Senior Independent Study Theses from 2021
Establishing a Functional Heterologous Expression System for Bacillus niacini Nicotinate Dehydrogenase and 6-Hydroxynicotinate Dehydrogenase Using Escherichia coli, Daniel T. Fleming
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Using a Protein Cross-Linker to Confirm Protein Disulfide Isomerase Interactions and Impact on Downstream Processes, Wilson M. Freije
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Tentative Detection of Phosphoarginine by LC-MS in M. xanthus, Asvin Gireesh
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Purification and Crystallization of MurG: Towards Structural Characterization of a Ubiquitous Antibiotic Target, Peter E. Greenwood Jr
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
A Boolean Model of Crosstalk Between Senescence and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, Marlayna Harris
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Homology Modeling and Protein-Ligand Structural Analysis of the Bacillus niacini NicAB Protein Complex, Wenhao Hu
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Layer up: An investigation of yeast flocculation in the context of genetic, environmental, and cell wall composition effectors, Brieanna Jarrell
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Polymicrobial Competition: Bacteria and Fungi Compete Using a Unique Toxin Secreted Through the Type VI Secretion System, Olivia Johnson
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
An Examination of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Pseudomonas chlororaphis in Response to Bacteriophage Therapy, Eric Kraus
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Evidence of Negative Cooperativity in Cytosolic Taurocyamine Kinase from Arenicola brasiliensis and its Implication in the Evolution of the Phosphagen Kinase Family, Mingyuan "Merlin" Li
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Deciphering the “Logic Puzzle” of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine: Investigating Cooperative Protective Effects of Artemisinin and Hyperoside Against Oxidative Damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kejun Liu
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Phenotypic and Biochemical Analysis of Active Site Variation in Thioredoxin: A Conserved Oxidant Defense Protein Responsible for Disulfide Bond Reduction in Cells, Eran N. Maina
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Elucidating the Biodegradative Pathway of Nicotinic acid by Bacillus Niacini: Defining the Biochemical Action of Bn DUF, Connor Thomas Mangan
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Host Domination: Characterizing Pseudomonas chlororaphis Bacteriophage’s Host Range and Binding Receptors, Marissa E. Norgrove
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Effect of Adipokinetic Hormone on Mating Receptivity of Aedes aegypti Females, Dhwani Parsana
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Investigating the Selective Advantages and Microenvironmental Requirements of Cellular Clustering Utilizing an Agent-Based Model of Yeast Flocculation, Alyssa N. Ramirez
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Characterization of Substrate Promiscuity for 6-Hydroxynicotinate 3-Monooxygenase: A Transient Kinetic Investigation of the Decarboxylative-Hydroxylation of 5-Chloro-6-Hydroxynicotinic Acid, Jack Charles Redick
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Stem Cell Research from 1990s – Present: The Development of iPSCs as a Response to Ethical Dilemma Surrounding Extraction of hESCs and Elucidating the Effect of Mechano-sensitivity during the First Differentiation Event of ESCs using Boolean Modeling., Hikmet A. Sherief
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; History
Impact of Active Site Motif Mutations on Yeast Thioredoxin 2 Activity, Shayna L. Vicker
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Investigating the Role of cAMP in the Sleep Phenotype of the Drosophila Fragile X Syndrome Model, Miura Wiley
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2020
Venom Self-Degradation: Active Peptide Breakdown by A. compressa Neprilysin to Facilitate Hypokinesia, James M. Alltop
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Impact of CXXC Motif Variation on the Function of the Yeast Thioredoxin Trx2, Morgan Bailey
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Analysis of Salmonella and Listeria Localization in a Hydroponic System and the Effects of pH Reduction on Pathogenic Growth, Michelle Biksey
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Seminal Fluid-Derived Adipokinetic Hormone (sfAKH) Influences Mating Behavior in Female Aedes aegypti with Observations on Accessory Reproductive Glands, Gemma Briggs
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Investigation of Phytophthora sojae’s RxLR effectors on the MAPK pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Michelle Chang
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Zombie Cockroaches: Emerald Jewel Wasp Venom-Derived Neuropeptide Tachykinin Modulates Neuronal Cells of the American Cockroach, Spencer Michael Coffman
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Impact of Various Degradation Pathways on Ribonucleotide Reductase Inhibitor Hug1 Stability in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Jason N. Constable
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Analysis of Bacteria - Host Interactions between Caenorhabditis Elegans and Unexplored Bacteria, Harrison G. Davenport
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Toxicity Analysis of OGT Inhibitor Et-OSMI-2 Against Strains of E. coli and Pseudomonas, Craig Deng
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Differential Expression Analysis of the Nic Cluster and Attempts at Characterizing the Nicab Complexes in the Novel Nicotinic Acid Degradation Pathway of Bacillus Niacini, Anh Dinh
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Impact of Tsa1 Subcellular Localization on its Biological Function, Daniel Dorman
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Barely Scratching the Surface: Examining the Relationship between Carotenoid Pigment and Immunity of Betta splendens with Bco1, Samantha B. Draves
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Wash Your Hands, You Filthy Animals! An Exploration of the Presence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Non-Clinical Settings, Ana R. Fairbanks-Mahnke
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Using the Protein Cross-Linker Divinyl Sulfone to Identify the Putative Client Proteins of Protein Disulfide Isomerases and Its Effects on ER Homeostasis, Benjamin Freije
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Caenorhabditis elegans' Use of Apoptosis in the Immune Response to Pseudomonas Bacterial Infections, Daniel Gail
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
No Need to Stress: The Effects of Protandim Supplementation on Counteracting Oxidative Stress via the Nrf2 Pathway, Kelsey Taylor Hall
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Mosquitoes Bloody Suck!: Identifying Potential Vectors and Non-Human Hosts of Mosquito-Borne Pathogens in Alajuela, Costa Rica, Emma R. Hambright
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Progress in Characterizing a Novel Root Exudate: Differential gene expression of Bacillus niacini DSM 2993 in Response to Nicotinic Acid through RNA-seq, Noah S. Helton
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Exploring Peptidoglycan Synthesis: Assessing the Viability of NagZ as a Potential Tool for Obtaining Lipid I, Robert Hunt
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Computational Analysis of PsAvh172 Data to Investigate the Targets of Phytophthora sojae in Soybean Host A Hierarchical Clustering Evaluation of Yeast RNA-Seq Data, Vi Huynh
Department: Mathematics; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Understanding the transcriptional control of a late expressing gene (BV1) of mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV), Sung Won Kang
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Investigating Changes in Protein Ubiquitylation following Sleep Deprivation in Drosophila melanogaster, Koral Kasnyik
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Organic Synthesis of Potential Small-Molecule Inhibitors for MurG: A Research Tool for Investigating Cell Wall Biosynthesis in Bacteria, Matthew J. Mahoney-White
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Active Site Variants of Yeast Thioredoxin 2: An Analysis of Biological Function, Enzymatic Activity, and Redox Partner Interactions, Stephen W. McGarry
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Identification and Characterization of a Halophilic UvrD Homologue, and its Incorporation into Helicase Dependent Amplification, Kevin Miller
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Genetic Control of Neural Development: An RNA-Sequencing Approach to Reveal dNab2 mediated Differential Gene Expression in D. melanogaster, Gargi Mishra
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Glow Up: An Investigation into Methods for Improving the Photostability of Fluorescent Proteins TagRFP657 and TurboGFP, Morgan A. Mooty
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor PHO4 localization when exposed to Phytophthora sojae effector protein PsAvh110, Alex Morris
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Investigating the Role of Phytophthora Sojae Effectors in Suppressing a Hosts Immune Response, Paulo S. Nunes Maldonado
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Determining the Infection Specificity of Bacteriophage Therapy in Multi-Species Biofilms, Mackenzie L. Owen
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Swapping the N-termini of Mitochondrial and Cytoplasmic Taurocyamine Kinase from Arenicola brasiliensis in order to Study the Importance of the Interactions Between the N and C Termini in Controlling Substrate Binding and Specificity, Brent N. Pederson
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Binding and Kinetic Mechanisms of 6-Hydroxynicotinate 3-Monooxygenase (NicC), A Decarboxylative Hydroxylase Involved in Nicotinate Degradation, Scott W. Perkins
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mutational Analysis of Putative Ubiquitination Sites in the Ribonucleotide Reductase Inhibitors Sml1and Dif1, Hunter T. Pierson
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Role of Adipokinetic Hormone in female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes Bloodmeal Digestion, Zainab Moyosore Saliu
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Expression, Purification, and Crystallization of S. aureus MurG: Towards Structural Characterization of a Putative Antibiotic Target, Leman WI Simpson
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Chemistry
Characterization of Ampulex compressa Venom Adenosine Deaminase That Superimposes and Antagonizes Purinergic Signaling in Periplaneta americana, Garrett S.D. Tinline
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Moorea Than You Bargained For: The Attempted Confirmation and Characterization of a Novel Arginine Kinase in Moorea producens, Anneliese C. Wagoner
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Seeing Color a Little Betta: Investigating the role of tyr in melanin-based phenotypic variation in Betta splendens, Sierra Weir
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Synthesis of Novel Fluorescent Unnatural Amino Acid Using Fluorophore from EVOblue 30 Fluorescent Dye, Meghan K. Wells
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mind Control? Immunohistochemical Analysis of Tachykinin Receptor and GABAergic Neurons in the Cephalic Ganglia of the Cockroach Brain, William J. Yakubik III
Department: Neuroscience; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Identifying Cell Fate Determining Transcription Factors during Zebra fish development, Qaiser H. Zaidi
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Spooky Scary Skeletons: Sexual Dimorphisms in the Cranial Morphology of Betta splendens, Sara Zidek
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019
Infection Control! Synergism in Hippocratic Wound Infection Theory and the Antimicrobial Efficacy of the Barbarum Plaster against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Araam Abboud
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Classical Studies
The Effects of Phytophthora sojae Effector Protein PsAvh110 on the PHO Regulon within Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Adebola R. Bamidele
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
“Got Sleep?”: An Investigation of Possible Proteomic Sleep Regulators in Drosophila melanogaster, Oscar Benjamin Bautista
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Save Our Masses from Starving: Development of a SOMS-Based Spatiotemporal Phytohormone Delivery System, Russell Boston
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Defining the Determinants of Substrate Binding for 6-Hydroxynicotinate 3- Monooxygenase (NicC) from Bordetella bronchiseptica RB50, Ryan Gerald Campbell
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Adipokinetic Hormone Receptors in the Reproductive Tract of Ae. aegypti Mosquitoes, coupled with the history of Ae. aegypti in Haiti, Fredi L. Carey
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; French and Francophone Studies
Dirty Hair, You Should Care: An Evaluation of Sebum Removal Ability by Common Cosmetic Absorbents and Organosilica on Human Hair, Caylee Cunningham
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Effect of Natural Products on Digestive Tissue and the Differential Expression of TRP Channels in Female Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes, Andrew DeLaat
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Exploring a Role for Dif1 in Promoting Genomic Stability, Nikhil Mukund Dole
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Investigation of Phytophthora Sojae’s RXLR Effectors Effect on the MEKK1/MAPK Pathway, Justin Fox
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Identification and Characterization of a Halophilic UvrD Homologue and its Incorporation into Helicase Dependent Amplification (Corrected), Devin Frisby
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Influence of Altered Ribonucleotide Reductase Inhibitor Degradation on Genomic Instability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Anna L. Gibbs
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Characterization of Fatty Acid Desaturase and Elongase Expression in Meleagris gallopavo using RT-qPCR Analysis, Andrew Irving Gold
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
A Boolean Model of Contact Inhibition of Proliferation, Eric C. Guberman
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Role of Arginine Kinase in the Cilia of Paramecium, Jasmine Herd
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Characterization of Metallothionein-2 (mt2) and Rad51 (rad51) as Potential Biomarkers for Cadmium Toxicity in Betta splendens, Kenneth A. Kalikasingh
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
To Be or Not To Be: An Investigation into the Pseudomonas protegens strain 12H11 VgrG2b Protein, Carolyn Lee
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Identifying Gene Targets of Phytophthora sojae Effector Protein PsAvh 172 by Synthetic Lethal Analysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Colleen O'Sullivan
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Protein Immobilization and Enzymatic Activity in Swellable Organically Modified Silica, Sarah Pitell
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Analyzing the Effect of Nab2 Overexpression on Pathological Phenotypes in a Transgenic Fly Model of Tauopathy, Adam C. Richert
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Biology; Neuroscience
Facilitating Studies of Peptidoglycan Synthesis: Optimizing NagZ Production to Enable Access to Lipid I, Noelle Sadallah
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Analyzing the effects of PsAvh110 on transcription factor PHO4 under low phosphate conditions, Jennifer Sanchez
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Defying the System: A Boolean Model of Neuronal Fate Decision and Aberrant Cell Cycle Re-entry in Alzheimer’s Disease, Carolina N. Shams
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Neuroscience
Identifying Mutations Acquired by Porcine Delta Coronavirus (PDCoV) For Infection of Chicken and Human Cells, Aditi Vijeth Sringeri
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Whose Got the Moves?: Building the Tools to Determine the Physiological Role of Arginine Kinase Genes in Caenorhabditis elegans At Lowered Gene Expression Levels, Madigan McKenna Strange
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Characterization of Synergistic Toxicity in a Fungicide-Insecticide Combination in Honey Bees, Emily K. Walker
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Investigation of the Development and Behavior of Heterogeneous Tumors, Afton H. Widdershins
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mathematics
Progress Towards Understanding Nicotinic Acid Degradation and the nic Operon in B. niacini Using Differential Gene Expression Analysis, Kaeli Zoretich
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018
Assessing the Subcellular Localization of Phytophthora sojae plant pathogen RXLR Effectors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae., Titas K. Bera
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Attempt at Expression of a Functional Recombinant Nicotinate Dehydrogenase from Bacillus niacini, Nathan M. Brownstein
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Everyday Acts of Amish Resistance: Contextualizing Patterns of Antimicrobial Susceptibility in a Small-Scale Agricultural Setting, Geoffrey Carney-Knisely
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Sociology and Anthropology
Using A Boolean Model to Identify Requirements for Successful Yamanaka Reprogramming, Campbell Elliott
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Elucidating the Physiological Role of a Putative Arginine Kinase in Myxococcus xanthus Utilizing Homologous Recombinants, Zachary J. Engfer
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
An Evolutionary Myx-up: Characterization of Bacterial Arginine Kinases in Species from the Order Myxococcales, Lindsay J. Fannin
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Niacini, Now You Don’t: The Catabolism of Nicotinic Acid and Nicotine and the Role of a Putative Monooxygenase Enzyme in Bacillus niacini, Sydney R. Fine
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Adsorption of Biomolecules by Porous Organosilica, Amy L. Graham
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Understanding Gene Expression Alterations Following Sleep Deprivation, Ksenia J. Klue
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
It's Ground Breaking: Development of Soil Insertion Passive Sampler for Chemically Informed Crop Management, Katherine J. Longo
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology