Claire Diesen worked under the supervision of Dr. David Thomas in his biochemistry lab at the University of Minnesota. She successfully inserted a codon for cysteine into the DNA blueprint of chicken gizzard myosin. The cysteine functions as a spectroscopic probe and enables further electroparamagnetic (EPR) experiments regarding the interaction of myosin and actin in skeletal muscle contraction. The knowledge gained from these future experiments may be useful in assisting scientists to discover more about mechanism of muscle contraction. Claire's paper can be accessed here.
Danielle Holmes studied psychological behaviors of children in grades four through six at the Institute of Child Development, under the assistance of Dr. Nicki R. Crick. Her research examined the cause and effect of aggressive behaviors in children. Danielle focused her project on a form of aggression known as relational aggression, which is often overlooked in the field of psychology. Relational aggression is more typical in girls and includes such harmful gestures as rumor spreading, exclusion, verbal and non-verbal abuse, and other forms of peer rejection. Danielle found that specific groups of children who fall into various gender-role categories are more inclined to be targeted as repeated victims of this and other forms of aggression. Danielle's paper can be accessed here.
Elizabeth Larkin worked at the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Dr. Karen Oberhauser. She examined the impact of extreme temperatures on growth speed and development of the Danaus Plexippus (monarch butterfly) larvae. She is the first researcher to quantitatively study and record the effect of the temperature on the coloration of the Danaus Plexippus larvae. Elizabeth went on to the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Her paper placed top in the MN Academy of Sciences paper competition, resulting in an invitation for her to present at the Minnesota Academy of Science Symposium in the fall of 1999. Elizabeth was named as co-author on a paper titled Temperature-induced Variation in Larval Coloration in Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) that was published in the journal of the Entomological Society of America in 2003. Elizabeth did the work for this paper in conjunction with the Breck Research Program. Elizabeth's paper can be accessed here.
Will Meland worked at the Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota on a project defined by Dr. David Thomas. Using silicon graphics workstations, Will loaded and manipulated proteins using the computer to simulate laboratory experiments. He fabricated a 3D structure for scallop myosin that incorporated the regulatory light chain of a chicken gizzard, as those in paramagnetic resonance experiments do. With this structure, Will used the computer to investigate attractive attachment locations for spin-label probes to learn how they differ from known poor locations. Other investigations that Will tried included how movements of the structure change according to the temperature and salt concentrations of its surroundings. Will's paper can be accessed here. Will Meland was acknowledged for his work in a paper titled "Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Site-directed Spin Labeling: Experimental Validation in Muscle Fibers." The paper was published in Biophysical Journal, October 2002. A copy of the article can be found at: http://www.biophysj.org/cgi/content/full/83/4/1854.
Anna Otieno conducted her research at the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Mayo at the University of Minnesota. Anna used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study rotation and internal correlations of peptides at different temperatures and to analyze the effects of ethanol on cholesterol. Using the data and analysis from both projects, Anna was able to determine that negative internal correlations seem to play a larger role in peptide dynamics than previously thought. Her NMR data also showed that ethanol bonds with cholesterol in an unexpected way. Information from Anna’s study may be used to develop computer models of the dynamics of proteins and may help in the decrement of cholesterol in the human system. Anna was invited to present her work at the State capitol. She also went on to the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Anna's paper can be accessed here.
Rachel Perry worked under the supervision of Dr. Ann-Marie Codri for the Colon Cancer Genetic Testing Study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Rachel interviewed people who are at risk for a hereditary colon cancer to determine the reasons why they declined genetic testing for a gene that puts them at an 80-85 percent risk for developing colon cancer. She examined the psychological and behavioral reasons that these subjects chose not to undergo genetic testing. Rachel's paper can be accessed here.
Jolawn Richardson worked with Dr. Sagar M. Goyal at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory. With direction of Arshud Dar, Jolawn ran polymerase chain reactions (PCR) to replicate and amplify DNA strands from Avian Pneumovirus, which is a viral respiratory tract disease that affects chickens and turkeys. The disease has extremely high morbidity and mortality rates and no cure. Jolawn’s results gave the nucleotide sequence of part of the virus’ genome. After she ran the PCR on electrophoratic gels, she used photos to determine the number of base pairs in the nucleotide sequence. The results of her research more than doubled the knowledge of the virus’ base pairs of Avian Pneumovirus. Information about genome of the virus will be used to create a vaccination to prevent large breakouts of the disease. Jolawn's paper can be accessed here.
Gaurav Schroff worked with Dr. David Boyd at the University of St. Thomas Chemistry Department. Gaurav attempted to synthesize organometallic ruthenium molecules that may be used to emulate protein-enzyme reactions in order to find the bonding coefficient between hydrogen bonds. Gaurav’s work involved using capillary electrophoresis to detect the size and charge of the molecules. Gaurav was successful in synthesizing multiple molecules used in the detection process. Gaurav's paper can be accessed here.
Jenny Sou worked at the University of St. Thomas Chemistry Department under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth J. Longley. Jennifer researched the possible hazardous effects of the chemical chlorine dioxide on the St. Louis River. A paper mill plant located on the St. Louis River uses chlorine dioxide exclusively to bleach pulp, and the waste from the chemicals run into this river. Jennifer developed a method to determine the concentration of chlorine dioxide upstream and downstream of the paper mill. Jenny was a Semi-Finalist in the INTEL (Westinghouse) Science Talent Search. Jenny's paper can be accessed here.
Elliot Stephenson and Teddy Stofer
conducted their research under the supervision of Dr. Theodore Oegema,
with guidance from Dr. John Stark at IZEX Technologies. They studied cartilage
cells and the effect of different stimulants, such as Type I Collagen
and Fibronectin, on the migration of these cells through a membrane filter.
They were pleased to successfully develop a procedure that achieved cell
migration and accumulated data by counting the cells that passed through
the porous membrane filter. To conduct their experiment, they used a Boyden
chamber, a layered apparatus with 48 wells that give the cells (in liquid)
a chance to cross the filter. Their research may provide important information
on the repair and regeneration of human cartilage. Elliot's
paper can be accessed here.
Teddy Stofer and Elliot Stephenson
conducted their research under the supervision of Dr. Theodore Oegema,
with guidance from Dr. John Stark at IZEX Technologies. They studied cartilage
cells and the effect of different stimulants, such as Type I Collagen
and Fibronectin, on the migration of these cells through a membrane filter.
They were pleased to successfully develop a procedure that achieved cell
migration and accumulated data by counting the cells that passed through
the porous membrane filter. To conduct their experiment, they used a Boyden
chamber, a layered apparatus with 48 wells that give the cells (in liquid)
a chance to cross the filter. Their research may provide important information
on the repair and regeneration of human cartilage.
Teddy's paper can be accessed here.
Ryan Wartman worked at Quality Research Design and Consulting Inc. (QRDC) under the direction of Dr. Daryoush Allaei and Mr. DavidTarnowski. He studied the feasibility of vibration control in a thin plate structure. Ryan accomplished two important goals. First, using a computer program that Ryan wrote, he refined a procedure presented in a publication on powerflow in plate structures to make it work. Second, he simulated vortex power flow with the goal to contain the energy flow to one part of the plate using actuators.
