Journal of Undergraduate Research

Danny Catts and Dr. Johnson After we successfully characterized our virus, we proceeded to investigate the variant’s viral behavior in hopes of finding a difference in comparison to that of the standard. After preliminary steps showed little variation, we took a different direction with the project. Dr. Johnson who focuses in virology is studying an […]

Stephanie Carlson and Dr. Bradford Berges, Molecular and Microbiology While working on this project, we had several unforeseen setbacks. Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV- 6) proved much more difficult to work with than we had supposed. It was tricky to propagate (make it replicate) and hard to quantify. It does not behave like other viruses we […]

Kellie Bollenbach and Dr. Steve Johnson, Microbiology and Molecular Biology This project consisted of four main parts. The first was to isolate mononucleosome cores from C. elegans that had been pelleted and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen using micrococcal nuclease. The second part was to use an antibody specific to GFP, which was expressed in […]

Michael Baldwin and Dr. Laura Bridgewater, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology Introduction Nuclear Gdf5 (nGdf5) and nuclear Bmp2 (nBmp2) are newly discovered proteins (1); however, their function has not been determined. They were first found while studying enhancer elements of the Col11a2 gene, and a yeast-one hybrid screen suggested that they could bind to […]

Kimberly B. Zumbrennen and Dr. William R. McCleary, Microbiology Bacteria live in a continuously changing environment. In order to survive, bacteria must monitor nutrients, acidity, temperature, osmolarity, etc. The use of two-component systems to sense and respond to these environmental changes is a common motif observed in a wide variety of organisms. A two-component system […]

David Schlesinger and Dr. Alan R. Harker, Microbiology Being that the scope of this project was much larger than anticipated I was unable to complete my research in its entirety. However I did make substantial progress and was able to answer many of my original questions. Originally the intent of my research was to recreate […]

Kristilyn Rogers and Dr. Ron W. Leavitt, Microbiology Bordetellosis, or turkey coryza, is a highly contagious respiratory disease in poultry caused by Bordetella avium. Turkey growers worldwide are concerned with this disease which results in millions of dollars in losses annually to the turkey industry. Bordetellosis is readily transmitted through close contact with those already […]

Chad C. Lowe and Dr. William R. McCleary, Microbiology Within the prokaryotic cell, the intake of essential nutrients is continuously regulated by intracellular mechanisms. When fundamental nutrients become scarce, cellular stress responses are activated to enable the cell to survive in a harsh environment. Recent studies have shown a two-component regulatory mechanism which enhances Escherichia […]

Michael J. Lloyd and Dr. Gregory F. Burton, Microbiology Measles virus continues to be a major cause of death in most third-world countries and a considerable threat to the health of every country. Infection with measles is thought to be associated with the fatal, late-infection disease subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) (3). It is thought that […]

Eric R. Griffiths and Dr. Greg Burton, Microbiology During HIV infection, blocking viral replication has drastic effects on HIV immune complexes maintained on follicular dendritic cells (FDCs): HIV immune complexes quickly drop off FDCs to undetectable levels (1). This was a remarkable and unexpected finding since FDCs typically preserve trapped antigen for months to years. […]