Newts are amazing amphibians that are capable of regenerating many body parts including their limbs, brain, heart, and many eye parts. Specifically, our lab focuses on the newts’ ability to regenerate their lens. Following removal of the lens, cells from the upper portion of the iris (dorsal iris) lose their identity as iris cells and […]
BRII-05: Retina regeneration is dependent on key neurogenic factors
Following injury, the embryonic chicken has the capacity to regenerate a neural retina via reprogramming of cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). After surgical removal of the retina, the injured RPE cells initially respond to injury by dedifferentiating to a more plastic state. However, in order to drive RPE to complete the regeneration process, […]
CSII-06: The Axolotl as a Model Organism for Retinal Regeneration
The retina is an eye structure that receives light from the environment and converts it to neural signals for the initiation of vision. When a human retina is damaged, a thin cell layer behind the retina – the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) – responds to the injury by creating a scar that results in loss […]
CSIII-01: Uncovering the Newt’s Regenerative Secrets
Over 14 million people in the United States are currently living with cancer, a disease not limited to humans. In fact, several other animals elicit the growth of tumors when exposed to cancer-causing compounds commonly referred to as carcinogens. However, the newt, a type of salamander, can remain cancer-free when exposed to carcinogenic substances at […]
CSII-04: Importance of predators in mosquito larvae avoidance of UV radiation
Mosquitoes act as disease vectors and are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Understanding the biology of these organisms can be beneficial for monitoring and preventing mosquito transmitted illness. During the aquatic larval stage, mosquitos are at risk of predation from backswimmers (Notonecta undulata) and from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation conditions. […]
CSI-02: Transfer, Optimization, and Characterization of Cold Atoms in a Magneto-Optical Trap for Ultracold Physics Experiments
The general research area of my project is on experimental ultracold atom physics, primarily on Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), with the objective of building an atomic transfer system necessary for a BEC experiment apparatus that is being built in Miami University. We use rubidium-87 atoms in our experiments, and part of the process of creating Rb-87 […]
CSIII-03: Usage of e-reader software in physics classrooms
Physics education research (PER) is broadly aimed at improving instruction and curriculum in the field of physics. It is a hybrid field consisting of education researchers as well as physicists, whose goal is to combine current research initiatives in order to improve physics education. Since this field is considered to exhibit disparities in terms of […]
CSIII-04: Explaining Occurrences of Sexual Assault on Airplanes through Routine Activity Theory
The topic of sexual assault has become an increasingly hot button issue thanks to social movements such as #MeToo and the publicization of victim experiences via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, there exists a gap in research regarding incidences of sexual assault that occur on transportation, specifically on airplanes. Even less research […]
CSI-06: How to Cool and Trap Atoms—Miami’s BEC Laboratory
The study of atoms in extreme conditions has been the frontier of all science. The deeper scientists prod the structure of these building blocks the more questions there are. Often these questions are hypothesized through mathematical models for the better part of human history our mathematical proofs have far exceeded are physical experiments. An example […]
BRIII-06: Stories and Struggles of the Hijra and the Kothi community in sex work in India
Men who transition themselves to women and dress up in what is called “feminine” attire to portray their womanhood are known as the “Hijra” people in India. “Kothi” are the men who take on the female role in sexual activities, to experience more penetration. Hijras mostly live in a house together and work under a […]