Dr. Clinton Whipple, Department of Biology Progress towards research objectives Progress has been achieved in most of the five research objectives. In some cases we have modified our original aims in the light of what can be reasonably expected of inexperienced undergraduates. Details of each aim follow: AIM 1 Identify novel mutants defective in bract […]
The Role of PAS-kinase In Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy and Endurance Adaptation
Dr. David Thomson, Department of Physiology & Developmental Biology Evaluation of academic objectives and project findings The purpose of this mentoring environment grant was to determine whether the presence of the protein PAS-kinase (PASK) affects muscle growth and/or endurance performance. Our primary model system was the PASK knockout mouse (PASK-KO) and findings from this mouse […]
Mentored Research in Geochemistry of Ancient Maya and Fremont Archaeological Sites
Dr. Richard Terry, Department of Plant & Wildlife Sciences Many of the activities of the ancient Maya did not leave artifactual or architectural remains for us to study, since many activities involved organic materials that were biodegraded over time. Furthermore, the warm and humid climate accelerated the decomposition of most organic materials (Dahlin et al., […]
Molecular Mechanisms of Lupus Risk Conferred by Allele in the Gene for Interferon Response Factor 5
Dr. Brian Poole, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Biology Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The academic objectives of this proposal were met. Using the funding provided by the MEG, we generated data that was used to publish four peer-reviewed journal articles and one peer-reviewed book chapter. These are: […]
Free-living Experimental Sleep Conditions
Dr. James LeCheminant, Department of Exercise Sciences Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The purpose of the completed MEG from 2010 was to compare 20 obese and 20 normal- weight women under two separate free-living experimental sleep conditions (Condition 1: two consecutive nights of ≥8 hrs of sleep; Condition […]
Transcriptional Activity of the Novel Nuclear Protein nBmp-2
Dr. Laura Bridgewater, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Biology The goal of this project was to follow up on preliminary data suggesting that nBmp2 directly activated transcription. A few months of follow-up experiments, however, showed that the original transcription data was not reproducible. At that point we turned our attention to two different questions about […]
Secretory phospholipase A2
Dr. John Bell, Department of Physiology & Developmental Biology Abstract of original proposal Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) binds to and hydrolyzes cell membranes. It is important in inflammatory responses and diseases including septic shock, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Normally, cells resist the enzyme’s action, but they become susceptible early during the process of either biochemically-programmed or […]
Combining Demographic and Life History Data to Test the Reproductive Value Hypothesis in Livebearing Fishes
Dr. Mark Belk, Department of Biology How well were academic objectives of the proposal met The proposal was to conduct a large-scale mark-recapture project on a livebearing fish in Utah lake to evaluate size and sex-specific mortality rates of this population. The experiment was begun in mid- summer by marking over 1000 individual mosquitofish. All […]
Co-amplification of Mitochondrial Pseudogenes
Dr. Michael Whiting, Department of Biology Funding was received from the BYU ORCA mentorship program during 2011 to support undergraduates performing research in my lab, under the mentorship of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and myself. During 2011, this funding provided direct support for 6 undergraduates who are in various stages of completing research projects. The […]
Amphibians and Reptiles as Model Systems: Phylogenetic Research for Undergraduates
Dr. Jack Sites, Department of Biology This award provided $20,000 to support of molecular phylogenetic work on a number of projects, including those related to my long-term focus on the “deep history” relationships of squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes), and the second more recent emphasis on phylogeographic (“shallow history”) studies of frogs and lizards. This […]