Thirty-three University of Michigan students in biology and neuroscience presented posters about their research at an event held at the UM Natural History Museum in April. Organized by the Program in Biology and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, the event gives students an opportunity to explain the research they have conducted over past semesters. For many, the research is the work that forms their undergraduate thesis.

Poster sessions such as this are a standard way that researchers in the sciences share their work at scientific meetings.

Participants by Major

BCN

Jamal Jenkins: Zea Mayz JMJ, Mentor: Laura Olsen

Biochemistry

Nisha Gopal: Regulation of Epithelial Cell-Cell Junctions by Anillin and Septins, Mentor: Ann Miller

Biology

Ivanna Murskyj: Processing of Arabidopsis thaliana protein Long-Chain Acyl CoA Synthetase by peroxisonal protease DEG15, Mentor: Laura Olsen
Nirali Shah: Processing of 3-Ketoacyl-CoA Thiolase by the Peroxisomal Protease DEG15, Mentor: Laura Olsen
Irene St Charles: Investigating Peroxisomal Targeting Signaling in Zea mays aspartate aminotransferase 3, Mentor: Laura Olsen

Cellular & Molecular Biology Majors

Neha Bokil: Mutational Analysis of Conserved Amino Acid Residues in Human DNA Ligase I, Mentor: Patrick J. O'Brien
Elizabeth Bruno: Neural stem cell transplantation in AD: a tissue phenotype study in the APP/PS1 mouse Mentors: Lisa M. McGinley, PhD, Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD
Margaret Burns: Zebra fish cells tune membrane transition temperature to growth temperature, Mentor: Sarah Veatch
Amber Cathey: Characterization of a lower molecule weight species of TSP2, Mentor: Andrea Alford
Kayla Dinshaw: Characterizing the Actin and Myosin binding domains of Anillin and their contributions to proper cell-cell junction structure and function, Mentor: Ann Miller
Elayne Fivenson: Genes that mediate the longevity response to dietary restriction: Characterizing tct-1 in C. elegans, Mentor: Ao-lin Hsu
Isabella Gaeta: Examining the Phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate Signal During Macropinocytosis, Mentor: Joel Swanson
Alyssa Kaiser: Identification of iron acquisition mechanisms in Clostridium difficile, Mentor: Phil Hanna
Nicholas Martin: Influence of Polyphosphate on Amyloidogenic Processes, Mentor: Ursula Jakob
Brynne Raines: Processing of Ascorbate Peroxidase by Deg15, Mentor: Laura J. Olsen
Sanskriti Varma: Toward Establishing the Role of FGFs in Differentiation of Human Stem Cells for Otic Specification, Mentor: R. Keith Duncan, PhD

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Maggie Grundler: Parasitisism of Siphamia tubifer (Perciformes: Apogonidae) by a Buccal-Cavity Isopod of the Genus Anilocra (Isopoda: Cymothoidae): Fitness Effects and Interaction of Host-Parasite Ecology, Mentor: Paul Dunlap
Sophie Harrison: Increased sap flow in a northern hardwood forest treated with wollastonite (CaSiO3), Mentor: Joel Blum
Erin Person: Effects of extraction and storage parameters on fecal hormone analysis in a primate species,  Mentor: Jacinta Beehner

Microbiology

Edna Chiang: Ecology of Verrucomicrobia in a Freshwater Estuary, Mentor: Vincent Denef
Sarah Kang: Gating curli formation: Three key residues in CsgE and their role in CsgE  Mentor: Matthew Chapman
Taylor Nye: Identification of 5-methylcytidine and N6-methyladenosine DNA Modifications in the Bacillus subtilis Genome, Mentor: Lyle Simmons

Neuroscience

Arya Ahmady: Pathological Homeostatic Plasticity and Glutamate Transport in Fragile-X Tremor and Ataxia Syndrome, Mentor: Peter Todd
Miranda Ajulufoh : Processing of Peroxisomal Zea mays Malate Dehydrogenase by the DEG15 protease, Mentors: Laura Olsen / Ali Dorchak
Andrew Bahle: A Functional Analysis of Circadian Light Reception in the Larval Brain of Drosophila, Mentor: Orie Shafer
Serena Bidwell: How Do We Prepare to Stop: Examining the Globus Pallidus in Proactive Inhibition, Mentor: Joshua Berke
Matthew Brown: Do P2X2 concatemers form cross-assembly products? Mentor: Richard I. Hume
Crystal Collier: Interrupting ER Ca2+ release through IP3Rs causes cell phenotypes that mimic lysosome storage disorders, Mentor: Haoxing Xu
Keerthana Sankar: Identifying the Binding Domain of IGF2BP1 to HiClinc-1 through IGF2BP1 Deletion Constructs, Mentor: Arul Chinnaiyan
Rebecca Scharf: Exercise and Olfaction in Parkinson's Disease, Mentor: Rachael Seidler
Brianna Schwarcz: Differential Activation of cFos in Brain Regions After Retrieval of Inhibitory Avoidance and Context Fear Conditioning Memories, Mentor: Natalie Tronson
Joe Scrivano: Import Efficiencies of CSY2 Protein with PTS1 and PTS2 Mutations, Mentor: Laura Olsen
Corey Walsh: Zebrafish Cone Mosaic Formation & Maintenance, Mentor: Pamela Raymond