CAS STEAM Reception
The STEAM Receptions over the years brought the Suffolk community together to recognize student accomplishments. Students from the STEAM disciplines presented their research findings from experiential learning and creative endeavors. Each year, a successful STEAM graduate returned to give a keynote address to the faculty, students, and alumni.
The 2022 STEAM Reception was held on April 25th, 2022, featured the following presentations:
Multiples Installation and Iterations Project
Nicholas Mincher
Faculty Advisor: Professor Susan Nichter
The Multiples
Amber Yusuf, Shawn M. Gagnon
Faculty Advisor: Professor Ilona Anderson
The Function of the RbsD protein is not required for RpoS regulation
Mikayla Cavanaugh
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
How does lactic acid bacteria-derived riboflavin in the vaginal microbiome contribute to reproductive health?
Jocelyn De Paz
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O’Seaghdha
Mechanistic Insights of the Intracellular Trafficking of S. Aureus in Oropharyngeal Keratinocytes
Lauren Frost
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O’Seaghdha
Investigating the relationship of the DAF-7/TGFβ signaling pathway, IDA-1 and GLR-1 through behavioral assays
Federica Lampitiello, Dr. Annette McGehee
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette McGehee
Linking the DAF-7 signaling pathway to neuropeptide signaling in the nervous system of C. elegans
Paola Rojas Rodriguez, Dr. Annette McGehee
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette McGehee
Using Proteomics to Identify Potential Biomarkers in IBD
Vanessa Vo
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O’Seaghdha
The Chemistry of Prussian Blue
Kaylee Fife
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Edith Enyedy
Biochemical analysis of novel clinically-relevant mutations of human recombinant fumarase
Matthew Gadbois
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Melanie Berkmen
Computational Investigation of Methysilanetriol Production from Dimethylsilanediol Oxidation in the International Space Station Atmosphere
Beste Noyan, Dr. Kelsey Stocker
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kelsey Stocker
Investigation of effects of silent point mutations to RbsD mRNA on RpoS sigma factor expression
Isabel Smith
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Applications of Linear Algebra in Cryptography
Brihat Kelkar
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Pradeep Shukla
The Möbius Strip
Boryeong Kim
Lattices and Path Equations
Jacob Pearlman, Jason Xu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sheldon Joyner
Neutron Energy Distribution of an AmBe Source at the MGH Proton Center
Alexandra Leeming and Kendrick Koumba
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Neuroprotective Effects of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on White Matter Integrity and Cognition Across the Adult Lifespan
Kira DeFranza, Ryan A. Mace, MS, Dr. David Gansler, Dr. Michael Suvak, Dr. Kayle S. Sawyer
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gansler
Pandemic-Related Hardships and Psychological Well-Being: Covid-19's Impact on Low-Income Children and Families
Nicole Kingdon, Molly Dubuc, MS, Dr. Rosemarie Dibiase
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rosemarie Dibiase
Past Presentations
2021
Keynote Speaker
From the Tooth Fairy to DNA Testing: My Path to Forensics
Jennifer Sheehan, Biochemistry ’06
Presenters
Art & Design
Sonder
Hannah Shapiro
Faculty Advisor: Kristen Mallia
Biology
Squirrel Density Before and After Pandemic
Valentino Kaja
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lauren Nolfo-Clements
The Removal of Nonspecific Immunoglobulin Binding in S. aureus to Determine Cellular Localization
Lauren Frost, Joanna Pizzo, and Brittania Moodie
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O’Seaghdha
Breaking the Stigma: How to Get People Interested in Science
Salma Taher
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Dewar
Disguising DNA to improve transformation of S. pyogenes
April Bruno
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O’Seaghdha
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Computational Analysis of Common Toxicants and Pesticides
Natalie Robertson
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Edith Enyedy
Environmental Science
Characterizing Water Quality Among Dammed and Non-Dammed Waterbodies in Thompson, Connecticut
Anastasia Salisbury
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley Schiebel
Examining the Effects of Zoning and Planning on Food Injustice in New York City
Jia Huang
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Acheampong
Physics
Data Acquisition, Processing, and Analysis with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
Dylan Barbagallo
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Walter Johnson, Dr. Stevan Radojev, Dr. Song Xu
Gallery Walkthrough via the Oculus Quest II
Rhylee Cole
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Neutron bubble detector spectrometer for determination of the energy spectrum of an AmBe neutron source
Xiaoyi Li, Rhylee Cole, Dylan Barbagallo
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Psychology
The Central Executive Network and Executive Function in Alzheimer's Disease and Healthy Individuals: A Meta- Analysis of Structural and Functional MRI
Melissa Easter
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gansler
The Neuro-Development and Social Justice Perspective on the Effects of Being a Child in Poverty in North America
Nicole Kingdon
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gansler
2019
Keynote Speaker
Neurotherapeutics for Psychiatric Disorders
Nicole McLaughlin, PhD ‘06
Presenters
Art & Design
3D Painting of "Three Women" by Fernand Léger
Anh Nguyen
Faculty Advisor: Professor Keith Kitz
Exploring Architectural Scale in Virtual Reality
Ruben Volovitz
Faculty Advisor: Professor Sean Solley
Biology
Examining TCA metabolon by two hybrid assay
Domenic Abbondanza, Alicia Cantrell, Joanna Chen, Jihane Hamdani, Josette Nammour, Thomas O'Connor, Joanna Pizzo, Matthew Sahm, Emily Temple
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
CoxR Directly Represses Alkane Hydroxylase Gene Expression
Domenic Abbondanza, Dr. Arup Dey
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Automated fallback planning for switching beam energy on volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in RayStation
Pantea Ahmadi, Dr. Yi Wang
Differential growth of seals and sea lions with paedomorphic and peramorphic adult skull morphologies
Nicole Asquino
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Dewar
Analysis of fumarase variants that cause uterine tumors and metabolic disease
Anna Athansopoulos, Cristelle Badoui, Julia Durbeck, Ryan Harris, Kaitlyn Jenkins, Kylie McKenna, Shannon McLaughlin, Veronika Metante, Adelyn Ragucci, Michael Smith, Michael Suter, Yameena Vincent
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Melanie Berkmen
Finding regulators of RpoS
Amir Basherdoust, Arianne Crossen, Hanane Housni, Esteban Marte, Anna Nguyen, Ruby Raut, Jamie Rinaldi, Casey Tsimbal, Mohammadhadi Zakeri
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Enzyme Kinetics of Alcohol Dehydrogenase
Andres Cayuela Pomar, Nadia Grimaud, Kyile McKenna, Prima Prajapati, Lydia Riffert, Mary Siriboe, Michael Suter, Tran Truong
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Edith Enyedy
Optimizing the Conditions for Measuring Staphylococcus aureus
Sarah Coderre
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
Regulation of RpoS by RbsD in Escherichia coli
Shaina Dorlean, Dylan Parsons, Thomas Tran, Yameena Vincent, Dr. Arup Dey
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Effect of pH on Metabolic Rate of Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas
Tessa Duzz
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carl Merrill
The potential role of IDA-1 and neuromodulatory signaling in GLR-1 regulation
Shannon McLaughlin
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette McGehee
Deletion of Protein A: Cutting the Lights to see the LAMP
Brittania Moodie, Joanna Pizzo
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
Does DMD-10 independently affect levels of GLR-1?
Josette Nammour
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette McGehee
Dietary and Aggressive Behaviors Cause Differences in Pinniped Skull Morphology
Michael Smith
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Dewar
Global transcriptional response of Streptococcus pyogenes to human alpha-defensins
Sara Zoghi Tavana, Dr. Wuyuan Lu (University of Maryland)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
Visual Arts in the Field of Biology
Yiwei Yin
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lauren Nolfo-Clements
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Bacteria: Beauty, not the Beast
Domenic V. Abbondanza, Michael J. Clarke, Adelyn Ragucci, Dr. Melanie B. Berkmen, Dr. Celeste N. Peterson, Mehmet Berkmen (New England Biolabs; BacArt), Maria Peñil Cobo (BacArt)
ASBMB Student Club Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
The Importance of pKa on Aspirin Absorption
Leticia Adao Gomes
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Edith J. Enyedy
What conditions induce bacteria to mate?
Olukemi Akinleye
Dr. Melanie Berkmen
Nanoparticle Art
Haley Dame, Betelhem Gemechu, Lily Johnsky, Mary Siriboe, Michael Suter, Tran Truong
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kelsey Stocker
Environmental Science
Intersections of Science and Art
Etianna Alcius Etienne, Deaires Andrews, Keren Colarullo, Kali Crosby, Andrea Desjardins, Jennifer-Rose Dicecco, Jake Facchetti, Lorne Fellows, Nathanael Haynes, Brian Jarvis, Lydia Sirois, Ronan Smith, Clare Thomsen, Claire Warner, Samantha Williams
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
Developing a Regulatory Framework for Nanomaterials
Charles Batchelder
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
Drone Monitoring of Sea Level Rise Effects on Salt Marshes
Sara Bistany, Scott Lussier, MS
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Peter Burn
Dental Amalgam Waste Management in Developed and Developing Economies
Alejandro Carro
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
An Analysis of Effective Methods of Science Journalism
Kyle Crozier
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
The Environmental Management and Health Impacts of the Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Teresa Feijoo
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
Application of Biophilic Design Principles in Urban Environments for the Promotion and Maintenance of Mental Health: A Cross-culture Study
Yanxi Liu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
Comparing CDOM methodologies
Alexandra MacFarland
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley Schiebel
Creating a New England Salt Marsh Sediment Profile: Methods and Implications for Climate Change Mitigation Strategies
Taylor Templeton
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley Schiebel, Dr. Lawrence R. De Geest
Mathematics & Computer Science
Stack Exchange: Specialization Or Broadness?
Maria Aldalati
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
Why Follow When You Can Lead? Analysis of Twitter Data of 2016 Presidential Candidates
Philip Butler
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
Evolution of Mental Stigma Corpus over 160 Years
Spencer Hommel, Dr. Gary D. Fireman
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
Classification of Sephora Product Categories Based on Seasonal Purchase Patterns
Eduard Sindiukov
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
Geometric Brownian Motion and Stochastic Modeling of the Stock Market
Margaret Walter
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Xinxin Jiang
Physics
Neutron detection methods around an AmBe source
Dylan Barbagallo, Phuc Mach
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
The Big Dipper through multiple realities
Brian Hassett
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Using Virtual Reality to Explain Neutron Scattering
Molly McDonough
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Digitizing Analog Detector Outputs with an Oscilloscope
Jackson Nolan, John Thomas
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Psychology
Genetic Variations Associated with Executive Functions
Jessie Bui, Jessica Pan
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gansler
Intellectual and Developmental Functioning in Young Children Treated with Proton Radiation Therapy
Safia Elyounssi, Casey Evans, MS, Dr. Margaret Pulsifer (MGH: Psychology Assessment Center)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gansler
Understudied Components of Mindfulness Processes
Ryan Harris
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Matthew Jerram
2018
Keynote Speaker
From Boston to Beijing: Sustaining the World’s Large Marine Ecosystem
Kenneth Sherman, Director, Large Marine Ecosystems Program at NOAA
Presenters
Biology
Mechanistic Insights into the Intracellular Survival of Swphylococc11s a11reus in the Oropharyngeal Cells
Sabrina Ali
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
Cloning TCA genes to study protein-protein interactio ns
Sabrina Ali, Sidali Beriane, David Bryant, Haley Dame, Olivia Damore, Shaina Doriean, Barshana Karki, Lily Johnsky, Milagros Median, Brendan Moriarty, Haley Pellan, Sabrina Phanor, Vanna Ren, Lydia Riffert, Jean Shahriar, Nicholas Silva, Sara Tavana, Yameena Vincent, Andy Wu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Colonization of Healthy Adults with Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Olivia Huber, Bouchra Benghomari, Sara Tavana, Joanna O'Gorman (Simmons College), Gillian Weaver (Simmons), Angel Wong (Simmons), Jyl Richards (Simmons), Dr. Susan Duty (Simmons), Dr. Elizabeth Scott (Simmons)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
Culturing the YL1/2 Hybridoma Cell Line to Harvest and Quantify the YL1/2 anti-tubulin Monoclonal Antibody using ELISA
Barshana Karki, Dr. Annette McGehee
CoxR directly inhibits cytochrome p450 gene expression
Marissa Kaufman, Domenic Abbondanza, Brandon Smolarek, Nicholas Maragos, Aubrey Bryan
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Identifying the Pathway to Survival for Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus
Brittania Moodie, Dr. Maghnus O'Seaghdha
How does the DAF-7 pathway regulate levels of GLR-1? The potential role of candidate genes
Josette Nammour, Dr. Annette McGehee
How closely can we estimate an extinct mammal's age at the time of death?
Kcee Ortega, Brooke Heathco, Dr. Eric Dewar
Selected Scientific Illustrations
Claire Schneider
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Eric Dewar
Educational Visualization of scientific data in 3D
Sara Tavana, Anh Nguyen (Graphic Design)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson, Dr. Melanie Berkmen, and Dr. Walter Johnson
RpoS Regulation by RbsD in Escherichia coli
Thomas Tran, Dylan Parsons, Cheikh Diop, Adrian Lambert
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
ClpXP substrates during growth and starvation
Casey Tsimbal, Amberly Mendes, Tatjana Von Rosen
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Celeste Peterson
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Characterization of a key mating protein of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis
Haley Dame, Kacie McCarty, Sydney Thomas
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Melanie Berkmen
Method Development for GC-MS Detection of Dimethylsulfone
Chaim Wigder, Dr. Denyce Wicht
Adsorption and Hydrolysis of Volatile Methyl Siloxanes on Alumina Surfaces
Kevin Fabrizio
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kelsey M. Stocker
Biochemical analysis of novel, clinically-relevant mutations of human recombinant fumarase
Olivia Damore, Nadia Grimaud, Jan Khaksari, Nicholas Silva, Zahra Almajed, lyonna Couvertier, Haley Dame, Marissa Feeley, Betelhem Gemechu, Olivia Huber, Lily Johnsky, Barshana Karki, Amberly Mendes, Mohamed Nasser Mohi Eddin, Arianna Oranczak, Kcee Ortega, Dylan Parsons, Ayah Samman
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Melanie Berkmen
Mathematics & Computer Science
Portraying the Perfect Reviewer
Maria Aldalati
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
160 years of Mental Illness Stigma
Spencer Hommel, Cong Do Nguyen
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dmitry Zinoviev
Environmental Science
New England Mercury: Sources and Implications
Charles Batchelder
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley N. Schiebel
Ocean Acidification Impacts on Coral Calcification: Temperate versus Tropical Climates
Sara Bistany
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley N. Schiebel
The Climate Change -Induced Effect of Wildfires on Caribou Populations in Canadian Taigas
Christopher Butterworth
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley N. Schiebel
Climate Change-Induced Acidification of Salt Marshes: Causes and Impacts
Alexandra MacFarland
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hayley N. Schiebel
The Fate and Transport of Heavy Metals to Freshwater Systems Induced by Road Salts in Boston, Massachusetts
Brianna Martinez
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Hogan
Physics & Engineering
Foil Activation Correction Factors for Beta Decay Analysis
Allen AlfadheI
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Arduino and Geiger Muller Tube Radiation Detection
Dylan Barbagallo
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
3D Constellations via the Hololens
Rhylee Cole, Anh Nguyen
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Pattern Formation and Synchronization of Nanoparticles
Pierce Giamportone, Wei Lu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Prashant Sharma
Absorption Cross Sections in Metals for Applications in Neutron Energy Spectroscopy
Paul Johnson
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Recompression of Bubble Neutron Detectors Post-Radiation
Molly McDonough, Mario Rojas, Allen Alfadhel
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Flying Neutrons: The Physics of Mapping Neutron Radiation and Scattering in a Medical Facility Using Bubble Detectors
Mario Rojas, Molly McDonough, Allen Alfadhel, Paul Johnson, Jack Thomas, Jackson Nolan, Erick Bergstrom
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Physics Applications of the Microsoft HoloLens
Jackson Nolan
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Beta Decay Detection and Analysis of Neutron Activated Foils
John Thomas, Allen Alfadhel, Paul Johnson
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Walter Johnson
Resonant Power Transfer
Yang Yan, Alhassan Alsharif, Yanyu Hu
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mohamed Zatet
Psychology
Moral Foundations as Predictors of Compassion
Meghan Danaher
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Suvak
Cognitive and Behavioral Functioning in Children under 4 Years Following Proton Radiation for Brain Tumor
Yamalia Garcia, Casey Louise Evans, Dr. Margaret B. Pulsifer (MGH), Dr. David Gansler
Examining the Effect of Trauma on Community-level Resilience in Children Isis Garcia-Rodriguez, Kerrie Pieloch, MS, Dr. Amy Marks