Interdisciplinary – Page 43 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Interdisciplinary

Political Beliefs and Bias in Social Network Formation

This project investigates how social networks change during divisive political discussion. In a behavioral experiment, we place student participants in a random communication network with up to 20 others. Participants discuss campus social issues over the course of several rounds. At each round, participants are exposed to differing opinions of their connections and make decisions to “rewire” their network, or to add, drop, or request new social connections to communicate with in the next round. We measure how individuals make these network decisions at both the individual and group level. We also experimentally manipulate a social cue that reveals the closeness of another person in relation to the participant. Experimental sessions are conducted remotely and anonymously, simulating interaction as it might occur on social media. Our data help understand the biases that lead people to form echo chambers, which may contribute to downstream consequences of biased information sharing, misinformation spread, and misbeliefs about public opinion.

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Political Bias in Social Network Formation

This project investigates how social networks form. Through behavioral experiments, students observe how political and social beliefs influence social network formation and the downstream consequences of selecting into a biased information-sharing environment. This might include general political reasoning, misinformation spread, and ingroup bias. Students work closely with the research mentor and project manager to learn about research design in the social sciences and gain valuable experience collecting data from human participants. Student responsibilities have included reviewing background literature, entering and maintaining data, and conducting internet searches. Students are also trained in analyzing the data for presentation. Experimental sessions are conducted remotely, and students help plan, schedule, and organize sessions.

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The role of FADD in G1 to S cell cycle transition

Our research focuses on the role of FADD in the cell cycle. FADD is known to play an important role in cell death, signaling the cell to enter apoptosis. We are proposing another role of FADD in cell cycle regulation, specifically in the transition of cells from G1 to S phase. To evaluate the role of FADD we observed the level of known factors in cell cycle regulation. Certain proteins, such as Cdt1 and Geminin are only active at specific times of the cell cycle. By adding reporters to these proteins, we were able to track what stage a specific cell was in. We used live-cell microscopical imaging to track the cells as they progressed through the cell cycle. Cells will appear as different colors based on the amount and the type of protein they are expressing. In G1, cells will appear green, in S phase they will appear red, and cells in M/G2 phase will appear orange. The results from these experiments have shown that in cells where FADD is silenced, G1 to S transition is delayed for up to 22 hours. Some cells never pass the G1 to S checkpoint and are stuck in G1 phase. These are very promising results and line up with the assumption that FADD plays a critical role in cell cycle transition. The next step in our research is to collect more data on factors that might influence and regulate FADD. Additionally, we want to examine the effectiveness of several inhibitors, developed as cancer drugs, and determine if, when FADD is blocked, they lead to better outcomes.

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Prediction and Assessment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Effects of Assumptions in Imputation Methods

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening lung condition that is under-diagnosed in the clinical setting. With a 43% hospitalized mortality rate, it is critical that diagnosis is made in a timely manner for ventilation strategies to be instituted. The Biomedical and Clinical Informatics lab at U-M has been developing a real-time clinical decision support system to detect ARDS through machine learning methods, specifically a modified support vector machine. A clear distinction from other ARDS-related support systems is the use of “privileged information” “” data accessible at the time of training themachine learning model but which is not available in deployment. In the context of this project, we define privileged information to consist of CT scans, which are required for ARDS diagnosis. Such information is not available to the clinician during the early period of a patient’s stay. Therefore, by incorporating such privileged information, we expect the model to lead to faster ARDS diagnosis in clinical practice. This research investigates the electronic health record (EHR) pipeline of the model. With inconsistencies and missing values, some EHR features are absent from one patient while present in another. We aim to improve the model’s accuracy in ARDS detection by testing a unique data imputation method against different machine learning models and settings. Specifically, missing values will be imputed under the assumption that data is not missing at random but as a result of the clinician’s decision that the patient had optimal health in such cases. This method is implemented by imputing data taken from the Michigan Medicine’s established reference ranges when possible. The proposed method will be compared with different machine learning models and feature reduction techniques.

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Environmental Health Research to Action (EHRA) for Air Quality

Due to the vast amount of air pollution in Southeast Dearborn, Michigan and nearby communities, Environmental Health Research to Action (EHRA) was formed to build skills and knowledge in environmental health. EHRA is a community-academic partnership that runs an annual intensive summer academy for youth. In recent times, due to COVID-19, EHRA has added a virtual series for youth and by youth. Currently, EHRA is developing additional community-led monitoring and policy and media advocacy efforts, as well as conducting interviews with Steering Committee members to determine next steps and priorities for achieving environmental justice. (RESULTS ARE PENDING)

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Floating LiDAR development project

Emma Remien Pronouns: she/her/hers Research Mentor(s): Tae Kim, PMO Consultant Research Mentor School/College/Department: Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 1 (10am-10:50am) Breakout Room: Room 8 Presenter: 3 Event Link Abstract For privacy concerns this abstract cannot be published at this time. Authors: Tae Kim, Emma Remien, Corinne Pita Research Method:

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Floating LiDAR Development Project

Corinne Pita Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Research Mentor(s): Tae Kim, PMO Consultant Research Mentor School/College/Department: Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 1 (10am-10:50am) Breakout Room: Room 8 Presenter: 3 Event Link Abstract For privacy concerns this abstract cannot be published at this time. Authors: Tae Kim, Emma Remien, Corinne Pita Research Method:

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Investigating heme acquisition properties and corresponding conformational changes of heme oxygenase 1

Kelly Deng Pronouns: she/her Research Mentor(s): Stephen Ragsdale, Professor Research Mentor School/College/Department: Biological Chemistry, Michigan Medicine Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 1 (10am-10:50am) Breakout Room: Room 8 Presenter: 4 Event Link Abstract Authors: Kelly Deng, Liu Liu, Stephen Ragsdale Research Method: Laboratory Research

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Human Rights and Indigenous Rights in Africa

Throughout the world, indigenous peoples’ ways of life are being threatened due to surrounding governments and economic conquests. In 2007, the United Nations signed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which states that indigenous peoples have both individual and collective rights to their culture and identity along with other human rights such as education, healthcare, employment, language, etc. It also prohibits the discrimination of indigenous peoples and allows indigenous peoples to continue their traditional ways of life. Despite all of this, indigenous people’s rights that were outlined in this document are being violated. This project investigates the current violations against the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa and the implications on certain indigenous groups. By researching articles that describe these violations and creating case studies that summarize numerous violations across the continent, this project aims to create an interactive website that documents these violations in a way that is easy to access and understand. The purpose of this project is to present these violations to the United Nations in order to get justice for these indigenous populations.

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Lessons on Community Building from The Dream Storytelling Project

The Dream Storytelling Project is an oral history initiative with the purpose of educating the wider public about Detroit’s African American Muslim and African Muslim community-building and revitalization efforts. I served as a transcriber for several oral history interviews. In this capacity, I worked to make the content of each individual’s interview clear for the wider public. As I carried out my work, I learned about the mosque as a venue for community-building, acting as a gathering place for people to meet throughout the week. I also observed the importance of language and shared rhetoric, noticing the prevalence of Arabic terms and phrases. Additionally, I noted the importance of community building efforts via the devotion of individuals’ time and skillsets, applying them to the different needs of the population in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all. Once finalized, the transcripts are then shared via an interactive multimedia website and permanent public archive. This allows for The Storytelling Project to provide educational materials about African American Muslim and African Muslim history and leadership in Detroit, thereby building knowledge about under-represented and under-served populations.

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