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April2019

Dear IMSA Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends: Welcome to IMSAloquium 2019! This is IMSA’s 32nd year of leading in educational innovation, the 31st year of the IMSA Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) Program, and the first year of the newly imagined IMSA Internship Program. The IMSA Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) program connects students with on-campus or off-campus professional researchers. The goal of the SIR program is to provide opportunities for students carry out scientific research investigation under the guidance of professional researchers in their field. The IMSA Internship program connects students with on-campus or off-campus professional business, technology and/or entrepreneurial mentors. The goal of the IMSA Internship program is to provide opportunities for students to carry out industry, business or product focused investigation under the guidance of professional mentors in their industry. Within this booklet, you will find a collection of abstracts from outstanding student projects from both programs. Project topics range from molecular biology and cancer research to particle physics, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Competitive Data Research, and Mobile App Development and many other interesting and important topics. Our students have worked long and rewarding hours on their projects, some working individually, some working in groups to examine, explore and discover the fields of inquiry of interest to their project areas. Many of our students have worked with mentors off campus at leading universities, research laboratories, and in-company in Chicago. Other students have worked with IMSA faculty on campus. The SIR and Internship teams would very much like to thank all of the research and business mentors for their excellent work with our students. The IMSA SIR and Internship programs could not and would not exist were it not for the efforts of all the mentors collaborating, advising and working alongside our students. This year, IMSAloquium is broken down into three sessions. Session I and II projects offer a mix of projects that are either in the preliminary or intermediate stages of development. Session III projects are exemplary work that reveals thorough outcomes and contributions to their field. In addition to thanking the research and business mentors, we would like to thank all IMSA faculty and staff who helped support the running of our programs and in the coordination of hosting this year’s IMSAloquium. We hope you enjoy your day! Sincerely,

IMSA SIR Program Team IMSA Internship Program Team

Cathleen Cunz Dave DeVol, Ph.D. Don Dosch, Ph.D. Eric Smith, Ph.D.

Sue Fricano Jim Gerry, MSc. Betty Hart, MA. Kelly Page, Ph.D.

IMSA President IMSA Principal

José M. Torres, Ph.D. Robert Hernandez, Ph.D.

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Table of Contents

EventSchedule.............................................................................................................................................4

Keynote.......................................................................................................................................................5

PresentationTitleReferenceList............................................................................................................6-15

SessionIPresentations.........................................................................................................................16-44

SessionIIPresentations........................................................................................................................45-73

SessionIIIPresentations........................................................................................................................74-84

StudentReferenceList.........................................................................................................................85-90

InternshipMentors....................................................................................................................................91

SIRMentors...........................................................................................................................................92-93

BuildingMap.............................................................................................................................................94

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Event Schedule Registration . . 8:00a.m. – 8:45a.m. . Front Entrance Keynote . . . . . . . . 9:00a.m. – 9:40a.m. . Auditorium Project Presentations (10 min. + 5 min. Q & A)

Session I . . 9:45a.m. – 10:40a.m. . A-B Wing Classrooms, IN2 9:45a.m. - 10:00a.m. 10:05a.m. - 10:20a.m. 10:25a.m. - 10:40a.m.

Session I I . 10:45a.m. – 11:40a.m. A-B Wing Classrooms, IN2

10:45a.m. - 11:00a.m. 11:05a.m. - 11:20a.m. 11:25a.m. - 11:40a.m.

Lunch . . . . . . . . . . . 11:45a.m. – 12:45p.m. West Gym Poster Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12:50p.m. – 1:30p.m. Main Gym Project Presentations (20 min. + 5 min. Q & A)

Session I I I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:40p.m – 2:35p.m. Ac Pit / B206-Lecture Hal l / C200-Library / Café / Math Study / IN2

1:40p.m. - 2:05p.m. 2:10p.m. - 2:35p.m.

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Keynote SilviaAlvarez-ClareTreeConservationEcologist,CenterforTreeScienceAcademicMentorsalvarezclare@mortonarb.org

PhD,InterdisciplinaryEcology,UniversityofFlorida,GainesvilleMS,Botany,UniversityofFlorida,GainesvilleBS,Biology,UniversidaddeCostaRica,SanJosé,CostaRica

ResearchInterests

Dr.Alvarez-Clare’sresearchfocusesonunderstandingthelinksbetweenthecarbonandnutrientcyclesandhowresourceavailabilitycaninfluencebiologicalprocesses,plantfunctionaltraits,andbiodiversitypreservation.Asanecosystemecologistwithabackgroundintreeecophysiologyandbiogeochemistry,shecombineslong-termmonitoring,manipulativeexperiments,andinnovativeanalyticaltechniquestoexaminepatterns,processes,andmechanismsthatwilladvanceourunderstandingofhowchangesintheresourcesrequiredbytreeswillaffectplant-soil-microbialfeedbacks.MostofherworkhasbeenconductedintropicalforestsbutastheCenterforTreeScienceAcademicMentor,Dr.Alvarez-ClarehastheopportunitytoactivelyworkwithCTSUndergraduateResearchFellowsandotherstudentsinvolvedwithCTSandlearnabouttemperateecosystemsbothinanaturalandurbancontext.

Accomplishments

InadditiontobeingtheacademicmentorforundergraduateresearchattheCenterforTreeScience,SilviaAlvarez-ClareisaguestresearcheratArgonneNationalLaboratory.HerresearchintropicalecosystemsecologyhasbeenfundedbyTheNationalScienceFoundation’sDoctoralDissertationEnhancementGrant(DDEG)andPostdoctoralResearchFellowshipinBiology(PRFB),andherworkpublishedintoptierjournalssuchasEcologyLettersandEcology.Alvarez-Clareistheco-leaderofalocalgroupthatsupportsWomeninScienceandispartoftheTreeBoardforNorthCentralCollege.

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PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionI–9:45a.m.

NeuroplasticityTraining:Whatisit,andDoesitWork?CharlotteGravesandIshanpepeJagusah

A113

CalculatingtheKeplerDetectionEfficiency--ADataAnalysisoftheKeplerMainMissionAaronCalhoun,ManikandanNagarathnam,TylerPtakandIanSon

A115

CausalRelationshipsin21stCenturyChicagoGentrificationVincentMcKibbenandAlexandraSobczynski

A117

ExploringthePotentialofCucurbiturilsasHostCompoundsinHost-GuestComplexesHannahDaggett,EthanHudelson,AlliaLinandAndrewTatum

A119

AIFandCellDeathPathwayInteractionsinViralInfectionsBenHelmold,JaimieRyouandAnthonyUn

A123

MultispectralImagingandUnmannedAerialVehiclesKlaybisAsllani,MarcusLudwigandAlexDomowicz

A147

TheEfficacyofInducedvs.ArtificialBacteriophageLambdaontheE.coliK12StrainSurajSunkaraandRyanTalusan

A149

The'-ism'ofSelf-Worth:AnalyzingAfrofuturismZoeMitchell

A151

CrystalStructuresofLargeVolumeCommercialPharmaceuticalsShivangBhaskar,DianaGonzalez,JerryHongandNilanPatel

A155

ExtractingSoilCoresandUsingGeophysicalMethodstoDeterminetheGeologyofIMSA’sCampusMeghanHendrix,RachelMoreno,EthanPhillipsandGraceSleyko

B108

GIGANTIC:GalacticInterpretiveGANstoIdentifyCuriositiesWonJunPark,TejoVelagapudiandRoshanThekiniath

B110

LightweightReductionUnitEuniceYoon

B115

AStudyonHypoxishemerocallideaElizaApavaloaieiandRachelMason

B116

TNF:TheKeytoPreventingType1DiabetesPeterBaffoeandBopoadeTaiwo

B125

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Cloning,Expressing,andPurifyingtheIsoCitrateLyase-1EnzymeinMycobacteriumtuberculosisShikhaAdhikari,PouraviBanerjeeandElizavetaKuzmina

B133

DealerFoxAppDevelopmentZoeBertholdLEAPInnovations:LeapingIntoBetterEducationAnnLampteyTheFaceofIMSAEntrepreneurshipforTomorrow’sRockstarsNatalieSanchez

In2

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionI–10:05a.m.

SelectiveBreedingforFlowerColorUsingPigmentAnalysisMaraAdamsandMaxineAlexandre-Strong

A113

RoleofplasmacytoiddendriticcellsinpersistentinflammationaftereradicationofhepatitisCvirusEricErrampalli

A115

UsingRemoteSensingtoMeasureImpactofBisononRestoredPrairiesPatrickLi

A117

MarkingartifactsinimagesusingmachinelearningMichelleWang

A119

TargetingtheMLL1geneasaformofcancertreatmentforMLL1-RearrangedLeukemiaShvetaliThatte

A123

CreatinganEfficientandUsefulNtupleforAnalyzingDileptonDataforContactInteractionsandLargeExtraDimensionsEvanBlad,MattHokinson,RustomIchhaporiaandHarrySmith

A147

GenerationandValidationofMonteCarloDileptonEventsforLargeExtraDimensionsAyushAgarwal,ChetanReddyandGraceYue

A149

TheEffectofPitchUsageontheWhiffRatesofMajorLeagueBaseballPitchersAustinShwatal

A151

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DevelopingeffectivehighschoolpedagogyformachinelearningEdenGorevoyandAshleyTin

A155

ChemoresistantOvarianCancerCellsWinnyLiuCarborane-AppendedAdenineasaNovelDrugDeliveryAgentinBoronNeutronCaptureTherapyMingyangLi

B108

SearchingforPrimordialBlackHoleswithMachineLearningMehrKaurCharacterizationofthergg499locusinLactobacillusacidophilusDanielSoto

B110

Peri-ImplantOsteolysisEffectsonLocalandRemoteTissuesMeghanaKaran

B115

DiscoveryofAntimicrobialsfromSoilSamplesLaurenPickett,KaterinaRomanovandGowriWarikoo

B125

ComputerAidedDrugDesignforMycobacteriumtuberculosisAlyssaDanielsandRebeccaEllington

B133

UgliestWebsiteContestTrinityCoatesGuideStudentstoBecomeStarsAbigailLightVisMed3D-InternshipExperienceGraceWulfratt

In2

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PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionI–10:25a.m.

ATree’sLifeinitsNeighborhoodAlanaDepaz

A113

PresenceofNa/KATPasea3intheGanglionCellLayerofInOvoAvianRetinaAllenChenandFarisShaikh

A115

EffectofObesityontheWoundHealingProcessPratibhaBhallaandTanmayeeVegesna

A117

TensileStrengthofNiobium-TinFilmKaleighO'Brien

A119

TheRelationshipbetweenAirQualityandHealthOutcomesMokshShahandBharathSreenivas

A123

ImprovingCMSContactInteractionLimitsusingBayesianStatisticsNikitaElkin,KaushalGumpulaandTimothyMou

A147

ParametrizationoftheCompositenessEnergyScaleinInvariantMassDistributionsMichaelMcKelvie,JayReiterandAnishaSharma

A149

AnalyzingattheRoleofMrgpra3neuronsthroughMrdgprd3+neuronsinthepathogenesisofPainfulDiabeticNeuropathySidharthaPanda

A151

ModulationofunfoldedproteinresponsetoendoplasmicreticulumstresscausesapotentantiviralresponseinHSVinfectioncornealepithelialcellsAkashGandhi

A155

DoesthePhospho-stateofAZI1’sProline-RichRegionAffectItsLocalizationtoChloroplasts?IshanNikamMachineLearninginAutonomousDrivingSimulatedthroughDuckietownPlatformAjayJayaraman

B108

Salensy:UsingRISEtoCreateSaliencyMapsofStrongGravitationalLensingImagesMaxKnutsonandKaraWarcup

B110

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ThegeneticbasisofbonedensityanditsapplicationtoosteoporosistreatmentSabrinaMeng

B115

PathogenicResistanceinSoilMicrobesSaachiDalvi,MaahumHamayatandNehaMaddali

B133

CourseStarsMarketingInternMatthewHallimanPilotNetworkCohort3InternalTechnicalReportNathanLeeEnovationPartnersBrennanShapiro

In2

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionII–10:45a.m.

ExploringtheRoleofFertilizationontheFoliarNutrientConcentrationsofaTropicalRainforestAmayraniSanchezandMaryAshleyTenedor

A113

StudyofKidneyDilationinaRatBladderAugmentationModelMilicaBaracandSoniaEdassery

A115

EarlyBiomarkersofAlzheimer’sDiseaseVaishnaviTetali

A117

A3DHallProbeCalibrationMicahMcBrideandAlexZhong

A119

ApoptoticGeneResponsetoNitricOxideExposureinHumanCarcinoma(A549)CellsSamiraCheruku

A121

ApoptoticGeneResponsetoNitricOxideExposureinHumanCarcinoma(A549)CellsRohanUpadhyay

A123

UsingMonteCarlotoEstimateSystematicUncertaintiesEmilyGonda,AkshayaRaghavanandEmilySpringer

A147

AnalysisoftheCollins-SoperAngleinContactInteractionandLargeExtraDimensionMonteCarloDataSamplesAyanMallik,RebeccaOsarandJohnWoods

A149

Optimizationofp65andGFPAntibodiesinImmunofluorescencetoStudy A151

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NFkBSignalingMaryamMufti

StriatalProjectionofdSPNstoGPePathwayinRelationtoParkinson’sdiseaseSaivasudhaChalasani

A155

IdentifyingeffectsofstressonRNAeditinginaratbrainmodelofPTSDKrishnachandraNairEffectsofERGGeneKnockdowninLungCancerCellsonEndotheliumPermeabilityJannaJann

B108

EngineeringacelGMutationinVibriofischeriBacteriaanditsEffectsonCellobioseMetabolismandCellobiose-InducedGeneExpressionNicoleWolff

B115

DrugDiscoveryMeganLeeandSarahYow

B116

TheEffectivenessofaCulturalCompetencyCurriculumTaughttoMiddleSchoolStudentsGraceFedericiandAabhaVyas

B125

AntibacterialPropertiesoftheExtractofAbelmoschusesculentusBhavyaJasthi

B133

TechnicalDevelopmentatAutoPair,Inc:WhatUniversityCan’tTeachIsaiahCrewsDealerFox:AnInternshipExperienceAndrewLennoxProgramminganddataanalysisinastartupLucasMilavecRaisingtheCancerIQofYouthVidhiSinghVisMed3D/Symptomatic:AnInternshipExperienceDoreenXiaoLEAPInnovations:AnInternshipExperienceMicahCasey-FuscoSoloiOSDevelopmentatInterpreterTapIanFowler

In2Sessionlastsuntil11:55

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SocialMediaMarketingwithCleancioAshleyHomecgoyImprovingtheWorldOneFactataTimeMaxwellCarter

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionII–11:05a.m.

CreatingaParticlePhysicsSimulationusingAIAryanVaidyaCombinedSpectroscopic-PhotometricFollow-upObservationsofDESStellarStreamsEthanTse

A113

CombinedSpectroscopic-PhotometricFollow-upObservationsofDESStellarStreamsSydneyWangandAthenaZheng

A115

UsingaGuidedUserInterfaceandAutomatedRobottoImageCaenorhabditiselegansChrisTeng

A117

MappingtheRoleoftheNotch4ReceptorinAngiogenesisKrishnaThakkarDiscoveryofpotentPDE4inhibitorsIshaniTarafdar

A119

TheEffectsofTcellPD-1/PD-L1Cis-BindingonTcell-APCInteractionsYatriSutariaEngineeringpHdependentcamelidantibodieswithasparticacidandglutamicacidDanaStanecki

A123

AnalysisofNegative-WeightEventsinMonteCarloGenerationwithNext-To-Leading-OrderPartonDistributionFunctionsMadisonHahamy,DanielLeeandRylieMeek

A147

Feldman-CousinsAnalysisatCMSGrantDexterandMichaelVayninger

A149

MachinelearningforASLtranslationJacobLevineandArthurLu

A151

HonokiolandCisplatinImpactonOtotoxicityfromChemotherapy A155

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ZahraVasiUsingMolecularDynamicsSimulationstoInvestigateHIV-1ProteaseElizabethMurphySimulatingBehaviorsofPOMDPsJayDong

B108

ResearchintoAntimicrobialSoilAlexandraGonzalez,DavidRevillaandJolinZheng

B116

TheEffectsoftheNdc80ComplexontheKinetochoreAttachmenttoMicrotubulesKaterineSi

B125

Cloning,Expression,&PurificationofthePlasmodiumFalciparumhypoxanthineguaninexanthinephosphoribosyltransferasetouseinDrugBindingStudiesFaithGeorge,TrishaSudhakarandAryanWalia

B133

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionII–11:25a.m.

ExploringNucleolarImpactonKeratinocyteDifferentiationKurtLeanoandAaronRodrigues

A113

TheRoleofDONsinRegulatingBoneTumorFormationfromMesenchymalStemCellsAlisonDengandScottDu

A115

InfluenceofGender,TimeandIntensityonRatingofPleasantnessofFoodOdorsSaisuprithaTalasu

A117

Applicationsofmachinelearninginglioblastomadiagnosis,classification,treatment,andprognosisAndrewDuandMatthewLee

A119

ComparingNetworkSamplingMethodsAlecChenCreatinganAlgorithmtoTransformDataHierarchiesBasedonNewInformationVibhavAdivi

A121

MeasuringtheResponseofNevomelanocytestoMBEH,4-TBP,and8- A123

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DPATNikhileshGuptaDevelopingaMultivariableArtificialPancreasforVariousExerciseTypesandIntensitiesBalaRamaraju

CalculatingMultichannelBayesianLimitsUsingaMarkovChainMonteCarloCalculatorThalierLietz,LillyPanandVinayTummarakota

A147

CalculatingMultichannelBayesianLimitsUsingaMarkovChainMonteCarloCalculatorTyroneWhitmore-Wilson

A149

TheEffectofMyoelectricComputerInterfaceTrainingonArmKinematicsandFunctionafterStrokeIshaarGanesanandTorinKovach

A151

ImprovingCardiovascularDiseaseCareamongLiverTransplantRecipientsAneeshMagantiTestingChlorideContentandPenetrationCapabilitywithinConcreteMohamadHasanAlmousawi

A155

TheRelationshipbetweenAirQualityandHealthOutcomesBreannaYang

B125

InhibitingtheHGXPRTEnzymeinPlasmodiumfalciparumtoPreventMalariaChrisBridgesandVincentPergrossi

B133

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionIII–1:40p.m.

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ANovelClassificationMethodofHybridProtonPBSPlansusingDVHbasedMetricsLouiseLimaandAliceLiu

In2

DNAMethylationinAutophagy-associatedGenesandRiskofProstateCancerJimmyRen

LectureHall

AnatomicaltradeoffsinxylemcharacteristicsimpactoakwaterusestrategiesJessicaOros

AcPit

LossofEphA2inhibitsGATA-3transcriptionalfunctionleadingtoaterminaldifferentiationdefectMichelleSiaandAmitSomalwar

Cafeteria

ClassifyingVariableStarswithGaiaColor-MagnitudeDiagramsXanderHall

MathStudy

DiscoveryofEGFRusingErlotinibprototypefortheTreatmentofLungandOtherCancersJodieMeng

IRC

PresentationTitleReferenceList|SessionIII–2:10p.m.

CellSpecificPallidalControlofCorticalStriatalInputShubhaVerma

In2

ThePathologicalInteractionBetweenAlzheimer’sDiseaseandOsteoporosisin5xFADShrutiShakthivel

LectureHall

CRISPRknockoutoftheDUBOTUD6BinlungcancercellsMiriamFranks,SuhithaIrukullaandNayonikaRoy

AcPit

DiagnosticImagingandTherapyofAmyloidBetaOligomersNafayAbdulandSophiaPribus

Cafeteria

ClassifyingGeneralizedSymmetricSpacesforUnipotentandSemisimpleElementsinSO(3,p)HansonHaoandJakeSutter

MathStudy

UsingInitialStateRadiation(ISR)JetsforSUSYSearchBertCaoandEmilySallenback

IRC

Session I 9:45a.m. – 10:00a.m.

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Room:IN2|BusinessInternshipPanel19:45a.m.–10:00a.m.DealerFoxAppDevelopmentPresenter:ZoeBertholdMentors:DanTrinidad,DealerFoxAbstract/Projectintention:DealerFoxisastart-upthatprovidesdatavisualizationforadvertisementsofcardealershipsonlinetohelpincreaseefficiencyofsales.Thebusinessprojectwastocreateamobileapplicationtodisplaycardealerships’individualdata.Thefinaluseofthisappwastodistributetoindividualdealerships,whowouldseetheirdataonacompany-giveniPad.ThedeliverableswereSwiftdevelopmentforiOSapplicationsanddatabasedevelopment.OtherlaterdeliverablesincludedGoogleAuthenticationandgraphicdesigntoincreasevisualaestheticoftheapp.Documentationwasalsousedtoclarifyprogrammingtechniquesandassistotherswithaddinguserstothedatabase.TheimpactwasanapplicationwhichcanbeusedinthefuturefordealershipstologinwithGoogleandseetheiradvertisingdataspecifictothem.AsDealerFoxacquiresnewclientsinthefuture,thereareinstructionsonhowtoaddtheuserstothedatabaseandinstructionsforusersontheapp.LEAPInnovations:LeapingIntoBetterEducationPresenter:AnnLampteyMentor:SusanLiu,EdtechProgramsManager,LEAPInnovationsAbstract/Projectintention:LEAPInnovationsisanonforprofitaimedatpromotingeducationintheChicagoPublicSchoolsdistrict.Theydothisbyteachingtheirpersonalizedlearningframeworktoteachersinschoolswhohavejoinedtheprogram.TheyalsofacilitatethecooperationofschoolswithEdtechssuchasBrainPOPandRenaissance.WhileresearchingthemodesofcommunicationthathappeninsidetheLEAPofficeandthecommunicationsthathappeninbetweenLEAPInnovationsandtheEdtechs.Duringthistime,theEdtechsideofLEAPInnovationprocesswascontributedto.DuringtheinternshipprocessteachershadtocometotheLEAPofficesforteacherdevelopment.SomeofthematerialsusedtoteachtheteachersandbyassociationtheschoolsaboutthedifferentEdtechsthattheycouldworkwithweremade.ThereweremanyPowerPointdecksandgooglesheetsspreadsheetsmadeoraddedtohelpwithupcomingcheckinsandreportsaboutwhatwashappeningatcertaintimesduringtheprogram.InallthewholeprocessofcurationonthefrontendofthecurationprocesswiththeteachersandtheschoolsandthebackendwiththeoperationsthatgooninLEAPInnovation.ThisisalsocontributedtotheUNSustainableGoalofqualityeducation.TheFaceofIMSAEntrepreneurshipforTomorrow’sRockstarsPresenter:NatalieSanchez

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Mentor:Dr.KellyPage,IMSAIN2Abstract/Projectintention:TheIMSAEntrepreneurshipProgramattheSteveandJaimeChenCenterofInnovationandInquiry.Thebusinessphenomenaforthisprojectincludedexaminingthemarketforentrepreneurshiplearningandprogramsforyouth(grades7-12)locally(KaneCounty),acrossthestate(IL),andnationally(USA)andwellasdevelopourmarketknowledge,understanding,andproviderecommendationsonhowtodevelopIMSA’sEntrepreneurshipProgramforfutureIMSAyouth(Sophomores,Juniors,andSeniors).Privately-owneduniversitieshavetochargesomuchfortheiryouthentrepreneurialprogramsduetolackofstatefunding.Acommonproduct-offeringamongstmanyyouthentrepreneurialprogramsissomeformofcollegiatecreditorrecognition.ThisIMSAEntrepreneurshipprogramisyouth-led,whichisaveryuniquetraitofourdeliverablesanditisetsusapartfromotherprogramsinternationally.RelatednationalprogramsresearchedincludeUnchartedLearning,TheNewBohemianInnovationCollaborative,YoungEntrepreneurLearningLabs,UniversityofDelawareHornEntrepreneurshipandJuniorAchievement.Appliedskillsincludemarketresearchandanalysis,dataanalysis,professionalcommunication.Theconclusionofthisprojectwillofferprograminsightandproduceafinalcompetitoranalysisnationalentrepreneurialprogramcompetitors.Room:A1139:45a.m.–10:00a.m.NeuroplasticityTraining:Whatisit,andDoesitWork?Presenters:CharlotteGraves,IshanpepeJagusahMentor:Dr.AdrienneColeman,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Severalexistingprogramsclaimtoimprovecognitivefunctionthroughtrainingthatexercisesdifferentpartsofthebrain.Lumosity,MyBrainTrainer,andBraingleareallonlineprogramswithexercisesthattestmemory,reflexes,andotherfunctionswiththegoalofmakingthemfasterandmoreaccurate.However,somebelievethatbecausetheseprogramsrelyonacomputerscreen,theireffectivenessislimitedduetothelackofinvolvementfromsensesbesidessight.1Therefore,aprogramthatengagesmoreofthesensesshouldbemoreeffective.Mr.JohnKennedyofCombatBrainTraininginventedabraintrainingexercisethatutilizesphysicalelementstoinvolvethebodyandimproveexecutivefunction,whichisasetofhigh-orderbrainfunctionsincludingfocus,memory,andemotionregulation.Hisprogramdiffersfrommanyavailableinthatitdoesnotuseacomputerorscreenandconsistsentirelyofasinglesheetofpaperandinteractionwithaninstructor.Thisstudyseekstotestifthisprogramiseffectiveinimprovingexecutivefunctionasdemonstratedbyastandardizedexecutivefunctionselfevaluation.Subjectsevaluatedtheirownmentalfitness,thenparticipatedinsixweeklyfifteenminutesessionsofbraintraining,thentakeaposttest.Room:A1159:45a.m.–10:00a.m.

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CalculatingtheKeplerDetectionEfficiency--ADataAnalysisoftheKeplerMainMissionPresenters:IanSon,ManiNagarathnam,AaronCalhoun,TylerPtakMentor:Dr.EricHawker,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Themainfocusofthisstudyistoroughlyestimatethenumberofearth-sizedhabitableplanetswithintheMilkyWaygalaxy.Alongwiththis,wewilldeterminethedetectionefficiencyoftheKeplerspacetelescope.Wealreadyknowthenumberofearth-sizedplanetsthatweredetectedbyKepler.However,theKeplertelescope’sinstrumentsarenotperfectlyprecise,andinordertomeasureitsefficiency,wewillputinthedataofafakeplanetintotheKepler’sstarluminosityfilesandseeifitstransitgapisdetectable.WewillanalyzetheKeplerluminositydatabyeitherlookingatthevisualizedgraphs,orputtingitthroughamachinelearningalgorithm.Usingtheanalyseddata,wecandeterminetheactualnumberofpotentialearth-likehabitableplanetsintheMilkyWay,includingthosewhichwerenotdetectedbyKepler.Wewilllookatvariouscharacteristicsofplanetstodeterminetheirhabitability:luminosityoftheparentstar(s),planetradius,orbitalradius,andorbitalinclination.Fromtheplanetradiuswecanestimatethemassanddensityoftheplanet,whichwillalsohelpusdetermineitshabitability.Thesecalculationswillcreateanaccurateestimateofthenumberofpotentialearth-likehabitableplanetswithintheMilkyWaygalaxy.

Room:A1179:45a.m.–10:00a.m.CausalRelationshipsin21stCenturyChicagoGentrificationPresenters:AlexSobczynskiandVincentMcKibbenMentor:PatrickKearney,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Sincethemid-1990s,gentrificationhasbeenapopularareaofsociologicalstudy,typicallyindiscussionoftheimmediateanddelayedeffectsofgentrification.Thereisageneralconsensusamongprofessionalsthatgentrificationisanaturaleconomicoccurrencemotivatedbylowpropertyvalueindesirableareasandasurplusofcapitalfrominvestors.However,independentofgovernmentalsubsidiesandtaxincentives,wewantedtofindhowdevelopersspecificallypickfromthevarietyofneighborhoodsavailabletothem.Enteringintoouranalyses,wehypothesizedthatdevelopersinChicagopreferlowpropertyvalue,closerproximitytotheloop(Chicagocitycenter),lowercrimerates,andbuildingsbuiltbefore1940.Thus,wehavemeasuredthecausesofgentrificationinChicagooveraneight-yearperiodonacensustractleveldefininggentrificationasanincreaseinmedianpercentincomeattributedtohousingandweighingthehypothesizedfactors.

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Room:A1199:45a.m.–10:00a.m.Title:ExploringthePotentialofCucurbiturilsasHostCompoundsinHost-GuestComplexesPresenters:HannahDaggett,EthanHudelson,AlliaLin,AndrewTatumMentors:Dr.LauraKopff,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Cucurbiturils(CB[n])aremacrocycliccompoundsmadefromglycolurilmonomers.Theyhavethepotentialtoactashostmoleculesintheformationofhost-guestcomplexeswithanarrayofsubstrates,includingaminoacids,hydrocarbons,andhalogenatedaromaticcompounds.Cucurbit[6]uril(CB[6])andCucurbit[7]uril(CB[7])weresynthesizedandcharacterized.Theirabilitytoactashostcomplexeswithbothcoumarin-1dyeandbiphenylwasexploredusingUV-visspectroscopy.WesynthesizedCB[6]andCB[7]compoundsandmadeninesolutionstofigureoutwhencombinedhowtheabsorbancepeaksmightchange.ThreesolutionsmadeofCoumarin1dyeandHCl,anotherthreesolutionsweremadeofCyclodextrinandHCl,andthefinalthreesolutionsweremadefromBiphenylandmethanol.WecombinedBiphenylsolutionsandCyclodextrinsolutionsandtheCoumarin1dyesolutionswithCyclodextrinsolutions,andranabsorbancetests.FortheBiphenyltherewereconsistentpeaksat204,244,252,291,and346nm.Coumarin1dyeshowedpeakpatternscorrespondingtoeachmolarity.The20uMsolutionhadpeaksat244,291,327nm;inthe10and5uMsolutiontherewasapeakat260nm.Room:A1219:45a.m.–10:00a.m.TheEffectivenessofaCulturalCompetencyCurriculumTaughttoMiddleSchoolStudentsPresenters:GraceFedericiandAabhaVyasResearchMentors:Mr.DavidLundgrenandDr.SowmyaAnjur,IMSAAbstract:Theexperiencesthatoccurinthelivesofstudentsnearingadolescencegreatlyinfluencethewaytheychoosetoact.Therefore,acurriculumwasdevelopedformiddleschoolstudentsreachingtheageofadolescence,aimingtoeducateandinformthesestudentsonwhatitmeanstobeculturallycompetentandtheimportanceofaculturallycompetentsocietywhichtheyhavetheabilitytoinfluence.Becausebeingculturallycompetentissuchanimportantlifeskill,allowingforaunderstandingofone’sownviewoftheworld,thegoalistomakeitapartofeducationtodevelopbroaderknowledgeofcultureandhowtouseittomoreeffectivelycommunicateevenwhenexposedtoonlyanisolatedenvironmentlikeamiddleschool.Weconductedresearchtestingtheeffectivenessonthisnewlyconstructedcurriculumbycomparingtheresultsofasurveygiventotheparticipantsbeforeandafterbeingtaughtthecurriculum.Datacollectedfromthesesurveyswascomparedtoanalyzetheimpactofthecurriculum.

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Room:A1239:45a.m.–10:00a.m.AIFandCellDeathPathwayInteractionsinViralInfectionsPresenters:BenHelmold,JaimieRyouandTonyUnResearchMentor:Dr.Randall,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Theapoptosisinducingfactor(AIF)affectscelldeathfromanalternatepathwaythanusual.AIFisinvolvedinimportantpathwaysindiseasessuchasHIVandinearlychildhooddevelopmentproblems.AIFcontentincellscanbeseenbytheresistancethecellshavetoserumstarvationandothertypesofcelldeath.Wecanusethisasamarkerforinducedapoptosis,andrunplateswithvaryinglevelsofmedia,firstinacontrolwithnormalamountsofAIFpresentinahealthycell.TomeasurethechangesinAIF,weranthesameplateswiththecells,buthadplasmidsinsertedfordifferentproteinsorproteininhibitors.WeinhibitedVDACandupregulatedHeatshockprotein70,bothofwhichhavebeenpreviouslyshowntohaveeffectsonAIFlevelsinvirallyinfectedcells.CelldeathwasmonitoredwithanMTTassaytoshowtherelationshipbetweentheproteinsandchangeinAIFlevelswhichcouldexplainhowHIVandothervirusesmightbetargetingthepathways.Room:A1479:45a.m.–10:00a.m.MultispectralImagingandUnmannedAerialVehiclesPresenters:KlaybisAsllani,AlexanderDomowicz,andMarcusLudwigMentor:Dr.EricSmith,IMSAAbstract:Withrecenttechnologicaladvances,personalunmannedaerialvehiclesareacheapalternativeforflight.ThecombinationofUAVsandmultispectralsensorshavemanybenefitsfortheworld.Itcanbeusedforsearchandrescueoperationsorevenrevolutionizecalibratedphotogrammetry3Dmodeling.Theresearchourgroupfocusesonthebenefitsthiscombinationhasforagriculture.Adronecancarrythesensorstoanalyzeplotsoffarmland.Thedatareceivedgivesimportantinformationoncropstress,infestation,disease,nutrientdeficiencies.Italsoenablesfarmerstoactaccordinglyforasuccessfulharvest.OurprojectworksfortheMortonArboretumbecauseoftheirinterestinthisever-developingfieldofresearch.Usingacommerciallysolddrone,webuiltontoitsaccessoriesforthecameraandsensors.UtilizingArduino,wecantransmitandreceiveinformationwiththedrone.Wecancontrolthedrone’smovementandcameraangleaswell.Theadditionoftheantennaincreaseditsradiusofaction.Using3Dprinting,wedesignedandprintedreliableparts.Thisenhancementlowersthedrone’soverallweightandimprovesstabilityinflight.Stabilityisextremelyimportantforhigh-qualityphotosandaccuratedata.Inthefuture,wehopetousedifferentmaterialsandbuilduponourbase.

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Room:A1499:45a.m.–10:00a.m.TheEffectofInducedvs.ArtificialRecAonBacteriophageLambdafortheE.coliK12StrainPresenters:RyanTalusanandSurajSunkaraMentor:Dr.SowmyaAnjur,IllinoisMathandScienceAcademyAbstract:Theadventofantibiotic-resistantbacteriahaspromptedscientiststosearchforalternativestocombatinfections.Aleadingalternativetoantibioticsisbacterialviruses,orbacteriophages.Amajordrawbacktotheusageofbacteriophagesarethepotentialforthevirustoenterthelysogeniccycle.Bacteriophagesgothroughthelysogeniccyclewhenthereisalackofpotentialhoststoinfectcausingthemtoenteradormantstageandnotinfectotherbacterialcells.Thelyticcycle,whichismoreadvantageousforphagetherapy,happenswhenthevirusreplicatesitselfwithinthebacteriaeventuallylysingthecellandkillingthehost,releasingthenewlyreplicatedbacteriophages.Thisprocessoccurswhentherearereadilyavailablehosts.Thoughmostphageresearchershaveexploredthegeneticandmechanicalsideofthevirus,suchastheeffectsoftheRecAproteinandultravioletlightonthecyclethebacteriophagegoesthrough,veryfewhaveinvestigatedtheapplicationofthosestudiesonphagetherapy.WetakealookatwhetheritispossibletoinducebacteriophagestobemoreusableinphagetherapybyaddingRecAproteinandusingUVlightandseeingwhichmethodworksbetter.Room:A1519:45a.m.–10:00a.m.The'-ism'ofSelf-Worth:AnalyzingAfrofuturismPresenter:ZoeMitchellMentor(s):TraceyTownsend,IMSAAbstract:ThereareplentyofbooksthataremarketedasAfrofuturism,however,thedefinitionofthegenreisconstantlychanging.Inaddition,manyofthepapersindiscourseaboutwhatAfrofuturismisaredonebyacademicsfromoutsideofthecommunityofAfrofuturisticwriters.Thispaperasksthequestion:whataretheforcesthatdefineAfrofuturismforbothreadersandforauthors?AnsweringthisquestionrequirestheindepthreadingandanalysisofbothshortstoriesandnovelswrittenbybothBlackandNonBlackauthorswhoseworkshavebeenclassifiedintheafrofuturegenre.Then,commonthemesandartisticstylings,aswellasthecontextsurroundingeachwork,willinformhowthispaperdefinesthetermafrofuturismandhowandifitcanbeappliedineachpiece.

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Room:A1559:45a.m.–10:00a.m.CrystalStructuresofLargeVolumeCommercialPharmaceuticalsPresenter:ShivangBhaskar,DianaGonzalez,JerryHong,NilanV.PatelMentors:JosephT.Golab,IMSA,JamesA.Kaduk,NorthCentralCollegeAbstract:ThepurposeofthisprojectistodeterminethecrystalstructuresofcommercialpharmaceuticalsusingsynchrotronX-raypowderdiffractiondataandcomputationalchemistrytechniques.Currently,weareanalyzingfourmoleculeswithunpublishedstructuresusedtotreatcommonmaladies:tamsulosinhydrochloride(benignprostatichyperplasia),pantoprazolesodium(gastricrefluxdisease),ipratropiumbromide(COPDandasthma),anddoxepin(chronicdepression).Knowledgeofthecrystalstructurehelpsrationalizechemicalandbiologicalproperties,andalsofacilitatesqualitativeandquantitativephaseanalysis.WehavesolvedandrefinedthecrystalstructuresusingMonteCarlosimulatedannealing,Rietveldrefinement,anddensityfunctionaltheory(DFT)geometryoptimizations.Wewillpresentthestructuresanddiscusstheirintermolecularbondinginthesolidstate,particularlyhydrogenbonding.Byunderstandingthestructureofthesecompoundsandhowtheyinteractwiththemselves,wecanpredicthowtheymightinteractwithhumanbiologicalpathways,knowledgewhichisessentialinthecreationofnewpharmaceuticals.Room:B1089:45a.m.–10:00a.m.ExtractingSoilCoresandUsingGeophysicalMethodstoDeterminetheGeologyofIMSA’sCampusPresenters:MeghanHendrix,RachelMoreno,EthanPhillips,GraceSleykoMentors:Dr.MelissaLenczewski,Ph.D.,NorthernIllinoisUniversity,Mrs.O’Leary,IMSAAbstract:OurgoalwastoinvestigatethegeologicalmakeupofIMSA’scampusthroughdrillingnearNo-Pond.First,thesurficialgeologyoftheareawasexaminedusingpreviouslydrawnmapsofboththesurficialandsubterraneangeology.Fromthere,wewereabletodeterminetheidealdepthandlocationtodrill:25ftdeepandwestofNo-Pond.Subsequently,whenwewentouttodrillusingthegeoprobe,wesuccessfullyextractedasoilcorethatwethenextractedDNAfromtoanalyzethemicroorganismsinIMSA’ssoil.Asofnow,wehaveonlybegunthestageofrunningpolymerasechainreaction(PCR),andhavenotobtainedanydataoranalysisfromsaidtests.WealsoextractedwaterwithwhichweanalyzedtheeffectivenessofMicros20’s.Onourseconddrilldate,wehitbedrocksoonerthanexpected,henceinterruptingsubsequentdrillinguntilthegroundthawed.Duringwhichtime,usingthegeophysicalmethodsofrefractionandmagnetism,wedeterminedprobablecausefortheunexpecteddrillinginterruption.Thereislikelyasizablegravellayerbeforethelimestonebedrock.

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Room:B1109:45a.m.–10:00a.m.GIGANTIC:GalacticInterpretiveGANsToIdentifyCuriositiesPresenters:WonJunPark,RoshanThekiniath,andTejoVelagapudiMentors:Dr.BrianNordandDr.JoaoCaldeira,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:GANs—generativeadversarialnetworks—areneuralnetworksthatarecomposedoftwoparts,thegenerativenetworkandthediscriminativenetwork,whichcompetetogenerateimagesorotherformsofmedia.InGANs,thegenerativenetworkproducesimages,whilethediscriminativenetworkprovidestheprobabilitythattheimageisreal.Asthesenetworkscompeteagainsteachother,theyarebothlearningtobemuchbetterthannormalneuralnets,producinghigherqualityresults.OurprojectisspecificallyconcernedwithapplyingGANstostronggravitationallensing,aphenomenonoccurswhenthemassdensityofthelensisgreaterthancriticaldensity.Thegravitationalforceofthelenscancreatemultipleimages,arcs,andEinsteinrings.TrainingGANsonexistingdataofgravitationallensingcouldsimulatemoreexamplesoftheseimages.Theotheraspecttoourprojectisdeblendingalreadyexistingimagesoflensingtoreducesignalinterferenceandcreatemoreaccuratepictures.Asofnow,theworkonthenetworksisstillinearlystages,butoverthecourseofthenextyear,wehopetocompletefunctioningnets.Whentheneuralnetworksarecomplete,severaldiagnosticswillberunontheirefficiency,accuracy,andlossfunctiontodetermineiftheyareviableoptions.Room:B1159:45a.m.–10:00a.m.LightweightReductionUnitPresenter:EuniceYoonMentor:Dr.FrankHarwath,NorthCentralCollegeAbstract:Harmonicgears,whichconsistofafixedoutergearwithaflexibleinnergearthatrotatesaroundbyamotor,causingtheteethofthegearstocontact,canhavemanyfunctions,butmanyofthesefunctionscannotbedonebecausetheharmonicgearsaretooheavytouseforsmallermachinesandtooexpensiveforconsumerstoregularlyuse.Aninexpensiveandlightweightgearcouldcontributetobuildingaroboticactuator,whilekeepingthesamestructureandfunctionasaharmonicgear.Additionally,ifapartofthegearweretobreak,thewholeharmonicgearhastobereplacedwhilethisgearwouldhaveinterchangeableparts.IncollaborationwithHarmonicDriveCo.,researchiscurrentlyfocusedonfindingasuitablecontrolgearforsmallersizedrobotstocomparehowwellourgearworks.UsingSolidWorks,wehavemadethedesignforaninexpensive,lightweightgearandeventually3Dprintedourgear.Ourgearsworkedjustaswellastheharmonicgearinthesamesizeweusedasacontrol.WedecidedtotakethingsfurtherandbuildaprototypeofaSCARArobotarmwithtwoofthesegears.

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Room:B1169:45a.m.–10:00a.m.Title:AStudyonHypoxishemerocallideaPresenters:ElizaApavaloaieiandRachelMasonMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstract:Approximately80%oftheglobalpopulationstillreliesonmedicinalplants.Medicinalplantsareespeciallyprominentindevelopingcountriesandisolatedcommunities.Oneofthemostcommonplantsusedtotreatdiseasessuchastuberculosis,AIDS,andmanyotherillnesses,isHypoxisHemerocallidea(AfricanPotato).ApowderedsamplewasacquiredfromacompanyrootedinSouthAfricaandacapsulesamplewasacquiredfromacompanybasedinNewYork.AftertestingthesamplesforpuritywithNMRandTLCtests,thesamplesweredeterminedasbeingunpureandbothsampleswereextractedusingethylacetate.ThepurityofthesesampleswastestedusingTLCtests.ThepropertiesofbothsampleswerestudiedbytestingtheantimicrobialpropertiesagainstBacillussubtilis,Enterococcusraffinosus,Acinetobacterbaylyi,Pseudomonasputida,Pseudomonasfluorescens,andE.coli/DH5ausingtheKirby-Bauermethod.ThesetestsshowedthattheAfricanPotatowasveryeffectiveagainstAcinetobacterbaylyi.Room:B1259:45a.m.–10:00a.m.TNF:TheKeyToPreventingType1DiabetesPresenters:BopoTaiwo,PeterBaffoeMentor:JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstractInsulitisiscausedbyapathwayofinflammatorystepsleadpredominantlybyTumorNecrosisFactor(TNF),InterferonGamma(INF-y),andInterleukin1beta(IL-1b).WithinType1diabetes,aninflammatorydisease,thesesamecytokineshavebeenlinkedtotheprogressionofthisconditionbothwithintheimmunesystem,andatacellularlevel.IthasbeendeterminedthatbyneutralizingTNF,INF-y,andIL-1b,onecaninhibitthedevelopmentofType1diabetes.ByusingSeeSARtomodifysmall-moleculeinhibitorsfoundinPDB,twopotentialarchetypesofTNF-inhibitorshavebeenfound,bothofwhicharedrasticallysmallerthanthemonoclonalantibodycompetitorsonthemarket,indicatingpotentialforcost-effectivetreatmentofrheumatoidarthritisandinsulitis.

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Room:B1339:45a.m.–10:00a.m.Cloning,Expressing,andPurifyingtheIsoCitrateLyase-1EnzymeinMycobacteriumTuberculosisPresenters:ShikhaAdhikari,PouraviBanerjee,LizaKuzminaMentor:AngelaAhrendt,IMSAAbstract:Inthisstudy,wechosetotargettheIsocitrateLyase1(ICL-1)geneasapossibletargetforthetreatmentoftuberculosis.WetookthisapproachbecauseICL-1allowstheMycobacteriumtuberculosisbacteriatoskipsomeofthestepsintheKREBScycle,whichgivesittheabilitytosurviveinlow-oxygenenvironments.TheICL-1genefoundinM.tuberculosiswasamplifiedusingPCRtoprepareanexpressionsystemfortestingdrugstargetingtheICL-1protein.Inordertodothis,primersweredesignedtoclonethegeneandgiveitrestrictionsites,whichallowedustoinserttheICL-1geneinsertintoavector,andfinallyintoE.colicells.Sincethisworkisstillinprogress,anexpressionvectorcontainingICL-1wasacquiredandtransformedintoBL21DE3.Proteinwassubsequentlyexpressedandpurified.Room:IN2|BusinessInternshipPanel210:05a.m.–10:20a.m.UgliestWebsiteContestPresenter:TrinityCoatesMentor:BrandonLyon,CitySegment/AuroraCollectiveAbstract/Projectintention:CitySegment/AuroraCollectiveisdedicatedtoconnectingthebusinesscommunityinthegreaterAuroraareainnetworkingandeducationalevents,servingawiderangeofbusinessverticalsandindustries.Theworkofthisprojectincludedsocialmediamanagementofthebusiness“UgliestWebsiteContest”whichisanofferingtosmallbusinessowners.Emailingdevelopers,researchingwhywebsitesareimportanttosmallbusinessownersandhowthatrelatestotechsuccessoftheirbusiness.Strategiesincludedperformingresearchonweb-designtrendsandtargetaudiencemarketingpreferences,generatingandpublishingrelatedcontentoncompanysocialmediapagesanddevelopingbrandawareness.Keylearningsincludedataanalysisskills,marketresearchandawarenessofapplicationssuchasHootsuiteandGoogleAnalytics.ThecontributionsofthisworkwillexpandthereachabilityofAuroraCollectivetocontinuetheirgrowthasabusinessincubator.

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GuideStudentstoBecomeStarsPresenter:AbigailLightMentor:JillKo,Kevelyn,CourseStarsAbstract/Projectintention:Coursestarsisastartupbusinessthatofferstutoringservices,consultationsandstudygroupswiththeassistance.Theownerofthebusiness,JillKo,wasinspiredtocreateaprojectinwhichtutorseitheronlineorone-on-onearealwaysavailabletohelpstudents.Tonetworkherbusiness,sheneededtutorswhoarehighlyeducatedinasubjectattheircollege/universityandarewillingtotutorotherstudentsattheircollege/university.Thecorelearningofthisprojectwastofindawaytoreachouttostudentsforservicesandrecruitpotentialtutors.WebsitedesignwasanotherkeylearningwasoftheprojectundertheguidanceofKevelyn-CourseStarswebdesignexpert.Thewebsitewastransformedupdatebrandingandmarketing,tutor’sprofilesandinformationthatisaccessibletostudents.Theusersofthisnewlyupdatedwebsitewillhavetheabilitytostudentswithqualificationsregisterforapersonaltutor.Inconclusion,thewebsiteupdatehasanimpacttothebusinessbecausenowthereisacleargoalforthebusinessaswellaseasyaccessforstudentstolearnmoreaboutCoursestars.VisMed3D-InternshipExperiencePresenter:GraceWulffraatMentor:DimaElisaAbstract/Projectintention:VisMed3Disabiomedicalandtechnologycompanywithafocusintheareasofdeterminingconceptviabilitywithhealthcareconsulting,assuranceservicesinvolvingmalpracticeandIPpatentreview,and3Dprintingservicesrangingfromcustomprostheticsanddentalfabrication.Theworkincludedhowtodesignandapplyorganizationelementstothecompanywebsiteandsocialmediamedicalpagesforindustryandbusinessusers.Theresearchincludedsocialmediamarketingstrategiesusedwithinbio-medicalandbio-techindustries.ImplementationofthesemarketingandadvertisingstrategieswasshowcasedontheVisMed3DsocialmediacalendarforpublishingonFacebook,TwitterandLinkedIn.Additionallearningsincludedmarketingskillssuchasusingcolorpsychology,elementsofgraphicdesign,targetaudiencelanguageandcommunicationtechniques.Additionalskillsacquiredincludecollaboratingwithindustryexpertsinmedical,biotechand3Dtechnologycommunity.Theworkofresearchandreportingofnewdevelopmentsinthebiocompatible3DprintingindustrycompletedforVisMed3Dwillcontributetotheiroverallmarketingstrategies.

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Room:A11310:05a.m.–10:20a.m.SelectiveBreedingforFlowerColorUsingPigmentAnalysisPresenters:MaraAdams,MaxineAlexandre-StrongMentor:Dr.JayarajAlappat,BallHorticulturalAbstract:Manyflowerbreedersrequirehuesthatdonotexistinthebreedsthattheyareworkingwith.Threepigments--anthocyanins,betalains,andcarotenoids--alongwithpH,chemicalstructure,metalions,andcopigmentationallworktogethertocontributetoflowercolor,andtheanalysisofthesefactorscanprovidetheinformationneededtoproducenovelcolorswithselectivebreeding.Thisprojectaimedtocreatedeepredsinrosesandorangeingeraniums.Toproducethesecolors,itwasnecessarytoidentifyandquantifythespecificpigmentcompoundsinthepetalsofdifferentflowers.Afterprocessingorganicpowdersofpetalstakenfromseveraldifferentsamples,theconcentrationsofvarioustypesofanthocyaninsandcarotenoidsweredeterminedusingspectroscopyandHigh-PerformanceLiquidChromatography(HPLC).ThepHwasalsoascertainedwithapHmeter.Usingtheresultsfromthesetests,recommendationsweregiventothebreedersthatdescribedwhichflowerstheyshouldbreedtogetherinordertoproducethedesiredcolor.

Room:A11510:05a.m.–10:20a.m.RoleofplasmacytoiddendriticcellsinpersistentinflammationaftereradicationofhepatitisCvirusPresenter:EricErrampalliMentors:LucasFass1,AlyxVogle1,ZhibinZhu1,MiranKim1,andCosticaAloman11DepartmentofInternalMedicine,RushUniversityMedicalCenterAbstract:Hepatocellularcarcinoma(HCC),atypeoflivercancer,isthesecondleadingcauseofmortalitybycancerworldwide.AdvancedorchronicstagesofthehepatitisCvirus(HCV)infectionhaveexacerbatedthelethaleffectsofHCC.Direct-actingantiviralsandotherinterferon-free(IFN)therapieshavesuccessfullytreatedHCV.However,thereisincreasingevidenceofpatientswhohavereceivedthesetreatmentsexperiencingpersistenthepaticinflammationandanincreasedriskofdevelopingHCC.For25-66%ofpatients,whodevelopedHCCafterbeingclearedofHCV,anincreasedlevelofIFNαmRNAispresentcomparedtotheamountobservedpriortotheHCVcure.GiventhatthemaincellularsourcesofIFNαaretheplasmacytoiddendriticcells(pDCs),thecurrentstudyusedimmunohistochemical(IHC)stainingonsamplesofexplantedlivertissuetoidentifycertaincellmarkersandcharacterizethehepaticmicroenvironmentinpatientswithHCCanddenovoHCC.ThegrandschemeofthestudyaimstoclarifytheroleofpDCsinthepathogenesisofHCC,whichcouldleadtonoveltargetedtherapiesagainstpDCsthatmaypreventthepathogenesisofHCC.

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Room:A11710:05a.m.–10:20a.m.UsingRemoteSensingtoMeasureImpactofBisononRestoredPrairiesPresenter:PatrickLiMentor:Dr.HollyJones,NorthernIllinoisUniversityAbstract:Bisonareakeystonespeciesofnativegrasslands,andtheireffectsonthemarewelldocumented.However,nativeprairiesintheUnitedStatesareshrinking.andremnantprairiesarespreading.Duetodifferencesinsoilcomposition,plantandanimaldiversity,andotherfactors,howexactlybisonimpactremnantprairiesareunclear.Recently,advancementsindronetechnologymayhaveopenedupnewwaystocollectdataontheimpactofbison,alsocalledremote-sensing.Remotesensingmayallowformorecompleteyetpreciseanalysesthanconventionalground-truthingwouldallow.Ourprojectseekstoanswerhowbisongrazing,restorationage,andfireinteractandaffectdifferentindicesoftheprairie,includingNDVI,biomass,anddiversity.Weuseddifferentwavelengthcameras,whicharethenanalyzedtoobtainsuchindices.Littleisknownonhowhuman-managedphenomenonsuchasbisonreintroductionandcontrolledfireimpactplantcommunitiesonalandscapescale.Inaddition,ourprojectattemptstoverifywhetherremotesensingcanobtainaccurateinformation.Wehavefinisheddatacollection,yetfurtheranalysesremaintobedoneontheindicesthemselves.ThisincludesworkingwithErdasImagineandRsoftware.Room:A11910:05a.m.–10:20a.m.MarkingartifactsinimagesusingmachinelearningPresenter:MichelleWangMentor:ChihwayChang,UniversityofChicagoAbstract:Withtheutilizationofmachinelearning,computershavebeenabletoefficientlyclassifydata.Deeplearning,adivisionofmachinelearning,usesmultiplenonlinearprocessingunits.Convolutionalneuralnetworksareamachinelearningmodelpatternedafterthestructureofananimal’svisualcortex.Inourproject,deeplearningandconvolutionalneuralnetworkswerebothusedtodistinguishcosmicrays,artifactscharacterizedbyhigh-energyradiation,inimagestakenbytheNationalOpticalAstronomyObservatory’stelescopes.Oncewehadconstructedadeepconvolutionalneuralnetwork,thisnetworkwastrainedandfine-tunedcontinuouslyuntilitsclassificationsreachedmaximumaccuracy.

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Room:A12110:05a.m.–10:20a.m.TheEffectsoftheNdc80ComplexontheKinetochoreAttachmenttoMicrotubulesPresenter:KatieSiResearchMentor:Dr.DileepVarma,FeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Inpastyears,severalargumentshavebeenmadeaboutthemoleculesthataffectchromosomeseparation.ThisSIRinvestigationfocusedontherecentadvancesinprimaryinterfacebetweenthekinetochoreandkMTs.Priorresearchhasshownthatpropermitoticchromosomealignmentandseparationrequirekinetochore-microtubuleattachments,whicharemediatedbyNdc80,akMTbindingcomplex,aswellasthemolecularmotordynein.TheRod-ZW10-ZwilchcomplexiscrucialtothecoordinationbetweenthesecomplexesandkMTattachmentsbecauseithasanessentialroleindyneinrecruitmentandactivationofthespindleassemblycheckpoint.TheprojectfocusedonlearningthemechanismbywhichproteincomplexescontrolkMTattachmentsinordertodrivethechromosomemotilityduringearlymitosis.TheexperimentersusedinvitrototalinternalreflectionfluorescencemicroscopytoobservetheconcentrationsofNdc80inhibiteddyneinfunction.TheyobservedthatthehighertheconcentrationofNdc80,thehigherthelevelsofinhibiteddyneinfunction.ThisresultprovidedevidencethatNdc80negativelyaffectsthefunctionofthemolecularmotordynein.Room:A12310:05a.m.–10:20a.m.TargetingtheMLL1geneasaformofcancertreatmentforMLL1-RearrangedLeukemiaPresenter:ShvetaliThatteResearchMentor:Dr.CrystalRandall,IMSAAbstract:TheMixedLineageLeukemiagene(MLLgene)isclassifiedasahistonemethyltransferaseinthefamilyofhistone-modifyingenzymes(Shilatifard2012).Itdirectlyinfluencesdevelopmentalregulationbycontrollingthegeneexpressionnecessaryforembryonicandhematopoieticstemcelldevelopment(Shilatifard2012).WhilethenormalMLL1gene,amemberoftheMLLgenefamily,functionsindevelopment,themutatedversionhasbeenfoundtoleadtocancer.WithMLL1-rearrangedleukemia,thefirstidentifiedfusionpartneroftheMLL1geneisTET1,afoundingmemberoftheTETfamilyofenzymes.TET1hasshowntoplayanoncogenicroleinthedevelopmentofMLL1-rearrangedleukemiabyupregulatingthetranscriptionofthegenesthatarecriticalfortheinductionandmaintenanceofleukemiastemcellsinMLL1-rearrangedleukemia.BecauseTET1playsanessentialoncogenicroleinMLL1-rearrangedleukemia,thereispotentialfortheTET1genetoserveasatargetinMLL1-rearrangedleukemiatreatment(Huang2013).Inthisresearch,analteredepigeneticstatehasbeeninitiatedinMLL1-rearrangedcellsbyinducingaTALE-TET1fusion;bydoingso,itwasobservedwhetherapoptosisincreasesincells.TheultimategoalofthisresearchistoevaluatetheeffectivityofepigeneticeditingintreatingMLL1-rearrangedleukemia.

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Room:A14710:05a.m.–10:20a.m.CreatinganEfficientandUsefulNtupleforAnalyzingDileptonDataforContactInteractionsandLargeExtraDimensionsPresenters:EvanBlad,MatthewHokinson,RustomIchhaporia,andHarrySmithResearchMentors:PeterDong,IMSA,LeonardSpiegel,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:Inthesearchforcontactinteractionsandlargeextradimensions,oneofthefirststepsisorganizinglargeamountsofrawdatafromtheCMS(CompactMuonSolenoid)experimentandMonteCarloevents.Adatamanagementstructurecalledanntuplewascreatedtoselectonlyvariablesofinterest.Wemadesubstantialchangestotheexistingprogramtomakeiteasiertouseandtoincludeadditionalfunctionality,includinginvariantmasscalculation,Collins-Soperanglecalculation,andleft-right/right-lefthelicityreweighting.Furthermore,weupdatedthisprogramforanewanalysisframeworksothatitwouldbecompatiblewithnewdataandMonteCarlosamples.WewillpresentthefunctionalityofthenewprogramandtheautomatedgenerationofntuplesusingtheCRABparallel-processingframework.Room:A14910:05a.m.–10:20a.m.GenerationandValidationofMonteCarloDileptonEventsforLargeExtraDimensionsPresenters:AyushAgarwal,ChetanReddy,GraceYuMentors:Dr.PeterDong,IMSA;Dr.LennySpiegal,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:TheideathattheuniversemayhavemorethanthreedimensionsoriginallyassumedtheextradimensionsappearedatthescaleofthePlancklength.However,Arkani-Hamed,Dimopoulos,andDvaliproposedatheoryofextradimensionsaslargeasamillimeterthatcouldhelpexplainwhygravityismuchweakerthanotherinteractionsintheStandardModel.LargeextradimensionsmodifydileptoninteractionsbyallowingforgravitonexchangeaswellasphotonandZexchangeforhigh-massevents.Thiscausesanon-resonantenhancementintherateofdileptonevents.OurstudygeneratesMonteCarloeventstodeterminehowlargeextradimensionswouldmodifyexpecteddistributions,layingthegroundworktosearchforthem.

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Room:A15110:05a.m.–10:20a.m.TheEffectofPitchUsageontheWhiffRatesofMajorLeagueBaseballPitchersPresenter:AustinShwatal,IMSAClassof2020Mentor:ChristopherJones,ChicagoCubs,IMSAClassof2002Abstract:WiththeriseoftheSabermetricserainmodernMajorLeagueBaseball,thesporthasshiftedtowardstatisticsandquantitativedatascienceasawaytomeasureperformanceandpredictfutureoutcomes.Specifically,oneareathathasnotbeenstudiedindepthistherelationshipbetweenpitchusageandwhiffrates(analyzinghowmuchdifferentpitchesarethrowncomparedtothesuccessrateofpitchers).Tocomparetherelationshipforeachpitch,weuseddataforallMajorLeaguestartingpitchersfrom2018.UsingthestatisticalprogramminglanguageR,ayear-longaveragewasfoundforeachpitcher,andthechangesintheusageratesforeachmonthwerecomparedtothechangesinwhiffrates.Currently,wehavenotfoundmuchevidencethatthereisasignificantcorrelation,althoughallcorrelationvalueswerepositive.Infurtheranalysis,westudiedhorizontalmovement,verticalmovement,andvelocityforeachpitchasawaytoanalyzethequalityofthepitchcomparedtopitchusageandwhiffrate.Thecorrelationvaluesforchangeupswerethehighestoverall,butforthemostpart,therearenoleague-widetrendswhichwereworthconsidering.Room:A15510:05a.m.–10:20a.m.DevelopingeffectivehighschoolpedagogyformachinelearningPresenters:EdenGorevoyandAshleyTinMentor:TomMeyer,IMSAAbstract:Thedatawehaveatourdisposalismassive,andforyearsindustryhasbeenatalossforhowtoprocessthedatawehaveintoameaningfulstory.Machinelearningisacrucialmethodthathasrecentlybeenchanginghowweinterpretthatdata,makingmoreefficientandinformedproductsandservices.It’simportanttodevelopeffectivepedagogicalmethodsforcreatingthenextgenerationofcomputerscientistswhowillutilizeandexpanduponthesetools.Inordertodothis,welookedatintroductorycollegiate-levelclassesinMachineLearningandAurelienGeron’sHands-OnMachineLearningwithScikit-Learn&TensorFlowasguidelinesforwhattoinclude.Increatingtheelective,weattempttofollowthesamestructureasthesecollegecourseswhilekeepingtheinformationaccessibleatahigh-schoollevel.Asaseminarclass,thecoursealsoincludesadegreeofself-guidedexplorationintodeepertopics.Currently,wehaveconductedenoughresearchtoformulateapreliminarylessonplanfornextyear’sMachineLearningSeminarElective.Wearefurtherdevelopingourlessonplanwithnumerousactivitiesandprojectstoensurethestudentsunderstandtheconceptscoveredintheelective.

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Room:B108-1)10:05a.m.–10:20a.m.ChemoresistantOvarianCancerCellsPresenter:WinnyLiuMentors:Tong-ChuanHe,LingZhao,TheUniversityofChicagoAbstract:Amongcancerdeathsinwomen,ovariancancerranksfifthinlethality.Survivorsoftenexperiencerelapsewherethecancercomesbackduetochemoresistantcells,allowingsomecellstosurvivetheinitialtreatment.TheoverallgoalofthisstudyistoresearchtheIL-13Ra1geneanditsroleinchemoresistantovariancancercells.UsingquantitativePCR(qPCR),weknowthatIL-13Ra1ishighlyexpressedinchemoresistantcelllinesandtissues.TotestthesignificanceofIL-13Ra1inovariancancer,wewillconstructaplasmid,astrandofDNAfoundcommonlyinbacteriathatcanreplicatewithoutthechromosomalDNA,withasequenceinsertedthatcansuppressestheexpressionofIL-13Ra1.ThefragmentsilencingIL-13Ra1expressionwillbeinsertedintoanotherplasmidthatcanbepackagedintoadenovirus.Usingadenovirus,wecaninfectthecancercelllinesandtreatthemwithpaclitaxel–adrugusedtotreatovariancancer–todetermineifIL-13Ra1playsasignificantroleinthesurvivalofovariancancercells.Room:B108-2)10:05a.m.–10:20a.m.Carborane-AppendedAdenineasaNovelDrugDeliveryAgentinBoronNeutronCaptureTherapyPresenter:LilyLiMentor:Dr.NarayanS.Hosmane,NorthernIllinoisUniversityAbstract:Glioblastomamultiforme(GBM)isahighlyinvasivebraintumorthatexhibitsaresistancetoallthecurrentformsofcancertherapy,thereforemakingitvirtuallyuntreatableandlethal.ApotentialeffectivetreatmentforGBMisboronneutroncapturetherapy(BNCT),abinarycancerradiationtherapyinvolvingtheirradiationof10B-enrichedcompoundsintroducedintocancercells.Unfortunately,BNCTlacksasuitabledrugdeliveryagent.Thegoalofthisresearchistosynthesizecarborane-appendedwithadenineasaneffectivedrugdeliveryagentforBNCT.CarboranederivativeshavelongbeenconsideredasanidealBNCTdrugdeliveryagentduetotheirhighboroncontentandstabilitytocatabolism.Theadenineisutilizedastheorganiccompoundtoattachtocarboranetofacilitatethetransportationthecarboraneintothecancercell.Themethodinvolvesthesynthesisofcarborane-appendedazidecompounds,thealkylationofadenineusingpropargylbromide,andtheconjugationoftheadeninederivativewiththepolyhedralcarboranecageusingaclickreaction.Thesynthesisofthecarborane-appendedadenineiscurrentlybeinginvestigated.Inthefuture,thecarboranederivativesbepurified,isolated,andcharacterized.TheresultisthepotentialcandidateforanewandeffectivedrugdeliveryagentthatmaybeutilizedforthetreatmentofGBMinBNCTapplications.

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Room:B110-1)10:05a.m.–10:20a.m.SearchingforPrimordialBlackHoleswithMachineLearningPresenter:MehrKaurMentors:Dr.JamesAnnis,FermilabDr.BrianNord,FermilabAbstract:TheideathatPrimordialBlackHoles(PBHs)constitutethemajorityofdarkmatterwasrevivedin2015byLIGO’sdetectionofthemergeroftwo~30solarmassblackholes.WecansearchforPBHsviagravitationalmicrolensing,aphenomenonwhichoccurswhenaPBHpassesinfrontofastar,forminganEinsteinringandincreasingtheapparentbrightnessofthestar.Whenanobservedstarundergoesamicrolensingevent,theapparentmagnitudedatagraphedovertimeformaPaczynskicurve.WeareparticipatinginaDarkEnergySurvey(DES)projecttodetectmicrolensingintheDESdata.PBHsof10-100solarmasseshavemicrolensingeventsoftimedurationt~>2.5yearsandcanbeobservedintheDES.Weemployboththetraditionalastrophysicstoolkitaswellasmachinelearning(ML)methodsincludingRNNs,LSTMs,andDNNs.BytestingdifferentMLstructures,wecanfindtheidealstructureforthisnovelapplication.ThestructuresaretrainedandtestedwithgeneratedPaczynskicurvesofvaryingcomplexity.TheywillthenbetestedonsupernovadatawithminimalnoisebeforebeingusedonDESdata.Ifourobservednumberofmicrolensingeventsisfarlessthantheexpectednumberofmicrolensingevents,wecanruleoutPBHsasdarkmatter.Room:B110-2)10:05a.m.–10:20a.m.Characterizationofthergg499locusinLactobacillusacidophilusPresenter:DanielSotoMentors:AhsanAdilandTiaraPerezMorales,BenedictineUniversityAbstract:Bacterialcommunitiespresentindiverseenvironmentalconditionscanrespondtosignalsorstressesusingquorumsensing(QS).QSinvolvesproductionofasignalthatcanberecognizedviacellsurfaceorinternalreceptors.WearefocusedonasmallfamilyoftranscriptionalregulatorscalledRggandtheircognatesmallhydrophobicpeptides(SHP),specifically,threepredictedQSsystemspresentinthehumancommensalLactobacillusacidophilus.RggQSsystemshavebeendescribedinotherGram-positiveorganismsandtheycanpromoteresponsessuchasbiofilmformationandtoxinproduction.WeaimtocharacterizetheRgg499predictedQSsystem.Ourpreliminaryworksuggestsrgg499isinasix-geneoperonwithanotherregulator(496)andapotentialpeptide(495).Thispredictedoperonislocatednexttoacarbohydrateutilizationlocus.WehypothesizethatRgg499mayhaveeffectsonthisoperongiventhatsugarshaveactedassignalsforotherRggQSsystems.WearecurrentlytestingtheeffectsofvariouscarbohydratesandsmallmoleculesonL.acidophilusandchangesinrggtranscriptionalexpressionusingluciferasereportersinaheterologoushost.

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Room:B11510:05a.m.–10:20a.m.Peri-ImplantOsteolysisEffectsonLocalandRemoteTissuesPresenter:MeghanaKaranMentor:MeghanMoran,RushUniversityMedicalCenterAbstract:Orthopedicimplantlooseningisoneofthemaincausesforthehighnumberofrevisionsurgeriesafterprimaryhipandkneejointreplacementsurgery(arthroplasty).Implantlooseningisoftentheresultofimplantwearparticlesthattriggerperi-implantboneloss(osteolysis).Therehasbeengrowingevidencesuggestingthatchangesinthegutmicrobiomecaninducechangesinbone.Thegutmicrobiomeconsistsofavarietyofdifferentmicroorganisms.Thisstudyaimstodetermineiftheprogressionofperi-implantosteolysisduetoimplantwearparticlesinduceschangesinthegut,specificallyinthetissueandcompositionusingin-vivoratmodels.Ratsunderwentimplantsurgerywithtitaniumimplantplacedintheintramedullarycanalofthefemur.Studygroupsincludedcontrolanimals,animalsthatreceivedkneeinjectionsofeitheravehicle/controltreatmentorlipopolysaccharide(LPS)dopedpolyethylene(PE)particles,whicharewearparticlestoinduceperi-implantboneloss.Histologicalanalyseswerecompletedonlocaltissuesatthekneejointtoidentifyparticlepresenceandchangesincelltypeandactivityaswellasremotetissues,specificallyintheintestine(proximalanddistalcolon).Thegoalofthisstudyistoidentifyanovelmechanismforinterventionoffailedorthopedicimplants.Room:B12510:05a.m.–10:20a.m.DiscoveryofAntimicrobialsfromSoilSamplesPresenters:KatyaRomanov,GowriWarikoo,andLaurenPickettResearchMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IMSAFacultyAbstract:Superbugsarebecomingmoreandmoreofaprobleminthemodernworld.Thesesuperbugs,resistanttomostknownantibioticsandantimicrobials,causewellknowndrugstobelesseffective.Thoughtherearecorporatepharmaceuticalcompaniesdevelopingnewdrugs,manyofthesecompaniesarefocusedonproductsthatwillmakethemthemostmoneyratherthanwhatisrequiredbysociety.ThepurposeofthisstudyistoidentifypossibleantimicrobialsfromsoilsamplesaroundtheIMSAcampus.Thesoilsamplesweredilutedtoisolateitsdifferentbacteria,andmasterplatesweremadefromthesecolonies.Thesemasterplatesweresubjectedtospread-patchtestingtotestforanyvisibleinhibitionagainstsafe-to-handleESKAPEpathogens.Atleastthreezonesofinhibitionwerespottedagainstthespecificbacteria,thoughmoretestingisneededtoseeifthesampleswillproducethesameresultswithdifferentbacteria.Afterthis,certainsamplesofeachplatewerePCRtestedtobeseeniftheycouldbeidentified.Aftersomepreliminarytesting,thesesamplesweresentofftoalaboratory.Wehaveyettoreceiveoursamplesbackfromthetestinglaboratory.

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Room:B13310:05a.m.–10:20a.m.ComputerAidedDrugDesignforMycobacteriumTuberculosisPresenters:AlyssaDanielsandRebeccaEllingtonResearchMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:MycobacteriumTuberculosis(MTB)isthepathogenicbacteriaresponsibleforTuberculosis(TB).Inrecentyears,thebacteriahasbecomedrug-resistant,whichisasevereproblembecauseofthedeadlinessofTBindevelopingcountries.OneoftheenzymesthatisresponsibleforspreadingTBinthebodyisIsocitrateLyase(ICL).Inthisstudy,ourgoalwastoedittheligandsofICLtooptimizethebindingaffinityofMTBdrugs.UsingSeeSARandSwissADME(ComputerAidedDrugDesignprograms),wewereabletodesignandevaluatehundredsofpossibleligandstoreplacetheoriginalmolecule.Weidentified6newligandsthatwebelieve,basedoncriteriasuchasbindingaffinityanddruglikeness,couldimproveICLbyreplacingthecurrentligand.Inacontinuationofthisstudy,wewillsynthesizeandtesttheseeditedmoleculesinthelab,withhopestocreateabetterdefenseagainstMTB.Room:IN2|BusinessInternshipPanel310:25a.m.–10:40a.m.CourseStarsMarketingInternPresenter:MatthewHallimanMentor:JillKo,CourseStarsAbstract/Projectintention:Coursestarsisabusinessthatcurrentlyhelpscollegestudentstohaveeasyaccesstotutorhelp.Theownerofthebusiness,JillKo,wasinspiredtocreateaprojectinwhichtutorseitheronlineorone-on-onearealwaysavailabletohelpstudents.Tonetworkherbusiness,sherequirestutorswhoarehighlyeducatedinasubjectattheircollege/universityandarewillingtotutorotherstudentsattheircollege/university.Thisprojecthasconsistedmainlyofmarketresearchtoestablishthefoundationforacollegerepresentativeprogram,websitedevelopmentandrefiningdifferentmarketingtechniquesusedwithinthecompany.ThecoretasksincludedrefiningandredesigningtheCourseStarsWebsiteundertheguidanceofmarketingexpertKevelynBelden.Keylearningsincludemarketresearchandanalysis,enhancementofskillsinwebsitedesign,digitalcommunicationtechniques,designingformobileapplications,themesandtypography.TheconclusionofthisprojectwillresultinincorporatingthisworkintothenewCourseStarswebsitetopromoterecruitmentandservicesandaideinthedevelopmentinaMobileApp.

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LEAPInnovations:AnInternshipExperience|PilotNetworkCohort3InternalTechnicalReportPresenter:NathanLeeMentor:Mr.JakeWilliams,LEAPInnovationsAbstract/Projectintention:LEAPInnovationsworkswitheducatorstounlocktheunlimitedpotentialofeverylearnerusingpersonalizedlearning.Theyrecognizethatit'stimetotransformtheone-size-fits-allmodelbytailoringtheteachingmethodstothestudents'needsinordertocreatetheideallearningexperienceineveryclassroom.AtLEAPInnovations,theinternshipisfocusedonData&ResearchAnalysis.ItprimarilyincludesworkonourPilotNetworkCohort3InternalTechnicalReport.Thistaughtmehowtocompileandinterpretdata,createtablestocomparevariablesandfindcorrelations,andprovideafreshperspectiveforprovidingpersonalinsight.Byattendingmeetingsandtouchingbasewithmymentor,theInternshipaffordedmetheabilitytofurthermycommunicationskillsandensurethatassignmentswerecompletedsuccessfully.Ultimately,thereportdevelopedallowsLEAPInnovationstoacknowledgewhataspectsofCohort3wentwellandwhataspectscanbeimprovetheimplementationofpersonalizedlearningintheclassroomsetting.EnovationPartnersPresenter:BrennanShapiroMentor:LindaZaborsAbstract/Projectintention:EnovationPartnersisaclean-techandenergystorageconsultingcompany.ThebusinessprojectforEnovationPartnershasincludedthecompletionofmarketresearchintotradeexposorconferencesforthecompanytoattend.Theinformationobtainedisthenfiledandmadeintosocialmediapostsabouttheexposthattheydecidetoattend.Inaddition,theinternshiphasincludedthedevelopmentofgraphicsforbannersattheexpobooth,competitiveresearchintotheothercompaniesattendingtheexpos,andpotentialclientresearchtobeincludedCRMdatabase.Thekeydeliverablesfromtheinternshiphaveincludedworkflowchartsmappingoutvariousprocessesforexample,theprocessfromfindingoutabouttheexpo,togettingaclientandtheprocessacustomergoesthroughoncedecidingtouseEnovationfortheirenergystorageconsultingneeds.Thechartshavehelpedtomaketheprocesseseasierforthecompanyandthecustomers.ThesocialmediapostshelpgenerateawarenessaboutenergystorageresearchandexposEnovationwillbeattendingtoattractpotentialclients.Secondarymarketresearch,socialmedia,andgraphicdesignareimportantpartsofabusiness.

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Room:A11310:25a.m.–10:40a.m.ATree’sLifeinitsNeighborhoodPresenter:AlanaDepazMentor:SilviaAlvarez-Clare,MortonArboretumAbstract:Treesplayanimportantroleintheglobalcarboncyclesincetheyusecarbontobuildbiomassandtheyreleaseoxygenasaby-productofphotosynthesis.Thus,understandingwhichenvironmentalfactorsinfluencetreegrowthandsurvivalisimportanttopredicthowforestecosystemswillrespondtoglobalchanges.Twofactorsthatcanaffectatree’sgrowthare1)theavailabilityofthemostlimitedsoilnutrientand2)thecompetitionwithinthetree’sneighborhood.Icreatedcomputermodelsofdatafromalong-term,large-scaleforestfertilizationexperiment(EFFEX)inalowlandtropicalforestinCostaRicathroughdifferentprograms:R,RStudio,Geany,andExcel.Withtheseprograms,Iinvestigatedhowtheneighborhoodofatreeaffectsitsnutrientintakeanditsgrowth.Ihavemadelocationmapsandhavedonesomespatialanalysesonthedata.Yet,IamstillcontinuingtoanalyzethedataoftheforestandthereforeIdonothaveanyresultsaboutgrowthatthemoment.Although,myfutureresultswillportrayhowdifferentaspectsofatree’sneighborhoodaffectthegrowthoftrees,andthiscanimplicatewaystopreserveforests.Room:A11510:25a.m.–10:40a.m.

Na+/K+-ATPaseα3andAmyloid-betaOligomersintheDevelopingChickRetinaPresenters:FarisShaikh,AllenChenMentors:KirstenViola,Dr.WilliamKlein,SamuelBartley,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:TheAβOhypothesisofAlzheimer’sDisease(AD),whichstatesthatbraindamageinADisinstigatedbythesolubleformofligand-likeoligomericAβhasemergedfromthediscoverythatfibril-freepreparationsofAβO’sledtorapidLTPinhibition,aswellasneuronalcelldeath.Sincethisobservation,AβO’shavebeendeterminedtoaccumulateinhumanandanimalCNStissueinamannerthatmimicsAD,however,recently,ithasbeendeterminedthattheseAβOrelyheavilyonenzymessuchastheNa/KATPase,specificallytheα3subunit,inexudingtheirtoxiceffect.Whilethistheoryhasbeensupportedinhumanandmicebrain,ithasnotbeenconfirmedintheavianmodel.ProvingthatthesamekindofinteractionexistsinthechickretinawouldgiveamorestraightforwardideaofAβOsandtheirroleincellularprocesseswithinthechickretina.Thiswouldallowustofurtherestablishthatthechickretinamodelissimilartothatofboththerestofthechickcentralnervoussystemandthehumancentralnervoussystemandalsogiveusthego-aheadtoperformfurtherATPaseα3experimentsinourchickretinamodel.

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Room:A11710:25a.m.–10:40a.m.EffectofObesityontheWoundHealingProcessPresenters:PratibhaBhalla,TanmayeeVegesnaMentors:IrenaLevitan,YedidaBogachkov,UniversityofIllinoisatChicagoAbstract:Obesityisacommonhealthconditionwherethereisanexcessandoftendangerouslyhighamountoffatinthebody,measuredbyaBodyMassIndex(BMI)above30.0.Wehypothesizedthatobesitymayhaveasignificantnegativeimpactoftheprocessofwoundhealing,theprocessofwoundclosurebytheformationofnewtissue.Thishypothesisisbasedonrecentstudiesinourlabshowingthatelevationofbloodcholesterolingeneticallymodifiedmiceresultsinadelayedwoundclosureanddelayedangiogenesis.Ourcurrentstudyinvestigateshowdiet-inflictedobesityaloneaffectsthewoundhealingprocess.Thestudycompareswildtypemice(B6/C57background)thatwerefedeitheranormalchowdietorahigh-fatdiet.After24weeksondiet,woundswereinflictedviaskinpunchbiopsiesonthedorsalsideofthemiceandtheareaofthewoundwasmeasuredoverthecourseoftendays.Ourresultsshow,however,thattherewasnonoticeabledifferenceinwoundclosurebetweenthenormalandobesemice.Theseresultssuggestthatincontrasttohypercholesterolemia,obesityalonedoesnothavesignificantnegativeeffectonwoundhealinginamousemodelofskinwounds.Room:A11910:25a.m.–10:40a.m.TensileStrengthofNiobium-TinFilmPresenter(s):KaleighO’BrienResearchMentor:Dr.SamPosen,FermiNationalAcceleratorLaboratoryAbstract:Allsuperconductingcavitiesmustbesubmergedinliquidheliumcooledto2-4degreesKelvinwheretheyhavegoodsuperconductingproperties.Theabilitytocoolthesecavitiesrequiressignificantcryogenicresources.Usingniobium-tinasafilmontheinteriorofthecavityreducestheheatgeneratedallowingthecavitiestooperateat4Kelvin,thussavingmoneyandresources.Thisprojectfocusesontestingthetensilestrengthofaniobium-tinfilmoveraniobiumcavity.ThesamplesofniobiumcoatedinthisfilmareplacedinanInstrontobemeasuredandphotographedthroughalaserconfocalmicroscope,wheretheyaresearchedforcracks.Thefilmmustwithstand2.5%ofaccumulatedstraininordertobeconsideredviableforcavitytuning,duringwhichprocessthecavityisrepeatedlycompressedandstretched.Shouldthefilmcrackduringthisprocess,itssurfaceresistancewillgreatlyincreaseandlimititsusefulnessasafilmontheinteriorofthecavity.

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Room:A12110:25a.m.–10:40a.m.TheRelationshipbetweenAirQualityandHealthOutcomesPresentor(s):BreannaYangMentor(s):Dr.MaryniaKolak,UniveristyofChicagoAbstract:Compellingevidencesuggeststhatarelationshipbetweenairqualityandhealthoutcomeshasalreadybeenestablishedbuthasnotbeenstudiedonacensus-tractlevel.TheobjectiveofthisresearchistoidentifythephenomenonintheobservedtrendsinamorespecificmannerandtomeasureandexplorerelationshipsofmultiplehealthoutcomeswithparticulatematterintheChicagolandareausingspatialdataintegrationandanalysistechniques,thusallowingforamoreformulaicunderstandingofthecorrelation.Theairqualitydatausedinthisprojectisa2018yearlyaverageofPM2.5.ThisdataisinterpolatedfromnearbyEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)monitoringstationsusinggeostatisticalkrigingmethods.Thecensus-tractleveldataistakenfromthe500CitiesprojectbytheCentersforDiseaseControlandProtectionfor2018.Thespecifichealthoutcomeswelookedatwerecurrentasthma,coronaryheartdisease,diagnoseddiabetes,mentalhealth,andphysicalhealthamongadultsagedgreaterthan18years,asidentifiedfromanextensiveliteraturereview.Weexploreddatarelationshipsusingscatterplots,choroplethmaps,andboxplotsusingRstudioandGeodaandidentifiedbivariatehotspotsofhighairpollutionandpoorhealthoutcomestoidentifypriorityareas.Preliminaryresultsshowthatcorrelationspersist,thoughremaincomplex,betweenpoorairqualityandworsehealthoutcomes,evenatasmallarearesolution.Room:A12310:25a.m.–10:40a.m.DuopolyCompetitioninAdvertising-SponsoredWi-FiProvisionPresenters:MokshShah,BharathSreenivasMentors:HaoranYu,ErminWei,andRandallA.Berry,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Ithasbeenincreasinglypopularforvenues(e.g.,restaurants)tocollaboratewithadvertisersontheprovisionofpublicWi-Fiservices.Thevenues’visitorscanwatchtheadvertisers’adsinexchangeforfreeWi-Fiaccess,andthevenueownerschargetheadvertisersfortheaddisplay.Inthiswork,weconsidercompetitioninadvertising-sponsoredWi-Fiprovision.Twovenueownerswithoverlappingcoveragecompeteforusersandfurtherselltheadslotsgeneratedbytheuserstoanadvertiser.Wemodelthestrategicinteractionsamongthevenueowners,advertiser,andusersasathree-stagegame,andanalyzethegameequilibrium.Ourresultsshowthatthevenueowners’advertisingdensitiesaffecttheirmarketsharesaswellastheadvertiser’soverallpayment.

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Room:A14710:25a.m.–10:40a.m.ImprovingCMSContactInteractionLimitsusingBayesianStatisticsPresenters:NikitaElkin,KaushalGumpula,TimothyMouMentors:Dr.PeterDong,IMSA;Dr.LennySpiegel,FermiLabAbstract:IntheStandardModel,quarksandleptonsareunderstoodtobefundamentalparticles.However,theyhavebeentheorizedtobecomposite,madeupofconstituentparticlescalledpreons.TheseconstituentparticleswouldinteractincontactinteractionsaccordingtoanenergyscaleΛ,whichwouldresultanon-resonantenhancementinthedileptoninvariantmassspectrumwhencomparedtocurrentStandardModelpredictions.DatafromtheCMSdetectorisusedtosetlowerlimitsonΛ.Ouranalysisaimstoimprovethecurrentmethodoflimit-setting.Theproblemwiththecurrentmethodisthatincasesofdestructiveinterference,theyieldinthesignalbinscanbelessthantheStandardModelprediction,makingitimpossibletointerpretcontactinteractionsasasignalprocess.Inourapproach,wecombinetheyieldsofthesignalandDrell-Yanprocesses,asthetotalnumberofeventswillalwaysbepositive.WedothisbyparameterizingthecombinedsignalandDrell-Yanyieldsasafunctionof1/Λ^2andsettingalimitdirectlyonΛ.Wewillpresentthepromisingprogresswehavemadeonthismethodanddiscussthechallengesstillremainingwithcalculatingexpectedlimits.Room:A14910:25a.m.–10:40a.m.ParametrizationoftheCompositenessEnergyScaleinInvariantMassDistributions:Presenters:JayReiter,AnishaSharma,MichaelMcKelvieMentors:Dr.PeterDong,IMSAandLennySpiegel,FermilabAbstract:CalculatingthelowerlimitontheenergyscaleΛofpreoninteractionsrequiresaparameterizationofthenumberofexpectedeventsinabinasafunctionofΛ.MonteCarloinvariantmassdistributionsaregeneratedfordifferentvaluesofΛforeachhelicity,interference,leptontype,anddetectorlocation.Theseplotscanbefitineachbintothefunctionf(x)=a+b/x^2+c/x^4.Wewillshowtheresultsofcodewhichtakesallavailableevents,appliesleft-right/right-lefthelicityreweighting,scaleseachmasssamplebyitscross-section,andextractsaparametrizationforeachmassbin.Theseparameterizations,whichnumberinthethousands,allowreliablecalculationsofthelimitonΛ.

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Room:A15110:25a.m.–10:40a.m.AnalyzingattheRoleofMrgpra3neuronsthroughMrdgprd3+neuronsinthepathogenesisofPainfulDiabeticNeuropathyPresenter:SidharthPandaMentors:Dr.RichardJ.MillerandNirupaD.Jayaraj,NorthwesternUniversity,FeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Affectingnearly25%ofdiabetespatients,PainfulDiabeticNeuropathy(PDN)isacomplicationofdiabetesthatoccursduetothehyperexcitabilityofdorsalrootganglion(DRG)receptors.Muchlikehyperalgesia,PDNisaccompaniedwithhigh,excruciatinglevelsofneuropathicpainandthedevelopmentofsmall-fiberdegeneration.PreviousstudieshavelinkedDRGneuronsexpressingtheNav1.8sodiumchannelwiththefeelingofpain.However,manysubsetsofneuronsexistwithintheDRGthatexpresstheNav1.8sodiumchannel.Currently,itisnotknownwhatspecifictype(s)ofneuronsaredirectlyinvolvedwiththesensationofpain.Thisstudytargetsonegroupofneurons,theMrgprd3+neurons,whichareinasimilarsubsetastheMrgprA3neurons.ThroughtheuseofconfocalimageryandtransgenicmiceembeddedwithmCherry,afluorescentproteinthattagscertaincomponentsinacell,thisstudywasabletodeterminetheconcentrationofMrgprA3neuronswithintheDRG.Althoughvarioustestsarerequiredtodeterminesourcesofpain,theresultsofthisstudywillplayaroleindeterminingtheroleofspecificneuronsinthepathogenesisofPDN,potentiallyallowingfornewtreatmentstobecreatedtocountertheeffectsofthiscondition.Room:A15510:25a.m.–10:40a.m.ModulationofunfoldedproteinresponsetoendoplasmicreticulumstresscausesapotentantiviralresponseinHSVinfectioncornealepithelialcells.Presenter:AkashGandhiMentor:Dr.DeepakShukla,LionsofIllinoisEyeResearchInstitute,UniversityofIllinoisatChicagoAbstract:Herpessimplexviruses(HSV)areoneofthemostubiquitouspathogenswithapproximately90%globalseroprevalence.Recurrentinfectionsleadtopainfululcerativekeratitisandlesionsintheocular,oro-facialandgenitalregionsinlatentlyinfectedindividuals.Currentlythereisonlyoneapprovedtreatment,acyclovir,whichactsviatheinhibitionofasingleaspectofvirallifecycle,viralDNAreplication.Amongthemanycellularpathwaystightlyregulatedbythevirusduringitsinfectiouslifecycle,theunfoldedproteinresponse(UPR)toendoplasmicreticulum(ER)stressisanimportantpathwaythatregulatesviralproteinsynthesisandfolding.Inthisstudy,wetestedmultiplesmall-moleculeinducersandalleviatorsofERstresstounderstanditseffectsonHSV-1infection.Throughimmunofluorescence,westernblottingandquantitativePCR,ourresultsshowedthatwhileexternalinductionofERstressusingtunicamycinreducesHSVviralspreadandprotein

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synthesis,thealleviationofERstressusingsalubrinalincreasesandpromotesviralreplicationandproteinsynthesisinhumancornealepithelialcells.OurresultsalignwiththeexistinghypothesisthatHSVrequireshostERmachinerytoeffectivelytranslateandfoldviralproteinsduringitslifecycleandinhibitionofthispathwaycanresultinapotentantiviralresponse.Room:B108-1)10:25a.m.–10:40a.m.DoesthePhospho-stateofAZI1’sProline-RichRegionAffectItsLocalizationtoChloroplasts?Presenter:IshanNikamMentors:DeQuantariusJSpeedandDr.JeanGreenberg,UniversityofChicagoAbstract:Recognitionofmicrobesormicrobialproductsbyplantreceptorsinducessignalingcascadesthatprimebroad-spectrumdefenseresponsestosuppresssubsequentinfections.Intheprimedstate,plantsarepreparedtoactivatestrongerdefenseresponsesmorequicklythanunprimedplantswhenchallengedbypathogensandotherstresses.AnessentialcomponentofsystemicprimingistheproteinAZI1,amemberofthelipidtransferproteinsuperfamily.LikeAZI1,theregulatorykinaseMPK3isessentialforpriming.Duringinfection,AZI1accumulatesinchloroplastouterenvelopemembranesviaamechanismthatdependsonMPK3,whichsuggestsAZI1’slocalizationtochloroplastsisessentialforprimingdefenseresponses.AZI1’schloroplastassociationrequiresanovelbipartitetargetingsignalthatconsistsofanN-terminalhydrophobicregionandaninternalproline-richregion(PRR).Tobetterunderstandthemolecularbasisofpriming,IammakingunphosphorylatableandphosphomimeticmutationswithinthePRRofAZI1.UsingArabidopsisthalianaandNicotianabenthamiana,IwillassesshowthesemutationsaffectAZI1’ssubcellularlocalizationwithanemphasisonlocalizationtothechloroplasts.Room:B108-2)10:25a.m.–10:40a.m.MachineLearninginAutonomousDrivingSimulatedthroughDuckietownPlatformPresenter:AjayJayaramanMentor:Dr.MatthewWalter,RoboticsIntelligencethroughPerceptionLab,ToyotaTechnicalInstituteatChicagoAbstract:Inorderforrobotstosafelynavigatetheirenvironments,theymustbeabletoutilizeavarietyofsensoryinputtodetermineproperactionstotake.Throughtheuseofadvancedperceptionalgorithms,robotsareabletoanalyzemulti-modalobservationsabouttheirenvironment.TheDuckietownprojectservesasawaytosimulatethisartificialintelligenceprocessonasimplerandaccessibleplatform.TheDuckietownplatformusesatangiblerobotcomprisingofaRaspberryPiandPiCameraalongwithachassis.TheotherprimaryaspectoftheprojectaretheDuckietownsthemselves,whichareenvironmentsfilledwithotherDuckiebotstryingtotraverseacityscape.IworktobetterunderstandthesoftwareplatformcreatedforDuckietown,initializingandcontrollingtherobotusingPythonthroughUbuntuLinux.WeheavilyutilizeROS(RoboticsOperatingSystem)andDocker(acontainerplatform).TheDuckietownProjectwasconceivedasan

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MITgraduateclassin2016andhassincethenbecomeaworldwidemulti-universityprogram.IalsoamworkingtowardssimplifyingthisprojectforusewithyoungerchildrenbycompartmentalizingtheprogramintoasystemakintoprogramminglanguageslikeScratchandBlockly.Thisprojectisalargeundertakingthatisstillinprocess,encounteringandsolvingproblemslikeprovidingpropercalibrationforasimplersystem.Room:B11010:25a.m.–10:40a.m.Salensy:UsingRISEtoCreateSaliencyMapsofStrongGravitationalLensingImagesPresenters:MaxKnutsonandKaraWarcupMentor:Dr.BrianNord,FermiLabAbstract:Aconvolutionalneuralnetworkisasystemofinterconnectedinformationnodesthatisusedforimagerecognitionandclassificationproblemsincomputerscience.RandomInputSamplingforExplanationofBlack-boxmodels,otherwiseknownasRISE,isaprogramthatgeneratesasaliencymapindicatinghowimportanteachpixelofanimageisfortheclassificationalgorithmofaconvolutionalneuralnetwork.Saliencymapstransformtheopaque“blackbox”ofimageclassificationnetworksintoanexplicitlydefinedprocess,allowingresearcherstofinetunetheirmodelandbuildtrustintheirnetwork.Inourproject,wewillimplementRISEwithmapsofastronomicalimagesdemonstratingstronggravitationallensingtoallowfurtherresearchintocomputationallyconstructingamodelofthelensingprocess.Room:B11510:25a.m.–10:40a.m.ThegeneticbasisofbonedensityanditsapplicationtoosteoporosistreatmentPresenter:SabrinaMengMentors:FrankKo,RushUniversityandMeghanMoran,RushUniversityAbstract:Osteoporosis(lossofbonemass)isacommondiseasethatleadstoalossofbonemassandanincreaseinriskofbonefracture.Currentdrugsstoptheprogressionofboneloss;althoughteriparatideandabaloparatidedopromotebonegrowth,theyincreaseosteosarcomarisk(Forteo)andhavelimitationsontreatmenttime(Tymlos),soanewtherapyisneeded.Thecurrentstudyaimstodeterminetheheritabilityandgeneticbasisofhighbonemass(HBM)inCarworthFarmsWhite(CFW)mice.Invivox-raysweretakenfor30femaleand30malemice,andthedistalportionofthefemurwasanalyzedforbonedensity.Accordingly,threebreedinggroupswerecreated:normalbonemass(NBM)xNBM,HBMxHBM,andHBMxNBM,withoffspringbonedensitiesmeasuredusingcontactx-rayat8weeksofage.Nosignificantdifferenceinbonedensitieswasfoundfortheoffspringgroups(p=0.752).Afterpreliminarydataanalysis,itappearsthatthephenotypeforbonedensityispolygenicandmaybeheritable.Ultimately,understandingthegeneticbasisofthisHBMmayleadtonovelosteoporosistherapeutics,whichmayincludegenetherapyandpersonalizedmedicineforthosesufferingfromtheeffectsofosteoporosis.

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Room:B13310:25a.m.–10:40a.m.PathogenicResistanceinSoilMicrobesPresenters:SaachiDalvi,NehaMaddali,MaahumHamayatMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstract:Antimicrobialresistancehasbecomeaprevalentphenomenonandnowposesagreatthreattopublichealth.Tocombatthegrowingthreatofsuchillnesses,severalresearchershavetestedfornewmicrobesfromthesoilthatexhibitantimicrobialpropertiesagainstthesenewlyresistantpathogens.Ourdrugdiscoveryprojectexpandsontheworkofthesepreviousstudiesandaimstoidentifynovelsoilmicrobeswithpathogenicresistancethatwillbeviablecandidatesfornewdrugs.Inourapproachtoaddressingtheissue,wecollectedsoilsamplesaroundIllinoisandusedtheserialdilutionmethodtoextractindividualbacterialcolonies.Aftercreatingmasterplatesfromtheisolatedbacteria,wescreenedthesamplesagainst6pathogensutilizingthespread-patchtechnique.Inoursecondsoilsample,wefoundfourbacterialcoloniesthatwereresistantagainstAcinetobacterBaylyi,withthezonesofinhibitionrangingfrom1mmto3mm.Todeterminewhetherthebacteriaarenovel,wehaveextractedtheirDNAthroughPCRamplificationandhavesentthemforsequencing.Theresultshaveyettobereleased.

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SessionII10:45a.m.–11:40a.m.Room:IN2|BusinessInternshipProjectPresentationGroup110:45a.m.–11:55a.m.TechnicalDevelopmentatAutoPair,Inc:WhatUniversityCan’tTeach.Presentor:IsaiahCrewsMentor:Mr.KenKoger,CEO,AutoPair,IncAbstract/Projectintention:AutoPair,Inc.isacompanythatservesasalayeroftransparencybetweencardealershipsandclients.Itisawindowforclienteletointeractwithbusinesspersonneltocollectonthebestserviceforthebestpricesthattheirareahastoofferinthewayofcarrepair.Theinternshipwasfocusedmainlyontrainingvitalskillsthatwillaidinfindingajobinmyprojectedfieldofwork.TheprojectthatdevelopedfrommyowncoregoalsaswellasthegoalsofAutoPair,Inc.transformedintoalearningopportunityintechnicaldevelopment,ContentManagementSystem[CMS]manipulation,andCustomerRelationshipManagementontheglobalstageofmodernbusiness.CommoncurriculumincomputerscienceuptotheUndergraduateleveldoesnotapplytheseskills,noraretheydevelopedattheMasterylevel.Theseskillsarebecomingincreasinglypopularataquickrate,andtheyapproachapointofrequirementastheworker’sscopemoveclosertothewiderpopulus.Withthesenewabilities,businessesaroundtheworldwillmoreeasilybeabletotendtotheissuesoftheworldefficiently,quickly,andtidily.DealerFox:AnInternshipExperiencePresenter:AndrewLennoxMentor:DanTrinidad,DealerFox:Abstract/Projectintention:DealerFoxisadataanalysisfocusedsocialmediamanagementcompanywhichhelpsdealershipsmaximizetheirdigitalmarketingbudget.ThefocusofthebusinessprojectforDealerFoxchangedovertimeandincludedsocialmediamanagement,secondarymarketresearch,webdevelopment,anddatabasedesign.Overthecourseofsixmonths,thecompanyprovidedopportunitiestoworkwithclientsthroughthemanagementoftheirsocialmediaaccounts,aswellasopportunitiestogainexperienceinwebanddatabasedesignthroughthedevelopmentofcompanywebsitesandbackenddatabases.Overthecourseofthebusinessproject,thecompanywasbenefittedthroughthedeliveranceofintegrationsoftware,research,andsocialmediamanagement.Themostsignificantimpactofthesedeliverableswasthebackendautomationprovidedtothecompany’sdailyprocessesthroughsoftwareintegrationsundertakenduringthebusinessproject.

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ProgramminganddataanalysisinastartupPresenter:LucasMilavecMentors:JeffandJoeTalamantez,CabDashAbstract/Projectintention:TheinternshipfocusedontheimplementationofnewfeaturesandanalysingdatafortheappCabDash.Theappisindentedtohelprideshareandtaxidriversefficiencybetweenridersbydisplayingtimesandpotentialriders.Mostofthetimewasfocusedongatheringandanalysingdataaboutcompetitors,potentialmarkets,anddataabouteventsusablebytheapp.ThisincludescreatingpredictivemodelsforcheckoutsatdifferenthotelsinLasVegas,compilingdataaboutcompetitors,andevaluatingtheviabilityofexpansionintonewcities.TheprogramsidefocusedoninitialtestingofAPIandfeaturesthatcouldpotentiallybeintegratedintotheapp.ThisincludestheresearchandtestingofeventAPI’slikeeventbriteandinitialimplementationandtestingofachangelanguagefeature.

RaisingtheCancerIQofYouthPresenter:VidhiSinghMentor:ChristopherBun,CTO,CancerIQAbstract/Projectintention:CancerIQ,Inc.isacompanywhichhelpstopreventpeoplefromdevelopinglate-stagehereditarycancersbyinformingthemoftheirrisk,andwhattheycandotolowerthatriskbyeducatingthemonlifestylechangeswhichcouldhelp.Themainprojectofthisschoolyearhasbeentocreateaninteractivewebapplicationforusersthatwilltakeininputaboutvariouslifestylechoicesandotherpertinentinformation,thencompilingthemintoafinalproductpersonalizedbasedoffofthechoicestheymadeintheinitialpagesshowingtheuserhowtheycanchangetheirlifestyletolowertheircurrentrisksofvariouscancers.Keydeliverablesforthisinternshiphaveincludeddocumentsdetailingresearchabouttherisksofcancersandtheircorrelationtolifestylefactors,aswellaswebpagesthatserveapartintheapplication.Theimpactthatthisprojecthasonthecompany’sdevelopmentisthepossibleusageofourapplicationintheirsoftware,asitwillhelpsolveanotheraspectofraisingawarenessbynotifyingthemofpossiblefaultsintheirlifestyle.Asaresult,itwillalsoservealongtermimpactontheusersaswellbyincreasingtheirawarenessofcancerrisk.VisMed3D/Symptomatic:AnInternshipExperiencePresenter:DoreenXiaoMentor:DimaElissa,VisMed3D/SymptomaticAbstract/ProjectIntention:VisMed3Disabiomedicalandtechnologycompanywithafocusintheareasofdeterminingconceptviabilitywithhealthcareconsulting,assuranceservicesinvolvingmalpracticeandIPpatentreview,and3Dprintingservicesrangingfromcustomprostheticsanddentalfabrication.TheworkcompletedforVisMed3Dincludesin-depthresearchfor“The2018-2019MedicalAMHighlights”journal.Theresearchhasproducedovertwohundredcasestudiesinvolvingthree-dimensionalinnovationinthechangingworldforcompositionintothejournal.Theoverallcompletionofthe

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researchhascreatedeaseforexpertsinthebiomedicalfieldtowriteahighlightarticleforpublishing.Inaddition,anotherbusinessprojectinvolvedwiththisinternshipincludedanotherbusinessmadebythefounderofVisMed3D,Symptomatic.SymptomaticisapublichealthsoftwarethatisabletoconnecthealthrecordsfromamultitudeofproviderswiththeuseofFHIRendpointsforpatientswithchronicillness.TheworkcompletedforSymptomaticwasfocusedonthecreationofamarketingstrategyplanbasedontheNationalHealthCalendardays.Thisplanincludesgraphicallydesignedimages,data,andsocialmediapostsforeverymonthof2019.Themarketingstrategywillbeimplementedforeaseinmarketingforthecompanyaswellasavigorousfoundationformarketinginthefuture.Room:IN2|BusinessInternshipProjectPresentationGroup210:45a.m.–11:55a.m.LEAPInnovations:AnInternshipExperiencePresenter:MicahCasey-FuscoMentor:ChrisLiang-Vergara,LEAPInnovationsAbstract/Projectintention:LEAPInnovationsisacompanythatstrivestomakelearningmorepersonalizedandtailoredtotheindividual.Toorganizetheidealsystemofeducation,LEAPinnovationshaslaiddownaframeworkfortheircompanycreating4separatecategoriesthatcontributethetheoveralllearningexperience:LearnerLed(studentdrivenlearning),LearnerConnected(realworldapplication),LearnerDemonstrated(competency-basedlearning),andLearnerFocused(passiondrivenlearning).Annually,theframeworkforgoesareconstructiontoensureitisrelevantandcomprehensible.EducatorsandlearnersfromacrossthecountrygathertocriticiseandcomplimenttheframeworkthroughvariousactivitiesLEAPhasorganized.TheprojectasaninternistoanalyzethetranscriptsfromtheinteractionsbetweentheseinfluencerstofindtrendsandreporttoLEAPinnovationshowandwheretheyneedtoimprovetheircompany.TodothisIcreatedatemplatetoorganizekeyquotesfromthetranscriptsintocategoriessuchas“neededclarity”and“examplesofrobustcurriculum”tomakeiseasiertofindwhereLEAPneededtoimproveandwhereitwasalreadysufficient.InadditiontopresentingmyfindingstotheLEAPcommunity,myworkwillalsobeusedtocreateevidencememosfortheirbusinesspartners.SoloiOSDevelopmentatInterpreterTapPresenter:IanFowlerMentors:VictorAbundis,JonMorse,VictorArellano,InterpreterTapAbstract/Projectintention:InterpreterTapisastartuplookingtocreateaserviceinwhichclientscanconnecttotrainedinterpretersviavideochatthroughtheconvenienceofamobileapplication.AftertheminimumviableproductwasdevelopedforAndroiddevices,InterpreterTapwasinneedofanequivalentforiPhoneusers.Althoughtheybegandevelopmentontheprojectinpreviousyears,thefront-endwasn’toptimalandtheback-endwasoutdated.Slowlyoverthepastyear,thefront-endoftheapphasbeenredevelopedtousethelatesttechnologyandinterfaceguidelines.Apartfromthecode,workwasdoneintheformofsite-flowdiagramsandwireframestodocumenttheflowofthe

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servicetoprovideclaritytodevelopersinthefuture.Additionally,thebusinessisleftwithacomprehensivetask-listforcompletingthedevelopmentoftheiOSapp.ForInterpreterTap,thisprovidestechnicalsupporttoalesstechnically-mindedfounder,increasingthebusiness’scapabilitytocommunicatewiththefutureteamofprofessionaldevelopersnecessarytoturntheirgreatconceptintoareality.SocialMediaMarketingwithCleancioPresentor:AshleyHomecgoyMentor:RocioLane,CleancioAbstract/Projectintention:Cleanciostrivestoprovidehigh-quality,lowcostcleaningsforvacationrentalproperties.ThegoalofthebusinessprojectwastobuildCleancio’sbrand,throughtheintegrationofmorefrequentandtargetedsocialmediamarketing.Otherthansocialmedia,itaimedtouseotherdigitalavenuestocontinuetoreinforcethecompany’simage.Contentcreatedrangesfromblogposts,socialmediaposts,andsecondaryresearchforinternaluse.Thesedeliverablescanbeutilized,reworked,andcontinuedinthefuture.TheimpactofthisworkhasgivenCleancioastrongerpresenceintheChicagolandarea,bothonlineandoffline.Additionstothecompanyblogandsocialmediapageshavehelpedtosolidifythebrand.ImprovingtheWorldOneFactataTimePresenter:CarterMaxwellMentors:EthanKent,AndrewTang,CancerIQAbstract/Projectintention:CancerIQsellsa“cancerriskclinicinabox”,allowinghospitalstoquicklyfindouttheirpatients’riskforhereditarycancerthroughanintuitivequiz.Thebusinessprojectattemptstotackletheproblemofgettingpatientsintothehospitalbyofferingafreeintuitiveversionofthecompany’sproduct.Byinformingusers(basedontheirdailyactivities)aboutthechancesofgettingcancer,alongwiththesurvivalratesbasedontimeoftreatment,hopefullytheywillbeinspiredtogototheirdoctorandbecomemoreinformed.Optimally,peoplewilltakethequiz,decidetogettested,andstopacancerbeforeitbecomesaproblem.Theoveralldeliverablewasanintuitivewebappthataskstheusersomequestionsandthenprovidesstatistics/advicebasedontheirresponsive.Creatingitrequiredresearchintostatisticsoncancersurvivalratebasedonstageandactionsthataffectthechancesofgettingcancer.ItalsorequireddifferentwebapptechnologiesincludingReactandmaterial-ui.ThefinalproductshouldleadtheusertousingCancerIQ’soverallproduct,butatleastgettested.

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Room:A11310:45a.m.–11:00a.m.ExploringtheRoleofFertilizationontheFoliarNutrientConcentrationsofaTropicalRainforestPresenters:AmayraniSanchezandMaryAshleyTenedorMentors:SilviaAlvarez-Clare,TheMortonArboretumandAshleyWojciechowski,TheMortonArboretumandNorthCentralCollegeAbstract:Tropicalrainforestsareresponsiblefor30%ofthetotalcarbondioxideexchangebetweenthebiosphereandatmosphereandstorelargeamountsofcarbonasbiomass.Soilnutrientavailabilityisanimportantregulatorofforestcarboncyclesbyinfluencingtreegrowthandleafnutrientconcentrations.Inthisproject,westudiedhownitrogen(N)andphosphorus(P)addedasfertilizertothesoilsimpactnutrientconcentrationsintheleavesofthemostabundanttree(Pentaclethramacroloba)andtreepalm(Socrateaexorrhiza)seedlingsaswellasthreeotherunderstoryplants(palmGeonomacongesta,forbCalathealasiostachya,andfernPolybotryacaudata)inalowlandtropicalrainforestofCostaRica.Wecollected180plantsatEARTHUniversity’sEFFEXexperiment,whereforestplotshavebeencontinuouslyfertilizedwithN,P,NP,orkeptascontrolsfor11yearsandthenusedanelementalanalyzerandashdigestiontomeasuretheleafnutrients.WefoundthattheNtreatmentincreasedNfoliarconcentrationsbutNPtreatmentdidnotincreaseNshowingluxuryconsumptionofN.FoliarN:PratiosshowNPcolimitation.Thisresearchwilladvanceourunderstandingoftherolethatnutrientsplayonthecarboncycleintropicalforests.Usingthisknowledgewewillbebetterequippedtopredictchangescausedbyglobalchange.Room:A11510:45a.m.–11:00a.m.StudyofKidneyDilationinaRatBladderAugmentationModelPresenters:SoniaEdassery&MilicaBaracResearchMentor:Dr.ArunSharma,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:PatientswithSpinaBifidaaffectedwithmyelomeningocelecantypicallydisplayvaryingdegreesofbladderdysfunction.Inmostcases,surgicalreconstructionutilizingapieceofintestineisneeded.However,thissolutionisunsustainableasmanyissuescanoccurandthepossibilityofusingascaffoldisideal.Thegoalistousescaffoldswithabiodegradableframeworkthatcanserveasacarrierforcells,inhopesthatbonemarrowstem/progenitorcellscanbeusedasanalternativetowhatisusedinsurgicalmethods.Theobjectiveofourprojectwastolookatthepotentialkidneydamageinaratmodelthathasalreadybeenconflictedwithkidneystones.Weanalyzedkidneyswithregardstotheirkidneydilation,whichcanleadtorenalscarring.Weobservedthattheratswithpoly1,8-octanediol-co-citrate(POC)graftswerelesslikelytodevelopbladderstones,andtheywerealsolesslikelytodeveloprenaldilationorrefluxincomparisontothesmallintestinalsubmucosa(SIS)model.

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Room:A11710:45a.m.–11:00a.m.EarlyBiomarkersofAlzheimer’sDiseasePresenter:VaishnaviTetaliMentor:Dr.SurajCherianAbstract:Alzheimer’sdisease(AD)isanirreversible,progressivebraindisordercharacterizedbythedeteriorationofmemory,visuospatialability,andexecutivefunction.Becausethisneurodegenerationhappensslowly,earlydiagnosisandinterventionisneeded.ThisstudyutilizesapreclinicaltransgenicmousemodelofAD,5XFAD,becauseitischaracterizedbyanincreaseinamyloid-βoligomers(AβOs)inthehippocampus.PreliminaryresultsshowthattheexcitabilityofCA1,primaryoutputneuronsinthehippocampus,areonlyalteredinyoungermicebutnotinolderanimals.Additionalevidenceshowsanincreaseinlevelsoftwocytokinesinthehippocampusintheyoungeragegroup.Theseresultspointtoapotentiallinkbetweenexcitabilityoftheseneuronsandneuroinflammation.Theinnateoradaptivesystemscharacterizedbyalterationsinmicroglia,astrocytesofthebrain,andperipheralimmunecellssuchasTcellsmayunderliethemechanismfortheshiftinexcitabilityoftheneurons.Becausefunctionalchangesinneuronsaretypicallyaccompaniedbychangesinmorphology,hippocampaltissues(postrecordingofelectricalactivity)werefixedandstainedtobeimaged.Currenteffortsinclude3DreconstructionoftracedneuronsandShollanalysistodetermineifmorphologyisalteredin5XFADandtheircontrolwildtypelittermatesacrossdifferentagegroups.Room:A11910:45a.m.–11:00a.m.A3DHallProbeCalibrationPresenters:MicahMcBride,AlexanderZhongMentor:Dr.ThomasStrauss,FermiLabAbstract:TheFermilabMu2eexperimentseekstoinvestigatethedecayofmuonsintoelectrons.Theexperimentusesseveralsuperconductingmagnetstocreateacomplexmagneticfieldtotransportthemuonsfromtheirproductionpointtothedecaytarget,whereseveraldetectorswillanalyzethedecayproducts.Tocorrectlyidentifytheparticletracks,ahighprecisionmapofthemagneticfieldisrequiredtoobtainthemomentumdistributionofdecayparticlesandunderstandlocationsofpotentialmagnetictrapsthatcouldcontributetothenumberofbackgroundevents.Thefieldmaprequirementsdemandaprecisionofthemapof10-4Tesla.Thus,precision3DHallprobesareusedandneedtobecheckedfortheiraccuracy.Astheseprobesareusuallyonlyprecisetoa10-4Teslawithinalimitedtemperaturerange,theymightneedtobere-calibrated.Inourproject,wedevelopedtoolstocreateamultidimensionalfittointerpolatetheHallprobereadingsbetweenobtainedcalibrationdatapoints;variablesincludeprobeorientation,ambienttemperature,andcurrentmagneticfield.Wewilldescribetheprogressandfinalresultsofthiswork.

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Room:A12110:45a.m.–11:00a.m.ApoptoticGeneResponsetoNitricOxideExposureinHumanCarcinoma(A549)CellsPresenter:SamiraCherukuMentors:JamesRadosevich,OralMedicineandDiagnosticSciences,UICCollegeofDentistryAbstract:StudieshaveshownthathighNitricOxideexpressioninhumantumorspredictsapooroutcome.InhighNitricOxide(HNO)adaptedcells,signaltransductioninresponsetoDNAdamageisaltered.TheobjectiveofthisstudyistodeterminewhatgenesareassociatedwithresponsetoDNAdamagetonitricoxideexposure.mRNAwasisolatedfromA549(parent)andA549-HNOcells.ThemRNAwasconvertedtocDNAandusedtoprobeamicroanalysisarray.GenesrelatedtoDNAdamagewithpvaluesof<0.05,wereexcludedfromanalysis.Thegeneswereanalyzedfortheirrelationshiptoeachotherandothermolecularmechanisms,usingtheGoCodewiththeGeneManiafunction,andCytoscape.Sixgeneswereidentified(ABL1,BID,CASP9,CHEK2,GADD45A,GRB2)thatwereassociatedwithNitricoxideexpressioninrelationshiptoDNAdamage;allareactivatedinresponsetoextra-orintra-cellularstimuli,andthenproceedtoinduceapoptosis.ABL1andGADD45Awerefoundtobeupregulatedwhiletheother4werefoundtobedownregulated.BystudyingthegenesrelatedtoDNAdamageuponNitricOxideexposure,onecanmapthemolecularphenotypeofaggressivetumors,andcontributetodevelopingbettertherapeuticstrategiesforcancertreatment.Room:A123-1)10:45a.m.–11:00a.m.HighSchoolClimateandAdolescentPoliticalSocializationPresenter:RohanUpadhyayMentor:Dr.RobertBruno,UniversityofIllinoisinChicagoSchoolofLaborAbstract:Thisstudywillobservetheeffectsofthesocioeconomicstatusofhighschoolsonthepoliticalorientationsofstudents.Specifically,itwillinvestigatehowtheclassculturalnormsofthestudentbodyandfacultytransmitpoliticalviewstostudents.Itwillalsoexplorethecorrelationbetweenleft-rightpoliticalorientationsforsocialandeconomicissuesandthewealthofaschooldistrict.Wealthinthiscontextisdefinedasthepercentagereachedofastate-assignedadequacyfundingtarget,andtheschooldistrictswillbedividedintobracketsbasedonthisstatistic,takenfromtheIllinoisReportCard.Thestudywilluseacross-sectionalsurvey–validatedbyanexpertinthefield–acrossIllinoispublicschooldistricts.Thesurveywillaskstudentsaboutvariouspoliticalissues–dividedintosocialandeconomiccategories–andwillusethisinputtoprovideeachstudentwithavalueonan8-pointpoliticalcompass.Inaddition,therewillbeseparatepoliticalcompassescalculatedforthesocialandeconomiccategories.Thesevalueswillrepresentindividualpoliticalorientations,and

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theircorrelationwithdistrictsocioeconomicstatuswillbemeasured–thiswillbedoneforthegeneralcompassaswellasthespecificones.Room:A123-2)10:45a.m.–11:00a.m.HonokiolandCisplatinImpactonOtotoxicityfromChemotherapyPresenter:ZahraVasiMentors:Claus-PeterRichter,MD,Phd.ViceChairforResearch,DepartmentofOtolaryngology,XiaodongTan,Phd.ResearchAssistantProfessorofOtolaryngology,FeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Inthisexperiment,ototoxicityfromthechemotherapeuticdrugcisplatinwasstudiedtoreduceoreliminatethiscommonsideeffectfromchemotherapy.CisplatincausesdamagetomitochondriaandDNAinearcells,resultinginseverehearinglossanddeafness.UseofthedrugHonokiol,atraditionalChinesemedicine,isbeingtestedinconjunctionwithchemotherapytocombattheototoxicityfromcisplatinandpreventhearingloss.Inordertodeterminetheeffectivenessofthisdrug,twogroupsofmicearetreatedwithcisplatinandwithcisplatinandHonokiolandtheirhearingabilitiesaremonitored.Afterspecificintervalsoftime,thehearingabilityofthemicewasrecordedbymonitoringthereactivityintheirbrainsaftersoundswereplayedatpredeterminedfrequencies.Overtime,thisdetermineshowthehearinglossofthemicehasprogressedandprovidesacomparisonbetweenhearinglossfromcisplatinandhearinglossfromcisplatinwithHonokiol.Inordertoconfirmtheseresults,x-rayfluorescenceisusedtostudytheionsinthecochleaoftheindividualmice.OurresultsinitialresultsshowasignificantdifferencebetweentreatmentofmicewithchemotherapyandtreatmentofmicewithchemotherapyandHonokiol,indicatedthattheHonokioldoespreventototoxicity.Room:A14710:45a.m.–11:00a.m.UsingMonteCarlotoEstimateSystematicUncertaintiesPresenters:AkshayaRaghavan,EmilySpringer,andEmilyGondaResearchMentor:Dr.PeterDong,IMSAAbstract:InordertointerpretdatafromtheCMSparticleaccelerator,wemustcomparegenerator-levelvariableswithreconstructedvariablesinMonteCarlosamples.Thesecomparisonsallowustoestimatesystematicuncertaintiesinthedetector.GeneratingMonteCarlosamplesisatediousprocess.Eachstep(generation,reconstruction,AOD,andminiAOD)entailscreatingnewpythonfiles,submittingeachfile,checkingthedashboardforcompletion,andresubmittingthestepifneeded.Wecreatedaprogramtoautomatethisprocess.Theprogramcanhandlemultiplerequestsfordifferentmassranges,lambdavalues,interferencetypes,andhelicities.Itusesacrontabtochecktheprogressofeachstep,sendemailswheneachstageiscompleted,andmovetothenextstep.

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AnalyzingtheerrorinthedetectorusingMonteCarlosampleswillallowustocompensatefortheuncertaintieswhenworkingwithrealdata.Wewillpresentstudiesofinvariantmassandtransversemomentumresolutionandtheeffectofacceptanceandmigrationasafunctionofinvariantmass.Bothstudiesallowanestimateofkeysystematicuncertaintiesintheleptonenergyscalethatareusedinthefinalanalysis.Room:A14910:45a.m.–11:00a.m.AnalysisoftheCollins-SoperAngleinContactInteractionandLargeExtraDimensionMonteCarloDataSamplesPresenters:RebeccaOsar,JohnWoods,AyanMallikMentor:Dr.PeterDong,IMSAAbstract:TheCollins-Soperangleθ*istheanglebetweenthenegatively-signedleptonandtheZaxisinthecenterofmassreferenceframe,calculatedusingLorentz-invariantkinematicvariables.InCIanalyses,cosθ*isusedtocontroltheleptonangulardistributions(as1+cosθ),aswellasdetermineforward-backwardasymmetryofthedileptonsinthesample.Thecosθdistributionofasampleisacrater-shapeddistributionrangingfrom-1to+1,withanasymmetricalshifttowards+1causedbythetransversemomentumasymmetriesbetweeninteractingpartons.However,theCollins-Sopercalculationscangiverisetosignificantsourcesoferror.OnesucherrorofparticularimportanceistheSame-SignElectronproblem.Duetosystematicerrorinherenttoeventreconstruction,themeasuredsignofabout5-10%ofelectronsandpositronsisflipped,leadingtopositronsbeinglabelledaselectronsandviceversa.TheCollins-SoperAnglecalculationisdependentuponproperparticleidentification,andassuchamethodforlabellingtheparticlesincaseofasignflipisneeded.Thisstudyaimstodeterminewhethertherearesignificantdifferencesbetweenrandomassignment,highPttrusting,lowPttrusting,andothervariable-dependentmethodsbycomparinggenerator-leveldistributionswiththevariousmodelsofreconstructeddistributions.Iftherearesignificantdifferencesbetweenmethods,thestudywilldeterminewhichmethodyieldsthemostaccurateresults.Room:A15110:45a.m.–11:00a.m.Optimizationofp65andGFPAntibodiesinImmunofluorescencetoStudyNFkBSignalingPresenter:MaryamMuftiMentors:JonnaFrasor,EmilySmart,SvetlanaSemina,UniversityofIllinoisatChicagoAbstract:Breastcanceristhesecondleadingcauseofcancer-relateddeathsintheUnitedStatesforwomen(Chang,2012).Therehasbeenadeclineindeathsduetopreventativemeasuresandbettertreatment,however,AfricanAmericanwomenexperienceworseprognosis,shortersurvivaltimes,andhighermortalityratesduetovariousreasonsincludinggeneticriskfactors,obesity,andotherswhicharestillunknown.ThefocusoftheprojectisonEstrogenReceptor+

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breastcancerasitisthemostcommon.TreatmentsforER+BCincludeselectiveestrogenreceptormodulator,aromataseinhibitors,andselectiveestrogenreceptordegrader.However,50%ofER+breastcancerdevelopsendocrineresistanceandthesetumorsaremoreaggressiveandmetastatic.AbodyofevidenceshowsthatNFkBplaysacrucialroleinresistanceandcandrivetumorigenesisofbreastcancer.ThisresearchaimstostudyERandNFkBinbreastcancerwhichhasbeenshowntobeimportanttounderstandingtheunderlyingreasonsforracialdisparitiesinbreastcancer.Thus,thisresearchlookstooptimizeimmunofluorescencestainingofNFKBinER+breastcancercells,inordertostudyER/NFkBcrosstalkanditseffectondevelopmentoftamoxifenresistanceandsurvivaloftamoxifen-tolerantcells.Room:A15510:45a.m.–11:00a.m.StriatalProjectionofdSPNstoGPePathwayinRelationtoParkinson’sdiseasePresenter:SaivasudhaChalasaniMentors:Dr.QiaolingCuiandDr.SavioChan,NorthwesternUniversityAbstractTheexternalglobuspallidus,locatedinthebasalganglia,isassociatedwithavarietyoffunctionsincludingthecontrolofvoluntarymotormovements.TofullyunderstandtheinputcontroloftheGPe,wefocusedupontheprojectionfromthedSPNneuronclasstotheNpas1neuronclasswithintheGPeofParkinson’sDiseasemodelsandcontrolmodelsofmice.Usingcell-specifictransgenicmice,measuresofthecurrentamplitudesofdSPN-Npas1projectionwererecordedandinvestigated.Tounveiltheunderlyingmechanism,thedifferenceinthenumberofdSPN-GPesynapticcontactsbetweenamousemodelofPDandcontrolmicewillbeexplored.Toexploreifsynapticcontactsareincreasedaccordingly,synapticcontactsofdSPN-GPepathwaywerevisualizedusingimmunohistochemistryandcountedusingFIJIsoftware.Synapticcontactwillbevisualizedandidentifiedthroughtwoways:1)theimmediatespatialrelationshipbetweenGFP+terminalsfromdSPNsandpostsynapticmarkergephyrin;2)theoverlapbetweenGFP+terminalsfromdSPNsandpresynapticmarkerVesicularGABAtransporter(VGAT).Overall,theinvestigationofthedSPN-Npas1pathwaywithinthebasalgangliahelpstoleadtoabetterunderstandingofthewiringprincipleofthebasalgangliaintheParkinson’sdisease,allowingforfurtherresearchandcuresforthismovementdisorder.

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Room:B108-1)10:45a.m.–11:00a.m.IdentifyingeffectsofstressonRNAeditinginaratbrainmodelofPTSDPresenter:KrishnachandraNairMentor:MonsheelSodhi,LoyolaUniversityChicagoAbstract:ThisprojectanalyzestheeffectsofenvironmentalstressonlevelsofRNAeditinginanadultratbrainPTSDmodeltosearchforimplicationsinmentalhealth.WehavepreviouslydetectedchangesinthelevelsofRNAeditingduetoprenatalstress,butwehavenottestedamodelofadultstress.WeplantoinvestigatechangesinthelevelsofRNAeditingthroughNGS(next-generationsequencing)ofcDNAwiththeaidofspecificallydesignedprimersatRNAeditingsites.ThisprojectfocusesonalterationsinlevelsofRNAeditingspecificallyinthehippocampusoftheratbrainmodelasliteratureinthefieldhasshownthehippocampustobeheavilyinvolvedintheanimalstressresponse.ThroughtheusageofspecificRNAsequencesthatareconservedbetweenratsandhumans,thisprojectaimstoextrapolateitsfindingstoincreasecurrentunderstandinginthefieldofthemolecularbasisofPTSDinhumans.Room:B108-2)10:45a.m.–11:00a.m.EffectsofERGGeneKnockdowninLungCancerCellsonEndotheliumPermeabilityPresenter:JannaJannMentor:Dr.DollyMehta,theUniversityofIllinoisatChicagoCollegeofPharmacyAbstract:Compellingevidencesuggestsendotheliumpermeabilitycomprisesvasculararchitectureaffectingabody’sangiogenesisandtumorigenesis.OneofthekeyfactorsofendotheliumpermeabilityistheERGgenewhichislocatedinthenucleiofendothelialcells.TheERGgeneisclassifiedasaproto-oncogenewhichmeansthatthroughexcessivemutationitcancodeforfactorscausingcancer.ThroughQPCRandRNAextractionfromlungsamples,westudiedERGgeneknockdownandhowtheendotheliumpermeabilityaffectedbasicfunctionsofthecellalongwithvascularpermeability.Byseeingthesuppressionofcertainproteinfunctions,wecananalyzetheroleofERGinlungtissue.ThisstudyfurtherstheunderstandingofERGgeneknockdownanditscorrelationwithtumorigenesisandbylearningmoreaboutERG’sfunctionalongwiththeinhibitionoflungcancercells.

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Room:B11510:45a.m.–11:00a.m.EngineeringacelGMutationinVibriofischeriBacteriaanditsEffectsonCellobioseMetabolismandCellobiose-InducedGeneExpressionPresenter:NicoleWolffResearchMentor:Dr.KarenVisick,LoyolaUniversityMedicalCenterAbstract:VibriofischeribacteriacolonizetheEuprymnascolopesbobtailsquid,andaremostcommonlyknownfortheiruniqueabilitytoprovidebioluminescencetothesquid.However,motilityandbiofilmformationaretwoothertraitsknowntobeimportantforsquidcolonization.Toconductresearchonthistypeofbacterialbehavior,itisusefultodevelopstrainsinwhichthenaturalregulatorycontrolisreplacedwithaninduciblesystem,suchthatbiofilmsormotilitycanbeswitchedonoroffwithaninducer.Onesuchinduciblesystemusesthecellobiose-induciblepromoterPcel.Throughthispromoter,wecanuseflrAandfliQtoinducemotility,andsypAtoinducebiofilms.Inducibilityislost,however,whentheCelGproteinisabletodegradecellobiose.UsingPCRsplicingwithantibiotic-resistancecassettes,wegeneratedanES114VibriofischerimutantlackingcelG,thuslackingtheabilitytodegradecellobiose.WethentestedgrowthofVibriofischeriundervariousconditions:differentnutrients,temperatures,genedeletions,andtrimethoprim-resistantcassetteinsertionforcomplementationofagene,usingbothbiofilmandmotilityassays.ResultscanshowhowmutationsandnutrientconditionsaffectVibriofischeri,whichservesasamodelforothersymbioticsystems.Room:B11610:45a.m.–11:00a.m.DrugDiscoveryPresenters:MeganLeeandSarahYowMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstract:Anastrozoleisacommercialdrugusedtotreatbreastcancerinpostmenopausalfemales.IttargetstheproteinCytochromeP45019A1whichcleavesandrogentoproduceestrogenwhichcancausebreastcancer.ThefocusofourprojectwastoalterthechemicalstructureofthedrugandimproveitspropertiestoinhibittheproteinCytochromeP45019A1fromproducingestrogenmoreeffectively.WebeganbystudyinghowthedrugbindstoproteinCytochromeP45019A1andpreventsitfromfunctioning.Amolecularrepresentationofthisbindagewasnotonline,sowestudiedtoproteinligandpropertiesofCytochromeP45019A1anddrewitourselvesusingthecomputerprogramsACDChemSketchandMolinspiration.WecomparedthisstructuretothatofthedrugAndrostenedionewiththesametargetproteinasithadamolecularrepresentationofitsbindingonthePDBwebsite.UsingSeeSAR,weusedAndrostenedione’sPDBandsubstituteditwiththeAnastrozolemoleculesothatwehada3DmodelofAnastrozolemoleculebindedtothecommontargetprotein,CytochromeP45019A1.WethenalteredthemoleculeofAnastrozolebyalteringthestructureinvariousdifferentways.Asofrightnow,themosteffectivealterationisone

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thathasnitrogenatomsexchangedforphosphorusatomsinthemoleculetoimprovethebindingaffinitytoCytochromeP45019A1.Specifically,weexchangednitrogenatomstophosphorusatomstogetourbindingaffinityboundaryto0.04nMto3.78nMfromtheoriginal4488.02nMto445911.64nM.Afterconcentratingontheestimatedaffinity,wedirectedourfocustowardstorsionquality,intermolecularclash,andintramolecularclash.Bysignificantlyimprovingthemolecule’sbindingaffinitytoCytochromeP45019A1,wehavealteredtheAnastrozoledrugtoimproveitseffectsonpatients.Room:B13310:45a.m.–11:00a.m.AntibacterialPropertiesoftheExtractofAbelmoschusesculentusPresenter:BhavyaJasthiMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstract:Abelmoschusesculentus(Okra)isahighlynutritiousvegetable.ItbelongstothemalvaceaefamilyandiswidelycultivatedinIndia,Africa,America,andBrazilforitsfibrousfruitscontaininground,whiteseeds.Usageoftraditionalplantsandnaturalproductsforthetreatmentofinfectionsratherthansyntheticallyderiveddrugsareonasteeprise.Therefore,theaimofthisstudywastodeterminetheantibacterialpotencyofaqueousandethanoicextractsofAbelmoschusesculentusseeds.Antibacterialactivityofaqueousacetoneandethanolextractsofdriedpeelandseedsofokrawereevaluatedagainstselectedvariousbacteria.FreshOkrawascutupandseparatedintothegreenpeel,whitepeel,andseeds.Thesewerecollectedandair-driedunderaheatlampandextractedseparatelyusingacetoneandethanolassolventsofextraction.PhytochemicalanalysiswasconductedandtheextractsweretestedforantimicrobialactivityagainstsomeselectedbacterialisolatesofE.coli/DH5a,Bacillussubtillis,Enterococcusraffinosus,Acinetobacterbaylyi,andPseudomonasputidausingtheKirby-Bauertest.Itwasobservedthattheethanolgreenpeelextractshowedmaximuminhibitoryeffectonalltestedbacteriacomparedtotheacetoneandethanolextractswithseedsandwhitepeel.

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Room:A113-1)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.CreatingaParticlePhysicsSimulationusingAIPresenter:AryanVaidyaMenters:Dr.RickCavanaugh,FermilabAbstract:Formanyyears,theMonteCarlosimulationhasbeentheprevalentmethodofmeasuringprobabilitieswhenitcomestothefieldofparticlephysics.Whileithastraditionallybeenbuiltontheusageofregularprobabilitiesandthefundamentalpracticesofthestandardmodel,therehasbeenapushforanupdatedversionofthissimulation,andsothisexperimentaimstodosobybuildingtheMonteCarlousingAItoexpeditetheprocess.Whilethisistheendgoal,thefirstyearwasspentprimarilyindevelopmentoftheneuralnetworkenvironment,andlearninghowtobuildsuchanetworkinPython.Assuch,thedevelopmentoftheneuralnetworkwillcontinueintothenextyear,atwhichpointresultswillbeavailableforanalysis.Room:A113-2)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.CombinedSpectroscopic-PhotometricFollow-upObservationsofDESStellarStreamsPresenter:EthanTseResearchMentor:Dr.TingLi,FermilabNationalLaboratoriesAbstract:Astellarstreamisagroupofstarsthathasbeentornawayfromglobularclustersanddwarfgalaxiesthathavebeenstretchedapartbygravitationaltidalforce.PreviousobservationshavebeenmadeofstellarstreamsbytheDarkEnergySurvey.Theobjectiveofthisresearchprojectistoconfirmthefindingsdiscoveredinthepreviousstudyandtofurtherprovidekinematicinformationaboutthestreams.StellarstreamsaresensitivetogravitationalinfluencesandwehopetousethisdatatohelpmaptheMilkyWay’sDarkEnergyHalo.Currently,wehavetakennewmeasurementsofthestellarstreamsinthesouthernhemisphereandareworkingtoensurethattheinformationhasbeenproperlyobserved.Bytheendoftheresearchproject,wehopetomeasurethe3Dposition,3Dvelocity,andmetallicityofallthestellarstreamsinthesouthernhemisphere.Furthermore,wehopetodeveloptheinstrumentationandtechniquesneededtocarryoutthistypeofresearch.

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Room:A11511:05a.m.–11:20a.m.ImplementationoftheBernstein–VaziraniQuantumAlgorithmontheIBMQComputersPresenters:SydneyWang,AthenaZhengMentors:Dr.JensKoch,DanielWeiss,XinyuanYou,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Thecomplexityofcertainclassicalcomputeralgorithmscanbereducedbyaquantumalgorithmcompletingthesametask.WeexaminetheimplementationoftheBernstein–Vaziranialgorithm.Itfindsthehiddenn-bitstringsfromthefunctionfs(x)=sxthattakesann-bitinputstringxandoutputsonebit,thedotproduct.Thisalgorithmreducesthecomplexityfromnqueriesforthebestclassicalalgorithmtojustone.Thoughthequantumalgorithmtheoreticallyalwaysgivesthecorrectstring,inpractice,factorssuchasdecoherenceofthephysicalqubitsduetoexternalnoisereducethealgorithm’saccuracy.ByimplementingthealgorithmontheIBM5-qubitand14-qubitquantumcomputers,weareabletoanalyzecorrelationsbetweentheaccuracyoftheresultsandthepropertiesofthephysicalqubitsused.Notallqubitsarepairwiseconnected,nordotheyhavethesamecoherencetimes.UsingPythontobuildthequantumcircuits,wecreateseveralimplementationsofthecircuitwithdifferentqubits.Weestablishthat1/T1,1/T2,andgateerrorsarepositivelycorrelatedwithcalculationerrors.Consequently,weobservethatthe14-qubitquantumcomputer,onaverage,ismorepronetoerrorsthanthe5-qubitquantumcomputer.Room:A11711:05a.m.–11:20a.m.UsingaGuidedUserInterfaceandAutomatedRobottoImageCaenorhabditisElegansPresenter:ChrisTengMentor:AnthonyFouad,UniversityofPennsylvaniaAbstract:Fromagingresearchtoparamountbiologicaldiscoveriessuchasapoptosis,C.Eleganshasbeenthecruxofmanyresearchproblemsinthepastdecade.However,theypossesscertainqualities,suchastheirmicroscopicsize,thatmakerepetitivelabworkextremelytediousforhumanlaborandthusastrongcandidateforautomation.Toautomatetheprocessofpreparingwormsforcertainexperiments,wedesignedandcodedsoftwarethatwasabletoaccuratelydetectwormsinagrayscaleimage.Todothis,weanalyzedthecontourcurvesofaregularroundwormandalsodesignedanefficientguideduserinterfacetoimproveusability.Throughourefforts,wewereabletoproducearobotcapableofmovinginthreelateraldirectionswithacameramountedgantrysystem.Itiscapableoffinetuningimagesandlivefeed,aswellasrecognizingwormswithgreataccuracy.Furthermore,therobotisalsomountedwithametallicwirepickthatisusedtopickupwormsandtransferthemtonewplates.Thepickisretractableandcanalsoautonomouslysterilizeitself.Sincethepickwouldneedtohaveextremeprecisiontopickupaworm,itwouldneedtobeextremelysensitive.Insolvingthisissue,wedevelopedtwoways:imageanalysisandcapacitivetouchsensing.Theimageanalysissimplydetectedsmallchangesinimagegradiencewhilethecapacitivetouchsensesmallchangesinelectriccurrent.Overall,theprojectdemonstratedthe

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opportunitiesofautomationandhowitcanefficientlyminimizetediouslabprocedures.Notonlyistherobotintuitive,butalsohighlydistributableandreproducibleforotherlaboratories.Room:A119-1)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.MappingtheRoleoftheNotch4ReceptorinAngiogenesisPresenter:KrishnaThakkarMentor:Dr.NaicheAdler,UniversityofIllinois-CollegeofMedicineAbstract:Angiogenesisistheprocessbywhichnewbloodvesselsform,ascellsinhypoxiasecretVascularEndothelialGrowthFactorwhichcreatesthetipcellphenotypeinwhicheverendothelialcellitbindsto.ThenewtipcellpromotesthestalkcellphenotypeinneighboringcellsthroughtheNotchpathway.Thetipandstalkcellphenotypesarecriticaltoangiogenesis,butnotmuchisunderstoodaboutthepathwayresponsiblefortheircreation.Withthisexperiment,weaimtounderstandhowthepathwayfunctionsbyexaminingtheimpactofknockingoutcomponentsofit,namelyNotch4anditsdownstreamtargets,Rnd1andUnc5b.InordertoquantifytheeffectsofknockingouttheseproteinsusingCRISPR/Cas9,postnatalmiceretinawerecomparedonmeasuresofradialoutgrowth,tipcells,andbranchingoftheretinalvasculature.Basedoninitialresults,itisexpectedthattheNotch4knockoutmicewillexhibitlessradialoutgrowthandreducedbranchingofretinalbloodvessels.Themappingofangiogenicpathwaysoffersmanyavenuesforstudyinghumanhealth.Forexample,newcancerresearchaimstoreducebloodflowtotumorsbydecreasingangiogenesis.Therefore,adeeperunderstandingoftheroleofNotch4couldaidthedevelopmentofnewmedicinaltherapies.Room:A119-2)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.DiscoveryofpotentPDE4inhibitorsPresenter:IshaniTarafdarMentor:Dr.TimothyHagen,NorthernIllinoisUniversityAbstract:Thephosphodiesterase4(PDE4)enzyme,whichisresponsibleforhydrolyzingcAMPinimmunecellsandthecentralnervoussystem,isinvolvedinconditionssuchasAlzheimer’sdisease,schizophrenia,anddepression,makingitapromisingtargetforpharmaceuticaldevelopment.DrugssuchasApremilastandCrisaborolearealreadyinuse.LigandswhichactasinhibitorsofPDE4andhavehighbindingaffinitytotheactivesites,therebyincreasinglevelsofcAMPinimmunecells,arebeinginvestigatedtotreatpatientswiththeseconditions.Throughcomputerizedmoleculardockingexperiments,acommonmethodusedindrugdesignanddiscovery,webounddifferentsmallmoleculesfromtheproteindatabank(PDB)tobindingsitesofthePDE4enzyme.UsingtheresultsoftheexperimentsconductedwithAutoDockTools,wewereabletodeterminepreferredorientationsorposesoftheligandsaswellastheirbindingaffinitytoPDE4.FurtherstudyneedstobedoneonPDE4inhibitorsinordertounderstandPDE4regulationandtreatconditionsimpactedbyit.

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Room:A123-1)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.TheEffectsofTcellPD-1/PD-L1Cis-BindingonTcell-APCInteractionsPresenter:YatriSutariaMentors:ChufanCai,Dr.JunHuang,UniversityofChicagoAbstract:PD-1/PD-L1trans-bindingbetweenTcellsandAPCsisknowntoinactivatetheTCR,preventingaTCR/pMHCcomplex.ThePD-1/PD-L1trans-interactionisespeciallyofinterestincancerresearch,asthePD-L1onthecancercellswillcomplexwiththePD-1ontheTcell,preventingtheTcellfrombindingtothecancercellandreleasingcytokinesorperforins,allowingthecancercellstoproliferate.MultiplestudiesbuildoffofthisknowledgeandfocusonhowblockingPD-1/PD-L1signalingallowsTcellstocontinueattackingtumorcells.Recently,therehasalsobeenresearchdoneonhowPD-1/PD-L1cis-bindingonAPCSimpactsTcell/APCbinding.However,therehasnotbeenmuchresearchonPD-1/PD-L1cis-bindingonT-cells,whichiswhatourexperimentfocuseson.ThegoalofourstudyistoidentifytheeffectTcellPD-1/PD-L1cis-bindinghasonTCR/pMHCinteractionsbyblockingthePD-1/PD-L1signalwithanti-PD-L1antibodies.Inthefuture,theresultsofthisstudycanpossiblybeappliedtocancerimmunotherapyaswell.

Room:A123-2)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.EngineeringpHdependentcamelidantibodieswithasparticacidandglutamicacidPresenter:DanaStaneckiMentor:JamesR.Horn,HyeyoungEom,NorthernIllinoisUniversityAbstract:Proteinengineeringisgrowingasanimportantsubjectasnewdiscoveriesinthisareaopennewdoorsforapplicationofdifferentproteins.Camelidantibodiesspecificallyareanareaofinterestbecausetheylackthelightchainandonlypossesstheheavychainthatallowforuniqueapplications.Thisheavy-chainonlydesignincreasesstabilityandspecificityinbondinginteractions.Previously,camelidantibodyproteinswereengineeredbytheHornLabthathadhighbondingaffinitiesathighpHs.Usingisothermaltitrationcalorimetry,westudiedthebondingaffinitiesatpH4.0inseveralmutationsthatallowedforhighbindingatlowpH.Bymutatingcertainaminoacidsinthehomodimerbondinginterfacetoasparticacidorglutamicacid,wewereabletoengineerproteinswithdifferentstructurestoexaminetheefficacyandtheaffinityofthebondingatlowpH.Furtherresearchisneededtodeterminethemosteffectivemutationandtostudytheeffectthesemutationshaveonthestructure.

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Room:A14711:05a.m.–11:20a.m.AnalysisofNegative-WeightEventsinMonteCarloGenerationwithNext-To-Leading-OrderPartonDistributionFunctionsPresenters:AbigailVanderPloeg,MadisonHahamy,RylieMeek,DanielLeeMentor:Dr.PeterDong,IMSAAbstract:Inaparticlephysicsanalysis,MonteCarlosimulationisoneofthemostimportantsteps,asitallowsforanestimateofthecumulativeeffectsofaparticle’sinteractionwithdetectormaterial,allowinganaccurateestimateofeventselectionefficiencyandbackgroundexpectation.TheCMScollaborationusestheparallelprocessingsystemCRABtogenerateMonteCarloevents.Eventsgothroughfoursteps:GENSIM,DIGIRECO,AOD,andMINIAOD,eachstepcompressingtheeventstoamoreworkableamountofmemory.Thepartondensityfunction,orPDF,describesthedistributionofparticleswithinthecollidingprotonsthatisessentialtogeneratingMonteCarloevents.However,PDF'saredeterminedbyacomplicatedmixoftheoryandexperiment,anddifferentPDFsyielddifferentresults.Recentnext-to-leading-orderPDF'shaveledtotheproductionofeventswithanegativeeventweight,representingeventsthatshouldbesubtractedfromtheanalysis.Thisraisesthedisconcertingpossibilitythatthetotalexpectednumberofeventsinachannelcouldbenegative,especiallyinthehigh-massregionofinterest.WeexamineMonteCarlocontactinteractioneventsfornegative-weighteventsanddeterminetheireffect,ifany,ontheanalysis.Room:A14911:05a.m.–11:20a.m.Feldman-CousinsAnalysisatCMSPresenters:GrantDexterandMichaelVayningerMentor:Dr.PeterDong,IMSAAbstract:FeldmanandCousinsintroducedastatisticaltechniquetoperformafrequentistanalysiswhichunifiesupperandlowerlimitswithtwo-sidedconfidenceintervals.Thissolvestheproblemthatthechoiceofupperlimitortwo-sidedintervalleadstointervalsthatdonotgivefrequentistcoverageifthechoiceisdependentonthedata.TheFeldman-Cousinsapproachinvolvessortingpseudoexperimentsbytheirlikelihoodratio,orRvalue.ThisinvolvessortinganumberofpointsinN-dimensionalspacebytheirRvalues.Afterremovingthepointswiththelowestlikelihood,theremainingpointsdefinearegioninspace:asimpletaskinthesingle-channelcase,butamoredifficultoneinthegeneralN-channelcase.Analgorithmmustbeemployedtodeterminewhetheragivenpseudoexperimentiscontainedinthedefinedregion.Thecurrent"box"approximationonasampledatasetyieldedalowerlimitof15.47TeV,comparedtotheBayesianlimitof21.14TeV.Workisunderwayonamulti-dimensionalhullalgorithm,amoreaggressiveapproximationwhichwillraisethislimitevenfurther.

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Room:A15111:05a.m.–11:20a.m.MachinelearningforASLtranslationPresenters:JacobLevine,ArthurLuMentors:KarenLivescu,BowenShi,Abstract:Machinelearningisthescientificstudyofalgorithmsandstatisticalmodelsthatcomputersystemsusetoeffectivelyperformaspecifictaskwithoutusingexplicitinstructions,relyingonpatternsandinferenceinstead.Machineslearnbytakinginlargeamountsofdataandslowlyadaptinganartificialnetworktoprocessthedata.Machinelearninghasbeenusedinawidevarietyofapplicationsincludingspeechandlanguagerecognitionandtranslation.Overthepastfewyears,increasedcomputationalpowerhasallowedmachinetranslationusingmachinelearningmethodstobecomeaccurateforvariouslanguages.However,forlanguagesthatarenotwidelyused,machinetranslationmodelsmaynotbeasaccurate.OnesuchlanguageisAmericanSignLanguage(ASL),usedbyabout300,000people.ASLtranslationhasmanyproblemsthattranslationfromotherlanguageshave,suchasthelackofalargeannotateddataset.Additionally,italsohasproblemsthatmachinetranslationfromotherlanguagesdonothave:ASLdoesnothaveaspokenorwrittenform,ASL’sgrammaticalstructureisdifferentfrommostspokenlanguages,andASLborrowswordsfromEnglishbyfingerspelling.Althoughtranslationofindividualsignshasbeenaccurateforalongtime,accuratefingerspellingreadingshaveonlybeguntobecomeaccuraterecently.Thesealgorithmstodothisarefairlydata-hungryandthus,havebeenlimitedbythelackofalargedataset.However,therearemanydeafnewssitesthathavenumeroushoursofvideoinASL.Therefore,tohelpcollectalargerdataset,wearedevelopingamachinelearningalgorithmtoidentifyfingerspellinginvideos.OurcurrentapproachistoprocesseachframethroughaconvolutionalneuralnetworkcalledVGG-16forfeatureextraction,thenfeedtheresultsthroughone3Dconvolutionallayer,thenuseasetofstandardlinearlayersforprediction.However,currently,thismodelseverelyunderfitsthedata,meaningthatthemodelcan’tpickuponthevarianceofthedataandinsteadisnotaccurateenoughtobeused.

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Room:A15511:05a.m.–11:20a.m.HonokiolandCisplatinImpactonOtotoxicityfromChemotherapyPresenter:ZahraVasiMentors:Claus-PeterRichter,MD,Phd.ViceChairforResearch,DepartmentofOtolaryngology,XiaodongTan,Phd.ResearchAssistantProfessorofOtolaryngology,FeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Inthisexperiment,ototoxicityfromthechemotherapeuticdrugcisplatinwasstudiedtoreduceoreliminatethiscommonsideeffectfromchemotherapy.CisplatincausesdamagetomitochondriaandDNAinearcells,resultinginseverehearinglossanddeafness.UseofthedrugHonokiol,atraditionalChinesemedicine,isbeingtestedinconjunctionwithchemotherapytocombattheototoxicityfromcisplatinandpreventhearingloss.Inordertodeterminetheeffectivenessofthisdrug,twogroupsofmicearetreatedwithcisplatinandwithcisplatinandHonokiolandtheirhearingabilitiesaremonitored.Afterspecificintervalsoftime,thehearingabilityofthemicewasrecordedbymonitoringthereactivityintheirbrainsaftersoundswereplayedatpredeterminedfrequencies.Overtime,thisdetermineshowthehearinglossofthemicehasprogressedandprovidesacomparisonbetweenhearinglossfromcisplatinandhearinglossfromcisplatinwithHonokiol.Inordertoconfirmtheseresults,x-rayfluorescenceisusedtostudytheionsinthecochleaoftheindividualmice.OurresultsinitialresultsshowasignificantdifferencebetweentreatmentofmicewithchemotherapyandtreatmentofmicewithchemotherapyandHonokiol,indicatedthattheHonokioldoespreventototoxicity.

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Room:B108-1)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.UsingMolecularDynamicsSimulationstoInvestigateHIV-1ProteasePresenter:ElizabethMurphyMentor:Dr.AoMa,AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofBioengineering,Abstract:HIV-1ProteaseisaprincipalobjectindrugdiscoverygivenitskeyroleinthesurvivalofAIDS.WithoutHIV-1Protease,thediseasewouldnotbeabletoreplicateormatureinthewayproperforitssurvival(Caflischetal.2004).Giventhecomplicatednatureofitsfolding,includingtwoflapsthatshiftbetweenclosedandpartiallyopendependingonthepresenceofaligand,thefoldingmechanismsareimportantinthedrugdiscoveryprocess(Hornak2006).Runningmoleculardynamics(MD)simulationsisonemethodforinvestigatingmorecloselythefoldingmechanismsofHIV-1Protease.ThisstudyutilizedGROMACSthroughaCygwin64terminaltorunsimulationsonHIV-1Proteasetofurtherstudythesefoldingmechanisms.Room:B108-2)11:05a.m.–11:20a.m.SimulatingBehaviorsofPOMDPsPresenter:JayDongMentor:PiotrGmytrasiewicz,UICArtificialIntelligenceLaboratoryAbstract:Intuitionisanimportanthumancapabilitythatallowsustogaugeandpredictthepropertiesofanunknownenvironment.ThisstudypresentsanapproachtohowacomputeragentcanreplicatethisinnateintuitionbyusinganalgorithmthatwilllearnfromanunknownunderlyingstateusingPartiallyObservableMarkovDecisionProcesses(POMDPs).Thistaskisdifficultbecausethecomputerwillneverhave100%certaintyinitsdecisions,thuseveryactionwillbebasedonabeliefstate.Todeterminethetransitionprobabilitiesinourunknownenvironment,wearecurrentlyrecursivelyapplyingalearningalgorithm,lookingforpatternsinthecomputer’sbeliefstate.WeareimplementingtheseideasandalgorithmsusingJavainanefforttocreateanintelligentmachine.Wetestthecompetenceofouralgorithmsbyrunningtheminasimulationwithknowntransitionprobabilitiesandfindingpercenterrorbetweencalculatedprobabilitiesandtrueprobabilities.Althougharobust,error-freealgorithmhasnotbeendeveloped,wehopetofindalogicalandconsistentalgorithmthatwilldeterminetransitionandobservationalprobabilitiesaccuratelyandconsistently.

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Room:B11611:05a.m.–11:20a.m.ResearchintoAntimicrobialSoilResearchers:AlexandraGonzalez,DavidRevilla,JolinZhangMentors:Dr.JohnThurmond,Dr.AngelaAhrendtAbstract:Astherateofantimicrobialresistancerises,theneedtofindnewantibioticshasneverbeenmoreimportant.Onepossiblewaytocreatenewantibioticcompoundsistosearchforantimicrobialbacteriaindirt.Inourstudies,wetookthreesoilsamplesfromaconcentratedareatotesttheantimicrobialswithin,againstdifferentpathogenicstrains.Coloniesfromthesoilsampleswerethenrunthroughaspreadpatchtesttocheckforantimicrobials.AllcoloniesthattestedpositivelyforantimicrobialwerethenrunthroughPCRtoidentifythesizeofthemicrobe.Ourstudyhasconcludedandagreeswithpaststudiesthatthereareinfactorganismswithantimicrobialpropertiesthatcanbefoundinsoil.Thisisjustthebeginningoftheantimicrobialstudy,asthereisstillmuchmoreanalyzingtobedoneonthesoilthroughouttherestofIMSAcampus.Inordertofurtheranalyzingthecolonieswehavealreadyisolatedtodiscoverwaystheycanbeusedasantimicrobials,thisresearchprojectmustcontinueoverthecomingyearswithnewstudentstoleadit.Room:B13311:05a.m.–11:20a.m.Cloning,Expression,&PurificationofthePlasmodiumFalciparumhypoxanthineguaninexanthinephosphoribosyltransferasetouseinDrugBindingStudiesPresenters:FaithGeorge,TrishaSudhakar,AryanWaliaMentor:AngelaAhrendt,PhD.,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Inthisproject,theaimistofindadrugtotreatmalaria.ThetargetthatwaschosenisanenzymeofPlasmodiumfalciparum,hypoxanthineguaninexanthinephosphoribosyltransferase(HGXPRT).HGXPRTisanenzymerequiredforP.falciparumtosynthesizepurinenucleosidemonophosphatesessentialforDNA/RNAproduction.WhenHGXPRTisinhibitedthereisapotentialforP.falciparumtobeeliminated.AplasmidcontainingthegeneforHGXPRTwasacquiredandtransformedintoBL21DE3forexpression.TheHGXPRTenzymewasexpressedandpurifiedusingimmobilizednickelionchromatography,andsuccessfulexpressionwasconfirmedbySDS-PAGE.Inaddition,thegenewasamplifiedfromtheplasmidbyPCRtoinsertintoadifferentexpressionvectortocomparetheexpressionbetweenthetwosystems.

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Room:A11311:25a.m.–11:40a.m.ExploringNucleolarImpactonKeratinocyteDifferentiationPresenters:AaronRodriguesandKurtLeanoMentor:Dr.SuiHuangAbstract:Asthelargestcomponentswithinthenucleus,nucleoliconsistofribosomalDNAregionsandareessentialforribosomesynthesis.Yet,forsuchdistinctregionswithinthecentralcomponentofcells,therehasbeenlittleresearchconcerningitsinfluenceoncellularmetabolismoutsideofribosomesynthesis.Thus,nucleolimayplaykeyrolesincrucialcellprocesses,includinginvolvementwithcellulardifferentiation.Inthisstudy,weobservedthechangeinnucleolarcountaskeratinocytesdifferentiate,measuringotherfactorsacrossepidermallayersincludingthequantityofcellswithoutnucleoli,centromerecount,centromereassociationwiththenucleolus,andcentromereassociationwiththenuclearmembrane.Bydefininglayersbasedongeneraldistancefromthebasalcelllayer,wedetectedcorrelationsbetweencellsofdifferentlevelsofdifferentiationfortheaforementionedfactors.Thesesignificantchangesacrosslayerssuggestthatthenucleolusplaysanactiveroleindifferentiation,promotingfurtherinvestigationintothenucleolus’holisticfunction.Room:A11511:25a.m.–11:40a.m.TheRoleofDONsinRegulatingBoneTumorFormationfromMesenchymalStemCellsPresenters:AlisonDengandScottDuMentor:Dr.Tong-ChuanHe,UniversityofChicagoAbstract:Osteosarcomaisadifferentiationdiseasethatresultsfromanosteoblastdifferentiationandproliferationimbalance.Thisstudyinvestigatedhowcertain19-baseshortregulatoryRNAsmaydisruptBMP9-inducedosteoblastdifferentiationinmesenchymalstemcells(MSCs).Weareinterestedindeterminingtheseeffectsbecausetheymayfurtherexplainthedevelopmentofosteosarcoma.Weintroducedacompletelyrandomized19-baseshortRNALibraryintoMSCsanddiscoveredseveralshortRNAtranscripts,whicharenamedasDisruptorsofBMP9(DONs).WeshowedthattheseDONscanproduceosteogenicresistantMSCsatvarioustimepointsduringlibraryscreening.WefoundthatMSCsaffectedwithDONsproduceabonetumor-likephenotype.ThisstudydeterminedthatiMAd199mesenchymalstemcellsstablyexpressingeitherDONs1,2,and3effectivelydisruptedBMP9-inducedosteogenicdifferentiation.Basedontheseresults,wehopetosequencetheDONs’sRNAtodetermineanyupordownregulationofmRNAorlncRNAinvolvedinthepathogenesisofosteosarcoma.

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Room:A11711:25a.m.–11:40a.m.InfluenceofGender,TimeandIntensityonRatingofPleasantnessofFoodOdorsPresenter:SaisuprithaTalasuMentors:ThorstenKahnt,JanaTegelbeckers,NorthwesternUniversityFeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Theolfactorysystemisacentralsystemthatplaysanessentialpartinthesmell.Smellisanimportantsensebecauseitislinkedtopartsofthebrainthatprocessesemotionandmemory,soitcanalertustodangerlikefireorspoiledfoodwhenweareintrouble.Foodisoftenusedasarewardingstimulusbecauseitinducesappetitivebehavior,soithasthepotentialtomakeusapproachandconsume.Peoplecanloveorhatecertainfoodsorobjectsonlybytheirodor.Theparticipantsinthisstudyweregivenfoursavoriesandfoursweetodorstosmellwhentheywereinahungrystateandratethemdependingonthepleasantnessoftheodor.Thentheychoseonesavoryandonesweetodoranddidatestratingthepleasantnessandintensityofodor.Thereweretwoelementswelookedatwhenanalyzingthedata.One,ifthetimeofdayandgenderhadanyeffectonthepleasantnessofratingandtwo,thecomparisonbetweenpleasantnessandintensityinthetwoodorschosenafterthefirsttest.Room:A11911:25a.m.–11:40a.m.Applicationsofmachinelearninginglioblastomadiagnosis,classification,treatment,andprognosisPresenters:AndrewDu,MatthewLeeMentors:Dr.JaneWu,WarrenMcGee,WuLaboratory,NorthwesternUniversityFeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Glioblastomasarehighlyinvasive,malignant,gradeIVastrocytomas,formedprimarilyfromcancerousastrocytesandsustainedbyintenseangiogenesis,oftencausingnon-specificsymptomsandcreatingdifficultyfordefinitivediagnoses.Thisstudyaimstoutilizeartificialintelligence,machinelearning,anddeeplearningtechniquesinordertoprovideanaccuratemolecularclassificationandsurvivalprognosisforglioblastomapatientsusingmagneticresonanceimaging,clinical,andgenomicdata.ImagesfromTCIA-TCGAandIvyGAPdatasetswillbeprocessedandusedtotrainandtestcomputeralgorithms.Atthestudy’scurrentstage,rawdatahasbeenprocessedforuseandanalgorithmisindevelopmentfortheaforementionedpurposes.Criteriaarealsobeingdeterminedforselectingdataofutilitytothecurrentstudy.Amultilayerperceptronandaconvolutednetworkwillbecombinedinasingleend-to-endKerasmodeldesignedtoacceptmixeddatainputsfromprocessedclinical,genomic,andMRimagingdata.Theseresultscanhelpidentifypredictivefeaturesthatcouldassistinprovidingmoreaccurateandcomprehensivediagnosesandthataresignificantforsurvivability.

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Room:A121-1)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.ComparingNetworkSamplingMethodsPresenter:AlecChenMentor:Dr.LuluKang,IllinoisInstituteofTechnologyAbstract:Networkscanbeusedtoanalyzesystemsintherealworld,howevertheyareoftentoolargeforourcomputerstoanalyzewithinareasonableamountoftime.Asolutiontothisisnetworksamplingmethods.Thesearejustwaysofsamplingasmaller“representative”networkthatwecananalyze.Beingrepresentativemeansthatthesampleretainscertaincharacteristicsoftheoriginalnetwork.Becausetherearemanycharacteristics,itmeansmanydifferentthingsforasamplenetworktoberepresentative.Ilookedatthreecommonsamplingmethods,beingrandomdegreenode,randomedgeinduced,andsnowballsampling,andcomparedthembasedonhowsimilartheyweretoanarbitraryoriginalnetworkforfundamentalcharacteristics,degreeandclusteringcoefficient.Room:A121-2)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.CreatinganAlgorithmtoTransformDataHierarchiesBasedonNewInformationPresenter:VibhavAdiviMentor:PiotrGmystrasiewicz,UniversityofIllinoisatChicagoAbstract:Inartificialintelligence,animportanttypeofmachinelearningalgorithminvolvestakingolddataandusingnewinformationtotransformit.Withthisinmind,thefamousCheryl’sBirthdayproblemwastakeninordertotaketheinformationthateachagentknowsandputitintoadatahierarchy,andthenusinganalgorithmtotransformthisdatahierarchybasedonthenewannouncementsmadethroughouttheproblem.Forthis,pseudocodeintheformaseriesofconditionalstatementstofindoutwhatdatescouldbeeliminatedtofindCheryl’sactualbirthdayintheproblem.Withthis,acomputercanbeprogrammedtosolveanyproblemintheformofCheryl’sBirthdaywithanyinformation.Thisalgorithmopensthepossibilitiesofmachinelearningalgorithmsthatareabletochangedatasetsbasedongiveninformation.

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Room:A123-1)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.MeasuringtheResponseofNevomelanocytestoMBEH,4-TBP,and8-DPATPresenter:NikhileshGuptaMentors:Dr.I.CarolineLePooleandEmiliaDellacecca,FeinbergSchoolofMedicine,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Congenitalneviarepigmentedmolespresentatbirththathavea2to20-foldincreaseinthechanceofdevelopingmelanoma.Inthepast,melanomahasbeentreatedusingbleachingagentstogivepatientsamoreevenskintonewhichtheymayprefer.Bleachingseemstohaveacytotoxicitytowardsmelanocytesandnotkeratinocytesmeaningitprovidesaneffectivesolution.Morespecifically,thephenolsinexperimentationareMBEH,4-TBP,and8-DPAT.Sinceitissimilartotheaminoacidtyrosine,monobenzyletherofhydroquinone(MBEH)isabletobeconvertedintoahighlyreactivequinonewhichcanactinamelanosomalcelltorestrictmelanocyteexpression.Additionally,4-tertiarybutylphenol(4-TBP)hasbeenproventoinduceapoptosisinthetargetedregionsand8-DPAThasbeenusedtoreducethecytotoxicityofthespecificregiontoreducechancesofnevuscellsbecomingtumorigenic,ensuringthatstemcelllikecellsdonotdifferentiate.Thus,bleachingallowsforanon-intrusiveformofremovingthecongenitalneviandpreventingfuturemelanomathatcanhelpinsituationsofextensivelesionswhereoptionssuchasskingraftsarenotaviablechoice.Theexperimentationaimstotestandcharacterizetheeffectofthesephenolsonnevomelanocytes.Room:A123-2)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.DevelopingaMultivariableArtificialPancreasforVariousExerciseTypesandIntensitiesPresenter:BalaRamarajuMentor:Dr.LaurettaQuinn,UniverityofIllinois-Chicago(UIC)Abstract:Diabetesmellitus(DM)hasbeenamajorpublichealthproblemintheU.S.,affectingmorethan29million(9.3%)ofthepopulation.Type1diabetes(T1)isaformofDMinwhichverylittleornoinsulinisproducedbythepancreas,resultinginhighbloodsugarlevelsinthebody.ManypeoplewithT1DMusedailyphysicalactivitytohelpwiththeirbloodglucoselevelregulation.Currentinsulinpreparationsandinsulindeliveryarenotabletoadjusttothechangesinbloodglucoseassociatedwiththeunplannedchangesinphysicalactivities.Therefore,anAPor“closedloop”systemthatcanbeadjustedwithtimeflexibilityisdesirable.ThefocusedobjectiveofthisresearchstudyistodetectandmitigatetheeffectsofexerciseonbloodglucoseconcentrationsthroughthedevelopmentofaMultivariableAdaptiveArtificialPancreasSystem(MAAP)inType1Diabetes.Currently,experimentsarebeingextendedtoevaluateasemi-closed-loopalgorithm(i.e.,aclosedloopalgorithmthathasperiodicmanualinputs)duringphysicalactivityandexercise;andtocomparethemtoopenloopcontrolunderidenticalconditions.This,inturn,willhelpvisualizeahealthierandbetterfutureforthosewithType1diabetes.

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Room:A14711:25a.m.–11:40a.m.CalculatingMultichannelBayesianLimitsUsingaMarkovChainMonteCarloCalculatorPresenters:LilyPan,SrivinayTummarakota,ThailerLietzMentors:Dr.PeterDongIMSA,Dr.LeonardSpiegel,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:Ourgroup'sgoalistofindevidenceofquark-leptoncompositenessbyanalyzingcontactinteractionsthatwouldindicatethepresenceofpreons,theoreticalconstituentsofquarksandleptons.WefocusspecificallyontheBayesianstatisticalanalysisthatdeterminesthelowerlimitfortheenergyscaleatwhichsuchcontactinteractionswouldoccur.WecalculatelimitsusingaBayesianMarkovchainMonteCarlocalculatorwhichutilizesRooStats,astatisticalanalysisprogram,tofindthe95%confidenceintervalforagivenparameterofinterest.Weshowthatwecanfindsimplesingle-binlimits,thenincludebackgroundprocessesandsystematicuncertaintiesintothelimitcalculationbeforegeneratingmulti-channellimits.WearecreatingaprogramthatcomputestheBayesianlimitofmultiplechannelswithcorrelatedsystematicuncertainties.Wewillshowourpromisingresultsandoutlinetheissuesthatremaintobesolved.Room:A14911:25a.m.–11:40a.m.SearchforHypervelocityStarsUsingDESPresenter:TyroneWhitmore-WilsonMentors:Dr.WilliamWester,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:Hypervelocitystarsareimportantforbetterunderstandingthenatureofdarkmatterinthegalaxy.Bystudyinghypervelocitystarsinthegalaxy,wecangainabetterunderstandingofthedistributionofdarkmatterinthegalaxy.However,findinghypervelocitystarsintheMilkyWayisdifficult.MyprojectutilizedtheDarkEnergySurvey(DES)todevelopamethodforidentifyinghypervelocitystarsintheDESdatabase.Toidentifyahypervelocitystar,Itheclumpingoftheobservationlocationsintheskyandcomparethetrendofthelocationovertime.ThismethodcanbeimplementedinthefuturetosearchtheDESdatabasefornewhypervelocitystarsinsteadofjustconfirmingthefindingsofotherprojectsinthisfield.

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Room:A15111:25a.m.–11:40a.m.TheEffectofMyoelectricComputerInterfaceTrainingonArmKinematicsandFunctionafterStrokePresenters:TorinKovach&IshaarGanesanMentor:Dr.MarcSlutzky,MD,PhD,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Abnormalco-activationpatternsofarmmusclesisasubstantialcauseofimpairedarmfunctionafterstroke.Inourpreviousstudy,amyoelectriccomputerinterface(MCI)trainingparadigmwasdesignedtohelpstrokesurvivorsreducethisabnormalcoactivation.TheeffectsofMCItrainingonfunctionandarmkinematicsin32chronicstrokesurvivorswasevaluated,andresultssuggestedthatMCItrainingholdspromisetoimprovearmfunctionafterstroke.TheMCItrainingsysteminthepreviousstudyproducedbiofeedbackforasinglemusclepair.Now,wehavedesignedanewparadigm,withabiofeedbacksystemreturningfeedbackforthreemusclesatonce,andashamparadigmtoactasacontrolgroup.WearecomparingpatientsusingtheoriginalMCIparadigmandbothofournewMCIsystems,alloverasixweekperiod.Wehypothesizethattheoriginalparadigmisstilleffectiveinreducingcoactivation,theshamparadigmisnoteffectiveinreducingcoactivation,andthethree-muscleparadigmismoreeffectiveinreducingcoactivationthantheoriginalparadigm.Room:A155-1)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.ImprovingCardiovascularDiseaseCareamongLiverTransplantRecipientsPresenter:AneeshMagantiMentors:Dr.VanWagner,Dr.AmnaDaud,Mr.Finn,FeinbergLab,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Theoverallgoalofthisstudyistoimprovequalityofcardiovasculardisease(CVD)care,aleadingcauseofcomplicationsanddeath,amonglivertransplantrecipients.Currently,thereisalackoflivertransplant-specificCVDclinicalpracticeguidance.Thestudyaimstoquantifyopinions,knowledgeandusualcarepatternsaboutCVDcareafterlivertransplantfrompractitionerswhoprovidecaretolivertransplantrecipientsacrossavarietyofmedicalspecialtiesandfromlivertransplantpatients/caregiversinordertocreatenewCVDcareguidanceforpractitionerstofollowsotheycanimproveoutcomesforlivertransplantpatients.Formyroleinthisstudy,Ianalyzedthecollectedsurveydatafrompractitionersandlivertransplantpatients/caregivers,whichwillformthebasisforafutureCVDguidancedocumentandimplementationofthisguidanceintoclinicalpractice.IusedResearchElectronicDataCapture(REDcap)softwareandthenbuiltthreesurveysaboutCVDcareafterlivertransplantusingtheplatform.

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Room:A155-2)11:25a.m.–11:40a.m.TestingChlorideContentandPenetrationCapabilitywithinConcretePresenter:HasanAlmousawiMentors:Dr.MohsenA.Issa,StructuralandConcreteResearchLabDirector,UniversityofIllinoisatChicagoAbstract:Purposetomeasurethepenetrationcapabilityofchloridewithinunknownspecimensofconcrete.Indoingsomeasuringthestructuralintegrityofconcretewhenchlorideprovidedmaterialsareintroduced,whichintroducesthepossibilityofcorrosioninsteelreinforcements.Solutionofconcretewillbepoured,preparingfourspecimens.Theseserveasacontrolinwhichonecontainsnochlorideandtheotherthreespecimenscontainknownamountsofchloride.Utilizingthedrill,asamplewillbecutoutverticallyfromthesurfacetowardsthebottom,approximately3inchesinlength.Aroundfivesampleswillbecollectedfromdifferingdepths,untilthebottomisreached,formeasuringchloridecontent.Theseslabswillbecrushedandthepowderproducedwillberunthroughbothacid-solubleandwater-solublechloridedetectingtestsregulatedbytheASTM(AmericanSocietyforTestingandMaterials)standardtestingmethods.Theresultsofchloridecontentwillbegraphedagainstdepthtoestablishaprofileofthepenetrationcapabilityofbothacid-solubleandwatersolublechloridewithintheconcretesamplelaid.Room:B13311:25a.m.–11:40a.m.InhibitingtheHGXPRTEnzymeinPlasmodiumfalciparumtoPreventMalariaPresenters:ChristopherBridgesandVincentPergrossiMentor:Dr.JohnThurmond,IllinoisMathematicsandScienceAcademyAbstract:Plasmodiumfalciparum,theparasiteresponsibleforthemajorityofdeathscausedbymalaria,requirespurinetosurvive.Theseorganismsareabletocontinuallysupplythemselveswithpurinebyprocessinghypoxanthinesalvagefromitshost.Withouttheabilitytocreateitsownpurine,thePlasmodiumfalciparumwoulddie,whichmakespurinestarvationaviablemethodofpreventingdeathsfrommalaria.Theenzymeintheparasitethatallowsittosalvagepurineiscalledthehypoxanthine-guanine-xanthinephosphoribosyltransferaseenzyme(HGXPRT).ByinhibitingthisenzymewithS-SerMe-ImmHphosphonate,theparasiteswillstarve.Therefore,betterbindingaffinitybetweentheligandsandtheirrespectivebindingsitesontheenzymeincreasetheeffectivenessofthisantimalarialtreatment.Byusingvariouscomputer-aideddrugdesignsoftware,primarilySeeSAR,thephosphonateligandswereadjustedtoincreasetheirbindingaffinity.Outofmanyattemptedrevisions,asmallsubsetaresubstantiallybetterthantheoriginalligands.Afterusingonlinebioactivitycalculators,theseimprovedligandsshowednosignsofbreakinganyofLipinski’sdrugrules,nordidtheybecomedrasticallymoredifficulttocreateinalab.Bymakingthesechangestothephosphonateligands,theS-SerMe-ImmHbecomesanevenmorepotentdrugforinhibitingtheHGXPRTenzymeinPlasmodiumFalciparum,allowingmorelivestobesavedfrommalaria.

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Session I I I 1:40p.m. – 2:35p.m. Room:AcademicPit1:40p.m.-2:05p.m.AnatomicalTradeoffsinxylemcharacteristicsimpactoakwaterusestrategiesPresenter:JessicaOrosResearchMentor:Dr.ChristyRollinson,TheMortonArboretumAbstract:Thewoodinatreeconsistsofspecializedcells,knownasvessels,whichtakewaterfromtherootsandtransportittotheleaves.Thesizeanddensityofthesevesselscanindicatetheabilityofthetreetotransportwater,andoakvesselsarelargerintheearlypartofthewood,calledtheearlywood,thanvesselsgrowntowardstheendofthegrowingseason.Weknowvesselsaidingrowththroughwatertransport,andeachtreespecieshasitsownuniquewoodcharacteristics,therefore,theremaybealinkbetweenvesseldensityandgrowingstrategiesofaspecies.TheareaofearlywoodvesselsinthewhiteandredoaktreescoresfromtheMortonArboretumweremeasured,andvesseldensitywascalculatedasaratioofthevesselareaoverthetotalearlywoodareainthatparticularring.Theaverageearlywoodvesseldensityinwhiteoakwasfoundtobealmost1.2timesthatofredoak,andwhiteoakvesselareawas45%largerthanvesselareainredoak,whichmayindicatedifferingstrategiesofwatertransport.Thesedifferencesbetweenvesselgrowthwillhelpusunderstandhowtheycanadapttodifferentconditionswithvaryingwateravailability.

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Room:Café1:40p.m.-2:05p.m.LossofEphA2inhibitsGATA-3transcriptionalfunctionleadingtoaterminaldifferentiationdefectPresentors:MichelleSia,AmitSomalwarMentor:BethanyPerez-White,ResearchAssistantProfessorofDermatologyatNorthwesternUniversityFeinbergSchoolofMedicineAbstract:Epidermaldifferentiationinvolvescomplexsignaltransductionnetworks.Often,thesesignalrelaysdependonthetransmissionofcuesfromtheplasmamembranetothenucleustocontrolgeneexpression.Receptortyrosinekinases(RTKs)areintegralinorchestratingintracellularcommunicationcascadestoinducedifferentiation.LossofEphA2RTKcausesdifferentiationdefectsin3Dreconstitutedhumanskin(3DRHS)resultingintightjunctioncatastrophe.InEphA2-deficient(shEphA2)3DRHSweshowsignificantloss(>75%,P<0.05)ofloricrin,filaggrin,andinvolucrinatproteinandmRNAlevels,indicatingEphA2signalingimpactskeratinocytedifferentiationatthetranscriptionallevel.GATA-3isexpressedinthenucleiofsuprabasalkeratinocytesinmature3DRHS,mimickingtheexpressionpatternofhumanskin(~35%+,R2=0.99,P=0.05).In2Dcultures,GATA-3accumulatesinthenucleusincontrolcells(48.6%+)24haftercalcium-induceddifferentiation,buttoalesserextentinshEphA2cells(12.5%+,P<0.01).ThislossofexpressioninshEphA2cellsresultsinlossofGATA-3-driventranscriptionindicatedby65%(P<0.001)decreaseinGATAbindingactivityinapromoterluciferasereporterassay.TheseresultsindicatethatEphA2promotesGATA-3nuclearaccumulationandpositivelyregulatesthetranscriptionofterminalepidermaldifferentiationgenes.

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Room:IN21:40p.m.–2:05p.m.ANovelClassificationMethodofHybridProtonPBSPlansusingDVHbasedMetricsPresentor(s):LouiseLima,AliceLiuMentor(s):DraikHecksel,StevenLaub,MarkPankuch,AdityaPanchal(NorthwesternMedicine)Abstract:ProtonPencil-BeamScanningtreatmentplansareoptimizedusingSingle-FieldUniformDose(SFUD),Multi-FieldOptimization(MFO),oracombinationofthetwotechniquesintoaHybridplan.Inthisstudy,wedevelopamethodtoevaluateplansusingmetricsappliedtofield-specificdifferentialdosevolumehistograms(DVHs)fromvarioustreatmentareas.AnapplicationwasdevelopedtocreatenormalizeddifferentialDVHsoftheprimarytargetvolumeforeachfieldinaprotonPBStreatmentplan,andusedfivemetricstocreateafinalrankingsystemfor235patientsplans.Theresultswerethencomparedtotheirinitiallyselectedoptimizationtechnique,comparedacrosstreatmentlocations,andranthroughstatisticalandmachine-learningalgorithmstotestthevalidityoftherankingcriteria.Outofthe235patientplans,oursystemreclassified33plansasMFO,57Hybrid,and145SFUD.StatisticalanalysesusingANOVAandT-testassumingunequalvariancesshowedallvaluestobesignificantlydifferent,andvariousclusteringandre-classificationmethodsprovedourrankingsystemtobeamoreaccuraterepresentationofthetreatmentplansthantheinitialautomaticoptimization.AclassificationmethodforprotonPBSplanswasdeveloped,whichcanaidinfuturerobustnessevaluation,imageguidancetolerance,plandocumentation,anddataanalysis.

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Room:LectureHall1:40p.m.–2:05p.m.DNAMethylationinAutophagy-associatedGenesandRiskofProstateCancerPresenter:JimmyRenMentor:Dr.YinanZheng,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Thestudyofautophagyisagrowingfieldthatisemergingasoneofthemostimportantstudiesincancerduetothenatureofautophagy’ssignificantbiologicalfunctions.Thecomplexrelationshipbetweenautophagyandprostatecancerisstillunderdebate,withstudiesdemonstratinginconsistentresultsintermsoftumorgrowth.DNAmethylationisoneofthekeydynamicepigeneticmechanismsingeneregulation.ThisprospectivestudyaimstounderstandtheroleofDNAmethylationinautophagy-relatedgenesandprostatecancerdevelopment.Amongover740humanautophagy-relatedgenesweexamined,10methylationbiomarkersinthepromoterregionsof12genes,including6novelgenesand6well-knowngenes,werefoundtobepredictivetoinformriskofprostatecanceratleast4yearsbeforecancerdiagnosis.Pathwaysanalysisrevealedthatthesegenesinvolvedinnecroptosisandcalciumsignaling,whichplaykeyrolesinautophagyandprostatecancerdevelopment.Within4yearspre-diagnosis,therelationshipsbetweenmethylationofthesegenesandcancerdevelopmentbecameobscureandinsignificant,whichindicateanaccumulationofepigenetic“noise”inadvancingmalignantdiseasethatconfoundsthemethylationbiomarkersandthusmayexplainpriorinconsistentstudies.Ourstudysuggeststhatmethylationinautophagy-relatedgenesmayserveasnoveltherapeuticbiomarkersforfurtherstudy.

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Room:Library1:40p.m.–2:05p.m.DiscoveryofEGFRusingErlotinibprototypefortheTreatmentofLungandOtherCancersPresentor:JodieMengMentor:JohnThurmond,IMSAAbstract:EpidermalGrowthFactorReceptor(EGFR)isatransmembraneproteininvolvedintheregulationofsignalingpathwaysandisknowntobefrequentlyoverexpressedinepithelialtumors.ErlotinibisasmallmoleculeinhibitorofEGFRcommonlyusedforthetreatmentoflungandpancreaticcancers.Inthepresentstudy,707selectiveinhibitorsofEGFRweredesignedbasedontheerlotinibprototype.ResultswerefilteredbyparametersoutlinedinLipinski’srule.MolecularsimulationprogramssuchasSeeSar,AdmetSar,SwissADMEenabledthepredictionofthecompounds’toxicity,bindingaffinity,physicochemicalproperties,andpharmacokinetics.Theequilibriumdissociationconstantwasdecreasedfrom101.469534to0.000054,thereforeincreasingthebindingaffinitybyover1,879,065fold.Thedatasuggestedthatmodifyingthe1,2-Dimethoxyethanestructures,particularlybyreplacingoxygenswithnitrogensandaddingcycliccompoundstotheends,resultedinthegreatestincreaseinbindingaffinitytoEGFR.RigidifyinglinkersandaddingO-HgroupsallowedforthedecreasedinhibitionofhERG,aproteininvolvedinducingcardiotoxiceffects.Thesefindingsmayleadtofurtheroptimizationofanticancerdrugsandprovideacomputationalstrategyfordrugdesign.

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Room:MathStudyArea1:40p.m.–2:05p.m.ClassifyingVariableStarswithGaiaColor-MagnitudeDiagramsPresenter:XanderHall,IllinoisMathandScienceAcademyMentor:AdamMillerandAaronGeller,NorthwesternUniversity,NicholasEaston,CaseWesternReserveUniversityAbstract:TheLargeSynopticSurveyTelescope(LSST)isan8.4mtelescopeinChile.Itwillobserve~37billionobjectsinthenightskyand,oftheseobjects,morethan20millionwillexhibitsignificantbrightnessvariations,knownasvariablestars.EfficientalgorithmsareneededtoclassifythedifferentcategoriesofvariablestarstobetterunderstanddifferentaspectsofAstrophysics.Toimprovetheautomatedclassificationofvariablestars,wehavestartedacitizenscienceZooniverseproject,StellarSleuths.Thedatagivenisintheformoflightcurves(stellarbrightnessversustime)fromtheAsteroidTerrestrial-impactLastAlertSystem(ATLAS),andtheycanbeusedtodetermineifastarshowsperiodicvariationsinbrightness.However,thereisadditionalinformation(suchasthetemperatureofastar)thatcanbeusedtoaidtheclassificationprocess.Inthisproject,wehaveexperimentedwiththeadditionofsupplementalinformationtoaddtothelightcurvesforclassification.WithdatafromGaia,aspace-basedtelescopewithanunprecedentedabilitytomeasureprecisedistancestostars,weplacehundredsofmillionsofadditional(normal)starsonthecolor-magnitudediagram(CMD)asareferencetocomparewithagivenvariablestar.PriortoApril2018,formanyofthesestars,thisinformationwaspoorlyunknown.Gaiadistancemeasurementsallowustodeterminetheintrinsicbrightnessofthestarsthatitobserves.WefindthatCMDssignificantlyimproveourabilitytoclassifydifferentvariablestars.

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Room:AcademicPit2:10p.m.-2:35p.m.CRISPRknockoutoftheDUBOTUD6BinlungcancercellsPresenters:NayonikaRoy,MiriamFranks,SuhithaIrukullaResearchMentor:Dr.MaurizioBocchetta,LoyolaMedicalCenterAbstract:Deubiquitinases(DUBs)arecrucialdeterminantsofproteinstability,localization,complexformationandactivitywithincells(1).TheOTUD6BDUBhasbeenpreviouslylinkedtocellgrowthandproliferation(2).Morespecifically,theisoformOTUD6B-2maypromoteproteinsynthesisandDNAsynthesisthroughdeubiquitinationofc-Myc(2).WeestablishedOTUD6B-knockoutA549andH1299non-smallcelllungcancer(NSCLC)celllinestodeterminehowOTUD6Bcontributestothemalignantpotentialofcancer.TodeleteOTUD6Bexpression,weutilizedclusteredregularlyinterspacedshortpalindromicrepeats(CRISPR)technology,usingshortRNAguidestodirectanendonuclease(Cas9)tospecificsitesongenomicDNA(3).Ourapproachinvolveddoublenicking/homologousrecombinationinsertion(4)ofanantibioticresistancecassetteintotheOTUD6BexonIV.

81

Room:Café2:10p.m.-2:35p.m.DiagnosticImagingandTherapyofAmyloidBetaOligomersPresenters:NafayAbdulandSophiePribusResearchMentors:Mrs.KirstenViola,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:OneofthelargestimprovementsinthediagnosisofAlzheimer'sdisease(AD)hasbeentheuseofinvivoimagingmethodsonvariousspeciestodetectthepresenceofamyloidfibrils.Howeverlaterstudieshaveshownthatthesefibrilsarenotcloselylinkedtothedevelopmentofthedisease.CurrentresearchsuggeststhatearlystagebiomarkerswhichinstigatememorylossconsistofAβoligomers(AβOs).AβOsaccumulateearlyinADandexperimentallycausememorydysfunctionandmajorcellularpathologies(e.g.,tauabnormalities,synapseloss,neurologicaldamage,etc.).Thus,AβOsarewidelyregardedastheisoformofAβresponsibleforADpathology.

AvaluableandimportantresourcecurrentlyunavailabletocliniciansandresearchersisameanstoimagebuildupofAβOsinvivo.Currently,MRIisusedtoquantifybrainvolumeormeasurebrainmetabolism.AvailableprobesidentifyamyloidplaquesandarenotusefulforimagingAβOs.WithanAβOprobeitwouldbepossibletocorrelateAβObuildupwithresultingcognitivepathology,providinganewmeanstoinvestigatetheAβOhypothesisandtoassesstheeffectivenessofnewdrugs.

AβOsarenowregardedasoneofthefirsttoxinstoappearindiseaseprogression,andtheyprovideanexcellenttargetforearlydiagnosticimaging.OurfindingssuggestthattheAβO-targetedprobesarenotonlyusefulfortheearlydiagnosisofAD,butalsofortrackingtheeffectivenessofnewdrugs.Recentfindingalsosuggesttheseprobesarethemselvestherapeutic.Ourlong-termgoalistodevelopadiagnosticforearlyprodromaldetectionofADandforevaluatingtheeffectivenessofnewdrugsrelatedtoADonset.

82

Room:IN22:10p.m.–2:35p.m.CellSpecificPallidalControlofCorticalStriatalInputPresentor:ShubhaVermaMentors:HarryXenias,Ph.D.,SavioChan,Ph.D.,NorthwesternUniversityAbstract:Thebasalgangliaareacollectionofbrainnucleiinvolvedinsequencedmovementsaswellaslearninggoal-directedbehaviors,butitispoorlyunderstood.Iresearchedtheinhibitorypathwaybetweentheexternalglobuspallidus(GPe)andthedorsalstriatum(dStr).Over95%ofthecellscomposingthestriatumareoftwoclasses:directpathwaySPNs(dSPNS)orindirectpathwaySPNs(iSPNS),whichrespectivelyfacilitateorinhibitmovement.DirectpathwaySPNsandindirectpathwaySPNscontaindifferentreceptors,D1andD2receptors,respectively.Weusednaïveand6-OHDAlesionedNpas1-CretransgenicmiceinourstudiestocompareahealthybraintotheParkinson’smodel.Byusingthewhole-cellpatchclamptechniquetoinjecttheSPNsfromthedStrwithfluorescentdyewhileelectrophysiologicallyrecordingtheinputsoftheGPetotheSPNs,westudiedthesynapticcontactsoftheinputsusingaconfocalmicroscope.Aftercollectingimagesfromtheconfocalmicroscope,IanalyzedthemusingFIJIImage-Jsoftware.Myfindingsshowedthatinthenaïvemodel,theiSPNinputtothedStrwasgreaterthanthedSPNinput.However,inthelesionedmodel,theinputofboththeiSPNsandthedSPNswasrelativelysimilar.ThisworkwillhelpusfurthercomprehendthepathogenesisofParkinson’sDisease.

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Room:LectureHall2:10p.m.–2:35p.m.ThePathologicalInteractionBetweenAlzheimer’sDiseaseandOsteoporosisin5xFADModelPresenter:ShrutiShakthivelResearchMentor:Dr.RyanRoss,RushUniversityAbstract:Alzheimer’sDisease(AD)andOsteoporosisarecommondegenerativediseasesofaging.ADhasbeenconsideredariskforosteoporosisandpreviousstudieshaveshownthatpatientswithADhaveanincreasedriskforhipfractureswhicharetheresultofosteoporosis,suggestingalinkbetweenreducedbonemassandAD.Thisexperimentstudiedthe5xFADmousemodelwhichrecapitulatesmanyAD-relatedphenotypes.Theobjectivewastocomparethebonemassof5xFADmicewithAD-likephenotypestomicewithoutAD.Theresultsdemonstratethat5xFADmicehaveaprogressivelossofbonemassastheyage.AlthoughpreviouspapershavedenotedsimilarresultsinanotherADmousemodel,Tg2576,thisisthefirsttimetheseresultswereshowninthe5xFADmousemodel.AseachmousemodelofADrecapitulatesadifferentaspectofthedisease,thesefindingscanhelpnarrowdownwhatconnectsosteoporosisandAD.ThefindingsconfirmthatADmicehavesignificantlyreducedbonemass,consistentwiththedevelopmentofosteoporosis.Thesubstantialchangeinbonemassovertimebetweenthe5xFADmiceandWild-Typemicesuggeststhatthedisease’seffectsareage-dependent.Room:Library2:10p.m.–2:35p.m.UsingInitialStateRadiation(ISR)JetsforSUSYSearchPresenters:EmilySallenbackandBertCaoMentors:Dr.RichardCavanaughandDr.ZhenbinWu,FermiNationalAcceleratorLabAbstract:TosearchforthehypothesizedSUSYparticles,physicistshavetocreatealgorithmsorcutstoseparatesignalsfromtheunwantedbackgroundevents.Cutsareeasytoapplytoadataset,butarenotalwaysveryefficientatselectingthesignalbeinganalyzed.Inthisstudy,weanalyzedtheplausibilityandeffectivenessofusingISRjetpseudorapidityandISRjetPtcutsontheT2ttsignalsamplefromtheCMSdetectortoseparatethesignalfromthebackground.AftergraphingthePtandpseudorapiditypereventgraphs,weconcludedthatanISRjetPtcutwouldbeaneffectivecut,butandISRpseudorapiditycutwouldnotbeeffective.WedeterminedthatanISRjetPtcutaround350GeVwouldbeeffectiveatincreasingtheratioofsignaleventstobackgroundeventsbecausebelow350GeV,therearesignificantlymorebackgroundeventsthansignalevents.ISRjetsappearinalargeamountofparticleinteractions,soalthoughourfindingsonlyarefortheT2ttsignal,itishighlylikelythatthesefindingscouldbeappliedtoothersignalsthatarebeinganalyzedforthesearchforsupersymmetry.

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Room:MathStudyArea2:10p.m.–2:35p.m.ClassifyingGeneralizedSymmetricSpacesforUnipotentandSemisimpleElementsinSO(3,p)Presenters:HansonHao,JakeSutterMentor:Dr.EllenZiliak,BenedictineUniversityAbstract:Inthisproject,welookattheSpecialOrthogonalgroupof3x3matricesoverafinitefield,denotedSO(3,p).Inparticular,wefocusonclassifyingthegeneralizedsymmetricspaces,whicharedefinedbyaninvolutionf:SO3,pSO3,psuchthatffM=Mforthesematrices.Webeginbyexplainingwhattypesofinvolutionsexistforourgroup,andoncethoseinvolutionsareestablished,weclassifytwoimportantspaces:theExtendedSymmetricSpaceRandtheGeneralSymmetricSpaceQ.Wedescribethesespacesforthetwoisomorphyclassesofinvolutions(buildingoffofBenimetal.)throughcountingarguments,inwhichwesplitRandQintounipotentandsemisimplecases.SomecountingargumentsareestablishedforthesizeofRu,Qu,andRss(unipotentmatricesinR,unipotentmatricesinQ,andsemisimplematricesinR,respectively).Furtherprogresscanbemadeonverifyingourotherconjecturesandgeneralizingourresultstofieldextensions.Applicationsofourresearchcanbeseeninphysics,wheretheSO(3,p)matricesareparticularlyeffectiveatdescribingtheeffectsofrotationandspin.

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Student Presentation Reference List

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

Abdul Nafay III-2:10pm-Café c11Adams Mara I-10:05am-A113 b01Adhikari Shikha I-9:45am-B133 b03Adivi Vibhav II-11:25am-A121-2)

Agarwal Ayush I-10:05am-A149 b30Alexandria-Strong Maxine I-10:05am-A113 b01Almousawi MohamadHasan II-11:25am-A155-2)

Apavaloaiei Eliza I-9:45am-B116 b02Asllani Klaybis I-9:45am-A147

Baffoe Peter I-9:45am-B125 b35Banerjee Pouravi I-9:45am-B133 b03Barac Milica II-10:45am-A115 b52Berthold Zoe I-9:45am-IN2

Bhalla Pratibha I-10:25am-A117 b41Bhaskar Shivang I-9:45am-A155 b13Blad Evan I-10:05am-A147 b49Bridges Chris II-11:25am-B133 b25Calhoun Aaron I-9:45am-A115

Cao Bert III-2:10pm-Library c08Casey-Fusco Micah II-10:45am-IN2

Chalasani Saivasudha II-10:45am-A155 b04Charlotte Graves I-9:45am-A113

Chen Alec II-11:25am-A121-1)Chen Allen I-10:25am-A115 b51

Cheruku Samira II-10:45am-A121 b05Coates Trinity I-10:05am-IN2

Crews Isaiah II-10:45am-IN2Daggett Hannah I-9:45am-A119Dalvi Saachi I-10:25am-B133 b06

Daniels Alyssa I-10:05am-B133 b07Deng Alison II-11:25am-A115 b47Depaz Alana I-10:25am-A113 b08Dexter Grant II-11:05am-A149 b09Domowicz Alex I-9:45am-A147

Dong Jay II-11:05am-B108-2)

86

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

Du Andrew II-11:25am-A119

Du Scott II-11:25am-A115 b47Edassery Sonia II-10:45am-A115 b52Elkin Nikita I-10:25am-A147 b21Ellington Rebecca I-10:05am-B133 b07Errampalli Eric I-10:05am-A115 b10Federici Grace II-10:45am-B125

Fowler Ian II-10:45am-IN2Franks Miriam III-2:10pm-ACPit c12

Gandhi Akash I-10:25am-A155 b11Ganesan Ishaar II-11:25am-A151 b17George Faith II-11:05am-B133 b12Gonda Emily II-10:45am-A147 b34Gonzalez Alexandra II-11:05am-B116 b26Gonzalez Diana I-9:45am-A155 b13Gorevoy Eden I-10:05am-A155 b14Gumpula Kaushal I-10:25am-A147 b21Gupta Nikhilesh II-11:25am-A123-1)

Hahamy Madison II-11:05am-A147 b32Hall Xander III-1:40pm-MathStudy c01Halliman Matthew I-10:25am-IN2

Hamayat Maahum I-10:25am-B133 b06Hao Hanson III-2:10pm-MathStudy c02Helmold Ben I-9:45am-A123

Hendrix Meghan I-9:45am-B108Hokinson Matt I-10:05am-A147 b49

Homecgoy Ashley II-10:45am-IN2Hong Jerry I-9:45am-A155 b13

Hudelson Ethan I-9:45am-A119Ichhaporia Rustom I-10:05am-A147 b49

Irukulla Suhitha III-2:10pm-ACPit c12Jagusah Ishanpepe I-9:45am-A113

Jann Janna II-10:45am-B108-2)Jasthi Bhavya II-10:45am-B133 b15

Jayaraman Ajay I-10:25am-B108-2)Karan Meghana I-10:05am-B115 b16

Kaur Mehr I-10:05am-B110-1)Knutson Max I-10:25am-B110Kovach Torin II-11:25am-A151 b17

87

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

Kuzmina Elizaveta I-9:45am-B133 b03Lamptey Ann I-9:45am-IN2

Leano Kurt II-11:25am-A113Lee Daniel II-11:05am-A147 b32

Lee Matthew II-11:25am-A119Lee Megan II-10:45am-B116 b18

Lee Nathan I-10:25am-IN2Lennox Andrew II-10:45am-IN2Levine Jacob II-11:05am-A151 b19

Li Mingyang(Lily) I-10:05am-B108-2)Li Patrick I-10:05am-A117 b54

Lietz Thalier II-11:25am-A147 b40Light Abigail I-10:05am-IN2

Lima Louise III-1:40pm-IN2 c03Lin Allia I-9:45am-A119

Liu Alice III-1:40pm-IN2 c03Liu Winny I-10:05am-B108-1)

Lu Arthur II-11:05am-A151 b19Lundwig Marcus I-9:45am-A147

Maddali Neha I-10:25am-B133 b06Maganti Aneesh II-11:25am-A155-1)

Mallik Ayan II-10:45am-A149 b50Mason Rachel I-9:45am-B116 b02Maxwell Carter II-10:45am-IN2

McBride Micah II-10:45am-A119 b55McKelvie Michael I-10:25am-A149 b48McKibben Vincent I-9:45am-A117

Meek Rylie II-11:05am-A147 b32Meng Jodie III-1:40pm-Library c04Meng Sabrina I-10:25am-B115 b20Milavec Lucas II-10:45am-IN2

Mitchell Zoe I-9:45am-A151 b53Moreno Rachel I-9:45am-B108

Mou Timothy I-10:25am-A147 b21Mufti Maryam II-10:45am-A151 b22Murphy Elizabeth II-11:05am-B108-1)

Nagarathnam Manikandan I-9:45am-A115Nair Krishnachandra II-10:45am-B108-1)Nikam Ishan I-10:25am-B108-1)

88

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

O'Brien Kaleigh I-10:25am-A119 b23Oros Jessica III-1:40pm-ACPit c05Osar Rebecca II-10:45am-A149 b50Pan Lily II-11:25am-A147 b40Panda Sidhartha I-10:25am-A151 b24Park WonJun I-9:45am-B110

Patel Nilan I-9:45am-A155 b13Pergrossi Vincent II-11:25am-B133 b25Phillips Ethan I-9:45am-B108

Pickett Lauren I-10:05am-B125 b43Pribus Sophia III-2:10pm-Café c11Ptak Tyler I-9:45am-A115

Raghavan Akshaya II-10:45am-A147 b34Ramaraju Bala II-11:25am-A123-2)

Reddy Chetan I-10:05am-A149 b30Reiter Jay I-10:25am-A149 b48Ren Jimmy III-1:40pm-LectureHall c06Revilla David II-11:05am-B116 b26Rodrigues Aaron II-11:25am-A113

Romanov Katerina I-10:05am-B125 b43Roy Nayonika III-2:10pm-ACPit c12Ryou Jaimie I-9:45am-A123

Sallenback Emily III-2:10pm-Library c08Sanchez Amayrani II-10:45am-A113 b37Sanchez Natalie I-9:45am-IN2

Shah Moksh I-10:25am-A123 b27Shaikh Faris I-10:25am-A115 b51Shakthivel Shruti III-2:10pm-LectureHall c07Shapiro Brennan I-10:25am-IN2

Sharma Anisha I-10:25am-A149 b48Shwatal Austin I-10:05am-A151 b28Si Katherine II-11:05am-B125 b29Sia Michelle III-1:40pm-Café c09Singh Vidhi II-10:45am-IN2

Sleyko Grace I-9:45am-B108Smith Harry I-10:05am-A147 b49

Sobczynski Alexandra I-9:45am-A117Somalwar Amit III-1:40pm-Café c09

Son Ian I-9:45am-A115

89

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

Soto Daniel I-10:05am-B110-2)

Springer Emily II-10:45am-A147 b34Sreenivas Bharath I-10:25am-A123 b27Stanecki Dana II-11:05am-A123-2)

Sudhakar Trisha II-11:05am-B133 b12Sunkara Suraj I-9:45am-A149

Sutaria Yatri II-11:05am-A123-1)Sutter Jake III-2:10pm-MathStudy c02

Taiwo Bopoade I-9:45am-B125 b35Talasu Saisupritha II-11:25am-A117 b36Talusan Ryan I-9:45am-A149

Tarafdar Ishani II-11:05am-A119-2)Tatum Andrew I-9:45am-A119Tenedor MaryAshley II-10:45am-A113 b37

Teng Chris II-11:05am-A117Tetali Vaishnavi II-10:45am-A117 b39

Thakkar Krishna II-11:05am-A119-1)Thatte Shvetali I-10:05am-A123Thekiniath Roshan I-9:45am-B110Tin Ashley I-10:05am-A155 b14

Tse Ethan II-11:05am-A113-2)Tummarakota Vinay II-11:25am-A147 b40

Un Anthony I-9:45am-A123Upadhyay Rohan II-10:45am-A123-1)Vaidya Aryan II-11:05am-A113-1)Vasi Zahra II-11:05am-A155 b38

Vayninger Michael II-11:05am-A149 b09Vegesna Tanmayee I-10:25am-A117 b41Velagapudi Tejo I-9:45am-B110

Verma Shubha III-2:10pm-IN2 c02Vyas Aabha II-10:45am-B125

Walia Aryan II-11:05am-B133 b12Wang Michelle I-10:05am-A119 b42Wang Sydney II-11:05am-A115 b46Warcup Kara I-10:25am-B110

Warikoo Gowri I-10:05am-B125 b43Whitmore-Wilson Tyrone II-11:25am-A149 b56Wolff Nicole II-10:45am-B115 b44Woods John II-10:45am-A149 b50

90

LastName FirstNamePresentationNumberSession–Start–Room

SIRPosterReference

Wulffraat Grace I-10:05am-IN2

Xiao Doreen II-10:45am-IN2Yang Breanna II-11:25am-B125 b31

Yoon Eunice I-9:45am-B115 b45Yow Sarah II-10:45am-B116 b18Yue Grace I-10:05am-A149 b30Zheng Athena II-11:05am-A115 b46Zheng Jolin II-11:05am-B116 b26Zhong Alex II-10:45am-A119 b55

91

Mentor List | Business Internship

DealerFoxLLC. DanTrinidad

CleanCioCorps RocioLane InterperterTAP VictorAbundi

JonMorseandVictorArellano

AutoPair KenKoger

CabDash JeffTalamantezJoeTalamantez

CancerIQ ChristopherBunEthanKentAndrewTang

AuroraCollective/CitySegmentLLC

BrandonLyon

IMSAInnovationCenter Dr.KellyPage

LEAPInnovationLEAPInnovationLEAPInnovation

SusanLiuJakeWilliamsChrisLiang-Vergara

VisMed3D/Symptomatic DimaElissa

CourseStarsLLC JillKo

Enovation/Cleantech LindaZabors

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Mentor List | Student Inquiry and Research

BallHorticultural JayarajAlappatBenedictineUniversity TiaraPerez-MoralesBenedictineUniversity EllenZiliakChicagoCubs ChristopherJonesChicagoProtonCenter StevenLaubFermiLab JimAnnisFermiLab TingLiFermiLab BrianNordFermiLab SamPosenFermiLab LennySpeigelFermiLab ThomasStraussFermiLab WilliamWesterILInstituteofTech. LuluKangIMSA AngelaAhrendtIMSA SowmyaAnjurIMSA AdrienneColemanIMSA PeterDongIMSA AnthonyFouadIMSA EricHawkerIMSA PatrickKearneyIMSA LauraKopffIMSA DavidLundgrenIMSA TomMeyerIMSA SarahO'Leary-DriscollIMSA CrystalRandallIMSA ClaiborneSkinnerIMSA EricSmithIMSA JohnThurmondIMSA TracyTownsendLoyolaMedical MaurizioBocchettaLoyolaMedical MonsheelSodhiLoyolaMedical KarenVisick

MortonArboretum SilviaAlvarez-ClareMortonArboretum ChuckCannonMortonArboretum ChristyRollinsonNorthCentralCollege FrankHarwathNorthCentralCollege JamesKadukNIU TimothyHagenNIU JamesHornNIU NarayanHosmaneNIU HollyJonesNIU MelLenczewskiNorthwesternUniv. SuiHuangNorthwesternUniv. ThorstenKahntNorthwesternUniv. CarolineLePooleNorthwesternUniv. RichardMillerNorthwesternUniv. BethanyPerezWhiteNorthwesternUniv. Claus-PeterRichterNorthwesternUniv. ArunSharmaNorthwesternUniv. MarcSlutzkyNorthwesternUniv. LisaVanWagnerNorthwesternUniv. DileepVarmaNorthwesternUniv. JaneWuNorthwesternUniv. HarryXeniasNorthwesternUniv. YinanZhengNorthwesternUniv. SavioChanNorthwesternUniv. RandallBerryNorthwesternUniv. AaronGellerNorthwesternUniv. JensKochNorthwesternUniv. KirstenViolaRushMedical CosticaAlomanRushMedical MeghanMoranRushMedical RyanRossToyotaTech.Institute MatthewWalter

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UIC NaicheAdlerUIC RobertBrunoUIC RichardCavanaughUIC JonnaFrasorUIC PiotrGmytrasiewiczUIC MohsenIssaUIC IrenaLevitanUIC AoMaUIC DollyMehtaUIC LaurieQuinnUIC JamesRadosevichUIC DeepakShuklaUniversityofChicago ZerayAlemsegedUniversityofChicago ChufanCaiUniversityofChicago ChihwayChangUniversityofChicago Tong-ChuanHeUniversityofChicago JeanGreenbergUniversityofChicago MaryniaKolakUniversityofChicago KarenLivescu

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Cover designed by Tatum Glas, Graphic Designer, IMSA, April 24, 2019.