Congratulations to the following students, who have been selected by the Undergraduate Research Grants Committee to receive Summer URGs in support of their independent projects!

Maxwell Abecassis (Mechanical Engineering), “Modeling the Fluid Mechanics of Hepatic Perfusion towards the Development of a Novel Cellularized Artificial Liver” (Faculty Advisor:  Jason Wertheim, Department of Surgery)

Dani Alcorn (Psychology, Radio/Television/Film), “Women Objectifying Women: Negative Outcomes and the Likelihood of Objectifying Others” (Faculty Advisor: Renee Engeln-Maddox, Psychology)

Lindsay Amer (Theatre), “Methods for Presenting Sensitive Social Issues in British Theatre for Young Audiences Aimed at Primary School Aged Children” (Faculty Advisor: Rives Collins, Theatre)

Alexander Aretakis (Undeclared), “Heavy Metal Concentration and Amino Acid Concentration Determination in Protein Supplements” (Faculty Advisor: Frederick Northrup, Chemistry)

Anisha Arora (Biological Sciences), “Estradiol Regulation of Dense Core Vesicles in Postsynaptic Dendrites in the CA1 Hippocampal Region” (Faculty Advisor: Catherine Woolley, Neurobiology)

Molly Barstow (Middle Eastern Languages & Civilizations), “Urban Refugees in the Informal Labor Market in Morocco” (Faculty Advisor: Galya Ruffer, International Studies/Political Science)

Laura Beckerman* (Astrobiology), “Determination of the Role of Sulfate in Initiating Ocean Anoxic Event 2” (Faculty Advisor: Matthew Hurtgen, Earth and Planetary Sciences) *funded by ISEN

Shawnee Bernstein (Biocultural Anthropology), “The Effects of Socioeconomic Status on the Nutritional Health of HIV Positive Women Living in the Bronx” (Faculty Advisor: Kearsley Stewart, Anthropology)

Nicholas Boffi (Integrated Science, Physics, Mathematics), “High Order Harmonic Generation from Aligned Asymmetric Top Molecules” (Faculty Advisor: Tamar Seideman, Physics and Chemistry)

Michal Boyars (Human Development and Psychological Services), “How Do Infants Begin to Tease Apart Nouns from Verbs? Distinguishing "I Want to Fly" from "I Want the Fly"” (Faculty Advisor: Sandra Waxman, Psychology)

Kevin Broh-Kahn (Computer Science), “Performance and Data Analysis of Parallel Monte Carlo Algorithm for Simulating Dense Stellar Systems” (Faculty Advisor: Vicky Kalogera, Physics & Astronomy)

Victor Chang (Economics), “Transcriptional Gene Silencing of Lactate Dehydrogenase A in Cancer Cells” (Faculty Advisor:  Erwin Goldberg, Molecular Biosciences)

Tzu-Yin Chen (Biological Sciences), “Determining the Role of the AKT Pathway in Muscle Wasting Induced by Hypercapnia” (Faculty Advisor:  Gregory Beitel, Molecular Biosciences)

Corinne Chin (Journalism), “Crafting Community: A Documentary of Development Assistance in Uganda for Permanently Displaced Persons” (Faculty Advisor:  Jeff Rice, History)

Andrew Choi (Biological Sciences), “Expression and Function of Inflammasome Proteins in Nasal Mucosa of Patients with CRS” (Faculty Advisor:  Robert Schleimer, Department of Medicine)

Xinya Chuong (Chemical Engineering; Biological Sciences), “Transmission of Health and Illness Beliefs and Practices in Chinese Malaysian Culture” (Faculty Advisor: Karl Rosengren, Psychology)

Taylor Cleland (Radio/Television/Film; Art History), “Birds of Paradise: Sensational Irrationality in the Age of Reason” (Faculty Advisor:  Claudia Swan, Art History)

Shaina Coogan (Psychology), “The Stigmatization of Mental Illness: How Gender and Ethnicity May Affect Mental Health Interventions’ Outcomes” (Faculty Advisor: Stephen Hinshaw, Psychology)

Eric Cooper (Chemistry), “Synthesis and Characterization of a Radically-Templated Rigid [2]Rotaxane” (Faculty Advisor:  J. Fraser Stoddart, Chemistry)

David Corlew (Theatre), “Movement in Shakespeare's Tempest” (Faculty Advisor: David Kersnar, Theatre)

Shijun Du (Journalism), “A Look at China's Evolving Mental Health Institution” (Faculty Advisor: Brent Huffman, Journalism)

Emily DuBois* (Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences), “Use of Novel Optical Technology, Genetic Analysis and Physiological Data to Investigate the Effect of Light and Temperature Stress on Coral Bleaching” (Faculty Advisor: Luisa Marcelino, Civil and Environmental Engineering) *funded by ISEN

Gillian Feldmeth (Social Policy; Global Health), “The Disconnect between Policy and the Public Addressing Poor Reproductive Health: An Exploration of Post-abortive Medical Care for Women in Buenos Aires” (Faculty Advisor: Sarah Rodriguez, Medical Humanities and Bioethics)

Luke Fidler (Art History), “Trading "Models" for "Meaning": In Which Meyer Schapiro Goes to Moissac” (Faculty Advisor: Sarah Fraser, Art History)

Joel Finbloom (Chemistry), “The Development of Acid-sensitive Peptide Amphiphiles for Enhanced Delivery of Chemotherapeutics” (Faculty Advisor: Samuel Stupp, Chemistry, Material Science and Engineering)

Patrick Flannery* (Environmental Science), “ICP-AES Analysis of Fisk and Crawford Coal Fire Plants and Ensuing Site Remediation Strategies” (Faculty Advisor: Shelby Hatch, Chemistry) *funded by ISEN

Grace Galloway (Psychology), “Mental Health and Capacity Building: Effectiveness and Efficiency of Empowering the Mentally Ill through the Basic Needs Foundation Uganda” (Faculty Advisor: Kearsley Stewart, Anthropology, Global Health)

Marissa Gillis (Psychology), “The Relationship between Neurophysiological and Behavioral Indices of Reward Sensitivity among Individuals at Elevated Risk for Bipolar Disorder” (Faculty Advisor: Robin Nusslock, Psychology)

Chelsea Glenn (Economics, International Studies), “Economic Development in Long-term Refugee Camps in Ethiopia: A Comparative Study between Eritrean and Somali Refugee Camps” (Faculty Advisor: Jeff Rice, History)

Liang Gu (Biological Sciences), “Elucidation of Poly-lactide-co-glycolide Nano-particle Surface Chemistry for the Development of an Effective Antigen Delivery System for Immune Tolerance Induction” (Faculty Advisor: Lonnie Shea, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Ewain Gwynne (Mathematics, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences), “A New Proof of the Logarithmic Sobolev Inequality for Gaussian Measure” (Faculty Advisor: Elton Hsu, Mathematics)

Katharine Hedlund (Jazz Piano Performance), “The Influence of Bill Evans in the Music of Brad Mehldau: A Theoretical Comparison” (Faculty Advisor: Christopher Madsen, Jazz Studies)

Alexa Herzog (Social Policy, International Studies), “Prison Mental Health Programs: A Policy Investigation” (Faculty Advisor: Paul Arntson, Communication Studies)

Anne Higgins (Chemistry), “An Evolutionary Hypothesis for the Biosynthesis of Cyclic Prodigiosins” (Faculty Advisor: Regan Thomson, Chemistry)

Maria Hua (Biological Sciences), “Pollen Limitation of Reproduction in Dichantheliium leibergii” (Faculty Advisor: Stuart Wagenius, Biological Sciences)

Suzanne Hutt (Dance, Art History), “Merce Cunningham and Roy Lichtenstein: Pond Way” (Faculty Advisor:  Jeffery Hancock, Dance)

Vicky Hwang (Biological Sciences), “Measuring Circadian Gene Expression in Usf1-knockout Mice” (Faculty Advisor: Fred Turek, Neurobiology)

Yookie Hwang (Biological Sciences), “Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Modulate T Cell Activation” (Faculty Advisor: Stephen Miller, Department of Microbiology-Immunology)

JC Jacobs (Chemistry), “Prodrugs of Inhibitors of the Mevalonate Pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae” (Faculty Advisor: Richard Silverman, Chemistry)

Evelyn Jacoby (Theatre), “The Creative Process: Jazz Poetry through the Lens of Ekphrasis” (Faculty Advisor:  David Bell, Theatre)

Ryan Jenkins* (English Creative Writing; Psychology), “Learning Facts from Fiction: Think-Alouds as a New Way to Assess Readers' Evaluation of Information in Stories” (Faculty Advisor: David Rapp, Department of Psychology; and SESP) *funded by a Cognitive Science Program Summer Undergraduate Fellowship

Alexander Jennes (Electrical Engineering), “Chemical Characterization of Iron-Doped Diamond-like Carbon Coatings” (Faculty Advisor:  Michael Graham, Material Science and Engineering)

Jingran Ji (Biological Sciences), “MicroRNA-7 as a Regulator of Tissue Growth in the Developing Drosophila Eye” (Faculty Advisor: Richard Carthew, Molecular Biosciences)

Eric Jiang (Chemical Engineering; Integrated Science) “An In Vitro Model of Cancer Cell Migration for Identification of Metastatic Factors” (Faculty Advisor:  Lonnie Shea, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Alexander Kegley* (Earth and Planetary Sciences), “The Influence of Sulfate on Oceanic Anoxic Event 2” (Faculty Advisor:  Matthew Hurtgen, Earth and Planetary Sciences) *funded by ISEN

James Kelly (Psychology), “Exploring the Intersection of Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Argentine Literary Criticism: Contextualizing Germán García's Analysis of the Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges'” (Faculty Advisor: Maria Uslenghi, Spanish & Portugese)

Jonathan Kernes (Integrated Science; Physics; Math), “Point-Contact Spectroscopy of Iron Pnictides” (Faculty Advisor: Venkat Chandrasekhar, Physics and Astronomy)

Zane Khademi (Biology;  Middle East Studies), “Electron Transfer Rates From Semiconductor Quantum Dots to Adsorbed Cyanine Dyes” (Faculty Advisor:  Emily Weiss, Chemistry)

Angelina Kim (Biology; Religion), “Effects of Temporal Misalignment on Aging in Drosophila melanogaster” (Faculty Advisor:  Valerie Kilman, Neurobiology & Physiology)

William Kim (Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, Economics, Mathematics), “Financial Contagion in the Interbank Loans Market” (Faculty Advisor:  Noshir Contractor, Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences)

Matthew Kingery* (Cognitive Science), “Effects of Video-game Playing on Perceptual Abilities in the Peripheral Visual Field” (Faculty Advisor:  Paul Reber, Psychology) *funded by a Cognitive Science Program Summer Undergraduate Fellowship

Louis Knapp (Chemical Engineering), “Investigating Tumor Immune Response Dynamics Using Agent Based Simulations” (Faculty Advisor:  Joshua Leonard, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Brianne Knickel (Chemical Engineering), “Heterogeneity of Macrophage Polarization in Response to Tumor Microenvironment” (Faculty Advisor:  Joshua Leonard, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Maria Kovalchuk (Classics; Slavic Languages & Literatures), “Orpheus and Eurydice across Time” (Faculty Advisor:  John Schafer, Classics)

Bret Kravis (Psychology; Biological Sciences), “Social Scenes through the Eyes of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Study of Pupil Dilation” (Faculty Advisor:  Molly Losh, Communication Sciences & Disorders)

Leah Krevitt (Biological Sciences), “Characterizing Worm Movement Phenotypes with Machine-Analyzed Data” (Faculty Advisor:  Richard Morimoto, Biological Sciences)

Karolina Kucybala (Biological Sciences), “The Domains of Collagen XV: Elucidating their Role in Pancreatic Cancer” (Faculty Advisor:  Ann Harris, Human Molecular Genetics Program)

Marta Kulich (Biological Sciences), “Alterations in Synaptic Proteins in Alzheimer’s Disease Models” (Faculty Advisor:  Peter Penzes, Physiology)

Ryan Lacey (Biological Sciences—Biochemistry), “Searching for a positive predictive value between LLD and amblyopia” (Faculty Advisor:  Marilyn Mets, Ophthalmology)

Ryan Lafferty (English Literature; Comparative Literature), “An Imagery of Absence: The Animating Stillness in the photography of Atget and Kahn” (Faculty Advisor:  Michael Loriaux, Political Science)

Taylor Layton (Philosophy), “The Influence of Capitalism on Samuel Beckett's and Arthur Miller's Tragedies” (Faculty Advisor: Vivasvan Soni, English)

Aileen Lee (Biological Sciences), “Ikaros Acts Together with Multiple Transcription Factors to Regulate Differentiation of T Regulatory (Treg) and T Helper 17 (TH17) Cells” (Faculty Advisor:  Liang Zhou, Department of Pathology)

Ann Lee (Political Science; History), “Ethnic Politics of Nation Building and State Preservation in Singapore” (Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Winters, Political Science)

Yoona Lee (Political Science; International Studies), “Access to Legal Aid for Immigrants in South Africa and its Affect on Police Attitude and Conduct” (Faculty Advisor:  Galya Ruffer, International Studies)

Kathleen Leinweber (Biological Sciences), “Over-expression of Notch2 Intracellular Domain in Mouse Granulosa Cells” (Faculty Advisor: Kelly Mayo, Molecular Biosciences)

Christy Lewis* (Environmental Engineering), “Photo-oxidation reactions by functionalized TiO2 catalysts with visible response” (Faculty Advisor:  Kimberly Gray, Civil and Environmental Engineering) *funded by ISEN

Alice Li (Journalism), “A Look at China’s Evolving Mental Health Institution” (Faculty Advisor:  Brent Huffman, Journalism Editorial)

Kelly Liesse (Biological Sciences; Science in Human Culture), “Environmental enrichment attenuates microglial inflammatory response in pediatric status epilepticus mouse model” (Faculty Advisor:  Sookyong Koh, Pediatrics)

Jeremy Lipsitz (Biological Sciences), “Elucidating the Effect of Efferocytosis on Heart Healing and Repair Following Myocardial Infarction” (Faculty Advisor:  Edward Thorp, Pathology)

Siqing Liu (Biology), “Mechanisms Governing Susceptibility of Alcohol Induced Gut Leak” (Faculty Advisor:  Martha Vitaterna, Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology)

Alyssa Lloyd* (Social Policy; International Studies), “Examining the Political and Economic Effects of a Carbon Tax on Australian Small Businesses” (Faculty Advisor: Lynne Kiesling, Economics) *funded by ISEN

Hannah Lu (Biology; Economics), “Repurposing Drugs by Targeting Metabolism in Childhood Leukemia” (Faculty Advisor:  Seth Corey, Department of Pediatrics)

Jerry Luo (Biological Science), “Isolation and Molecular Characterization of the Pdr3, a Transcriptional Activator Involved in Pleiotropic Drug Resistance in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae“ (Faculty Advisor: Heather Pinkett, Molecular Biosciences)

Heather Ma (Social Policy), “Impact of CNTNAP2 Gene on AMPAR Functions” (Faculty Advisor:  Peter Penzes, Physiology)

Monica Magda (Biological Sciences), “The role of neurosteroid estradiol in kainic acid-induced seizures in male rats” (Faculty Advisor:  Catherine Woolley, Neurobiology)

Charles Manzoni (Integrated Science; Chemistry), “Asymmetric Synthesis of the biologically active molecule Secologanin” (Faculty Advisor:  Karl   Scheidt, Chemistry)

Mesum Mathison* (Psychology), “Can toddlers use (known) words to learn the meaning of novel words?" (Faculty Advisor:  Sandra Waxman, Psychology) *funded by a Benton J. Underwood Summer Research Fellowship

Parker Murphy (Dance; Psychology), “Expression of the Psychological Experience through Dance Improvisation and Choreography” (Faculty Advisor:  Mary Shanahan, Dance)

Roshan Nebhrajani (Journalism; International Studies), “The Disconnect Between Policy and the Public, The discourse of abortion in a Catholic democracy: The polarization of abortion reporting in Argentinean newspapers” (Faculty Advisor:  Mei-Ling Hopgood, Journalism)

Ezra Olson (English), “Flow in Flux: Tolstoy, Wallace, and the Evolution of Attention” (Faculty Advisor:  John Keene, English)

Daniel Olson (Philosophy), “Wittgenstein vs. Badiou: A Perspective on the Analytic/Continental Divide” (Faculty Advisor:  Axel Mueller, Philosophy)

Zoe Palmer (English; Cognitive Science), “The Story of the Lieutenant Nun: Increasing Historical LGBTQ Representation in Fiction” (Faculty Advisor: John Keene, English)

Joshua Parish (Social Policy), “Wigmore's Research on Japanese Legal Documents: A Catalyst for Comparative Law” (Faculty Advisor: Ken Alder, History)

Francis Park* (Psychology; Economics), “Does the existing link between materialistic mindset and Machiavellianism lead to biased sampling in different participant recruitment methods?” (Faculty Advisor: William Revelle, Psychology) *funded by a Benton J. Underwood Summer Research Fellowship

Tirth Patel (Biomedical Engineering), “An RNAi based approach to identify genes inhibited during planarian regeneration” (Faculty Advisor: Christian Petersen, Molecular Biosciences)

Bethany Polhamus (Sociology), “Decision Points: How Unmarried Working Evangelical Women Make Choices Around Personal Career Ambition and Religious Conviction” (Faculty Advisor: Celeste       Watkins-Hayes, Sociology; African American Studies)

Robert Porter (Integrated Science Program; Biological Sciences), “Tissues Specific Control of Organismal Proteostasis in Single-Tissue hsp90 Knockdown“ (Faculty Advisor: Richard Morimoto, Molecular Biosciences)

Tristan Powell (Theatre; Gender Studies), “Queer Temporality and the Theatre: Queer Staging Practices of Bogart, Wilson, and Abdoh” (Faculty Advisor: Nicholas Davis, English & Gender Studies)

Aaron Praiss (Biological Sciences; Violin Performance), “The role of TRPML Channels in the uptake of Gentamicin in the Stria Vascularis” (Faculty Advisor: Jaime Garcia-Anoveros, Anesthesiology; Neurology; Physiology)

Bo Qin (Integrated Science Program; Biological Sciences; Mathematics), “Stress Response Regulation Involving Post-Translational Modification Network of Heat Shock Factor 1” (Faculty Advisor: Richard Morimoto, Molecular Biosciences”

Charles Qin (Biology), “Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell Activation” (Faculty Advisor: Warren Tourtellotte, Department of Pathology)

Harika Rayala (Anthropology), “Spirit Worship as an Idiom of Distress in the Gaddi Community” (Faculty Advisor:  Helen Schwartzman, Anthropology)

Emily Reit (Theater and Psychology), “The Relationship Between Urban Adolescents and Social Media: An Exploration Through Documentary Theatre” (Faculty Advisor: Michael Rohd, Theatre)

Holly Romaniak (Psychology), “The relationship between theory of mind and pragmatic nonverbal behaviors in autism spectrum disorder” (Faculty Advisor: Molly Losh, Communication Sciences & Disorders)

Sara Sadeghi (Pre-medicine), “Early Acquisition of Novel Verbs: What Can 20-month-olds Learn?” (Faculty Advisor: Sandra Waxman, Psychology)

Brendan Scannell (Theatre; English Writing: Fiction), “Stereotypes on Stage: The Performance and Representation of Gay and Lesbian, Identity in Improv and Sketch Comedy” (Faculty Advisor: John Keene, English)

Bradley Schifrien (Biological Sciences; Psychology), “Adherence to Adalimumab in Crohn's Disease and the Effectiveness of Pharmacy Intervention Techniques” (Faculty Advisor: Eugene Yen, Department of Medicine)

Stephanie Schuette (Psychology), “A Better Way to Learn? The Role of Executive Functioning Skills on Analogical Reasoning in Children” (Faculty Advisor: Dedre Gentner, Psychology)

Kalindi Shah (Anthropology; Psychology), “Growing Communities: An Evaluation Of Child Nutrition Program In Ho, Ghana” (Faculty Advisor: Thomas McDade, Anthropology)

Priya Shah (Psychology), “Mutagenesis of the Parainfluenza Virus 5 Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Stalk/Head Interface to Determine its Role in Paramyxovirus Fusion Promotion” (Faculty Advisor: Robert Lamb, Molecular Biosciences/HHMI)

Louis Shekhtman (Integrated Science; Physics), “Robustness of Core Features in Complex Networks” (Faculty Advisor: Dirk Brockmann, Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics)

Michael Sherer (Biomedical Engineering), “Protein Transport Across the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Wall” (Faculty Advisor: Keith Tyo, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Laily Sheybani (Political Science; Legal Studies), “Photo Lineup Pre-Identification Instruction and its Effects on Witness Accuracy in Suspect Recognition” (Faculty Advisor: Wesley Skogan, IPR/Political Science)

Mike Sladek* (Psychology), “Measuring Frequency and Content of Male Body Talk” (Faculty Advisor:  Renee Engeln-Maddox, Psychology) *funded by a Benton J. Underwood Summer Research Fellowship

Bradley Solomon (ISP; Biology; Computer Science), “Using computational biophysical models to elucidate molAB2C2 functionality “ (Faculty Advisor:  Joshua Leonard, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Alex Song (Biology; Economics), “A Statistical Analysis on the Impact of Circadian Rhythm on Physical Performance By Using Baseball Teams As A Model” (Faculty Advisor:  Ravi Allada, Department of Neurobiology)

Neil Stair (Biology; German), “Requirements of Mir-204 in Zebrafish neural crest Notch signaling” (Faculty Advisor:  Carole LaBonne, Molecular Biosciences)

Adriana Stanovici (Learning and Organizational Change), “Determining the Effectiveness of the Art-Based Approach in Addressing At-Risk Youth in Bolivia: A Case Study of Performing Life and Its Impact on Bolivian Street Youth” (Faculty Advisor:  Melissa Davis, Business Institutions Program)

Lukas Streich (Post-baccalaureate pre-health program), “Investigation of a novel gene in Drosophila melanogaster” (Faculty Advisor:  Robert Holmgren, Molecular Biosciences)

Kaley Stroup (Statistics), “An Exploration of the Views of Educators on Charter Schools” (Faculty Advisor:  Karrie Snyder, Sociology)

Rohit Subramanian (Biomedical Engineering), “Design and Development of Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents” (Faculty Advisor:  Thomas Meade, Chemistry)

Judy Suh (Radio/TV/Film; Art Theory and Practice), “The Expressive Role of the Medium in the Artist Oeuvre” (Faculty Advisor:  Eric Patrick, RTVF)

Sarah Suh (Biology), “Impact of the human Growth Hormone Receptor Exon 3 (hGHRd3) Polymorphism on Newborn Size” (Faculty Advisor:  Margrit Urbanek, Division of Endocrinology)

Linlin Sun (Chemistry), “Characterization of PxmoB, a novel enzyme from Mycobacterium chubuense strain NBB4” (Faculty Advisor:  Amy Rosenzweig, Molecular Biosciences)

Nicole Torosin (Biology), “Characterizing the Heat Shock Response in Skeletal Muscle Cells” (Faculty Advisor:  Richard Morimoto, Molecular Biosciences)

Michael Tran (Genetics & Molecular Biology), “Understanding Meiosis and Spindle Formation with KLP-18 and MESP-1” (Faculty Advisor:  Sadie Wignall, Molecular Biosciences)

Nektarios Vasilottos (Chemistry), “Optimization of a Key Step in the Synthesis of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors” (Faculty Advisor:  Richard Silverman, Chemistry)

Amit Walia (Chemistry), “HPLC Analysis of In Vitro Drug Metabolism and Synthesis of Metabolically Stable Drug Compounds” (Faculty Advisor:  Richard Silverman, Chemistry)

Christina Walker (Journalism; Political Science), “Crafting Community: A Documentary of Development Assistance in Uganda for Permanently Displaced Persons” (Faculty Advisor:  Jeff Rice, History)

Sibo Wang (Math; Economics; MMSS), “Forecasting exchange rate of Chinese Yuan with Chinese cross-listed stocks” (Faculty Advisor:  Torben Andersen, Finance; Kellogg School of Management)

Pamela Wax (Biology), “Exploring the dose-dependent activity of the Drosophila Fushi-tarazu (Ftz) , homeodomain protein” (Faculty Advisor:  Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)

Annabel We (English; Comparative Literature), “Ulysses in Translation: Investigating Feminist Readings of Ulysses in Korea” (Faculty Advisor: Christine Froula, English)

Meghan White (Anthropology; Middle East Languages and Civilizations), “Empowering Self: A Look at How Muslim Women’s Empowerment May Affect Community Cohesion in High Wycombe” (Faculty Advisor:  Rebecca Johnson, English)

Tyr Wiesner-Hanks (Biological Sciences), “Breadfruit Phylogeography and its Implications for Human Migrations and Domestication Processes” (Faculty Advisor:  Nyree Zerega, Graduate Program in Plant Biology and Conservation)

Victoria Wu (Biology), “Ret Signaling Is Critical for the Survival of Injured Podocytes in the Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease” (Faculty Advisor: Cynthia Tsui, Department of Internal Medicine –Nephrology)

Michael Ye (Biological Sciences; Economics), “Anesthesia Testing and Identification of Circadian Genes in Drosophila melanogaster via Real-time Luciferase Reporting” (Faculty Advisor:  Ravi Allada, Neurobiology

Eman Yousif (Communication Sciences and Disorders), “Identification of Novel Phospho-Proteins Mediating CXCR4-induced c-kit Activation and Modulation of Bone-Marrow Progenitor Cell Trafficking” (Faculty Advisor:  Gangjian Qin, Department of Medicine-Cardiology)

Tianli Yuan (Biological Sciences), “Effect of Controlled Depressurization of Hydrostatic Pressure on Retinal Cells in Glaucoma” (Faculty Advisor:  Mark Johnson, Biomedical Engineering)

Brittany Zhang (Environmental Science; International Studies), “Treatment and Analysis of Colitis Progression in Mice” (Faculty Advisor:  Chyung-Ru Wang, Microbiology-Immunology)

The Quit for Health Study in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern is a NIH-sponsored randomized effectiveness trial that is evaluating the benefits of maintenance therapy with transdermal nicotine patches (21 mg/day) for smoking cessation. For this trial, we are recruiting daily smokers who will receive brief cognitive behavioral counseling and will be randomized to standard (8-weeks), extended (24-weeks), or maintenance (52-weeks) transdermal nicotine therapy.  

We are seeking undergraduate student research interns to help conduct the day to day tasks of running the clinical trial.  Specific duties include:

1. Conducting initial telephone eligibility screening and scheduling those candidates who meet basic study criteria for an in-person intake session; obtaining study physician medical clearance when candidates present with specific medical conditions.  Making reminder calls for upcoming phone and in-person sessions.
2. Scanning all participant data into MS Access database and completing data quality assurance checks per study protocol.
3. Conducting monthly mid-treatment (by telephone) and outcomes (in-person) assessments.
4. Assisting participants in completing study questionnaires.
5. Preparing/maintaining protocol materials and participant study charts.
6. Assisting with biological sample collection, storage and shipment.

If interested in the undergraduate research intern position, please send a cover letter and resume to Anna Veluz-Wilkins (a-veluz-wilkins@northwestern.edu).  You may also call (312-890-2616) or email with any questions.”

The Office of the Provost and the Undergraduate Research Grants Committee are pleased to announce Winter Quarter recipients of Academic Year URGs of up to $1000 for their projects!

Peter Carlson (Earth and Planetary Sciences, Integrated Science), “Lacustrine Gypsum as a Paleoprecipitation Indicator in Inland Belize”  Faculty Advisor: Patricia Beddows

Alice Carter (Earth and Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, Integrated Science Program), “Vista Alegre - A Story of Environmental Change” Faculty Advisor: Patricia Beddows

Debra Chen (Biological Sciences), “Effects of Climate on n-Alkane Chain Length Distribution in Terrestrial Plants” Faculty Advisor: Francesca McInerney

John Davis (Sociology, Urban Studies, African Studies) “Third Country Complaints: Issues with Urban Refugee Resettlement in the US” Faculty Advisor: William Reno

Alina Dunbar (Anthropology and International Studies), “María Elena Walsh and Lewis Carroll: Transatlantic Resonances of Fantasy and Folklore in Children’s Literature” Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Garrett

Nathan Enfield (American Studies, History) “Samuel Williams and the Formation of America's Social Contract, 1795-1804” Faculty Advisor: Timothy Breen

Allison Fraum (Psychology), “Cartoon Physics: What Children Are Learning on Saturday Mornings” Faculty Advisor: Karl Rosengren

Emily Hittner (Biological Sciences) “Musical Training Impacts Binaural Processing” Faculty Advisor: Nina Kraus

Kevin Hsu (Psychology, Biology), “Sexual Arousal Patterns and Their Relationship to Male Gender Dysphoria and Autogynephilia” Faculty Advisor: Michael Bailey

Maria Hua (Biological Sciences), “Distribution of quantitative traits within and among natural populations of Dichanthelium leibergii” Faculty Advisor: Stuart Wagenius

Meghana Konanur (Biomedical Engineering), “Effects of Nanofiber Gel Composition on Cellular Alignment in Tissue Engineered Blood Vessels” Faculty Advisor: Samuel Stupp

Kimberly Lourette (Communication Sciences and Disorders), “Linguistic Effects on Early Verb Representations at 24-28 Months” Faculty Advisor: Sandra Waxman

Jessica Tackett (English Writing, German Studies), “Reimagining the America Dream: CouchSurfing Communities and Ideological Dissonance in United States Society” Faculty Advisor: Sheila Donohue

Annabel We (English and Comparative Literature), “Identifying Dominance in Unusual Contexts: Deconstruction in Korea” Faculty Advisor: Vivasvan Soni

We are now accepting applications for the Summer of 2012, but at this time no NASA funding has been committed for the Summer of 2012

In anticipation of continued funding of an educational grant awarded by NASA to Northwestern University through the Illinois Space Grant Consortium, we are now accepting applications for our College Summer Research Program for outstanding undergraduates. The program provides an opportunity for college students to work with a professor in one of several areas of space sciences and astrophysics. It is open to students who are currently in college and who are U.S. Citizens (mandatory).

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

No application form is required; instead the applicant should submit contact information including telephone, e-mail and a postal address, a transcript, a 1-2 page letter describing his/her interests and science-related experience outside the formal college program, and have two letters of recommendation sent to:

Prof. M. P. Ulmer
College Summer Program
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Northwestern University
2131 Tech Drive
Evanston, IL 60208-2900

Fax: 847-491-3135
E-mail inquiries to: Raymond Bailey (rgb@northwestern.edu)
Web site: http://ciera.northwestern.edu

The application deadline for the Summer of 2012 is Friday, February 17^th, 2012.

Summer stipends for selected students are anticipated to be $5,000 for college students. This is for a minimum of ten weeks of work. The exact period is flexible, but it should be between approximately June 15 and September 15. Travel expenses to and from Evanston are also anticipated to be covered, but housing costs are not covered.

All our projects here at Northwestern can provide the students with extensive computer experience with a variety of computing facilities on campus and/ or via electronic access to several off-campus supercomputer centers. We also have projects that will provide laboratory experience.

Some of the areas of current research are:

• Theoretical work on the physics of pulsars and black holes in the centers of galaxies
• Modeling of extrasolar planetary systems
• Supercomputer simulations of sources of gravitational waves
• Radio maps of the Galactic Center and star formation regions
• Optical observations related to the study of the cosmic microwave background and the intergalactic gas
• Gamma-ray observations of high energy phenomena near black holes and neutron stars
• Laboratory work to develop mirrors which can reflect X-rays
• Observations of interstellar magnetic fields
• Development of astronomical instruments for infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.