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- All Subjects: Cancer
- All Subjects: Creative Project
- Creators: School of Molecular Sciences
DescriptionThis project is designed to generate enthusiasm for science among refugee students in hopes of inspiring them to continue learning science as well as to help them with their current understanding of their school science subject matter.
ContributorsSipes, Shannon Paige (Author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Gregg, George (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths of women in the united states. Traditionally, Breast cancer is predominantly treated by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, due to the significant negative side effects associated with these traditional treatments, there has been substantial efforts to develop alternative therapies to treat cancer. One such alternative therapy is a peptide-based therapeutic cancer vaccine. Therapeutic cancer vaccines enhance an individual's immune response to a specific tumor. They are capable of doing this through artificial activation of tumor specific CTLs (Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes). However, in order to artificially activate tumor specific CTLs, a patient must be treated with immunogenic epitopes derived from their specific cancer type. We have identified that the tumor associated antigen, TPD52, is an ideal target for a therapeutic cancer vaccine. This designation was due to the overexpression of TPD52 in a variety of different cancer types. In order to start the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine for TPD52-related cancers, we have devised a two-step strategy. First, we plan to create a list of potential TPD52 epitopes by using epitope binding and processing prediction tools. Second, we plan to attempt to experimentally identify MHC class I TPD52 epitopes in vitro. We identified 942 potential 9 and 10 amino acid epitopes for the HLAs A1, A2, A3, A11, A24, B07, B27, B35, B44. These epitopes were predicted by using a combination of 3 binding prediction tools and 2 processing prediction tools. From these 942 potential epitopes, we selected the top 50 epitopes ranked by a combination of binding and processing scores. Due to the promiscuity of some predicted epitopes for multiple HLAs, we ordered 38 synthetic epitopes from the list of the top 50 epitope. We also performed a frequency analysis of the TPD52 protein sequence and identified 3 high volume regions of high epitope production. After the epitope predictions were completed, we proceeded to attempt to experimentally detected presented TPD52 epitopes. First, we successful transduced parental K562 cells with TPD52. After transduction, we started the optimization process for the immunoprecipitation protocol. The optimization of the immunoprecipitation protocol proved to be more difficult than originally believed and was the main reason that we were unable to progress past the transduction of the parental cells. However, we believe that we have identified the issues and will be able to complete the experiment in the coming months.
ContributorsWilson, Eric Andrew (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Students Organize for Syria (SOS) is the student led initiative for Syria. With 18 registered chapters across the United States, this student organization is targeting a multidimensional cause by different means. Though it is now a national movement, it started off with one group at Arizona State University, with one student. Zana Alattar, founder and student director of SOS, tells the story of how she took an ASU organization, Save Our Syrian Freedom (SOS Freedom), to the national level as SOS. As a pre-medical student, she also combines her work in human rights with her future in healthcare. After all, health and human rights have long maintained a synergistic relationship.
ContributorsAlattar, Zana (Author) / Graff, Sarah (Thesis director) / McClurg, Sharolyn (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Cancer is a disease that occurs in many and perhaps all multicellular organisms. Current research is looking at how different life history characteristics among species could influence cancer rates. Because somatic maintenance is an important component of a species' life history, we hypothesize the same ecological forces shaping the life history of a species should also determine its cancer susceptibility. By looking at varying life histories, potential evolutionary trends could be used to explain differing cancer rates. Life history theory could be an important framework for understanding cancer vulnerabilities with different trade-offs between life history traits and cancer defenses. Birds have diverse life history strategies that could explain differences in cancer suppression. Peto's paradox is the observation that cancer rates do not typically increase with body size and longevity despite an increased number of cell divisions over the animal's lifetime that ought to be carcinogenic. Here we show how Peto’s paradox is negatively correlated for cancer within the clade, Aves. That is, larger, long-lived birds get more cancer than smaller, short-lived birds (p=0.0001; r2= 0.024). Sexual dimorphism in both plumage color and size differ among Aves species. We hypothesized that this could lead to a difference in cancer rates due to the amount of time and energy sexual dimorphism takes away from somatic maintenance. We tested for an association between a variety of life history traits and cancer, including reproductive potential, growth rate, incubation, mating systems, and sexual dimorphism in both color and size. We found male birds get less cancer than female birds (9.8% vs. 11.1%, p=0.0058).
ContributorsDolan, Jordyn Nicole (Author) / Maley, Carlo (Thesis director) / Harris, Valerie (Committee member) / Boddy, Amy (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Dante's Divine Comedy has been around for eight centuries, and its imaginative vision of the afterlife truly resembled the ideology of 13th century. However, time has passed, and now, in 21st century, the societies have made major technological advancements that distinct themselves from the past. Consequently, with recent technology in mind, one could imagine an afterlife with robotic Minos and Cerberus, and possibly the circles of hell residing within an earth resembling death star that is controlled automatically using artificial intelligence. The symbolic representation of punishments could have been altered throughout time, and more recent criminals may be seen in the circles of hell. By identifying and correlating contemporary style of art with a classic literature such as Dante's Divine Comedy, one could better understand the essence of literature without the disconnect from current world, and appreciate the deep underlying ideology that Dante offers within his literature. Sculptures that encompass nine circles of hell and heaven would demonstrate structural aptitude and symbolic representation of what Dante would have imagined if he were to write his literature in the 21st century. Throughout the project, connection between the literature and the sculptures is observed. Some of the sculptures were meant to be abstract and some literal. Even though the medium used in each of the sculptures were different, the correlation between each sculpture unifies everything together into one theme, Dante's Divine Comedy.
ContributorsKim, David (Author) / Neubauer, Mary (Thesis director) / Harp, Hilary (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Within our current educational infrastructure, there’s a lack of substantial preventive care knowledge present among elementary schoolchildren. With education cuts occurring statewide, many schools are left impoverished and schools are incapable of implementing various programs to benefit their local communities. This endeavor aims to visit public and charter elementary schools in the Phoenix Valley to educate youth regarding easily avoidable health risks by implementing healthy eating habits and exercise. Project BandAid will immerse students ages 7-9 in hands-on activities to enhance their knowledge on hygiene, healthy eating habits, and safety. This project incorporated funding from the Woodside Community Action Grant and Barrett, the Honors College as well as the help from Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) volunteers.
ContributorsCovarrubias, Sidney Alicia (Co-author) / Kothari, Karishma (Co-author) / John, Benson (Co-author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Holechek, Susan (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Future of Innovation in Society (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Each family approaches a cancer diagnosis differently. While some families pursue traditional treatments to the fullest extent, others attempt to refuse chemotherapy, often in favor of alternative medicines. When the patient is a minor, his or her parents have the authority to make medical decisions on their behalf, and this authority is constitutionally protected and socially upheld. However, when the decision to forgo chemotherapy does not comply with minimum standard of care and puts the minor's life in danger, legal action can and has been taken to force the minor to undergo chemotherapy. Legal precedent and biomedical ethics principles guide the decision-making process of the physicians and judges involved, although there is no official framework by which to prioritize these principles. Neglect and abuse procedures, as well as capacity determinations, mature minor doctrines, and religious convictions, add complexity to each forced chemotherapy case. These complexities were explored through the context of four case studies: Cassandra Callendar, who was not granted mature minor status and was forced into treatment by the Connecticut Supreme court; Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who was allowed to pursue the alternative Hoxsey therapy with the consent of his parents and the local court; Dennis Lindberg, a 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness who was permitted to refuse blood transfusions under the Mature Minor Doctrine; and Daniel Hauser, a developmentally delayed teen who was forced to undergo therapy against his parents' religious convictions. In the analysis and comprehensive comparison of these cases, it was concluded that an attempt to establish a protocol by which to determine the ethics of forcing chemotherapy, while well-intended, would ultimately be ineffective and extremely complex. Thus, each forced chemotherapy case must be evaluated on an individual basis.
ContributorsNelson, Sarah Gabrielle (Author) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Thesis director) / Lynch, John (Committee member) / Jaramillo, Andres (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The rate of cancer incidence is a morbid figure. Twenty years ago, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women were predicted to be afflicted by cancer throughout their lifetime (Cancer Facts & Figures- 1998). In 2017, the rate remains the same ("Cancer Statistic Center"). Every year, more people are affected by cancer, which is a physiologically, psychologically, emotionally and socially devastating disease. And yet the language and metaphors we use to describe cancer focus our attention on the "fight" of the heroic individual against the brutal disease or on finding a cure. Despite this narrow rhetoric, there are many meaningful, supportive, and palliative measures designed to substantively and holistically care for cancer patients, beyond their medical treatment. Many of these interventions help the patient feel supported (and less alone in this "battle") by building robust communities. In this thesis, I argue the summer camps for children affected by cancer are meaningful interventions that offer palliative care throughout their treatment by creating support networks with peers going through similar medical procedures. Drawing on anecdotal evidence from three cancer camps and a detailed literature review of a subset of palliative interventions designed to promote well-being, this thesis proposes a new model for a summer camp that focuses on emotional processing emotional expression, positive psychology in order to improve palliative care for cancer patients.
ContributorsPearce, Spencer Taylor (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
The tarot is a means of communication with the world. It allows readers to interpret signs from their surroundings, gather information, and use this information to make inferences about a posed question. Its origins can be found in mid-15th century Europe as playing cards with four suits commonly used for gambling. Several hundred years later during the 18th century, it began to be used as a tool for divination; the Major Arcana, a set of 22 trump cards representing various archetypes, evolved as a supplement to a new tarot that has become associated with mysticism. The tarot’s foundation is based on archetypes that build society. It can serve as a visual lens to understand the experiences, thoughts, and actions of a person posing a question, allowing the reader to offer a solution by understanding and interpreting the specific visual language of a deck.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and one of the most practiced today. It is full of fantastical myths and heroic legends, as well as undercurrents of feminism contrasted with misogyny and patriarchy. Hindu myths are contradictory as stories have evolved over time and have been retold with millions of differing perspectives.
In my thesis, I portrayed the 22 archetypes of the Major Arcana of the tarot through the lens of Hindu mythology as well as the broader pan-Indian culture. I include ancient stories and references to modern social issues. I visually communicated the connections between characters of Hindu mythology and the archetypes of the tarot with 22 watercolor paintings. This project was an opportunity to explore both the tarot through Hinduism, vice-versa. It allowed for the development of a deeper connection with spirituality and religion, along with a greater understanding of visual communication.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and one of the most practiced today. It is full of fantastical myths and heroic legends, as well as undercurrents of feminism contrasted with misogyny and patriarchy. Hindu myths are contradictory as stories have evolved over time and have been retold with millions of differing perspectives.
In my thesis, I portrayed the 22 archetypes of the Major Arcana of the tarot through the lens of Hindu mythology as well as the broader pan-Indian culture. I include ancient stories and references to modern social issues. I visually communicated the connections between characters of Hindu mythology and the archetypes of the tarot with 22 watercolor paintings. This project was an opportunity to explore both the tarot through Hinduism, vice-versa. It allowed for the development of a deeper connection with spirituality and religion, along with a greater understanding of visual communication.
ContributorsHarve, Prathima (Author) / Jenik, Adriene (Thesis director) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / Zirbel, Lisa (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The p53 gene functions as a tumor suppressor that inhibits proliferation, regulates apoptosis, DNA repair, and normal cell cycle arrest. Mutation of the p53 gene is linked to be prevalent in 50% of all human cancers. In this paper, we are exploring triple negative breast cancer and the effects of simvastatin on tumor growth and survival. Simvastatin is a drug that is primarily used to treat high cholesterol and heart disease. Simvastatin is unique because it is able to inhibit protein prenylation through regulation of the mevalonate pathway. This makes it a potential targeted drug for therapy against p53 mutant cancer. The mechanism behind this is hypothesized to be correlated to aberrant activation of the Ras pathway. The Ras subfamily functions to transcriptionally regulate cell growth and survival, and will therefore allow for a tumor to thrive if the pathway is continually and abnormally activated. The Ras protein has to be prenylated in order for activation of this pathway to occur, making statin drug treatment a viable option as a cancer treatment. This is because it acts as a regulator of the mevalonate pathway which is upstream of protein prenylation. It is thus vital to understand these pathways at both the gene and protein level in different p53 mutants to further understand if simvastatin is indeed a drug with anti-cancer properties and can be used to target cancers with p53 mutation. The goal of this project is to study the biochemistry behind the mutation of p53's sensitivity to statin. With this information we can create a possible signature for those who could benefit from Simvastatin drug treatment as a possible targeted treatment for p53 mutant cancers.
ContributorsGrewal, Harneet (Co-author) / Loo, Yi Jia Valerie (Co-author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Blattman, Joseph (Committee member) / Ferdosi, Shayesteh (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12