Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mo Lee and Dr. John Kauwe, Department of Biology It turns out that the data for chromosome 21 didn’t come to me at all. There were some problem with the data itself according to our co-researchers. However, the data for the phenotype YKL40, which is a promising gene that might affect the pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. […]

James Leavitt and Dr. Michael Whiting, Department of Biology Goal/Purpose of the Project The orthopteran superfamily Acridoidea (Orthoptera, Caelifera), which includes grasshoppers and their nearest relatives, is the largest of the orthopteran superfamilies and provides an excellent model for studying the evolution of mitochondrial genomes. Ultimately I was able to reconstruct a phylogeny for Caelifera […]

Krista Klingler and Dr. John Kauwe, Department of Biology Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting over 35 million people worldwide. However, the pathology of the disease is not fully understood. Because of this, no cure for the disease currently exists, and once a patient has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, death […]

Sarah Karlinsey and Dr. Richard Gill, Department of Biology I was able to present my findings in poster-­‐form at the Ecological Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon in August. Dr. Gill and I are now in the process of writing up a paper about our work to be submitted to Tree Physiology or the […]

Liahona Hamblin and Dr. Jamie Jensen, Department of Biology The purpose of this study was to test student resistance to the inquiry method of instruction in tertiary introductory biology classes. Proven to be beneficial, the “inquiry” method differs from confirmatory “cookbook” laboratory experiences in that students explore phenomena and solve problems (Prince & Felder, 2007). […]

Maren Ettinger and Dr. Keith Crandall, Department of Biology The purpose of phylogenetics is to understand the evolution of a group of organisms and to resolve the relationships within groups. Once phylogenies are created, they can be used for a number of different analyses. My project focused on using a phylogeny of the infraorder Anomura […]

Alan Colver and Dr. Keith Crandall, Department of Biology The taxonomic group Pancrustacea encompasses more than half of the world species. The two main groups within Pancrustacea are the crustaceans and hexapods (insects). Understanding these two groups will aid in preservation, population control, and economic pursuits involving these groups. In our evolutionary analysis, six different […]

Jesse Cobell and Dr. John Kauwe, Department of Biology Importance of the Project In 2011, the Alzheimer’s Association released in their annual facts and figures that 5.4 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and is the only disease in the top ten that […]

Warren Chatwin and Dr. Leigh Johnson, Department of Biology My project “Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Old-Growth Cross Timbers Forest” has been undoubtedly the best learning experience of my undergraduate career. The project did not go at all like I had planned, but it gave me a taste of realworld scientific exploration and allowed me […]