Author: Young Investigators Review

The Young Investigators Review is Stony Brook University's undergraduate-oriented, all-inclusive science journal. Founded in 2008, our mission is to provide the student community with a way to learn more about the research currently being done on-campus by their faculty and fellow peers. We feature articles that span all fields, from Physics to Neuroscience, as well as original student research reports straight from the campus laboratories. Our journal offers aspiring talented future researchers and physicians a way to hone their science writing skills and spread word of their experiences to inspire incoming students to think about devoting their futures to the various fields of science.
Technology

Pioneering X-Ray Techniques Used to Design More Efficient Batteries

By Ashwin Kelkar Have you ever wondered why your iPhone battery only lasts 3 hours instead of the projected 8? It can be frustrating to many people around the world, but it can be even worse when that battery is powering a pacemaker, a tool that allows people’s hearts to continue pumping blood. Imagine what would happen if a battery like this suddenly dies and … Continue reading Pioneering X-Ray Techniques Used to Design More Efficient Batteries

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review1 Comment
Disease, Psychiatry

Infectious Diseases may Cause Major Depressive Disorder

By: Marianna Catege Depression may actually be infectious, according to Dr. Turhan Canli, the Associate Professor of Psychology and Radiology at Stony Brook University. His claim puts Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in a new light, one that suggests it can be caused by parasitc bacterial or viral infections. In this highly prevalent disease, with roughly 7 percent of the U.S. population developing MDD, symptoms can … Continue reading Infectious Diseases may Cause Major Depressive Disorder

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Brain, Molecular Biology

Understanding the Fear Circuits in The Brain

By: Ashwin Kelkar Fear and fear memory have long been a subject of study by both scientists and philosophers. Our understanding of fear and how it may exert control to the point of phobia is imperative to eventually finding the underlying cause of fear itself. Researchers around the world have tapped into the brain to try to elucidate this enigma. In a groundbreaking study conducted … Continue reading Understanding the Fear Circuits in The Brain

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Medicine and Physiology, Technology

Cerebral Blood Flow Imaging Technique Can be Applied to Disease Diagnosis

By  Marianna Catege Dr. Yingtian Pan, Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook, and his team, have discovered a new imaging technique that allows for a clearer picture of the direction, speed, and quantity of cerebral blood flow. This discovery expands upon and provides an ultrahigh-resolution picture for Stony Brook Medical scientists’ newly developed method for measuring how cocaine interrupts blood flow … Continue reading Cerebral Blood Flow Imaging Technique Can be Applied to Disease Diagnosis

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Medicine and Physiology

The Immuno-Matrix Skin Patch: A Needleless Approach to Vaccination

By Preston Kung Kataryzna (Kasia) M. Sawicka, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Dermatology, won the national Collegiate Inventors Competition for her “Immuno-Matrix” in November 2014. The Immuno-matrix is a skin patch held together by nanofibers to deliver a vaccine through skin absorption; it’s a needleless vaccination that’s as simple and painless as putting on a Band-Aid. The Immuno-matrix has the potential to … Continue reading The Immuno-Matrix Skin Patch: A Needleless Approach to Vaccination

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Medicine and Physiology

Mechanisms of General Anesthetics

By Sherin Kuriakose What is Anesthesia? The discovery of general anesthetics in 1846 has advanced the work of physicians and surgeons in medical science and clinical care, and has also eased the trauma that surgery can cause for patients. In the past, surgery without anesthesia was the only option, and only the simplest and quickest of operations could be tolerated such as amputations, bladder stones … Continue reading Mechanisms of General Anesthetics

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Biology

Ecology of Zoonotic Transmissions: The Impact of Bos taurus indicus Fertilizer on the Health of Malagasy Farmers

Photo Courtesy of Rachel Lordahl By Zuri S. Dawkins Central ValBio Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar Undergraduate Program in Anthropology and Biology, Stony Brook University Madagascar Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments (MICET) Contact Info: Zuri.Dawkins@stonybrook.edu ABSTRACT Emerging infectious diseases in livestock pose a huge threat to human health, animal efficiency and biodiversity. Zoonotic diseases are highly contagious diseases that spread amongst animals and humans via … Continue reading Ecology of Zoonotic Transmissions: The Impact of Bos taurus indicus Fertilizer on the Health of Malagasy Farmers

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Biology, Medicine and Physiology

Evaluations of the First Dissolvable Cardiovascular Stent

By Jessica Desamero Heart disease in the U.S. is one of the leading causes of death. The most common type is coronary heart disease (CAD), which can lead to heart attacks. It is caused by plaque buildup in arteries that supply the heart with blood, causing them to narrow. To this day, bare-metal stents have been inserted in CAD patients to counter-act this blockage. But … Continue reading Evaluations of the First Dissolvable Cardiovascular Stent

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Psychology

Sleep duration is related to poor diet in teens

By Katherine Maiorisi A study conducted by Dr. Hale at Stony Brook University has developed data that shows a direct link between sleep deprivation and obesity in teens. This study, which was supported by the “National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney diseases”, was done on a sample of 13,284 teenagers [1]. Dr. Hale specified that this study group of teens were asked questions … Continue reading Sleep duration is related to poor diet in teens

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment
Chemistry, Disease

Aristolochic Acid and Chemically Modified Curcumin: an Overview

By Michael Baxter Dr. Francis Johnson received his Ph. D. from Glasgow University in Scotland in 1954 and went on to become a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University until 1957. He worked at the Dow Eastern Research Laboratory before coming to Stony Brook University in 1973, where he became the founding vice-chairman of the Department of Pharmacological Sciences [1]. Currently Dr. Johnson is part of … Continue reading Aristolochic Acid and Chemically Modified Curcumin: an Overview

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators Review
Biology, Cancer, Disease

Aristolochic Acid, used in herbal remedies, linked to urothelial cancers and neuropathic diseases

By Katherine Maiorisi Dr. Grollman of Stony Brook University was honored in 2011 with the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS) award for his work on aristolochic acid (AA) and its relation to cancer and neuropathy [1]. Throughout the past fifty years studies have been done on the effect of environmental agents on neuropathy. Aristolochia poisoning was first proposed in 1969 by Ivi´c, but was disregarded, until … Continue reading Aristolochic Acid, used in herbal remedies, linked to urothelial cancers and neuropathic diseases

Unknown's avatarYoung Investigators ReviewLeave a comment