HWS News
14 December 2016 Four HWS Students Completing Honors
The Colleges' Honors Program provides students with a unique experience to conduct some of the most sustained and sophisticated work at HWS. Although students typically complete their Honors theses in the spring semester of their senior year, four HWS students will be completing their projects at the end of this semester, including: James Cooper '17, Stephanie Kenific '17, Deborah Kwansare '17 and Noland Michels '17.
James Cooper 17, Biochemistry
Adviser: Professor of Biology Sigrid Carle
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Mentor: Department Chair of Immunology Dr. Kelvin Lee, under Pre-Doctoral Candidate of Immunology Adam Utley
CD28 Induces Metabolic Fitness in Multiple Myeloma via NF-B/IRF4 dependent Signaling Axis to Promote Survival is a collaborative effort with Lees Lab at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., that investigates how the activation of the cell surface receptor, CD28, induces metabolic shifts in Multiple Myeloma (MM) cells towards increased metabolic fitness. The research group has identified a mechanism of action which is dependent on the transcription factors NF-kB, and IRF4. This research helps deepen our understanding of MM, as well as plasma cells, which are the antibody producing centers of the body and the cells which MM develops from.
Stephanie Kenific '17, English
Adviser: Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Hannah Dickinson
Building an Anti-Bias Classroom: Curriculum for Ninth Grade English and Beyond is a full year's curriculum for a 9th grade English Language Arts classroom that upholds anti-bias principles. Through pedagogy and lesson planning, the curriculum engages students in discussions around racism and feminism. When completed, the curriculum will be available as a public resource for educators.
Deborah Kwansare '16, Chemistry
Adviser: Professor of Chemistry Erin Pelkey
Synthetic Routes Towards Making Two Isomeric Analogs of Staurosporinone examines synthetic routes to making 3-pyrroline-2-ones, which is a common backbone among many biologically active compounds such as staurosporine (a protein kinase C inhibitor). This research focuses on investigating synthetic routes to making two isomeric analogs. A newly proposed route involves the transformation of a lactone into the lactam of the 3-pyrroline-2-one.
Noland Michels '17, Biology
Adviser: Director of Introductory Biology Laboratories Susan Cushman
The Ecological Effects of the Invasive Neogobius melanostomus in the Finger Lakes is centered around the invasive species Neogobius melanostomus, or the Round goby, as it pertains to the Finger Lakes region. The study has three main components: testing if round gobies will consume another invasive species present in Seneca Lake, examining if round gobies are partially responsible for the decline in snail populations in Lake Ontario, and mapping out the invasion of the round goby through the Finger Lakes.