Stander Symposium: Projects with UD Institutional Learning Goals

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  Visible Colors, Invisible Struggles: Mental Health and Belonging for Students of Color

  Norma White

  Students of color at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) often struggle to access and feel comfortable using campus mental health services. This study highlights major barriers like long wait times, a lack of diverse therapists, cultural stigma, and poor outreach. Although the resources do exist many students feel disconnected from them making it harder to seek support. These findings show the need for more culturally aware counseling, better representation in mental health services, and stronger efforts to create a sense of belonging and inclusivity on campus.

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  Walk on the Wild side: Human activity influence on mammal activity within Metroparks

  Elizabeth Divish

  Five Rivers Metroparks offer a vast array of recreational nature preserves for people around Dayton, Ohio, as well as a habitat for wildlife. Many species in the parks are essential for many ecosystem services and habitat quality. The objective of this study was to examine how the temporal activity of mammals compared in areas of high, medium, and low trail density. Our mammal species of interest were: white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), squirrels (Sciurus sp.), and northern raccoon (Procyon lotor ) through the use of camera traps and analysis of species detections and activity abundance. We surveyed the locations, placing 23 cameras 50 meters from the nearest trail from September to November of 2023, and 9 cameras at the same parks 100 meters from the closest trail during the same months in 2024. Preliminary results from 2023 indicate that the responses are species-specific, meaning some species change their behaviors in response to higher humana activity while others do not. Our results will help inform best management practices at Five Rivers Metroparks and to encourage sustainable actions for the public.

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  What is Teacher Burnout and How Can it Be Prevented?

  Michelle Hickey

  Teacher burnout is a rising issue that can be caused by excessive workload, emotional exhaustion, and lack of support from administrators. I discuss findings about the causes and effects of burnout which include the impact on teachers’ well-being, student academic outcomes, and teacher retention. There are ways that it can be prevented such as improved workplace conditions, mental health support, and policy changes. Addressing the problem is the first step to make a change for a healthy and effective education system.

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  Wings and Watts: Butterfly Communities in Microhabitats of Solar Prairies

  Darcy Beazley, Elizabeth Miles-Flynn, Matthew Noble, Claire Qua, Leen Sawas

  Solar energy is becoming an increasingly popular alternative energy source for residential and commercial entities. Butterflies are valuable bioindicators of habitat health and are sensitive to disturbance. This study assessed butterfly abundance and species richness at two solar prairie sites: Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) and Curran Place. MEEC features grass-dominated plant communities under stationary solar panels, while Curran Place has forb-dominated communities under moving panels. At each site, we established six 60-meter transects across two microhabitats: buffer zones (areas around the solar arrays) and array aisles (spaces between the panels), totaling 12 transects per site. We predicted higher total abundance in buffer zones and greater species richness at Curran Place, where nectar-bearing plants are more diverse. Our results showed a marginally significant difference (p = 0.0972), with greater overall abundance at Curran Place, supporting our hypothesis. While ANOVA tests did not confirm statistical significance, trends suggest higher species richness at Curran Place. At MEEC, buffer zones had higher abundance and species richness, while no butterflies were recorded in the array aisles. Both sites primarily hosted generalist species, which are more likely to adapt and spread to altered environments. To mitigate the ecological impact of solar arrays, managing solar prairie sites with plants that support specialists and threatened butterflies can enhance biodiversity. Overall, our study provides a framework for future butterfly population research in solar prairies and highlights the importance of buffer zones, combining flowering plants and native grasses, for habitat conservation.

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  Workforce Readiness in Education: Has It Been Accomplished

  Elizabeth Onderak

  Too often students are not prepared to succeed in the workforce. There has been a recent struggle in job hiring to find young people who are fully equipped to succeed in their positions. With the future always changing, it is important that the education system changes with it. The findings shared discuss how to cope with these challenges and suggest improvements and priorities for a focus on for the future of education.

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  Working From Internal to External, Insight Into the Lived Experience of Campus Police Officers in the Support of Student Success

  Paul Wojdacz

  Campus police officers serve in a complex role within higher education. Officers navigate complex bureaucratic environments while balancing legal mandates, university policies, and being placed between students and the university. Employing a narrative inquiry methodology, this study used semi-structured interviews with 21 sworn campus police officers from universities across the United States to understand campus police officers' lived experiences and perspectives. Findings revealed officers deviate from traditional police methods and perceive themselves as guardians and educators within the larger university. They prioritize community-oriented policing and relationship-building over traditional law enforcement. They find purpose in contributing to student development and campus safety. Collecting non-traditional methods in which officers engaged with their campus community to support learning and belonging. From these experiences, they develop a strong sense of belonging stemming from positively impacting student lives. Narratives illuminate the potential for universities to acknowledge and amplify the diverse roles of campus police. Identifying recognition and student investment opportunities can enhance campus safety and build trust within the campus community. The study challenges traditional law enforcement paradigms by highlighting the importance of relationship-building, student engagement, and collaborative educational opportunities.

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  ZFP36L1 negatively regulates autophagy to suppress murine norovirus replication

  Malabika Bhowmik, Mychaela Janzow, Tooba Ahmed Momin

  Objective: Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are abundant in eukaryotic cells and play critical roles in cell signalling by binding to cellular components like DNA, RNA, lipids, and other proteins. Specifically, ZFP36L1 has been identified as a regulator of RNA metabolism with antiviral activity against multiple viruses. The current study aims to examine the role of ZFP36L1 in regulating norovirus replication using murine norovirus (MNoV-1) as a model. Given that viruses often hijack the autophagy pathway to facilitate replication, we also seek to understand the relationship between ZFP36L1’s antiviral efficacy and autophagy modulation.Methods: Stable ZFP36L1 overexpressing and ZFP36L1 knockdown RAW 264.7 (murine macrophages) and HEK 293 T (human embryonic kidney) cells were generated using a lentivirus system. These cells were infected with MNoV-1 to assess the effect of ZFP36L1 on viral replication. Additionally, the expression of ZFP36L1 and autophagy-related genes was measured via qRT-PCR and western blotting. To examine the interaction between ZFP36L1 and autophagy, we used chemicals to induce or inhibit autophagy and quantified the resulting changes in gene and protein expression.Results: Overexpression of ZFP36L1 significantly reduced MNoV-1 titers (P<0.05). MNoV-1 infection induced autophagy, which was required for efficient viral replication. However, ZFP36L1 overexpression suppressed autophagic activity, as evidenced by reduced levels of autophagy-related proteins such as Atg13, Beclin-1, and Bcl-2. Furthermore, ZFP36L1 overexpression suppressed rapamycin-induced autophagy, while enhanced autophagy had no effect on ZFP36L1 expression.Conclusions: ZFP36L1 acts as a key regulator of both autophagy and MNoV-1 replication. It suppresses viral replication by modulating autophagic pathways, though additional mechanisms may be involved, warranting further investigation. Additionally, our lab is exploring repurposed drugs that can transiently increase ZFP36L1 expression, with the aim of developing therapeutic interventions to combat viral infections through the modulation of this protein.

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  ZFP36L1 suppresses virus replication beyond poly(a) tail deadenylation

  Malabika Bhowmik, Tooba Momin

  Objective:RNA viruses exhibit high mutation rates, enhancing their survival and potential for cross-species transmission, making them strong candidates for future pandemics. Targeting conserved aspects of viral replication could be an effective antiviral strategy. ZFP36L1, a CCCH-type zinc finger protein that regulates mRNA turnover, has demonstrated antiviral activity against several RNA viruses. Our study investigates the mechanism by which ZFP36L1 suppresses human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) replication and explores sodium butyrate as a potential enhancer of ZFP36L1 expression to amplify its antiviral effects.Methods:Wild-type (WT), ZFP36L1-overexpressing (OE), and ZFP36L1 knockdown (KD) HCT-8 cells were infected with HCoV-OC43 and analyzed for viral titers, cytopathic effects, and viral transcript levels via qPCR. To assess whether poly(A) tail deadenylation contributes to viral suppression, CNOT1 was knocked down in OE cells, and viral titers were measured. Computational RNA-protein interaction tools (RPISeq) and homology modeling identified potential interactions between ZFP36L1 and the viral genome, validated through RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. Additionally, sodium butyrate was tested for its ability to enhance ZFP36L1 expression, followed by viral titer assessment.Results:ZFP36L1 overexpression significantly reduced HCoV-OC43 titers, while knockdown increased viral replication (p<0.05). CNOT1 knockdown in OE cells did not reverse suppression, suggesting a poly(A)-independent mechanism. ZFP36L1 strongly interacted with the HCoV-OC43 nucleocapsid protein, leading to suppressed viral replication. Sodium butyrate treatment upregulated ZFP36L1 expression, further reducing viral titers.Conclusions:ZFP36L1 suppresses HCoV-OC43 replication by interacting with the viral nucleocapsid protein, independent of poly(A) tail deadenylation. Sodium butyrate enhances ZFP36L1 expression, strengthening its antiviral effects and leading to a greater reduction in viral titers. This highlights the potential of targeting ZFP36L1 expression via biocompatible compounds like sodium butyrate as a novel antiviral strategy against human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.