Student Research Projects
See below for a listing of past student research projects.
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Student Research
Our students work directly with faculty mentors to design and carry out a variety of research projects.
Join Us in Our Modern Research Labs and Out in the Pacific NW
Biology students have opportunities to join research teams mentored by our faculty to conduct projects that take advantage of our location in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Some student projects focus on molecular, physiological, or evolutionary biology in our well-equipped state-of-the-art labs that opened in 2021. Other student projects venture from the mountains to the sound exploring ecosystems and collecting field data focused on marine biology and ecology.
Since the Biology Department’s faculty have broad interests and expertise, student project topics range widely and our students have boundless research opportunities. See some of the diverse student projects below.
Our students have opportunities to present their projects at regional and national undergraduate research conferences and professional meetings.
Undergraduate Research Conferences
Students present their research projects at conferences such as:
- Murdock College Science Research Conference (November)
Student Projects
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Evolutionary Origins of Coloration in Alpheus | A. Gillespie | Hultgren |
| Catching yourself after you slip: creating slightly deleterious alleles in E. coli | A. McConachie & Z. Chen | Zanis |
| Bushtit Nesting Habits on SU Campus | C. Bresee and B. Milder | Hartley |
| Comparing Intein Effects in Saccharomyces cerevisiae | D. Yee | DuBois |
| Mossing Around: Comparing Invertebrate Communities in Orthotrichium lyelli moss between Urban Areas and Old Growth Forest | G. Veltri | Hultgren |
| Inteins! Who is the fastest escape artist? | J. Abullarade | Zanis |
| Investigating the formation of BREX protein complexes with DNA Part I | J. Albert and S. Menezes | Kaiser |
| Catching yourself after you slip: creating slightly deleterious alleles in E. coli | J. Kahn and T. Hoang | Zanis |
| Genomic and genetic diversity of chloroplasts in green algae | K. Maruna | Zanis |
| Catching yourself after you slip: creating slightly deleterious alleles in E. coli | M Lebaron and B. Milder | Zanis |
| Examining myxobacteria and 3-MBA | M. Kahwaty | Smith |
| DNA barcoding of crustaceans from Guam reveal the need for better DNA sequences in GenBank | M. Spandler & S. Ugarte | Hultgren |
| Assessing Seawall Removal as an Effective Marine Restoration Approach: Not a Shore Thing | Marine Restoration Ecology Class | Pool |
| Investigating the formation of BREX protein complexes with DNA Part II | S. McGuire | Kaiser |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Bushtits feeding on flower nectar in winter | A. Berg and F. Chamberlain | Hartley |
| Nature's Escape Artists: Viral Inteins in Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Systems | A. Carroll and E. Alleman | Zanis |
| Comparing genetic inheritance via sporulation of S. cerevisiae mutants prepared in two ways | D. Chinn | DuBois |
| Arabidopsis thaliana response to sulfur | D. Imanishi | Zanis |
| Species delimitation of goby-dwelling shrimp | I. Hawksford | Hultgren |
| Identification and diversity of green algae in local lakes | J. Albert and S. Menezes | Stenbak |
| Morphological evolution in Alpheus snapping shrimps | J. Sarsfield | Hultgren |
| Meta-analysis of exercise effects on hypertension in a rat model | K. Meredith | Luckey |
| DNA binding parameters of the BrxR bacterial transcriptional regulator | K. Higashi | Kaiser |
| Presidential Election Results Influence on COVID-19 Cases and Deaths | L. Sasaki and R. Zekariase | Luckey |
| Barcoding of Invertebrates from Elliott Bay Marina | L. Meyers | Hultgren |
| Assay development to detect DNA methyltransferase activity of the BREX bacterial defense system | P. Smith | Kaiser |
| Comparing two DNA extraction methods for invertebrate barcoding | T. Goodspeed | Hultgren |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nesting Preferences of American Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) in an Urban Campus Setting | Celeste Dylla and Hannah Samsen | Rebecca Hartley, PhD |
| Testing the Ecological Limits of Algae Habitat Preference in the Pacific Northwest | Meaghan O'Connor Lenth | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| The Effect of Acute Sleep Deprivation on the Stress Response in Undergraduates | Molly Van Dyke and Kaley Dugger | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Quantitative trait analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana growing in a high sulfur environment | Karyssa Miller | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Investigating the cardioprotective effects of exercise in young and old female mice | Delaney Kirchmeier | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Molecular evolution of methionine salvage genes across green plants | Eloise Santa Cruz | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Effects of Harbor Seals on Salmon in the Puget Sound | Bri Ganzon and Zach Duckworth | Correigh Greene (NOAA) |
| Does Chronic Exercise Mitigate Final Examination Stress in Undergraduates? | Benjamin Hughes and Ethan Schmitt | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Impacts of Urbanization on Intertidal Invertebrate Species Richness in Puget Sound | Kalia Hendricks and Morgan Beste | Kristin Hultgren, PhD & Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Genetic variation within haploid clonal eukaryotic green algae | Carolyn Fish | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Does chronic exercise mitigate final examination stress in undergraduates? | Abigail Wright & Benjamin Hughes | Stephen Luckey, PhD & Molly Welsh (SPEX), PhD |
| Split protein regulation of IsmaMI cleavage | Austin Bailey | Brett Kaiser, PhD |
| Molecular ecology and polypolidy in the single-celled green algae Micrasterias (Desmidiaceae) | Brittany Takushi | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Covalent attachment of protein cargo to a computationally designed toroid scaffold | Caley Polkinghorn | Brett Kaiser, PhD |
| Phylogenetic analysis and DNA barcoding identifies a potential cryptic species within the leafy liverwort genus Porella (Porellaceae) | Camille DeRome | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| The cardioprotective effects of exercise in the context of pathology | Courtney Olson | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| The effect of sleep deprivation on the stress responses of undergraduate students | Isheeta Tewari | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| The correlation demonstrated between egg size and genome size within Decapod crustaceans | Jeremy Bjelajac | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Impacts of urbanization on the invertebrate communities of Puget Sound | Kalia Hendricks | Kristin Hultgren, PhD & Mark Jordan, PhD |
| The effects of used motor oil on zooplankton biodiversity | Karena Thé | Lindsay Whitlow, PhD |
| Phylogenetics of Phycodnaviruses in the Pacific Northwest | Kofi Asare-Konadu | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Non-invasive species identification of urban mesocarnivores | Lorraine Davis & Peter Reinhardt | Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Seasonal responses to distress calls in the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia morphna | Mary Dyrland | Cheryl Wotus, PhD |
| Molecular evolution of the Yang Cycle, the methionine recycling pathway, across green plants | Nicolas Huarita Garcia | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Population genetics of fishers in Vermont | Sam Levy | Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Solving the mystery of cryptic Alpheus species | Sydney Hensyel | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Effects of high and low-use trails on plant diversity in Tiger Mountain State Park | Teri Rackson | Lindsay Whitlow, PhD |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-lethal effects of lead pollution on intertidal crustaceans in the Duwamish Waterway | Lucas Bartholomew-Good | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Evolution of genome size in snapping shrimp (genus Alpheaus) | Dylan Gnatz | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| The effects of household spices on Streptococcus mutans | Lauren Lau | Daniel Smith, PhD |
| Impact of high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease on cardiac physiology | Alanna McCarthy | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Polar crustaceans have large genomes: Latitudinal variation in genome size in Amphipoda and Decapoda | Angela Moran | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Drivers of trophic position plasticity for fishes within flood-pulse systems | Corinne Noufi | Thomas Pool, PhD |
| Voluntary exercise enhances cardiac growth in response to chronic b-adrenergic receptor stimulation | Moira O'Connor Lenth | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Development of a virus metagenomic eDNA PCR assay | Brandon Palkowski | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Deep fishing: Dream or disaster? An analysis of the sustainability of deep sea fishing | Megan Rodden | Charles Fowler, PhD |
| Developing single-celled approaches to measuring genetic variation in Micrasterias rotata (Desmidiaceae) | Brittany Takushi | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Cyanobacteria isolation and characterization from Pacific Northwest lakes and streams | Christopher Trudeau | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Micrasterias (Desmidiaceae) diversity in the Pacific Northwest | Selyna Villareal | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement of sedentary vs. active college student exam stress levels | Bailey Archer | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Cryptic species identification of sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp (SYNAPHEAUS) | Holly Callahan | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Phylogenetically controlled correlations between genome size, habitat, and development of Grapspoidea superfamily | Maria Dalzell Martos | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| An investigation on the nuclear and chloropast genetic diversity in cascadian Micrasterias fimbriata (Desmidiaceae) | Margaret Gorini | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Construction of a similar foamy virus infectious clone | Cooper Hayes | Carolyn Stenbak, PhD |
| Genome size evolution in marine crustaceans | Meghan Kennedy | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Developing a multilocus phylogeny of Micrasterias species in the pacific northwest | Bayley Larsen | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Temporal niche partitioning occurs between the Virgina opossum (Didelphis Birginiana) and raccoon (Procyon Lotor) in Seattle's green spaces | Destiny Mims | Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Identifying genes involved in strain interactions between Myxobateria species | Brian Nguyen | Daniel Smith, PhD |
| Identifying the genetic basis for tolerance to environmental stressors in Arabidopsis thaliana | Karen Nguyen | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Molecular evolution of the AGAMOUS large regulatory intron across spermatophytes | Sun Hyee Park | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Investigating the DNA binding constraints of the I-Sob2593 Meganuclease | Raymond Ruff | Brett Kaiser, PhD |
| Phylogenetic analysis of Isoetes species (quillwort) from the pacific northwest | Spencer Seale | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Examining the sex-dependent cardioprotective effects of exercise in murine hearts | Sherilynn Soo | Stephen Luckey, PhD |
| Algae gone viral: analysis of cascadian lakes phycodnavirus genome | Abigail Wells | Michael Zanis, PhD & Carolyn Stenbak, PhD |
| Quantifying growth rates of Micrasterias species across experimental freshwater habitats | Katherine Wood | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Project | Student(s) | Advisor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Identifying possible ligands for a putative kringle domain in Thalassiosira pseudonana | Max Echterling | Brett Kaiser, PhD |
| Algal Progression on Dead Caribbean Coral | Benjamin Gulmon | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Quantifying River Corridor Habitat Using 2D Landscape Evolution Modeling | Kaitlyn Hammond | Lindsay Whitlow, PhD & Wes Lauer, PhD |
| Hair snare box optimization and SNP library discovery of Procyon lotor and Didelphis | Stephanie Ingle | Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Patterns of molecular variation of grass species within the Triticeae tribe | Tristen Inoue | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Pre-existing Chronic Cardiopulmonary Conditions Independently Associated with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptom Development in Acutely Injured Trauma Survivors | Cory Michael Kelly | Robert Rutherford, PhD |
| Are there size and shape correlations between symbiotic Pea Crabs (Pinnotheridae) and their hosts | Charles Lewis | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Utilization of smaller grouper species (Graysby, Red hind, Rock hind, Coney) densities as coral reef health indicators | Ting-Jen (Austin) Lin | Kristin Hultgren, PhD |
| Population Genetics of Fisher (Pekania pennanti) in Vermont | Meike Lobb-Rabe | Mark Jordan, PhD |
| Effects of pH on early development and mortality of Arabidopsis thaliana reared in hydroponic growth systems | L. Devin Mackrell | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Growth Trends of Freshwater Desmids in Western Washington Lakes | Matthew Sandrich | Michael Zanis, PhD |
| Non-canonical DNA Binding of a Bacterial Transcription Regulator | Bradley Walker | Brett Kaiser, PhD |
| The Effect of Protease Activity on the Integrase-Dependepent Dimerization of Foamy Virus Polymerase | Jacqueline Wallis | Carolyn Stenbak, PhD |
| Molecular Evolution of Cosmarium ovale | Zachary Walters | Michael Zanis, PhD |