Undergraduate Research Awards for 2022-2023 have been awarded to 70 students from disciplines and departments across campus. Click on the names below to read the abstracts that summarize each research project, and mark your calendars to attend Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day to see these students present their research findings.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | W | Y
Darcie Adams“The Embodiment of Autism: How does it feel to be intimidating?”
Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies
Dr. Drew Holladay
Asimit Bhattarai“Data-Driven and Multiscale Investigation of Metal-Air/Sulphur Cathodes at Chemical Accuracy”
Physics
Dr. Can Ataca
Karli Blanford“Individual Factors Affecting Speech Perception”
Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication
Dr. David Beard
Tamia Bowers“The effects of spaceflight conditions on the intrinsic properties of Ti3C2 MXenes: Implications for nanoscale applications”
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Swapnil Ambade
Caylee Brown“Aromatherapy or Toxic Exposure: Investigation into the Effect of Various Electronic Cigarette Vapor Exposure Methods on the Olfactory System of Aging Mice”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Weihong Lin
Katrina Bucci“Investigating locomotion decline in the Drosophila model for Alzheimer’s Disease”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff
Francesca Burton“Using Behavioral Assays to Study Genes Associated with Autism and Schizophrenia in Drosophila Fruit Flies”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff
Alanna Carter“Identifying the Role of Physical Tissue Features in Border Cell Migration in Fruit Flies”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Michelle Starz-Gaiano
Sera Chase“Examining Circadian Modulation of Ethanol-Addiction Behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff
Ahamed Chowdhury“Analyzing the Effects of Varied Age and Genotype on H3K4me3 Epigenetic Modification Levels in Drosophila Melanogaster”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeff Leips
Sergio Diaz“Neural Network Enhanced DEER Spectroscopy for Optoelectronic Materials”
Physics
Dr. Jason Kestner
Ousmane Diop“The History of Sexual Assault and Violence and its Effects on Black Women”
History and Political Science
Dr. Michelle Scott
Tara Donovan“Disability from Below at the Asklepieion at Epidaurus”
Ancient Studies
Dr. Molly Jones-Lewis &
Dr. David Rosenbloom
Casey Douglas“Characterization of Aspergillus nidulans ∆mpkA∆hogA Strain”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Mark Marten
Nadia Egbunine“Developing a high throughput screen for targeting oncoprotein Zinc finger protein 217 (ZNF217)”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan
Amanze Ejiogu“Development of a Ozonesonde Telemetry Reception Station Using Software Defined Radio (SDR)”
Physics
Dr. Ruben Delgado
Emily Ferketic“Endoreversible Otto Engines in Curved Space-time”
Physics
Dr. Sebastian Deffner
Alyssa Foster“Establishing an anatomical map of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus projections to the nucleus accumbens”
Dr. Tara LeGates
Demetrie Garner“Emergency Department Wait Times and the Effects on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Patients”
Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health
Dr. Anushka Aqil
Bethel Ghezai“Analyzing the Effects of Varied Age and Genotype on H3K4me3 Epigenetic Modification Levels in Drosophila Melanogaster”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeff Leips
Kevin Gibbons“Determining the oncogenic potential of ADCK5 in ovarian cancer cells”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan
Garrett Hill“Characterization of the Aspergillus nidulans protein kinase PrkA”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Mark Marten
Edward Steven Humes“Energy Efficient Inference Implementation on Crazyflie Drones”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Tinoosh Mohsenin
Kamden Iverson“Structure-Function Analysis of Zinc Finger Protein 217 (ZNF217)”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan
Musa Jafri“Diversity Hiring Practices and trends within UMBC”
Political Science
Dr. Lisa Pace-Vetter
Casey Jillson“Analyzing the Causes Behind the Difficulties in Immigrant Unemployment”
Social Work
Dr. Kerri Evans
Elizabeth Kane“Bonding Rates of Charge Accepting Molecules on Quantum Dots”
Physics
Dr. Matthew Pelton
Arjun Kanjarpane“Investigating Competition between the HIV-1 Proteins Rev and Gag for Stem 1 of the Rev Response Element”
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Michael Summers
Matthew Kelbaugh“Calamity or Revenge? The US Withdrawal from Afghanistan through Russia Print Media”
Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication
Dr. Vira Zhdanovych
Lily Kidd“Targeting Influenza by Inhibiting Palmitoylation”
Chemistry
Dr. Paul Smith
Brian Lynch“Optimal Measurements for Quantum Euler Relation”
Physics
Dr. Sebastian Deffner
JR Mkpasi“Investigating the Neurological Links Associated with Immunity Using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Organism”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeff Leips
Sara Motamedi“Examining Plasticity of Ventral Hippocampus-Nucleus Accumbens Synapses During Contextual Learning”
Biological Sciences and Psychology
Dr. Tara LeGates
Brooke Nelson“Targeting Influenza by Inhibiting Palmitoylation”
Chemistry
Dr. Paul Smith
Simeon Nelson“Effects of APPL Mutation Gene on Male Drosophila”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff
Melissa Nguyen“Understanding the Impact of Religious Discrimination and Parental Religious Socialization on Muslim American Emerging Adults’ Mental Health”
Psychology
Dr. Charissa Cheah
Ellie Ober“Investigating the Role of the Actin 57B Gene on the Age-Related Changes in Immune Response”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeff Leips
Kyle O’Brien“Usage on the Internet”
Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication Language
Dr. Renée Lambert-Brétière
Paul Ocone“Otaku sexuality and subcultural politics at anime conventions”
Individualized Study
Dr. Bambi Chapin
Gloria Ogordi“Regulator of G – Protein Signaling 7’s Analgesic Modulation on Adolescent Mice”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Laurie Sutton
Wanwei Pan“Aspergillus nidulans mpkA deletion strain mycelium material”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Mark Marten
Saeed Pate“Police Perspectives on Identifying Behaviors Associated With Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Psychology
Dr. Mirela Cengher
Riya Patel“Immigrant Attitudes Towards Women in Power Based on Country of Origin – A Comparative Analysis”
Political Science
Dr. Felipe Filomeno
Tatiana Perez“Phenotypic Characterization of the Aspergillus nidulans ΔmpkAΔnrc2 Deletion Strain”
Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Mark Marten
Grayson Pipher“Design and Synthesis of Reverse Fleximer Analogues of Clevudine”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke
Yamini Ravi“Investigating the Role of the Actin 57B Gene on the Age-Related Changes in Immune Response”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Jeff Leips
Theo Reinert“Language of Toys; Transmission and Circulation of Ideologies”
Media and Communications
Dr. Jason Loviglio
Sebastian Ritschel“The Canadian Trucker Convoy and the Impact of Conspiracies on Modern Politics”
Political Science
Dr. Thomas Schaller
Anthony Rivera“Fair needs-based ranking of the Medicaid Waitlist”
Information Systems
Dr. James Foulds
Roshnee Roberts“Investigating sex differences in GABAB receptor subunit expression in the mouse nucleus accumbens”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Tara LeGates
Ava Sekowski“The Impact of Gay Dance Clubs on the Lives of LGBTQ+ Rights in Baltimore”
Media & Communications
Dr. Kate Drabinski
Andrea Sequeira“Characterization of ΔmpkAΔsnf1 Double Deletion Strain in Aspergillus nidulans”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Mark Marten
Shefra Shah“The Behavioral Effects in the Offspring of E-Cigarette Exposed Pregnant Mice”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Weihong Lin
Christina Shrestha“Investigating Ethanol and its Neuroprotective Effects In Aging Drosophila(flies)”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Fernando Vonhoff
Sukh Singh“Decontamination of Chemical Warfare Agents with Metal-Organic Frameworks”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Lisa Kelly
Sean Starkloff “TBD”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Weihong Lin
Zachary Starr“Analyzing Strategies for Successful Expansion of Healthcare Policies to Undocumented Residents”
Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health
Dr. Sarah Chard &
Professor Katie Birger
Raina Tam“An Exploration of Associations between Asian American Parent Feeding Practices and Child Self-Regulation and BMI”
Psychology
Dr. Charissa Cheah
Katherine Taylor“The Impact of Reinforcement on Mating Preferences in the Tessellated Darter, Etheostoma olmstedi”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Tamra Mendelson
Renata Taylor-Smith“The Amish Project in Germany”
Theatre
Mr. Adam Mendelson
Taylor Thorsen“Preparation and Characterization of the Efficiency of Cisplatin-Loaded Gold Nanorattles”
Chemistry
Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel
Khoa Tran“Self-Expression: A Reckoning of Identity, Sexuality, Society, and Culture”
Visual Arts
Jules Rosskam
Pavan Umashankar“Structure Function Analysis of Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 15 in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan
Zakarya Wahed“Understanding the role of dp genes in asymmetric cell division and cell division number in Volvox carteri”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Stephen Miller
Tommy Waldo“Shroom People: A short narrative exploring material characters”
Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication
Dr. Robert Pawloski &
Dr. Colette Searls
Yasmine Ward“Isolation and purification of recombinant SOX9 protein”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan
August Wichmann“How Twilight’s Target Audience’s Relationship To The Franchise Has Evolved”
Sociology
Dr. Liz Patton
Alexandra Lyn Wise“Design and Synthesis of Reverse Fleximer Cidofovir Analogues”
Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke
Vivian Yeh“Ghost Station: An Interactive Exploration of Time, Mortality, and the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Visual Arts
Mr. Ryan Zuber
Evelyn Yuen“The Response to 1920s Anti-Missionary Movement of Missionary Schools in Southern China”
History
Dr. Meredith Oyen
11/5/2022