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Andrew Davis (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Ian Armitage and Dr. Bruce Martin at the Department
of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics at the University
of Minnesota. He studied an isoform of metallothionein protein (MT3)
that has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. MT3 has been shown
to associate with proteins, including creatine kinase, heat shock protein
74, and neuronal nitrous oxide synthase. Using specific antibodies and
a staining procedure to detect where the proteins were located, Andrew
discovered a significant co-localization of the related proteins bordering
and inside the hippocampus. Andrew’s study was the first to examine
the co-localization of MT3 with the interrelated proteins in targeted
cells and regions in mouse-brain tissue. He is using these findings to
decipher the functional importance of MT3 as well as a potential role
it may play in neurodegenerative diseases. Andrew's work was accepted for
publication in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. The title
of his paper is "Metallothionein-3 and Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase
Levels in Brains from the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.” The
authorship is listed in the following order: Bruce L. Martin, Abigail
M. Tokheim, Patrick T. McCarthy, Brendan S. Doms, Andrew A. Davis, and
Ian M. Armitage. In addition, he was selected
as a finalist in the 2005 Neuroscience Research Prize competition, and
his research paper
was chosen for submission to the Cum Laude papers. Andrew's paper and PowerPoint can
be accessed here. |
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Colin Drummond (Class
of 2005) collaborated on a project with Dan
McKeon under
the guidance of Dr. Allen Goldman in the Physics Department at the
University of Minnesota. Colin
and Dan attempted to fabricate a transistor with the capability of varying
superconducting transition temperature, using a SrTiO3 substrate instead
of silicon, which has long been the dominant semiconductor in solid-state
devices. Colin and Dan started by evaporating gold and aluminum, then sputtering
Al2O3 onto the SrTiO3 substrate. After failing to successfully evaporate
the aluminum, they attempted to vary the voltage, create a new tungsten coil,
and wrap the tungsten coil around the aluminum. All attempts failed because
the aluminum kept falling out of the holder. Their next step is to create
a better method for holding the aluminum. Colin
and Dan won the top prize for team research at the Minnesota Academy of Science
State Science and Engineering
Fair, which involved an all-expense paid trip to the INTEL International
Science and Engineering Fair. Colin's paper can
be accessed here. |
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Will Inglis (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Ray Newman at the Fisheries, Wildlife and CB
Water Resources Science Department
of the University of
Minnesota. The goal of Will’s project was to ultimately control the
spread of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive species in many Minnesota lakes.
He surveyed populations of indigenous weevils that thrive on the milfoil
in nine bays on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. He found a statistically significant
inverse effect between thee conventional method of controlling milfoil
by harvesting and weevil population. During the course of his study, Will
invented a weevil trap that enabled him to capture weevils so they can
be introduced to other areas of the lake that have lower densities of weevils. Will's
paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Chris Jackson (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Lloyd Metzger in the Department of Food Science
and Nutrition at the University of
Minnesota. He investigated a new way to cool large blocks of cheese to
more evenly distribute moisture than conventional methods. Chris injected
nitrogen into the center of cheese blocks and then refrigerated the blocks.
Then, he tested the moisture levels in the cheese blocks by using the
AOAC method for draft ovens. By using a combination of nitrogen injection
with conventional refrigeration, Chris was able to produce results that
showed a more even moisture distribution in cheese blocks. His work may
have implications in commercial cheese processing, since the amount of
moisture in cheese is directly correlated to the quality of the cheese. Chris' paper and
PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Rosemary Lelich (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Karen Oberhauser in the Department of Fisheries
and Wildlife Conservation Biology at the University
of Minnesota. She studied the lethal and sub-lethal effects of the mosquito-control
pesticide resmethrin on monarch larvae and adult butterflies. To do this,
she set up cages of monarch larvae and adults next to cages of mosquitoes
at a spray site prior to the application of resmethrin. She showed that
there are significant long-term mortality rates among monarchs due to the
resmethrin treatments versus very short periods of mortality for mosquitoes.
Rosemary made a significant contribution to the design of the project by
including adult butterflies as well as redesigning the cages that held
the monarch larvae so that their orientation during spraying was more like
that found in nature. Rosemary's paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Michael Lew (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Loren Miller at the Fish and Wildlife Department
the University of Minnesota. He investigated
the rate of hybridization for Black and White Crappie species in Fox
Lake Minnesota over a period of five years Michael obtained the crappie
scale samples from the DNR, which he used to replicated DNA using PCR
before analyzing using gel electrophoresis. He found the rate of hybridization
ranged from 0% to 25%. He noted that hybrids in Fox Lake tended to grow
at least as fast as Whites Crappies and faster than Blacks. However,
he believes that his results indicate that the type of sampling the DNR
utilized casts doubt on the relevance of his findings. Michael's paper and
PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Meggie Marzec (Class
of 2005) has worked with Mark Hove at the Fish and Wildlife Department
the University of Minnesota for the
last two years,
studying the Round Pigtoe mussel that is threatened in Minnesota. The first
goal of her project this year was to determine which of two fish, the hornyhead
chub or the spotfin shiner, that she had identified in the first year of
her study would statistically be the best host for the Round Pigtoe mussel.
In the second part of her study, Meggie investigated the lifecycle stage
of the Round Pigtoe by counting the numbers of glochidia that were without
tissue and those that had tissue as the glochida dropped off the host fish.
Meggie believes that she has discovered evidence for three stages in the
life-cycle of the mussel—glochida without tissue, those with tissue,
and juvenile mussels. This was very exciting, because no one in the field
has documented this before. As a second-year research student, Meggie is
co-teaching the research class this year. Her
paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Dan McKeon (Class
of 2005) collaborated
on a project with Colin Drummond under
the guidance of Dr. Allen Goldman in the Physics Department at the
University of
Minnesota. Dan and Colin attempted to fabricate a transistor with
the capability of varying superconducting transition temperature,
using
a SrTiO3 substrate instead of silicon, which has long been the dominant
semiconductor in solid-state devices. Dan and Colin started by evaporating
gold and aluminum, then sputtering Al2O3 onto the SrTiO3 substrate.
After failing to successfully evaporate the aluminum, they attempted
to vary the voltage, create a new tungsten coil, and wrap the tungsten
coil around the aluminum. All attempts failed because the aluminum
kept falling out of the holder. Their next step is to create a better
method for holding the aluminum. Dan
and Colin won the top prize for team research at the Minnesota Academy
of Science State Science and
Engineering
Fair,
which involved an all-expense paid trip to the INTEL International
Science and Engineering Fair. Dan's paper can
be accessed here. |
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Meredith Pearcy (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. H. Sepulveda at BD Biosciences Pharmingen
in San Diego, California. Her goal was to find the most successful
way
to lyophilize, or freeze dry, antibodies that are used in immunology
research. Lyophilization is important because it extends the shelf-life
of the antibodies. Meredith began by formulating excipients consisting
of sugars, proteins, detergents, and buffers in different combinations
to determine which formulation best protected the antibodies during
the harsh processes of freezing and drying. After freeze-drying, she
rehydrated the samples and tested them for level of antibody activity,
using flow cytometry. Meredith enjoyed combining scientific research
with the fast-paced atmosphere of pharmaceutical business. Her paper and PowerPoint can be accessed here.
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Amy Pikovsky (class
of 2005) worked in the Biology Department at the University of St. Thomas
under the guidance
of Dr. Antony Steyermark.
She
determined the preferred temperature of juvenile snapping turtles in a
temperature gradient under constant light and then in a 14/10 LD cycle.
After establishing preferred temperatures, she measured resting metabolic
rates of the turtles by measuring carbon dioxide production over 24-hour
periods. In both investigations, she looked for circadian rhythms in the
turtles’ movement, temperature selection, and metabolic rates. Finally,
Amy tested the turtles’ metabolic rates over 72 hours in a light/dark
cycle at their preferred temperature. The results of her study showed that
turtles showed patterns in their movement and metabolic rates but not in
the temperatures they selected. Amy was named a co-author on
a professional paper titled "Activity Patterns of Juvenile Snapping
Turtles and their Effects on Preferred Temperature Choice and Metabolic
Rate." Amy's paper and
PowerPoint can
be accessed here. |
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Shaina Short (Class
of 2005) worked with Dr. Peter Tiffin in the Plant Biology and Biosciences
Department at the University of Minnesota. She studied a mutualistic
relationship, involving sugar and nitrogen uptake, between legumes (medicago
truncatula) and rhizobia (Sinorhizobium meliloti) bacteria through cultivation
and genetic analysis. She was interested to see how the mutualistic responses
would change when she introduced various genomic populations of legumes
to different strains of rhizobia. She also tested affects of nitrogen concentrations
and herbivore treatments on mutualistic relationships between legumes and
rhizobia. Shaina is in the process of completing her study with the hope
that her data will show the influences that mutualistic behaviors have
on both rhizobia and legumes, which may ultimately enable conjectures on
the evolutionary characteristics of this mutualism. Shaina's paper and
PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Sharde Thomas (Class
of 2005) worked in the Horticulture Department at the University
of Minnesota St. Paul campus under the
guidance of
Dr. Cindy Tong. She studied effects of blue light at 440 nm and white
light at a fulence rate of 198.98 mol m-2 s-1 on tuberization of L.
cv. Norland and L. cv. Desirée potato cultivars. Sharde grew
the potato plants for two weeks before placing them in liquid tuberizing
media under
blue light and white light. Since a previous study showed that Desirée
potato plants produce tubers under blue light but Norland plants do
not, she grafted the tops to bottoms of the various cultivars to determine
which part of the potato plant produces tubers. She then grew the grafted
plants under blue light, finding that each variety produced more white
and purple tubers under blue light. Sharde's paper and
PowerPoint can be accessed here. |
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Matt Trusheim (Class
of 2006) worked under Dr. Ron McGlennen in the Pathology Department
of the University of Minnesota. Matt combined
gel electrophoresis, a common method for performing genetic tests, with
a planar waveguide to engineer a smaller, cheaper, and easier-to-use
apparatus for genetic testing in medical laboratories. Genetic testing
has great potential, but genetic tests are currently too expensive for
most laboratories to perform. In order to engineer the new apparatus,
Matt identified ideal gel types, DNA stain, run time, and voltage. Then,
he integrated the gels into an existing planar waveguide, showing that
this technology can be effectively applied to gel electrophoresis. Matt
won the top prize for individual research at the Minnesota Academy of Science
State Science and Engineering Fair, which involved an
all-expense paid trip to the INTEL International Science and Engineering
Fair. Matt's paper and PowerPoint can
be accessed here. |
