Undergraduate Research Symposium

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/18841

The UO Undergraduate Research Symposium celebrates the remarkable contributions our undergraduates make to research and other creative work in a wide range of disciplines.

The Symposium aspires to engage undergraduates in the research mission of the University of Oregon by supporting the creation and dissemination of knowledge, while inspiring younger undergraduates to seek out research opportunities and removing barriers to interdisciplinary education and discourse.

This event enables undergraduates to share their ideas, discoveries, and artistic expression with the campus and local community. The Symposium invites students to select their preferred style of presentation to best accommodate their projects. Held in in the mode of an academic conference, the Symposium includes poster sessions, oral presentations and exhibitions of performing and fine arts.

Since 2011 over 400 students representing 30 majors and five colleges have presented original research and creative work. For more information, consult the Symposium web site at: http://undergradsymposium.uoregon.edu/

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 324

Open Access
Development of Biocompatible Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel for Nerve Nano-Clip Fabrication
(University of Oregon, 2021) Rajabzadeh, Hossein; Townsend, Jakob; Brown, Morgan; Gilbert, Annie; Hettiaratchi, Marian; Hettiaratchi, Marian; Townsend, Jakob; Gardner, Tim
Implantable electronic devices can stabilize abnormal electrical activity between neurons in the nervous system to restore sensory-motor function. The Gardner Lab has designed, 3D-printed, and implanted nano-scale nerve clips (NNCs) onto the tracheosyringeal nerve of Zebra finches to stabilize electrical activity between neurons. However, NNCs fabricated from Ormocomp and IP-Dip stimulated a mild inflammatory response in the surrounding nerve tissue. To improve upon this design, we developed hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels that could be photo-crosslinked to create a NNCs that would elicit negligible inflammation. A minimally-swelling hydrogel was required to avoid nerve damage. HA was modified with methacrylate groups using 2.5x, 5x, 10x molar excesses of methacrylic anhydride to HA to form methacrylated HA (MeHA). 1H NMR spectroscopy revealed the modification levels of 2.5x, 5x, 10x MeHA to be 30%, 46%, and 54% respectively. MeHA was chemically crosslinked under ultraviolet light in presence of photo-initiator to form hydrogels. The initial weight of 2.5x, 5x, 10x MeHA hydrogels post-gelation and weight after incubation in phosphate-buffered saline for 14 days were used to calculate average swelling ratios of 1.01, 1.01, and 0.92, respectively, indicating minimal swelling. These results and preliminary studies demonstrating that MeHA hydrogels could be 3D-printed using a 2-photon printer suggest that MeHA could be amendable for use in NNCs.
Open Access
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Salivary Oxytocin in Mothers With a History of Substance Abuse
(University of Oregon, 2021) Ricci, Giovanni; Ablow, Jennifer
Oxytocin (OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide that is produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland. Research has shown OT is involved in regulating social behaviors such as pair bonding as well as facilitating maternal-child attachment. Research has also shown early childhood trauma may impair OT production later in life through negative feedback mechanisms. However, the relationship between OT and trauma has rarely been examined using a combination of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire and salivary OT measures. The aim of this preliminary investigation was to explore the association between salivary OT and ACE scores using novel salivary measures to solidify previous findings on the relationship between OT and early childhood adversity. The study included a small sample of 10 mothers participating in a six-week infant parenting program for mothers of newborns with experiences with substance use disorders. Baseline maternal salivary OT was collected at the beginning of the program and ACE questionnaires were collected upon completion. Results showed a strong, significant negative correlation between baseline salivary OT and ACE scores (r = -0.81, p = 0.004). These results support prior research suggesting early childhood trauma reduces OT production later in life. Implications for understanding the role childhood adversity plays in reduced OT production as a potential pathway for the intergenerational impacts of trauma are discussed.
Open Access
Differential Functional Connectivity of Anterior and Posterior Hippocampus
(University of Oregon, 2021) Bissert, Trevor; Frank, Lea; Zeithamova, Dasa
The hippocampus aids in remembering and linking a variety of experiences in order to form general representations of the world. Previous research shows that anterior hippocampus supports generalized memory, while posterior hippocampus supports memory for specific experiences. Hippocampus may serve both functions through interactions with distinct cortical memory regions. To test this notion, we measured hippocampal connectivity while participants were resting in an MRI. This allows us to see which regions spontaneously activate in unison, indicating their interaction. Outside of the scanner, participants took tests of memory specificity and generalization. We measured which regions were connected with the posterior or anterior hippocampus. Our analysis revealed widespread connectivity for both anterior and posterior regions of the hippocampus. Most regions were preferentially connected to the anterior or posterior hippocampus, with a few regions connected to both. The anterior hippocampus was connected to regions known to support generalization: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and temporal pole. Posterior hippocampus was significantly connected to regions known to support memory specificity, such as angular gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus. We will test how the strength of these connections relate to each person’s specific and generalized memory. These results further explicate previous results enlightening distinct functional connectivity across the hippocampus.
Open Access
Cranial shape changes with age in male and female adults of Papio
(University of Oregon, 2021) Quintanilla, Andrea; Johnson, Jyhreh; Frost, Stephen; Simons, Evan
Ontogenetic changes to skull shape from juveniles to adults have been well researched and studied, but those that occur during adulthood are less well known. In this study, we collected 45 3D landmarks with a Microscribe 3DX digitizer of 345 wild-collected baboon (Genus Papio) crania representing all six currently recognized subspecies. As a proxy for age, we visually scored maxillary third molars for degree of wear. Landmarks were superimposed with generalized Procrustes analysis using MorphoJ. Procrustes coordinates were regressed against natural log-transformed upper third molar wear stage using multivariate tests for significance. We used Landmark editor to warp a surface scan to show the shape changes correlated with increased molar wear. Results demonstrated a significant effect of molar wear stage on cranial shape, even after accounting for size, but it is a subtle effect that accounts for approximately 4.5% of shape variance. As the skull ages, the face seems to get longer while the orbitals and zygomatics shift posteriorly. The sexes do not differ in the pattern of shape changes and their regression slopes are parallel, meaning that the sexes do not age differently in their cranial shapes. The degree these shape changes are a consequence of genetics or bone remodeling due to strain experienced during life is unclear. Nonetheless, if this pattern is consistent across papionins, then it may help better to diagnose fossil taxa represented by small samples where it is unclear if differences are taxonomic or due to age.
Open Access
Hogs and Hazelnuts: adaptively managing pest spillover in the agricultural-wildland matrix
(University of Oregon, 2021) Penkauskas, Calvin; Hallett, Lauren
Pest spillover from wildlands to farms can create conflict between wildland conservation and agricultural production. For example, the key economic pest of hazelnuts in Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the filbertworm (Cydia latiferreana), a moth hosted by the native Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana). Oak stands near hazelnut orchards can sustain source populations that compound pest pressure in hazelnuts throughout the growing season. This dynamic is of conservational concern as historical oak habitat has been greatly reduced and what remains is almost entirely on private land, often in proximity to hazelnut orchards. Here, we present of a novel strategy to reconcile this conflict by using hogs to reduce pest pressure through prescribed grazing. From 2018 to 2020 we prescribed hog-grazing in early fall to glean filbertworm-infested acorns from an oak woodland floor. Hogs were both highly successful at reducing the total number of infested acorns and the ratio of infested acorns the following year. Despite an oak masting year in 2019, grazing reduced both the emerging and adult mating population of filbertworms the following year. We did not measure significant changes in woodland understory vegetation, suggesting hog-grazing may not entail tradeoffs for understory vegetation. Our results demonstrate that prescribed grazing in oak patches can be an effective strategy to reduce filbertworm source populations. By benefiting both conservation and farmers, this novel pest management approach provides a model for similar challenges and conflicts across the agricultural-wildland interface.
Open Access
Neural Basis of Speech Sound Discrimination
(University of Oregon, 2021) Mejia, Angelica; Salinas, Isabella; Jaramillo, Santiago
Previous linguistic research has revealed that both people and animals can learn to discriminate sounds through both active training and passive exposure. However, the training regimens that result in optimal learning are still unexplored. Using mice as a behavioral model, we sought to first characterize the sound discrimination learning process for simple sounds. In this study, mice underwent daily sound discrimination training using sounds that differed in either spectral or temporal features. We found that mice are easily able to discriminate between high and low frequencies, but not middle frequencies. Additionally, procedural modifications need to be added to the AM sound discrimination protocol so that they can successfully discriminate between these sound sets. Success in teaching these sounds to mice can result in proceeding with the next steps of utilizing training with different combinations of active training and passive exposure.
Open Access
Wearable Microfluidic Colorimetric Sweat Sensors for Real-Time Personalized Hydration Monitoring
(University of Oregon, 2021) Yim, Albert; Reeder, Jonathan; Vince, Thoms
Continuous, real-time sweat analysis is an underdeveloped field with promising applications ranging from clinical health care to athletic performance. Noninvasive, biochemical measures indicative of physical exertion, hydration, and injury risk are highly sought-after. This is demonstrated by the recent commercial release of Gatorade’s Gx Sweat Patch. Currently, microfluidic devices allow for noninvasive collection and storage of sweat through precisely engineered microchannels but lack a method to record continuous sweat rates. Sweat rate and biomarker composition are highly variant between individuals, requiring a personalized hydration feedback approach. The biomarker variance is significantly attributed to sweat rate, making rate normalized biomarker concentrations from recorded continuous sweat rates indicative of performance metrics. A low-cost and passive method to record the continuous sweat rate would enable real-time sweat loss measurement and hydration feedback. This proposed project will develop methods to accomplish this through wearable microfluidic colorimetric sweat sensors. First screening colorimetric reagent candidates will identify a timing dye that will become the basis for the colorimetric system. The identified candidate will provide color gradients for physiologically sweat rates ranging from 3 to 34 μL/hour for a collection area of r = 3 mm. Then benchtop studies will create the colorimetric system that is capable of visually quantifying the collected sweat rate in microfluidic devices. This will provide a future opportunity to develop a smartphone app for immediate analysis. Attaining continuous sweat rates will normalize biomarker concentrations which correlate to health and performance metrics and are highly coveted in the biomedical and sports science communities.
Open Access
Women in Film Noir: A Reflection of Postwar Society's Evolving Gender Roles
(University of Oregon, 2021) Waldron, Erica; Ulrick, Casimir
During WWII, American society experienced a momentous shift in gender roles as women stepped out of the traditional domestic sphere and transitioned into the wartime economy. Following the war’s resolution, the government and sects of society alike pushed for a return to conventional gendered spaces. Within this period of widespread societal contention and postwar disillusionment, the dark and fatalistic genre of film noir grew in popularity. My research analyzes noir films using cinema and cultural studies lenses to explore how postwar society viewed ideal gender roles and the evolving place of women. Close examinations of Gun Crazy, Out of the Past, and The Reckless Moment reveal that female characters’ interactions with narratives of crime, love and family reflect contemporaneous societal concerns about gender roles. The tradition defying archetypal noir character, the femme fatale, mirrors postwar women engaging in the workforce. The manner in which femme fatales are punished in noir is reminiscent of societal backlash against the progressive shift of gender roles. In contrast, the femme attrapeés are engrossed in their familial duties, therefore reflecting the reversion to tradition desired by society. Even though noir films allow femme attrapeés to survive the films’ finales, the genre offers a denigrated depiction of this idealized lifestyle. Noir was originally popular in the mid 1900s, but its ability to capture and reflect on societal occurrences through the art of film remains critical today as society continues to evolve.
Open Access
COVID-19 and Anti-Semitic Acts in France
(University of Oregon, 2021) Saunders-Ruesz, Miles; Holmquist, Zoe; Hawkins, Natalie; Vogel, Matthias
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the globe in countless ways. Economies have suffered, millions of lives have been lost, and issues that were present before March 2020 got worse. Anti-Semitic actions against the French-Jew population had been on a steady rise pre-Covid, but how would a global pandemic affect that rise. The French government had taken some action to try and calm the threats, but the people see these efforts as inadequate. Already having done the research looking at the statistics and stories of these hateful acts before Covid-19 we want to discover if a global pandemic created a positive or negative impact on the rise in Anti-Semitic acts. If the pandemic pushed people to work together or if it made matters worse and gave Anti-Semitic groups a paved road to continue their harassing. The pandemic has put pressures on the government that may have altered the stress to bring the Jewish population safety in terms of Anti-Semitic acts.
Open Access
Dirty Water Electrolysis in Anion Exchange Membrane Systems
(University of Oregon, 2021) Beaudoin, Sarah; Lindquist, Grace; Boettcher, Shannon
Electrolysis, also known as water splitting, consists of two half-reactions occurring within an electrolytic cell that make possible the extraction of storable and non-pollutive hydrogen gas. Anion-exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysis, utilizing an anion-selective membrane, shows promise for greater resistance to contaminants, potentially allowing for operation using impure water sources. Research regarding AEM electrolyzer performance and failure during operation in impure water feed will contribute to the development of impurity-tolerant electrolyzers and therefore increase the accessibility and implementation of sustainable hydrogen fuel. Electrochemical measurements were conducted using an electrolyzer test stand hardware powered by a Biologic potentiostat. In addition to current and voltage profiles over time, impedance measurements were conducted to understand conductivity changes within the membrane electrode assembly over time. To study the effects of feed water purity, an H-cell consisting of two liquid compartments of varying impurity on either side of an MEA was used. Monitoring the movement of ions between the anode and the cathode was completed via conductivity and pH probe analysis. Using these methods, I have shown that ion transport of Cl- to the anode is driven by diffusion and not accelerated by an applied potential, while Na+ transport from the anode to cathode is enhanced at low current densities but completely mitigated at high current densities.
Open Access
When Communities Care: Treating People with Substance Use Disorder Through a Multi-Disciplinary Team
(University of Oregon, 2021) Baldridge, Sofia; Ngo, Nicole
People recovering from a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) face a myriad of physical, emotional, and psychological challenges. Parents in recovery may also face the additional burden of mandatory participation in multiple community agencies including the Department of Human Services, Community Justice Parole and Probation offices, and medical treatment. The Oasis Center of the Rogue Valley is a nonprofit primary clinic that specializes in treating parents and families who are affected by drug dependency. The Oasis Center recognizes the need for centralized care amongst parents in recovery who belong to multiple agencies and has created a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to help coordinate care for people in recovery who belong to two or more community agencies. My research questions asks: does the Oasis Center of the Rogue Valley’s MDT program increase the chances of maintaining long-term recovery for parents with Substance Use Disorder? Structured interviews and online surveys were conducted with 14 current and past MDT participants along with 6 interviews of MDT staff members to determine the program’s effectiveness. My analysis shows that the majority of the MDT participants who responded believed the MDT increased their chances of maintaining long-term recovery and has improved their recovery thus far. My study concludes that the MDT helps parents in recovery and measures should be taken to increase the number of MDT’s utilized to treat people in recovery.
Open Access
Reducing Recidivism Through Design: A Proposal for Improved and Effective Supportive Housing
(University of Oregon, 2021) Hill, Sarah; Buzzell, Kelsey; Zimmer, Linda
The United States has a history of incarcerating more people per capita than any other country in the world. While there are many factors contributing to these exceedingly high prison populations, the key contributing factor to the consistency of these rates is the notion of recidivism. The significantly deficient amount of effective and well-designed transitional and supportive housing facilities in the U.S. largely contributes to these high rates of recidivism, rather than prevents them. With research conducted through interviews, case studies, and design critiques, this prototypical design proposal will explore how transitional housing facilities can be improved by placing an emphasis on trauma-informed design, residential design, dynamic security, communal living spaces, adequate supportive facilities, welcoming familial environments, and plenty of access to the outdoors. This particular proposal will focus on rehabilitating women and their children, but can and should be replicated to serve male facilities, as well. Strategically located in the state of California, this prototypical design is given a platform to succeed upon. The success of one properly designed supportive housing facility has the potential to reduce the rates of recidivism at a local level. However, purposefully designed to be easily replicated, the success of thousands of properly designed supportive housing facilities have the potential to reduce the rates of recidivism at a national level, as well.
Open Access
Mechanically Active Bone Fixation Device: Design and Characterization
(University of Oregon, 2021) Fear, Karly; Karipott, Salil
Mechanical stimulus in the form of exercise is known to improve bone formation during fracture healing. At a scale orders of magnitude smaller than this functional loading, mechanical stimulus delivered at high frequency (~30 Hz) can also enhance bone regeneration. External delivery of mechanical stimulus is used in many of the studies that demonstrate the positive effects of this low magnitude, high frequency (LMHF) stimulus, but these modes of delivery are challenging to translate into clinical settings. In this study, we fabricated and tested an internal delivery system comprised of a bone fixation device embedded with a magnetoelastic actuator which will change physical dimension in response to an applied magnetic field. Load transferred from the mechanically active device to a rodent femoral fracture provides local LMHF stimulus. The bone fixation device was characterized by off-axis compressive and torsional stiffness tests and accelerated fatigue tests. Iterative design produced a fixation device with the required stiffness parameters for in vivo validation.
Open Access
Content Overload And Its Effects On Learning
(University of Oregon, 2021) Moe, Erika; DuBrow, Sarah; Aasum, Bjarne; DuBrow, Sarah
The asynchronous nature of remote classes brought by COVID-19 provides students greater control over their daily studies and has proven to be a double-edged sword. To better understand the effect of a growing asynchronous workload, subjects will complete two scenarios: one with a condensed, structured workload (2-topic condition) and another with a larger workload (8-topic condition). It is hypothesized that increasing workload (creating a “content overload”) will have detrimental effects on all students. Furthermore, individuals who prefer remote learning will perform best with larger presented workloads. Individuals who prefer in-person learning will perform best with a structured, condensed presented workload. Subjects will read passages on a variety of academic topics and they will be tested the next day in a SAT-like format. Additionally, pre- and post-test questionnaires will be completed for correlations between learning preference and differences between conditions. A paired t-test for within-subject analysis will compare the average test results of the 2-topic and 8-topic conditions. The results of this study will provide insight into how COVID online classes have affected the comprehension of the student population. With a better understanding of the content overload effect, educational workers will have the opportunity to better tailor their remote lesson plans for a diverse body of students with different attentional, memory, and cognitive abilities.
Open Access
Hunting for Prions: Propagating Putative Prion States in Budding Yeast
(University of Oregon, 2021) Capage, Mikala; Jacob, Evarts; Garcia, David
Prion proteins, although commonly associated with neurodegenerative diseases, are not universally harmful to cells. Instead, prions may allow cells to alter their phenotype in response to adverse environmental conditions by acting as an epigenetic mechanism. Importantly, prions are not dependent on chromosomal segregation and have inheritance patterns distinct from traits caused by genetic mutations. The Garcia Lab recently screened RNA modifying enzymes for their potential to induce prion conformations. From this screen, six enzymes, Abd1, Cet1, Ppm2, Pus4, Pus6, and Trm5, exhibited higher maximum growth rates than control strains when exposed to adverse chemical stressors. It is now necessary to confirm that the heritable growth states are truly caused by a prion-based conformation of an RNA modifying enzyme. Here, patterns of mitotic, diploid, and meiotic inheritance were determined for each strain by using central methods in yeast genetics, including a tetrad sporulation and dissection protocol and growth assays. Taken together, these results are key in attributing the previously identified growth states to a prion conformation of each of the six RNA modifying enzyme. The Garcia lab will continue to investigate these putative prions in future experiments. This research represents an important contribution to our understanding of epigenetic mechanisms and their effects on key cell processes.
Open Access
Language as Social Resistance: Learning from and Supporting Mam Migrants in Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2021) Han, Alexis; Hindery, Derrick
In 2013, the Oregon Judicial Department reported that the second most requested language for interpretation services was Mam, a language spoken by the Mam indigenous people of Guatemala. Despite their growing presence in Oregon over the past decades, Mam migrants are underserved and isolated because many are of undocumented status and have limited English and Spanish speaking ability. Informed by my internship with the Integrated Health Team of the Refugee Resettlement Coalition of Lane County, this research project presents how to best support Mam migrants and sheds light on how Mam migrants advocate for themselves. My research project asks how do Guatemalan Mam migrants residing in Oregon use their native language as a form of resilience? Along with pulling from studies on Mayan language revitalization, I conducted qualitative research through interviews with community members who are involved in providing social and interpretation services for Mam migrants. My findings show that Mam migrants in Oregon use the Mam language as a means of cultural longevity, social support, and communal education. My research findings suggest that to best support Mam migrants, social institutions and community members must embrace multilingualism and invest into indigenous language interpretation services. Additionally, for my internship, I created a repository of resources of intercultural health tools to be shared with immigrant activist organizations that support Mam migrants in Oregon.
Open Access
The Relationship Between Cholinergic and Noradrenergic Activity and Behavioral State
(University of Oregon, 2021) Francis, John; McCormick, David; Collins, Lindsay
Animal behaviors result from complex network activity in the brain. Precise excitation and inhibition within these networks are partially regulated by neuromodulatory systems that regulate the behavior of other neurons. This regulation is accomplished by the neuromodulators acetylcholine (ACh) and noradrenaline (NA). This project investigates the relationship between ACh and NA neuromodulatory activity and behavioral state with respect to arousal and behavior-dependent modes of neuromodulation. Using systems neuroscience techniques, such as intracranial viral injections and 2- photon microscopy, this project offers novel insights into the dynamic relationship between ACh and NA activity and behavioral state in mice. First, I confirm the relationship between neuromodulatory activity and arousal state in relation to walking velocity, whisking, and pupil dilation/constriction. Second, I demonstrate that increases in both ACh and NA axonal activity closely track and precede the onset whisking bouts, but not walking. Last, I show that ACh axonal activity across the cortex is significantly less correlated during whisking and walking compared to stationary periods. This project furthers our current knowledge of the relationship between neuromodulatory activity and observable patterns of behavior by offering new evidence of more localized, state-dependent modes of neuromodulation.
Open Access
Coordinated Observations of Asteroids by Pine Mountain and Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatories
(University of Oregon, 2021) Tamai, Nobuyuki; Monsrud, Riley; Itoh, Masayuki; Imamura, James; Fisher, Scott; Itoh, Masayuki; Fisher, Scott; Imamura, James
Coordinated broadband photometric measurements of the asteroid 665 Sabine were obtained in August 2020 from both Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory (NHAO) and Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) using a 0.6 meter telescope (NHAO) and the 0.35m Robbins telescope at PMO. 665 Sabine has a rotational period of 4.294 hours, semi-major axis of 3.14 AU, and diameter of ~51km. In total, these observations produced 180 images from PMO, and 280 images from NHAO. These 460 images of the target were then analyzed to produce a “lightcurve” of the asteroid, where photometric estimates of the asteroid’s brightness over time are plotted in order to extract the rotation period as well as the shape of the target. At any location, 665 Sabine cannot be tracked for more than two rotations. Continuous observation of rotating asteroids over several rotation cycles is necessary for determination of basic asteroid properties - such as the shape, surface properties, and rotation period. To obtain continuous coverage of an asteroid for more than two rotation cycles, multiple observing sites (separated by ~6 h in longitude) are needed. As a collaboration, NHAO and PMO work together to obtain data on asteroids that span several rotation periods. NHAO is operated by the University of Hyogo and located in Sayo, Japan. PMO is operated by the University of Oregon and located near Bend, Oregon.
Open Access
Exploring the Political and Cultural Underpinnings of Vietnamese American Conservatism
(University of Oregon, 2021) Nguyen, Anna; Lowndes, Joseph
The rise of Vietnamese American conservatism is not a new phenomenon, nor is it an unprecedented one. Long standing assumptions of Asian Americans as an ethnic and political monolith continue to exist and hinder critical analyses of this demographic as a powerful voting bloc. To those who are unfamiliar with the political and cultural complexities surrounding Vietnamese American immigration, it may seem like their support for conservative figureheads like Donald Trump is unfounded. To gain a deeper comprehension of this issue, I consulted a wide breadth of existing scholarship on right-wing conservatism and the Vietnamese Catholic experience. I also had the opportunity to connect with three prominent figures in the Vietnamese American community to understand how their lived experiences shaped the development of their political views. My first interviewee, who has chosen to be identified as John Pham, articulates how his robust conservative outlook stems from his devotion to South Vietnam as an anticommunist nation. I then spoke to Rep. My-Linh Thai and Rep. Khanh Pham, who shared their insights on the rise and future of Vietnamese conservatism in an American context. These conversations enhanced the strength of my findings, which ultimately illustrate how anti-communism, cultural stoicism, and the refugee experience impact the nascence of conservative values in generations of Vietnamese Americans today.
Open Access
Molecular Origins of the Pair1 and Moonwalker Descending Neuron's Neural Circuitry in Drosophila
(University of Oregon, 2021) Linskens, Amanda; Lee, Kristen; Doe, Chris
During Drosophila development, neuroblasts produce neurons that acquires their identity based on the temporal transcription factor (tTF) present during birth. Although research shows that tTFs generate diversity, few have looked at how tTFs establish neuronal circuits. My study focuses on Moonwalker Descending Neurons (MDNs), which induce backward locomotion, and Pair1 neurons, which initiate pausing. Prior research in our laboratory showed that MDNs synapse onto Pair1s in larvae and adults. Therefore, I hypothesized that both derive from a common tTF. To investigate this, I expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP) in MDN or Pair1s, immunolabeled for tTFs and quantified tTF-GFP colocalization. Interestingly, both expressed Hunchback (Hb). I hypothesized that Hb is important for MDN-Pair1 circuit function and establishment. To determine whether Hb is important for MDN-Pair1 circuit function, I increased and decreased Hb levels in Pair1s and assayed behavior. To determine whether Hb is important for MDN-Pair1 circuit establishment, I analyzed morphological differences when Hb levels were increased or decreased in Pair1. Thus far, I found that Hb overexpression resulted in an extra Pair1, showing Hb is sufficient to produce individual Pair1s. However, Hb knockdown resulted in Pair1 axons failing to descend into the ventral nerve cord, affecting behavior. My research supports that neurons born from similar developmental origins may preferentially connect for functional purposes.

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