BioSS Center of Excellence

About

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Fisk University funds to establish a Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) - Center for Biological Signatures and Sensing (BioSS).  The center activities started on April 1, 2016, and the research activities will unite the efforts of three research teams from several academic units and additional Fisk faculty participating in the Center research and professional skills development activities and a number of additional faculty members at Vanderbilt and national laboratories collaborators who are also engaged in the training of graduate students participating in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge program.

The objective of the Center’s presence is to establish a strong interdisciplinary, collaborative, and innovative research program promoting the creation of new knowledge by fostering collaborations among Fisk faculty members from multiple disciplines and scientists from other universities, national labs, and industries. BioSS will produce a synergistic understanding of biological sensing modalities that become the basis of the next generation of sensors serving a multitude of applications. The project's topics range from fundamental research in molecular biology, biochemistry, and computation to the development of practical solutions for deploying biosensors, chemical sensors, and radiation sensors and imagers for biological applications.  The investigators will develop modular course opportunities and train undergraduate, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows and will also include a component of outreach to students enrolled at local community colleges and facilitate their transition to 4-year colleges through involvement in summer research internships. The outcomes of this center of excellence will have a significant effect on the workforce development of the next generation of scientists in an exploding area for research while engaging students from groups that are underrepresented in research careers.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant HRD - 1547757. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

Research

Biological sensors and molecular signatures

Determine transcriptional networks/signatures that underlie the development & function of dopaminergic neurons (integrating molecular biology, genetically-encoded sensors, microfluidics, computation, and mathematical modeling)…

Team Coordinator: Brian Nelms, PhD (Subproject PI)

Fisk Collaborators: R Mu (Fisk/TSU, physics/nanomaterials/microfluidics), S Hussain (Fisk CS); Bioss Team 1

Vanderbilt Collaborators: Deyu Li (Biomedical Engineering), Donna Webb (Biological Sciences)

Scientific Impact: The approach of combined transcriptional network analysis, microfluidics tools for sensing changes in response to added stimuli or genetic variation, and mathematical/ computational modeling will result in gaining valuable new knowledge and pose new research questions towards a better understanding of dopaminergic neuron function.

Innovation: We will bring together established cutting-edge techniques from multiple fields (next-generation sequencing, microfluidics, and computational modeling) and apply these to the directed study of dopaminergic neuron function in living organisms to ask and answer questions in a new way.

Bioss Team 1 - Workflow

Objective 1: Probe the misregulation of genes in the absence of the transcription factor FKH-8 as a window into transcriptional regulatory signatures needed for the development and sustained differentiation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons.Bioss Team 1 - Objective 1

 

 

 

Objective 2: Develop a suite of microfluidic tools (“worms-on-chips”) leveraging genetically-encoded sensors to sense in vivo dopaminergic neuron responses (at the cellular and organismal level) to genetic changes and chemical exposure.

Bioss Team 1 - Objective 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Objective 3: Use bioinformatics approaches to discover transcriptional networks, and develop, test, and iteratively optimize computational and mathematical models of C. elegans dopaminergic neuron function.

Bioss Team 1 - Objective 3

Revealing the Regulatory Role of Mn2+ in diverse biological processes via the development and implementation of a biochemical Mn2+ sensor

Objectives: Characterize the molecular mechanisms of Mn2+ homeostasis. Elucidate the Mn2+ metalloproteome. Create a microfluidic calorimetric Mn2+ sensor.Bioss Team 2

Team Coordinator: Steven Damo, Ph.D. (Subproject PI)

Collaborators: Nelms (Fisk, biology); N. Arnett (Fisk, chemistry), R. Mu (Fisk, physics), L Qian (Fisk CS); Vanderbilt Collaborators: Walter Chazin (Structural Biology), Eric Skaar (Microbiology/Immunology), and DeYu Li (Biomedical Engineering)

Scientific Impact: This transformative approach leverages the basic biochemistry of the protein calprotectin at the center of an interdisciplinary effort bridging structural biology, microbiology, computer science, engineering, and materials science in order to create a sensitive and selective manganese sensor that will inform the basic biology of manganese homeostasis, define the manganese metalloproteome, and serve as a device to detect manganese levels in biofluids.

Innovation: This project integrates well-established methods from a broad spectrum of disciplines in order to repurpose the high manganese binding affinity of the protein calprotectin into a chemical sensor.

 

 

Bioss Team 2 - Workflow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bioss Team 2 - Figure 1

High-resolution crystal structure of CP Mn2+ Binding site

Bioss Team 2 - Figure 2

D. radidurans, a radiation-resistant Organism with an extraordinarily high intracellular Mn2+ Concentration.

Objective 1
Develop a protein-based Mn2+ specific chelator and determine the microbial response to limiting versus abundant Mn2+ availability

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bioss Team 2 - Figure 3

Schematic of transcriptome profiling.

Bioss Team 2 - Figure 4

Crystal structure of Mn superoxide dismutase enzyme.

Bioss Team 2 - Figure 5

Schematic of microfluidic channels lined With polymer/nanofiber scaffolds with attached protein Mn2+ sensor.

Objective 2
Identify proteins that require Mn2+ as a cofactor based on transcriptional profiling. Determine structures of novel Mn-binding proteins using
experimental approaches or comparative modeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students Trained:

Graduate Students: Sashari Pinnace, Joshua Haynes, Velia Garcia, Saffron Little

Undergraduate: Isis  Christopher, Anastacia Smith, Rocky Giwa, Kofi Amoah, Emmanuel Jackson, Kinara Byrd, Marshae Lashley, Dana Franklin, Jasmin Jordan, DarleanMartin, RukiayahWarner, Joel Wallace

Nashville State Community College: Horacio Guendulain

 

Development and implementation of novel radiation sensors for biological applications

Objectives: Optimize CZT and SrI2(Eu) sensor fabrication to enable low power and light weight sensor applications; expand  current capability to process CZT and SrI2(Eu) scintillators into detector pixel arrays; fabricate, test and evaluate handheld probes and evaluate them for use in dual energy X-ray absorptivity and radio-identification methods.

Team Coordinator: Arnold Burger, Ph.D. (Subproject PI and Center PI)

Collaborators: Qingxia Li, Ph.D. (Fisk, mathematics); Lei Qian (Fisk, CS), Vanderbilt Collaborators: Todd Peterson and Michael Stabin.

Scientific Impact: Develop innovative nuclear radiation sensing technologies pioneered at Fisk and based on novel materials and innovative instrumentation to achieve more sensitive and lower cost bone mineral density measurements.

Innovation: Breakthrough in technologies based on the discovery of a new class of scintillators, SrI2(Eu2+), that together with  CZT  may provide higher-performance nuclear radiation sensing that have the potential to supplant former scintillation-based technology.

Bioss Team 3 - Workflow

Bioss Team 3 - Figure 1 Bioss Team 3 - Figure 2 Bioss Team 3 - Figure 3

Students Trained:

Graduate Students:
PhD: Brandon Wiggins, Dave Caudel, Rose Perea, Ardelia Clarke (MA->PhD), Anna Egner, Joseph Bell (MA->PhD)
MA-Y2: LaNell Williams, Jarrhett Butler, Crystal Cardenas, George Cooper
MA-Y1: Shawndise Beachem, Aaron Hunsaker, Jenna Moore

Undergraduate Students:
Physics senior: Stephanie Morris (summer intern at LLNL)
Physics senior: Claude Bain
Physics sophomore: Nadia Francis (summer intern atBioSS, supported by Vanderbilt’s REU)

Acknowledgement: The following Publications and Master’s Theses were made possible through support from the US National Science Foundation through the CREST program’s Award Number: HRD 1547757,  Fisk University Center of Excellence for Biological Signatures and Sensing (BioSS)

Publications

  1. Eric Lukosi, Elan Herrera, Daniel Hamm, Kyung-Min Lee, Brenden Wiggins, Pavel Trtik, Dayakar Penumadu, Stephen Young, Louis Santodonato, Hassina Bilheux, Arnold Burger, Liviu Matei, Ashley C Stowe. "Lithium indium diselenide: A new scintillator for neutron imaging," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, v.830, 2016, p. 104-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.05.063
  2. G Calvert, C Guguschev, A Burger, M Groza, JJ Derby, RS Feigelson. "High speed growth of SrI2 scintillator crystals by the EFG process," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.455, 2016, p. 143-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2016.10.024
  3. David Caudel, Michael McCurdy, Daniel M Fleetwood, Robert A Reed, Robert A Weller, Brandon Goodwin, Emmanuel Rowe, Vladimir Buliga, Michael Groza, Keivan Stassun, Arnold Burger. "Radiation damage of strontium iodide crystals due to irradiation by 137 Cs gamma rays: A novel approach to altering nonproportionality," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, v.835, 2016, p. 177-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.08.041
  4. Elan Herrera, Daniel Hamm, Brenden Wiggins, Rob Milburn, Arnold Burger, Hassina Bilheux, Louis Santodonato, Ondrej Chvala, Ashley Stowe, Eric Lukosi. "Arnold Burger Arnold Burger LISe pixel detector for neutron imaging," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, v.833, 2016, p. 142-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.07.035
  5. Lijie Yang, Tao Hong, Yin Zhang, Jose G Sanchez Arriola, Brian L. Nelms, Richard Mu, Deyu Li. "A highly efficient microfluidic diode for sorting and immobilization of C. elegans," Biomedical Microdevices, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-017-0175-2
  6. Emmanuel Jackson, Saffron Little, Dana Franklin, Jennifer A. Gaddy, Steven M. Damo. "Expression, Purification and Antimicrobial Activity of S100A12," Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3791/55557
  7. A. Lakhtakia, D. E. Wolfe, M. W. Horn, J. Mazurowski, A. Burger, P. P. Banerjee. "Bioinspired multicontrollable metasurfaces and metamaterials for terahertz applications," SPIE Proceedings, v.10162, 2017, p. 101620V.  https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2258683
  8. Pokhrel, A. Burger, M. Groza, Y. Mao. "Enhance the photoluminescence and radioluminescence of La 2 Zr 2 O 7: Eu 3+ core nanoparticles by coating with a thin Y 2 O 3 shell," Optical Materials, v.68, 2017, p. 35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2016.11.00 8
  9. N. J. Cherepy, P. R. Beck, S. A. Payne, E. L. Swanberg, B. M. Wihl, S. E. Fisher, S. Hunter, P. A. Thelin, C. J. Delzer, S. Shahbazi, A. Burger, K. S. Shah, R. Hawrami, L. A. Boatner, M. Momayezi, K. Stevens, M. H. Randles, D. Solodovnikov. "History and current status of strontium iodide scintillators," SPIE Proceedings, v.10392, 2017, p. 1039202.

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2276302

  1. A. C. Stowe, J. Preston, J. Bell, A. Burger. "Lithium indium diselenide pressed ceramics," SPIE Proceedings, v.10392, 2017, p. 103920N.  https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2276275
  2. B. Wiggins, J. Bell, J. Woodward, B. Goodwin, K. Stassun, A. Burger, A. Stowe,. "Crystal growth of LiIn1? xGaxSe2 crystals," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.468, 2017, p. 326.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2016.10.051
  3. J. G. Bodnarik, D. K. Hamara, A. Burger, V. Buliga, J. C. Egner, M. Groza, W  M. Harris, L. Matei, K. G. Stassun, A. C. Stowe. "Neutron detector development for microsatellites," SPIE Proceedings, v.10392, 2017, p. 103920M.  https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2275682

13.G. Cooper, A. Stowe, J. Preston, B. Wiggins, K. Stassun, A. Burger. "The Characterization and Optimization of Lithium Hafnium Chloride Crystal Scintillators for Neutron Detection," SciTech Connect, v.IROS172, 2017.  https://doi.org/10.2172/1410677

  1. C. Cardenas, A. Burger, B. Goodwin, M. Groza, M. Laubenstein, S. Nagorny, E. Rowe. "Pulse-shape discrimination with Cs2HfCl6 crystal scintillator," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, v.869, 2017, p. 63.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.06.041
  2. S. Sahi, M. Groza, W. Zhang, P. A. Do, R. Kenarangui, A. Burger, J.Zhang, W. Chen. "High-loaded and transparent La x Ce1-x F3?polystyrene nanocomposite scintillators for radiation detection," Canadian Journal of Chemistry, v.95, 2017, p. 1233.  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2017-0211
  3. C. Cardenas, A. Burger, M. L. DiVacri, B. Goodwin, M. Groza, M. Laubenstein, S. Nagorny, S. Nisi, E. Rowe. "Internal contamination of the Cs2HfCl6 crystal scintillator," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, v.872, 2017, p. 23.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.08.006
  4. E. D. Lukosi, E. H. Herrera, D. S. Hamm, A. Burger, A. C. Stowe. "Neutron imaging with lithium indium diselenide: Surface properties, spatial resolution, and computed tomography," Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, v.872, 2017, p. 181.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.08.028
  5. E. Herrera, D. Hamm, A. Stowe, J. Preston, B. Wiggins, A. Burger, E. Lukos. "Neutron Imaging with Timepix Coupled Lithium Indium Diselenide," Journal of Imaging, v.4, 2017, p. 10.   https://doi.org/10.3390/jimaging4010010
  6. S. Lam, C. Guguschev, A. Burger, M. Hackett, S. Motakef. "Crystal growth and scintillation performance of Cs2HfCl6 and Cs2HfCl4Br2," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.483, 2018, p. 12,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2017.11.013
  7. E. Brown, Z. D. Fleischman, L. D. Merkle, E. Rowe, A. Burger, S. A. Payne, M. Dubinskii. "Optical spectroscopy of holmium doped K2LaCl5," Journal of Luminescence, v.196, 2018, p.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2017.12.040
  8. Sharee N. Brewer,Tykeena Watson, Qingxia Li, Xinyao Yang. "Optimal Scheduling for CK Advertisements on TV Programs," Proceedings of the National Conference On Undergraduate Research (NCUR), 2017, p. 1235.

22.D. S. Hamm, M. Rust, E. H. Herrera, L. Matei, V. Buliga, M. Groza, A. Burger, A. Stowe, J. Preston, E. D. Lukosi. "Semiconducting lithium indium diselenide: Charge-carrier properties and the impacts of high flux thermal neutron irradiation," Applied Physics Letters, v.112, 2018, p. 242104.  https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5028269

  1. E. Brown, Z. D. Fleischman, L. D. Merkle, E. Rowe, A. Burger, S. A. Payne, M. Dubinskii,. "Optical spectroscopy of holmium doped K2LaCl5," Journal of Luminescence, v.196, 2018, p. 221.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2017.12.040
  2. E. Brown, Z. Fleischman, L. Merkle, E. Rowe, A. Burger, S. Payne, M. Dubinskiy. "Infrared absorption and fluorescence properties of Holmium doped Potassium Lanthanum Chloride," International Society for Optics and Photonics, v.10637, 2018, p. 10670X.  https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2309578
  3. E. Lukosi, D. Onken, D. Hamm, C. Brown, A. V. Ievlev, A. Burger, J. Preston, R. Williams, A. Stowe. "Intrinsic lithium indium diselenide: Scintillation properties and defect states," Journal of Luminescence, v.205, 2019, p. 346.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2018.09.023
  4. Ghosh, S., Garcia, V., Singewald, K., Damo, S.M., Saxena, S.. "Cu (II) EPR Reveals Two Distinct Binding Sites and Oligomerization of Innate Immune Protein Calgranulin C," Applied Magnetic Resonance, v.49, 2018, p. 1299.  https://doi.org10.1007/s00723-018-1053-7
  5. Janette M. Shank, Brittni R. Kelley, Joseph W. Jackson, Jessica L. Tweedie, Dana Franklin,Steven M. Damo, Jennifer A. Gaddy, Caitlin N. Murphy, and Jeremiah G. Johnson. "The host antimicrobial protein calgranulin C 1 participates in the control of Campylobacter 2 jejuni growth via zinc sequestration," Infection and Immunity, v.86, 2018, p. 1. https://DOI.org/10.1128/IAI.00234-18
  6. Kozlyuk, N., Monteith, A.J., Garcia, V., Damo, S.M., Skaar, E.P., Chazin, W.J.. "S100 Proteins in the Innate Immune Response to Pathogens," Methods in Molecular Biology, v.1929, 2019, p. 275. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9030-6_18
  7. Li, Q. & Yang, X. "Integrated Case Studies in Teaching Introductory Mathematics Courses at College," European Journal of Educational Sciences, v.5, 2018, p. 1. https://doi.org/10.19044/ejes.v5no3a1
  8. Li, Q., Yang, X. "On Suprememum of a set in a Dedikind Complete Topological Space," JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MATHEMATICS, v.14, 2018, p. 8025. https://doi.org/10.24297/jam.v14i2.7807
  9. Shank, J.M., Kelley, B.R., Jackson, J.W., Tweedie, J.L., Franklin, D., Damo, S.M., Gaddy, J.A., Murphy, C.N., Johnson, J.G.. "The host antimicrobial protein calgranulin C participates in the control of Campylobacter jejuni growth via zinc sequestration.," Infection and immunity, v.86, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00234-18
  10. Y. He, L. Matei, H. J. Jung, K. M. McCall, M. Chen, C. C. Stoumpos, Z. Liu, J. A. Peters, D. Y. Chung, B. W. Wessels, M. R. Wasielewski, V. P. Dravid, A. Burger, M. G. Kanatzidis. "High spectral resolution of gamma-rays at room temperature by perovskite CsPbBr3 single crystals," Nature Communications, v.9, 2018, p. 1609. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04073-3
  11. E. Rowe, W. B. Goodwin, P. Bhattacharya, G. Cooper, N. Schley, M. Groza, N. J. Cherepy, S. A. Payne, A. Burger. "Preparation, Structure and Scintillation of Cesiu m Hafnium Chloride Bromide Crystals," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.509, 2019, p. 124-128 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2018.08.033
  12. Elsa Ariesanti, Rastgo Hawrami, Arnold Burger, Shariar Motakef. "Improved growth and scintillation properties of intrinsic, non-hygroscopic scintillator Cs2HfCl6," Journal of Luminescence, v.217, 2020, p. 116784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2019.116784
  13. Ralph B James, Arnold Burger, Stephen A Payne. "Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XXI," Proc. of SPIE Vol, v.11114, 2019, p. 1111401. http://toc.proceedings.com/51710webtoc.pdf
  14. Rastgo Hawrami, Elsa Ariesanti, Vlad Buliga, Arnold Burger. "Thallium strontium iodide: A high efficiency scintillator for gamma-ray detection," Optical Materials, v.100, 2020, p. 109624.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2019.109624
  15. Rastgo Hawrami, Elsa Ariesanti, Vlad Buliga, Liviu Matei, Shariar Motakef, Arnold Burger. "Advanced high-performance large diameter Cs2HfCl6 (CHC) and mixed halides scintillator," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.533, 2020, p. 125473.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2019.125473
  16. Rastgo Hawrami, Elsa Ariesanti, Vladimir Buliga, Arnold Burger, Stephanie Lam, Shariar Motakef. "Tl2HfCl6 and Tl2ZrCl6: Intrinsic Tl-, Hf-, and Zr-based scintillators," Journal of Crystal Growth, v.531, 2020, p. 125316.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2019.125316
  17. Steven Damo, Jennifer Gaddy. "S100A12 in Digestive Diseases and Health: A Scoping Review," Gastroenterology Research and Practice, v.2020, 2020, p. 868373. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2868373
  18. Steven Damo, Rekha Pattanayek, Chris Johnson. "The CaMKII inhibitor KN93-calmodulin interaction and implications for calmodulin tuning of NaV1. 5 and RyR2 function," Cell Calcium, v.82, 2019, p. 102063.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceca.2019.102063
  19. Steven Damo, Walter Chazin, Eric Skaar. "S100 Proteins in the Innate Immune Response to Pathogens," Methods in Molecular Biology, v.1929, 2019, p. 275.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9030-6_18

Master’s Theses

1) Jodiene Johnson, “Deciphering the role of Germline-Specific Protein MAGEA9 in Cancer”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

2) Murtidevi Nauth, “THE EFFECT OF BINARY BLACK HOLES ON GRAVITATIONAL WAVE OBSERVATIONS OF THE VERY EARLY UNIVERSE”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

3) Bria Collier, “CHARACTERIZING THE MOISTURE SENSITIVITY OF Cs2HfCl6 AND Cs2HfCl4Br2”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

4) Krystal Ruiz-Rocha, “A Sea of Black Holes: Characterizing the Expected Signature of Stellar Origin Binaries in the LISA Band”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

5) RaNashia Boone, “Understanding antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Acinetobacter baumannii”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

6) Michelle Gomez, “Calibration of a DEXA Prototype Using Strontium Iodide Doped with Europium Coupled to a Silicon Photomultiplier for Bone Imaging”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

7) Kricia Ruano Espinoza, “Europium-doped strontium iodide (SrI2(Eu2+)) scintillator crystals in dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) for bone densitometry imaging”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2020.

8) Aaron Hunsaker, “Production and Characterization of Ceramic Cs2HfCI6 for Gamma Ray Spectroscopy”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019.

9) Matthew Galazzo, “Post Synthesis Modifiable Polymers sing Cyanuric Chloride and Derivatives for Fuel Cell Applications”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019

10) Crisel Suarez, “Computational Methods for the Scintillator Cs2HfCl6 (CHC) and Solar Flares”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019.

11) Briana Whitehead, “Elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance in the Human Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019.

12) Amber Britt, “Photochemical Modeling of Terrestrial Atmospheres and Their Potential Biosignatures: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019.

13) Austin Anthony, “RNA sequencing- a multipurpose tool for identifying genes critical for dopamine system functioning or bacterial resistance to radiation”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2019.

14) Shawndise Beachem, “Study of the potential of europium doped strontium iodide in comparison to sodium iodide for optimum gamma camera parameters for SPECT imaging”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2018.

15) Debresha Shelton, “Monoamine oxidase and catechol-O-methyltranserases Modulate Dopamine-Mediated Behavior”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2018.

16) Destane Garrett, “FKH-8 Controls Transcription of Important Signaling Components for CO2-Sensing by BAG Neurons”, Master’s thesis, Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, 2018.