Student Research Projects Kenn Andersen (with Mark Yulis) Investigating Promoters of Mosquito Juvenile Hormone Synthetic Enzyme Genes Mentor: Dr. Marten Edwards Funded By: James Vaughan Family Fund for Student Research Michael Baer A Possible Role for nhr-239 in Sensory Response Mentor: Dr. Bruce Wightman Funded By: the National Science Foundation Stephanie Bayruns The Effect of Exogenous Estrogen Hormone on the Phenotypic Plastic Re-sponse of Ambystoma maculatum Larvae to Predation by Notophthalmus viri-descens Mentor: Dr. Paul Meier Funded By: Student Summer Research Grant from the Dean of the College of Academic Life Jennifer Bleznak Neurophysiological Response to Pollutant Olfactory Stimuli in Bombus impatiens Mentor: Dr. Jordanna Sprayberry Funded By: Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program, The Sentience Foundation Johanna Block (with Emily Einhorn) Updated Consolidation: Reconsolidation of appetitive odor discrimination re-quires protein synthesis in reversal learning Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Gotthard Funded By: Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program, The Sentience Foundation Caitlin Burgdorf Effects of predator stress on cognitive flexibility in rats Mentor: Dr. Rita Valentino (University of Pennsylvania) Funded By: National Institute of Health (MH58250 and MH40008 grant) and the Summer Undergraduate Internship Program at the University of Pennsylvania: Biomedical Graduate Studies Jessica Chu (with George McClung) Understanding the Function of nhr-67 in Caenorhabditis elegans Mentor: Dr. Bruce Wightman Funded By: the National Science Foundation Ronald Clark Bioaccumulation of EDCs and the effect on tadpole development Mentor: Dr. Paul Meier Funded By: Trainer Summer Research Grant Michelle Cohen (with Christa Houck) Spatial and Non-Spatial Learning in the Hexagon Maze Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Gotthard Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office Meredith Colwell Determining the Functionally Relevant Regions of ADA2b in Arabidopsis thaliana Mentor: Dr. Amy Hark Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office

David Cordero Electrode Development for Bombus impatiens Mentor: Dr. Jordanna Sprayberry Funded By: Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program, The Sentience Foundation Nicki Cronin (with Nate Crossette) Calibrations for High Energy Physics Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF PHY 08-55762 Nate Crossette (with Nicki Cronin) Calibrations for High Energy Physics Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Matthew Del Ciello Synthesis of Chiral Ligands for Use in Heck Reactions Mentor: Dr. Charles Russell Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Joe Dellaripa Do chemical treatments affect recruitment rates to novel food resources? Mentor: Dr. Jordanna Sprayberry. Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Brianna Dunn Lincomycin Biosynthesis: The Overexpression and Purification of LmbX Mentor: Dr. Keri Colabroy Funded By: Merck-AAAS Emily Einhorn (with Johanna Block) Updated Consolidation: Reconsolidation of appetitive odor discrimination requires protein synthesis in reversal learning Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Gotthard Funded By: Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program and The Sentience Foundation Catherine Ezzio A chemical screen for new Hoxb4 modulators in Danio rerio Mentor: Lili Jing and Dr. Leonard Zon (Children’s Hospital Boston – Harvard Medical School) Funded By: Children’s Hospital Boston Matthew Fitzsimons Characterizing OPV Films with Electron Tomography and FIB Cross-sectional Analysis Mentor: Dr. Andrew Herzing (NIST) Funded By: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Will Gammerdinger Microgeographic genetic variation in red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viri-descens Mentor: Paul Meier

James Gumkowski Attempted Synthesis of a Lead-Specific Cryptand With A Fluorescing Tag Mentor: Dr. Marsha Baar Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office Melanie Henry Synthesis of linear polyynes by laser ablation of graphite Mentor: Dr. Bruce Anderson Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office Christa Houck (with Michelle Cohen) Spatial and Non-Spatial Learning in the Hexagon Maze Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Gotthard Funded By: Neuroscience Collaborative Research Grant from the Sentience Foundation Nicholas Housel Cell Culture Media Characterization by GC-MS with Automated Sample Prepa-ration Mentor: Dr. Christine Ingersoll Funded By: Johnson & Johnson, Merck/AAAS Alexander Isinhue Assembly of RPC 1 Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF PHY 08-55762/ MRI 05-21542 Sabrina Kamran Neuroprotective effects of curcumin against glutamate-induced apoptosis in rat hippocampal neurons Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth McCain Funded By: Merck-AAAS Scott Kanner Evaluation of a Novel Cis-regulatory Mechanism for Controlling Neuronal Pro-teasome Function Mentor: Dr. Gentry N. Patrick (University of California – San Diego) Funded By: Amgen Scholars Program, NIH Andrew Kleiner Real-Time Interactions and their effect on uptake of PCB and DDE by the worms Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus terrestris. Mentor: Dr. Jason Kelsey Funded By: Student Summer Research Grant from the Dean of the College of Academic Life Alexander P. Kossar Conferring Neurosteroid Sensitivity to the Glycine Receptor: The Elucidation of a Putative GABAA Receptor Binding Site Mentor: Dr. Jeremy Teissére Funded By: Student Summer Research Grant from the Dean of the College of Academic Life Jenna Kotak The Effects of GCN5 Mutations on Trichome Patterning Mentors: Dr. Amy Hark & Dr. Elizabeth McCain Funded By: James Vaughan Family Fund for Student Research

Science Summer Research

Poster Session

September 23, 2011 3:00-5:00 PM

This poster session was sponsored very generously by the Muhlenberg College offices of Admissions, the Provost, and the President, by the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and the

Neuroscience program.

This poster session is a culmination of each student’s summer work. The students are pleased to have this opportunity to present their research and answer any questions you may have. Each on-campus summer science research student was awarded an 8-10 week stipend supported by either internal College grants , some external funding, or generous alumni. Some grants also provided funds for the purchase of supplies and/or small pieces of equipment to support student research projects. The College generously provided free dorm housing and one course credit. Additional students went off-campus for the summer to perform research at universities and government facilities.

Matthew Levy Synthesis of Chiral Ligands for use in Asymmetric Heck Reactions Mentor: Dr. Charles Russell Funded By: Bob and Carolyn Buzzard in memory of Bob Butz and Frank Marino George McClung (with Jessica Chu) Understanding the Function of nhr-67 in Caenorhabditis elegans Mentor: Dr. Bruce Wightman Funded By: the National Science Foundation Amanda Meier Leaf Morphology and Herbivory in Sun and Shade Leaves of Lindera benzoin Mentor: Dr. Richard Niesenbaum Funded By: Student Summer Research Grant from the Dean of the College of Academic Life Matt Moskowitz (with Steve Solano) Transverse Energy Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF-RUI and the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office Andrew Nederlof Efficiency of PHENIX Resistive Plate Chambers in RHIC √s = 500 GeV p+p Collisions Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF PHY 08-55762 / MRI 05-21542 / Faculty-Student Collabo-rative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office Brendan Phelan Synthesis and Characterization of (mercaptoimidazolyl) pyridine complexes of palladium(II) and platinum(II) Mentor: Dr. Daniel Rabinovich (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) Funded By: National Science Foundation REU Grant Award No. CHE-0851797 Brittany Sherman A Reactivation Model of PTSD Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Gotthard Funded By: Student Summer Research Grant from the Dean of the College of Academic Life Jon Shikora Heck Reaction - Key Step in the Synthesis of Baclofen Mentor: Dr. Marsha Baar Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office MariAnne Skolnik Dark Current in PHENIX Resistive Plate Chambers Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF PHY 08-55762, MRI 05-21542 and a Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlenberg College Provost’s Office

Student Research Projects

Steve Solano (with Matt Moskowitz) Transverse Energy Mentor: Dr. Brett Fadem Funded By: NSF-RUI Melissa Ugelow Tailoring Porous Silicon for Analyte Response Mentor: Dr. Frank V. Bright (University of Buffalo) Funded By: the National Science Foundation Alec Vlahos Pre-steady state analysis of the L-DOPA dioxygenase reaction Mentor: Dr. Keri Colabroy Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Erica Wenzel POGIL Patterns: Identifying & Documenting Effective Elements & Practices Mentor: Dr. Clif Kussmaul Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Kellie-Ann Yamane The Biochemical Characterization of Tyrosine Hydroxylase, LmbB2 Dr. Keri Colabroy Funded By: Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Grant from the Muhlen-berg College Provost’s Office Mark Yulis (with Kenn Anderson) Investigating Promoters of Mosquito Juvenile Hormone Synthetic Enzyme Genes Mentor: Dr. Marten Edwards Funded By: REBCS