Scholars of Excellence

Yijie’s research at USF examines the spatial-temporal pattern of hurricane post-landfall intensity variations in the continental United States. The proposed method to quantify the longevity of inland destructive winds highlights the impact of post-landfall hurricanes, especially under a changing climate. The results brought global attention to the importance of inland-moving storms.

[This] dissertation provides an overview of historical inland-moving tropical cyclones, which could also benefit (re)insurance companies and emergency management agencies to better serve local communities that are prone to the potential inland-moving tropical cyclone risks.

The results of this dissertation have demonstrated that neoantigen-specific CD4+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphoctyes (TIL) and combination immune checkpoint modulation each may have therapeutic utility in the setting of Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) for metastatic melanoma patients. These studies substantially contribute to the knowledge in the TIL therapy field concerning the ability to shape and enrich for antigen-specific T cells, the breadth and depth of the neoantigen-specific TIL repertoire, and the functional potential and limitations of these TIL. 

We find that increased access to therapeutically relevant antigen­ specific T cells, especially CD4+ TIL, has the potential to provide additional clinical benefit, although further work investigating the impact of neoantigen-specific cellular or genomic profiles, antigen expression, and the tumor microenvironment is warranted. Resistance to immunotherapy and in particular ACT is an increasing challenge, although translational studies that include access to patient specimens provide invaluable insight into strategies to overcome these mechanisms.

Overall, the optimal ACT regimen with TIL will likely incorporate multiple advances such as those presented here in order to ultimately provide improved therapeutic efficacy for patients with cancer.

The technological innovation in (my) research lies in its ability to revolutionize video anomaly detection by making it more data-efficient, adaptable, and conducive to real-time decision-making. These advancements have the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness and practicality of video surveillance systems in addressing modern security challenges… 

Similar to the video anomaly detection problem, harmful or unregulated content represents only a minute fraction of the vast volume of videos circulating on these video streaming platforms, making manual detection an extremely time-consuming endeavor. Extending the research proposed in my dissertation offers the potential to significantly reduce the manpower required for the identification of regulated content. By automating the content regulation process, my research not only safeguards customers from encountering violent, explicit, or potentially traumatic material but also eases the burden on individuals tasked with content moderation.

While there has been a large body of research conducted on girl victims of commercial sexual exploitation, boy victims are often left out of the conversation. From the few studies that have been conducted on this topic, boys and young male victims of commercial sexual exploitation may have gender specific barriers that result in boys being overlooked by service providers and researchers. 

Using survey data from key providers that work in programs that serve commercially sexually exploited boys, my thesis fills this hole in the literature by providing insight on the gender specific barriers that boy victims face. 

In my thesis I propose three barriers, drawn from feminist criminology and critical masculinity theories, that I believe may help explain why boys are forgotten when talking about Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) victims. These barriers are: hegemonic masculinity, male victimization myths, and homophobic beliefs. Additionally, my thesis aims to highlight the lack of programs available for boys and suggests that the same barriers that prevent boys from being identified as victims may also be to blame for the lack of programs for boys.