Sample Abstracts

*Important: Abstracts must be 150 words or less. Please make sure to use the Word Count function in Microsoft Word to check the word count of your abstract before submission. Abstracts failing to adhere to this guideline will NOT be accepted.

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis and individual variation in predisposition to diet induced obesity in Mus musculus

Human obesity rates and related diseases are rising globally. This study’s purpose

is to use Mus musculus as a model organism to investigate if an increase in

non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) will reduce predisposition to diet

induced obesity. We monitored 12 outbred mice who were fed a standard diet and

switched to a high-fat diet. Measurements of activity and growth rate for individual

mice were recorded. Our results found a large variation in the change in mass after

switching diet. Our statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between

NEAT and the predisposition to diet induced obesity in the mice.

 

Too high maintenance for me! The effect of dietary restrictions on impressions of romantic partners

This study examined people’s stereotypes of others who adhere to a gluten-free or

vegan diet within the context of dating. We hypothesized that people with

gluten-free and vegan dietary restrictions would be perceived as less desirable

romantic partners compared to people with no dietary restrictions. One hundred and

sixty two single students from Western Connecticut State University completed the

study online. Participants answered four open-ended questions (among other

questionnaires) pertaining to their impressions of others with dietary restrictions.

Coding of responses revealed that both gluten-free and vegan hypothetical dates

were viewed as high-maintenance, picky, cautious, healthy and judgmental.

 

Plumbing the depths: History of Candlewood Lake

As part of my Herbert Janick Fellowship, I designed an online exhibit that traces the

creation of Candlewood Lake through newspapers, photographs, land deeds, and

maps from the endeavor known as the Rocky River Power Project. The exhibit

chronologically marks the initiatives taken by former Connecticut Light and Power

Company’s president J. Henry Roraback to build the first hydroelectric power plant

and storage basin of its kind in the United States. An interactive 1920’s map

highlights the scale of the project and properties purchased, as well as provides a

clearer understanding of its impact on local towns near Candlewood Lake.