Transcript
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Summer Scholars Program
The Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship began to
offer a summer intensive program in 2010. Over the past 11 years
this program has evolved and grown, but the mission to provide
students with intentional and intensive faculty mentorship in a
scholarly project outside of the classroom has remained consistent.
CURS Summer Scholars collaborate as junior researchers with
their mentors, often times working in a research team, and receive
professional development through weekly workshops. The program
provides students a stipend allowing them to concentrate on
accelerating and broadening their academic interests. By working
directly with mentors on writing, data gathering, analysis and
problems solving, students learn about a specific topic in depth
while gaining new skills and polishing others that make them more
prepared for graduate school or employment post college. Each
collaborative team produces a scholarly product by the end of the
summer that serves as a permeant achievement for the student and
inspiration to future scholars. Over the years CURS has hosted
dozens of mentors and over 300 student scholars working together
to further student development and the research productivity of
Augusta University.
Ms. Melissa Knapp, CURS Coordinator
Dr. Quentin Davis, CURS Director
Order of Events
4:00 pm Welcome
4:05 pm Scholar Presentations Session 1 5:00 pm Scholar Presentations Session 2 5:55 pm Closing Remarks
Presentation Schedule
Session 1
4:05- 4:55
Room Innovation Investigation Discovery
Dr. Laurence
Miller, Moderator
Dr. Nai-Cheng Kuo,
Moderator
Dr. Beth Huggins,
Moderator
4:05 Gregory East
Brooklyn Zwinklis,
Sweta Munagapati,
Abby Huebsh
Amber Jordan,
Lauren Knussman
4:18 Dominic Broglio Ashley Koch
Chandler Borel,
Elinita Pollard
4:31 Richard Baker Justice Howley
Yvette Enru,
Taryn Lykes
4:44 Garrett Zills
Alexandria Carter,
Makayla Preston Alison O’Keefe
Session 2
5:00- 5:55
Room Innovation Investigation Discovery
Dr. Dustin Avent-
Holt, Moderator
Ms. Veronica
Williams, Moderator
Dr. Tadd Patton,
Moderator
5:05 Sawyer Branham,
Danny Roush
Madison Arsenault,
Halle Prine Radha Dobaria,
Jade Moore
5:18 Amber Warren Gabriella Benavides,
Garrett Hachem Nyjah Gee
5:31 Amy Wood,
Kyra Williams Josephine Widjaja
Olivia Feagler,
Emmanuel Faminu, Jenny Zhang
5:44
Trenijah Griffin,
Kiara Heffner
Hisham Kashif,
Dominic Robles
Samantha Bogle,
Taylor
Hammerstein
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We would like to thank the following constituents for their generous support:
Office of the Provost Division for Instruction and Innovation
AU Foundation
Thank you to our student assistants: Ms. Aria Leathers
Ms. Emily Flewellen
Thank you to our moderators: Dr. Nai-Chen Kuo
Ms. Veronica Williams Dr. Elizabeth Huggins
Dr. Tadd Patton Dr. Laurence Miller
Dr. Dustin Avent-Holt
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Special thanks to our workshop speakers: Dr. Craig Albert
Ms. Shannon Barwick
Ms. Amanda Boland
Dr. Darren Browning
Ms. Casey Derella
Dr. Holly Goodson-Rubio
Dr. Kim Gray
Dr. Jay Heslen
Mr. Anthony Holland
Dr. Tim Sadenwasser
Ms. Shinjini Spaulding
Ms. Samantha Shore
Dr. Catherine Slade
Dr. Alvin Terry
Dr. Sabina Widner
Dr. Seretha Williams
Ms. Hannah Youngblood
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Program Mentors and Scholars
Dr. Christi Amonson, Department of Music
Sawyer Branham, Danny Roush
Dr. Dustin Avent-Holt, Department of Social Sciences
Lauren Knussmann, Amber Jordan
Dr. Hannah Bennett, Department of Kinesiology,
Taryn Lykes, Yvette Enoru
Dr. Candis Bond, Department of English and & World Languages
Alison O’Keefe
Dr. Jennifer Bradford, Department of Biological Sciences
Ashley Koch
Dr. Trinanjan Datta, Department of Chemistry and Physics
Richard Baker, Gregory East
Dr. Maleah Holland, Department of Kinesiology
Gabriella Benavides, Garrett Hachem
Dr. Madison Kindred, Department of Kinesiology
Halle Prine, Madison Arsenault
Dr. Nai-Cheng Kuo, Department of Teaching and Leading
Amy Kersey Wood, Kyra Williams
Dr. Christy Ledford, Department of Family Medicine
Samantha Bogle, Taylor Hammerstein
Dr. Ellen LeMosy, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy
Abby Huebsch, Sweta Munagapati, Brooklyn Zwinklis
Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada, Department of Chemistry and Physics
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Garrett Zills, Dominic Broglio
Dr. Shogo Mori, Department of Chemistry and Physics
Nyjah Gee
Dr. Brian Muntean, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Josephine Widjaja
Dr. Jaclyn Murray, Department of Teaching and Leading
Amber Warren
Dr. Eric Numfor, Department of Mathematics
Alexandria Carter, Makayla Preston
Dr. Melanie O’Meara, Department of Art and Design
Kiara Heffner, Trenijah Griffin
Dr. Siva Panda, Department of Chemistry and Physics
Jade Moore, Radha Dobaria
Dr. Alan Saul, Department of Ophthalmology
Emmanuel Faminu, Jenny Zhang, Olivia Feagler
Dr. Sangetha Sukumari-Ramesh, Department of Pharmacology
and Toxicology
Hisham Kashif, Dominic Robles
Dr. Melanie Wilcox, Department of Psychological Sciences
Chandler Borel, Elinita Pollard
Dr. He Yang, Department of Mathematics
Justice Howley
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Abstracts
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A Dramaturgical Production Packet for Purcell's Dido and
Aeneas
Sawyer Branham, Danny Roush and Dr. Christi Amonson
Department of Music
Dramaturgy is the theory and practice of dramatic composition and
serves a theatrical production with working knowledge of historical
style, speech, and look. A production packet is a learning aide
created by dramaturgs to assist performers in fully understanding
and realizing their roles. Dramaturgy is especially helpful for any
production that features phrases, references, or ideas that are
unfamiliar to modern performers. The purpose of our research is to
create a production packet for Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and
Aeneas that is suitable for undergraduate college singers. We
accomplish this by first providing a brief overview and history of
the opera, along with a short biography for both the composer and
librettist. We then provide technical information, about the principal
characters detailing their relationships and motivations, as well as a
phonetic transcription of their names to assist pronunciation.
Additionally, we provide a glossary of terms and phrases to help
explain terms and phrases from the Old English that may be
unfamiliar to the modern performer. We include a section detailing
British Received Pronunciation and the International Phonetic
Alphabet as a guide to learning and performing an opera in an
English dialect. We conclude our packet with costuming concepts,
detailing looks for characters from previous productions.
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Defining the Boundaries of Productivity in Economic
Discourse, 1890-1960
Lauren Knussman, Amber Jordan and Dr. Dustin Avent-Holt Department of Social Sciences
The topic of our research is on the changes that occurred from 1890-
1960 in how productivity is defined. The underlying ideas we are
looking at are why these shifts around productivity occur and how
these shifts are accomplished. The method used was content
analysis. In total there were thirty-seven economic texts from 1890-
1960 coded using a protocol that was developed in the summer of
2020. Two books were read each week with two people assigned to
each text. We looked at words such as utility, wealth, and value to
see if they appeared and how their definitions changed. We used
background texts to get more information on why and how these
changes might have transpired and to give context for the topic. In
our research, there are shifts being observed within the theories of
Physiocrats to classical economists to neo-classical economists.
Physiocrats emphasized agriculture as the only source of production
and thus productive activities, while classical economists expanded
the focus to producing any material goods as being productive. The
final shift is when neo-classical economists change the focus of
economics to producing any utilities (both goods and services) as
being productive. There seems to be two possible explanations for
this shift in economic thought and discourse. One is internal within
the discipline of economics as the theoretical framework of the
discipline shifted from a focus on wealth to utility. The other is
external with the way things were counted in official statistics
changing which changed what got counted as productive.
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The CrossFit Culture: At the Intersection of Inclusivity and
Community
Taryn Lykes, Yvette Enoru and Dr. Hannah Bennett
Department of Kinesiology
The focus of this research was to investigate and explore the
perception of inclusivity within the CrossFit community,
specifically concerning those who are part of the LGBTQ+
community. Many sports have addressed inclusion strategies and
athletes' feelings of inclusion in recent years. The sport of CrossFit
is not immune to the challenges that present themselves regarding
the diversity, equity, and inclusion conversation. In response to
recent events, it was important to be mindful of members in the
CrossFit community who may not feel valued or welcomed. This
study attempted to explore the perceptions of inclusion within the
CrossFit community. For this study, the psychological subscale of
the Sense of Belonging Instrument (SOBI-P) was used to investigate
participants’ perceived feelings of being valued and accepted among
their CrossFit community. 369 people were involved in the
recruitment process and after further review, the final sample was
306 participants. The SOBI-P scores were analyzed using various
self-identifiers that included sexual orientation, gender identity, and
ethnicity. They were compared amongst each other to determine
whether there was a significant difference in SOBI-P scores.
Although the mean scores were noticeably lower, our sample size
was too small to prove that any specific communities or identities
had a lower sense of belonging (feelings of value, welcome, and
inclusion) compared to their dominant counterparts. However, a
larger sample size may later show a different conclusion.
Additionally, a qualitative component would be beneficial to grasp
a deeper sense of individual experiences across gyms. In hopes of
aiding in improving individuals' sense of belonging in their
community, a list of suggested outreach programs and ideas was
also created as a means to promote inclusive cultural practices
within gyms.
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STEM Students’ Perceptions and Use of the Augusta
University Writing Center
Alison O’Keefe and
Dr. Candis Bond
Department of English and World Languages
Writing centers are sites where students can receive one-on-one
support on their writing projects. They are a resource for writers of
all ability levels who want feedback, guidance, and advice. These
centers are common in higher education and, like other universities,
AU has a writing center that is open to writers of all skill levels,
disciplines, and needs. However, usage statistics have shown that
students in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math, and
medical) majors use the Writing Center less than students in other
majors, which is unexpected given that AU is a health-sciences
focused institution. To understand this trend, I conducted a study to
learn more about AU undergraduate STEMM students’ perceptions
and usage of the AU Writing Center. This study consisted of a
mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) survey that was sent
to all AU STEMM majors in the spring 2021 semester. In this
presentation, I will focus on the data from the survey and discuss
preliminary findings from that data. In particular, I will use
descriptive statistics to share usage trends based on major. I will also
share themes from the answers to the free-response questions,
wherein students described their reasons for using the Writing
Center and their suggestions regarding how the Writing Center can
better support STEMM writing. I will conclude by discussing how I
will wrap up the data analysis phase of my research and how the AU
Writing Center can use these findings.
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Detection of Genetic p65 Deletion in Mouse Bone Marrow-
Derived Macrophages and Microglia
Ashley Koch, Amy Trang and Dr. Jennifer Bradford
Department of Biological Sciences
A glioblastoma (GBM) is a grade IV, aggressive, brain tumor that
currently has no cure. Part of its aggressiveness is due to the
microenvironment being heterogeneous and made up of a variety of
recruited, non-cancerous cells. Many of these recruited cells are
immune cells like macrophages, which should function to destroy
tumor cells. Macrophages are associated with many solid tumors
and are often found in large numbers, which correlates with poor
prognosis. Microglia, which are a type of macrophage specific to the
central nervous system, are one type of non-cancerous cell that
makes up the GBM tumor microenvironment. Microglial tend to be
recruited quickly, and like other recruited tumor associated
macrophages, initially have an M1 phenotype, which is tumoricidal.
However, the M1 phenotype is often converted to an M2 phenotype,
which is cancer promoting. The canonical NF-kB pathway has been
implicated in the M1 to M2 transition, which is likely a factor in
GBM’s aggressive nature. In Dr. Bradford’s lab, bone marrow-
derived macrophage and microglia specific mouse models have
been created that should have a deleted NF-kB transcription factor
called RelA (or p65), in either bone marrow-derived macrophages
or brain microglia. We hypothesize this deletion would inhibit the
M1 to M2 switch, which could potentially make treating GBM
tumors more effective. Currently, various primer combinations are
being tested with harvested bone marrow-derived macrophages and
microglia cells to determine genetic deletion of p65 via polymerase
chain reaction.
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Investigating X-ray Momentum and Polarization Behavior of a
Magnetic Ion
Richard Baker1, Mark Dean2 and Trinanjan Datta1
1Department of Chemistry & Physics
2Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven
National Laboratory
X-ray spectroscopy can reveal magnetic properties of elements,
ions, and compounds. Interaction of x-rays with magnetic materials
typically preserve rotational momentum. Recently, however, an
experiment and a theoretical prediction has indicated otherwise. In
these studies, it was found that an incoming and an outgoing x-ray
beam may maintain its state of zero rotational polarization yet
causing a rotational spin-flip excitation inside the crystal. Such an
imbalanced scattering process implies an apparent non-conservation
of angular momentum. In this investigation, I have utilized x-ray
scattering software to compute the trend in the left and the right
circularly x-ray polarized beam causing magnetic spin-flip
transition versus the x-ray scattering angle. Based on the study we
conclude that a classical scattering theory approach seems to
conserve momentum without providing any further detail on how
and why it occurs. Thus, to resolve the issue one may need to
investigate the system from a quantum perspective.
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Electrophysical Response of the Human Nervous System
Greg East1 and Trinanjan Datta2
Department of Mathematics & Department of Chemistry & Physics
The nervous system in the human body operates on electrical
conduction, meaning that nerves send electrical signals amongst
each other to communicate information. So, when nerves are
damaged in ways such as obstetric and surgical trauma, diabetes,
and neurologic conditions, electrical pathways in the body are
broken, which leads to loss of muscle control and other bodily
functions. To treat such patients, doctors at the Medical College of
Georgia have carried out studies that show that damaged nerve
function can be improved by low frequency magnetic field
stimulation. However, the interaction mechanism of how magnetic
fields interact with damaged nerves is currently unknown. The goal
of this project is to understand how electrical signals can interact
with the human nervous system. Utilizing the computational
neuroscience Hodgkin-Huxley model we attempt to model how
nerves respond. We compute the voltage and current behavior and
firing rate of neurons. We use a computational method to simulate
differential equations which describe nerve conduction in the human
body. This is the first step of a multi-year research project which
will eventually combine the effects of external magnetic field
response of human nerves.
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Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Daily Physical Activity and
Food Intake in Tactical Athletes
Gabriella Benavides, Garrett Hachem and Dr. Maleah Holland
Department of Kinesiology
Tactical athletes are individuals who work in an occupation that
endures a large amount of physical activity in life-threatening
conditions. Some tactical athletes are at risk of developing health
issues such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Intermittent fasting involves fasting for several hours and eating for
the remaining hours of the day. Firefighters may benefit from
intermittent fasting because of their spontaneous shift. Some
firefighters may already be intermittent fasting with their current
work habits. Our 8-week long study involves 20 participants
separated into two groups, control and, fasting. The fasting group of
participants will fast for 16 hours and eat for the remaining 8 hours
of the day, while the control group will stay continuing with their
normal eating habits. The participants will fast for 3 days during the
week for 7 weeks in total. Our study is analyzing the effects of
intermittent fasting on a tactical athlete’s physical activity, eating
habits, and sleep habits. My section of this study is comparing the
daily physical activity levels of both groups. All participants will
wear an Actigraph Activity watch for 7 days to track their movement
each minute. Fasting may cause our fasting group of participants to
become more lethargic during their fasting days. This lethargic
feeling will cause them to have a lower daily physical activity level.
Since this study is 8 weeks in total, we currently do not have the
results of each participant. The results we have so far include the
baseline week of 8 participants.
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Press Play to get Active: Using Podcasts to Increase Steps
Halle Prine, Madison Arsenault, and Dr. Madison Kindred
Department of Kinesiology
As of 2018, the prevalence of obese adults was 42%. Individuals
who are obese increase their likelihood of developing heart disease,
stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers. The United States
alone spent 147 billion dollars in 2008. Unfortunately, we see even
more drastic numbers with children and young adults developing
obesity, which is why “adult-onset obesity” is no longer a term used.
The implementation of physical activity in overweight to
moderately obese individuals can drastically decrease the risks
involved with cardiovascular disease and other prominent health
conditions. The Center for Disease Control highlights physical
activity as a fundamental lifestyle change for individuals who are
overweight or obese. Therefore, it is critical to develop a physical
activity program for overweight, obese adults. The purpose of this
study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Podcasts
usage to increase physical activity duration (mainly steps) in
individuals classified as overweight to moderately obese.
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Exploring Daisaku Ikeda’s Human Education Lesson Design
and Educators’ Perspectives
Amy Kersey Wood, Kyra Williams and
Dr. Nai-Chen Kuo
Department of Teaching and Leading
In Ikeda’s philosophy, the ultimate purpose of education is for each
student to attain value creation, lifelong growth, and happiness.
Expanding and extending the work of his mentors, Tsunesaburo
Makiguchi and Josei Toda, Ikeda proposes using Ningen kyōiku
(human education) to develop the greater self in each student.
Purpose: Although educators are eager to cultivate humanity in
their students, most of their training in teacher education programs
is centered on professional knowledge and skills. Lacking
experience in incorporating humanity in the curriculum makes
educators feel uncertain about engaging students in humanity. Our
research study aims to fill this gap by sharing concrete examples.
Methodology: Exploratory qualitative analysis was utilized. We
synthesized eighteen book chapters contributed by twenty-two
scholars in Ikeda studies. We then selected six children’s stories
developed by Ikeda to design our lessons. Finally, we collected and
analyzed ten K-12 educators’ perspectives toward humanity and
their feedback on our lessons. Findings/Conclusions: Our synthesis
indicates that the major themes in Ikeda studies include human
revolution, global citizens, value creation, dialogue, and happiness.
Our preliminary data show that all participants value humanity, and
they considered our lesson plans practical in the K-12 classroom.
Implications: Our study introduces Ikeda’s philosophy on
humanity and his children’s stories to educators. These stories are
free and open to the public. By providing concrete examples of
lesson plans and exploring the participants’ perspectives on
humanity and their feedback on these lessons, we help educators see
how human education can be actualized in the K-12 curriculum.
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Structural Barriers that Affect Vaccine Uptake
Samantha Bogle, Taylor Hammerstein and
Dr. Christy Ledford
Department of Family Medicine
Although the COVID-19 vaccine has become readily available to all
people over the age 12, low vaccine uptake persists throughout the
Southeastern US. Many people are still hesitant about receiving the
COVID-19 vaccine and what the long-term effects may be if they
do. COVID-19 has taken the lives of more than 605,000 people and
left others with detrimental and lifelong post-illness health
problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the structural
barriers that reduce vaccine uptake. Using a grounded theory
approach, data collection for this study was done through interviews
from people who reside in the Augusta area. For this study,
grounded theory is the development of social concepts and theories
throughout the data analysis process. Inductive coding was used to
analyze data. Preliminary analysis indicates that three factors
intersect to influence vaccine uptake: structure, culture, and agency.
Participants described how the workplace and local governmental
rules impacted how they understand COVID and their own
motivation to get the vaccine. Participants also described how local,
family, and religious culture and how their own identity affected
their decision and ability to get the vaccine. The primary structural
barriers to vaccine uptake were unclear medical advice, changing
rules and regulations, and questionable sources of vaccine. With this
information public health officials can assess these barriers and
construct a method to help patients and providers overcome these
barriers.
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Extracellular Matrix Tinagl1 in Craniofacial Development and
Wnt Signaling
Abby Huebsch, Sweta Managapati, Brooklyn Zwinklis and Dr.
Ellen LeMosy
Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy
This project was designed to explore the functions of
Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 (tinagl1). Preliminary data
from our lab suggests that the function of tinagl1 is important for
proper skeletal and craniofacial development. A review of literature
implicates tinagl1 in several different processes, including
Wnt3a/beta-catenin signaling for the development of the
extracellular matrix, and also in a mechanism involved in the
prevention of triple-negative breast cancer (Sheng et al., 2019). Our
ultimate goal is to understand the function of tinagl1 in craniofacial
development. The summer goal was to develop methods and tools
to enable this analysis.
We utilized two different and independent gene editing
techniques to remove the function of tinagl1 during the embryonic
development of zebrafish to determine its role in craniofacial and
skeletal development. Our first approach to remove tinagl1 function
involved using a gene editing technique known as CRISPR which is
designed to give quick results. Our second approach used a
GeneWeld technique to create a slow but high-quality knockout
mutant strain.
When we are confident knockout has been achieved, we
intend to utilize bulk RNA sequencing on both the mutant and
wildtype embryos, to compare expression of tinagl1 and any genes
under its control. In order to prepare for the bulk RNA sequencing,
we have analyzed single cell RNA sequencing data from external
datasets to locate when and where tinagl1 is expressed during
development.
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Spatial and Time-Dependent Cell Divison Patterns in a
Confluent Cell Monolayer
Dominic Broglio and Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada
Department of Chemistry & Physics
The microscopic spatial environments and time are two factors that
influence cell division. Spatial factors such as the number of
neighboring cells, distance between dividing cells, and the angle at
which cells divide are all factors that may impact cell division.
Additionally, time events such as the frequency of dividing cells
also have an influence. By quantifying how such environmental and
time events facilitate cell division, a stronger comprehension of how
monolayer cellular division operates based on spatial environmental
and time-dependent patterns will result. Our research explores the
possibilities of spatial environmental and time-dependent patterns
of cell division in a confluent monolayer of Madin-Darby Canine
Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells by examining Differential
Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) recording obtained from
experimental collaborators. The grayscale recording is split into 140
frames with each frame being a minute long and displaying cells
within a field of view size 865 μm x 659 μm monolayer cell culture.
Based on the gathered spatial environment data, it was determined
that dividing cells typically have five to six nearby cells that do not
immediately participate in division. Additionally, the average
distance between dividing cells is 382.2 μm. As for the time data,
the frequency of dividing cells has a wave pattern with rough peaks
where cell division is frequent and valleys where cell division rarely
occurs. Overall, the data gathered suggests that there are underlying
spatial and time-dependent patterns that are shared by nearly every
dividing cell within this confluent monolayer culture.
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Role of Time Dependent Cell Stiffness Change in
Tumor Invasion
Garrett Zills, Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada, and Dr. Trinanjan Datta
Department of Chemistry & Physics
Cell migration occurs when wounds heal, tumors invade, and organs
form during embryo development. Even though the biochemical
factors that support cell migration is comparatively well studied,
how physical forces affect cell migration is not well known. Hence,
a physics-based understanding of cell migration could pave the way
towards the development of novel cancer treatment. Using physics
based computational modeling, we investigate the migration of
cancer cells in tumor spheroids during initial stages of tumor
growth. Using a three-dimensional model incorporating cell birth,
cell death and physical interactions based on cell stiffness and
adhesion, we track cell movement during the first week of tumor
growth. We compute how far the cancer cells displace and how large
the tumor becomes over time for multiple individual cells. We
conclude that modulated cancer cell stiffness, due to actin build up
and decay, leads to suppressed cell dynamics and reduced size of
cancer tumors.
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Hijack the Inactive Enzyme: a Novel Enzymatic Machinery
Nyjah Gee and Dr. Shogo Mori
Department of Chemistry & Physics
Natural Products (NPs) are a major source of drugs and drug leads
which can be found in microorganisms, plants, and fungi. NPs are
produced by different types of enzymatic families, one of the largest
being nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). NRPS consists of
modules, each of which is made up of multiple domains, structural
units of a protein that can function independently. By the
orchestrated actions of the modules and domains, NRPSs produce
extremely diverse peptide NPs called nonribosomal peptides
(NRPs). This project focuses on one of the fundamental NRPS
domains, adenylation (A) domain, which activates and transfers
specific substrates to the carrier protein for the subsequent reactions.
The NP of interest for this project is thiocoraline, which is an NRP
with antitumor activity found in a marine organism. TioN is one of
the enzymes needed to synthesize thiocoraline. TioN, a stand- alone
A domain, has been suggested to take the place of other A domains
and transfer its substrate onto thiolation (T) domains that have their
own partner A domains. This would be the completely novel
function of an A domain. In order to test this out, enzymes needed
for the subsequent in vitro enzymatic assays were transformed,
overexpressed, and purified to establish if the use of TioN will
produce the molecule 3-hydroxyquinaldic acid (3HQA)-L-Cys
which is seen in the structure of thiocoraline, instead of 3HQA-L-
Ser which could be a product of the enzymatic reactions without
TioN.
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THE ROLE OF KCTD5 ON NEURONAL SIGNALING
Josephine Widjaja and Dr. Brian Muntean
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Motor skill acquisition and refinement relies on adaptations in the
nervous system. One-way neuronal circuits are tuned is though
cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling. Therefore, disruptions of the cAMP
pathway is causal to a spectrum of movement disorders. Although
many cAMP regulators have been characterized in other cell types,
there is less known about these regulators in a neuronal
environment. Potassium channel tetramerization domain 5
(KCTD5) has recently emerged to interact with components of the
cAMP production pathway. As KCTD5 neurobiology is in its
infancy, discovering how and where KCTD5 interacts with other
proteins in its cellular environment may enable a better
understanding of the pathway of neuronal signals. Here, we
modulated KCTD5 expression and location in both primary neurons
and HEK293 cells. These cells were treated with agonists of the
cAMP production pathway and the concentration of cAMP was
observed using confocal imaging of cAMP biosensors. Our studies
suggest that KCTD5 as a regulator act on the positive and negative
inputs on the cAMP production pathway and therefore play an
important role in the ability of cells to process input stimuli.
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Approaches to STEM Concept Learning in Online
Environments
Amber Warren and Dr. Jaclyn Murray
Department of Teaching and Leading
Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were thrust into
an unfamiliar environment and given few guidelines about how to
engage learners in science in a virtual space. Our research focuses
on the pedagogical practices that physics teachers used to present a
variety of topics in a hybrid semi- synchronous/asynchronous
environment. We have reviewed a series of videos, posted on
YouTube over the course of 2 weeks, by a group of physics
instructors working together to prepare high school physics students
for the AP exam. We have coded relevant data and input it into a
spreadsheet on excel that we then analyzed to look for patterns of
behavior. Our research has shown that these instructors have been
limited to demonstrating how to plan and carry out an investigation.
Students have little opportunity to be involved in the process
themselves. However, we have also seen, in the brief period in
which our study was conducted, that instructors have sought out
student feedback and adapted the lessons to better suit students’
virtual needs. They also utilized several different strategies of
trying to engage students in real time, even though, in many cases,
lessons were asynchronous. Lastly, these instructors often referred
students to alternative resource videos to deepen their knowledge on
the material covered in the given lesson. While there is still much to
be learned about engaging virtual students in the exploratory
process, our findings indicate that instructors are eager to learn and
adapt to this new environment.
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Modeling the Effects of Media on COVID-19 Transmission in
Georgia
Alexandria Carter, Makayla Preston and Dr. Eric Numfor
Department of Mathematics
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in Wuhan Province, China in December 2019 is a zoonotic disease, derived from viral particles in bats. In this project, we formulate an SEIR model of SARS-CoV-2 with two susceptible classes comprising individuals who are unconscious to COVID-19 spread and control and those who are conscious to the virus due to media coverage. The disease-free equilibrium of our model is derived, and the basic reproduction number is computed, using the next generation matrix approach. To identify parameters that are sensitive to the reproduction number, we studied the elasticity indices of the reproduction number with respect to each parameter and identified parameters that are most sensitive in increasing the reproduction number and those that are most sensitive in decreasing the reproduction number. Numerical simulations suggest that as more unconscious susceptible humans transition to conscious susceptible humans, there is a decrease in disease prevalence and a delay in the peak time of maximum prevalence in the population. Furthermore, an increase in the messaging rate of COVID-related information by conscious susceptible humans results in a decrease in the basic reproduction. The outcomes of our contour plots suggest the possibility of eradicating the virus from the population under different combinations of the messaging rate by conscious susceptible humans, the rate at which COVID-related information wanes and the transmission rate of the virus. Results of numerical simulations and contour plots highlight the importance of media in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the population.
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Exploring Movement and Staging Possibilities in Historical
Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione
Kiara Heffner, Trenijah Griffin and Dr. Melanie O’Meara
Department of Art and Design
Looking through the lens of Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre, we
analyze a select group of portraits of The Countess de Castiglione,
Virginia Oldoini. The framing of the show and other details such as
specific props and set designs to articulate some of Brecht's methods
by using the nonlinear style of storytelling. We used the collected
information that was given prior to adapted scenes consisting of
parallel struggles The Countess experienced to the social unrest
that’s prevalent today. Exercises such as antidotes, haikus, and the
rendition of a smoke poetry helped curate other scenes to grasp the
creativity The Countess herself used in her portraits. Ultimately, our
project will result in a fully realized stage production, “Is She Mad,
Or Does She Joke,” at Augusta University.
For our CURS summer scholars research project, we used Bertolt
Brecht’s Epic Theatre to explore and analyze a select group of
portraits of the Countess de Castiglione. Historically, the Countess
has been framed in a negative light, and we draw on the details in
some of the portraits to highlight her creativity and craftiness.
Through writing and movement exercises, we have contributed to
the theatrical script “Is She Mad or Does She Joke,” which will be
staged for a public audience in the fall of 2021 at Augusta
University.
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Design and Synthesis of Potential Drug Candidates for SARS-
CoV-19
Jade Moore, Radha Dobaria and Dr. Siva Panda
Department of Chemistry and Physics
In December of 2019, an unknown viral infection was identified
from a local fish inside of an animal market in Wuhan, China after
which, the virus spread hastily across China and the rest of the
world. This led the WHO to identify the virus as a severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which we also
know as COVID-19. As of today, there are very few therapeutic
drug options. The drug development process is a long, expensive,
and difficult process. Therefore, many existing antiviral drugs are
being repurposed to become possible candidates for drug therapies
with COVID-19. In this current study, we have considered the
scaffolds from the existing drugs (chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine
and favipiravir) to develop new potential drug candidates from
COVID-19. A set of new compounds designed and synthesized by
following an optimized synthetic route. All the synthesized
compounds were analyzed by spectroscopic techniques. The
preliminary antiviral properties of some of the compounds against
SARS-CoV-2 are encouraging. We are in the process of
synthesizing more possible potential compounds and will be tested
once we obtain them in pure form.
29
Comparison of Techniques for Discriminating Retinal Changes
in Diabetic Mice
Emmanuel Faminu, Jenny Zhang, Olivia Feagler and Dr. Alan
Saul
Department of Neuroscience/Ophthalmology
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes caused by high
blood sugar damaging the blood vessels in the retina. Once the blood
vessels are damaged, the effects are irreversible and can lead to
vision loss and distortion. This study observes the effects of diabetic
retinopathy within diabetic mice and examines how the retina’s
structure and function are compromised. In order to perform a more
detailed evaluation of the retina, five different tests were used
looking at separate parts of the retina. The study’s main focus is to
directly compare each of the five different methods used in order to
determine how the tests differ from each other and to discern which
test is best at discriminating retinal changes.
The five tests used were pattern electroretinography (PERG),
conventional electroretinography (ERG), optical coherence
tomography (OCT), scotopic threshold response (STR), and
Optomotry. The ERGs assessed outer retinal function, the STRs
evaluated inner retinal function, the OCTs allowed for closer
examination of the retina’s structure, and the Optomotry observed
behavioral patterns of the mice based on visual function. The five
tests showed the diabetics’ results and the controls’ results to vary
insignificantly, and from surface analysis, the diabetic mice showed
to only differ from the controls in PERGs and in OCTs. The results
of the study contradicted our hypothesis. It was expected that the
diabetics would have worse test results, but in the case of this study,
the controls and diabetics were quite similar with some of the
diabetics showing better retinal responses than the controls.
30
MicroRNA Dysregulation After ICH
Hisham Kashif, Dominic Robles and Dr. Sangeetha Sukumari-
Ramesh
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating subtype of stroke
with high morbidity and mortality. ICH is characterized by non-
traumatic extravasation of blood into the brain parenchyma,
resulting in primary brain injury caused mainly by the mass effect
of the hematoma. The subsequent secondary brain damage is largely
attributed to the neurotoxicity of leaked blood components and
neuroinflammation. There is no effective treatment for ICH, but
neuroinflammation, a critical component of secondary brain
damage, is widely regarded as a potential target to improve
neurological outcomes. To this end, emerging studies demonstrate
that microRNA (miR) dysfunction can contribute to
neuroinflammation. miRs, small conserved non-coding single-
stranded RNAs, are key regulators of gene expression and are
crucial to various biological processes through binding to the 3’
untranslated region of messenger RNA. A single miR can regulate
multiple transcripts, and pathologies are often associated with
aberrant miR expression. Herein, we provide an overview of the role
of miRs in regulating neuroinflammation after ICH.
31
A Pilot Study of Psychological Wellbeing, Social Wellbeing,
and Racism
Chandler Borel, Elinita Pollard and Dr. Melanie Wilcox Department of Psychological Sciences
White Americans face many advantages solely based on their race.
For example, poverty for African Americans is more pervasive than
poverty for White Americans. This results in intergenerational
poverty in African American families, whereas White Americans
are more likely to overcome poverty in a generation or two (Delgado
& Stefancic, 2017). Despite these privileges, White Americans fare
comparatively worse than Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BIPOC) in America and White people in other countries on some
measures of health (Malat et al., 2018). Malat and colleagues’
(2018) model suggests that both racist ideologies and poorer health
may be related as simultaneous consequences of Whiteness.
However, there has not been much research conducted on the
detriments of Whiteness for White people. Thus, we examined the
relationship between Whiteness, wellbeing, and racist ideologies.
Understanding these relationships could help alleviate detriments to
wellbeing in White Americans, and by mediating these issues, the
wellbeing of BIPOC may be improved due to a decrease in racist
ideologies in White Americans. Our survey study included the
Colorblind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS; Neville et al. 2000),
Social Dominance Orientation Scale (SDO; Ho et al., 2015), the
Expanded Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (Morrill et al.,
2019), measures of flourishing, languishing, and social wellbeing
(Keyes, 2005), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale
(Andrews & Slade, 2001).
Keywords: Wellbeing, racism, Whiteness
32
Inverse Problems for a Brain Tumor Model
Justice Howley and Dr. He Yang
Department of Mathematics
Glioma cells are one of the most common forms of brain tumor,
making up around 33 percent of all brain tumors. They can grow and
originate from any part of the brain and grow to reach the nervous
system and spinal cord. Studies have been presented to better
understand and estimate the growth of these glioma cells, but few
studies have sought to examine the existence of inverse problems to
solve the growth rate (known as the proliferation coefficient) of
glioma cells. This project’s main goal is to solve and program a one-
dimensional forward model that can calculate cell growth, as well
as construct an inverse model that solves for the net proliferation
coefficient as a function of time. We will analyze these equations
through literature research, and solve for them given specific
conditions by programming them into a numerical computing
environment known as MatLab. The purpose of this project is to
develop a new methodology to reconstruct conditions to better
estimate net proliferation, as well as solve for two-dimensional
models that need to account for glioma cell concentration. The
outcome of this project will be a simulated model of the forward
equation for glioma cell concentration, and a working algorithm for
the inverse problem where our proliferation coefficient is time-
dependent and evaluate the computational results. We also hope to
publish these findings in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
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