Current Research
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May 2024 - May 2025
#LosingLanguages: A Documentation of the Digital Landscape of Language Preservation
Laura Standel
It is projected by UNESCO’s World Atlas of Languages that by 2100, 50% of all the
spoken languages in the world will be extinct or seriously endangered. Of the 8,324
languages known to UNESCO 6,700 of them are Indigenous languages. It is because of
this that UNESCO, along with many other language focus agencies, are coming up with
new ways and events to educate communities around the world about the dangerous lack
of language preservation efforts (UNESCO World Atlas of Languages). Meanwhile platforms
such as Instagram and TikTok are fueling globalization and enforcing the language
status quo by encouraging participants away from their unique languages and towards
more marketable ‘safe’ 65 languages. With the popularity of social media, language
preservation cannot solely be done in the physical world but also in the digital.
In their research, Dr. Marcos Romero and Laura Standel hope to answer the question:
what about the other 8,000+ languages? How does the internet harm or hinder the preservation
of these languages and how can it be made to benefit or flourish these languages instead?
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marcos Romero, World Languages
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
Analysis of cell death and inflammatory pathway connections induced by distinct clinical
isolates of Group B Streptococcus
Emilie Poirier
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an opportunistic pathogen normally found in the bacterial
flora of our gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts. It is known to cause serious
complications in pregnancy and illness in neonates. Identifying biological targets
that can effectively minimize the effects of GBS infection is the first step in developing
drugs that can treat GBS disease. Based on prior findings identified by Dr. Flaherty,
other student researchers at Aquinas, and other research groups, the goal of this
research is to identify connections between GBS-induced responses in macrophages.
We hope to determine whether previously identified pathways are part of a single connected
response or if they represent distinct responses to infection. The pathways we intend
to explore include the PI3K-Akt pathway, which regulates cell survival and death,
phagocytosis regulation, the NF kappa B and stress-responsive MAPK pathways which
regulate cellular responses pertaining to cell death and inflammatory signaling, and
the JAK-STAT pathway which regulates gene expression pertaining to inflammatory cell
activation. We hope to find any possible connections between these pathways, as well
as identifying the proteins involved in these connections. We anticipate that this
work will provide useful information for drug development.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Flaherty, Biology & Health Science
Funded by: Mohler-Thompson Summer Research Grant
Comparison of JAK-STAT pathway activation induced by distinct clinical isolates of
Group B Streptococcus.
Daniel Austin
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a bacterial pathogen that can cause complications for
mothers and their children, both during pregnancy and after birth, such as preterm
birth, pneumonia, and meningitis. The objective of this project is to clarify information
about the GBS-induced activation of the JAK-STAT pathway, which is an important immune
system regulatory pathway. We will investigate differential activation of the JAK-STAT
pathway in response to different strains of GBS that vary in virulence. We will continue
research initiated by former BMB student, Victoria Faber, by identifying and quantifying
active forms of JAK-STAT pathway members in GBS-infected macrophages. In addition,
we hope to identify connections between the JAK-STAT pathway and varying protein kinases
involved in inflammation and cell death. To complete these tasks we will utilize microbiology
and molecular biology methods such as Western Blotting, immunofluorescence microscopy,
and ELISA. We anticipate that this project will provide useful information regarding
the physiological influence of GBS infection on JAK-STAT signaling.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Flaherty, Biology & Health Science
Funded by: Mohler-Thompson Summer Research Grant
A Phenomenological Study of How Families Talk About Death
Anna Hultink
Past research has explored the surprisingly high number of children’s stories, movies,
and lullabies that portray themes of death. Although death is a natural part of life
and embedded into what young children see and hear, researchers have noted a growing
attitude from parents to shelter children from it. Accordingly, our study seeks to
understand how, when, and why families discuss death with their children, along with
how exposure to life events and environments might affect these discussions. Utilizing
a phenomenological approach, we will conduct interviews with parent-child pairs. From
parents, we aim to understand the family’s background (e.g., religion, culture), along
with their comfortability about death, ways they talk about death with their children,
and if their child has experienced loss. With the child, we plan to read a fairy-tale
(e.g., Lion King) that includes themes of death. We will not directly introduce the
idea of death; instead, we will ask about the child’s interpretation of the story,
including their conceptualization of both death and life (e.g., time, age, and biology).
Ultimately, this study aims to increase understanding into families’ experiences,
decisions, and perspectives, as it relates to exploring issues of death with children.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Meador, Psychology
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
From City to Cosmos: Tracing Literary Lineage – Exploring the Influence of Christine de Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies on Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World
Rachel Buehler
This study focuses on exploring the evolution of femininity and gender roles in medieval
literature, including the complexities of female friendships. By comparing the works
of two influential female authors—Christine de Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies
and Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World—this project seeks to uncover the possible
overlaps of influences and inspirations that may have shaped and contributed to Cavendish's
writing. This project will contribute to emphasizing the portrayal of female friendships
presented by De Pizan and Cavendish; examining how these relationships serve as a
source of empowerment and support against misogynistic tendencies and patriarchal
power structures. This comparative study explores how each author encapsulates proto-feminist
and feminist ideals and how these ideals manifest within their writings.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Coogan, English
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
The War on Ukraine: An Analysis of Refugee Treatment
Grace Wilson
This study will examine the treatment of Ukrainian refugees. Since the illegal invasion
of Ukraine by Russia in February of 2022, one in four Ukrainians have been forced
to flee their homes and have become either refugees or IDPs (internally displaced
persons). This research looks at the changing nature of support for Ukrainian refugees
from the beginning of the war to present. Data will come from the cases of refugees
in Poland, Germany, and elsewhere (depending on what the data illuminates). Crucial
to this research is International Humanitarian Law, specifically the ‘refugee regime’.
This entails a careful review of refugee laws and the enforcement thereof. At issue
is the tension between state behavior and international laws and norms. Additionally,
the dynamics between the refugees and their host populations will be examined. The
expected product is a carefully documented thesis paper.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Roger Durham, Political Science
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
Using VR to find conjectures in spherical geometry
Michael Vanderkolk
By modeling geometric ideas in spherical geometry using Blender to make meshes, animate
and render, we have already found new conjectures. Conjecture 1: the set of twelve
projection points and Wallace-Simson lines published previously occurs for the most
general case of one single projection point with a Wallace-Simson line. Conjecture
2: A subset of Wallace-Simson lines and lines of projections and feet of projections
and points of projection form a natural 12-point, 12-line Projective Geometry. (This
would be news because the 12 point Projective Geometry has been proved to exist but
no actual example of one has been found.) Conjecture 3: A subset of projection points,
feet of projections, etc forms a 7 point Projective Geometry isomorphic to the Fano
Plane. Our Blender examples have already bloomed into very interesting spherical models.
One modification uses collars, like Saturnian rings, which stick out from the sphere
for spherical great circles. We can modify how far the collars stick out to emphasize
importance. Since we intended to fit as much information into the mesh as we could,
having a new way to see our ideas, a way completely impossible in 2-D, shows immediate
promise. Next we will work on creating animations to illustrate the complicated ideas
we are exploring.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael McDaniel, Mathematics
Funded by: Mohler-Thompson Summer Research Grant
Characterization of organic components in soil relevant to soil carbon sequestration
Chiara Bonfissuto
The focus of this research will be on the extraction, characterization and classification
of the organic components found in soil samples from agricultural and post-agricultural
lands. In order to extract the organic components of soil, a spectrophotometric approach
was chosen with the utilization of a single-channel spectrophotometer implemented
with a variety of target wavelengths; the results of this initial characterization
will then help direct further analysis with electrochemical and chromatographic methods
which will be followed by analysis through mathematical modeling. These organic components
play an important role in the soil’s ability to sequester carbon from the carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere; therefore the characterization of said components is important
for environmental modeling. This characterization would be accomplished via spectroscopic
analyses which would allow for the compilation of data sets broad enough not only
to perform targeted spectrophotometric and electrochemical procedures, but also to
provide a baseline collection of analyzed samples from which new research projects
may arise.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kevin Boyd, Chemistry
Funded by: Mohler-Thompson Summer Research Grant
The River Narrative: Development of Low-cost, Networkable Remote Sensors for Environmental Monitoring and Outreach
Ella Satterthwaite
This project will primarily focus on the development of a network of low-cost, real-time
aquatic sensors in the Coldbrook Creek watershed, of which Aquinas College is a part.
These sensors will not only provide data on stream temperature, pH, depth, current,
turbidity and ambient daylight, but will also electrochemically assess metal, pesticide
and fertilizer content in local bodies of water. Electrochemical sensing will be accomplished
through the synthesis and development of organic polymer electrode coatings, including
molecularly imprinted polymers, for ion-sensitive field effect transistors. This process
will be informed by recent literature and computational methods. Development of project
instrumentation and data collection will also involve configuring a sub-GHz radio
system, in addition to data compression and interpretation with Fourier and wavelet-based
methods. Aiming to make water quality monitoring cheaper and less analytically intensive,
the project will ultimately contribute to Dr. Boyd’s larger River Narrative Project.
This project’s objectives include monitoring and modeling the conditions of the Coldbrook
Creek watershed and providing a source of data through a web-based interface for community
members curious about the state of local waterways.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kevin Boyd, Chemistry
Funded by: Mohler-Thompson Summer Research Grant
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