Life Sciences - Undergraduate Research

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The 2020 MU Life Sciences Week was cancelled this year due to the pandemic; therefore, we are especially pleased that the Undergraduate Forum has provided a venue for students majoring in animal sciences, biology, biochemistry, natural resources, nutrition, plant sciences, and psychology. Faculty mentors in the life sciences disciplines have academic appointments in Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Arts & Science, Engineering, Health Professions; Human Environmental Sciences; Medicine; and Veterinary Medicine.

Thanks to the support of the MU Libraries staff, we are able to offer a comment feature to the digital Forum and encourage you to leave questions and comments May 1-5, 2020 keeping in mind MU’s Statement of Values (Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, and Excellence - missouri.edu/mission-values)
We also encourage the students to check-in periodically over the 5 days and respond to questions.

Pages

3D muscle architecture of avian jaw muscles and their significance for cranial functional morphology evolution (Verhulst)
Anatomical root differences in genetically distinct ecotypes of switchgrass (York)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Mary York, Biological Sciences, Senior, Lonedell, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Felix Fritschi (Plant Sciences), Funding source: 1) Dr. Felix Fritschi; 2) Department of Energy grant: DE-SC0014156, Capstone project for Bio Sci 4952 H, Collaborators: Mary York and Felix Fritschi
Beta3-Adrenergic Receptor (B3AR) activation induces Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERb) and improves mitochondrial metabolism in adipocytes (Queathem)
Characterization of the novel maize carbohydrate partitioning defective mutant P135-21B (Winkler)
Characterizing the interactions between Suppressor of Sessile Spikelet Mutations (Sos2 and Sos3) (Nordwald)
Characterizing the metabolic profile of the infrapatellar fat pat from osteoarthritic knees (Lee)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Alex Lee, Health Science, Junior, Parkville, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Collaborators: Alexander B. Lee, Shelby Y. Salisbury, James L. Cook, Aaron M. Stoker
Comparison of methods for whole elbow osteochondral allograft preservation (Sudekum)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Jack Sudekum, Biochemistry, Junior, St. Louis, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Biomedical Sciences), Funding source: Thompson Laboratory for Regenerative Orthopaedics, Collaborators: Jack Sudekum, Aaron M. Stoker, Gregory J. Della Rocca, James L. Cook
Correlation of subchondral bone biomechanical properties to comprehensive properties of articular cartilage from osteoarthritic Knees (Ockerhausen)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Hayley Ockerhausen, Biomedical Engineering, Senior, Chesterfield, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery) and Chantelle Bozynski (Orthopaedic Surgery) and James Cook (Orthopaedic Surgery), Collaborators: Hayley G. Ockerhausen, Tyge J. Ortega, Muhammad H. Salim, Matthew Gao, Ashwin Garlapaty, Conner B. Schmid, Chantelle C. Bozynski, James L. Cook, James A. Keeney and Aaron M. Stoker
Correlations among articular cartilage biomechanical properties and metabolic, biomechanical and histomorphometric characteristics of subchondral bone from osteoarthritic knees (Salim)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Muhammad Salim, Biomedical Engineering, Senior, Columbia, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Collaborators: Muhammad H. Salim, Hayley G. Ockerhausen, Matthew Z. Gao, Tyge J. Ortega, Ashwin Garlapaty, Conner B. Schmid, Chantelle C. Bozynski, James A. Keeney, James L. Cook, Aaron M. Stoker
Correlations among biomechanical properties, metabolic, and histological characteristics of articular cartilage from osteoarthritic knees (Garlapaty)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Ashwin Garlapaty, Biological Sciences, Sophomore, Eureka, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Funding source: Thompson Laboratory for Regenerative Orthopaedics, Collaborators: Ashwin R. Garlapaty, Undergraduate Muhammad H. Salim, Undergraduate Tyge J. Ortega, Undergraduate Hayley G. Ockerhausen, Undergraduate Matthew Z. Gao, Undergraduate Conner B. Schmid, Undergraduate Chantelle C. Bozynski, DVM, MSc, DACVP James A. Keeney, MD James L. Cook, DVM, PhD (Aaron Stoker, PhD)
Correlations among pro-inflammatory, degradation-related, and bone metabolism biomarkers released by bone obtained from patients with knee osteoarthritis (Gao)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Matthew Gao, Biological Sciences, Junior, Joplin, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Funding source: Undergraduate Research Award, Collaborators: Matthew Z. Gao; Hayley G. Ockerhausen; Tyge J. Ortega; Muhammad H. Salim; Ashwin Garlaparty; Chantelle C. Bozynski, DVM, MS; James A. Keeney, MD; James L. Cook, DVM, PhD; Aaron M. Stoker, PhD
Degradation of hydroxyatrazine using AtzB from pseudomonas sp. strain ADP (Maxwell)
Delineating day length-induced immune responses in clathrin-coated vesicle mutants (Jennings)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Tessa Jennings, Plant Sciences, Sophomore, Ashland, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Antje Heese (Biochemistry), Funding source: CAFNR On Campus Research Internship, Collaborators: Tessa Jennings, Kelly Mason, Nga Nguyen, Alex Clarke, and Antje Heese
Effectiveness of Lespedeza species as a bioactive forage in ruminant production systems (Wheeler)
Effects of hunting on Chronic Wasting Disease prevalence in White-Tailed Deer (Nelson)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Ashley Nelson, Natural Resources Science and Management, Freshman, St. Louis, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Samniqueka Halsey (School of Natural Resources), Collaborators: Ashley Nelson and Samniqueka Halsey
Effects of maternal oxycodone use on placental development (Green)
Essential endopeptidase is required for polar cell wall synthesis in agrobacterium tumefaciens (Yowell)
Estimating minimum BMP4 exposure time needed to prime human pluripotent stem cell differentiation to trophoblast (Wind)
Evaluation of metabolic response to injury and IL-10 stimulation of intervertebral disc using an ex vivo rat tail model (Fletcher)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Elizabeth Fletcher, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Junior, St. Louis, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Collaborators: Elizabeth Fletcher, Emma LePage, Aaron Stoker
Evolution of starvation resistance in relation to nutrient availability (Moaton)
Fiber-type switching in osteogenesis imperfecta mouse models (Harrelson)
Fine mapping and characterization of the tassel-less4 mutant in maize (Koenigsfeld)
Fueling the future : engineering plants to create biofuel, without disrupting the food supply (Lamm)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Daniel Lamm, Biochemistry, Senior, Madison, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Abe Koo (Biochemistry), Funding source: CAFNR On Campus Research Internship, Collaborators: Danny Lamm, Athen Kimberlin, Arati Poudel, Minmin Wang, Jay Thelen, and Abraham Koo
Gene/prenatal stress model and diet effects on litter size in mice (Drewel)
Glycation profile for human serum albumin (Vazmitsel)
HRM multiplex real-time PCR detection of Salmonella virulence and ESBL resistance genes in food (Hodel)
Identification of a biomarker for genioglossus tongue muscle atrophy in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Mueller)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Marissa Mueller, Biochemistry, Senior, Shorewood, Illinois, Faculty mentor: Teresa Lever (Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery) and Nicole Nichols (Biomedical Sciences), Funding source: NIH R21 DC016071 (Lever); University of Missouri Veterinary Research Scholars Program, IDEXX-BioAnalytics, and the Spinal Cord Injury and Disease Research Program (SCIDRP; Nichols), Collaborators: Marissa Mueller, Teresa Lever, Nicole Nichols
Importance of seed storage methods for germination and growth rates (Parker-Smith)
Improving the solubility and emulsification of pea protein by combined ultrasonication and complexation with pectin (Pham)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Nicholas Pham, Food Science and Nutrition, Junior, Kansas City, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Bongkosh Vardhanabhuti (Food Systems and Bioengineering), Funding source: CAFNR On Campus Research Internship, Collaborators: Nicholas Pham and Bongkosh Vardhanabhuti
Investigating roles of Clathrin-coated vesicle components in cell expansion in Arabidopsis thaliana (Vedra)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Meg Vedra, Biochemistry, Freshman, Frisco, Texas, Faculty mentor: Antje Heese (Biochemistry), Funding source: Freshmen in Plant Sciences (FRIPS), Collaborators: Meg Vedra, Nga Nguyen, Tessa Jennings, Antje Heese
Lateral suppressor1 (las1) mutant inhibits axillary meristem initiation and shows a complex genetic interaction with the meristem maintenance mutant compact plant2 (ct2) in maize (Sage)
Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry assay for quantitation of human insulin (Shin)
Mapping loci responsible for auxin mediated development of the primary root in maize (Spencer)
Microclimate influences variation in the upper thermal tolerance of a complex lifecycle amphibian (Turrell)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Micah Turrell, Natural Resources Science and Management, Junior, Fulton, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Manuel Leal (Biological Sciences), Funding source: Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (LS UROP), Collaborators: Micah Turrell and Manuel Leal
Motor self-regulation in Anolis evermanni (Risse)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Lillian Risse, Biological Sciences, Senior, Saint Louis, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Manuel Leal (Biological Sciences), Collaborators: Lillian Risse, Manuel Leal
Quantification and measurement of veins in maize leaf through image analysis (Neighbors)
Regulatory effects of KCa3.1 on pro inflammatory macrophage gene expression (Kennedy)
Relationship between aerators and microcystin : a comparison between two ponds (Key)
Relationship between patient demographics and osteoarthritic chondrocyte metabolism in an in vitro model (Sullentrup)
Project category: Life Sciences, Author information: Anna Sullentrup, Biochemistry, Sophomore, Washington, Missouri, Faculty mentor: Aaron Stoker (Orthopaedic Surgery), Funding source: Thompson Laboratory for Regenerative Orthopaedics, Collaborators: Anna N. Sullentrup, Spencer E. DeLucia, Nicole T. Greco, Eli L. Pratte, Aaron M. Stoker, and James L. Cook
Role of alternative splicing in fruit fly thermal tolerance (Ghidey)

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