Fall 2026 Awards
| Department | Faculty Sponsor | Student(s) | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Sciences | Abbie Tomba | Sydney Krug Chloe Mahanes | Distribution and transmission of trematode parasites in the freshwater snail Elmia virginica |
| Biological Sciences | Andrew Dolby | Maya Schram | Understanding the Distribution of Foxes and Coyotes within Developed Areas using Camera Traps and Airborne eDNA |
| Biological Sciences | April Wynn | Karen Rainey Hajer Bourenane | Genes Incorporated into Firefly Petunia |
| Biological Sciences | April Wynn | Khadeejah Alsheikh | Develop targeted CRISPR for multiple genes in the ILc operon within E. coli. |
| Biological Sciences | Deborah O’Dell | Allison Stephanie Garcia Aguirre | The Investigation of Cytokine IL-18 Release Based on the Interaction of a7 Subunit nAChR Receptors with the Adrenergic Norepinephrine Pathway in Microglial Cultures Exposed to Chronic Nicotine Exposure |
| Biological Sciences | Deborah O’Dell | Gracie Fugleberg | Cholesterol Influence on Tau Uptake via Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Subtypes. |
| Biological Sciences | Deborah O’Dell | Jayda Sanchez | Comparing the Effects of Amyloid-ß and Hyperphosphorylated Tau on the Release of Soluble TREM2 (sTREM2) from Microglial Cells |
| Biological Sciences | Deborah O’Dell | Mikyas Telahun | The Effect of Norepinephrine and Adrenergic Receptor Activity on mFPR2 Expression and Amyloid-ß Clearance in SIM-A9 Microglia |
| Biological Sciences | Dianne Baker | Ariel Goldberg Alexa Lara | Effects of the gut microbiome on skeletal formation in zebrafish |
| Biological Sciences | Dianne Baker | Carleigh Dillman Abaigeal Higgins | The role of thyroid hormone in larval development in zebrafish. |
| Biological Sciences | Dianne Baker | Mary Dzibela Aksel Naumann | Effect of ALAN exposure on the acute and chronic stress responses in the developing zebrafish brain |
| Biological Sciences | Brad Lamphere | Grace Mann | Stream Fish Research |
| Biological Sciences | Deborah O’Dell | Nathaly Ventura | Effects of Propranolol on TNF-alpha Expression in Microglia in Alzheimer’s Disease |
| Biological Sciences | Ginny Morriss | Alaa Elhassan | Evaluating the role of Pvr signaling in myotonic dystrophy |
| Biological Sciences | Ginny Morriss | Rylan Michael Neal | Quantification of PDGFRß and PDGFB Expression in a Human Muscle Model of Myotonic Dystrophy |
| Biological Sciences | Laura Sipe | Ella Schmidt | Immunogenic Cell Death Gene Signature in a novel pre-clinical model of triple negative breast cancer |
| Biological Sciences | Laura Sipe | Evan Fisher | Altering PD-L1 Expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer via Chemotherapy and Macrophage Co-Culture |
| Biological Sciences | Laura Sipe | Huzaifa Shaikh | Tumor-Stromal Interactions in Breast Cancer: Effects of Metastatic E0771-LMB Cells on Fibroblast Activation and ECM Contraction |
| Biological Sciences | Laura Sipe | Mohammad Ali Hassan | Ferroptosis in Methionine Restriction |
| Biological Sciences | Lauren Cirino | Brooke Cunningham | Do reproductive tradeoffs influence male mating behavior in a multi-mating scenario? |
| Biological Sciences | Lauren Cirino | Evie Gaffney | Courtship behaviors and gonad development in Spotted Lanternflies |
| Biological Sciences | Lauren Cirino | Israel Logan | Fighting vibrations of red milkweed beetles in male-male competition |
| Biological Sciences | Lauren Cirino | Jessi LaBruno | The Role of Immunity and Diet on Somatic-Reproduction Tradeoffs in Female Insects |
| Biological Sciences | Parrish Waters | Anna Dube | Mouse models in social stress choice |
| Biological Sciences | Parrish Waters | Italy Burch | Effects of GLP-1 on wheel running exercise in female mice. |
| Biological Sciences | Parrish Waters | Izzy Vanderhart | Measuring the physiological effects of social subordination |
| Biological Sciences | Parrish Waters | Sydney Bronski | Exercise effects on immune function and anxiety |
| Biological Sciences | Parrish Waters | Yuka Parton Jordyn Chaimiti | The influence of female reproductive cycle on voluntary exercise. |
| Biological Sciences | Theresa Grana | John Schley, Jr | Phenotypic Assay and cloning of Mycobacteriophage Zapner Genes. |
| Chemistry and Physics | Desmond Villalba | Wood Lin | Plant Health Sensor |
| Chemistry and Physics | Nicole Crowder | Hayden George Hyun Cho | Investigations of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Electrocatalysts for the Chemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide |
| Chemistry and Physics | Randall Reif | Franco Trujillo Quiann Sun | Investigations of PPI Toxicity in Cancer Cells |
| Earth and Environmental Sciences | Ben Kisila | Abigail Baldwin | Analysis of Trace Metal Pollution and Associated Health Risk in the South Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia, USA |
| Earth and Environmental Sciences | Melanie Szulczewski | Clarisa Johnson Natalie Froustet | A pXRF Comparison of Brick Chemical Composition In Buildings Spanning 150 Years In Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Earth and Environmental Sciences | Melanie Szulczewski | Kelly Ross Grace Anderson | Assessing Nutrient and Heavy Metal Concentrations In Fresh Produce from a Variety of Sources Using a Portable x-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer |
| Earth and Environmental Sciences | Pamela Grothe | Avery Duncan Nolan Powers | Evaluating d18O from the Giant Clam, Tridacna maxima, for Reconstructing Past Climate and ENSO Variability at Kiritimati Island &Development of an AI-Based Grain Size Analysis Method and its Application in a Fluvial Confluence Setting |
| Earth and Environmental Sciences | Tyler Frankel | Garrett Driscoll Hannah Reents | Request for Funds to Support Four Research Projects and Travel To National Conference |
| Mathematics | Melody Denhere | Belén Telahun | Evaluating News Sentiment for Short-Term Stock Prediction |
| Mathematics | Randall Helmstutler | Juniper Creskoff | |
| Mathematics | Randall Helmstutler | Ashton Crawford | |
| Department | Faculty Sponsor | Student(s) | Project |
Summer 2025 Awards
Students from several departments applied for funding to attend conferences to present research, compete in academic competitions, and purchase supplies to complete research. The current semester of faculty sponsors, the students, and the title of the projects are listed by department below.
| Sponsor Department | Student Name | Faculty Sponsor Name | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AACPR | Sophia Heinbach | Angela Pitts | Archaeology of Apollonia Pontica |
| BIOL | Ashlynnn Peszko and Jamie Volk | Dianne Baker | Studies in fish physiology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences |
| BIOL | Tori Croley | Swati Agrawal | Exploring the Role of a Putative ER Protein in Membrane Contact Site Formation in Toxoplasma gondii |
| HISASOC | Connor O’Brien | Nabil Al-Takriti | Research Into the Creation of the Iraq Petroleum Company (Now British Petroleum) |
| HISASOC | Maxwell Hinznay | Steven Harris | Veterans of the Lincoln Bridge Brigade and the Second World War -HIST 485 |