Comps, honors papers, and prize-winning works of the Biology Department are featured here. All works have been self-submitted by the student authors. Descriptive information about each work is available to search or browse. Access to the full text of the works is limited to current Carleton affiliates with faculty permission. Learn more about how to submit your work and how to request access to the full text of works.
In addition to this digital archive, physical copies of past Biology comps are available for browsing in the Biology office (Hulings Hall 214).
Submissions from 2025
Navya Murahari, Biology (BIOL) 2025, RBM39 Degradation Catalyzed Aberrant Splicing Confers Cellular “Sight” for Human Cancer Immune Response
Submissions from 2024
Conor Babcock O'Neill, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Human-Accelerated Regions (HARs) & Schizophrenia: Evidence for a Genetic Driver and Recent Negative Selection
Margaret Blaney, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The Autoimmune and Disease-Specific Susceptibility Tradeoffs of Protective Pathogen-Driven Selection
Paloma Bravo, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Intestinal Epithelial Cells Expressing Toll-like-Receptors Communicate with T Regulatory Cells by Shaping the Commensal Microbial Community to Promote Gut Homeostasis
Kate Burton, Biology (BIOL) 2024, A New Immune System Danger Signal: Virally Induced Celiac Disease
Amy Chen, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Targeting proteins in the midgut of mosquitoes to prevent transmission of the malaria parasite
Natalia Crimmel, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Differential Regulation: Brains, Behavior and Disease
Vanessa Czerniecki, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Disordered Flanking Regions of Viral Short Linear Motifs potentially enhance Antibody Recognition
Sophie Draper, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Early Evolution of Homo sapiens: Origins From a Weakly Structured Stem
Anna Greenlee, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Future consequences of woody encroachment in U.S. grasslands
Abby Ignasiak, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Turn Up the Heat: The Importance of Temperature-Mediated Regulation of fHbp in N. meningitidis
Trevor Jones, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The Molecular Pathology and Therapeutic Potential of Autophagy in Alzheimer's Disease
Jelimo Kaitany, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Influence of Symbiodinium Heat Tolerance is Larger than Scleractinia on Coral Holobiont Recovery after Bleaching
Nicholas Lattal, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The evolutionary implications of adaptive introgression of Neanderthal and Denisovan genes in Eurasian
Makena Layton, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The Gut Microbiome, Leaky Gut and Autoimmunity
Sebastian Lee, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The Role of Gut Microbiota in the Pathogenesis of Major Depressive Disorder and Potential Gut-Targeted Antidepressant Therapies
Alice McClain, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Gardening the reef: future-proofing approaches to coral conservation
Ewan Miller, Biology (BIOL) 2024, A Coordinated Effort: The Recruitment of Regulatory T cells Involves Gut Microbes and the Vagus Nerve
Anya Mitton-Fry, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Latitude and avian life history strategies
Nicholas Moore, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Schizophrenia and the Human Noncoding Revolution: a New Evolutionary Framework
Shreya Nair, Biology (BIOL) 2024, A Gut feeling : Understanding the relationship between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the Gut Microbiome and Butyrate
Wanying Na, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The Role of VgrG-Associated Effectors in T6SS Structural Assembly, Firing and Interbacterial Competition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Brenna Russell, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Butyrate’s Maintenance of Colonic Homeostasis via PPARγ Activation
Emilie Scott, Biology (BIOL) 2024, α-synuclein and neuroinflammation pathology in Parkinson's Disease and Baicalein as an approach to halting disease progression
Ian Scott, Biology (BIOL) 2024, One Fish, Two fish, Hot Fish, Dead Fish: Effects of Temperature and Flow on Pacific Chinook Salmon
Mira Stephens, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Inhibition of Host Protein Synthesis by Legionella pneumophila as a Strategy for Amino Acid Acquisition and Host Cell Cycle Arrest
Micah Jay Strike, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Water flow as a rescue mechanism for corals during marine heatwaves
Blake Tran, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Saving Salmonids: Preparing Southwest Trout for Heat Waves and a Changing Climate
Vasilii Vaganov, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Decoding the Intricacies of Cajal Body Formation: Unveiling the Sequential Cascade of RNA Seeding, Coilin N-Terminal Oligomerization, and Coilin C-Terminal Recruitment
Isabella Vazquez, Biology (BIOL) 2024, The impact of heatwaves on temperature-dependent sex determination mechanisms in Trachemys scripta elegans
Aniketh Vipparla, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Duel of the Fates: Type VI Secretion System versus Biofilm in Acinetobacter baumannii Virulence
Jisoo Yeom, Biology (BIOL) 2024, Deciphering the Role of Phosphorylation in Period2 Using Frequency as a Model
Submissions from 2023
Collin Adams, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Multifaceted Role of Codon Usage Bias in Regulating Gene Expression
Kelsie Armstrong, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Acclimation and Fluctuating Temperatures Affect Ecological Performance and Development in Frogs
Sophie Baggett, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Alzheimer's Disease: Turning Towards Tau
Aaron Berkowitz, Biology (BIOL) 2023, ApoE-TREM 2 Interaction: An Important Regulator of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis
Maddie Boulis, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Human Cytomegalovirus RNA2.7 aids Viral Immune Evasion
Ross Burnside, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Common Is Not Always Optimal: The Reasons for Using Rare Codons in Genes
Emma Carlson, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Codon usage bias as a regulatory mechanism of gene expression
Isabella Charlton, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Regulation of Abiotic Stress Response in Arabidopsis Via Alternative Splicing
Eleanor Chen, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Torpor-Associated Thermoregulation and Appetite Regulation in Endothermic Mammals: A Concerted and Tailored Process
Canute Collins, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Behavioral Torpor Regulation of the Little Brown Bat
Justin Crawmer, Biology (BIOL) 2023, SRSF1 is an Oncoprotein and is a Key Regulator of Bcl-x Alternative Splicing in Lung Cancer
Thang Dao, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Anthropogenic Noise Modulation of the Avian Gut Microbiome Drives Phenotypic Differentiation Between Urban and Rural Environments.
Adela Dujsikova, Biology (BIOL) 2023, SRSF1 and SRSF3 regulate the crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy through interactions with Bcl-x and BECN1.
Charles Dvergsten, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Ineffective Erythropoiesis and Anemia in Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Ringed Sideroblasts: The Role of SF3B1 Mutation
Alyssa Ehrhardt, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Interactions Between Copper Dysregulation and Biological Markers of Alzheimer's Disease
Kaylin Eliza Engerman, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Large-Scale Consequences of Ecological Mismatch between Bark Beetles and Their Host Trees
Max Felland, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Calcium Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s Disease: A view on NMDA receptors and Calcium Homeostasis Modulator Proteins
Will Feng, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Epstein-Barr Virus uses MicroRNAs as part of its Strategy for Host Immune Evasion
Connor Flinn, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Assessing the Combined Impacts of Anthropocene Stressors and Atmospheric/Geographic Features on Global Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) Aggregations
Allie Fridkin, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Phenological mismatch and specialist pollinators: a comparison of current hypotheses and case studies
Maia Li Garby, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems: An Analysis of Soil Carbon Storage, Sequestration, and Respiration
Thomas Gatewood, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Epstein-Barr Viral Proteins EBNA1 and vIL-10 Facilitate Immune Evasion by Supporting a Latent-Lytic Cycle of Infection
Faith Hanshaw, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Balancing the Autonomic Regulation of Metabolism in Diving Mammals During Voluntary Dives
Elliot Hanson, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Genomic Plasticity in Prokaryotes and its Benefits in Dynamic Environments
Bailey Harmon, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Viral Inhibition of MHC I Pathways: Essential for Enhanced Efficacy of Oncolytic Virotherapy
Abdisalan Hawadle, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Sponge Microbial Response to Thermal Stress and Ocean Acidification is Species-Specific
Claire James, Biology (BIOL) 2023, An Un-Bear-ably Incredible Phenomenon: Atrophy Prevention via IGF-1/Akt Signaling Pathway in Skeletal Muscle of Hibernating Bears
Chloe Jones, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Impacts of Arctic Warming on Vegetation and Migratory Caribou (Rangifer tarandus): The Case for Ecological Mismatch
Elijah Jones, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Role of Climate Change and Microbial Communities in Increased Coral Reef Disease Prevalence
Maggie Kerwin, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Investigating the Role of the Alternative Splicing Isoform SRSF1-3 in Promoting Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase Mediated Somatic Hypermutation
Nadia Khayat, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Impact of Ocean Acidification on the Marine Food Web: Low pH Alters Marine Invertebrate Behavior via Chemical Cue Reception Impairment and Drives Predation Rate
Aya Klos, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Evolution of the early nitrogen cycle in the face of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE): How transition metal abundances influenced the evolution of the modern nitrogen cycle
Bryan Le, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Microbial Warfare in the Permafrost Front: How Direct & Indirect Competition Influence Bacterial Composition in Thawing Permafrost
Aashutosha Lele, Biology (BIOL) 2023, MicroRNAs Aid in Herpes Virus Latency: a Strategy for Immune Evasion
Emma Long, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Early Snowmelt and Phenological Mismatch Between Migratory Birds and Plant-Pollinator Interactions in Arctic and Alpine Environments
Clara Mayfield, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Impact of Methanogens on Climate Change: Improving our Understanding of Methanogenesis in Thawing Permafrost
Sam McCarthy, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Microbial degradation of PET plastic
Suad Mohamed, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Impacts of Increasing Drought on the Functioning and Stability of the Grassland Soil Microbiome
Elena Morales-Grahl, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Vital Role of Microglia and Astrocytes in Synaptic Loss and Disruption in Alzheimer’s Disease
Anwesha Mukherji, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Impact of Climate Change on Juvenile Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Freshwater and Marine Juvenile Development
Charlotte Nahley, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Importance of F. prausnitzii and Butyrate Production in the Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Cate Patterson, Biology (BIOL) 2023, All a-bat the UPRER: A Cellular Stress Response in Hibernating Bats
Astrid Petropoulos, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The “D”ebate: The Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Periodontal Disease
Ben Pham, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Influenza A mRNA splicing disrupts host mRNA splicing
Isabella Pozzi, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Role of Microglia and Tau in Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology
Sophia Prichard, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Not So Silent: The influence of codon usage bias on gene expression
Tyler Quitmeyer, Biology (BIOL) 2023, SRSF1 Enhances Splice Site Recognition through an ESE-Independent Mechanism
Utsha Rai, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Subjective Nature of Optimality in Biology: Exploring Codon Usage Bias
Lora Randa, Biology (BIOL) 2023, [4Fe-3S] Clusters Mediate Oxygen Tolerance in [NiFe] Hydrogenases
Rhesel Rivera, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Upregulation of the UPR Signaling Pathway via IRE1⍺-XBP1 Splicing Favors ZIKV Infection and Maternal-Fetal ZIKV Transmission
Daven Rock, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Zika Virus Induced Downregulation of Tight Junctions and the Extracellular Matrix Disrupts Intercellular Integrity and Enhances Transplacental Pathogenesis
Henry Rousseau, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Mutant SRSF2 cooperates with mutant Isocitrate Dehydrogenase ll to progress myelodysplastic syndrome to secondary acute myeloid leukemia.
Amer Said, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Zika Virus Entry into Host Cells Is Mediated By Axl TAM Kinase and Its Associated Ligand Gas6
Caroline Saksena, Biology (BIOL) 2023, TDP-43 Protein Aggregation Leads to Missplicing of Neuronal Growth Proteins
Adi Satish, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Human Disease in a Fluctuating World
Srishti (Shelly) Seth, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Mechanisms for Codon Usage Bias and its Influence on Translational Efficiency and Gene Expression
Ming Shen, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Host MicroRNAs Provide Means of Innate Immune System Evasion During Japanese Encephalitis Virus Infection
Jonathan Singleton, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Climate change induced mismatches between various predator-prey interactions in different life stages of the anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.)
Karina Suwal, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Microglial activation propagates tau pathology of Alzheimer's Disease
Neda Tehrani, Biology (BIOL) 2023, The Protective Immune Role of 17β-Estradiol against HCV Infection, Proliferation, and Progression
Tori Winter, Biology (BIOL) 2023, RNA Binding Protein Rbfox1 is Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder Through its Dual Role in Alternative Splicing and Gene Expression
Ella Woodruff, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Dive to Survive: Dive Response, Myoglobin, and Antioxidants in Aquatic Mammals
Jimmy Zhong, Biology (BIOL) 2023, Coral And Symbiodinium: The Role of Disrupted Nutrient Cycling in Coral Bleaching
Submissions from 2022
David Ahrens, Biology (BIOL) 2022, A Tale of Many Mutations: The Role of Primary Cilia-Localized ARL13B in Joubert Syndrome
Carmel Al-Sheikh, Biology (BIOL) 2022, The Organization of Cilia in the Embryo and Its Role in Laterality of the Body
Eli Arbogast, Biology (BIOL) 2022, The Complex Web of the Soil Microbiome: Current Research on Soil Microbiota and Their Implications for Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Ecosystem Restoration
Alexander P. Battist, Biology (BIOL) 2022, Cis- and Trans-Acting Mutations to Retinal Genes Interrupt Alternative Splicing Mechanisms Causing Ocular Dystrophies
Lydia Boyum, Biology (BIOL) 2022, Heterogeneity is Essential: Wildfire and Habitat Selection in North American Forests
