SCHOLAR RESEARCH PAPERS
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AS RESEARCH SCIENTISTS PROGRAM (STARS)
FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014
101/104/115/116/240/242 Benton Hall – 120/121 Research Building
Program Directors: Dr. Ken Mares, Dr. Charles Granger
Senior Program Advisor: Dr. Howard Granok
Student Advisors: Mr. Kelton Clements, Dr. Rachel Delston, Dr. Bruce Hamper,
Dr. Heidi Hope, Mr. Michael Hope, Dr. Elaine Krul,
Mr. Joseph Meisel, Dr. Robin Weinberg, Ms. Rhonda Woerndle
Praveen Bagavandoss, Marquette High School, “Investigating the Use of a PQQ-Aptamer Complex to
Oxidize Potential Biofuels.” Dr. Dana Baum, Saint Louis University.
Susanna Barrett, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, "Investigation of the Effects of the Nucleoporin,
AtGle1, on Seed Viability." Dr. Wenyan Xiao, Saint Louis University.
Amanda Blythe, Ft. Zumwalt West High School, “Identification of a Novel Mutation in a Luminal Domain
of Phosphatidylserine Synthase 1 where Previous Mutations were Associated with Lenz-Majewski
Hyperostotic Dwarfism.” Dr. Steven Mumm, Washington University in St. Louis.
Preston Bruce, Saint Louis University High School, "Using SRmapper to Detect Pathogens.” Dr. Chung
Wong and Paul Gontarz, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Jason Chen, John Burroughs School, “Remote Sensing of Chlorophyll Fluorescence as an Indication of
Plant Water Stress.” Dr. Wasit Wulamu, Saint Louis University.
William Chen, Parkway South High School, “Rolling Your Own.” Dr. Robert Marquis, University of
Missouri-St. Louis.
Sanjay Cherupalla, Metro Academic and Classical High School, “Analyzing Tetramerization in KirBac1.1.”
Dr. Decha Enkvetchakul, Saint Louis University.
Sarah Connolly, Nerinx Hall High School, “Tweeting about Depression and Anxiety.” Dr. Patricia Cavazos,
Washington University in St. Louis.
Amanda Crawford, Parkway North High School, "Decision-making Based on Color Differentiation and
Social Information in Free-flying Bumblebees." Dr. Aimee Dunlap, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Harrison Critchfield-Jain, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Developing Methods for
Creating Corner Fillets and Microramps using Computational Fluid Dynamic Software.”
Dr. Mark McQuilling, Saint Louis University.
Carolina Badke d’Andrea, Upper St. Clair High School (Venitia, PA), “Analysis of the Lung Microbiome in
Adult and Neonatal Mice.” Dr. Laurie Shornick, Saint Louis University.
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Lynn Dankner, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “The Effect of 8 Weeks of Pulmonary
Rehabilitation on 24-Hour ECG Derived Measures of Circadian Rhythm, Sleeping, and Napping, in
Patients with Severe COPD.” Dr. Phyllis Stein, Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrew Dong, Parkway South High School, “Redox Chemistry of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Its
Impact on Particles’ Transport in Engineered Aquatic Environments.” Dr. Young-Shin Jun, Chelsea Neil,
Jessica Ray, and Yanzhe Zhu, Washington University in St. Louis.
Sanjay Elangovan, Marquette High School, “Binding Mode Determination of 4-substituted
Naphthalimides Complexed with Nucleic Acids.” Dr. Brent Znosko and Ms. Liz Jolley, Saint Louis
University.
Huayu Gao, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, “The Effects of Item-Specific and Relational Processing
on Homograph False Memory with Blocked and Alternated Lists.” Dr. David Balota, Dr. Mark Huff,
Washington University in St. Louis.
Saivaroon Gajagowni, Fort Zumwalt West High School, “A Comparative Study of Gold Nanorods and
Gold Nanorattles for Label-Free Plasmonic Biosensing.” Dr. Srikanth Singamaneni, Washington University
in St. Louis.
Jack Gorczyca, St. Louis Priory School, “Electronic Spectroscopy of Diatomic Molecules by Intracavity
Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Emission Spectroscopy.” Dr. James O'Brien and
Dr. Leah O'Brien, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Dennis Grigoryan, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, "RecO Initiates DNA Repair by
Altering DNA Conformation." Dr. Sergey Korolev, Saint Louis University.
Christopher Halen, Whitfield School, “The Effects of Alcohol in Decision-Making.” Dr. Aimee Dunlap,
University of Missouri-St. Louis.
AnnElise Hardy, Francis Howell High School, “Biaxial Mechanical Behavior of Mouse Skin.”
Dr. Jessica Wagenseil, Washington University in St. Louis.
Alexis Hartman, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, “The Effect of 8 Weeks of Pulmonary Rehabilitation
on 24-Hour ECG Derived Measures of Circadian Rhythm, Sleeping, and Napping, in Patients with Severe
COPD.” Dr. Phyllis Stein, Washington University in St. Louis.
Saqib Hassan, Parkway West High School, “A Characterization Study Using Solid State 1H NMR and TGA
on Gallium And Indium Heterometallic Clusters.” Dr. Sophia Hayes, Washington University in St. Louis.
Caleb Hill, Crossroads College Preparatory School, “Analyzing Tetramerization in KirBac1.1." Dr. Decha
Enkvetchakul, Saint Louis University.
MaeMae Huang, Lafayette High School, “Fstl4 and Adipoq Gene Expression and the Predisposition to
MGUS/myeloma in the KaLwRij Mouse Strain.” Dr. Michael Tomasson, Washington University in St.
Louis.
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Ann Iverson, Lindbergh High School, "Effect of TAK1 Inhibition on Colon Cancer Cells."
Dr. Rachel Delston, Confluence Life Sciences.
Nathan Jacobs, Homeschooled, “Preparation of Nanostructured Silver Film for Use in Localized Surface
Plasmon Resonance Studies of Lectin Interactions with Mono-, Di-, and Trimannoside Derivatives.”
Dr. Keith Stine, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Sangeeth John, Christian Brothers College High School, “Recycling of Ascorbate in Skeletal Muscle Cells.”
Dr. Jonathan Fisher, Saint Louis University.
Davis Johnston, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Role of hrcV Gene in Xanthomonas
axonopodis pv manihotis (Xam).” Dr. Rebecca Bart, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Joshua Kazdan, John Burroughs School, “Assessing the Feasibility of Using Photoelectron Imaging to
Probe Electronic Structure in Cu- Cluster Anions: a Preliminary Study.” Dr. Richard Mabbs, Washington
University in St. Louis.
Eesha Kelkar, Clayton High School, “Word Frequency Effects in Younger and Older Adults.”
Dr. David Balota and Emily Cohen-Shikora, Washington University in St. Louis.
Phillip Kheyfets, Parkway North High School, “Automated System for Deriving Stoichiometry of Complex
Chemical Reactions: An Advanced Linear Algebraic Approach.” Dr. Grigoriy Yablonsky, Saint Louis
University.
Matt Kinnison, St. Louis Priory School, “Real-World Implementation of Spacecraft Propulsion.”
Dr. Michael Swartwout, Saint Louis University.
Nathan Kulczak, Barat Academy, “The Synthesis and Infrared Characterization of a Photomagnetic
Square.” Dr. Stephen Holmes and Mr. Quiggins, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Gajan Kumar, Parkway Central High School, “Potential Association of PICK1 and Discs Large with
Echinoid in Drosophila.” Dr. Susan Spencer and Qian Nie, Saint Louis University.
Keshav Kumar, Salem Community High School (Salem, IL), “Chemical Wave Propagation in Networks of
Bistable Chemical Reaction.” Dr. Istvan Kiss, Saint Louis University.
Derek Lee, BASIS Chandler High School (Chandler, AZ), “Determination of Enantioselective Solvation of
Chiral α-hydroxyphosphonates by Cinchona Alkaloids.” Dr. Bruce Hamper, University of Missouri-St.
Louis.
Rebecca Liu, Westminster Christian Academy, “Testing of Potential Reductases in the Biosynthesis of
Cyclopamine in Veratrum californicum.” Dr. Toni Kutchan and Megan Augustin, Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center.
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Tom Liu, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, “Daily Growth Regulation of the Hypocotyl by Mass Spec
Identified Modulating Growth Factor 1 (MMF1).” Dr. Dmitri A. Nusinow, Donald Danforth Plant Science
Center.
Olivia Long, John Burroughs School, “Investigating the Roles of pPLAs under Phosphorus Deprivation in
Arabidopsis thaliana.” Dr. Xuemin Wang, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
Christina MacAskill, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Determining Sensitivity of ROSspecific Fluorescent Probes.” Dr. Mikhail Berezin and Haiying Zhou, Washington University in St. Louis.
William Macke, St. Louis Priory School, “Animating Vector Fields in Real Time.” Dr. Henry Kang,
University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Poornaashri Malarvannan, Marquette High School, "KATP Channel Mutations in Mice Models Neonatal
Diabetes Mellitus (NDM)." Dr. Maria Remedi and Dr. Colin Nichols, Washington University in St. Louis.
Stephen Mattingly, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Examining the Activity of Pgp and
BCRP via Fluorescence Microscopy.” Dr. Vijay Sharma, Washington University in St. Louis.
William Meng, John Burroughs School, “Exploring the Options of Multi-Stage Chemical-Looping
Combustion Using ASPEN Plus." Dr. Ramesh Agarwal, Washington University in St. Louis.
Paul Meuser, Maplewood Richmond Heights High School, “Determination of Enantioselective Solvation
of Chiral α-hydroxy phosphonates with Quinine Alkaloids.” Dr. Bruce Hamper, University of Missouri-St.
Louis.
Aishwarya Mogulothu, Fort Zumwalt South High School, “Detection and Quantification of Salmonella
Typhimurium from a Mixed Culture Under Various Conditions.” Dr. Blythe Janowiak, Saint Louis
University.
Nina Muddasani, John Burroughs School, "The Effect of Early Life Stressors on the Behavior of
Drosophila." Dr. Wendi Neckameyer, Saint Louis University.
Claire Munsell, Cor Jesu Academy, “Imaging Agent AI-182 and Detection of Glioblastoma Cells."
Dr. Vijay Sharma, Washington University in St. Louis.
Sally Nijim, Willowbrook High School (Villa Park, IL), “The Role of the Transcription Factor Atonal
Homolog 8 in Erythropoiesis and Iron Homeostasis.” Dr. Robert Fleming, Saint Louis University.
Shree Patel, O'Fallon Township High School (O’Fallon, IL), “Interactions of Calcium-Independent
Phospholipase A2 β and Calmodulin Studied by Fluorescence Spectroscopy.” Dr. Sergey Korolev and
Konstantin Malley, Saint Louis University.
Kavita Patwardhan, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Potential Formation of
Intracellular Aggregates of Alpha-synuclein Following Acute-phase Intracranial Injections of 3,4dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde.” Dr. Michael Anch and Drew Albers, Saint Louis University.
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Filip Ponjevic, Lafayette High School, “A Comparative Study of Gold Nanorods versus Gold Nanorattles
for Label-Free Plasmonic Biosensing.” Dr. Srikanth Singamaneni, Washington University in St. Louis.
Amudha Porchezhian, Parkway Central High School, "aEEG Amplitudes as Indicators of IVH in Preterm
Infants." Dr. Amit Mathur, Washington University in St. Louis
Suraj Puvvada, Lafayette High School, "Process Simulation of Single Stage Oxy-Combustion for
Maximization of Energy Output using ASPEN Plus." Dr. Ramesh K. Agarwal, Washington University in St.
Louis.
Adeel Qayum, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, "Ability of Jurisdictions to Dispense Mass Medical
Countermeasures During a Biological Disaster Using Open Points of Dispensing (PODs): A National
Study." Dr. Terri Rebmann, Saint Louis University.
Achintya Rai, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Effects of Inhibition of p38 and TAK1
Signaling Pathways on Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Production.” Ms. Lori Stillwell, Confluence Life
Sciences.
Katherine Rill, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “Developing Methods for Creating
Corner Fillets and Microramps using Computational Fluid Dynamic Software.” Dr. Mark McQuilling, Saint
Louis University.
Michael Rubenstein, Whitfield School, “Characterization of Ascorbate Peroxidase in Skeletal Muscle
Cells.” Dr. Jonathan Fisher, Saint Louis University.
David Ryffel, Clayton High School, “Optimizing Propargylic Alcohol Substitution Reactions.” Dr. Eike
Bauer and Matt Stark, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Peter Ryffel, Clayton High School, “Synthesis of Tetrachloro-1,2-diphenyldisilane as a Precursor to the
Trapping Product PhSiF2BF2.” Dr. Peter Gaspar, Washington University in St. Louis.
Eesha Sabherwal, Parkway North High School, "Evaluating Pose Determination Using LED Imaging."
Dr. Michael Swartwout, Saint Louis University.
Charles Sansone, John Burroughs School, “Potential Formation of Intracellular Aggregates of AlphaSynuclein Following Acute-Phase Intracranial Injections of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde.”
Dr. Michael Anch and Drew Albers, Saint Louis University.
Peter Schmidt, Clayton High School, “Potential Formation of Intracellular Aggregates of Alpha-Synuclein
Following Acute-Phase Intracranial Injections of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde.” Dr. Michael Anch
and Drew Albers, Saint Louis University.
Danielle Eve Serota, Parkway Central High School, "Effect of Caffeine on Neonatal Neurobehavioral
Development." Dr. Roberta Pineda, Washington University in St. Louis.
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Neal Shekar, O'Fallon Township High School (O’Fallon, IL), “Defoliation and Wounding Response of
Nicotiana Benthamiana.” Dr. Todd Mockler and Dr. Doug Bryant, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
Zohair Siddiqui, Parkway West High School, "Analysis of Mitochondrial-Mediated Nuclear Mutation
Rates in Neurospora." Dr. Jack Kennell, Saint Louis University.
Rohit Srivastava, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School "Phylogenetic Placement of
Homozeugos eylesii Using Nuclear Loci." Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg and Daniel Layton, Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center.
Chloe Stallion, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, “The Potential Interactions between
Kermit and Snx27 with Echinoid in Drosophila.” Dr. Susan Spencer and Qian Nie, Saint Louis University.
Stephanie Strothkamp, Westminster Christian Academy, “Structural Integrity of Cortico-Limbic
Networks in Preschool Onset Depression.” Dr. Deanna Barch, Washington University in St. Louis.
Clara Sun, Parkway West High School, “Comparison of Nutrient and Growth Requirements between
Glutathione-Deficient and Wild Type Group B Streptococcus.” Dr. Blythe Janowiak, Saint Louis
University.
Tara Suresh, John Burroughs School, “Chemical Dopants in Bioactive Glass Affect Neuronal Survival.”
Dr. Amy Harkins, Saint Louis University.
Michelle Tang, John Burroughs School, “The Effect of Parent Engagement in the NICU on Neonatal
Stress.” Dr. Roberta Pineda, Washington University in St. Louis.
Adis Terzic, Affton High School, “Mechanical and Anatomical Characterization of Newborn Mouse
Vessels.” Dr. Jessica Wagenseil, Washington University in St. Louis.
Anthony Ton, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, “Construction of Thioglycoside Building Blocks
Towards the Synthesis of Globotetraosylceramide (Gb4).” Dr. Alexei Demchenko, University of MissouriSt. Louis.
William Tong, Parkway West High School, "Using Whole Genome Sequencing to Identify Pathogens in a
Water Sample." Dr. Chung Wong and Paul Gontarz, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Nevel Vaidyan, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, “Title of Project: Concentrations of Heavy Metals in
Community Gardens of St. Louis.” Dr. Daniel E. Giammar and Zezhen Pan, Washington University in St.
Louis.
Igi Vilza, Lindbergh High School, “Verifying the Intercalation of 3-Substituted Naphthalimide Derivatives
Complexed with DNA and RNA.” Dr. Brent Znosko and Elizabeth Jolley, Saint Louis University.
Mitchell Wells, Lafayette High School, “Comparison of the Reactivity and the Rate of Hydrogen
Production for Various Organically Passivated Aluminum Nanoparticles.” Dr. Steven Buckner and Evan
Lloyd, Saint Louis University.
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Joshua Wiedner, Lindbergh High School, “Preparation of Nanostructured Gold Film (NGF) for Use in
Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Studies of Lectin-Carbohydrates Interactions." Dr. Keith Stine,
University of Missouri-St. Louis.
William Wolfe, John Burroughs School, “Mixed Gaussian and Random Impulse Noise Removal.”
Dr. Henry Kang, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Amber Wollam, Lafayette High School, “A Comparison of Sendai-Specific CD8+ T Lymphocytes in
Neonatal and Adult Lungs During Respiratory Viral Infection.” Dr. Laurie Shornick, Saint Louis University.
Lillian Wu, Lafayette High School, “Electronic Spectroscopy of Diatomic Molecules by Intracavity Laser
Absorption Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Emission Spectroscopy.” Dr. James O'Brien and
Dr. Leah O'Brien, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Teresa Xiao, Carbondale Community High School (Carbondale, IL), “Potential Formation of Intracellular
Aggregates of Alpha-Synuclein Following Acute-Phase Intracranial Injections of 3,4Dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde.” Dr. A. Michael Anch and Drew Albers, Saint Louis University.
Katherine Yee, John Burroughs School, “Progress Towards the Synthesis of the Lactose Fragment of
Globotetraosylceramide (Gb4).” Dr. Alexei Demchenko and Xiao Jia, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Victoria Yi, Clayton High School, “Growth and Lipid Body Accumulation of Common Chlamydomonas
reinhardtii Laboratory Strains Under Different Light Conditions.” Dr. James Umen, Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center.
Jinghang Zhang, Parkway Central High School, "Regulation and Inhibition of Recruitment of Exo1 to DNA
Damage Sites." Dr. Zhongsheng You, Washington University in St. Louis.
Kevin Zheng, Parkway South High, “In-Situ Evaluation of Multi-Band Antenna Systems.”
Dr. Michael Swartwout, Saint Louis University.
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