Office of Undergraduate Research

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Emphasizing equitable and inclusive access to research opportunities, the University of Maryland's Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) empowers undergraduates and faculty to engage and succeed in inquiry, creative activity, and scholarship. This collection includes materials shared by undergraduate researchers during OUR events. It also encompasses materials from Undergraduate Research Day 2020, Undergraduate Research Day 2021, and Undergraduate Research Day 2022, which were organized by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research.

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    CerviCare: A Point of Care Screening Device for Cervical Precancer
    (iGEM, 2024-04) Bansal, Navya; Firdaus, Sarah; Jocić, Mia; Meyer, Jonathon; Valdés, Trinidad Cubillos; Wu, Jonathan; Jaranson, Renee; Zhang, Kevin; Ferguson, Graham; Adu-Osei, Krista; Namputhiripad, Aditi; Harel, Dana; Lu, Rebecca; Hussain, Haider; Wang, Miranda; Gadigi, Aditri; Senthilkumar, Abhi; Kahn, Jason; Eisenstein, Edward
    Cervical cancer remains a significant health burden, especially in regions with limited access to diagnostic facilities. To combat this, the UMaryland iGEM Team is developing an inexpensive point-of-care cervical precancer screening tool. Utilizing red fluorescent protein (RFP), this tool will provide a reliable color-based output upon detecting specific miRNAs (miR-21, miR-199a, and miR-155-5p) associated with cervical precancer. Our detection approach combines toehold switch and novel synthetic RNA technologies. Toehold switches serve as recognition elements, enabling target miRNA detection with high sensitivity and specificity. Our synthetic RNA ribozyme device will utilize both a novel miRNA sensor and self-cleaving properties to achieve similar sensitivity and specificity. Utilizing two cell-free devices in tandem will allow us to increase the accuracy of our screening device, which will be a paper assay system. Finally, through careful design and optimization, we aim to produce this device at low-cost and simplify it to require minimal training, enabling its use in resource-limited areas.
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    Using Synthetic HSV to Study Viral Pathogenesis and Develop Cancer Therapeutics
    (2024) Duggal, Aryaan; Gonzalez-Juarbe, Norberto
    Background: Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) is a linear dsDNA virus typically associated with ulcer development in the mouth and genital mucous membranes. Often overlooked, is the versatile DNA structure that enables HSV-1 to serve as a platform to study viral pathogenesis. HSV-1 also possesses an inherent oncolytic quality, allowing it to function as a selective therapeutic that can be programmed to target malignant cells while inducing a strong host immune response. Methods: Various endonucleases were used to isolate the genome into 11 smaller fragments. To study the effects on viral pathogenicity and oncolytic properties, we synthesized and inserted novel sequences, with a YCpBAC sequence to allow for selection and transformation into yeast spheroplasts for TAR cloning in vitro. Fragments containing Casp2 coding regions were also tested for viability, by running quantification assays and infection tests on cell lineages. Results: Isolated band size was correlated with theoretical values, indicating accurate construction of all HSV-1 fragments. After screening on -His and -Ura plates, a 200µL aliquot of 40ng/µL TAR2 sample was determined to yield a satisfactory 85% success rate in yeast assembly. The ideal quantity for viral replication in Vero E6 cells was determined to be around 1.0×10^7 cells/cm^2 providing 2.5ml of 100x viral solution. Conclusions: Successful reassembly of HSV-1 demonstrates the feasibility of using HSV-1 as a therapeutic vehicle, useful in treating cancers and understanding neurological diseases. These findings provide a strong foundation for subsequent modifications of HSV-1, which will focus on its effects on a variety of cancer cell lines.