Andrew Sun

I’ll be working on making devices such as FETs, which are a type of transistor, based on exfoliating thin-layered graphene and transferring them using polymers. This technique allows very thin layers of different materials to be stacked on top of each other. The resulting structures can then be studied under a scan-tunneling microscope (STM) to reveal interesting properties, including ones desirable for devices such as an FET. 

Shelly Chen

Social motivation in prairie voles can be affected by various factors, such as sickness, social isolation, and partner familiarity. In our lab, we quantitatively measure levels of social motivation by operantly training prairie voles to lever press for rewards and subsequently running social testing trials to analyze how patterns in voles’ social motivation and preferences change under various conditions. I will be involved in the operant conditioning and testing this summer, manually training the voles and collecting behavioral data.

Tianjian (Tim) Lin

Kaposi’s Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) is one of eight pathogenic herpesviruses that routinely infect humans that can induce several types of aggressive cancers in immunocompromised individuals. It can also establish lifelong latent infection with the ability to evade innate immunity, which has caused significant challenges in treatment development. In previous studies, although some circRNAs are shown to regulate host innate immune responses, the potential functions of the circRNA kcirc38 of KSHV are yet to be discussed: Does kcirc38 play an important role in the latent KSHV infection? This summer, I […]

Hailey Adams

Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo continual assembly and disassembly within the cell. The dynamic ends of microtubules are regulated by several important end-binding proteins that we ultimately want to study. My goal this summer is to explore how we can study the structure of “true” microtubule ends and proteins bound to those ends, and try to establish/optimize a microtubule system that allows us to do this.

Hilal ‘Zack’ Aqra

With this project, we are interested in the ways in which children think and feel about Native peoples. We are actively investigating whether watching contemporary Native children’s media (e.g. Molly of Denali) will affect their perceptions and attitudes. To test this, we are utilizing correlational and longitudinal studies.

Julianna Bass

My first research project this summer involves working on a Global Systemic Racism book project with the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality (BCCE). I will work closely with academics to compile chapters and essays, conduct market analyses, and assist in finalizing the text for publishing. I will also contribute to the BCCE’s Berkeley EdX project, researching lectures and conversations amongst scholars and activists in the field of global equality rights. I will work to incorporate the dialogue from these discussions into comprehensive online courses that contribute to the dissemination of […]

Min Min Fong

Can an expansion in licensing benefit micro-business entrepreneurs and reduce barriers traditionally associated with occupational licensing? Our team works to find the answer to this question through case studies of home-based businesses and daycare centers in California. We collect license and inspection data from counties as well as conduct interviews with small business owners. Based on our findings, we propose ways government policies can better support business owners, particularly historically marginalized entrepreneurs.

Zhiyang Peter Chen

Self-medication behaviors in animals are usually considered to be learned, but some evidence demonstrates the presence of innate self-medication behavior. Currently, the origin of self-medication remains a major question in evolutionary biology. This research project aims to determine whether fruit flies (D. melanogaster) can use nicotine for self-medication and what evolutionary events may precede such behavior. The Tarvin lab has been studying how flies adapt to nicotine using an experimental evolution set up. I will use two fly strains developed in the Tarvin Lab that have different phenotypes: sequestering nicotine […]

Sierra Glassman

Anna’s Hummingbirds are charismatic birds native to western North America. They are well-studied for their jewel-like coloration, hyper-aggressive behavior, and unique courtship displays. However, the meaning and usage of their most common vocalization – the chip note – has never been thoroughly investigated. This research will correlate auditory parameters of chip notes with behavioral context in order to infer broader utility and significance of the vocalization.

Saba Majidi

It is known that bile acids are crucial hormones synthesized by the liver which aid in emulsifying dietary fats, absorption of nutritious vitamins from meals, elimination of waste products such as cholesterol, and controlling energy homeostasis. Previous knowledge thanks to papers by Lee et al. and Miranda et al. indicates that nuclear receptor Liver Receptor Homolog-1 (LRH-1) plays roles in hepatic cholesterol and bile acid control in the liver. Based on this, Bayrer Lab has discovered data suggesting intestinal LRH-1 activity is critical for bile acid homeostasis and balancing energy […]