Current Scholars

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.

Information for current scholars

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

– Back –

Karli Blanford
“Influence of Japanese and English Language Competence on Perceptions of Intentionally Obscure Japanese-English Song Lyrics”
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

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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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

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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

– Back –

Emily Ferketic
“Endoreversible Otto Engines in Curved Space-time”
Physics
Dr. Sebastian Deffner

Alyssa Foster
“Design and Synthesis of Reverse Fleximer Cidofovir Analogues”
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke

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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

– Back –

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

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Edward Steven Humes
“Energy Efficient Inference Implementation on Crazyflie Drones”
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dr. Tinoosh Mohsenin

Kamden Iverson
“Structure-Function Analysis of Zing Finger Protein 217 (ZNF217)”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

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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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

– Back –

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

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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

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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

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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

– Back –

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

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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

– Back –

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

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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

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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

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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

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August Wichmann
“How Twilight’s Target Audience’s Relationship To The Franchise Has Evolved”
Sociology
Dr. Liz Patton

Alexandra Lyn Wise
“Establishing an anatomical map of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus projections to the nucleus accumbens”
Biological Sciences
Dr. Tara LeGates

– Back –

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

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