Alix Mary Lacoste
Growth factors are not traditionally known to play a role in cell migration. However, preliminary data suggest that insulin-like growth factor (Igf) functions in the guidance of granule cells within the cerebellum. The cerebellum is an important structure, responsible for the fine control of balance and movement and also involved in motor learning and memory. The cerebellar granule cell is the most abundant neuron in the brain, and investigating its development and wiring could provide insights into the functioning of the cerebellum and into diseases that affect its function. Using […]
Sarah Soliman
In adult animals, many tissues undergo continuous renewal, a process in which older cells die and are replaced by newly born cells. These new cells are generated by the proliferation of tissue stem cells, which divide continuously throughout the animal’s lifetime. The process of tissue self-renewal has long been thought essential for the maintenance of tissue structure and function; however, this presumption has never been explicitly examined. In my SURF project, I will explore the necessity of tissue renewal using the Drosophila epithelial midgut as a model system. Specifically, my […]
Douglas Fraleigh
Hesiod’s Theogony belongs to the genre of Classical Greek Epic Poetry, a genre most popularly exemplified by Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Every known epic poem was written almost entirely in the Ionic dialect of Classical Greek. Despite this fact, both Homer’s and Hesiod’s poems contain words unique to the Aeolic dialect. I will study the use of these Aeolic words in Hesiod’s poems, and I will compare his use with Homer’s in an effort to explain the presence of these unexpected dialectal forms. This will have implications regarding the development […]
Zoe Langer
One of the earliest fresco cycles to be of secular imagery and subject matter solely, the Allegory of Good and Bad Government (c. 1337-40) frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti portray an idealized portrait of Sienese society under one of its most potent ruling bodies, the Nine. Within and around these frescoes are inscriptions in the italian vernacular, which have been given insufficient attention and analysis by scholars. The images and inscriptions operate in conjunction, forming a dialogue. This simultaneous operation was utilized by the Sienese government as a form of self-construction […]
Yohan Song
I am analyzing the vascular organization of the cat inferior colliculus (IC), a major auditory structure in the midtbrain, to determine whether its divisions share a common pattern. The IC consists of the central nucleus (CN), the dorsal cortex (DC), and the lateral cortex (LC), each with different roles in auditory behavior and perception. I am comparing the IC capillary distribution to quantify differences between subdivisions using plastic-embedded material from two adult cats in 1 m-thick semithin sections stained with toluidine blue. Ten non-overlapping random 200 x 200 m2 samples […]
Brandon Endo
There are forms of the gecko species, Heteronotia binoei, that reproduce sexually that gave rise to forms that reproduce asexually through the process of parthenogenesis. Parthenogens have sections of duplicated genes in their mitochondrial genome while sexual forms do not. My project is to sequence and compare the mitochondrial genes of the sexual and parthenogenic forms to characterize their evolution since their divergence. I will also compare duplicated gene copies to one another within the parthenogenic individuals to characterize evolution of each gene since the duplication event. Gene duplication and […]
Cristina Lau
As a third generation ethnic Chinese in Mexico, my research interests focus on the Chinese communities in Mexico. The Chinese people have reached many corners of the world primarily to search for new job opportunities and to start new homes. Especially active during the 19th century, the Chinese mostly migrated as coolies or contract workers, attracted to developing areas like Mexico where emerging economic needs and activities offered them job opportunities. Like my great-grandfather, with time and hard work, Chinese migrants in Mexico eventually started their own businesses, like Chinese […]
Megan Stanton
This summer I will be studying the life of Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick (1624-1678) as a case study for understanding the lives of aristocratic women in Early Modern England. Mary Rich is important and intriguing because aspects of her personality and lifestyle simultaneously conformed to and challenged the gender roles in her society. Both in the Countesss semi-independent attitude toward her marriage prospects and in her important role in community affairs in her local community in Essex, she defied traditional gender roles. However, with her conversion to a Puritan […]
Jude Paul Dizon
The majority of studies on Khmer refugees in the United States focus on their status as victims of war and displacement. I am undertaking a research project highlighting the transnational political movement of Khmer refugee communities in opposing and removing the Vietnamese occupation in Cambodia (1979-1993). Through examining the Hann So Collection on Cambodia Archives at the UC Berkeley Southeast Asian Studies Library, I hope to show how Khmer refugees were active agents in mitigating the pains of displacement by acting in very concrete measures to recuperate and rebuild Cambodia […]
Hai Le
It is essential that the cell preserves the integrity of its DNA by initiating a proper response when there is damage to its genome. As a fellow of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, I am utilizing this summer and the senior academic year to study the DNA repair pathway in heterochromatin. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, I propose to fluorescently tag different DNA repair proteins and conduct experiments to understand the kinetics of these proteins following DNA damage induced by X-ray treatment. This research is promising: knowledge of […]