Current sociopolitical climates for LGBTQ+ individuals in South Asian countries are hostile, and South Asian communities within America will often reflect similar beliefs. Likewise, there might be an unfavorable atmosphere for LGBTQ+ individuals at faith-based institutions. As such, for South Asian college students enrolled in Christian institutions, their religious context and South Asian cultural practices and values might combine to shape their attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people. To explore this understudied topic, I utilized semi-structured interviews with South Asian students at a Christian institution. Thus far, I have interviewed four participants and intend to complete at least eight interviews to meet the qualitative analysis standard. Preliminary examination reveals our participants’ tendency to avoid conversations about the LGBTQ+ community, and they connected this tendency to South Asian culture. In contrast, they noted that LGBTQ+ topics were actively discussed on their Christian campus. Our study hopes to expand on the research surrounding intersectional identities and their impact on the individual.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a crucial marine flowering plant that provides intertidal ecosystem services in and outside the Puget Sound. However, eelgrass populations are under threat due to the adverse effects of climate change. Maintaining genetic diversity is essential for their survival. This project aims to enhance our understanding of eelgrass reproduction and how populations will react to climate change by characterizing the molecular mechanisms of flowering in eelgrass. We have identified candidate eelgrass flowering genes that are homologous to genes found in Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism. These candidate genes were selected based on the clock-regulated model of flowering, in which FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) encodes for a critical protein that triggers the flowering response pathway. To investigate this model, we created transgenic overexpression lines in Arabidopsis and identified two candidate eelgrass FT genes that exhibit an early flowering phenotype similar to FT overexpression in Arabidopsis. We are also using Yeast 2-Hybrid Assays (Y2H) to confirm the identity of the suspected eelgrass FT. Y2H is a technique for studying protein-protein interactions and allows us to investigate interactions between eelgrass FT and other transcriptional regulators within the flowering response pathway. Based on our data, we expect to see the two candidate eelgrass FT genes result in a simultaneous early flowering phenotype and in interactions with other transcriptional regulators to form a transcription factor complex that enables the expression of a reporter gene. Identifying FT in eelgrass will prompt further study of individual and population-wide flowering patterns, and how these patterns change with shifting ocean conditions.

Despite heavy exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis (TB), some individuals show no evidence of infection and by defining these resistance mechanisms, we may identify novel treatment strategies. Among Mtb resistant individuals, our lab identified the Rab5a protein as differentially expressed as compared to controls with Mtb infection. By regulating vesicle trafficking, Rab proteins modulate a variety of cellular pathways including inflammatory signaling, antigen presentation, and autophagy, likely playing a role in Mtb clearance. We hypothesized that loss of Rab5a would alter IFN-êžµ gene expression. Monocyte-like THP-1 cells were electroporated with siRNA targetting Rab5a and yielded 70-90% knockdown at 24 hours versus scrambled siRNA control. Cells were then stimulated with DNA ligands for four hours before RNA analysis. Loss of Rab5a resulted in lower levels of IFN-êžµ gene expression after stimulation with Sheared Calf Thymus DNA (p=0.002, 53.9% reduction), Poly(I:C) (p=0.01, 42.8% reduction), supercoiled plasmid (p=0.03, 45.3% reduction), and cGAMP (p=0.008, 45.7% reduction). We conclude that Rab5a expression is required for Type I IFN production through the DNA-sensing pathway. By characterizing the pathways by which Rab5a modulates the macrophage Mtb response, we may identify host targets to augment protective responses that may serve as adjuncts to current TB treatments and vaccines.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), human exposure to animals can represent a significant source of enteropathogens. The presence of domestic and non-domestic animals either in the vicinity or in immediate households within LMICs have the potential to contaminate soil and high-touch surfaces leading to enteropathogen transmission and infection. Among LMICs, access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is limited and is responsible for contributing to the global disease burden. Lack of WASH regulations and implementation can compound transmission and infection rates of enteropathogens from animal exposures. The objective of this study is to determine the sources and quantities of household animal fecal contamination, an important exposure pathway for enteropathogens, in Ecuadorian households. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were used to identify host-associated fecal contamination by detecting gene fragments of gut microbes that are specific to the feces of a given human or animal host. These microbial source tracking (MST) marker assays were used on environmental samples collected in Ecuador households including floor, mother and child hand rinses, and domestic water to assess the abundance and sources of household fecal contamination. MST marker targets included human feces associated markers (HF183 & HumM2), dog feces makers (DG37), ruminant feces markers (Rum2Bac), pig feces markers (Pic2Bac), bird droppings markers (GFD), and general bacteroidales markers (GenBac). The anticipated results are that the qPCR data will continue to indicate high levels of general and human-associated animal fecal contamination in animal-owning Ecuadorian households as previously observed in Phase 2 of this study. Findings from this study will highlight the need for the development and implementation of relevant public health interventions aimed at reducing animal exposures and improving overall hygiene practices to decrease the global disease burden among LMICs.

 In recent decades, various East African countries have experienced changes in precipitation patterns leaving the local communities vulnerable to food and water insecurities. The continent is rich with indigenous knowledges and some of them have proved to be useful in combatting climate change crises. I conducted a case study to explore Massai cattle grazing strategies and the use of sand dams in East Africa. The case study demonstrated that Maasai cattle grazing strategies provide great resilience to spatially and temporally shifting precipitation patterns and that sand dams effectively retain water during droughts. The results have demonstrated the need for further discussion and exploration into the application of these strategies in a larger climate change context.

 This research seeks to analyze and understand the approach and treatment of victims of sexual assaults stories and accounts in the broader historical narrative, using case studies of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. My research explores the question of what effects the response to the role of sexual assault in genocide by historians and academics and what implications that has for the historiography of genocide. I conducted this research by collecting and reading first-hand accounts of survivors and their experiences of sexual assault to construct a narrative and clear understanding of the role rape played in each genocide, and then analyzed the historical response and research of these narratives following the events. The two case studies are synthesized and compared in this project to understand which attributes of political and social policy effected the reception of stories of victims and witnesses of rape and assault. My research is still underway, but thus far is revealing the slow response from scholars regarding rape following the Holocaust and how that may have influenced a difference in the response and scholarship following the Rwandan genocide. Both genocides are affected by unique struggles in collecting witness accounts, as well as stigma around traumatic data of this nature. This research is important in the social studies field as it commentates on the consistent lack of attention given to victims of sexual violence in the past and present, and advocates for increased education and awareness on the overlooked stories of these individuals, whether or not they lived to tell them themselves.

The Supreme Court is often viewed with awe and the justices treated with reverence. It is the highest court in the United States, tasked with interpreting the law. But is the Supreme Court the neutral arbiter of justice it purports to be? Most recently, the 2022 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the fifty-year precedent of Roe v. Wade, causing the Court to face increasing scrutiny and questions of its legitimacy. I conduct a philosophical analysis of the arguments made by the justices in the opinions on Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to understand the way abortion jurisprudence is argued. In the Court’s opinion on Casey, the plurality constructs an argument for the legitimacy of the Court. I take this argument and assess its logical validity, and then with the framework the argument presents, I examine if the Court is able to maintain its neutrality in the context of philosophical arguments. Then, using case law analysis from Melissa Murray about the impact of abortion and precedent, as well as Ronald Dworkin’s constitutional evaluation from Freedom’s Law, I discuss the role that legal principles play in abortion jurisprudence and apply political behavior research into motivated reasoning to better understand the Court’s political motivations. I find, on their own criteria, that the Court fails to maintain the neutrality they claim to have, meaning they are a political body. I also find the Court’s political nature impacts its ability to decide on controversial topics, and provide suggestions for what this means for the Court’s role in American government as we face increasing polarization.

The paper investigates the viability of increased intergenerational solidarity welfare policy as a potential solution for the prevalent issue of loneliness experienced by older immigrant adults. Many older adults in individualist societies experience painful loneliness due to social isolation, which is exacerbated by patterns of adult children immigrating away from their parents for work opportunities.. Isolation often increases the prevalence of depression, vulnerability to scamming, and individualistic ideals that cause shame. Previous research of intergenerational solidarity (IS) reveals that multigenerational homes positively impact the well being of older adults living with their family members. IS research identifies factors such as economic, emotional, and functional interactions among family members and analyzes their role in societal institutions and mental wellness. This paper examines survey research studies that investigate matters of multigenerational interactions and physical access to community in the older adult demographic. Literature reviews of case studies are vital to implementing effective welfare in this context because it allows future programs to identify under served groups within the greater population. The literature review highlights the often overlooked emotional and financial cost that middle generation mothers pay to preserve IS interactions between their parents and children. Additionally, the comparative literature review found that older immigrant adults face more severe geographical and social barriers to IS interactions. Government welfare policy has the potential to alleviate these challenges, which disproportionately burden middle generation mothers and older adult immigrants. By providing publicly funded opportunities for IS interactions outside of the home, middle generation mothers and older adult immigrants can experience the benefits of community without economic and emotional hurdles. Building a foundation of intergenerational solidarity challenges the cycle of loneliness by equipping each generation with tools to seek out togetherness in the face of modern political and social challenges.

As the field of astrophysics continues to grow, the quantity of data to analyze is constantly expanding. With projects like the James Webb Space Telescope each sending back hundreds of gigabytes of data every day, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is needed to assist manual analytical techniques in processing these volumes of information. One of the most apparent tasks for AI in astrophysics is image categorization – identifying what sort of astronomical object a certain body is. If a machine could categorize these bodie in significantly less time than a person, it would free tens of thousands of human hours every year. I created a Machine Learning program using a Deep Neural Network (DNN) implemented in Keras and TensorFlow capable of classifying astronomical images based on photometric data. Built from scratch, it utilizes existing labeled images to “learn” how astronomical bodies differ in appearance and assign them a category. The value of automated classification of astronomical phenomena cannot be understated. DNN allows the model to find unique identifiers in images humans often cannot spot, leading to often-more reliable predictions, recognizing possible discoveries in far less time, and freeing astronomers to undertake higher-cognition tasks only humans can accomplish. As the model is continuouly improved, it will be able to make increasingly accurate classifications and be of ever-growing value.