Lila Englander
This research project will investigate the economic, environmental, and policy trade-offs associated with the deployment of low-carbon resources in the electricity sector. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can result in significant reductions of other “co-pollutants” (e.g., particulate matter pollution). In recent years, the health benefits associated with reductions in co-pollutants (co-benefits) have accounted for a remarkably large share of estimated benefits from climate change policies- and other major environmental regulations. This research project investigates the “co-benefits” of this deployment.
Paula Nordstrom Miranda
The VOICE Project stands for “Voting for Our Health, Interests, and Communities Everywhere.” While running a voter registration and information booth alongside MLK Jr. Freedom Youth Center volunteers, we collect quantitive data from families in the waiting rooms of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Primary Care pediatric clinic and teen clinic to survey who we are reaching and engaging. We also recruit youth aged 16-24 for interviews about voting, civic engagement, barriers youth face, and how health relates to voting. This summer, I will be assisting in transcribing interviews, coding interviews, […]
Ellen Thompson
For the past 2 semesters, I have been working with observations of accreting compact objects (such as binary systems containing a speculated black hole) made by the NuSTAR X-ray telescope. My work focuses on stray light, the result of photons bypassing the instrument’s optics and landing directly on the detector array. I have written a python program that takes in observation event files and outputs region files highlighting areas that contain stray light. This summer, I will be refining this program as well as applying it to the process of […]
Alice Wang
This summer I will be researching the effects of using kilohertz transcranial magnetic perturbation (kTMP) to stimulate the brain at sub threshold firing rates. My mentor and I intend to analyze kTMP’s effects on cortical excitability and motor output. Our ultimate goal is to see if kTMP induces changes that can prime or inhibit brain activity.
Jenny Chau
During the development of plants, specific genes are expressed to induce the formation of different plant structures. There are genes that control vasculature, branching, floral growth, and much more. Mutating these genes result in abnormal growth. This summer, I will continue to assist my mentor in analyzing the function of genes important for plant branching and inflorescence development. To do so, I will be genotyping and phenotyping mutant Setaria plants and comparing them to wildtype. In addition, I will be using fluorescence microscopy to analyze where these genes are being […]
Zoë Cramer
This summer I plan on looking at the correlation between Orientalism, within the framework provided by Edward Said’s work Orientalism, and the collection formerly on display at the Bancroft library “Object Lessons: Berkeley’s Egyptian Collection.” Exploring the role that Orientalism played in the excavation of the objects on display and permanent collection, I am hoping to show how a form of Orientalism is activated when visitors engage with certain objects within the collection. Furthermore, I will also utilize Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad, as Twain details what a grand tour typical […]
Sarah Bakir
This summer, I will be assisting Dr. Haar on one of her projects that analyzes the impacts of violence against healthcare in Syria. I will be recruiting participants, assisting in conducting key informant interviews and focus groups discussions, and analyzing qualitative data.
Alexander Amram
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, which makes understanding the ability of certain vertebrates to regenerate damaged heart tissue by replacing lost cardiomyocytes crucial for developing regenerative heart therapies. Recent studies suggest that the suppression of cardiomyocyte proliferation coincides with the augmentation of metabolic rates and thermogenesis post-birth in vertebrates, in part driven by changes in endocrine signaling hormones including thyroid hormone, glucocorticoids, and vitamin D. Glucocorticoid and vitamin D protein signaling are potential regulators of cardiomyocyte proliferation, but studies have found conflicting proliferative […]
Reet Mishra
Pompe disease is a lysosomal disorder caused by deficient activity of the GAA enzyme due to mutations in the GAA gene. This can be fatal to patients with infantile onset and cause patients of other onsets to develop muscular dystrophy and respiratory dysfunction. However, early detection can immensely help treatment of patients! Thus, our lab has been working on assessing the predictions derived by the participants in the Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation Challenge (CAGI 5) – a global experiment that evaluates the phenotypes that result from genetic variation. Through […]
Ayla Weitz
Type Ia supernova is a kind of exploding star that is important to understanding the expansion of our universe. This project focuses on obtaining more accurate location measurements for approximately 1500 supernovae. I will be determining the locations of known foreground stars using astrometry.net and then using that information to determine supernova locations using custom software.