The Research Paper (TRP), Spring 2010 by The Research Paper

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contents

The Research Paper Magazine

Features 4

Creating Synergism in Human Healing Systems By Matt Valente ‘10 A&S

Empowerment: A Key Component in the Customer Experience Part II By Jimmy Wang ‘12 Hotel

Movement Against Green 10 Green Water By Rakesh Biswash ‘12 Cals

How Baseball General Managers Measure Up

By Donny Szirmak ‘11 ILR

Tiny Technology for the Big Bang

By Carolyn Miller ‘13 Eng Graduate Student Feature

Networking for Business 19 Social Success

By Sakul Ratanalert ‘12 Hotel Faculty Feature

page | 1

Articles

Architecture Inspired Through Experience

A New Way To Create Vaccines?

By Reeva Makhijani ‘10 AAP

By Shu Jian Choo ‘10 ENG

Engulfed By Endocytosis

How The Nose Knows

By Revanth Baddam ‘12 A&S

By Diana Hong ‘13 CALS

Country Clubs Cash In By Jennifer Ryan ‘11 Hotel

Emptying Excess Waste in Aedes aegypti

By Lawrence Nanan ‘12 A&S

Going Above and Beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics

By Allen Wang ‘13 A&S

Cow Power: Manure Revolutionizing Electricity

By Tony Lin ‘13 CALS

17 18 20

HIV Risk Factors in Transsexual Males By Jessica Kendra ‘10 HumEc

Can Egg Yolk Boost Your Attention Span? By Sujin Lee ‘13 CALS

PeelStrips: A New Method of Drug Delivery

By Jennifer Sun‘13 ENG

check us out @: http://www.research.cornell.edu/TRP page | 2

The Research Paper Spring 2010

About The Paper “Our vision as the founders of The Research Pa-

per is to create a magazine that humanizes research on all levels. We believe that research is as much about selfdiscovery as it is about achievement. In addition to showcasing the outstanding research that is conducted here at Cornell, we also aim to highlight the

ativity, and personality

uniqueness, cre-

of each researcher to all of

our readers. We do this by focusing our articles on who the researcher is, what they are involved in both at Cornell and in their local communities, and what their

future visions

and aspirations are.”

People Behind The Paper

Acknowledgements The Research Paper is funded in part by:

Editor-in-Chief

Photo Editor

Evan Bander

David Byun

Student Assembly Finance Commission

Managing Editors

Photographer

Abubakar Jalloh The Research Paper would like to thank the follow- Deirdre Dulak ing people and groups for supporting the magazine: Executive Editor Raihan Faroqui

Dean David DeVries Lesley Yorke CURA Jim Morris-Knower Kristin Ramsay of CPRS Steve Sachs Emily Posner Mann Library

Treasurer Jimmy wang

Design Editor Reeva Makhijani

Asst. Design Editors

...And all those who have supported our hard-working staff.

David Byun Natalie Masis Simin Zhang Jess Kendra Eun Jung Na

Ken Kawamoto

Copy Editors Kevin Coughlin Haixin Dang Jillian Goldsmith Sean Lawless Sakul Ratanalert Donny Szirmak Jennifer Ryan Sean Chen Xiaohong Liu

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The Research Paper Spring 2010

Creating Synergism in Human Healing Systems By Matt Valente ‘10

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

he battle against disease may seem routine in the United States: a patient seeks aid from a doctor and follows medical instruction according to generally accepted scientific method. However, in most countries, this process is not the norm. Rather, social, religious, and cultural definitions of the body and sickness characterize the healing process and contrast sharply with the Western way. In her research, Eleanor Emery, a senior in Arts and Sciences, has explored the definition of health in different cultures, so that she may identify a means with which biomedicine’s abundant health resources can be more harmoniously integrated with other healing systems, particularly in the developing world.

College of Arts & Sciences

practices. Emery plans to eventually attend medical school where she hopes to apply her findings regarding global health

By examining global health from a cross-disciplinary perspective that includes nutritional sciences, medical anthropology, and history, Emery has constructed a study to tackle the perception of biomedicine in resource-poor settings where it is often viewed as an impractical and condescending form of treatment. She has analyzed several case studies of programs that managed to effectively handle this problem. Emery uses her findings to propose a direction for global health, so the successes of the case studies may be incorporated at large. Emery has drawn several important conclusions from her study. Global health initiatives generally follow a four-stage process: problem definition, program design, implementation and evaluation. In her research, Emery has found that local communities have become more involved with constructing and implementing health programs but have been primarily left out of defining issues for themselves and evaluating the efficacy of such initiatives. Since traditional biomedical viewpoints dominate the way in which many global health practitioners operate, the ability to define and prioritize health concerns has largely been withheld from local communities which bear the brunt of the problem. This has resulted in a lack of dialogue between medical practitioners and their patients, yielding narrow definitions of health issues that often disregard the values held by these communities, which more often include family participation and kinship as opposed to institutional hospital

care. Additionally, evaluation of global health programs is nearly always conducted based on statistical testing, which may also ignore a local community’s definition of success. These findings will push people toward, she hopes, “understanding the world as bigger than we know it and really having respect for other types of knowledge.” Emery envisions a paradigm shift in global health where planning, implementation, and execution of initiatives are more locally directed through global health’s use of participatory frameworks that recognize and respect local knowledge. Through this evolution of mentality, she envisions a more respectful and effective system where participants “…think of themselves not as international biomedical practitioners, but rather people who moderate between different healing systems.” Emery, a College Scholar and Biology double major, is organizing her findings into an honors thesis and hopes to eventually publish it in an anthropology journal. She enjoys her research because it allows her to work closely with advisory Professors Dan Magaziner, Stacey Langwick, and Dr. Kathryn March to study global health at the intersection of numerous fields. While her current research is a departure from previous work that she had conducted in high school, which centered on traditional bench science, she enjoys this new approach for its qualitative and interpersonal focus. She believes that her study grants her the opportunity to “examine a lot of different fields for the lessons they hold,” a true blessing for a College Scholar. When she is not dissecting the philosophy of health and its applications, Emery enjoys photography, canoeing, and outdoor camping and exploration. She enjoys spending her summers outdoors in Northern Wisconsin, but this summer, as one of sixty Truman scholars in the United States, she will participate in a unique internship program for her

“These findings will push people toward, she hopes, ‘understanding the world as bigger than we know it and really having respect for other types of knowledge.” research this year. From there, she plans to attend medical school with the hope that she will ultimately be able to practically implement her findings. While she understands that the current educational environment favors the hegemony of biomedicine, Emery has observed a slow shift toward adoption of more global health perspectives and, through her work, advocates this philosophical revolution not only in medical practice, but in government, business, and policy as well.

Matt Valente ‘10 is a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He can be reached at mev27@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Architecture Inspired Through Experience By Reeva Makhijani ‘10

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

was dealing with drug and controlled substance abuse or Julio F. Torres Santana, the seed of what would problems and was admitted into a long-standing drug become a life-long passion was planted in his early youth rehabilitation and reeducation institution in his homeland when his step-brother showed him the first architectural known as Hogar CREA Domonicano, Inc. However, even design of a building he would ever see. Torres Santana after attempting the program several times, this family remarks, “It was the first time I had heard the word archimember showed no improvement until she was enrolled in tecture. I didn’t even know what it was, but I knew that’s another private-run program. This inspired Torres Santana what I wanted to do.” Nearly two decades later, Torres to put his own architectural training to modernize and imSantana has made great strides toward realizing this goal. prove Hogar CREA Domonicano, Inc so that more people He is currently in the process of completing his thesis and would successfully graduate the program without having is in his last semester of the architecture program in the to turn to alternate facilities. Up until now, Hogar CREA College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Domonicano, Inc had never had its own facility designed Prior to arriving at his current project, Torres Santana to meet its specific purposes; instead it operated through has taken part in a number of architectural design competidonated family houses. Therefore, Torres Santana decided tions. In fact, he did not begin his education in architecture that for his project he would reform, relocate, and redesign at Cornell. Rather, he first attained his Associate’s degree in the Hogar CREA located in his hometown of La Romana Architectural Studies from Morrisville State College. It was in the Dominican Republic. His project could then act as there that he, with the rest of his classmates, participated an experimental prototype that could later influence the in a project to design portable shelters for the homeless other forty-two Hogar CREA sites around the country. In as their freshmen year final project. At the end of his order to come up with ideas for his design, he spoke to second year at Morrisville, he proposed his first shelter several residents to get a sense of the program’s weakdesign. It involved a shelter that would look essentially nesses and needs. He found that the program’s rules and like a tent that could also be worn and transported as a design were out-of-date. For example, the participants backpack, when not in use. In the spring of 2008, during are separated by gender, prohibiting interaction between his second semester at Cornell, Torres Santana designed males and females. Torres Santana his second portable shelter, which reasoned that this type of arrangeyielded him first prize at the Colment was not conducive to helping legiate Science and Technology people reenter society since the reEntry Program (CSTEP) Student habilitation facility did not reflect how Research Competition. His latest society was actually structured. The shelter idea was a design for a participants also found the program portable shelter that could be ento be too long, which made it difficult cased in a portable luggage bag for individuals to graduate from it. with wheels and could be pulled Finally, participants also complained around by a handle, while still maintaining the original backpack Torres Santana’s thesis project has been inspired by his desire that upon reentering society, they did to modernize and improve a drug rehabilitation facility in his not have the financial means to meet concept. This second entry garthe responsibilities that were waitnered a great deal of attention for ing for them outside the program, such as children and its novelty and convenience, and was en route to production other dependants. This input affected how Torres Santana before financial hardships caused production to come to eventually chose to design the facility. Furthermore, while a halt. He also participated in another competition, which a new space would help the program, Torres Santana also asked participants to design flood-proof houses in light of offered some ideas on how to improve the program, such the number of homes that were destroyed in New Orleans as introducing a way for participants to earn money, while due to Hurricane Katrina. Torres Santana proposed a home in the program, which would not be handed to them until in which the basement space was excavated and implanted they were fully ready to make their reentry into society. with a floating device, which would allow the house to not For those interested in taking part in similar projects, only stay in at grade level, but also move vertically with Torres Santana emphasizes that it was very much his the rising water levels in case of a flood. personal experience that led him to his current endeavors. While Torres Santana’s own experience growing up in His connection to his home country, the ordeal faced by a low-income environment in the Dominican Republic has his family member, and his love for creating and problem contributed to his path and the projects he has chosen to solving all led him to the project he is working on. He participate in, he largely enjoys architecture because of urges others to be certain about the goals they choose to the opportunities it presents to create and problem solve. pursue and, above all, to be passionate about what they While it is clear that Torres Santana has no lack of skill want to do. and imagination, it was ultimately personal reasons that brought him to his current thesis project. A few years Reeva Makhijani ’10 is in the College of Arts and Sciago, Torres Santana was informed that a family member ences. She can be reached at rbm32@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

A New Way To Create Vaccines? By Shu Jian Choo ‘10

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

College of Engineering

the translated protein form of the gene to be refined and n 2003, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syna vaccine to be developed on the spot. drome) virus broke out in cities around the globe and While Mikhail, a Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research claimed over 700 lives. Scientists in Vancouver, Canada Scholar, finds his work extremely rewarding, he believes were able to facilitate the treatment of infected patients his future lies in medicine. In 2009, Mikhail and his friends by using recombinant protein technology to map the genetic sequence of a coronavirus linked to SARS. The use of such technology “Based on the team’s initial findings, Mikhail believes to create vaccines is much faster than conventional techniques of culturing that the greatest improvement will come through a viruses to create vaccines. Matthew Mikhail, a junior majoring in Biological combination of better cell machinery as well as innoEngineering in the College of Engineering, is engaged in research to perfect vating new methods of translating genetic material. ” the mechanisms of recombinant protein technology. The potential for such techstarted a club called “What’s in a Doctor’s Bag”. The club nology appears to be something straight out of a science visits local elementary schools to put on educational and fiction novel: on-site isolation of viruses and creation of comic skits about visiting the doctor. The purpose of these vaccines and, ultimately, putting an end to widespread and skits is to overcome the natural hesitancy of children to see deadly viral infections. the doctor even when they are ill. In addition, Mikhail is For Mikhail however, the daily work of perfecting recomactively involved in the Institute for Biological Engineering binant protein technology appears a little less glamorous. Club and counts skiing and reading as his sources of leisure. The concept of using an extracted genetic code to replicate proteins has existed for decades. Insulin manufacture is a prime example of translating deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into protein form for mass reproduction. However, extending this concept to processing complex proteins inside of bacteria and other cells (recombinant protein technology) has been a challenge for scientists in recent years. For example, some proteins are inherently toxic. When these are placed inside vehicle cells for the processing of protein, the cells are destroyed and the protein is thus unable to be fully processed. Mikhail’s research under Professor Dan Luo of the Department of Biological Engineering varies the conditions of extraction and translation of the proteins. Working in a team, their goal is to reach higher yields at lower costs. By crushing the vehicle cells and extracting the biological machinery necessary for translation of the genetic material, Mikhail is able to compare the efficiency of different cells’ biological machinery and find ways of improving the mechanism for mass replication of proteins. Based on the team’s initial findings, Mikhail believes that the greatest improvement will come through a combination of better cell machinery as well as innovating new methods of translating genetic material. One major application of improved protein recombinant technology is the rapid development of vaccines. Viruses carry antigens on their surface that the body detects and reacts to in creating antibodies. The conventional way of developing a vaccine is to patiently cultivate the virus in a damaged and non-harmful form that retains those same antigens. Such a process may be too lengthy when the virus Mikhail is involved in a research project, which seeks to optimize is particularly virulent and deadly. Recombinant protein the mechanism of recombinant protein technology under the guidance of Professor Dan Luo. technology is, in contrast, much swifter and more flexible. Once the genetic code of the virus is mapped, researchers may isolate the gene that encodes the virus feature Shu Jian Choo ‘10 is in the College of Arts and Scicontained in the antigens, and then replicate it. This allows ences. He can be reached at sc529@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Empowerment: A Key Component in the Customer Experience Part II

By Jimmy Wang ‘12

Figure 1: Overall Results from Cold Calls

The results showed that luxury hotel chains (e.g., Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental) do indeed have a better knowledge of the vision, averaging 2.7 compared to 2.12 in large, mixed-brand chains (e.g., Marriott, Hilton) and

Heggie, the President of Ye Hosts, will be presenting her research on hotel employees to some of the top CEOs of hospitality companies.

to 1.35 in upscale hotels (e.g., Kimpton, Joie de Vivre). While this trend was anticipated, Heggie commented that the margin was not as large as she had expected. In the second series of surveys, Heggie sent an electronic survey through her former employer, Mövenpick, to their frontline employees. This survey, which was written in four languages including German and Arabic, was designed to be more comprehensive than the cold call survey. The results had not yet been compiled at the time of Heggie’s interview with us.

“Heggie advises students to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities at Cornell and not be blindsided by the stereotypes of success. ” In the coming weeks, Heggie will be presenting her research to some of the top CEOs of hospitality companies, an honor only a university like Cornell can provide. Heggie, the president of Ye Hosts, the Hotel School’s honor society, will be graduating second in her class. She has already secured a position at a consulting firm in New York City and plans to backpack through Eastern Europe before entering the workplace. Heggie advises students to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities at Cornell and not be blindsided by the stereotypes of success. “Live, love, learn,” she says. “This place is special.”

School of Hotel Administration

Hotel Category: Economy Luxury Midscale w/ F& B Midscale w/o F&B Mixed Chains Upper Upscale Grand Total

Average Average Awareness Length of Call (min) (1-5) 2.00 4.95 2.70 3.12 1.20 2.15 1.00 2.51 2.12 3.91 1.35 3.84 2.08 3.50

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

hen we last saw Christina Heggie, Hotel Administration ‘10, four months ago, she had just returned from an exciting job in the head office of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (in Switzerland!) and was fine-tuning preparations for her honors thesis. Having now obtained her first batch of results, she returns to The Research Paper with an illuminating update on the exotic and seemingly mysterious world of hospitality. Heggie’s project is concerned with how well frontline employees know their hotel’s vision; are they an integrated part of a company’s strategy, or are they just contract workers, segregated from the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy? These workers, which include receptionists, housekeepers, and restaurant waiters at the hotel, have direct impact on the quality of the customer experience. The unique flavor of each hotel comes from its distinct mission statement – a handful of choice words aimed at conveying the hotel company’s personality. In order to achieve a sense of unity, the message must be transmitted from corporate all the way to the intersection of employee and customer – the front-line employees. Heggie thinks that effective communication of the hotel’s mission statement to front-line employees translates into a positive effect on customer experience and financial success. To investigate her hypothesis, Heggie conducted two series of surveys. In the first, she selected fifty large hotel chains and made cold calls to their toll-free number over a span of several days. Instead of booking a room, Heggie surprised receptionists with the question, “Do you know what your company’s mission statement is?” While there were a few rude hang-ups, most of the responses provided Heggie with an idea of how well front-line employees knew the essence of the hotel. The answers were ranked on a scale from 1 to 5, based on how accurately and quickly the receptionists responded.

Jimmy Wang ‘12 is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at xw225@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Engulfed By endocytosis By Revanth Baddam ‘12

College of Arts & Sciences

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

ur cells work day and night transcribing and transIn addition, using crystallography, Tong can observe the lating the genes from our DNA to form the essential RNA components of these proteins to determine how accurate and proteins, without which nearly all our cell processes her predictions are. For example, after observing the would cease to occur. Some of the various functions of solubility of the linker region, she was able to confirm its these proteins include catalyzing biochemical reactions, flexibility, evidence that supports her current model since taking part in cell signaling, and acting as the basis for many a more flexible linker region corresponds to bending of structural and mechanical properties in cells. Since proteins the protein as it changes conformation from an inactive to are so essential and ubiquitous, it is assumed that proteins active state. Further work with electron microscopy is also also play a role in endocytosis, the process by which cells conducted to test effects of EHD proteins on deformation engulf exterior molecules into their cell membranes. But of membranes. Tong observes mixtures of the protein with which specific proteins are involved? Michelle Tong, a senior liposomes, tiny vesicles that resemble plasma membranes, in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, and other components required by EHD1 to be functional, has attempted to answer this question with her research on such as ATP or calcium, under the electron microscope. the proteins involved in the functional She is able to observe any effect machinery of endocytosis. the protein may have had on deTong is currently pursuing a forming the membrane and how pre-medical track and a major in the other components contribute Biological Sciences with a program to the deformation. of study in Animal Physiology. For According to Tong, the imporyears biology has captivated her, but tance of her research is to better her interest in research can be first understand the biological system attributed to a summer internship behind endocytosis with the hope she obtained during high school. that her findings can contribute Further experiences, such as a to the general body of knowledge summer internship in Weill Cornell and be used to further more reMedical College after her freshman search in the field of cell signaling. year and research on tissue culture Furthermore, her research has as a sophomore, incited her love for important implications on the study research, leading her to apply for a of Huntington’s disease, a genetic position in Dr. Holger Sondermann’s disorder that affects physical and lab on campus, where her love for mental coordination. The disease research was cemented. His work is accompanied by abnormalities on the regulation of cellular signal in the PACSIN protein, thereby transduction fascinated her, and she leading to problems in neural conaccepted a position in his lab during Tong started doing research from high school and nections where neurotransmitter intends to continue with it in the future. the fall semester of her junior year. recycling at synaptic clefts occurs Working under Dr. Sondermann through endocytosis. If she can in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the College of uncover a deeper understanding of the role PACSIN plays Veterinary Medicine, Tong’s research focuses primarily on in endocytosis, her results could aid in developing alternainvestigating endocytosis in eukaryotes and the proteins tive treatments for this disease. involved in the process through the use of X-ray crystallogUltimately, Tong’s experience in Dr. Sondermann’s lab raphy and biophysical approaches. Specifically, Tong studhas been enjoyable and worthwhile. She says, “[Research] ies the peripheral membrane proteins PACSIN and EHD1. is one of the most influential processes in science, [useful] PACSIN is a protein that initiates endocytosis through the in teaching how to approach a problem, organize, prioritize, generation of curved membranes. However, Tong’s research and be as agile as possible.” Being present in the lab and also focuses on EHD1, another protein that has been identiworking hands-on were rewarding experiences for her and fied as playing a pivotal role in the process of endocytosis. enabled her to take on more responsibilities and become Evidence for EHD1’s involvement in membrane remodeling more efficient. Even as she plans to venture on towards comes from the results of ATP hydrolysis turnover assays, medical school, she hopes to always keep research a part where the effects of PACSIN, liposomes, and calcium were of her future endeavors. Regardless, the lessons learned observed on the enzymatic ATPase activity of EHD1. Her and skills acquired during her tenure at Dr. Sondermann’s current model recognizes the initiation of endocytosis by lab are not soon to be forgotten and will serve her well no PACSIN with the help of EHD1, which is required to bind matter which path her career might take. with the linker region of PACSIN to activate it. Otherwise, the process does not occur since PACSIN cannot act alone. Revanth Baddam ‘12 is a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He can be reached at rrb84@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

How the Nose Knows

By Diana Hong ‘13

Courtesy Diana Hong

Taylor hopes to join the Peace Corps’s health division after graduation.

Diana Hong ‘13 is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at dnh33@cornell.edu

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

regions of the brain are affected when rats are subjected ake a deep breath. What do you smell? Or rather, to appetitive and aversive odor conditioning. During apwhat do you remember? Many smells can trigger memopetitive odor conditioning, different odors are paired with ries and even evoke emotions. The nose knows, but how edible rewards, such as fruit loops and sucrose tablets. does it know? For Jennifer Taylor, a senior in the College Conversely, with aversive odor conditioning, the odors are of Agriculture and Life Sciences majoring in Biology and paired with an unpleasant foot shock. Using a series of Society, the sense of smell and its neurological basis is habituation and learning tests, Taylor will examine how at the heart of her current research project in Cornell odor descriptions change in the brain. University’s Computational Physiology Lab. Having always had a keen interest in scientific research, Taylor has been involved in the Compu“I think it’s really fun to go tational Physiology Lab since the end of her junior year, under the guidance of Dr. Christiane Linster, in [the lab] and actually be Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior, able to apply and do science.” and Dr. Thomas Cleland, Assistant Professor of Psychology. This past summer and fall semester, Taylor worked with Dr. Linster on two different projects: Taylor’s first step will be to habituate the rats’ behavior these projects involved examining the short and long towards different odors by continuously exposing them to term effects of olfactory enrichment and investigating the these odors. Keeping them in this unchanging environeffects of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine on learning ment, the rats will eventually lose interest and will show and memory in rats in hopes of better understanding a decrease in their physiological response towards the these processes in humans. habituated odor. Taylor will then proceed to the conditionCurrently, Taylor has started a new pilot project ing portion of the experiment. Using three rats in each under Dr. Thomas Cleland. She is studying how different group, she will pair a specific odor with either a reward for the rats undergoing the appetitive odor conditioning or a foot shock for the rats undergoing the aversive odor conditioning. Afterwards, the rats will be introduced into a new environment without any shocks or rewards and exposed to both a novel odor and the odor that was associated with their form of conditioning. Then Taylor will test to see which odor the rats are more readily attracted to and how their behavior relates to appetitive and aversive odor conditioning. At the end of the study, Taylor will use immunohistochemistry to look into the rats’ brains to see which parts of the brain were active during different points of the experiment. The hands-on aspect of this study is the most exciting part of doing scientific research for Taylor. She explained, “I think it’s really fun to go in [the lab] and actually be able to apply and do science.” As an added bonus, because she is working with live animals, she notes how exciting it is to see first-hand how various factors can affect behavior. Taylor also stated how taking part in undergraduate research has helped her see that “there is more to the field of medicine and health than practice.” Due to this exposure to different options within the medical field and her passions for traveling, experiencing new things, and meeting new people, Taylor is hoping to join the Peace Corps’s health division after graduation.

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Green Movement Against Green Water By Rakesh Biswas ‘12

the years.” I always wondered what was happening and why it looked like that.” Calderon’s project will focus on filtering out many of the nutrients in the water on which the algae feed. She stated, “The idea was to come up with a system that will simulate a natural wetland.” Calderon explained that natural wetlands and certain grasses can filter out and then break down many of the pollutants in sewage run off; however, due to heavy development near Lake Amatitlan, all of the wetlands had been destroyed. Calderon explained that many of the functional components of her experimental plot would have components similar to those found in natural wetlands. Calderon formulated the idea for her project after attending a lecture about acid mine drainage by a former student of Professor Jamie Vanucchi. “I saw somebody using ponds to remediate acid mine drainage, and I thought that I could do something like that in Guatemala, too.” The simulated natural wetland will contain grasses such as Vetiveria zizanoides, which will help filter out nitrogen and phosphorus before the sewage is dumped into the lake. V. zizanoides is a grass native to India and has a mat root system that is very effective in filtering out many of the contaminants found in raw sewage. The park that Calderon designed around the simulated wetland will be accessible to the public. Calderon declared, “Being Calderon became interested in bioremediation after taking a class with Professor Jamie Vanucchi, and she will landscape architects, we be focusing her research on how to stop lake eutrophications in Guatemala. try to not just make things Calderon became interested in bioremediation and engineered like an engineer would, but we also try to water treatment after taking a class with Landscape Armake it so [that] it can be used by people to learn about chitecture Professor Jamie Vanucchi, who specializes in sustainable practices.” sustainable water design. Calderon became fascinated with Landscape “Being landscape architects, we try to not just make things engiArchitecture after she took a closer neered like an engineer would, but we also try to make it so [that] look at the kinds of work that landscape architects did. “My mom is it can be used by people to learn about sustainable practices.” actually a landscape architect; I didn’t just want to do gardens, but I researched more and Calderon is also the native Spanish mentor at the found out that you can do the type of projects that I’m Language house on West campus and helps students who doing right now,” said Calderon. want to improve their Spanish. She also plans to arrange Calderon remembered spending time with her family trips to Guatamala during spring break to make solar ovens at Lake Amatitvlan, where she had grown up, as her grandand teach Mayan people sustainable practices. parents lived there. Calderon reminisced, “Every weekend I would go to the lake and I saw how it deteriorated over Rakesh Biswas ’12 is a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He can be reached at rb485@cornell.edu Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

ack of clean drinking water has become a chief concern for much of the world’s population. Conserving precious resources and remediating polluted lakes has become much more urgent with the ever increasing scarcity of clean drinking water. Bioremediation and sustainable building have become essential tools for water conservationists. Maria Calderon, a senior studying Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, researches how bioremediation can be used to stop the eutrophication of lakes in Guatemala. Eutrophication occurs because of algal blooms, which give the water a green color. Algae blooms arise due to excess nutrients in the water as a result of raw sewage dumped directly into rivers and lakes. Eutrophication has become a major problem for Guatemala and many areas in Latin America.

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Country Clubs Cash In By Jennifer Ryan ‘11

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

School of Hotel Administration

industries. To accomplish this, Scheinman first created e have all experienced the dynamic pricing a survey and distributed it to managers of private clubs strategies used by online travel sites such as Expedia and affiliated with the Club Managers’ Association of America Travelocity. When we shop for airplane tickets, the price found on Wednesday differs from that found on Friday, which in turn “We have all experienced the dynamic pricing strategies differs from the price quoted the following week. These strategic used by online travel sites such as Expedia and Travevariations, part of a larger discipline known as revenue manage- locity. . . . Michael Scheinman ‘10, a senior in Cornell’s ment, are designed to maximize profits by analyzing previous School of Hotel Administration, specifically researches how customer behavior patterns to determine the optimum selling country clubs can use these tactics to generate revenue.” price for a given time. By studying previous supply and demand (CMAA). According to the suggestions of his faculty advitrends, strategists develop various algorithms and metrics sor, Professor Sheryl Kimes, and several selected CMAA that ultimately determine the price fluctuations of your members, Scheinman took his original survey, which had plane ticket. Although many industries incorporate the taken him a mere three hours to generate, and further principles of revenue management into their businesses, refined it over the course of fifteen to twenty revisions. Michael Scheinman ‘10, a senior in Cornell’s School of After Scheinman received five hundred completed Hotel Administration, specifically researches how country surveys, he began synthesizing the data, trying to declubs can use these tactics to generate revenue. termine how the managers of the country clubs used the principles of revenue management. In addition, he examined where the principles were not yet applied but could profitably be implemented in the future. Scheinman hopes that the findings of his study will create a metric that will direct club managers’ use of revenue management principles. Scheinman, to articulate this point, described an example: “Many clubs have a casual restaurant and a fine dining restaurant. Often, the casual restaurant is very busy, and the fine dining restaurant is slow. By using incentives (i.e. special promotions, pricefixed menus, etc.) in the fine dining restaurant, managers could shift demand away from the capacity-constrained casual restaurant toward the fine dining restaurant. This maximizes the total number of members served.” Thereby, demand shifts and profits increase. Scheinman is ranked in the top 10% of his class, which has enabled him to join the Ye Hosts Honorary Society. As a member of this society, Scheinman was able to choose a professor to serve as an advisor for his thesis project. He chose Sheryl Kimes who studies trends in revenue management and, in Schienman’s words, “pioneered this type of study.” Collaborating with Kimes has allowed him to further explore his own research interests in the same field. Scheinman plans to work for Expedia following graduation, though he maintains an interest in revenue Scheinman works on making connection between online travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity and country clubs. management consulting. Such an ambitious and wellconducted senior research project can certainly help him reach such goals. For his senior honors thesis, Scheinman hopes to develop a metric whereby private clubs may adopt revenue Jennifer Ryan ‘11 a student in the College of Arts and management strategies similar to those used by airline Sciences. She can be reached at jlr327@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Emptying Excess Waste in Aedes aegypti By Lawrence Nanan ‘12

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

College of Arts & Sciences

he human body is a complex biological machine, constantly performing unnotice- “Though the responsibilities of performing reable calculations and engaging in a flurry of activities that keep us healthy and function- search are both numerous and in flux, Shah aping. A brief look into the human anatomy is enough to uncover a vast multitude of these preciates the daily challenges of laboratory work.” processes, such as the accumulation of nerve moves to the plasma membrane of septate junctions, impulses that drive our bodies to equilibrium. the tight junction-analogs in insects, to participate in the Simply put, the complexity of the human body is overmobilization of proteins from the junction. In this manner, whelming. However, for Anish Shah, a junior Biological annexin-IX may be the switch that allows the mosquito Sciences major concentrating in Neurobiology and Beto rapidly secrete wastes from its extracellular fluid, havior in the College of Arts and Sciences, the study of thus allowing the mosquito to deal with excess waste such processes is habitual. Currently conducting research efficiently and continue to subsist on the blood of larger in kidney physiology in Dr. Klaus Beyenbach’s laboratory, animals. Further, upon carefully isolating the miniscule biomedical sciences, Shah has turned his attention to the malphygian tubules, Shah sequenced and cloned a copy annexin family of proteins. These proteins act as intercelof the annexin-IX lular bonding agents, gene and went on aiding the formation to cite the locaof tight junctions — tion of annexin-IX structures that reguproteins in the late urine and other principal cells nitrogenous wastes of the tubules. in the blood — in kidOverall, these exney cells. A previous periments hinted study in the Beyenat the transportabach laboratory nottion of annexin-IX ed a depletion of anduring diuresis. nexin proteins upon Shah finds external application himself well suitof the aedeskinin died to his work. He uretic peptide, which started learning increases the kidney’s basic lab techproduction of urine. niques in the To further unseventh grade. derstand the role of During his underannexins, Shah perhopes to obtain his MD/PhD and perform research in neurophysiology, and eventually graduate years, formed a series of Shah go on to practice neurosurgery. he transitioned dissections on the to work in neuroyellow fever mosbiology and physiology. More so, he has always gained quito, Aedes aegypti. He noted that while the forms of satisfaction in building, testing, and expanding his knowlannexin present in mammals are different than those edge. Though the responsibilities of performing research present in insects, the insect protein annexin-IX bears are both numerous and in flux, Shah appreciates the daily strong similarities to its mammalian equivalent. Also, while challenges of laboratory work. When faced with equiplacking a pair of kidneys, the mosquito is still an approment failure, he was able to engineer a new and improved priate subject because it possesses malphygian tubules, incubation box to meet the needs of his research. Shah is which take on the role of mammalian kidneys in insects. a published author in his field and looks forward to more Yet, unlike mammals, mosquitoes must deal with unique publications in the near future. Upon graduating Shah pressures on their waste secretion systems due to their intends to obtain an MD-PhD from a good medical school peculiar dietary habits. For instance, females eat up to and later perform postdoctoral research in neurophysiolten times their own body weight at some points during ogy. In the long-run, he wants to practice neurosurgery their reproductive cycle; consequently, they must find a and be a master of his trade. means to excrete the excess water and waste present in the consumed blood. Lawrence Nanan ‘12 is a student in the College of Arts Retrospectively, Shah proposed that that annexin-IX and Sciences. He can be reached at ldn24@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

How baseball General managers measure up

By Donny Szirmak ‘11

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

ence a previous GM has on a new GM’s team. Seeking to provide a way that acknowledges these multiple factors, Gershenfeld created a complex formula that accounts for

School of Industrial & Labor Relations

eneral Managers (GMs) are the architects for changes in wins from three previous weighted years. In professional sports teams these days. For example, GMs short, Gershenfeld explained that, “ [a positive rating] play a crucial role in arranging trades between teams, neshows successful improvement, while a negative rating gotiating salary contracts and drafting new players. This shows decreased performance.” job requires managing and allocating limited resources In conducting his study, Gershenfeld ran a regression as best as possible, in order to maximize a team’s sucanalysis to determine which variables influence a GM’s cess. Despite the importance of this position, there have success. More specifically, he ran a single regression for been few studies investigating the factors that influence each variable, as well as a multiple regression analysis a GM’s career progress, making the recent research of that included the player payroll factor and “personal, Gabe Gershenfeld, a junior in ILR, business and baseball characquite compelling. Combining his teristics.” In turn, Gershenfeld interest in human capital studies gained important insight as to with his interest in baseball and which characteristics benefit a sports management, Gershenfeld GM. Interestingly, Gershenfeld sought to determine the most relfound that individuals with baseevant predictors of a GM’s success ball operations administrative in Major League Baseball (MLB). experience performed better than First, Gershenfeld outlined the those who worked their way up marked changes in demographic through managerial, scouting, or characteristics of MLB’s 30 managplayer development experience. ers. Most notably, he found that Consequently, Gershenfeld’s findsince 1975, a GM’s average age ings suggest that owners seeking has declined by almost ten years, a new GM should not recruit inditheir typical level of higher eduviduals within the organization. In cation has increased, and nearly addition, Gershenfeld found that twice as many GMs are external younger managers performed hires. Moreover, many current significantly better, but having GMs do not have professional professional baseball experience playing experience, but rather produced only a mild benefit to a have more executive experience GM’s job performance. Lastly, hirin the corporate world. Gershing a GM from another organizaenfeld used these findings, while tion or giving a GM a presidential also accounting for differences Gershenfeld is able to combine his passion for baseball or CEO title did not appear to in team payroll, to analyze what with Industrial Labor Relations training in his research. positively influence a GM’s later predetermines a GM’s successful success. job performance. Gershenfeld’s keen interest in An important component of Gershenfeld’s study analyzing professional sports has inspired him to explore is his definition of team success. Gershenfeld argues related topics, such as analyzing the effects on perforthat this is a complicated question, as one can place a mance of wooden versus aluminum bats. In addition, he disproportionate emphasis on certain statistics, such as has investigated which common statistics most greatly postseason versus regular season success, or the influinfluence professional soccer teams’ performances. His sophisticated academic assessment of “ . . . s i n c e 1 9 7 5 , a [ G e n e r a l M a n a g e r ] ’ s such questions is surely beneficial to important individuals associated with average age has declined b y sports business and sports fans alike. Gershenfeld plans to continue his work a l m o s t t e n y e a r s , [ a n d ] t h e i r t y p i c a l through his involvement in the ILR Sports Management club, and hopes l e v e l o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n h a s i n c r e a s e d . . . ” to one day have a career related to his interest in athletics.

Donny Szirmak is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at dgs88@cornell.edu.

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Going Above and Beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics By Allen Wang ‘13

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

College of Arts & Sciences

ver since childhood, Bryan Scherrer ’12 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been interested in astronomy. His interest first sparked while watching the television sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun”. He fondly recalls a humorous scene from the sitcom where the planets played ping-pong with one another. As he got older, he realized that while there are no interstellar ping-pong tournaments, “the fiery fury of stars and the abyss of black holes [are] so much cooler.” In order to satisfy his interest in this field, he worked as a research assistant at the Stanford Solar Center during the summers of his junior and senior years of high school. This research allowed him to use a Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) Monitor, which measures the energy levels in the Earth’s ionosphere, to watch solar flares. In addition, he transferred archived data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) from 320 GB tapes, an old and inefficient technology, to more modern 8 GB DVDs. From this experience, he developed a new passion for solar physics, and the subject eventually became the basis for his major and research at Cornell. When Scherrer arrived at Cornell, he knew right away that he wanted to further pursue physics and astronomy. Hence, he decided to major in physics and concentrate in astronomy. Simply learning about these topics was not enough for Scherrer, though; he wanted to actively engage in research in these areas. During his freshmen year, he was highly eager and persistent in asking his professors for opportunities. Ultimately, his search paid off, and Professor James Alexander offered him the opportunity to work at Newman Laboratory behind Baker Lab. The experience

Scherrer arrived at Cornell knowing he wanted to pursue physics and astronomy, which is the basis of his current research.

was both educational and hands-on and focused on the Standard Model of particle physics. During the summer, he attended lectures and completed homework assignments about relativistic mechanics. He also conducted basic projects involving Monte Carlo data, artificially generated from known theory, and analyzed it on his computer. At times analysis revealed that the data fit with the Standard Model of particle physics, but sometimes it did not. What happens when you find data for particles that do not follow the Standard Model?

“Simply learning about these topics was not enough for Scherrer, though; he wanted to actively engage in research in these areas.” Particle physicists are unsure as to how many particles exist outside the Standard Model. There are only theoretical predictions. The main examples of particles that could potentially go beyond the Standard Model are supersymmetric particles, dark matter, and the famed Higgs boson. Evidence for the existence of these particles comes from previous experiments with particle accelerators that have shown that when only known particles are taken into account, the laws of conservation of energy and momentum are not conserved. Since the universe has to obey these laws, there must other massive particles unaccounted for, which could potentially be Dark matter, the Higgs boson, or a whole host of other, previously undiscovered particles. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located in Geneva, Switzerland, can focus tremendous amounts of energy at a single spot in order to generate particles. In the future, Scherrer would like to analyze the data collected from the LHC and try to find more currently unknown, highly massive particles. Unfortunately, complicating analysis of these massive particles is their rapid decay into lighter particles. For instance, the time of their existence is often on the order of milliseconds. However, in situations that provide enough energy, i.e. from the LHC, these particles may be created momentarily, which is just enough time for the computers to collect data on them. After graduating from Cornell, Scherrer hopes to attend graduate school and continue doing research. Alongside his career goals, he wants to popularize physics and get more students involved at a younger age. “If you start teaching physics in high school, you’ve already lost them for ten years,” he says. If given the opportunity to teach or work in education, he “would like to go around and help school districts and particularly elementary schools[…]develop more of an interesting curriculum.” Scherrer hopes this will enable students to form a long lasting interest in physics similar to the one he has had since a young boy.

Allen Wang ‘13 is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at aw385@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Cow Power: Manure Revolutionizing Electricity

By Tony Lin ‘13

Courtesy Kristen Vitro

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

any remember Lisa Simpson’s long and arduous campaign to convince the townsfolk of “Since oxygen is fairly cheap, Vitro hopes Springfield the dire situation that its lake faced in The Simpsons Movie. With pollution levels rapidly that her work will encourage farmers to utirising to unsafe levels, the town finally rallied itself and cleaned up the lake, only to have it toxically lize anaerobic digesters on their dairy farms.” polluted again when Homer dumps his silo full of pig feces into the water. that would significantly reduce the levels of hydrogen While funny to some, the issue of animal manure is sulfide. Since oxygen is fairly cheap, Vitro hopes that her no laughing matter to scientists and environmentalists. work will encourage farmers to utilize anaerobic digesters According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of on their dairy farms. As of now, the experiment is in its the United Nations, 13 billion tons of animal waste are preliminary stages and she hopes to start running her produced each year from livestock worldwide. Not only trials and collecting data sometime in the near future. are animal feces difficult to dispose of, but they are also When Vitro first walked onto campus as a freshman, full of nutrients that have become a big environmental she was initially unsure what major she should pursue. problem as farm runoff causes eutrophication in major She eventually chose the Science of Natural and Enlakes and rivers worldwide. Furthermore, manure convironmental Systems major (SNES) since she enjoyed tains high amounts of methane, which traps more heat the social aspects and inter-disciplinary nature of the than carbon dioxide. However, at Cornell’s Department major. Since she also received the Hunter R. Rawlings of Biological and Environmental Engineering, College of III Presidential Research Scholar award, Vitro knew that Agriculture and Life Sciences junior Kristen Vitro, under she would be conducting research. Although she had the mentorship of Professor no prior lab experience, she Norman Scott, is researching remained undeterred, saying what she believes might be the that although she did not have key to solving this worldwide as much experience in the problem: anaerobic digestion. laboratory, she learned a lot Anaerobic digestion works just by doing and conducting by trapping and storing the research. methane that is normally reOutside of the laboratory, leased from the manure and Vitro enjoys pursuing her pasusing that stored energy as sion for protecting the environa fuel for heat and electricment. Growing up in Rockland ity. Moreover, the process County, a suburb of New York can produce surplus electricCity, she says that she feels ity that farms can then sell to uncomfortable being caught energy companies. Currently, up in the suburban sprawl and Europe has several large-scale Vitro hopes her research will positively change how the world consumerism. “[People] lost a industrial digesters and has views sustainability. lot of connection with nature embraced the technology more and trying to live sustainably,” quickly than the US. However, Vitro suggests that it’s she notes. Vitro is also an active member of the Susonly a matter of time before anaerobic digestion catches tainability Hub and the President of Greeks Go Green, on in the US due to the large amounts of dairy and aga group that encourages the Greek system to be more ricultural farms. While promising, one drawback is that sustainable. Her other hobbies include rock climbing, the hydrogen sulfide produced with the methane during pottery, and knitting. the anaerobic process is not only highly toxic to human As of right now, Vitro is unsure whether she wants to health, but it is also highly corrosive to the machinery. directly pursue graduate school after her time at Cornell, Thus, farmers would have to bear the financial burden or take a gap year to work for the EPA or in California. of replacing machinery parts every year. Nevertheless, it is certain that she will still be pursuing Enter Vitro’s research. Her project, which she conher passion and conducting research that will hopefully ducted research on full time during the summer, is to positively change how the world views sustainability. try to reduce the amount of hydrogen sulfide produced during the process by adding varying amounts of oxygen into the digester right after the digestion is completed. Tony Lin ‘13 is a student in the College of Agriculture and Vitro hopes to discover the optimal amount of oxygen Life Sciences. He can be reached at trl44@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Tiny Technology for the Big Bang By Carolyn Miller ‘13

he Big Bang Theory is a really big mystery — everyone has heard about it, but scientists still have a lot of questions about how the Universe was made. Researchers here at Cornell University are creating thin silicon pixel sensors that will be used in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland to identify the sub-atomic particles that are released upon a head-on collision between highenergy particles — a process analogous to the Big Bang. One researcher working on this project is Manan Suri, a graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering who has also spent a fair amount of his undergraduate career studying these tiny trackers. As a beneficiary of the Engineering Learning Initiative Scholarship, a program that helps technology-oriented students get their hands wet in the laboratory, Suri be-

College of Engineering

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

particle beams. Descriptively, the silicon sensors are like little nets that capture the residues of newly formed subatomic particles called “hadrons.” The size, length, and depth of the tracks left in these sensors are very useful in deducing what occurred inside the particle accelerator and, fundamentally, in the nucleus of every atom. Now in the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, Suri and his advisors have created the first prototype, a silicon material sandwiched between pixel sensors called a silicon interposer. The first model will be tested at the University of California, Davis, before it makes its way to the LHC in Switzerland. Given the overlap in the interests of investigators at the LEEP and researchers in industry such as Endicott Interconnect, Suri hopes that his lab will eventually collaborate with this company because it has the experience and facilities needed for working with synthetic materials that may one day replace the silicon in these sensors. One such alternative may be Kapton ®, a highly stable man-made polymer. Overall, Suri has enjoyed the rare privilege of working with cutting-edge technology at Cornell’s LEEP, and amidst two supportive and encouraging mentors, he has learned to be patient despite having to often repeat experiments. Many a time, the team has had to repeat computer simulations of a sensor before generating a model. Suri has also come to value innovation and persistence in an environment that welcomes his input and originality, and also learned to see Suri, a graduate student at Cornell, uses his background in electrical engineering and his interest in the bigger picture while paying atphysics to help create the first prototype of a silicon interposer. tention to detail. Suri is currently working on his master’s thesis on gan working on his current project immediately after he the design of minuscule satellites — which he calls “natransferred to Cornell University in Fall ‘07. Because of his nostats” — based on system-on-a-chip sensors, a construct background in electrical engineering and his interest in that aggregates all workings of a computer in one place physics, Suri had the right set of skills to work with Proi.e. a chip. Although he has done a lot of research here at fessors Julia Thom, physics, and Jim Alexander, Director Cornell University, Suri is currently undecided as to whether of the Laboratory for Elementary-Particle Physics (LEEP). he will pursue a research career. As an undergraduate, When not in the Suri and his mentors used “Suri was involved in creating one of the most im- laboratory, Suri finds simulation software such time to make music with as Technology-Computer portant components of the particle accelerator...” his fusion rock band. Aided Design (TCAD) and He is vice president of MATLAB, which is comthe cricket club and the monly used for image processing and control design, to co-president of the Pakistani Student Association, an indetermine what the silicon pixel sensors were capable of. dependent group that aims to educate fellow Cornellians As his project took shape, Suri was involved in creating about Pakistani culture and serves as a home away from one of the most important components of the particle achome to the immediate Pakistani community. celerator, the silicon sensors, which report on what happened right after head-on collisions among high-energy Carolyn Miller ‘13 is a student in the School of Industrial & Labor Relations. She can be reached at ccm78@cornell.edu

The 2010 TheResearch ResearchPaper PaperSpring Fall 2009

Defining HIV Risk Factors in Transsexual Individuals By Jessica Kendra ‘10

“As a freshman, Haroon knew she wanted to be involved in academic research, especially gender studies. In her own words, ‘I just wanted to do research, and it sounded interesting.”

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

current campaigns focus on males who are sexually active with males, but not necessarily men who identify as transgender, natal male, or their like. With an estimated 1.1 million Americans living with HIV today, effective prevention is critical, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. Haroon appreciates the level of involvement her supervisor has allowed her. For instance, Haroon did part of the write up and presented their findings to the American Psychological Association. Notably, she feels that her work in the lab has helped her contribute a lot of her own ideas, and as a result, she is likely to remain an active researcher in the Department of Human Development for the rest of her undergraduate career. Haroon is now working in the Risk and Rational Decision Making Lab in the same department, with the goal of understanding adolescent decision making and testing a new sex education curriculum. While hesitant to tell her parents what exactly she has been investigating, Haroon found that her parents were thrilled she had gotten involved in research. Upon graduating from Cornell, Haroon wants to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Haroon has found that working in her lab has helped in developing her own ideas and will remain active throughout her undergraduate career. She plans to pursue a degree in clinical pyschology after graduation.

College of Human Ecology

nlike other terms used in gender identification, “natal male” is not so commonly used. The phrase comes from the words “natal,” which means birth, and “male” indicating masculinity, hence suggesting that a transsexual was born as male and only underwent sex reassignment after birth. But not all transsexuals identify in the same manner, according to Maleeha Haroon, a junior in the College of Human Ecology who has been examining how HIV risk factors differed over a sample of transsexual individuals at the Sex and Gender Laboratory. Haroon has been a member of the laboratory since her freshman year, working under the supervision of a graduate student. As a freshman, Haroon knew she wanted to be involved in academic research, especially gender studies. In her own words, “I just wanted to do research, and it sounded interesting.” Under the guidance of her supervisor, Haroon divided the transsexual participants into three major groups, based on identity: those who identified as male and were born male (Concordant); those who identified as female but were born male (Discordant); and those who identified as transgender (Fluid/Transitional). With an exhaustive list of HIV risk factors in place, Haroon set out to determine what particular risk factors were relevant for the study. Thus, she narrowed down the list to include only the following: sexual activity level, having sex with men, engaging in anal sex, polygamy, and income level.

Overall, Haroon found that the concordant group was at the highest risk for HIV, followed by the transitional group. The implications, according to Haroon, are that the findings of this study may help redirect public health Jessica Kendra ’10 is a student in the College of Agriculture campaigns focusing on HIV prevention. Meanwhile, many Life Sciences. She can be reached at jkk76@cornell.edu

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Can Egg Yolk Boost your Attention Span?

By Sujin Lee ‘13

Courtesy Ken Kawamoto

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

onsidering today’s craze for heart-healthy lifeof a preceding one. Based on that, Powers releases the styles, it is no surprise that egg yolk is shunned as a mice into automated chambers that provide food rewards dangerous source of cholesterol and fat. But each time we to only those that correctly respond to a series of tasks. discard the yellow center down the drain, we forgo one of These tasks are designed to measure the attention span the most important nutrients in our daily diet — choline. and emotional reactivity of the mice as they poke their Choline is an essential nutrient found in every yolk, and noses into one of five holes that lighten up as a result it helps in the maintenance of a functional cellular memof contact. Now, given that defective mice demonstrate brane and the regulation of water balance in the kidney. shorter attention span and higher frustration level than More importantly, choline is the precursor molecule for the normal mice, Powers hypothesizes that an improvement brain chemical messenger acetylcholine, which particuin either of these criteria, i.e. attention span and irritation, larly influences attention span and memory. Recent studwould originate from the differences in the variable of ies have confirmed that early choline supplementation in the experiment — embryonic choline supplementation. the maternal diet of a mouse prolongs the attention span In the event that the study confirms the cognitive efand improves exfects of choline, the plicit memory of the nutritional benefits offspring as it macan be extrapotures into an adult. lated to include These studies are humans. In fact, now replicated at Powers expects Cornell University that four years of by Dr. Brian Powers, research will yield a postdoctoral asa sufficient amount sociate working in of data to prove his Dr. Barbara Strupp’s hypothesis and, Laboratory in the accordingly, call Division of Nutrifor the adjustment tional Sciences. of the FDA-recomPowers brings mended choline relevant skills to intake level. “The the Strupp Lab. He current FDA apis a Ph.D. holder in proved daily alPowers works with Dr. Barbara Strupp’s Laboratory to identify the effects of choline Neuroscience from supplementation in the maternal diet of mice. lowance of choline the University of Ilis based on liver linois and an expert health. With this in neurocognitive and behavioral research, particularly study, [however], we are hoping to accurately shift the using rodent subjects. Given the comprehensive nature perspective to the neurological benefits of the nutrient.” of this study, intersecting the behavioral and life sciences, He said, adding that an increase in recommended choline Powers is working in tandem with two other collaboracan actually lessen the effects of dementia in patients tors at the University of with Down syndrome. Chicago and the Nathan “In the event that the study confirms the cogFor Powers, the Strupp Kline Institute at New York Lab is his main priority. Due to University, who will exam- nitive effects of choline, the nutritional ben- the extensive analysis required ine the brain tissues of the to correlate the underlying behaviorally tested mice efits can be extrapolated to include humans.” neuronal behavior with observfrom a cellular perspective. able physical actions in mice, The goal of Powers’s study is to understand the bioPowers expects to publish his study at least a year after logical mechanism behind enhanced cognitive function. As he has compiled the data. As for the ultimate impact of a study model, Powers uses mice carrying Down syndrome the research, we can only hope that choline will be recand Alzheimer’s disease but which have been prenatally ognized as a vital nutrient, he said, adding that only then supplemented with choline. He is currently examining the will the egg yolk redeem its reputation as a wholesome neuronal associations and behavioral responses of these ingredient of a healthy diet. mice to a select group of cognitive tests. The tests are based on operant conditioning, the process that involves Sujin Lee ‘13 is a student in the College of Arts and adjusting succeeding behavior to reflect the consequences Sciences. She can be reached at sl857@cornell.edu.

The Research Paper Spring 2010

Social Networking for Business Success By Sakul Ratanalert ‘11

Even though robust frameworks have not yet been developed and tested, exploratory research in this area is essential for any business student. For instance, in Integrated Marketing Communications, a graduate course she teaches in the Johnson

Dr. Pearo’s research focuses on the effects of social networking on consumer beahvior.

School, Pearo asks students to analyze a specific industry and then tailor a set of guidelines and best practices for using social media. Aside from this paper, the students are also given a unique final project, using yet another new trend: video technology. Because of the inherent conflict between desired depth and necessary presentation time, Pearo decided to use YouTube for this project in lieu of presentations. Groups of students create a ten minute video in which they discuss the plans they have devised over the course of the semester for their assigned industry. These videos are watched by other groups and evaluated in the form of posts, with the group grade based on the video itself and the constructive feedback the group provides to other groups. With both traditional and innovative videos encouraged, this final project is definitely exciting. Outside of the classroom, Pearo is preparing to conduct more research through her webinars for the Center of Hospitality Research. In this series of online seminars, she will connect with industry through outreach programs and so, side-by-side with companies, will investigate the use of social networking in business. Since social networking is a newcomer to a world where information is already readily and abundantly available, a clear picture of what niche it fills has not yet been fully assembled. But with researchers like Pearo, with a drive to try everything and dedication to investigate how people integrate new things into their daily lives, the pieces will fall into place, keeping up with the fast-paced world online. Sakul Ratanalert ‘11 is a student in the College of Engineering. He can be reached at sr486@cornell.edu

School of Hotel Administration

“However, according to Pearo, consumers need to become even smarter in order to stay on top of the industry.”

Courtessy Professor Pearo

ocial networking websites began as useful tools for managing long-distance friendships and relationships. However, with the incidence of Facebook pages for public figures on the rise, and the prevalence of these same celebrities and politicians “tweeting” snippets of their daily lives, social networking has become so much more: an easy means to instantly connect to millions across the globe. Recently, Dr. Lisa Klein Pearo, adjunct assistant professor in the School of Hotel Administration, has focused her research on the effects of social networking on consumer behavior. In general, Pearo’s research explores the impact of interactive environments on consumer decision making. Pearo considers the impact of new technologies on consumer behavior a more evolutionary than revolutionary phenomenon. “Nothing changes everything,” she says, and it is the challenge of people in her field to investigate how consumers integrate new technologies into their lifestyles. The place social media holds in the business world must be analyzed from the perspectives of both consumers and companies. Consumer analysis reveals that consumers are getting progressively smarter in terms of how they obtain and use available information. However, according to Pearo, consumers need to become even smarter in order to stay on top of the industry. Thus, the ways consumers evaluate the credibility of information is tracked. Further analysis should reveal if consumers think word of mouth information is more valuable or if they view it as a manipulative tool subtly orchestrated by companies. On the other hand, analysis from the company perspective reveals that companies are just beginning to understand how social networking fits into their marketing strategies. In this growth stage, companies are creating campaigns to measure results, refine measurement techniques, and conduct experiments to evaluate and sort through the effects of social networking. Since social networking itself is relatively new, though, this data collection is still in its preliminary stages.

The Research Paper Spring 2010

PeelStrips: A New Method for Drug Delivery

By Jennifer Sun ‘13

College of Engineering

Courtesy Kristin Ceniccola

n addition to the direct attainment of knowledge, one medical research. For example, these arrays may be of the major goals of scientific research is to accelerate used for testing and comparing the ability of various drug the processes that lead to this knowledge. In the mediproducts to bind to target sites. With this method, multiple cal field in particular, speed is essential: each moment medications or component parts can be tested at once, passed without results is not simply a scientific frustraeach bound to a different strip. The strip that binds the tion, but a lost or affected life. The “race for the cure” greatest number of target molecules is the most effective. is literally a competition to develop new treatments for Since the end of last summer, Ceniccola’s existing diseases and keep pace with disease evolution. research has involved designing and testing various Unfortunately, in many cases, the length of the process aspects of this PeelStrip method. Her research involves for developing and testing new drugs is time that cannot developing methods for three major components – the be afforded. Kristin Ceniccola ’10 hopes her research in optimum use of parylene coating, the immobilization of the Craighead Research Group in the Department of ApDNA probes on the parylene surface, and the analysis of plied Engineering Physics will shorten this process; she is the yield and purity of the isolated molecules. Over the working on the development of a new technique that uses past semester, Ceniccola mostly completed the first two parylene peel strips to isolate and goals. For instance, she was able purify target molecules from a to develop a consistent PeelStrip mixture more efficiently. method by using the presence of Though a chemistry major florescence and amine groups on at Cornell, Ceniccola’s interest strips to indicate the success of in biomedical engineering drew DNA probe binding. The method her to the Craighead Group, consists of coating a silicon wafer whose research often focuses on with a thick layer of parylene-C, nanoscale technologies and biofollowed by a thinner layer of medical applications. The techaminated parylene, which helps nique that Ceniccola works on for bind DNA probes; glutaldehyde the group will allow researchers and Bovine serum albumin are to isolate multiple target mollater used to bind DNA to the ecules at once and/or determine parylene surface. the relative effectiveness of DNA In the third and final stage probes. Such a technique would of this project, Ceniccola will offer other researchers a more develop the proper purification efficient tool for their own work. technique to purify the extracted The process of isolation currently target molecules. Rolling surused by researchers works by face amplification will be used using DNA probes that bind to to amplify the isolated target target molecules, or “aptamers,” molecules, in order to determine that are isolated from a mixture Ceniccola hopes to earn her PhD in Biomedical Engiwhether purification was successneering after graduation. of many different antibodies, ful. By the end of the semester, proteins, nucleic acids, and/or Ceniccola hopes to complete her other aptamers. The technique Ceniccola is developing research and then publish the results of her design. builds on this method with the use of parylene peel strips, Having enjoyed her medically related research, her on which the DNA probes are immobilized. Parylene has biomedical engineering minor, and her involvement with been recognized as a useful surface coat because it can Cornell Health International, a group that plans medically be peeled off. However, it has never before been used in related service trips abroad, Ceniccola hopes to continue multistrip arrays. In these arrays, each strip can hold a her involvement with medically related research in the different DNA probe that targets a unique molecule from a future. Although her plans after this semester are not yet mixture that is incubated with the entire array. After incuclear, she ultimately hopes to earn a PhD in Biomedical bation, each parylene strip – now containing a separated Engineering. Ceniccola states, “[At first, biomedical enand unique target molecule – can undergo an extraction gineering research] was something I wasn’t that familiar process that releases the target from its respective probe. with, but seemed interesting, and I just wanted to try Each type of target can then be recovered and purified it.” However, now she says of her work, “I love it, and I for further characterization and research. haven’t looked back since.” This new process of target recovery using parylene peel strip arrays has been designed largely for Jennifer Sun ‘13 is a student in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. She can be reached at jms675@cornell.edu.