KU celebrates undergraduate research, announces presentation winners
LAWRENCE — More than 130 University of Kansas undergraduate students participated in the 28th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, which featured oral and poster presentations as well as artists’ talks and creative displays from many disciplines.
This year’s symposium took place during Undergraduate Research Week, which was April 21-25.
Of those presenters, 34 students received Outstanding Presentation Awards, while three group presentations were also honored. Award recipients each receive a $50 award per presentation.
The 2025 Outstanding Presentation Award winners are listed by name, major, hometown presentation name, mentor and mentor department:
Individuals
Taiseer Al-Rajabi, biochemistry, Overland Park; “Sleepy Tea: The Interactions of Apigenin and Chamomile Tea with Glycogen Phosphorylase,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Allison Babbit, biochemistry, Lawrence; “Modafinil as an Inhibitor of Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Evan Barkus, physics & astronomy, El Dorado; “The Effects of Filament Environments on Stellar Masses and Star Formation Rates,” mentored by Gregory Rudnick, astronomy.
Bilhah Bengi, behavioral neuroscience and human biology, Wichita; “Environmental Policies Review on Black Maternal Mortality and Morbidity,” mentored by Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, music education and music therapy.
Arthur Benson, chemical engineering, Lawrence; “Enhancing the Accuracy and Reproducibility of Lower Flammability Limit Testing for Refrigerants,” mentored by Mark Shiflett and Kevin Turner, chemical & petroleum engineering.
Bella Bryant, biochemistry, Lyons; “Matcha as an Effector of Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Hannah Chern, molecular, cellular & developmental biology and chemistry, Shawnee; “Leveraging Zebrafish as a Tool for Studying Cognitive Decline,” mentored by Romana Jarosova, chemistry.
Eli Cochrane, political science and psychology, Canyon, Texas; “Masculinity, Meaning, and Modernity: An Investigation into Jordan B. Peterson’s Appeal to Male Ontological Insecurity,” mentored by Christopher Forth, history.
Sydney Davis, global & international studies, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; “Between Policy and Peril: How Italy’s Reception System Fails Women,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies.
Ally Denton, global & international studies, political science, O'Fallon, Illinois; “Just Kicking It: Football and Nationalism in Spain During Francisco Franco’s Regime,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies.
Nicholas Georgiou, engineering physics, Olathe; “High-Frequency RPM Data Logging for SUAS in Fire Plume Interactions,” mentored by Haiyang Chao, aerospace engineering.
Cara Goodnight, microbiology, Wichita; “Evolution of Hypoxia-inducible Factor Pathway in Lungless Salamanders,” mentored by Allie Graham, molecular biosciences.
Bhavya Gupta, microbiology and global & international studies, Overland Park; “Can We Plug Antibiotic Efflux?” mentored by Joanna Slusky, molecular biosciences.
Joseph Hand, physics & astronomy, Overland Park; “Applying Quanvolutional Neural Networks to the CIFAR-10 Image Classification Dataset,” mentored by KC Kong, physics & astronomy.
Lisa Hild, behavioral neuroscience, Bel Aire; “PM&R,” mentored by David Guggenmos.
Hani Ibrahimi, human biology: pre-med, Overland Park; “Palmitoylation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome Complex,” mentored by Teresa Alnemri, biochemistry & molecular biology.
Charles Johnson, global & international studies, political science and history, Lawrence; “Proximity and Collective Victimhood Consciousness: Jordanian Perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies.
Molly Kalthoff, civil, environmental & architectural engineering, St. Paul, Minnesota; “Depolymerization of Recycled Plastics Through Biocatalysis,” mentored by Justin Hutchison, civil, environmental & architectural engineering.
Conner Mispagel, aerospace engineering, Olathe; “Gimbaled Thrust Applications in Amateur High-Powered Rocketry,” mentored by Brina Blinzler, aerospace engineering.
Elise McCall, biochemistry, Kansas City, Missouri; “Vitamin D3 as an Activator of Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Maryann Meledrez Cuadros, chemical engineering, Areuquipa, Peru; “Development and Characterization of a Nanoparticle-Based Oral Delivery System for Tumor-Associated Antigens (TAAs),” mentored by Ming Zhao, pharmaceutical chemistry.
Jaylinn Nguyen, biochemistry, Salina; “Vitamin B12 as an Effector of Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Thanh Nguyen, exercise science, Wichita; “The Effect of Holding a Chinese Lion Dance Costume on Jump Performance: A Comparison Between Experienced and Novice Individuals,” mentored by Yu Song, health, sport & exercise science.
Annaliese Nguyen, biochemistry, Lenexa; “Population Genetic Analysis of the Monarch Butterfly W Chromosome,” mentored by Jamie Walters, ecology & evolutionary biology.
Vanessa Nguyen, pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; “Clusterin (CLU) as a Modulator of Excitatory/Inhibitory Balance and Neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s Disease,” mentored by Liqin Zhao & Judy Wu, pharmacology & toxicology; pharmacy practice.
Rita Pham, political science and East Asian language & cultures, Lee's Summit, Missouri; “Discrimination of the Hoa: Historical Tension, Threat Perception, and the Country-of-Origin Effect on the Ethnic Chinese Community in Vietnam,” mentored by Anton Shirikov, political science.
Nataley Schumaker, history, Norton; “Negotiating a Hybrid Japanese American Identity: An Analysis of Cultural Celebrations in Internment Camp Newspapers,” mentored by Beth Bailey and Tiffany Gonzalez, history.
A. Schroeder, global & international studies; Slavic, German & Eurasian studies; linguistics; Shawnee; “Taking the Russia out of the Soviet: Derussification of Federal Language Laws in Post-Soviet Latvia,” mentored by Brian Lagotte, global & international studies, and Marc Greenberg, Slavic, German & Eurasian studies.
Gauge Shea, psychology, Andover; “Patterns of Oral Nicotine Pouch Use, Adverse Effects, and Co-Use with Other Substances,” mentored by Michael Amlung, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Department of Applied Behavioral Science.
Addison Sloan, behavioral neuroscience: pre-med, Wichita; “A Functional Brain Imaging Study on the Role of the Anterior Insula in Drinking Moderation,” mentored by Michael Amlung, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research & Treatment, Department of Applied Behavioral Science.
Kai Smith, biochemistry, Pretty Prairie; “Influence of Lumanutrition Berberine Tablets on Glycogen Phosphorylase b,” mentored by Roberto De Guzman, molecular biosciences.
Mia Stamos, biochemistry, Mission Hills; “Antimicrobial Peptide Engineered for Targeted Collagen Assembly for Next-Generation Dental Restorations,” mentored by Nur Ceren Kabakci and Candan Tamerler, mechanical engineering.
Mariia Verbytska, economics and mathematics, Odessa, Ukraine; “Forecasting Equity Premium Under Structural Breaks,” mentored by Shahnaz Parsaeian, economics.
Catie Wickersham, anthropology, St. Louis; “Potential Implications of the Spatial Distribution of Artifacts at the Bender Site,” mentored by Lauren Norman, anthropology.
Groups
Kaden Miller, Junction City, and Delroy Wright, Stanley; “Using Fluorescence Imaging and Machine Learning to Determine Coral Health in the Caribbean,” mentored by Trevor Rivers, biology.
Tracey Tran, Da Nang, Vietnam, and Olivia Ngo, Hanoi, Vietnam; “Increasing Amphotericin B Solubility using Cyclodextrins,” mentored by Michael Hageman and Mikayla Smith, pharmaceutical chemistry.
Grant Saggars, North Kansas City, Missouri; Darel Pates, Lawrence; and Abishai Mathai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; “Developments in Materials for Next-Generation Energy-Efficient Memory and Logic Devices,” mentored by Dmitry Ovchinnikov.