An UNDERGRADUATE JOURNAL of LIFE SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP at LAKE FOREST COLLEGE
VOLUME 21
The students and faculty in the life sciences at Lake Forest College founded this peer-reviewed annual online journal in 2004. To date, over 250 Lake Forest College students have become published authors in Eukaryon. In 2024, the journal celebrated 20 years as an independent publication, and in 2025, its board is celebrating 20 years as a Lake Forest College student organization.
About the Cover
“Afloat” by Hridey Kapoor’25
“Jellyfishes have always been facinating to me because of their unique structure, long tentacles which they use to attack and defend, and their sensory systems (Rophalia) to sense light, water current, and gravity. They seem so calm and relaxed to me as they mostly follow where water currents take them but as it is with nature, its best to observe nature rather than trying to disturb it or it will figh back.”
This picture was taken at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia an aquarium of Jellyfishes, and in particular the Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens), a species commonly found in the easter Pacific Ocean.
2025 Eukaryon Highlights
Eukaryon to inaugurate 21st issue of award-winning journal
The print and web-based student publication Eukaryon, which highlights scholarship in the life sciences, will be inaugurated on March 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Tarble Room in Brown Hall.
Leenah Ehsan '25
Feature Article Spotlight
Federica Bertolotti ’24
Review Article Spotlight
Rebecca Ray '24
Senior Thesis Spotlight
About Eukaryon
Eukaryon is an award-winning undergraduate research journal at Lake Forest College that publishes the very best of life science scholarship conducted by Lake Forest students. The journal’s goal is to celebrate and highlight the academic accomplishments of students achieved within the research-rich classrooms and student-centered research labs of Lake Forest College faculty. The word “eukaryon” reflects the diversity of organisms with which the life sciences faculty are involved through their scholarship.
Eukaryon is published by students at Lake Forest College, who are solely responsible for its content. The views expressed in Eukaryon do not necessarily reflect those of the College. Articles published within Eukaryon should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
Table of Contents
Faculty in Focus
Dr. Blaine Moore: Establishing “Synaptic” Connections at Lake Forest College
Leslie Casares
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
What's new at school? It’s Dr. Hannah Carlson
Margaret Samocki
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Lab in Focus
Menke Lab Decoding Ecosystems with Ants on the Frontlines
Hridey Kapoor
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Alumni in Focus
Majo Orozco Fuentes: Renaissance Girl Pursues a PhD!
Kiera McKee
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Beyond the Classroom
Janitza Elena Torres
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Science News
Gabriel Calderon Flores
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
The Role of Pregnancy on Cognition
Perla Arias
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Skin Regeneration in the African Spiny Mouse: A Brief Overview
Dorothy Breen
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Science of Teaching
Science of Teaching: X-Ray Fluorescence and Moseley’s Law
Lucas Varga
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Links of Oppression: Eco-apartheid and Environmental Injustice in Palestine
Sofia Santana
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Book and Film Review
Valeria Almendares
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Animating Neurodiversity: The Impact of Disney-Pixar’s Dory in Understanding Cognitive Differencesn
Mafe Parra Lancheros
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
How Love Saved Cherry! A Case Conceptualization
Joysiaeli Kimambo
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Conference Roundup
Conference Roundup: Animal Behavior Society 2024
Katina Lucas
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Academic Program Spotlight
Richter Scholar Program: A Transformative Summer of Reserach and Discovery
Martin Ettlin Cuitiño
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Climate and Environment
Overlooked Enviornmental Science: A Tiny Solution to a Plastic Planet
Silas Tooth
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Marcelo Camba Almazan
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Ethics in Science
The Battles of Women’s Healthcare in a Man’s World
Cadence Dempsey
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
From Inoculation to Vaccination: The Social and Political Struggle Against Smallpox
Jeremy Levin
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence´s Lucky Sevens
Martha Alatorre
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Gizem Ilayda Öztürk
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Research Off Campus
Beyond Amyloid: Dr. Grace Stutzmann’s Fresh Approach to Studying Alzheimer’s Disease
Ekaterina Priovolos
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Cool New Courses
Keisha Williams
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Cool New Course: Investigations in Neurodegeneration
Michelle Soriano
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Grant Proposal
PSD-95 Stroke IHC Grant Proposal
Kesang Yuden Dorji
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Sylvie Paddon-Jones
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
From Genotype to Phenotype: Identifcation of HLA-DQA1 Role in Celiac Disease
Federica Bertolotti
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Maritza Rosales
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Nilufar M. Imomdodva
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Primary Article
Shrija Chhetri, Seth Jelovic, Andrianina Rakotondranoro, Sara Taha, Petra Urgacova
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Slow Jazz for Crickets? Noise Pollution and Cricket Courtship Behavior
Sylvie Paddon-Jones, Ryan Fist, Riley Komp, and Lia Romanotto
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Dawid Oleksy and Alvaro Arroyo
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Review Article
The Emerald Ash Borer in North America
Riley Leja
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Beny Verezub
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Autism in Words: Exploration of Autism in Literature
Lejla Murati
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
How AI and EEG Are Revolutionizing Dementia Detection
Tenzin Tsomo
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
The Science Behind Binaural Beats: Can Sound Ease Anxiety and Boost Your Brain?
Sina Soltan
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Decriminalization in the 21st Century
Kelly Collins
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Senior Thesis
Novel Insights into β-Synuclein and γ-Synuclein Toxicity in a Parkinson’s Disease Yeast Model
Federica Bertolotti
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Ying Han
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Rebecca Nicole Ray
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Raneem Na’el Hussein Samman
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Zuzana Smilnakova
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
