Student researchers and their work

Class of 2022 and 2023

Isha Bahadur

Creativity: the Path to Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Previous studies have shown a link between diversity and how it increases creativity. This study aims to see whether more creative environments are linked to pro-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) attitudes. To research this question, I sent out a survey to my school, collecting data on students’ class types (social science/creative heavy or STEM heavy) and their thoughts on how inclusive said classes are. The data shows a slight correlation between taking social science/creative classes and feeling like the environment that you are learning in is more DEI-positive. However, due to the small sample size, it is difficult to know whether this correlation actually exists, and further research must be done to establish the relationship between creative environments and if they are linked to DEI-positive views.

Ayan Barnwal

The role of metal pollution and metal toxicity in Alzheimer's disease incidence

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Westlake, Genius Olympiad

The aim of the study is to make connections between the toxic metals, specifically lead and arsenic, and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in the conterminous United States. A correlation found would not only help to identify risk factors, but also to gather more evidence for the “Metal Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s”, which states that the homeostasis of metal ions is responsible for the progression of AD by enhancing the accumulation of Amyloid-Beta plaques. This experiment utilizes datasets for Alzheimer’s Disease from the CDC, Arsenic from the USGS, and Lead from the CDC. Lead and arsenic were studied due to their status of being the two most prioritized substances on the ATSDR’s substance priority list. It was found that the deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s and the predicted presence of arsenic showed a clear correlation with predicted arsenic levels in drinking water, and was also shown to have even greater correlation in areas with higher blood lead levels in working adults. With that being said, 22 of 50 states did not participate in the study for lead levels in working adults, so the dataset used is incomplete, and perhaps not accurate. These results suggest that both arsenic and lead as toxins are worth investigating for their role in Alzheimer’s Disease. Future studies could look at individual counties instead of entire states to get more accurate models of water and its source in various neighborhoods.

Acknowledgements: My mentor Robert J Maier

Sidney Burak

Assessment of optimal promoter in treating cardiac disease

Honors/ Attendances:

Genius Olympiad finalist

Within gene therapy an outstanding question has been which promoter works best? A promoter is packaged within the delivery vector in order to specify the types of cells the gene is transduced into and to aid in the overall gene expression. However, many that show good kinetics and expression levels are not specific to cardiac cells. The goal was to find a promoter that limits the expression of a target gene in non-cardiac cells while exhibiting high transduction and expression rates in a safe manner in cardiac cells. Looking at studies conducted using promoters cardiac troponin T (cnTnT), 1.5-kb cardiac myosin light chain promoter fused with CMV enhancer, each promoter’s performance was compared to CMV which was used as the control for both studies the data was pulled from. Overall, it was shown that AAV-9-mediated gene delivery with the cnTnT promoter yielded the greatest cardiac expression while also exhibiting limited expression in non-cardiac cells.

Acknowledgements:

Labratt Mentee:

Emily Cao

Investigation of the effectiveness of Trametinib in treating Costello Syndrome in Drosophila

Honors/ Attendances:

George D. Yancopoulos Young Scientists Award, Westchester Science and Engineering Fair

4th place, Westchester Science and Engineering Fair

4th place, Regional Speaker Competition, Westchester-Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Regeneron Science Talent Search

Westchester-Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Upstate New York Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Westchester Science and Engineering Fair

Costello Syndrome (CS) is a Rasopathy, or one of many diseases caused by germline mutations in components of the RAS signaling pathway. It is characterized by postnatal growth retardation, developmental delays, cardiomyopathy, and loose skin. Individuals with CS have an increased likelihood of malignant tumor development. The K117R mutation in the Ras gene has been found to increase pathway activation and proliferation in patients with CS, and is also tied to colon cancer. The goals of this study are to determine if Drosophila melanogaster is able to recapitulate the mutation of Costello Syndrome, and if trametinib is effective in treating Costello syndrome in Drosophila. Trametinib is a drug that inhibits the MEK branch of the RAS signaling pathway. Drosophila with either a control genotype (w; Actgal4/+) or the CS genotype (w; UAS RasK117R/+; Actgal4/+) were generated and reared on a control diet (food containing just DMSO) or a trametinib diet (food containing trametinib dissolved in DMSO). The results showed a statistically significant change in eye, wing, and body size in female Drosophila with the Ras K117R mutation compared to the wild-type control Drosophila. This means that the Drosophila females successfully recapitulate the short stature of Costello Syndrome, and could represent an effective in vivo model. There was a suppression of lethality caused by trametinib, though we were unable to draw conclusions about the suppression of small stature caused by trametinib. Since trametinib may have increased survival but did not suppress the reduced size, other drugs that inhibit a different part of the Ras signaling pathway could be tested in future studies, and we could assess trametinib’s impact on survival quantitatively.

Acknowledgements: I am extremely grateful to Dr. Cathie Pfleger at Mt. Sinai Icahn School of Medicine for her invaluable expertise and without whom the present study could not have taken place. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Ms. Talia Dardis at Edgemont High School. The effort that she puts in for her students, as well as her guidance and encouragement, makes a world of difference. Finally, I could not thank my parents enough for their tireless and relentless support for me and for this program.

Shivi Jain

Design of a Multi-Material 3-D Printed Strain Sensor to be Fully Integrated Into a Cable-Driven Leg Exoskeleton, C-ALEX

Honors/ Attendances:

Today's Students, Tomorrow's Engineers Award and David M. Holmes WESEF Engineering Innovation Award

I designed a 3-D printed, functional, low-cost, and lightweight strain sensor to be incorporated into the C-ALEX. This would allow the sensor to be fully 3-D printed. To see which design was the most effective, properties in the strain gauge design were varied and their standard deviations were compared. This affordable sensor can be directly integrated into the C-ALEX body. This greatly simplifies the design of the C-ALEX, easing the manufacturing process and increasing accessibility to rehabilitation.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Rand Hidayah (Ph.D. Candidate, Columbia University) for being a mentor for this research project, Valentina Gonzalez (Undergraduate Student, Columbia University) for her partnership in the project, my science research teacher, and lastly my family for their continued support through my engineering endeavors

Haris Karim

Using MODIS Satellite Data to Determine the Effects of Climate Change on Global Cloud Cover

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF - NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award

Tri County

Using MODIS Satellite Data to Determine the Effects of Climate Change on Global Cloud Cover

Acknowledgements: Jimmy Acevedo, Mentor

Labratt Mentee: Alexander Reifel

Miriam Kim

Quantum Sensing Using Tunable Quantum Circuits

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, 4th place

SQUIDS, or superconducting quantum interference devices, are some of the most sensitive magnetometers available and are researched in many sectors such as the military, medicine, and geology. Although classical technology, such as sonar and MRI/MEG, is used in these areas, quantum sensing provides a lower cost/higher precision alternative, leading to the better understanding of nature, the body, and society. However, in order to be used effectively, SQUID architecture can be optimized so that they can be used to sense a wider variety of signals with higher precision. A nested array of SQUIDs is proposed to alter the area of the SQUID to increase sensitivity. JJFETs, or Josephson Junction Field Effect Transistors, are proposed to make the device tunable by applying a gate voltage. The design is simulated mathematically through Python in Jupyter Notebook. The proposed architecture was able to optimally measure the voltages generated by noisy signals equivalent to a magnetic field of a degaussed submarine, by changing the SQUID area values. Nested SQUID arrays using JJFETs will be able to optimize the area and sensitivity depending on the strength of the signal being measured, and the widespread application of this technology could be advantageous in many fields. Future research will explore different materials and techniques to build a physical SQUID, and testing different SNR values and ranges of magnetic fields. By improving sensing with quantum technology, less efficient and precise classical methods could be replaced and a deeper understanding of the world will be gained.

Acknowledgements: Dr. Shabani, my parents, and my teacher, Ms. Dardis

Labratt Mentee: David Barlow

Daniel Lee

High-throughput discovery and validation of cancer-testis (CT) antigen and human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) HLA-presented peptides in renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

Honors/ Attendances:

Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award/ Wesef, Westlake

Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), accounting for the majority of kidney cancer cases, has become a high-studied topic in the field of immunotherapeutics. While there are many treatment options for RCC, including checkpoint inhibitors, many have a limited clinical benefit. RCC peptides undergo proteolytic processing followed by presentation on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules for immune surveillance by CD8+ T lymphocytes. Identifying antigens presented by the HLA class I of cancer cells using antibodies directed against HLA molecules followed by LC-MS/MS sequencing has been an ideal strategy to identify peptides for target-specific immunotherapies. The objective of this study was to use mass spectrometry to identify and quantify the HLA- associated peptides from RCC cell lines (A498, 786O, Caki-1, ACHN). An optimized workflow consisting of anti-HLA affinity chromatography followed by LC-MS/MS was utilized. On average, between 6,000 and 10,000 peptides were identified in each cell line, and between 7,000 and 10,000 were identified from each cell line in each LC-MS/MS analysis using approximately 1 × 10 8 cells. PEAKS®️ Studio X (BSI) as well as Python and R-scripts were utilized for analysis and identification of the HLA-associated epitopes. 76 peptides from cancer-testis antigens in the 4 cell lines were identified, and 26 peptides from the MAGE and PRAME antigen families. They all may be viable options for further testing and have not been identified in normal tissue thus far.

Acknowledgements:

Labratt Mentee: Abdullah

Albert Li

Analyzing the BMPR2 gene in VHD patients

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a common heart disease that affects blood flow, often requiring heart surgery to treat. Valvular heart disease with pulmonary artery hypertension (VHD-PAH) may lead to heart failure that results from increased heart burden. It is important for these patients to seek early treatment in order to minimize the heart damage. However, there is no reliable diagnosis method in VHD. In this study, we found DNA methylation was increased at the promoter of BMPR2 gene in the VHD patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, BMPR2 mRNA levels were reduced in the plasma of the VHD patients. There is strong correlation between BMPR2 promoter DNA methylation and the severity of VHD. We found that both BMPR2 promoter DNA methylation and BMPR2 mRNA levels in the plasma are good biomarkers of VHD, with respective AUC values of 0.879 and 0.725. When they were used in combination, the diagnostic value was improved, with an AUC value of 0.93. Consistent with the results in the VHD patients, we observed decreased BMPR2 and increased fibrosis in the lung of a PAH model mouse, decreased BMPR2 and increased BMP4 in the hearts of the mice, and reduced BMPR2 in the heart valve tissue samples of human VHD patients with moderate/severe PAH over those with mild PAH. Our results suggest that BMPR2 promoter appears to be a good biomarker for VHD and DNA methylation may cause PAH through deregulation of BMP signaling and increased apoptosis.

Ronik Malik

Comparing and Analyzing the Performances of Green vs. Brown Stocks

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, 4th place, Genius Olympiad finalist

While climate change has devastating environmental consequences, it also impacts finance and the economy as a whole. Previous studies show that due to climate concerns, people may invest in certain stocks simply because they are green rather than because of their expected returns. This theoretical “green factor” may artificially inflate the performances of green stocks and leave them in a speculative bubble. Speculative bubbles in the past have caused destructive global recessions, such as with the dot-com bubble in the late 90s. However, this “green bubble” may not be present during the time of COVID-19, especially because of a strong federal economic focus. To measure if the greenness of stock has any influence on its performance now, we utilize public datasets from S&P Global, Yahoo Finance, and private datasets from Finbox (with written permission). Using Microsoft Excel, we download the price history of the 500 S&P 500 stocks over the past half-decade from Yahoo Finance and use a natural logarithm function to calculate their percent changes. We find the quantified environmental ratings (from 0-100) for these stocks from the S&P dataset, and the mean of each stock’s Piotroski score over the past half-decade from Finbox. Using linear regression models in Excel, we found that the greenness of a stock has a negative correlation with its performance except in two GICS industries -- energy and utilities, regardless of their inherent profitability. These results go against previous pre-COVID-19 studies, showing that COVID-19 may have influenced green investing as a whole, something that future studies must research further.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Ms. Dardis and my mentor for their continued guidance and support throughout my research process.

Labratt Mentee: Abdul Rahman Ahmed

Isabell Mathew

The Effects of Age, Race, Gender and Region on COVID-19 Data

Honors/ Attendances: WESEF

COVID-19 or the coronavirus is one of the most prominent new diseases that has been plaguing the world. COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus that emerged in December 2019 (Sauer). It is believed that the virus is spread through droplets released when a person coughs, sneezes or talks. It is more rarely believed to spread through touching surfaces that have the virus on it and touching the eyes, mouth or nose (National Cancer Institute). Most people have mild conditions as a result of COVID-19, but some can become seriously ill (CDC).As of March 2020, more than 4 million people have died from COVID-19 worldwide(NBC). The COVID-19 vaccine has been developed and authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and vaccination programs are in progress across the U.S. (Sauer). 55.6 % of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated(1). There is not yet enough information about COVID-19. There has not been much research about how where someone lives, or who they are, affects if they die from COVID-19 or not. More recently, there has been an emerging delta variant of the COVID-19 that was first identified in India in October 2021, and in the U.S. in March 2021 (Richter). This new variant may also have an impact on the death due to COVID-19.

Sander Miller

The Effects of Core-Edge Temperature Gradients on Intrinsic Rotation during H-Mode in Tokamak Reactors

Honors/ Attendances: WESEF

Nuclear fusion is a form of alternative energy that will not cause meltdowns or create long-lived radioactive waste. Fusion has widely available fuel and produces four times more energy than nuclear fission per kilogram of fuel, clearly demonstrating tremendous potential to be effective. However, scientists have yet to build a fusion reactor that produces a net power gain. Fusion reactions occur in a plasma, which requires heat exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius. Tokamak reactors are designed to contain these plasmas. They feature donut-shaped chambers with high-powered magnets that guide the plasma’s rotation to help improve stability and confinement. When the plasma in a tokamak is heated beyond a certain point, it spontaneously transitions into a high-confinement state, or H-mode. In H-mode, the plasma rotates on its own, further improving confinement and stability. The reasons why H-mode occurs are not entirely clear. Understanding and thereby sustaining H-mode is key to achieving net power gain, and eventually commercial fusion energy. My research addresses the relationship between temperature and intrinsic velocity during H-mode. For fifteen plasma shots from the Alcator C-Mod experimental tokamak fusion reactor, I analyzed the differences between average core and average edge temperatures versus average velocities, and then the ratios of average core to average edge temperatures versus average velocities. I discovered a very strong, directly proportional, linear correlation.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge my mentors, Adam Kuang and Norman Cao, the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and my Edgemont Science Scholars teacher, Talia Dardis.

Anisha Musti

Quantum Teleportation on Novel Qubits

Honors/ Attendances:

Westlake, MS Tri-county, HS Tri-County, WESEF

3rd Place in Environment in MS Tri-County

2nd Place in Physics/Astronomy at Westlake

1st Place in Physics and Astronomy at WESEF

3rd Place in Cybersecurity from NSA at ISEF

Quantum teleportation has the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity and digital communications by enabling completely secure communication. This phenomenon relies on entanglement, one of the basic concepts of quantum physics, which states that the properties of one particle affect the properties of another, even when the particles are separated by great distance or time. There is no counterpart in classical mechanics for entanglement. A novel qubit, a gatemon, holds potential for improved quality of entanglement. Gatemon qubits are voltage tunable, allowing for fast coupling and isolating of individual qubits. In my research, making use of a Josephson Junction interrupting the central resonator, I designed and simulated a coupled two-gatemon system to perform quantum teleportation. The eigenmodes of the circuit were generated, and the frequency of the lower-energy qubit was used to drive its counterpart to simulate the CNOT gate. The resulting qubit oscillations generated a high amplitude in the coupling region, showing that entanglement occurred. Thus, the implementation of teleportation with gatemons is possible. These results can pave the way toward more efficient quantum operations since improved teleportation plays a central role in a variety of quantum technologies.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Mohammad Farzaneh for providing me with the continuous support, resources, and time that were vital to helping make this project a reality. Also, my mentor, Prof. Javad Shabani, for allowing me to be a part of his lab. I would also like to thank my science teacher, Ms. Dardis for her constant advice throughout the year. Lastly, thanks to Billy Strickland and Ami Dabokemp for their contributions to discussions on the project.

Nishta Nandakumar

Who Is Hurt by Many Career Options? Examining Mainstream Acculturation and Locus of Control as Moderators of Assortment Size on Choice Satisfaction

Honors/ Attendances:

JSHS, Regeneron STS

In today’s world, undergraduate students are faced with over 318 majors to choose from (Princeton Review), setting their future career in stone right as they turn 20. We conducted this study to find the effects of acculturation and internal locus of control (LoC) on how assortment size affects career choice satisfaction. 301 participants (ages 18-25), selected through the platform Prolific, participated in the study which included a manipulation to vary assortment size of career choice options (large, i.e., 25 options, vs small, i.e., 5 options), the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA; Ghai, 2014; Ryder et al., 2000) to measure heritage vs. mainstream North American acculturation, and the Career Locus of Control Scale (Millar & Shevlin, 2007) to measure internal locus of control. The results from this online experiment indicate that acculturation did not moderate the effect of assortment size on choice satisfaction while internal LoC did moderate choice satisfaction in the large assortment, though in the opposite direction to what was hypothesized. In addition, we observed a significant positive correlation between mainstream acculturation and a higher LoC. In the future, we hope to use these results to contribute to existing literature exploring the difficulties young adults face with career decision making, as well as follow this study up with further research to better explain the effects we examined.

Acknowledgements: Dr. Elizabeth Mutter, my mentor

Advait Palve

Determining a Correlation Between Debate Participation and Critical Thinking Within High School Students

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF Honorable Mention

Extracurricular activities have often been associated with increases in certain thinking skills due to the wide range of knowledge and skills that students develop from these activities. Extracurricular activities create an outlet for students to display their creativity and passion in a way that a conventional school setting will not. Many schools contain some variation of debate programs that help engage students, the need to quantify their positive effects is large.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Bartanen.

Labratt Mentee: George Ishak

Jungyeon (Jace) Park

An Analysis of the Outcomes of Sternoclavicular Joint Instability/Injury Reconstruction

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF Honorable Mention, JSHS, Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award

Sternoclavicular joint instability/injury is one of the rarest injuries in the world, accounting for only 3% of all kinds of injury to the shoulder girdle (Kiel J et al). Therefore, not much data or publications on the internet/papers for sternoclavicular joint instability reconstructions are available today. Gathering data regarding sternoclavicular joint injury reconstruction in one place and studying the trends would save much time for doctors/researchers studying in the field of sternoclavicular joint injuries. Analyzing trends of different types of reconstruction utilized for sternoclavicular joint injuries/instabilities and considering other factors, such as age, gender, symptoms, type of graft, anterior/posterior shoulder, outcome, VAS score, and the rate of success in results would be helpful for future doctors and researchers when deciding which type of reconstruction to use for which kind of sternoclavicular joint injury. In order to address the problem, I went through various databases for clinical studies, including but not limited to PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. The keywords utilized for researching these articles were: “Sternoclavicular Joint Instability,” “Sternoclavicular Joint Injury,” “Sternoclavicular joint reconstruction,” “Sternoclavicular joint,” “reconstruction,” and “shoulder reconstruction.” Through stages of identification and screening, I excluded clinical studies that were inappropriate or irrelevant to the current study. Collecting data from these clinical studies on one data sheet, I then analyzed the trends in these reconstructions by creating graphs under different factors/characteristics so that it would be easier for future interpretation. From the results, it would be recommended for future doctors and researchers in the medical field to use gracilis autograft with figure-of-eight reconstruction as the studies with no complications and significant improvement in pain (VAS) score demonstrate.

Dhilan Patel

Protein-protein interactions within the T-cell receptor pathway

Honors/ Attendances: WESEF

The T-cell receptor pathway is a critical part of the body’s immune system response to pathogens. It is the foundation which all modern medicines are built upon. In order to maximize human health, the T-cell receptor pathway must be optimized. In this there are typically three main proteins involved in a chain: LAT, GRB2, and SOS1, respectively. In order for LAT to effectively provide cell signaling to the surrounding complexes in the T-cell receptor pathway, it must undergo phase separation, the process by which a well-mixed solution of macromolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids spontaneously separates into two phases: a dense and a dilute phase. SOS1 activates GRB2, which then activates phase separation of LAT, which is then condensed from the cytoplasm into smaller compartments. The result is an increased concentration of LAT, thereby increasing their effectiveness in T-cell activation.

Mihir Patil

How increased expression of CEACAM6 affects the PDAC microenvironment

Honors/ Attendances: WESEF

Carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6) protein facilitates intercellular ad- hesion. Previous literature demonstrates that CEACAM6 overexpression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells is associated with poor survival in PDAC patients. This study utilized a multi-omics approach to analyze the PDAC tumor microenvironment using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). In total, we had 316 patient samples with genomic data to analyze. We examined differentially expressed genes to find the effects of CEACAM6 overexpression in the PDAC tumor microenvironment. Our analysis includes transcriptomics, correlative studies, pathway analysis, and machine learning, which would help us understand how increased expression of CEACAM6 affects the PDAC microenvironment.

Acknowledgements: Dr. Ritu Pandey

Rajan Sandhu

Examining Metabolic Information from Single Cell RNA Sequencing Data: The Compass Method

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Tricounty, Genius Olympiad (Finalist, potential rewards pending)

Single Cell RNA Sequencing (scRNA-seq) is one of the newest and most detailed methods for analyzing data from samples of tumor cells. It allows for the analysis of gene expression at a single cell resolution, but it cannot give direct information about metabolic flux. The Compass method was developed to extract additional information on metabolic flux from scRNA-seq data and identify potential usage of specific reactions within cells. This study uses the Compass method on a scRNA-seq data set of 8 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) to identify potential differences in metabolic flux between groups of cells in this data set. Epithelial-like cells were first identified and clustered into groups signifying different level of transformation into tumor cells based on gene expression data. Compass was then used to identify differentially scoring reactions between these groups of epithelial-like cells. Comparing these reactions with a human metabolic database, this study found that clusters associated with greater tumor transformation had reduced potential to use reactions that consumed the metabolite kynurenine. This metabolite has been identified in previous studies as the metabolite which most commonly is present in greater levels in ccRCC tumor tissue than normal tissue. Based on the greater potential for kynurenine accumulation in transformed tumor cells, this study provides an explanation for the higher abundance levels of kynurenine found in ccRCC tumor compared to normal tissue. This study displays the potential for Compass to suggest and explain potential metabolic differences between groups of cells based on scRNA-seq data, helping further cancer research and identify novel targets for cancer therapy.

Acknowledgements: Eduard Reznik (mentor), David Tourigny (mentor), Talia Dardis (teacher)

Labratt Mentee: Ethan Wu

Jana Shrestha

Assessing Biodiversity in the Mianus River Gorge Preserve Using Camera Traps, 2009-2019

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Teatown Young Environmentalist Award, Genius Olympiad finalist

My topic of research is in the field of Environmental science incorporating a touch of animal science. My work is focused on the Mianus River Gorge, located in Bedford, NY., and future goals are to assess different aspects of this preserves’ ecosystem, such as further assessing the biodiversity in relation to different factors, to gain a better understanding of its community. I used past module data, from 2009 to 2019, my mentor and I collected using camera traps to see if the population of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has an effect on overall biodiversity in the area. I also used this data to assess the species evenness & richness, as well as their effect on the biodiversity of the Gorge to assess the overall biodiversity, and compared this data during the deer hunting (October) vs non hunting month (September). Overall, finding the impact my research has on any ecosystem can significantly help us shape our community, its stability, and its process for a better living environment.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my mentor who taught me various techniques to ultimately find a solution to help our environment, as well as my family and friends for supporting me every step of the way.

Labratt Mentee: Rania Malik

Jiya Singh

The Effect of PTEN Mutations in Parental Mice on Mortality Rates in Pups

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, 4th place

Phosphate and Tensin Homologue Deleted From Chromosome Ten (PTEN) is a tumor-suppressing gene whose mutations have been linked to ASD and cancer development in mice. Mortality rates of these mice seem to be higher than mice without any connection to PTEN mutations. By seeing if PTEN mutations affect the mortality rates of mice, we could discover if PTEN mutations affect the mortality rates of other organisms, including humans, which could be a factor in SUIDS (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome). Using data collected by my mentor, I analyzed the mortality rates of mice, and their relation to PTEN mutations, whether they were born with them, or were born to parents with them. I also looked to see if there were any other factors that may have contributed to the mortality rate. By comparing the mortality rates of the mice, I was able to find that mice born to both parents with PTEN mutations were affected the most, with the majority dying before being born, and mice born to fathers with PTEN mutations having the lowest mortality rates. Future research should include further studies into how exactly PTEN mutations affect mortality rates in infant mice, and whether this crosses over to humans and other organisms.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my mom and my dad for helping me to achieve my goals

Labratt Mentee: Augustus (Auggy) Cai

Hirdhedyal Singh

Vocal register transition correlation with vibrato- an analysis of Jimmie Herrod's Vocals

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Tricounty, Somers, Breakthrough junior challenge

The voice research field is full of unknowns, so better understanding the concept of register changes and their vibrato characteristics are valuable for future vocal pedagogy and performance. This study was designed to analyze singer Jimmie Herrod’s vibrato rate and extent change proportionate to fundamental frequency and/or register. Our approach to analyzing Jimmie’s vocal techniques centered around areas of his vocal performance that included the use of vibrato in a specific vocal register. By taking specific samples from a recording of his performance, we were able to analyze waves of vibrato by extent and rate. Spectrographic analysis, utilizing a logarithmic rather than linear y-axis, allowed for clear observation of vibrato characteristics of the fundamental frequency. Analyzing the amounts of cents (specific notes Hz) his voice produced as well as the timbre (intensity) in which he hits notes attributes to what listeners can understand as potential register transitions. Since register transitions allow in increasing a singer’s vocal range, transitioning from head voice to chest voice involves similar changes in musculature (utilizing the cricothyroid and thyroarytenoid muscles). - insert results- Showing a correlation between vibrato rate and extent changing according to register mix predominance helps prove how vibrato control and register can not only go hand in hand, but that vibrato can sound different or similar in different registers. Confirming this correlation means that future studies can be conducted involving an array of voice types analyzing vocal effects such as vibrato in different registers. Examples include real falsetto vibrato vs flageolet/whistle as compared to just head and chest etc. This analysis could significantly aid in our understanding of vibrato as a whole so practical applications can be implemented into the standard of future voice pedagogy.

Acknowledgements: Martin Spencer, My family members, Mr. Nowak, Mrs. Dardis

Labratt Mentee: Jack Liu

Gautam Soni

Analysis of Phf6 Dependent Alternative Splicing in Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Outstanding Achievement for Ability and Creativty in In Vitro Biology, Genius Olympiad finalist

The PHD finger protein, homeodomain finger protein 6 (PHF6), is a gene that is frequently mutated in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Loss of function mutations in Phf6 are known to be a driver of leukemia initiating from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and has been identified as a negative regulator of normal HSC function. Phf6 is a nucleolar protein that has been shown to interact with both DNA and RNA in the nucleus. Our central hypothesis is that genetic loss of Phf6 leads to alternative splicing of genes which mediates the biological effect of the loss of Phf6 in the HSCs (increased self-renewal and improved HSC function). To test this hypothesis we analyzed RNA-seq data from HSC isolated from Phf6 Wild Type (WT) and Knockout (KO) mice and determined that there are two GPCRs that may undergo alternative splicing in KO versus WT but there is little global difference in the splice form content of the GPCR transcriptome. Therefore, the effects of Phf6 are likely not globally due to GPCR alternative splicing but may be due to specific splice-form effects or its role in DNA interactions.

Acknowledgements: Aidan Quinn, My Mentor

Ethan Thomas

Redesigning Home Physical Therapy: Home Physical Therapy Regimen for Rotator Cuff Injuries

My work explores the feasibility and effectiveness of creating an at-home physical therapy program for patients in densely populated locations with multiple barriers to accessing care. The purpose of this study is to investigate if a well-developed at-home physical therapy can improve functional recovery of patients with non-operative rotator cuff tendinopathy with a focus on mitigating barriers to care. It assess the quality of life, symptoms, and functional ability through the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) to evaluate the pain score and improvement in Activities of Daily Living. My project also assesses the passive and active range of motion, inspection for abnormalities, the strength of rotator cuff muscles, and provocative testing (Neers Impingement Test , Hawkins- Kennedy Test, Empty Can Test/ Full Can Test, and Drop Arm test).

Acknowledgements: My mentor: Chike Okafor

Labratt Mentee: Henrique

Nishi Uppuluri

Developing the Writing Skills of Elementary Schoolers Using Computational Linguistics Techniques

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF 2021 - 2nd Place in Computer Science, IBM Excellence in Research Award

Regeneron STS Top 300 Scholar

While the development of strong writing skills is an important student milestone, many schools do not achieve this teaching objective due to constraints on instructional time and large class sizes. The objective of my study was to investigate whether natural language processing and other computational linguistics tools can assist teachers in giving young children individualized feedback on their writing. I developed an automated writing feedback system known as the Pything Tool for a writing class I started for students in Grades 1-4. Students were randomly assigned to receive either the automated feedback system with teacher explanations (test group) or teacher feedback only (control group). The participants in the study were grouped into two cohorts based on age - one for children in Grades 1-2, one for children in Grades 3-4 (N=77). Results showed that overall, students in the test groups made more improvement on their descriptive writing skills, vocabulary strength, and topic cohesion while students in the control group were able to make more progress on developing their writing voices and using varied vocabulary. For older students, there were no significant differences between the test and control groups when it came to progress in spelling, sentence structure, sentence variety, paragraphing, and topic introduction. For the younger students, there were no significant differences between the test and control groups when it came to progress in spelling, topic introduction, and writing voice. This study demonstrated that automated feedback could potentially provide students with additional benefits on top of teacher instruction.

Acknowledgements: Ms. Dardis and my mentor Dr. Sarah Seraj of UT Austin

Leah Vinodh

Bat's Balls and Substitution Bias: Cognitive Misers are No Happy Fools

My study is a replication of a previous study done by DeNey’s et al, with some changes made to the base study. The reason for the need for replication is because of the current psychology replication crisis. The replication crisis is a phenomenon where psychology based research is unsupported due to biased researchers or insufficient supporting data. My project is about substitution bias when answering insight based questions. Humans are considered cognitive misers; people who seek out quick, intuitive processing over more complex, careful reasoning. While it can sometimes be beneficial to rapidly process information, it can lead to a bias in problem solving. This phenomenon is known as substitution bias (or attribute substitution). Substitution bias is defined as when a person makes a mental shortcut in order to quickly get through problems. The question asked in my study is if people are aware that they are doing so and are aware of their error. With the help of my mentor Dr. Jordan Wagge, I distributed a survey with six insight-based questions to students at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. The study participants were given 10 minutes to answer the questions, and rank their confidence levels after each question. The purpose of our study is to look at the comparison between the correctness of the questions with the confidence level of the participants. We found that the confidence levels of people who got the questions right and wrong were similar, and people had high confidence levels regardless of the correctness of the questions. Our data proved that attribution sensitivity is prevalent when answering questions that require further thought.

Labratt Mentee: Bella Jabbour

Nayyab Waleed

The Role of Anticipation and Feedback on Curiosity- Related Memory Benefits

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF

Curiosity is a beneficial factor to memory, so it is important to consider when understanding memory. A recent study broke down the stages leading up to curiosity and after curiosity, called the prediction, appraisal, curiosity, and exploration framework (PACE). The PACE Framework can be simplified into prediction and appraisal as anticipation and curiosity and exploration as feedback. Using magic trick clips, 40 participants were assessed on accuracy: broken down in terms of anticipation and feedback with curiosity. The videos were a mix of high and low curiosity as well, to see which improved memory, age, and anxiety was considered too. The results showed that with anticipation and feedback phases, high curiosity videos benefited the anticipation phases in younger participants whereas anxiety hurt both. In all participants, curiosity benefited the accuracy of recalling the videos. Showing how high curiosity situations improve memory, specifically anticipation. Age hurts memory overall, but curiosity does improve it. The next step in this study would be to apply the same methods on more participants to see if the results are constant then change around the video clip to see if the more interesting parts of the video were first and the rest was later if it would yield similar results in terms of anticipation and feedback.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Murty, and my family (like my brother Abdullah), also Ms. Dardis.

Labratt Mentee: Sasha ZenginKaraian

Nuanyang (Nova) Wang

Correlation Analysis of PRMT-dependent Transcription with Single Cell Resolution.

Honors/ Attendances:

Genius Olympiad Finalist, WESEF, 4th place

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of cancerous diseases caused by failed differentiation of bone marrow. It can be caused by dysplastic megakaryocytes which never differentiate into platelets. PRMT1 is linked to megakaryocyte differentiation. This study seeks to find the relationship between PRMT1 transcription and megakaryocytic differentiation. K Nearest Neighbor analysis and Spearman RHO correlation analysis revealed that PRMT1 correlates with a group of candidate genes in a way that increases the odds of MDS. A potential future study could look at PRMT1 inhibitors since it is a promising target for cancer treatment.

Acknowledgements: Dr. Minkui Luo and lab, Dr. Tuo Zhang

Labratt Mentee: Josh Kim

Sean Wang

Evaluating the Efficacy of Anti-Vaping Campaigns with Dimensions of Influence Messages

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, 2nd place

In recent years, the prevalence of e-cigarette use, or “vaping,” has surged among adolescents. Due to the chemicals in e-cigarettes, such as highly addictive nicotine and flavors, vaping has become a major public health concern, and public health campaigns have been created to try and combat the issue. Given the recency of this problem, however, there has been little research done into what makes anti-vaping advertisements effective for adolescents. This study examines three theoretical components of persuasive messages, explicitness, dominance, and argument quality, and how they relate to the future intention to vape among high school students. Participants (n=94) were asked about their previous experiences and impressions of anti-vaping advertisements, and were then randomly assigned to view one of three advertisements. They then rated each advertisement on their own perceptions of the three theoretical components. It was found that the qualities of low dominance and high objectivity, a feature of argument quality, were associated with lower intentions to vape, indicating that advertisements should present their information in such a way that respects the audience’s freedom to do what they want and uses arguments reliant on facts and statistics rather than emotion. Due to the increasing popularity of vaping among adolescents, it is critical to create effective campaigns to prevent e-cigarette use and educate young people about their harms.

Alex William

Identifying Drug Targets in the Epilepsy Brain from Proteomic Analysis

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF

Epilepsy impairs health, social abilities, and creates a disparity in mortality rate against non-epileptic populations. Epilepsy affects between 50 and 70 million people around the world. It is treated with anti-seizure drugs (ASDs) or targeted surgery to prevent likely brain trauma. However, 30% of those treated for Epilepsy exhibit an incomplete response to treatment, maintaining the risk of trauma. To fill this gap in treatment, new therapeutics for Epilepsy are required, including the identification of new drug targets in Epilepsy. An advanced understanding of the proteomics of Epilepsy can identify such targets by revealing significant disparities created by Epilepsy. Human Epilepsy (n=14) and control (n=14) FFPE samples were dissected by laser capture microdissection for ROIs. Label-free quantitative mass spectrometry on the dentate gyrus, hippocampus, and frontal cortex, each providing one group for the Epilepsy or control cohorts. MaxQuant v 1.6.3.4 corresponded peptides to detected weights, while MaxQuant LFQ quantified detected proteins. (These procedures were carried out by the mentor and the mentor’s lab group, while further analysis was provided by the mentee). This has revealed 939 altered proteins across the three brain regions, including GNB1, which was significant across all brain regions (FDR<5%), implicating GNB1’s related GPCRs as therapeutic targets. CNS-related drugs targeting implicated GPCRs hold a potential efficacy in treating Epilepsy. New methods or therapeutics for treatment have the potential to treat previously resistant individuals. Future research may confirm or test the therapeutics in Epilepsy models.

Acknowledgements: Dominique Leitner, Ph.D. (Research Scientist at NYU Langone Health)

Labratt Mentee: Michael Barron

Vivien Wong

Novel Fungicides Gatten® and Parade20SC® as Alternatives to Conventional Fungicides in Combating Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) in Idared Apples (Malus Domestica)

Honors/ Attendances:

WESEF, Genius Olympiad finalist

Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) is a fungal disease affecting many crops such as apples across the United States, and around the world. With consistently high crop production required to meet demand, disease management is important for farmers to not only support themselves, but to support everyone around them. There have been signs of fungicide resistance to demethylation-inhibiting fungicides, fungicides used to treat powdery mildew commercially (Gao et al. 2009). Several concentrations of the new fungicide Gatten® and one concentration of Parade 20SC® were tested on Idared apples as alternatives to conventional fungicides. If alternative methods of control are not considered, food security could be threatened in the future as crop output will decrease from increased fungicide resistance. Furthermore, disease levels will increase in pressure due to the warmer temperatures associated with climate change, since fungi would have greater overwintering survival rates (Chaloner 2021). Data on the percentage of the severity of infection on the primary shoots and percentage of the disease incidence on the secondary shoots were analyzed using ANOVA and an LSD test (α=0.05), using PROC MIXED in the SAS Studio software (SAS institute Inc., Cary. NC). All the treatments were significant compared to the control, but not strongly. The untreated treatment had an 85% incidence, while the other treatments ranged from a resulting disease incidence of 47.5% to 76%. The standard control program was the most effective treatment. Disease infection was generally higher than normal because of the delayed shipment of the fungicides due to the pandemic, a long period of time (21 days) during the bloom stage without applications due to cooler temperatures, and the discontinuing of applications after the first cover growth stage. Although this study provides valuable insight into the potential of 3.4 and 6.4 fl. oz/A of Gatten® and Parade 20SC®, a follow-up study would be needed to further explore the efficacy of the Gatten® and Parade 20SC® fungicides in a variety of locations and disease pressures before they can be implemented commercially.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my mentor Dr. Srdjan Acimovic and my teacher Ms. Dardis for their guidance throughout this entire process. I would also like to give thanks to my parents and my younger sister Julie for their endless support.

Labratt Mentee: Ted Janaqi

Henry Yuan

Vaping’s effect on Covid-19 Symptoms

Honors/ Attendances: WESEF

A rising pandemic in teenagers and young adults is vaping. Nearly 20% of high school students, one in five, use e-cigarettes (National Youth Tobacco Survey). E-cigarette users are five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than nonusers (Gaiha, et. al). Cigarettes, a similar nicotine drug that is potentially damaging to the user’s lungs, have been found to double the rate of severe COVID-19 symptoms compared to non-smokers (Arpinar Yigitbas, et al). There have been many studies conducted on the effect of cigarettes on COVID-19 symptoms, however, the effect of vaping on COVID-19 symptoms is still novel. With the rising problem of vaping in teenagers and young adults, I chose to study vaping’s effect on COVID-19. The current pandemic is due to COVID-19, a virus that targets the lungs. Vaping could potentially increase the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.