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2023 RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM & RECEPTION

Scroll down for student bios and project introductions

April 21 | 2PM - 4:30PM | Room 206 | Crocker Science Center (CSC)

Keynote Address: Sara Jones, President, InclusionPro and ACCESS Alumna

ACCESS Scholars, established 1991, is committed to advancing gender equity in the STEM fields with the goal of preparing the next generation of exceptional thinkers and future leaders for success in their science education, and later careers.

The ACCESS first year experience culminates in a semester of research under the direct mentorship of a University of Utah scientist, engineer, or mathematician. This is just the beginning as over 75% of our students will continue to engage in research throughout their undergraduate education. ACCESS scholars frequently publish before graduating and numerous alumni have been recognized for their contributions to research, by way of scholarships, including the prestigious Churchill, Beckman, and Goldwater awards, as well as other distinctions.

Having been primed for research and academic success, the ACCESS 2022-2023 cohort is ready to transition into peer mentorship roles and pay it forward to future generations of aspiring scientists and engineers.

Congratulations ACCESS 2022 - 2023!

Pearl Sandick, ACCESS Co-Director (Email: pearl.sandick@utah.edu)
Vahe Bandarian, ACCESS Co-Director (Email: vahe@chem.utah.edu)
Sam Shaw, ACCESS Program Manager (Email: sam.shaw@utah.edu)

Poster #1

Factors of Tailocin Sensitivity in Pseudomonas

Research Advisors: Talia Backman, Talia Karasov

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Ella's Bio

Who: My name is Ella Bleak, and I have lived in Lehi, Utah my entire life before coming to the U. So far, I have loved my experience at the U and in the ACCESS program, and only anticipate more exciting opportunities to come!

My STEM interests: Growing up I participated in every science fair and was always asking questions in my classes. In high school I was given the opportunity to spend a summer working in a college research lab which exposed me to academic research and inspired my interest in pursuing a Ph.D. because of the ability for me to invest myself into exploring an idea. I have found a love for chemistry because it can be used to explain so many interesting phenomena in our daily lives. I love how science allows me to not only ask questions but helps me figure out the answers for myself.

Academic goals: I am double majoring in Biochemistry and Mathematics and working in the Karasov Biology Lab studying tailocins. Eventually, I hope to obtain a Ph.D. in a field like chemical biology or virology, but during my undergraduate I hope that I can gain a lot of experiences in research both through my ACCESS lab and other opportunities like REU’s and internships.

Career goals: In the future, I want to go into industry working in research that can change people’s lives. I potentially want to have my own start-up company working on an innovation that I am passionate about. I hope my interests and knowledge will evolve overtime, so I can dive deep into topics that I am passionate about.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: One of the most valuable things to come out of ACCESS for me, was the friendships and connections I made. It is awesome to see all the ACCESS people around campus, and it was great to have friends in my classes on the first day. ACCESS is a network of people which I am grateful to be a part of. I also appreciate the access (no pun intended) the program gave me to early undergraduate research.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I am a complete book nerd when it comes to fantasy and science fiction, and I will never be caught without a book with me. I also love computers and technology. I learned how to do basic programming in junior high and I have loved it ever since. This has led me to love video games and virtual reality. I also love hanging out with my best friend and spend a lot of time doing random things with her.

Abstract

Tailocins are virus-like weapons employed by bacteria to compete for resources and space. In stressful environments bacteria produce tailocins and through cellular suicide, those tailocins are released into the surrounding environment. Tailocins can bind to the outer membrane of closely related bacteria using their tail fibers and kill them by causing a pore to form, depolarizing their membrane, but will not kill bacteria of the same strain. These make tailocins highly effective and efficient weapons for bacterial competition. Often, we observe a single strain of a pathogen predominate in an agricultural plant population, unlike the variety we see in nature. As such, tailocins have been proposed to control pathogens in agriculture due to their highly specific killing abilities.¹

In the Karasov lab, we study wild populations of Pseudomonas syringae, an abundant pathogen that infects Arabidopsis thaliana. A graduate student in the Karasov lab found that these wild pathogen populations produce a diverse array of tailocins used for competition between closely related strains. She has begun to characterize how these tailocins are being used and the evolutionary history of the tailocins, but the mechanism of how tailocins can kill some bacteria but not others remain unknown. My research aims to determine which genes in target bacteria prevent or enable these tailocins to kill the strains in which they target.

In this experiment, we induced and isolated tailocins from one strain of P.syringae, p25.A12. One variant isolated was the wild-type tailocin, and the second variant had the tail fiber assembly (TFA) gene knocked out (p25.A12△TFA). Applying the induced tailocin to known sensitive strains, I showed that the wild-type tailocin could kill known sensitive strains, that the wild-type tailocin did not kill itself, and that the mutant tailocin lost its ability to kill.

To identify possible bacterial genes which promote tailocin sensitivity, I used Random Barcode Transposon Sequencing (RB-TnSeq). In our lab, we have a saturated-mutant library of p25.C2, a known sensitive strain to the tailocin we induced from p25.A12. This saturated-mutant library has a knockout in every gene which is not essential and replaces it with a unique barcode. These unique barcodes can be used to identify the gene knocked out. To determine genes important for tailocin lethality, we applied our wild-type and mutant tailocin variants to the p25.C2 mutant library in 10 replicates and allowed them to grow. We then extracted the DNA from the bacteria and sequenced the barcode abundance. Using computational analyses, we could identify which knocked-out genes allowed the bacteria to survive against the tailocin. Our preliminary analyses show that the knockout tailocin variant has the same killing ability as our buffer control and a significant difference from the wild-type tailocin, further supporting that without functioning tail fibers that tailocin loses its ability to kill. Further investigating the abundance of barcodes for knocked-out genes, we found that under wild-type tailocin treatment most of the genes were related to the outer-membrane proteins of bacterial cells. This further suggests that the tailocin is binding to the outer membrane, and by knocking out important outer membrane genes, we can also prevent the tailocin from killing.

While we are beginning to understand the genetic factors in Pseudomonas that prevent or enable tailocin killing, our future work will address which parts of the tailocin tail fiber are binding to which outer membrane proteins with phage display.

Príncipe, A., Fernandez, M., Torasso, M., Godino, A., & Fischer, S. (2018). Effectiveness of tailocins produced by pseudomonas fluorescens sf4c in controlling the bacterial-spot disease in tomatoes caused by Xanthomonas Vesicatoria. Microbiological Research, 212-213, 94–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2018.05.010

Ella Bleak

(she/her)

Poster #2

Electrochemical Routes for Deamination of Amine Salts

Research Advisors: Rachel Muhlestein, Rohit Jadhav, Shelley Minteer

Department of Chemistry, College of Science

Navi's Bio

Who: Heyyyyy! :) I’m Navi Brar (she/they) and I’m from South Jordan, Utah. I joined the ACCESS Program so I could go more in-depth into science and get hands-on experience with research!

My STEM interests: Growing up, I’ve always been passionate about STEM because it allowed me to experiment and see the science happening right before my eyes. Whether it was Physics Day at Lagoon or completing labs in my AP Chem class, my love for science was always there!

Academic goals: I’m currently majoring in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biology. My passion for Chemistry comes from a fascination with chemical synthesis and how pharmaceuticals help people. I’m also pursuing an Integrated Human Biology Minor and a Psychology Minor, alongside a Community Engagement Certificate.

Career goals: In the future, I want to attend Med School to become a Forensic Medical Examiner or Forensic Pathologist. I’ve always had an interest in crime and forensics, so being able to work in the field has always interested me. Especially since my first introduction to crime scene analysis in eighth grade, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in forensics. In either of these careers, I would complete autopsies on bodies, analyze lab samples from a crime scene, and find the cause of death for criminal cases.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite experiences on ACCESS have to be the moments when we bonded together. Everyone on ACCESS was so accepting and I’ve made some of my closest college friends through the program. I look fondly back at moments like when we protested for Roe v. Wade, explored a nearby creek for one of our movie nights, and hung out at the library late at night to finish our homework. These memories highlighted what I found most important about the ACCESS program: community.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of classes and clubs, I’ll often be spending time reading Webtoons, traveling around the world, and watching movies with friends, like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Kalina and I highly recommend it!).

Abstract

Selective defunctionalization of C-X bonds is critical for developing new synthetic protocols for complex molecules. The activation and defunctionalization of amine groups is an important component in many chemical processes to create dimethylbiaryl atropisomers molecules, which are widely used in pharmaceutical drugs and other valuable products. The deamination of ammonium salts can be achieved via well-established organic chemical processes. The electrosynthetic approach offers a potential alternative route for selective organic transformation. In addition to the presence of selective tunable variables compared to other approaches, the electrosynthetic approach enables control over the yield and purity of the final product. Through this process, conditions can be developed that can potentially improve the overall efficiency of the production of organic products.

Navi Brar

(she/they)

Poster #3

Particulate Matter on Evergreen Needles: Developing a Magnetic Proxy for Air Quality in the Salt Lake Valley

Research Advisor: Peter Lippert

Utah Paleomagnetic Center

Department of Geology & Geophysics, College of Mines & Earth Sciences

Margaret's Bio

Who: Hello everyone! I’m Margaret and I’m from Woods Cross, Utah. I came to the U to take advantage of wonderful research and science exploration opportunities like the ACCESS program, and to stay close to my family.

My STEM interests: I have always been curious about how the world works, and so early on I turned to science as a way of finding answers. My current passion within science is environmental and climate science. I love studying the way that different environmental systems interact together, and how we can use different properties of the earth to discover how climate works both in the past and the future.

Academic goals: I am currently a double major in environmental geoscience and atmospheric science. I would like to graduate with my undergraduate degree and then continue to graduate school, getting a PhD in climate science.

Career goals: I want to be able to continue in research of climate change and interactions between earth systems as a career. However, along with my passion for understanding climate, air quality, and earth systems, I firmly believe that climate science needs to be communicated and translated into beneficial policy. Eventually I would love to do scientific research while also consulting on environment and climate policy.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: The highlight of my ACCESS experience, apart from the fantastic opportunity of working in the lab, has been the relationships I’ve found along the way. The opportunity to meet so many inspiring women with similar interests led me to some of the best friends I have ever had, and the strongest support system I could ask for.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Most of my time outside of school is spent reading and playing games with my housemates and friends. I enjoy watching and reading the news and have found a new interest in watching C-SPAN in my free time to stay up to date on current policy.

Abstract

Low air quality events in the Salt Lake Valley have been both an environmental and public health issue for decades. Atmospheric inversion events have become a hallmark of the area during winter months, and local air quality is impacted seasonally by dust and wildfires. As particulate matter in the air continues to be linked to neurodegenerative, pulmonary, and cardiovascular diseases, it has become increasingly important to understand the composition and spatial distribution of the particulate matter in air pollution. Biomagnetic monitoring, using biological sources as collection sites and magnetic measurements for assessing particulate matter, is a proven low-cost monitoring option. For example, recent studies from Salt Lake City, Utah demonstrate that pine needles are particulate collectors during wintertime high severity inversion events. By collecting pine needles regularly along a time series during the fall to winter of 2019, we test if pine needles can record less severe poor air quality events. Our data suggest that pine needles from trees on the University of Utah campus are capable of measuring the particulate matter at a level comparable to other traditional air quality sensors. We use low temperature magnetic measurements to reveal the iron (Fe) oxide composition of the particulate matter, which is a key step toward source appropriation and assessing toxicity. By comparing our data to the known magnetic properties of common iron oxides— magnetite, maghemite, and hematite— we can determine which minerals are present. The evergreen needles collected from our campus site routinely show the presence of maghemite in the particulate matter, suggesting that the main source of pollution at this site is combustion engines; this interpretation is consistent with the concentration of metals and morphology of particulate matter observed on needles in a previous study. Our work underscores that the magnetism of pine needles can be an effective and low-cost proxy for the concentration, composition, and potentially particle-size distribution of particulate matter. This monitoring approach can be expanded into communities and environments in which pine trees are abundant to provide year-long air quality monitoring that is more accessible, accurate, and equitable.

Margaret Call

(she/her)

Poster #4

Measurement of Vapor Pressures of Salts in Molten NaCl-MgCl₂ via the Transpiration Method

Research Advisors: Jacob Yankey, Michael Simpson

Nuclear Pyrometallurgy

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering

Mary's Bio

Who: Hello! My name is Mary Cernyar. I am originally from Tucson, Arizona, but I moved here to Utah a few years ago. I love to go on adventures, run, dance, read, and explore the outdoors.

My STEM interests: I am interested in the intersection between chemistry and nuclear engineering for the next generation of reactors--especially where design coincides with research. I’ve spent the majority of my STEM career on the designing end, but I hope to better explore the research side as well.

Academic goals: I hope to graduate in Materials Science & Engineering here at the U, with a double major in Philosophy of Science/English, or a minor in Creative Writing. After I obtain my bachelor’s degree, I will consider going to law school or entering a graduate program.

Career goals: Depending on my educational pursuits after my undergraduate years, I either want to become an attorney or a researcher. Regardless, I know I want to publish and write, and later become an educator to pass on to students what I have learned.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: One of my favorite memories from ACCESS was when we went to the Natural History Museum here at the U—as a child I loved dinosaurs and seeing all the fossils brought back so many childhood memories. By far, however, the best experience has been in my research lab. I love the research and everyone in it, and I am so grateful and honored to be working with such amazing people.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of STEM, I have a passion for classical literature (especially any period work surrounding the French Revolution) and political science. I love riding my horse, hanging out with family and friends, and serving the youth in my community. I am also excited to be serving in ASUU this coming year as a representative from the College of Engineering.

Abstract

Molten salt reactors (MSR) are thought to be the next generation of nuclear energy, and research is demanded to understand the chemical nature of the proposed fuels, among them being vapor pressure. As documented by past researchers, the process of finding the vapor pressure of molten salts is essential but underdeveloped in the field. There is much in the scientific literature on what not to do, to measure vapor pressure and little on what to do. Refining a method of obtaining the vapor pressure of eutectic NaCl-MgCl₂, an important component of a candidate MSR fuel, was the objective of this research.

The method selected was transpiration. This process involves heating a known mass of salt above melting point temperature in a tube furnace with a constant flow of argon to cause vaporization to occur. The vapors are carried by argon gas and deposit on surfaces in a cool zone. A ceramic tube is used to collect and weigh the condensed salt. It should be noted that throughout the experiment, pressure and temperature remained constant. Transpiration ran between 2 hours to 32 hours, in a temperature range of 500-600˙C. After weighing, deposited salt is washed with 2% nitric acid and analyzed via inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The ICP-MS results that the ratio of Mg to Na differed from the calculated values. This suggests a large amount of nonideality.

Mary Cernyar

Poster #5

Network Dynamics around Collective Identity in Political Crisis

Research Advisors: Marina Kogan, Christopher de Freitas, and Khawar Murad Ahmed

School of Computing, College of Engineering

Sarah's Bio

Who: Hi everyone, my name is Sarah! I am a freshman from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

My STEM interests: My interest in computer science stemmed from my love for problem-solving and creation. As a child, that meant building puzzles and crafts. Since then, my fascination has broadened, from website designs to tackling the various barriers in the digital space.

Academic goals: I am planning to major in Computer Science and minor in Design. Finding the intertwining moments between the two fields has always been exciting for me and a skill that I am constantly developing. This spring, I am thrilled to be working in Dr. Marina Kogan’s social computing lab!

Career goals: When I first learned about UX Design and its goal to create practical and meaningful products, I knew what I wanted to pursue. UX Design is where my love for Computer Science and Design intertwine and I hope to help create and design technology that can push STEM into creating new, creative solutions.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: While ACCESS was initially simply a gateway to research for me, I grew to love and appreciate my cohort so much! I have been able to meet so many encouraging, smart, and kind people as well as some of my closest college friends.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of academics, I enjoy grabbing boba with friends and curling up with my dog, Asha! I also love scaring myself with thriller shows and listening to music at volumes not recommended.

Abstract

In 2014, the Ukrainian Revolution erupted when major protests broke out after it was revealed that Ukrainian then-President Yanukovych rejected a path towards EU integration to stay aligned with Russia. Soon after, he fled the country, Russia annexed Crimea and escalated the conflict into (then unrecognized) war in Eastern Ukraine. Since 2022, the conflict has progressed to a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine.

We attempt to measure the Western-facing broadcasting efforts of individuals in expressing their opinions regarding the Ukrainian Revolution. We do this by analyzing their Tweets on how they frame their content.

Sarah Choe

(they/she)

Poster #6

The Sensory World of D. melanogaster: A Comparative Analysis of Wine and Grape Juice Attraction Between the Cosmopolitan and African Strain

Research Advisors: Eva Vigato, Sophie Caron

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Ashlyn's Bio

Who: My name is Ashlyn Christensen, and I am from Murray, Utah. I decided to attend the University of Utah because it has a great med school, and it is close to home so I can see my dog everyday.

My STEM interests: I was introduced to medical sciences at a young age when my dad told stories of his work as a first responder. Hearing how he uses science to save lives everyday is amazing to me. I would love to mix my two interests of medical sciences and mental health to make a difference in the world.

Academic Goals: I am majoring in biology with an emphasis in neuroscience.

Career Goals: I am hoping to go to med school to become a psychiatrist. I have had a lot of experiences with my own mental health and the mental health of those around me. Helping people who are fighting invisible illnesses would be a dream come true.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Being placed in a lab has been the highlight of my ACCESS experience. I have loved working with my Ph.D student to broaden my knowledge of science. Working with drosophila is very different from any other STEM experience I’ve had, and I can’t wait to see where it leads me over the next few years.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I have been a dancer my whole life, and I am minoring in modern dance here at the U. Aside from dancing, I love going to the gym, hanging out with my dog, spending time in nature, and playing Tetris with my boyfriend.

Abstract

Canton S and Z53 are laboratory-adapted strains of fruit flies derived from wild-type strains of D. melanogaster. Canton S represents a non-African strain originally collected in Canton, Ohio, and Z53 represents a South African strain originally collected in Zimbabwe. Canton S was collected from an area with many grapes and wineries, while Z53 was collected from an area with no grapes or wineries. In this research, trap assays were created to compare the level of attraction that these two strains have to wine and grape juice. We will also look into whether wine or grape juice is more attractive to both strains, and the possible mechanisms behind that attraction. In each experiment, 20-25 female flies are put into a trap assay. The traps are made out of plastic containers with one vial of 300 microliters of red wine or grape juice, depending what is being tested (independent variable) and one vial of 300 microliters of water (control). The vials have a small point of entrance to ensure that the flies going entering are in fact attracted to the compound inside. The traps are then put in an incubator and results are collected after 24 hours. Results are collected by counting the number of flies that were not trapped, flies that entered the water vial, and flies that entered the wine or grape juice vial. Results show that Canton S, the non-African strain, will go to red wine over water almost 100% of the time, whereas Z53 goes to red wine less than half of the time. This indicates that Canton S has evolved specific neural pathways to sense a compound found in red wine and grape juice. Results also show that both strains have a stronger attraction to wine than grape juice. In our next steps, we will look into the different neural pathways between Canton S and Z53 that may be responsible for the differences in attraction using two-photon microscopy and Calcium imaging.

Ashlyn Christensen

(she/her)

Poster #7

The effects of polyglutamine length in Huntingtin protein aggregation and degradation

Research Advisors: Catalina Anthony, Lincoln Hollingshead, Julie Hollien

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Anna's Bio

Who: Hi! I am Anna Christiansen. I am from Syracuse, Utah and I came to the University of Utah for its excellent research and study-abroad opportunities.

My STEM interests: I have always loved math, but after taking AP bio I became passionate about the complicated systems that make up diseases and living creatures. Reading books on diseases that jump from animals into humans and the numerous variables behind those events is what inspired me to go into Biochemistry.

Academic goals: My intended major is Biochemistry, but I have every intention of going into the college experience with a mind open to change and opportunities. I hope to make the most of my time at the University of Utah and utilize the resources they make available as much as possible.

Career goals: I plan on going to graduate school, hopefully somewhere in Asia. After that, I hope to teach and do research.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite week was Math week because it opened my eyes to the true scope of what you can do with your knowledge after you get a degree.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I recently got into snowboarding and plan to spend my weekends this upcoming winter enjoying the mountains. I am also a lover of fantasy books, though my attention has shifted to books on biology.

Abstract

Huntington’s disease is a variable-onset neurological disorder commonly characterized by declines in cognition and motor skills, and eventually, death. The severity and age of onset experienced by patients are linked to the number of CAG (glutamine) repeats present in their copy of the Huntingtin protein, with 35 being the critical threshold. The longer the region, the more susceptible it is to misfolding and subsequent aggregation. There are two types of aggregated mutant-Huntingtin (mHTT): insoluble aggregates and soluble oligomers. The soluble oligomeric structures are a precursor of the mHTT aggregates and have been observed to be more toxic to the cell. The current working model for cellular stress response to mHTT proposes that the soluble oligomers are co-transported with late endosomes/lysosomes to the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) near the nucleus, where they coalesce into larger aggregates and promote their own degradation by macro-autophagy (MA). The smaller soluble aggregates may be degraded by a distinct pathway called endosomal microautophagy (eMI), about which little is known.

Through my project, we are seeking to better understand the relationship between polyglutamine length and the degree of aggregation in cells, as quantified by the percentage of cells with aggregates and the size/number of those aggregates. Additionally, we hope to gain more insight into whether the number of repeats impacts the degradation pathway utilized, by knocking down vital autophagic factors in conjunction with overexpressing different mHTT glutamine lengths. Our initial protocol involved a siRNA transfection followed by a plasmid transfection; however, this produced unreliable data due to inconsistent transfection rates and significant levels of cell death prior to quantification. To address these problems, we are currently producing stable cell lines that express mHTT constructs with different polyglutamine lengths under the control of a doxycycline-inducible promoter. By adding doxycycline, we will be able to adjust the level and timing of expression of our constructs. This will hopefully produce more consistent results by reducing the variability in our experiments.

Anna C._Symposium.png

Anna Christiansen

(she/her)

Poster #8

Investigating the Function of Drosophila melanogaster Arc Genes in Sleep

Research Advisors: Andrew Butts, Sophie Caron

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Kylie's Bio

Who: My name is Kylie DeNiro and I am from South Jordan, Utah. I chose to attend the University of Utah because as a child, it was the only school I saw myself going to. The U has great opportunities for research and extracurriculars!

My STEM interests: I’ve always been interested in science and how the world works. As a kid, I loved going to the Natural History Museum and seeing the anthropology and biology sections. Through high school, I focused my education on chemistry, human anatomy, and math. I completed a medical assisting class my senior year of high school with my best friend, and it taught me so much about science and medicine.

Academic goals: I am majoring in Biology with an emphasis in Anatomy and Physiology and minoring in Integrated Human Biology and Anthropology.

Career goals: After completing my degree at the University of Utah, I hope to go to medical school to become a Hematologist!

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Over the summer my favorite part of access was being able to make new friends and learn about other STEM disciplines. So far, my research experience has been amazing!

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I love being outside! I love to hike, do yoga and rock climb. I enjoy reading, especially science fiction books. Being with my friends is always a highlight!

Abstract

The mammalian activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (ARC) gene is expressed in neurons and is known to regulate different neuronal processes such as memory formation and sleep homeostasis. In Drosophila melanogaster, the functions of the homologs dArc1 and dArc2 – which are also expressed in neurons of the fly brain – remains largely unknown. We have shown that dArc1 and dArc2 are expressed in neurons of the brain, and that dArc1 is expressed in a subset of serotonin neurons. To begin investigating the role of dArc genes in flies, our lab generated novel dArc mutants in which either dArc1, dArc2 or both dArc genes were deleted henceforth referred to as the dArc1^-/-, dArc2^-/- or dArc1/2^-/- mutants. We used the Drosophila Activity Monitoring System, which are individual sleep assay chambers that use an infrared light to measure sleep activity in flies. Our results show that dArc mutant flies show a robust increase in daily sleep compared to wild type flies. I hypothesize that dArc1 and dArc2 expression specifically in neurons is necessary for behavioral rescue of sleep phenotype. We used the Gal4-UAS system to investigate the sufficient cell type for Arc to regulate sleep. Our data shows that expression of the dArc genes in all cell types, all neurons, or specifically, serotonin neurons cannot restore sleep to wildtype levels. These results suggest that dArc1/2 regulation of sleep is under stringent control and might not be rescued by simply expressing dArc1 and dArc2 ectopically at unusually high levels. We are currently testing this idea by generating genomic rescue constructs that should recapitulate more faithfully the endogenous expression of patterns of dArc1 and dArc2. Altogether, this study will delineate the cellular mechanisms that enable dArc genes to regulate sleep.

Kylie DeNiro

(she/her)

Poster #9

Mapping Professional Support Networks of Women and Gender and Sexual Minorities in Physics

Research Advisors: Camila Manni, Justin Gutzwa, Madison Swirtz, Ramón Barthelemy

Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science

Lily's Bio

Who: Hello! My name is Lily Donis and I am originally from Hillsboro, Oregon. I miss the trees from home but have absolutely enjoyed the beautiful mountains and snow out here in northern Utah.

My STEM interests: I have always been surrounded by science at home, whether it be at school, museums, or clubs, but I also quickly developed a passion for people during this time. Today, I am enthused by the ability to combine my love for science and people by intersecting my math and social & behavioral science majors together.

Academic goals: I am majoring in Applied Math, Health Society & Policy, and Psychology. I plan to continue on in my ACCESS lab as well as eventually continuing on to either graduate or law school.

Career goals: I hope in the future to use my interests to pursue ways to help advocate for my community on multiple levels though I am still exploring the varying paths to make this come true.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Meeting my cohort and some of my closest friends and having developed such an amazing support group has been extremely essential for me this year. I also thoroughly enjoyed the summer component of the ACCESS program and hold on to those memories dearly.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: When I am not keeping myself busy with ACCESS and/or academics I love to cook, crochet, volunteer, and hangout with family/friends!

Abstract

Like any successful career, the ability to build and maintain a network with peers, coworkers, etc. is vital to finding success in physics. It is also understood that women and LGBTQ+ face an unprecedented level of difficulty in doing just this. As such, this research aims to better understand how to diversify the field of physics through meeting the support gaps necessary for underrepresented groups in physics. By combining the usage of social network analysis (SNA) with qualitative methods to distinguish the professional support networks of women and gender and sexual minorities. Within my work on this research, I have transcribed the interviews into more visualizable information by creating a simpler way to get a more holistic look at the data. Thus far, I have found that using a qualitative approach to evaluating the research creates a much more feasible manner of understanding the impacts of these professional networks as well as what seems to be the importance of the density of such networks. Through this research, the larger goal of its impact is to aid in understanding what support is needed for women as well as gender and sexual minorities so that there might be a greater chance for them to continue to find success in the vast field of physics.

Lily Donis

(she/her)

Poster #10

Distinguishing Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms Using DNA Barcoding

Research Advisors: Colin Domnauer, Bryn Dentinger

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Anna's Bio

Who: My name is Anna Fairbanks, and I am from Salt Lake City, Utah.

My STEM interests: My first introduction to science was accidentally eating and ruining my older sister’s moldy-bread science experiment. After she was left with no project, I saw her come up with a new project and fell in love with the scientific method of asking questions, designing experiments, and running them. Right now, my main scientific interest is in biology and studying the beauty of life and the world around us.

Academic goals: Currently, I am double majoring in Biology and World Languages & Cultures. I am also minoring in Chinese and Chemistry. I am passionate about both subjects and hope to find ways to merge them.

Career goals: In the future, I hope to become a dermatologist. I am a sunscreen/SPF fanatic and would love to “spread” sunscreen propaganda.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: From ACCESS, I am most grateful for the friends I made along the way. I enjoyed learning with everyone in a very supportive and caring environment.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of STEM, I am a book nerd. Two years ago, I read 50 books and changed my personality to match the main character about 50 times as well. I am also a big collector of antique books and textbooks that I have no plan on reading. Other hobbies include parenting my 14 rebellious bedroom plants, drinking tea, and writing too-long letters to pen-pals.

Abstract

There is an estimated 6-10 times more fungal species than plant species, yet less than ~6% have been described. While fungal taxonomy has been historically determined using morphology, molecular approaches have recently revealed that morphology alone is inadequate. A poor taxonomic understanding can lead to unfortunate consequences, including mushroom poisoning. Undetermined species from the mushroom genus Lanmaoa have been found to produce psychoactive effects when improperly cooked. While commonly consumed, the taxonomy of Lanmaoa remains poorly studied. Since none of the holotypes of Lanmaoa spp. (the specimen designated to represent a species name) have been molecularly analyzed, taxonomic names are often inconsistently applied. With many look-alike mushrooms posing potential health risks, it’s crucial to be able to distinguish between closely related species. To solve this problem, we collected roughly 100 samples from museums and citizen scientists as well as 11 out of the 12 existing holotypes of species currently assigned to Lanmaoa. We then sequenced the DNA barcode region to compare among samples. Combining our data with publicly available GenBank records, we constructed a comprehensive phylogeny of the genus Lanmaoa and anchor names using holotype sequences for the first time. Our results reveal widespread misidentification as well as a putative new species from Japan.

Anna F._Symposium.png

Anna Fairbanks

(she/her)

Poster #11

pKa Determination of Newly Developed Acid Catalysts

Research Advisors: Jordan Liles, Matt Sigman

Department of Chemistry, College of Science

Clarissa's Bio

Who: My name is Clarissa Goh, but my friends call me Reece. I was born and raised in Utah.

My STEM interests: Growing up, I was fascinated by all types of science, whether it was the rock cycle in elementary school, the unexplored depths of space slowly elucidated by a telescope, the intricacies of human psychology, quantum mechanics, symbiosis, or the anatomy and physiology of our various organ systems. More recently, I’ve developed particular interests in biochemistry and chemistry as a whole. I find the various ways atomic and molecular processes propagate astounding change and biological functions really cool.

Academic goals: I’m majoring in Biochemistry, and intend to minor in both Creative Writing and Pediatric Clinical Research. I want to learn more languages beyond the Indonesian and Mandarin I grew up with, and hope to have a comprehensive and interdisciplinary education that encompasses both STEM and the humanities. I want to refine my writing skills, continue doing research, and volunteer for causes I find meaningful.

Career goals: At the moment, I plan to go to PA school (or med school if my future self feels particularly masochistic). I also want to get my poetry published.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: I enjoyed taking SCI 3000 over the summer. I was able to learn about the different ways we apply STEM to complicated and large-scale issues like climate change, developed an interest in subjects and disciplines that I didn’t know existed, and overall, gained a better understanding of global politics and relations.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I love painting, reading, and writing. I also enjoy learning new languages, hiking, thrifting, trying new foods, visiting museums, and making Spotify playlists at 2 AM instead of sleeping. Karaoke and singing in general is really fun, and I play a couple instruments as well.

Abstract

In 2004, the first BINOL-derived chiral phosphoric acid (CPAs) catalysts were reported. Since then, CPAs have proven highly versatile with success in many asymmetric reactions where the formation of one stereoisomer is favored. As their ability to catalyze reactions with high selectivity is often attributed to their rigid chiral environment, a trend exists toward developing CPAs with increasing steric bulk. This can produce improved selectivity, but also complicate synthesis. To address these challenges and demonstrate that high levels of selectivity can be achieved without steric encumbrance, the Sigman and Toste labs developed a new class of adaptable CPAs. These CPAs induce selectivity through attractive noncovalent interactions, and unlike their predecessors, possess a flexible, amino acid-derived scaffold with low molecular weight.

Catalytic activity and effectiveness is often correlated with catalyst acidity, and several studies have been conducted to explain this trend. In 2013, a UV-Vis Spectrophotometric method by the Leito group was applied to determine the experimental pK_as of Brønsted acid catalysts including CPAs. They reported a positive correlation between acidity and reaction rate.

While this affirmed prior literature, it was observed that the acidity of the studied CPAs could only be affected indirectly. Furthermore, within the BINOL CPA class of catalysts, only minor changes in pK_awere observed. These results inspired us to investigate whether we could directly impact the acidity of our adaptive CPAs.

In a recently published paper, we found intramolecular hydrogen-bonding networks between the adaptive CPAs’ amino acid-derived arm and phosphoric acid moiety. Initial DFT calculations revealed that this hydrogen-bonding network dispersed the partial negative charge of the terminal oxygens in the phosphate group, resulting in a more stable conjugate base and stronger acid. With that in mind, we speculate that changes to acidity can be made by altering the identity of a substituent in the amino acid-derived arm. An electron-withdrawing substituent would draw electrons away from the hydrogen, something we expect to allow greater dispersal of the partial negative charge and further stabilization of the conjugate base, whereas an electron-donating substituent is expected to have the opposite effect.

To assess this hypothesis, we are conducting our own pK_ameasurements with a modified version of the Leito group’s UV-Vis Spectrophotometric method. Using anhydrous acetonitrile as a solvent, we will create 10 mL 0.2 mM stock solutions of our various catalysts. By measuring absorbance spectroscopy while titrating these solutions, we will collect the data needed to compute our pK_avalues. Triflic acid will be used to protonate and triethylamine will be used to deprotonate our samples. We expect pK_ato correlate with reactivity, and if this is the case, plan to explore customizing the acidity of our catalysts. The ability to curate acidity to better fit a given substrate will enable the creation of better, more effective catalysts in the future.

Clarissa (Reece) Goh

(she/her)

Poster #12

Trends in Avian Species Richness, Diversity and Community Composition in Red Butte Canyon from 1991-2022

Research Advisors: Amy Buxton, Cagan Sekercioglu

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Anna's Bio

Who: My name is Anna Gurgel and I am from Salt Lake City, Utah (but I have also lived in Iowa and California).

My STEM interests: I have always loved science and nature, even as a little kid. Taking science classes in high school secured my desire to study science in college. I love that by exploring science we can learn more about and protect Earth and its inhabitants.

Academic goals: I want to get my bachelor's degree and potentially a graduate degree. I don’t have a certain major yet, but I’m leaning towards biology.

Career goals: I would love to apply the skills that I learn from college to a career where I can help others and significantly contribute to society. I love anything in nature, and I think it would be cool to work outdoors.

Highlights from ACCESS experience: I really enjoyed learning about different disciplines within science that I hadn’t gotten a real chance to explore until then. This includes learning about fractals in nature, hiking in Red Butte, and watching/discussing the movie Interstellar.

My hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: I love hiking, backpacking, and running cross country. I am always listening to music, and along with the cello (which I’ve been playing for eight years), I play a bit of piano and guitar. I read a lot, and three of my favorite books are The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Crime and Punishment, and Jane Eyre.

Abstract

Changes in avian populations can be indicative of future severe biodiversity loss. Since 1970, breeding adult birds have declined by 2.9 billion in North America. Bird point counts are an important tool for monitoring avian populations over space and time and for better understanding the relationship between birds and their environment1. Emeritus professors Dr. Mark Leppert and Dr. Sherwood Casjens from the University of Utah have collected bird point count data from Red Butte Canyon from 1991 to 2022. This data set is particularly informative as a) it spans 32 years, allowing us to consider change over time, and b) Red Butte Canyon is a relatively undisturbed protected area, allowing us to isolate factors that are often difficult to distinguish.

We are using this data set to ask the following questions: 1) What factors influence avian species richness, diversity, and community composition in Red Butte Canyon? 2) How have avian species richness, diversity, and community composition in Red Butte Canyon changed over time? 3) How does bird point count data compare to bird banding data in Red Butte Canyon?

Simons, Theodore R., et al. "Experimental analysis of the auditory detection process on avian point counts." The Auk 124.3 (2007): 986-999.

Anna G._Symposium.png

Anna Gurgel

(she/her)

Poster #13

A Recurrent Substitution in Naxd Permits Function

Research Advisors: Sadie L. Johnson, Aaron Leifer, Steven Andrew Baker, Jared Rutter

Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine

Spencer's Bio

Who: Hey name is Spencer Gygi and I am from Cedar Hills, Utah!

My STEM interests: Science is in my family tree. My great uncle is William J. Rutter, known for being one of the founding fathers of the Biotechnology industry. He created the first vaccine for Hepatitis B, founded several biotech companies, and was a department head of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF. I have been so inspired by his example to pursue my own career in science!

Academic goals: I plan to double major in Biochemistry and Kinesiology. I am also thinking of adding a Disability Studies minor!

Career goals: One day, I aspire to attend medical school and specialize in the musculoskeletal system and maybe even have a practice for people with disabilities as I know American Sign Language. Wilderness Medicine is also a big part of my life. I started lifeguarding at 15, which led to getting my Emergency Medical Responder and Wilderness First Responder certifications!

Highlight from my ACCESS experience: My favorite activity this summer has been the hike up at Red Butte Garden. It was so insightful to learn about how different STEM focuses research nature! I also love the many workshop opportunities to learn about presenting research and how to prepare for future careers.

My hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: Ever since I was in kindergarten, I have spent a lot of my time in the water. I love swimming, kneeboarding, paddleboarding, hiking, and camping (especially looking at the stars!). I am also a member of Chi Omega Women’s Fraternity here at the University of Utah and I love it!

Abstract

The genetic basis for lifespan evolution in vertebrates is poorly understood. In order to identify genes and pathways involved in regulating lifespan between species, we carried out a computational screen using the 100-way vertebrate genome alignment¹. From this screen, we uncovered a recurrent amino acid substitution found within long-lived species in the gene NAD(P)HX dehydratase (Naxd). In a total of 4 long-lived clades, serine 114 (S114) was substituted for alanine (S114A), but it is otherwise conserved in all short-lived vertebrates. In order to understand the reason for this convergent evolution, we sought to develop an in vitro enzymatic assay for NAXD. We followed a protocol from 1944² to produce NADHX, a substrate for NAXD. NADHX is a toxic spontaneous product of NADH with the addition of water across one of its carbon-carbon double bonds. We then purified recombinant mouse NAXD, with and without the S114A substitution, and used those recombinant proteins to assess its activity with the kinetic assay we developed. This revealed low, but detectable, activity for converting NADHX back into NADH. Importantly, the S114A substitution performed similarly to the wild-type (WT) enzyme. Structural studies indicate that S114A lies near the interface of the NAXD tetramer and may increase its function via the tetramer formation. However, full activity of this enzyme likely requires phosphorylation at tyrosine 85 (Y85), which is likely a near-constitutive post-translational modification detected in several unbiased proteomics screens. Taken together, these results suggest that this substitution does not decrease NAXD function, and our assay lays the framework for further functional characterization of this substitution after in vitro phosphorylation of NAXD.

Spencer Gygi

(she/her)

Poster #14

Data Augmentation for Bionic Hand

Research Advisors: Marshall Trout, Jacob A. George

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering

Peri's Bio

Who: Hello World! I’m Peri Harward. I am from Salt Lake City and decided to come to the University of Utah for the incredible research and education opportunities for me here, such as involvement in the ACCESS program.

My STEM interests: My passion for STEM was sparked by my 5th grade math and sciences teacher who introduced me to basic scientific principles and the engineering design process. My favorite memory is when he encouraged us to make flashlights out of toilet paper rolls, and I realized how much I enjoyed the engineering process. I was able to have many more opportunities to expand my knowledge in the world of STEM through my involvement in Science Olympiad and STEM instructors who encouraged me throughout middle school and high school.

Academic goals: I am majoring in Computer Science, though I hope to explore opportunities in related majors such as Data Science and Computer Engineering! I am excited to continue to engage in my research in Dr. George’s Neurorobotics lab throughout my undergrad. I also plan to pursue a PhD.

Career goals: I currently plan on pursuing a PhD and then remaining in the world of academia and research. Maybe I’ll become an instructor and researcher, but I might consider exploring the world of research in industry.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: I’ve loved being able to meet so many people with similar interests as me. I also loved being able to meet professors and professionals and being able to learn so much from them.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of classes and my lab I love hiking, climbing, and collecting rubber ducks, rocks, and minerals.

Abstract

There are currently many commercially available bionic hands for upper-limb amputees that are highly dexterous and can recreate the complex movements of the human hand. However, these devices are abandoned at a high rate, in part due to being difficult to control. The most advanced of these prosthetic hands are controlled by the user’s intention. The patient’s intent can be decoded from electric signals measured from their residual muscles; a process known as electromyography. Recent advances in deep neural networks have been demonstrated to provide accurate, intuitive decodes of the patient’s intention, but these machine learning models require large amounts of data. Gathering this training data takes significant amounts of time and can be costly for the patient. One method to increase the amount of training data without taking more of the patient’s time is to artificially augment the data set by slightly modifying the training data. We tested several data augmentation techniques commonly used in deep learning including additive Gaussian noise and a blur function. Each of these data augmentation techniques was applied to a training dataset collected from a single intact participant. The training dataset consisted of the participant flexing and extending each finger. 70% of the data was used for training while 30% of the data was used for testing. Of the methods tested, we found that Gaussian noise of 100 works best on a 9-layer deep, shallow neural network, and Gaussian noise of 5 works best on a deeper neural network of 35 layers, to provide the largest increase in model accuracy. Through this research, we hope to find different methods of augmenting the data to provide the most accurate decoding of patient intention.

Peri Harward

(she/her)

Poster #15

Birds of a Different Color: Genetics of Patchy Piebald Pigeons

Research Advisors: Emily Maclary, Michael Shapiro

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Liv's Bio

Who: Hello everyone! I am Liv Inman. I am from Des Moines, Iowa and I decided to come to the U for the incredible research opportunities, interview opportunities, and expansive student life. I love learning new things and achieving what I work hard for.

My STEM interests: Growing up I was super interested in science fiction and the possibilities that new science could open our society to. Because of this my love for science continued to expand as I got older. In highschool I loved taking AP bio, anatomy, and participating in the Science and Sustainability club.

Academic goals: I am a Biology and Anthropology major with plans to possibly declare a biology emphasis of Ecology, Evolution, and Environment. I would love to further expand my STEM knowledge within my ACCESS lab which utilizes other disciplines within the STEM field. Additionally I am hoping to obtain a master and possibly Ph.D within my discipline.

Career goals: I would like to use my biological and evolutionary knowledge, skills, and abilities to hopefully one day conduct research on biological anthropology topics. My dream job would be to work at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where I would hope to further the already incredible knowledge we have of past humans and other biological beings.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: The two biggest highlights from my ACCESS experience were definitely meeting my best friends and getting to begin my research within the Shapiro Lab.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: In my free time, I like to read horror and sci-fi books, thrift, and try out new restaurants.

Abstract

Vertebrate species display a wide variety of pigmentation patterns. Variation in pigment pattern can influence survival and reproductive success by providing camouflage or affecting mate choice. Additionally, variation in pigment patterns are associated with underlying changes in conserved developmental processes like cell migration. By studying the genetic architecture behind these patterns, we can gain insights into the cellular and developmental mechanisms that control pigment patterning within and between species.

After centuries of selective breeding, the domestic pigeon (Columba livia) has gained tremendous breed diversity, as evidenced by differences in color, pigmentation pattern, beak length, and other phenotypic traits within and among hundreds of breeds. This variation, coupled with the species’ tractability in genetics, genomics, and developmental biology, makes the domestic pigeon an exceptional model for understanding the genetic architecture of plumage pigment patterning. Our goal is to identify and understand the genetic factors that control pigment pattern variation in the domestic pigeon. Piebalding is characterized by patches of pigmented and non-pigmented feathers. Additionally, piebalding patterns in domestic pigeons are breed-specific and heritable.

We used Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping in an F₂ cross from a piebald Old Dutch Capuchine and a non-piebald Archangel to map the genetic architecture of piebalding. Through QTL mapping, we identified two loci that are significantly associated with piebalding: linkage group 13 and linkage group 15. We then used allele frequency differentiation across breeds to narrow down the linkage group 13 candidate region and identified 11 SNPs that segregate with the Capuchine piebalding pattern. This region includes six candidate genes. We used targeted genotyping and RT-PCR to examine genotypes and gene expression in additional Capuchine samples. Through this approach we have found that Capuchines do not all share piebalding-associated variants in the LG13 candidate region, and show variable expression of one candidate gene, IQCK.

Liv Inman

(she/her)

Poster #16

Segmentation of the Lacunar Canalicular Network in Diabetic Rat Bone

Research Advisors: Michael Sieverts, Claire Acevedo

Fracture and Fatigue Lab

Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

Ishita's Bio

Who: Hi! My name is Ishita Juluru and I am from Boise, Idaho. I love the mountains, the snow, and the amazing opportunities offered here!

My STEM interests: Ever since I was little, I have been heavily exposed to science and engineering. My mom and grandpa were organic chemistry teachers, and my dad is a software engineer. Looking at my dad’s job growing up, I knew I wanted to enter the computer science field or be a part of it. In high school, I became deeply interested in Biology, Chemistry, and Computer Science. I was part of my high school HOSA team!

Academic goals: I am currently pursuing a major in Computer Science with a minor in Biomedical Engineering and Math. I am working in Dr. Acevedo’s Fracture and Fatigue lab with the Mechanical Engineering department focusing on image processing and deep learning of rat bones with and without diabetes.

Career goals: After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan on getting a job in the field of computer science or biotechnology. I do have thoughts of going to graduate school as well.

Highlight from my ACCESS experience: My favorite part of the ACCESS program so far has been chemistry and math! I loved the hands-on experiments we had during chemistry week, which gave me more insight into the field! I also love the community and friends I made from this program and the resources that the amazing mentors have connected with me too!

My hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: I have played tennis all throughout middle and high school and play with people for fun in college! I enjoy sports in general and also going outside and looking at greenery, mountains, and sunsets. I also enjoy photography! I hope to try skiing and snowboarding this winter in Utah.

Abstract

Bones are equipped with an amazing network of osteocyte cells that enables efficient communication between the cells responsible for maintaining bone resistance. Identifying changes in the bone’s lacunocanalicular network in the osteocytes with diabetes can inform us why diabetic bones are so brittle. The lacunocanalicular network is segmented and visualized from 3D images of rat bones obtained with Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. Previous studies utilized a combination of a Gaussian filter, automatic threshold segmentation, morphological closing, and size analysis for segmentation. However, in our project, the automatic threshold failed to properly segment our images due to non-uniform brightness and noise in the image, pushing us to use an alternative approach.

In order to improve the segmentation process, our goal was to identify a combination of image filters that would enhance the clarity and reduce noise in the image. To achieve this, we utilized several filters, such as Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE), Gaussian, and Frangi. The CLAHE filter divides the image into small tiles and applies histogram equalization and contrast limiting to each tile. Following this, the Gaussian filter blurs the selected region and eliminates the noise with higher frequencies by applying the Gaussian function. The Frangi filter is commonly used to detect tube-like structures in volumetric image data and amplify them.

In addition, we also explored the use of deep learning techniques, such as the U-net neural network architecture, to automate the segmentation. While this approach provided a useful starting point for segmentation, we found that manual segmentation was necessary to improve accuracy. Our overall objective was to segment 3D confocal laser scanning microscopy images of rat bones, enabling us to conduct quantitative analysis and compare osteocyte networks between rat bones with and without diabetes.

Ishita Juluru

(she/her)

Poster #17

Behavior Difference Analysis for Population of Different Sociodemographic Groups Based on Large-Scale National Survey Data

Research Advisors: Biao Kuang, Jianli Chen

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Katy's Bio

Who: Hi! My name is Katy Lam and I’m from St. George, Utah. I enjoy doing hands-on work and experiencing new experiences!

My STEM interests: I grew up in an area where housing development was everywhere. Every time my family drove past the houses, I would always enjoy looking at the design and structure. Then, I discovered my passion for engineering after taking an engineering class because of the hands-on work, however, I didn’t know what field I wanted to be in. During my senior year of high school, I finally decided that I wanted to be a structural engineer after interning at a civil engineering firm.

Academic goals: I am planning to get my bachelor’s in civil engineering and minor in architecture. I also plan to continue to be a member of the ASCE club and hope to join competitions in the future. I hope to continue to work in my research lab and learn more about topics that will help me solve climate change and get an internship in the future.

Career goals: After I graduate, I plan to become a structural engineer who solves world problems and impacts society positively. I want to find ways on how structures can help reduce climate change. I also want to become a role model to guide and support future female engineers.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite part of ACCESS is the community and how quickly we got along. When I’m with the cohort, I always feel at home because I get to be myself. I also liked the engineering module because I got to think outside of the box and create a digital wallet for my partner.

My hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: During my free time, I love to read webcomics, listen to music, sleep, exercise, craft, and hang out with my family and friends. I also love to watch and listen to ASMR cooking because it is relaxing.

Abstract

The world consumes a tremendous amount of energy to satisfy our needs. However, with the increase in various types of disasters, many cities are experiencing a rise in power outages. Understanding the energy use behaviors and needs of different population groups is the premise of maintaining needed energy services in power outages. Our goal is to calculate how different socio-demographics use energy every day so we can satisfy the needs of consumers in the future. To calculate this, we extract data from an open source called the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to see how applicants (between ages 18 to 120) use energy. After extracting, we organized the data using Python and categorized the applicants by gender, and chose three activities (sleeping, working, and cooking) to calculate the likelihood of them using energy during a specific time. The results were that there was no difference in the probability between genders when sleeping. However, in the working and cooking activities, there is a significant difference between genders. In the male category, the probability of working is higher than in the female category, and the probability of cooking is lower than in the female category. Not only that, all three activities correspond to each other. When the probability of sleeping is at its lowest, the peaks of the working and cooking category are at their highest. Additionally, as the probability of working decreases (specifically at times 12 pm and 6 pm) cooking increases. This concludes that males are more likely to work than females, and females are more likely to cook than males. The correlation between working and cooking highlights when people typically eat during the day. As the graph shows, at 12 pm and 6 pm, the use of energy to cook is higher than at any time.

Katy Lam

(she/her)

Poster #18

Investigating Osteocyte Interactions and Bone Fragility Using Bone-on-Chip and Microfluidic Devices

Research Advisors: Claire Acevedo, Jungkyu Kim

Department of Mechanical Engineering & Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering

Kalina's Bio

Who: Hi! My Name is Kalina Manova. I was born and raised in Utah; however, my family is originally from Bulgaria. I decided to pursue my education at the University of Utah due to the surplus of exceptional STEM-related research and opportunities provided through the university’s science programs.

My STEM Interests: For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been enthralled by our natural world. In high school, I chose to study biology, human anatomy, chemistry, and all things science-related. As of right now, I am most passionate about biotech-related studies.

Academic Goals: I am currently pursuing a biomedical engineering major with a minor in chemistry (and/or math, I’m still deciding!). I am part of the Professional Development Committee in the Biomedical Engineering Society and am also involved with the Society of Women in Engineering.

Career Goals: After graduation, I’d like to work in the BME field for a couple of years before pursuing a master's program to further my knowledge. I would love to work in biotechnology research/gene editing engineering, ideally at someplace similar to the National Institute of Health.

Highlights from my ACCESS Experience: While in ACCESS, I thoroughly enjoyed studying math and physics. Growing up, I never liked or really appreciated mathematics; however, the immersive mathematics experience with ACCESS changed my perspective. I ultimately decided to alter my educational path and switch to biomedical engineering rather than just studying biology. Another aspect of ACCESS that I’ve appreciated is the long-lasting friendships and connections I’ve created with the many lovely and supportive people I’ve met through this program.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of academics and school-related involvement, I enjoy reading, spending time in nature (my favorite canyon is Big Cottonwood!), listening to and composing music, swimming (I did it competitively for ~13 years), enjoying the company of my cats, and hanging out with my close friends and family. A favorite memory I’ve had with an ACCESS friend was watching Puss and Boots: The Last Wish with Navi!

Abstract

Although previously assumed to be “passive placeholders within the bone” (1), the osteocyte plays a critical role in the bone’s development and matrix, taking on essential parts in the preservation of the musculoskeletal system. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are molecules that have bonded with sugar to create a harmful, and potentially deadly, environment for bone cells. Factors such as aging, as well as various bone fragility diseases (like diabetes), increase the level of AGEs within the body, putting osteocytes at risk. Because of this, understanding how to treat damaged bone matrixes is essential.

Current bone fragility disease treatment is limited and uses non-specific 2D culturing methods that temporarily fix the problem rather than acting as a permanent solution. While 2D culturing can be useful, it fails to target matrix rebuilding within the bone itself as it relies on external in vitro methods over internal in vivo culturing.

Using a 3D culturing method like “bone-on-a-chip” microfluidic devices may be a bridge to this gap. Bone-on-a-chip uses osteocyte clonal cell lines that can be inserted and regrown within the bone’s matrix to rebuild and regrow damaged cell lines that have suffered from AGE-related damage. This research examines potential applications of microfluidic device use through use of various osteocyte cell lines to rebuild bone matrix in bone fragility disease treatment.

Bonewald, Lynda, “The Amazing Osteocyte,” 2011.

Kalina Manova

(she/her)

Poster #19

MDSC Mediated Control of Flu-Malaria Co-infection

Research Advisors: Jenna Reed, Tracey J. Lamb

Department of Pathology, School of Medicine

Ritika's Bio

Who: Hi everyone! My name is Ritika Nayan. I have lived in Lehi, Utah for the past year and half but spent most of my childhood in Cupertino, California. I chose the University of Utah because of the many opportunities for research and leadership that it provides.

My STEM interests: I have always been interested in learning more about the human body and how it works. Over the past few years, through involvement in high school clubs and classes, I have developed a keen interest in studying human diseases, especially infections, that afflict our communities today.

Academic goals: I am currently pursuing a major in Sociology and Biology with an emphasis in microbiology, and am halfway through completing an honors integrated minor in Health through the U of U honors college.

Career goals: After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I hope to attend medical school and pursue a career as a surgeon. Medicine is a multifaceted and interdisciplinary field and as such, I hope to make use of both my undergraduate degrees to become a well-rounded and comprehensive doctor.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite part of the ACCESS experience was going to The Pie for lunch on a Saturday over the summer. It was a great way to talk to everyone in our cohort and have lots of delicious food!

My hobbies and Interests outside of STEM and academics: In my free time, I love to crochet, read, and watch a LOT of Netflix!

Abstract

For many decades, malaria has remained an increasingly important parasitic disease of human beings. While most infections are manageable, poor prognosis is often marked by respiratory distress due to both inflammation and damage to the alveolar membranes in the lung. It is surprising, then, that a coupling of such an infection with the Influenza A virus (IAV), which is involved in the progressive degradation of the lung epithelia and in the related development of pneumonia and ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome), produces a phenotypic survival curve depicting greater survival for co-infected mice. A component of the flu immune response pathway, thus, seems to play a role in suppressing the malaria-related symptoms and contributing to a later onset of fatality. The elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and other inflammatory mediators during this flu infection play a significant role in expanding the recruitment and expansion of MDSCs. MDSCs, or Myeloid-derived suppressor cells, are a group of immunosuppressive cells that can modulate antigen specific immune responses during acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, including infection by Influenza-A virus (INV). They are a critical component of INV’s quick-acting, innate response and play a significant role in suppressing T-cell proliferation and activity. Lab data I collected in the past month show greater frequencies of MDSC’s in the lung tissue of INV (X31)-infected mice, as opposed to the control naive mice. The fatal symptoms of the malaria infection are often a result of the hyperactivity of the immune response, wherein healthy cells are often mistaken for and targeted by the body’s own immune system. The activity of MDSCs, which work to suppress such responses, thus serves as a plausible explanation for the greater survival depicted in co-infected mice. In a world where both flu and malaria have held potent roles in controlling the human-civilized life, the exploration of MDSCs as potential mediators between the two may lead to both, the development of better therapies, and also a better understanding of how multiple infections interplay on a expansive and previously unexplored framework.

Ritika Nayan

(she/her)

Poster #20

Testing for Altered IL4R Gene Function in Association to Osteoarthritis

Research Advisor: David Grunwald

Department of Human Genetics, School of Medicine

Abby's Bio

Who: I’m Abby Niwa! Being born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, I grew up in huge Utah Utes family. I always knew I’d end up at the U and here I am! When I’m not working or doing school work I love to paint, make pottery, and watch movies in my free time.

My STEM interests: Ever since elementary I loved science. I always thought it was magic as a kid. In high school I got really involved and joined my school's STEM club and other extracurriculars that made me who I am today. I also took a bunch of science classes and found out I love biology and chemistry.

Academic goals: Knowing I loved both chemistry and biology it was hard for me to choose which one to major in. Then I found out the U offered Biochemistry as a major, I was excited. So that’s where I’m at now, I am a Biochemistry major thinking about earning a minor in mathematics or business. I hope to learn more about genetics in my research lab and explore more opportunities. After undergrad I hope to get into medical school… or graduate school, or pharmacy school. I had always planned on going to medical school and that is still my main goal, however, I’ve been learning about other careers recently and think I should keep my options open.

Career goals: I’d like to use my skills to help others and my current goal is to become an ER Physician. I love the work Physicians do and work well under pressure. I aspire to make a difference and hope to take those skills to other countries that need help. I am very inspired by some physicians I know who leave to help others in need.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Honestly, we did a lot and the summer feels like a fever dream. I loved just hanging out as a group watching movies, playing games, and protesting.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Well, I didn’t notice this question before so this is a bit repetitive, but, I love to paint, make pottery and watch movies in my free time. I love making things that I can use or wear and get crafty. I probably have about 13 different unfinished projects in my room, I should probably work on some of those.

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that causes severe pain and reduced mobility that affects daily life. With 242 million people affected, there is surprisingly very little known about the causes of OA. The Grunwald and Jurynec labs’ focus is identifying variant alleles that truly alter gene function and lead to OA. Previously the lab has sequenced the genes of 150 families with severe inherited OA and has identified variants within the interleukin 4 receptor gene that segregate with OA. Previously, zebrafish have been generated that completely lack the IL4R gene. This is done to determine what occurs within a zebrafish embryo when it completely lacks the gene. The lack of the IL4R gene resulted in reduced development of types of blood cells that arise during embryonic development. To determine if this is the case in variant allele forms of IL4R we can use zebrafish and whole mount in situ hybridization, commonly referred to as WISH. Results will determine if the OA-associated form of IL4R is hyperactive or hypoactive compared to wild-type IL4R when promoting blood development. The work described is not yet finished and results are underway. However, given preliminary results, we expect the mutant embryos will have reduced numbers of primitive blood cells. If this is the case, we will move on to in vitro transcription after generating plasmids carrying each allele. This will provide me with further insight into how the IL4R variants may contribute to OA.

Abby Niwa

(she/her)

Poster #21

Adventures in Natural Product Chemistry

Research Advisor: Ryan E. Looper

Department of Chemistry, College of Science

Anna's Bio

Who: Hi y’all! I’m Anna Page. I am from Draper, Utah. I came to the University of Utah to pursue the academic and research opportunities available to me, including the ACCESS Scholars program.

My STEM interests: I’ve been interested in science for as long as I can remember! I am interested in small molecule interactions within biological systems and have a passion for all things molecular biology!

Academic goals: Currently, I am pursuing a double major in Cell and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.

Career goals: I’m still undecided regarding my career! I’ve always wanted to be a doctor but I’m keeping my options open! I recently have become very interested in research and have been looking into pursuing a career in research.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My ACCESS experience has been incredibly positive in many different ways. My laboratory placement in Dr. Looper’s Lab has been a major highlight of ACCESS. ACCESS has opened doors for me I never imagined possible and the opportunities and knowledge I’ve gained from this experience has been life changing.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of STEM and academics I enjoy rock climbing, camping and boating. I also enjoy volunteering with the Utah AIDS Foundation and serving my community through local pageant organizations.

Abstract

Natural products are compounds made by living things that commonly serve as inspiration in pharmaceutical drug design and development. Natural products have a storied history in the development of antibiotics. Evolving with bacterial warfare, these natural products are continually perfected to targeting essential life processes of competing bacterial species. One of the natural products we’re focusing on is amicetin. Amicetin is produced by Streptomyces vinaceusdrappus and is a nucleoside antibiotic, using its incorporated nucleoside to bind to ribosomal RNA and inhibit translation. Our goal for this project was to isolate amicetin by growing and fermenting Streptomyces vinaceusdrappus and purifying the natural products it produces. Several related compounds with antibacterial activity were described in the original patents for amicetin (ca 1959) but have never been structurally characterized, we’ve attempted to isolate amicetin. We are still in the process of identifying the exact conditions needed for our bacteria to produce our desired natural product.

Natural products also have the potential to be used as other drug therapies. Dimeric coniferyl acetate is produced by E. usambarica and is our other natural product of interest. Adam Spivak, M.D. has demonstrated its potential to reactivate latent HIV. Dimeric coniferyl acetate is a lignan core that has been produced by oxidative dimerization of 2 symmetric units, which requires either toxic cyanide salts or precious metals to promote this oxidation. As with natural lignan biosynthesis, polymerization is a significant competing reaction pathway. Our goal is to produce this lignan core via electrochemistry and make the production of this compound more sustainable. By applying a constant current to a solution of our starting material, in an Electrasyn reactor, we have identified our key lignan intermediate being produced. We will optimize this reactivity to selectively produce the lignan dimer so that diversify this compound by the addition of different R substituents to improve drug efficacy.

Anna P._Symposium.png

Anna Page

(she/her)

Poster #22

Confirming the First [Fe X]-Selected Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies

Research Advisors: Hannah Fritze, Mallory Molina, Daniel R. Wik

Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science

Sunny's Bio

Who: My name is Sunny Joy Rasmussen! I have a black cat named Viola, and I am double majoring in Physics & Astronomy and Political Science!

My STEM interests: I am fascinated with learning about how celestial objects interact with each other. Black holes and dark matter are particularly interesting to me. I am fascinated with how they bend space-time. I plan to contribute to this golden age of Astrophysics, and help propel this research forward.

Academic goals: I will obtain my double Bachelors degrees in Physics & Astronomy and Political Science. I plan to study abroad, with The Hinckley Institute, in Washington DC as a NASA intern. After I graduate with my Bachelors degrees, I plan to jump right into graduate school, and pursue my PhD!

Career goals: My goal is to work as an Astrophysicist for NASA at Headquarters in Washington DC! After I have accomplished all that, I believe my scientific background and background in politics will serve me well, and I would like to become NASA Administration, and advocate for science at NASA’s headquarters in Washington DC.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: ACCESS has opened so many doors for me! I have been able to network and make meaningful friendships because of ACCESS! I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet other women in STEM, who share my interests and academic drive. Everyday, I run into at least five ACCESS cohort members! I know that anywhere I go on campus, I will have a friend there. This has made me more confident in myself and secure in adjusting to college life!

My hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: Outside of STEM, I enjoy sewing, volleyball, and leadership positions. I love sewing because I can turn fabric into a pattern or 3D shape, using a combination of creativity and mathematical concepts! I love volleyball because I love being able to work together as a team, and who doesn’t love the feeling of a good block? I am also Outreach Chairman for the Society of Physics Students University of Utah chapter. Being a leader brings me fulfillment and I enjoy serving those around me!

Abstract

Black Holes (BHs) found in dwarf galaxies are less massive and dimmer, making them both similar to the initial BH ‘seeds’ and more difficult to detect. Using the [Fe X] emission line, Molina et al. (2021) discovered 81 BH candidates in dwarf galaxies. I will be confirming the presence of a BH in the center of one of these galaxies using X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Sunny Joy Rasmussen

(she/her)

Poster #23

Inhibition of the DNA Protein MutT

Research Advisors: My Nha Quyen Tran, Vincent Mays, Martin Horvath

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Bridget's Bio

Who: Hello all, I am Bridget; I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am a first generation American, and I am the oldest sibling to two younger twin sisters.

My STEM interests: The possibilities in the future of STEM are endless. I want the work I choose to have space for invention and problem solving and most of all, a challenge. Medicine is a prime combination of my interests in the humanities and sciences, and I feel most fulfilled in learning about all the little things that make a good doctor.

Academic goals: I graduated high school with a general Associate's degree from Salt Lake Community College, so now I am a Biology major pursuing my Bachelors degree with a minor in Chemistry. In honor of my heritage and my passion for traveling, I will minor in the Chinese language. After I graduate, I plan to apply to medical school.

Career goals: As a licensed neurosurgeon, I plan to be enlisted in the military, and then move onto serving underprivileged communities through programs like Doctors Without Borders. Accessible higher education and accessible healthcare are two major causes my career will work towards.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: The final debate with groups of ACCESS students representing various countries and energy solutions was my favorite experience we shared together. All because my group gave an outstanding presentation thanks to our combined hard work despite being assigned the role of devil’s advocate. I was honored to collaborate with these individuals.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: To me, family is my greatest priority alongside my academics and career goals. I like introducing my family and friends to new experiences, and I enjoy traveling to see what every day life is like abroad.

Abstract

Current genetic screenings rely on mutagens, but these methods can not efficiently create the AT→CG transversion mutation, which limits the chances of success. For my ACCESS project, I am working towards creating this transversion mutation efficiently through inhibition of the DNA protein MutT.

MutT and MutY are proteins involved in DNA biochemistry that protects cells from mutations caused by oxidized guanine (OG). The activity of MutT accomplishes this by preventing OG from being incorporated into the daughter DNA strand. My underlying hypothesis is that with MutT, OG will become part of the daughter strand and create an A-OG lesion. The lesion is due to alternate base pair properties of OG that allows it to base pair with both C and A. Furthermore, the DNA repair enzyme MutY will encourage the AT→CG mutation by removing the A paired to OG. Normally, this activity of MutY prevents mutations, but since the OG is in the daughter strand, it promotes mutations. Therefore, I expect an increase in the observed mutation rates in the presence of the MutT inhibitor especially when MutY is included in the bacterial strain.

Up to now, I have ordered the MutT inhibitors, and they are expected to arrive within this month. I completed virtual docking for MutT with OG and with MutT inhibitors to provide a visual representation of the active site. I designed preliminary experiments to test the purity of three bacterial strains (JM101 MutY+, JM101 MutY-, and DH5∝) on antibiotic (TET) petri dishes.

If I succeed, I will observe and count the growth of mutated AT→ CG bacterial colonies on antibiotic petri dishes. This transversion mutation can be utilized in developing theuropeudic gene editing or nucleic base editing tools.

Bridget R.H.

(she/he/zie)

Poster #24

Effect of Diabetes on Bone in Fatigue Test

Research Advisors: Claire Acevedo, William Wooley, Kaitlynn Martin

Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

Jessica's Bio

Who: My name is Jessica Redmond, and I am from Salt Lake City, Utah. I came to the University of Utah for the amazing STEM programs and research opportunities, especially with the ACCESS program!

My STEM interests: I have always loved the idea of building things to help people. When I was young, I attended many STEM focused camps demonstrating that exploring science based curiosities and what-ifs can actually help people. Throughout high school, I continued to get involved in engineering clubs and classes. I love learning about new scientific discoveries, especially in the realm of synthesizing human tissues.

Academic/career goals: I am currently focusing on getting a degree in chemical or mechanical engineering, where I aspire to work on further developing our ability to grow human organs and tissues. I just started a research position working in the Fracture and Fatigue lab led by Dr. Claire Acevedo, where I am learning how the fatigue of bones change when introduced to diabetes. I hope to refine my career interests and passions by conducting new research in this lab!

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite aspect of the ACCESS program has been the community we have created within my cohort. I’ve never been surrounded by so many like minded peers who all desperately want to make changes in the STEM world. Together, we’ve supported one another from the point of getting our first lab placements to where we are now. I will always cherish the friendships and networks we’ve made in this group.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Aside from academics, I love to go on hiking adventures outside, crochet, woodwork, and sing. These fun hobbies help me to both be creative and take a break from my engineering classes.

Abstract

Did you know that in 2021 alone, Americans spent 415 billion dollars on diabetes related expenses? Additionally, 931,000 Americans were reported to have died from diabetes in 2021. Type 2 diabetes specifically is associated with an increased fracture risk, even without a decreased bone density. What does an increased risk of fracture mean for our everyday lives? A higher risk of bone fracture correlates with an increased rate of mortality and financial distress. We need to understand the mechanisms behind diabetes-induced fractures in order to reduce the risk. My lab performs cyclic loading tests on bones, which simulates daily activities such as running and walking. We want to prove that diabetic bones have less resistance to cyclic loading than healthy bones. We separated processed bovine bone into two categories: “healthy” bone and “diabetic” bone. In our case, the diabetic bone only affects the collagen structure which is responsible for the bone’s plasticity. We then performed cyclic loading tests on all samples with varying forces until the bone breaks. Data taken from these tests are plotted on an SN curve, which shows how many cycles the bone can withstand at a certain stress level. While this experiment is still ongoing, we can begin to observe that diabetic bones are less resistant to cyclic loading than healthy samples. These tests indicate that there is an increased risk of fracture in doing daily activities for diabetic bones, which should be taken into consideration for future medical treatments.

Jessica Redmond

(she/her)

Poster #25

Fluorescent Measurements of Microtubule Defect Density

Research Advisor: Tanner Hoole, Michael Vershinin

Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science

Eliza's Bio

Who: Hello! I am Liza Roberts, a student here at the University of Utah. I am from Utah county, and was drawn to the University of Utah due to the environment of SLC, UT. Here I have been lucky enough to find my people within the university.

My STEM interests: From a young age, I was always drawn to the sciences. Where my interests have changed and matured over time. Throughout high school, I found a passion for mathematics which has led me to my double major in mathematics and physics here at the U.

Academic Goals: I am currently a double major in mathematics and physics. Currently, I am hoping to get a master's degree and work in programs that allow me to teach undergrad math classes while I work on my degree.

Career Goals: Currently, I have uncertainty when it comes to what I want to do once I am out of school. There are a lot of different experiences and paths that intrigue me and I want to take the chance in my undergrad experience to explore that a little. As of right now, I am exploring options in academia and industry to give me the background to go whichever way I chose.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: I have just loved the relationships that I have been able to form with some of the other people in my cohort. They have been my support systems, my shoulders to cry on, and my friends. Truly the social aspect has been my favorite part.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of school, I love to spend time with my friends playing D&D, hanging out, or playing video games. Making memories with my friends and family is really important for me, as I know that I only have one life so I want to live it to the best extent possible.

Abstract

Microtubules (MTs) are hollow filaments that function to support eukaryotic cell shape, nucleic positioning, cell division, organization of intracellular structure, and intracellular transport. Our lab’s prior research has found a lack of temperature dependence of MT rigidity, and confirmed sporadic prior reports that MT rigidity had a long-tailed distribution: some MTs are very rigid but most are not. Our hypothesis is that MT rigidity is defined by the amount of defects in its lattice.

My current work aims to quantify microtubule defects. Our approach is to visualize MTs stabilized with fluorescent taxol and eventually to visualize the binding of additional tubulin subunits to fully-formed MTs in a second color channel. My work to date has been troubleshooting MT formation, visualization and fluorescence stability. We have found that fluorescent MTs can survive in state usable for experiments for approximately one week at optimal conditions.

Eliza Roberts

(she/her)

Poster #26

Effects of a Rab7 Inhibitor on Autophagy and its Potential to Synergize with a MAP Kinase Inhibitor in KRAS-Driven Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Research Advisor: Sophia Schuman, Riley Rohweder, Dr. Mark Silvis, Dr. Conan Kinsey

Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute

Isabella's Bio

Who: Hello I am Isabella Scalise, I was raised in California and moved to Salt Lake City from Oregon. I decided to attend the University of Utah due to the abundance of research opportunities available for undergrads to get involved as early as freshman year and the connection to the medical school. I definitely made the right decision and am so grateful to be here.

My STEM interests: I was lucky to have exceptional learning opportunities throughout middle school and high school that allowed me to follow my passion for biology and the health sciences. I took part in several summer camps including a cancer and genetics program at Providence Health Center which introduced me to how precision medicine is being used to treat cancer. After getting the chance to have a behind-the-scenes look at medical labs and engaging with the vast array of professionals bustling around, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in medical research myself. This passion led me to compete at district, state, and international science fairs which exposed me to networks of peers and professionals from around the world. I immediately fell in love with the collaborative nature of science. All of these experiences not only confirmed my passions for STEM, but I also know that research is something I plan on pursuing for the rest of my life.

Academic goals: I am currently working on my honors cell and molecular biology degree alongside a minor in mathematics. I plan on conducting research well beyond my undergraduate career as a MD or MD/PhD.

Career goals: My ultimate goal is to contribute to the medical field as a physician scientist. Pairing the solid foundation I am developing from my current coursework with hands-on applications in my lab has been invaluable thus far and fuels my desire to contribute to the frontiers of translational medicine to promote human health.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Having the opportunity to learn from the brilliant scientists of the Kinsey lab and the Huntsman Cancer Institute is an experience I will cherish forever. I am extremely grateful to be under the guidance of my mentor and to be part of such a supportive and compassionate team. I always walk out of the lab feeling inspired and motivated to work towards becoming the best scientist I can possibly be.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I love to spend time with family and friends, play the cello, read, and do art. Lately I’ve been trying to expand my digital art skills and enjoy making mini comics.

Abstract

A primary resistance mechanism to targeted therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the cellular process of autophagy, a process in which cells can recycle their intracellular components to sustain nutrient demands under stressful conditions. Inhibition of the MAP Kinase pathway upregulates autophagy, rendering single agent MAPK inhibitor treatments ineffective. It has been found that combining trametinib, an inhibitor of MEK1/2 in the MAP Kinase Pathway, with an autophagy inhibitor such as chloroquine leads to synergistic tumor regression in in vivo mouse xenograft experiments as well as a response in a single pancreatic cancer patient (Kinsey et al., 2019).

Although chloroquine is a clinically available autophagy inhibitor, chloroquine is a relatively weak autophagy inhibitor at FDA approved maximum doses and is also pleiotropic. We would like to identify more specific and potent autophagy inhibitors to test pre-clinically for potential efficacy in combination with trametinib. Rab7 is one of many Rab GTP-ase proteins that branch from the GTP-binding protein Ras family. It plays an important part in autophagosome-lysosome fusion and trafficking (Hyttinen et al., 2012). Therefore a Rab7 competitive inhibitor (Rab7i), CID-1067700, was tested for efficacy in inhibiting autophagy.

MiaPaca2 cell lines that had been transfected with a lentiviral autophagic flux reporter (AFR) were treated with a dose escalation of Rab7i and also with a combined treatment of both Rab7i and trametinib. We found that a 10nM concentration of Rab7i was the most effective at inhibiting autophagy so a time course over 24-96 hours at a 10nM Rab7i concentration was performed to determine optimal treatment time. Results indicate that Rab7i inhibits autophagy to a certain extent but only for a short period of time (~24 hours), possibly due to cellular resistance to the drug’s mechanisms or rapid drug degradation at room temperature. Future directions would involve expressing dominant active and dominant negative Rab7 MiaPaca2 cells with trametinib to assess sensitivity to treatment and elucidate this response.

Isabella Scalise

(she/her)

Poster #27

Monitoring the Spread of MDROs Through Shared Equipment in Healthcare Facilities

Research Advisor: Eron Powell, Catherine Loc-Carrillo, PhD

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah

Maren's Bio

Who: My name is Maren Shope and I am a freshman at the University of Utah.

My STEM interests: I’ve been interested in STEM since my first High School chemistry class. I have a special interest in chemistry because I like the technicality and hands-on aspect in lab work.

Academic goals: I am working towards a bachelor’s of science in Chemistry with a possible minor in German. I am planning to go to dental school after my undergrad. I am also hoping to study abroad during my undergrad in Germany.

Career goals: I want to be a periodontist and start my own dental business when I am older.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: I think that ACCESS changed my freshman year experience; most of my friends in college are because of ACCESS and I love the lab that I am in because of the program. I also think learning how college classes differ from High School classes and living on campus before the school year even starts is such an advantage of the ACCESS program.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: I love to be outside so some of my favorite hobbies include skiing, mountain biking, camping and hiking. I am also a part of Greek life at the University of Utah which has helped me meet a lot of different people.

Abstract

Multi Drug Resistant organisms (MDROs) are widely spread in healthcare facilities and can negatively affect patient care. MDROs can be transmitted through equipment that is shared by healthcare workers and patients. Although this shared equipment is cleaned before and after every use, adherence to cleaning protocols are not always followed (such as when people are distracted or very busy and they forget to clean the equipment properly). The cleaning of the shared equipment is what we are looking to improve through our research to reduce the possibility of spreading MDROs to either other patients or healthcare workers using the equipment.

We sampled the high-touch surfaces of shared equipment (i.e., glucometers and bladder scanners) using swabs and used sponge sticks to sample multiple high-touch surface areas around patient rooms. We supported the growth of any bacteria by placing the swab or sponge in enrichment broth and incubated overnight. This mixture was then transferred to four different selective media plates including Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and Multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter. We also counted the number of total aerobic bacteria present in the shared equipment to determine the amount of bacteria present and compare it with the amount of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) detected.

By determining the amount of MDROs present in a healthcare facility (specifically on shared equipment and in patient rooms), then implementing a cleaning protocol (developed by a psychologist with expertise in Human Factors research) to improve adherence, and comparing the amount of MDROs post-implementation, we can determine how effective the new cleaning protocol is.

Maren Shope

(she/her)

Poster #28

‘Building Bionics: From Dream to Reality

Research Advisor: Kai Pruyn, Lucas Gabert, Tommaso Lenzi

Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

Teddy's Bio

Who: Hi! My name is Teddy Stevens, I am from Salt Lake City, and I am a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I came to the University of Utah because of the opportunity to participate in research so early-on in my college career and because of our great outdoors!

My STEM interests: I have always had a great appreciation for math and science alongside a unique interest in design and art. When I discovered Mechanical Engineering was the perfect intersection of these interests, I couldn’t wait to start. In high school, I got my first real experience in engineering over the summer at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory working with radars, where I became fascinated with using code to make a machine work. When I got to the U, I couldn’t wait to start work like that.

Academic goals: Academically, I am a Mechanical Engineering major with plans to minor in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship. I am currently participating in research with the HGN Lab for Bionic Engineering alongside Dr. Tommaso Lenzi. I hope to continue research with that lab for the rest of college and then consider the BS/MS program at the U. After that, I plan on exploring job opportunities or continuing research in graduate school.

Career goals: I hope to work in the intersection of design, innovation, and engineering with the knowledge from my entrepreneurship minor to develop systems that will help us achieve a sustainable society.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite part of the ACCESS experience was the people I met along the way! I am so grateful to have had this program to make some of my closest friends in college and meet some incredible people in my lab. It is wonderful being surrounded by people who have similar interests to you!

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of STEM-based interests, I love to spend time outdoors skiing, camping, or hiking. I also have always loved art, so if I end up with any free time you can find me painting!

Abstract

Bionics is the science of building artificial technologies that behave like biological systems. This field is quickly advancing and has recently resulted in robotic leg prostheses and exoskeletons that improve mobility for individuals with lower-limb amputations and those affected by physical disability. The dream is to provide these bionic devices to the millions of people living with disabilities worldwide. But this dream cannot be achieved without first acknowledging the reality. The reality is that these devices need to be lighter, quieter, and smarter before they can make a mark on the world.

For these bionic devices to become everyday products, it is necessary to minimize the noise they produce. To do that, I have developed a sound chamber that uses acoustic foam to prevent the reflections of sound within the space. In this acoustic chamber, we can accurately measure noise using miniature piezoelectric accelerometers and a microphone. The sound produced can be translated into quantitative data that is analyzed offline. Using this method, we can optimize the prothesis design to reduce noise.

To help with this goal, I have supported human subject testing in the laboratory, in which people with amputations performed a variety of activities that are used in everyday life with different controllers and mechanical configuration of a robotic leg prosthesis. We pushed the limits of our bionic devices from walking on uneven ground to going up two stairs at a time. I have also performed experiments with hemiparetic subjects using our powered exoskeletons. In this test, we change the exoskeleton assistance while the subjects walk and record O₂ intake to assess metabolic cost to better understand the impact of the exoskeleton.

These contributions provide knowledge necessary to improve the possibilities of mobility worldwide and get us closer to achieving the dream of building bionics. Future research involves further testing and reduction in the noise produced and continued human subject testing to develop highly effective devices.

Teddy Stevens

(she/her)

Poster #29

Testing the Effects of Diet Type on Parasitism in Mice

Research Advisor: Maggie Doolin, Denise Dearing

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Anastasia's Bio

Who: Hello! I’m Anastasia Varela and I am in my first year at the University of Utah. I am from Utah and I’ve loved growing up with the beautiful mountains. Being apart of the ACCESS program has been an amazing experience!

My STEM interests: I have always loved science and math when growing up! I participated in Science Fair throughout High School. I love learning about science and specifically how the human body works.

Academic goals: I am currently majoring in Pre-Nursing and minoring in Spanish. I currently work in the Dearing Lab working with parasitology and biology. I’m excited to see what future endeavors the lab could hold. I may get my masters degree to get a higher degree in nursing.

Career goals: I am passionate about helping people and medicine. In my future I hope to be working as an Emergency Room or Intensive Care nurse. Further in my future I may become a Nurse Practitioner. In my future career I hope to help lots of people and have a positive impact on those I work with.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: Throughout my ACCESS experience I really enjoyed getting to know all the amazing people in my cohort! I also enjoyed the classes we were taking and how they were able to give me new perspectives on climate change. The ACCESS experience also opened my eyes to the many possibilities in STEM degrees.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: In my free time I enjoy spending time outdoors. I love to go snowboarding, hiking, swimming, golfing, and kayaking.

Abstract

A gut parasite relies on a host organism for nutrients, shelter, and survival, at the expense of the host. The interaction between the host and parasite is very complex, with a specific set of cues (e.g., hormones, immune system interaction, gut microbes) needed to establish successful infections. Diet can directly shape these gut environment parameters and the nutrients available to the parasite, potentially limiting parasite infection. We tested whether two common diets with different nutrient contents resulted in differing success of intestinal roundworms in mice. We conducted this experiment by having two groups of 10 mice, one being fed their regular chow (18% protein, 5% fat, 5% fiber, Teklad diet 2018), and the other being fed high-protein chow (24.6% protein, 5% fat, 4.1% fiber, Lab Diet 5010). We infected both groups with the roundworm Heligmosomoides bakeri, then repeatedly measured parasite egg production for 3 weeks, through fecal egg counts. After 3 weeks of infection, we also counted the number of worms in the intestine of each mouse. We found no significant association between diet type and egg output or total parasite count, but host sex did have a larger impact on parasite establishment than expected; the gut environment could differ based on sex. We also noticed many misshapen eggs produced by all animals in this study. The diets could be having an impact on the appearance of the egg, but we are unsure if appearance affects the viability of the eggs. These diets seem to have not caused a difference in overall parasite success, likely due to the gut environment remaining highly similar on both high-protein and typical chow groups.

Anastasia Varela

(she/her)

Poster #30

Optimizing Plant Protection: The Role of Salicylic Acid Hormones in Crop Species

Research Advisor: Saborni Maiti, Heejin Yoo

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Haley's Bio

Who: My name is Haley Welker, and I’ve been living in Utah for about 6 years.

My STEM interests: I’ve always had an interest in STEM since I was young. When I got to high school, I had great science teachers who encouraged me to continue this interest, which I did by joining science and engineering clubs.

Academic goals: I’m a biochemistry major, but I may switch to become a mechanical engineering major. I hope to either continue researching in a lab or to join internships to gain experience in industry.

Career goals: My career goal is to find something I’m interested in. I’ve enjoyed my research experience, so I might continue on to get my phD.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: I loved the project for the climate change Capstone because I’ve always had a lot of interest in the environment and renewable energy. I also loved getting to work with my group for the end of summer Capstone presentation.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: In my freetime, I love doing things like reading, crocheting, and hiking.

Abstract

Pathogenic threats to global food security provoke concerns about decreased crop production’s potential for economic loss, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and starvation. Pesticides can be used to protect crops from diseases, yet they cannot be used as a long-term solution due to unexpected health effects in animals and humans that consume these crops. Consequently, understanding the plant immune response is essential to develop sustainable defense against potential pathogenic risks. Salicylic acid (SA) is a vital hormone involved in the signaling pathways of plant defense that lead to the production of defensive proteins against most biotic and abiotic stresses. Despite the significance, the regulation of SA in different crop species is still largely unknown.

The objective of this study is to investigate the regulation of SA in different Brassica crop species following bacterial infection. Specifically, we examined three major oilseed crop species of Brassica: Brassica napus, Brassica oleracea, and Brassica rapa. Our results show that infected tissue had significantly higher levels of SA compared to non-infected tissue, suggesting activation of the plant’s immune mechanism via SA against pathogen attack. This research serves as a starting point for our future exploration of the role of salicylic acid in uninfected systemic tissue to discover more effective strategies for pathogen control and improve global food security.

Adam R. Bentham, Juan Carlos De la Concepcion, Nitika Mukhi, Rafał Zdrzałek, Markus Draeger, Danylo Gorenkin, Richard K. Hughes, Mark J. Banfield (2020) A molecular roadmap to the plant immune system, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 295, Issue 44, 14916-14935. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.REV120.010852.

Dempsey, D.A., Klessig, D.F. How does the multifaceted plant hormone salicylic acid combat disease in plants and are similar mechanisms utilized in humans?. BMC Biol 15, 23 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0364-8

War, A. R., Paulraj, M. G., War, M. Y., & Ignacimuthu, S. (2011). Role of salicylic acid in induction of plant defense system in Chickpea (cicer arietinumL.). Plant Signaling & Behavior, 6(11), 1787–1792. https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.6.11.17685

Haley Welker

(she/her)

Poster #31

Does Dust from the Kennecott Utah Copper Tailings Pile Pose a Potential Health Threat to Adjacent Communities?

Research Advisor: Kevin Perry

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Mines & Earth Sciences

Kennedie's Bio

Who: I am Kennedie Wilding and I am from West Jordan, Utah. I came to the University of Utah for the research opportunities granted by the ACCESS Program.

My STEM interests: I have always loved math and science, and I’ve always known I want to pursue some sort of STEM field. I am especially interested in environmental sciences and ways to better our Earth.

Academic goals: I am currently a physics major with an applied physics emphasis and a math minor. I am working in an atmospheric science lab studying the Kennecott Tailings pile and the Great Salt Lake. I am excited to keep doing research and learn more about the mechanics that make things work!

Career goals: After I graduate with my Bachelor’s degree, I want to go to graduate school for a Master’s Degree. I’m not sure what I want to pursue there, but I think that will come once I find a career I enjoy. Right now, I either want to work at the Department of Energy or at Boeing, but my mind is always changing.

Highlights from my ACCESS experience: My favorite part about ACCESS is the fact that I entered college with friends that have similar interests to me. It’s been great knowing ACCESS students in my classes and having a support system. I’ve noticed that we encourage each other to be better, and I’ve considered trying things I never would have without ACCESS.

My hobbies and interests outside of STEM and academics: Outside of school, I love reading fantasy novels and learning the guitar. I also love keeping up with the newest popular Netflix shows, and laughing with my friends and family.

Abstract

The Rio Tinto/Kennecott tailings pile is a potentially hazardous dust source located in Magna, Utah. In this study, we analyzed soil and dust compositions of various locations around the tailings pile and the Great Salt Lake using Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence (S-XRF) and Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). We also investigated the meteorological conditions which led to particulate matter concentrations that exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Results indicated that the tailings pile is elevated in copper and other heavy metals compared to the Great Salt Lake. The heavy metal particle size distribution was primarily in the PM_2.5size range, indicating that they can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. PM₁₀exceedances are more likely to occur in Magna compared to Salt Lake City, because the elevated tailings pile experiences higher wind speeds. These findings suggest that the tailings pile is a potentially unsafe dust source, and that current methods of mitigating dust from the tailings pile should be reevaluated.

Kennedie Wilding

(she/her)

Poster #32

Biological Correlates of Extinct Birds in the Common Era

Research Advisors: Amy Buxton, Kyle Kittelberger, Cagan Sekercioglu

School of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Natalie's Bio

Who: Hi! My name is Natalie Zorn, and I’m from Jacksonville, Florida. I chose to attend the University of Utah for my undergraduate because of the opportunities in my field of interest and to spend more time outdoors.

My STEM interests: Biology and environmental science. I am interested in wildlife conservation and ecology, land and water management, and climate change.

Academic goals:

Major: Biology and Environmental & Sustainability Studies
I am looking forward to continuing research in my undergraduate career

Career goals: I’m looking to pursue a career in resource or wildlife management, sustainability policy, or research in these fields.

Highlight from my ACCESS experience: The highlight of my ACCESS experience was engaging with new people and ideas. I loved the summer lectures on fractals, sea ice, and rocks! I also loved the Star Party in the Fall, it was a blast!

My Hobbies and interests outside STEM and academics: I love doing anything outside (it was one of the reasons I chose the U)! I love snowboarding, skiing, trail running, hiking, surfing, and exploring parks and forests! When I’m not outside, I like to listen to music, thrift, play basketball, read, and spend time with friends and family.

Abstract

The largely increased rate of extinction in birds since the 1500s places an emphasis on anthropogenic influences on avian habitats and communities. Habitat degradation, spread of introduced species, climate change, and other human-induced environmental fluctuations have severely diminished global bird populations. Understanding mechanisms and trends in extinction can help advise conservation efforts and reduce the prevalence of human-driven extinctions. To observe patterns across hundreds of species distributed globally, we selected traits linked to extinction rate, such as generation length, flightlessness, habitat and diet breadth (observed as Ecological Specialization Index), body mass, and hand wing index (HWI). These traits observe some geographic, physical, and ecological factors that affect a species’ susceptibility to extinction. For each species listed as extinct, extinct in the wild, or critically endangered, we gathered data for individual traits. Well documented observations from scientists and explorers alike provide data on birds that went extinct before modern methods were practiced widely. Information on studied correlates was collected from ornithology databases and compiled for a statistical analysis of multiple traits. A model based on a larger set of data, in this case multiple traits, acknowledges the interconnectedness of biological correlates and a species’ risk of extinction. For this data, we will run linear mixed effect models that run analytics for each trait, and compare the models against each other to find the most accurate model for extinction risk based on the biological correlates we studied.

Natalie Zorn

(she/her)