Meet the 2018-2019 Undergraduate Research Fellows
College of Agriculture
Elizabeth Brown Animal Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Agriculture
Project Title: Calving season and rumen-protected methionine on epigenetic control of beef production
Mentor: Dr. Sonia Mosia
Olivia Reid Animal Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Agriculture
Project Title: NICD over-expression in the Notch signaling pathway affects the organization of the adrenal gland
Mentor: Dr. Jeff Huang
Anna Gierow Animal Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Agriculture
Project Title: Comparative Transcriptomics Between Porcine and Cattle Oocytes.
Mentor: Dr. Fernando Biase
Andrew Keel Animal Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Agriculture
Project Title: Effect of dietary protein source and litter condition on broiler chicken growth performance and interstinal stem cell activity
Mentor: Dr. Jessica Starkey
College of Architecture Design and Construction
Kara Boyer Building Science
Sponsor(s): College of Architecture Design and Construction
Project Title: Creating a tiny home building code to positively effect long-term sustainability
Mentor: Dr. April Simons
Kyra Stark Architecture
Sponsor(s): College of Architecture Design and Construction
Project Title: Incorporating passive design into the beginning design process
Mentor: Dr. Justin Miller
College of Education
Abigail Brittain Exercise Science
Sponsor(s): College of Education
Project Title: Sport specialization and teaching patterns in youth athletes
Mentor: Dr. Gretchen Oliver
Arlene Maheu Exercise Science
Sponsor(s): College of Education
Project Title: The cognitive effects of 'green exercise' on adolescents diagnosed with ADHD
Mentor: Dr. Ford Dyke
Katherine Corona Exercise Science
Sponsor(s): College of Education
Project Title: An uphill battle: understanding gait alterations in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Mentor: Dr. Jaimie Roper
Carley Wilson Physical Activity and Health
Sponsor(s): College of Education
Project Title: The Influence of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality in Children and Young Adults
Mentor: Dr. Melissa Pangelinan
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Reid Adams Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Elucidating structure-activity relationships of metal oxide and metal carbide catalysts via a novel raman-spectrokinetic approach
Mentor: Dr. Carlos Carrero
Ashely Baerlocher Materials Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Mechanical Properties of Solid-State Electrolytes
Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Fergus
Jacob Bensinger Civil Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Assessment of porosity-permeability relationships for 3D pore network models undergoing pore-scale dissolution and precipitation
Mentor: Dr. Lauren Beckingham
Tyler Compher Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Lumped Parameter Modeling Cerebrovascular and Cardiovascular Blood Flow
Mentor: Dr. Vrishank Raghav
Danielle Elmore Microbial, Cellular, and Molecular Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Tissue clearing techniques to improve hemodynamic testing of heart valves
Mentor: Dr. Vrishank Raghav
Bryana Harris Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Examining the Effects of Tissue Geometry on Cardiomyocyte Maturation in 3D Developing Human Engineered Cardiac Tissues
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Lipke
Rachel Howell Ecological Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Development of a bench-scale flume reactor for benthic filamentous algae colonization studies
Mentor: Dr. David Blersch
Katelyn Jenkins Mechanical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: The Biomechanical Effect of Body-Borne Loads on Airborne Soldiers
Mentor: Dr. Michael Zabala
Keith Krause Electrical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Investigation of the performance and energy consumption of superconducting adiabatic computing circuits
Mentor: Dr. Michael Hamilton
Ryan Long Aerospace Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Self-Folding Origami
Mentor: Dr. Russell Mailen
Rebecca Mulholland Mechanical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Impact Dynamics of a 3D printed Piano Hammer
Mentor: Dr. Edmon Perkins
Isabel Perry Mechanical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Impact Dynamics of Strings with Vibration Controls
Mentor: Dr. Edmon Perkins
Joshita Suresh Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Engineering in vitro prostate cancer tumor tissue to test the efficacy of anticancer therapeutics
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Lipke
Tyler Toner Mechanical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Model predictive controller sensitivity to errored parameters for a cruise controlled heavy truck convoy in simulation
Mentor: Dr. David Bevly
Anna Vescio Materials Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Controlled release from topical ointments modified with halloysite nanotubes
Mentor: Dr. Edward Davis
Liam Wood Materials Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Halloysite based Antibacterial Paints
Mentor: Dr. Edward Davis
Luke Anderson Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Engineering in vitro three-dimensional colorectal cancer tissue models from patient-derived xenografts for application in personalized medicine
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Lipke
Erin Batcho Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Canine Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at 7T MRI
Mentor: Dr. Thomas Denney
Kelly Burnham Aerospace Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: The Non-Isentropic Solution to the Taylor-Culick Profile for Cylindrical and Slab Rocket Motors
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Majdalani
Kareem El-Kattan Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Synthesizing Peptide Sequences to Target Prostate Cancer Cells
Mentor: Dr. Allan David
Caroline George Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Development of a functional ex-vivo porcine heart to test and improve mitral valve repairing techniques
Mentor: Dr. Vrishank Raghav
Bryan Holmes Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Modeling of Photosynthetic Aeration for Energy Efficient Wastewater Treatment Processes
Mentor: Dr. Brendan Higgins
Mengyang (Claudia) Hu Chemical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Using post polymerization click-chemistry approaches to incorporate magnetic properties within polymer structures to prepare polymeric T1, T2 or T1 and T2 MRI contrast agents
Mentor: Dr. Bryan Beckingham
LeeAnn Johnston Ecological Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Exploring the Removal of Excess Nutrients and Heavy Metals From Polluted Water Bodies Through the Use of Macrophytes and Microorganisms
Mentor: Dr. Alan Wilson
Hudson Land Biosystems Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: The Assessment of Protein Feedstock Value of Cultivated Algal Biomass for Aquaponics Waste Nutrient Recycling
Mentor: Dr. David Blersch
Noah Miller Aerospace Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Harnessing Solar Energy to Perform Self-Folding Origami
Mentor: Dr. Russell Mailen
Mina Narayanan Software Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Adversarial Authorship: Exploring Features for Author Identification
Mentor: Dr. Gerry Dozier
Elizabeth Prior Civil Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Effectiveness of Measuring the Turbidity of Waterways with Near Infrared Imaging Obtained by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Mentor: Dr. Frances O'Donnell
David Teitge Mechanical Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Design and Construction of a Phase Change Flight Experiment for the International Space Station using micro-structured surfaces
Mentor: Dr. Sushil Bhavnani
Kelly Turner Civil Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Modeling the Influence of Ground Surface Roughness and Building Attributes on the Physical Vulnerability of Low-Rise Buildings to Hurricane Winds
Mentor: Dr. David Roueche
Eric Wietstruk Aerospace Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Engineering
Project Title: Study of the Aerodynamic Response of Birds to Turbulent Weather Conditions
Mentor: Dr. Vrishank Raghav
School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Cullen Anderson Wildlife Ecology and Management
Sponsor(s): Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Project Title: Spatial and Temporal Effects of Rural Mennonite Communities on Jaguar (Panthera onca) Populations in Belize
Mentor: Dr. Todd Steury
Kayla Krigger Wildlife Sciences
Sponsor(s): Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Project Title: The effects of temperature, air pressure, humidity, and habitat on the preferred bloodmeal of Aedes albopictus
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Zohdy
James Shortnacy Wildlife Ecology Management
Sponsor(s): Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Project Title: Estimating the Proportion of White-tailed Deer Illegally Harvested over Bait in Eastern Alabama
Mentor: Dr. William Gulsby
Arielle Fay Wildlife Ecology and Management
Sponsor(s): Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Project Title: Impacts of Wild Pigs on Acorn Availability
Mentor: Dr. Mark Smith
Alex Merchinsky Wildlife Sciences
Sponsor(s): Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Project Title: Ant Foraging Behavior Under Artificially Manipulated Temperatures
Mentor: Dr. Robert Gritzen & Dr. Christopher Lepczyk
College of Human Sciences
Emily Parra Nutrition Science
Sponsor(s): College of Human Sciences
Project Title: Lifestyle Determinants of Childhood Obesity in Elementary School Children
Mentor: Dr. Geetha Thangiah
Savannah Rundquist Nutrition-Dietetics
Sponsor(s): College of Human Sciences
Project Title: Exploring the effects of a high chlorophyll dietary intervention to reduce colon cancer risk in adults: The Meat and Three Greens (M3G) Feasibility Trial
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Fruge
College of Liberal Arts
Lauren Allison Communication Disorders
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Quantification of upper airway thermoregulation and vocal dose in indoor cycling fitness instructors with and without amplification: implications for vocal health
Mentor: Dr. Mary J. Sandage
Emma Goodwin English Literature
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: A More Virtuous Vice: An Intersection Between Games and Religion in Eleventh-Century Cambrai
Mentor: Dr. Kate Craig
Taylor Mackowski Spanish
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: L2 Spanish Learners’ Auditory Perception of Gender and Number and its Role in Relative Clause Attachment Resolution
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Vergara
Katie Martin English
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: The Impact of Document Design on Alcohol-Harm Awareness
Mentor: Dr. Helen Eldson
Jordan Wade Art History
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Defining and Discussing Afrofuturist Appropriations
Mentor: Dr. Kathryn Floyd
Pate Brunner Music Performance and Economics
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: A Musical and Historical Analysis of Jazz Trombone Performance and its Technical Adaptation in the Bebop Era and Beyond
Mentor: Dr. Michael Pendowski
Barbara Laughlin Psychology
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Perception of Situations Through Word Connotation: Impact on Anxiety
Mentor: Dr. Alejandro Lazarte
Stevan Marcus Economics
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Water Contamination and Infant Health in West Alabama
Mentor: Dr. Duha Altindag and Aditi Segupta
Haley Maul Psychology
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Workplace Decision Making and Risk Taking
Mentor: Dr. Ana Franco-Watkins
Sarah Webb Art History
Sponsor(s): College of Liberal Arts
Project Title: Exploring the relationships between the arts of the Kuba Kingdom and the Congo missionary outreach of the American Presbyterian church
Mentor: Dr. Kathryn Floyd
Harrison School of Pharmacy
Ayaka Fujihashi Biochemistry
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Assessment of the Neurotoxic Effects of Prenatal Nicotine and Alcohol Exposure on Hippocampus and Cortex of Rodents
Mentor: Dr. Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran
Ellery Jones Biochemistry
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Autotaxin and glutamatergic dysregulation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Dr. Vishnu Suppiramaniam
Shannon Maguire Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: The development of novel SIRT3 agonist for mitigating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Mentor: Dr. Rajesh Amin
Shivani Rangari Biomedical Sciences/Premed
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Improved Topical Delivery of Acyclovir on a Nanogel Formulation for Herpes Labialis.
Mentor: Dr. Jay Ramapuram
Elena Skarupa Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Treatment mediated differences in gene expression in multicellular 3D models of human breast cancer
Mentor: Dr. Robert Arnold
Ivy Hall Biochemistry
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Understanding How to Best Track Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) Infections in a Murine Model by Use of Fluorescence or Photo-acoustic Imaging
Mentor: Dr. Peter Panizzi
Tyler Lynd Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Honokiol Rescues Mitochondrial Functioning in a Parkinson’s Model
Mentor: Dr. Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran
Madison Patrick Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Correlation of MtSK Inhibitory Activity with Chemical Constituents in Alpinia galanga Identified by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry: A Biochemometrics Study Case
Mentor: Dr. Angela Calderon
Jack Schwartz Molecular and Cellular Biology
Sponsor(s): Harrison School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Use of Ketone Bodies as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Dr. Miranda Reed
College of Sciences and Mathematics
Daniel Akwa Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: The Roles of the Mitochondrial Carrier Family in Metal Homeostasis
Mentor: Paul Cobine
William Bowers Physics
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Electronic Surface Reconstruction and Defect Characterization in Complex Oxide Thin Films
Mentor: Ryan Comes
Milica Courtenay Integrative Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Testing whether sex-specific senescence in the lizard, Anolis sagrei, translates to the cellular level
Mentor: Dr. Tonia Schwartz
Kacie Florus Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Changes in Endothelial Cell Density in Sections of Cerebrum from PEA15 Mutant and Non-Mutant Cats.
Mentor: Dr. Emily Graff
Peyton Kuhlers Biochemistry
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Development of an in vitro model to evaluate novel genes regulating inflammation and fibrosis
Mentor: Dr. Michael Green
Amanda Mish Pre-Veterinary Medicine of Wildlife Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Testing the functional role of carotenoid coloration on survival from UV stress in the marine copepod, Tigriopus californicus
Mentor: Dr. Geoffrey Hill
Amanda Myles Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Characterizing the Role of Periplasmic Nitrate Reductase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Physiology
Mentor: Dr. Sang-Jin Suh
Morgan Sisk Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Investigation of antibacterial properties of adhesives used in the Europa Lander Mission
Mentor: Dr. Mark Liles
Phillip Wang Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Investing the role of diet and coloration on survival and vitality outcomes in the marine copepod, Tigriopus californicus
Mentor: Dr. Geoffrey Hill
Matthew Dylan Wilson Microbial Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: The role of PEA15 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in feline fibroblasts
Mentor: Dr. Emily Graff
Carson Blankenship Molecular Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: “Shock and Kill” Strategy against Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus: Defining Target Specificity and Potency of a Novel Antiviral Compound
Mentor: Dr. Joanna Sztuba-Solinska
Sabrina Cline Microbial, Cellular, and Molecular Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Understanding PAN’s Labyrinth: Tracking the subcellular localization of the oncogenic PAN RNA using in situ fluorescence microscopy techniques
Mentor: Dr. Joanna Sztuba-Solinska
Sarah Dolinger Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: The relationship between mental health, stress, and social supports in health profiles for high school athletes.
Mentor: Dr. Melissa Pangelinan
Katherine Hunter Biochemistry
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Exploring fundamental uranium and thorium chemistry using redox-active Schiff base ligands
Mentor: Dr. Anne Gorden
Sam Lubor Cell/Molecular Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Measuring and Comparing Oxidative Damage and Mitochondrial Function in Mammalian and Avian Species
Mentor: Dr. Wendy Hood
Jacob Mayhugh Chemistry
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Synthesis and characterization of zinc (II) bis(pyrrole)phenylenediamine complexes
Mentor: Dr. Anne Gordon
Alisa Mobley Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Synthesis and characterization of block-copolymers towards smart gating insulin release membranes
Mentor: Dr. Bryan Beckingham
Abigail Putz Biomedical Sciences
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Self-Efficacy of Mainstream Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers for English Language Learners
Mentor: Dr. Jamie Harrison
Morgan Tatum Physics
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Development of a COLTRIMS spectrometer for observing laser-atom interactions
Mentor: Dr. Marc Guillaume
Matthew Westerfield Chemistry
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: A Measure of Potency of Novel Protein Synthesis Inhibitors Using In vitro Translation Assay
Mentor: Dr. Alexey Petrov
Emma Yonan Biology
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Physiological responses of invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina) from Florida: how stress affects immune response and locomotor performance
Mentor: Dr. Mary Mendonca
University College/Aviation
Shelby Potter Aerospace Engineering
Sponsor(s): College of Sciences and Mathematics
Project Title: Effects of Severe Weather Phenomena on Commercial Aviation Accidents and Incidents
Mentor: Dr. James Birdsong
Last modified: February 1, 2019