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 2020
Tam Tieu, Biology (BIOL) 2020, Understanding Stem Memory T Cell Development and Differentiation to Combat HIV
Kevin Tran, Biology (BIOL) 2020, The Orphan Methyltransferase CcrM Is an Epigenetic Regulator for Multiple Bacteria
Hannah Uttley, Biology (BIOL) 2020, The Role of Microglial Ion Channel P2X7 in Depression
Margriet VanDerwerker, Biology (BIOL) 2020, The Role of HLA-A2 CAR T Regulatory Cell Therapy, Foxp3, and CTLA-4 in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Alex Whitis, Biology (BIOL) 2020, Marine Sessile Animals: Adaptations For Feeding And Implications Of Climate Change
Evan Wright, Biology (BIOL) 2020, The Therapeutic Potential of Kv1.3 Inhibition by PAP-1 for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Submissions from 2019
Proud Chanarat, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Tracing Back to the Gene Content of the Last Universal Common Ancestor: Approaches in Taking Horizontal Gene Transfer into Account
Kristina Conrad, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The behavior of nectar robbers and effects on flowering plants for mutualism maintenance
Amanda Crawford, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Epigenetic Regulation of APOE in the Etiology and Progression of Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
Jackie Culotta, Biology (BIOL) 2019, How is honesty maintained in colorful condition dependent mate quality advertisements? The roles of costly signals and indicator traits
Mallika Dargan, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Langerhan cells, Langerin, and HIV transmission in the Female Reproductive Tract
Tris Dodge, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The curious case of the cane toad (Rhinella marina): using local context to predict top-down trophic cascades driven by invasive, allelochemically-defended prey
Fayzeh El Banna, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Epigenetics of BDNF Gene in PTSD Intense Fear Memory Formation and Lack of Extinction
Logan Emholtz, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Enhancing Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Biogenesis: The Effects of Endurance Training and Glycogen Levels
Roger Faust, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Invasive Ecosystem Engineers in a Non-Native Habitat: Ecological Impacts of Zebra Mussel Induced Nutrient Shifts
Lauren Goboff, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Gene Expression Disruption as a Model for Tissue Specificity in Laminopathies
Clara Hobbie, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Zika Virus Infection of Placental Macrophages Leads to Placental Dysfunction and Subsequent Fetal Demise
Anna Huber, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Relating Nutrition to Alzheimer's Disease Pathology Through Sirt1-Dependent H4K16 Deacetylation
Adriana Hudson, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Induction of Senescence by Progerin in Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) Cells is Not Reliant on Oxidative Stress
Lon Hutchinson, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Epigenetic Modulation in Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics: The Potential of SIRT1
Phuoc Thuan Huynh, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Inhibition of Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Reduces Tumor-Initiating Ability of Cancer Stem Cells and Induces Proinflammatory T Cell Responses in Glioblastoma Multiforme
Callen M. Inman, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Why are some mimics more precise than others?: how predator psychology drives the evolution of imperfect Batesian mimicry
Anna Karmel, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The Evolution of Sexually Deceptive Pollination in Orchidaceae
Pavana Khan, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Lamin A/C Uses Two Pathways to Synergistically Regulate Mechanosensitive Differentiation
Dimitri Laing, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Stress, Trauma, and ACEs Define Epigenetic Fate
Annabelle Leahy, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Lung Resident CD8+ T cells: Crucial Players in Rapid Clearance of Influenza Infection
Cecilia Ann Leone, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Chronology of Selective Responses against X-Chromosome Meiotic Drive Determined by Existing Climate and Population Genetics: Temperature and the Evolution of Mating Behavior, Suppressors, and Female Choice
Kaitlin Libbey, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The direct and indirect effects of warming on methane emissions from peatlands
Henry Liedl, Biology (BIOL) 2019, A Review of Histone Dynamics in the Nucleus Accumbens as a Result of Cocaine Exposure
Viola Li, Biology (BIOL) 2019, New Model for the Origin of Animal Multicellularity: From Temporal to Spatial Cell Differentiation, Advancements in GRNs
Will Loner, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Insect Outbreaks as a Potent Control Over Carbon and Nitrogen Flux: Effects, Feedbacks and Complications of Climate Change
Becky Luh, Biology (BIOL) 2019, HIV Initiation of a Microbial Translocation and Inflammation Cycle
Hailey Mair, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Interplay of DNMT3B and TET enzymes in reducing differentially methylated regions of iPSCs and hESCs
Jessica Makori, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Phenotypic Plasticity as a Metabolic Strategy for Plasmodium falciparum in Malaria Transmission
Aislinn N. Mayfield, Biology (BIOL) 2019, On Protocell formation: The co-assembly of a lipid compartment, informational polymer and catalytic network
Alief Moulana, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The pangenome paradox of the environmental microbes: between the adaptive accessory genome and the within-species genomic diversity
David O'Dea, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Oxidative Stress Prompts Macrophage Polarization Toward Inflammation in Obesity
Jona Plevin, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Masculinization of the brain via epigenetic modifications of estrogen receptor-α
Jenni Rogan, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Trophic Dynamics, evolutionary maintenance, and predator cognitive patterns in two anti-predator adaptations
Ayumi Sakamoto, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Early Exposure General Anesthesia Induces Cognitive Impairment Through the Dysregulation of BDNF
Jacob Schwartz, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Retinoblastoma Protein Inactivation by the Human Cytomegalovirus Kinase UL97 May Compensate for Increased Nucleoplasmic Lamin During Capsid Nuclear Egress
Tamara Deanne Scott, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Dendritic Cell Susceptibility to HTLV-1 Infection in the Infant Gut Mucosa and Subsequent Development of ATL
Eliza Skoler, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Modulating the Antiviral Immune Response to Respiratory Viral Infection: Short-Chain Fatty Acids and T Regulatory Cells
Mackenzie Smith, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Epigenetic Regulation in Glioblastoma Multiforme by DNA Methylation, Non-Coding RNAs, and Post-Translational Histone Modification Reinforces Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype and Chemoresistance
Emma Stewart, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Mechanisms of microbiota-host crosstalk: how microbial short chain fatty acids influence host lipid metabolism and adiposity
Julian Szieff, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Repression of GABA Inhibition from Parvalbumin Containing Basket Cells in the Prefrontal Cortex as an Epigenetic Model for Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia
Maddie Talamantes, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Improving homing-based gene drives in Anopheles to prevent the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum
Zachary Trottier, Biology (BIOL) 2019, Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction Following Sleep Disturbance: Neurophysiological Mechanisms and Their Implications For Cardiovascular Function
Diana Tyutyunnyk, Biology (BIOL) 2019, The LINC is the Link: A New Hypothesis for Laminopathies
Andrew Wallace-Jackson, Biology (BIOL) 2019, GIT Th17 Cells and HIV: A Balance Between Supporting Viral Success and Combatting Disease Progression
Abby Walling, Biology (BIOL) 2019, DNA Methylation is a Dynamic Process Necessary for Creating and Storing Persistent yet Adaptable Memories
Submissions from 2018
Daniel Evan Atkins, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Blood Runs Thicker than Cerebrospinal Fluid: Interactions Between the Vasculature and B1 Stem Cells in the Neurogenic Subventricular Zone
Gray C. Babbs, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Fractured: Differential Cytokine Signaling in the Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Bone-Bone Marrow Stem Cell Niche
Francesca Caracci, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Mediating Role of Silent Synapses in the Incubation of Cocaine Craving
Sandra Elaine Carson, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Hematopoietic Stem Cells Adapt and Survive During Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Avery Cheng, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Functional diversity as a measure for the effects of climate change on ecosystem functioning
Donson Jeryco Allen Cook Gallardo, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Neurological Basis for Cocaine Addiction
Merrick Thomas Ducharme, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Addiction Related Plastic Mechanisms: A Tale of Shifts in Receptor Permeability
Rebecca Jean Fairchild, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Role of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation in HIV Infection
Henry Jackson Fisher, Biology (BIOL) 2018, A Novel Mechanism of Eosinophil Recruitment, Activation, and Degranulation During Allergen Exposure in the Lungs and Gut
Michael William Frett, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Coral-Algal Balance Between Temperature Induced Bleaching, Response, and Resilience
Vianne Ran Gao, Biology (BIOL) 2018, A different perspective on the intestinal stem cell niche: Gut microbes influence intestinal stem cell proliferation during intestinal regeneration
Andrew Addison Gerber, Biology (BIOL) 2018, NETosis facilitates the progression of rheumatoid arthritis through the release of PAD4 into synovial fluid
Michael Collins Hoffert, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Predicting the influence of stochastic and deterministic variables on hydrothermal vent communities after eruptions
Joshua Lee Johnson, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Elucidate Neurological Details on Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia
Katherine Paige Sheldrick Jones, Biology (BIOL) 2018, MITF: A Transcription Factor Key to Awakening the Dormant Traits of Melanocytes in Melanoma Tumorigenesis
Sophia Takemi Kawamoto, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Invasion Decreases Beta Diversity Despite Initial Differentiation in Freshwater Fish
Thanda Win Khin, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Traumatic mating as the basis for an evolutionary arms race
Belle Kinder, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Impact of Genetic Diversity on Honey Bee Colony Productivity and Health
Benjamin J. Kopp, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The role of recently identified crosstalk mechanisms in conferring chemo-resistance to AML stem cells via activation of the NF-кB signaling pathway
Mikaela Kropp, Biology (BIOL) 2018, When pyrodiversity promotes biodiversity: Characterizing the mediators of community response to fire
Janis Joy Lee, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Metastasis in breast cancer is mediated by EMT, cancer stem cells, and niche-associated cytokines
Anisa Nicole Lester, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Rapid Eosinophil Apoptosis Promotes Obesity
Rory Ruoyu Li, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Neural Crest Cells: Development and Treatment of Treacher Collins Syndrome
Minda Liu, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Our gut reaction to antibiotics: The connection between antibiotic treatment and the inflammatory response
Mina Lor, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Eosinophils Play Significant Role in Airway Remodeling via Integrin Interactions with Airway Structural Cells
Andrew Mackin, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Evolution in Fragmented Habitat
Sarah Min, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Adult SVZ Niche Signals Drive NSC Maintenance and Neuronal Differentiation
Anna Nachbor, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Diseased Environment of the Cystic Fibrosis Lung: The Interplay of Lung Health, the Microbiome, and Chronic Settlers
Heidi Neidhart, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Nuptial gift-giving induces sexual conflict in insects
Sarah Naomi Ohashi, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Role of Neutrophil Elastase and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in the Progression of Cancer
Tyler J. O'Keefe, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Effects of Fe-P co-limitation of N2-fixation on Trichodesmium physiology in the oligotrophic ocean and the implications of global change phenomena on this biochemical balance
Kira Patterson, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The role of intersecting Yap and Beta-catenin pathways on the maturation of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells
Miguel Rincon Cervantes, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Estrogen Levels of the Female Reproductive Tract are Positively Correlated with Stability of the Vaginal Microbiome and Lactobacillus Abundance
Tyler Joseph Rolland, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Patterning of the Developing Neural Tube Due to Interactions of Sonic Hedgehog and the Gli Family Zinc Finger
Preethiya Sekar, Biology (BIOL) 2018, A Time-Dependent Synergistic Mechanism of Id1+ Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Mobilization to the Premetastatic Niche
Alexandra Shin, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Undercover Agents of Addiction: How Drugs of Abuse Alter Silent Synapses in the Nucleus Accumbens
Lucy Thorne Soule, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Neural Crest Migration: The Push and Pull Of Collective Movement
Lia Yili Spencer, Biology (BIOL) 2018, TGF-β’s Role in the Development of Endometriosis
Avery Angell Swearer, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The role of miR-133a and RARβ2 in salamander axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury and theurupeutic implications for mammalian recovery
Eric Cullen Taylor, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Intralocus Sexual Conflict and the Evolution of Sexual Dimorphism
Jepheny Paajyi Thao, Biology (BIOL) 2018, The Anti-inflammatory Roles of Neutrophils in Gout
Elaina Grace Thomas, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Effects of dispersal ability and spatial scale on niche and neutral processes
Madeline Topf, Biology (BIOL) 2018, A high-fiber diet-associated gut microbiota protects against obesity
Danielle Briana Vasiliev, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Neutrophil NETs: Crucial Mediators of Deep Vein Thrombosis
Andrew Liebenstein Wheeler, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Membrane Permeability and the Origin of Cellular Life
Solomon Blake Yanuck, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Exercise Induces Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation in a Platelet-Dependent Manner
Elizabeth Zheng, Biology (BIOL) 2018, Re-Poopulating the Gut: Why Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) is a more effective treatment of Clostridium difficile infections
Submissions from 2017
Moriah Rebecca Arnold, Biology (BIOL) 2017, Matrix metalloproteinase dysregulation during various stages of neuronal development leads to Autism Spectrum Disorder phenotypes via integrin α/β and BDNF signaling pathways
Lauren Azuma, Biology (BIOL) 2017, Examining the evolution of insecticide resistance in Bacillus thuringiensis crops and a recommendation for delaying resistance
