The Gaines Lab conducts research on a wide variety of marine ecology, fisheries, and biological conservation topics. Historically, the Lab has been involved in long-term intertidal community ecology research, which means researchers have monitored the occurrence of near shore species over time. Knowing which species occurs in which geographic locations, and when, is a foundational part of a science field known as community ecology.

How does the autopilot keep an airplane on course without the pilot adjusting the rudders and engines? How does the thermostat keep a room at a specified temperature without anyone turning the radiator and/or A/C on and off? How do Segways transport people instead of planting them on their faces? The answer to all these questions is "mathematical modeling and feedback." Control Engineers use knowledge of the behavior of airplanes, room temperatures, two-wheeled platforms, and other engineering systems to write programs that react in the right way: Is it too hot? Turn on the fan.

Kelps are brown macroalgae that grow on coastal temperate rocky reefs around the world. Kelp forests provide food and shelter for hundreds of species of animals, many of which are commercially important (i.e. rockfish, sea bass, lobsters, sea urchins, sea cucumbers). Additionally, Kelp itself is an economically important resource: kelp derived thickening agents are found in a variety of food products (i.e., salad dressings, ice cream, toothpaste) and for abalone aquaculture ventures. Kelp forests are among the most productive and dynamic systems in the world.

Parasites are an important player in natural communities, by regulating population size, reducing individual health and reproduction, changing host behavior, and altering energy flows through a community. Thus, understanding their impact on natural communities is an important and challenging area of research. The aim of this project is to understand how these understudied and hidden players affect populations. We focus on Hemioniscus balani, an isopod that lives in the rocky intertidal zone.

The many news broadcasts on the recent flight MH370 tragedy have reported the difficulties encountered during the search for wreckage debris in the Indian Ocean. This is due, among other things, to the complex dynamics of the Indian ocean surface current. In the Mezic Lab we study dynamical systems and control theory with applications to fluid mechanics, micro and nanoscale processes. We have developed methods that improve efficiency of motion prediction, search and tracking of objects moving in ocean currents.

Techniques that detect and identify particular DNA sequences are essential tools that researchers and doctors use for studying and diagnosing disease. Fluorescent silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) are a novel nanoscale system used for the detection of DNA and other biological and chemical species relevant to medical diagnostics. AgNCs are fluorescent particles consisting of fewer than 30 atoms of silver that are easily synthesized in water using various polymers, including DNA.

Allorecognition is the ability to distinguish self versus non‐self amongst members of the same species. The most well‐studied system of allorecognition is through the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) in jawed vertebrates' immunity. Interestingly, any species that predates the oldest known jawed vertebrates (sharks), do not have anything resembling the MHC or related components. Botryllus schlosseri belongs to a group of organisms known as tunicates which is believed to be the closest living group to vertebrates.

Many diseases have genetic components that cannot be treated with traditional small‐molecule drugs. However, the symptoms of genetic diseases could be effectively treated by adding or silencing specific genes inside of cells. This is accomplished by delivering specific sequences of DNA or RNA to cells by way of a "gene delivery vehicle", such as cationic lipid‐nucleic acid complexes. These complexes are made by mixing DNA and special lipids in water, where the lipids encapsulate the DNA and prepare it for delivery to cells.

In this project, students worked with graduate student Sabrina Pankey in the Oakley group to understand genetic similarities in two minimally-related squid species.  Despite being separated in evolution, each of these species express similar bioluminescent proteins.  To better understand the biological role of these similarities, the students performed experiments to measure the amount of genetic expression in different tissue samples.

In this project, students worked with Dr. Payam Bozorgi in the MacDonald group to construct, measure, and optimize nanostructured devices to improve heat transfer.  By enabling more efficient heat transfer away from high-powered electronic components, these small devices have the capability to enable smaller, more powerful electronic devices.

In this project, students worked with graduate student Chrysafis Andreou in the Meinhart group to construct and test microfluidic mixing devices.  These devices enable scientists to control fluid interactions on a very precise scale with a very small amount of a fluid sample.  Students used these devices to study diffusion of a small fluorescent molecule and investigate different modes of fluid control.

In this project, community college worked with graduate student Lauren Simkins in the Simms group to attempt to reconstruct the history of the Buena Vista Lagoon.  To do this, students analyzed a real core sample for variation in sediment characteristics and microfossil content to understand conditions as the lagoon existed hundreds to thousands of years ago.

Microfluidics deals with very small volumes of liquids in sub-milliliter quantities. One of the most important parts of microfluidics is microfluidic devices which have features of micrometer scale, such as channels, junctions, inlets, and outlets. These devices are used for different purposes such as analyzing biological fluids and particles. In this project we learn one or two of the various methods which are used to fabricate microfluidic devices. We will then use the prepared devices to run some experiments and analyze the acquired data.

In recent years there has been a rising interest in using proteins for drug therapy. In comparison to small molecule drugs (such as aspirin) which elicit a response when bound to a receptor and may have broad therapeutic activity, protein drugs show promise for highly selective activity due to the specificity for its target. Unfortunately, the promise for using protein drugs is limited by its metabolic vulnerability and difficulty to deliver them across biological membranes.

Doxorubicin is a common chemotherapy drug used to fight a number of different cancers. Because every patient is different, the length of time that this drug stays in the body changes from person to person. This is a problem because too little drug will not have any effect, but too much drug will produce serious side effects. Right now, doctors address this problem by drawing blood samples at specific times, measuring the amount of drug using complicated equipment, and making informed guesses about the amount of drug between each reading. This is not ideal.