Journal of Undergraduate Research

Chase Paulson and Dr. R. Paul Evans- Microbiology and Molecular Biology Project Purpose The purpose of this project is to analyze biomarkers present in cutthroat and cutbow (a mixture of cutthroat and rainbow trout) trout of the Payson Hatchery compared to typical cutthroat and rainbow markers to better understand if cutthroat trout are being preserved […]

Samuel Schriever and Faculty Mentor: Bradford Berges M&MB Introduction Bacteria can be found everywhere. While some bacteria can help humans to make medicine and clean up environmental disasters, other bacteria can cause horrible disease. After the discovery of antibiotics in the early twentieth century humans have been using them to treat human and animal disease. […]

Josie Tueller and Faculty Mentor: K. Scott Weber, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology This project aimed to develop a cancer-specific immunotherapy that will target and destroy cancer cells without killing healthy cells. Current cancer treatments struggle to successfully target cancer cells and commonly target all rapidly dividing cells (both healthy and cancerous). Chimeric antigen […]

Garrett Hamblin and Faculty Mentor: Scott Weber, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology Properly functioning helper T cells are crucial in a response to an infection. The adaptive immune response is orchestrated by T helper cells and their function is dependent upon interactions between the T cell receptor (TCR), peptide MHC (pMHC) and co-receptors. Upon […]

Alexander Gosch and Faculty Mentor: Mary David, Molecular and Microbiology Introduction Essential tremor (ET) is a neurological disorder characterized by symmetrical tremor of the upper limbs. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a similar disorder, also characterized by tremor, with a few differences: ET tremor is mostly seen during action, while PD tremor is more prevalent while […]

Kayleigh Ingersoll and Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brad Berges, Department of Molecular and Microbiology Introduction Human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a virus that is linked to Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), causing cancer in T cells. There are an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide infected with HTLV-1. HTLV-1 is transmitted through contact of bodily fluid and […]

Abigail Felsted and Faculty Mentor: Kim O’Neill, Molecular Biology Our lab focuses on developing immunological techniques for diagnosing and treating cancer in a less invasive manner than current methods employ. New unique biomarkers are constantly needed to identify cancer in early stages in order to decrease mortality rates. When researching and publishing such biomarkers, many […]

Weston Burrup and Kim O’Neill, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Thymidine Kinase 1 is an enzyme involved in the synthesis of thymidine triphosphate, an essential DNA building block needed for cell replication. Previous research has shown an upregulated level of TK1 in the serum levels of cancer patients as well as on the cancer cell surface. […]

Sam Nicholes and Faculty Mentor: Julianne Grose, Microbiology and Molecular Biology The impetus behind my project was to contribute in a small but meaningful way to the growing body of research for cures and treatments for cancer. Cancer is fundamentally unwanted cell growth and proliferation. Metabolic processes that take place on the cellular level are […]

Jacob Bailey and Faculty Mentor: Richard Robinson, Micro and Molecular Biology The goal of this project was to determine if Borrelia Burgdorferi’s linear plasmid 36 is required for intracellular localization in B lymphocytes. A more complete understanding of the intracellular localization of B. burgdorferi may provide the means to effective Lyme treatment. It has been […]