Recent Honors Recipients
The Biological Sciences Undergraduate Major confers Honors to a select set of graduating seniors, based partly on grades within the major, but more particularly on the quality of research and writing evidenced in formal Senior Theses.
2023-24 Honors in Biological Sciences
Franny Langdon Bengtson
"Assessing Biocide Efficacy in Inhibiting Growth and Reducing Viability of Microorganisms in Biodiesel"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Magdalena Osburn
Paul Alexander Bernhard
"RNA Riboswitch Manipulation in Bacillus cereus for Fluoride Ligand Detection"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Julius Lucks
Lucy Min Garberg
"The role of maternal factors Zelda and Bicoid in early embryonic patterning in Drosophila melanogaster"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Shelby Blythe
Jason Newman Huang
"Single-cell RNA-sequencing and differential gene expression analysis reveals gender and dose dependent differences in spinal muscular atrophy"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Yongchao Charles Ma
Kaitlyn Elizabeth Hung
"Examining Age-Related Changes in C. elegans Proteostasis Network Composition and Function"
Research Supervisors: Dr. Richard Morimoto
Min Kang
"A Novel Role for Hh Signaling in Starvation Induced Calcium Signaling in Drosophila Larvae"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Robert Holmgren
Meghana Versha Karan
"Assessment of phage susceptibility in chlorhexidine-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa from hospital intensive care units"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Erica Hartmann
Emily Rose Kelleher
"Investigating the Impact of Tourism on the Gut Microbiome of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Katherine Amato
Winny Liu
"Relationship between Asg1 and Put3 in GRS1-medaited Peripheral Targeting of Genes"
Research Supervisor: Dr. Jason Brickner
Shayan Mariam Malik
"Assessing Limitations of Using Propidium Monoazide To Determine Viable Cells in Microbial Samples"
Research Supervisor: Erica Hartmann
Arav Mediratta
"Anatomical and Mechanistic Characterization of the R85C10 Set of Sleep-Regulating Neurons in Drosophila melanogaster"
Research Supervisor: Ravi Allada
Shreyas Viju Menon
"Rhopressa Use as a Risk Factor for the Development of Neurovascular Glaucome (NVG)"
Research Supervisor: Timothy Janetos
Vir Patel
"Purification and Stabilization of the Transmembrane and Nucleotide Binding Domains of the ProU ABC Transporter in Yersinia pestis"
Research Supervisor: Heather Pinkett
Andrea Phung
"Genetic Basis of Chlorfenapyr Resistance in C. elegans"
Research Supervisor: Erik Andersen
Mina Amelia Seals
"Characterizing the Expression of Biomarkers in a Novel Murine Model of Pancreatic Cancer Cachexia"
Research Supervisor: Ishan Roy
Jake Masao Trick
"Structural and Functional Studies of a Substrate Binding Protein in a Compatible Solute ABC Transporter of Yersinia pestis"
Research Supervisor: Heather Pinkett
Cassia Yeo
"Identifying Novel Genetic Regulators of Cadmium Susceptibility in Caenorhabditis elegans"
Research Supervisor: Erik Andersen
Danling Zhou
"Modulating the Heat Shock Response Capacity as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Tauopathies"
Research Supervisor: Richard Morimoto