Summer Research Program Students 2017

The 2017 STARS Summer Research Program for Students included 52 students from Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding areas. This eight-week program gave students an opportunity to work side-by-side with a faculty host in a research laboratory. It consisted of activities, seminars, and an individualized research project that contributed to the advancement of science. The students were able to showcase and share these advancements during the end-of-program scientific poster session.

Katelyn Abel
Katelyn Abel
JP II High School
Mentor: Zhao Wang, Ph.D.
Angiotensin II Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy in Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes
Meheret Adera
Meheret Adera
Harmony Science Academy
Mentor: Xun Jia, Ph.D.
Effect of Patient Size on Scatter-to-Primary Ratio in Cone Beam CT
Mahima Akula
Mahima Akula
Greenhill School
Mentor: Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
The Relationship Between Asthma and Depression in Community Based Sample
Joy Aniede
Joy Aniede
Rowlett High School
Mentor: Chun-Li Zhang, Ph.D.
Nucleocytoplasmic Transport in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders
Katherine Casey
Katherine Casey
Flower Mound High School
Mentor: Helen Lai, Ph.D.
Motor Neurons Involved in Fine Motor Control Are a Source of Corollary Discharge
David Padron-Castillo
David Padron-Castillo
School of Science & Engineering at Townview
Mentor: Xiankai Sun, Ph.D.
HPLC/MS Quantification Method for Determination of Binding Affinity of T807 and Tau
Chastity Chavez
Chastity Chavez
Irma Rangel YWLS
Mentor: Jacques Lux, Ph.D.
Detection of Inflammation with Ultrasound Using Enzyme-Loaded Particles
 Jeff Cherian
Jeff Cherian
Sunnyvale High School
Mentor: Matthew Lewis, Ph.D.
Spectral CT Radiomics: Exploring the Feasibility of Classifying Lung Abnormalities Through Segmented ROI Computational Analysis and Information Theory
Caroline Cummings
Caroline Cummings
Richardson High School
Mentor: Jenny Hsieh, Ph.D.
REST Knockout Promotes Aberrant Differentiation of Immature Neurons
Ritika Dendi
Ritika Dendi
Hockaday School
Mentor: Kim Orth, Ph.D.
Mediated Transformation as an Efficient Tool for Fungal Genomics
Akshay Durvasula
Akshay Durvasula
Flower Mound High School
Mentor: Yingfei Wang, Ph.D.
Role of PAAN In General Traumatic Brain Injury
Michael Eboh
Michael Eboh
Timberview High School
Mentor: Weibo Luo, Ph.D.
Expression and Purification of GST-MYND Protein in E. Coli
Morgan Ezell
Morgan Ezell
Byron Nelson High School
Mentor: Kevin Williams, Ph.D.
C-fos Immunohistochemistry Used to Detect POMC Neuron Activity in Response to Adipokines
Gabrielle Gard
Gabrielle Gard
Ursuline Academy of Dallas
Mentor: Rashmin Savani, M.D.
The Role of CD44 in Neonatal Inflammation after Hyperoxia Injury
Benjamin Gitzinger
Benjamin Gitzinger
JP II High School
Mentor: Jacqueline Gallet, Ph.D.
Phantom of the Ultrasound: Evaluating Ultrasound Elastography Through Studies on Phantoms
Dustin Heitman
Dustin Heitman
Midlothian Heritage High School
Mentor: Mark Henkemeyer, Ph.D.
Neural Activation in the Brain Following Exposure of Mice to a Sound-Cued Learning Paradigm: Involvement of EphB Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
Peter Hundley
Peter Hundley
Jesuit College Preparatory
Mentor: Joel Goodman, Ph.D.
Is there a Perilipin in Yeast That is Specific for Steryl Ester-Containing Lipid Droplets?
Hannah Ismail
Hannah Ismail
Duncanville High School
Mentor: Roger Rosenberg, M.D.
Tau and Amyloid-β42(Aβ42) Oligomers in an in Vivo Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Andrew Kan
Andrew Kan
Lamar High School
Mentor: Wei Xu, Ph.D.
The Roles of Hippocampal Neuronal Subpopulations in Psychosis
Anvita Kandru
Anvita Kandru
Coppell High School
Mentor: James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.
cGAMP as a Potential Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma
Michael Kavas
Michael Kavas
Woodrow Wilson High School
Mentor: Rajiv Chopra, Ph.D.
Design of Lab Robot and Software for Dosing Studies
Aakash Kothari
Aakash Kothari
Jack E. Singley Academy
Mentor: Chen Liu, Ph.D.
Identification of Unique Transcriptional Regulators in Specific Hypothalamic Feeding Neurons
Ramon Lopez
Ramon Lopez
School for the Talented and Gifted at Townview
Mentor: Sunita Stewart, Ph.D.
Differential Contributions of Depressive Symptoms to Suicide Ideation
Mariana Martinez
Mariana Martinez
MacArthur High School
Mentor: Ben Tu, Ph.D.
Protein Aggregation under Different Metabolic States in Budding Yeast
Wesley McDonald
Wesley McDonald
Harmony School of Nature
Mentor: Esra Akbay, Ph.D.
Characterization of NKG2D Ligand Expression in Kras Mutant Lung Cancers
Cinthya Meza
Cinthya Meza
Irma Rangel YWLS
Mentor: Phil Shaul, M.D.
Effect of Loss of Adipocyte SR-BI on Circulating Levels of Adiponectin in Mice
Cindy Ngo
Cindy Ngo
Wylie High School
Mentor: Matthias Wolf, M.D.
How Does Klotho Overexpression Improve Uromodulin-Associated Kidney Disease?
Darien Nguyen
Darien Nguyen
Irving High School
Mentor: Ivan D'Orso, Ph.D.
The ZASC1/ZNF639 Protein Interacts with the KAP1/TRIM28 Transcription Factor to Potentially Facilitate Gene Activation
Trevor Nguyen
Trevor Nguyen
McKinney Boyd High School
Mentor: Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D.
The NR1D1/2-CLOCK Transcriptional Hierarchy in Human Neurons
Randy Nguyen
Randy Nguyen
Poteet High School
Mentor: Raksha Jain, M.D.
Understanding the Effect of Estrogen on Neutrophil Apoptosis in Cystic Fibrosis
Samaya Pattim
Samaya Pattim
Lone Star High School
Mentor: Asaithamby Aroumougame, Ph.D.
The Involvement of DNA Double Strand Break (DSB) Repair Pathways in the Processing of Carbon Particle Induced DNA DSBs
Sorin Pena
Sorin Pena
Haltom High School
Mentor: Ram Mani, Ph.D.
The Role of dBET-1 in Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation
Jackson Petroll
Jackson Petroll
Jesuit College Preparatory
Mentor: Gaudenz Danuser, Ph.D.
Use of Blender for 3D Visualization of Blebbing Cell Migration
Joanna Quan
Joanna Quan
Greenhill School
Mentor: Jennifer Kohler, Ph.D.
The Effects of ABO Blood Types on Cholera Toxin B Binding
Danielle Ramos
Danielle Ramos
South Grand Prairie High School
Mentors: David Corey, Ph.D.
Investigation of RNA Foci in Correlation with Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy
Courtney Rawitscher
Courtney Rawitscher
Greenhill School
Mentor: Joachim Herz, M.D. and Shirling Tsai, M.D.
Generation of a Y63F Point Mutation in the LRP1 Cytoplasmic Domain
Mariana Rios
Mariana Rios
Stephenville High School
Mentor: Dean Smith, M.D., Ph.D.
Mechanisms of DEET Repellency in Drosophila
Jasmine Rodriguez
Jasmine Rodriguez
Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Mentor: Todd Roberts, Ph.D.
Identifying the Effects of Temperature on Virus-Host Relationships
Emily Stein
Emily Stein
Hockaday School
Mentor: Kathryn O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Dissecting the Role of PCDH7, an Oncogenic Cell Surface Receptor, in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Yukta Sunkara
Yukta Sunkara
North Hills Preparatory
Mentor: Matt Petroll, Ph.D.
Impact of Growth Factors and Topography on Corneal Fibroblast Migration Patterns
Varshini Suresh
Varshini Suresh
Coppell High School
Mentor: Ganesh Raj, M.D., Ph.D.
Protein Expression in the Detection of Autophagy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Sasha Thomas
Sasha Thomas
School of Science & Engineering at Townview
Mentor: Vitaly Margulis, M.D.
Effect of Truncated Integrin αV on Integrin Signaling in Renal Cell Carcinoma
Connor Thomas
Connor Thomas
Jesuit College Preparatory
Mentor: Mike Henne, Ph.D.
Investigating the Link between Inter-Organelle Contact Sites and Aging in Yeast
Miriam Trigo
Miriam Trigo
Irving High School
Mentor: Charlie Khemtong, Ph.D.
Substrate Competition in Perfused Rat Kidneys: Pyruvate vs Fat
Ritu Trivedi
Ritu Trivedi
Plano West High School
Mentor: Nancy Monson, Ph.D.
Antibodies from High-risk Multiple Sclerosis Patients Bind to the Brain
Alexandra Vernino
Alexandra Vernino
Ursuline Academy of Dallas
Mentor: Peter Tsai, M.D., Ph.D.
Critical Period for Cerebellar Cell Loss in an Autism Mouse Model
Abdi Wakene
Abdi Wakene
Harmony School of Innovation
Mentor: Rajiv Chopra, Ph.D.
Robot Arm Modification to Optimize Heat Induction and Eliminate Biofilms
Nicholas Wilson
Nicholas Wilson
Jesuit College Preparatory
Mentor: Chao Xing, Ph.D.
Replicating Results of a Genetic Association Study: TCF4 CTG18.1 Repeat Expansion and FECD
Michael Xie
Michael Xie
Highland Park High School
Mentor: Dominika Borek, Ph.D.
Crystallization and Preliminary Studies of RuvB, Holliday Junction ATPase
Jonathan Yang
Jonathan Yang
Plano Senior High School
Mentor: Melanie Cobb, Ph.D.
The Effects of the Bacterial Natural Product Chromomycin A2 on Insulin Secretion from Pancreatic Islet Beta Cells
Zuhair Zaidi
Zuhair Zaidi
Brighter Horizons Academy
Mentor: Helmut Kramer, Ph.D.
Phosphatases Responsible for Regulating Acinus Stability and Function
Sharon Zhang
Sharon Zhang
Hockaday School
Mentor: Madhukar H. Trivedi, M.D.
Association between Measures of Resilience and Gender in College Students