4.5 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with chronic liver disease. Over time this can lead to cirrhosis, an end-stage condition in which scarring occurs in the liver. Reduced liver function from cirrhosis results in accumulations of neurotoxic substances that induce a spectrum of neurological impairments known as hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The critical flicker frequency (CFF) test is a well-established screening test for HE. Previously we developed Beacon, a novel and portable CFF measuring device that can be administered at home via smartphone app, as an accessible alternative to current CFF measurement devices that are large, expensive, and not intended for at-home use. We found that Beacon produced a CFF measurement that aligned with commercially available devices. While the current Beacon reflects current commercial devices, the efficiency of measurement is bottlenecked by the fact that pairs of flickering light stimuli can only be presented sequentially due to the singular light source. We therefore propose a dual headed version of Beacon that gives the option of flashing two frequencies simultaneously. I designed and developed a version of this dual-headed Beacon with sliding heads as well as an accompanying user interface before conducting a series of user studies, beginning with a pilot study on healthy individuals and progressing to a clinical trial on chronic liver disease patients, to evaluate the impact of the number of light sources and the distance between them on CFF measurement time and repeatability. I hypothesize that the two-headed Beacon will produce a CFF measurement more quickly than the original Beacon and that a closer distance between heads will also produce quicker and more consistent measurements. These findings will help inform the development of future iterations of the Beacon, leading to improved outcomes for chronic liver disease patients.

Relative Risk (RR) is a highly interpretable parameter in epidemiology and biostatistics, based on both binary input and outcome. It is frequently used in vaccine development to measure the relative efficacy between two treatment groups.
Researchers are often tempted to use generalized linear models (GLMs) to estimate the logarithmic RR with respect to a set of baseline covariates. However, this approach has inherent flaws, as GLMs do not account for variation dependence in Relative Risk on its nuisance parameters. Richardson et al. have developed an unconstrained and variation-independent doubly robust nuisance model using the log Odds Product (OP).
To expand on this work, we will explore alternative nuisance models—both those developed by us and those from other researchers—and compare their computational robustness to that of the log Odds Product (OP).
Additionally, using the brm R package (which streamlines the methods proposed by Richardson et al.), we will analyze a dataset where Relative Risk serves as the target of inference and compare these results to those obtained using regression methods.

Birdsong in the Machine is a soundscape composition that explores the evolving relationship between natural and artificial worlds through the story of the Streaked Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata), a threatened coastal songbird native to the Pacific Northwest. The central research question is: How can artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) enhance environmental storytelling to amplify the voices of endangered species and reimagine human-nature-technology relations? By integrating AI-generated audio, wildlife recordings, and digital sound processing, this project critically examines the paradoxical role of technology as both a disruptor and preserver of ecological systems. Inspired by my lifelong connection to technology and deep appreciation for the natural world, Birdsong in the Machine reflects on the impacts of technological progress on the Streaked Horned Lark. The project draws from Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto and the works of Bernie Krause and Thom van Dooren, challenging the perceived divide between the natural and artificial. It envisions a future where these realms coexist harmoniously, fostering collaboration rather than conflict. This composition combines recordings of the lark’s song and habitat with AI-generated audio, using machine learning models to emulate and predict natural soundscapes. Digital audio processing techniques integrate these elements into a cohesive narrative. Bibliographic, archival, and ethnographic research reinforce the ecological and artistic focus of the composition. Through its juxtaposition of organic and AI-generated sounds, Birdsong in the Machine illuminates the paradox of technology’s role in ecological degradation and preservation. The soundscape fosters empathy and awareness for endangered species while reimagining relationships between humans, nature, and technology. Future directions will explore the ethical implications of using AI in ecological art and expand collaborations with scientists and digital artists. Ultimately, this piece stands as both environmental advocacy and an artistic experiment, challenging audiences to rethink their place in the interconnected natural and artificial worlds.

Leather culture—and its proximity to militarism and racialized difference—is gravely understudied in queer scholarship. The historical identity construction of leathermen–a subcultural strain of queer masculinity–is transnational, syncretizing aesthetics from German, European American, and Black American cultures. This cross-cultural exchange is due in large part to the World Wars. White Fantasies of Black Leather is a radical unsettling of the foundational aesthetics of post-WWII leather culture with an emphasis on Nazism and animality. I interrogate leather as a symbol of power, the anti-Black coding of sexual exoticism and its attachment to black leather as an animal skin, and the eroticization of fascist aesthetics as a valorization of hegemonic hypermasculinity and white supremacy. I aim to answer three questions: What role does militarism play in constructing masculinity in leather culture? How did eroticized Nazi aesthetics gain coherency in leather culture and what are their implications? How and why are hegemonic constructions of gender and race reproduced in queer counterculture? Because leather functions as an embodied gender and sexuality, visuality is paramount. I employed visual and textual analysis in tandem to best understand leather as an incarnation of racialized and gendered fantasies. I conducted archival research at the Leather Archive and Museum in Chicago, pulling leather goods, ephemera, illustrations, and written works. In examining the aestheticization of symbols of power and their discursive representation in community literature, I deconstruct militaristic and animalistic references in the visual culture of queer erotic self-identification. As the genesis of leather culture is entrenched in empire and militarism, leather is a symbol of power; as it is entrenched in outlaw practices covertly defying criminalized homosexuality, leather is a symbol of difference. Deconstructing leather symbolism on a spectrum, from fascist hypermasculinity to countercultural rebellion, is necessary in attempting to exorcize racist specters haunting leather culture.

In the study of the consonants of the world’s languages, certain consonants, specifically those made through the glottis, are less studied than consonants made using primarily the lungs, despite being geographically widespread. In particular, there is very little large-scale research about the acoustic (sound) variability in their production in connected speech. In the present study, we investigate the acoustic variability present in the realization of implosives (consonants made from lowering the glottis and blocking air in the mouth at the same time) from the online corpus of Hausa and kiSwahili. The corpora used was from Common Voice which contains recording of speakers reading sentences. This data was downloaded for each language, then hand corrected and noted for implosives and their equivalents. We used this data to investigate the variability between the consonants in Hausa and kiSwahili and we discuss this variability in the realization of the consonants. We anticipate finding important differences among implosives in these two languages and hope to apply this knowledge to other languages with implosives. This research is part of a larger effort to document the variability among consonants made using the glottis in languages all over the world.

AI's volatile impact across creative industries has been a point of heated discussion in recent years, with the Hollywood Writers' Strike in 2023 pushing back against AI-implementation in TV and film writing roles, and popular musicians such as Drake and the Weeknd having their creative works used to train algorithms generating music that copies their creative style and voice. Mark Fisher, through his musing and criticisms of the contemporary music landscape in the 2000s to the mid-2010s in his blog K-Punk, and equally through his lectures, namely on the so-called "Slow Cancellation of the Future", spoke of rapid technological-innovation as a further dissolving of the identity of the modern era, and a reduction of music as an industry to nothing more than a product sold to a disillusioned lowest-common-denominator audience. Fisher anticipated what was next, if not the form of it: The Pandora's Box of AI music-generation has been opened. Through the development and retrospective analysis of a 6-track-long EP, Neon Pulse, written entirely within the SUNO and ChatGPT platforms under the persona of "Bella Sol" I read SUNO's intent to put profit ahead of creative expression through the lens of Fisher's critique of pop music, explore the role of overt versus covert technological implementation in musical artistry, and attempt to interpret the unexpected glitches (or perhaps "independent creative expressions" of the AI music-generation algorithm) that form Bella Sol's finale "Outro".

Chronic pain is a public health crisis that has been clinically demonstrated to disrupt reward learning and motivation in affected individuals. Previous literature has indicated that Calca neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) play a key role in the sensory and emotional processing of pain and become hyperactive in chronic pain models. Despite this, how PBN Calca signalling impacts adaptive decision-making in a positive-reinforcement context remains unclear. This study aims to explore how chronic PBN Calca hyperactivity impacts learning and motivation. Using chemogenetics, a technique that selectively modulates neuronal activity, we chronically activated PBN Calca neurons in transgenic mice. These mice were then tested in a two-phase positive-reinforcement operant conditioning paradigm to assess how chronic PBN Calca activation altered learning rates and motivation compared to controlled animals. In phase one, mice underwent a fixed ratio schedule in which they learned to press a lever during a distinct cue to obtain a food reward. In phase two, mice underwent a progressive ratio schedule in which they had to press a lever an increasing number of times to obtain a food reward. We hypothesized that chronic activation of PBN Calca neurons would impair both learning rate and motivation. With this work, we hope to clarify the impact of centrally-mediated chronic pain on motivational and cognitive processes, which could inform the development of future therapeutic strategies.

This project critically examines online narratives about human and more-than-human cloning, with a focus on the spread of misinformation, radicalization, conspiracies, and their dangerous impact. At first glance, discussions about human vs. more-than-human cloning differ significantly. Human cloning is commonly considered morally objectionable, with supporters often forming part of controversial communities. In contrast, more-than-human cloning frequently sparks curiosity and, in some contexts, is encouraged. It is viewed not as an "act against God" but as a testament to human intelligence and dominance. This difference in responses raises many questions: Why are responses so dissimilar? How does online discourse drive these reactions? And can these distinctions--these different understandings of personhood and "life"--reinforce or perpetuate ideologies that cause harm? To answer these questions, I examine academic explorations of cloning and compare them with ones found all across the digital sphere-from social sites such as Reddit, X (formerly known as Twitter), and 4chan, to YouTube comment sections. Using a digital, “websplorer” approach, I analyze different perspectives on cloning, ranging from the "manosphere"-- interconnected misogynist online communities, scientism, and how they relate to the more-than-human. After a critical interrogation of these perspectives, I invite the user to consider an alternative, perhaps more ethical, approach to discussing cloning, one that does not reinforce heteronormativity, human exceptionalism, or pro-eugenic views. This alternative approach includes an exploration and critique of the Western concept of “personhood” and its limitations regarding cloned life, human and more-than-human.