This project explores the ability of various compounds to inhibit variants of the New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase (NDM) enzyme. Metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) are enzymatic resistance mechanisms expressed by a growing number of bacteria found to exhibit antibiotic resistance. While other resistance mechanisms can be treated, no clinically-viable inhibitor exists for MBL enzymes. Due to this looming threat, […]
C28: Bridging The Cultural Gap: The Association Between Students’ Perceptions of Peer Inclusivity and Inclusive Education
School climate is the quality and character of the school environment, and it has been shown to predict student academic achievement and mental health. Peer relationships are an important component of school climate. Therefore, in order to appropriately address variables correlated to school climate, it is vital to look at strong indicators of relationships, such […]
C32: The Controversy Of Mount Rushmore’s Land and Meaning
The general area of my research is in American and Native American studies. My research question is “What makes Mount Rushmore so controversial and how do both Americans and Native Americans view the monument and the land it is on?”. My research question is an excellent way of bridging two fields while at the same […]
C34: Engineering an Oncolytic Adenovirus Containing HMGA1-Antisense for Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer
Being one of the major cancers with the highest mortality rate and lowest 5-year survival rate, pancreatic cancer is growingly concerned world-wide. Recurrence rate after surgery is still high. Therefore, safe, affordable, and effective therapies are increasingly needed for a better outcome. The main objective of this project is to engineer an oncolytic adenovirus with […]
C35: Investigating the Role of the Gut Microbiome in the Onset of Type 1 Diabetes
My research is focused on Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its potential link to the onset of T1D. T1D is an autoimmune disorder with a high prevalence and increasing incidence worldwide. T1D is characterized by a loss of insulin secreting β-cells, which places afflicted individuals at risk of death from complications and decreasing their quality […]
C44: Molecular Chaperone Implicated in Cancer Causation: Investigating the Role of Grp94’s Pre-N Domain
Molecular chaperones are a class of proteins that identify destabilized or misfolded proteins to prevent their aggregation as well as assist them in reaching their native conformations. Heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) proteins are a class of molecular chaperones of which Glucose-regulated protein 94 (Grp94) is the endoplasmic reticulum paralog. While Grp94 is responsible for the […]
C75: Why Does Reducing fmr1 Expression Cause Males, but Not Females, to Succumb to an Immune Challenge?
Dysfunction of the Fragile X mental retardation (FMR1) gene results in the genetic disorder Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a primary cause of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). FXS patients exhibit developmental delays and learning disabilities. Although researchers have also reported immune dysregulation in FXS patients, and the fruit fly Drosophila, the role FMR1 plays in immune […]
C07-T: Effective Communicative Styles when Presenting Research to a Specific Audience
Students in a First Year Research Experience [FYRE] class, conducted group projects focussed on “Communicating Research to public audiences”. Specifically, the projects examine how research opportunities have been impacted by the pandemic, and how to best leverage the currently predominant online instructional environment. Our group examined the communicative interactions between disciplinary groups throughout the Miami […]
B22-P: Determination of Pinholin S21 TMD1 and TMD2 Helical Tilt Angles using CW EPR
Determining how a protein folds is one of the most difficult problems in biochemistry. One class of proteins are membrane bound proteins. Because a membrane is a difficult environment this class of proteins poses unique challenges to studying their structure. One of the methods that can be used to determine a protein’s folding conformation is […]
C25-P: A Study on the Influence of Nitrogen on the Folding Tendency of Ortho-Phenylenes
Within the field of organic chemistry, the stability of proteins and other organic molecules has always been factored into consideration for most reactions. Focusing on ortho-phenylenes, in this case ortho-sexiphenyl, we wanted to determine the effect of nitrogen substitution on its folding tendency. Polyphenylenes are well-known materials in chemistry due to their chemical stability, inherent conjugation, […]