All Abstracts

Largely centered around white privilege, upper-class tradition and affluence, boarding schools are centers of socialization that have historically catered to members of a white, elite, and exclusive community. However, there remains a complicated nexus of race, class, and gender that needs to be exp...

 While birth control is lauded as a symbol of reproductive freedom, historically, it has been used to regulate Black women’s bodies and usurp their reproductive rights. In this project, I seek to uncover: (1) how historic abuse of Black women’s reproductive capacities informs their distrust of ...

My research investigates how ideological differences within the Black activist community have created a lack of intersectional advocacy in the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). The dominant narrative, as publicized by both the media and BLM followers, centers cisgendered heterosexual able-bodied Bl...

Salmonella enterica is a Gram-negative, anaerobic pathogen that is one of the most common species of Salmonella found in the United States. Salmonella enterica account for ~99% of Salmonella infections in humans and other mammals. Antibiotic resistance spread can be facilitated by the use of antibio...

In a normal human eye, light coalesces to a central point on the retina, which is responsible for capturing all of the light rays and processing them to be sent to the optic nerve. Infrared light with a wavelength >700 nm is known to cause damage to the retina and the frontal eye, creating a physiol...

Childhood lead exposure occurs when a child is exposed to excess amounts of lead and tests confirm elevated blood lead levels (at or above 5 mcg/dL). Children under the age of 6 are particularly at high risk for lead poisoning and other adverse effects due to hand-to-mouth activity. With sources of ...

  Genomics is the study of the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes. Genomics underwent a major period of transition and progress with the start of the Human Genome Project in 1990. This research spawned several new analysis methods that revolutionized genomics research. This allo...

Compared to European American women, African American women report more common depressive symptoms, such as sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. Emerging research suggests that African American women’s health outcomes, like depression, may be partially explained by women’s stress-coping beh...

Hinduism is often a victim of cultural appropriation and stereotypical portrayals in American media and markets. This research identifies the effect of these flawed depictions on the perception of Hinduism in the United States by American college students. In this research project, relevant lit...

De Casteljau’s Algorithm for Constructing Bézier Curves & Surfaces Abstract   The curves and surfaces of Computer-Aided Geometric Design (CAGD) are used in numerous industries and technologies. From the cups people drink from to the transportation they use to commute, people are surrounded by cu...

In 2017, Georgetown University’s Law Center published a groundbreaking report entitled Girlhood Interrupted that analyzed how the “adultification” of young Black girls has contributed to further racial inequities in schools through violent discipline practices which ultimately culminate in...

I use photography to lure observers in a dialogue with themselves where they're encouraged to re-evaluate their ideas on identity. I work toward challenging the stereotypes that affect various identities, and suggesting new ways of seeing and thinking that go beyond societal norms. Being that I, too...

In the small flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, IREG1 (Iron Regulated Transporter 1) is involved in iron transport. This study is focusing on the characterization of IREG1 mutants to ultimately assess how iron transport is affected by citrate and kanamycin. Insertional mutants from the Salk Colle...

Biofilms are aggregates of bacteria that adhere to surfaces and display increased resistance to antibiotics. Two main healthcare concerns are the disinfection of surgical surfaces and equipment and the treatment of infections in humans. Individuals infected with biofilm-forming bacteria present recu...

On nearly every surface and inside almost every organism, there are millions of tiny microbes that are invisible to the naked eye. Some of these microbes, known as symbionts, live in symbiosis or within other organisms. These tiny microbes include bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Honeybees (Apis mellif...

Civic Education in K-12 educational curriculum has an important relationship with civic engagement and voter participation in the broader community. Campbell and Nieme (2016) theorize civic exams are most effective in forming political knowledge among youth in states where these exams serve as requi...

Nationally, African American women only represent 156 of the current 22,000 Ph.D.s in physics and astrophysics earned between 2016 and 1972 [1]. As a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field, physics lags behind all other fields in the representation of Hispanic and Black stude...

Bacteria that break down red blood cells (hemolysis) are usually pathogenic to humans. Some soil bacteria can display hemolytic activity. In this experiment, we sought to isolate soil bacteria with hemolytic activity and study their impact on yeast growth, as a model for eukaryotic cells. The bacter...

This study examines the correlation between migration and cultural rejection in women of the African diaspora, namely, latinas and Black women in America during the 20th century. Research acknowledges that there is an identity dilemma that exists in people who migrate from one country to another; th...

Microgels, soft hydrogel particles, are of interest for applying in the development of new biological, chemical and technologies, including promoting bacterial adhesion inhibition and organic coatings. The objective of this research project is to analyze the interfacial properties between poly n-iso...

  Where there is a Black power movement, there is a Black arts movement. Black arts movements shape the course of the diasporic narrative and reclaim the vitality and dignity of Blackness by critiquing colonial and racist ideologies that distort African history and identity. Born out of th...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of breastfeeding on the relationship between executive functioning and math achievement for preschool-aged African American children. Although the effects of breastfeeding have been widely researched, the cognitive effects of breastfeeding o...

  Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a pathogenic sexually-transmitted bacterium, is becoming untreatable due to increased antibiotic resistance. Related commensal (non-pathogenic) Neisseria species are found in the human oral and nasopharynx, but are rarely studied. Here, we seek (1) to characterize the in...

    Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the etiological agent of the STI, gonorrhea. Resistance to ceftriaxone and azithromycin, the currently recommended treatment for gonococcal infections, is increasing world-wide. Strains resistant to ceftriaxone contain a mosaic penA gene that encodes a highly mutated p...

The purpose of this project was to observe the ex ovo early development of chick embryos. Our goals were to be able to routinely maintain normal development up to embryonic day 10, and to be able to analyze the normality of development by using a skeletal staining technique to observe both cartilage...

  Coherent three-dimensional spectroscopy is a new technique under development. In spectroscopy, experiments are usually carried out in the first dimension. Adding a second dimension offers a variety of advantages such as decreased spectral congestion, allowing one to observe the resolution of the ...

 In 2005, students at Spelman College established The Spelbots Robotics Team where they could engage in departmental activities, innovative projects and scholarly endeavors across campus and throughout the community. The goal is to encourage students and young women of African descent to explore ro...

The purpose of this research is to analyze the multifaceted factors that affect foreign direct investment (FDI) in African and Asian countries. The Asian region has experienced several decades of economic growth. During these periods of economic growth, Southeast Asia also experienced an increase in...

Absence is the notion that one is nonexistent or has departed from person or place for an extended period of time. In today’s society, the divorce rate has climbed to nearly 50 percent, often resulting in single-parent households led by mothers. In some of these single-parent homes, the relat...

In order to determine the localization and function of these C. burnetti proteins with the host cell, we constructed fusion proteins of each open reading frame(ORF) with mCherry, GFP, and FLAG peptides and expressed them in either eukaryotic cells or C. burnetti. We found the post infection CBU-1636...