csi undergraduate conference on research, scholarship ... - CSI Today

Research Poster PresentationsP O S T E R 3 5Engineering Printed PolymericSuperhydrophobic SurfacesMark BarahmanFaculty Mentor: Dr. Alan LyonsDepartment of ChemistrySuper-repellent surfaces pose an extraordinaryopportunity for researchers. These surfaces displayvery high contact angles and low slip-angles withliquids. Research groups around the world havebeen motivated by the beauty of this phenomenonand the potential real-world applications of suchcoatings. These efforts have concentrated oncreating coatings that exhibit very high roughnessand low surface energy. Such coatings can beapplied to devices for self-cleaning, non-wettingand anti-icing purposes, and in many fields relatedto microfluidics, and fluid transport.We have been able to fabricate robust, low-cost, andhighly applicable superhydrophobic surfaces anddemonstrate the ability to tune the slip-angle of ourcoatings according to need. To achieve very lowslip-angles (easy rolling), we have investigatedintroducing a secondary layer of roughness toprinted silicone features.This surface design is seen in what is perhaps themost referenced natural superhydrophobic surface,the lotus leaf (Nelumbo Nucifera), which gives theplant self-cleaning and water collecting abilities.A discussion of the cause of this effect based oncontact-angle and slip-angle data, and severalmethods of microscopy will be included.P O S T E R 3 6Analysis of Tau Over-Expression inBreast Cancer Cell LinesKristina Toropova, Peter HannonFaculty Mentor: Dr. Jimmie E. FataDepartment of BiologyThe Tau protein is a microtubule-associated proteinthat is abundant in neurons of the central nervoussystem. It is known to stabilize microtubules bybinding to both their inner and outer surface and isa critical regulator of chromosomal alignment andseparation during mitosis. Although Tau ispredominantly found expressed in neurons, it isalso ectopically and abnormally expressed in breastcancer cell lines and tumors. In an effort to betterunderstand the function of Tau in breast tumors, wehave begun to examine the outcomes of overexpressingTau in breast cancer cell lines. Here wereport our findings, which indicate that overexpression of Tau in two breast cancer cell linessuppresses Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFα)-induced cell signaling. Our data has indicated thatTau can affect both pro-survival and pro-deathoutcomes in breast cancer cell lines. These findingshave begun to provide insight into the functionalsignificance of Tau in breast cancer cell lines may inturn influence therapeutic modalities.43