Noah Epstein
Iron sulfur enzymes perform some of lifes most challenging chemical transformations, but how these enzymes function is largely unknown. I will be researching the structure, reactivity, and reduction/oxidation properties of a particular iron sulfur enzyme, the hybrid cluster protein (HCP), whose physiological function is unknown despite its presence in all domains of life. One goal of my research is to investigate how the structure of HCP dictates its reactivity towards a variety of substrates. A hallmark of HCP is the presence of an atypical iron-sulfur cluster (dubbed the hybrid cluster) […]
Curtis Beck
In mammals, the Polycomb Repressive Complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1, PRC2) play crucial roles in maintaining gene expression patterns that enforce cell differentiation during embryonic development. Both complexes silence genes by post-translationally modifying the histone tails of nucleosomes, the smallest structural unit of chromatin. PRC1 plays a role in chromatin compaction by histone ubiquitination, whereas PRC2 reduces expression at the transcriptional level by histone methylation. The importance of these two complexes is emphasized by the fact that mutations in either complex results in embryonic lethality. While PRC1 and PRC2 are […]
Joy Li
One of the major hallmarks of cancer is the evasion of the immune system; thus, current cancer immunotherapies aim to modify the host immune system to specifically target tumor cells and repress tumor progression. Recent studies have investigated an immune pathway called the cGAS-Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) that is involved in the induction of an anti-tumor response. STING pathway activators, such as cyclic dinucleotides, (CDN) have been shown to result in stable regressions of established tumors. Currently however, researchers mostly rely on subcutaneous tumor models, which is a limited […]
Sanika Ganesh
Neuroplasticity describes how the brain learns from experience. A proposed type of plasticity, rapid homeostasis, may be necessary for stabilizing activity on a short-time scale across primary sensory-processing regions of the brain. A class of inhibitory neurons known as parvalbumin (PV) neurons are thought to implement rapid homeostatic plasticity, but the field lacks a mechanistic understanding of exactly how PV neurons may regulate plasticity. One way in which cells adapt to change is through varying protein expression. For example, recent studies suggest that neuregulins (NRGs) and tyrosine kinase receptors (ErbBs) […]
Metta Nicholson
Wetlands are habitats valued for their ecosystem services, nutrient cycling abilities, biodiversity, and buffering capacity, but have been rapidly declining since the eighteenth century. Only recent efforts have attempted to address wetland decline, and such large-scale analyses of wetland composition face complications regarding the difficulty of site access and the impacts that direct field investigations can have on vulnerable species. To address these difficulties, remote sensing tools can be used to map and analyze wetland vegetation. However, wetland biodiversity indicators from remote sensing data remain limited in strength and are […]
Andy Quaen Chen
I will investigate how histones dissociate from the nucleosome during the process of unwrapping by using “Fleezers,” optical tweezers with the added capability of detecting single molecule fluorescence. In all Eukaryotic cells, DNA is packaged and compacted in the form of chromatin in the nucleus. The nucleosome, consisting of a histone octamer core wrapped by 1.7 turns of the DNA, represents the basic, repeating, unit of chromatin. Since the DNA is constantly transcribed, repressed, repaired or replicated in response to stimuli, nucleosomes and the superstructures they form must be highly […]
Helen Kang
Information theory has been key to our understanding of the brain, by elucidating mechanisms of neural coding in the brains sensory periphery. Recent mathematical work has derived a new measure called integrated information, which can quantify how much information emerges at the level of an entire network. Integrated information has already been used to study how the structure of brain networks might underpin large-scale information flow and may help explain mechanisms of information processing in both healthy and pathological brain states. Currently, integrated information can only be calculated for neural […]
Nikko Sambold
Halogens, a group of atoms with properties not commonly encountered in nature, can introduce unique chemical properties to small molecules that can create important interactions with biomolecules. It is thus reflective that halogens are found in roughly 25% of pharmaceuticals and have been playing a larger role in the development of agrochemicals. Unfortunately, modern synthetic techniques for adding halogens onto these molecules use harsh chemicals and are not selective. This is a problem which halogenase enzymes, enzymes that can add halogens, with their ability to react in mild conditions and […]
Alma Halgren
Glutathione S-transferase Mu 1, or GSTM1, is a gene found in humans and apes that makes toxins easier to metabolize by the body. GSTM1 is extraordinary because it is one of only two genes that has been deleted independently in both humans and apes through evolutionary time, but is still present in some individuals. Over half of the world population does not carry the GSTM1 gene, yet carrying the deletion has broad physiological implications such as higher rates of certain cancers, metabolic disorders, and the early onset of severe mental […]
Natalie Petersen
According to a 2013 National Health Statics Report, 30% of American women discontinue using hormonal methods of birth control within their first year of use due to side effects. Conventional steroid-based contraception comes with a variety of side effects, such as anxiety, depression, and weight gain, and therefore creates a demand for non-hormonal contraceptive with minimal side effects. Sperm cells have a specific set of molecular targets, increasing the possibility of developing a contraceptive with high specificity and low side effects. Our preliminary data indicate that sperm motility and their […]