Stander Symposium: Honors Program

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  Examining the Causal Impact of Prayer on Self-Control and Generosity

  Angel Rivera-Martinez

  Prayer is a behavior that is characteristic of most religions and spiritualities and a practice important to many people. Although many studies have looked at a wide variety of the possible outcomes and impacts of prayer on behavior and well-being, this research hopes to study the practice of prayer and its outcomes in a more theological lens. In the Bible, the Fruit of the Spirit outlines expected characteristics of a person or community living in accordance with the Holy Spirit. The two aspects of the Fruit that will be studied as variables within this experiment are self-control and generosity. The goal of the experiment is to establish some sort of causal relationship between the practice of prayer and the variables of self-control and generosity, and the research involved will hopefully provide deeper insight into the relationships between psychology and theology.

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  Experimental Investigation of the Second-Mode Boundary-Layer Instability Over a Flat Plate with a Wavy Wall

  Megan Sieve

  This study experimentally investigates the effect of wavy walls on the second-mode boundary-layer instability in the hypersonic regime. The experiments were performed in the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Mach-6 Ludwieg Wind Tunnel on flat-plate test articles. Two different flat-plate test articles were used: a smaller test article used in previous studies and one larger that was constructed for these specific experiments. Findings include the initial test results of the larger test article without a wavy-wall insert and results from three different wavy-wall samples taken using the smaller test article. The initial larger flat plate test results showed that the boundary-layer transition onset behavior varied between the fluctuating surface pressure power spectra measurements and the surface heat-flux measurements. The spectral measurements indicated transition onset upstream of the heat-flux measurements. The wavy-wall test results showed that the wavy-wall inserts shifted the second-mode frequencies lower. Additionally, the higher-amplitude wavy walls provided spectra that indicated a second-mode frequency locking tendency, which was shown to trend well with the freestream unit Reynolds number. Supporting computations indicated good agreement with the frequency-modulating effects of the wavy walls.

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  Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance with Vertical Offset

  Michael Foster

  Positioning the aft rotors of a multirotor above the plane of the fore rotors, relative to the freestream, can improve power consumption efficiency in edgewise flight. To validate the results of a previous wind tunnel study at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) with flight tests, a custom-built multirotor was developed. The multirotor accommodated multiple vertical offset configurations of the aft rotors and utilized GPS to sustain altitude and velocity in edgewise flight, thereby ensuring repeatable flight paths. The mass of the multirotor was held constant throughout the tests to isolate the effects of vertical offset on performance. Flight tests were performed for multiple flight speed and vertical offset configurations under calm ambient conditions, as recorded by a custom-built anemometer and wind-direction sensor. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to further investigate certain trends identified in flight testing and to validate their underlying causes.Flight test data confirmed the findings of the previous wind tunnel data, demonstrating a clear correlation between vertical offset of the rear rotors and improved power consumption efficiency. Specifically, at advance ratios between 0.15 and 0.45, a vertical offset of 20% of the propeller diameter led to more than a 15% reduction in power consumption as compared to a baseline configuration without offset. Additional increases in the vertical offset above 20% of the propeller diameter yielded only minimal further efficiency gains. These findings affirm the practicality of using vertical rotor offset to improve multirotor efficiency while maintaining a compact design.

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  Gender in Math: The Short and Long Term Effects of Bias in the Math Classroom

  Kailey Peppard

  There are many different narratives that are thrown around regarding math with little ill intent but with little regard to the serious impacts that the phrases can have. The one that will be focused on in this project is the idea that ‘math is a male subject’ or that men are inherently better at math than women. This project will attempt to draw a connection between the narratives and the fact that there is a significant lack of women in STEM fields or pursuing higher level math. By reaching out to both students and teachers, the goal is to learn about the ways that people have experienced the effect of these narratives in the classroom. In addition, it is to see the difference in the ways that people of different genders understand math and its purpose in the world. The other purpose of this project is to take the findings from the survey and pair that with research on creating an equal and ethical classroom environment in order to propose solutions to these issues. By giving teachers a way to get ahead of these narratives, they can help make sure that all genders are given a equal chance to learn and understand and later pursue math. This way the connection between the narratives and the classroom environment can be exploited to help equal out the gender representation in higher education math classes.

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  Illuminating the expression of PLN in different mouse brain cell types

  Hayden Ott, Morgan Roach

  Calcium (Ca2+) is a versatile intracellular signaling molecule which participates in a variety of cellular processes throughout the cell life cycle. In neurons, Ca2+ signaling is crucial to neurotransmitter release and the development of dendritic spines. The sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) pump is a channel protein which facilitates Ca2+ reuptake into the sarco-/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER). SERCA-dependent dysregulation of Ca2+ has been implicated in numerous disorders which affect cognition, such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Darier’s disease. Phospholamban (PLN) is a potent SERCA regulator, as reversible binding of PLN reduces SERCA’s affinity for Ca2+, thereby reducing SERCA-facilitated Ca2+ sequestration into the SR/ER. While the role of PLN as a SERCA-regulator has been well-defined in cardiac muscle, our lab has identified PLN expression selectively in the γ-aminobutyric (GABA)-ergic neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). In the context of this honors thesis, we used a Percoll density gradient-based isolation protocol as well as fluorescent immunocytochemical staining processes to assess the putative expression of PLN protein in other cell types, including glial cells.

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  Investigating macrophage interactions with Listeria monocytogenes grown at different temperatures with or without propionate

  Patrick Hurst

  Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, intracellular pathogen responsible for the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis. L. monocytogenes expresses different virulence factors in response to different environmental factors, influencing how L. monocytogenes interacts with the host immune system. One of the first immune defenses that L. monocytogenes encounters in the body is the phagocytic macrophage. Macrophages can exhibit different shapes or antimicrobial functions depending on the activation state (M1 vs M2). It is currently unclear how the environment in which L. monocytogenes is grown affects the functions of infected macrophage. We hypothesize that macrophage can distinguish between L. monocytogenes grown in 0 degrees C conditions and 37 degrees C conditions, with and without the presence of the short-chain fatty acid propionate, and respond accordingly. This hypothesis was tested by exposing naïve or M1-activated macrophages to L. monocytogenes grown under these different conditions, and quantifying outputs indicative of macrophage activity. Macrophage outputs that were measured included nitric oxide (NO) production using a standard colorimetric assay and cell morphology using an image analysis software (Image J). Propionate pre-treatment or different growth temperatures in L. monocytogenes did not cause a significant difference in NO production by the infected macrophages. However, NO productions were significantly higher in activated macrophages infected by L. monocytogenes grown at 0C with propionate and 37C without propionate, compared to infected native macrophages. Circularity values of infected macrophages at 24 hours post infection were also compared. These results showed that while temperature and propionate independently did not impact macrophage responses, they could have a synergistic effect when combined. Further investigations are needed to dissect the specific mechanisms.

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  Investigating the development expression pattern of PLN in the mouse brain.

  Marc Nya, Hayden Ott

  As a crucial ionic and chemical messenger essential for a variety of cellular processes, calcium (Ca2+) signaling regulatory processes are of immense significance. Dysfunction of these regulatory mechanisms have been associated with the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD). An important Ca2+ signaling regulator involved in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis is the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase2 (SERCA2) that works by facilitating the sequestration of Ca2+ into the cells endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Recent Research in our Neuroscience Lab has shown that Phospholamban (PLN), a critical regulator of the SERCA2, is expressed at the protein level within the thalamus of the mouse brain, and that ablation of this gene is linked to a hyperactive behavioral phenotype in adult mice. Such findings suggest a critical role for the PLN/SERCA2 pathway in the development of the brain’s thalamic neural circuits which regulate locomotor activity. In the context of this BSTI fellowship project we utilized immunohistochemistry protocols and confocal microscopy to explore the developmental expression pattern of this molecular player in the mouse brain.

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  Mapping PLN immunoreactivity within the thalamic reticular nucleus

  Summer Istenes, Hayden Ott

  Calcium (Ca2+) is a crucial cellular messenger involved in numerous physiological processes, including muscle contraction and synaptic transmission. The sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2 (SERCA2) is a key regulator that helps maintain Ca2+ homeostasis in the cell. An inhibitor of SERCA2 is the protein phospholamban, which is encoded by the gene PLN. While SERCA2 and PLN interactions have been extensively studied in the heart, research in the Pitychoutis Neuroscience lab has uncovered a significant role for PLN in the brain, specifically within the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). The TRN regulates the complex interactions between the thalamus and cerebral cortex and has been shown to be anatomically divided into distinct sub-sectors related to different sensory and limbic processing, including: visual motion/attention, visual, visceral, gustatory, somatosensory, and auditory sectors. Disruptions in Ca2+ regulation within the TRN have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This honors thesis project seeks to map the spatial PLN expression within the specific sectors of the TRN in mice by employing fluorescent immunohistochemical techniques coupled with confocal microscopy. The proposed experiment will allow us to identify the TRN sectors in which PLN is expressed and gain insights into its function in the brain and relation to behavioral processes.

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  Nonlinear Dynamics of Soft Electro-Active Materials Under AC Voltages

  Nathan Benham

  Dielectric elastomers are a compelling class of electro-active materials that show great promise for large-deformation actuation, sensing, and energy-generation applications. In a recent series of papers, the faculty mentor and coworkers developed analytical models to explore the quasi-static and dynamic response of circular dielectric elastomer membranes to DC (constant) and AC (time-varying) voltages, respectively. These models led to the uncovering of rich and atypical nonlinear dynamic behavior not previously reported in the literature. However, these novel findings have yet to be experimentally verified. Thus, the goal of this Honors Thesis is to (a) develop an experimental setup for electro-mechanically testing circular dielectric elastomer membranes under AC and DC voltages, and (b) deploy it to investigate three key questions: (1) How significant is the influence of constitutive model calibration on the predicted quasi-static (DC) voltage-stretch response? (2a) Can AC voltage pulses be leveraged to achieve large stable stretches without dielectric breakdown? (2b) Can proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control be leveraged to tune AC voltage waveforms to achieve moderate-to-large unstable stretches without dielectric breakdown? The results of this research are expected to advance the understanding of the nonlinear dynamics of soft electroactive materials. If successful, this research could impact the design of actuators, sensors, and isolators used in robotics, measurements, and vibration control.

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  Observations of Memristive Behavior for Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 and Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 Through Current Voltage Curve Analysis

  Tristan Quach

  As indicated by the consistent validation of Moore’s Law, decreasing the size of electronics has been a perpetual goal for decades. Memristors have a unique way of decreasing the size of devices by performing the functions of what would normally need a group of devices. This is done by making use of the multiple states of a memristor. Additional useful qualities of memristors include in-memory computing, low power consumption, and nonvolatile memory. There are many possible dielectrics that can be used for memristive devices, but barium-based dielectrics show promise. Sixty-forty and seventy-thirty compositions of barium strontium titanate (BST) are dielectrics of interest. Analysis of the current-voltage curve is made from voltage sweeps to observe memristive behavior of these dielectric materials. The sixty-forty composition of BST largely does not show memristive behavior. The same voltage values throughout the voltage sweep do not significantly alter the current value, indicating that the devices are not switching between the high and low resistance states. The seventy-thirty composition of BST largely shows memristive behavior on only the positive side of the voltage sweep, clearly switching from high resistance state to low resistance state. However, the seventy-thirty composition shows similar behavior to the sixty-forty composition on the negative side of the voltage sweep.

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  Original Sin or the Lack Thereof: Rousseau's Philosophical Anthropology

  Jane Carney

  Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s philosophical anthropology finds its roots in deeply theological territory. At the heart of his philosophy is the belief that man is essentially good but becomes corrupted by the influences of society. His strong belief in the innate goodness of humanity therefore led him to question Christian doctrines that appear to contradict that natural goodness. This then led him to object to the doctrine of original sin. Rousseau’s interpretation of original sin, and his subsequent rejection of it, shaped his broader political and philosophical thought, and is thus a vital piece of understanding Rousseau’s broader normative theory. Because he grounded his anthropology in the explicit rejection of Christian doctrine, understanding the theological implications of Rousseau’s anthropology requires that we understand both the teachings that Rousseau rejected, and his grounds for that rejection. This project contrasts Rousseau’s understanding of original sin and theory of human nature with Catholic and Reformed formulations of the doctrine of original sin at that time. To do so, we particularly focus on what Rousseau says about sin, what Rousseau says the Catholic Church says about sin, and what the Catholic Church actually says about sin. We examine a variety of primary and secondary literature on historical Catholic and Reformed teaching on original sin, focusing on the documents of the Council of Trent. In doing so, we shed light on the origins of his thought and the implications of a theological reading of Rousseau. This gives us a richer understanding of Rousseau as a thinker in his own right, of the interplay between theology and political theory, and, most importantly, of the many ways in which we approach the topic of human nature.

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  Pilot Study to Investigate the Effects of Step-rate Manipulation on Running Economy at a Performance Pace in Elite Male Distance Runners

  Noah Clemens

  Background: Step-rate (SR) is a spatiotemporal gait variable representing the number of steps taken per minute while running. Manipulating SR is thought to improve running economy (RE) or reduce injury risk. Research on SR manipulation for RE has focused on recreational athletes or highly trained athletes performing at slow speeds, with limited research exploring competition speeds.Purpose: This study piloted a protocol for determining the most economical SR of highly trained individuals at fast speeds. Methods: Five highly trained male distance runners participated. A graded maximal exercise test determined the speed at anaerobic threshold (AT) as well as the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) for each subject. The participants returned to complete another running protocol, which consisted of eight 4-minute trials, with two minutes of rest between each trial. The trials were completed at each participant’s speed at AT, and seven step-rate conditions ranging from 9% below self-selected to 9% above self-selected were cued with a metronome. Oxygen consumption was collected.Results: Our sample had an average VO2max of 69.075 ml/kg/min putting them in the 99.5th percentile. The speed at AT varied, with speeds ranging from 10.2 m/s to 12 m/s. Optimal SR was identified for three out of five participants. If participants were unable to achieve a range of SRs, optimal SR could not be determined.Conclusion: Our inclusion criteria and trial duration are appropriate. Though speed at AT was varied, selecting a common trial speed slightly below the average speed at AT may allow for better SR adherence. Adjusting the SR conditions to cover a wider range of achievable values may allow optimal SR to be estimated for more participants. Most participants exhibited the expected relationship between SR and RE, suggesting that this methodology can be applied to a larger sample in a future study.

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  Quantifying Droplet Breakup Regimes in High-Speed Flow Fields with Diffuse Background Illumination

  Joseph Kastner

  Understanding the dynamics of droplet breakup in high-speed flow fields is critical for many aerospace applications such as liquid fuel injection into high-speed crossflow or weather encounters with high-speed vehicles. In such applications, thermophysical properties such as surface tension, viscosity, etc. as well flow parameters (Mach number) will drive the droplet breakup regime. The objective of this work is to implement diffuse background illumination (DBI) to quantify sessile droplet breakup. A shock tube will be employed to simulate high-speed flow conditions by generating shock waves of various strengths. Both head on and side imaging will be implemented to provide further insight to the breakup dynamics. Weber number will be used to identify breakup regimes. Center of mass calculations will be performed using the high-speed imaging data.

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  Radicle Restoration: Growing Native Plant Seedlings for Changing Landscapes

  Madelyn Moore

  In the wake of great anthropogenic change in the landscape across eastern North America, there is a need for ecological restoration. Forests, in particular, are struggling due to the decline of previously dominant tree species and the need to protect the understory from persistent invasion. Forests cannot follow the typical path of natural development through secondary succession due to the interference of invasive species. Invasive species thrive in disturbed habitats, and they have a variety of adaptations that allow them to outcompete native species. Invasive species removal alone leads to their return to previously invaded sites. Instead, invasive removal should be coupled with native planting, and some of these natives can take niche spaces and provide resistance to reinvasion. To give native species as much advantage over invasive species as possible, high amounts of care should be taken in the production of saplings for restoration. Collecting localized seeds ensures that the saplings will be adapted to soil and weather conditions similar to those of the restoration site. Potted saplings with straight, healthy root systems perform better than bare-root saplings under transplant stress. With these ideas in mind, the goal of this project is to start up a native sapling repository for key woody species for use in future restoration projects. This project is based in Ginny’s Garden Greenhouse at the University of Dayton and involves seed collection, germination, and sapling management for a variety of native woody species. Some species include oaks (Quercus), buckeyes (Aesculus), hickories (Carya), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), paw paw (Asimina triloba), and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Over one hundred seedlings have been germinated since the project's inception, and over two thousand seeds have been collected for the advancement of this project. Outplanting for the project will begin in the spring of 2025.

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  Stress, Saliva, and Spirits: The Effects of Acute Psychosocial Stress on Alcohol Craving, Motivation to Consume Alcohol, and Physiological Correlates

  Olivia Dobiesz

  Stress has been identified as an important risk factor for the onset and maintenance of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Accordingly, the present study seeks to explore the link between stress and alcohol-related measures, specifically by analyzing how fluctuations in subjective and biological measures of stress affect craving and choice for alcohol.The present study utilizes a variation of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to acutely induce stress in participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to complete either the TSST or a non-stress equivalent procedure which will serve as the control. Saliva samples will be collected in order to assess fluctuations in the stress biomarker alpha amylase in response to the TSST. Heart rate and heart rate variation will also be measured throughout the experimental session as an additional measure of the physiological stress response. Participants will be asked to fill out a series of questionnaires pertaining to perceived levels of stress, anxiety, and affect before and after completing the TSST. Upon completion of the TSST, participants will complete a series of alcohol-related questionnaires that measure: frequency of alcohol use, magnitude of alcohol craving, risk for developing AUD, anticipated effects of alcohol use, hypothetical alcohol choice behavior, occurrence of negative alcohol-related consequences, and level of engagement in non-drug related activities. We expect to see an increase in subjective and physiological markers of stress post-TSST, correlated with an increase in alcohol craving in those who are at-risk for developing AUD. The aforementioned measures will allow us to identify factors that may influence the decision to consume alcohol or engage in non-alcohol related activities. In turn, this would allow us to develop a more complete understanding of the relationship between stress and alcohol-related behaviors which may relate to the development of AUD.

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  Stretchable Electronic Systems Enabling Rigid Electronic Payloads

  Adin Stoller

  Recent innovations in the space of Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing have resulted in increasing print complexity and resolution as well as an ever-expanding library of materials from which to print. While this has dramatic implications for every field supported by AM, the field of Soft and Wearable Robotics (SWR) has considerable potential to benefit from continued innovations in AM. 3D-printing methods, such as Digital Light Processing (DLP) in particular, enable developers to design and print complex structural components for SWR systems. Unlike other AM methods, such as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), DLP allows for the selection of a wide range of elastomeric materials optimized for SWR needs (e.g., high strain, extreme temperatures, and self-healing).Additive Manufacturing has long allowed for the creation of basic SWR prototypes, such as pneumatically actuated fingers. With the integration of rigid electronic payloads and stretchable electronic circuits into AM elastomeric substrates (which are inherently insulators), these components will have the ability to sense and react to their environment in unprecedented ways. The next generation of soft robotics will be enabled by novel approaches to adding conductivity to additively manufactured soft robotic structures. With the creation of SWR material systems with embedded electronics, these new “electronic materials” have a wide range of possible applications, including strain sensing, capacitive touch, and stretchable heaters. Thus, developments in the fabrication of these components are necessary to fully realize the capability of SWR systems.

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  Testing the Influence of Lithology and Ice Sheet Dynamics on Waterfall Formation in Hocking Hills State Park

  Magdelyn Stewart

  Hocking Hills State Park is known for its many, >30 m-tall waterfalls. The precise number of these fluvial knickpoints is unknown, as they have never been thoroughly mapped. Moreover, the traditional hypothesis of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio Geologic Survey is that the knickpoints are purely lithologic features formed by the contrasting rock strength of the durable Black Hand Sandstone (BHSS) overlying the weaker Cuyahoga Shale. Despite this long standing theory, regional morphologic evidence suggests they may have been formed by stream capture. Here, we evaluate the traditional hypothesis. If the knickpoints are lithologic in origin, we expect their morphologic properties to vary based on local BHSS thickness. Using Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program LiDAR data, we visually mapped over 700 of these knickpoints. With this collection of knickpoints, we used ArcGIS and Topotoolbox to map relationships between BHSS thickness and relief, density, drainage area, and fluvial relief. Our results do not show any significant relationships between BHSS thickness and morphology. Additionally, we were able to evaluate whether knickpoint retreat might have stalled due to a minimum threshold drainage area, which we also do not see supported by our analysis. In the future, we will use cosmogenic 10Be to date the waterfalls, allowing us to test the stream capture hypothesis. Furthermore, we will expand upon our collection of field measurements to develop precise profiles for each noteable stream.

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  The Correctional Responses to COVID-19: in Ohio, the U.S., and Across the Globe

  Kendall Visco

  The United States has the largest correctional system in the world, and as a result, the system is vulnerable to various public health issues, the most recent being the COVID-19 pandemic. Correctional institutions across the country were completely unprepared for the pandemic, in terms of supplies and regulations. As a result, tens of thousands of incarcerated individuals fell sick in outbreaks, and thousands more passed away due to complications. Regulations varied from institution to institution, and policies then and now are still unclear. In order to prepare for the future, understanding of these policies is vital to better understand where successes and failures were, and this project aims to shed light on this topic. Analysis of available data regarding policy and interviews of individuals exonerated through the Ohio Innocence Project will be conducted. Questions will be related to the policies implemented before, during, and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, as well as personal experiences living with the pandemic and how they individually believe policies could have been improved. This information will fill in current gaps in understanding and serve to help correctional institutions better understand how to protect their staff and incarcerated populations from future outbreaks and pandemics.

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  Understanding Calcium Signaling Pathways in 3D Microfluidic Models of Glioblastoma Multiforme

  Jenna Abdelhamed

  Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is one of the most malignant types of brain cancer and, therefore, highly fatal. Current lines of treatment include surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, all of which GBM resists due to the complexity of GBM tumors, cells, and their microenvironment. Numerous research studies have been conducted to understand the oncogenesis, invasion mechanisms, and cellular characteristics of GBM. One specific mechanism that has caught the attention of researchers is calcium signaling, which plays a significant role in cell proliferation, resistance to treatment, and metastatic-related processes. Emerging targets for calcium signaling include transient receptor potential channels (TRP), a family of channels that mediate Ca2+ signaling and play a role in GBM development and invasion. This study examines and compares calcium signaling in non-invasive and invasive phenotypes of GBM. This will be done by generating a migrating cell model consisting of GBM spheroids placed into a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device, where I can observe the cells sprouting from the spheroid and traveling through microchannels, monitor migration, and measure cytosolic calcium levels using dye for both the non-invasive and invasive phenotypes. It was hypothesized that more calcium would be associated with the invasive GBM model than the non-invasive one. This hypothesis was tested using spheroids from four different GBM cell lines: A-172, U118MG, LN229, and U-87MG. This allows for the examination of common invasion responses and characteristics across GBM cell lines. This project lays the groundwork for new therapies to limit GBM migration and prevent further metastasis of this cancer by targeting the calcium signaling pathways.

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  Understanding the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition of Glioblastoma Multiforme on a Microfluidic Model

  Khadija Fatima

  Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and fatal forms of brain cancer. Despite multiple advances in treatment, median survival is only about 15 months upon diagnosis. Hence, numerous studies have been conducted to further our understanding of GBM tumor biology and the mechanisms underlying its malignancy. I am particularly interested in the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) of GBM cells, which has been shown to enhance their migratory and invasive capabilities. In this study, I aim to investigate the specific effect of the TGFβ inhibitor, SB-431542, on EMT as well as other aberrant outcomes. Using the non-adherent method and microfluidic technology, I can generate a model of three-dimensional GBM spheroids surrounded by physical constrictions, which mimics the GBM tumor microenvironment. The TGFβ inhibitor will be introduced, and the resulting sprouting and migrating behaviors of the invasive cells will be quantified. To enhance the generalizability of my findings, I have expanded my research to include multiple GBM cell lines. I hypothesize a detectable decrease in the level of invasion among the treated spheroids compared to the control. The findings of this proposed study will broaden our knowledge of the complexity of EMT and its role in GBM cancer development and metastasis. Moreover, I hope my work will provide the means to improve therapies that can inhibit cancer cell dissemination in GBM patients.