“The Role of OAS1 in the Prognosis and Severity of COVID-19 Infection by Means of the Hepatitis C Receptor Pathway.”

Kaitlyn Sadtler Disha Iyengar, Ava Barbano, Amrita Kondur, Alycia Mann, Eric Li, Kayli Bannon

The presenters explored whether there was an established connection between Hepatitis C and COVID 19. This connection was based on recently given information on increased rates of liver damage in patients with COVID 19 and the notion that both Hepatitis C and severe COVID 19 consist of high levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aminotransferase (AST)- enzymes that are indicators of liver damage.

“NF-κB Enrichment Leads to Hyperinflammation in Patients With Severe Coronavirus Infections.”

Sophia Tesic, Tejaswi Koneru, and Rachel Boeke

The presenters described how people with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, lung, and heart problems alongside older adults are vulnerable to developing serious long-term health issues from COVID. The presenters’ study aimed to identify genetic markers of the biological response to coronavirus infection specifically the NF-kB pathway’s role in lung inflammation after MERS-COV infection

“Impact of SARS Coronavirus on Innate Immune System Compared to Influenza A.”

Noah Black, Ashi Jain, Keerthana Danasekaran, Jasmine Wisniewski, Praveena Mohanraj

Given that respiratory viruses are thought to inhibit interferon production, the presenters questioned whether influenza A and SARS coronavirus have similar means of restricting type III interferon production.

“Potential Effect of Adhatoda Vasica On Chemokine Signaling and Applications Towards COVID-19.”

Emily Kang, Niharica Suri Kannan, Annabel Yang, Jeremy Nelson, Zaina Al Habash

The presenters explored Adhatoda Vasica, an ayurvedic plant-based drug with anti-inflammatory properties, in relation to a cluster of co-expressed genes, which all connect to chemokine signaling. They wanted to evaluate the plant’s effectiveness as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2.

“Pathology from Envelope Proteins to Heat Shock Response and Cytokine Storms in SARS-CoV-1 and 2.”

Maria Sicilia, Audrey Gunawan, Azeem Saifee, Shruthi Chakravarthy

Because globalization, urbanization, and climate change have increased the risk of a pandemic, exploring the gene that inhibits cytokine production and T-cell effector function could be applied to strengthening existing vaccines.

“Microarray Analysis Of Apoptotic Pathways in SARS-COV-1 versus SARS-COV-1-Δe: Regulation of Inflammation and Necrosis via TNF, IL-17, JUN, and others.”

Himal Bamzai-Wokhlu, Nicole Qian, McKayla Ro, Ellen Hu

Their study focused on uncovering pathways affected during the SARS-CoV outbreak, which could have led to its high fatality rate, to see if the findings could be extended to SAR CoV-2.

“Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer Through Binary Computational Classification Models.”

Noah Black, Abigail Yoo, Grace Chae, Abigail Ahn

They noted that 4 percent of women and 4.3 percent of men are affected by colorectal cancer in their lifetime and wanted to know if deviations in mRNA expression can help with the diagnosis.