REVU fellows will gain hands-on experience in a research field of their interest for the entire summer. Fellows will regularly engage with their mentors as well as research scientists and students in their research group. Applicants will select 3 preferred research projects that align with their scientific interests when applying. Fellows will be assigned to 1 of these 3 projects based on both preference and availability.

Research projects include:

• Astrophysics with Professor Marla Geha
• Chemistry with Professor Nilay Hazari
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with Professor Paul Turner
• Fluoride Toxicity with Professor Scott Strobel
• Geology with Professor Maureen Long
• Nanomaterials with Professor Judy Cha
• Neural Circuit Development with Daniel Colón-Ramos
• Neural Network Computation with Professor Damon Clark
• Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics with Professor Reina Maruyama
• Optics with Professor Jack Harris
• Pathology with Professor Sandy Chang

Astrophysics with Professor Marla Geha

The Geha group uses the world’s largest telescopes to study the Universe’s smallest galaxies. We use observations of small galaxies to understand the nature of dark matter and the underlying cosmology of the Universe. Research projects include measuring the properties (mass, chemical composition) of satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, or using machine learning algorithms to differentiate between dwarf galaxies and more luminous background objects. Students should have a working knowledge of the python computing language, or be ready to learn this skill. Read more about the Geha group’s research: “Is the Milky Way an ‘outlier’ galaxy? Studying its ‘siblings’ for clues” and “The SAGA Survey: I. Satellite Galaxy Populations Around Eight Milky Way Analogs.”

Chemistry with Professor Nilay Hazari

The Hazari group develops homogeneous transition metal catalysts to find easier ways to make important molecules. For example, they have developed commercially available palladium catalysts for use in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, and iron catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide into more valuable compounds, such as methanol. Research projects will explore the synthesis and characterization of new catalysts and the evaluation of their performance. Students who have completed a university class in chemistry will gain the maximum benefit from working in the Hazari group.

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with Professor Paul Turner

The overarching research focus of Paul Turner’s lab is to study evolutionary genetics and genomes of microbes. This focus has been applied to studying the rise of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens and developing methods by which antibiotic resistant infections might be controlled. One approach, phage therapy, is the use of bacteriophages (viruses of bacteria) to treat infections. We examine how phage exert selection pressure on pathogenic bacteria, especially phage biding to virulence factors that select for bacteria to evolve reduced virulence and re-sensitization to antibiotics and apply this technique to treat human infections in the hospital. Learn more about Prof. Turner’s work listen to Science Friday’s “Old Ideas May Help Us Fight New Superbugs” podcast or read, “A virus, fished out of a lake, may have saved a man’s life — and advanced science.”

Fluoride Toxicity with Professor Scott Strobel

Dr. Strobel’s research involves the structure and function of riboswitches and the biology inferred from the connection between the small molecule ligand bound by the riboswitch and the downstream genes. One particular example the lab is pursuing is a riboswitch which binds fluoride and controls expression of a membrane protein of unknown function in fluoride biology. Now, multiple fluoride channels have been discovered that are responsible for maintaining fluoride below toxic levels in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. We are investigating the mechanism, localization, and regulation of fluoride transport by FEX, the eukaryotic fluoride channel. In yeast and plants, FEX is constitutively expressed and is necessary to prevent toxicity even at the fluoride levels found in tap water. How the fluoride channel that evolved in free living single cell microbes is now integrated into a multicellular and multi-tissue organism (plants) to achieve fluoride resistance is the current research focus.

Geology with Professor Maureen Long

Maureen Long’s research group investigates the structure and dynamics of the deep Earth by studying recordings of earthquake waves measured by sensitive instruments called seismometers. We study a variety of problems, including the dynamics of subduction zones, the structure of the core-mantle boundary region, and the evolution of continents. Projects will focus on collecting and analyzing seismic data from New England, with the goal of understanding how the structure of the crust and upper mantle reflects fundamental plate tectonic processes that have operated in the geologic past (or, in some cases, surprisingly recent activity). Research tasks will include computer-based data analysis as well as field work collecting seismic data in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. No prior coursework in Earth science is necessary or expected, and projects are suitable for physics, astronomy, math, or engineering majors in addition to Earth science majors. Read more about Prof. Long’s seismology research in New England: “New Research Discovers Surprising Seismic Activity Under New England” and “What lies beneath Connecticut? Yale’s SEISConn project will find out.”

Nanomaterials with Professor Judy Cha

The Cha group develops novel electronic nanomaterials for potential quantum computing and energy applications. Currently, the group focuses on making and characterizing layered materials that are only several atoms thick. Questions we address are: how do material properties change as we thin them down to the ultimate limit, and how do we make them cheaply and reliably? Research projects will explore synthesis of such materials, and studying their optical and electrical properties.  

 

Neural Circuit Development with Professor Daniel Colón-Ramos

A fundamental question in neuroscience is how synapses are assembled in living animals to produce behaviors and store memories. The Colón-Ramos lab is focused on this question and uses the nematode C. elegans to examine the cell biological mechanisms by which synapses are precisely assembled during development, maintained during growth and modified during learning to store memories. The Colón-Ramos research group explores the cell biology of the synapse and behavior in C. elegans, mechanisms of neuronal synapse assembly and function, and actuating memory: how C. elegans remembers.

Neural Network Computation with Professor Damon Clark

The Clark lab is interested in understanding how small circuits of neurons interact to perform basic computations. To study this, we work with the fruit fly Drosophila, where unparalleled genetic tools allow us to manipulate its brain and measure the activity of individual neurons. In Drosophila, we examine how the visual system recognizes cues to guide navigation, as well as how the fly’s legs coordinate as it walks through the world. In particular, we want to understand how animals extract motion information from the complex visual patterns in the natural world, and how they make decisions based on that information. We want to understand and model how the system computes at a mathematical level, but also use the genetic tools in the fruit fly to discover the neural and biophysical mechanisms that implement those mathematical operations. Projects in lab range from making behavioral measurements and using advanced microscopy to modeling and applying machine learning techniques.

Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics with Professor Reina Maruyama

The Maruyama lab is carrying out cutting-edge experiments to study neutrinos and dark matter in nuclear particle astrophysics. The aim of these experiments is to solve some of the greatest mysteries of the evolution of the Universe: what is the Universe made of and why does it have more matter than anti-matter? Projects for summer students involve testing, discussing, and analyzing data obtained from experiments and detectors in the Maruyama lab. Students will gain hands-on experience and train in the related physics during these projects. You can read more about Prof. Maruyama’s work on her website.

Optics with Professor Jack Harris

The Harris group studies the force exerted by light on solid and liquid objects. This force can be used to produce temperatures close to absolute zero, to study the role of measurement in quantum mechanics, and to control both light and motion in new ways. Research projects could involve building optical paths for laser beams, writing code for data analysis, or assembling vacuum or cryogenic components. Some background with programing, optics, electronics, or machining would be helpful but most projects would involve on-the-job learning. You can read more about the Harris group’s work here: ‘Building a Moebius strip of good vibrations’ and ‘Opening a window on quantum gravity.

Pathology with Professor Sandy Chang

Dr. Chang’s research program focuses on telomeres, repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes critically important for the maintenance of genome stability. Perturbation of telomere length results in telomere dysfunction, leading to increased genome instability. This instability can promote early aging and the development of cancer. Dr. Chang’s laboratory was the first to generate a faithful mouse model of Werner syndrome, a rare disease strikes individuals in their 30s. When the protein deficient in Werner syndrome is coupled with telomere dysfunction, the combination increases genomic instability, premature aging, and increased formation of tumors. His findings demonstrate that telomere status plays an important role in the development of premature aging pathologies observed in these patients. Dr. Chang is currently focusing on how dysfunctional telomeres activate the DNA damage pathway, and the mechanisms that repair them. He continues to use novel molecular and biochemical approaches, as well as the generation of new mouse models of telomere dysfunction, to address these questions.