College of Agriculture
James Bearrentine
Major: Horticulture Fruit and Vegetables
Project Title: Postharvest Quality of Microgreens Grown Using Synthetic and Organic Fertilizer
Mentor: Marlee Trandel
Mentor’s Department: Horticulture
Abigail Boggier
Major: Horticulture Fruit and Vegetables
Project Title: Understanding the implications of methodological variations of digestibility estimates from in vitro fermentation assays
Mentor: William Smith
Mentor’s Department: Department of Animal Sciences
Kristen Cartee
Major: Environmental Science
Project Title: Evaluating IRIS Films in Alabama Blackland Prairie Soils for Wetland Restoration
Mentor: Thorsten Knappenberber
Mentor’s Department: Crop Soil and Environmental Sciences
Michael Dub
Major: Applied Biotechnology
Project Title:
Mentor: Nannan Liu
Mentor’s Department: Entomology and Plant Pathology
Matthews UR Fellow
Carter Freeman
Major: Concurrent in Biosystems Engineering
Project Title: An AI-driven high-throughput sensing system for strawberry pest detection under
controlled environment agriculture
Mentor: Tanzeel Rehman
Mentor’s Department: Biosystems Engineering
Wesley Hare
Major: Applied Biotechnology
Project Title: The Fusarium oxysporum Pic2 in virulence on cotton
Mentor: Jeffrey Coleman
Mentor’s Department: Entomology and Plant Pathology
Matthew Hughes
Major: Poultry Science Production
Project Title: Effects of duck breed on egg quality, pH, and functional properties through 14 days of egg storage
Mentor: Dianna Bourassa
Mentor’s Department: Poultry Science
Lillian Jeffers
Major: ANSC Pre-veterinary
Project Title: The Functional Role of Arginine on Growth Performance in Starter Pigs
Mentor: Marko Rudar
Mentor’s Department: Animal Sciences
Natalie Johnson
Major: Microbial/Cell and Molecular Biology
Project Title: A Study of Co-culturing Streptococcus spp. Affecting Tilapia Production
Mentor: Timothy Bruce
Mentor’s Department: FAA Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
Madison Kinard
Major: Animal Sciences
Project Title: Effect of variety and species on digestibility and methane production potential of cool-season annual forages
Mentor: William Smith
Mentor’s Department: Department of Animal Sciences
Steven Mai
Major: Environmental Sciences
Project Title: A Toxic Love Story: Investigating PFAS Interactions with Aged Microplastics in Sediments
Mentor: Yaniv Olshansky
Mentor’s Department: Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
Eliza McGuirk
Major: Animal Sciences
Project Title: Taurine Stimulates 3T3-L1 Preadipocyte and C2C12 Myoblast Proliferation in Cell Culture
Mentor: Terry Brandenbourg
Mentor’s Department: Department of Animal Sciences
Parker Rae Menefee
Major: Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences
Project Title: Optimizing Hormone Therapy for Spawning Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus
Mentor: Rex Dunham
Mentor’s Department: School of Fisheries Aquatic Science
Riley Parman
Major: Global Studies
Project Title: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the +Add Milk! Program in Promoting Healthy Nutrition Among SNAP Recipients
Mentor:Joel Cuffey
Mentor’s Department: Agricultural Economy and Rural Sociology
Rachel Robinson
Major: Animal Sciences Pre-Vet and Music
Project Title: Evaluating Renal Arginase Activity in Modern Broilers
Mentor: Samuel Rochell
Mentor’s Department: Poultry Science
Lucas Speer
Major: Agriculture Science
Project Title: Pecan Shells as an Alternative to Pine Bark as Substrate for Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush Blueberry Cultivation
Mentor: James Spiers
Mentor’s Department: Horticulture
Katelyn Waddell
Major: Environmental Science
Project Title: Human Impacts on the Water Quality of Lake Yojoa, Honduras through Time.
Mentor: Matthew Waters
Mentor’s Department: Crop Soil and Environmental Sciences
Madalynn Welsh
Major: Applied Biotechnology
Project Title: Evaluating Cell-Free DNA as a Potential Bio-marker for Heifer Fertility
Mentor: Wellison Jarles
Mentor’s Department: Animal Sciences
College of Architecture, Design, and Construction
Katherine Backlund
Major: Environmental Design
Project Title: Inequity by Design
Mentor: Robert Sproull
Mentor’s Department: School of Architecture Plan and Landscape Architecture
Fiona Content
Major: Environmental Design
Project Title: /Blend(ing) Industrial Intelligence: Infrastructures and Stories
Mentor: Eilis Finnegan
Mentor’s Department: School of Architecture Plan and Landscape Architecture
Juntao Fang
Major: Environmental Design
Project Title:
Mentor: Kelley Homan
Mentor’s Department: School of Architecture Plan and Landscape Architecture
Caroline Purdy
Major: Environmental Design
Project Title: Cultivating Living Infrastructure in the Historic Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mentor: Kelley Homan
Mentor’s Department: School of Architecture Plan and Landscape Architecture
College of Education
Reagan Boledovic
Major: Exercise Science
Project Title: The effectiveness of Micro breaks in On-Duty Patrol Officers
Mentor: Joellen Sefton
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Marleigh Green
Major: Exercise Science & Nutrition
Project Title: The Effect of Innings on Rotational Velocities in Collegiate Baseball Pitchers
Mentor: Gretchen Oliver
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Susannah Harrell
Major: Exercise Science
Project Title: Investigate the Influence of Runway Walking Training on Gait Adaptation Using Asymmetric Visual Feedback: A Pilot Study
Mentor: Jaime Roper
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Caroline Keller
Major: Exercise Science Undergrad KESB
Project Title: Influence Of Ball Scaling on Pitching Kinetics in Youth Baseball: A Pilot Study
Mentor: Gretchen Oliver
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Aubrie Lisenby
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Project Title: The Effect of Rear Foot Center of Pressure on Application Forces and Rotational Velocities in Collegiate Softball Hitting
Mentor: Gretchen Oliver
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Elizabeth Wheeler
Major: Exercise Science
Project Title: The Role of Achilles Tendon Structure in Foot Arch Height and Walking Gait in Healthy Adults
Mentor: Christopher Wilburn
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Thomas Williams
Major: Exercise Science and Nutrition Wellness
Project Title: Investigating Sit-to-Stand Biomechanics as an Indicator of Mobility and Cognitive Function: A Pilot Study
Mentor: Jaime Roper
Mentor’s Department: School of Kinesiology
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
Nailah Braziel
Major: Ecological Engineering
Project Title:
Mentor: Bryan Beckingham
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Alex Brown
Major: Electrical Engineering
Project Title: Structured-Light 3D Imaging Using Off-the-Shelf Components
Mentor: Zihe Gao
Mentor’s Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
2024 Early Start Research Fellow
Charlotte Brown
Major: Physics
Project Title: Application of Quantum Computational Techniques to Velocity Map Imaging
Mentor: Richard Chapman
Mentor’s Department: Computer Science and Software Engineering
Matthews UR Fellow
Carson Bulgin
Major: Computer Science
Project Title:
Mentor: Sathyanarayanan Aakur
Mentor’s Department: Computer Science and Software Engineering
Sean Clark
Major: Pre-mechanical engineering
Project Title: Developing UV-LED photocrosslinking system for scalable 3-D tissue production
Mentor: Elizabeth Lipke
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Jordan Clemmons
Major: Chemical engineering
Project Title: Addition of Self-assembling Small Molecules to Cellulose Hydrogels to Enhance Gelation and Tune Microstructure
Mentor: Symone Alexander
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Cameron Cohen
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Mechanical Properties of Self-Folding Polymer Miura Ori
Mentor: Russell Mailen
Mentor’s Department: Aerospace Engineering
Greydon Franck
Major: Chemical Engineering
Project Title: Effect of MDBS on Material Properties of PE/PP Blends
Mentor: Symone Alexander
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Robert Gleason
Major: Graphic Design
Project Title: Implementing Design Principles to Improve Scientific Communication and Modeling Via Game Board Development
Mentor: Davide Guzzetti
Mentor’s Department: Aerospace Engineering
Benjamin Gunasekaran
Major: Chemical Engineering
Project Title:
Mentor: Elizabeth Lipke
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Jonah Henry
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: An Electrostatic Dehydration method for Celulose Fiber
Mentor: Lorenzo Cremaschi
Mentor’s Department: Mechanical Engineering
2024 Early Start Research Fellow
Kassandra Hileman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Paratrooper Injury Analysis of the Ankle and Foot
Mentor: Michael Zabala
Mentor’s Department: Mechanical Engineering
Robert Hudson
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: High throughput stochastic rare event buckling analysis of lattice structures
Mentor: Wen Luo
Mentor’s Department: Aerospace Engineering
Morgan Johnson
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Effects of Porous Surfaces on Oblique Impinging Shock Wave Boundary Layer Interaction Unsteadiness
Mentor: Brian Thurow
Mentor’s Department: Aerospace Engineering
Seohyeong Kim
Major: Chemical Engineering
Project Title: An Automated Approach for Analyzing Differentiated Cardiomyocytes
Mentor: Elizabeth Lipke
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Chandler Livingston
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Self-Folding Shape Memory Polymer Origami Activated by Joule Heating of Embedded Conductive Filaments
Mentor: Russell Mailen
Mentor’s Department: Aerospace Engineering
Camylle Lollar
Major: Chemical Engineering
Project Title: Extraction of Cellulose from Pecan Shells
Mentor: Symone Alexander
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Matthews UR Fellow
Mason Mathias
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Cost Improvements and SEA Implementation to the Blue Gripper for Education
Mentor: Chad Rose
Mentor’s Department: Mechanical Engineering
Parker Megginson
Major: Computer Engineering
Project Title: SAR ADC IC Design for data-converter Applications
Mentor: Fa Dai
Mentor’s Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Max Miller
Major: Industrial and Systems Engineering
Mentor: Yadrianna Acosta Sojo
Mentor’s Department: Industrial and Systems Engineering
William Stapleton
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Project Title: Investigating the Effect of Discrete Hydrostatic Pressure Gradients on Cancer Cell Migration
Mentor: Panagiotis Mistriotis
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Jerin Thomas
Major: Chemical Engineering
Project Title:
Mentor: Symone Alexander
Mentor’s Department: Chemical Engineering
Matthews UR Fellow
Nana Kwasi Nkansa Tweneboah
Major: Industrial and Systems Engineering
Project Title: Discovery of Novel 2D Materials from High Throughput Computational Etching of Experimentally Known Compounds
Mentor: Konstantin Klyukin
Mentor’s Department: Materials Engineering
Matthews UR Fellow
Samuel Yount
Major: Electrical Engineering
Project Title: Upper Limb Hybrid-Exoskeleton Construction
Mentor: Brendon Allen
Mentor’s Department: Mechanical Engineering
College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment
Shelby Davis
Major: Wildlife Ecology and Management
Project Title: Public Knowledge of and Interactions with the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)
Mentor: Wesley Anderson
Mentor’s Department: Forestry and Wildlife Services
Tess Lindow
Major: Wildlife Ecology and Managament
Mentor: Janna Wiloughby
Mentor’s Department: Forestry and Wildlife Services
Matthews UR Fellow
Garrison Sharp
Major: Sustainable Biomaterials and Packaging
Project Title: Reclamation and characterization of polyolefins from multilayer plastic packaging waste
Mentor: Yucheng Peng
Mentor’s Department: Forestry and Wildlife Services
Emily Tice
Major: Wildlife Ecology and Management
Project Title: Using Habitat Characteristics to Predict Mosquito Species Composition in Alabama
Mentor: Janna Wiloughby
Mentor’s Department: Wildlife Ecology and Management
Brianna Travis
Major: Natural Resources Management with a minor in Watershed Sciences
Project Title: Investigating the impacts of land use on soil biogeochemistry in headwater wetlands in Baldwin County, Alabama
Mentor: Christopher Anderson
Mentor’s Department: AU National Resource Management and Development Institute
Matthews UR Fellow
College of Human Sciences
Avery Crist
Major: Nutrition Wellness
Project Title: Investigating the Impact of Stigma and Awareness on College Student’s Access to Food Aid Resources at Auburn University
Mentor: Onika Brown
Mentor’s Department: Nutritional Sciences
Campbell Jernigan
Major: NTDX
Project Title: An In-vitro AML-12 Hepatocyte Model of Inflammation and Insulin Resistance
Mentor: Michael Greene
Mentor’s Department: Nutrition Dietetics and Hospitality
Lauren McGinness
Major: Nutrition Science
Project Title: The metabolic response of C57BL/6J mice to a high-fat diet supplemented with multivitamins
Mentor: Mehrnaz Abbasi
Mentor’s Department: Department of Nutritional Sciences
Kaleigh Miller
Major: Nutrition Science
Project Title: Parental Modeling of Physical Activity as a Moderator Between Punitive Discipline and Childhood Anxiety Symptoms
Mentor: Joshua Novak
Mentor’s Department: Human Development and Family Studies
College of Liberal Arts
Robert Anderson
Major: English Literature and Creative Writing
Project Title: Understanding Narratology in Actual Play of Tabletop Role-Playing Games
Mentor: Emily Friedman
Mentor’s Department: English
Harper Andrews
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Project Title: Gamification Hearing Screenings GESv3: A Validation Study
Mentor: Aurora Weaver
Mentor’s Department: Speech Language and Hearing Sciences
Kaitlyn DiThomas
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Working Memory and the Odor Span Task in Humans
Mentor: Jeffery Katz
Mentor’s Department: Psychological Sciences
Lilly Dunaway
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Mentor: Razan Al Fakir
Mentor’s Department: Speech Language and Hearing
Lindsay Gardner
Major: Psychology
Project Title: How prepared do first generation college students feel coming into college and how can colleges help them?
Mentor: Sara Driskell
Mentor’s Department: Psychological Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
Addison Garrot
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Project Title: Predicting Word Reading and Spelling from Speech Sound Errors
Mentor: Anna Ehrhorn
Mentor’s Department: Speech Language and Hearing Sciences
Gracie Hundley
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Project Title: Importance of Scoring Spelling in Children with Speech Sound Disorder
Mentor: Anna Ehrhorn
Mentor’s Department: Speech Language and Hearing Sciences
Allison Keller
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Changes in College Students’ Social Media Use and Well-Being from 2020 to 2024
Mentor: Sarah Lust
Mentor’s Department: Psychological Sciences
Annabelle Lacy
Major: Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
Project Title: Muscle-Based Swallowing Intervention: A Systematic Review of Protocol Fidelity to Muscle Training Theory and Practice
Mentor: Mary Sandage
Mentor’s Department: Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
Toni Lee
Major: Anthropology
Project Title: Anemia and Health in the Past: An Evaluation of a Recent Quantitative Method for Scoring Cranial Porous Lesions
Mentor: Kristina Shuler
Mentor’s Department: Sociology
Lilyann Mason
Major: Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Project Title: Functional Balance and Movement Profiles in Long-Term Hearing Aid Users Compared to Non-Hearing Aid Users with Age-Related Hearing Loss
Mentor: Razan Al Fakir
Mentor’s Department: Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Faith Miller
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Examining the Relationship Between Trait Worry and Cognitive Impairments
Mentor: Susan Earp
Mentor’s Department: Psychology
Lucero Montero
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Understanding Athletes’ Sense of Purpose and Mental Health Challenges
Mentor: Sara Driskell
Mentor’s Department: Psychological Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
McCarley Rickman
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Science
Project Title: Public Perceptions of Stuttering on Auburn University’s Campus
Mentor: Gregory Spray
Mentor’s Department: Speech, Language, and Hearing Science
Natalie White
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Religion Across Auburn’s Campus and its Effect on Students
Mentor: Sara Driskell
Mentor’s Department: Psychological Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
College of Nursing
Katherine Bailey
Major: Nursing Science
Project Title: Exploring Factors Influencing College Students’ Reporting of Antidepressant Medication Adverse Drug Reactions
Mentor: Caitlin Moore
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Madison Beavers
Major: Nursing
Project Title: A Holistic Approach to Pediatric T1 Diabetes Management.
Mentor: Christine Feeley
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Madison Goehle
Major: Animal Science
Project Title: A Study on the Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Academic-Induced Anxiety in Auburn University Students
Mentor: Beverly Yordy
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Nora Heeney
Major: Nursing
Project Title: Safe Space at Auburn
Mentor: Seth Perry
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Matthews UR Fellow
Kendall McCallum
Major: Nursing
Project Title: Perinatal Mental Health Outcomes and Breast-Feeding Duration in Home and Birth Center Deliveries
Mentor: Katilya Shandrell Ware
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Matthews UR Fellow
David Murray
Major: Nursing
Project Title: Assessing and optimizing the health and resiliency of undergraduate nursing students
Mentor: Andrew Fruge
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Leticia Raymundi Pinhei
Major: Nursing
Mentor: Claire Thompson
Mentor’s Department: Nursing
Matthews UR Fellow
College of Sciences and Mathematics
Victoria Cover
Major: Biochemistry
Project Title: Fluorescence Behavior of Probe Molecules in Model Aerosol Constituents
Mentor: Paul Ohno
Mentor’s Department: Chemistry & Biochemistry
Ashley Desilva
Major: Microbial Biology
Project Title: Exploring Population Dynamics of Bacillus and Paenibacillus Co-Culture and Its Effects On Soybean Disease Control
Mentor: Mark Liles
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
Emma Drake
Major: Chemistry
Project Title: Regioselective Dearomative Benzylation of an Unsubstituted Pyrylium Salt
Mentor: Rashad Karimov
Mentor’s Department: Chemistry & Biochemistry
Parker Ensminger
Major: Microbiology
Project Title: Formation of Synaptosomes by APE1 Protein and its relation to gene regulation
Mentor: Mohtadin Hashemi
Mentor’s Department: Physics
Megan Fitzgerald
Major: Biochemistry
Project Title: How do Ribosomes Make Proteins? Direct Tracking of Translation with Single-Molecule FRET
Mentor: Alexey Petrov
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
Brielle Hay
Major: Animal Science
Project Title: Examining possible sex-specific mortality due to heat in finch embryos
Mentor: Haruka Wada
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
David Goymer
Major: Physics
Project Title:
Mentor: Evdokiya Kostadinova
Mentor’s Department: Physics
Matthews UR Fellow
Bennett Jetmundsen
Major: Biochemistry/Genetics
Project Title: Does Oxidative Stress and Reduced Mitochondrial Count Contribute to Hybrid Breakdown
Mentor: Wendy Hood
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
Aidan Knox
Major: Geology and Aerospace Engineering
Project Title: Refining Age Estimates of Escorias from the Argentinian Pampas
Mentor: Willis Hames
Mentor’s Department: Geology and Geography
Benjamin Lightfoot
Major: Physics
Project Title: Improving the Accuracy of Atomic Fluorescence Efficiencies for Solar System Science
Mentor: Dennis Bodewits
Mentor’s Department: Physics
Alexandra McGrew
Major: Wildlife Ecology and Management
Project Title: Understanding the Effect of Ultraviolet Light Exposure on Modified and Unmodified Pigments in Yellow Songbirds
Mentor: Geoffrey Hill
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
Matthews UR Fellow
McKae Sarkowski
Major: Organismal Biology- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Project Title: Why are Male Sliders Small? The Role of Sexual Selection in Maintaining Male Size in a Pond Turtle
Mentor: Matthew Wolak
Mentor’s Department: Biology
Rebecca Strain
Major: Civil Engineering
Project Title: Investigation of Gender Performativity and Identity Development for Engineers
Mentor: Eric Burkholder
Mentor’s Department: Physics
Seoyeong Woo
Major: Microbiology
Project Title: Exploring Population Dynamics of Bacillus and Paenibacillus Co-Culture and Its Effects on Soybean Disease Control
Mentor: Mark Liles
Mentor’s Department: Biological Sciences
James Harrison College of Pharmacy
Amatallah Saulawa
Major: International Studies and Public and One Health
Project Title: Shared Clinical Decision-Making on Vaccines in Community Pharmacies
Mentor: Salisa Westrick
Mentor’s Department: Pharmacy Care Systems
Matthews UR Fellow
Markelle Scott
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Project Title: Do ERBB4-ERBB2 heterodimers drive ERBB4-dependent, ERBB2-dependent, BRAF WT melanoma cell lines?
Mentor: David Riese
Mentor’s Department: Drug Discovery and Development
Matthews UR Fellow
Alexander Shipp
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Mentor: Angela Calderon
Mentor’s Department: Drug Discovery and Development
Matthews UR Fellow
College of Veterinary Medicine
Aaron Bohn
Major: Psychology
Project Title: Health Literacy: An Observational CrossSectional Survey in an Alabama Community
Mentor: Andrea Perkins
Mentor’s Department: Clinical Sciences
Devin Cooper
Major: Applied Biotechnology, Microbiology
Project Title: Elucidation of CAV Tropism
Mentor: Payal Agarwal
Mentor’s Department: Scott Ritchey Research Center
Henry Limbo
Major: Genetics
Project Title: Age and Sex Influence Tau and Beta-Amyloid Pathology in a 3xTg Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Daniel Kroeger
Mentor’s Department: Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacy
Matthews Scholars Program Fellow
Nathan Newman
Major: Biomedical Sciences, Pre-Medical
Project Title: Peptide-mediated CD206-targeting of tumor associated macrophages for Cancer Therapy
Mentor: Maninder Sandey
Mentor’s Department: Pathobiology
Gabrielle Schultz
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Project Title: Regulation of Luteinizing Hormone as an Alternative to Traditional Spay/Neuter
Mentor: Douglas Martin
Mentor’s Department: Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacy
Isabella Shimko-Lofano
Major: Biomedical Sciences
Project Title: Characterization of cytopathic affect of AUM4
Mentor: Payal Agarwal
Mentor’s Department: Scott-Ritchey Research Center
Carrie Smith
Major: Microbiology
Project Title: The potential role of Phosphoprotein Enriched in Astrocytes-15 (PEA15) in the regulation of circadian rhythm and metabolic disease.
Mentor: Emily Graff
Mentor’s Department: Pathobiology