All Abstracts

 The thrust of migration from the British-colonized Caribbean to America can be dated to the early twentieth century but accelerated from 1964 with the removal of country quotas. Jamaicans represent the largest number of British Caribbean migrants to the United States and possess the most disti...

This study examines the response of the Jonathan administration to the 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls in Chibok, Nigeria. This study was designed to show the relationship between gender policy, security, and state-based patriarchy and has a time frame of between April 2014 and May 2015. This study ana...

Previous research indicates that relationships with deviant peers are associated with increased smoking and increased alcohol use. In addition, adolescents do not have fully developed prefrontal cortexes, which affects decision making and social behaviors. One implication of this is that adolescents...

As a civil rights activist, Ruby Hurley showcased her progressive thinking while with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). We call her progressive thought "radical" because women, especially black women during the forties and fifties, were encouraged to govern them...

Several mental health morbidities and physical mortalities disproportionately affect African-American women. Mistrust and negative perception towards the value of health professionals may play a role. This study examines the environmental, cultural, and societal factors that influence African-Americ...

Spelman College is well known for the success of its graduates in the workforce. Because of this, students feel the need to overachieve in their studies. 62 Spelman College students were asked to participate in an anonymous online survey. The survey asked about academic stereotypes, academic perform...

Although African American women are burdened by mental illness, their use of mental health services is low (Matthews & Hughes, 2001). This project explores how black women’s identity relates to knowledge about mental health and shapes attitudes towards seeking mental health treatment. It is hy...

Organochlorides, a component of pesticides, are suspected of contributing to cancer risk due to their effect on DNA methylation. Our previous study showed that among individuals with greater than 100ng/mL of organochloride DDE in their blood, the genes TERT, HCK, and DIO3 displayed differential meth...

Classifying amoebae is difficult due to limited morphological characters that can be used to distinguish them. Biodiversity within amoeboid organisms still remains poorly studied. DNA sequences such as small subunit ribosomal RNA and Cox1 genes are almost exactly the same between Cochliopodium minus...

Television is often used to promote dominant ideologies and to define social and cultural norms and expectations. Reality television has been has been singled out by scholars and critics because its supposedly “real” content is in fact intentionally structured and presented to emphasize ideologi...

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of bone marrow derived leukemia’s defined by overproduction of one or more myeloid blood cell lineages. MPNs contain genetic alterations which “clonally emerge” or arise as the disease progresses, resulting in a mixed pool of different clones. Th...

According to a 2017 Atlanta Journal Consitution article, "The Atlanta area is the 9th largest statistical area in the country. The region grew by 1.6% from 2015-2016..." This project examines the impact of that growth on the environment. The results of the a previous project showed that urbanization...

This study examines the role of biomedical informatics in the development of vaccines. The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) defines biomedical informatics as an "interdisciplinary field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scie...

Tutoring programs yield positive academic outcomes for diverse students (Gordon, Downey, & Bangert 2013). This mixed methods project examines the effectiveness of tutoring programs on low-income and minority middle school student’s perceptions and achievement. The case study is a STEM tutoring...

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancers in the United States. High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) histotype accounts for 70% of all the diagnoses. This histotype is the most deadly because it is found in the later stages because symptoms are very general and ther...

On nearly every surface and inside almost every organism, there are millions of tiny microbes that are invisible to the naked eye. Some of these microbes, known as symbionts, live in symbiosis or within other organisms. These tiny microbes include bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Honeybees (Apis mellif...

This project examines the ancient Chinese courtesans of the Qing Dynasty. Courtesans are women who are professionally trained in the arts of music, dance, poetry, painting, etc. Chinese courtesans were highly respected entertainers of their time. The highly esteemed women usually entertained men of ...

I will contextualize my thesis collection within the literature on psycholigical responses to color, specifically the impact of color on mood. Psychological responses should not be confused with emotional responses or color symbolism. Color, along with sound and light, can be used in art as a vehicl...

Phenology is the study of seasonal natural phenomena. Leaf-out is the specific time a tree’s leaves bud. Shifts in climate change can impact leaf-out timing and other ecological aspects. Instability within the ecosystem can cause issues for other organisms. It is believed that climate change can d...

Cochliopodium species are difficult to identify based on morphological characters due to cryptic diversity. Recent molecular analyses (DNA sequence data) of barcoding markers such as COI have begun to reveal the true diversity of this genus. We present morphological (light microscope) and molecular ...

Performing well academically often opens the door to opportunity. Academic achievement can lead to acceptance into organizations, post-graduate study, and even positions of leadership. The pressure to achieve academically can sometimes be interpreted as requiring near-perfect performance. Therefore ...

This study explores the cultural expectations in China and how they affect college students. There is a strong culture of academic achievement in China, and Chinese students outperform much of the rest of the world on standardized exams. However, this high level of achievement comes at a price. Chin...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders which affect over 100,000 people in the United States. A common complication of SCD is the blockage and subsequent damage to vascular endothelial tissue, leading to vaso-occlusive crises. These symptoms are accompanied by chronic pain, inflamma...

The mission of Spelman College's sustainability initiative "is to extend our reach and engage the Spelman community in authentic conversations that will increase awareness, knowledge, and action on campus.” With this in mind, a team of senior environmental science and studies majors proposed a con...

According to UNESCO, in the United States, about 29% percent of adults are reading at a basic or below basic level (UNESCO, 2010). Many adults who struggle with reading are parents. Research shows that parents contribute to the literacy success of children. The purpose of this research was to invest...

Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy is a technique that can be used to gain structural and behavioral information about gases and molecules. In contrast to the limitations presented in One-Dimensional Spectroscopy such as spectral congestion, this technique produces rotationally and vibrationally...

Primate immunodeficiency viruses have similar physical, morphological, and biochemical characteristics but differ in their behavior. Many African primates have coevolved with these virus, allowing for disease-free productive infection. Molecular variations may explain these variations in outcomes. T...

Graph theory is the study of connections. There are many applications of graph theory to other fields. In this project, we analyze different properties of graphs that imply the existence of certain sets of cycles in graphs. In particular, we investigate pairs of subgraphs that must be forbidden to i...

Midwifery and birthing practices are topics that have been thoroughly discussed in the history of medicine. Less known is the story of the Southern Black midwife. Their role is often marginalized, even ignored, in the literature. Through the analysis of primary accounts of midwives and those who sup...

The Southeast Regional Clinicians Network administered by the National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is a practice-based research network that consists of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and state primary care associations (PCAs) in eight southeastern state...

Using an intellectual property and human rights frame, this paper explores the global performance of the haka, a traditional and complex dance of the Māori people of New Zealand. My questions are: Does the use of haka by non-Māori constitute appropriation of the Māori culture, and if so, how? Is ...

Candida auris is an emerging pathogen that exhibits a reduced susceptibility to antifungal agents and demonstrates a potential to cause a wide spectrum of human mycotic infections. C. auris genotypes vary based on geography and cluster into four clades. Given the genetic diversity among the clades, ...

Shiga toxins (STX) are produced by certain Escherichia coli strains that cause “hamburger disease”. The toxins contain three different sites that bind to a glycolipid, the cell surface receptor globotriaosylceramide (Gb3). Roles for Gb3 in normal cell functions are largely unknown. However, the ...

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. The poor prognosis of GBM is associated with the tumor's highly malignant nature and the inability of some treatment modalities to transport due to the blood-brain barrier. Immunotherapy has been recognized as a promising therape...

There is a significant gap in social scientific knowledge about suicide amongst black women. Existing research on this topic is limited and relegated to rigid frameworks of thought based on assumptions of pathology and trauma. This project seeks to interpret the phenomenological implications of suic...

Black women have been voting at rates above 85% in presidential elections since 1972 which begs the question: what have they seen that others have not? Building on applied standpoint epistemology theory, Black women’s acceptance of a presidential candidate is examined as a leading indicator of the...

The Greater Atlanta Area as well as the West End communities that surround Spelman are in environmental danger. We will study environmental awareness among students at Spelman College, a minority college. Using a survey, we will gather information from students across all majors.  Collected dat...

It is known that Chlamydia pathogenesis causes complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal factor infertility. In this study, we will determine the role of circadian rhythms on the outcome of Chlamydia infection. We hypothesize that the time of day of infection is important in determ...

Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) is a glycolipid molecule that serves as a receptor for Shiga toxin molecules. Shiga toxin molecules are produced by some strains of E. coli bacteria. Infection with Shiga toxin-producing bacteria can lead to hemorrhagic colitis in adults and hemolytic uremic syndrome in c...

In order to establish a protocol for stem cell differentiation, we experiment on different methods in C2C12 cells. To begin, C2C12 cells transduced with the myoD promoter were grown to full confluency. When differentiation began, the control cells grown horizontally were compared to the experimental...

Random matrix theory is a major branch of contemporary mathematics. With origins in nuclear physics and statistics, random matrices have numerous applications in areas as diverse as real-time signal processing, civil engineering, combinatorics and number theory. The notion of rigid motion in Euclide...

This project explores Sexual Literacy among college students. The researcher conducted focus groups and administered questionnaires to a convenience sample of students at Spelman College. In the focus groups, the participants shared their feelings about and experiences with sexual health. This infor...

Microgel particles are being applied to a variety of nano- and microtechnologies such as biomaterials, materials for enhancing oil refinery, and catalysis. Highly deformable microgel particles dispersed in solvent, swell more than stiffer particles because the latter have a higher crosslinking densi...

Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modeling (Malchiodi, 1998). Art Therapy is also used as a means to diagnosis emotional or psychological problems in individuals. Even though Art Therapy is not typically practiced...

Environmental Justice (EJ) highlights the unbalanced exposure to environmental hazards vs environmental amenities or benefits. It is important to include social and economic issues in environmental research. In this project, spatial accessibility measured by GIS is used as an indicator of environmen...

Beauty and Reason is a collection of seven mixed-media sculptures in the form of a uterus. I use the form of the uterus because of the theme of my work is women.Each uterus has its own theme and thought-provoking imagery about the decisions we make in our daily lives to achieve our desires...

Informed by conflict theory, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, Peggy McIntosh’s theory of White Privilege, W.E.B. DuBois' notion of double-conciousness and William Cross’ model of racial identity development, this qualitative and quantitative research project seeks to investig...

Reproductive justice, a term coined by Loretta Ross, means the right for women not to have children, and the right for women to have children. Inspired by Loretta Ross’ term, I will examine how women’s right to have children may be violated. In my study, I center black women with infertility in ...

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a pathogenic sexually-transmitted bacterium, is becoming untreatable due to increased antibiotic resistance (AR). Related commensal Neisseria bacteria are non-pathogenic and are often found in the human oral and nasopharynx, but they are rarely studied. We seek (1) to characte...

Recently, Community Mental Health initiatives have been brought to the forefront due to China’s government health policies lagging on the professionalism, normalization, and effectiveness of mental health programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of China’s Mental Healt...

This research paper investigates the growing relationship between Africa and China. Although some of the West’s fears about the possibility of a Chinese imperialistic presence in Africa are well founded, many of them are influenced by Western paranoia and economic interests. This study reviews and...

It is known that plants have antibiotic resistance genes, which suggests that plants are exposed to antibiotics. Various microorganisms are found in soil including among those closely associated with plant roots. However, their ability to produce antibiotics has not been examined. We analyzed plant ...

Significantly high racial disparities in preterm birth rates exist between White and Black women, even when accounting for socioeconomic status and known risk factors. One potential explanation is epigenetics. Differentially methylated genes in Black women who had given birth prematurely have been i...

Reconiliation is an integral element in social relationships.  The purpose of this naturalistic observational study was to determine whether green monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) engae in reconciliatory behavior. Focal data were collected on a group of free-ranging green monkeys in the Barbados W...

This project examines the impact of the gender diversity on corporate boards on business performance for US S&P 500 firms. Corporate performance is measured by market capitalization, earnings per share, revenue and total return. Gender diversity is defined as the total number of women on a firm�...

Racially and economically identical families tend to migrate to specific locations by choice (Dill 2016). However, questions remain about differences in the standard of living between cities within similar financial brackets but different racial demographics. This project examines how the demographi...

There are several creeks and natural waterbodies in the Atlanta area that many people in the Atlanta University Center are unaware of. These waterbodies include but are not limited to Proctor Creek and Peachtree Creek. However, due to pollution, the water at many of the sites does not meet the quali...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which employment discrimination against transgender women in traditional workplaces results in a significant number of transgender women turning to sex work as a form of survival. Transgender unemployment is three times the national average, ...

Maternal mortality is a widely-used indicator of the political, social, economic and cultural landscape of a country. This project investigates the effects of selected macroeconomic drivers of maternal mortality in the time periods 2000-2001 and 2013-2014. Ordinary least squares regression is used t...

Given the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) for economic growth, the question of what stimulates them is imperative. Recent research has focused on business training programs as a main driving force. However, these programs have been shown to have mixed effectiveness. Therefore, it...

In the Dominican Republic, there are remnants of oppression and atrocious discrimination which have detrimentally halted the attainment of equality for Afro-Latina women. This research explores the pattern of systemic femicide and gender violence which pre-date the 21st century as they have been per...

This research compares the Mit’a system, a communal pre-colonial migration, the exploitative colonial migration, and today’s criminalized coerced migration. I compare characteristics such as source of compulsion, ownership of labor and resources, and legality. Under the Inca Empire, conquered pe...

In 1981, the first case of AIDS was reported in the United States. Since then, over 700,000 cases of AIDS, and over 1.1 million cases of HIV been reported. Compared to other races/ethnicities, Blacks/African Americans account for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnoses, of those living with HIV, an...

This study will focus on students’ ability to retain academic information in unconventional learning environments. The participants in this study are students (ages 6-18) enrolled in a mentoring program. The researcher will teach Spanish vocabulary and grammar to the participants in this non-conve...

Ash trees around the world have a significant role in our lives from medicine to religious purposes. Recently, ash trees have been in decline in the U.S. due to the Emerald Ash Borers (EAB) which are small beetles that were first detected in North America in 2002. The rapid decline of ash trees can ...

Most angiosperms have nuclear endosperm, which consist of an initial syncytial phase and a cellularization phase. Before endosperm is fully cellularized, the embryo growth rate is relatively slow. Our work indicates that the expression of an Invertase inhibitor (InvINH1) during the syncytial phase c...

It is common to find differential rates of methylation among various cancers. Previous studies suggest that exposure to organochlorines, a major component of pesticides, leads to differential methylation, and thus ultimately plays a role in the development of cancers. Previous analysis has shown tha...

Patrice Brown, a curvy paraprofessional and rising Internet celebrity known as #TeacherBae, emerged in September 2016. She was both praised and chastised for her figure and her form fitting work attire. Pop culture articles about #TeacherBae opened a larger conversation about Black women’s bodies ...

There have been many discussions in recent years relating to hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina. As early as 2010, heated debates between environmental agencies and pro-fracking energy companies began, which eventually led to a state lawsuit between Clean Water North Carolina and the North Carol...

Previous research links autobiographical storytelling to both individual and familial psychosocial well-being indices. This study examines the relationship between measures of well-being and the stories families tell about one’s birth, known as birth narratives. The project will allow us to determ...

Black music is a term that describes music that is produced or inspired by Black people. Black music, such as blues, jazz, soul, and rhythm & blues, explores Black pain. Black women singer-songwriters have shared trauma and presented their experiences of Black womanhood by presenting and politic...

Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) is an inherited disease that promotes the development of cancer. HNPCC patients are also at risk of developing other cancers throughout the body. HNPCC is linked to defects in the DNA mismatch repair mechanism (MMR). MMR corrects single point mutatio...

Redox signaling is how molecules, such as superoxide, communicate within cells to negatively impact normal cell function. Understanding redox signaling is important because of the role of redox signaling in the aging of a cell as a result of superoxide radicals. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) is an anti...

This study examines the power of an authority figure and the role of source credibility in relation to the continued influence effect conceptual framework. A random sample of 165 participants is examined. We hypothesize that (1) an authority figure providing false information will result in increase...

Endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seed of flowering plants. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrients. It also provides signals to regulate embryo growth. Endosperm development consists of the syncytial and cellularization phases. Interestingly, embryo growth is faster in the cellulariz...

Within this research, Computational Commutative Algebra was used to solve a common Graph Theory problem known as three colorability. A special kind of generator for the ideals of a polynomial ring in n-variables R[x1, x2, ... , xn] were studied. These generators are called Gröbner bases, which are ...

In this study, we focus on the interaction of termites and ants, whether there is one free-moving ant, one restrained ant or if a free moving and restraint fire ant is present in the same environment. Three parameters—termite colony, presence of a soldier termite, and whether the ants were living ...

The study examines the emotional consequences of witnessing a coworker’s negative behavior in a multiracial work setting. Black female undergraduates read a scenario in which they imagined themselves as an African-American woman named Amanda who is at a training session for a new job. During a b...

The US has been the world leader in incarceration rates for more than four decades and continues to populate prisons with more inmates each year. As sentencing laws have become harsher and more extensive, the prison population has reached unprecedented heights with no foresight of future decline. Th...

Within the “Talented Tenth,” Du Bois explores the means through which issues of racism, classism, and other systems/institutions of power can be effectively addressed. Du Bois argues that it is through the cultivation and sustainment of those deemed as the top ten percent most capable and gifted...

Black women are often underrepresented and marginalized in the workplace. Black women often deal with the double edged sword of both their race and gender, which can impact their work and their ability to move up the corporate ladder. There are currently no black women CEOs among the Fortune 500 com...

Under ambient light and in normal cells, protection against apoptosis, namely cytoprotection, is mediated by nitric oxide induced (NO-induced) elevations in cGMP, which activate cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (PKGI) isozymes. PKGI phosphorylates BAD, preventing it from binding BCL-XL, thus leading ...

This project explores the differences between education systems in China and the  United States, including each system's advantages and disadvantages. The materials used to carry out this study include news articles and websites. By focusing on students' daily lives, I will show how and why the...

Spectroscopy is used to investigate how matter, such as atoms and molecules, interacts with light. Spectroscopy is also one of the most effective ways to study the behavior and structure of molecules. Conventional spectroscopy is able to gather information for most simple molecules. However, some mo...

Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) is classified as a persistent organic pollutant that is a breakdown product of DDT. DDE is a highly fat-soluble compound that accumulates in the fatty tissues of insects, wildlife, and humans, particularly in adipose and brain tissues. In previous studies the g...

There is much misunderstanding about the evolutionary narrative of Amoebozoa. The phylogeny of amoeba has been understudied due to their complex life cycle.  Amoebozoa often switch from an active stage of amoeba in the trophozoite form to an inactive cyst stage. The amoeba examined in this stud...

Both male and female red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, have a high mating rate. Male beetles demonstrate clear pre-copulatory mate choice. Males prefer mature females over callow females, virgin females over previously mated females, and younger females over older females. We hypothesize that m...

Graph theory is the study of connections. There are many applications of graph theory to other fields. In this project, we analyze different properties of graphs that imply the existence of certain sets of cycles in graphs. In particular, we investigate the pairs of subgraphs we must forbid to imply...

Pharmaceutical testing on epigenetic effects of drugs is very limited. The use of vertebrates as preclinical research models is constrained by their long mating and generational times, leading to very low numbers of progeny to test and assess. In contrast, invertebrates such as insects are ethically...

Kryptopterus vitreolus, known as the glass catfish, is a small species of Asian glass catfish found in a series of coastal river basins of peninsular Thailand. The glass catfish is known as an electroreceptive fish, but is not known to be electrogenic. Bioelectrogenesis means the purposeful generati...

HIV is a public health problem in the United States which disproportionately impacts racial minorities. Current studies highlight the social determinants of health (SES, media, social stigma, etc.) on the spread of HIV. This study investigated media, HIV-related stigma, and perceived risk of HIV con...

Spectroscopy is the use of electromagnetic radiation to analyze the composition and behavior of matter (e.g., atoms and molecules). Recently developed three dimensional spectroscopy techniques yield spectra with higher resolution and less congestion than in 2D spectroscopy. This project focuses on t...

Spectroscopy uses the interaction between light and matter to create spectra that are used to determine the structure and behavior of atoms and molecules. The transition from traditional one-dimensional to two- and three-dimensional spectroscopy can give more information about the molecules or sampl...

Eritreans are the third largest refugee group arriving to Europe by boat. The glaring difference in life chances, rights and privileges among Eritrean political elites and the rest of the population has triggered a ravenous desire for young Eritreans to seek better opportunities and rights in exile....

Exposure to daily stressors has been shown to increase as individuals age. This study examines religious coping as a potential moderator of the relation between age and stress. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health were used to address this question. Between 1994 an...

Sports documentaries offer an opportunity to see just how much race matters in America. In the past thirty years, there has been a significant rise in the production of sports documentaries as athletes have become world-wide celebrities. Within a number of these documentaries a specific narrative ha...

The emergence of new leaves on woody plants marks the onset of the growing season and affects a host of ecosystem functions. Phenology is the study of natural annual phenomena, including the timing of leaf-out. Leaf-out is defined as the moment when the full shape of the leaf is visible on trees. Th...

Urbanization is an increase in the number of people that live in relatively small areas and can cause drastic changes in land use. For example, more cement and concrete may be used to accommodate the growing population of people moving to a city. This research analyzes how urbanization affects bird ...

Blood-feeding is a trait that has evolved multiple times within flies (Diptera). The goal of this study is to compare gene expression between two blood-feeding flies, the blow-fly Protocalliphora sailia and mosquitos to identify conserved genes related to blood-feeding. This is interesting because t...

There is limited research about HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among African-American (AA) college students. If students become aware of their HIV status, they may consider HIV testing services and treatments. Participants (n = 212) were surveyed to study whether health literacy...