Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019
A Bioinformatic Analysis of Halophile Helicases, Austin N. Morit
Department: Biology
Bumblebees Can Learn and Remember Floral Coloration Differences on a 3D printed Model of American Bellflower, Campanula americana, Mary Kate Norton
Department: Biology
The Characterization of Mary Shelley, a Drosophila Ortholog of the Mammalian Cables1 Protein, In the Drosophila Larval Brain and Ventral Nerve Cord, Erin Killeen O'Connor
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
How Effective is Tle1, an Effector Protein, at Interacting within a Microbiome? A Study of Tle1 and how it COuld be Used Against Bacteria Associated With Probiotics Cultures, Myles P. Parker
Department: Biology
Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Zika Virus- and Dengue Virus- Neutralizing Antibodies, Caroline Elisabeth Peterson
Department: Biology
Characterization of Opsin Genes in Betta splendens, John R. Petrecca Jr
Department: Biology
The Effect of Male Fin Ornamentation on Female Mate Choice in Betta Splendens, Alexis Noel Popejoy
Department: Biology
The Effect of Acute and Chronic Stress on Macronutrient Preference in Male Rats, Sochina Ranjit
Department: Biology
A Comparison of Salamander Community Composition in Early Successional and Mature Forests, Austin C. Russell
Department: Biology
A Study on the Efficacy of Bacteriophage Therapy and Other Stories, Allison Secard
Department: Biology; English
The Effects of Temperature Manipulation on the Rate of Telomere Shortening During the Nestling Period of the Eastern Bluebird, Sialia Sialis, Bridget Serrurier
Department: Biology
Comparing the Allelopathic Potential of Invasive, Native, and Hybrid Myriophyllum Watermilfoil Species from Wisconsin Lakes on Microcystis aeruginosa Blue-Green Algae, Linden Ann Taylor
Department: Biology
Effects of a Maternal High-Fat Diet on Sprague Dawley Rat Offspring, Conner Thomson
Department: Biology
The Fruit Fly as a Model Organism For Studying Neurological Disease: Investigating the role of dNAB2, the Ortholog of Human ZC3H14, in Drosophila Mushroom Bodies, Adelaide F. Tsueda
Department: Biology
Surface-Area Biomass Index: Using Photography to Measure Biomass of Coral-Dwelling Crustaceans, Solaimon Turner
Department: Biology
Vegans Beware Phytophthora is Here Analyzing the Locations and Implications of PsAvh Proteins of Phytophthora Sojae, Alexis Victoria Valente
Department: Biology
Identification of the Killing Mechanism Used by Pseudomonas Spp. Against Agrobacteria: Implications for the Success of Biological Control Agents, Jessica G. Vorse
Department: Biology
Plaque Attack! Discovering How Bacteria Common to the Oral Cavity Interact With Metal and Ceramic Orthodontic Brackets, Alia Lyn Yossef
Department: Biology
Specialist Pollinator Andrena Rudbeckiae Removes More Echinacea Angustifolia Pollen per Visit Than More Generalist Bee Taxa, Ezekiel P. Zelman
Department: Biology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018
The Effects of Divorce on Baseline Corticosterone, Affiliative and Neophobic Behaviors in Zebra Finches, Rachel Brandon
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
That’s Just the Way it grows: A Look at Phenazine Compounds and Their Effects on Agrobacterium rhizogenes Growth, Maxwell Clement
Department: Biology
Stay at Home Dads:The Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Factors on Decisions on When to Provide Paternal Care in Costa Rican Hyalinobatrachium valerioi, Sarah Comstock
Department: Biology
Inhbitory Effects of Phytophthora sojae RXLR Effectors on MAPK Signaling in Yeast, Thomas DiFilippo
Department: Biology
Effects of nab2 on Phosphorylated Tau Protein Accumulation in Drosophila Melanogaster, Jacob A. Fling
Department: Biology
Potatoes and Pathogens: The Creation of a Functional Plant Vector Using Effector Genes from Pathogenic Oomycete Phytophthora Infestans, Cameron Friedman
Department: Biology
Analyzing the Effects of Bacteriophage Therapy Against Pseudomonas on Lettuce Leaves as a Means to Prevent Overuse of Antibiotics, Cheyenne Gregg
Department: Biology
Comparing Glass Frog (Centrolenidae) Diversity in Primary and Secondary Forests in Costa Rica, Christopher W. Gumpper
Department: Biology
Investigating the Influence of Nab2 on CaMKII Expression in Drosophila Melanogaster, Camille Hanes
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Investigating the Impact of Invasive Plant Species on Native Plethodontid Salamander Populations, Haley M. Hartman
Department: Biology
Dispatches from the Fly Killer: A mathematical model that studies the correlation between sleep fragmentation and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster, Vedica Jha
Department: Biology; Mathematics
The Effect of Vitamin D on Sprague-Dawley Rats Muscle Performance During Training, Patrick Johnson
Department: Biology
Survival and Abundance of Glass Frog (Centrolenidae) Embryos in Primary and Secondary Forests in Costa Rica, Mackenzie Nicole Kellar
Department: Biology
Investigating Soybean Resistance Mechanisms to Phytophthora Sojae Through the Plant Hormone Auxin, Tara Keller
Department: Biology
Should You Lyse Your Neighbors’ Houses? This Model Says ‘No’ an in Silico Examination of the Interactions Between Bacterial and Viral Populations in the Presence of the Arbitrium System for Viral Communications, Brendan Kelley-Bukovac
Department: Biology
Blue Genes: A Comparative Genetic Analysis of Steel Blue, Royal Blue, and Turquoise Betta Splendens, Margaret Kuk
Department: Biology
The Behavioral and Genetic Effects of Repeated Exposure to the Anesthetic Tricaine (MS-222) on Learning and Memory in Betta splendens, Christina Labib
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Selection on Phenological Traits Changes over the Flowering Season in a Self-Incompatible Annual: Implications for the Formation of Adaptive Temporal Clines, Laura C. Leventhal
Department: Biology
Are the Frogs Still Croaking? Surveying for Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris Blanchardi) in Northwest Ohio and Assessing Mechanisms of Decline, John McCall
Department: Biology
Fin Morphology and Role of zic1/zic4 in Betta splendens, an Assessment of Veiltail and Doubletail Morphologies, Luke J. Mierzejewski
Department: Biology
How Might Fish Protect Crops? a Study of Water Mold Saprolegnia Spp. and Plant Parasitic Oomycete Antagonism with Dermal Mucus from the Mottled Sculpin Cottus Bairdii, Isaac M. Nordmoe
Department: Biology
Forever Young: Modeling the Effect of p16 on Two Types of Senescence, Caroline Obermeier
Department: Biology
Flint Still Matters: The Effect of Lead Exposure On Aggressive Behavior and htr1aa Gene Expression in Male Betta splendens, Sara Onitsuka
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Busy Bees: Comparing Pollinator Efficiencies of the Three Primary American Bellflower Pollinator Taxa, Ashley Padilla
Department: Biology
Ecological and Acoustic Niche Differentiation in Glass Frog (Centrolenidae) Communities in Costa Rica, Amberleigh Ray
Department: Biology
Rescuing Sleep in FMR1 Null Drosophila Melanogaster, Kaitlyn Marie Rayl
Department: Biology
An Examination of Salamander Abundance and Behavior in Response to Invasive Plants, Alexa Rojas
Department: Biology
Preliminary Exploration of the Safety and Efficacy of Bacteriophage Therapy: The Effects of Phage Presence on Host Survival and Immune Response in Caenorhabditis Elegans, Janel E. Romagnoli
Department: Biology
Determining the Effects of Arginine Kinase Gene Deletions on Mitochondrial Volume in Caenorhabditis elegans using Quantitative and Real-Time PCR, Evan Schneider
Department: Biology
A Boolean Model of Neuronal Death Upon Cell Cycle Re-Entry, Emma Schroeter
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Bad to the Bone or Good for Healing? Investigating the Effect of CTRP3 Overexpression on Bone Formation, Hannah E. Sexton
Department: Biology
The Shot Heard Around The World: Determining the Influence and the Spread of the Anti-vaccination Ideology on Measles Outbreaks Using Epidemiological Models, Jennifer Shepheard
Department: Biology; Mathematics
The Interplay Between Early Life and Later Life Nutritional Conditions on Learning and Memory, Lango Sichizya
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
The Role of Pollinator Preference on the Maintenance of Pollen Color Polymorphisms in the American Bellflower, Campanula americana, Elizabeth Tuan
Department: Biology
Hepatitis E Virus: Elucidating the Role of Open Reading Frame 4 (ORF 4) on Enhanced Morbidity and Mortality During Pregnancy, Randall K. Turner II
Department: Biology
Float Like a Bellflower, See Like a Bee: An Experimental Analysis of the Visual Acuity and Pollen Color Preference in Bombus Impatien, Jack Whalen
Department: Biology
The Effect of Music and Maternal Separation on Anxiety and BDNF Levels in Rats, Selina M. Yossef
Department: Biology
Assessing Phenotypic and Genetic Variation in Populations of the Hummingbird-Pollinated, Desert Perennial, Erythrina flabelliformis, Megan Zerrer
Department: Biology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017
Studying the Changes in Aggressive Behavior of Male Betta Fish (Betta Splendens) When Exposed to Endocrine Disrupting Compunds, Charles Angelastro
Department: Biology
Coevolution of a Coral Snake and Its Mimic: An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Body Size on Predation, and the Geographic Variation of Clelia clelia, April M. Arquilla
Department: Biology
Effects of Acute Social Stress on Ejaculate Parameters in Heterosexual Men, Jarek Beegan
Department: Biology
Circadian Rhythm-Gating of Salinity Stress-Induced Transcription Factor Expression in Solanum lycopersicum, and Implications in Sustainable Agriculture, Kelsey E. Coyne
Department: Biology
Modeling the Dynamics of Epigenetic Changes on Key Pluripotency Genes in Response to Reprogramming, Laura J. Cremer
Department: Biology
Widespread Hybridization of the Red- Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus) and the Northern Ravine Salamander (Plethodon Electromorphus) Throughout the State of Ohio, Joseph M. DeFelice
Department: Biology
Investigating the Molecular Underpinnings of Learning and Memory Defects Using a Drosophila Melanogaster Model of Intellectual Disability, Ginelle Doerr
Department: Biology
RxLR Effectors of the Plant Pathogen Phytophthora sojae target the Proteasome in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, James F. Ferritto
Department: Biology
Assessment of Amphibian Fungal Disease in Salamanders at Wooster Memorial Park, Ohio, Julia C. Fregonara
Department: Biology
A Comparison of Basiliscus basiliscus Abundance Between Riparian Zones in Primary and Secondary Forests, Benjamin S. Grunwald
Department: Biology
Lethal and Sub-Lethal Effects of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Bee and Fly Taxa of the North American Tallgrass Prairie, Alexander Hajek
Department: Biology
The Impacts of Stress on Arousal, Cortisol, and Testosterone, Caroline Heyd
Department: Biology
Immediate Microhabitat Changes Following Buckthorn Removal on the Edge of a Minnesotan Bog, Alyson T. Jacobs
Department: Biology
Second-growth, not second-rate: Exploring the community composition of glass frogs in old-growth and second-growth forests of Costa Rica, Linnea L. Johnson
Department: Biology
The Transgenerational Effects of a Long-term Amphetamine Dosage on Behavior in Sprague-Dawley Rats, Elizabeth Kantra
Department: Biology
Effects of Neonatal Fluoxetine Exposure Through Lactational Transfer on Long-Term Spatial and Object Recognition Memory in Adulthood in Sprague-Dawley Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Elsa Maggiolino
Department: Biology
An Experimental Analysis of Invasive Plant Effects on Salamander Abundance, Blake E. Marlowe
Department: Biology
Does Arnica Really Work? A Comparative Study Between Western Medicine (Corticosterone) and Homeopathic Remedies, Cole L. McDonough
Department: Biology
Efficacy of Pseudomonads as Biological Control Agents against Agrobacterium rhizogenes and Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Mayama Nyajro
Department: Biology
When to Move on: Generalist Insect Pollinators Exhibit a Temporal Decrease in Floral Fidelity Towards a Common Prairie Perennial, Echinacea angustifolia, Leah J. Prescott
Department: Biology
Role of the Adipokinetic Hormone Precursor (AKH-I) in Regulating the Blood feeding Behavior of Female Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes, Gitika Shriyan
Department: Biology
Effects of the invasive plant species, Rosa multiflora and Alliaria petiolata, and deer browsing on native plant species in a Ohioan second growth forest, Mallorey R. Stack
Department: Biology
A Boolean Modeling Approach to Understanding Synergies Between Cell Phenotypes in Early Neurogenesis, Nathan R. Sundheimer
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
One Fish, Two Fish: Genetic Differences in Carotenoid Deposition and Pigmentation, and their relation to the Immune Responses of Red and Blue Betta splendens, Taryn E. Szalay
Department: Biology
Transcriptome Analysis Suggests the PsAvh110 Effector Targets Phosphate Homeostasis in Yeast, Avery C. Wilson
Department: Biology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2016
Testosterone and Song Recovery in Response to Short-Term Fasting in the Male Zebra Finch, Kaitlin Banko
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Variation in seed oil content in multi-purpose crop Moringa oleifera from naturalized populations in Ghana, Annelise S. Bay
Department: Biology
Black is the new Gray: A Preliminary Analysis of Melanism in the Genus Sciurus, Jacob A. Beckstead
Department: Biology
Black is the New Gray: A Preliminary Analysis of Melanism in the Genus Sciurus, Jacob A. Beckstead
Department: Biology
Quantifying Fish Species Richness and Community Composition in Primary and Secondary Tropical Forest Streams, Taylor Bradley
Department: Biology
Investigating the Combined Effects of Relevant Environmental Contaminants Lead, Cadmium, and Fluoxetine, on the Behavior and Gene Expression of C. elegans., Anna R. Damato
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
Effects of Heterospecific Male Presence on Generalized Activity and Reproductively-Associated Behavior in Aedes aegypti Females, Laura B. Darby
Department: Biology
Got milk? An In-Depth Analysis of Community Water Fluoridation and a Chemical Investigation of Fluoridated Milk as an Alternative to Fluoridated Water, Shikha Dharia
Department: Biology; Chemistry; Interdepartmental
The Impacts of Sleep Deprivation on the Immune System and Vaccination Effectiveness, Samuel R. Gardner
Department: Biology
The Interactions of Oxytocin and Maternal Separation on Anxiety and Depression in Rodents, Marissa Gorvet
Department: Biology
Behavioral Impacts of Antidepressant Exposure on Red Worm Eisenia Fetida and Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates Pipiens, Lucas R. Grisanti
Department: Biology
Determining the Function of Rna Binding Protein Nab2 on Neurogenesis During the Development of Drosophila Melanogaster, Andrew Herst
Department: Biology; Neuroscience
An Examination of Hybridization Between Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea pallida: Examining Relative Rates of Hybridization and the Effect of Flowering Time, Kathleen Hogg
Department: Biology
The Modeling of Phenazine Induced Pathogenesis and Pharmacological Modulation of Autophagy in C. elegans, Brian A. Karavantas
Department: Biology
Progress toward the Investigation of the role of Arginine Kinase in the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, Shelby N. Kratt
Department: Biology
Influence of Cellular Localization of Peroxiredoxins on Mutation Frequency and Oxidant Defense, Ian M.C. Martin
Department: Biology
The Impact of Edge Effects on Two Species of Glass Frogs in La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, Stuti Sharma
Department: Biology
Diversity of Glass Frogs Between Primary and Secondary Tropical Forest at La Selva Biological Station, Heredia Province, Costa Rica, Nathan G. Weltman
Department: Biology