YSP Alumni
Alumni Directory
2022 YSP Program Coordinators:
Franklin Ollivierre III and Katherine Aristizabal
2022 Video
Participating Labs
| Lab | YSP Students | Title | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty: Amini, Rouzbeh Mentors: Julia Clarin | Dominique Dang, Lucas Santos | Biomechanical Properties of the Porcine Tricuspid Valve Remain Unchanged Over Time Presentation Poster | The tricuspid valve (TV) has three leaflets to prevent the reverse flow of blood from the right ventricle to the right atrium. The valve undergoes a series of stress, strain, and endures different forces in a dynamic environment to allow for ventricular filling. The composition and mechanical properties of the TV depend on its components such as collagen and elastin and allow it to function effectively in such an environment. Although research has been conducted about the mechanical properties of the mitral valve on the left side of the heart, such research has not been conducted on the TV due to the emphasis of the highly muscular left side of the heart. Biaxial mechanical testing on porcine TV leaflets will be performed at a series of four time points. Initial data will be collected at time zero, then at 30-minute intervals for a total of 5 samples. Material parameters will be extracted from stress-strain plots. We will test for statistically significant differences between groups using MATLAB code. It is hypothesized that the mechanical properties of the anterior leaflet of the TV will change and weaken within 2 and a half hours. This will be the first experiment to create a basis for future studies on how TV remodeling during pregnancy may affect its mechanical properties and how that relates to long-term cardiovascular risks. |
| Faculty: Amirabadi, Mashid Mentors: Mojtaba Salehi, Anran Wei | Miles Luther, May Ng | Designing Linear & Switching DC-DC Converters for Solar-Powered Phone Chargers Presentation Poster | Solar energy has the power to redefine the scope of inexhaustible and renewable energy, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels and providing a clean way to power the planet; however, solar cells, with a maximum extracted efficiency of 20% - the percentage of sunlight converted to usable electrictricity - must investigate many tradeoffs. We simulated photovoltaic (PV) modules and resistor divider linear regulators using PSIM simulation software. Through simulations of realistic weather conditions, factors such as load, irradiance, and temperature levels, we analyzed the data and determined the proper conditions which maximize the extracted solar power output. The goal of the project is to determine the best way to harness solar energy and to power the planet in a sustainable and clean way. |
| Faculty: Bajpayee, Ambika | Zeba Iqbal, Craig Pentland | Designing Electrically Charged Drugs Presentation Poster | Many suffer from post traumatic osteoarthritis resulting from a torn ACL. Following the tear, a cytokine named IL-1 is released in abundance, causing a cascade reaction that triggers the excessive wear down of cartilage tissue. IL-1 can be prevented from binding to its receptor by IL-1Ra, a receptor antagonist. However, cartilage has a strong negative charge - meaning it is very difficult to successfully inject the IL-1Ra into it. We are working on designing a positively charged drug that utilizes exosomes containing IL-1Ra covered in CPCs, or cationic protein carriers, so that the IL-1Ra can be effectively injected into the cartilage and cease its gradual breakdown. Currently, we are extracting exosomes from non-fat milk in order to study their compatibility with a positive carrier that can enter cartilage. While this solves the charge issue, there are several other factors that make the cartilage in the knee difficult to design drugs for, such as the synovial fluid clearance - a dense substance that surrounds cartilage - and its avascular and aneural properties. The goal of this project is to design drugs that can effectively bypass these difficulties and deliver a medicine into cartilage and other negatively charged tissues. |
| Faculty: Cassella, Cristian Mentors: Nicolas Casilli, Cheng-Hsun Lee, Xuanyi Zhao | Calvin Feng, Amy Lei | Reducing the Cold-Chain Inefficiencies using Acoustic-Based Subharmonic Tags Presentation Poster | Cold chain inefficiencies have led to massive food and drug waste in the last couple of decades. As the global population increases and the demand for food and medicine rises, we will have to turn to technology to mitigate the immense waste. One such type of technology is the acoustic-based subharmonic tags (subHTs) developed by Northeastern’s MicronRF lab. These tags alert people about temperature violations, which are when perishable products are exposed to too high or too low of temperatures. This is useful as it identifies which products have probably gone bad, even if they came back to a reasonable temperature later. Moreover, it helps people flag unsuitable environments for food and drugs, and therefore prevents more products from being placed in those places. The newer subHTs are chipless and batteryless, utilizing the power from the RF signal sent. The range of these tags is revolutionary, spanning tens of yards. |
| Faculty: Dong, Sijia Mentors: Nithin Chintala, Benjamin Kaufold, Ruimeng Wang | Niharika Chawla, Jake Leigh | Predicting Absorption Spectra of Flavin-Based Photo enzymes by Constructing Machine Learning Models Presentation Poster | Understanding carbon to carbon bond formation allows us to better synthesize useful organic compounds using biocatalytic methods. In order to do this, certain photoenzymes must experience excitation in order to catalyze the reactions which form said bonds. This project focuses on the absorption spectra of flavin-based photoenzymes in order to obtain their excitation states for various photocatalytic uses. More specifically, we designed and implemented machine learning (ML) to build various models of docking poses that would allow us to predict the absorption spectra of flavin/styrene/chloroamide complexes in the UV-vis range based on their molecular geometry and time-dependent density functional theory data. This would help determine how relative orientations of non covalently bonded reactant complexes affect the absorption spectrum. |
| Faculty: Ebong, Eno Mentors: Chinedu Okorafor | Shannon Fitzpatrick, Brandon Han | Vascular Flow Effects on Endothelial Glycocalyx Expression for Brain Microvascular Cells Presentation Poster | The goal of this project is to examine how the endothelial glycocalyx responds to low shear stress. The endothelial glycocalyx is a “carbohydrate rich” gel matrix on top of endothelial cells that provides selective permeability for blood vessels, controlling the types of molecules that are able to pass through. Recently, it has been shown that the degradation of endothelial glycocalyx correlates to certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer metastasis, but further research must be done to identify how the glycocalyx can help medical professionals better diagnose, prevent, and treat these diseases. Studies on the glycocalyx have been limited to mice and rats; however, human cells have not been examined thoroughly. Thus we are also focusing on endothelial cells from the human brain. We have performed immunocytochemistry staining on brain endothelial glycocalyx components, specifically tracking hyaluronic acid. Using ImageJ, an image processing software, flows of 1 dynes/cm2 and 12 dynes/cm2 along with static controls have been quantified for percent area coverage and thickness, allowing us to examine how the glycocalyx responds to shear stress. |
| Faculty: Hashmi, Sara Mentors: Sabrina Marnoto | Kamala Albrecht, Nathan Hammerschmitt Le Gal | Particle Synthesis with Macro and Micro Fluidic Devices Presentation Poster | The goal of this research is to synthesize microparticles with a tunable softness for future use across a variety of fields. Applications include drug delivery through encapsulation of other microparticles, as well as computer modeling the flow and properties of complex fluids such as blood. Microparticles offer a unique set of properties that could prove useful when controllable and ideal in pharmaceutical settings. First, macro particles are created by utilizing the natural gelation between sodium alginate and calcium chloride, and subsequently, micro particles are produced using a droplet maker on a microfluidic device. We also use an emulsification method between vinyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (VPDMS) and water, which creates macro particles. The VPDMS can also be used in the microfluidic droplet maker to create micro particles. The properties of each particle batch is varied by changing chemical concentrations, and such changes were measured through mechanical testing to quantify physical characteristics. |
| Faculty: Jornet, Josep Mentors: Duschia Bodet | Ollaya Krikib, Logan Roberts | Communications and Signal Processing for 6G Terahertz Networks Presentation Poster | Wireless communication in the THz band will alleviate the spectrum scarcity and capacity limitations of current wireless systems, and enable new applications both in classical networking domains as well as in novel nanoscale communication models. The bandwidth in current wireless communications is rather scarce and limits advanced data rates. With advancements in the THz bands using 6g Terabit-per-second (Tbps) links we can create systems with far greater bandwidth which opens the door to a variety of applications which demand ultra-high data rates. |
| Faculty: Koppes, Abigail Mentors: Kyla Nichols, Jessica Rae Snyder | Athena Aloupis, Linda Zhou | Electrophysiological Methods for Analyzing Enteroendocrine Cells Presentation Poster | For the first part of our research, we conducted impedance tests on 12 microelectrode arrays (MEAs) in order to determine their efficacy in measuring neuronal signaling. After collecting the impedance values for each electrode in the arrays, we characterized the devices and selected the ones that were suitable to use in experiments. The second aspect of our research involves STC-1 cells, an enteroendocrine cell (EEC) line. We will dose them in different compounds of interest (sucrose, Stevia/steviol glycoside, caffeine, salt, etc.) and examine the effects using calcium indicators. The goal of this project is to build cell lab skills, such as cell culture and aseptic technique. We also want to investigate the effect of these compounds on enteroendocrine cell firing because they align with a typical daily diet. |
| Faculty: Milane, Lara | Murtaza Khalil, Daniel Sarper Paker | Using Hypoxia as a Model for Multi Drug Resistance in Cancer Cells Presentation Poster | The purpose of this lab investigation was to characterize the implications of the application of hypoxic preconditioning to create cellular models of multi drug resistance in cancer cells. A secondary purpose of this investigation was to determine the stability of the model as cancer cells return to normoxic conditions. Multiple cell lines were utilized to validate the ubiquity of the cellular model. Firstly, prior to experimentation, cell lines(MDA-MB-231, BT-549, SKOV3, and HEK) will be grown in hypoxic conditions for 10 days. Then, the cells were cultivated in an hypoxic condition for 10 days. At time points 3, 5, 7, and 10 days, the nucleic expression of HIF transcription factor, the plasma membrane expression of MDR1, MDR activity, and oxidative phosphorylation activity was measured. An ELISA assay was used to measure HIF transcription factor and MDR1, while MDR activity and OXPHOS activity were measured utilizing a Vybrant assay and a Mito Tox Glo assay, respectively. Afterwards, the cells were then placed in normoxic conditioning for a reversal. At time points 15 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 120 hours, the same measurements were performed utilizing ELSA, Vybrant and Mito Tox Glo assays. Key points of discussion in this research include the impact of both hypoxic and normoxic conditions on the creation of multi drug resistance in cancer cells. |
| Faculty: Noor E Alam, Muhammad Mentors: Sahil Anis Shikalgar | Yassine Souabny, Kathy Trinh | Evaluating Health Care Policy Using Data Analytics Presentation Poster | Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a major healthcare crisis in the United States and has worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using open-source observational data collected by SAMHSA, we will create a cause-and-effect question such as “Does the co-existence of a mental health issue and substance use disorder affect the treatment discontinuation rate?” This question will be tested by conducting a hypothesis test to draw conclusions from it using causal inference. Through this analysis, we aim to identify the determinants of OUD in order to better inform healthcare policymakers so they can implement improved policies. |
| Faculty: Parameswaran, Hari | Gabriel Nobrega, Raiana Sumpter | A Mathematical Model of Synchronized Calcium Oscillations in Smooth Muscle Cells Presentation Poster | Exposure to inhaled agonists like dust, pollen or pet hair induces calcium oscillations that propagate as waves within the smooth muscle layer. The smooth muscle cells in the airway use these calcium waves to communicate with each other and constrict as a collective. The goal of this project is to analyze images of agonist-induced calcium oscillations in smooth muscle to discern patterns of interest and create a mathematical model to interpret the data. Students will learn the fundamentals of fluorescence microscopy and image processing using Fiji. They will analyze images of calcium oscillations to obtain time series data, which they will quantitatively analyze using Matlab. The agonist induced calcium oscillations are expected to synchronize over time. To understand the origins of synchrony in calcium oscillations,the students will learn and implement the Kuramoto model, a classical set of differential equations formulated to describe the development of synchrony in coupled oscillators. |
| Faculty: Platt, Robert Mentors: Colin Keil | David Barber, Divya Rajaraman | Applications of AI – Using a Min-Max Algorithm to Play Connect 4 Presentation Poster | We are working on programming the robotic Nuro Arm to perform a series of motions to play connect four. The use/testing of the Nuro Arm is part of the lab’s overall goal of Providing robotic assistance on a more affordable and accessible level, and in the long term having a cheap robot perform daily tasks in many households. We are currently programming a robot to be able to respond to moves made by an opponent during the game, utilizing openCV image recognition software to detect the location of pieces, and then developing code in python to make a decision based on these locations. |
| Faculty: Shrivastava, Aatmesh Mentors: Kayland Harrison | Stefan Lachenmann, Theodore Lourie | Educational Electrical Engineering Puzzle Game Presentation Poster | The PI proposes to develop an online puzzle game using circuits as the building block and Kirchhoff’s current and voltage law (KCL/KVL) as the rule of the game. An incomplete circuit will be presented to participants which they can complete by correctly placing the missing components at the right place. A wrong solution will result in a pop-up describing the mistake to reinforce KCL/KVL learning. The game will have different levels moving from beginner level with very basic circuits to a much advanced level where transistor based circuits will be used. In addition, more advanced levels will be more open ended and give more creativity to the player in order to develop their creativity and application of the learned skills better. The puzzle will be developed using the online resources from puzzle.org which provides a $30/year subscription for teachers to develop learning puzzles. The puzzle will be hosted on PI’s website and released as a free downloadable app. |