Regeneration has been a topic of research since the 18th century. Researchers have sought to understand and manipulate the mechanisms of regeneration, in the hopes of, applying these to humans. Human regenerative abilities are vastly different from those of salamanders. Interestingly, salamanders such as the newt possess high regenerative abilities and will, therefore, be used […]
C20: Insights Into Cell-cycle Dynamics and Regulation During Lens Regeneration in Pleurodeles waltl
Regeneration, or the ability to recover the architecture and function of the injured tissue, is a property shared by many organisms in the animal kingdom. However, for most organisms, including humans, regeneration capacity is lost or becomes limited after embryonic development, and declines with age. The mechanisms responsible behind the decline of regeneration capacity with […]
C25: Interactions Between Limiting Nutrients in Northern Hardwood Forests
Nutrient availability is a key factor in determining the productivity of an ecosystem. The concentration of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus is regulated by several mechanisms within the soil including their interactions with one another. These mechanisms, often referred to as co-limitation or stepwise co-limitation, often allow the availability of one nutrient to either […]
C26: Earthworm Community Composition Variation Under Different Types of Land Management
Earthworms provide a number of ecosystem services and are an excellent example of “ecosystem engineers” because they modify the soil habitat substantially. In this project, I test the effects of land management on earthworm abundance and community composition by comparing forest, agricultural fields, and restored prairie landscapes. This project was conducted at the Ecological Research […]
C42: Effects of Invasive Honeysuckle on Spring Wildflower Emergence
Invasive species, those being species that spread and thrive when outside of their native habitat, are a big issue in wildlife areas today. Amur Honeysuckle, the focus of my research, is a particular problem in the eastern United States. Compared to native plants, Honeysuckle grows its leaves out sooner and will keep them longer into […]
C55: Mice Behavior: Altering Purkinje Neurons Within the Cerebellum
Intracellular fibroblast growth factor 12 (Fgf12) is expressed throughout the central nervous system and is known to bind and regulate voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium channels are critical for the formation and propagation of neuronal action potentials. Fgf12 has also been identified as a locus of mutations underlying epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) and sudden unexpected death in […]
C58: Gene Networks Leading to Lens Fiber Cell Differentiation
The ocular lens is composed of two cell types; epithelial cells and fiber cells. Lens epithelial cells are the undifferentiated precursor to lens fiber cells which arise from epithelial cells. As these cuboidal cells go through differentiation into fiber cells, they go through major gene expression changes that elongate the cells and promote transparency. Cell […]
C63: Growth Rates and Body Stoichiometry of Juvenile Piscivorous Fish Differ Based on Dietary Phosphorus Content
The primary focus of this research project was on fish ecology and physiology. While most some animals can be flexible in terms of their body stoichiometry, the mechanism by which dietary nutrient content affects fish body stoichiometry and growth is still poorly understood, particularly for piscivores (fish who eat other fish). To better understand these […]
C70: Transposition of Mutator Transposons Increases Recombination Frequency in Maize
Meiotic recombination is an important phenomenon that results in genetic diversity and accurate segregation of homologous chromosomes. Mishaps in meiotic recombination can have severe consequences in humans, including pregnancy loss, congenital disorders, and other genetic diseases. In all eukaryotes, meiotic recombination is initiated by double-stranded breaks (DSBs) and is finished by the repair of those […]
C71: Investigating the Effects of Sex on Meiotic Recombination in Maize Hybrids
Meiotic recombination ensures the accurate segregation of homologous chromosomes and reshuffles genetic information to generate new combinations of alleles. The rate of meiotic recombination differs between species and is even different between male and female meiosis of the same species. Sex differences have important consequences for population differentiation, sex chromosome evolution, adaptation, and speciation. While […]