While environmental writing is nothing novel, environmental journalism as a beat and research area is relatively recent. The available literature on the field provides insight into the challenges environmental reporters face and what their environmental backgrounds in the field are, but little research details how they respond to challenges and why they originally chose the beat. This research examines how environmental journalists respond to the challenges they face, what values they attribute to the beat, and why they chose to write about the environment. My hypotheses are that these reporters have had influential experiences in nature; they see their work as a form of social activism; and they rely on their social connections as a form of support. For my sample, I first used random systematic sampling, followed by purposive sampling to reach targeted demographics, such as gender and race. I conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews to collect my data, with a goal of at least 15 interviews or until saturation. So far, I have conducted five interviews that average around 45 to 60 minutes each. Most of them grew up as outdoorsy people, all of them see their work as important, and most find that talking to someone about challenges they encounter is helpful. Through more interviews, I hope to begin recognizing strong trends in responses to compare to my hypotheses. In addition to filling the gaps in the literature on environmental journalism, this research provides these reporters with a chance to talk about their experiences and challenges. Additionally, building on this beat as a research area could help provide data to create a meaningful support network for environmental reporters. As climate change intensifies and more people feel its effects, it’s imperative that these journalists feel supported enough to continue highlighting climate solutions and inequities to advocate for climate action.

The largest scale structure in the universe creates a cosmic web. Nodes of the web are connected by mega-parsec scale filaments of warm gas, galaxies, and cold dark matter. Cosmic filaments are typically assumed to form and cool uniformly in many cosmological models. Recent works suggest that the internal structure, particularly with regard to the cooling mechanism, may be more complex. Gas clouds larger than a characteristic length appear to shatter as they cool below 106 K, fragmenting into smaller cloudlets. Other factors may also contribute to a more turbulent and irregular structure. The behavior of these filaments has implications for many of the issues at the forefront of astronomy. Cold dense clouds could create Lyman limit systems in the early universe, restricting the the distance that ionizing photons can travel. Further, the structure of these filaments may influence the mass of dark matter and constraints on cosmological models. To study these systems, I am simulating the formation of a single cosmic filament using a cosmological hydrodynamics code. Together with my mentor, I derived functions for the initial displacement and velocities of the particles from theory to create the desired collapse of matter into a filament. I then run the simulations with these initial conditions on a supercomputer, enabling simulations with tens of millions of particles. The simulations have mass resolutions that have not been previously achieved, allowing us to better understand the internal behavior. Preliminary findings indicate that there is indeed a complicated structure within the filaments.

Biofilm is a community of bacteria enclosed in an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) attached to a surface. Inside the biofilm, bacteria can collaborate to increase their survival. The EPS also protects bacteria from drug penetration, leading to increased antibiotic resistance. Therefore, biofilm formation is often linked with chronic bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that often causes chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. It is also a common model for studying biofilm formation. The initial step for biofilm formation is bacteria attaching to and sensing a surface. Upon surface contact, P. aeruginosa may produce cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which is a universal second messenger that regulates cellular functions in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In P. aeruginosa, cAMP is synthesized by two adenylate cyclases, CyaA & CyaB, and degraded by a cAMP phosphodiesterase, CpdA. cAMP is a key regulator for P. aeruginosa virulence by upregulating the production of the type III secretion system, the type II secretion system, and the type IV pili. However, recent observations in our lab suggest that cAMP may also contribute to the homeostasis of the cell envelope. To investigate this phenomenon, I used microscopy to characterize the cell morphology of strains with different cAMP levels and found that increased cAMP levels lead to longer cells. I also found that high cAMP strains are more sensitive to êžµ-lactam antibiotics specifically, while low cAMP strains become more resistant. Ongoing work includes characterizing the genetic factors that connect cAMP and êžµ-lactam sensitivity, as well as using microscopy to determine changes in cell envelop induced by cAMP. Overall, this work reveals an important role of cAMP in bacterial physiology and provides insight into the complex relationship between virulence and antimicrobial resistance.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium and an opportunistic pathogen of wounds, cornea, and the Cystic Fibrosis lung. P. aeruginosa is also a model organism for the study of bacterial biofilm formation. Biofilms are multicellular communities that form from bacterial growth concomitant with the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). EPS includes polymers such as polysaccharides, DNA, and proteins; these polymers provide structure and protection to the biofilm cells. Proteomics experiments by the Parsek Lab and others have demonstrated that a notable component of the biofilm matrix are the secreted proteases. Secreted proteases have defined roles in virulence and nutrient acquisition, but their role in the biofilm matrix of P. aeruginosa has not been explored. I hypothesize that these secreted proteases recycle nutrients, remove cell waste, and protect cells from host immunity. To test my hypothesis, I generated a mutant strain of P. aeruginosa that lacks the six major secreted proteases. While we see that loss of the proteases does not impact planktonic growth, preliminary data suggests that loss of proteolytic activity results in moderately increased biofilm formation. Using a general proteolysis assay relying on casein hydrolysis, I have determined the relative contribution of each of the six proteases to the total proteolytic capacity of P. aeruginosa in planktonic growth. I will further test the impact of the proteases on biofilm growth in different growth environments, including under flow conditions and in artificial sputum medium. I will also assess which proteases contribute the most to proteolysis during biofilm growth. My work fits into a growing body of literature that suggests that the biofilm matrix is not an inert scaffold, but is instead a dynamic and active network.

Vulcanized rubber, the main component of tires, is prized for its chemical durability and thermal stability. These properties, however, make disposal difficult and contribute to the increasing problem of polymer waste. To broaden the applications of end-of-life tires, we developed a method to chemically upcycle polybutadiene, a primary component of vulcanized rubber, via selenium-mediated allylic amination. We hypothesized that functionalizing the backbone of crosslinked polybutadiene with sulfonamide groups—without breaking their double bonds—would result in favorable thermal properties, creating a new life for the crosslinked polybutadiene. We used infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to confirm the aminated crosslinked polybutadiene’s molecular structure and differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis to measure its changes in thermal properties. Our research has future implications for the reduction of tire waste and reprocessing of other end-of-life crosslinked polymers.

Hydrostatic pressure can be used to tune the electronic properties of atomically thin layered materials by decreasing the interlayer spacing, thereby enhancing the strength of interlayer interactions. In moiré systems, pressure can be used to create flat bands in samples with twist angles away from the usual ‘magic angle’. Twisted trilayer graphene (tTLG) has a Dirac band superimposed atop a flat band. These two bands can hybridize in a finite displacement field making it possible to further tune the flat band. The flat band is host to a variety of flavor-polarized correlated states, which may be an important ingredient in generating the exotic superconducting phases seen in tTLG. Although pressure could provide a new avenue for tuning these correlated states, a high-pressure study has not previously been performed on tTLG owing to the challenges of applying pressure to layered 2D materials: limited sample space, difficulty mounting the sample, and challenges in establishing electrical contacts. In this talk, I will discuss advances we have made in addressing these issues via a custom printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB provides a sturdy platform for mounting samples, and has gold pads to enable wire bonding. I will also discuss ongoing high-pressure electrical transport measurements of tTLG nanodevices. This work could elucidate further the origin of the unusual superconducting phase seen in tTLG, and provide a blueprint for future high-pressure studies of 2D materials.

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect, requiring patients to undergo multiple invasive cardiac procedures, including pulmonary valve replacement (PVR). However, with recent clinical advances, new tools are needed to optimize PVR timing. We believe noninvasively collected cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) data can provide insight into a patient’s need for PVR. Specifically, we hypothesize that patients with a more severe stage of pulmonary valve dysfunction have a limited ability to increase their stroke volume during exercise, an abnormal response that can be assessed by analyzing the behavior of the oxygen pulse (O2-pulse) curve during CPET. A ‘flattening’ of this curve suggests impaired augmentation of stroke volume and potentially a more urgent need for PVR. This research aims to identify metrics that can characterize patterns in O2-pulse. Data were collected from 44 participants with TOF undergoing CPET PVR evaluation and 10 healthy individuals. To find a maximum O2-pulse, we fit a penalized bilinear regression model to this curve. We extracted 8 parameters to mathematically describe the O2-pulse curve, as well as 20 traditional CPET performance metrics. One important parameter that was calculated is the ‘lost area under the curve’ (LAUC), defined as the area under the two calculated regression lines over time subtracted from the area under the curve as determined if the first regression line were to continue on the same slope as is typically expected during a maximal CPET. This value captures both the change in slope and when participants transitioned from a steep increase in O2-pulse to a relatively flattened O2-pulse. The LAUC, among our other identified metrics, can potentially provide insight into the optimal timing of PVR in patients with TOF. Unsupervised machine learning may be a useful tool to characterize patterns in these metrics and search for clinically relevant patient phenotypes.

In a recent breakthrough, bullvalene, renowned for its “shape-shifting” molecular nature with over 1.2 million degenerate isomers, has been successfully integrated into polymer backbones. This integration addresses challenges in solubility and thermal properties crucial for tailoring polymers used in manufacturing diverse products ranging from phone screens to organic solar cells. This project aims to deepen our understanding of the interplay between fluxionality and thermal properties by examining the thermal stability of small molecule bullvalene models. Through extrapolating insights for bullvalene-substituted polymers, our research seeks to contribute to the advancement of the development of advanced materials suited for varying thermal conditions. We synthesized small molecule bullvalenes to mimic polymer chains, subjecting them to diimide reduction to suppress fluxionality before comparison with their fluxional counterparts. Their thermal properties were characterized using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Key findings reveal a decrease in glass transition temperature upon reduction of bullvalene, highlighting the impact of fluxionality on thermal stability. Future work will delve deeper into exploring the thermal properties of small molecule models, providing insights into polymer behavior. We anticipate bullvalene as an internal plasticizer capable of modulating rigidity, solubility, and thermal properties within different classes of polymers, thus enabling a more efficient and cost-effective large-scale industrial production of a wide array of polymeric materials.

On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that using affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional in the case, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. This research analyzes arguments presented by both parties to reveal the effects of this policy removal on the future of underrepresented minority students applying to college. I analyze Harvard’s admission statistics through regression models cultivated by each party’s expert witness to identify the lack of true diversity in Harvard’s admission process. The statistical findings the experts present highlight the use of the Asian American experience to justify the removal of affirmative action measures in higher education. Additionally, I conduct a complex legal analysis of prior Supreme Court cases through the lens of reparation jurisprudence to expose the lucrative, and performative, system of affirmative action in higher education. The Court’s decision to remove affirmative action requires universities to develop a new form of admission criteria that aids underrepresented minority students in the college admission process. Statistical evidence provided by the Department of Education and economist, Richard D. Kahlenberg, points to a new form of affirmative action that considers varying intersectional factors to develop a complex method of class-based affirmative action. Such studies identify the benefits of looking at various demographic factors contributing to an applicant’s experience to cultivate a diverse class of students that goes deeper than race.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic disease that causes many serious health conditions in a variety of tissues including skeletal muscle stiffening and cardiac conduction disorders. This disease affects 1 in 2,300 people worldwide and is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. DM1 is caused by a CTG repeat expansion, which in lay terms means that in a gene, there's a sequence of 10 CTG DNA bases. However, in a specific part of the gene responsible for making messenger RNA (mRNA), the number of CTG repeats increases significantly. This unusual mRNA sequence is linked to the development of the disease. This mutated mRNA (messenger RNA) disables the splicing regulator muscle-blind-like 1 (MBNL1) gene and ultimately causes disease. It does this by sequestering and limiting the MBNL1s critical role in splicing mRNA (figure 1). In my proposed research project, I am focusing on cardiac function when testing adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-mediated systemic delivery of the MBNL1 gene to increase MBNL1 protein expression in muscle. The lab found that body-wide delivery of AAV vectors with CK8-intron-MBNL1, which expressed MBNL1 only in striated muscle, was toxic in the hearts of mice and caused death (figure 2). Over the last few months, my mentor Matt Karolak and I have learned together methods such as echocardiography and tissue histological techniques to 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.

Respiratory viruses are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in vulnerable populations. Together, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), are responsible for over â…“ of serious viral respiratory infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients. Currently, no treatments are available for RSV or HMPV in immunocompromised adults. While monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) show promise as a treatment, challenges arise, including limited efficacy when administered post-infection. Our goal was to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of a newly discovered cross-neutralizing human mAb to RSV and HMPV. We aimed to investigate whether modifying the Fc domain of the antibody could increase its binding to Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) found on different types of immune cells. Activation of FcγRs initiates important cell processes such as clearance of virus-infected cells, also known as Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). This modification potentially makes the antibody a more effective treatment option for RSV and HMPV infections. To do this we looked at the binding kinetics and affinity of modified antibodies to human FcγRIIIa, FcγRIIa and FcγRIIb receptors using Bio-Layer Inferometry (BLI). Our data indicate that certain amino acid modifications or afucosylation of the Fc region can increase the antibody’s binding affinity to different human FcγRs. Since hamsters are an important preclinical model used to determine RSV and HMPV drug efficacy, it was important to examine the binding affinity of our human antibody to hamster FcγR’s. Our data indicate that the wild-type Fc region does bind to the homologous hamster receptors. Moreover, certain modifications in the Fc region led to increased binding to hamster FcγR’s. Together, these data indicate that modifications in the Fc region of human antibodies can increase their binding affinity to both human and hamster FcγRs. This increase in binding affinity could translate to enhanced potency in the preclinical hamster model and in humans.

This research was designed to highlight the connections between the human evolutionary trait of loss aversion and implications for current marketing strategies through an analysis of consumer behavior. The objective of this research is to find which companies target human evolutionary traits in their marketing strategies, and if this is an effective strategy, by analyzing consumer purchase trends. This project focused on loss aversion, which originated as a field of behavioral economics through experiments designed to test human’s reactions to loss, change, and making decisions under uncertain circumstances, ultimately showing that not only do people value preventing equal losses over equal gains, but it’s nearly twice as important to prevent losses based on the emotional impact of the losses. Loss aversion can be used as a consumer behavior analysis method, as most consumers act under uncertain circumstances, weighing their need for a product against the money lost in the purchase. By analyzing the effects of loss aversion on modern day consumer behavior, companies can adapt to different scenarios, implementing marketing strategies using human evolutionary traits. This study compared the marketing trends of multiple large corporations and consumer purchase trends. The results of the study showed that the majority of companies used some type of loss aversion marketing strategy, and the ones that did employ this strategy were often financially better than companies that did not. This research has implications for a variety of companies aiming to expand their marketing strategies and increase their effectiveness. This information is also valuable for consumers, as this highlights subconscious decisions made during shopping, leading to more mindful consumers.