Teachers play an integral part in a child's development as they are responsible for educating youth. Since COVID-19, schools are reporting rising rates of teacher burnout (52%) and students exhibiting problematic behaviors (e.g., disruptions [59%], disrespectful [52%], rowdiness [49%]). Disruptive classroom behaviors hinder the ability of teachers to adequately implement curriculum which results in a variety of disciplinary actions administered. My research analyzes the correlation between elementary school teachers' burnout rate and disciplinary actions taken. My data comes from a larger study that examined the implementation of a preventative social-emotional behavioral program in nine different schools. Teachers completed an online survey distributed in the middle of the academic year, including a measure on burnout, and the district provided systematically obtained disciplinary records (i.e., September to December) upon completion of the study. Preliminary analysis is ongoing to examine the relationship between teacher burnout and disciplinary actions recorded. This can be a first step towards improving teachers' professional well-being and creating a more prosocial classroom environment for student growth.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most severe consequence of uncontrolled epilepsy. SUDEP is a multifactorial disease associated with serotonin (5-HT) imbalance and exacerbated neuroinflammation. Unfortunately, current preclinical animal models do not adequately explain all underlying causes of these events or their subsequent effects. Seizures are a common comorbidity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), especially in patients with genetic variants in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PSEN1) and 2 (PSEN 2). Clinical evidence suggests that seizures in AD patients worsen their cognitive decline and increase mortality rate compared to AD patients without seizures. Our lab demonstrated that 2-month-old mice with an APP/PS1 variant subjected to chronic evoked seizures resulted in premature mortality, heightened neuroinflammation, and altered 5-HT system enzyme expression prior to AD onset. These findings reveal a novel preclinical platform to test potential preventative agents for SUDEP. Given the relationship between seizures and AD, I aim to prevent seizure-induced premature mortality, and define 5-HT and neuroinflammatory changes in APP/PS1 mice treated with 2 investigational agents: lorcaserin, a selective 5-HT receptor agonist, and cannabidiol (CBD), a broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory and 5-HT modulator. I hypothesize that targeting seizure-induced neuroinflammation and the dysregulated 5-HT system with these compounds will decrease premature seizure-induced mortality. To assess this, 2-month-old APP/PS1 mice underwent corneal kindling procedure to evoke investigator-controlled chronic seizures and received lorcaserin (10 mg/kg) or CBD (100 mg/kg) via the intraperitoneal route. Then, I tracked survival during the chronic seizure period and performed molecular analysis to quantify neuroinflammatory proteins and 5-HT system enzyme expression. Our preliminary results show that mice treated with lorcaserin or CBD had a mortality rate of 10% compared to 75% in the untreated APP/PS1 mice. Future directions include using these compounds in other preclinical SUDEP models to confirm the translational potential of these medications to clinical use.

Elementary school educators are primary influences on children’s development by helping shape their behavior with peers and in the classroom. Employees in education are deferred to by their newer coworkers regarding student interactions and set precedents for students’ school environment. New and seasoned educators’ disciplinary practices greatly vary when addressing students exhibiting problematic behaviors which may differently affect student-instructor relationships. I use an existing dataset from a larger study testing the impact of a novel implementation strategy on the implementation of a universal social, emotional, and behavioral program in nine elementary schools from one district. Educator participants in this study completed a survey battery when starting and ending the school year and the district provided quarterly discipline records via a universal prevention program. The findings identify trends in student disciplinary actions between new (<5 yrs) and experienced (>5 yrs) instructors. Understanding the relationship between teacher tenure and the treatment of student misbehavior is crucial to demystifying the manifestation of poor student enrichment and hostile student-instructor relationships. These findings could suggest how differential disciplinary practices by educators based on their years of experience influence student learning.

Universal social, emotional, and behavioral interventions (SEBIs) have been shown to have positive impacts on prosocial behavior in students. When teachers implement SEBIs, their openness to adopt an intervention is an important factor that affects intended student outcomes. Research has shown that a teacher’s openness to SEBIs improves the effectiveness in positively influencing student behavior, which in turn improves student outcomes. This study will investigate the relation between teacher openness towards SEBIs and positive and negative student behaviors. We will conduct a cross-sectional analysis from a survey taken by teachers two weeks after receiving training on an evidence-based intervention. We anticipate that there will be a positive correlation between teacher openness and positive student behaviors. It is vital to understand the connection between teacher openness towards the adoption and implementation of SEBIs and the behavioral outcomes of students as it helps optimize information about how to best support students.

The endangered Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmarata) was once a broadly distributed species across a large range from Western Washington to as far south as Baja, Mexico. However, unprecedented amounts of population loss driven by exploitation as a food source, wetland development and the destruction of habitat began to plague this species beginning in the early 1900s. As a result, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Woodland Park Zoo created six reestablishment sites that proved to be successful, elevating the number of turtles from 150 in the 1990s to around 900 individuals today. Threats to this species persist, making it more crucial than ever to locate new reintroduction sites to increase population numbers and promote self-sustaining populations. Our analysis is focusing on determining if the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) could be a potential 7th reestablishment site through the utilization of a habitat suitability index (HSI) with ArcGIS Pro and comparisons with Klickitat County and Pierce County sites. We anticipate that UBNA displays the habitat characteristics capable of promoting occupancy by the Western Pond Turtle. Furthermore, given UBNA’s popularity as a bird watching hotspot, we will also establish a kiosk intended to raise public awareness, educate the public about its threats, and display a map demonstrating their current and potential re-establishment zones as shown by our analysis. This kiosk includes a website linking the general public to a survey allowing visitors to record turtle sightings that can be accessed by future researchers. This study has widespread implications in terms of wildlife conservation, endangered species recovery and the management of threatened species.