DePauw Student Research
This page showcases examples of student and student-faculty collaborative research, scholarship, and creative activity at DePauw University.
Alan Tuan Le, Mai Le, Sutthirut Charoenphon, PhD - Differential Equations in Stock Predictions Analysis
Department: Mathematical Sciences, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Sutthirut Charoenphon, PhD
Research: Stock price prediction plays a vital role in financial decision-making and has been an area of extensive research. In this research, we explore the effectiveness of the differential equation of Brownian motion as a method for stock price prediction and compare its performance with two established techniques, ARIMA and XGBoost. Using historical data from Yahoo Finance, we assess the predictive capabilities of...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences
Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, and Avery Archer, PhD - Analysis of the Crab Nebular and Pulsar
Department: Physics and Astronomy, DePauw University and Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Arizona
Project Mentor: Avery Archer, PhD
Research: Although the Crab Nebula is well understood, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) still regularly observes the Crab's highest energy emissions. These emissions are used to calibrate the telescopes, further, document the system, and investigate the validity of physical models. Our research this summer is geared to analyze data from 2018-2022 to add to an ongoing research project investigating the long term variability of the Crab Nebula’s emission.
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program
Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, and Avery Archer, PhD - An Introduction to the VERITAS Observatory
Department: Physics and Astronomy, DePauw University and Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Arizona
Project Mentor: Avery Archer, PhD
Research: Located at the base of Mount Hopkins, Arizona, at an elevation of approximately 4200 feet, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) is a ground-based gamma ray observatory containing four Cherenkov telescopes designed to detect very high energy gamma rays with energies ranging from 100GeV to 10TeV using the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. In April 2007, VERITAS began...
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program
Amalie Vacanti - 3D & 360º Visualization in Archaeology
Department: Department of Classical Studies, DePauw University and Umbra Institute, Castiglione del Lago, Italy
Project Mentor: Rebecca Schindler, PhD
Research: The Trasimeno Regional Archaeological Project (TRAP) is a long-term regional archaeological project focused on the exploration of the Castiglione del Lago territory on the West Side of Lago Trasimeno. The 2023 season involved the excavation of a new site, dubbed the Belvedere site, situated within the town of Castiglione del Lago, Italy, an area of interest due to a visible Roman structure protruding from the earth. With the unique opportunity of working with this new...
3D Model of the Roman Structure on Terrace 4
Trasimeno Regional Archaeology Project (TRAP) Digital Museum
Funding: J. William Asher and Anne F. Harris Endowed Fund in the Humanities, Douglas and Mary Hallward-Driemeier Fund, Ruth McLeod Travel Award
Amy Apfelbaum - Understanding Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Novel Neuron Cell Models
Major: Biochemistry
Department: Grillo Lab, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mentor: Anthony Grillo, PhD; Raghav Dutta, PhD; Alaa Hassan
Research: I worked Dr. Anthony Grillo’s lab under my mentors Raghav Dutta and Alaa Hassan at the University of Cincinnati. The Grillo Lab is focused on understanding the mechanisms of mitochondrial complex 1 dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. It has been shown that an early feature of neurodegeneration is complex 1 dysfunction; we were trying to determine if this is a cause or an effect of these diseases. This summer, we focused on identifying different types of neuron subtypes in brain tissue samples, isolating primary neurons by first...
Funding: National Science Foundation, University of Cincinnati
An Pham; Jeff Hansen, PhD; Sarah Mordan-McCombs, PhD - Pyrrolidine Derivative Targets Actin Cytoskeleton in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells
Major: Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Jeff Hansen, PhD, and Sarah Mordan-McCombs, PhD
Research: Recent research has brought pyrrolidine derivatives into consideration for the development of anticancer drugs with high efficacy and low toxicity. Dr. Hansen’s lab at DePauw has synthesized a pyrrolidine derivative that demonstrated anticancer activity. However, there are many ways a compound can affect cancer cells. In this research, we decided to investigate...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences
Benjamin S. Wilkerson, Zachary M. Wilkerson, Scott M. Wilkerson, PhD - AROutcrop: An augmented reality mobile application for enhancing geoscience learning and comprehension in the field and classroom
Department: Department of Geology & Environmental Geoscience; presented at Geological Society of America annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.
Project Mentor: Scott M. Wilkerson, PhD
Research: Most geologists have long recognized the educational value of immersive opportunities and hands-on experiences that teaching geology in the field and using natural rock samples in the classroom offer students. However, these instructional approaches also give rise to distinct logistical and pedagogical challenges. For example, in the field, students sometimes struggle to fully connect concepts, models, and interpretations from classroom lectures with seemingly amorphous masses of rock that they encounter. Or, in the classroom, students may only have limited time for...
Funding: Information Technology Associates Program
Brennan Jensen, Olivia Lockette, Kyle Lillwitz, Duyen Nguyen, Animesh Dali, Sal Martoglio - Investigating Rare Genetic Variants of Unknown Significance in LDHA
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Sharon Crary, PhD, and Daniel Gurnon, PhD
Research: The exponential expansion and advancement of genetic sequencing has revealed the molecular basis of many genetic diseases. However, many genetic mutations are still classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Our lab focused on eleven missense variants in Lactate Dehydrogenase A (LDHA), an enzyme vital in anaerobic respiration. The intent with our research is to...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences, Science Research Fellows Program
Danielle R. Sommerman, Scott M. Wilkerson, PhD - Restoration and Balancing of a Cross Section of the Mt. Crandell Duplex, Waterton National Park, Canada
Major: Geology
Department: Department of Geology & Environmental Geoscience; presented at Geological Society of America annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA
Project Mentor: Scott M. Wilkerson, PhD
Research: Cross-section balancing provides a useful tool for checking the potential viability of structural interpretations through complexly deformed terranes. Balanced cross sections contain structures that are similar to those observed in outcrop or on seismic profiles in the area, that can be restored to a realistic pre-deformational configuration of faults and undeformed strata where areas are preserved between the deformed and restored states, and whose development from the undeformed state can be described in a...
Funding: FDC Student-Faculty Research Grant, HHMI
Delaney Collier, Bridget L. Gourley, PhD - Investigating Sucrose and D-trehalose in AOT Reverse Micelles
Major: Biochemistry, DePauw University
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, DePauw University and Chemistry, Colorado State University
Project Mentor: Bridget L. Gourley, PhD
Research: Reverse micelles are nanosized structures that encapsulate small water pools and allow us to investigate the fundamental interactions of small organic molecules in nanoconfinement. The behavior of small organic molecules, sometimes referred to as osmolytes, differs in bulk solution and confinement. Because reverse micelles are a good model for biological nanoconfinement, investigating osmolytes in reverse micelle systems can help us to...
Funding: National Science Foundation
Duyen Nguyen - Cultivating Green: Learning How to Farm Sustainably
Major: Biochemistry, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Christina Holmes, PhD
Practicum: In the summer of 2022 and throughout the following 2022-2023 academic year, I worked as a farm intern at Ullem Campus Farm. This experience provided a fantastic opportunity for me to learn about sustainable farming practices, gain hands-on experience with organic farming techniques, and explore the hydroponics field. I also had the chance to visit other eco-friendly farms during field trips, where I learned from experienced farmers and heard their inspiring stories.
Funding: Office of Sustainability
Eihi Yoshinaga, Naima Shifa, PhD - Exploring the Impact of Parental Education and Employment on the Prevalence of ACEs: A Nation Wide Investigation
Major: Global Health
Department: Mathematical Sciences, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Naima Shifa, PhD
Research: Our project seeks to examine the association between caregivers' educational attainment and employment status and the prevalence and types of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in their children. ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occurs between the ages of 0 to 17, and it is well-established that ACE exposure is correlated to...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences
Elizabeth Dugan, Caroline Gilson - Had Grass, Water and Wood: Scanning and Transcribing the 1864 Travel Diary of John Heinen
Major: Anthropology & English Literature
Department: Roy O. West Library, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Caroline Gilson
Research: This collaborative project included scanning and transcribing a diary owned by Caroline Gilson passed down from her mother. The diary is from May-September 1864, kept by Ernst John Heinen, recording his trip from Nebraska to California on the Overland Trail. Heinen is Caroline’s great-great grandfather, born in Germany in 1836. Elizabeth Dugan worked hands-on with the diary, scanning the work and transcribing the work. Elizabeth and Caroline developed a...
Funding: Student-Faculty Research Fund
Ellen Trautman, Colin Crean, David Halladay, Attaya Suvannasankha - XRK3F2 inhibits p62 signaling and augments myeloma killing by proteasome inhibitors
Major: Biochemistry
Department: Hematology/Oncology, Indiana University and Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
Project Mentor: Colin Crean, David Halladay, Attaya Suvannasankha
Research: Despite advancements in therapy, multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable blood cancer. Our mission is to maximize the efficacy of a primary treatment for myeloma, proteasome inhibitors (PIs) which cause intracellular waste buildup, leading to ER stress and cell death. p62(sequestosome-1) provides an alternate pathway when the proteasome is inhibited, by breaking down cytotoxic material via autophagy. Upregulation of p62 is associated with PI resistance. We identified...
Funding: Summer Program for Academic Research in Cancer of Indiana University, Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
Grace Lucchesi, Beth Wilkerson, Quincie Simmons, Dana Dudle, PhD - Modeling Light for Platanus Occidentalis (American Sycamore) Trees in the DePauw Quarry
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Dana Dudle, PhD
Research: Platanus Occidentalis, characterized by shedding bark and ball-shaped seed pods, is native to much of the mid-southeastern US, and is commonly used as an ornamental tree. Individuals growing in the quarry of DePauw’s Nature Park are often small, discolored, or even dying. We used devices to measure the UV and Photosynthetically Active Radiation present at the locations of 70 random trees. We then used known sun path equations and GIS to start...
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program
Kaija Carr, Nina Shaffer, Catarina Zabot Pasini, Philips Akinwole, PhD - Avoidance behavior ecotoxicity testing of Oppia nitens in conventional microplastic and bioplastic spiked soils
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Philips Akinwole, PhD
Research: Environment and Climate Change Canada recently completed a standardized protocol of ecotoxicity testing for Oppia nitens, a soil oribatid mite that performs crucial functions to support ecosystem services. Consequently, O. nitens is now recommended among the class of soil invertebrates for ecotoxicity testing, however, its applicability is limited by the paucity of data on its avoidance behavior to contaminants in soils. In this study, we...
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program, Dr. Frederick Hendricks Student Travel Award
Karan Mahato, Guangjun Qu, PhD -
Reshaping Global Supply Chain:The US-China Trade War, China’s Zero Covid Policy, and Vietnam’s Trade Boom
Major: Anthropology and Economics
Department: Economics and Management, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Guangjun Qu, PhD
Research: This study investigates the effect of the US-China Trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnam’s Trade Volume. People believe that both these geopolitical factors and the global health crisis have helped Vietnam experience a boom in its Trade patterns. This study aims to examine how geopolitics partially reshape the global supply chain and how public health crises partially determine the...
Funding: J. William Asher and Dorothy A. Asher Endowed Fund in the Social Sciences
Kate Pederson, Melanie Finney, PhD - Podcasts as a Form of Social Support for Individuals with Chronic Illness
Major: Communication
Department: Communication, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Melanie Finney, PhD
Research: Chronic illness frequently decreases individuals’ abilities to receive social support. 105 listeners of health-related podcasts completed online closed and open-ended surveys. Results indicate 97% of respondents experience social isolation because of their illness, and 90% report listening to podcasts help them feel less isolated. Additionally, condition-specific podcasts allow people to gain relevant information about...
Funding: J. William Asher and Dorothy A. Asher Fund in the Social Sciences
Lauren Kyburz with Lily Monnett, Quincie Simmons, Dana Dudle, PhD - Stressed, but doing fine. An investigation of Apocynum Cannabinum Patches and Individuals
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Dana Dudle, PhD
Research: Apocynum cannabinum (hemp dogbane) is a native Indiana plant that is abundant in the DePauw University Nature Park’s quarry, a heterogeneous site that contains stretches of dry, rocky terrain in addition to many temporary ponds. In 2023, I mapped the distribution of A. cannabinum in the quarry to see if its habitats are associated with...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences, Science Research Fellows Program
Lily Monnett, Quincie Simmons, Lauren Kyburz - Life on the Quarry Wall Vs the Quarry Floor: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Dana Dudle, PhD
Research: Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper, is found in two parts of the DePauw Nature Park quarry: vertically along the quarry wall and on large rock piles on the quarry floor. I looked into how these different habitats influenced the growth form, stress responses, and fitness of the P. quinquefolia growing in them. P. quinquefolia on the wall has higher...
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences, Science Research Fellows Program
Linh Le, James Wells, PhD - Spatial Narratives in the Bronze Age
Major: World Literature
Department: Classical Studies, DePauw University
Project Mentor: James Wells, PhD
Research: This research paper explores the relationship between culture and architecture in the Late Bronze Age through the analysis of the Minoan and Mycenaean communities, with the focus on the latter. Drawing on the theories of “The Production of Space” by Henri Lefebvre and “Space and Place” by Yi-Fu Tuan, the study examines how these communities utilized space to construct their own unique sense of place. By analyzing most archaeological evidence from...
Funding: J. William Asher and Anne F. Harris Endowed Fund in the Humanities
Linh Nguyen, Guangjun Qu, PhD - Corruption Perceptions During the Pandemic
Major: Economics
Department: Economics and Management, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Guangjun Qu, PhD
Research: This study delves into the response of corruption perception indices to the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate whether a global shift in corruption indices occurred post-pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, we assess changes in standard errors of these indices before and after the pandemic to gauge shifts in consensus among...
Funding: J. William Asher and Dorothy A. Asher Endowed Fund in the Social Sciences
Lydia Stullken - Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Youth Tree Team 2023
Major: Global Health
Project Mentor: Joe Heithaus, PhD
Practicum: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is a non-profit focused on connecting people to the environment and people to people. During my time at KIB, I worked on their youth tree team as a leader. Myself, along with 9 other college students worked in pairs with a group of roughly 10 high schoolers per group. In our days together, we would...
Funding: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB)
Mahnoor Zahid, Henning Schneider, PhD - Phenotyping of Acute Nicotine Response Behavior in Larval Zebrafish
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Henning Schneider, PhD
Research: The alpha 3 (chrna3), alpha 5 (chrna5), and beta 4 (chrnb4) receptor genes of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine have been connected to both the onset and heavy smoking in humans. Zebrafish represent a model system for studying the role of genes in behavioral responses to nicotine. The goal of this project was to develop behavioral tests for the characterization of zebrafish gene-knockout mutants that we are developing using CRISPR/Cas9 and zebrafish from...
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program
Olivia Lockette - Livening Beyond Homeless Inc. Outdoor Space
Major: Biochemistry
Project Mentor: Ken Brown, PhD
Research: I served at Beyond Homeless Inc. womens' and childrens' shelter as my volunteer placement for the Bonner scholarship, and found a canvas for environmental impact for my practicum. While Beyond Homeless is far more than an assignment to me, this project is an effort to uncover the many underlying environmental challenges Putnam County faces as well as the community outside of DePauw University. While serving the homeless shelter, I...
Funding: Bonner Scholar Foundation
Ryan Miller; Jeff Hansen, PhD; Sarah Mordan-McCombs, PhD - Characterizing the Effects of Benzyl-Amino Alcohol on Cell Growth, Viability, and Migration
Major: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Sarah Mordan-McCombs, PhD
Research: The research investigates a new compound classified as benzyl-amino alcohol and begins a new endeavor into the effects of this class of compound. This compound would work well in chemotherapies because affecting healthy cells can lead to a patient’s health decline.
Funding: J. William Asher and Melanie J. Norton Endowed Fund in the Sciences
Sophia Porter, Thanh Ngoc Thien Nguyen, Avery Fagan, Henning Schneider, PhD - Gene Editing in Zebrafish for Modeling Nicotine Dependence
Department: Biology, DePauw University
Project Mentor: Henning Schneider, PhD
Research: Three genes for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, the alpha 3 (chrna3), the alpha 5 (chrna5) and the beta 4 (chrnb4) gene have been linked to heavy smoking and smoking onset in humans. Mutations of these genes could increase the risk for developing lifelong nicotine dependence. To explore these potential risk factors we use zebrafish and apply molecular tools including CRISPR/Cas9 for generating gene-knockout mutations and CRISPR/BE4max for generating gene-editing mutations. These tools will allow us to...
Funding: Science Research Fellows Program
Tuan (Kevin) Le, Evans Sajtar, McKenzie Lamb, PhD - Longboard classification using Machine Learning
Department: Mathematical Sciences, DePauw University
Project Mentor: McKenzie Lamb, PhD
Research: There are several techniques a rider can choose from that they can perform being distributed along the long-board ride. This research aims to create a machine-learning model that can efficiently classify these techniques at different periods of time using raw acceleration data. This paper presents the complete workflow of the application. This application involves analytical geometry, multidimensional calculus, and...