Spring 2024

Humanities and Fine Arts

• Historicizing Camp Glisson
  • Student: Eleanor “Ellie” Dilworth
  • Major: Religious Studies
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Richard Newton
  • Department: Religious Studies
• History of Native Americans in Alabama
  • Student: Braxton Smith
  • Major: Studio Art
  • Award Amount: $575.00
  • Mentor: Melissa Yes
  • Department: Art & Art History
• Gothic Posthumanism: A Performative, Feminist Evaluation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House
  • Student: Eleanor Israel
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $350.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Marni Presnall
  • Department: English
• Personhood, Identity, and Existence: What are We?
  • Student: Alyssa Serena
  • Major: Studio Art (Digital Media & Painting)
  • Award Amount: $575.00
  • Mentor: Melissa Yes
  • Department: Art & Art History
• The Bass Flute Undergraduate Research Project
  • Student: Lauren Tillman
  • Major: BM Flute Performance
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Diane Schultz
  • Department: School of Music

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

• Status and Ecological Impacts of Draft Animal Logging in the Southeastern United States
  • Student: Lucas Hales
  • Major: Environmental Science
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Justin Hart
  • Department: Geography
• Analysis of ATFS-1 Regulatory Gene Knockdown on Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a Caenorhabditis Elegans Model of Parkinson’s Disease
  • Student: Aidan Meyers
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Kim A. Caldwell
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Understanding Activation of the Unfolded Protein Response at the Blood-Brain Barrier During Group B Streptococcal Infection
  • Student: Sarah Hathcock
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Understanding the Spatial Distribution of Opinion Regarding Routing Options for the Proposed Interstate 14 in Selma and Dallas County, Alabama
  • Student: Nathan Strohman
  • Major: Geography
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Kevin M. Curtin
  • Department: Geography
• Evaluation of Novel Chemical Variants of the Neuroprotective Small Molecule N-aryl Benzimidazole 2 (NAB2) in an Invertebrate Parkinson’s Disease Model
  • Student: Dominik Konwinski
  • Majors: Biology and Chemistry
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Kim A. Caldwell
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Contrasting Two Differentiation Protocols of Induced-Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Brain-like Endothelial Cells to Investigate Group B Streptococcal Pathogenesis
  • Student: Hunter Vogel
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Streptococcus agalactiae Effect on Breast Cancer Resistance Protein in Brain-Like Endothelial Cells
  • Student: Alexandra Meyer
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Evaluation of Seizure Expression of Dube3a in Glial Subtypes in Drosophila melanogaster
  • Student: Selene Tan
  • Major: Philosophy
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Atulya Iyengar
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Study of the Monomer-Dimer Partitioning of ortho-Nitrosocumene
  • Student: Layla Galiano
  • Major: Chemistry
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Silas Blackstock
  • Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
• The Effects of Microplastics on Sex Ratios of the Mangrove Rivulus
  • Student: Laney Woynaroski
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Ryan L. Earley
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Electrophysiological Analysis of Seizure-Like Phenotype Containing Drosophila Melanogaster Fed on Whey-Fat Containing Food Media
  • Student: Reid Schuback
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Atulya Iyengar
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Variability of the Bering Sea Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect
  • Student: William Holland
  • Majors: Geology and Data Science
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Fred Andrus
  • Department: Geological Sciences

Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Examining Support Systems and their Impacts on Stress for Victim Service Professionals in West and Central Alabama
  • Student: Meagan Copeland
  • Major: Anthropology
  • Award Amount: $750.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Courtney Helfrecht
  • Department: Anthropology
• Friends’ Social Comparison and Co-Rumination Around Dodies and Exercise: Relations with Body Esteem
  • Student: Kyndal Mays
  • Major: Psychology
  • Award Amount: $750.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Kristina McDonald
  • Department: Psychology
• Beyond Desire: Exploring the Interplay of Sexual Satisfaction and Sexual Consent Communication in Young Adults across Sexual Identities 
  • Student: Vivienne van Nostrand
  • Majors: Psychology and Public Health
  • Award Amount: $200.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Susan White
  • Department: Psychology
• Incidence and Description of Dysphonia During Sorority Recruitment
  • Student: Lauren Rosen
  • Major: Communicative Disorders
  • Award Amount: $750.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Memorie Gosa
  • Department: Communicative Disorders
• Assessing New Creativity Measures: Exploring Early Childhood Creativity Across Contexts
  • Student: Taryn Crone
  • Major: Psychology and Human Development
  • Award Amount: $400.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Ansley Gilpin
  • Department: Psychology
• Using a Nationwide Sample to Investigate Psychological Comorbidities Predictors of DUI 
  • Student: Isabelle Cahill
  • Majors: Criminal Justice and Psychology
  • Award Amount: $400.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Matthew Dolliver
  • Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Substance Use in Young Adults: The Roles of ACEs, Depression, and Poverty
  • Student: Kaitlyn Johnson
  • Major: Psychology
  • Award Amount: $500.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Sharla Biefeld
  • Department: Psychology
• Sleep and Health Disparities Among Shift Workers of Differing Socioeconomic Statuses
  • Student: Brianna Burns
  • Majors: Psychology and Biology
  • Award Amount: $750.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Heather Gunn
  • Department: Psychology

Fall 2023

Humanities and Fine Arts

• Thomas Cole: Artist, Architect, Engineer
  • Student: Aubrey Dettman
  • Majors: Art History and Mechanical Engineering
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Rachel Stephens
  • Department: Art & Art History
• Moth Holes – Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition
  • Student: Sam Norris
  • Majors: Fine Arts
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Craig Wedderspoon
  • Department: Art & Art History

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

• Failure of the Blood Brain Barrier During Coxsackievirus B3 Infection
  • Student: Julia Mamana
  • Majors: Biology and Communication Studies
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Utilizing a Novel Brain Endothelial Cell Model to Study Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Blood-Brain Barrier Interaction
  • Student: Henry Mauser
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Conformational Changes of Human Serum Transferrin Upon Chromium (III) Binding
  • Student: Marlena Barrido
  • Major: Chemistry
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. John Vincent
  • Department: Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Understanding the Interaction of Mg29 and RyR2 as They Relate to T-Tubule Organization and Cardiovascular Pathologies
  • Student: Patrick Moore
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Nathan Correll
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Does α-Linolenic Acid Supplementation Reduce Seizure Phenotype in ParaShu, a Fruit Fly Model of Human Epilepsy?
  • Student: Victoria Hand
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Atulya Iyengar
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Determining Dimerization Activity of ATF6/CREB3 Transcription Factors
  • Student: Thomas York
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Nathan Correll
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Establishing a Role for MFSD2A in the Loss of Endocytosis Regulation During GBS Infection
  • Student: Lauren Mitterway
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Contribution of Blood-Brain Barrier Host Cell Signaling to Efflux Transport Failure During Streptococcus Agalactiae Infection
  • Student: Hallie Knight
  • Majors: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Glial Sub-Types Contributing to Dube3a Overexpression-Associated Seizures in Drosophila
  • Student: Megan Cline
  • Majors: Biology, Foreign Languages and Literature (Latin)
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Stanislava Chtarbanova-Rudloff
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Investigating Neuronal Phenotypes in Hyperexcitable Drosophila Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Mutants
  • Student: Cameron Mahanke
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Atulya Iyengar
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• The Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Depressive-Like Behavior: The Role of the Blood-Brain Barrier
  • Student: Jenna Hartzler
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Ryan Earley
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Engineering in Biology: The Use of 3D Printing to Advance Animal Behavior Studies
  • Student: Breanna Ciemny
  • Majors: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Nicole Ackermans
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Variation in Jumping Performance, Including Muscle Physiology and Gonad Investment
  • Student: Yonathan M. Janka
  • Major: Microbiology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Ryan Earley
  • Department: Biological Sciences
• Determining the Impact of Neuron-Brain Endothelial Cell Intercellular Signaling on Bacterial Meningitis
  • Student: Lena Seyfarth
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $1,000.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Brandon Kim
  • Department: Biological Sciences

Social and Behavioral Sciences

• The effect of religious nationalism and theocratic threat on partisans’ democratic attitudes
  • Student: Michael Regnier
  • Majors: Political Science and Economics
  • Award Amount: $250.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Davis
  • Department: Political Science
• Connections Between Parental Role Strain and Vocal Turn-Taking Development in Autistic Infants
  • Student: Lauren Rymer
  • Major: Psychology
  • Award Amount: $700.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Kelsey West
  • Department: Psychology
• Race and Place: How Tension Between Belonging and Deservingness Affect Public Views Toward Welfare Beneficiaries
  • Student: Julia Dominguez
  • Majors: Political Science and Psychology
  • Award Amount: $700.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Davis
  • Department: Political Science
• Indirect Restrictions Demobilize Supporters of Abortion Rights
  • Student: Jack Gibby
  • Major: Political Science
  • Award Amount: $700.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Alessandro del Ponte
  • Department: Political Science
• Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder: Clinical Version
  • Student: Ciera Carpenter
  • Major: Psychology
  • Award Amount: $500.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Randall Salekin
  • Department: Psychology
• The Relationship Between Theory-of-Mind and Autism Symptoms
  • Student: Caroline Vanderburgh
  • Major: Biology
  • Award Amount: $450.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Rajesh Kana
  • Department: Psychology
• The Effect of Felony Disenfranchisement Reform on Voter Turnout and Registration: A 50-State Analysis, 1997-2022
  • Student: Anna Davidson
  • Major: Political Science
  • Award Amount: $700.00
  • Mentor: Dr. Richard Fording
  • Department: Political Science