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.
Brain, Health

A Low-Carb Diet Can Increase Brain Stability in Individuals.

Priyanshi Patel ‘22 A study on neuroimaging led by Stony Brook professor Lilianne R. Mujica-Parodi reveals that neurobiological changes that are associated with aging can also be seen at a much younger age than expected. The study suggests that the effects of the changes can be prevented or reversed based on changes in diet that involve minimizing the consumption of carbohydrates. The research team at … Continue reading A Low-Carb Diet Can Increase Brain Stability in Individuals.

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Brain, Degenerative Disease

Get Your Head Out of the Game

Gwenyth Mercep ’22 Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disease associated with exposure to repetitive head impacts, such as those from tackle American football [1]. CTE can cause numerous and debilitating early-life symptoms like behavioral and mood disturbances, most notable, impulse control and depression [1]. Episodic memory loss and dementia, forms of cognitive dysfunction, are reported by patients with CTE later in life [1]. … Continue reading Get Your Head Out of the Game

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Sociology

Medical Needles in the Social Media Haystack

Gwenyth Mercep ’22 In today’s digital age, there’s a lot of potentially useful information in circulation. With many of us compelled to share monologues on social media platforms, like Facebook, the landscape of data research is being revolutionized. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania studied this change by using Facebook data to test the confluence of social media noise as indicating factors of the well-being … Continue reading Medical Needles in the Social Media Haystack

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Cellular and Molecular Science

Anchor-Cell Invasion Regulation Network Discovered

Gaurav Sharma ’22 Invasion through the basement membrane is essential to many cellular and biological processes such as embryonic development, immune response, tissue development, and metastasis. The components and mechanism of basement membrane invasion is known. There are four transcription factors that regulate anchor-cell invasion; fos-1, hlh-2, nhr-67, and egl-43. The Matus Lab at Stony Brook University sought to answer the question of how all … Continue reading Anchor-Cell Invasion Regulation Network Discovered

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Cancer, Cellular and Molecular Science

Inactivated Gene Linked to Kidney Cancer and Tumor Development in Mice

Gaurav Sharma ’22 The epigenetic components pertaining to the onset of cancer have been of interest for many years due to the hope of developing approaches to delay the onset of cancer in the future for an individual. Recently, a tumor suppressor family has been discovered, called Ras-Association Domain Family (RASSF) which epigenetically inactivated breast, lung, skin, and thyroid cancers. Neither RASSF10’s in-vivo function nor … Continue reading Inactivated Gene Linked to Kidney Cancer and Tumor Development in Mice

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Cancer, General Neuroscience

After the Fall: Link Between PTSD and Prostate Cancer

Wendy Wu ’22 On the morning of September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) collapsed. Within minutes, first responders arrived on the scene. Amidst the debris and smothering dust, they got to work, evacuating citizens and heading into the towers to rescue whoever they could. It was truly a display of heroic bravery and compassion, but unfortunately, many of the … Continue reading After the Fall: Link Between PTSD and Prostate Cancer

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Health and Medicine

The Disappearance of the Y Chromosome (And Other Chromosomes)

Wendy Wu ’22 The Y-chromosome is quite unlike its homologue, the X-chromosome. With a relatively lacking number of genes, the Y-chromosome is the only chromosome inessential for life; its major function is to determine the sex of offspring. How did this come to be the case? A part of the reason is that the Y-chromosome does not occur as a pair; it does not have … Continue reading The Disappearance of the Y Chromosome (And Other Chromosomes)

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General Neuroscience, Health and Medicine

Psychosis from schizophrenia can lead to social isolation

Joyce Chen ‘23 As humans, we are able to distinguish between what is real and what is not. But sometimes, the lines between reality and fantasy can get blurred. Psychosis is a mental condition where an individual loses his or her sense of perception due to an impairment in thought, resulting in a loss of connection with reality. Untreated psychosis has been theorized to be … Continue reading Psychosis from schizophrenia can lead to social isolation

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Psychology, Sociology

The importance of first impressions

Joyce Chen ’23 When it comes to meeting someone new, a first impression is especially significant. Naturally, humans want to create an everlasting effect or influence on others from their very first impression; However, there are several drawbacks, one of which being dominance. A study conducted by Laura Clark at the University of Lincoln aims to investigate the judgments of people based on the facial … Continue reading The importance of first impressions

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Announcements

Announcing the SBYIR Research Symposium!

Attention all undergraduate students! If you have participated or are currently participating in faculty-mentored research, we at the Stony Brook Young Investigators Review understand that it has been difficult for you to participate in conferences and showcase your work. To give you an outlet by which you can not only present your research, but also gain insightful feedback from faculty on your work and presentation, … Continue reading Announcing the SBYIR Research Symposium!

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Disease, Health, Health and Medicine

Genetic factors may be involved in disease risk of early-onset autoimmune thyroid disease

Panayiota Siskos ’23 Autoimmune thyroid diseases, such as Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s disease, are often characterized by the infiltration of T cells and B cells in the thyroid as well as the production of antibodies specific to thyroid antigens. Genes including human leukocyte antigen (HLA), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated factor 4 (CTLA-4), CD40, and protein tyrosine phosphatase-22 (PTPN-22) have been previously associated with susceptibility to autoimmune … Continue reading Genetic factors may be involved in disease risk of early-onset autoimmune thyroid disease

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Brain, General Psychology, Psychology

Threatening cues have a larger effect on perception than neutral cues

Panayiota Siskos ’23 The theory of predictive coding states that the brain continuously creates a mental model of the surrounding environment using prior knowledge from memory. This mental model is then used to predict sensory input, such as anticipating a smell, a sound, or a touch.  A group of researchers from Stony Brook University and Columbia University studied the effect of threatening cues on sensory … Continue reading Threatening cues have a larger effect on perception than neutral cues

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