2016 – Undergraduate Research Symposium Abstracts

Reflections on Water, a Photographic Narrative of the McKenzie Watershed from Top to Tap

Presenter: Nicole Zavoshy

Co-Presenters: Anya Vollstedt, Chancee Stumpf, Riley Fortier, Sulley Schuster

Faculty Mentor: Katie Lynch, Peg Boulay

Presentation Type: Poster 91

Primary Research Area: Fine/Performance Arts

Major: Biology, Environmental Science

Funding Source: Anonymous Donor

Reflections on Water is a team of nine students who were inspired by the beauty of the McKenzie River Watershed. This interdisciplinary project of the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon showed an interest of photographing and encouraging people to reflect upon their relationship with their water source.
Did you know Eugene gets its drinking water from the McKenzie River? Beginning at the headwaters of the McKenzie River at Great Spring and Clear Lake, the Reflections Team captured the journey of the McKenzie as it traveled underground, over cliffs, past dams, and through an intensive filtration process before being distributed throughout the city of Eugene. With cameras in hand, the Reflections on Water Team sought to illuminate the beauty, recreational opportunities, and resources that these waters provide. We hope to inspire personal connections, instill understanding, and encourage people to experience the river for themselves.

Umbrella Stand

Presenter: Daisy Yen

Faculty Mentor: Jessica Swanson, John Arndt

Presentation Type: Poster 90

Primary Research Area: Design

Major: Product Design

Douglas Fir trees are usually used as the material for furniture, poles, and flooring in some buildings, which usually consume a large quantity of wood. Since people are now more aware of environmental issues and how long it takes for a tree to grow a certain size, the wood industry has begun designing and producing smaller home-goods products. The umbrella stand represents the smaller furniture and home accessories that are made out of Douglas Fir. The top and bottom pieces are each made from three layers of thin slices of fir, which were soaked in hot water for thirty minutes, then bent individually around a mold to achieve the round shape. They are then glued together after shaping and drying them individually. The four sides are also each made out of three thin slices of fir, which were placed on top of the mold and formed their shape in a vacuum bag for up to ten hours. Through bending the fir, I found out that certain density and colors of grains are easier to bend in certain directions, so choosing the right part of the wood for a specific part is essential and can affect whether the slices are able to bend successfully. Learning how to work with fir requires first getting to know its characteristics so as to be able to work around those instead of forcing the wood to conform to shapes that are not suitable.

Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe: Combatting a Stolen Generation through Environmental Regeneration

Presenter: Cholena Wright

Faculty Mentor: Brian Klopotek

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Political Science

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe located in western Washington state fell victim to a mysterious run of reproductive challenges. Over the span of more than a decade the majority of pregnancies in the community resulted in miscarriage, still born, and infant mortality. This tragic and overwhelming loss of pregnancies went largely ignored for years and remains unexplained to this day. The paper will attempt to offer insight into the potential for environmental pollution and contamination due to nearby fishing, cranberry, and forestry industries. The industries were negligent in their use of endocrine disrupting toxins and pesticides. Thus, the paper will argue that these industries were the perpetrators of environmental racism against the Shoalwater, and directly involved in causing this reproductive tragedy. Environmental degradation has prevented countless tribes from practicing their traditional ways, encroached on their traditional territory, and had adverse effect on the health of these nations. The Shoalwater are a very extreme example of how environmental racism, harmful stereotypes, and wanton disregard practiced by industries can reify intergenerational trauma and perpetuate the stolen generation practices of colonialism.

Indian Beauty Pageants: Performing Indigeneity or Celebrating It?

Presenter: Cholena Wright

Faculty Mentor: Stephanie Teves

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Political Science

Beauty pageants get a bad rap. Since their inception they have had a precarious and convoluted relationship with feminism. Beauty pageants have been targeted for criticism and protest by feminists who claim they perpetuate the objectification and sexualization of women, present unrealistic models of femininity, and perpetuate harmful images of white/middle-class beauty standards. But what about Indian beauty pageants? Does this harmful culture cross- over into the indigenous model of beauty pageantry? Much like the conversation surrounding mainstream beauty pageants, the answer is complicated and nuanced. Indian beauty pageants were originally instituted as a colonizing mechanism, but over time they have evolved into cultural celebrations of indigenous traditions and beauty. Indian beauty pageants today are merely a shadow of their white supremacist history. Tracing the history through personal accounts of these pageants showcases the persistence and continued resistance of indigenous culture. Beauty pageants can be mechanisms for empowerment and an acknowledgement of female achievement, leadership, and talent. This is also true for Indigenous pageants. Throughout the Americas and the Pacific, these beauty pageants celebrate indigeneity and provide a space for indigenous queer locality. In spite of its flawed history, indigenous pageants are an indigenous feminist act that should not be underestimated as a tool for resistance and cultural revitalization.

Characterization of a Pro-Proliferative Microbiota in Transgenic Drosophila

Presenter: Zoë Wong

Faculty Mentor: Karen Guillemin, Tiffani Jones

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Biology, Psychology

Gastric adenocarcinoma, or stomach cancer, is responsible for the second highest number of cancer-related mortalities. Infection with Helicobacter pylori, a human pathogen, is the strongest risk factor and results in clinical responses that vary from no symptoms, to ulcers, to gastric cancer. One major determinant of disease expression is the presence of a bacterial virulence factor, CagA. Transgenic Drosophila that express the CagA gene were generated in the Guillemin laboratory and can be used to genetically disentangle H. pylori infection from cagA expression. A simple microbial community, short generation time, easily manipulated genome, and the ability to be raised germ-free make Drosophila an ideal model organism.

The goal of my research is to determine the effect of dysbiotic, or altered microbiota of CagA transgenic flies. The dysbiotic microbial community of CagA transgenic flies consists of Lactobacillus brevis and Acetobacter pomoroum. To address this, I reared control and CagA lines germ-free. I inoculated flies with either L. brevis, A. pomorum, or the combined CagA community. Adult flies were dissected after 7 days and gut contents were plated to quantify the abundance of each strain within the gut. Overall, CagA transgenic flies harbored a greater amount of total microbes within their gut, and interestingly flies that received the combined CagA community showed an increased total abundance of microbes regardless of fly genotype.

Examining Inefficiencies in NBA Player Development and Potential Solutions

Presenter: Connor Williamson

Co-Presenters: Gregory Bothun, Joshua Gordon, Daniel Rosenberg

Faculty Mentor: Josh Gordon, Greg Bothun

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: Business Administration

Though the United States has maintained an impressive performance record in international athletic competition, its amateur sport infrastructure has become less efficient than that in many other countries. For late-development sports like basketball, in which early athletic training should be varied and specialized late, training these inefficiencies have led to a lower skill level among players in the highest league, the NBA. Basketball-specific factors, like the preps- to-pros era coinciding with the post-Jordan generation, have severely affected the training methods in American basketball. The NBA has taken note of this change, as the San Antonio Spurs make headlines with a roster of imports, the percentage of foreign players in the NBA has never been higher. As rule changes in the NBA have made for a faster game predicated on skill and savvy, the American pipeline of players has never been less prepared.

This thesis will define problems with the current system in areas of physical, athletic, and mental athlete development and examining player development models through a holistic lens which digs into the underlying causes of skill deficiencies in the NBA player pool. After doing this, it will attempt to solve some of the major issues facing American basketball player development, like transitioning players into the NBA. Systems like Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development and the youth academy system in German club football provide an extensive list of alternatives to assess. By taking the best aspects of each and adjusting them to the American environment, a better system can be designed. The results of this research point to unstructured nature of youth basketball, which is the root cause of issues like lack of coaching educational standards, as well as many other pervading the NBA player development pipeline.

Evolving a Healthier Worm: Microfluidics, Pharyngeal Pumping, and Experimental Evolution in C. elegans

Presenter: Kelley Williams

Faculty Mentor: Stephen Banse, Patrick Phillips

Presentation Type: Poster 89

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Biochemistry

Although C. elegans is a popular model for lifespan research, study of genetic and pharmacological interventions that specifically alter healthspan, the length of time an animal stays healthy, is less thorough. We therefore propose to study nematode healthspan using the decline in rhythmic activity of the feeding organ (pharynx) as a selection metric for experimental evolution. To facilitate this project, we are developing three assay platforms based on three microfluidic chips. The first two assay platforms are lower throughput, higher resolution measures of pharyngeal health, while the third is a higher-throughput assay designed for experimental evolution. The first microfluidic device, the “electropharyngeogram chip”, allows us to quantify age-related declines in pharyngeal electrical activity. This approach shows the expected changes in pump frequency and prolonged health of known longevity mutants, as well as shows novel changes in pump patterning. The second device, the “feeding chip”, is designed to provide tight temporal control of food exposure while imaging feeding animals. It also will enable measurements of grinder (chewing) and peristalsis (swallowing) efficiency. The third device, the higher-throughput “sorter chip”, was designed for separating males from females, but now allows automated and programmable selection of high performing individuals from ~2000 animals per hour as measured by ingestion rates. We will present the developmental work for all three devices and for the methods with which we use them, as well as the intellectual framework in which we are using these devices to evolve a worm that stays healthier, longer.

Not Just a Pretty Face: 19th Century Japanese Courtesans and their Influence in Art Exportation

Presenter: Brandi Wilkens

Faculty Mentor: Akiko Walley

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Art History

Funding Source: HURF, UO, $2500

19th century Japan was a time of momentous changes. The Edo period ended shortly after the country was opened to the West. The Meiji period, beginning in 1868, shows a society grappling with many changes. By examining
19th century woodblock prints and souvenir photography, I will examine Japanese courtesans, their reinvention in the 1870s as geisha, and their influence over art exportation. I will argue that these women were far more than common prostitutes, by exploring their rigorous training, and indicating in what ways they used their minds and business acumen to further their careers. These women were linked with Europeans due to their relationships with Dutch traders since the 16th century; courtesans provided the buffer between foreigners and the native Japanese population. Due to these close associations, courtesans were able to influence Japanese art exportation, both through woodblock prints and later through souvenir photography.

The complications of time period differences, and the difficulties in acquiring the necessary language skills (both Japanese and European languages are required), has created an unfortunate lack of scholarship on this vibrant time of change and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. It is my goal to shed more light on the changing dynamics of these tumultuous interactions, while bringing these marginalized women to the forefront, where there is evidence of their involvement with Westerners.

The Effect of Rigid Ankle-Foot Orthotics on Joint Range of Motion and Temporospatial Parameters

Presenter: Therese Wichmann

Faculty Mentor: Shannon Pomeroy, Michael Hahn

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Human Physiology

Ankle arthritis is the debilitating deterioration of the joint cartilage, resulting in pain and diminished quality of life. A surgical fusion of the affected bones can be performed on the ankle to alleviate pain and remove damaged cartilage, but ankle range of motion (ROM) becomes severely limited. Rigid ankle-foot orthotics (AFOs) have had positive outcomes regarding ankle mobility, stability, and pain relief in clinical populations, however, much is unknown about how externally limiting motion affects gait function. This preliminary work will help determine how wearing AFOs affect ROM and temporospatial parameters. We performed standard gait analysis on 16 healthy adult subjects during a baseline walking test without wearing an AFO and throughout thirty minutes of wearing an AFO on a treadmill. Reflective markers were placed on anatomical landmarks to capture segment motion and calculate lower extremity joint angles. Changes in ROM and stride length were analyzed and compared from baseline to minute one, minute fifteen, and minute thirty within the AFO test. Initial results reveal noticeable changes compared to baseline. Continued collections and analysis will be utilized to observe how these acute changes form overtime with AFO use. These data will assist in determining how rigid AFOs maintain normal mobility despite restricting the ankle, potentially giving support to the usage of rigid AFOs in some ankle arthritis cases rather than invasive surgery.

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