Rachel Li

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide and is one of the most common conditions for those over the age of 60. For this project, we aim to identify genetic modifiers that cause nuclear cataract formation in mice. We are also trying to understand the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for cataracts in hope of developing ways to treat it.

Zahra Ansari

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S., and one of the more common types of cancer experienced by South Asians. CRC incidence rate is rising for South Asians, however screening rates in South Asians remain relatively low. For the past two years, my research group and I have been organizing numerous health outreach events to disseminate information about the importance of colorectal cancer screenings in South Asian populations. This summer, I will be working to finalize a manuscript evaluating the accessibility and […]

Apoorva Polisetty

My current research uses data from the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) to examine how people with schizophrenia conceptualize and experience their social worlds. With an emphasis on perceived barriers and motivations for social interaction as well as pleasure derived from those interactions, we hope to better our understanding of the complex dynamics underlying impaired social functioning in family relationships, romantic relationships and friendships among those with the disorder.

Sonia Hamilton

This summer, I will continue to lead the Digital Verification Corps, a team that partners with Amnesty International to respond to various international human rights violations in real time. The DVC performs the discovery and verification of open source information to provide vital information to Amnesty International in their support of their research and reporting. Much like a task force, the DVC is a fast-paced, versatile team that investigates immediate human rights situations spanning the globe.

Baichuan Huang

In 1877, Thomas Edison recorded and reproduced sound for the first time in human history. From then to 1950s, most recorded sound was lodged onto cylinder surfaces made by foil, wax, or plastic. To play an audio record, a cylinder is put in contact with a needle on a phonograph. However, because the needle slightly damages grooves on cylinders every time they rotate, most cylinders cannot be played after many rotations on phonographs. The goal of my research is thus to recover the sound stored in the cylinders made in […]

Caroline Eskandar

I help with translating themes within the Facebook datasets from Arabic into English, using a qualitative codebook. I read through refugee questions and concerns, smugglers, government officials and others and classify them then, enter them into the spreadsheet. The goal is to participate in eventually forming a reliable database for refugee to extract accurate information from during their journey through Europe.

Rachel Ajung Ryoo

This project aims to identify differences in ‘black (African American)’ and ‘white (European American)’ coming-of-age films. Over the past semesters, I have analyzed and collated such films that were screened between 1970 to 2015 and identified recurring topics and depictions. I mainly focused on portrayals of drug/alcohol usage, sex/sexuality, physical violence, oppression, and parenting/protection. Meanwhile, I have also collected previous literature on these films and themes.During summer internship, I will further the aforementioned study and review literature on group-expression through film and its effects on adolescent identity development. I hope […]

Gilberto Carrasco Urroz

My work for this summer will be a continuation of the research I have been doing for the past academic year. My research project focuses on reconciling the everyday learning practices of members of nondominant communities with the practices they undertake in formal educational settings, such as the classroom. This is a necessary step when seeking to address the disparities presented by the public education system. In order to accomplish this, my work requires me to become acquainted with a specific family’s video data, which I then organize, and for […]

Satya Karri

Mutualism is well characterized by the evolutionary relationship between a variety of legumes and their corresponding rhizobial bacteria. Determining which strains most benefit plant growth will help choose bacteria to use as cost-effective components of biofertilizers. These agricultural inputs can help developing countries ensure agricultural yields despite somewhat unfavorable environments. The project involves isolating and genetically sequencing several bacterial strains from Alfalfa, Soybean, and Chickpea plants. During this summer, we will experimentally evaluate the ability of isolated strains to solubilize phosphate and fix nitrogen. These traits will be used to […]

Mary Chan

The Pitx2 gene is involved in eye and teeth development and cancer regulation. This summer, I will be further studying how Pitx2 mutations may affect tooth number in threespine stickleback fish by studying the phenotypes of various genetic crosses. This work will consist of both individual and collaborative projects in the Miller Lab.