# Honours Thesis
**Source**: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/bhsc/student-research/mdsc-508
**Parent**: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/bhsc
### Congrats!
Honours thesis students, research supervisors, co-supervisors and preceptors involved in the MDSC 508 capstone course celebrate at the end of the successful oral defenses of the honours theses. This celebration recognizes the hard work and investment of our students in their thesis research projects and marks the culmination of their undergraduate program. What an accomplishment!
## MDSC 508 Honours Thesis Project Titles 2024-2025
The MDSC 508 course is a research-intensive, full-year course taken in the final year of study. The objective is for the student to demonstrate the capacity to conduct a piece of original work in a specific field.
### [Bioinformatics Students Honours Thesis Titles](#collapse1595943733)
1. Ilana Lebon
The identification and characterization of double negative T cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas
2. Lara Dsouza
Development of a predictive gene signature for overall survival in HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients
3. Ronaar Qureshi
Building an interactive web tool for visualizing patterns of resistant alleles, and investigating benzimidazole resistance alleles in greek livestock nematodes
4. Sadeeb Hossain
Developing an artificial intelligence system for classifying branded characters in digital food marketing to children.
5. Zainub Haq
Standardizing data visualizations for breast cancer screening microsimulation models: best practices and application of OncoSim
### [Biomedical Students Honours Thesis Titles](#collapse1715237897)
1. Alyssa Logan
Age-based participation of platelets in immunothrombosis
2. Anika Dies
Evaluating the effect of CMC2.24 on macrophage-mediated inflammation: A study of IL-1B and ROS modulation in murine models of Brachyspira Hyodysenteriae infection
3. Anissa Mourali
The role of drosophila macrophages in whole-body responses to systemic hypoxia
4. Annika Maj
17β-Estradiol modulation of P2X7R-Panx1-leptin in CD8+ T cells
5. Annika Weisgerber
Exploration of maternal-infant inflammatory biomarker profiles at delivery – A comparison across blood sources and delivery modes
6. Anthony Soderburg
Investigating the background variation of the zebrafish "wild-type" control
7. Arsalan Qureshi
Neural modulation of presynaptic calcium channels in chronic pain: investigating the role of serotonin receptors in afferent nerve terminals
8. Athaliah Gervacio
Investigating the role of BiP in hPSC anoikis and its downstream effects on the UPR
9. Ayush Jha
Exploring the effect of robotic walking and botulinum toxin on the spasticity and contracture of a child with cerebral palsy
10. Badra Abbas
Investigating the role of MEN1 gene in molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease in autopsied human brain tissue
11. Caitrin O'Connor
Examining the pro-nociceptive role of short chain fatty acids - direct signalling to nociceptors
12. Camille Barton
The effects of blocking endocannabinoid degradation on spreading depolarization
13. Claire Holt
Adapting spatial proteomics for profiling glioblastoma heterogeneity
14. CreeAnn Phillips
Neurocognitive testing in Long-COVID and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome patients with normal saline: A pilot study
15. Daniel Alayev
Investigating the compartmental expression of Piezo1 in astrocytes
16. Demitra Selimos
The effect of metformin on disease progression and cerebral perfusion in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model of multiple sclerosis
17. Diana Shehu
Effect of ERK inhibition on behavioral symptoms in a fragile X mouse model
18. Donel Kadima
The role of prg4 (lubricin) in cardiomyocyte differentiation
19. Dreden Gianetto
Investigating the effects of exercise on neurovascular development in zebrafish larvae
20. Emilie de Chantal
Investigating patient derived pericardial fluid on mesothelial to mesenchymal cell transition
21. Emily Memedovich
Sex differences in mind-wandering, task performance, and underlying neural mechanisms over time: An event-related potential study
22. Emma Giglio
Understanding immune dysregulation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive performance in adults with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure
23. Erin Walker
Biochemical characterization of DNA-PKcs and LAP1 protein-protein interactions
24. Fatima Hamood
Identifying and validating novel PA28αβ interactors in glioblastoma stem cells
25. Griffin Wong
The role of epicardial adipose tissue-derived stem cells (EAT-SCs) in angiogenic response following a myocardial infarction
26. Halle Pitcher
Effect of the inhibition of excitatory pedunculopontine neurons on food conditioned place preference
27. Hallie Horvath
Investigation of manipulation of the endocannabinoid system with food deprivation and AM251 on incentive encoding and retrieval
28. Heny Panghulan
Identifying a regulatory subset in CD4- CD8- double negative T cells: Advancing therapeutic and preventative strategies for graft-versus-host disease
29. Humna Maryam
Evaluating the effect of cystatin C on peripheral immune activation: A study of the sex-specific role of cystatin C expression in astrocytes on murine models of multiple sclerosis
30. Isabella Orchard
Thrombin fuels pathogenic behavior of gut microbiota biofilms in Crohn's disease: a proteomic/Nterminomic approach
31. Julia Chu
Characterizing the influence of age, sex, and cerebrovascular changes associaed with small vessel disease on a novel bomarker of glymphatic flow in healthy adults
32. Kate Yakubets
The enhancing effect of thermal stress on long-term memory formation in Lymnaea stagnalis
33. Kishi Akinsunmade
Mechanisms for hyperoxia in a neonatal rat model of febrile seizures: Effects of pharmacological interventions on brain oxygen levels
34. Lauren Over
Proteolytic processing of the key complement regulator C3 by vaginal Porphyromonas asaccharolytica
35. Maggie Carrier
Dendritic cell cultures to characterize the role of Bcl6 signalling in dendritic cell cultures.
36. Mia Brown
Investigating the mechanism of ING5-regulated lymphomagenesis
37. Micah Epp
Developing a platform to assess immune response to virally vectored vaccines
38. Mirza Beg
Investigating the associations between prenatal exposure to metals, epigenetic age acceleration, and child body mass index
39. MoonYoung Bae
Investigating social behavior and neural activity in female mice of a fragile x syndrome model
40. Nicola Gaudet
Characterizing a role of the adaptor protein SHC3 in oligodendroglioma
41. Nicole Boechler
Characterizing Pseudomonas aeruginosa small colony variants in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis
42. Nisha Lahey
White matter microstructure of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus and perceptual processing in children with perinatal stroke
43. Oyinda Obigbesan
Investigating feeding strategies and their association with inflammatory morbidities in hospitalized very preterm infants
44. Parnika Skathivel
Developing tools to investigate the mechanisms underlying immunotherapy resistance in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer
45. Rachel Oskin
A precision medicine approach to Dravet Syndrome: optimizing anti-seizure drug combinations through bioenergetic profiling and live calcium imaging using patient-derived cortical forebrain organoids
46. Ryan Rahimi
Assessment of drinking water quality on immune function and Alberta's commercial vaccine efficacy in egg-laying poultry
47. Sabah Virk
Cellular characterization of uninjured peripheral nerves across the lifespan of male and female mice
48. Sadaf Ghanbari Miandoab
N-terminomics investigation of the effect of proteolysis in myopathy
49. Sajida Alkadri
Investigating the role of DNA-PKcs in cGAS/STING-mediated immunity
50. Sara Alshimari
The relationship between functional connectivity of the triple network model and executive functioning in children with and without ADHD
51. Saumyaa Singla
Investigating the folic acid dependent and folic acid independent pathways in the occurrence of neural tube defects
52. Shahrbano Rukunuddin
IL-18/IL-18R⍺ mediated transdifferentiation of type 2 innate lymphoid cells into a type 3 innate lymphoid cell-like phenotype
53. Sophie Yonan
Investigating the role of estrogen in adipose tissue hyperplasia and its ability to confer cardiometabolic protection in females
54. Stefanie Rivera
Do White Matter Alterations Mediate the Association Between Preterm Birth and Visuomotor Integration?
55. Stuart Patterson
Investigating the protective role of a contralesional spreading depolarization in hippocampal recovery following ischemic stroke
56. Theresa Nguyen
Investigating the role of immunometabolic signalling in the progression of aortic aneurysm.
57. Tiana Sajic
Production of prebiotic fructooligosaccharides by vaginal lactobacilli
58. YJ Dawood
Characterization of Opto-Pannexin1 as a cell killing therapy in patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells
59. Zainab Hakim
Spatial distribution of somatic variants in focal epilepsy
60. Zoe Phaneuf
Investigating sex differences and the influence of aerobic fitness on iron metabolism proteins in human skeletal muscle
61. Zoha Shehzad
Determining microbiota influence on lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) tropism and antiviral immune response
### [Health and Society Students Honours Thesis Titles](#collapse860994025)
1. Ana Groeneveld
Assessing the influence of innovation on IUD uptake in Canada: An interrupted time series analysis
2. Brennah Kamelchuk
"Be hot, don't be not hot": An exploratory study of the experiences of people with disabilities navigating the competitive area of online dating
3. Elizabeth Benediktsdottir
Youth with Learning Disabilities: Describing disability, accommodations and strengths
4. Emma Mierau
Informing system change in Alberta: Understanding aging successfully with older women with experiences of homelessness
5. Jaxon Hirtle
Understanding youth and caregivers' experiences accessing community-based care for chronic pain
6. Justin Eng
The neighbourhood built environment and place attachment and their associations with physical activity
7. Khushman Sekhon
Integrating prevention into Connect Care for health: examining patient's experience with the screening, brief intervention and referral received in healthcare settings
8. Lane Begalke
Understanding knowledge, attitudes and behaviours about human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization within transgender and gender diverse populations in Alberta
9. Maxine Schmidt
A qualitative exploration of day program experiences among adults with intellectual disabilities
10. Olivia Fulton
The influence of controlled ovarian stimulation treatment planning on body image
11. Salma Zein
Spiritual well-being of resident physicians: A narrative inquiry study
12. Spencer Fietz
It is time to keep an eye on TikTok: An observational cross-sectional study analyzing the extent and nature of child-targeted unhealthy food marketing on TikTok
13. Taryn Lambert
Navigating prenatal care as prenatal cannabis users: A qualitative study of pregnant individuals' experiences
14. Tobi Souza
Addressing barriers and building bridges: Reflections on navigating inclusive research through the lenses of co-researchers with intellectual disabilities
15. Willem Groeneveld
"A picture's worth a thousand words": Investigating how a narrative film impacts diabetes awareness among Canadian homeless-shelter workers.
MDSC 508 was less of a class and more of an experience. It felt as though every class over the last three years contributed to the work we did in 508. Over the duration of the year, the responsibility, critical thinking, time management, and work ethic, from this course made us scientists in a way no other learning experience could have. This experience has in one way or another instilled a deep rooted passion and understanding for the beauty and nuance of science as a discipline as we move to our next adventures.
Arsalan Qureshi
Class of 2025