Each term there is a meeting to discuss options BEFORE you can take the steps to register.
All students interested in research with BIOLOGY FACULTY are encouraged to attend:
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Summer 2021 Scholars Research faculty available for summer research are noted below. The formats and projects may change. Refer to the Summer Scholars link. STAY TUNED for Summer 2022.
Cholesterol—can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Investigations in several aspects of cholesterol trafficking:
-- How and where cholesterol goes inside cells
-- How the cell regulates synthesized and internalized cholesterol
-- How changes in the distribution of cholesterol affect the function of certain proteins particularly in relation to certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease
-- Field of molecular ecology--I am particularly interested in the role that past or present geographic barriers play in the evolutionary history of species, emphasizing their phylogeography, genomics and conservation.
-- Song variation between populations of closely related bird species
-- Compare, via in silico identification, virulence factors which are unique to Chlamydia species and allow for host adaptation
-- Create Chlamydia virulence factors fusion with fluorescent proteins via in vitro moleculer cloning
-- Contrast spatial and temporal regulation of Chlamydia virulence factors via in vivo over expression during infection and "immunity".
-- Develop hybrid Chlamydia strains for in vivo screening of increased/decreased host specificity
-- Electrophysiological characterization of individual neurons in the cardiac ganglion
-- Analysis of changes in neuronal gene expression using PCR and immunohistochemistry
-- Biochemical analysis of changes in protein levels using Western Blot analysis
How are genes turned on and off?
--Identifying factors involved in splicing via high throughput screens
--Cloning a library of mutants via complementation
--Examining the role of RNA polymerase C-terminal domain in regulation via mutagenesis
Animal personality and environment shaping animal movements
-- Lab: personality of dwarf hamsters influencing social and foraging behaviors
-- Field: wildlife personality in urban vs rural landscapes
-- Field: habitat use and movement of mammals and amphibians
-- Understanding protein signaling specificity and how developmental processes evolve.
Learn more about the Lo Lab.
Learn more about the Woods-Lo Lab tardigrade collaboration.
Investigations on plant responses to the environment.
Current focus on:
-- Impacts of introduced species in Puerto Rico
-- Adaptations to seasonal freezing and drought
-- Adaptation to UV radiation exposure in alpine ponds
-- Divergence in thermal tolerance between lake and pond populations
-- Molecular methods to measure DNA damage and identify species
How animal glues work: guiding the development of bioinspired medical adhesives
-- Characterize the components of a biological secretion that forms an unusually tough glue
-- Determine how different proteins and metal ions create toughness and adhesion in this glue
Research on Puerto Rican Fan Flowers:
- Pollination Biology
- Genetic Diversity
- Impacts of Invasive Species on Islands
Projects in Sustainability Science
Computational & Developmental Bio
-- Computational biology: learn and apply bioinformatics and programming skills to genome-scale analyses in humans and model organisms
-- Developmental biology: analyze the roles of genes acting in sensory neuron development and tissue regeneration.
Also, Learn more about the Woods-Lo Lab on tardigrade collaboration.