-
The Effects of Voluntary Exercise on BDNF Levels and Anxiety in Mice
By: Sydney Hall, Elizabeth Foreman, and Kelsey Wilcox Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters Abstract: Regular performance of exercise can decrease levels of anxiety and depression (Binder et al., 2004). In this study, we aim to determine the behavioral changes in mice after 8 weeks of either voluntary wheel-running or sedentary. We measured levels of BDNF,…
-
Comparing the Impacts of Common Deicing agents NaCl and MgCl2 on the Mobility Behavior, Embryonic Deposition Behavior, and Embryonic Development of the Freshwater Gastropod Physa acuta
By Sophia Weldi Faculty mentors: Dr. Tyler Frankel applied in the U.S. every year. 55% of deicers have been shown to enter surface waterways directly through runoff, resulting in increased salinity. The USEPA recommends that Cl– concentrations do not exceed a four-day average of 230 mg/L more than once every 3 years, however concentrations of…
-
Case study for understanding MTX resistance in Leishmania
By Bennet Varghese Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal 9:00-9:50am, HCC 328 Leishmania is a parasite that causes Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease that has many forms and potentially deadly symptoms. Methotrexate(MTX) is a drug that has been highly effective at treating and stopping Malaria infection by inhibiting the DHFR enzyme in the folate pathway. Since MTX…
-
Essential Oils as Bacterial Disinfectants
By Chandler Carlson and Julia Rizzo Faculty mentor: Dr. April Wynn Essential oils have become quite popular in natural medicine and their uses as an antibacterial household cleaner have been touted. We investigated how essential oils compared to bleach when used as disinfectants. Previously, we examined eight essential oils and two recipes (mixtures of oils) from…
-
Grumio Bacteriophage Genome Annotation
By Celeste Lockwood Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Bacteriophages, or phages, are virus particles which are only capable of infecting bacterial cells (Clokie et al.). These phages are of interest as a potential replacement for antibiotic therapies in cases of drug resistant bacterial infections (Sulakyelidz et al. 2001). One such phage, Grumio, was discovered and…
-
Myokine gene expression in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 using qPCR
By Kayla Mann Faculty mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Myotonic dystrophy (DM1) is a disease that causes muscle wasting and weakening. DM1 is caused by the dystrophia myotonia protein kinase gene that is encoded with the CTG repeat. DM1 has yet to be fully understood, and currently is incurable. This experiment is being explored to look…
-
Analysis of Seasonal Pollen Collected on insect pollinators along an urbanization gradient in Fredericksburg, VA
by Curtis Kasiski, Tyler Suthard This segment of the project focused on the amplification of DNA collected. After the collection and process of DNA, two PCR troubleshoots were conducted. This first delt with initial concentrations of DNA. It was found that DNA concentration did not have a significant impact on the PCR. The second troubleshoot…
-
Identification of Fungi on Spotted Lanternfly
By Kayla Smith Faculty mentor: Dr. Josephine Antwi By using the method of microscopy the identification of three unknown fungal species were determined. Crystal violet staining, lactophenol cotton blue staining, and SEM were used to collect images of unknown fungal species. It was determined that PCR is required to differentiate between the fungal species. Overall…
-
The Effects of Voluntary Physical Exercise on Hedonic Drive and Hypothalamic Orexin in CD-1 Mice
By Katie Warlick Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters Orexin, also referred to as hypocretin, is a peptide produced in the hypothalamus that regulates many physiological and behavioral processes, including sleep, wakefulness, metabolism, thermoregulation, and reward (Chieffi et al., 2017). The multiple mechanisms of orexin stem from the neural circuit or nucleus where it is synthesized…
-
Myokine Expression in a Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Cell Culture Model
By Abigail Vorsteg Faculty mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic disease characterized by muscle weakening and wasting. DM1 is the most commonly diagnosed adult-onset muscular dystrophy, and skeletal muscle wasting is responsible for 60% of DM1 related mortality, although the mechanism responsible for the DM1 skeletal muscle wasting phenotype…
-
Antibiotic Sensitivity Assay using Bacillus Strain Resistant Phages
By Arianna Chase, Jay Boudreau Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria responsible for the serious infectious disease anthrax, can easily become antibiotic resistant. As inhalation anthrax has only a 55% survival rate with aggressive treatment, new ways of treating the disease have been looked at, alongside the similar bacteria, but less deadly,…
-
Future in Phage Therapy Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
By Sandra Arias, Elizabeth Breckenridge, Bonnie Butter Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Background: The genus Bacillus is a medically importantgenus because several species cause diseaselike cereus and anthracis, that involves several specieswithin it. We chose B. thuringiensis, a nonpathogenic species of Bacillus, as our host as it isvery abundant in the environment and therefore it…
-
Evidence of Metabolic Differences in Sedentary and Migratory Canada Geese
By Madelyn Lichter Faculty mentor: Dr. Andrew Dolby Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) exhibit partial migration, where some populations migrate seasonally, and others do not. In other partially migrant species, migrants and residents exhibit differences in a variety of physiological functions, including short- and long-term stress responses. Triglyceride concentration and heat shock protein 90ɑ (HSP90ɑ) are…
-
The Importance of Rhodophyta Gracilaria Both Past and Present
by Abhishiek Arora Faculty mentor: Dr. April Wynn Abstract Rhodophyta Gracilaria is a genus of Rhodophyta, red algae, found throughout the world and has played a variety of roles throughout the years. Gracilaria has previously been used medically in India and China for the treatment of dysentery and respiratory disease while in Malaysia as a…
-
Building CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for assessment of apoptosis in Kinetoplastid parasites
By Hannah Lee & Faith St. Clair Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Kinetoplastids are a group of pathogenic, unicellular parasites that can cause fatal diseases in humans, such as Leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness, most prominent in tropical and developing parts of the world. Although some treatment methods are available for parasitic infections, they are often…
-
How respirator face masks interrupt learning comprehension in college age students
By Anoli Mehta Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the mask mandates that came with it have affected college students by creating physical and mental barriers to communication. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced impediments to communication including compulsory use of respirator face masks by professors and students, social…
-
Effects of Voluntary Exercise on Sociability, Prefrontal and Hippocampal BDNF levels, and Corticosterone levels
By Skye Curry, Julian Burke, Allison Nork, Dezi Logan Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters Sociability is an individual’s tendency to seek out social interactions, engage in interpersonal relationships, and participate in social events. Many factors can attribute to an individual’s social relations, including anxiety and exercise. Exercise has been known to decrease anxiety, which in…
-
A Potential Driving Force of Social Dominance in Mice: Wheel Running on BDNF and Orexin
By Jane Sullivan, Kristin Haes Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters Physical exercise has profound effects on both the brain and behavior, including decreased anxiety and depression, and the regulation of multiple hypothalamic peptides. This study explores the effects that physical exercise may have on social dominance in mice, which is determined by many of the…
-
Phenotypic efficacy of genetic drivers to promote myotonic dystrophy type 1 in Drosophila melanogaster
By Victoria Ashton and Madeline Brunt Faculty mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a disease that affects organisms by causing severe weakening and wasting of muscles. The disease is caused by an increased number of trinucleotide CTG repeats in the DMPK gene, where a larger number of repeats causes more severe…
-
Endothelial Tube Maintenance in a HUVEC cell Model for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
By Grace Holcomb and Jada Gundy Faculty mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multi-systemic condition that results in severe muscle weakening and wasting. DM1 is caused by an expanded region of CTG repeats in the 3’ untranslated end of the DMPK gene. Muscles require vasculature to supply nutrients and oxygen…
-
Localization of Transgenes for Drosophila Models of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
By Andrea Waltrip and Noah Smith Faculty mentor: Dr. Ginny Morriss Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, DM1, is a multi-systemic disorder that results from expansion of CTG repeats in the DMPK gene in humans. Drosophila melanogaster has been established as a model organism for the study DM1, by the construct of multiple transgenic DM1 lines containing different numbers of CTG…
-
Influence of Nutrient Contamination on Macroinvertebrate Communities in Two Tidal Freshwater Creeks
By Mika Bishton and Molly Curling Faculty mentor: Dr. Abbie Tomba Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most biodiverse on the planet, but they are threatened due to human actions resulting in habitat loss, pollution, and nutrient runoff. Macroinvertebrates can be used to measure the health of a freshwater system because different taxa have different…
-
Genomic Similarity to Predict Infection in Bacillus Phages
By Kayla Botto Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lynn Lewis Bacteriophages, also called phages, are viruses that only infect bacteria. Phages are used in phage therapy, which is a new treatment for bacterial infections and hopes to be the solution to antibiotic resistance. Each bacterium has a unique set of phages that can infect it and finding…
-
“Effects of High Sugar and High Fat Diets on BDNF in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex on Working Memory in Mice.”
By Mariana Haugh, Olivia Casey, Ayana Jefferson, Rogelio Santiago Faculty mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters 10:00-10:50am, HCC 329 The western diet has led to extremely high rates of obesity and diabetes, which in addition to their metabolic effects, also have cognitive symptoms. To explore the effects of high sugar and high fat diets on behavior and…
-
Effects of Voluntary Aerobic Exercise on BDNF in CD-1 Mice Hippocampi and Memory
By Jessica Mimms, Raquel Novoa-Litchford, Emma Friedrich, Amani Guillaume Faculty Mentor: Dr. Parrish Waters 10:00-10:50am, HCC 329 Physical exercise increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a molecule important for synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. This compelled us to examine how aerobic exercise may influence BDNF in the hippocampus and amygdala. We found that aerobically exercised…
-
Efficacy of Puregreen24 Against the Newcastle Disease Virus
By Jacob Kautzman Faculty advisor: Lynn Lewis 2:00-2:50pm HCC 328 The Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) is a virulent virus that primarily affects Avian species and is a problem for poultry farms. Infections can be reduced by consistent vaccination and disinfection practices, but many vaccines are rendered ineffective due to virus mutation, and commercial disinfectants are…
