Research Symposium
NSF-REU
RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES FROM RURAL AND TRIBAL COLLEGES
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2022 REU Participants
Zackary Anderson
University of North Dakota
PI: Van Doze, Ph.D.
Project:  CMS Model in Mouse Anxiety/Depression
Nicholas Bittner
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
University of North Dakota
PI: Colin Combs, Ph.D.
Project: Creation of a Hyperplane Device for Horizontal Cellular Migration Assays
Clara Anderson-Cameron
Cottey College, MO
PI: Motoki Takaku, Ph.D.
Project:  Characterization of Progesterone Resistant Breast Cancer Cells

James Bowen
Greenville University, IL
PI: David Bradley, Ph.D.
Project:  Cancer Specificity of Superantigen SEI Treatment in HLA-DQ8 and Double Transgenic Mice
Kaleigh Coker
Hendrix College, AR
PI: Archana Dhasarathy, Ph.D./Motoki Takaku, Ph.D./Sergei Nechaev, Ph.D.
Project: Exploring the transcriptional memory response during the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)
Itzel Cayetano
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
PI: Vasyl Tkach, Ph.D.
Project:  What is under the shell? Survey of turtle helminths from Reelfoot Lake, Tennesse

Jason Daniels
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
PI: Sergei Nechaev, Ph.D.
Project: Promoter-Associated RNAs Show Comparable Abundance Compared Against Other RNA Classes
Luis Eguiguren
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign
PI: Vasyl Tkach, Ph.D.
Project: Digeneans of leeches in northwestern Minnesota

Kaitlyn Kelley
Guilford College, NC
PI: Catherine Brissette, Ph.D.
Project: Infectivity of clonal isolates of hard-tick borne relapsing fever spirochete, Borrelia miyamotoi
Jacob Knapek
Valley City State University, ND
PI: Brian Darby, Ph.D., Kathryn Yurkonis, Ph.D.
Project: Soil Health Benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program
Madison Larson
University of North Dakota
PI: Keith Henry, Ph.D.
Project: Construction and Characterization of Drosophila Dopamine Transporters Engineered to Contain N-terminal Palmitoylation Sites Homologous to the Human Transporter
Alexis Lohnes
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
PI: Brent Voels, Ph.D.
Project: Future Research: Mosquito Species Population Dynamics in Benson County North Dakota

Isabel Lopez
Dickinson State University, ND
PI: Aaron Mehus, Ph.D./ Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, Ph.D./ Scott Garrett, Ph.D./Seema Somji, Ph.D.
Project: Tretinoin Downregulates Basal Markers EGFR, KRT1 and Upregulates Luminal Markers CD24, KRT20 in Arsenite Transformed Urothelial Cancer Cells
Tuesday Melton
Ouachita Baptist University, AR
PI: Archana Dhasarathy, Ph.D.
Project: Epigenetic regulation of the SPARC gene in bladder cancer
Creighton Mitchell
University of North Dakota
PI: Aaron Mehus, Ph.D./ Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, Ph.D./ Scott Garrett, Ph.D./Seema Somji, Ph.D.
Project: Expression of KRT6A, SOX2, GRHL1, and P63, After Stable Knockdown of KRT6 in As3+ Transformed UROtsa Cells

Chris Nero
University of North Dakota
PI: Jamie Foster, Ph.D.
Project: Investigation of Dopamine Transporters when Challenged with Prednisolone
Abigail Rehbein
Vermillion Community College, MN
PI: Rebecca Simmons, Ph.D.
Project: Determining Gut Microbiomes of Hoverflies Living in the Northern Plains
John Schaller
Hendrix College, AR
PI: Barry Milavetz, Ph.D.
Project:  Acetylated H4 and H3K27me3 Antibodies and their role in Early RNA Transcription of transfected SV40 chromatin

Dakota Thompson
Beloit College, WI
PI: Turk Rhen, Ph.D.
Project: Chromosome Loci 20148572 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Association with Temperature Dependent Sex Determination
Mason Trahan
University of North Dakota
PI: Aaron Mehus, Ph.D./ Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, Ph.D./ Scott Garrett, Ph.D./Seema Somji, Ph.D.
Project: Transient Knockdown of KRT6 Induces the Downregulation of KRT5 and P63 with No Effect on SOX2 in As3+-transformed UROtsa cells
Victoria Trochez Del Cid
Dickinson State University, ND
PI: Aaron Mehus, Ph.D./ Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, Ph.D./ Scott Garrett, Ph.D./Seema Somji, Ph.D.
Project: Downregulation of KRT5, KRT6A, KRT6B, and KRT6C in Tretinoin Treated As3+ Transformed UROtsa Cell

Zoe Von Holten
Middle Georgia State University
PI: Vasyl Tkach, Ph.D.
Project: Revealing further diversity of the Diplostomidae (Digenea) parasitic in New World kingfishers