The 2018 STARS Summer Research Program for Students included 51 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.

Favour Adeyinka
Young Women's Leadership Academy at Arnold
Mentor: Dustin Hancks, Ph.D.
Origins and Evolution of a Viral Antagonist of Innate Immune Signaling

Titilayo Arowolo
Lloyd V. Berkner High School
Mentor: Kevin Williams, Ph.D.
Adiponectin Activates Arcuate LepR Expressing POMC Neurons

Brian Avendano
Gunter High School
Mentor: Steve Jiang, Ph.D.
Using AI to Detect and Segment Breast Tumors in DBT Images

Meghan Backoo
Carroll Senior High School
Mentor: Digant Dave, Ph.D.
Glioblastoma Cells Modulate Acto-myosin Stress Fiber Anisotropy in Response to Substrate Stiffness

Ty Bogar
Byron Nelson High School
Mentor: Mark Henkemeyer, Ph.D.
Characterization of a Compound Inhibitor that Antagonizes the EphB1-Ephrin-B2 Receptor-Ligand Interaction: The Initial Steps to Develop a Structure Activity Relationship Through Pulldown Assays

Shannon Boyle
North Forney High School
Mentor: Zhao Wang, Ph.D.
Role of PERK in Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion

Nicolás Carrero
Lakeview Centennial High School
Mentor: Todd Roberts, Ph.D.
Streamlining an Experimentally Controlled Zebra Finch Development Process

Cesar Castillo
Uplift Luna Preparatory
Mentor: Jacqueline Gallet, Ph.D.
Shear Wave Elastography Investigation and Ultrasound Testing

Vincent Dang
Bowie High School
Mentor: Xiankai Sun, Ph.D.
Design of PD-L1 Targeted Gold Nano-theranostics for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer

Ammar Dharani
Hebron High School
Mentor: Elizabeth Maher, M.D., Ph.D.
Deletion of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Fails to Block Neural Progenitor Migration In Vivo

Sawyer Diaz
Wylie High School
Mentor: John Hulleman, Ph.D.
Enhancement of DHFR Degradation Kinetics for Optimized Regulation of Protein Abundance

Osadebamwen Eliaho
Little Elm High School
Mentor: Doris Lambracht-Washington, Ph.D.
Analyses to Different Protein Kinase Activation Patterns in the 3xTg-AD Mouse Model

Hannah Engebretson
Timber Creek High School
Mentor: James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.
Use of siRNA to Target the HIF2α Subunit in ccRCC

Shelly Goel
School of Science & Engineering Magnet (SEM)
Mentor: Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D.
INteractive Visualization and Exploration of Single-Cell Transcriptomic Data

Mariana Gomez
MacArthur High School
Mentor: Li Liu, Ph.D.
Analyzing the Efficacy of Different Vascular Disrupting Agents on 4T1 Breast Tumor

Hana Hendi
Brighter Horizons Academy
Mentor: Yuh Min Chook, Ph.D.
Karyopherin 114 Binding and Nuclear Transport of Histone Tails

Sean Holden
Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas
Mentor: Mike Henne, Ph.D.
Screening for Novel Clients of the Nucleus-Vacuole Junction (NVJ) in Yeast

Andy Huynh
Uplift Summit International Preparatory
Mentor: Melanie Cobb, Ph.D.
Mechanisms of Action of Synthetic Inhibitors of Insulin Secretion

Sami Joudeh
Midlothian Heritage High School
Mentor: Helmut Kramer, Ph.D.
Investigating the Role of the Unfolded Protein Response in the Fly Visual Cycle

Rishika Kaja
Greenhill School
Mentor: Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
The Relationship between Cognition and Telomere Length

Kanika Kappalayil
Liberty High School
Mentor: Vitaly Margulis, M.D.
Evaluating the Efficacy of a Liposomal Based Delivery System for Truncated Integrin αV in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC)

Tanvi Kongara
The Hockaday School
Mentor: Kim Orth, Ph.D.
Determining the Effectiveness of Drosophila Melanogaster as an Infection Model for Vibrio Parahaemolyticus

Surabhi Lamsal
Jack E. Singley Academy
Mentor: Wei Xu, Ph.D.
Evaluation of Freezing in Mice Using Machine Learning

Arnold Langat
Harmony Science Academy - Euless
Mentor: Esra Akbay, Ph.D.
Studying Lung Cancer Microenvironment and Tumor Growth Dynamics

Maanasa Lanka
Ranchview High School
Mentor: Guo-Min Li, Ph.D.
Preparation of Large Scale Purification of Mutsα Complex for High Throughput ALPHA Drug Screening

Natalie Lanners
The Hockaday School
Mentor: Asaithamby Aroumougame Ph.D.
Understanding the Role of Werner Cells in Inflammation and Aging

Surina Livingston
Poteet High School
Mentor: Xun Jia, Ph.D.
DNA Damage Induced by Proton Radiation Using GPU-based Monte Carlo Simulation

Pranav Manjunath
Carroll Senior High School
Mentor: Chao Xing, Ph.D.
Using Whole Exome Sequencing to Investigate Coverage Data in Genes

Anthony de Maria
Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences
Mentor: Ganesh Raj, M.D., Ph.D.
Effect of ERX-41 on Lipid Droplets in Breast Cancer

Rachel Monger
Greenhill School
Mentor: John Abrams, Ph.D.
The role of p53: Immune Response and Neuron Related Genes in Larval Development

Amanda Moon
Plano East Senior High School
Mentor: Yang-Xin Fu, M.D., Ph.D.
Designing an IL-2 Prodrug with Increased Anti-tumor Efficacy and Decreased Cytotoxic Effects

Jessica Nguyen
Centennial High School
Mentor: Prasanna Alluri, M.D., Ph.D.
The Role of CDC20 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment Resistance

Victor Nunez
Trinidad Garza Early College High School
Mentor: Ivan D'Orso, Ph.D.
Characterizing the Histone 4 Binding Activity of Master Transcriptional Regulator KAP1

Sofiu Ogunbiyi
Mansfield Timberview High school
Mentor: Caroline de Gracia Lux, Ph.D.
Formulation and Characterization of Perfluorocarbon Micro- and Nanoscale Emulsions for the Development of New Activatable Ultrasound Contrast Agents

Blanca Perez
Waxahachie Global High School
Mentors: Jacques Lux, Ph.D.
Encapsulated Catalase Silica Nanoparticles for the Detection of Pathophysiological Levels of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Ultrasound Imaging

Eddy Pineda
School of Education and Social Services at Townview Magnet (SEM)
Mentor: Jennifer Kohler, Ph.D.
Identification of O-GlcNAc Interactors of EWSR1 Through Use of In-cell Photocrosslinking and HaloTag Purification

Kate Pinkerton
Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Mentor: Diana Tomchick, Ph.D.
Factors Influencing Cryo-EM Grid Sample Affect 3D Data Collection and Single-Particle Reconstruction

Lorelai Pop
The School for the Talented and Gifted (TAG)
Mentor: Helen Lai, Ph.D.
Differentiating Axonal Projections of Clarke’s Column (CC) and non-CC Neurons from the Spinal Cord to the Cerebellum

Andy Qiao
Plano West Senior High School
Mentor: Ondine Cleaver, Ph.D.
Kit Ligand is Nonessential for Mouse Kidney Development

Jacqueline Ramirez
Wylie East High School
Mentor: Alice Ann Holland, Ph.D., ABPP
APOE Genotype and Neurocognitive Outcomes in ALL Survivors

Aidan Ravnik
The School for the Talented and Gifted (TAG)
Mentor: David Corey, Ph.D.
Substantiating Nuclear AGO2 Activity Predicted by eCLIP-Seq

Chethan Reddy
Keller High School
Mentor: Shin Yamazaki, Ph.D.
Phase Relation in Circadian Rhythms of Feeding Behavior and Locomotor Activity in Wild Type Mice with Advanced and Delayed Photoentrainment Cycles

Aida Reyes
James W. Martin High School
Mentor: Ming Chang Hu, M.D, Ph.D.
High Phosphate Diet and Low Klotho Exacerbate Defect in Vasculature in Mice with Haploinsufficiency of VEGFR2

Merissa Reiken
Harmony School of Nature and Athletics
Mentor: Rajiv Chopra, Ph.D.
Development of an In Vitro System for Studying Interactions between Alternating Magnetic Fields and Biofilms on Metal Surfaces

Jean Luna Rojo
Irving High School
Mentor: Charlie Khemtong, Ph.D.
What Kind of Fat Does the Heart Prefer?

Aubree Rooney
MacArthur High School
Mentor: Gloria Lena Vega, Ph.D.
Sex Dimorphism of Insulin Resistance in Boys and Girls Matched for Total Body Fat

Kota Ueshima
Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas
Mentor: Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.
GCNA as a DNA-Protein Crosslink Protease

Dalia Vasquez
Uplift Hampton Preparatory
Mentor: Matthew Petroll, Ph.D.
Corneal Wound Healing: Cell-extracellular Matrix Interactions in 3-D Fibrin Matrices

Henry Wang
Highland Park High School
Mentor: Munro Cullum, Ph.D.
Mechanism of Injury and Post-concussion Symptoms in Adolescent Soccer Players

Brian Zhou
Greenhill School
Mentor: Chen Liu, Ph.D.
Food Deprivation Drives Prolonged Overeating Through Central Melanocortin Receptors

Reed Zimmerman
Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas
Mentor: Murat Cobanoglu, Ph.D.
Identifying Cell-specific Metabolic Pathways in the Melanoma Microenvironment at the Single Cell Resolution