Honors Theses from 2024
Honors Theses from 2023
Assessing the Orthogonality of Synthetic Genetic Circuits, Avery Bradley
Assessment of treatment-specific tethering survival bias for the juvenile blue crab Callinectes sapidus in a simulated salt marsh, Cole Miller, A. Challen Hyman, Daniel Shi, and Romuald N. Lipcius
Characterizing a Novel Phage Particle: The Phagelet, Anne Roman
Characterizing the Complex Mechanisms of Thyroid Hormone Receptor Intracellular Shuttling, Olivia White
Context-Aware Engineering of Prokaryotic Chassis, Pinar Caglayan
Crickets and cicadas sing: Terrestrial invertebrates in a San Rafael salt marsh, Carlee Dunn
Exploring MK-STYX's Interaction with KDAC6 and Dynein, Quinton Reed
Exploring the Role of HDAC6 in Thyroid Hormone Receptor Intracellular Localization, Giuliana Lopez
Fecal Pellet Production by North Atlantic Zooplankton, Michael Gibson
Invasive and Native Crayfish Have Ecologically Distinct Diets: Evidence from DNA Metabarcoding of Gut Contents, Zoe Hutcheson
Investigating the Interaction between Pseudophosphatase MK-STYX and Vimentin, Gwen Wagner
Investigating Thyroid Hormone Receptor Shuttling Patterns, Helen Heaton
Life History of Two Goatfishes in Hawaii and Alternative Methodologies in Life History Research, Duncan Campbell
The ecological role of benthic foraging stingrays on fine-scale seagrass structure and function, Hayden Acors
The Role of Calcium in Early Embryonic Development, Michelle Yue
Where the wild worms are: Salinity tolerance, hyposaline stress, and survival of Carcinonemertes carcinophila, Alexandria Pomroy
Honors Theses from 2022
Analyzing Function of the Novel Gene, Childless Gambino, During Drosophila Development, Pedro Massa
Assessing the Orthogonality of Genetic Circuits, Beteel Abu-Ageel
Carrying Capacity of Cultured Bivalves in Cherrystone Inlet, VA, and the Implications of Spatial Distribution and Environmental Change, Sophia Chirico
Climate Change and Conservation of Milkweed: Evidence of Extensive Admixture Between Common Milkweed and Poke Milkweed, Elizabeth Davies
Design and Partial Assembly of a Promoter Characterization Circuit for Mycobacteria, Elias H. Nafziger
Do You Hear What I Hear? Comparing Avian Hearing Across Taxonomic Groups, Sarah Weber
Frequency and Success of Larval Clone Production in the Daisy Brittle Star Ophiopholis aculeata, Erin-Darby McClain
Investigating the Effect of Longhorned Milkweed Beetle Larval Root Feeding on Resprouting in Common Milkweed, Margaret Donnan
Investigating the Role of HDAC3 (KDAC3) and SIRT2 in Thyroid Hormone Receptor Intracellular Trafficking, Jordan Gooding
Metamor-Foes: Settlement Preferences and Post-Settlement Cannibalism in the Sea Star Asterias forbesi, Augustin Kalytiak-Davis
Metamorphic Success of Sea Star Larval Clones, Alexis Abigail Reece
Regulation of Testis Stem Cell Behavior by the Novel Drosophila Gene Childless gambino, Natalie Luffman
Relating Occupancy Patterns to Multi-Life-History Scales for Pond-Breeding Anurans in Eastern Virginia, Patrick A. Hardner
Student Sleep Patterns when Exposed to Mindfulness Reminders, Zeyanna Dhalla
The Application of Acetyltransferase Inhibitors and Neural Networks to Thyroid Hormone Receptor Mutants, Thomas Hess
The Characterization of the Type I DNA Methyltransferase hsdM1 (HP0463) in Helicobacter pylori, Elise Zimmerman
The Genetic Consequences of Selection for Plastic Adherence on Evolving Yeast Populations, Benjamin Epley
Transcriptome Analysis of Zebra Finch Tissue After Chronic Low-Level Methylmercury Exposure, Paula Petersen
Transcriptomic and Functional Analysis of Novel Mycobacteriophagelet Bernie and Prophage HerbertWM, Taiana James
Understanding Viral Impacts in Soil Microbial Ecology Through the Persistence and Decay of Infectious Bacteriophage Particles, Alli DiPietro
Using a Machine Learning Model to Predict Plant Inflorescences based upon its Soil Microbiome, Luke Denoncourt
Honors Theses from 2021
A Comparison Between the Evolutionary Genomics of Pseudophosphatases MK-STYX and STYX, Yi Qi
Characterizing the Microbiome of Floral Nectar of Asclepias syriaca and other Asclepias species, Heather Natterer
Effects of Gamete Age on Development in Asterias forbesi, Amanda Yeo
Evaluating Autophagy as a Mechanism for MK-STYX-induced Stress Granule Reduction, Tatiana Prioleau
Life stage explains variation in habitat use of the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), Joyner Miller
Mysteries and Uncertainties in Tracing Cryptic Viral Infections, Melaina Jacoby
Rapid Morphological Divergence in Three Introduced Cichlid Species, Khalil Russell
The Effect of MK-STYX on the Interaction of HDAC6 and Ubiquitin, Emma Gergel
The Role of Spider Silk in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Langston Forbes-Jackson
Tools in Bioengineering: From Bacteriophage to Bioprinting, Stephanie Do
Honors Theses from 2020
Characterization of TRα1 Mutants Associated with Metabolic Disorders and Cancer, Carolina Lopez Silva
Design of Smart, Lipid-Secreting Nasal Probiotic for the Suppression of Respiratory Viral Infections, Julia Urban
Evolutionary Dynamics of Alzheimer's-linked Prion Conformers in Yeast, Matthew M. Dungan
Impacts of Spatial and Temporal Variation on the Benthic Nitrogen Cycle in the York River Estuary, Evan Lawrence
Inferring Diet of Clidastes liodontus through Comparative Skull and Pterygoid Tooth Morphology of Toxicoferan Squamates, Ian Wilenzik
Investigating Differential Gene Expression in Zebra Finch Embryos due to Methylmercury Exposure, Natalie Caputo
Investigating the Genetic Diversity of Viruses in Soil Using a Marker Gene Approach, Nakul Dar
Predator-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity Across Life History Stages in Echinoderms, Danielle K. Barnes
Probing the Localization Patterns and Selectivity Filter of Thyroid Hormone Receptor alpha 1 Mutants, Jerry O'Dwyer
THE EFFECTS OF MERCURY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEAVY METAL EXPOSURE ON GENE EXPRESSION, Maya Watson
Two Component System Independent Acid Response in Helicobacter pylori, Catharine Burgess
X Chromosome Segregation During Spermatogenesis in Auanema rhodensis XX Males, Emily Ling Xu
Honors Theses from 2019
An investigation of the role of Ttyh1 in neuronal development via CRISPR/Cas9 genetic knockouts in Xenopus Laevis, Sabrina Bracero
Annual Movement Patterns and Microhabitat Use of Two Anaxyrus Species in the Southeastern Coastal Plain, Courtney Check
Cloning and Characterizing Nrf2-Antioxidant Pathway Gene Expression During Embryonic Neurogenesis in Xenopus laevis., Nana Yaa Amoh
Cryptic Viral Infections In Benthic Biofilm Communities, Alexandra Payne
Flow Dynamics in the Oral and Opercular Cavities of the American Shad (Alosa sapidissima), Cassandra Chang
Light Limitation of Eelgrass, Zostera marina, by The Egg Capsules of The Mud Snail Tritia obsoleta, Matthew Baker
Mutations in Thyroid Hormone Receptor Alpha 1 and Their Implications for Resistance to Thyroid Hormone Alpha, Elizabeth Trampenau
Nighttime Habitat Use and Movement of Two Anaxyrus Species in Southeastern Virginia, Olivia Windorf
Sketching to Learn in High School Biology Classrooms, Emma Arents
The Impact of Cancer-associated Mutations in Thyroid Hormone Receptor on Its Localization, Sri Harshini Malapati
The SUMO-Stress Response (SSR) in Normal and Cancerous Cells, Rui Yin
Thyroid Hormone Receptor and Coregulators: A Dynamic Model, Xiaopeng Sun
Honors Theses from 2018
Anterior-Posterior Neural Axis Plasticity in Xenopus laevis, Chen Dong
Characterizing the Intracellular Distribution of Mutant Thyroid Hormone Receptor α-1 A382PfsX7, Kristin Passero
Characterizing the role of spe-6 in C. elegans spermatogenesis, Elena Parcell
Effects of Traffic Noise on Foraging, Vigilance, and Aggression of the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata), Sophia Palia
Exploring Nucleophagy and Inflammation in the Tumor Microenvironment, Likhitha Kolla
Exposure to environmentally-relevant levels of ultrasound has biological effects: reduction in the cellular growth of yeast colonies, Elizabeth M. Ransone
Homeolog Gene Regulation in the Developing Allotetraploid Frog, Xenopus laevis, Ronald Cutler
Investigating Phenotypic and Genetic Variation in Quorum Sensing in Natural Isolates of the Model Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Benedict Lenhart
Mutant Thyroid Hormone Receptors and the Potential Effects on Cancer, Michael Salomon
Particle Interactions with the Gill Rakers in the Filter-Feeding American Shad (Alosa sapidissima), Hannah Bruzzio
pH Tolerance and Luminescence in Vibrio fischeri, Devin Jones
The Acid Response in Helicobacter pylori via the Two Component System ArsRS, Jiajia Chen
The Evolutionary and Genomic Analysis of the Axon Degeneration Gene SARM1 and use of similar genomic techniques on the C9ORF72 gene, Sri Harshavardhan Malapati
The Genetic Basis of Social Behaviors in Yeast: An Investigation into FLO11, Zachary Oppler
The Role of Protein-coding and Regulatory Evolution in Speciation of Wild Yeast, Danting Jiang
The Unusual Paradigm of the Acid Response Two Component System of Helicobacter pylori, Anna Kenan
Ultrasound noise pollution and the potential for chronic human exposure, Isabel Ritrovato
