Evidence-based changes to instruction can lead to better student outcomes and performance. For this reason, instructors are interested in collecting data about student experience and outcomes. However, the process of data collection and analysis can be time-intensive for instructors, making it challenging to gather data necessary to improve their classes. Moreover, when data collection does happen, it often centers quantitative data, but this systematically devalues students' experiences. Therefore, we sought to develop a tool that aids instructors in processing and analyzing qualitative data pertaining to students’ class experiences. As part of our research project, we have developed an R-shiny based data processing app that integrates Artificial Intelligence to summarize findings from open response questions on student surveys. This tool is intended to alleviate the time-intensive nature of analyzing student responses to open-ended survey questions. In order to validate the accuracy of AI-generated summaries, we compared them to manual summaries generated using in vivo qualitative coding methods. We find that our app generates responses that are comparable to the manually generated summaries. The summaries include prominent themes along with details about student experiences within those themes. With this tool, instructors can gather real-time data, even in large classes, eliminating the concern of the time-intensive process of manually reviewing responses. By developing this tool, we hope to empower instructors to explore diverse questions that provide them with valuable insights on how to optimize the structure of their classes to improve student experience and outcomes.

Including undergraduate peer facilitators (UPFs) in lectures can support students in large and often challenging introductory science courses. Our team decided to increase UPF involvement by creating BIOL113, an undergraduate-led companion course to BIOL180, the largest introductory Biology course at the University of Washington. This study is part of a larger project that assessed the overall experience of both UPFs and students, and this particular work focuses on the former. I investigated how BIOL113 contributed to the experience and development of UPFs.This study incorporated qualitative data from graduated and enrolled UPFs alongside UPF applicants. Through surveys, I explored personal, professional, and academic growth, leadership skills, program expectations, and a sense of belonging. My findings underscore the distinctive role of undergraduate-led programs in enhancing UPF experiences. UPFs’ expectations for the program aligned with their experience and enriched their sense of belonging within the biology department, STEM, and the broader University of Washington community. Furthermore, engaging in UPF roles developed individual leadership skills while also contributing to their personal, professional, and academic development. In addition, the survey highlighted an important area for improvement: tailored professional development for UPFs should focus on marketing the skills gained in teaching and leadership as particularly valuable in the job market, graduate school, or professional school. Understanding the impact of BIOL113 on UPF experience can inform instructional approaches, with the possibility of expanding such initiatives university-wide.

Recently there has been interest in two possible sources of mass in the outer solar system. First, observations of recently discovered remote outer solar system objects have suggested the presence of a ninth planet. Different numerical simulations have suggested either a less massive (1.5-3 Earth masses) planet with a semimajor axis of 250-500 AU from the Sun (the Earth orbits at 1 AU), or a more massive (5-15 Earth masses) planet at 400-800 AU. Second, data from the New Horizons spacecraft has suggested that there may be an additional roughly circular belt of objects, similar to the Kuiper Belt, beyond 60 AU. This raises the question of whether this belt would be compatible with some or all of the proposed forms of planet 9. To answer this question, I ran a series of orbital dynamics simulations with randomly generated test particles representing the proposed second Kuiper Belt, and different masses and orbital parameters for planet 9. By looking at how planet 9 changed the orbits of the test particles over the period of the simulation, I concluded that although planet 9 would not significantly affect objects orbiting at 60-100 AU, in the most extreme cases, it would significantly broaden the distribution of orbital inclinations of objects beyond 100 AU. Astronomical deep and wide surveys conducted over the next few years have the potential to detect both planet 9, and objects beyond the Kuiper Belt. If second Kuiper Belt objects are discovered, these objects having a wider-than-expected range or orbital inclinations would point to gravitational disturbances, such as those caused by planet 9. Alternatively, if planet 9 is discovered, these simulations suggest that a second Kuiper Belt would need to be more inclined than has been so far assumed.

Phosphoribosyl Pyrophosphate Synthetase (PRPS1) is an enzyme in the nucleotide biosynthesis pathway that makes a molecule necessary for de novo nucleotide synthesis. It is known that PRPS1 protein hexamers can stack into linear filaments in the presence of ADP and phosphate. When these filaments are broken, catalytic activity is lost, and it is hypothesized that enzyme inhibition is lost as well. Mutations in PRPS1 lead to a wide spectrum of diseases in humans. In addition, changes in cell regulation of the enzyme have been linked to cancer. Motivated by research that connects PRPS1 phosphorylation to increased cancer proliferation, my project investigates the effects of phosphorylation on PRPS1 structure, enzyme activity, and inhibition properties. I have transformed plasmid DNA containing the PRPS1 phosphomimetic mutations S47E, S103D, and S308E into E. coli strains BL21 and pLysS. I then grew overnight bacterial cultures and induced protein expression using IPTG. After verifying protein expression with gel electrophoresis, I purified the protein from bacteria using nickel resin affinity and size exclusion chromatography. Having made and purified protein mutations that mimic phosphorylation, I conducted a negative stain screen to analyze filament formation trends. This has yielded preliminary findings that S47E and S103D phosphorylation mutations of PRPS1 break enzyme filament formation. Variation in filament formation between mutations points to the importance of phosphorylation location and its potential impact on enzyme activity and inhibition. To assess the catalysis of the phosphomimetic mutations in PRPS1, I will conduct biochemical assays which measure the activity and inhibition of the enzyme. Through these ongoing experiments we will learn how phosphorylation modifies PRPS assembly and activity and the implications of PRPS1 dysregulation in cancer proliferation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an overwhelming shift to using technology to connect with others. Coinciding with a growing mental health crisis among youth, mental health therapy has been largely moved to digital spaces. Three years later, providers are having to choose if they will provide their services through in person, remote, or hybrid interventions. My initial hypothesis is that there will be access barriers for youth of certain demographics when utilizing digital interventions. I conducted a systematic literature review to look at the effectiveness of the use of digital mental health therapy services among adolescents using PubMed, PsychInfo, and UW Libraries databases. The journals assess barriers and facilitators of digital mental health services for youth. Articles are found through systematic searches using combinations of the MeSH terms ‘digital mental health’, ‘adolescents’, ‘accessibility’ and ‘depression’. The demographics of the adolescents are compared with their preferences for digital therapy. Preliminary results indicate that youth who identify as lower income, rural residents, or BIPOC will face greater barriers to accessing mental healthcare and may benefit from continuing digital therapy. This synthesis of peer reviewed journals will prove to be useful in helping providers move forward with their practice in a way that aligns with their client’s needs.

 The 1854 Speech by Chief siaʔɬ (Seattle) is surrounded by controversy. There are many versions of this speech available online and in print, but which one is the most true to who Chief siaʔɬ was? How can we find out what Chief siaʔɬ said when the speech was given in Lushootseed, translated to Chinook Jargon, and then published for the first time in English, 30 years after the speech was given? Today, even Chief siaʔɬ's tribal descendants have differing versions of the speech on their official tribal websites. To answer these questions, I conducted semi-structured individual interviews with tribal members from each of Chief siaʔɬ's descendant tribes, the Duwamish, the Suquamish, and the Muckleshoot. Within these interviews, I chose to use the "Think Aloud" method to structure how the participants read the versions of the speech presented. This allowed me to code their comments on the speech into specific categories in order to analyze how each participants felt about the speech, about Chief siaʔɬ's character, and about their own knowledge and their tribe's own knowledge about the speech and speaker. This research provides a brand new and comprehensive perspective on this aged speech that is surrounded by mystery. It gives these tribal members the opportunity to set the record straight on what Chief siaʔɬ might have actually said.

Including undergraduate peer facilitators (UPFs) in lectures is often done to support students in large and often challenging introductory science courses. Our team increased UPF involvement by creating BIOL113, an undergraduate-led companion course to BIOL180, the largest biology course at the University of Washington. This study is a part of a larger project that assessed the overall experience of both UPFs and students, and this particular work focuses on the latter. We examined how BIOL113 enhanced students' learning and academic success in Introductory Biology. By incorporting quantitative and qualitative data, we compared the performance of students who received UPF support in this companion class with those who did not. Quantitative data included grades, exam scores, and course completion rates, while qualitative data encompassed students' perceptions of peer facilitation though blast surveys. We found that undergraduate-led programs play a unique role in improving students' learning and including UPFs promoted peer-to-peer interaction and student engagement. Additionally, UPFs serve as relatable role models, providing mentorship and practical guidance. Moreover, programs like BIOL113 have a rare opportunity to disproportionately support students from minoritized groups. Understanding the impact of BIOL113 on students' success can inform instructional strategies, with potential expansion of such programs across the University. 

Introductory biology classes are often a stepping stone for students in various STEM majors, as prerequisites or major requirements. For this reason, it is vital that these courses properly prepare students for life beyond their classes, through the ability to apply the knowledge they are gaining to the real world. Because textbooks are often used as preparatory assignments or as the content on which a course is grounded, we decided to focus on this type of circular tool, in order to evaluate the level of humanization in introductory biology courses. We set out to find out the degree to which six popular and prominent introductory biology textbooks humanize science, by positioning the content in a social context. We did this by developing our definition of humanization, and based on this, a continuum of humanization. We then developed a rubric for coding the extent of humanization, with the lowest being scarce humanization and highest being content that centers justice. We also coded topics of biology, from ethics to the environment. The team went through page-by-page and line-by-line to apply the rubric to all six textbooks, including the text as well as questions. In terms of the questions, we found that out of 9262, only 236 questions were humanizing. For the text, out of 9670 pages, there were 1352 humanizing passages. Overall, we found the inclusion of humanizing content to be rare across the six textbooks analyzed, and humanization by inclusion of justice to be particularly rare. We end by giving suggestions to educators, a main one being to pose justice-centered problems to students - a “problem-posing” model of science education.

At 1:44 PM EST on March 11th of 2020, Trump tweeted that he would be “addressing the nation” at 9 PM EST that same day. This oval office address was a statement on COVID-19 and what the pandemic meant for America. This research is a rhetorical analysis of Trump’s public address on that day. His speech, already given in a time of uncertainty, led to widespread panic amongst consumers, with U.S. stocks falling the next day by almost 10%, in their worst day since the 1987 crash. News outlets and economists reported that the uncertainty that came along with the pandemic was only worsened because of Trump’s fear stoking and the atmosphere of uncertainty this speech created. What were people reading in the speech that could have pushed them towards this economic behavior? Conducting a rhetorical analysis of the speech through an innovation on the textual-intertextual method, this paper analyzes Trump’s speech and what people and the Trump administration said in response. In the first part of the paper, close textual analysis allows us to have an in-depth, microscopic understanding of the speech itself. In the second part of the thesis, we examine intertextual evidence of the speech’s extrinsic effect. Reading secondary sources that explicitly mention the primary text, including those produced by audiences hailed by the text as well as by Trump and his proxies, we can understand its broader reception especially as it relates to investor behavior and consumer attitudes. This study finds that Trump’s lack of key information, sparse emphasis on international cooperation, and contradictory rhetoric towards public officials all help explain the economic uncertainty that resulted from this speech. Studying the relationship between rhetoric and the economy through this research has implications on presidential rhetoric, unsuccessful early pandemic communication and the factors influencing stock price volatility.