MDSC 508

Honours Thesis

MDSC 508

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. 

  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

  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

  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

Arsalan Qureshi

Class of 2025