Category: Poster Presentation
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Methionine Restriction Enhances Platinum-Based Chemotherapy-Induced Immunogenic Cell Death in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells
By Mallory Thompson Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laura Sipe Abstract When cancer cells are treated with chemotherapy, they can release Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) as they die that can alert and engage the immune system, a process known as an immunogenic cell death (ICD). The dying cancer cell can release certain molecules, like ATP, that immune…
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Battery Performance from a Computational Perspective: Quantum Analysis of Ionization Energy in Alkali Metals
By Elise Henry, Clara LaMoy Faculty Mentor: Dr. Leanna Giancarlo Abstract Lithium-ion batteries dominate modern energy storage; however, alternative alkali metals, such as sodium (Na) and potassium (K), are being explored due to lithium (Li) resource limitations and performance optimization needs. Ionization energy, defined as the energy required to remove an electron from a neutral…
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Determining Caffeine Concentrations of Energy Drinks Via GC-MS
By Dylan Becker, Rae Saucedo, Daniel Wheeler Faculty Mentor: Sarah Smith Abstract With how prevalent energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages have become, especially with college students, it is more important now than ever to quantify caffeine content in the beverages we drink everyday. An excess of caffeine can cause digestive issues, heart issues, and…
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Synthesis of Tuberculosis Drug
By Anna Dube, Summerlin Gates Faculty Mentor: Davis Oldham Abstract The purpose of this lab was to synthesize 4-piperidinol, 4-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(2-naphthalenylmethyl)-(9Br, ABr), a drug to treat tuberculosis. To a solution of thionyl chloride and chloromethane chloride, we gradually added 2-napthalene methanol to chloromethane chloride and heated and refluxed and rotor evaporated. To confirm it worked, we…
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Cisplatin-Induced Immunogenic Cell Death Delayed Tumor Onset in a Preclinical Model of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
By McKenzie Cheynet, Mohammad Ali Hassan, Evan Fisher Faculty Mentor: Laura Sipe Abstract Some cancer treatments, such as specific chemotherapies, are immunogenic and can stimulate a robust immune response, while others fail to effectively engage the immune system. Enhancing the immunogenicity of chemotherapy is critical, not only to improve direct tumor cell killing but also…
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Evaluating the Applicability of GAMESS for Determining Bond Lengths and Bond Dissociation Energies Through Constructing Potential Energy Curves for H2, N2, F2, Cl2, and Br2
By Iaroslavna Kovalenko and Jillian Pabalan Faculty Mentor: Leanna Giancarlo Abstract The applicability and limitations of the GAMESS dihydrogen potential energy curve computational tool were evaluated for the following diatomic molecules: H2, N2, F2, Cl2, and Br2. The aug-cc-pVDZ basis set and the B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) functional were employed to ensure more accurate…
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Analyzing the Upper Body Biomechanics of the Volleyball Spike
By Camille Jacome Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Fleenor Abstract Volleyball is a competitive sport that relies on the upper body’s strength and flexibility, joined with coordinated biomechanics. The explosive dynamic movements performed during hitting involve both upper and lower body coordination. In this study, we examined the upper body coordination for the swing technique of…
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Restoring Useful Filed of Vision in Drosophila Using RNAi Knockdown of the eys Gene and Duloxetine Treatment
By Camille Jacome Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Abstract Retinitis pigmentosa is the gradual degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina that causes vision loss over time. Mutations in the eyes shut homolog (eys), a protein coding gene necessary to support the photoreceptor cells, can lead to this condition. Earlier research has shown that Duloxetine,…
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The Effects of Myoglianin Knockdown in Drosophila melanogaster with Myotonic Dystrophy Type One
By Eleni Kepler Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Abstract Myotonic Dystrophy Type One (DM1) is a multi-systemic disorder caused by the repeat expansion of a CTG sequence in the DMPK gene that is primarily characterized by low muscle tone. Another common symptom of DM1 is insulin resistance caused by aberrant splicing of the insulin receptor…
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Predicting Sports Injuries Using Machine Learning
By Madison McCarty Faculty Mentor: Evan Coleman Abstract This project investigates the use of machine learning to predict injury risk across two distinct datasets characterized by extreme class imbalance. Injuries represented approximately 1–2% of all observations, making traditional accuracy-based evaluation insufficient. To address this challenge, data balancing techniques and cost‑sensitive learning were applied to emphasize…
