Postdoc Research Talk Competition

Phyllis Johnson, Arts & Sciences, Department of Anthropology

Using Tiny Artifacts to Answer Big Questions

When most people think of the Maya, they imagine stunning, forest-filled horizons dense with gigantic pyramids, palaces adorned with beautifully carved images of Maya rulers and gods, stelae covered in detailed hieroglyphic texts, and most recently, depictions of the Maya calendar. Handheld artifacts recovered from these contexts, including intricately painted pottery, carved figurines made of ceramic and/or jade, and lifelike human masks, are also highly revered and coveted. Though these artifacts contribute a great deal to our understanding of the lives of Maya elites, these items reveal little about the activities associated with the daily lives of the so-called "commoners" living outside the royal palaces, who comprised the overwhelming majority of Classic Maya society. If we want to illuminate the activities of Maya non-elites, the materials used both within and outside Maya households must also be carefully examined and analyzed to paint a fuller picture of Classic Maya society. In the present study, I analyze the tiniest bits of stone (known as microdebitage) that are left behind when a stone tool is made. By studying microdebitage recovered from the Classic royal center of Tamarindito in Guatemala, I have identified a rare ritual workshop hidden within a commoner household on the outskirts of the city where expert knappers produced ritual obsidian blades.

Pom Kharel, Center for Applied Energy Research

Intensified Catalytic Conversion of CO2 into High Value Chemicals

The development of an electrochemical catalyst system that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) to high-value chemicals, such as formic acid will simultaneously curb CO2 emissions to atmosphere and provide sustainable pathways to create a range of fuels at lower cost. We are working to develop the lab-scale proof-of-concept technology where a novel tin-based catalyst immobilized on a carbon xerogel electrode surface will be combined with pressurized reactor to increase the equilibrium concentration of CO2 in solution to increase production rates. State-of-the-art electrochemical syntheses suffer from the need for expensive metal catalysts, high required potentials, low faradaic efficiencies, and low product selectivity. Our enhanced bimetallic oxide carbon utilization (EBOCU) process uses an engineered catalyst that facilitates operating at relatively low applied potentials, and high product selectivity to produce formic acid. Current results on catalytic performance of nano copper and tin oxide immobilized on carbon xerogel towards formate formation will be discussed in the talk.

LeAnna T. Luney, Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

“I Will Survive”: Black College Womxn and Femme Coping Strategies as Practice of Survival at a Predominantly White Institution

Introduction: Within an epoch of neoliberal self-care and wellness, my research ascertains how Black college womxn and femmes understood and demonstrated coping at a predominantly white institution (PWI). As such, this short research talk describes how Black undergraduate womxn and femmes conceptualized coping and the strategies they exhibited to survive anti-Black gendered racism. 

Methods: Qualitative research methods – participant observation, focus group interviews, and one-on-one in-depth interviews – construct the research project supporting this talk. 

Findings: Four themes emerged from the data regarding how Black womxn and femme college students coped with gendered racism: their definitions of coping; disengagement, detachment, and avoidant coping; engagement and problem-solving coping; and collective and communal coping. Although previous literature about Black college womxn’s coping mechanisms at PWIs situate coping mechanisms as separate strategies of survival, this study affirms that differing types of coping overlap due to the intersectional functionality of power and oppression in Black womxn’s and femmes’ lives. 

Discussion: I argue that the coping strategies that Black womxn and femme college students utilized contributed to how they survived anti-Black gendered racism at a PWI. Meaning, students’ survival of the institution’s infliction of psychological traumas on their wellbeing required that they intentionally and subconsciously involved (dis)engagement and collective coping mechanisms. In turn, students directly and indirectly redressed the university’s anti-Black gendered racism and/or the psychological aftermath that transpired

Sudip Gaire, Agriculture Food and Environment, Department of Entomology

Common bed bugs possess a robust ability to produce histamine 

Common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are hematophagous pests that lives in close proximity to humans. Following a blood meal, they deposit fecal material in the indoor environment. Their fecal material contains a variety of components, including the pivotal mammalian immune modulator histamine. Recently, histamine was shown to be present in high concentrations in household dust from homes infested with bed bugs. Bed bugs clearly contribute histamine to the indoor environment, but it is unclear what life stages are responsible, how production varies among populations, and how much histamine bed bugs produce over time. To better understand histamine production, we collected and analyzed bed bug fecal material from different life stages, populations, and times after feeding using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our analysis showed significant variation of histamine production among life stages. Mated females produced the most histamine (~15 µg/day/bug), whereas first instar nymphs produced the lowest amount (<0.5 µg/day/bug). We also found significant differences in histamine production among bed bug populations, ranging from ~2.5 to 5 µg/bug/day for adult males. Lastly, we found histamine production continued up to 21 days post-feeding, with the highest amount of histamine produced three days after a blood meal (8.5 µg/bug/day). This work demonstrates bed bugs possess a robust ability to produce histamine across life stages, populations, and times after feeding, and the results will be used to better understand the health risks associated with bed bug histamine production.

Jong Hyun Kim, Arts & Sciences, Department of Chemistry

The Evolution of Metformin: From Diabetes Drug to Anti-Cancer effect

Chemical control of mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics can unravel fundamental biological mechanisms and therapeutics for several diseases including, diabetes and cancer. We synthesized stable, water-soluble gold(III) complexes (Auraformin) supported by biguanide metformin or phenylmetformin for efficacious inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. The new compounds were characterized following the reaction of [C N]-cyclometalated gold(III) compounds with respective biguanides. Auraformin is solution stable in a physiologically relevant environment. We show that auraformin decreases mitochondrial respiration efficiently in comparison to the clinically used metformin by 100-fold. The compound displays significant mitochondrial uptake and induces antiproliferative activity in the micromolar range. Our results shed light on the development of new scaffolds as improved inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration.

Postdoc Science Café Competition

Katharine Napora, Arts & Sciences, Department of Anthropology

Looking to the Past for a Better Future: How Archaeology Helps the 21st Century

Archaeology: our discipline conjures up vivid images of temples reclaimed by the jungle, dusty tombs brimming with treasures, and maybe a certain amount of Nazi-punching. But while archaeology illuminates the past, it can also be used to help improve our 21st century society and world. From the emerging field of conservation paleobiology, which uses information about the ancient past to bolster conservation and restoration work today, to projects that increase our understanding of the experiences and contributions of diverse groups in American history, the study of the past has direct relevance to our modern lives. The innovative, collaborative research projects we’re developing at the University of Kentucky’s Webb Museum of Anthropology ensure that our work isn’t “relic”-gated to the dustbins of history, but instead, helps create a better future for everyone.

Sathya Velmurugan, Medicine, Department Pharmacology & Nutritional Science

An apple a day keeps the cardiologist away!

Type-2 diabetes is associated with a higher risk for heart failure, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Here we are exploring one such mechanism. In diabetic conditions, glucose transporters that help to transport glucose into the cells are decreased in the heart. Possibly as a compensatory mechanism, another group of transporters, called sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) is increased. As this protein transports sodium along with glucose, sodium concentration within the heart cells is increased. This readily excites the heart leading to alterations in rhythmicity. We wanted to test if blocking this cotransporter preserves heart functions in diabetes. We used diabetic rat models for our studies. We isolated heart cells from the diabetic rats and studied the sodium concentration within the cells, spontaneous release of calcium from its stores, and voltage on the cell surface – all of them correlated with arrhythmia. For blocking the cotransporter, we used Phlorizin, a polyphenol naturally found in apple leaves and bark, and also in smaller amounts in fruits. When we treated the diabetic heart cells with Phlorizin, sodium concentration within the cells was reduced, the spontaneous release of calcium was reduced, and the voltage on the cell surface was decreased – indicating their return to normal functions. Moreover, in isolated diabetic hearts, Phlorizin treatment reduced the duration of arrhythmia induced by a stress test. Hence, in conclusion, by blocking SGLT1, we can improve the function of diabetic hearts; OR an apple a day can keep the cardiologist away!

Katarina Medger, Arts & Sciences, Department of Biology

The value of poo: The use of feces in zoological research and animal welfare

Animals seldom show distress in the wild or in zoological institutions making it difficult to understand how specific situations and changes in environments affect them. To better understand these aspects and to improve captive settings, researchers analyze hormones, which can tell them if an animal is distressed or not. In addition, hormones can also help to determine reproductive states and are invaluable in breeding programs of endangered species. Traditionally, hormones were measured in blood but collecting blood is often stressful for the animal and can be dangerous to the researcher or animal handler when working with large and dangerous animals. Feces, and other animal waste products such as urine that are typically thrown away, are invaluable in these situation when blood sampling is impossible. Feces contain the metabolites of stress and reproductive hormones, which can be measured using assays that are specific to them. However, as the metabolism varies between different species, these assays need to be validated, which can be done by measuring hormones, for example before and after a stressful situation or by physiologically stimulating the stress axis. We validated an assay to measure stress hormones in eastern rock sengis, which belong to a group of small mammals which are only found in Africa. Interestingly, we found that there were large differences between females and males in the metabolites of stress hormones found in their feces. These findings are important for future research and for captive breeding programs of sengis, some of which are endangered.

Allison Young, Agriculture Food & Environment, Department of Entomology

What’s the big buzz about honey bees? Why honey bees are so important for food production and what you can do to help!

“Save the bees!” is a common rallying cry when people talk about pollinating insects and their importance for food production. Most of the time people are talking about one species of bee in particular- honey bees! With more than 4,000 bee species in the U.S. though, why do honey bees receive the most attention and concern? What makes them so very important for food production and why are they considered such critical pollinators for U.S. agricultural systems when they’re not even native to the U.S.? In this talk, we’ll discuss how some of the same characteristics that make honey bees unique among bee species also make them uniquely well-qualified to be pollinators of certain large crops. Come learn about the honey bee's dance-based communication system which allows them to be efficient and effective pollinators, and how researchers such as myself translate that ‘dance language’ to learn more about what flowers bees are currently pollinating, if they’re experiencing food shortages, and more. In addition, learn how other characteristics of honey bee colonies, including their large size and multi-year lifespan, further cement them as the critical pollinators we know and love. By the end of our discussion, you’ll not only know why there’s such a big buzz about honey bees, you’ll also learn easy ways that you can help ensure they thrive!

Maryam Dehghanian, Arts & Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy

Blackholes with abnormal behavior

Black holes are one of the most interesting objects in the universe! Astronomers are interested to measure the mass of these mysterious, giant objects and relate it to the evolution of the universe. In this talk, I will explain how a well-known black hole behaved abnormally in 2014. This never-before-seen phenomenon remained unsolved until 2019, in which, with the help of a computer code developed here at UKy, we could finally explain the phenomenon. We use the data from six famous space-based telescopes, including Hubble and 21 ground-based telescopes. Now, in 2021, by having another BH showing the same abnormal behavior, we are questioning all of BH mass measurements since 40 years ago.