Anatomical variation of the ulnar collateral ligament and implications for joing stability and surgical rehabilitation

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Jakob Gamboa and Dr. Jonathan Wisco, Physiology and Developmental Biology In 1974, the first ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery was performed on Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher, Tommy John. The damaged ligament of the medial elbow was repaired with tendons from the pitcher’s body. Since then, the surgery has been colloquially termed “Tommy John’s Surgery”, and […]

Human Fibroblast Cell Adhesion to Extracellular Matrix

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Brady Vance and Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering Heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the number one cause of death in the United States, killing more than 600,000 people each year1. Due to the high incidence of heart disease and the low availability of transplantable hearts, new technologies have been […]

3D Printed Alginate Scaffolds in Regenerative Medicine Techniques

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Tyler Hendricks and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering Introduction Mostly an exploratory project, the goal of this study was to determine the best combination of preparation temperature and concentration of alginate gel to be used with 3D printing technologies in tissue engineering and future regenerative medicine techniques. Recognizing the role that 3D printing technologies could […]

Evidence for Regulatory T Cell in Skeletal Muscle Repair

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Amanda Gier and Robert Hyldahl, Exercise Science Testing multiple immunohistochemistry protocols, I was unsuccessful at identifying Tregulatory cells in human skeletal muscle samples. A total of 5 months was dedicated to this original project before I was reassigned to look into the presence of CD8+ cells in skeletal muscle. The new project proved to be […]

Phylogenetic Relationships in the Neo-Tropical Lizard Family Corytophanidae

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Greg Taylor and Jack Sites, Biology The focus of this project was 1) to determine sexual dimorphism in head and body structures in the lizard family Corytophanidae 2) analyze phylogenetic relationships between the species within the family, and 3) analyze the relationship with other lizard clades. Research started in October of 2014 with writing letters […]

Experimental Testing of a Carbon Nanotube Lance Array for Nanoinjections

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Dallin Lindstrom and Brian Jensen, Mechanical Engineering Introduction A silicon nanoinjection lance array has previously been developed to deliver charged propidium iodide (PI) molecules into tens of thousands of HeLa culture cells simultaneously. DNA is also charged, so applying a voltage to the lance array attracts DNA molecules to the lances. The voltage can be […]

Association of TM2D3 gene with lateonset of Alzheimer’s disease in Cache County

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Eleni Tukuafu and Dr. John S. K. Kauwe, Biology Introduction It is estimated that 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. It is currently the 6th leading cause of death in America, killing around 500,000 seniors every year. A 68% increase of death from Alzheimer’s disease was observed from the year 2000 to 2010. These numbers […]

Alcohol and Nicotine co-Dependence

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Taylor Woodward and Scott Steffensen, Psychology Introduction Addiction is a diabolical neurochemical trap that robs people of their agency and catastrophically affects virtually every aspect of an addict’s life. Alcohol is one of the most statistically widespread and harmful addictive substances in our society (Nutt, King et al. 2010). Through physiological means, it destroys an […]

Effect of Myostatin Pathway Inhibition on Fibroblast Activity Using a Novel Small Molecule

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Seth Hampton and Dr. Robert Hyldahl, Exercise Science Introduction Fibroblasts play a key role in repairing injured tissue by secreting collagen and growth factors into the tissue. In states of disease and overuse, fibroblast activity can become overly abundant and can lead to skeletal muscle fibrosis, decreasing strength and muscle elasticity. This fibrotic condition can […]

Testing the Effect of Antioxidants on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease through the RAGE/NF-kB Inflammatory Pathway

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Harrison Snyder and Jonathan Wisco, Physiology and Developmental Biology The Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) is known to have a role in inflammatory processes. When produced in excess it induces oxidative stress by activating a number of ligand enzymes, resulting in the generation of excessive cytosolic reactive oxidant species. This oxidative stress then stimulates […]