Undergraduate Research Grant Winners

Summer 2011

The Weinberg College Dean's Office joins the Office of the Provost, the Undergraduate Research Grants Committee, and ISEN in congratulating this year's Summer Undergraduate Research Grant winners. Eighty-seven Weinberg students received awards for Summer 2011. The grants fund autonomous student research with advisory assistance from a faculty member.

Berkcan Akpinar (Chemistry), "Synthesis of the Proposed Pharmacophore of Maoecrystal V" (Faculty Advisor: Regan Thomson, Chemistry)

Jessica Allen (Political Science, International Studies), "Women in Political Office in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Qualitative Study of Gender and Formal Political Power in Uganda" (Faculty Advisor: Kearsley Stewart, Anthropology)

Mikhail Attaar (Biological Sciences, Psychology), "Isolation and Structural Determination of the Pdr1-DNA Complex involved in Pleiotropic Drug Resistance in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae" (Faculty Advisor: Heather Pinkett, Molecular Biosciences)

Taylor Barrett (Sociology, English), "Female Comedians: Negotiating the Gender Bias in Improvisational Comedy" (Faculty Advisor: Karrie Snyder, Sociology)

Dana Behnke (History, Economics), "Competing for the Masses: Progressive Ideology and Early Twentieth-Century Chicago Amusement Parks" (Faculty Advisor: Carl Smith, English and History)

Camila Benaim (Integrated Science Program), "Using Statistical Mechanical Simulations to Understand Cancer Immunology" (Faculty Advisor: Joshua Leonard, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Abhit Bhandari (Political Science, African Studies), "Democratic Growth in Jeopardy? Judicial Independence of the Senegalese Supreme Court" (Faculty Advisor: Rachel Riedl, Political Science)

Amy Blood (Biological Sciences), "Effects of Exenatide on Circadian-Rhythm-Related Obesity in Wild-Type Mice" (Faculty Advisor: Joseph Bass, Department of Medicine-Endocrinology Division)

Mazdak Bradberry (Chemistry), "MicroRNA-33 Regulation of Synaptic Structure and Function" (Faculty Advisor: Peter Penzes, Physiology)

Lauren Buxbaum (American Studies), "War of the Women's Worlds: Social Tension between the Public and Private Spheres in 19th Century America" (Faculty Advisor: Henry Binford, History)

Caitlin Callahan (Political Science, International Studies), "The Methods and Metrics of Impact of Social Enterprise Organizations" (Faculty Advisor: Michael Diamond, Biomedical Engineering, Anthropology, Global Health)

Michael Campos* (Chemistry), "Titania-Silica Nanocomposites: Characteristics and Performance in Solar Fuel Production" (Faculty Advisor: Kimberly Gray, Civil and Environmental Engineering)

David Caratelli (Integrated Science Program, Physics, Math), "Theoretical Design of an Experiment to Determine the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy" (Faculty Advisor: Andre Gouvea, Physics and Astronomy)

William Chang (Biological Sciences), "Structural Studies of the PHD2 Domain of Pf1 Protein" (Faculty Advisor: Ishwar Radhakrishnan, Molecular Biosciences)

Lei Cheng (Biological Sciences, Economics), "Effects of Brain-Specific Bmal1 Knockout on Energy Metabolism" (Faculty Advisor: Joseph Bass, Department of Medicine-Endocrinology Division)

Michael Clark (Biological Sciences), "Reconstitution of the Sin3 Corepressor Complex" (Faculty Advisor: Ishwar Radhakrishnan, Molecular Biosciences)

Kevin Dam (Biological Sciences), "Theranostic Magnetic Nanostructures for Cancer Treatment" (Faculty Advisor: Thomas Meade, Chemistry)

Alina Dunbar (International Studies), "Talking About AIDS: Understanding the Discourse Between Journalists and Health Care Workers in South Africa" (Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Rice, History)

Betsy Feuerstein (Political Science, Art History), "Dakar Graffiti: Incitement Towards Political Change?" (Faculty Advisor: Hannah Feldman, Art History)

Branden Fini (Chemistry), "Exploring Novel Building Blocks for Hydrogen Bond Catalysis" (Faculty Advisor: Karl Scheidt, Chemistry)

Erin Gallagher (Viola Performance, English), "Soli Deo Gloria: The Theology of the Word and the Emotional Music of J. S. Bach" (Faculty Advisor: Christine Helmer, Religious Studies & German)

Emily Gao (Political Science, Science in Human Culture), "Race, Disability, and Health: Using Photovoice to Explore the Health Perceptions of Asian Americans with Visually Identifiable Disabilities" (Faculty Advisor: Kearsley Stewart, Anthropology)

Ekjyot Gill (Earth and Planetary Sciences), "The Role of the Circadian Clock in Mitochondrial Energy Homeostasis" (Faculty Advisor: Joseph Bass, Biological Sciences)

Jessica Gottesman (Political Science, Violin Performance), "Multiculturalism in Paris: A Study of Music Programs in the Banlieues" (Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Rice, History)

Jonathan Green (American Studies, German), "John Quincy Adams, Friedrich von Gentz, and the Nature of the American Revolution" (Faculty Advisor: Mark Alznauer, Philosophy)

Paula Ham (Anthropology), "Characterization of the Soluble Domain of Particulate Methane Monooxygenase (pMMO) from Acidimethylosilex fumarolicum SoIV" (Faculty Advisor: Amy Rosenzweig, Molecular Biosciences and Chemistry)

Britta Hanson (English, History), "A Question of Tolerance: Homosexuality in the Victorian Royal Navy" (Faculty Advisor: Deborah Cohen, History)

Emily Hittner (Biological Sciences), "Effects of Musical Training on Behavioral and Perceptual Skills in a Hearing-Impaired Population" (Faculty Advisor: Nina Kraus, Communication Sciences & Disorders)

Cynthia Hong (Chemistry), "Design of Selective Inhibitors of Cancer Cell Growth" (Faculty Advisor: Alexander Statsyuk, Chemistry)

Samuel Ide (Political Science, International Studies), "An Analysis of Chinese Influence in Kyrgyzstan" (Faculty Advisor: John Bushnell, History)

Arthur Jago (Cognitive Science, Psychology) "The Effects of Processing Fluency on Mock-Juror Decision Making" (Faculty Advisor: Neal Roese, Kellogg School of Management)

Constantine Karras (Economics), "Targeted Inhibition of MMP-2 Using Co(III)-Peptide Conjugates" (Faculty Advisor: Thomas Meade, Biochemistry)

David Kasjanski (Economics), "Synthesis of Various Multifunctional Contrast Agents" (Faculty Advisor: Thomas Meade, Biochemistry)

Jack Kennedy* (Physics), "Organic Ferroelectrics: Investigating Nanoscale Crystalline Structures for Low Power-Consumption Computer Memory Solutions" (Faculty Advisor: Samuel Stupp, Materials Science & Engineering)

Derek Kiebala* (Integrated Science Program, Chemistry) "Chromophore Self-Assembly into Functional Light-Absorbing Membranes" (Faculty Advisor: Samuel Stupp, Materials Science & Engineering, Chemistry)

Angelica Kielbus (Chemistry), "Structure-Activity Relationship of (—)-Exiguolide" (Faculty Advisor: Karl Scheidt, Chemistry)

Rebecca Kim (Biological Sciences), "The Role of Chromatin Remodeling in Activating Transcription of Type I Interferons" (Faculty Advisor: Curt Horvath, Molecular Biosciences)

Eun Ko (Biological Sciences), "Specific Nucleotides in the Repeat Region of the CRISPR gene of S. epidermidis that are Necessary for Recognition and Cleavage by the Cas Proteins to Produce Functioning Small crRNAs" (Faculty Advisor: Erik Sontheimer, Molecular Biosciences)

Sheila Kredit (Anthropology, Harp Performance), "Breastfeeding Cessation among WIC-Enrolled African American and Hispanic Women in Chicago" (Faculty Advisor: Thomas McDade, Anthropology)

Todd Levine (English), "Language and 'Notlanguage' in the Novels of William Faulkner" (Faculty Advisor: Nicholas Davis, English)

Samuel Lozoff (Sociology), "Visualized Identity of Brazilian Nikkeijin in a Multiethnic Japan" (Faculty Advisor: Laura Hein, History)

Robert Magin (Biological Sciences), "Identifying Putative Cholesterol Binding Sites on the Motor Protein Prestin" (Faculty Advisor: Jing Zheng, Department of Otolaryngology)

Allison Manley (English-Creative Writing, Religious Studies), "Buddhist Themes in Contemporary America: Adapting Buddhist Jataka Tales into Contemporary Short Stories" (Faculty Advisor: Brian Bouldrey, English)

Laura Markey (Biological Sciences), "The Mechanisms of Initiation of Symbiosis between Vibrio fischeri SR5 and Euprymna scolopes" (Faculty Advisor: Mark Mandel, Microbiology-Immunology)

Mauricio Masi (Mathematics, Physics), "Origin and Stability of the Kepler-11 Planetary System" (Faculty Advisor: Yoram Lithwick, Physics & Astronomy)

Redmond McGrath (History, French), "The Holy Name Cathedral and Catholic Church Location and Design in Post-Fire Chicago" (Faculty Advisor: Carl Smith, English and History)

Dhrumil Mehta (Computer Science, Philosophy), "Language and Thought : An Interdisciplinary Research Proposal" (Faculty Advisor: Sanford Goldberg, Philosophy)

Jay Meisner (Biological Sciences), "Heparan Sulfate Modified Elastomeric Scaffold to Promote Angiogenesis in a Urinary Bladder Augmentation Model" (Faculty Advisor: Arun Sharma, Urology)

Kaitlin Meyer (Psychology, Religious Studies), "Body Image among Jewish Women" (Faculty Advisor: Renee Engeln-Maddox, Psychology)

Jennifer Mills (Integrated Science Program, Chemistry, Physics), "Testing the Sulfate Initiation Hypothesis for Ocean Anoxic Event 1a" (Faculty Advisor: Bradley Sageman, Earth and Planetary Science)

Charleston Noble (Mathematics), "Modeling Epidemic Dynamics on Adaptive Networks" (Faculty Advisor: Dirk Brockmann, Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics)

Daniel O'Leary (English, Psychology), "Charles Brockden Brown's French Connection" (Faculty Advisor: Jay Grossman, English)

Akhilesh Pant (Anthropology), "Shifting Social Identities: A Study of American Third Culture Kids in Singapore" (Faculty Advisor: William Murphy, Anthropology)

Monique Patel (Biological Sciences), "High Fat Diet Leads to Disruption of the Circadian
Clock Gene Transcription through the Activation of the NF-kB Pathway" (Faculty Advisor: Joseph Bass, Biological Sciences)

Pavan Patel* (Integrated Science Program), "Growth of Graphene by Chemical Vapor Depostion" (Faculty Advisor: Venkat Chandrasekhar, Physics and Astronomy)

Matthew Pilecki (Biological Sciences), "Inducing M2 Macrophage Polarization by Gene Delivery from Scaffolds to Promote Spinal Cord Regeneration" (Faculty Advisor: Lonnie Shea, Chemical and Biological Engineering)

Patricia Radkowski (Political Science, Legal Studies), "The Effects of Katyn 2010 on Polish-Russian Relations as, Measured by Changes in Three Groups of Polish Society (Media, Government, Public)" (Faculty Advisor: Andrew Roberts, Political Science)

Samuel Raim (English), "Spurning Influence: An Intertextual Analysis of Character Drawing in the Fiction of Virginia Woolf and Her Edwardian Predecessors" (Faculty Advisor: Christine Froula, English)

Ellen Reynolds (Psychology), "The Effects of Comorbid Anxiety on the Course and Outcomes of Bipolar II Disorder" (Faculty Advisor: Robin Nusslock, Psychology)

Melissa Rothman (Anthropology, Psychology), "Urbanizing Villa 31: An Investigation of Integration"(Faculty Advisor: Elisa Baena, Spanish)

Brenna Scheving (Psychology), "Using Language in Music Making" (Faculty Advisor: Richard Ashley, Music Studies)

Gabriel Schonfeld (History), "Power-Politics: Irish- and Jewish-American Political Organization 1967-2000" (Faculty Advisor: Laurel Harbridge, Political Science)

Tom Schroeder (Chemistry), "N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Catalyzed Stereoselective Synthesis of TMC-95A Precursors" (Faculty Advisor: Karl Scheidt, Chemistry)

Rashmi Singh (Biological Sciences), "Investigating the Role of Th2 Cytokines in the Induction of Innate Immune Response Effectors STAT3 and S100A7" (Faculty Advisor: Robert Schleimer, Allergy-Immunology)

Brooke Sinnen (Biological Sciences), "Understanding the Role of DNA Zip Codes in Regulating Post-Transcriptional Gene Expression" (Faculty Advisor: Jason Brickner, Molecular Biosciences)

Devin Sizer (History, Spanish) "Southern Unionist Families in Orange and Wake Counties of North Carolina" (Faculty Advisor: Kate Masur, History)

Margaret Sledd (Biological Sciences, Psychology), "Investigation of the Involvement of Spred in Hedgehog Signaling" (Faculty Advisor: Robert Holmgren, Molecular Biosciences)

Christy Stallknecht (Dance, Sociology), "Dance Invaders in Our Midst!: Flash Mob Performances in Chicago" (Faculty Advisor: Susan Manning, English)

Mitchell Steinfeld* (African Studies, Journalism), "What Does Ghana's New-found Oil Mean for the Environment? An Audio Documentary Exploring these Issues through the Eyes of Farmers and Fishermen" (Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Rice, History)

Daniel Stevens (Physics, Mathematics), "Convergence Tests for Metropolis-Hastings Markov Chain Monte-Carlo Simulations" (Faculty Advisor: Vicky Kalogera, Physics and Astronomy)

Victoria Sun (Political Science, Art History), "Community Identity and Empowerment: The Role of Street Murals in Chicago's Pilsen Neighborhood" (Faculty Advisor: Ana-Maria Reyes, Art History)

Rebecca TeKolste (Political Science, International Studies), "The Effect of United States Policy toward Jewish Settlements on the Peace Process" (Faculty Advisor: Wendy Pearlman, Political Science)

Sophia Theodossiou (Anthropology), "A Matter of Life and Death: An Archaeological Study of Inequality and Health in 19th Century Dominica" (Faculty Advisor: Mark Hauser, Anthropology)

Jessina Thomas (Biological Sciences), "Impact of Gleevec on Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients" (Faculty Advisor: Teresa Woodruff, OBG/YN)

Adam Thompson-Harvey (Cognitive Science), "Unconsciously Enhancing the Visual Word through Smell: The Effects of Cross-Modal Semantic Priming Involving Subliminal Smells" (Faculty Advisor: Jay Gottfried, Neurology; Feinberg School of Medicine)

Yufei Tian (Biological Sciences), "Optimization and Analysis of Novel Antifouling Polymer Coatings to Prevent Undesirable Biofouling" (Faculty Advisor: Phillip Messersmith, Biomedical Engineering)

Kayla Viets (Biological Sciences), "Identification of a Gene Recruitment Sequence in the GAL1 Promoter" (Faculty Advisor: Jason Brickner, Molecular Biosciences)

Anastasiya Vinokur (Chemistry), "Size Control and Investigation of Properties of Metal Oxide-Fluoride Single Crystals" (Faculty Advisor: Kenneth Poeppelmeier, Chemistry)

Angela Wang (Art History, Art Theory & Practice), " 'Cross-Pollinating the Grassroots': A Study of Collective Artistic Practice in Punk Communities" (Faculty Advisor: Hannah Feldman, Art History)

Zheng Wang (Chemistry), "Characterization of the Effect of Nitric Oxide and Arterial Injury on Adventitial Sca1+ Stem Cells" (Faculty Advisor: Melina Kibbe, Surgery)

Sara Weston (English, Psychology), "Exploration into the Correlation between Linguistic Speaking Style and Personality Traits" (Faculty Advisor: William Revelle, Psychology)

Alicia White* (Chemistry), "Enhanced Internal Electric Field of Organic Photovoltaics by Anode Surface Modification by an Organic Self-Assembled Monolayer" (Faculty Advisor: Tobin Marks, Chemistry)

Deanna Wong (Biological Sciences), "Characterizing the Role of 14-3-3 in Neural Crest Development" (Faculty Advisor: Carole LaBonne, Molecular Biosciences)

Tianning Xu* (Chemistry), "Synthesis and Characterization of Self-Assembling Perylene Monoimide Trefoils" (Faculty Advisor: Michael Wasielewski, Chemistry)

Jenny Yu (Biological Sciences), "Role of Clk Gene in Neurodegeneration of Circadian Pacemaker Neurons" (Faculty Advisor: Ravi Allada, Neurobiology and Physiology)

Ross Zhan (Biological Sciences), "An Investigation into Behavioral Differences Between Wild Type and TAAR Deletion Mice Regarding Urine" (Faculty Advisor: Thomas Bozza, Neurobiology and Physiology)

Tina Zhu (Biological Sciences), "Characterization of the Role of CCM2/OSM in Programmed Cell Death" (Faculty Advisor: Xiaozhong Wang, Molecular Biosciences)

(* indicates URG-ISEN award recipient)