁺ in the active site, the results have also shown how the catalytic strategies are affected. I aim to study how the 8-17 DNAzyme behaves in a solution environment with the presence of Mg²⁺ instead and determine if it meets the criteria for these four catalytic strategies. Due to lead being toxic, I am using Mg²⁺ because it is more biologically accessible. By using computational tools, we can understand how this system looks and behaves throughout a period of time, specifically molecular dynamics (MD). Departing from five different models from the recent NMR structures, I have simulated the 8-17 DNAzyme structure in solution in the presence of Mg²⁺ ion for 100ns each (i.e., total of 500ns sampling). My current results show that the 8-17 DNAzyme has low catalytic fitness, as it is not meeting all the criteria necessary for the catalytic strategies to be satisfied. Further studies will determine if the catalytic fitness improves in different protonation states.

Biography: Isabel Meléndez is a rising senior at University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez where she is pursuing a major in Chemistry. Along with her studies, she is part of her university’s Foodbank committee, works at the Health Department in Mayagüez and in her spare time enjoys playing the piano.

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Shaun Montoya

Montclair State University

Mentors:

Dr. Valerie Tutwiler, Ranjini Ramanujam

Influence of fibrin cross-linking on the rupture resistance of blood clots

Hemostasis is the physiological clotting process that stems bleeding. Thrombosis is excess clotting when it is not needed. A complication of thrombosis is embolization, when a portion of the blood clot (thrombus) breaks off and becomes lodged in downstream blood vessels. This results in pulmonary embolization (PE) or ischemic strokes, for example. Fibrin(ogen), which is a blood plasma portion, is a meshwork that traps blood cells in the clot volume and provides much of the mechanical and structural stability to the blood clot. Factor XIII is an enzyme responsible for crosslinking the fibrin polymers following their polymerization. The crosslinking of fibrin fibers enhances clot stability. Additionally, incidence of PE is elevated in murine models with mutant FXIII or lower FXIII activity. In this project, we aim to understand the role of FXIII-mediated fibrin crosslinking on the stability and rupture resistance of blood clots. Different concentrations (0-1mM) of iodoacetamide (IAA), a Factor XIII inhibitor, was used to reduce the extent of crosslinking and analyze the effect of fibrin crosslinking on the overall mechanical response. We observed through rheology tests, which tracks the viscoelastic mechanical changes that occur during clotting, that fully crosslinked clots were stiffer when compared to fibrin where crosslinking was impaired (50-14.7 Pa, p<0.0001). Turbidity tests, which track the kinetics of clot formation through changes in optical density (OD) showed that the fully crosslinked sample has the highest optical density relative to clots with impaired crosslinking (63-56 AU, p<0.01). Fully crosslinked protofibril fibers laterally aggregate 1.5 times faster when compared to impaired crosslinked fibers. (20-30s, p<0.01). Confocal and scanning electron microscopy, which are used to assess the clot microstructure, revealed a reduction in fibrin density (25-22% area, p<0.1), fiber length (12.5-10.9µm, p<0.001), and pore size among crosslinked fibers (7.9-6.9µm, p<0.1). It was also revealed that the diameter of fibrin fibers increases with inhibited crosslinking. Preliminary fracture tests showed that crosslinked fibers endure higher tensile strength (0.38-0.15N, p<0.001) and rupture resistance. This work will advance the understanding of the role of Factor XIII in the rupture resistance of blood clots and potentially inform the development of more effective and timely treatments to promote hemostasis, limit embolization and control bleeding. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Shaun Montoya is a rising junior majoring in physics and minoring in math at Montclair State University. As a Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader for physics courses, he enjoys being a lab assistant and holds weekly peer-led review sessions for challenging physics courses. For the summer of 2023, Shaun was selected to participate in the 2023 NSF REU in Cellular Bioengineering in partnership with the RISE program. His research under Dr. Valerie Tutwiler and Ranjini Ramanujam will focus on the influence of fibrin cross-linking on the rupture resistance of blood clots. Following graduation, Shaun intends to pursue his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, then entering a career in industry.

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Nicolette I. Nabiryo

Caldwell University

Mentors:

Thejasvi Venkatachalam, Kavya Kadabageri, Martha Soto, Ph.D.
Department of Pathology
Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Kenneth McGuinness, Ph.D.
Department of Natural Sciences
Caldwell University

Identifying candidate GEFs that activate CED-10/Rac1 during embryonic morphogenesis in C. elegans

Many cancers arise from mutations in the protein Rac1 which controls cell polarity and cell migrations by regulating the actin cytoskeleton. Rac1/CED-10 is crucial for embryonic cell migrations including the ventral enclosure of the epidermis in the research organism C. elegans. Loss of Rac1/CED-10 leads to dead embryos due to failed assembly and organization of branched filamentous actin (F-actin). However, the activation of CED-10 is not well understood. We are investigating the Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEF) proteins that activate Rac1/CED-10 in C. elegans. We hypothesize that one or more of 19 C. elegans GEF proteins functions as an activator of CED-10 during embryonic cell migrations and that the expected GEF for CED-10 will display the loss of function phenotype of CED-10: defective morphogenesis, reduced F-actin and embryonic lethality. Our research involves testing deletion mutations in GEFs to observe effects on ventral enclosure and F-actin levels. Knockout strains for each GEF were crossed into strains where migrating epidermal tissue was marked with both fluorescent epidermal F-actin and an apical junctional molecule. Live imaging of embryos during ventral enclosure was used to compare control and mutant embryos by measuring epidermal F-actin levels and lethality. Embryonic mutants that failed to enclose and died due to low F-actin levels were identified as GEFs acting upstream of F-actin formation. Results indicate that the protein F22G12.5/DOCK-11 is one possible CED-10 GEF. We predict that loss of this GEF will decrease levels of CED-10 reporters and enhance mild ced-10 mutations. We also expect a strain with a hypomorphic allele of CED-10 and null GEF allele to display a synergistic embryonic lethality. Identifying novel GEF activators of Rac1/CED-10 will give insight into how distinct Rac1/CED-10 regulators control the levels and localization of Rac1/CED-10 to prevent signaling errors and disease.

Biography: Nicolette Nabiryo is a rising junior at Caldwell University and is majoring in Biology with the intention of attending Medical School. Her current summer research at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, under the guidance of Dr. Martha Soto, is identifying the GEFs that activate Rac1/CED-10 during embryonic morphogenesis in C. elegans. In her free time, Nicolette enjoys reading novels, crocheting and writing poetry. In the future, she aims to gain admission to an MD/PhD program.

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Jessica M. Nagasako

University Of Rochester

Mentors:

Dr. Geraldine L. Cochran, The Ohio State University

Using Social Network Analysis to Understand Community Within an Introductory Physics Course

Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides a powerful way to assess social structures within communities. SNA has been used in physics education research to understand student success. Brewe et al., (2015) found that centrality, a measure of a person’s importance (or role) within a community, is a predictor for students’ success as determined by their physics course grade. Bruun and Brewe (2013) found that social interactions correlated positively on physics conceptual inventory performance and physics course grade. Thus, it is important to understand why some students are better connected to their peers socially than other students. Brewe et al., (2012) found that major and visits to a physics learning center were predictors for centrality rather than gender or race.

My goal was to create a visual network of an introductory physics course for engineering students. Using Python, I turned students’ responses to a survey about their interactions with their classmates into a visual network of the class. More specifically, I cleaned the data to remove unnecessary information collected by the survey (i.e. startdate, end date, IPAddress), and duplicate responses. As a part of cleaning the data, I also removed student responses that indicated that they did not want to be included in research as a requirement of the IRB protocol. Additionally IRB requires that participants must remain anonymous. So, I turned all student names into randomly assigned numbers. From there I created an adjacency matrix that can be used to create a visual network of the classroom. This visual network is important to the study because it allows us to easily identify who is central to the network, most connected, and who is isolated from the network, not connected to any other students. This will support future work on this project including qualitative interviews and quantitative analysis of the network.

Biography: Jessica Nagasako(She/Her) is from Honolulu, Hawaii, and is a rising senior at the University of Rochester(UofR) majoring in physics and astronomy with a minor in philosophy of science. She is a Gromet Scholar, a Mcnair Scholar, and a first-generation college student. At her school, she is the Vice-President and Co-Founder of the Hawaiian Interest Club and was previously secretary for the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. She helped image and publish optical derivative findings for plasma density measurements as part of the UofR Extreme States Physics Laboratory. At the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy(IFA) she researched under Dr. Daniel Hey and Dr. Daniel Huber for Beyond Gaia, an attempt to build the biggest 3D map of our galaxy. She has presented at UofR and IFA symposiums, the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, and the 241st Meeting of The American Astronomical Society. She would like to thank Dr. Geraldine L. Cochran, Liam McDermott, and her friends and family for their guidance and encouragement on this project.

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Lizbeilyn Ozoria

Stockton University

Mentors:

Dr. Kim McKim, Waksman Institute of Microbiology
Rutgers University, Piscataway NJ, USA

Identifying Novel Meiosis Genes in Drosophila melanogaster 

The leading cause of infertility in women is linked to errors in the process of meiosis. Drosophila melanogaster is used to identify meiosis genes and understand their functionality in relation to infertility. To determine if a gene is a meiosis gene, they are tested for a function of mitosis. It is suspected that a gene with high expression in the larval brain is associated with mitosis. This is tested by using knockout crosses with a Gal4/UAS system. The tubulin enhancer expresses the transcription factor, GAl4, which binds to the upstream activating sequence (UAS). This expresses a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) that has a complementary base pair sequence the mRNA of the gene of interest. The shRNA binds to the mRNA and targets the gene of interest for degradation. Of the 52 genes tested, 16 genes were identified to be essential for life, and therefore linked to mitosis. The other 32 genes were proposed to be meiosis specific genes. Of the 16 genes, 14 were highly expressed in the larval brain. This suggests that expression data could be indicative of meiosis genes involved in mitosis. Further studies will be done to screen for novel meiosis genes and how they function. Additionally, further studies to visualize the mitotic process of these knockouts are going to be done to verify a function in mitosis.

Biography: Lizbeilyn Ozoria is a recent graduate from Stockton University with a B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and a minor in Spanish. Her current research at Rutgers University in the Waksman Institute of Microbiology utilizes Drosophila melanogaster to study the process of meiosis to address current issues with infertility. Her future research interests are in immunology, clinical/neurological toxicology, and epigenetics.

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Thong H. Pham

University of Maryland, College Park

Mentors:

Gu, Yuwei, Ph.D., Ma, Yuchen, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Synthesizing amide bond containing polymers using ring opening polymerization

The incorporation of amide bonds in synthetic polymers holds promise in developing protein-mimetic materials with functional diversity and structural similarity to biological systems. However, achieving this goal has proven challenging. In this research, we propose a novel approach to address this challenge by introducing a ring opening polymerization method that utilizes macrocyclic monomers to form amide-bond containing polymers with encoded sequence information. The macrocyclic monomer design centers around a self-immolative linkage based on 2-mercaptoethanol, enabling the connection of an active thioester with a masked nucleophilic amine in the form of carbamate. By introducing an amine-based initiator, the macrocycle undergoes a self-immolative cascade reaction, liberating a free amine group and facilitating the sequential formation of an amide-bond containing polymer with well-defined length and sequence.

A four-step synthesis strategy was created to produce the desired macrocyclic monomer, followed by purification through silica gel column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. However, during product analysis using ¹H and ¹³C-NMR, an unexpected O-to-S transesterification reaction resulted in the formation of an oxoester instead of the intended thioester. To achieve the desired product, further optimization of the synthetic route is currently underway.

This research aims to provide a solid foundation for the synthesis of protein-like polymers, advancing the field of protein-based drugs and synthetic biological polymer mimicry. By successfully developing a method to synthesize amide-bond containing polymers with encoded sequence information, our work will facilitate further investigations into the development of protein-mimetic materials and their potential applications in biomedicine and bioengineering.

Biography: Thong is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, College Park where he is pursuing a B.S. in biochemistry. His interest in biochemistry has led him to become more involved in research of biological and chemical fields. In the spring of 2023, he joined a microbiology lab under Dr. Quira Zeidan, where they investigated the mutation of RPS17 in patients with Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA). He then joined Dr. Yuwei Gu’s lab at Rutgers University to understand the chemistry side of research where his main focus was to synthesize polymers possessing protein-like linkages between monomers. After his undergraduate studies, his plan is to work in the pharmaceutical industry for a couple of years, then attend graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. Outside of academics, Thong enjoys spending time with his friends and family, listening to music, doing outdoor activities, and exercising where he is heavily involved in his school’s powerlifting club.

 

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Jenna H Pirrello

The Ohio State University

Mentors:

Dr. Ashutosh Goel and Ms. Preeti Malviya
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Rutgers University

Impact of boron on the sintering behavior of alkali-free bioactive glasses 

The design of a glass composition for the fabrication of a third generation (bioactive + bioresorbable) scaffold for load-bearing application in tissue engineering requires careful optimization of glass chemistry, sintering ability, chemo-mechanical behavior, and bioactivity. In this pursuit, the goal of this study is to understand the impact of B₂O₃/SiO₂ on the glass-forming ability and sintering behavior of glasses designed in the CaO-MgO- PyO₅-SiO₂-based glass system. Three glasses with varying B₂O₃/SiO₂ have been synthesized via melt-quench technique. The amorphous nature of the synthesized glasses has been confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to determine the glass transition and crystallization temperature of glasses. Based on the data obtained from the DSC, the powdered glass pellets have been sintered at different temperatures in the 750 – 850 °C range. The sintered pellets were measured for linear shrinkage and density. The findings revealed that higher boron concentrations in the compositions led to the most significant linear shrinkage, suggesting increased mechanical strength of the bioactive glass. This enhancement is crucial as it enables the fabrication of 3D-printed scaffolds that can be implanted in the body to promote vascularized bone and soft tissue growth in patients with bone defects or local trauma.

Biography: Jenna Pirrello is a rising junior undergraduate student from Rockaway, New Jersey who is currently pursuing a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Buckeye Biotech Association, and works as an undergraduate researcher at Ohio State focusing on the biomechanics of intracellular structures. During her free time, Jenna enjoys playing volleyball and actively participates in her sorority’s fundraising committee, dedicated to supporting women’s heart health initiatives. This summer, Jenna is conducting a research project at Rutgers University under the guidance of her advisor, Dr. Goel. The project focuses on understanding the impact of boron on the sintering behavior and degradation of bioactive glass, specifically for its applications in 3D printing.

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Ivy M. Queen

Reed College

Mentors:

Ron Gilman Ph.D
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Electronics configuration for the MUon-proton Scattering Experiment (MUSE)

The proton radius puzzle refers to a discrepancy between measurements of the charge radius of a proton using electronic hydrogen spectroscopy and scattering versus measurements using muonic hydrogen spectroscopy. MUSE aims to explain the cause of the proton radius puzzle by comparing cross sections of electron-proton and muon-proton scattering, testing lepton universality.

The MUSE experiment consists of a series of detectors that measure a beam of electrons, muons, and pions, and detectors that measure beam particles scattering from a liquid hydrogen cryotarget. Our work concerned configuration of two detectors in the experiment: the beam hodoscope (BH) and the straw tube tracker (STT). The BH contains a scintillator which is used to identify the beam particle type entering the hydrogen target. Different particles reach the BH at different phases during a roughly 20 ns overall phase set by the accelerator RF signal, allowing them to be identified. An FPGA is calibrated to this data. The software developed uses the CERN ROOT program to visualize the FPGA configuration. This helps to ensure that the configuration is sensible. The STT detects the location of particles after they have scattered off the target. It uses a system of 3000 individual straws, some of which due to mechanical or electronic issues need to be turned off. Noisy straws can each add many MHz of signals to the data, inflating the amount of data that needs to be stored, as well as slowing and potentially crashing the data acquisition software. An STT masking file gives the electronic configuration, and an xml mapper file associates electronics channels with physical straws. A ROOT program written with Zhiqi Duan reads and associates the information for the straws from the two files and visualizes the data.

Funded by the National Science Foundation NSF-AST-2050950, Rutgers Physics and Astronomy REU.

Biography: Ivy Queen is a rising junior physics major at Reed College. She intends to pursue graduate studies focused in mathematical physics. Ivy is extremely involved within the small physics department at Reed, serving as both secretary and internal liaison for Reed’s SPS chapter. She focuses on supporting open communication between faculty and students, as well as promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and events in her department. Ivy is excited to work as a TA for intro calculus Fall 2023.

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William Raeter

Union College

Mentors:

Denise Robles
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Dr. Jeffrey Zahn

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Modeling neural circuitry using brain on a chip devices in conjunction with cerebral organoids

The COCAMEA (Cortical Organoid Culture and Micro-electrode Array) system represents a novel and innovative in vitro platform for studying the human brain’s functionality and connectivity. In this research project, we aimed to explore the capabilities of the COCAMEA device and its impact on our understanding of the human brain. The COCAMEA system integrates organoids, which faithfully replicate the complexity and architecture of the human brain, with micro-electrode arrays. This unique combination allows for the investigation of cellular morphology, viability, growth dynamics, electrophysiology, and long-range neural connectivity. Through a series of experiments, we addressed several key aims. Firstly, we determined the optimal metal substrate for low electrode impedance and high signal-to-noise ratio, essential for accurate measurements in COCAMEAs. We conducted a systematic evaluation of various metal substrates, including platinum, gold, and titanium, to identify the substrate that provided optimal performance. Secondly, we successfully cultured cerebral organoid slices in the COCAMEA system and recorded their electrophysiological activity. By developing a protocol for the preparation and culturing of cerebral organoid slices on COCAMEAs, we were able to investigate their neuronal firing patterns and synaptic connectivity. The COCAMEA system is an innovative tool in neuroscience, facilitating the study of the human brain’s complexity and functionality. It allows us to investigate cellular behavior, neural connectivity, and disease-related mutations, thereby advancing our knowledge of neurological disorders and neurodevelopment. This research project emphasizes the system’s unique capabilities and its profound impact on our understanding of the human brain. The findings contribute to neuroscience’s growing body of knowledge and open doors for future research and therapeutic interventions. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: William Raeter is a rising senior at Union College pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering. During his time at Union, William has been on the Dean’s list each year and is the current Vice President of Union’s chapter of Tau Beta Pi, The Engineering Honor Society He is passionate about research, being a part of Dr. Ramasubramanian’s Embryonic heart and gut development mechanics lab. After graduation, he plans to attend graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. William would like to thank RISE and the REU in Cellular Bioengineering for supporting and providing him with all resources needed to continue his research endeavors this summer.

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Wyatt S. Read

Southern Utah University

Mentors:

Wyatt Read, Shana Cole Ph.D., Maggie Albright-Pierce M.S.
Department of Psychology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Perceptions of success, stress, and well-being based on balance and gender

Grit–passion and perseverance toward a singular goal–is a powerful predictor of success. Yet, people often hold multiple goals, and intense commitment to one goal may mean sacrificing others. Moreover, the domains in which grit is valued may be gendered; men are often expected to be most committed to work-centric goals and women to family-centric goals. In an experimental study, we tested how people perceive others who demonstrate grit toward one goal vs. have balanced commitment across multiple goals and if these perceptions are influenced by the target’s gender. Participants (N = 210) were randomly assigned to read four goal profiles of either men or women (between-subjects gender condition) who distributed their commitment differently across four goal domains: work-centric (i.e., most commitment to work), family-centric (i.e., most commitment to family), health-centric (i.e., most commitment to health/fitness), and balanced (i.e., equal distribution of commitment across goals). Then, they answered questions about how successful, stressed, happy, and fulfilled they thought the person in each goal profile was likely to be. A 2×4 mixed factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of gender and goal profile on success, stress, and well-being. Results showed that balanced individuals were perceived to be significantly happier and more fulfilled than those who were either work-centric or health/fitness-centric although work-centric individuals were perceived as more successful. Moreover, women were perceived as significantly happier, fulfilled, and successful than men regardless of how they distributed commitment to their goals. Additionally, work-centric women were perceived as significantly happier and more fulfilled than work-centric men. This research demonstrates that balance—not grit—is generally associated with well-being although prescriptive gender roles influence these perceptions.

Biography: Wyatt Read is a rising senior undergraduate student who is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Psychology at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, UT. His current research at Rutgers University Department of Psychology involves understanding perceptions of well-being and success based balance between goals and gender. His future research interests and are in social and educational psychology, as well as research methodology and statistics.

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Armando J. Rios

University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras campus

Mentors:

Shaojun Yang, and Jeffrey D. Laskin, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Rutgers University

Impacts of cadmium on placental BH4 cofactors 

Rapid industrial development has led to extensive environmental pollution, particularly from the toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd). This pollution has negative effects on human health and fetal development through contamination of the atmosphere, water, soil, and food. Cadmium exposure disrupts placental development, gene expression, and nutrient exchange, leading to abnormal fetal development and impaired placental function. It also interferes with the synthesis of the essential cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), causing metabolic disorders. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the impact of cadmium on placental BH4 cofactors and evaluate the potential protective effects of BH4 supplementation. Our hypothesis is that cadmium inhibits the placental BH4 pathway, disrupting essential metabolic processes, and BH4 supplementation can mitigate the detrimental effects of cadmium exposure. Our study confirmed that cadmium was found to inhibit recombinant sepiapterin (SPR) (IC50 = 19.0 µM), it also confirmed direct concentration and time-dependent inhibition of BH4 synthesis and observed its inhibition of BH2 and BH4 production from SPR in human placental cell lines. Furthermore, cadmium specifically inhibited SPR activity (IC50=1.37 µM) and BH2-mediated BH4 formation (IC50=0.85 µM) in cells after a 24-h incubation. These findings support BH4 supplementation as a potential treatment to counteract cadmium-induced inhibition of the BH4 pathway, enhance placental function, and promote normal fetal development. This research project is supported by the NIH R25ES020721 Grant, Society of Toxicology Intern Program, and RISE/SURF program at Rutgers University.

Biography: Armando J. Ríos Padín is currently in his fourth year of a B.S. degree in Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. His current research at Rutgers University Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology involves the studies of Cadmium intoxication in human placental BH4 cofactors and possible inhibitions that can lead to possible pharmacological treatments when exposed. His future interests are focus on getting experience around the world related to scientific research, related to biochemistry, toxicology, and pharmacology.

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Taylor E. Rossiter

York College of Pennsylvania

Mentors:

Juan Dong
Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

Aobo Huang
Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

Characterization of SOSEKI polarity proteins in the stomata lineage cells

Asymmetric cell division is a cellular process that organisms use to maintain a normal/functional level of asymmetric cells, overall maintaining homeostasis. Although asymmetric cell divisions in animals have been widely explored, it has not been deeply investigated in plants. Previous literature shows that polarity proteins play a crucial role during asymmetric divisions of plant and animal cells by establishing cell polarity through localization. BASL is a well-known, plant polarity protein that establishes cell polarity and is essential for proper stomatal asymmetric cell division. Previous work in the Dong lab identified one of the SOSEKI proteins, SOK3, as a potential interactor of BASL and may contribute to the establishment of cell polarity in the stomatal lineage. In this study, we investigate the subcellular localization of the four SOK proteins, SOK1, SOK2, SOK4, SOK5, and their potential effector protein ANGUSTIFOLIA (AN). Each SOK protein and AN was C-terminally tagged with a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and transiently transformed into Nicotiana benthamiana leaf epidermal cells for examination of protein subcellular localization. These expression constructs driven by the endogenous promoters were also transformed in Arabidopsis plants for examination during stomatal development. If some of these proteins mirror the distribution of the BASL polarity protein, they may have a critical role in polarizing the dividing cell. These findings will ultimately allow researchers to further understand stomata development and plant cell polarity.

Biography: Taylor Rossiter is a rising junior studying at York College of Pennsylvania majoring in biological sciences (with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology) along with a minor in chemistry. She is extremely passionate about research which is fueled by a want to help others and make the world a better place. Once she graduates, she plans to attend graduate school to obtain her PhD and have career helping others by performing research for a large organization like the CDC or the NIH. Taylor is currently navigating the graduate school application process and narrowing down which schools will be the right fit for her.

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Giancarlos Solano

Farmingdale State College

Mentors:
Haydee Pacheco Dr. Deirdre O’Carroll

Investigating Inverted Organic Photovoltaic Devices on Silver Back Electrodes

The pursuit of achieving higher solar cell efficiencies has prompted the use of different metallic materials and structures in OPVs. Inverted polymer-based bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic (BHJ-OPV) device designs have enabled a breakthrough in operational lifetime through the use of stable electrode materials such as silver. Silver (Ag) is the optimal choice for electrodes because of its exceptional conductivity and reflectivity, along with minimal absorption loss at visible wavelengths. Additionally, nanostructuring silver enables increased light trapping and absorption qualities which improves efficiency. Here, we investigate the fabrication and efficiency of inverted BHJ-OPV devices on silver back electrodes in order to improve performance parameters. We demonstrate that inverted BHJ-OPV structures can produce a photocurrent response even when produced in ambient conditions. Furthermore, it was observed that a BHJ active layer on planar silver electrodes produced a higher photocurrent response at 0 volts. In addition, we observed enhanced photoluminescence from the BHJ active layer on nanostructured silver compared to planar silver electrodes. By further optimizing this work, it can lead to an important advance as it looks to examine the use of silver (Ag) back electrode configurations that can potentially lead to both high efficiency and high stability in inverted BHJ-OPV devices.

Biography: Giancarlos Solano is a rising senior undergraduate student who is currently pursuing a B.S.

degree in Electrical Engineering at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, NY. His current research at Rutgers University Department of Materials Science and Engineering involves fabricating thin film optoelectronics for the purpose of improved efficiency and performance. His future research interests are in nanotechnology as well as renewable energy systems.

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Grace H. Solomon

Drew University

Mentors:

Luni Hu and Nada Boustany, Ph.D.
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Examining the relationship between cytoskeletal tension and cell migration with a vinculin tension probe

While it is understood that cancer cells behave irregularly in comparison to non-cancerous cells, the reason why remains unclear. Cancer cells display increased cell migration and proliferation, behaviors that could be attributed to abnormalities in mechanical regulation. We aim to answer the overarching question: how does cytoskeletal tension regulate cell migration in cancerous and non-cancerous cells? We utilize a probe with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to measure tension across vinculin, a key protein in cellular adhesion structures. To facilitate quantifying vinculin tension in 3-dimensional models consisting of multicellular aggregates, frequency-domain lifetime microscopy (FLIM) is used to measure FRET. Thus, my work has focused on validating the effectiveness of FLIM-FRET in reporting VinTS tension in a controlled cell line, known as CHO-K1. This work consists of creating a calibration curve to accurately convert fluorescent lifetime to FRET efficiency. In addition, my work involves using an immunofluorescence colocalization assay to demonstrate that VinTS is being recruited to focal adhesions or adherens junctions. Future work will include collecting additional data and optimizing the immunofluorescence assay conditions. Once this is complete, the experiments will be transitioned into a cancerous cell line to begin investigating the relationship between cytoskeletal tension and cell behavior in regards to cancer metastasis. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Grace is a senior Baldwin Honors Scholar at Drew University majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a Minor in Neuroscience. She is active in her community as President of the GSE Chemistry Honors Society, President and Founder of the Empowerment in STEM club, Vice President of the TriBeta Biological Honors Society, and Corresponding Editor of The Drew Review – Drew’s Annual Research Publication. On campus, she works as a biology and chemistry tutor, teaching assistant, and writing specialist, as well as a tour guide. Grace was recently published in The Drew Review, awarded the Dean Cucchi Research Grant and Outstanding Junior Student Leader Award, and presented her research at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2023 Meeting. Upon graduating, Grace plans to obtain a Ph.D. in molecular biology or a related field, ultimately conducting impactful biomedical research and continuing to address underrepresentation in STEM.

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Aimee J. Straka

Virginia Tech

Mentors:

Li Cai, Zachary Finkel
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Tanner Clifford
Department of Neuroscience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Viral Delivery for Gene Therapy in Spinal Cord Injuries: Determining Tropism for Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells 

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating tissue injury that causes the reduction or loss of sensory and motor function. Sadly, there is no effective treatment for patients with SCI. Once SCI occurs, nearby neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) differentiate to form glial scar tissue around the lesion, which acts as a physical and chemical barrier to neurogenesis. However, the Cai lab has discovered a gene called Gsx1 that, when delivered by lentiviruses (LVs), induces NSPCs to differentiate into neuronal progenitors and specific interneurons, reduces glial scar, and results in functional locomotor recovery in mice with SCI. Unfortunately, due to insertional mutation, LVs pose a biosafety risk. In this study, we examined adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) as a delivery method to further advance the Gsx1 treatment. Our goal was to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of AAV-mediated gene therapy as an alternative. Our first aim was to compare the transduction rates of LVs to those of AAVs, and our second aim was to ascertain which NSPC population, ependymal cells or NG2+ glia, AAVs preferentially infect. Based on preliminary mouse contusion SCI studies, we hypothesized that AAVs preferentially infect ependymal cells. Four groups of rats with hemisection SCIs received intraspinal cord injections of AAV5, AAV6, and AAVrh10, and LVs, respectively The spinal cord samples were then sectioned and immunostained for NG2 (NG2+ glia) and Foxj1 (ependymal cell) markers. Viruses express GFP as a reporter, and cell nuclei were counterstained with DAPI. After performing fluorescent imaging and cell-counting for co-labeling, we found no significant differences among the overall virus transduction rates, indicating that AAV mediation may be a functional substitute for LV use. However, all 4 treatment groups exhibited a preference for ependymal cells. This confirms our hypothesis and suggests that while both NSPC populations are involved in viral gene therapy, ependymal cells contribute to the majority of neurogenesis after Gsx1 injection. These results are the first step in understanding how the Gsx1 treatment operates in the spinal cord. Future research should investigate migration and differentiation fate of infected NSPC cells. Support was provided by a grant from the NSF-EEC-1950509, REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.

Biography: Aimee Straka is a rising senior at Virginia Tech majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Over the past year, she has worked as a biomedical researcher at CytoRecovery, Inc., a biotech startup that constructs microfluidics cell-sorting technology. She also serves as the Director of Public Relations for the Quality of Life Plus Student Chapter at Virginia Tech, a design team that builds assistive technology for members of the community. Outside of academics, Aimee competes with Virginia Tech’s Club Cross Country and Track & Field team and is a part of the Epsilon Nu chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. This summer, she studied gene therapy for spinal cord injuries in Dr. Li Cai’s lab as a part of the Rutgers Cellular Bioengineering. After graduating, she plans on pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering with a focus on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

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Taylor S. Sullivan

The University of Texas at Austin

Mentors:
Michael Bai
Haoran Zhang

An examination of the construction and screening of bacterium E. coli amino acid sensor mutants

The amino acid tyrosine sensor protein (TyrR) is of applicable value in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The aim of this project is to develop TyrR mutants with improved sensing performance. Specifically, the gene encoding TyrR was first cloned into a plasmid vector, which underwent DNA mutagenesis to generate a library of TyrR mutants. The plasmid carrying the TyrR mutants was then introduced into two E. coli strains with different genetic features, creating the BTR10 and KTR10 cells. A three-stage screening process was performed to identify the most successful mutants that exhibit the best sensing performance. The mechanism behind the biosensor system involves the presence of TyrR and a corresponding mtr promoter in the cells for the expression of the antibiotic tetracycline resistance gene. In order for the mtr promoter to be activated to express the antibiotic resistance, the amino acid tyrosine must also be present. Also, the pACYCDuet-TyrR plasmid contains a T7 promoter that requires Isopropyl ß-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) to express the TyrR gene. By screening the constructed E. coli strains carrying the amino acid sensor mutants, this research aims to develop robust TyrR biosensors and provide insight into the selection and optimization of mutants for enhanced performance in biosensing applications.

Biography: Taylor Sullivan is a fourth year Biomedical Engineering student at The University of Texas at Austin. She is an undergraduate research assistant at her home university where she works on the development of injectable hydrogels for sickle cell anemia. Outside of the laboratory, Taylor is very active on campus. She recently served as the 2022-2023 Treasurer for the UT Austin Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. She will continue to serve with her board membership as the Freshman Action Team advisor in the upcoming year. In addition, Taylor works as the Student Administrative Coordinator for Engineering Student Life on her campus. In this position, she manages the finances of the student engineering organizations. Her time in and out of the laboratory has given her the opportunity to grow as both a student leader and a researcher. Taylor will continue to apply her knowledge to future biomedical applications and career advances.

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Miles W. Thomas

University of Washington

Mentors:

Andrew T. Mastbaum
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Low-energy neutrino directionality searches in pixelated LArTPCs

In the growing landscape of neutrino detectors, larger and more sensitive liquid argon time projection chambers (such as the DUNE near and far detectors) will allow for the detection of neutrinos with increasingly low energies, allowing supernova neutrinos and even neutrinos from potential dark matter candidates to be studied. A thorough investigation of these astrophysical phenomena requires detectors with the ability to determine the direction of incoming neutrinos, and most current algorithms are not designed with low energies in mind. We demonstrate reconstruction of initial electron direction from simulated tracks between 1 and 35 MeV on a pixelated detector, using a newly developed algorithm which leverages a machine learning classifier to disambiguate start from end points. At energies above 10 MeV, we show an angular resolution per electron of 30 degrees or better (above 5 MeV, a resolution of 50 degrees or better). We further extend this method to a simulated sample of supernova neutrinos, testing our reconstruction against the supernova energy spectrum.

Biography: Miles Winston Thomas is a senior undergraduate student who is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in physics at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. His current research at Rutgers university involves using machine learning algorithms to extract directionality information from neutrino detectors. His research interests include both nuclear physics and neutrino physics.

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Alessia J. Venturi

University of Florida

Mentors:

Ziyad Abouelenin, Aaron Mazzeo
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Tuning paper-based sensors for small protein detection

Paper-based sensors are a common choice for wearable devices due to their flexibility, affordability, and biocompatibility. Crafting a highly sensitive paper sensor allows for a non-invasive and affordable method to detect specific biomolecules, increasing the number of patients reached. To this end, we hypothesize that increased sensitivity in a paper-based sensor will depend on paper porosity, area of the sensor, and conductive ink constitution. To make the paper conductive, and thus able to measure an impedance, the paper is combined with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), graphene oxide (GO), and deionized water. All sensors are tested with a drop of an electrolyte and analyte solution of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), potassium ferricyanide (III) (ferri), and potassium hexacyanoferrate (II) trihydrate (ferro). Measurements taken using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicate the characteristics of the circuit, of which we look for replicability and significant charge transfer resistance values. Understanding the relationship between the measured sensor properties and changing sensor preparation protocol will allow for a broader number of measurable biomolecules and biosensing applications.

Biography: Alessia Venturi is a rising senior at the University of Florida pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biomechanics. She studies trauma coagulopathy and lung fibrinolysis at the University of Florida. Her current research at Rutgers University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering involves utilizing electrochemistry to measure biomolecule concentrations using paper-based sensors. Her future research interests are in biotherapeutics and the pharmaceutical sciences, as well as tissue engineering.

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Zacchaeus M. Wallace

The University of Southern Mississippi

Mentors:

Dr. David Shreiber and Dr. Kelly Kyker-Snowman
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

 

Using patient-derived samples to analyze correlation between peritoneal stiffness and ovarian cancer cell metastasis

According to the National Cancer Institute, metastasis accounts for over 90% of cancer deaths worldwide. It is associated with the high mortality rates of ovarian cancer, the deadliest form of gynecologic cancer. The mechanisms underlying metastasis remain poorly understood, and effective treatment options have not been identified to specifically mitigate this spread of cancer cells throughout the body. However, it is increasingly evident that cues from the tumor microenvironment contribute to metastatic behavior. In this research, the behavior of ovarian cancer cells in response to changes in stiffness is investigated. Our laboratory has developed a unique material, collagen methacrylamide (CMA), that maintains functional properties of type 1 collagen, such as bioactivity, biodegradability, and self-assembly, while also allowing stiffness to be tuned by the controlled ultraviolet (UV) light. Tumor-like spheroids were grown from HEYA8 cells, an ovarian cancer cell line. Spheroids were cultured within or on top of CMA and collagen hydrogels. Samples were either exposed or not exposed to UV. The outgrowth of cells from the spheroids was monitored over 3 days. We found the CMA hydrogels to have higher cell dispersion than collagen and the on conditions to be greater than the in conditions. These findings suggest that increased stiffness correlates to higher growth. This allows for the conclusion to be made that the CMA material can be further used with varying levels of UV exposure to mimic tumor stiffness in the peritoneum. Future work will repeat these experiments with more conditions regarding UV exposure and the use of patient-derived cells harvested from ascites fluid. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Zacchaeus Wallace, born in Jackson, MS, is a rising senior at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) majoring in Polymer Science and Engineering with a Chemistry minor. Zacchaeus is a Presidential Honors Scholar and undergraduate researcher in the Clemons lab focusing on the biomedical applications of polymers. While maintaining a 3.8 GPA, Zacchaeus is the President of the Men of Excellence and EagleTHON, the Vice President of Communications of the Student Government Association, and an Honors College Leadership Council Ambassador. Outside of the classroom, he also tutors and serves as a learning assistant for courses in mathematics. Zacchaeus plans to obtain a Ph.D. in Materials Science or Biomedical Engineering.

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Lauren N. Wenzl

Bucknell University

Mentors:

Dr. Rick Cohen, Dr. Francois Berthiaume
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Enhancing lab-grown meat texture: chemical and electrical stimulation of myoblasts for differentiation and muscle fiber alignment

Lab-grown meat is a promising alternative to traditional meat when considering the potential improvements to public health and the environment. To make this alternative practical for consumers, our aim is to recreate the texture of traditional meat. However, one major issue with cultivating meat in vitro is replicating the complexity of its aligned muscle fiber structure. The use of chemical and electrical stimulation was investigated to induce bovine myoblast differentiation and align the fibers in a single direction. Chemically induced myoblast differentiation was tested with a dose-response assessment of two drugs, SR9009 and Hemin. The interest in these two drugs stems from SR9009 being a known non steroidal exercise pill used for accelerated muscle growth, and Hemin being a form of iron found in mature muscle. A C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line was used for this model due to its modification of a myosin light chain promoter driving the expression of luciferase only in differentiating cells. The assessment defined the concentration range in which differentiation of myoblasts was promoted and identified limits that would inhibit differentiation. This was quantitatively evaluated by luciferase assays to ensure significant differentiation. Additionally, a series of varying electrical pulses have been tested to identify the conditions that best promote myotube alignment. A custom 3D-printed chamber was designed to create a controlled environment in which electrodes are secured at a distance to form the proper electric field across a collapsed monolayer of bovine myoblast cells. The myotubes are hypothesized to align in the perpendicular orientation to the electric field, and will be evaluated via image analysis. Finalizing these optimal conditions for myoblast differentiation and alignment will help achieve the proper texture for cultivated meat. This work was supported by NSF-EEC-1950509, “REU Site in Cellular Bioengineering: From Biomaterials to Stem Cells.”

Biography: Lauren Wenzl is a rising junior at Bucknell University pursuing a major in Biomedical Engineering. During her time at Bucknell, she has been involved in the club e-NABLE which fabricates 3D-printed hand and limb prosthetics for children, adults, and animals in need. This summer, she has had the opportunity to work with Dr. Rick Cohen in the Freeman Lab to work on their lab-grown meat project. She investigated chemical and electrical stimulation of myoblasts for differentiation and muscle fiber alignment for the purpose of enhancing the texture of the lab-grown meat. She would like to thank the REU in Cellular Bioengineering and her mentors for their support and guidance toward the completion of this research.

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Christian O. Zaprianov

Stony Brook University

Mentors:

Zengle Huang, Weida Wu
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University

Visualization of antiferromagnetic domains and domain walls in FeTe

Antiferromagnets are magnetic materials in which the spins of atoms align in an alternating pattern. Antiferromagnets tend to form domains where their antiferromagnetic alignments are rotated or translated with respect to one another. Understanding how these domains behave is important for future technological applications using antiferromagnets, such as in spintronic devices and compact storage media.

In this project, we investigate the magnetic order on the surface of the antiferromagnet FeTe using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM). SP-STM uses a fine magnetized tip to obtain magnetic structure of samples at the atomic scale, allowing us to determine the spin texture on sample surfaces. Examples include various types of magnetic domains and domain walls of the antiferromagnetic order in FeTe. We apply the Lawler-Fujita algorithm to STM images to obtain the displacement field we use to perform strain analysis around orientational antiferromagnetic domain walls to explore magneto-structural coupling. We also perform phase analysis of magnetic modulation to identify antiphase domain walls. In addition, we perform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements to explore the impact of domains and domain walls on local electronic density of states.

Biography: Christian Zaprianov is a rising senior pursuing a double major in physics and applied mathematics & statistics at Stony Brook University. His research interests lie in experimental physics, particularly in optics and condensed matter. He is a member of the Sigma Pi Sigma physics society and offers mentorship to underrepresented students through his university’s Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter. After graduation, he plans to pursue a PhD in experimental physics and aspires to become a professor of physics.