Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that is primarily responsible for serious respiratory infections (but potentially a wide variety of infections), and is becoming increasingly dangerous due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant mutant strains. A method of protection against A. baumannii could potentially be the use of monoclonal antibodies for treatment or prophylaxis. I have […]
A24: Avian Pathogen Mycoplasma iowae Alters Cell Shape in Response to Different Metabolites
Author(s): Natalie Young, Medical Laboratory Science and Microbiology Major Advisor(s): Mitchell Balish, Department of Microbiology Nathan Schwab, Department of Microbiology
A25: Regulation of Hydrogen Peroxide Generation in Response to Oxygen in Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a pathogenic species of bacteria responsible for up to two million cases of tracheobronchitis and atypical pneumonia every year, and also causes disease of the central nervous system and other anatomical sites. Although M. pneumoniae is unusual among bacteria because of its highly reduced genome and the absence of a cell wall, […]
A28: Evaluation of Ceramide’s Influence on Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase Activity in Cells Infected with Chlamydia
Members of the Chlamydiae family are bacterial pathogens that can cause sexually transmitted infection, respiratory infection, and ocular infection. While symptomatic infection is widespread in the U.S. and around the world, many more people have asymptomatic chronic infections. Chronic infection in women can cause tubal factor infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease, and can transmit to […]
A31: Micro Parties with Phage Astartes: A New Bacteriophage from Ruder Preserve
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s SEA-PHAGES program provides opportunities for college students in about 150 institutions around the world to participate in discovery-based science by isolating and characterizing new bacteriophages from the environment. Bacteriophages (phages) are highly abundant viruses that infect bacteria and play significant roles in ecology and health, with recent successes in helping […]
A51: Syphilis on the rise: prevalence, incidence, and vertical transmission in Peru and USA
Syphilis has been on the rise over the past decade around the world, with a 219% increase in the United States.6 This has been a significant concern, particularly for mothers, given that syphilis has the potential for vertical transmission from mother to fetus.2 Once vertically transmitted, side effects include stillbirth, neonatal death, premature delivery, or […]
B03: Optimizing Growth Conditions of Chlamydomonas Strains, Chlamydomonas malina and Chlamydomonas klinobasis
Understanding the growth characteristics and adaptive responses of psychrophilic organisms to varying environmental conditions is crucial for clarifying their ecological niche and potential applications in biotechnology. Psychrophilic organisms exhibit a preference for growth at 4ºC. Chlamydomonas malina originates from the Beaufort Sea and Chlamydomonas klinobasis originates from Svalbard, Norway. C. malina is a marine alga […]
C25: Suicide Among Resettled Bhutanese Refugees: Risk and Protective Factors
With an estimated suicide rate of 24.4 per 100,000, Bhutanese refugees who have resettled within the United States are experiencing a mental health crisis–this rate is nearly twice that of the general U.S. population which was 14.1 per 100,000 in 2021.1,2 Over 100,000 ethnic-Nepali citizens were forcibly removed from Bhutan in the 1990s.3 Many lived […]
C55: Investigating viral genes as possible sensitizers for drug resistant cancer cells
Chemotherapy and radiation induce cancer cell death through DNA damage; however, the prevalence of drug-resistant cancer presents a substantial treatment barrier. Previous investigations have connected the overexpression of DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a crucial enzyme in the DNA damage response (DDR), to chemotherapy resistant cancer cells. There has been much evidence to indicate that […]
C30: Effects of Salinity on Microdiversity of Enrichment Cultures from Antarctic Lakes
Lake Bonney is a saline Antarctic lake inhabited by a diverse microbial community. Algae are key members of the community and often have a sizable associated population of heterotrophs, providing them with more accessible organic carbon. The community is stratified throughout the water column, especially along the strong shifts in salinity (the chemocline) beginning 15 […]