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The 17 Annual Boston University Undergraduate Research Symposium The 17th Annual Boston University Undergraduate Research Symposium Friday, October 17, 2014 The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Boston University www.bu.edu/urop Cover design by Claire Brown with contributions by Christina Fresta 2 Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium Table of Contents Schedule of Poster Presentations 4 List of Featured Researchers 6 Acknowledgments 7 Welcome 8 Information about UROP 9 Featured Student Researchers 14 Student Abstracts Biological Sciences 20 Physical Sciences 48 Social Sciences 70 Arts and Literature 86 Sargent College and Public Health 90 BUSM Basic Sciences 99 BUSM Clinical Sciences 114 Computational and Mathematical Sciences 132 Engineering 139 Student Index 160 Mentor Index 163 Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium 3 Poster Presentations 2nd Floor Ballroom, George Sherman Union 11:00 am – Noon Moona Abdulkerim Tru Hoang Kostantinos Papadopoulos John Adams Irene Hsueh Paige Parrack Anika Adeni Joanne Huang Shama Patel Nathan Barbagallo Kelly Huynh William Pellegrini Taylor Barrow Nikita Jain Sonia Mercedes Perez Arias Neeraj Basu Holly Johnson Gordon Pherribo Elizabeth Becker Natalie Jones Michelle Predi Anna Booras Emma Kalff Cynthia Pyles Marisa Borchardt Alison Kendler Evan Ramos Katherine Boule Srijesa Khasnabish Alanna Raskin Lauren Bufe Akuah Kontor Simone Rauch Nicole Carter Zachary Kopp Marinaliz Reynoso Katrina Catalano Lacin Koro Meredith Richter Catherine Cattley Kathryn Kosteva Mark Roberto Athena Cavounidis Olga Lacki Luke Rosenfeld Zachary Chapasko Ivan Lavrentyev Kendra Rumbika Youngbae Chee Hannah Leikin Emma Ryan Howard Chen Felicia Lesman Shrinjoy Sahoo Jason Chin Cindy Liu Eric Schmidt James Christianson Frank Lombardi Lindsay Smith Steven Cincotta Amy Ly Kyle Spindelman Danielle Conneely Laura Maciejko Bella Sudit Olivia Cooper Danny MacKenzie Shiran Sukumar Gil Covarrubias Samantha Maloney Danielle Sundermier Tamara Criss Darian Marinis Julian Trinh Ashley Davidson Matthew McIntyre Jean-Marc Fan Chung Pooja Desai Kevin Miao Tsang Min Ching Benjamin Dickens Nathaniel Michener Joanna (Tze Yu) Tung Danielle Doctor Erin Miller Andrea Vijay Sharon Fan Gregg Miller Ami Vyas Megan Feddern Leah Miller Maciej Walkosz Jamie Fehribach Emily Misnick Hannah Waxman Evan Gardner Jarrod Moore Cecilia Weddell Carson Garvin Nora Moskowitz Michaela Welch Ryan Gelly Morgan Myers Adam Wolberg Keith George Bhavya Narala Nicole Woo Inna Gertsenshteyn Minh-Thuy Nguyen Mateo Zambrano Mikhail Goloshchapov Joseph O'Keefe Ziqing Zeng Victoria Gomez John Oberschelp Ying Zhang Kathryn Gramigna Sheila Okere Shuchi Zinzuwadi Corey Habib Alan Pacheco Sarah Hadyniak Vicotria Pae 4 Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Presentations 2nd Floor Ballroom, George Sherman Union Noon – 1:00 pm Giana Absi Keonna Hayes Sarah Nocco Tara Adams Alexander Heubeck Zaidal Obagi Anar Alshanbayeva Kathryn Hill Anna Opperman Shannon Anderson Mikayla Huestis Rebecca Penzias Paul Armenta Anna Impastato Tre Pina Laura Auketayeva Sonja Jasinski Alan Premasiri Jake Awtry Kathleen Joseph Katie Rice Fernanda Behzadi Radhika Kadakia José Romo Corrales Christopher Bishop Logan Kageorge Gemilly Rosado Nelson Boland Jonathan Kim Guy Rosin Davis Borucki Andrew Klufas Shanon Rubin Callen Bragdon Ryan Knox Ann Ming Samborski Claire Brown Suzanne Krishfield Maxim Secor Margaret Bruce Jeanette Kusi Kshitij Sharma Anyssa Buchanan Valentina Lagomarsino Mariah Shaw Michaela Buckley Audrey Lambert Joshua Shelofsky John Burns Bethany Lamoureux Syona Shetty Alana Carmichael Ann Lane Dean Shi Ryan Cecchi Gerard Lawler Nami Shin K. Blake Chancellor Benjamin Lawson Prachi Shukla Tarik Chaudhry Emily Lawson Vincent Sinatra Stone Chen Meghan Leary Gabriella Smith Kameron Clayton Melissa Lee Hrishikesh Somayaji Madeleine Cohen Valerie Levit Alex Stockrahm Steven Cohen Kathleen Lewis Danielle Taylor Benjamin Coleman Boey Li Justin Tepe Victoria Dearborn Kai Ying Lin Rebecca Thompson Eric Dunton Ryan Linehan Molly Tobin Jonathan Duskin Jingjiang Liu Andrew Trainor Rose Eiduson Sharon Liu Camila Tyminski Shanan Emmanuel Paul Martinez Phillip Vartanyan James Ferritto Cara Martone Kathryn Vessel Julie Fishman Brian May William Wang Remi Gai John McKeon Patrick Williamson Courtney Gallik Deirdre McLaughlin Linda Wong Alexa Giammarino Risa McNellis Pu Xia Kathryn Gikas Taylor Millington Karl Young Michael Goodloe Annette Mitko Yingxian Yu Donovan Guttieres Emily Mitsock Jennifer Yung Akram Habibi Haneef Muhammad Linda Yung Zachary Hall Varsha Muralidhar JingXin Zhe Celeste Hamre Nathchar Naowarojna Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium 5 Featured Researchers John Burns (Engineering) The Effects of Hydration on the Biaxial Mechanical Properties of Porcine Aortic Elastin (Page 143) Kathryn Gramigna (Social Sciences) The Development of Critical Consciousness in Urban Adolescents Attending No Excuses and Freirean Charter High Schools (Page 84) Sheila Okere (Biological Sciences) The Role of FOXR1 in Brain Development (Page 39) Cecilia Weddell (Arts and Literature) Intellectuals and the Global Cinematic Imagination of Mexico in Revolution (Page 89) Karl Young (Social Sciences) Efficient Markets? Insurer Competition and Plan Pricing on Health Insurance Exchanges (Page 84) 6 Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium Acknowledgments The UROP Symposium organizers and students gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following sources: Boston University Office of the Provost National Science Foundation Department of Defense National Institutes of Health Funds from Faculty Research Grants The Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation Clare Boothe Luce Program of the Henry Luce Foundation Department of Chemistry Department of Physics Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Program Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing & Computational Science and Engineering Boston University Arts Initiative New England Biolabs Friends & Family of Mark Riemen Friends & Family of Dr. Mary Erskine If you are interested in contributing to the support of undergraduate research at Boston University, please contact UROP at 617-353-2020 or [email protected]. Donations can also be made through the UROP website by visiting http://www.bu.edu/urop/about/giving/. All donations will be used to directly support undergraduate research activities. UROP extends a special thanks to the Office of the Provost for their continued support of our program. We also thank the many faculty members who have mentored students and helped with UROP activities such as serving on the UROP Faculty Advisory Committee and helping with our funding and recruiting activities. UROP Staff Dr. Paul Lipton Melissa Christine Tina Fresta UROP Director UROP Assistant Director UROP Program Administrator Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium 7 Welcome Welcome to Boston University’s 17th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium! This symposium features the results of ongoing faculty/undergraduate research collaborations that enrich the educational experience of many students at Boston University. For these projects, Boston University faculty integrate their research interests with teaching by mentoring students one-on-one or in laboratory groups, providing students with hands-on opportunities to learn by doing. At this symposium, students from various disciplines are eager to speak with you about the results of their research. The undergraduate research community at Boston University encompasses a variety of interests and is funded by many different sources. In 1997, Boston University established the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to connect individual faculty research activities with undergraduates who wish to pursue research projects. Most students presenting today were awarded competitive grants to support their research projects. At today’s symposium, students will present their posters in the Metcalf Ballroom of the George Sherman Union (GSU). Half of the students will present their research from 11 AM to noon, and the other half will present from noon to 1 PM. A chart of individual poster locations is available at the UROP display near the entrance to the Metcalf Ballroom. We are pleased to have you join us today to interact with our student researchers and meet with faculty. We thank all staff, students, and faculty who assisted in organizing our 17th Annual Research Symposium. We would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Thomas Gilmore, Professor of Biology, who served as UROP Director from 2007-2014. During his tenure as director, Professor Gilmore more than doubled the number of students funded by UROP, along with tripling the amount of funding for the program. We thank him for his tireless leadership and outstanding contribution to UROP’s development and the achievement of its students. 8 Seventeenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium What is UROP? The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) is a University-wide program that helps undergraduate students find and participate in faculty-mentored research and experiential learning projects throughout the arts, engineering, humanities, math, professional programs, and sciences. UROP also provides funding for student stipends, supplies related to faculty-mentored research projects, and funds for travel related to one’s research (e.g. archival site visits, presentations at meetings, off-campus on-site data collection). Any member of the Boston University faculty may
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