McNair Archives - Graduate Student Success

9:00-9:20	Oheneba Boateng Presentation Time: 9:00-9:20 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Michael Falvo, Physics Program: McNair Research Title: Development of a Phagocytic Uptake Assay based on Actin Regulator Manipulation Phagocytosis is an essential part of the immune system in which phagocytes engulf foreign bodies. Engulfment relies on force-dependent reorganization of a cell’s cytoskeleton which is primarily made up of actin. Actin undergoes a complicated orchestration whereby polymerizing and restructuring during uptake. There are many key contributors over the course of engulfment that play specific roles in actin polymerization. An assay was developed to influence polymerization in RAW Ftracin_Halo Macrophages. The phagocytes were supplied with 6um IgG-coated polystyrene beads and treated with 100nM Liposaccharide and 100nM Latrunculin A (LatA). Uptake ratio was defined as the number of active cells to the number of total cells. We hypothesized that LPS would increase uptake and Latrunculin A (LatA) would decrease uptake. The Fisher Exact Test along with comparative plots are presented to display variances. This assay can be built upon for force scaling experiments using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements can quantify forces through the stages of phagocytosis and the experimental design can benefit from the controls of this study. Understanding how actin regulators affect uptake gives insight into the different signaling pathways associated with phagocytosis. Disease states with respect to the immune system can be addressed with biomedical applications that affect cell engulfment.	Development of a Phagocytic Uptake Assay based on Actin Regulator Manipulation	McNair
9:25-9:45	Montia Daniels Presentation Time: 9:25-9:45 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Sharon P. Holland, American Studies Program: McNair Research Title: God Loves Women, and I Do Too: Black Queer North Carolinian Women’s and Nonbinary Folks Engagement with Religion and Spirituality As a Black queer woman, Mahogany Mckoy was averse to the preachings she experienced as a child that being queer and certainly transgender was a sin. As a child, she didn’t understand why this was a factor and walked away from Christianity throughout high school. Mckoy’s story is similar to the story of other Southern Black queer women and nonbinary people that experienced heterosexism, transphobia, and rigid gender roles in the church. Through oral history interviews, I’ve found that Mckoy and 5 other young North Carolinian Black queer women and nonbinary people have moved away from Christianity and organized religions toward practices that are rooted in other forms of spirituality. This shift also coincides with their coming out stories, self-exploration, and interrogation of their gender and sexual identities. Most of the participants found that spirituality separate from organized religion has allowed them to have more freedom in the practice and expression of their spiritualities and identities. How are North Carolinian Black queer women and nonbinary people interacting with religion and forms of spirituality? How do their identities affect these interactions? This narrative paper illustrates the similarities and key differences among vastly different North Carolinian Black queer women and nonbinary people to see how their gender, race, and sexuality have played key roles in influencing their spiritual and religious journeys.	God Loves Women, and I Do Too: Black Queer North Carolinian Women’s and Nonbinary Folks Engagement with Religion and Spirituality	McNair
9:50-10:10	Victoria Evans Presentation Time: 9:50-10:10 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Rebecca Fry, Gillings School of Public Health Program: McNair Research Title: Disparities in the location of Superfund site in the southern United States Background: Superfund is a federally funded program implemented by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up hazardous waste sites. The National Priorities List (NPL) consists of Superfund sites that pose significant threats to the environment and human health. There are a total of 193 NPL sites in the states which encompass EPA region 4, in addition to 83 other alternative approach and deleted sites which are not currently on the NPL. The purpose of this study was to assess spatial disparities in the distribution to Superfund sites in EPA region 4, and the demographics of the communities surrounding these sites. Methods: The 2015-2019 5-year American Community Survey census tract data was used to generate population demographics of communities located within specific proximities of the 276 Superfund sites in EPA region 4. These census tracks and demographics were analyzed using expanding buffer distances (1.0-10.0 miles) from Superfund sites. The correlation between demographic determinants and Superfund site proximity was then evaluated using regression analysis. Results: Specific sociodemographic characteristics, including black, non-white, poverty, education status and unemployment, were negatively correlated with Superfund site proximity. This relationship was seen inversely in other sociodemographic groups, including white and homeownership, where percentages in these populations increase with distance from Superfund sites.	Disparities in the location of Superfund site in the southern United States	McNair
10:15-10:35	Noemi Gavino-Lopez Presentation Time: 10:15-10:35 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Rebecca Fry, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Program: McNair Research Title: Developing an Environmental Justice Index for Toxic Metal Well Water Contamination in North Carolina Background. Approximately 2.4 million well water users in North Carolina (NC) are vulnerable to metal contamination because they are not protected by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act (USGS, 2018). The established relationship between social and economic indicators and water quality prompts private well contamination in NC to be examined through an environmental justice lens. Methods. This paper identifies locations in NC where minority and low-income populations experience elevated exposure to well water contaminated with toxic metals. Geocoded well water test results, from 1998-2019 (n=117,960), and American Community Survey estimates for 2019 were used to derive Environmental Justice (EJ) Indexes at a census tract level for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and manganese. This approach mirrors the EPA’s national EJ Index model which combines environmental and demographic data for a single location. Results. A wide range of EJ Indexes (n=8,152) were determined. Census tracts in Union, Pitt, Guilford, and Sampson counties had the highest EJ Index for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and manganese, respectively. Conclusions. The EJ Indexes constructed in this study can be used by public health professionals to prioritize remediation efforts in EJ communities that demonstrate excess risk in well water contamination.	Developing an Environmental Justice Index for Toxic Metal Well Water Contamination in North Carolina	McNair
10:40-11:00	Natalie Hussein Presentation Time: 10:40-11:00 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Shauna Cooper, Psychology Program: McNair Research Title: Arab American Families, Acculturation, and Biculturalism: A Comprehensive Review Arab Americans are defined as people living in the United States with ancestry from at least one of the 22 states of the Arab League (Member states of the Arab League). There are currently an estimated 3.7 million Arab Americans and the population is growing exponentially, yet there is little research that highlights the unique experiences of this demographic group. Given the consequences of the terrorist attacks on September 11th and the current political climate, where xenophobia and islamophobia are acutely present in U.S. society, Arab Americans have experienced increased discrimination and harassment. This present study is a synthesis of the existing literature on factors that shape family processes among Arab Americans Key focus areas of this review include: 1) historical context of Arab Americans in the U.S.; 2) acculturation and biculturalism; 3) culturally-specific family patterns and practices; 4) ethnic identity development; and 5) potential impacts on the development and adjustment of Arab American adolescents. At the conclusion of this critical review, I provide key recommendations and directions for future research on Arab American families and children.	Arab American Families, Acculturation, and Biculturalism: A Comprehensive Review	McNair
11:05-11:25	Christopher Kong Presentation Time: 11:05-11:25 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Brianna Vickerman, Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry Program: McNair Research Title: Assessment of Loading Tissue Plasminogen Activator into Human Red Blood Cells for the Improved Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases Due to the unfortunately ubiquitous and deadly nature of cardiovascular diseases by blood clots, especially strokes and myocardial infarctions, the matter of finding effective treatments is of high priority. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only drug treatment that is FDA approved to break up blood clots. Despite tPA being considered the gold standard for clot dissolution, this protein therapeutic has severe drawbacks including a short treatment window and deadly off-target effects due to high dosage requirements. From previous experimentation, red blood cells (RBCs) were found to be excellent carriers to protect therapeutics from premature clearance in vivo. Encapsulating tPA inside of RBCs could reduce side effects and allow less therapeutic to be administered overall, ultimately increasing the safety and utility of this treatment. We investigated two methods of loading tPA into RBCs, one using a direct high salt addition to restore the cells to isotonicity while the other used a more gradual resealing process. The purpose of this study was to determine which method resulted in a higher internal concentration of tPA and greater consistent loadings on different days. Data was collected using an Invitrogen ELISA kit. The results indicated that the direct method is preferred due to the lower level of variability in the amount of tPA loaded despite the decreased tPA amount loaded. Further experimentation is ongoing to substantiate these preliminary findings.	Assessment of Loading Tissue Plasminogen Activator into Human Red Blood Cells for the Improved Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases	McNair
11:30-11:50	Chabely Figuereo Presentation Time: 11:30-11:50 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Dr. Yuliana Rodriguez-Vongsavanh, School of Education Program: McNair Research Title: Examining Differences in Family Empowerment Among Hispanic and White Families of Children with Autism Given the scarcity of current research addressing the needs of Hispanic children with autism and their families, the purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of ecological microsystems on outcomes for Hispanic students with autism based on their caregivers’ feelings of family empowerment. Differences in family empowerment among Hispanic and White families of children with autism were observed, as well as potential predictors of family empowerment. This study used data collected by the Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (CSESA), in which parent participants (N=296) volunteered to complete a variety of surveys and interviews. Family information including household income, caregiver education, and minutes per month of support services were utilized to test their predictability of family empowerment levels, and differences across Hispanic and White families were examined. Findings pointed to the important role that ethnicity can play in predicting family empowerment. However, further research is needed to better understand the experiences of Hispanic families of children with autism, as well as their cultural perspective on family empowerment. This study highlights important implications for researchers, school partners, as well as practitioners to consider in working with Hispanic families of children with autism.	Examining Differences in Family Empowerment Among Hispanic and White Families of Children with Autism	McNair
11:30-11:50	Alice Novinte Presentation Time: 11:30-11:50 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Andrea Hussong, Psychology Program: McNair Research Title: The Role of Indirect Exposure to Police Violence in Black Adolescent Suicidality Exposure to racism may negatively impact psychological well-being among Black adolescents, for whom suicide rates have risen within the past decade. Using data from public data archives (i.e., the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Mapping Police Violence database), the association between indirect exposure to racism due to living in a state with higher police killings of Black Americans and youth self-reported suicide risk and behavior, particularly for Black youth, was tested. The analysis sample included 6201 Black and white high school students (22.4 % Black; 48.4% Male). Results of six multilevel models showed that indirect exposure to police killings of Black individuals was not significantly predictive of suicide risk and behavior, but when indirect exposure was defined as the rate of Black people killed by police in a state, Black participants who lived in states with higher rates were more likely to report suicidality in comparison to white participants living in those states. Findings indicate that police violence against Black Americans may negatively affect Black adolescent mental health.	The Role of Indirect Exposure to Police Violence in Black Adolescent Suicidality	McNair
11:55-12:15	Tiffany Riascos Presentation Time: 11:55-12:15 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Bob Duronio, Biology Program: McNair Research Title: Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of mutations in Drosophila melanogaster CG8569 which encodes a putative ortholog of the human epigenetic regulator ZMYND11 Mutations in the human ZMYND11 gene have been postulated as the cause of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autosomal dominant intellectual disability 30, the 10p15.3 microdeletion syndrome, and autism spectrum disorders. ZMYND11 encodes a nuclear protein that specifically binds variant histone H3.3 and regulates gene expression at the transcriptional level. However, the molecular mechanisms of action and the functions of ZMYND11 disrupted in human disease remain unknown. One approach to learn more about ZMYND11’s molecular behavior is studying its orthologous gene in a model organism. Our lab is investigating whether the Drosophila melanogaster CG8569 gene encodes an ortholog of human ZMYND11. The purpose of this study was to characterize a transposon insertion allele of CG8569 (CG8569EP1182) both genotypically and phenotypically. We found that the EP1182 transposon was inserted into the coding region of CG8569 and thus should disrupt its function. Nevertheless, we found that gene expression still occurs from the CG8569EP1182 mutant allele and that CG8569EP1182 mutant flies are viable, although they demonstrated reduced longevity when compared to non-mutant flies. To ask whether CG8569EP1182 mutants had neurological defects we measured several parameters of movement in developing CG8569EP1182 larvae. No statistically significant differences were observed in crawling length, crawling time, and crawling speed between mutant and wildtype flies. Together, this study shows that the mutant allele CG8569EP1182 impairs fly longevity but does not affect locomotion in larvae.	Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of mutations in Drosophila melanogaster CG8569 which encodes a putative ortholog of the human epigenetic regulator ZMYND11	McNair
12:20-12:40	Glorimel Rodriguez Presentation Time: 12:20-12:40 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Dr. Eva Telzer, Psychology Program: McNair Research Title: Investigating the Mediating Role of Brain Activation in the Relationship Between Racial Discrimination and Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors Racial discrimination greatly impacts the mental and physical well-being of an individual. Adolescents who identify as racial minorities may be especially vulnerable to the effects of racial discrimination because of the significant neurodevelopmental and social changes that occur during adolescence. Previous studies have shown discrimination may influence risk taking behaviors, however no study to date has assessed the impact of the brain in explaining this relationship. The current study assessed the mediating role of insula and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) activation in the relationship between racial discrimination and health risk/prosocial behaviors, two regions that are involved in salience processing and perspective taking, respectively. Participants included 95 racially diverse adolescents (52% female) from ages 14 -16 years. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure experiences of racial discrimination, health risk behaviors, and prosocial risk behaviors. In the functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner adolescents completed a risk-taking task where they took risks for themselves and close others. Using a mediation regression model, results suggested racial discrimination does not predict prosocial/health risk behaviors, nor did insula and TPJ activation mediate this relationship. However, racial discrimination did predict insula/TPJ activation during risk-taking for others. Taken together, findings suggest racial discrimination is associated with the neural processing of how adolescents perceive others.	Investigating the Mediating Role of Brain Activation in the Relationship Between Racial Discrimination and Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors	McNair
1:30-1:50	Lauryn Fairley Presentation Time: 1:30-1:50 Home University: UNC-Chapel Hill Research Mentor: Dr. Amanda Thompson, Nutrition/Anthropology Program: McNair Research Title: Who Helped You? Sources of Breastfeeding Support Among Predominantly Low-Income African American Women In North Carolina Much literature identifies breastfeeding as one of the primary interventions for reducing infant mortality and improving women’s health globally. However, despite the existence and overall success of national breastfeeding intervention programs in the U.S., African American women persistently have lower breastfeeding initiation rates and duration and the highest rates of poor infant health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sources of breastfeeding support utilized by predominantly low-income, African American women in North Carolina. Using data from the Mothers and Others study, we investigated the relationship between maternal characteristics and the sources of breastfeeding support African American mothers reported using while inside the hospital and outside the hospital through bivariate analysis. In addition, the association between significant maternal characteristics and the sources utilized was tested using multiple linear regression. The results of this paper show that women use different sources of support inside and outside of the hospital. These sources vary by women’s marital status, income, amount of college education, and whether they previously had children.	Who Helped You? Sources of Breastfeeding Support Among Predominantly Low-Income African American Women In North Carolina	McNair

SUP Program: McNair