The planning field includes a diverse array of foci from land use to community development to transportation planning. Planners serve diverse communities but often lack representation within the workplace as planning is still a white-dominated field. This project explores the representation and experiences of Asian women in the planning field, addressing two questions: What are the professional experiences of Asian women working in urban planning in the PNW? How does their identity, specifically gender and race, influence their professional perspectives in the built environment? Through semi-structured interviews with Asian women, this research examines the intersection of race and gender within the workplace culture of urban planning. The interviews explore topics such as pathways into the field, identity in the workplace, and representation. While examining identity, it is important to acknowledge that the identity of “Asian” or “Asian American” encompasses a pan-ethnic and pan-cultural group of people. This research does not attempt to produce a monolithic experience of Asian women in planning. Instead, it produces an ethnographic report on the experiences of Asian American women in urban planning. Interviewees shared awareness of the social perception of their race/gender and racial/gendered stereotypes. While the intersection of identities was important to examine, many participants felt gender impacted the way they were perceived more than their race. The report identifies patterns and produces a reference regarding the culture of the built environment workplace for people with similar identities. Providing examples of representation is important to highlight to prospective and current planners to empower and educate those outside of these identities.

With future ferry fleet modernization and electrification in the 10-year horizon, this research aims to explore user experience on the classic Washington State Ferries using these questions: How does the design of a historically significant space like the Washington State Ferries affect the experience for riders who heavily rely on the ferry – focusing specifically on what they do once they are on the ferry? Through this exploration, what pain points of riding the Washington State Ferries can be identified for future improvements? By taking user research approaches that identify the user as the expert of the product and acknowledging the idea that the design of spaces and places create unique experiences, I explore these questions through multiple research methods. I conducted field observations of 3 different ferry routes and distributed a user experience survey. Based on survey results, I will recruit participants to engage in my photovoice research, prompting participants to take pictures of significant aspects of their personal ferry experience and discuss them during an interview. I anticipate a unique relationship – both positive memories and experiences of the ferry coupled with frustrations about the process of onboarding or offboarding and the inconsistency of the schedule. This work is significant in capturing the experience of riders who are reliant on the ferry as their sole mode of transportation to the islands for various purposes such as commuting, medical appointments, and visiting family. It also is an important way to capture the historical significance of older ferries as change is on the horizon with ferry fleet turnover and future electrification goals.

Respiratory viruses are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in vulnerable populations. Together, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), are responsible for over ⅓ of serious viral respiratory infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients. Currently, no treatments are available for RSV or HMPV in immunocompromised adults. While monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) show promise as a treatment, challenges arise, including limited efficacy when administered post-infection. Our goal was to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of a newly discovered cross-neutralizing human mAb to RSV and HMPV. We aimed to investigate whether modifying the Fc domain of the antibody could increase its binding to Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) found on different types of immune cells. Activation of FcγRs initiates important cell processes such as clearance of virus-infected cells, also known as Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). This modification potentially makes the antibody a more effective treatment option for RSV and HMPV infections. To do this we looked at the binding kinetics and affinity of modified antibodies to human FcγRIIIa, FcγRIIa and FcγRIIb receptors using Bio-Layer Inferometry (BLI). Our data indicate that certain amino acid modifications or afucosylation of the Fc region can increase the antibody’s binding affinity to different human FcγRs. Since hamsters are an important preclinical model used to determine RSV and HMPV drug efficacy, it was important to examine the binding affinity of our human antibody to hamster FcγR’s. Our data indicate that the wild-type Fc region does bind to the homologous hamster receptors. Moreover, certain modifications in the Fc region led to increased binding to hamster FcγR’s. Together, these data indicate that modifications in the Fc region of human antibodies can increase their binding affinity to both human and hamster FcγRs. This increase in binding affinity could translate to enhanced potency in the preclinical hamster model and in humans.