Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic disease that causes many serious health conditions in a variety of tissues including skeletal muscle stiffening, weakness, and degeneration. DM1 is caused by a CTG repeat expansion mutation in the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase gene, DMPK. Expression of the mutated DMPK allele binds with the splicing regulator muscle-blind-like 1 (MBNL1), causing DM1 by sequestering and limiting its critical role in splicing mRNA. A main focus of the Chamberlain lab is the development of gene therapy to treat DM1, including increasing protein expression of MBNL1 to reduce the disease effects in muscle. Overexpression of MBNL1 in skeletal muscle could be beneficial but may have negative effects on cardiac tissue. The lab discovered that high, unregulated MBNL1 expression from gene therapy vectors in cardiac tissue can result in cardiac damage. In my study, I will focus on cardiac function when testing adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-mediated systemic delivery of the MBNL1 gene to increase MBNL1 protein expression in muscle. Using analytical methods such as echocardiography and tissue histological techniques, I will determine whether it is possible to prevent MBNL1 protein production and its damaging effects in the heart while still expressing MBNL1 protein in skeletal muscle for therapeutic disease benefits.

Much of cosmology, including the age, shape, and evolution of the universe, depends upon the values of certain parameters. The Hubble Constant is one such parameter and is currently undergoing thorough investigation: our two primary means of measuring it yield two conflicting values. Is this merely a series of errors, or is there new physics to be uncovered? In order to eliminate measurement error as an explanation, we need to reduce uncertainty, but our current methods of measuring the movement of distant galaxies are unlikely to yield the necessary precision. Instead, we are developing a new method that may be able bypass the current reliance on a series of calibrations. Fast Radial Bursts are sufficiently point-like to detect the curvature in their wavefronts; hence the time delay registered between several satellites a sufficient distance apart can be used to determine the curvature of the pulse and hence the distance to the burst. More precise measurements of the distance to Fast Radio Bursts will lead to a better measurement of the Hubble Constant and the evolution of the dark energy. Further, using radio telescopes will require minimal advancement in precision measurement given already active GPS methods. While exploring what configuration will yield the greateat sensitivity, I have found a particular equidistant configuration of satellites that is able to maintain a consistent range of error regardless of what direction the FRB signal is coming from. Currently I am extending this search to additional satellites and numerous FRB sources to show that our model is able to achieve sub-1% precision in the Hubble Constant. If so, our model could be used to resolve the Hubble Tension, or to show that new physics such as new behaviors in dark energy is in fact present. 

The Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) is an extended structure surrounding galaxies, populated with hot diffuse gas and cold dense clouds of gas. The CGM acts as an intermediary between gas within galaxies (Interstellar Medium, or ISM) and gas between galaxies (Intergalactic Medium, or IGM). Insights into its properties and behavior could lead to a connection between the CGM and galaxy evolution, and the transition of a galaxy from star-forming to non-star-forming (quiescent). One standard method of observing the CGM is by measuring the absorption of light by elements in the CGM along its path to Earth, and since elements ionized to different degrees have distinct absorption signatures that can be observed, we can use them to determine the properties of the cool CGM. Our project aims to determine how the radiation from two sources of radiation—the central galaxy and the background—affect the ionization of this gas. Using observational data from the Hubble Space Telescope, we aim to constrain the dominant ionization mechanism of the cool CGM by comparing the data to physically-motivated fits and theoretical models developed by Dr. Faerman and Prof. McQuinn. Preliminary results show that by relating the density of CGM gas to the star-formation rate in the galaxy, the model is more consistent with the data, suggesting a relationship between the two properties. We are currently testing our method with one specific, well-modeled galaxy sample, and our framework allows including other existing samples as well as new, future observations. Modeling the properties of the CGM and how it interacts with galaxies will help us understand how galaxies form and evolve over cosmic times; one of the great open questions in modern astrophysics.

Diaryliodonium salts have recently been shown to facilitate metal-free mechanoredox free radical polymerizations. Prior literature reports focus on the role of diaryliodoniums as photoinitiators; these salts have well established fragmentation mechanisms and kinetic profiles. However, their use in mechanochemistry has not been extensively investigated. Mechanochemistry is an emerging field of chemistry that uses force as a stimulus for chemical reactions. Compared to traditional stimuli such as light, heat, and electricity, mechanical force avoids the use of transitional metal additives and often has a lesser environmental impact. This report looks to explore functionalized (e.g., electron-rich versus electron-deficient) diaryliodoniums and to determine the impact of reactivity in a mechanoredox polymerization setting. Herein we synthesized a library of salts of diverse electronic structures and tested them within an established mechanoredox ball mill system. We report data on their initiation based on radical trapping as well as changes in polymers molecular weight. The hypothesis is that salts with functionalities that withdraw electron density such as alkyl halogens or cyano groups will initiate faster than salts with electron donating functionalities due to their lower reduction potential as demonstrated in literature. Exploration of these functionalized salts will provide kinetic insight and open new avenues of synthesizing commodity polymers. This is particularly applicable in 3D printing, where having control over the rate of initiation could be used to tune downstream physical properties.