Public release date: 8-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phyllis Edelman pedelman@genetics-gsa.org 301-634-7302 Genetics Society of America
WASHINGTON, DC April 8, 2013 -- The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Drosophila community of geneticists are pleased to announce nine undergraduate student winners of the Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Awards. The awards were used by these students to attend the 54th Annual Drosophila Research Conference in Washington, D.C., April 3-7, 2013. These students are juniors or seniors in college and doing research using the Drosophila as a model organism or using the tools of Drosophila research to study other insects. Among the topics researched by these young scientists are cell death, immunity and neural development and communications.
2013 Victoria Finnerty Awardees
Susanna E. Brantley, senior, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Title: JAK/Stat signaling in the D. melanogaster cellular immune response (578B) (Poster) Description: Using the tools of Drosophila genetics, I show that diverse species of parasitic wasps can affect activity of the JAK/Stat pathway, a conserved signaling pathway important for the fly's cellular immune response. Author: Susanna E. Brantley, Nathan Mortimer, Todd Schlenke Principal Investigator: Todd Schlenke, PhD
Gina D. Castelvecchi, junior, University of Wisconsin - Madison Title: Identification of novel regulators of apoptosis during metamorphosis (271A) (Poster) Description: The research involves characterizing mutants in flies that cause defects in cell death. Author: Gina Castelvecchi1, Yunsik Kang1, Anne Sapiro2, Sarah Ives1, Arash Bashirullah1. 1) Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America; 2) Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America. Principal Investigator: Arash Bashirullah, PhD
Robert W. Fernandez, senior, York College, City University of New York, Jamaica, Queens, New York Title: A Step Closer to Understanding Social Behavior: Social Interactions and Dopamine in Drosophila melanogaster (417C) (Poster) Description: We are examining how dopamine, a chemical involved in communication between neurons and associated with behavioral disorders, affects social interactions in the fruit fly. Author: Robert W. Fernandez1, Adesanya A Akinleye1, Marat Nurilov1, Zulekha Rouzyi1, Anne F Simon1,2. 1) School of Arts And Sciences, Department of Biology, The City Univ New York, York College, Jamaica, NY; 2) York College and The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. Principal Investigator: Anne F. Simon, PhD
Michelle A. Frazer, senior, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Title: Repeat Associated Non-AUG initiated Translation mediates neurodegeneration in a Drosophila models of Fragile X-associated Tremor Ataxia Syndrome (441C) (Poster) Description: This research uses the fruit fly as a model system to investigate the relative contributions of toxic RNA and toxic proteins to the neurodegeneration experienced by individuals with adult-onset fragile X syndrome, a well-known genetic disorder. Author: Michelle A. Frazer1, Fang He2, Peter K. Todd2. 1) Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; 2) Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Principal Investigator: Peter K. Todd, MD, PhD
Samuel Hutton Friedman, junior, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee Title: Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein Regulates Trans-Synaptic Signaling (419B) (Poster) Description: This research shows the discovery of defects in the cell-to-cell communication driving nervous system development in Fragile X Syndrome, the most common heritable cause of intellectual disability, which could ultimately lead to a better understanding of the developmental deficiencies present in autism spectrum and other developmental disorders Author: Samuel H. Friedman, Neil Dani, Kendal Broadie Principal Investigator: Kendal Broadie, PhD
Robert A. Gingras, junior, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York Title: The Control of Lipid Metabolism by mRNA splicing in Drosophila (766B) (Poster) Description: This work focuses on determining the role of RNA processing in fat storage in fruit flies. Author: Robert Gingras1, Bijal Kakrecha3, Nicole Chichearo3, Spencer Ng2, Justin DiAngelo1, Alexis Nagengast2 1) Dept Biol, Hofstra U, NY; 2) Dept Biochem, Widener U, PA; 3) Dept Biol, Widener U, PA. Principal Investigator: Justin R. DiAngelo, PhD
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Undergraduate travel grant awardees present research at fly conference