This work is composed of two separate projects that contribute to the field’s understanding of Neisseria gonorrhoeae genetics and physiology. First, I showed that N. gonorrhoeae mounts a substantial transcriptional program in response to hydrogen peroxide (HP), a prominent reactive oxygen species (ROS) encountered during infection. We measured which strain...
The continued existence and use of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have necessitated the development of materials which can safely and efficiently decontaminate these toxic chemicals in an environmentally benign fashion. Among the most prevalent CWAs, nerve agents (sarin, VX) and blistering agents (sulfur mustard [HD]) are considered the most toxic...
The viscoelastic properties of microbial biofilms have attracted great interests in recent years due to the ubiquity of biofilms and their wide range of industrial and municipal applications causing tremendous societal impacts. Biofilms are predominantly architected by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrices composed of bacterial cells and biopolymers secreted by...
In this dissertation, we study models and methods to address uncertainties that can vary in optimization problems. Robust optimization is a popular approach for optimization under uncertainty, especially if limited information is available about the distribution of the uncertainty. It models the uncertainty through sets and finds a robust optimal...
Nucleic acid drugs promise to revolutionize the development of therapeutics. They offer a platform for digital medicine, where systematic changes to the nucleic acid sequence can be utilized to target the entire human genome. However, nucleic acids suffer from a number of drawbacks, such as negligible cellular uptake and rapid...
Mineral inclusions in diamond, brought to the surface through kimberlitic eruptions, provide a unique glimpse into the geochemical inner workings of Earth’s deep interior. Diamonds source a wide range of depths in the mantle. While most diamonds originate from the upper 200 km of the Earth’s mantle, aptly called super-deep...
Episodic memory provides a means by which we reflect on the past, make decisions about the future, and form a learned identity. Episodic memory depends on the hippocampus as well as on the distributed set of regions that form a hippocampal-cortical network (HCN), including medial prefrontal, posterior cingulate, and medial...
Skeletal muscle is one of the most abundant tissues in the body and makes up over 40% of the total body mass. It is important for mobility and posture maintenance as well as plays a central role in whole body metabolism. Skeletal muscle is made up of bundles of muscle...
Dilute Al-Sc-Zr-Si-based aluminum alloys retain their strength for long periods of time at elevated temperatures due to a dispersion of nanometric, coherent, and coarsening-resistant Al3(Sc,Zr) (L12 structure) nanoprecipitates that are formed upon aging. These alloys are attractive for replacement of dense steels and costly Ti alloys in the 250–400 °C...
This dissertation examines the birth and rise of orthorexia nervosa, a proposed psychiatric diagnosis described as a pathological fixation with healthy eating. Orthorexia made its first public appearance in the pages of a popular magazine for yoga practitioners in 1997, and later in a self-help book on the subject. Despite...