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Research Day

Research Day

 

Undergraduate Research Day 2025

An exciting interdisciplinary showcase of the work of °®¶¹´«Ã½ undergraduates, the annual Research Day event features presentations by students of their research, scholarly investigation, theses and projects. Awards will be given for best presentations. 

First Place, Oral Presentation: Ethan Reyes, “SWEET Pea: Functional Characterization of SWEET1 and SWEET10 Sugar Transporters in Pisum sativumâ€
Second Place, Oral Presentation: Antonio Rame, “Coevolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Drosophila melanogaster via a Chronic Oral Infection Model† 
Third Place, Oral Presentation: Larissa Tuttle, “Prude or Prophet?: Towards a Rehabilitation of Shame in Catholic Thought and Sacramentsâ€
Honorable Mention, Oral Presentation: Thérèse Castillo, “Conversations at the Table: The Catholic Approach to Gender and Sexualityâ€

First Place, Poster Presentation: Anna Karki,  â€œEffects of Ketogenic Diet on the Heart Metabolismâ€
Second Place, Poster Presentation: Maryam Zeaa, “Synthesis of Kobayashi Precursors and Exploration of Aryne Insertions into Trimethyl Borateâ€
Third Place, Poster Presentation: Isabel Prieto, “Investigating the Growth and Distribution of Bathypathes in the Pacific Remote Islandsâ€
Honorable Mention, Poster Presentation: Peter Warner, “CoASH plays a Key Role in Insulin-Dependent Activation of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase in the Heartâ€
Honorable Mention, Poster Presentation: Alecia Paul, “The Slow but Steady RuBisCO: Utilizing a Recombinant RuBisCO to Inform Optimization"

12:00 - 1:20 p.m. | Oral Presentation Session #1 

12:00 p.m. Luis Fernando Fuentes, “Is Philosophy Useless?† 
12:10 p.m. Emma Wells,  “St Elizabeth Ann Seton: Life and Conversionâ€
12:20 p.m. Ricardo Avila Sanchez, “Characterizing the T-Cell receptor 𛃠Repertoire of ARDS Using Immune Sequencingâ€
12:30 p.m. Jennifer Schmalz, “Investigating male pregnancy in Gulf Pipefish using scanning electron microscopy to describe the anatomy of the brood pouch over the reproductive cycleâ€
12:40 p.m. Binoya Bhatt, “Inferior Genes: Women of Color and the Question of Beautyâ€
12:50 p.m. Max Hastreiter, “The Pursuit of Meaning: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Experience of Meaningâ€
1:00 p.m. Grace Bilnoski,  “Doña Inés as an Angel: An Exploration of Women's Empowerment in Catholic Doctrine and Don Juan Tenorio (1844) by José Zorrillaâ€
1:10 p.m. Theodore Nguyen, “Enzymatic Degradation of Jet Fuel Hydrocarbons by Pseudomonas aeruginosaâ€


Noon - 2:00 p.m. | Poster Presentation Session #1 

    1. Madison Meduna, “Optimizing and Tailoring Machine Learning Models to Predict pKaâ€
    2. Nathaniel del Puerto, “Biomolecular Modeling of Immune Sequences to Uncover Genomic Patterns in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome"
    3. Maryam Zeaa, “Synthesis of Kobayashi Precursors and Exploration of Aryne Insertions into Trimethyl Borateâ€
    4. Sara Cantu, “The Relationship between Attitude Towards Physical Activity, Academic Success, Life Satisfaction, Depression and Anxietyâ€
    5. Karli Puri,  “Artificial Intelligence Analysis of Cellular Viability and Size in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndromeâ€
    6. Thomas Raglow, “Recovery of the Flower Mound, an Urban Prairie Ecosystem, following a Fire Disturbanceâ€
    7. Rebecca Leonard, “Do you See Me? A Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Being Seenâ€
    8. Alecia Paul, “The Slow but Steady RuBisCO: Utilizing a Recombinant RuBisCO to Inform Optimizationâ€
    9. Brooke McCall,  “Alone Together: A Correlation Study on Social Media, Loneliness and Life Satisfactionâ€
    10. Sophia Hormillosa, “Total Eclipse of the Heart: A Phenomenologically-Inspired Reflexive Thematic Analysis of the Experience of Traumaâ€
    11. Lizeth Leyva,  “Valvatida Sea Stars in the Deep Pacific: Abundance and Environmental Relationships†

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Oral Presentation Session #2  

2:00 p.m. Antonio Rame, “Coevolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Drosophila melanogaster via a Chronic Oral Infection Model† 
2:10 p.m. Ethan Reyes, “SWEET Pea: Functional Characterization of SWEET1 and SWEET10 Sugar Transporters in Pisum sativumâ€
2:20 p.m. Nadia Guerrero, “ SWEET Pea: Investigating the Roles of SWEET1 and SWEET10 Sugar Transporters in Pisum sativum"
2:30 p.m. Heidi Hughes, “The Sustenance of Selfhood: Dickinson’s Renunciative Poetic as Agentive Subjecthoodâ€
2:40 p.m. Thérèse Castillo, “Conversations at the Table: The Catholic Approach to Gender and Sexualityâ€
2:50 p.m. Mary Anne Panganiban, Sarah Dilley, Gala Gutirrez, and Saraih Mendoza, “Streaming with Purpose: How Netflix Can Transform Social Interaction into Competitive Advantageâ€


2:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Poster Presentation Session #2  

12. Nolia Alexander, “Decoding College Success: Exploring The Relationship Between GPA, Learning Style, Major, and Anxietyâ€
13. Kathleen George, “Mechanistic Studies of Asymmetric Side-Capped Double Decker Silsesquioxane Synthesis† 
14. Noemi Del Campo,  “Coevolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Drosophila melanogaster in a Chronic Infection Model and Investigation of the Red Queen Hypothesisâ€
15. Sara Ame, “Racial Disparities in Social Status: Students' Loneliness, Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Belongingâ€
16. Peter Warner, “CoASH plays a Key Role in Insulin-Dependent Activation of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase in the Heartâ€
17. Anna Karki,  “Effects of Ketogenic Diet on the Heart Metabolism† 
18. Kimberly Burch, “The Effect of Casinos on Family Time†  
19. Maximo Mengelle, “Being Authenticâ€
20. Michael Christov, “Social Media Addiction and its Relationship to Loneliness and Life Satisfactionâ€
21. Isabel Prieto, “Investigating the Growth and Distribution of Bathypathes in the Pacific Remote Islandsâ€


3:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Oral Presentation Session #3 

3:00 p.m.  Patricio Martinez Rodriguez, “Self Help in Colonias: Communities Address the Failures of State Policy† 
3:10 p.m. Lucas Rodriguez, “Algorithmic randomness in harmonic analysis† 
3:20 p.m. Larissa Tuttle, “Prude or Prophet?: Towards a Rehabilitation of Shame in Catholic Thought and Sacramentsâ€
3:30 p.m. Charles Dea, “Bots, Bandits, and Backgammon Graphics Engineâ€
3:40 p.m. Maria Cordero, “Coral Growth After Microfragmentation† 
3:50 p.m. Sharanya Palit, “Searching for Exoplanets in Various Star Systemsâ€

4:15 p.m. | Reception and Concluding Remarks

2025 Research Day Gallery


Previous Winners

2024 Research Day

First Place, Oral Presentation: Joann Nguyen
Second Place, Oral Presentation: Abigail Fritz
Third Place, Oral Presentation: Monique Bedolla

First Place Poster Presentation: Antonio Rame
Second Place Poster Presentation (tie): Kathleen George,  Nathan Pham
Third Place, Poster Presentation: Kate Sullivan
Honorable Mention, Poster Presentation  : Farah Atatrah, Hannah Mohr, Luisa De Vuono, Michael Pecha

2023 Research Day

Best Oral Presentation: Emma Bergman