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Tune in on the Zoom link on the button above at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM PDT to join.

What are Blitz Talks?

Dozens of researchers at ASDRP will be sharing rapid, ten-minute talks about their research this semester.

This means that each presentation is jam-packed full of information!

Breakout room assignments will be released closer to the weekend!

Oral Presentation Abstracts

1. Discovery and chemical synthesis of gibberellic acid derivatives, small molecule anticancer Nf-kB modulators (CHEM)
   Break Out Room #1; Start time: 4:00 PM (PDT)
   Emily Dai, Kavya Pandrangi, Rableen Kaleka, Anushree Marimuthu, Edward Njoo
   Gibberellins are a group of plant hormones present in vascular plants and many fungi that regulate plant development, such as stem elongation, germination, and flowering.Certain derivatives of one such gibberellin, gibberellic acid (GA3), have been found to be inhibitors of NF-kB, a transcription factor that plays a crucial role in cell signaling pathways, one of which is tumor survival and metastasis by binding to and inhibiting nuclear translocation of kinases IKKα and IKKβ. Synthesis of derivatives of such NF-kB inhibitors holds potential to result in analogs of such compounds with improved pharmaceutical properties and potency. Here we present preliminary efforts in the synthesis of gibberellic acid methyl ester derivatives through the esterification of the carboxylic acid on position C6.

2. Design of Potential FTO Inhibitors using computational modeling (CHEM)
   Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:00 PM (PDT)
   Shivani Ravindra, Nirvan Monangi, Rhea Master, Anisha Pallikonda, Bhavya Mehta, Shruthika Srinivasan, Harman Brah
   The FTO gene is located on human chromosome 16 and contains the code for the FTO protein. The protein has also been linked with an increased risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes and is the first known RNA demethylase. The protein also contains binding domains through which potential inhibitors can interact with and inhibit the protein through. Through molecular docking and tools such as autodock vina and pymol, compounds were docked and tested as potential inhibitors to inhibit the demethylation of the DNA/RNA. Through the study, hundreds of compounds that could be potential inhibitors were tested. Certain compounds, such as derivatives of danthron, produced better results and higher binding affinities compared to other compounds.
   

3. Predicting crime in the United States (CSEN)
   Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:00 PM (PDT)
   Aamod Gandhi, Harshaan Chugh, Andrew Zhou, Suresh Subramanaim
   The ability to predict the crime rate of a city is useful for adjusting policing, giving insight to prospective citizens of that city, and more. We built a prediction model using random forest classification to predict the crime rate of a city as low, medium, or high, based on various data on the city. We built our dataset with many sources including the US Census. We then trained our model with 20% of the data collected. Finally, we analyzed and interpreted the results of our model. In the future we hope to gather more data, balance classes, and try out other algorithms for our model such as XGBoost and neural networks.
   

4. The in-silico and in-vitro characterization of epigenetic drugs (BET Protein Inhibitors and related analogs) on a colorectal cell line (HCT116) (BIOL)
   Break Out Room #1; Start time: 4:40 PM (PDT)
   Maddie Ando, Grace Zang, Prabhav Pragash, Joanna He, Aditi Deshpande, Sanjana Selvaraj, Sowkya Namburu, Clinton Cunha
   Members of the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family can lead to the overexpression of oncogenes (Shorstova et al., 2021). These include BRD2, BRD3, BRD4, and BRDT, with BRD4 being the most prominent protein (Shorstova et al., 2021). BET inhibitors (BETi), moderately reduce colorectal cancer cell (CRC) proliferation and MYC expression when used in monotherapy (Ma et al., 2016). This study aims to determine potential BETi in colorectal cancer (in silico) and to identify the effects of these drugs on CRC (in vitro). While prior studies have studied BETi in other cancer types, few studies focus on colorectal cancer, the third-most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States (The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team, 2022). Therefore, using BETi as a therapeutic option for colorectal cancer could reduce mortality rates. JQ1, an extra terminal BET protein inhibitor that suppresses tumor progression, will be the control for the research to test computational programs and experimental molecules (Wen et al., 2020). The molecules found on PubChem will be converted into a numerical format, chemical fingerprints, and used with unsupervised learning algorithms (Sydow et al., 2019) to assess the molecules’ similarity to each other and JQ1. Once the molecules have been clustered, a few will be chosen and run through the respective programs, Autodock Vina (Trott et al., 2010) and Rxdock (Ruiz-Carmona et al., 2014). The drugs found to have the greatest binding affinity to BRD4 will then be computationally tested on colon cancer cells using DeepCDR (Liu et al, 2020). These drugs will then be synthesized and tested on colorectal cancer cells in different concentrations to measure their effects through procedures including MTT (Freimoser et al, 1999) and qPCR (Mullis, 1985) to measure cell viability and gene expression levels.
   

5. COVIDVacMap (BIOL)
   Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:40 PM (PDT)
   Pragyaa Bodapati, Ananya Pinnamaneni, Aniket Dey, Medha Bhattacharya, Roshni Kodur, Sathya Padmanabhan, Sahar Jahanikia
   The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Multiple vaccines have been developed, underwent clinical trials, and are being distributed along with many boosters and doses. While these vaccines are currently being distributed the virus still spreads as we have not reached herd immunity. As the virus spreads new variance enter. We have heard of the Delta Variant, however new variants like Omicron have also spread throughout the world. Omicron was first identified in Africa and spread to the US around December 20th, 2021. This study aims to map the vaccination candidate connectome using network analysis with the Barabási-Albert model. This network science will provide scale-free networks that accurately model the powerful distribution of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on a global scale. From there, the study will use R & Java Script as well as Gephi to visually model these networks and predict the next pandemic among vaccinated candidates on a global scale.
   

6. Studying the effects of Trigonella foenumgraceum on hyperglycemic Caenorhabditis elegans (CHEM)
   Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:40 PM (PDT)
   Amrita Guha, Shirmayi Chaganti, Anagha Ragesh, Aditi Adapala, Aarya Moregaonkar, Tanvi Penugonda, Shrinithi Sathiyaseelan, Gayathri Renganathan
   Type 2 diabetes is an illness causing a lack of insulin/insulin resistance which affects the way the body processes sugar. This causes high blood sugar levels and other associated health concerns. Trigonella foenum-graecum or fenugreek is a plant in which its phytoconstituents -- such as amino acids, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids -- have been researched and shown to exhibit hypoglycemic, antioxidant and therapeutic effects. This study aims to find which of the aforementioned compounds has the greatest anti-diabetic effect through conducting a series of in-vivo assays, such as nile red staining and pharyngeal pumping assay, on the microscopic C. Elegans model; as well as studying the results of colorimetric assays measuring the antioxidant activity of each phytoconstituent. Antioxidant Assays including MTT and ABTS have also been researched and pursued by our group to measure the anti-diabetic potential that our extracts may have.
   

7. Steps Towards Developing NLP-based Software Associated with Open-Source Raspberry Pi Hardware (CSEN)
   Break Out Room #1; Start time: 5:40 PM (PDT)
   Neo Sud, Parth Sharma, Shreya Udupa, Sahar Jahanikia
   We extract key components/key words from phrases to reconstruct the shortened version of a conversation We aim to use NLP-based code in open-source software with hardware to analyze topics that two people have discussed during a given conversation. Keywords: NLP, Raspberry Pi, Data Science
   

8. Reactivity informed design, synthesis, and targeted delivery of andrographolide and analogs, Nf-kB modulators for cancer treatment and degenerative diseases (CHEM)
   Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:40 PM (PDT)

Anushree Marimuthu, Keira Chatwin, Madeline Lloyd, Edward Njoo
Andrographolide, a labdane diterpenoid extracted from Andrographis paniculata, has been investigated as a therapeutic lead for many diseases. Namely, it has been found to exert its biological activity through inhibition of Nf-kB, a transcription factor at the crossroads of a myriad of cell signaling pathways, including those pertaining to tumor survival. Synthesis of derivatives of the natural product has the potential to create analogs and prodrugs of the compound that could improve tolerability, selectivity, and potency. Here we present the synthesis of C-ring modified andrographolide analogs with altered Michael acceptor properties, as well as a series of acid hydrolyzable acetal and ketal analogs, which we assay for controlled delivery and release. We use a quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) assay as a proxy for Nf-kB regulated gene expression.

9. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Northern California Tide Pools (BIOL)
   Break Out Room #3; Start time: 5:40 PM (PDT)
   Zoe Chu, Amber Lu , Arohi Chirputkar , Sally Han, Rowan Campbell, Andrew Benson
   After watching the profound impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on human activity – a reduction in large indoor events and an uptick in outdoor activities – our group sought to investigate the impact of the change in human activity on the Northern California rocky intertidal ecosystem. Our research centered around the question: How has the impact that COVID-19 has had on the amount of human interaction with rocky intertidal zones affected their ecosystem health, as well as species biodiversity and abundance, when compared between protected and non-protected marine areas? During the COVID-19 pandemic, people began to look to outdoor recreational activities to stay within COVID-19 restrictions. One of these activities was visiting non-protected tide pools such as Maverick’s Beach, which stayed open throughout the pandemic. Park rangers noted seeing a dramatic uptick in the number of visitors to the tide pools and the amount of species being taken. On the other hand, protected locations such as Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, shut down for a six month period during the peak of the pandemic. During this time, the tide pools were completely undisturbed as no one could enter the reserve or remove any species. Due to humans being able to take species from non-protected sites including but not limited to: moon snails, shore crabs, rock crabs, limpets, turban snails, sea urchins, mussels, oysters, hermit crabs, and even octopuses, the ecosystems of the non-protected tidepools have been severely affected. For example, because of predator species (ex: sea urchins are a predator to algaes and plants, and they are now being taken) being removed by humans, many species of seagrass and other organisms have grown dramatically due to the uncompetitive environment. In addition, overfishing is largely unregulated and reduces the population count of organisms belonging to a particular species. To support our hypothesis and the reality of the issue, we first went to Maverick’s Beach, a non-protected area. There, we took quadrat data using random sampling and transect lines. After collecting data from Maverick’s Beach through multiple trips, we obtained permits from the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and began data collection for a protected area.
   

10. Synergistic Studies of Sulforaphane and Cephalotaxine and their effect on C.elegans (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 4:30 PM (PDT)
    Sirivennela Gade Samir Kurudi, Anvi Madhavan, Siri Manthapuri, Avaneesh Wazarkar, Armaan Sharma, Shriya Sudini, Gayathri Renganathan
    We focus on using a combination of two compounds linked to anticancer activity and apoptosis induction, Sulforaphane (SFN) and Cephalotaxine (CET), to achieve anticancer treatments, such as chemotherapy for Cancer, the abnormal cell growth of mutated cells with the capability spreading throughout the body. SFN is an organosulfur compound with a unique structure as it is classified in the isothiocyanate group. It can be obtained from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli. The project aims to maximize sulforaphane activity by pairing it with another potent anticancer drug, Cephalotaxine. CET is a benzazepine alkaloid isolated from a coniferous plant of the Taxaceae family, Cephalotaxus Harringtonia. This project analyzes the anticancer effect of SFN and CET in combination treatments using assays on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) strains TJ 375 and JK1466 and molecular biology techniques on cell cultures such as cell lining, media/stock addition and incubation. The project consists of mtt assays and investigation of the drugs and protocols for the various techniques that will be used to determine the overall viability of the worms such as absorbance levels calculations and cell culturing as a whole.
    

11. Investigating the efficiency of the saltwater mussel Mytilus californianus’s ability to filter microplastics from aquatic ecosystems (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:30 PM (PDT)
    Olivia Ho, Mallika Saoji, Connie Yang, Advay Chatterji, Ankita Gadepalli, William Sun, Ajeetesh Sidhu, Bhavana Priya Boggavarapu, Andrew Benson
    The increase of microplastic pollution, otherwise known as plastics smaller than five millimeters, actively contributes to the threats faced by life in marine ecosystems. Microplastic pollution has the ability to adversely affect aquatic and human life by manipulating organisms’ functions (2). However, novel research has demonstrated that as filter feeders who have been shown to intake and retain microplastics, mussels may have the ability to minimize such pollution. Therefore, we explored the potential that mussels may have in filtering and retaining microplastics and worked towards developing a method to extract, purify, clean, and quantify microplastics from mussels, as there currently is not a standardized method to do so. Given the rising trends of microplastic pollution, different-sized mussels collected from a local tidepool were exposed to varying levels of microplastics over a period of time. After exposure, the retained microplastics from the mussels were isolated and quantified using a mussel digestion process and vacuum filtration. In the future, we plan to analyze this digestion using a dissecting microscope, ultraviolet light, centrifuge technology, and FTIR spectroscopy. All microplastics used in the experiment were created using a power sander, including 1 PETE, 2 HDPE, 3 PVC, 4 LDPE, and 5 PP plastics. Elementary data suggests that mussels may be able to efficiently filter microplastics, illuminating the role mussels play in microplastic pollution. While we are still pursuing results, these findings may prove to be insightful for addressing an environmental issue presently affecting aquatic ecosystems and we hope to be able to implement our findings in a real water system.
    

12. Tracking the correlation between COVID-19 vaccination status and sleep quality (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:30 PM (PDT)
    Abinaya Senthil, Ananya Ravi, Anika Mantripragada, Avi Uppalapati, Claire Wu, Destiny Pinto, Devan Melwani, HeeJee Yoon, Prisha Purohit, Shreya Abhijit, Sahar Jahanikia
    COVID-related disturbances such as shelter in place, have been linked with sleep disturbances amongst the general population. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between sleep quality and COVID-19 vaccination status by computing a sleep quality index score (SQI) for participants before and after vaccination. Outreach methods include distributing flyers, contacting college professors, and as of May 2022, this research has had over 120 interested participants and 62 SQI scores from eligible participants. Additionally, methods of statistical analysis (T-test, chi square test, etc.) were researched to start preliminary data analysis. The results of this study will assist in understanding the various ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has altered our daily lifestyles.
    

13. Predicting the Risk of Child Mortality in Fetuses by Analyzing Cardiotocographs (CTGs) (CSEN)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 4:50 PM (PDT)
    Shivi Narang, Sriram Natarajan, Ansh Singhal, Suresh Subramaniam
    Reduction of child mortality rates has been a concern of the United Nations for a while, and it has been reflected heavily in their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of 2017, there have been roughly 300,000 deaths in children and their mothers, 94% of which could have been prevented. In this session, we analyze Cardiotocograms (CTGs), a simple and cost accessible option to assess fetal health. We receive data such as Fetal Heart Rate, uterine contractions, and dilations to classify the risk of child mortality as Normal, Suspect, and Pathological.
    

14. In silico screen and 19F NMR spectroscopy enabled chemical synthesis of a library of carmofur analogs as potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:50 PM (PDT)
    Xina Wang, Julia Vu Charissa Luk, Neha Mandava, Udbhav Avadhani, Kavya Pandrangi, Aishi Rao, Jane Wu, Emma Le, Anushka Peer, Edward Njoo
    Carmofur, a 5-fluorouracil derivative, was initially developed as an antineoplastic agent that inhibits acid ceramidase and tested for its efficacy on colorectal cancer cell lines. More recently, through drug repurposing efforts, it has been identified as a covalent inhibitor of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. This SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) plays an essential role in the processing of the polyproteins that are translated from the viral RNA, therefore making it an attractive drug target for the treatment of COVID-19. Here, we present the in silico evaluation and synthesis of carmofur and a library of related 5-fluorouracil analogs with aliphatic, amino acid, and aromatic fragments against mutations in Mpro. Homology modeling was used to determine the interactions between carmofur analogs and Mpro as a result of the mutations and their effects on the binding affinity of our analogs, revealing potential hit compounds to further develop for combating COVID-19. Furthermore, using the 5-fluorinated position as a handle, benchtop 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) has enabled the real-time quantitative monitoring and scalable synthesis of novel 5-fluorouracil analogs as potentially more effective inhibitors.
    

15. Steps towards developing a comprehensive resource to understand the Phases, Applications, and Exploring from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:50 PM (PDT)
    Anastasia Bubelich, Gia Oscherwitz, Neha Nabar, Sashvath Koyi, Rohan Vijayvikram, Sahar Jahanikia
    The Human Connectome Project is a large-scale initiative involving teams of researchers at institutions around the world. The main goal of the project is to create a completed map of the human brain through the use of various MRI scanners and digital software. The map will serve as a baseline for future studies of brain connectivity during physical development, aging, and neurodevelopment, as well as aiding in the study and classification of neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. The end goal of connectomics is to understand how brain areas are connected and contribute to human behavior, and how complicated systems are altered or exhibit different functions in individuals with neurological and psychiatric diseases. Once completed, the human connectome will provide valuable insights into what makes humans human, and what accounts for diversity in the behavior of healthy adults. This review includes an overview of the history of the HCP, a comparison between the brain network and the connectome, a discussion of how the human connectome can allow for the creation of neural biomarkers, a discussion of imaging techniques used in the project, a look into the C. elegans connectome, which is the first and only organism with a completed brain map, and a discussion of future research in this field. Our project aims at creating a comprehensive book/textbook to disseminate the knowledge of the Human Connectome Project, which includes studying all aspects of the project from its phases, to its costs, to its modalities, to its assessments, fMRI techniques, applications and implementations to psycho degenerative diseases.
    

16. Comparing the Efficacy of Different Polyphenols in the Inhibition of Aggregation of Amyloid Beta Proteins in Alzheimer's Disease Using Caenorhabditis Elegans as Model Organisms (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 5:30 PM (PDT)
    Sumayyah Ismail, Bridget Liu, Bhoomi Jain, Jay Subbiah, Rishi Singh. Gayathri Renganathan
    Alzheimer's Disease is caused by an aggregation of amyloid beta and tau proteins in the brain. Polyphenols, a broad class of naturally-existing compounds, have shown to inhibit the aggregation of those proteins. This project aims to focus on expressing different combinations of those proteins through a plasmid vector in bacteria and assaying those proteins for aggregation inhibition using polyphenols to determine which polyphenol is most effective in doing so. Molecular docking is also used after our assays to rank the polyphenols in terms of effectiveness and to eliminate less desired polyphenols or acquire new potentially better ones to use. Previous progress has been made through virtual screening to identify potential compounds that effectively inhibit protein aggregation, and those compounds will continue to be analyzed for bioactivity through more computational work and bioassays. However, this project focuses more on the biological and in-vitro aspect of it, such as conducting multiple assays including Congo Red, Avoidance, and Dynamic Light Scattering in order to receive tangible results.
    

17. Cognotrain (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:30 PM (PDT)
    Krishnaveni Parvataneni, Jonathan Ma, Deniz Yilmaz, Shashank Sastry, Aaditya Karnataki, Sahar Jahanikia
    With over 50 million patients worldwide, Alzheimer’s is a pervasive neurodegenerative disease that lacks Computer-based Cognitive Training/Rehabilitation (CBCT/CBCR) testing at the consumer level. So far, applications of CBCT/CBCR have had promising results on studies of Alzheimer’s patients, resulting in mental state and quality of life improvements, a decrease in patients' Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and improved short term memory. The purpose of CognoTrain is to show the potential of a personalized implementation of CBCT/CBCR and provide rehabilitation to Alzheimer’s patients. CognoTrain addresses common manifestations of Alzheimer’s such as topographical disorientation, loss of self, and declined recognition ability through the various features of the application. Currently, we are working on collecting data from Alzheimer’s patients and tracking their progression by monitoring their activity on the app. To ensure scientific rigor and replicability, we will document sample size, details about each patient, and the patient’s progression over time.
    

18. Can phosphorous- deprived buttercrunch lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata) grow better with added arbuscular mycorrhizae to its roots? (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 5:30 PM (PDT)
    Shreyan Phadke, Prabhjeet Kaur
    The associations between roots and fungi are called mycorrhizae. There is a mutualistic relationship between them fosters better water and nutrient absorption by plants, and can enable plants to share resources. The main nutrients required by plants for optimal growth are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK). We hypothesized that when there is deficiency of any of these nutrients, arbuscular mycorrhizae may compensate by sharing the limited amount of the nutrient between various plants. We are studying the growth pattern of Lactuca Sativa (Buttercrunch Lettuce) in low and optimal phosphorus soil environments. We are testing the effect of low, natural and elevated levels of mycorrhizae in each of these soil environments. The growth of plants will be monitored based on leaf size, plant height, root depth and more. If the plants growing in phosphorus deficient soil compare or grow better than plants in optimal phosphorus soil, this will support our claim that mycorrhizae can replace soil nutrients.
    

19. Identifying the Association of Political Affiliation and Sentiment on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (CSEN)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 5:00 PM (PDT)
    Pareekshith Krishna, Yue Cao, Siddh Saxena, Sai Sohan Gogineni, Trinabh Banka, Larry McMahan
    The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been one of the greatest threats to global peace since the Second World War, but one factor that makes it unique is its occurrence in an era of technological literacy and widespread social media usage. In fact, millions of tweets have already been posted in the last few months regarding the destructive situation, providing data scientists a wealth of information about users' sentiments and opinions. While other researchers have already performed sentiment analysis on Twitter users' tweets, our group aimed to also determine how a person's political affiliation relates to their opinion/s on the conflict and how the opinions of right-leaning and left-leaning groups have changed over time. By utilizing natural language processing and machine learning, we have been successfully able to correlate sentiment and political affiliation over the span of seven days. This presentation gives insight into our methods and future research to improve our models and results.
    

20. Emerging Potential of Thymoquinone and Piperine Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for Cancer Treatment (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:00 PM (PDT)
    Archana Satish, Harshita Bathina, Shreya Gulati, Meghana Iyer, Gayathri Renganathan
    Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are drug delivery systems that can improve oral administration of drugs that have poor aqueous solubility and poor metabolic stability, while also reducing toxicity and increasing the dosage of drugs delivered to the body. Thymoquinone (TQ), a flavonoid, is obtained from black cumin (Nigella sativa) and possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities that prevent damage to cells and induce apoptosis in cancer cells. However, thymoquinone has poor aqueous solubility leading to limited bioavailability, the dose of drugs that reach the treatment site. To combat this, we chose piperine (PP), an alkaloid responsible for the pungency of black pepper (Piper nigrum), to increase the bioavailability and absorption of drugs such as curcumin, making it a likely component in increasing thymoquinone’s solubility and anticancer effects via NLCs. We report that the NLCs are viable delivery systems with a constant release rate and high entrapment efficiency of 99.64% and 99.74% average entrapment of TQ-loaded and TQ and PP-loaded NLCs. With the NLCs, we investigated TQ’s anticancer mechanism that targets copper located in cancer cells to induce oxidative damage. Post-gel electrophoresis assay, the DNA damage and elongation of HCT116 cells exposed to TQ and PP loaded NLCs averaged out to be greater than that of the cells exposed to unloaded NLCs and TQ loaded NLCs, respectively. Our findings indicate that the NLCs are optimal for drug delivery, and based on the cell morphology and quantitative results, piperine is a favorable candidate in enhancing thymoquinone’s anticancer abilities.
    

21. High throughput screening and chemical synthesis of novel non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI’s) enable the discovery of novel antivirals and therapeutics for HIV/AIDS (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 5:00 PM (PDT)
    Shelley Li, Kavya Pandrangi, Anushree Marimuthu, Anjali Prabhu, Madi Lloyd, Nandika Nambiar, Alice Finkelstein, Edward Njoo
    Efavirenz is a synthetic FDA-approved non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that has been demonstrated to bind to the allosteric binding pocket of reverse transcriptase (RT) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), effectively inhibiting viral replication. However, the emergence of new drug-resistant variants has reduced the effectiveness of NNRTIs, necessitating the synthesis of new compounds with better biological profiles. Analogs of efavirenz hold potential as next-generation NNRTIs and may overcome resistance to the rapidly mutating HIV RT. In this study, we utilize high-throughput virtual screening (HTVS) to evaluate 112 efavirenz analogs in silico with cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, phenyl, tert butyl, and methyl groups as well as chlorine, fluorine, methyl, and trifluoromethyl rotated around the 3, 4, 5, 6 positions on the benzene ring in the efavirenz scaffold. Analogs were evaluated against the wild-type (WT) RT as well as efavirenz-resistant mutations in the WT HIV protein to determine several hit compounds as potential next-generation NNRTIs. In addition, we are currently investigating the synthesis of efavirenz itself using catalytic asymmetric alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones as an alternative to the current not atom efficient Merck synthesis.
    

22. The process of collecting data for a novel psychological assessment Measuring the Creativity of Social Media Influencers (MCSMI) (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 5:20 PM (PDT)
    Alissa Doemling, Angeline Yeh, Daphne Chao, Meenakshi Yarlagadda, Rasya Ramakrishnan, Rihalya Sivakumar, Rucha Kulkarni, Sahar Jahanikia
    Creativity is defined as the application of originality to create unique works of art. While creativity isn’t dependent on skill, it is fueled by imagination and individuality. The age of social media has dramatically expanded the traditional definition of creativity as creative individuals can connect with millions of people. This makes it crucial for one to identify the difference between creative influencers and influencers. To measure how creative an individual is, some creativity assessments analyze the degree of achievement that someone has achieved in a certain skill. Other assessments ask individuals to think of ways to repurpose something in a certain amount of time. The Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) examines achievement in a variety of categories, including music, art, and dance, among many others. Another assessment, the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA), evaluates the frequency of creative actions alongside the level of achievement obtained. One category that is not currently present in the CAQ or ICAA is creative influencers — people who utilize social media to promote their creative skill and influence others to help spread their expertise. Our aim is to develop a subset of questions that accurately identifies creative influencers and eventually include this portion in the CAQ or ICAA. In this research study, we are examining several types of creativity assessments, alongside the questions we believe are appropriate. This allows us to determine whether an individual is a creative influencer based on an analysis of their current social media and the types of platforms they run.
    

23. Benchtop NMR spectroscopy enables mechanistic insight of the Biginelli cyclocondensation in the synthesis of novel trifluorinated 2,4-dihydropyrimidine and tetrahydropyrimidine compounds as antiproliferative agents (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:20 PM (PDT)
    Pratyush Singh, Rosie Chen, Sarah Su, Xina Wang, Srishti Venkatesan, Adrienne Ferguson, Anushree Marimuthu, Edward Njoo
    The Biginelli cyclocondensation is a multicomponent reaction used to synthesize dihydropyrimidines by utilizing ethyl acetoacetate, thiourea, and an aryl aldehyde under acidic conditions. In this study, 19F NMR spectroscopy was utilized to monitor the synthesis of novel trifluorinated analogs of monastrol, a small molecule kinesin Eg5 inhibitor, and to probe the mechanistic pathways of the Biginelli cyclocondensation. Through the use of 19F NMR time course kinetic experiments with trifluoro toluene as an internal standard, we identified an unknown reactive intermediate, suggesting that the trifluorinated analogues of monastrol proceeded through a different operative mechanism. By analyzing the kinetics’ experimental data, we were also able to derive Hammett linear free energy relationships (LFER) to determine stereoelectronic effects of para- and meta- substituted aryl aldehydes to corresponding reaction rates and mechanistic routes. Here, we present discoveries regarding the application of benchtop 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopy to characterize reactive intermediates and mechanistically probe reaction pathways.
    

24. RoboChem: A Computer-Guided, Automated Synthetic Chemistry Platform
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 5:20 PM (PDT)
    Manav Bhargava, Anya Iyer, Dhruva Paul, Mallika Agarwal, Nathaniel Thomas, Tanay Ubale, Sunny Moon, Pranav Singh, Vibhav Darsha, Robert Downing

Manual synthesis is the most widespread approach to evaluating drug candidates, but it has proven to be costly and inefficient. Using artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering, we propose an efficient approach for the automated synthesis of novel chemical compounds. This approach utilizes a “monkey-bar” frame to support chemical reservoirs flowing to reaction chambers through tubing and pumps. A robot arm will affect the addition of liquids and disposal of the reactants within the reaction chamber when added in excess. The automated synthesis platform, called “RoboChem”, will add the reactants in small, controlled amounts and then use either a spectrometer or high performance liquid chromatograph to verify the completion of the reaction. The AI-driven platform will connect to a drug discovery algorithm to receive candidates to synthesize and identify novel chemical compounds for further testing.

25. Scalable Chemical Synthesis of a Protease-Cleavable Linker of MMAE for Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC’s) (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 4:20 PM (PDT)
    Harsha Rajkumar, Gavin Li, Edward Njoo
    Although several other activation methods of prodrugs have been designed and evaluated, photorelease shows immense potential due to its increased bioorthogonality and ease of control. Here, we present an in-depth study to improve prodrug photoreleasability and its biological implications. We began by examining the effect of aromatically substituted electron withdrawing and electron donating moieties on the photorelease kinetics of an ortho-nitrobenzyl carbonate group. In addition, we explored the impact of a benzylic deuterium substitution to determine if kinetic isotope effect (KIE) accomunts for accelerated photorelease rates. However, a drawback of the o-nitrobenzyl group stems from the necessity of UV activation, which damages healthy tissue cells. To address this, we synthesized a biphenyl system in which we added aromatic conjugation to the nitrobenzene via a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling in order to reduce required photon energy levels, thereby redshifting the photon trigger. The mechanistic insights derived from the initial photorelease assays were then applied towards the prodrugging of podophyllotoxin, a potent chemotherapeutic small molecule drug, in order to increase its pharmaceutical potential. Ultimately, the compatibility of such photoreleasable groups with targeted drug delivery systems was revealed through the development of a novel photoreleasable antibody-drug conjugate.
    

26. Modular mimics of neuroactive alkaloids – design, synthesis, and cholinesterase inhibitory activity of novel rivastigmine analogs (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:20 PM (PDT)
    Erika Yu, Shloka Raghavan, Harrison Xu, Elena Brierley-Green, Anvita Das, Tvisha Nepani, Niharika Nambiar , Anushka Peer, Sanhita Nittala, Adrienne Ferguson , Udbhav Avadhani, Alice Finkelstein, Edward Njoo
    For centuries, neuroactive alkaloids isolated from naturally occurring phytochemical sources have been crucial in the identification and optimization of small molecules with potency in treating neurological disorders. While some of these compounds have gone on to clinical use themselves, others have inspired the development of synthetic analogs, which might possess greater potency or better pharmacological features than the natural product itself. One such naturally occurring alkaloid, physostigmine, which is found in the calabar bean plant Physostigma venenosum, has been demonstrated to be a potent cholinesterase inhibitor. However, some of physostigmine's characteristics limit its therapeutic potential, prompting the development of its synthetic counterpart, rivastigmine. The research in our group focused on the synthetic optimization of rivastigmine and its analogs, utilizing computer modeling and biological assays to determine the most favorable analog for inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Through such studies, it was determined that rivastigmine and its analogs were less effective at inhibiting AChE than physostigmine. This discovery prompted us to pursue two routes: the synthesis of S-enantiopure versions of our analogs with the goal of making more potent analogs and the study of biological activity for all analogs on both cholinesterase enzymes to determine enzyme selectivity.
    

27. Impacts of Ocean Acidification on physiology of Balanus aquila and Tetraclita rubescens
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:20 PM (PDT)
    Anish Jupudy, Anushree Chanda, Brady Lucas, Meghana, Muzainah Uddin, Pamela Yung, Andrew Benson
    Oceans are a crucial part of the Earth’s anatomy; they give life to marine organisms, allows for transportation for ships, acts as a storage area for inorganic material, and prevents extreme heating of the Earth by absorbing excess CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere. Specifically, our experiment is geared towards understanding the effects of how an increase in ocean acidification affects its ability to maintain a sustainable environment for marine creatures. In our experiment, we placed two types of barnacles(balanus aquila-acorn and tetraclita rubescens-volcano) into saltwater tanks of different pHs. The control tank was at 8.1 pH, and the other two were at levels of 7.8 pH and 7.5 pH. Barnacles were fed zooplankton per data collection, and their feeding activity was measured by counting the amount of cirri extensions at 10 minute intervals leading up to 30 minutes. We also tested predator avoidance response for barnacles by using a sponge to replicate its predator's effects, and our previous finding that a light brush to the barnacle’s surface by a sponge caused it to retract still holds true. Previous data presented itself as statistically significant, but current findings show possible changes, and further study is needed to rectify a proper conclusion
    

28. FMRIusic (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #1; Start time: 5:10 PM (PDT)
    Julia Wind, Aryan Kondapalli, Ayaan Khan, Brandon Brewer, Elizabeth Gayhart, Mounami Kayitha, Sachi Patel Sasha Bahdanava, Sruthi Sudarsan, Sahar Jahanikia
    FMRI is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that uses BOLD signals to construct high-resolution images of brain activity in response to stimuli. By using various neuroimaging tools and techniques, we will preprocess and analyze a fMRI dataset obtained from the University of Magdeburg Psychoinformatics Lab which contains scans of participants guess the genre of music from a movie both with and without audio. However, this term we shifted our focus to creating a blog listing the many different neuroimaging tools that can be used to easily analyze certain MRI data like FSL and fMRIprep. With these tools, we aim to identify the networks of the brain associated with guessing a music genre correctly without audio. However, before we can use the tools to preprocess the data, we first need to convert the raw data into the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS), a standard way of organizing neuroimaging data. In our research we aim to publish a blog on the most accessible, yet powerful neuroimaging tools as well as using those tools to identify networks of the brain associated with guessing a music genre without audio and understand and explain the role of the auditory network in genre association.
    

29. Stability Study on Doramectin and Ivermectin using HPLC (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:10 PM (PDT)
    Aarabhi Ashok, Anhminh Pham, Aditikrishna Mandula, Shreya Math, Raymond Chen
    Doramectin and Ivermectin are both anti-parasitic drugs. Doramectin is commonly used in veterinary practices. It is a neurotoxic to parasites and can treat infections in livestock. Ivermectin is used to treat infections causes by round worms and other parasites. To decide the appropriate capacity condition and the shelf life to guarantee the security of these drugs, our group utilizes RP-HPLC to watch the degradation at distinctive temperatures amid different capacity times. Based on the results from past months, we anticipate that there will be higher amounts of impurities at higher temperatures and longer capacity times. We will also cover what method produced the best results in determining the stability of the drugs.
    

30. Cognitive Dissonance (BIOL)
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 5:10 PM (PDT)
    Myra Malik, Aanika Bedi, Advika Govindarajan, Amulya Harish, Heejee Yoon, Janaki Rakesh, Krishi Jaladi, Lale Kurtulush, Maddy Zhang, Mano Tatapudi, Rohan Kondapalli, Rujuta Jambe, Tanisha Mehta, Vishruth Dinesh, Sahar Jahanikia
    Cognitive dissonance theory is a theory stating that when there exists a discrepancy between someone’s external actions (behaviour) and their internal values (attitude), this discrepancy will cause dissonance. To justify this dissonance, cognitive rationalization occurs. Cognitive dissonance has been studied and measured using neuroimaging modalities, namely EEG and fMRI. Our group is studying the effects of COVID-19 on cognitive dissonance in adolescents. We have developed a questionnaire to measure the dissonance teens hold between their attitudes about the pandemic and their behaviours during it. Constant streams of new, conflicting, and complicated information make young people increasingly likely to experiences dissonances between their actions and their beliefs, and we hope to investigate the level of this dissonance through our questionnaire.
    

31. Mechanistic Deconvolution of Autoreduction in Tetrazolium-based Cell Viability Assays (CHEM)
    Breakout Room #1, Start time: 4:10 PM
    Kara Tran, Aashi Shah, Edward Njoo

Optical reporters for cell viability assays are an important means for determining cellular responses to exposure to certain growth conditions or molecules. Of note, MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and other tetrazolium salts are among the most common tool compounds for determining metabolic activity in living cells. Upon reduction by oxidoreductases, initially pale-yellow MTT is reduced into a brilliant purple dye formazan, which absorbs strongly at 500-600 nm. However, it has been reported that native reducing agents present in cell media might interfere with the assay by causing reduction of MTT to formazan under basic conditions in the absence of cells. Here, we identify and quantify reactivity of a series of common reducing agents in cell media and assess their relative impact on MTT assays performed.

32. Identifying and isolating collimated jets from heavy-ion collision open data through quantum optimization (CSEN)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 4:10 PM (PDT)
    Yasha Rashakonda, Akarsh O, Krishna C, Nathan J, Larry McMahan
    When a quark or a gluon ejects out of a heavy-ion particle collision, it pulls hadrons and other particles out of the vacuum and becomes a "cone" comprised of high-energy particles called jets. Jets are crucial event-shaped observable objects that are used in high-energy particle and heavy-ion physics. To determine the properties of the collision, namely of the original quark, jets and their products have to go under a technique called jet reconstruction (Salam, Gavin P., "Towards jetography"). Though physicists have found several ways to reconstruct the properties of quarks in a heavy-ion collision using the end products of jet creation and separate jets from other collision data utilizing another concrete event-shaped observable called thrust (V. D. Barger, R. J. N. Philips, "Collider Physics"), our topic aims to not only classify jets and non-jets through analyzing CERN's heavy-ion collision data from CMS but also utilize quantum annealing (a faster and comprehensive method to optimize machine learning algorithms which have been newly introduced to the realm of denoising data (J. Avron, "Quantum advantage and noise reduction in distributed quantum computing")) to isolate jet "clouds" from CERN's CMS data. Through the information we have collected so far, we have developed a comprehensive method to develop this novel method to identify and isolate jets, which will allow us to not only determine the applications of modified deep learning in jet reconstruction but also the applications of quantum computing in general particle physics.
    

33. Mud Snails
    Break Out Room #3; Start time: 4:10 PM (PDT)
    Rachel Jiang, Nitya Sharma, Pranav Prakash, Miles Blackhart, Christina Fiedler, Andrew Benson
    Ilyanassa obsoleta, native to the Atlantic coast, is a foreign yet abundant mollusk in the San Francisco Bay mudflats. It is a well-established invasive species noted for displacing the native mud snail, Cerithidea californica (Race, 1982). The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of I. obsoleta’s presence on the biodiversity, species abundance, and size distribution of native mudflat species. Using random sampling and biodiversity hotspot methods, our team collected samples from four different locations: Berkeley Marina (North and South), Point Emery, and Crab Cove. We processed samples based on specimen wet weights and sizes and compared data from sites with a presence to sites with an absence of I. obsoleta. With biostatistical analysis, we found an overall decrease in biodiversity and size distribution in sites abundant in I. obsoleta, however, conducting an unpaired t-Test (p=0.05) concludes that there is no statistically significant difference. We used Whittaker plots among others to access species abundance and found an overall higher species abundance and species richness in sites absent in I. obsoleta. We plan to extend our project by acquiring more field data, especially in sites observed to have an abundance of I. obsoleta, and diversifying our means of processing and analysis.
    

34. Chemical Synthesis and Ex-Vivo Evaluation of Berberine Analogs as DNA-Binding Singlet Oxygen Photosensitizers and Anti-Bacterial Agents (CHEM)
    Break Out Room #2; Start time: 5:50 PM (PDT)
    Sarah Su, Emma Le, Meher Jain, Pratyush Singh, Aashi Shah, Anushka Peer, Shelley Li, Edward Njoo
    Berberine, a natural product isoquinoline alkaloid, has been shown to exert its biological activity through in situ production of singlet oxygen, a highly reactive oxygen species, upon irradiation. Its putative mechanism of action as a DNA-binding singlet oxygen photosensitizer stems from its electronic structure, wherein upon irradiation, it sensitizes triplet oxygen to singlet oxygen to incur irreversible DNA damage, resulting in apoptosis. Through semisynthetic modifications of the berberine scaffold, we were able to modulate berberine’s electronic structure towards bolstering its photosensitizing properties. Regioselective modifications, such as grignard additions to C8 and demethylation and cross couplings to C9, enabled the generation of a library of berberine analogues. Here, we present two ex-vivo experiments towards evaluating the DNA-binding singlet oxygen photosensitizing abilities of Berberine and related analogues. Through the use of a hetero Diels-Alder reaction between singlet oxygen and a terpene, we were able to quantitatively monitor singlet oxygen production with benchtop NMR. Moreover, we used HPLC in conjunction with in silico methods towards the construction of a structure activity relationship between berberine and various DNA structures.
    

35. Synthesis of Photocuring Hydrogels (CHEM)
    Breakout Room #1 , Start time: 5:50 PM
    Varsha VIjay Kimberly Yang, Anushka Kirpekar, Akira Yamamoto

Hydrogels are versatile materials that can be used for wound healing, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery. In some cases, cells may reject transplanted cells that secrete useful chemicals such as insulin. Hydrogels can be used as a barrier to allow the cells to last for longer.