Office of Undergraduate Research

Jason Barnes

Historical creel census and stocking data from the Truckee River, Nevada, will be analyzed in an effort to explore the relationship between numbers of fish stocked and numbers caught by anglers. Historical stocking programs have not been based on scientific information. This analysis will provide wildlife management agencies with an empirical basis to establish important stocking guidelines. I will work closely with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) to analyze this information.

Tesla Birnbaum

The determination of which properties of gamma-ray bursts and the surrounding interstellar medium contribute to the observed bimodal distribution of optical afterglow luminosities will provide insight into the physical processes that give rise to the two families of optical afterglows.

Marc Cerruti

Nanosecond (nsec) duration, pulsed megavolt-per-meter (MV/m) electric fields (nsPEFs) have unique and profound effects on adrenal chromaffin cells, a well-established model of neural-type cells that secrete catecholamines. The objective of this project is to expand ongoing studies to include a determination of how the application of nsPEFs can produce adverse effects that decrease chromaffin cell survival and secretory function. Chromaffin cells will be exposed to 4 nsec electric pulses of electric field intensity 5 MV/m in the presence of varying concentrations of extracellular calcium. Indicators of cell damage, such as loss of plasma membrane integrity and activation of enzymes called caspases that are indicative of apoptosis (programmed cell death), will be assessed at various times after delivery of the pulses. The number of pulses and the repetition rate of the pulses will be varied, and the methods employed for each assessment will rely on fluorescence microscopy. Adverse effects on secretory function will be determined by measuring catecholamine release, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrochemical detection for the measurement.

Mitchell Chaires

Hot spring habitats above maximum photosynthetic temperature (73 ºC) are not well understood with respect to nitrogen (N) cycling. Few predictions have been made, and even fewer measurements of in situ activities have been reported. Thermodynamic calculations based on in situ chemical and temperature measurements will be used to predict the occurrence of the specific N-cycling reactions. These predictions will be tested by measuring kinetic rates of nitrification through stable isotope pool dilution.

Mary Ehrsam

Devils Hole is a hydrologic island in the desert and is best known for its endangered Devils Hole pupfish. The base of the Devils Hole food web (e.g. bacteria and microalgae) remains largely unexplored. In the past year, a molecular-based characterization of microbial communities in both Devils Hole and reference springs of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge was initiated. Funded partially by NSF-EPSCoR, this revealed significant microbial diversity and tentatively verified the central hypothesis underlying my current NSF-EPSCoR fellowship: heterotrophic microbial populations within these hydrologically-connected habitats would share many of the same dominant members; whereas, phototrophic communities would be more spring-specific. Here is a proposed extension of the current study focused on the subsurface microorganisms that populate Devils Hole and the phototrophs that form the base of the food web.

Lauren Emes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality in the US, especially among some ethnic minority populations. Diabetina tea, a commercially-available herbal blend tea, is a well known “herbal remedy” for high blood sugar among Hispanic American diabetics. This study will examine the effect of twice-daily Diabetina tea consumption over an 8 week period on average blood sugar levels as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

Crystal Erickson

This project extends the research initiated under the direction of Dr. Lloyd Stark which addressed a potential symbiosis between the moss Syntrichia caninervis and the cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus. Our first experiment documented a benefit to the moss in the presence of the cyanobacterium. This benefit is the subject of our second experiment, which will explore possible antimicrobial activity on the part of the cyanobacteria which in turn assists moss growth.

Kimberly Horsley

The bryophyte Bryum argenteum is a vigorous moss with a cosmopolitan distribution and high tolerance to desiccation and temperature stresses. Due to its widespread nature, B. argenteum has been highly investigated (e.g., Chopra and Bhatla 1981). However, very little research has been done on the reproductive aspects of this moss with respect to gender differences. This project will address the prefertilization reproductive efforts of the moss, and look for any differences in the rate of growth and sexual expression between the sexes. The hypothesis to be tested is that males actually have a higher prefertilization reproductive effort than females and seeks to explain male rarity in desert habitats.

Robert Kobey

Using microarray analysis of Drosophila melanogaster, the Gibbs lab has identified candidate genes that might be involved in desiccation resistance. One gene is Thor, a downstream target of the TOR/insulin signaling pathway. I have tested the importance of Thor protein by mutational analysis. My preliminary data show that the loss of Thor confers desiccation sensitivity. For my summer research, I will characterize the physiological changes associated with desiccation sensitivity in these mutants

Chase Korsmo

Huy Mai

The rapidly increasing cost of the popular gasoline has been urging America to find new alternative energy carriers. As a result, hydrogen emerges as a preferable one due to its simple structure and environment-friendliness. However, difficulties in effectively
containing and catalyzing hydrogen reaction have been preventing it from replacing gasoline. In this project, we continue to study hydrogen catalysis possibilities by platinum and platinum-based materials using ab initio computational principles.

Austin McDonald

Hydrogen has been proposed to fuel primary production in the Aquificae-dominated hot springs of Yellowstone National Park (Spear, et al. 2005), a finding the authors generalized to all hot springs. However, clone libraries derived from Great Basin springs contain few 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from Aquificae and many from unknown microorganisms. In the same springs, alternative electron donors rival the reducing power of hydrogen. This project will try to cultivate the uncharacterized microbes of two Great Basin springs and determine which electron donors they can use.

Stephanie Murphy

The Northern Nevada Girls Math & Technology Camp is designed to address underrepresentation of women in STEM fields by providing a single-sex, out-of-school intervention program for middle school girls. Previous studies (e.g., Wiest, 2004) investigated the impact of this summer camp on girls' attitudes and perceived abililties at camp entrance, exit and several months later. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term impact of this five-day, residential summer mathematics and technology camp on girls's attitudes, percieved abilities and future career choices through personal interviews with girls who participated in the program four to five years earlier.

Tiffany Reichart

Bridge columns are subject to movement in multiple dimensions during a seismic event, but research on the effect of these movements has previously only been performed in uni-axial directions. A scale model of the bi-directional mass rig (BMR) will be
constructed and used to test small specimens in order to characterize the behavior of columns and the mass rig before full scale specimens are tested.

Whitney Shofner

The characterization of the composites containing aniline and N- phenylenediamine (NPPD), synthesized with palladium will be analyzed according to recent studies[1]. The palladium will be introduced as either PdCl4 2- or PdCl6 2-. The experiments will be carried out under both acidic and non-acidic conditions. All material synthesized will be analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy,
thermogravimetric analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and ultra-violet visible scpectroscopy. Further research may be done for hydrogen storage properties.

Karolina Siwinska

Fine control of muscle force is central to the normal function, adaptation and development of most musculoskeletal and organ systems. Muscle force can be modulated by varying conditions and chemical exposures. The assays suggested in this proposal would provide important data regarding molecular modification of muscle force, thereby facilitating development of therapies for diseases affecting smooth or skeletal muscle, such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.

Nicholas Tschernia

CD40 and IL-2 are vital to immune stimulation. Prior research shows manipulation of the immune response utilizing these pathways can result in tumor regression; however efficacy can be improved. Therefore, I propose to use an additional immune stimulus to augment immune activation. Targeted cells of the immune system may then react to a lowered treatment dose, resulting in less toxicity and sustained anti-tumor response.

Joseph Villaluz

The Hevea CPT II (cis-prenyltransferase) and the Hevea REF (rubber elongation factor) are hypothesized to function as protein subunits of the plant rubber biosynthetic machinery. The goal of this project is to reconstitute the rubber biosynthetic machinery in a heterologous-nonplant system. Therefore, we will coexpress the Hevea CPT and REF genes in an E. coli protein expression and determine whether the resulting recombinant proteins alone are sufficient for rubber biosynthesis.

Jack Webster

In recent years there has been considerable interest in endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in natural waters. EDC’s such as steroids have been shown to cause physical and reproductive abnormalities, decreased populations, and even population collapse in fish species. Despite their ecological risks, the fate and transport of steroids in the environment is unclear. To address this issue a method capable of quantifying steroids in surface waters at concentrations capable of producing endocrine disruption is needed. Application of this method to surface waters surrounding point and non-point sources of steroids will asses the occurrence,
transport, and fate of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems.

University of Nevada, Reno
Maintained by: Karin Saxon