Image of Research

Items

• Fermented Justice
  This image visualizes our article "Turning Sugar to Alcohol: An Originalist Critique of Implicit Divestiture," which challenges federal Indian law's implicit divestiture doctrine through originalist constitutional interpretation. The Constitution on the left represents the foundational "sugar" of tribal sovereignty as understood at the founding. The central apparatus—distilling amber liquid—symbolizes two centuries of judicial interpretation. The dark bottle labeled "Doctrine of Implicit Divestiture" contains the “fermented” end product. Our metaphor draws from Justice Scalia's citation of Robert Rantoul: "The Common Law is the perfection of human reason, just as alcohol is the perfection of sugar...till what was wholesome becomes rank poison." The implicit divestiture doctrine holds that tribal governments lose sovereign powers deemed "inconsistent with their status" implicitly through history. We demonstrate this doctrine represents judge-made policy disguised as law. No constitutional provision, founding-era treaty, or eighteenth-century international law principle authorized courts to unilaterally diminish tribal sovereignty. Following Justices Gorsuch and Thomas's recent originalist critiques, we argue for abandoning implicit divestiture in favor of applying the theory of originalism to understand when tribal sovereignty can be abrogated. The image captures what happens when judicial interpretation ferments constitutional principles beyond recognition. This image was created when the article authors worked with G.AI to develop an image representative of their article. “Create an image that captures analogizing the mutation of the US Constitution to a doctrine of implicit divestiture in Indian law to fermenting sugar into alcohol” original prompt. G.AI, January 2026 version (January 23, 2026).
• SHORE: Improvising Solidarity in Times of Disaster
  I am a Finnish American, Utah-based choreographer interested in how ecopoetic, feminist, cross-border, and multi-disciplinary embodied practices can fuel alternative modalities for sustainability and justice in the world. My recent dance-film installation, "Shore: Baltic, Iberia, Great Salt Lake," explores the interrelatedness between human bodies of water and other bodies of water through filmed improvisations and interviews. I was filming for this project in Valencia, Spain, when a historic flood hit the city. The shores of the Turia River overflowed. I joined tens of thousands of people, armed in rubber boots, walking miles to volunteer in the affected villages. This image captures an improvisation at the foot of solidarity bridge in Valencia (which was the only connection for months between the center the the flood affected villages), and was inspired by the community members whose physical, improvised solidarities during the flood resisted despair in times of disaster.
• Marked by a Flame
  This image shows a human stem cell–derived neuron from a patient with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The neuron is fluorescently stained for ATXN2, the protein mutated in SCA2, revealing itself as a flame within the neuron. By modeling SCA2 in human neurons grown in the laboratory, we can learn how mutant ATXN2 affects neuronal health and viability, revealing how this flame takes hold and how it might be contained.
• Salt Leaf City
  Scanned images of dried and pressed White ash (Fraxinus americana) leaves overlaid onto an image of downtown Salt Lake City. This specific sample was collected in Cleveland, OH during October 2024. A large part of the work we do at the Urban Ecology Lab at the NHMU concerns urban trees and the ecosystem services they provide within cities.These leaves are part of an ongoing project that aims to understand how different tree species collect air pollutants and how residents can be included in the decision making process surrounding urban forests. Our research investigates the spatial and temporal differences between similar tree species across three cities (Salt Lake City, UT, Eugene, OR, and Cleveland, OH) and the four seasons. This project is part of a larger effort to help facilitate equitable access to the benefits that trees can provide to urban residents.
• Get the Mercy of Gut Microbes for Blueberry-Boosted Cardiovascular Health!
  Human studies indicate that eating blueberries can protect the cardiovascular system. Blueberries contain phytochemicals like anthocyanins, which are mostly not digested by human enzymes. Instead, blueberry phytochemicals are metabolized by gut microbes in the colon into phenolic metabolites. These metabolites then enter the bloodstream and help provide the cardiovascular benefits linked to blueberries. During this process, the sugars released from anthocyanins supply energy that promotes the growth of beneficial gut microbes. Therefore, a symbiotic relationship exists where gut microbes metabolize blueberry anthocyanins, while anthocyanins support their growth. Our preclinical studies confirm that gut microbes are crucial in mediating the vascular health benefits of blueberries through interactions between the gut microbiome and blueberry metabolome.
• InteGreat Project - 14 performers with and without disabilities - Fall 2025 @ The Rose Wagner Theatre
  I am passionate about community engaged projects that include individuals with disabilities. I've done several collaborative projects with faculty colleagues, university dance students and community members, bringing people together of various ages and different, unique abilities. InteGreat is a project started in fall 2025 at Tanner Dance by Joni Wilson. I worked with this beautiful group of 14 participants which included 4 individuals with down syndrome, 1 individual with cerebral palsey in a wheelchair, 1 individual with prader williams syndrome, 2 sets of siblings, 2 School of Dance BFA modern dance majors, and a range of ages, creating a piece of choreography uniquely with and for them during fall 2025. I also featured music by former faculty member, Jon Scoville, composer extraordinaire, celebrating his incredible musical compositions specifically created for dance. The project culminated in a performance at the Rose Wagner Theatre in downtown SLC in November 2025.
• Faces of Hope: The People Who Inspire Our Leukodystrophy Research
  Every day in the Bonkowsky Lab, our research is guided by the people behind the science. The individuals in this photo represent the families and children living with leukodystrophy — rare, genetic disorders that affect the brain and nervous system. They are not just statistics or study subjects; they are the reason we come to work each day with urgency, compassion, and determination. This image reminds us why our work matters. Each experiment, data point, and late night in the lab is fueled by the hope of developing meaningful treatments and, one day, a cure. Our mission is to translate scientific discovery into real-world impact, giving families answers, options, and optimism for the future. Seeing these faces keeps us grounded and motivated. They represent resilience, courage, and trust — and we are honored to carry that responsibility. Together, through research, collaboration, and community support, we are working toward a future where leukodystrophy no longer defines what is possible.
• Crystals Grow Apart
  Non-covalent interactions that are important in nano-scale devices that may have applications in organic electronics and sensors are explored by x-ray crystallographic techniques in the Richmond Research lab.
• In Time: Six Centuries of Books of Hours
  Often called the “medieval bestseller,” books of hours were the most common book in Europe during the later Middle Ages. Laypeople, especially women, used them to complete the prayer cycle of the Divine Office and incorporate monastic practices into their daily lives. Though people’s typical religious practices have changed substantially since the fourteenth century, as has the role of religion in contemporary society overall, books of hours remain a cultural touchstone and source of inspiration for scholars, artists, and others (both religious and not) across the world. This composite image of six books of hours from Marriott Library Special Collections exemplifies my approach as a medievalist and rare books librarian to the study of continuity and change throughout the history of the book. I not only examine traditional print and manuscript bookmaking techniques but also investigate how modern book artists adapt and break those conventions while incorporating new technologies. Just as historical books of hours combined standardized forms with personalized devotions, artists’ books blend the old and the new to create intensely personal works of art, simultaneously innovative and familiar, that highlight the continued importance of books in an increasingly digital world.
• Crashing Wave of Cancer
  Tumorigenesis is rarely a silent event; it is a disruption of biological order. This histology slide visualizes that disruption as a literal wave: the calm, stratified layers of normal oral mucosa (left) are swept up into the disorganized churn of dysplasia (center), finally crashing into the underlying tissue as invasive oral cancer (right). But the chaos is not random. My research zooms in on the "froth" of this wave, the complex microenvironment of immune cells and the microbiome that crowd the site of invasion. We are currently working to characterize these immune populations to understand what enables the body’s defenses fail at this critical junction. By mapping the immune landscape of this pre-cancer to cancer transition, we hope to identify biomarkers that can warn us before the wave breaks, turning a diagnosis of cancer into a preventative strategy for high-risk patients.
• One nutrient to rule life
  Sugar is the fuel our cells use to make energy and build proteins, DNA, and fats. Cells with misregulated sugar metabolism that glow green (carrying the MPC gene) grow strikingly smaller than nearby normal cells in the same tissue. This observation led us to ask how the nutrients we eat influence different cells in our body and control their growth.
• Clinical Research - A Long Journey to Medical Discovery
  This image symbolizes the long, tortuous journey researchers undertake in pursuit of medical discovery.
• Microscopic Parasites, Macroscopic Consequences
  Just 100 microliters of fluid - one-tenth of a milliliter - can harbor dozens of microscopic organisms, from free-living rotifers to parasitic flatworms. Pictured here is Schistosoma mansoni, a blood-dwelling parasitic worm responsible for intestinal schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease affecting millions worldwide. Infection can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, and blood in the stool, while chronic disease may lead to liver fibrosis and portal hypertension. Despite their microscopic size, these parasites exert profound effects on human health. The Fairfax Lab within the Department of Pathology investigates how helminth infections like S. mansoni alter the transfer of maternal immunity from mother to child, potentially shaping immune responses early in life. The lab also studies how parasitic infection influences metabolism, including changes in weight gain and the accumulation of body fat. By examining these host–parasite interactions, this research aims to better understand how tiny organisms can have lasting, system-wide consequences for human health. (Submitted by Rob Gabriele, from the Keke Fairfax Lab. M&I Division, Department of Pathology)
• Advanced Imaging of the Beautiful Brain
  This high-resolution structural magnetic resonance image (MRI) illustrates a novel technique that I use to obtain more fine-grained information about the anatomy of the brain. In particular, this image depicts cortical “columns” (the color-coded lines, which correspond to anatomical directions). I then estimate the spatial distribution of brain iron accumulation along the length of these columns. By using these advanced neuroimaging techniques, the goal of my research is to help us better understand the neurobiology of healthy cognitive aging and Alzheimer's disease.
• Water sample collection in Bolivia
  We collected water samples in Sajama National Park, Bolivia in June 2025 to identify elements in surface water related to health risks and trace the origin and flow of surface water. The video is from water sample collection on June 1st. In the Bolivian Altiplano, climate change, glacial retreat, and mining contamination are intensifying water insecurity and exposing rural Indigenous communities to unsafe drinking water. These challenges are particularly acute in high-altitude protected areas such as Sajama National Park. Twelve samples were strategically collected, from key community water sources and snow at varying elevations, capturing both local exposure points and potential upstream inputs. Seven were analyzed for elemental composition, and five for tritium and stable isotopes. Several trace elements exceeded international acceptability levels, raising concerns for human health. Stable isotopic analyses indicate that surface water supplies are primarily derived from snowmelt at high elevations. This study provides one of the first assessments of water quality and hydrological origins in Sajama National Park, identifying naturally occurring contamination from geothermal rather than human sources. Note - the music used in the video should be copyright free.
• Winter Sediment Coring at Fish Lake, Utah
  This image shows the system that my research team uses to collect sediment cores from the bottom of old and deep lakes. We are using a tripod mounted atop the ice that enables us to drive steel tubes into the sediments that are located ~100 meters below. The sediments contain information about the earth's environment dating back nearly 80,000 years into the past. The Pando aspen clone is located just onshore from where this core was collected. This research activity was supported by an award from the National Science Foundation.
• A Vertebrate Brain Neuron
  The morphology of a neuron in the medial habenula of a reptile, Alligator mississippiensis, is illustrated. This neuron was stained with a method known as the Golgi technique that labels the individual parts of this type of cell. This figure is a combination of a drawing and photos. The following parts of the neuron are shown: soma (marked in yellow); axon (marked by a); and the dendrites (shown in black and by a variety of colors). Photos of the distal appendages of these dendrites are from the enclosed circles. The shape and geometry of these distal dendritic appendages are unique among all the neurons in the brain. This unusual morphology shown in this example is found in a variety of different vertebrates and serves as a fingerprint to identify this cell and the nucleus in which it resides.
• The Scylla System_v.1
  The Scylla System_v.1 is performance-based research that investigates the emergent theatrical possibilities when integrating drone choreography with dancer improvisation onstage. Dancers: Soph Cardinal (MFA Modern Dance 2026) and Grace Hurley (BFA Modern Dance 2025) Photography: Todd Collins
• Fighting for justice for crime victims and their families.
  This photo was taken on the courthouse steps for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on September 3, 2025, shortly after the conclusion of a hearing on a non-prosecution agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and The Boeing Company in the criminal case of U.S. v. Boeing. On a pro bono basis, I have been representing more than a dozen families from around the world who lost loved ones in the crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. These crashes resulted from Boeing criminal conspiracy to conceal safety issues from the FAA. In the most recent litigation, the prosecutors are seeking to drop all charges against Boeing -- and on September 3, I objected on behalf of the victims' families. Many family members also presented "victim impact statements" to the judge. My research has developed the importance of considering the interests of crime victims and their families whenever criminal justice decisions are made. I have recently published several articles discussing the Boeing case and how it illustrates the usefulness of crime victims' rights, as a way to ensure that the victim's voice is heard in criminal processes. I have also written a lengthy defense of importance of victim impact statements in criminal proceedings. I am also a co-author on the nation's only law school casebook on crime victims' rights. I have been identified by federal judges as "one of the nation's foremost authorities on victims'-rights issues."
• Searching for life in America's Dead Sea
  This image was captured during a field work trip to Great Salt Lake (GSL). We had just finished paddling in kayaks from Antelope Island to Fremont Island, which takes about 2-3 hours. As I was resting, my graduate student (Shelley Reich, left) and post-doc (Julie Jung, right) began collecting submerged sediment to bring back to the lab. I couldn’t help but notice the profile of the two scientists in the foreground framed by the mountains, which seemed to emerge almost from nowhere above the placid conditions of the lake that day. This turned out to be a pivotal sampling trip from which we discovered a new species of roundworm (nematode), representing the third animal to live in the hypersaline bays of GSL.
• When cells meet the stars I
  As humanity prepares to venture back to the Moon, understanding how space affects our biology has never been more important. This striking image reveals megakaryocytes, specialized bone marrow cells that manufacture platelets crucial for blood clotting, grown aboard the International Space Station. After their orbital journey, these cells were preserved, returned to Earth, and examined through scanning electron microscopy with false-color enhancement. The vivid magenta highlights an intricate network of proplatelet extensions, thread-like structures where individual platelets form and bud off, captured in exquisite detail. This research helps scientists decode how microgravity and cosmic radiation influence cellular behavior, essential knowledge for safeguarding astronaut health during extended missions beyond Earth's protective embrace.
• Invisible Labor in Book History
  For the majority of the history of book production, the laborers who created the objects that modern scholars study – monks in scriptoria, stationers working for clients, students copying textbooks, and pressmen in the printing house – remained largely anonymous. For every name attested in a manuscript colophon or recognized from the historical record, many more are unknown. Even the most extensively scrutinized volumes – for example, the 1623 First Folio of William Shakespeare – do not provide definitive lists of workers whose identities remain the source of conjecture (the compositors who set the Folio’s type at William Jaggard’s shop, for instance, are known by the letters A-E). My academic work explores evidence of book creation practices, not necessarily through the discovery of the identities of those whose expertise contributed to the books we research and teach, but by the reconstruction of the laborious processes of bookmaking. This page from an architectural treatise bears an entire handprint pressed into the fibers of the sheet during its formation (not otherwise visible to prevent the content of the page from being read), and provides an apt metaphor for the physical presence of the laborers who created the material works housed in the Library. Per la facciata del Duomo di Milano (ca. 1657). The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cavagna Q. 726.645 P41.
• Unused, Unneeded, Unsafe
  Every year in the US, 42 million surgery patients are prescribed opioids for post-discharge pain management and 60-92% of patients will have leftover opioids. Presently, we advise patients to dispose of opioids at take-back events or drop boxes, but less than 10% will do so. Instead, patients insecurely store, misuse, or share opioids putting themselves, families, and communities at risk. Despite this, we currently lack an effective and scalable intervention for motivating patients to dispose of leftover opioids. Thus, there is a critical and time-sensitive need to develop effective, scalable opioid disposal interventions. Our research aims at providing the needed evidence and training for developing, implementing, and evaluating opioid disposal and other patient safety health system interventions.
• Op-ed illustration on homelessness in the US
  This is an illustration I created for the New York Times, to accompany an op-ed written by Philip Mangano, titled "We Found a Solution to Homelessness. Now the Trump Administration Wants to Throw It Out." As an illustration professor in the Department of Art and Art History, my research practice involves the creation of illustrations for high-profile projects and publications.
• Carrying the landscape in upper Mustang, Nepal
  This photograph of two people walking back from the fields to the stone houses along the red cliff band captures everyday movement in Upper Mustang, where rural livelihoods are inseparable from steep terrain, fragile ecologies, and histories of adaptation to environmental uncertainty. Mountain landscapes are actively sustained through embodied labor and intergenerational knowledge. Footpaths, stone walls, and cultivated plots together form a landscape shaped as much by agricultural practice and seasonal mobility as by exposure to climatic variability and other disruptions. I am interested in how agrarian change in mountain regions unfolds through gradual shifts in, for instance, altered cropping patterns, labor scarcity, changing access to land and water, and local politics. At the same time, Upper Mustang is increasingly framed through narratives of risk: landslides, drought, glacier retreat, and infrastructure-led development intended to mitigate or bypass these vulnerabilities. This image situates disaster not as an external shock, but as something negotiated daily through livelihood practices that quietly carry the landscape forward, even as ecological and political conditions might be unstable.