COLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES May 18, 2019 3M Arena at Mariucci 5 Class of 2019 2019 Commencement The mission of the College of Biological Sciences is to improve human welfare and global conditions by advancing knowledge of the mechanisms of life through breakthrough discoveries and to prepare today’s students to create the biology of tomorrow. The college is committed to working with colleagues within the University, and with constituents in the community, government and industry to advance knowledge of the biological sciences and to apply that knowledge to improve the quality of life for people in Minnesota, the nation and the world. The Bachelor of Science Degree A foundation of liberal education forms the guiding framework of all academic programs for undergraduate students on the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities campus. A liberal education allows students to explore the modes of inquiry and subject matter within the major branches of knowledge. To earn a bachelor of science degree in the College of Biological Sciences, students must successfully complete at least 120 credits, including courses in the social sciences and humanities, history, chemistry, physics and math, as well as in the biological sciences. Students with B.S. degrees from the College of Biological Sciences have the academic foundation needed for a variety of careers in industry, education, government and other fields, and are well prepared for further study in graduate or professional schools. ollege of biological sciencesC Photographs For your convenience, we made arrangements with a professional photographer to take a picture of each student crossing the stage. Family members and friends are encouraged to remain in their seats and enjoy the ceremony. Please do not block ramps or aisles. Thank you for your cooperation. Musicians Summit Hill Brass Quintet Academic Procession Mace Bearer LESLIE SCHIFF, PH.D. Professor, Microbiology and Immunology; Associate Dean for the University Curriculum; Director of Undergraduate Studies–Microbiology Major Leslie Schiff is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She has served for many years as director of undergraduate studies in microbiology and as faculty liaison for the College of Biological Sciences writing-enriched curriculum. Schiff is an award-winning educator who has received University and national awards for her teaching, including the Carski Award from the American Society for Microbiology and the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. She received her Ph.D. in immunology from Tufts, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1990. Faculty Marshals Faculty marshals are chosen by students to represent majors during the commencement ceremony. LAURIE PARKER, PH.D. Representing Biochemistry majors ROBERT BROOKER, PH.D. Representing Biology majors JEANNINE CAVENDER-BARES, PH.D. Representing Ecology, Evolution and Behavior majors ANN ROUGVIE, PH.D. Representing Genetics, Cell Biology and Development majors CHRIS MOHR, PH.D. Representing Microbiology majors STEVE MCLOON, PH.D. Representing Neuroscience majors CLAY CARTER, PH.D. Representing Plant and Microbial Biology majors LORENE LANIER, PH.D. Representing candidates with multiple CBS majors rogramP Multilingual greeting Students will greet the audience in a number of languages using the following statement: “On behalf of the class of 2019, welcome to the undergraduate commencement ceremony for the College of Biological Sciences.” Samuel Nelson - English Shannon Zhou - Chinese Rim Salem - Arabic Irma Micijevic - Croatian Rafay Hasan - Urdu Anika Shah - Gujarati Ebisie Deressa - Oromo Zahra Moosa - Somali Sandra Osei - Twi Welcome VALERY FORBES, PH.D. Dean, College of Biological Sciences Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Valery Forbes has served as dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota since 2015 following academic leadership roles at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Roskilde University in Denmark. Forbes’ research focuses on population ecology and modeling, fate and effects of toxic chemicals in sediments, and ecological risk assessment. She served on the Danish Natural Sciences Research Council, NATO’s Environmental Security Panel, as well as numerous European advisory panels and working groups. She currently serves on the board of the Freshwater Society. Forbes received her Ph.D. in coastal oceanography from SUNY-Stony Brook. Student Spotlight College of Biological Sciences graduating seniors reflect on their student experience in a brief video presentation. Student Academic and Leadership Awards FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP Augustus Pendleton GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIP Anna Nagel NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP Elizabeth Dean Anna Nagel 2019 PRESIDENT’S STUDENT LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE AWARD Katerina Hoffmann Sophie Vrba 2019 DONALD R. ZANDER ALUMNI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING STUDENT LEADERSHIP Katerina Hoffmann UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOLARLY EXCELLENCE IN EQUITY AND DIVERSITY Emmanuel Okematti THOMAS BURNETT ADVANCED LEADERSHIP PROGRAM Amber McLaughlin Jocelyn Ricard Sophia Vrba Grant Zastoupil PHI BETA KAPPA Sarah Alabsi Carly Allen-Tice Sarah Baker Katherine Baumann Kayla Blanek Nicole Bonfig Timmie Britton Simon Brown Madeline Carr Hannah Cowan Elizabeth Dean Carmen Ebel Issraa El-Khatib Nathan Evans Israel Falade Colin Fenwick Jack Fite Elyse Furlong Isha Gandhi Madelyn Gray Nitika Gupta Allison Harvey Katerina Hoffmann Sharlotte Irwin Margurite Jakubiak Ella Johnson Gabriel Kaufmann George Khoury Melanie Klemond Abigail Larson Rachel Limmex Karena Lin Chang Liu Matthew Markman Morgan McCullough Dane Munson Anna Nagel Julia Olson Thomas Perry II Ekaterina Pytel Yuanhao Ruan Sarah Schmidt Heena Shah Andrew Sibley Allyson Smith Dakota Snustad Jacob Solinsky Anna Strauss Nathan Swanson Kayla Switalla Ryan Topp Sophia Vrba Emily Yaklich Kenta Yamamoto Amy Yi Shannon Zhou Conferral of the University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award ROBERT DESNICK, PH.D., MD Robert Desnick is an internationally renowned medical geneticist whose seminal research discoveries have been translated into novel treatments and prevention strategies for genetic diseases. Desnick is dean for genetics and genomic medicine and professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is board certified in clinical, biochemical and molecular genetics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Desnick has received many awards and honors, and has been elected to prestigious societies, including the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. A third- generation native of Minneapolis, he received his bachelor of arts in microbiology, doctorate in genetics, cell biology and development, and MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Commencement Address GEORGE WEIBLEN, PH.D. Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Plant and Microbial Biology Science Director, Bell Museum George Weiblen is a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in the College of Biological Sciences and science director for the Bell Museum. He studies tropical forests using field experiments, museum specimens and DNA to investigate the ecology and evolution of timber trees, their pollinators and their insect pests. Working in the remote Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea over the past 25 years, Weiblen co-founded an international research center, a 20,000-acre rainforest preserve, an elementary school and the country’s largest forest research project. He received the University’s 2017 President’s Community-Engaged Scholar Award for his work in Papua New Guinea as well as his efforts to engage the public in science. Weiblen received his doctorate in biology from Harvard University and joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2001. Presentation of the Candidates JOHN WARD, PH.D. Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, College of Biological Sciences Professor, Plant and Microbial Biology John Ward joined the faculty in 2001 and is a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. His research focuses on advancing understanding of metabolite transporter proteins in plants using electrophysiology and molecular biology. He teaches plant physiology and is an instructor at Nature of Life at Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories. He is also the associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Biological Sciences. In that role, he works to improve the College’s undergraduate curriculum. Ward received his doctorate in botany from the University of Maryland. Conferral of Degrees THOMAS J. ANDERSON Regent, University of Minnesota Tom Anderson is a licensed funeral director who owned and operated the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria for over 30 years. An active community member, Anderson has served on the board of the Alexandria Area Chamber of Commerce and the Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission. He is also a board member of Ethos Home Health Care in Fargo-Moorhead and a former board chair of Knute Nelson Health Care in Alexandria. Anderson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science. Congratulations and Welcome HEIDI THORSON College of Biological Sciences Class of 1998 Dr. Heidi Thorson is board certified in maternal fetal medicine, and provides expert and personalized high-risk obstetrical care at Twin Cities hospitals. Thorson received bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and genetics, cell biology and development from the University of Minnesota and her MD from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. TIM TRIPP College of Biological Sciences Class of 1996 Tim Tripp is the director of specialized services at Be the Match, which is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. Tripp is a three-time alumnus who received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, a master’s degree in microbial pathogenesis and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. Closing Remarks DEAN VALERY FORBES HAIL! Minnesota Led by Professor Emeritus Dr. John S. Anderson accompanied by the Summit Hill Brass Quintet Minnesota, Hail to thee! Hail to thee, our college dear! Thy light shall ever be A beacon bright and clear. Thy sons and daughters true Will proclaim thee near and far. They will guard thy fame, and adore thy name; Thou shalt be their Northern Star! Recessional Please remain seated until the faculty and graduates exit completely. 2019 Whitman Center Early Career Fellowship TREVOR WARDILL, PH.D. Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior American Academy of Microbiology Fellow DANIEL BOND, PH.D. Associate Professor, Plant and Microbial Biology Distinguished McKnight University Professor SUSAN JONES, PH.D. Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Ecological Society of America Fellow ELIZABETH BORER, PH.D. Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior John S. Anderson Leadership Award RUTH SHAW, PH.D. Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior McKnight Land-Grant Professor MICHAEL SMANSKI, PH.D. Assistant Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics National Academy of Sciences Member DANIEL VOYTAS, PH.D. Professor, Genetics, Cell Biology and Development wards and recognitionA Faculty and staff award recipients received recognition at a reception preceding commencement. National Academy of Sciences Member MARLENE ZUK, PH.D. Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior President-Elect of the Society for the Study of Evolution RUTH SHAW, PH.D. Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Stanley Dagley-Samuel Kirkwood Undergraduate Education Award DAVID LAPORTE, PH.D. Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics University of Minnesota/Mayo Partnership Award DAN KNIGHTS, PH.D. Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering and the BioTechnology Institute Teaching Assistant Awards These awards recognize students who demonstrate excellence in teaching or other instructional activities that enhance the educational experience for University of Minnesota students. Faculty and students nominate and select recipients. KURT DOSTAL Undergraduate teaching assistant in General Biology CARMEN MARTIN Graduate teaching assistant in Mammalogy FREDARLA MILLER Graduate teaching assistant in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Lab JASON JONES Graduate teaching assistant in Introduction to Physical Biochemistry Honors and Distinction Designations College of Biological Sciences degree candidates may graduate with either Latin Honors, Distinction or both. These citations are provisional and do not become official until all requirements for the award are fulfilled. Latin Honors Designations Students graduating from the College of Biological Sciences through the University Honors Program took part in a rigorous course of study, research, scholarship or other creative work in the major, culminating in an honors thesis representing independent work done under the direction of a faculty supervisor or mentor. Students graduating cum laude (with honor) have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 in the final 60 graded credits at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC). Magna cum laude (with great honor) awards require a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.66 and summa cum laude (with highest honor) awards require a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75 in the final 60 graded credits at UMTC. Distinction Designations Students earn graduation “with distinction” or “with high distinction” based on cumulative GPA with at least 60 graded credits completed at UMTC. Students graduating “with distinction” must have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher in UMTC coursework at the time of graduation; students graduating “with high distinction” must have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher in UMTC coursework at the time of graduation. Students graduating with distinction are wearing gold cords and those graduating with high distinction are wearing maroon and gold cords. Students wearing silver cords are graduating with CBS Dean’s Scholars distinction. They have completed a leadership development program consisting of four credits of leadership coursework, service in the community and a capstone project synthesizing their work as leaders while studying science. A (*) symbol indicates Dean’s Scholars. Students wearing purple cords are graduating as part of the President’s Emerging Scholars Program. The President’s Emerging Scholars Program is a four-year opportunity for select undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota with diverse backgrounds and characteristics. A (+) symbol indicates President’s Emerging Scholars. Students graduating with the Community Engagement Scholars distinction have completed nine credits of service-learning course work, at least 400 hours of community service, a series of reflective essays and a sustainable project for a community organization. A (§) symbol indicates Community Engagement Scholars. Students wearing the multicolor stoles are graduating as members of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE). The stole was designed by Sysouk Khambounmy, a University of Minnesota alumnus (‘97), and patterned after the traditional African Kente cloth. The stoles were woven in Ghana and each is unique. The symbols represent interconnectedness, sharing and unity in wisdom. Academic Regalia Academic gowns worn at American commencement ceremonies originated at English universities during the 14th and 15th centuries. The markings, cut and colors of modern-day gowns indicate the degree, field of study and institution that granted the degree. The bachelor’s degree gown is untrimmed and has pointed sleeves. The master’s degree gown is untrimmed with winged sleeves. And the doctorate degree gown is trimmed in velvet, with three velvet bars on bell-shaped sleeves. Hoods are edged in velvet with the color indicating the wearer’s discipline and faced with the color(s) of the institution that conferred the degree. At the University of Minnesota, mortarboard tassels indicate field of study for bachelor’s degree recipients. The College of Biological Sciences tassel is golden yellow. Honors students wear medallions with a maroon and gold ribbon. Art professor Philip Morton designed the University of Minnesota mace. It consists of a sphere surmounted by the North Star, symbol of the state of Minnesota, on an aluminum handle set with the University Regents seal. Alfred Nier, Regents Professor of Physics, first carried in 1961 by at the inauguration of President O. Meredith Wilson. . BIOCHEMISTRY Mohamed Elfatih Abdelhai Christian Dane Adams Victoria Kathryn Alstat Kea Elizabeth Anderson Brooke E Ashbrenner Calvin N Bateman (*) Joseph Paul Buytendorp (distinction) Sriya Byrapuneni Phillip Guilian Cai Pauline My-Ha Cao Jordan Lynn Casby (distinction) Ethan Peter Christensen Blanche Kanza Cizubu Joshua John Condon (distinction) Austin Thomas Davies Allyson Jean Dickson Lidia Doto Blake Anthony Everett Colin Fenwick (distinction) Kylie J Frohmader Selamawit Asefa Girmachew Yan Aleksandr Golovatyy Alexander David Graves Ellen Ann Halbrook Jade Halverson Jack Perry Hedberg (distinction, summa cum laude) Rachel Anne Hugenroth Mahad A Ibrahim Harith Aswad Ismail Foster Cameron Jacobs Kevin Jiang David Arthur Johnston Alexa Evelyn Kaiser Melissa Jie-Sze Khaw Tra Kieu Dong-gyu Kim (cum laude) Margaret Patricia Kliebhan (distinction, summa cum laude) Jessica Bonita Klitzke Ryan Daniel Krebs (distinction, summa cum laude) Ethan Frank Kub Kevin Scott Kurtz (high distinction) Diego Paul Lala Christina Rebecca Landis Alexander James Larson Heidi Marie Larson Hannah Marie Lee Christopher Ross Leland (high distinction, summa cum laude, *) Allen Wendell Lynch (distinction) Katherine Louise Mendenhall (distinction) Anna Alexandra Mikkelsen William Thomas Mitchell Shukri Daud Mohamed Mandkhai Molomjamts Ryan Sunghyun Moon Matthew Robert Murphy (distinction) Christopher James Naas (high distinction) Shivani Naidu (§) Erin Mitsuye Nakagaki Jade Alan Nein Louis Hoang Nguyen Phong Thai Nguyen Katerena Danielle Odushkin Katrina E Paleologos Priya M Periakaruppan Thomas Joseph Perry II (distinction) Avery Joseph Peterson Tyler McCulloch Peterson Charles Scott Ploeger Zachary J Postler Ekaterina Alexeyevna Pytel (distinction, summa cum laude) Asad Amin Rahmatullah Yiping Ren D egree candidates * – Dean’s Scholar § – Community Engagement Scholar + – President’s Emerging Scholar Ben Nadir Reynolds (distinction, summa cum laude) William Andrew Richardson Anthony Dean Rish Renee Elizabeth Roberts Malik W Rodriguez (*, +) Zachary J Ryan (distinction) Nicholas Joa Schlecht (distinction) Srishti Singh Matt Benjamin Slatosky Sierra Jade Smith Simon Wai Man So (distinction, *) Ethan Emerson Stanley Liam Sullivan Cameron Verdayne Swenson (high distinction) Lauren Marie Tehan Samuel Terwey Ismar Terzic Paul Fredric Thanel Tannon Lee Tople (high distinction) Summer Dinh Vang (distinction) Austin Michael Vork Wesley Scott Waara Binyuan Wei Alicia Leeya Wong Ulahn Xiong Wendy Xu Justin Michael York Zijun Zhang Jasmine Mustafa Zaidi BIOLOGY Munira Abdirahman Huda Yusuf Adam Ibtissam Ait Daoud Salman Ahmed Abdullahi Ali Hosam Hani Alkhatib (high distinction, summa cum laude) Rebekka C Alm Preston Scott Angen-Determan Mohammad Naser Ayyub Sarah Ellen Baker (distinction, summa cum laude) Thomas Duy Bao Katherine Ann Baumann (distinction) Ali Nabil Baydoun Keith Randall Berg Drew Aaron Bertelson Caroline Rose Bertler Julia Elizabeth Bina Megan Brooke Bird Kimball T Blake (*) Kayla Christine Blanek Paige Helen Blonigan (*) Ashlyn M Boehme Amanda Nicole Borowski Eli Adzema Braun (high distinction, summa cum laude) Alexis Alanna Bruce Sonja Ellan Buraglio (*) Neelam Chandiramani Emma Contestabile Niklas Damberg (distinction) Gabrielle Rose Keali’l De Smet Mitchell Robert Dehmer Alyssa Lynn DeHut Yevgeniy Demitrashko (*, +) Nina Catherine Dharmarajah (*) Abdul Rahman Diab Amy Quyen Dinh Wesley William Dittman (high distinction) Dylan LaVone Donahue Carmen Ebel (high distinction, summa cum laude) Maggie Grace Edge Issraa Hussein El-khatib (distinction, *) Reem Kamal Elbasher Mai Adil Elkarib Charles L Ellwood Sara Elizabeth Engemann Jacob Todd Erdman Efemona Amele Famati (*, +) Mitchell Yeng Fang Pearl Nkauj Hlaws Fang (*) Jessica Faragher Matthew Jose Ferreira * – Dean’s Scholar § – Community Engagement Scholar + – President’s Emerging Scholar Katie Marie Fisette (*, +) Samantha Lynn Fletcher Alyssa Ann Flom Ben Froemming Ty Gaedtke (*) Isha Manish Gandhi (high distinction) Bri Garrett Chase Jordan Gertken Brandon Lee Gilmer Nitika Gupta (high distinction, summa cum laude) Hafez Yousef Hanna Jordyn M Hanson Anna Elizabeth Harris (high distinction) Rafay Syed Hasan (*) Bailey Elizabeth Margaret Mae Hellickson Madeline Nahid Helm Alexander Hamilton Higgins Rachel Lauren Hill Alexandria Leona Hillesheim Alex Karl Hnatko Samantha Lynn Hoar Kelley Gloria Hoiseth Catherine Ann Holl Claire Elizabeth Houlihan Zakariya Hussein Sharlotte Irwin (magna cum laude) Salma Mohamed Issa Margurite Camille Jakubiak (high distinction, summa cum laude) Kelsey Jannusch Heather Ann Jensen Tyler Monroe Johnson Samuel Edward Johnson Elizabeth M Johnson (distinction) Jessica Jean Johnson (high distinction) Jasmine Lee Johnson Robert R Johnson Timothy Stuart Johnston Mary Grace Junko Hana Kang Molly Kate Kapocius Ismael Yassine Karkache Gabriel T Kaufmann (high distinction, summa cum laude) Tigidankaye Kebbay Sarah Anne Kindree Kelsch George Habib Khoury Myung Jin Kim Emily Rachel Kinas Karley Marie Kirkhoff Emma Catherine Knapik Carl Henry Knetsch Abigail Knoble (*) Anna C Kobilka Amber Rose Koehnen Andy Kosier Daria Kozysa Christian A Kraft Michael Scott Kranz (§) Ariella Sharon Kudishevich Alee Michelle Kunshier (distinction) Autumn Nichole Kurywchak Alexandra L Laber Victoria Marie Lafky (distinction, summa cum laude) Madeline Rose Lawrence Haeyeon Lee Tom Lewis Christine Mengling Lian Rachel Elyce Limmex (high distinction) Trevor Lindsey Chang Liu Riley Peter Lokrantz Jailene Lopez Amanda Mae Mallon Kaitlyn Elizabeth Mandell Angel Mary Manley Sydney Lynn Mauer (*) Audrey Jane McCarthy Saron Habtemariam Mengesha Mickenzie Marleece Meyers Irma Micijevic Erica Marie Miller Patrick Joseph Mitchell (distinction) Samuel Robert Moen Amal Mohamed (*, +) Jiyeong Moon Zahra Mohamad Moosa Giradine Nadale Nguimatsa Dylan Truong-Son Nguyen Lauren Patricia Nguyen Natalie Anne Nistler * – Dean’s Scholar § – Community Engagement Scholar + – President’s Emerging Scholar Thalia Chiara Noegroho Spencer Arden Oen Sydney Erin Olsen Hannah Claire Peterson An Thanh Phan Sarah Elyse Pickett Furlong Sarah Catherine Pince Nick Andrew Plachinski Yogitha Posani Sai Sanjay Powar Conner Andrew Prasky Monica Talitha Vergara Punzalan Predrag Radakovic (§) Alayah Leigh Reynolds (*, +) Andres Xavier Rivera Cruz Jennifer Lynn Roberts Luc Edward Robichaud Amanda Marie Romano Ferrol Irene Rome Abby Sue Rost Bethany Rachel Rowbal Yuanhao Ruan Alexa Rutherford Nor Syahidatul Naimah Binti Samsuri Grace Alvina Sapp (*) Mia Isabella Scharber Christine Elizabeth Schwartz Charles Laurence Shimota Andrew Christopher Sibley (distinction, §) Yousuf Siddiqui David Ramses Haydi Sidky Hannah N Slater Sarah Madeleine Smith Chase James Sobania (*) Tenzin Sonam(*) Danielle Nicole Sorensen Brady Dennis Spano Justine Stoltz (*) Alyss Nicole Storkamp Anna McBurney Strauss (distinction, summa cum laude) Luke Christopher Strom Daniel Kendall Swenson Marlowe Emma Thomas Claire Noelle Thomas (distinction) Hanna Judith Tillman (distinction) Lensa Dagne Toka (*) Christian Daniel Torres Mimi Vo Tran (*, +) Olivia Catherine Trudeau Luke Freedom Twenhafel Nasser Jamal Umar (distinction, *) Paradis Annelies Vandeputte Andrea Beatrice Veloira Ethan Don Verdegan Marae Elizabeth Vipond (distinction, *, +) Ellie Mae Vraa (high distinction) Sakina Walji (*) William Yuan-Kai Wang Kelsey Marie Ward Hannah Marie Wentz Dane Gregory Werner (*) Leah Mae Westmoreland (*) Pearl Yasmin Hilda Wilcock Sophia Lynn Wolf Kaylee Eileen Yager Rylee Yakymi (*) Pachia Nikki Yang Amy Yi (§) Hellen S Yi (*) Brady Zempel Shannon Yingting Zhou (high distinction, §) ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR Ryan Wayne Allen Kaci Ann Atherton (*) Sophie Alexandra Thompson Beckley Emma L Boehm (summa cum laude) Mikayla Selence Chavis Josh Michael Coulombe Ryan Curry Alaina Anne Friedrich Madison Elaine Gulden Lydia Mae Gusaas (*) Sara Beth Henry (distinction) Jake Davis Hjort (high distinction, summa cum laude) Ella Marie Johnson (distinction) Emily R Johnson Alex S Kaplan Adalee Rebecca Koshiol Tiana JoAnn Lenzmeier Keegan William Robert Lim Jordan Maxwell Loy Mikkel M McGowan Justin Michael Miller Nicholas Ray Minor Samantha Ashley Molitor Claire Jaeger Mountain Anna Audrey Nagel (high distinction, summa cum laude) Rachel Elizabeth Nichols Clairissa M O’Brien Julia Elizabeth Olson (distinction, summa cum laude) Regina Marie Peters Nathan Eric Swanson (distinction) Ellen Marie Urquhart (distinction) Katherine L Vancamp GENETICS, CELL BIOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT Shannon Marie Allen Carly Jane Allen-Tice (high distinction, summa cum laude) Hannah Daothip Berhow Rohit Biswas Paul John Cavanah (high distinction) Katherine Qian Chen Matthew Ryan Chrostek Bailey Clothier Julia Margaret Crary Nicole Erin Cronin Allen McKenzie Davis Tessa Anne Day (high distinction) Shenar Ashley Dinkha Dietrich Mitchell Dressel Dylan Jake Duerre (distinction) Kara Sharon Eckberg Elizabeth Faith Fenton Jack Michael Fite (distinction, summa cum laude) Thomas Burton Gamble Erin Nicole Gilbertson (distinction, summa cum laude) Sydney Hartinger Grubb (cum laude) Allison Leigh Harvey (high distinction) Emma Jean Hill Madeleine Corrina Hinojos (distinction) Emily Rachael Hughes Kailey Elizabeth Knutson Regina Marie Koch (high distinction, summa cum laude) Jessica Fransis Konopatski Chase Colton Krenzke Samantha Chien-ying Lee (summa cum laude) Austin Leikvoll Karena Hsijan Lin (high distinction, summa cum laude) Christine Pik Yan Loo (§) Matthew William Markman (distinction, summa cum laude) Emily Megan-Rose Marlette (*, +) Benjamin Robert Marquardt Lana Maydanyuk Anthony Michael Mazza Morgan Jane McCullough (distinction) Cali Andrea McGauley (*) Gemechu Mekonnen (*) Gregory Thomas Mello Ezra Shane Miller Sarah Marie Mogensen Danica Jean Mooney-Jones (distinction, summa cum laude) Dane Jonathon Munson (distinction, summa cum laude) Michaela Ann Muza Nicole Renee Oblon (§) Rael Kerubo Ogega Maggie Anne Olson * – Dean’s Scholar § – Community Engagement Scholar + – President’s Emerging Scholar Trevor P Omann (*, +) Sneha Parmar (high distinction, summa cum laude) Elisabeth Catherine Parr Jeni R Patel Megan Mckenzie Petersen Julian Patrick Pinto Igor Popovich (distinction) Ian Fitzgerald Powell Brandon Arthur Radtke Aidan Garrett Resh Jake Todd Robinson (§) Rim Salem Sarah Katherine Schmidt (distinction) Anika Shah Heena Shah (distinction, summa cum laude) Katherine Briana Shealy Allyson L Smith Jacob C Solinsky (distinction, summa cum laude) Aditi Soni Ryan John Steiger (*) Erica J Swanson Arzang Nazir Syed Glenda Yanira Tacheny Shravika Talla (distinction) Naura Taqiya Jake Robert Trask Nathaniel G Treimer (*) Brooke Elizabeth Vaillancourt Amanda Jeanne Van De Ligt Alicia Belle Woodward (*) Emily Lauren Yaklich Kenta Yamamoto (distinction, summa cum laude) Grant Allen Zastoupil MICROBIOLOGY Sarah Alabsi (high distinction) Nicole Lauren Brobin Bonfig Alexander James Bradt (*) Timmie Britton (summa cum laude) Michael Butts Madeline Claire Cammack Nathan Campbell (distinction, summa cum laude) Hannah Jean Carlin (§) Hannah Cowan (distinction) Ashley Marie Dike Blake Edward Downing (summa cum laude) Bennett Ewald Luke Douglas Feeley Andrew Casey Floeder Megan Nicole Gerold Clara Elizabeth Gilbert Nicholas William Haas Abbey Jo Hammes Anna Marie Hance Matthew Paul Holten (distinction) Wendy Jeanne Hughes Abigail Kristen Kargol (high distinction, summa cum laude) Grant Kim Kayla Law Lindsay Marie Leonard Savannah Grace Lockwood Zhuyun Mao Owen Michael Masica John Arthur McFarlane (distinction, summa cum laude) Christopher James Molenaar Alexandra Kathryn Mueller (distinction) Emily Juliana Nelson Augustus R Pendleton (high distinction, summa cum laude) Julie Ann Pilot Katherine Grace Quinn Yogena Sankar Madison Erin Seifert Dakota Clayton Snustad (distinction) Clayton Richard Summitt Sophie Marie Vrba (summa cum laude) Nick Walsh (distinction) Ziyuan Wang Katharine Mary Young NEUROSCIENCE Osereme Chinedum Aisha Abulu (*) Sumyuktha Vijay Anand Brianna Kathleen Barstad Nicola Marie Beilman Ryan Joseph Berthiaume Jacob Raymond Blichfeldt Ella Leigh Borgenheimer Daniel Ismail Boudani Emily Diane Bourgeois Mikaela Brandt-Fontaine McKenzie Ann Bremel (high distinction) Camille Elisabeth Janet Brod (*, +) Simon Emory Brown (high distinction) Luke Harris Carlson (*) Madeline Marie Carr (distinction) Karin Cherniak Tabitha Joe Chettupally (*) Ebisie Geneti Deressa Sydney Reese Diekmann (distinction) Savannah Jo Dimick Kurtis Michael Dostal (high distinction) Bridget Kathleen Duffy Lauren Marie Duval Radhika Edpuganti Nathan J Evans (high distinction, summa cum laude) Israel Oladipupo Falade (distinction, *) Maria Estefania Godinez Chetana Guthikonda (magna cum laude) Katherine Ann Harbeck Samantha Marie Hess Katerina Anne Hoffmann (distinction) Colleen Elissa Hutchison David Mayo Immen (high distinction) Thomas Alexander Jaakola Marielle Josephine Kamath (distinction, summa cum laude, *) Pooja Sri Sai Kandikonda Taewoo Kang Megan Rose Kazynski Thomas John Kelly (distinction) Julia Rachel Klein Melanie M Klemond (distinction) Abigail Kay Larson (distinction, summa cum laude) Lyric Alexis Mager (*) Maryia Makarchuk Ethan Tyler Marshall Joseph Matthew Mateo Shivonne Elaina McCarthy Amber Elizabeth McLaughlin Sagal Ali Said Mohammed (*) Ayunie Balqish binti Mohd Ibrahim Neema Moin Afshar Benjamin Elijah Morehead (*) Cassandra Michelle Morris Colin Charles Neitzke (high distinction) Samuel Mark Min Soo Nelson (*) Lisa Thao Nguyen Emmanuel Okematti Cristi Oliver Itunu Oluwatosin Olukoga Sandra Osei (*, +) Christian James Palo Kia Raelynn Pankey Clairice Michelle Pearce Madeline Nicole Peterson (distinction) Vivek Prasad Amy Ann Rankila Onni Johannes Rauhala Carter Wayne Schimke Sonal Shad (distinction) Eric Philip Souto Sterling Austin Loren Spiralke Maya Gabrielle Strohm Sydney Elizabeth Sutton (§) Kayla Marie Switalla (high distinction, summa cum laude) Seth Michael Tersteeg (distinction, §) Andrew Robert Thompson (*) Ryan Joseph Topp (high distinction) Mohit Uppal Sena Melisa Uzunlar Minh-Tu Van Brandon Jeffery Vanderbush (distinction) Hluechy Xiamai Vang Abby M Vogel Aaron Joseph Wald Uzoma Eberechi Wamuo (cum laude) Sarah Elizabeth Warner Shabad Singh Washist Riley Jane Wedan (high distinction, summa cum laude) Betanya Yednekachew Zewde (cum laude) PLANT & MICROBIAL BIOLOGY Isabella Janine Armour (distinction, summa cum laude) Carl Albert Branch (distinction, summa cum laude) Graham Myers Madison Paige Spencer Sarah Kithene Tran Samuel Joel Willard (*) MULTIPLE MAJORS Ibrahim Abdalla – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience Kayla Borden – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Microbiology Elizabeth Sarah Dean (high distinction, summa cum laude) – Biochemistry; Neuroscience Madelyn Margaret Gray (high distinction, summa cum laude) – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience Sowmya Narayan – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience Mateusz Oskarbski – Biochemistry; Microbiology Maleena Shae Patel – Biochemistry; Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Summer Grace Paulson – Biochemistry; Neuroscience Jennifer Caviezel Schmit – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience Erin Marie Schwister – Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Microbiology Jenna Nicole Steffes – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Plant and Microbial Biology Joseph Dell Ure – Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Plant and Microbial Biology Ashish Varma – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience Sarina Vinjamuri – Genetics, Cell Biology and Development; Neuroscience * – Dean’s Scholar § – Community Engagement Scholar + – President’s Emerging Scholar ndergraduate researchU Research universities such as the University of Minnesota offer students the opportunity to do more than just learn about discoveries made by others. We encourage students to work with faculty to make discoveries of their own. We recognize students and their mentors who have embraced this opportunity and advanced the boundaries of human understanding. Mohamed Abdelhai “Introduction of an inducible ras oncogene into a multiple myeloma cell line” Faculty mentor: Dr. Brian Van Ness Osereme Abulu “Establishing a metric for gait related fatigue in Parkinson’s patients” Faculty mentor: Dr. Scott E. Cooper Salman Ali “Using genome editing to generate point mutants of human BCL-2 protein noxa to study its function” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ameeta Kelekar Hosam Alkhatib “Investigating fatty acid efflux in skeletal muscle” Faculty Mentor: Dr. Douglas Mashek; “Isolating fatty acids from dietary sources for use in vitro” Faculty mentor: Dr. Douglas Mashek Ryan Allen “Rapid evolution of Clarkia xantiana ssp. xantiana in response to the recent California mega-drought” Faculty mentor: Dr. Dave Moeller Carly Allen-Tice “Pediatric cholesterol screening practices in a large midwestern healthcare system” and “Cholesterol evaluation to explore risk screening” Faculty mentor: Dr. Heather Zierhut Victoria Alstat “Designing peptide biosensors to understand mechanisms of chronic myeloid leukemia” Faculty mentor: Dr. Laurie Parker Sumyuktha Anand “Studying the Microcircuitry in Same Sex Social Interactions” Faculty Mentor: Dr. Patrick Rothwell; “The role of D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons in cognitive control” Faculty mentor: Dr. Patrick Rothwell Isabella Armour “Tylose formation defies expectation: Xylem anatomy and response to vascular wilts among temperate oaks” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeannine Cavender-Bares Sarah Baker “The role of NDST in heparan sulfate proteoglycan biosynthesis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Hiroshi Nakato Sophie Beckley “Factors of survival for species admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, 2011-2018” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph Bump Nicola Beilman “Determining adrenal cell proliferation and adrenal weight in adrenal Bmal1 knock-out mice” Faculty mentor: Dr. William Engeland; “Infant face tracking” Faculty mentor: Dr. Kirsten Dalrymple Drew Bertelson “Repetitive DNA sequences in genome stability” Faculty mentor: Dr. York Marahrens Ryan Berthiaume “Anterior cingulate cortex and Alzheimer’s disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jose Pardo Kimball Blake “How graduate teaching assistant knowledge affects student involvement and enjoyment” Faculty mentor: Dr. Catherine Kirkpatrick Nicole Bonfig “Circadian distribution of the occurrence of microvascular obstruction (MVO) following ST-elevation myocardial infarction” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jay Traverse; “Clinical classification and prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in rural Minnesota” Faculty mentor: Dr. Eric Fenstad Ella Borgenheimer “Tracking cell lineages of progenitor cells of the embryonic mouse thalamus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasushi Nakagawa Amanda Borowski “Cyanobacteria as a model organism for determining the biotic mechanisms of precipitating silica” Faculty mentor: Dr. Trinity Hamilton; “Augustana Care: The Learning Lab for Eldercare Technologies program evaluation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph Gaugler Daniel Boudani “Gait analysis in a nonhuman primate model of Parkinson’s Disease” Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alex Doyle; “Iron deficiency in arborizing hippocampal neurons” Faculty mentor: Dr. Thomas Bastian Carl Branch “Pennycress and soybean cyst nematodes” Faculty mentors: Dr. Kathryn Bushley and Dr. David Marks Mikaela Brandt-Fontaine “Targeting the ventral hippocampus for a novel mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Esther Krook-Magnuson Eli Braun “Development and validation of an RT-qPCR for the detection of avian reoviruses” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sunil Mor McKenzie Bremel “Efficiency of adeno-associated virus (AAV) transduction in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived spinal neuronal progenitor cells (sNPCs) and isolation of transfected cells” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ann Parr Timmie Britton “Impacts of cystic fibrosis transmembrane receptor on the replication of influenza A virus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ryan Langlois; “Identification of essential YeaZ structural residues important for Gcp interaction and growth of Staphylococcus aureus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yinduo Ji Camille Brod “Understanding the role of sensory input for promoting the recovery of locomotion after injury in an invertebrate model” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karen Mesce Simon Brown “Sex differences in the reduction of impulsive choice (delay discounting) for cocaine in rats with atomoxetine and progesterone” Faculty mentor: Dr. Marilyn Carroll Joseph Buytendorp “Regulation of pumilio-mediated RNA transcription” Faculty mentor: Dr. Aaron Goldstrohm Sriya Byrapuneni “Impact of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations on the myosin super relaxed state” Faculty mentor: Dr. David D. Thomas Phillip Cai “Protein engineering: ADAM17 alternatives” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wendy Gordon Nathan Campbell “Exploring the role of Rab33b in human cytomegalovirus replication” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wade Bresnahan Hannah Carlin “Does heparanase play a role in the release of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 from infected cells?” Faculty mentor: Dr. Stephen Rice Luke Carlson “Role of HSF1 in Huntington’s Disease (HD)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Rocio Gomez-Pastor Madeline Carr “The effects of drugs of abuse on c-fos expression in astrocytes in the nucleus accumbens” Faculty mentor: Dr. Alfonso Araque Jordan Casby “Characterizing the functional effects of protein kinase A mutants implicated in the development of Cushing’s Syndrome” Faculty mentor: Dr. David Bernlohr Paul Cavanah “Dose-dependent effects of chemical reagents on zebrafish caudal fin regeneration” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasuhiko Kawakami Neelam Chandiramani “Examining the perceptions and impact toward international students from teaching assistants in undergraduate, non-major biology laboratories” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sehoya Cotner; “Understanding the interactions of graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants through use of LOPUS protocol” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sehoya Cotner Katherine Chen “Genetic interactions between Sall4 and Plzf regulate appendicular skeletal development in mice” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasuhiko Kawakami Tabitha Chettupally “Crush injury: An unrecognized impact” Faculty mentor: Dr. Uzma Samadani Ethan Christensen “Formation of indolocarbazoles via substitution with biindoles” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wayland Noland Blanche Cizubu “Developing and characterizing FLIM probes to detect subcellular tyrosine kinase activity” Faculty mentor: Dr. Laurie Parker Emma Contestabile “Cytomegalovirus viral load case control study in cancer patients” Faculty mentor: Dr. Heather Nelson Josh Coulombe “Acoustic mating strategies in gray tree frogs” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Bee Nicole Cronin “Testing the functional interplay of translesion synthesis and dormant origin firing against UV-induced mutations in mice cells” Faculty mentor: Dr. Naoko Shima Ryan Curry “Evolution of Daphnia life history and metabolism in response to heavy metal toxicity” Faculty mentor: Dr. Emilie Snell-Rood; “Meta-analysis of the impacts of invasive invertebrates and vertebrates on nutrient dynamics” Faculty mentor: Dr. Angelica Gonzalez Niklas Damberg “OGT mediates beta-cell failure through cellular differentiation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Emilyn Alejandro; “Cope’s Grey Tree Frog intra-species mating communication” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Bee Austin Davies “Understanding the astrocytic involvement in neuronal homeostasis and seizure activity” Faculty mentor: Dr. Alfonso Araque Elizabeth Dean “The role of the infralimbic prefrontal cortex on transitions between decision-making systems” Faculty mentor: Dr. David Redish; “Exploring the allelopathic effects of m-tyrosine on arabidopsis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Dominic Petrella in the lab of Dr. Eric Watkins Yevgeniy Demitrashko “The role of standing genetic variation in adaption” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Travisano Ebisie Deressa “NNN and Acetaldehyde in rat drinking water” Faculty mentor: Dr. Lisa Peterson Nina Dharmarajah “Efficacy and toxicology studies of novel anti-cancer therapeutic agent” Faculty mentors: Dr. Craig Flory, Dr. Robert Schumacher and Dr. Sydney Diekmann “A Novel Assessment of Compliance with Minnesota’s Concussion Law: Implications for Future Concussion Policy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Francis Shen Savannah Dimick “Self-face processing after and before neurofeedback in youth with varying levels of depressive symptoms” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo Wesley Dittman “Investigating Streptococcus gordonii adhesin expression in response to the oral pathogens Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Herzberg Kurtis Dostal “Examining the inclusive summer camp environment as an opportunity for developing social and self-determination skills of youth with disabilities” Faculty mentor: Dr. David R. Johnson Lidia Doto “Detecting the precise nature of tension signaling in S. cerevisiae” Faculty mentor: Dr. Melissa Gardner Blake Downing “Enrichment for a novel Fe-reducing bacterium and investigating Fe- oxidation in R. palustris TIE-1” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeff Gralnick Lauren Duval “The Mono Project: EBV diseases research program” Faculty mentor: Dr. Henry Balfour Carmen Ebel “The response of soil nitrogen conditions to nitrogen deposition and cessation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Forest Isbell Kara Eckberg “Uncovering the role of NDST1/NDST2 enzymes in heparan sulfate proteoglycan biosynthesis and function” Faculty mentor: Dr. Hiroshi Nakato Radhika Edpuganti “The systematic review of genetic risk factors for traumatic brain injury (TBI)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Uzma Samadani Reem Elbasher “Avoiding virtual obstacles during treadmill gait in Parkinson’s disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Scott Copper Charles Ellwood “Optimizing macrophage bactericidal activity through a rational gene knockout approach” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Goldberg; “Foreign epitope specific self- ligand peptide library” Faculty mentor: Dr. Peter Krueger Sara Engemann “Extremophiles: The struggle for survival” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mikael Elias Efemona Famati “Aphids increase leaf fungal endophyte diversity and abundance across a plant community regardless of viral infection status and plant nutrition” Faculty mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Borer Jessica Faragher “Investigating the role of CD47 in the establishment of fibrotic mitral valve disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Bryce Binstadt Luke Feeley “The use of manganese oxidizing microbes in the bio-remediation of agricultural wastewaters” Faculty mentor: Dr. Satoshi Ishii Jack Fite “Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript as a new biomarker for prostate cancer” Faculty mentor: Dr. Cyprian Weaver Alaina Friedrich “Species delimitation in the western Marsh Wren complex” Faculty mentor: Dr. Keith Barker Ty Gaedtke “Testing effectors of the membrane protein SERCA” Faculty mentor: Dr. David D. Thomas Isha Gandhi “A gut feeling: Short chain fatty acids and their association with risk and response in acute graft versus host disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Shernan Holtan Bri Garrett “Evidence for rapid phenotypic change in a newly established cave population of Astyanax mexicanus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Suzanne McGaugh Clara Gilbert “Generation PA-X recombinant influenza A virus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ryan Langlois Erin Gilbertson “Investigating gene loss in the reptilian genome” Faculty mentor: Dr. Suzanne McGaugh Selamawit Girmachew “New methodologies for synthesis of triarylmethanes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Noland Madelyn Gray “Changes in motor cortical two-photon Ca2+ responses during episodic dystonia in the tottering (tg/tg) mouse” Faculty mentor: Dr. Timothy Ebner Sydney Grubb “Functionality of Genes for Anaerobic Metabolism in Mariprofundus ferrooxydans” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Gralnick Nitika Gupta “The infant development and the environment study” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ruby Nguyen Lydia Gusaas “Correlation analysis between feeding ecology and morphology of Accipitriformes and Falconiformes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Shanta Hejmadi Abbey Hammes “Vitamin-C effects on metabolism of M. tuberculosis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anthony Baughn Anna Hance “Development of a stromal-free culture protocol to induce robust expansion of B cells for therapeutic applications” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sab Ramachandran Rafay Hasan “Effects of low levels of unconjugated bilirubin on markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in a preterm Gunn rat model” Faculty mentor: Dr. Katie Satrom Jack Hedberg “Investigating the role of post-translational modifications in the cellular response to DNA replication stress” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anja Bielinsky; “Investigating the protein composition of DNA replication forks using isolation of proteins on nascent DNA (IPOND)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anja Bielinsky Sara Henry “Range expansion and nesting behavior of Glaucomys volans within Itasca State Park” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph Whittaker; “Nutrient influences on butterfly sexual selection and changes to the Bursa Copulatrix” Faculty mentor: Dr. Emilie-Snell Rood Samantha Hess “TMS preliminary study: Non-invasive treatments for Parkinson’s Disease” Faculty mentors: Dr. Jonathan Gewirtz and Dr. Ignacio Obeso Alexandria Hillesheim; “Identification of mechanisms involved in the progression of MDS to AML” Faculty mentor: Dr. Zohar Sachs Madeleine Hinojos “Dormant origins and POLQ as potential co-targets for cancer therapy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Naoko Shima Jake Hjort “Immune tradeoffs in the Pacific field cricket” Faculty mentor: Dr. Marlene Zuk Katerina Hoffmann “Hippocampal modulation in response to optogenetically stimulated cerebellar vermis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Esther Krook-Magnuson Kelley Hoiseth “Informational masking in sexual selection of Hyla chrysoscelis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Bee; “Function of chimpanzee pant-hoot vocalizations” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Wilson Catherine Holl “The major nectar protein of Brassica rapa is a non-specific lipid transfer protein, BrLTP2.1, with strong antifungal activity” Faculty mentor: Dr. Clay Carter Matthew Holten “Identification of essential genes involved in Methanococcus maripaludis biofilm establishment” Faculty mentor: Dr. Kyle Costa Wendy Hughes “Carbon utilization in suppressive soil microbiomes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Linda Kinkel Sharlotte Irwin “Using 2D:4D as a biomarker for prenatal phthalate exposure at four years of age” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ruby Nguyen Salma Issa “Characterization of midbrain dopaminergic progenitors in Otx2 conditional knockout mice” Faculty mentor: Dr. Walter Low Margurite Jakubiak “Role of triadin and CLIMP-63 in microtubule disorganization associated with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” Faculty mentor: Dr. James Ervasti Kevin Jiang “Role of HSF1 in Huntington’s Disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Rocio Gomez- Pastor Ella Johnson “The influence of tree root morphology on uptake of nitrate, ammonium and glycine in a nitrogen-limited ecotone” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sarah Hobbie Timothy Johnston “Exploring diversity in EutM protein scaffold arrangement and function” Faculty mentor: Dr. Maureen Quin Pooja Kandikonda “Anatomical connectivity between the posteromedial cortex (PMC) and the striatum” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sarah Heilbronner Abigail Kargol “Development of an assay to screen for biuret and triuret degradation in environmental samples” Faculty mentor: Dr. Lawrence Wackett Megan Kazynski “Neurofeedback as a mechanism to treat adolescent depression” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo; “Measuring severity of alcohol use by diffusion kurtosis estimation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jazmin Camchong Thomas Kelly “Effect of retinoic acid on prefrontal cortex development” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasushi Nakagawa Tra Kieu “DNA damage promotes cancer and aging” Faculty mentor: Dr. Laura Niedernhofer Dong-gyu Kim “Using the nit mutant system to generate a hybrid biocontrol agent” Faculty mentor: Dr. Kathryn Bushley; “Investigating the biocontrol capabilities of select natural fungal antagonist isolates against soybean cyst nematodes (SCN)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Kathryn Bushley Myung Jin Kim “The neuronal pathway of melanopsin Retinal Ganglion Cells (mRGCs)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Paulo Kofuji Julia Klein “Motor coordination assessment of mice in essential tremor model” Faculty mentor: Dr. Esther Krook-Magnuson Margaret Kliebhan “Analysis of a gene coexpression network to understand regulatory variation and functional organization in the yeast model organism” Faculty mentor: Dr. Frank Albert Abigail Knoble “Educowtion: Nutritional community intervention” Faculty mentor: Dr. Cheryl Robertson Regina Koch “Effect of polyphosphate on persister formation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anna Tischler Alee Kunshier “Metalloenzyme-based signaling pathways in latent tuberculosis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran Kevin Kurtz “CtIP is essential for telomere replication” Faculty mentor: Dr. Eric Hendrickson Victoria Lafky “Demographics of African lions in non-migratory South African reserves” Faculty mentor: Dr. Craig Packer Christina Landis “Determining the effect of A3B overexpression in ovarian and Fallopian epithelial cells in vivo” Faculty mentor: Dr. Tim Starr Abigail Larson “Role of retinoic acid degradation in the maturation of inhibitory neurons in the mouse prefrontal cortex” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasushi Nakagawa; “Resting state functional connectivity in adolescents with early life Stress and non-suicidal self injury” Faculty mentor: Dr. Bonnie Klimes-Dougan Samantha Lee “Rapid generation of multiplexed and conditional CRISPR transgenic mouse models” Faculty mentor: Dr. Branden Moriarity Austin Leikvoll “Cell therapy for restoration of depleted extracellular matric components in aged lungs” Faculty mentor: Dr. Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari; “Developing a muscle tissue construct with 3D bioprinting” Faculty mentor: Dr. Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari Christopher Leland “Genome editing in human stem cells affected by facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Kyba Keegan Lim “Dr. Packer’s Sabi Sands Project” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sarah Huebner Rachel Limmex “Exploring the role of the adrenal clock in adrenal sensitivity to ACTH in mice” Faculty mentor: Dr. William C. Engeland; “Does knocking out the Bmal gene in adrenal tissues lead to increased levels of cholesterol in the adrenal cortex thereby contributing to a heightened stress response in the form of corticosterone release?” Faculty mentor: Dr. William C. Engeland Karena Lin “Investigating maturation of pluripotent stem cell-derived myogenic progenitors upon exposure to the skeletal myofiber niche in vitro” Faculty mentor: Dr. Rita Perlingeiro Chang Liu “Visual cues for female selection in green tree frogs” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Bee; “Research on earthworms as invasive species” Faculty mentor: Dr. Satoshi Ishii Savannah Lockwood “Development of detection methods for common brewing contaminants” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Gralnick Christine Loo “Using C. elegans as a model organism to further understand congenital hydrocephalus mechanisms of action in relation to fluid accumulation in the excretory system” Faculty mentor: Dr. Lihsia Chen; “Developing surveys to identify self-management support resources in safety-net clinics for patients with comorbid Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Rogers Maryia Makarchuk “The role of exosomes in pain and cancer treatment” Faculty mentor: Dr. Iryna Khasabova Matthew Markman “Effects of influenza A replication levels on the viral mutation profile and transcriptome of lung cells” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ryan Langlois Ethan Marshall “Changes in eye velocity, fixation time and quantity, initiation time and velocity of saccade through increased severity of MPTP in a non-human primate model of Parkinson’s Disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ying Yu; “The relationship between local field potential activity in the basal ganglia and sleep-wake behavior in parkinsonism” Faculty mentor: Dr. Luke Johnson Owen Masica “Tumor suppression through immunotherapy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Daniel Saltzman Anthony Mazza “Investigating kin recognition and competitive dynamics among sympatric strains of Myxococcus xanthus” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Travisano; “Investigating homologous recombination repair pathways in mammalian mitochondrial genomes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Colin Campbell Morgan McCullough “Characterizing PELP1L798Cfs*14 in colorectal cancer” Faculty mentor: Dr. Julie Ostrander John McFarlane “Flavin secretion by Shewanella modulates colonization of the zebrafish gut microbiome” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Gralnick Gemechu Mekonnen “Identification of torsin A substrates and their role in Torsin Dystonia” Faculty mentor: Dr. David Greenstein Anna Mikkelsen “Enzymatic Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of 4-methylcyclohexanone” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jane Wissinger Nicholas Minor “Intraspecific variation and species limits of oreothlypis warblers: Implications for species tree Inference in birds” Faculty mentor: Dr. F. Keith Barker; “Resolving species limits and phylogeny in a lineage of South American wrens (Troglodytidae: Cantorchilus)” Faculty mentor: Dr. F. Keith Barker Sarah Mogensen “Identifying regulators of colony morphology phenotypic switching in Candida albicans through mutant screening” Faculty mentor: Dr. Dana Davis Shukri Mohamed “Pre-post skills and confidence: PCR pre-labs and development beyond a lab course through a co-mentoring community group” Faculty mentor: Dr. Beverly Smith- Keiling Sagal Mohammed “The classroom discourse observation Protocol (CDOP): A quantitative method for characterizing teacher discourse moves in undergraduate STEM learning environments” Faculty mentor: Dr. Abdi Warfa Ayunie Balqish Binti Mohd Ibrahim “Antigen affinity for Alzheimer’s diseases” Faculty mentor: Dr. Todd Doran Neema Moin Afshar “Effects of dopamine and dopamine receptor agonists on dendritic arborization of medium spiny neurons” Faculty mentor: Dr. Lorene Lanier Ryan Moon “Determining the contribution of sodium motive force in light-driven survival of an engineered bacterium” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeff Gralnick Danica Mooney-Jones “Genotyping a soybean short petiole mutant” Faculty mentor: Dr. Gary Muehlbauer Zahra Mohamad Moosa “Promoting effective coping among immigrant and refugee adolescents” Faculty mentor: Dr. Eunice Areba Cassandra Morris “Investigating the roles of torsinA and Lamina-associated polypeptide 1 in directional cell migration” Faculty mentor: Dr. Gant Luxton Alexandra Mueller “Effect of polyphosphate on persister cells in Mycobacterium tuberculosis” Faculty mentors: Dr. Alisha Aagensen and Anna Tischler Dane Munson “Fkbp5 as a chemotherapy target in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma” Faculty mentor: Dr. Nobuaki Kikyo Michaela Muza “Evolution of antibiotic resistance in mutualistic microbial communities” Faculty mentor: Dr. William Harcombe Christopher Naas “In vivo imaging of bacterial infections” and “Antimicrobial properties of PAMAM dendrimers, a novel approach to combating resistant bacteria” Faculty mentor: Dr. Valerie Pierre Sowmya Narayan “Pavlovian to instrumental transfer phenotypes in mice with autism- associated NLGN3 mutation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Patrick Rothwell Colin Neitzke “3D printed stem cell derived neural progenitors generate spinal cord scaffolds” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ann Parr Lisa Nguyen “Data analysis of Parkinson’s Disease patients freezing of gait data vs. their Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Scott Cooper Lauren Nguyen “A need for accessibility: Descriptive study of the challenges faced by students with disabilities in introductory STEM laboratories” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sehoya Cotner Rachel Nichols “Promoting climate change conversations through socially engaged art” Faculty mentor: Dr. Chris Baeumler; “The effect of female genotype in Pacific field crickets on mating response” Faculty mentor: Dr. Marlene Zuk Nicole Oblon “Determining the genetic susceptibility to disease among Drosophila” Faculty mentor: Dr. Robert Unckless Emmanuel Okematti “Characterizing the pathological role of tau in alpha synuclein- dependent synaptic and memory deficits in vivo” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Lee; “Progressive dopaminergic degeneration and behavioral deficits in novel conditional mutant hLLRK2 mouse model” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Lee Sydney Olsen “Growth, motility and evolution of P. fluorescens in the presence of Phi2 phage” Faculty mentor: Dr. Neal Jahren Maggie Olson “Determining T cell killing capabilities with genetically modified pancreatic cancer cell lines” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ingunn Stromnes Julia Olson “Identifying giraffe individuals to study life history traits” Faculty mentor: Dr. Craig Packer Katrina Paleologos “Integrated approach on stoichiometric analysis of site-specific identification of lysine acetylation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yue Chen Kia Pankey “Behaviors and perceptions before and during Ramadan Tremdina: The feeling of Ramadan” Faculty mentor: Dr. Dana Lindaman Sneha Parmar “Elements of the microtubule recognized by EB1 protein” Faculty mentor: Dr. Melissa Gardner Elisabeth Parr “Investigating the role of UHRF2 in the repair of interstrand crosslinks” Faculty mentor: Dr. Timothy Hallstrom Summer Paulson “Role of neuroinflammation and apolipoprotein mediated signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ling Li Thomas Perry II “Multivalent ligand binding to cell membrane antigens in breast cancer” Faculty mentor: Dr. Carston Wagner Regina Peters “Mechanisms of insect flight stability” Faculty mentor: Dr. Emilie Snell-Rood; “Chlamydomonas reinhardii model systems” Faculty mentor: Dr. Carolyn Silflow Avery Peterson “Studying the ERK phosphorylation pathway in Dictyostelium” Faculty mentor: Dr. Margaret A. Titus Tyler Peterson “Development of centrifugal force microscope” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wendy Gordon; “Crystallization of HUH endonuclease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wendy Gordon Igor Popovich “Effects of fluoroquinolones on quadruplex structure of DNA” Faculty mentor: Dr. Aaron Engelhart; “Effects of interactions between ATP and PolyP with nucleic acid” Faculty mentor: Dr. Aaron Engelhart Zachary Postler “A quantitative chemical proteomics approach for site-specific stoichiometry analysis of ubiquitination” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yue Chen Vivek Prasad “Correlating pathological neural activity patterns to signs and symptoms of dystonia” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joshua Aman Monica Talitha Punzalan “Effects of depression on adolescent brain function” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo Ekaterina Pytel “The X-ray crystal structure of SLFN11” Faculty mentor: Dr. Hideki Aihara Katherine Quinn “Silicification in Yellowstone cyanobacteria” Faculty mentor: Dr. Trinity Hamilton Ben Reynolds “Investigating the impact of nickel manganese cobalt oxide nanoparticles on Shewanella oneidensis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Erin Carlson Anthony Rish “Phosphomimetic mutagenesis of human PUM and activity analysis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Aaron Goldstrohm Andres Rivera Cruz “Effects of heavy metals on monarch butterflies” Faculty mentors: Dr. Emilie Snell-Rood and Dr. Timothy Mitchell Jake Robinson “Effect of marijuana smoking cessation on working memory” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mustafa al’Absi; “Augustana Learning Lab Evaluation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph Gaugler Abby Rost “Truncation of SOS1 protein in leukemia development” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Farrar Bethany Rowbal “Animal communications in Cope’s gray tree frog” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jessie Tanner (with Dr. Mark Bee) Nicholas Schlecht “Adapting ELISAs to a microfluidic platform” Faculty mentor: Dr. Laurie Parker; “Finding substrate preferences for various kinases via kinase assay-linked phosphoproteomics” Faculty mentor: Dr. Laurie Parker Sarah Schmidt “Differential gene expression in zebrafish glycolysis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yasuhiko Kawakami Jennifer Schmit “FOCUS - longitudinal follow-up of symptoms and brain connectivity in veterans” Faculty mentor: Dr. Nicholas Davenport Erin Schwister “Female Hyla chrysoscelis mate selectivity in noise” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Bee Heena Shah “The chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer single cells and spheroids” Faculty mentor: Dr. Amy Skubitz; “The role of nectin-4 in the chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer cells” Faculty mentor: Dr. Amy Skubitz Yousuf Siddiqui “ The impact of obesity-related insulin resistance and inflammation on neural integrity, white matter microstructure and cognitive function” Faculty mentor: Dr. Amir Moheet Srishti Singh “Optimizing the insertion of CRISPR/Cas9” Faculty mentor: Dr. Wendy Gordon Sarah Smith “Midwifery and the birth experience: An evidence-based study to support clinical perspectives” Faculty mentor: Dr. Megan Gunnar Dakota Snustad “Genome-enabled natural products discovery” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michael Smanski Jacob Solinsky “Reformation of centrosomes in cardiomyocytes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jop van Berlo Tenzin Sonam “Tract-tracing of the posterior cingulate cortex in rhesus monkeys” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sarah Heilbronner Danielle Sorensen “Relationship between circadian rhythm and cold stress response in maize seedlings” Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nathan Springer Eric Souto “Effects of Gulf War illness serum on neural cultures” Faculty mentor: Dr. Effie Tsilibary Madison Spencer “Kas1 CRISPR soybean line genomic studies” Faculty mentors: Dr. Kamaldeep Virdi and Dr. Robert Stupar Ryan Steiger “sgRNA design and optimization in immortalized human Schwann cells” Faculty mentor: Dr. David Largaespada Alyss Storkamp “The consequences of translocating plant populations during prairie restoration efforts and the scale of local adaptation of native prairie plant species” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ruth Shaw Anna Strauss “Functional characterization of WAC, a candidate driver gene in colorectal cancer” and “Identification of TM9SF2 as a novel colorectal cancer oncogene” Faculty mentor: Dr. Tim Starr Luke Strom “Shewanella immunological interactions in Danio rerio” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeff Gralnick Clayton Summitt “A test for the rapid detection of Clostridialaes difficile” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mike Sadowsky; “A colorimetric analysis of mucin degradation by oral and lung microbes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ryan Hunter Kayla Switalla “Continuous and intermittent coordinated reset deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jing Wang Shravika Talla “Determining the mechanistic basis of selectivity of PAS” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anthony Baughn; “Examining the role of HIF2alpha in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anindya Bagchi Naura Taqiya “Role of WRKY transcription factors in plant immunity” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jane Glazebrook Seth Tersteeg “Effects of morphine addiction and re-exposure on psychomotor and self- stimulation behavior at ILC-NAcSh glutamate inputs” Faculty mentors: Dr. Mark Thomas and Dr. Erin Larson Paul Thanel “Enhancing calcium transport for therapeutic reversal of cardiac contractile dysfunction” Faculty mentor: Dr. Dave Thomas Claire Thomas “Tricuspid valve/3D printing research” Faculty mentor: Dr. Paul Iazzio; “Trochlear dysplasia surgical simulation models” Faculty mentors: Dr. Marc Tompkins and Dr. Davis Fay Andrew Thompson “The degree of modulation of beta band activity during motor planning is related to trait impulsivity” Faculty mentors: Dr. Charidimos Tzagarakis and Dr. Giuseppe Pellizzer Lensa Toka “Neural connectivity and brain mapping of posteromedial cortex in rhesus macaques” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sarah Heilbronner Tannon Tople “Creating a conditional knockout RNF4 cell line” Faculty mentor: Dr. Anja Bielinksy Ryan Topp “Neuromodulation Research Center: Mild, moderate, severe Parkinsonism” Faculty mentor: Dr. Luke Johnson Sarah Tran “Examining the virulence of different Zika virus strains” Faculty mentor: Dr. Walter Low Luke Twenhafel “Cell-type specific effects of GP83 (pp65 homolog) on cytomegalovirus infection” Faculty mentor: Dr. Craig Bierle Mohit Uppal “Traumatic brain injury reduction in athletes by neck strengthening (TRAIN)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Uzma Samadani; “Internuclear ophthalmoplegia: Detection and differentiation from other oculomotor disorders” Faculty mentor: Dr. Uzma Samadani Joseph Ure “Co-dominant anatomically disparate lichens converge in hydrological functional traits” Faculty mentor: Dr. Daniel Stanton Ellen Urquhart “A post-copulatory pass: Spermatophore retention may accommodate sexual signal loss in Pacific field crickets” Faculty mentor: Dr. Marlene Zuk Sena Uzunlar “Epidural stimulation after neurologic damage (ESTAND)” Faculty mentor: Dr. Uzma Samadani Hluechy Vang “Calcium sensitivity neutralization of cardiac sarcomeres with small molecules” Faculty mentor: Dr. Joseph Metzger Ashish Varma “Determination of the role that nuclear factor kB (NFkB) plays in Purkinje neurons in SCA1 pathology through Immunofluorescence microscopy” Faculty mentor: Dr. Marija Cvetanovic Marae Vipond “The potential effect of insecticide on food availability of grassland birds” Faculty mentor: Dr. Katelin Goebel Sophie Vrba “Development of a pichinde virus-based vaccine vector for the treatment of tuberculosis” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yuying Liang Aaron Wald “Are albino mice a good model for human infantile nystagmus syndrome?” Faculty mentor: Dr. Linda McLoon Uzoma Wamuo “Examining MyoD production through engine enhancement region deletion through CRISPR Cas9 system” Faculty mentor: Dr. Atsushi Asakura Ziyuan Wang “Characterizing the relationship between genotype and phenotype in sympatric Bradyrhizobium a varying in the tendency to accumulate polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) in soybean nodules” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ford Denison Shabad Washist “Quantifying hippocampal cells following cerebellar stimulation” Faculty mentor: Dr. Esther Krook-Magnuson Riley Wedan “Neurofeedback using images of self in adolescents with varying depressive symptoms” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo; “The neural correlates of viewing emotional self and other faces in adolescents with depression before and after neurofeedback” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo Binyuan Wei “Oxidative dimerization of anilines to azoarenes mediated by titanium” Faculty mentor: Dr. Ian Tonks; “Determine the role of stable APOBEC3H in HIV transmission” Faculty mentor: Dr. Reuben Harris Leah Westmoreland “Comparative efficacy of varying gold nanoparticle shapes loaded into mesenchymal stem cells in cell culture models” Faculty mentor: Dr. Swayam Prabha The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Lance Janssen, 612-624-0774. Pearl Wilcock “Colorectal cancer tumours and the clinical and immunological impact of immune checkpoint gene expression” Faculty mentor: Dr. Subree Subramanian; “Analysing the impact of PD1 and PDL1 expression in the immune cell infiltration of colorectal cancer tumours using CIBERSORT” Faculty mentor: Dr. Subree Subramanian Samuel Willard “Itasca in a bottle: The role of bacteria in wood decomposition” Faculty mentor: Dr. Jonathan Schilling Alicia Wong “Role of OGT in pancreatic and pancreatic islet development” Faculty mentor: Dr. Emilyn Alejandro Emily Yaklich “UV-B photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana” Faculty mentor: Dr. Gary Gardner Kenta Yamamoto “Chimeric antigen receptor expression on natural killer cells for immunotherapy of osteosarcoma” Faculty mentor: Dr. Branden Moriarity; “Glial cell response to spinal cord injury: simulating the axolotl post-injury response in rat astrocytes” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karen Echeverri Amy Yi “Treatment of congenital cytomegalovirus using nitazoxinide” Faculty mentor: Dr. Mark Schleiss Katharine Young “Modeling of tumor immunotherapy for TRAMP C2 prostate cancer” Faculty mentor: Dr. Yoji Shimizu Betanya Zewde “Neural correlates of self-processing and emotion regulation in self versus other facial recognition in adolescents during neurofeedback” Faculty mentor: Dr. Karina Quevedo Shannon Zhou “Specialization and accuracy of host-searching butterflies in complex and simple environments” Faculty mentor: Meredith Steck (Ph.D candidate); “Early antibiotics and infant body composition” Faculty mentor: Dr. Sara Ramel Although care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented here, there may be unintended errors or changes without notice. This is not an official University of Minnesota graduation list.