Schedule of Events

Moringa oleifera, colloquially known as horseshoe radish or malunggay (Tagalog), is a plant used extensively as cultural herbal medicine throughout African and Asian countries. Moringa contains a variety of bioactive compounds throughout its entirety as a plant, leading to its interest in biomedical research applications. Myricetin is a flavonoid that is abundantly found in Moringa that exhibits strong anti-oxidant properties. Previous studies have shown that myricetin demonstrates anti-diabetes, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects in vitro. Our research aims to further investigate the anti-cancer properties of myricetin in vitro by assessing its effects on cell viability, migration, apoptosis, and inflammatory cytokine secretion in various concentrations of 0uM, 25uM, 50uM, and 100uM in osteosarcoma and leukemic cell lines.  Our study found that myricetin significantly reduces cell migration, decreases cell viability, and promotes apoptosis across all tested cell lines in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, we found that myricetin inhibits the secretion of IL-6 in osteosarcoma cells, an inflammatory cytokine linked to tumor growth and metastasis. Further studies will be conducted to examine the effects of myricetin on protein and gene expression, in long-term treatments, and potency when used with common cancer drugs in treated cancer cells. Our findings emphasize myricetin as a potential chemosensitizer for current targeted therapies to increase the effectiveness of these pre-existing therapies against more aggressive forms of cancer. As cancer continues to affect the global population, there is an increasing need for new and more effective treatments, especially as more patients develop resistance to existing therapies.

The prevalence of autism has been consistently rising with recent estimates suggesting that 1 in 31 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given this increase, autistic students are enrolling in higher education at increasing rates, with about 44% pursuing college after high school. While colleges are mandated to offer accommodations for students with disabilities, these accommodations are typically academically focused. However, many autistic students report challenges related to social interaction and sensory sensitivities which often contribute to isolation and reduced campus engagement. This study explored the social experiences of autistic college students, the college supports they have found to be most helpful and their recommendations to colleges for ways to better support social experiences for neurodivergent students. Participants were recruited via email, pre-screened to ensure they met the inclusion criteria, and then participated in interviews either via Zoom or in person. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis framework. Four themes were identified in the data. The first theme was that consistent social interactions, such as living on campus, being on a sports team, work and classes, help develop friendships. The second theme was that difficulty with social initiation and conversational skills, in addition to being a commuter student, were barriers to making friends. The significant impact of social experiences on the college experience, including both mental health and academics, was another theme. The last theme was recommendations for universities. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

There is an increasing need for complementary treatments to cancer as patients face adverse side effects of chemotherapeutics. Attention to herbal medicines historically used in Traditional Chinese Medicine has increased as a possible source of bioactive compounds that can support conventional therapies. Berberine, a natural isoquinoline alkaloid herbal compound, has shown promising anti-cancer effects in other studies. In this study, we tested various concentrations of berberine chloride (10, 20, 40, 80uM) against A-673 cells in vitro, at 24, 48, and 72hr marks, using flow-cytometry, microscopy, and hemocytometry. We found that berberine decreased cell proliferation and viability, inducing a dose and time-dependent cell death in the A-673 cells. Although cell death increased, berberine was not found to affect apoptosis in cells after 72 hours as determined by FITC/PI staining and flow-cytometry. Berberine in this experiment exhibits anti-cancer effects on A-673 cells by decreasing proliferation and viability, showing its potential as a complementary therapy. Future directions include additional flow-cytometry trials to further characterize the mode of cell death, testing against additional cell lines, as well as primary tissue such as canine tumors. 

Nonribosomal peptide synthetase-independent siderophore (NIS) synthetases are enzymes found in some bacteria that produce hydroxamate siderophores (Challis et al., 2005). Siderophores help pathogenic bacteria compete in iron-deficient environments by increasing the solubility of iron (Fe+3) for bacterial uptake and survival (Neilands, 1993). NIS siderophores are important virulence factors because they are not easily identified by the human immune system (Oves-Costales et. al, 2009), and therefore the NIS Synthetases that make them are compelling drug targets. The chemical mechanism of NIS synthetases is not well understood, however their adenylate intermediate and novel protein fold have been recently proposed (Schmelz & Naismith, 2009). Understanding the mechanism for NIS synthetases will aid future structure-based drug design, which is the long-term goal of the Hoffmann Lab. 
This research project focuses on the acid/base proton transfer proposed in our two-step adenylate forming hypothesis using the model enzyme DesD from Streptomyces coelicolor. We propose that E467 acts as a general acid and general base in the second step of the mechanism and have shown that only half of the bond forming events occur kinetically. The next step of this project will test the hypothesis of a two-proton dependence in siderophore biosynthesis using a pH profile: our established kinetics experiments at systematically different pH levels to analyze kcat’s dependence on pH. A figure graphing this relationship will be constructed, and its slope will be analyzed to provide evidence for our hypothesis. We will present our preliminary data.

The EmrAB-TolC efflux pump found in Escherichia coli is involved in the removal of toxic molecules and cellular metabolites. Transcription of emrA and emrB is controlled by EmrR, and is co transcribed with emrA and emrB in the emrRAB operon. It is not known if transcriptional regulators involved in regulating the expression of other efflux pumps also control the expression of emrRAB. We are investigating four regulators – SoxR, SoxS, Rob, and AcrS – for their role in controlling emrRAB expression. These regulators also control the expression of acrAB, the main efflux pump in E. coli. 
The goals of this study are to characterize the emrRAB regulatory network and determine if there is overlap with acrAB. Using an emrRAB promoter gfp fusion construct (emrRABp-gfp),  we have measured the expression of emrRAB in 4 different mutant backgrounds. To this end, utilizing strains from the KEIO collection, a library of E. coli strains containing deletion mutants of these regulators, replaced by a kanamycin resistance cassette. After removing the kanR cassette, we have transformed our markerless mutants with a plasmid containing the emrRAB-gfp fusion. In addition to the soxRS, rob, and acrS, we have also investigated additional strains deleted for other genes known to regulate acrAB or emrRAB expression. Overall, the data did not reveal statistically significant differences in expression in out mutant backgrounds. However, while the anticipated effects were not observed, the outcomes reflect a need for methodological refinement in future experiments.

As Ethnic Studies become increasingly commonplace in California high schools, there is still a lack of practical pedagogical resources for Ethnic Studies teachers. There is a noticeable gap in existing literature discussing how global perspectives on race, ethnicity, or nationality shape students’ learning experiences in Ethnic Studies when their countries of origin are outside of the United States. This study aims to address this pedagogical gap regarding the teaching of Ethnic Studies in multinational classrooms. Understanding the role of multinational conceptions of Ethnic Studies topics requires student and teacher perspectives. Therefore, this study employs a mixed-method design for gathering these perspectives incorporating surveys and focus group interviews. The goal of this study at its conclusion is to provide local Ethnic Studies educators with culturally relevant and research-based instructional recommendations for teaching this course in a multinational classroom setting.

This study explored how the ways in which people get medical information, as well as their ability to visualize that information, affect their trust and comprehension of it.  To test this, one set of participants (N=85) was recruited via Prolific, and another set (N=86) was recruited via SONA.  Participants read either an essay or an infographic about medication. They then took a comprehension test, answered questions about perceived trust in the information and potential adherence to the medical information, and completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire to complete the survey. A univariate ANOVA showed no interaction between the way information was conveyed and participants’ ability to visualize information in their mind’s eye on comprehension scores. However, there was a significant main effect of condition (essay vs infographic), such that people who saw the infographic had higher comprehension scores than people who saw the textual information again. Another univariate ANOVA showed no interaction between condition and visual imagery ability on trust scores. There was, however, a main effect of the condition: people who saw the infographic had higher trust and adherence scores than those who saw the text information. All results were consistent across both data sets. These results show the potential benefits of using more visual information in the medical field.  This finding could improve patients’ trust in medical information, as increased comprehension may allow them to play a more active role in their care.

This study examined the experiences of Latina/o students in colleges and universities who have faced or are currently facing parental incarceration. We also examined the role of faculty mentors and program directors at community colleges and universities in supporting Latina/o college students. This research focused on three key areas: (1) the impact of parental incarceration on Latina/o students’ personal lives, family dynamics, and interpersonal relationships; (2) the ways in which these students navigated and actively resisted the social stigmas, stereotypes, and negative labels associated with their parent’s criminality and incarceration; (3) the role of faculty mentors and program directors in supporting and de-stigmatizing the experiences of Latina/o students with incarcerated parents. Findings reveal that parental incarceration has profound effects on students’ emotional well-being, academic persistence, and familial relationships. Despite these challenges, many students demonstrated resilience and a strong commitment to their educational goals. They actively challenged stigmatizing narratives by excelling academically and building support networks. Faculty mentors, program directors, and student support services played a critical role in providing affirmation, resources, and a safe space for students to process their experiences and thrive in higher education. 

Gender plays a role in shaping sibling relationship quality in young adulthood (Jensen et al., 2024). For instance, sister–sister pairs report more closeness than other dyads (i.e. brother-brother), suggesting stronger ties among women (Doron et al., 2016). Despite these findings, little research has examined differences across Latino sibling dyads. This study explores how participant/sibling gender relates to sibling warmth/conflict. It is hypothesized that (1) sibling warmth/conflict will vary across participant’s gender, (2) will also differ across sibling’s gender, and (3) there will be an interaction between participant/sibling gender. A sample of 159 young Latino adults completed an online survey assessing sibling relationship quality. Two-way between-subjects ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate the effects of participant/sibling gender on warmth/conflict. For warmth, there was no main effect of participant gender, F(1, 155) = 0.13, p = .72, with males reporting similar warmth (M = 3.48, SD = 0.71) to females (M = 3.58, SD = 0.84). However, there was a main effect of sibling gender, F(1, 155) = 9.30, p = .003, η² = .057, such that participants reported higher warmth toward female siblings (M = 3.82, SD = 0.70) than male siblings (M = 3.31, SD = 0.83). Although the interaction was not significant, F(1, 155) = 0.31, p = .58, the pattern indicated highest warmth among female participants with female siblings (M = 3.85, SD = 0.71). For conflict, results showed no main effects for participant gender, sibling gender, and interaction between the two variables.