Protein kinase R (PKR) is a host antiviral factor that shuts off translation in response to double-stranded RNA that accumulates during viral infection. Many viruses, including cytomegaloviruses (CMVs), encode proteins that inhibit PKR and rescue viral protein synthesis in infected cells. In the case of CMV, the “terminal repeat short 1” (TRS1) protein antagonizes PKR. Analyses have shown that PKR has been evolving under positive selection among primates, likely in order to evade TRS1 and other viral antagonists. Consequently, the ability of TRS1 to block PKR is quite species-specific. For example, the TRS1 homolog in human and Old-World monkeys (OWMs) CMVs only inhibit PKR from great apes and OWMs, respectively. Thus, it is surprising that TRS1 encoded by a New World monkey (NWM) virus, squirrel monkey CMV, antagonizes hominoid and OWM PKRs. I hypothesize that squirrel monkey CMV TRS1 has broad activity against diverse PKRs because it interacts with a conserved domain of PKR that is different from the region bound by TRS1 encoded by human CMV or OWM CMVs. To test this hypothesis, I studied how TRS1 and PKR compete to control protein synthesis in infected cells by using assays of protein synthesis and of replication of wild-type and mutant viruses. Because there has been no study of squirrel monkey PKR (smPKR), I first tested its function using a reporter gene transfection assay and demonstrated that it is active in inhibiting translation, as expected. I cloned smPKR into a doxycycline-inducible lentiviral vector and tested the susceptibility of it and other NWM PKRs to alternative TRS1 genes. By understanding the evolution and molecular mechanisms that have diverged in the ongoing “arms race” between NWMs and their viruses we can reveal insights into the risks and barriers to cross-species transmission of viruses.

The Philippines is experiencing a new kind of era ever since the onset of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency. Although the Philippines deems itself as a republic, the president exhibits an authoritarian nature. His tactics, rhetoric, and worldview have garnered attention and controversy, leading to a reevaluation of the country. Despite disagreement and condemnation from human rights groups and other entities, for many people Duterte stands as an effective leader in the Philippines. Even with his brutality, there is a strong presence of approval. In this project, I aim to explore and uncover what makes Duterte such a likable figure among Filipino citizens. A review of the literature reveals many plausible reasons. Duterte veils himself as a ‘common man.’ His efforts to combat the war on drugs are also admirable to many Filipinos; they feel much safer with some of his policies. Initially, my research was supposed to manifest in an academic paper. However, I found that one of my parents shared the same sentiments as other Filipinos. To highlight my findings, I chose to interview my dad and borrowing from the work of Ocean Vuong, I utilized the form of a letter to my father. With this project, I aimed to connect with my dad in hopes of understanding more about my people. Additionally, I was able to hear the genuine thoughts and background of my dad. This brought me closer to my roots, and my dad. This research contributes further to the broader question of what makes dictators and authoritative leaders, such as Duterte, ‘likable’ people to their citizens.  

Herbivory is a concern for agriculture because it results in loss of crops. Plants have innate immune systems that allow them to defend against pests that once better understood, can be utilized to help mitigate this loss. In Steinbrenner et al.’s 2020 work, the authors identified an herbivore-specific immune receptor termed INR in Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) which induces plant defenses upon perception of the protein inceptin, found in the oral secretions of caterpillars. To further investigate the herbivory defense signaling pathway, we acquired EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate) mutagenized seeds, which contain mutations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These F1 parent seeds were allowed to self-propagate, producing M2 seeds. We did this because the F1 seeds likely have a SNP in only one allele of their chromosome, thus being heterozygous at a particular loci where the SNP occurred. When the F1 seeds self-propagate, we expect to get a ratio of 1:2:1 of homozygous for the wildtype allele (HH), heterozygous (H*H) and homozygous for the mutated allele (H*H*). This would give us a more varied phenotypic response when screened for sensitivity to inceptin. Individuals that exhibited a compromised inceptin response will be further investigated to determine causative mutations. We identified a number of families with abnormal immune responses, rescreened those families and verified specific families. Next we will self-propagate individuals from verified families, and expect phenotypes to segregate in a 3:1 ratio if a single dominant mutation is causative. Then bulked segregant resequencing will be used to determine which mutations are co-associated with phenotype. After knowing the genotype, we can begin to determine the molecular mechanisms behind the phenotype. This would further our understanding of plant immune responses, which we can harness to better develop more resilient crops, thus mitigating crop loss due to herbivory.
 

Within the ethnographies, memories, and archives produced throughout a capitalist empire, the ‘gaze’ has generally been used against the subject, creating narratives which entrench the hegemony in defining the subject to accord with the needs of the dominating culture. The term ‘oppositional gaze’ was developed in 1992 by bell hooks in conversation with Laura Mulvey’s Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema: the ‘gaze’ is a scopophilic act albeit with the potential to be a radical method for resistance; the oppositional gaze then refers to ‘looking’ as a defiant act to which the actors reclaim a sense of autonomy over the spectator and turn the gaze back upon their oppressors. What makes the act of ‘looking’ so defiant and how this looking translates to an oppositional gaze is the question this project attempts to answer through a close reading of various media and using an array of methods and theories from such disciplines as film studies, ethnography, and data ethics. I build upon the foundations of hooks and Mulvey while asserting that the definition of ‘looking’ goes beyond visual perception and into the act of understanding and perceiving. I apply these theories of the ‘gaze’ and my own explorations of ‘looking’ to juxtapose Rahul Jain’s Machines (2016) and Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland (2020) in analyzing its application and limitations. With this project, I hope to impel further discussion on the study of the gaze by compiling demonstrations of its application in various media and its disruption of prevailing narratives.

This narrative web experience invites readers to rethink their own relationships with the material world. The piece frames materials within Western monumental structures — the marble pedestal, the bronze figure, and the “living” rock carving — not as inanimate instruments in colonial systems, but as living victims and actors within those very systems. I examine how these materials are treated within the Western monument-making process through alternate frameworks—namely Neolithic, Queer and Indigenous material theories—in order to expose the violences inherent in Western material theory and practice. This piece, structured in a series of web pages, leads the reader through a research narrative strung together from conceptual images, academic text, and instructions for a tactile activity. By highlighting these non-Western and anti-colonial material lenses, I explore how the critical lenses we choose to apply to examine monumental materials can act to liberate them from the inanimacies inflicted upon them and highlight the resistances they mount against monumentalization, prompting a further “dematerialization” of the Western monument. This liberation will allow us rethink the physical and ideological standards that have been established for monumentality and to ideate alternate material forms for future monuments that do not contain, impose, and idolize such colonial violences.

Accurate information on species identities and distributions is critical for informing state land use and conservation policies. However, it can often be difficult to determine species identity using morphological data alone. Using phylogenetic methods, we determined the identity of Sceloporus lizards occupying the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming, between known ranges for Sceloporus tristichus and Sceloporus consobrinus. The ND1 mitochondrial gene was sequenced for 10 individuals from the Laramie Mountains and analyzed using maximum likelihood with 23 other samples of S. tristichus and S. consobrinus from throughout their ranges. The mtDNA gene tree places the Laramie Mountains populations within a clade of Sceloporus consobrinus that includes the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Given the prevalence of mtDNA introgression in Sceloporus, we also conducted phylogenetic analyses using 4 nuclear loci (RAG-1, R35, BDNF, and PNN) for a subset of samples. Species tree analysis of the nuclear data further verified that the Laramie Mountains population belongs to S. consobrinus. Given the very limited data available on the range, prevalence, and ecology of S. consobrinus in Wyoming, as well its designation as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming, more research must be done to ensure protection of this population.

Stereotypes around femininity, as presented to young Women, have historically not been inclusive. Often consisting of single-story one-dimensional white male ideals of femininity. Young Women could either lean into the stereotype or turn away, the dismissal often created new stereotypes due to a lack of strong feminist representation like the “I’m not like other girls” trope. The exposure to these white feminine stereotypes created cracks in a young Woman’s relationship with femininity and what it means to be girl. Causing a shift to anti-feminist and sexist thought while developing internalized misogyny. This presented externally as Women hating behavior that supported the learned mindsets of white men on the sexualization, degradation, and general treatment of other Women. The patriarchal system influenced this young Woman and others across the country in their homes, in their classrooms, each night on television, reinforced on the covers of teen magazines, through the eyes of their fathers and actions of their mothers. This young Woman functioned as a monument to the Patriarchy. Acting for the best interest of the heteronormative white male experience. I was the monument. With a lack of strong feminist representation, I instead turned into a living, breathing, and sometimes ‘preaching’ monument to the patriarchy. Through autoethnography and research of pop culture from the 1990s and 2000s, friends, family, members, and television shows. I will analyze my own experience to identify and understand my journey from anti-feminist to feminist. Answer how I was manipulated by the heteropatriarchy and colonialism to be antifeminist, to hate other Women, and actively cause harm to others based on their expression of femininity. Understanding the way in which I was once an image fighting for feminine oppression to help others unlearn too.

This paper and counter-tour will examine the relationship between tourism, the silencing of Martinican activism in international media, and the legacy of colonialism. Martinique is located in the southeastern Caribbean, and has been colonized by France since the mid-1600s. Victor Schoelcher was a French abolitionist who has received much more credit than he is owed for emancipation in the French Caribbean. The project explores the tourism industry and international media’s role in upholding dominant narratives around Schoelcher that are rooted in white saviorism. The questions this research seeks to answer are: What is the relationship between tourism and schoelcherisme, which is the glorification and mythologism of Victor Schoelcher? How does activism on Martinique that challenges white supremacy and colonialism bring to light truths that the tourism industry attempts to conceal in its messaging? The approach to answer these questions involves critical analysis of tourist websites and brochures. This project will also incorporate social media and publications of Martinican writers and activists. The counter-tour will illustrate how the tourism industry invisibilizes the work of activists to challenge Schoelcher’s material legacy, keeping their work from receiving international attention. This research project will challenge depictions of the island that are interwoven into the tourist industry’s advertisements and Western perceptions of Martinique, and highlight means of resistance to white supremacy and colonialism.

Plants recognize insect herbivore attack by detecting molecular patterns in their oral secretions. Steinbrenner et al. have recently identified a host plant receptor for one such pattern, termed the Inceptin Receptor (INR). INR binds herbivore-derived inceptin peptide and confers signaling and defense responses in response to inceptin, including a measurable burst of reactive oxidative species and the gaseous hormone ethylene. INR is present only in species of the legume subtribe Phaseolinae (e.g., common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris). INR was previously studied using heterologous expression in tobacco, but the role of INR in beans themselves has not been studied due to difficulty of genetic transformation and knockout approaches. I have created a backcrossed line of common bean introgressing a naturally occurring inr- mutation into a genome sequenced variety. Inceptin response is compromised in inr- near isogenic lines. I plan to use the inr- near isogenic line to measure the contribution of INR to caterpillar feeding relative to wild type plants. To quantify the feeding habit of caterpillar species when fed these two lines, I optimized a high throughput herbivory assay and imaging pipeline to quantify feeding behavior and tissue consumption. We hypothesize that plants lacking INR will show reduced deterrence, increased tissue consumption, and increased larval weight gain upon caterpillar feeding. Understanding how plants sense attack will help us to develop varieties that are resistant to pests and pathogens.

Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to influenza A virus (IAV) infections, which increases the risk for maternal mortality, hospitalization, preterm birth and stillbirth. The pathogenesis of IAV infections in pregnancy and the immunologic reasons for greater susceptibility to lung disease in pregnancy remains poorly understood. The CD4+ T helper Type 17 (Th17) cell-mediated response facilitates an early immune response critical for viral clearance of IAV and is impaired in mouse models of severe disease. Whether Th17 responses are important for exacerbating maternal IAV disease is unknown. We hypothesize that pregnant individuals have impaired Th17 responses in the blood and lungs, which exacerbate lung disease. We inoculated pregnant (N=6) and non-pregnant (N=5) pigtail macaques with IAV H1N1 2009 and collected serial blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples until Day 5 post-inoculation (peak disease) when we performed a necropsy. I am extracting RNA from maternal fluids and tissues to determine the IAV viral load and gene expression of Th17 transcriptional activators (e.g., RORc gene) using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We will perform qRT-PCR on lung tissues at peak disease and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) across the infection time course. To better understand innate immune activation at peak disease, I will also analyze the expression of a 50-gene panel of innate immune genes in maternal lungs and plasma using a novel technique called Nanostring nCounter, which barcodes and counts mRNA transcripts. The advantage of this technique is that one can accurately quantify mRNA transcripts in a multiplex manner from very small samples. Finally, we will link data from flow cytometry, qRT-PCR and the nCounter to assess the Th17 cell-mediated response and innate immune activation to investigate the susceptibility of pregnant individuals to severe lung disease after IAV infection.

Genomic data provide critical information about biodiversity and phylogeography, particularly since genomics has become increasingly used to understand the nature of species boundaries. Species boundaries are difficult to delimit using morphology alone, while genomic data provide direct evidence for understanding the connectivity between populations or species. A recently described horned lizard, Phrynosoma diminutum, inhabits a unique ecological region of Colorado and is miniaturized relative to the surrounding populations of greater short-horned lizards (P. hernandesi). Phrynosoma hernandesi is a wide-ranging species with substantial morphological variation throughout its range, and despite the obvious size difference between P. diminutum and P. hernandesi, a complete lack of gene flow between these populations seems unlikely since there is no clear barrier to dispersal, which would cause speciation. To determine the extent of gene flow between populations and test the genetic support for P. diminutum as a distinct species, we compared P. diminutum genetic samples to surrounding populations of P. hernandesi. Using 3,000+ genetic markers distributed throughout the genome, I found that P. diminutum does not form a distinct evolutionary lineage and is only weakly differentiated from nearby P. hernandesi populations. Comparisons of genetic differentiation among all 17 species of horned lizards using fixation index (FST) values provides further evidence that the low levels of divergence observed in P. diminutum are reflective of population-level and not species-level divergence. Therefore, we propose that P. diminutum be synonymized with P. hernandesi rather than recognized as a distinct species. This conclusion has implications for land management, since it may be necessary to maintain corridors of gene flow between the miniaturized and surrounding populations. Furthermore, we show how genomic data can be used to avoid artificially inflating biodiversity estimates by more accurately testing species boundaries, and this allows managers to make precise decisions for wildlife and whole ecosystem conservation.

This project explores the history and power of language in relation to graffiti writer Rammellzee’s philosophy of Ikonoklast Panzerism as well as to his art. Using informal interviews, ethnographic engagement, and close readings relating to Rammellzee and the alphabet’s history, I investigate how the individual can claim the power of language back from colonizers and oppressors through subversive art. I question how Rammellzee’s work can be used to reimagine the alphabet as a tool to deconstruct monuments of oppression and imperialism that are pervasive to society. Rammellzee founded Ikonoklast Panzerism on the idea that each individual letter of the alphabet can be armored and weaponized in order to free themselves from the institutions which wield the power of language over the rest of society. He bases his beliefs in the medieval history of monastic illuminated calligraphy and uses his theories to create art which subverts structures of power. I argue that Rammellzee’s work reveals the potential of individualized power by reclaiming the almighty power of language and challenging the limitations of legibility and standardization. Drawing from concepts such as ethnographic refusal, and from the writing of scholars like Michel-Rolph Trouillot to inform my creative work, this project emphasizes the power of the written word in today’s world and investigates how language can be reimagined and repurposed by each individual. I synthesize my research findings into a creative form that touches on my own relationship to language in academia, and how I can apply Rammellzee’s ideas to my own life.