Braco Award for Excellence in Cell Biology Research
This award is given each year to sophomore Cell 27241 research teams that generate excellent results while displaying an advanced intellectual rigor in their research. This award is generously funded by Robert Braco, M.D.
Cell 27241 is an investigative, project-based course that gives students a bona fide research experience through application of critical thinking skills to solve complex research problems. Working in groups, students tackle a research project they choose themselves by asking pertinent questions, designing and executing experiments, analyzing data, and defending the results obtained.
2021 Awardees
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CRISPR-Cas9 mediated mutagenesis of norpA in Aedes Aegypti
Mentors: Dr. Joseph O’Tousa and Dr. Michelle Whaley
Graduate TAs: Elizabeth Arsenault and Christopher Gager
Undergraduate TAs: Aidan Cook and Miguel Girod
Alex Dittmar
Jasmine Harris
Emily Hunt
Kyle McAvoy
Jeremy Sutterer
2019 Awardees
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Identifying StARD9’s role in the updated Hand-Off Model
Mentor: Kevin Vaughan
Graduate TA: Felicity Newton
Undergraduate TA: Erica Gerstbauer
Tess Marvin
Joseph Lee
Joey Baca
Kelby Bosma
Caroline Langley
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Investigation of the Relationship between FLIP and Autophagy in ECM detached MCF-10A cells
Mentor: Zach Schafer
Graduate TA: Matyas Tsegaye
Undergraduate TA: Meridith Balbach
Mary Ebberwein
Victoria Ruesch
Lauren Klein
Lauren Alvey
2018 Awardees
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The Effect of N-terminal acetylation on virulence in Mycobacterium marinum EsxA variants
Mentor: Patty Champion
Graduate TA: Cristal Reyna
Undergraduate TA: Rachel Belans
Rylie O’Meara
Ye Na (Annie) Han
Treston Magnacca
Natalie Quirk
2017 Awardees
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Investigating the synthetic lethality of abemaciclib and lapatinib dual-therapy in triple-negative breast cancer
Mentor: Siyuan Zhang
Graduate TA: Bhavana Palakurthi
Undergraduate TA: Keon Schmidt
Grace Zhou
Thuy-An Phan
Shane Davitt
Thomas Ueland
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Investigation of alternative metabolic pathways in metastasizing cells utilizing adipocyte biomolecules in an ECM-detached human cancer mammary epithelial cell model
Mentor: Zach Schafer
Graduate TA: Chelsea McCallister
Undergraduate TA: Daniel Pape
Jamie Campbell
Meridith Balbach
Andre Monteleone
Daneille Wales
2016 Awardees
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Investigation of the role of the DEDD nuclear translocation on cell cycle
Mentor: Siyuan Zhang
Graduate TA: Sindy Ni
Undergraduate TA: Keon Schmidt
Barnes Werner
Shannon Leahy
Ellie Lawler
Thomas Kane
Josephine Weymon
2015 Awardees
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The Role of NF-κB in Retinal Regeneration in the Adult Zebrafish
Mentor: Dr. David Hyde
Graduate TA: Jingling Li
Haley Barlow
Nicole Handa
Matt Cervantes
Devin Aberasturi
Nick Bielanski
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Lysosomal Tubulation and its Effect on Cholesterol Trafficking and de novo Synthesis in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC)
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Graduate TA: Shireen Jayman
Claire Kampman
Grant Koch
Eric Marasco
Peter Gonzalez
Shannon Hodges
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Analysis of the Effect of EGFR on MCF-10A Cells with Enhanced Expression of EGFR
Mentor: Dr. Zachary Schafer
Graduate TA: Josh Mason
Tommy Davis
Erin McNamee
Claire Goodfellow
Hannah Meissner
2014 Awardees
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CAF-mediated signaling inhibits Doxorubicin-induced apoptosis
Mentor: Dr. Zachary Schafer
Graduate TA: Kelsey Weigel
Luke McCormack
Melissa Shaw
Jake Kinsella
Collin Hubler
Bridget O'Hara
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Knockdown of DEDD overcomes anti-EGFR resistance in triple-negative breast cancers
Mentor: Dr. Siyuan Zhang
Graduate TA: Sindy Yingjia Ni
Peter St. George
Katie Jackson
Sam Mannion
Sarah Enciso
Janelle Wanzek
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Regulation of MüllerGlia-Dependent Retinal Regeneration Response through TNFα and Notch Signaling
Mentor: Dr. David Hyde
Graduate TA: Josh Hobgood
Christian Urbina
Michael McGraw
Josiah Nieto
Alex Graves
Dan Chrzanowski
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Establishing a Functional Link between StARD9 and NPC-1 mediated Cholesterol Transport
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Graduate TA: Ali Raja
Sarah Motter
Ralph Hauke
Kelley Chan
Philip Allen
Betel Ali
2013 Awardees
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Defective autophagy in cells with NPC deficiencies
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Grad TA: Ali Raja
Stephen Bowen
Mari Grief
Conor McCarthy
Kevin Maciuba
Michelle Kraay
2012 Awardees
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Mechanism of cell death in ECM detached MCF-10A-Bcl-2 cells
Mentor: Dr. Zachary Schafer
Patrick Fagan
Taylor Boland
Lexie Below
Matthew Collins
Rachel Rogers
2011 Awardees
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Characterization of Dicer inactivation in retinal development of zebrafish, Danio rerio
Mentor: Dr. David Hyde
Michael Butler
Celso Diaz
Lauren Drapalik
Erin Flattery
Julia Kohn
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Defense collagens in lupus pathogenesis
Mentor: Dr. Suzie Bohlson
Matthew Apker
Lauren Callahan
Margaret Davis
Kaitlyn Gundrum
Stephanie Jones
2010 Awardees
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Cytotoxic Effects of ZnO and TiO2 Nanoparticles on CoS-7 Cells
Mentors: Dr. Charles Kulpa and Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Nathan Albertson
Jessica Choi
Michael Clark
Linnea Fechtner
Michael Nokes
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Characterization of Opsin 1 in Aedes aegypti Photoreceptor Cells
Mentors: Dr. Joseph O’Tousa and Dr. Michelle Whaley
Deborah Cronin
Elizabeth Einhorn
Alex Metoxen
Cara Pozolo
Sarah Wolochatiuk
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The impact of HDAC inhibitor LBH-589 on lipid accumulation in Niemann-Pick type C fibroblast cell lines
Mentor: Dr. Crislyn D’Souza-Schorey
Jennifer Anhut
Steven Brown
Lauren Conroy
Christopher Fagan
Clarissa Mertens
Ryan Traudt
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The effects of single-walled carbon nanotubes on mitosis
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Joe Cannova
Dave Hurley
Kristyn Jeffries
Jeff Steimle
Dave Surprenant
Christina Wheaton
2009 Awardees
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Inhibition of Mad2 disrupts the spindle assembly checkpoint
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Vaughan
Kevin Flanagan
Amelia Lucisano
Dan Slubowski
Timothy Spear
Elizabeth Van Dyke
Emily Weil
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Effects of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on MCF-7 breast cancer Cells detached from the extracellular matrix
Mentor: Dr. Zachary Schafer and Dr. David Veselik
Michele Bailey
Nicholas Holzemer
Corbin Johnson
Megan Otero
Matt Thau
Kelly Werner
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Role of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in retinal regeneration in zebrafish
Mentor: Dr. David Hyde
Brian Cash
Michael Henry
Evan James
Celia Johns
Emma Klosterman
Tyler McQueen