Schedule of Events

The EmrAB-TolC efflux pump found in Escherichia coli is involved in the removal of toxic molecules and cellular metabolites. Transcription of emrA and emrB is controlled by EmrR, and is co transcribed with emrA and emrB in the emrRAB operon. It is not known if transcriptional regulators involved in regulating the expression of other efflux pumps also control the expression of emrRAB. We are investigating four regulators – SoxR, SoxS, Rob, and AcrS – for their role in controlling emrRAB expression. These regulators also control the expression of acrAB, the main efflux pump in E. coli. 
The goals of this study are to characterize the emrRAB regulatory network and determine if there is overlap with acrAB. Using an emrRAB promoter gfp fusion construct (emrRABp-gfp),  we have measured the expression of emrRAB in 4 different mutant backgrounds. To this end, utilizing strains from the KEIO collection, a library of E. coli strains containing deletion mutants of these regulators, replaced by a kanamycin resistance cassette. After removing the kanR cassette, we have transformed our markerless mutants with a plasmid containing the emrRAB-gfp fusion. In addition to the soxRS, rob, and acrS, we have also investigated additional strains deleted for other genes known to regulate acrAB or emrRAB expression. Overall, the data did not reveal statistically significant differences in expression in out mutant backgrounds. However, while the anticipated effects were not observed, the outcomes reflect a need for methodological refinement in future experiments.

As Ethnic Studies become increasingly commonplace in California high schools, there is still a lack of practical pedagogical resources for Ethnic Studies teachers. There is a noticeable gap in existing literature discussing how global perspectives on race, ethnicity, or nationality shape students’ learning experiences in Ethnic Studies when their countries of origin are outside of the United States. This study aims to address this pedagogical gap regarding the teaching of Ethnic Studies in multinational classrooms. Understanding the role of multinational conceptions of Ethnic Studies topics requires student and teacher perspectives. Therefore, this study employs a mixed-method design for gathering these perspectives incorporating surveys and focus group interviews. The goal of this study at its conclusion is to provide local Ethnic Studies educators with culturally relevant and research-based instructional recommendations for teaching this course in a multinational classroom setting.

This study explored how the ways in which people get medical information, as well as their ability to visualize that information, affect their trust and comprehension of it.  To test this, one set of participants (N=85) was recruited via Prolific, and another set (N=86) was recruited via SONA.  Participants read either an essay or an infographic about medication. They then took a comprehension test, answered questions about perceived trust in the information and potential adherence to the medical information, and completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire to complete the survey. A univariate ANOVA showed no interaction between the way information was conveyed and participants’ ability to visualize information in their mind’s eye on comprehension scores. However, there was a significant main effect of condition (essay vs infographic), such that people who saw the infographic had higher comprehension scores than people who saw the textual information again. Another univariate ANOVA showed no interaction between condition and visual imagery ability on trust scores. There was, however, a main effect of the condition: people who saw the infographic had higher trust and adherence scores than those who saw the text information. All results were consistent across both data sets. These results show the potential benefits of using more visual information in the medical field.  This finding could improve patients’ trust in medical information, as increased comprehension may allow them to play a more active role in their care.

This study examined the experiences of Latina/o students in colleges and universities who have faced or are currently facing parental incarceration. We also examined the role of faculty mentors and program directors at community colleges and universities in supporting Latina/o college students. This research focused on three key areas: (1) the impact of parental incarceration on Latina/o students’ personal lives, family dynamics, and interpersonal relationships; (2) the ways in which these students navigated and actively resisted the social stigmas, stereotypes, and negative labels associated with their parent’s criminality and incarceration; (3) the role of faculty mentors and program directors in supporting and de-stigmatizing the experiences of Latina/o students with incarcerated parents. Findings reveal that parental incarceration has profound effects on students’ emotional well-being, academic persistence, and familial relationships. Despite these challenges, many students demonstrated resilience and a strong commitment to their educational goals. They actively challenged stigmatizing narratives by excelling academically and building support networks. Faculty mentors, program directors, and student support services played a critical role in providing affirmation, resources, and a safe space for students to process their experiences and thrive in higher education. 

Gender plays a role in shaping sibling relationship quality in young adulthood (Jensen et al., 2024). For instance, sister–sister pairs report more closeness than other dyads (i.e. brother-brother), suggesting stronger ties among women (Doron et al., 2016). Despite these findings, little research has examined differences across Latino sibling dyads. This study explores how participant/sibling gender relates to sibling warmth/conflict. It is hypothesized that (1) sibling warmth/conflict will vary across participant’s gender, (2) will also differ across sibling’s gender, and (3) there will be an interaction between participant/sibling gender. A sample of 159 young Latino adults completed an online survey assessing sibling relationship quality. Two-way between-subjects ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate the effects of participant/sibling gender on warmth/conflict. For warmth, there was no main effect of participant gender, F(1, 155) = 0.13, p = .72, with males reporting similar warmth (M = 3.48, SD = 0.71) to females (M = 3.58, SD = 0.84). However, there was a main effect of sibling gender, F(1, 155) = 9.30, p = .003, η² = .057, such that participants reported higher warmth toward female siblings (M = 3.82, SD = 0.70) than male siblings (M = 3.31, SD = 0.83). Although the interaction was not significant, F(1, 155) = 0.31, p = .58, the pattern indicated highest warmth among female participants with female siblings (M = 3.85, SD = 0.71). For conflict, results showed no main effects for participant gender, sibling gender, and interaction between the two variables.