Matthew Burnham and Dr. Brad Bundy, Department of Chemical Engineering A Virus-like Particle (VLP) is a nanostructure composed of many coat proteins. They differ from real viruses in that they are synthesized to be non-infectious. VLPs have many useful applications in vaccines, drug delivery, gene therapy, and material science1. Last year, I attempted to create […]
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Place-Based Art Education/Anasazi & Fremon Art and Culture
Professor Mark Graham, Department of Art Education Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met This project engaged students in arts-based research of the rock art of Anasazi, Fremont and other ancient cultures in central and southern Utah. Their research had three components: (1) A review of research literature describing the history […]
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., […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Novel Nuclear Variant of nBMP-2: Role in Ca2+ Transport
Dr. Laura Bridgewater, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Biology The goal of this project was to elucidate the role that nBMP-2 plays in Ca2+ transport. In the previous year, we demonstrated that mice that have no nBMP-2 in the nuclei of their cells exhibit delays in the transport of Ca2+ back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum […]
Programming Literacy Needs to be a Core Content Standard: A Case Study of Teaching 7th and 8th Grade Students Computer Programming
Dr. Geoffrey Wright, School of Technology Just as typing has replaced calligraphy and hand-writing as the most common form of written language, programming is ready to replace many domains of the English language. Regardless of whether you perceive this, as negative or positive, programming is how many students are communicating. In a recent study (paper) […]
Receptors for Advanced Glycation End-Products (RAGE) Mediates Particulate Matter-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation
Dr. Paul Reynolds, Department of Physiology & Developmental Biology Academic Objectives Met and Results Observed Funding available through this MEG award has provided an opportunity for me to meet many academic objectives I’ve determined to be important in the early stages of my faculty appointment at BYU. First of all, I have been able to […]
Developing Radio Astronomy in BYU
Dr. Victor Migenes, Department of Physics and Astronomy Student participation Kirstin Cooprider (MSc): working in OH Megamasers and galaxy mergers. Daniel Blakley (MSc): working in the VSA and OH MASERs in star forming regions. Derek Felli (BSc): working in the VSA and OH MASERs in star forming regions. Daniel Gibson (BSc): working in late-type stars […]