BSURF 2021

Neica Joseph Mentors: Katrina Wilson, Tatiana Segura, Ph.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Ischemic strokes account for 87% of strokes worldwide and occur when a blood clot obstructs blood flow to the brain, causing subsequent death of tissue and...

Isabella Costanzo Mentors: Julia Palmucci, Jennifer Tenor, Ph.D., John Perfect, M.D. Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases Cryptococcus neoformans, a ubiquitous infectious yeast, proliferates in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) causing fungal meningitis in immunocompromised individuals. CSF is deficient in nitrogen,...

George Romero Mentors: Jiaxuan Qi, Richard Mooney, Ph.D. Department of Neurobiology - Duke University School of Medicine Previously studied neurons and cell types within the brain have been characterized using methods that are considerably slow, inefficient, and expensive. To present,...

Zach Pracher Mentor: Dave McClay, Ph.D. Department of Biology The developmental gene regulatory network (GRN) of the green sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) has been extensively investigated to illuminate the genetic interactions underlying embryonic development and has led to many insights...

Nadeska Montalvan Mentors: Martina Zafferani1, Amanda E. Hargrove1,2 1Department of Chemistry 2Department of Biochemistry Out of the total RNA transcribed in cells, only 1.5% is translated into proteins. About 70% of the rest of the human genome is transcribed into...

Author: Shibani Mallik Mentor: Nina Tang Sherwood, Ph.D. Department of Biology Spastin is a microtubule-severing protein important for microtubule degradation and growth. Spastin mutations in humans are known to cause Autosomal Dominant Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (AD-HSP), a neurodegenerative disease of...

Megan Stone Mentors: Jennifer Li, Lindsey Glickfeld, Ph.D. Department of Neurobiology It has been thought that varying subtypes of interneurons have different roles in controlling the neuronal circuits that drive visual perception.  This has been primarily studied through the activation or...

Jayden Cyrus  Mentor: Nina Tang Sherwood, Ph.D. Department of Biology The SPG4 (spastin) gene plays a role in microtubule severing, and when mutated in humans, it causes Autosomal Dominant Hereditary Spastic Parapelgia (AD-HSP), a disease that impairs mobility in the...

Social development in baboons is heritable  Colby Cheshire Mentors: Liz Lange, Ph.D. | Susan Alberts, Ph.D. Departments of Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology Social behavior is an important facet of baboon development and a determinant of fitness in adulthood. However, it...

Although I missed one day of chalk talks, the ones I did see were super interesting and impressive. I particularly enjoyed Lola’s chalk talk about morning glories. It’s a field that’s incredibly different from my own and I think that’s...

The past week's Chalk Talks carried lots of interesting information about the amazing research being conducted here at Duke. One of the presentations that caught my eye was by Nico Rey, who talked about his experiences at the Asokan Lab...

This past week, I was completely in awe of all the amazing research being conducted through the BSURF program this summer. Everyone did an incredible job explaining their projects and practicing the communication part of science that is so important....