Faculty Student Summer Research Program
2013 Research Projects

• Synthetic Strategies and their Application in the Organic Chemistry Lab
  Spencer S. Bertsler '15
  Kara Cetto Bales, Senior Teaching Associate, Chemistry

• Synthesis of 3-Penten-2-One: Use in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory
  William P. Miller '15
  Kara Cetto Bales, Senior Teaching Associate, Chemistry

• Padre Martini's Closed and Enigmatic Canons, with Solutions by Luigi Cherubini: A Publication Project
  Evan Nathan '15
  Luciane Beduschi, Assistant Professor, Music
  
  
• Investigation of Ethanol Induced Axon Pathfinding Defects During Zebrafish Development
  Aaron Beck '14; Michelle Fu '15; Daniel Schwarz '13
  Jennifer Bonner, Assistant Professor, Biology
  
  
• Understanding UPK: A Case Study in New York
  Olivia Frank '16
  Hope Casto, Assistant Professor, Education Studies

• Adhesion and Phenotype Elasticity in the Unicellular Green Alga Penium Margaritaceum
  Camille Yongue '14; Berke Tinaz '16
  David Domozych, Professor, Biology and Skidmore Microscopy Imaging Center

• Steganography and Digital Images
  Pierre-Francois Wolfe '15
  Mike Eckmann, Associate Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science

• Public Key Elliptic Curve Cryptography
  Kelly Isham '16
  Gove Effinger, Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science

• Hemispheric Specialization, Presentation Format, and Self-Relevant Stimuli Mediate Emotional Stroop Effects
  Michael Coffel '14; Renee Schapiro '15; Anna-Mariya Kirova '14; Sara Brandt '14
  Denise Evert, Associate Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience

• Impact of the Type of Occluder on Closure Processes
  Lindsey Decker '15
  Hugh Foley, Professor, Psychology

• Development of Magnetic Bead-Based Pre-Concentration for Water Analysis on Chip
  Rafaella Pontes '15
  Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Chemistry

• Development of an Automated Microfluidic Platform for Water Analysis
  Anjelica Newell '15; Dayana Baez '16; Raffaella Pontes '15
  Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Chemistry

• Detecting Malaria Through Urine-Based Assay
  Sibin Wang '16; Adam Winchell '16
  Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Chemistry

• Microfluidics as Platform for Rapid Effective Biomedical Diagnostic Tools
  Adam Winchell '16; Sibin Wang '16
  Kimberley Frederick, Professor, Chemistry

• Development of Imitation Learning
  Kelsey Weiner '14; Brianna Wellen '14
  Amy Gardiner, Assistant Professor, Psychology

• Wave Breaking and Turbulent Mixing in the Surface Ocean
  Sam Kastner '15
  Greg Gerbi, Assistant Professor, Physics and Geoscience

• Are All Artificial Sweeteners Created Equal?
  Maura LeBrecque '14
  Robert M. Hallock, Visiting Assistant Professor, Neuroscience

• Breaking the Social Class Taboo: Effect of Exposure to Different Socioeconomic Experiences on Willingness to Engage Social Class Issues
  Aneta Molenda '14
  Holley Hodgins, Professor, Psychology

• Modulation of a Bacterial Proton-Gated Ion Channel by 18-Methoxycoronaridine
  Jody-Ann Facey '14
  Rebecca Howard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Extracellular Contributions to Alcohol Modulation of Ligand Gated Ion Channels
  Amber Plante '14
  Rebecca Howard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Alcohol Modulation of a Eukaryotic Ligand-Gated Ion Channel of Known Structure
  Erika Riederer '14
  Rebecca Howard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Role of Amino Acid L269 in Alcohol Potentiation of GABA-A Receptors
  Evan Stater '13
  Rebecca Howard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Tradition and Transformation at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna
  Liza Nagode '14
  James J. Kennelly, Professor of International Business, Management & Business

• Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1
  Emily Carbone '14
  Sara Lagalwar, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience

• Degradation Mechanisms in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1
  Casey Hearing '14
  Sara Lagalwar, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience

• Effective Design for Usability and Interaction: The Case of Large US and UK Art Museums
  Kate Imboden '13
  Elzbieta Lepkowska-White, Associate Professor, Management and Business

• Invention, Creativity, Code, and Big Data: Understanding Innovation in the Consumer Protection Context
  Isaac Chansky '13
  Scott Mulligan, Visiting Assistant Professor, Management & Business and International Affairs

• To Find the Animals, Map the Plants
  Lawrence Combs '14; Margaret Pfeffer '15; Jordan Stark '15; Evan Nathan '15
  Joshua Ness, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Program

• Family Feuds: Diversity Matters for Plants, Too
  Evan Nathan '15; Jordan Stark '15; L.J. Combs '14; Margie Pfeffer '15
  Joshua Ness, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Program

• Stranded on a Desert Island in the Middle of the City? Evaluating Ecological Function in Nature Fragments in a Southwestern Cityscape
  Margie Pfeffer '15; L.J. Combs '14; Evan Nathan '15; Jordan Stark '15
  Joshua Ness, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Program

• Baby, It's Hot Outside
  Jordan Stark '15; L.J. Combs '14; Margie Pfeffer '15; Evan Nathan '15
  Joshua Ness, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Program

• The Role of Conjugated Path in the Optical Response of Molecules
  Surbhi Hablani '14; Jie Li '16; Quanhang Chen '16
  Javier Perez-Moreno, Visiting Assistant Professor, Physics
  

• Visual Cues That Aid 3D Object Perception in 2D Space
  Kayla Kleinman '14; Kriti Behari '14
  Flip Phillips, Professor, Neuroscience and Psychology

• Competing for Resources in Simultaneous Multithreading Processors
  Nikolay Yosifov '14
  Leo Porter, Associate Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science

• Epigenetic Repercussions of Photoperiod and Shaking Stressors on Drosophila melanogaster
  Meredith Brown, 2015
  Bernard Possidente, Professor, Biology

• Activity Level Changes Induced by Developmental Lead Exposure Do Not Show Transfenerational Inheritance in C57BL/6J or BALB/CJ Mice
  Austin Ferro, 2015
  Bernard Possidente, Professor, Biology
  
  
• Does Copper Affect the Circadian Clock of Mice?
  Stephanie Zehn '16
  Bernard Possidente, Professor, Biology

• Faith in the Workplace: Religion and Secularism in the Employment Sectors of France, Denmark, Sweden, India, and the U.S.A.
  Jennifer Shonborn '14
  Pushkala Prasad, Professor, Management & Business

• Comida Latina: Spanning Cultures, Building Bridges
  Angelo Gonzalez '15
  Viviana Rangil, Associate Professor, Foreign Languages and Literatures

• MnTBAP Reduces Adiposity and Improves Insulin Sensitivity Independent of Heme Oxygenase-1
  Tim Brodsky '14
  Thomas H. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Health and Exercise Science
  
  
• The Effects of Beta Adrenergic Receptor Antagonist Treatment on MnTBAP-Induced Weight Loss
  Ryan McLoughlin '14; Gabriela Vero, BHBL High School
  Thomas H. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Health and Exercise Science
  
  
• MnTBAP Reduces Adiposity and Increases Bio-Markers For Mitochondrial Biogenesis
  Alexandra Sosinksy '14
  Thomas H. Reynolds, Associate Professor, Health and Exercise Science

• Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Post-Divorce Adjustment
  Karen Rothman '14, Graze Zutrau '14
  Mark Rye, Associate Professor, Psychology

• Understanding the Relationship Between Mental Health Literacy and Self-Efficacy: Evidence From the Anxiety Disorders
  Anna Hall '14
  Casey Schofield, Assistant Professor, Psychology

• Perceptions of the Etiology of Depression: Relationship to Depression Stigma and Treatment Acceptability
  Lara Rifkin '14
  Casey Schofield, Assistant Professor, Psychology

• Dual Routes for Bdellovibrio Asparaginyl-tRNA Formation
  Ariel Alperstein '14
  Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Expanding the Genetic Code with Pyroglutamate
  Mark Benahim '14; Israel Da Silva '15
  Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Discriminating Nature of the Aspartyl-tRNA Synthetases From Three Human Pathogens
  Denise Garofalo '13; Melanie Feen '16; Mohammed Islam '15
  Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Dual Routes for S. Aureus Asparaginyl-tRNA Formation
  Stefani Mladenova '14
  Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Dual Routes for B. Halodurans Asparaginyl-tRNA Synthesis
  Nilendra Nair '15
  Kelly Sheppard, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

• Movement, Networks, and Economies in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
  Will Sacks '14, Sean Fairweather '14
  Sarah Breckenridge Wright, Visiting Assistant Professor, English

• The Value of Institutional Privilege and Competitive Capacity in Vietnamese Stock Markets
  Xue Xue '14
  Aiwu Zhao, Assistant Professor, Management and Business

We would like to thank the following donors and funding agencies for their support of our collaborative research efforts and the Faculty Student Summer Research Program:

Alumni, Family, and Friends

Harman Cain Family, Class of 2012

Samuel Croll ‘73

Marlene Oberkotter Fowler ’61

Christopher J. Graves and JoAnn E. Ward, Parents 2013

Linda Friedman Lippman ’82

Richard A. Mellon ’87

Margaret Williams Page ’43

Michael and Lane Gruber Rose ’90

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Woodcock, Parents 1996

Axelrod-Porges Scholars
Established in 2006 by Felicia Axelrod ’62 and Robert Porges to support faculty-student teams in the area of the sciences.

Schupf Scholars
Established in 2008 by Sara Lubin Schupf ’62 to support summer faculty-student research with a preference given to students pursuing projects in the STEM disciplines.  Schupf Scholars are selected beginning the summer after their freshman or sophomore year.  Schupf Scholars may access additional funding for travel to meetings and conferences as well as for research supplies and expenses during their continuing research with faculty during their academic career at Skidmore.

Weg Scholars
Established in 2010 by Carol Little Weg ’64 and Ken Weg and awarded with a preference for students pursuing projects in the sciences and social sciences.

Foundation/Grant

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research: NSF

W.M. Keck Foundation

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

National Institutes of Health      

The National Science Foundation

Rathmann Family Foundation          

Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Cottrell College Science Award

S3M Transitional Program

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations