June 18, 2023
By: Catherine Pyne
Dorsal closure is an essential developmental process during embryogenesis in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. It is preceded by germ band retraction, in which the germ band (made up of the developing germ layers) retracts and exposes the dorsal side...
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By: Riley Reeves
My lab was sent Arabidopsis thaliana seeds by another lab and asked to bulk the lines and analyze their phenotypes. In practice, "bulking the lines" entails a lot of plant care: planting seeds on plates, transplanting them to soil, watering, tying...
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By: Jarvis Savage
My research project for this summer will be to analyze various elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). ELPs are polypeptides that incorporate the 5 amino acid long sequence of Val-Pro-Gly-Xaa-Gly, where Xaa represents an unspecific amino acid. ELPs are a kind of artificial...
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By: Lisa Garnier
The Gersbach lab is home to a variety of projects, the one thing they all have in common is that these projects focus on genetics. My specific project focuses on the genetics behind Prader-Willi syndrome. Patients with this syndrome exhibit...
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By: Kennedy Truitt
My research this summer in the Animal Locomotion Lab consists of analyzing humans and their gait during movements such as walking with stiff legs, running, and walking compliantly. For reference, walking with stiff legs is the typical human gait, while...
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By: Erika Rispoli
The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), has increased rapidly over the past two decades. As such, much research has gone into the root causes and mechanisms of these...
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By: David Su
In my research project, I delve into the fascinating world of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga that serves as an excellent model organism for studying cellular dynamics. This organism is special in that it divides by furrowing, yet doesn’t...
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By: Arielle Kim
This summer, I will compare lichenized cyanobacteria communities to environmental cyanobacteria communities (cyanobacteria living outside the lichens) to inform how lichen-forming fungi associate with their cyanobacterial partners. For context, lichens are organisms made of symbiotic associations between algae/cyanobacteria and fungi....
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By: Maia Goel
This summer, I’m working in the Baugh Lab studying the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and the effects of L1 arrest. C. elegans larvae that hatch into an environment without any nutrients are arrested in the first larval stage of development (L1)....
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June 11, 2023
By: Emma Podol
Hello dear readers!! This summer I’m very excited to be reporting on my experiences researching epilepsy with the McNamara Lab. I’ve actually been working in this lab since November 2022 as an undergraduate intern, and have loved taking a hands-on...
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August 2, 2022
By: Sam Shi
Before the program started, I set the goals of “practicing how to think and tackle problems like a researcher and figuring out whether doing basic science research is what I want.” As the program comes to an end, I’m starting...
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July 31, 2022
By: Tochi Onuegbu
In retrospect, this summer research experience has been extremely fulfilling. Before I began working in the lab, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to become more confident in my research abilities. This “confidence” does not only include my...
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By: Lauren Sar
BSURF was a wonderful experience. When first hearing about and applying to the program, I had no idea what to expect from a sumer research experience. I knew that I wanted to try something with biological and virological research in...
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July 30, 2022
By: Ashley Alcantar Magana
In my first blog post (written what seems like both eons and mere days ago), I emphasized the role that uncertainty plays in becoming a more active learner and better scientist. Instead of shying away from uncertainty, I expected to...
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By: Amelia Cangialosi
After the conclusion of the poster presentation for BSURF, I decided to reread my very first blog about my expectations of the summer. These past 8 weeks have flown by, yet the Amelia writing the first blog seems so different....
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By: David Bearden
What exactly is research? Research is pushing the boundaries of knowledge and venturing to uncharted territory. It's experiencing failure while logically and creativity exploring new angles to tackle the problem. Research is a lifestyle, but is it a field I...
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July 28, 2022
By: Rena Ouyang
What a summer. I originally applied to BSURF because I wanted to explore my options with biological science research and career pathways - and that is absolutely what was fostered through this program. These eight weeks have absolutely flown by,...
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By: Jordan Reaves
This summer has taught me at least one thing: eight weeks is not much time at all. I never understood the “slow” pace of research. The idea of working on a project for years was strange to me; I never...
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