Category: Oral Presentation

PTPN11 S502P and Tyrosine Kinase Non-Receptor-2 increase RAS/MAPK signaling in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Presenter(s): Corinne Togiai − Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Chelsea Jenkins, Dr. Bill Chang

Oral Session 3M

Research Area: Natural/Physical Science (Cancer Biology)

Funding: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Druker Laboratory, Dr. Brian Druker, Dr. Bill Chang, Dr. Jeff Tyner and Dr. Chelsea Jenkins

PTPN11 is a gene which encodes the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, an auto-inhibited protein that dephosphorylates targets in many of the proliferative pathways such as Ras/MAPK. This gene, PTPN11, is the driving force in 35% of Juvenile Myelomoncytic Leukemia (JMML) patients and 10% of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients. Moreover, cells from a JMML patient were found to be sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatanib. This is thought due to interactions between PTPN11 and tyrosine non-kinase 2 (TNK2), which is a dasatanib target. Therefore, we hypothesized that HEK 293 T17 cells co-transfected with mutant PTPN11 S502P and TNK2 will display decreased phospho-TNK2 and increased phospho-ERK, as seen in the JMML mutant PTPN11 E76K. In my project, I worked with PTPN11 mutation identified in an AML patient sample (S502P) that has shown sensitivity to the drug Dasatanib, a kinase inhibitor that blocks the action of abnormal proteins that signal cells to proliferate, ultimately helping stop the spread of cancer cells. I performed multiple western blots consisting of: transfections, gel electrophoresis, and protein detection. Results show S502P mutant PTPN11 acts like E76K mutant in that it activates the RAS/MAPK pathway, and S502P mutant PTPN11 dephosphorylates TNK2. In conclusion, the patient sample S502P mutant has shown a dephosphorylating effect on TNK2 that has not been seen in any previous studies. Data suggests that this mutant also works with TNK2 to increase RAS/MAPK signaling. Through this interaction this mutation can be tested and targeted by Dasatinib to stop the proliferation of leukemic cells.

The Sum of My Parts: A Genetic Inquiry with 23andMe

Presenter(s): Seth Temple − Mathematics

Faculty Mentor(s): Amy Connolly

Oral Session 2CS

Research Area: Natural/Physical Science

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests provide an accessible way for individuals to learn about their genome. This creative project is an outlet for me to talk about personal genomics and what I learned from taking 23andMe’s genetic test. I write to a hypothetical child, explaining how genes affect biological processes and analyzing the results of my genetic tests. Specifically, I investigate male-pattern baldness, a gene encoding for fast-twitch muscle fibers, hereditary fructose intolerance, a genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and ancestry reports. I reflect on how I respond emotionally to these results and on how these genes impact my life. This analysis draws on 23andMe’s reports and the current scientific literature. Controversial topics such as the epigenetics of homosexuality and genetic discrimination in insurance are discussed as well.

Indian-Americans in Corvallis, Oregon

Presenter(s): Sravya Tadepalli − Political Science, Journalism

Faculty Mentor(s): Natalia Fernandez

Oral Session 2M

Research Area: Social Science

This series of interviews is the one of the first collections of oral histories of the Indian-American community in Oregon. Particularly focusing on the immigrant-generation of Indian-Americans in Corvallis, this interview collection aims to serve as a starting point for historians and social scientists wanting to research the Indian-American community in Corvallis and beyond. Interviews were collected through audio and video recordings and transcribed by the interviewer. Interviews were done primarily with married couples in order to ensure comfort for the interviewees. The interviews were conducted to elicit autobiographies of the individuals profiled including stories of their experiences of cultural adjustment. Three primary findings were developed through this set of interviews, although further analysis of the collection could result in more findings. First, Indians came to Corvallis for diverse reasons. Second, Indian-Americans in Corvallis faced discrimination on a spectrum, with some facing very little racism or discrimination and some facing significant barriers. Third, the narratives and opinions of the immigrant generation of Indian-Americans in Corvallis challenge commonly-held narratives about Indians living in the United States. This work can help to influence histories of Indian immigration to the United States and social science analyses of the immigrant generation of Indian-Americans. Stories about Indian-Americans in Oregon—a place with few South Asians, especially in Corvallis—appear to have not yet been told, and this interview collection is a starting place for these narratives to be shared.

Art Destined For Destruction: Uncovering the Origin of the Anthropomorphic Mask in the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s Alice Henson Ernst Collection

Presenter(s): Hannah Solheim − Economics, Mathematics

Faculty Mentor(s): Vera Keller

Oral Session 4O

Research Area: Social Science

The origin of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s Anthropomorphic Mask (Item #2-1054) has been a mystery for decades. The museum purchased the mask from Alice Henson Ernst in 1938. However, little was known about how Ernst acquired the mask or where it originated. First, I compared the mask’s morphological traits to typical mask characteristics from different northwest coast Native American tribes, as reported in secondary literature. Many of the mask’s features are characteristic of the Kwakwaka’wakw People, residing on the British Columbian coast. The mask’s color scheme, protruding eyes, exaggerated mouth, and use of discontinuous black lines of varying thickness all point to Kwakwaka’wakw origins. This is a particular type of Kwakwaka’wakw mask called an Atlakim mask. These masks were hastily crafted and crudely painted, perhaps explaining the visible brush strokes in the paint. These masks were not meant to last—they were worn for four years in dancing series and then burnt. Perhaps this mask narrowly escaped being devoured by a fire, as evidenced by the mask’s singed cheek. Next, I examined the museum’s accession records and the Alice Henson Ernst Papers to determine how and when Ernst acquired the mask. A research proposal reveals that in August 1938, Ernst travelled to Fort Rupert to do field work among the Kwakwaka’wakw People. Ernst’s correspondence suggests that she purchased the mask from a tribe member named Harry. The Alice Henson Ernst Papers, housed in Special Collections, hold the key to identifying more masks in the Museum’s Collection.

A Computational Approach To Tangled String

Presenter(s): Nathaniel Schieber − Mathematics

Faculty Mentor(s): Robert Lipshitz

Oral Session 2S

Research Area: Knot Theory (Mathematics)

Funding: Mercer Family Foundation Scholarship, UO Department of Mathematics Juilfs Scholarship

Knot theory is exactly what it sounds like. It studies how pieces of string can be tied around themselves and around each other. From this tangible starting point, a wealth of abstract mathematics has arisen. My research in knot theory has had two main goals: to study a specific tangle and to classify tangles up to small complexity. Both have centered on encoding and manipulating the three dimensional geometry of knots within a computer program. The specific tangle I am studying is known as Krebes’s Tangle, named for the mathematician who first asked if it were possible to connect the ends of this specific tangle to the ends of a second tangle in order to form a single un-knotted circle of string. My method in approaching this question has been computational, writing code which generates random tangles, accomplishes the gluing process, and then computes a knot invariant known as the Alexander polynomial. In order to classify tangles, my code takes these randomly generated tangles and organizes them into equivalence classes based on what are known as quantum invariants. Both projects are still on–going.

Knot theory has found applications across mathematics as well as in data analysis and DNA research. However, the software for generating and manipulating generic knots directly has remained relatively limited. Along with working toward generalizing the Alexander polynomial, my work adds to the computational resources available to mathematicians studying knots. I hope it to prove of experimental benefit.

Another Girl Bites the Dust: Motherhood and Futurity at the End

Presenter(s): Megan Schenk − English

Faculty Mentor(s): Forest Pyle, Casey Shoop

Oral Session 2O

Research Area: English (Humanities)

Funding: Presidential and Summit Scholarships

A post-apocalyptic setting is a particularly potent arena for sexist narratives precisely because such an environment allows the author control over depicting how people will naturally act when stripped of modern conventions in order to survive. “Masculine” traits often appear favorable if not necessary to survival in the midst of a futuristic wasteland, while “feminine” qualities like hysteria, sentimentality, and domesticity deem an individual submissive, weak, and utterly incapacitated. Within these exaggerated patriarchal structures, women are simultaneously linked to a failing, stagnant past while providing the only true form of creation: motherhood. My research focuses on how women writers like Megan Hunter, Claire Vaye Watkins, and Louise Erdrich confront and repurpose certain apocalyptic tropes to force readers to reevaluate preconceived notions about male dominance, femininity, and motherhood, specifically in interaction with a post-apocalyptic environment. By engaging with existing literature on gendered heroics in apocalyptic media, intersectional feminist histories in speculative fiction, feminist theory in futurism studies, and the representation of motherhood in popular film and literature, I illuminate how these authors demonstrate that the nurturing of motherhood, not masculinity, is the ultimate means of conquering a decaying world. My research contributes to the important and growing feminist criticism of popular media that works to reveal how we think about the world and how that might (and hopefully, will) change.

Communities United: Combatting Portland Gentrification through Housing Infrapolitics

Presenter(s): Hannah Schandelmeier-Lynch − Economics

Co presenter(s): Simoan Waldron

Faculty Mentor(s): Katie Meehan

Oral Session 2M

Research Area: Social Science

With Portland’s rapid population growth, urban renewal projects are being shaped to the preferences of the city’s incoming wealthy population. An increased demand for seventies-charm bungalows and city center amenities has resulted in the displacement of communities of color and reshaped those historically neglected neighborhoods. This process is called gentrification and disproportionately affects African American and Latino residents in the form of income disparities, higher unemployment rates, and lower rates of home ownership (Bates, 2015). Our research examines the sociodemographic movement of African American and Latinos from newly gentrified areas to places further east on the outskirts of town and find that this movement has not gone unacknowledged by those being pressured to leave. We found that displaced Portlanders have been engaging in infrapolitics– the small acts of barely visible resistance (Kelley, 1994)– by keeping ownership of their homes despite having the potential to capitalize on the growing market value of their houses. Urban design and planning professor, Dr. Lisa Bates of Portland State University, has created an advisory action plan for cities to prevent further gentrification and cites original homeownership as a keystone element to resisting it. Dr. Bates’ plan calls for the act of not just individual but also collective homeownership. Using this plan framework as an evaluative tool, we analyzed existing organizations’ strategy plans that have developed in response to gentrification. Our research discovered two prominent groups already incorporating Dr. Bates’ criteria, the Portland African American Leadership Form and Living Cully, and that their city lobbying efforts, affordable housing projects, and home owning education initiatives have given people a greater chance to remain their neighborhoods. These measures, compounded with collective and individual homeownership, serves to protect these marginalized groups’ right to the city, (Kelley, 2008).

Works Cited
Bates, L. (2015). This is gentrification. State of Black Oregon, 134-37.
Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City.
Kelley, R. (1994). Race Rebels: Culture, Politics and the Black Working Class.

Indigenous Perspectives on the Occupation of Malheur: Comparing Contemporary Responses from Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Sources

Presenter(s): Doug Sam − Environmental Studies, Geography

Faculty Mentor(s): Peter Walker

Oral Session 1M

Research Area: Social Science

On 2 January 2016, armed militants led by Ammon Bundy seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon and began a month-long occupation of the refuge as part of a revived movement to pressure the federal government into transferring public lands to state and local authorities. Narratives surrounding this event center on the interests of the occupying militants vs. those of the public. This occludes the perspectives of Indigenous Americans, particularly the Northern Paiute of the Burns Paiute Tribe whose ancestors have lived in the area since time immoral. Comparing responses contemporary to the occupation from Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices, this study frames the Malheur Occupation outside of the settler-colonial context in which it is couched. Indigenous peoples responded in a distinct, independent manner from either the occupiers or the public at large. This has often been ignored or given reduced importance in the general discourse over public lands in the American West. However, recognition of the Indigenous perspective is imperative to a comprehensive and decolonized understanding of this significant event in Oregon, American West.

Cultivating Connections: Garden-Based Education to Connect with the Willamette Valley

Presenter(s): Katy Roy-johnson − Environmental Studies

Co Presenter(s): Becca Perrin, Sydney Morrison, Gracie Williams, Milo Gazzola

Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch

Oral Session 4CN

Research Area: Natural Science

Funding: Robert and Catherine Miller Foundation

The goal of environmental education is to foster an awareness of past, present, and future environmental issues, build an empathetic attitude toward the natural world, and establish a platform for action. Through the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, our team partnered with the School Garden Project of Lane County (SGP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to utilize on-site school gardens as outdoor classrooms to promote stewardship for the natural world. Our service-learning project entailed supporting SGP with their in-school lessons for ten weeks, providing a total of 210 hours of hands-on learning experiences in their school programs. Additionally, we developed three lessons on phenology, citizen science, and food and culture, which we facilitated during the after-school BEST program at local schools, collectively teaching for 70 hours. We introduced 1st through 5th grade students to the importance of local food and encouraged attitudes of excitement and responsibility to participate in growing food. Over the course of two terms, we collectively reached 150 students at 5 schools within Lane County. Our students became aware and knowledgeable about seasonal changes in the Willamette Valley, the Three Sisters of northern Native American agriculture, and personally participated in citizen science data collection. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have worked to ensure that our lessons are accessible to all, providing space for our students to foster a strong connection to place, enhance self-sufficiency, and empower students to grow their roots in the local food movement.

The Anti-heroine: An Emergent Television Character Trope 

Presenter(s): Meg Rodgers − Media Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Erin Hanna

Panel Session 1SW

Research Area: Media Studies & Television Studies

Funding: UROP Mini-grant, Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Television’s anti-heroes have long raked in high ratings and delivered audiences with devilishly corrupt but ultimately sympathetic viewpoints. Recent exemplars such as Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and Dexter Morgan are rarely ethical and far from heroic, which has led to a wide breadth of scholarship about male characters who skirt the boundaries between regular life and outlaw culture. For example, Brett Martin’s Difficult Men and Amanda Lotz’ Cable Guys explore masculinity on television that is predicated on breaking societal norms. What the existing scholarship fails to fully address—and where my research project intervenes—is a thorough analysis of the anti-heroine, a television genre that has grown rapidly in recent years. My research launches from Kathleen Karlyn’s The Unruly Woman, an early examination of women in film and television who use humor to undermine patriarchal authority. Margaret Tally’s The Rise of the Anti-Heroine in TV’s Third Golden Age is the first text to explore the emergence of the anti-heroine. My project extends past Tally’s work to look specifically at how anti-heroines have become a dominate feature of quality television. Quality television is a category that loosely refers to series with narrative complexity, high production values, and characters with psychological depth. My three case studies, Sex and the City, Veep, and Girls, are Home Box Office (HBO) productions. I focus on HBO productions because the single network allows me to draw on consistent industry information, viewership demographics, and critical accolades. The anti-heroines from my case studies might be difficult or even unlikeable—but they do address and challenge traditional femininity (whereas anti-heroes reinforce hegemonic masculinity). Do anti-heroines have more agency over their personal and professional lives than other leading ladies? What underlies America’s fixation with immoral women? These are just a couple of the questions guiding my preliminary research.