Session III

Hypertension is the most predominant risk factor for the onset of cardiovascular disease in the world and is one of the largest causes of mortality worldwide. Current treatments for the condition vary significantly due to individual circumstances, with severe cases often involving the usage of careful dosages of custom combinations of medicines to minimize unintended effects. Thus, great priority is ... Read More

The internship represented a deliberate approach to creative Miring, challenging traditional boundaries of literary expression. At its core, the project sought to investigate how prose can transcend its conventional mediums and interact with other creative disciplines in meaningful ways. Grounded in contemporary theories of intermediality and transmedia storytelling, the methodology centered on creating original works is either inspired by previous ... Read More

Chronic mycetoma, a neglected tropical disease, is a suppurative and inflammatory fungal (eumycetoma) or bacterial (actinomycetoma) infection of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue. Due to the poor economic situation in most affected countries, mycetoma is neglected and currently treated with medications that are expensive, cytotoxic, or have a poor route of administration. The non-profit organization DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative) ... Read More

The Standard Model is a theory that classifies all of the known elementary particles and the forces that mediate their interactions. However there have been theories proposed which extend the Standard Model that imply the existence of the doubly charged Higgs boson. This theoretical particle decays into Standard Model leptons that can be detected and measured in current particle colliders. ... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted limitations in different aspects of current vaccines, including reduced immunity and reduced protection against new strains of COVID. These issues highlight the need for better vaccine designs that offer longer-lasting and broader protection. Our project uses Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) to enhance vaccine effectiveness by improving molecular binding affinity and structural stability. By targeting ... Read More

This internship at Abioye Filmworks focuses on the development and direction of a short film, allowing me to gain hands-on experience in filmmaking, leadership, and project management. As the lead director, I oversee assembling a production team, writing the script, selecting filming locations, and managing the creative and technical aspects of the project. My goal is to complete a high-quality ... Read More

Stroke rehabilitation faces challenges in providing real-time care outside clinical settings, as they require in-person supervision and lack personalized monitoring of continuous progression in stroke rehabilitation. Recent advances in wearable sensors (e.g., inertial measurement unit (IMU), electromyography (EMG)) offer avenues to longitudinally track arm use in the real-world setting, e.g. during activities of daily living at home. However, challenges remain ... Read More

Found in alveoli in the form of lung surfactants, the structure of a lipid monolayer is composed of hydrophobic tails surrounded by air and hydrophilic heads that assimilate with water. As we breathe in and out, lung surfactants expand and contract to optimize air intake volume and pressure, causing collapse under high compressive stresses and strains during exhalation. We can ... Read More

Most of the human population has had a peanut before. This staple of worldwide cuisine has been proven to have cardiovascular, digestive, and nutritional benefits. In this systematic review, we aimed to assess the effects of peanuts on cognition. We measured cognition under three domains: Memory, Reaction Time & Processing Speed, and Global Cognitive Function. Five studies met our inclusion ... Read More

At Northwestern University's Physics and Astronomy Department, the Scintillating Bubble Chamber (SBC) team collaborates with Fermilab to detect dark matter using superheated noble liquids. Bubbles in these chambers emit acoustic chirps, often before they visibly form. Experimenters analyze these signals' frequency and intensity to help identify bubble nucleation from dark matter interactions. Instead of relying solely on bubble-generated pulses, we ... Read More

The rapid advancements of Large Language Models (LLMs) have allowed a significant enhancement in natural language processing, allowing human-like text generation to be coupled with a similar level of reasoning. Although LLMs have shown success in various fields, they remain largely inconsistent in their arithmetic accuracy. This study aims to benchmark LLMs on their strengths, limitations, and overall practical implication ... Read More

This study, conducted by Andrew Bae and under the guidance of Dr. Ashwin Mohan, investigated how changes in maximal potassium conductance and leak channels influence action potentials. In the first experiment, a parametric study on the maximal conductance (ḡ) was conducted, which resulted in significant changes in the action potential’s characteristics, like the time for an action potential to finish ... Read More

After a stroke, patients often experience hemiparesis, a condition that causes weakness on one side of the body. Hemiparetic gait can cause abnormal gait patterns that can lead to the deterioration of knee cartilage, resulting in pain, osteoarthritis, and a loss of function. Currently, we do notunderstand the impact of neuromuscular impairment in people post-stroke on knee joint contact forces. ... Read More

Long-COVID is a condition where individuals continue to experience symptoms after recovering from the acute phase of COVID-19. A common symptom of long COVID is brain fog, a term which refers to cognitive impairments including problems with attention and memory. This project aims to address this gap and examine the acceptability of a potential attention intervention among people living with ... Read More

Google Quantum Al is a subsidiary of Google that primarily focuses on quantum hardware and software. Some of their biggest accomplishments have been developing quantum chips and creating Cirq, a quantum computing simulation package in python. Through using tools like Cirq and meeting with quantum computing research scientists and engineers, we developed Our Own implementation of algorithms and compared them ... Read More

MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a strain of bacteria resistant to many common antibiotics, such as methicillin and penicillin. It is a common cause of severe infections, including pneumonia and sepsis.

Antibiotics like Ceftaroline have shown significant efficacy against MRSA. However, their high costs and limited accessibility make them less viable for underserved populations. In contrast, while widely available and ... Read More

This study investigates the correlation between the frequency of solar flares and a star’smetallicity. It is known that metallicity affects convection in a star, and the mass of the star, the rotation rate of the star, and the convection in a star all affect the activity of a star. The activity of a star is defined by how many and ... Read More

Mycetoma is a deadly disease that most commonly affects areas that are unable to obtain treatment for it in time. It is most often caused by a fungus called Madurella mycetomatis, but it can also be caused by bacteria called actinomycetoma or fungi called eumycetoma. The most common location for mycetoma is usually on the foot, with it usually affecting ... Read More

Sudden cardiac arrest (CA) is a leading cause of death, and post-resuscitation injury risks survival in the days following. Recent studies suggest excessive oxygen following CA may contribute to poor outcomes. We hypothesize that oxygen-mediated mitochondrial injury is caused by Dynamin-Related Protein 1 (Drp1), and if we target Drp1, it can alleviate oxygen toxicity, improving survival and recovery. To test ... Read More

Over the last few months, Grace McWayne Elementary School and ny mentor, Mrs. Sarah Barrett, have given me the opportunity to experience life as a teacher, specifically With fourth-grade students. During this time, I have learned a lot, including how to deal with issues as they arise, teaching students based on individual needs, and keeping a class controlled in an ... Read More

The doubly charged Higgs boson is a particle predicted by various theoretical models such as the left-right symmetric Model. Using data from the CMS detector at the LHC in collaboration with Fermilab, we reconstruct signal events while making cuts to minimize background detection. The Higgs Boson is predicted to have a decay that results in two same-sign leptons. In order ... Read More

Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) are differential equations that have multiple variables and one or more of their partial derivatives. However, this property makes writing explicit solutions for PDEs often impossible, and solutions such as numerical solvers can be expensive. One such example is the Burgers Equation, which models the behavior of viscous fluids, and has real world applications such as ... Read More

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a technique used to assess the health of a population by analyzing the relative concentrations of certain substances within wastewater. The COVID-19 pandemic heightened interest in WBE as a cost-effective, anonymous, and accessible tool for tracking community-wide trends of respiratory viruses such as Influenza A & B and RSV. However, questions remain about its applicability to ... Read More

Metastatic ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, primarily due to the limitations of existing treatments. Chemotherapy, though common, often leads to toxic side effects and drug resistance, while radiation therapy is largely untargeted, resulting in significant collateral damage. Since IL13Ra2 protein is overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells, this research aims to conjugate the IL13Ra2-targeted ... Read More

This paper aims to find and evaluate optimal catholytes materials for Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries (AORFBs) through using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation and other techniques. DFT is an atomistic modeling method that can provide accurate performance predictions of electrodes, electrolyte and membranes, significantly reducing experimental time and cost. The organic material I chose to focus on is 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl ... Read More

Two-line Element (TLE) data is used to determine the position of an Object currently orbiting the earth, such as satellites, at any given time. The understanding of these movements plays a big role in navigation, communication, and enhancing aerospace research. However, natural factors such as space weather impact the accuracy of these movements, yet often not fully considered. This project ... Read More

Stroke rehabilitation faces challenges in providing real-time care outside clinical settings, as they require in-person supervision and lack personalized monitoring of continuous progression in stroke rehabilitation. Recent advances in wearable sensors (e.g., inertial measurement unit (IMU), electromyography (EMG)) offer avenues to longitudinally track arm use in the real-world setting, e.g. during activities of daily living at home. However, challenges remain ... Read More

When infants are fresh out of the womb their ears are extremely sensitive to even the quietest of noises. The infant's hearing is volatile in the loud hospital environment due to the sounds produced by the medical machinery which could potentially cause long term hearing damage. To reduce the noise heard by the infants we improved upon an existing active ... Read More

Due to the overuse of antibiotics in past and recent years, many microbes have developed antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This is a very dangerous and prominent issue that is the cause of millions of deaths. The aim of this research is to identify bacteria (derived from soil samples) that have antimicrobial properties against ESKAPE pathogens). The methods and procedures taken include ... Read More

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype characterized by high metastatic potential and limited treatment options. Previous research done in the Minshall Lab suggests that the Kv11.1 K⁺ channel activator NS1643 reduces TNBC metastasis in part by enhancing β-catenin interaction with desmosomal proteins, thereby strengthening cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. Building on these findings, we investigated the impact of NS1643 ... Read More

The stiffness of a prosthetic foot-ankle component is typically prescribed based on a patient's weight and activity level, which may not be optimal for a particular individual. This study investigates how systematically varying prosthetic foot-ankle stiffness affects standing and walking performance. The aim is to determine an optimal prosthetic foot-ankle stiffness that will enhance standing and walking abilities for transfemoral ... Read More

Single ventricular defects are a type of congenital heart disease that can be treated through the Fontan Procedure, where a conduit is implanted connecting the inferior vena cava to the pulmonary artery (PA). Native vasculature grows over time, whereas the synthetic conduit does not. This study focused on growth of the PA over time, resulting in conduit shape and hemodynamic ... Read More

Enhancing Doula Care Support for BIPOC birthing persons Within healthcare, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) experience significant maternal health disparities in the United States, including rising rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. The Well-Mama research study involves integrating Community Doula Navigators (CDN) into perinatal care through telehealth check-ins, support groups, and labor support. The study prioritizes ... Read More

Biological cells rely on ion channels, which are complex protein structures to regulate movement of sodium, potassium, and calcium ions across the cell membrane. Some of these channels respond to voltage changes or bioelectric fields, allowing ion movement that alters concentration gradients inside and outside the cell membrane.

This research investigates the behavior of the voltage-gated ion channels in a ... Read More

Climbing carabiners are critical safety tools in mountaineering, yet their failure due to wear and fatigue over time remains a fatal cause of climbing-related accidents. Manufacturer ratings are based on uniaxial tensile tests of new carabiners to failure, yet carabiners may develop grooves over time that cause failure under repeated loading in real-world scenarios. The structural integrity of grooved carabiners ... Read More

The human lung contains two major types of basal cells: large airway basal cells (LABCs) and distal airway basal cells (DABCs). LABS are found in proximal airways of the lung, such as the trachea or large bronchi, while DABCs are found in the periphery, alveolar regions of the lung. Using known single cell data, the TP63 transcription factor is expressed ... Read More

Hypoxic tumors consist of areas that have reduced oxygen levels in the tissue due to insufficient blood flow or poor vascularization. As a result, the tumor becomes more aggressive, spreading to other parts of the body, and being harder to treat with chemotherapy or radiation. Determining the oxygenation at the time of diagnosis will enable more effective treatment planning and ... Read More

Callan Consulting Engineers is a cornpany that works on designing and improving mechanical and structural systems for different industries. During this internship, the focus was on learning and applying mechanical engineering principles, such as creating 3D models, testing designs, and learning how heat distribution works. Projects included surveying outdated boiler rooms, and thinking of ways to improve them. As well ... Read More

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American men. While prostate cancer is very treatable, there remains a need for alternative treatments for those who are resistant to androgen based therapies. MEIS1 and HOXB13 regulation is associated with proteoglycans like decorin and lumican to promote a tumor suppressive phenotype. Therefore, this project aims to elucidate how ... Read More

This study investigates the mechanical behavior of 3D-printed Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) and Ultra High Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). It intends to contribute to the research regarding detailed experimental assurance in concrete 3D printing. Current methods are based on coring samples out of 3D printed elements, eliminating the 3D printing features. This study bridges these approaches by proposing a ... Read More

Microglia, the brain’s resident macrophages, shift between surveillance and activation in response to neuroinflammation. Previous studies have shown that Orai1, a key calcium channel, plays a critical role in regulating microglia function. Microglia morphology is directly related to function, typically more ramified in surveillant state and more amoeboid when activated. We hypothesized that the deletion of the Orai1 channel in ... Read More

Data attribution methods have been commonly used on generative AI as a way to evaluate the usefulness of data samples. In the future, it may be used to compensate copyright holders for their data. However, these methods have proven to be susceptible to adversarial attacks through various optimization processes. We seek to show that these adversarial attacks can not only ... Read More

Dementia is a common issue among aging people. While general physical activity is known to support cognitive health, perceptions regarding the benefits of strength training specifically remain undiscovered. Understanding these perceptions is essential due to the Health Belief Model (HBM). The HBM states that the likelihood that people take action to prevent a health issue is directly correlated to their ... Read More

This paper explores the application of Fourier Transform (FT) and Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in two domains: the characterization of Mercury-Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) thin films for infrared imaging and the detection of greenhouse gases in hyperspectral data. FTIR is a popular method for characterization of many thin film materials, including HgCdTe, a material used for the most sensitive of IR ... Read More

Vaginally used products can contain toxic chemicals such as surfactants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, metals, and others. Chronic dermal exposure to these chemicals can lead to adverse health effects, however the effects of vaginal exposure are unknown. The objective of this review is to evaluate if surfactants and other chemicals applied intravaginally can be absorbed systemically or negatively impact vaginal ... Read More

Recent development of large-scale solar farms could pose an environmental threat to birds, calling for accurate monitoring to ensure that photovoltaic solar energy development does not come at the cost of wildlife conservation. Recently, Argonne National Laboratory has produced a novel machine-vision model to track bird activity, but its performance for bird prediction requires further evaluation.

Here, we aim to ... Read More

Approximately 6.1 million car collisions occur annually, with 94% caused by human error. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) aim to reduce such incidents. However, MAS, essential for AV coordination, are vulnerable to adversarial attacks due to their decentralized nature. A single compromised vehicle can trigger cascading deviations, leading to system failures. This research proposes a novel framework to ... Read More

In predictive studies, it is important to know the amount of data needed to obtain a given prediction accuracy. Typically, models built on larger datasets produce more accurate results but are more expensive, so knowing the minimal number of samples needed to achieve a certain accuracy level can save costs. This project creates an R package that generates the efficient ... Read More

Polar Lows (PLs) are small but intense hurricane-like maritime cyclones that form poleward and westward of the primary extratropical cyclone circulation track over the Atlantic and Pacific Arctic regions and Southern Ocean. In 2023, a very unusual Polar Low occurred at 36º latitude near the eastern coast of the United States – the lowest latitude for a recorded PL. Through ... Read More

Machine learning (ML) has significantly enhanced EMG signal processing, which has eased neuromuscular diagnosis and movement analysis. Previous studies focused on developing a variety of different ML models like Bayesian Techniques, Artificial Neural Networks, and Recurrent Neural Networks without a standardized way of comparing. Our work aims to contrast the performance between supervised, unsupervised, and neural network models in a ... Read More

Proviral integration site for malignancy-1 (PIM-1) is a serine/threonine kinase proto-oncogene that has many important functions, namely cell proliferation and signal transduction, in the context of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Generally, PIM-1 kinase, which arises from the expression of the PIM-1 oncogene, can cause poor prognosis of AML. Additionally, PIM-1 kinase, also a substrate of Triad1, stabilizes as expression of ... Read More

Liposarcoma, a malignant soft tissue sarcoma, is frequently characterized by MDM2 amplification and CDK4 overexpression, making these proteins attractive therapeutic targets. Current treatments utilize MDM2 or CDK4 inhibitors seperately, but face challenges such as resistance and limited efficacy. This study evaluates the therapeutic potential of novel dual- target inhibitors that simultaneously suppress MDM2 and CDK4 in an in vitro liposarcoma ... Read More

The Al Center's goal is to further development of Al curriculum, opportunities, and development within the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). My role in the Al Center included the creation and management of the Al Center Student Innovation Cohort, which is a small team of students which research and create lessons on Al related topics to implement in upcoming ... Read More

The IMSA Center for Artificial Intelligence housed in A148, realizes Theme 1 of IMSA's vision 2033 10-year plan: "Build curricular and lab space capacity on the Aurora campus to support the growth and experimentation of artificial intelligence and its applications." In conjunction with the Al team leads (Ethics, Research, Entrepreneurship, & Curricular Connections), computer science faculty, the IN2 Innovation Center, ... Read More

Vascular aging, a chronic state of low-grade inflammation, is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. As the innermost lining of the blood vasculature, endothelial cells (ECs) play a major role in vessel health. At the cellular level, appropriate nuclear structure determines proper cell functionality and homeostasis. Previous research identified nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) as crucial factors in maintaining nuclear ... Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by pathogenic accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers in a mortality-inducing cognitive decline self-reinforcing feedback loop. A key driver of AD pathology is Aβ oligomer (AβO) neurotoxicity, precipitating dysfunction in synaptic transmission and ultimately resulting in neuronal death. Recent studies show that in both death signaling pathways activated by AβO involve ... Read More

Thermionic energy conversion (TEC) is a unique method of transforming energy, providing a direct exchange of excess heat to usable power with no moving parts or harmful byproducts. TEC has impressive potential for waste heat recovery, clean energy generation, and even enhancement of existing clean energy technologies such as solar or nuclear energy. While TEC has received substantial interest from ... Read More

Perfecting the development of materials synthesis conditions in nanotechnology remains a significant challenge, particularly in atomic layer deposition (ALD), a versatile process used in the development of semiconductors. ALD involves repeated dosing and purging steps with chemical material and requires incredible precision. Optimizing time intervals for dosing and purging steps is essential to avoid incomplete surface coverage or poor-quality deposition. ... Read More

The Illinois State Treasurer's Office (STO) manages the stateS portfolio and runs several financial programs for the benefit of Illinois families, such as the Secure Choice retirement savings program and the Bright Start and First Steps college savings programs. The STO is building a new Data Team to support the Office's existing programs and divisions. This team is the first ... Read More

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a lead cause of chronic pain and disability, yet early detection and personalized treatment remain challenging. OsteoPredict is an AI-driven application designed to improve OA management by integrating predictive risk modeling, patient monitoring, and evidence-based treatment recommendations.

The application employs a machine learning-driven risk stratification model utilizing demographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors to predict an individual’s likelihood ... Read More

Nucleic acid biomarkers are useful tools that can give diagnoses, indicate prognosis, and monitor the effectiveness of therapy in various diseases. The quantitative analysis of oligonucleotides provides direct evidence that aids in treatment planning and therapy for these conditions, but current methodologies of analysis are costly due to calibration and require high- end laboratory equipment. To bypass these shortcomings, our ... Read More

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare, progressive lung disease primarily affecting women of childbearing age. Characterized by bi-allelic mutations in TSC1 or TSC2, LAM leads to elevated mTORC1 activity, resulting in pulmonary tumor nodules and reduced lung function. One possible method of treatment is the rapamycin drug which works through the inhibition of the mTOR. However, while rapamycin therapy slows tumor ... Read More

Cryptosporidiosis is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium, posing a significant health risk to immunocompromised individuals and young children in low-resource settings. Current treatment options are limited, underscoring the urgent need for novel therapeutics. This project investigates thioredoxin reductase (CpTrxR), an essential enzyme in Cryptosporidium's redox homeostasis, as a potential drug target. We evaluated a panel ... Read More

Hypertonia, the increase of muscle tone as a result of upper motor neuron lesions, is a long-lasting effect of stroke and affects over 12 million people worldwide. Living with hypertonia can significantly reduce a person’s quality of life and impair their mobility. In the last few years, the viability of electrical stimulation therapy for reducing spasticity has grown. One study ... Read More

Nicotine is an addictive chemical that leads to tolerance and withdrawal and acts as an agonist for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), a family of ligand-gated ion channels. When nicotine binds to nAChRs, the ligand-gated ion channels open and allow ions like calcium to enter the cell. Calcium can activate an assortment of downstream signaling processes, including further ionic currents ... Read More

Natural Language Processing (NLP) has witnessed significant advancements with the emergence of large language models (LLM) capable of understanding and generating human-like text. However, there remains a critical need to explore and understand their efficiency and effectiveness, especially in processing languages beyond English. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of various large language models in capturing semantic meaning across ... Read More

Autonomous driving technologies have the potential to revolutionize transportation, reducing accidents, improving traffic efficiency, decreasing fuel consumption, and increasing mobility. An autonomous vehicle’s ability to generate a safe future trajectory is dependent on the outputs of many subsystems such as environment perception, intention prediction, trajectory prediction, and finally, planning. However, many of these subsystems are compromised in construction zones, as ... Read More

Abstract Operators is a startup focused on developing a platform targeted at aiding companies by employing Al agents. In our project, we used Artificial Intelligence and web development with an emphasis on deployment and integration of various technologies. Neurodivergent children often struggle with issues such as overstimulation, concentration, and having a social filter. This can cause them to misbehave and ... Read More