Thank you to all the students who participated in the 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium and to all the research mentors, staff, family, and friends who supported the event. The Office of Undergraduate Research is proud to showcase the awards for outstanding presentations and honorable mentions below:
Performances & Exhibits
Exploring Period Poverty in Sierra Leone (Outstanding)
Nour Longi, Junior, Journalism, COM
Stephanie Wayda, Senior, Journalism, COM
Maggie Knutte, Junior, Journalism, COM
Faith Lee, Junior, Journalism, COM
Elena Cleary, Junior, Agricultural Communications, ACES
Piper Pascarella, Sophomore, Journalism, COM
(Research Mentor(s): Alison Davis, Journalism & Charles Stretch Ledford, Journalism)
Love and Mania: An Arc between Deaths (Outstanding)
Avi Pellegrinetti, Sophomore, Dance, FAA
(Research Mentor(s): Betsy Brandt, Dance)
Oral Presentations
An Examination of a Local Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA): Creating Accessible Resources for Schools (Outstanding)
Fynn Levery, Junior, Social Work, SSW
Noah Rawls, Sophomore, Social Work, SSW
(Research Mentor(s): Rachel Garthe, Social Work)
Noncanonical Genomic Imprinting of Tyrosine Hydroxylase (Th) in the Nervous System Affects Social Behaviors (Outstanding)
Anne-Farah Usman, Senior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Paul Bonthuis, Comparative Biosciences)
Fostering Future Innovators: A Pedagogical Approach to Introduce Engineering Design and Robotics in Early Science Education (Outstanding)
Lucy Cinnamon, Junior, Bioengineering, ENG
Daniella Chapman-Rienstra, Junior, Bioengineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Holly Golecki, Bioengineering)
Make Some Noise!: Creating Positive Sentiment for Louder, More Expressive Students (Outstanding)
Cesar Espinoza, Sophomore, Middle Grades Education, EDU
(Research Mentor(s): Stephanie Sanders-Smith, Curriculum &
Instruction)
Assistive Technology for Older Adults with Hearing Disabilities Archival Analysis and Literature Review (Honorable Mention)
Haseeb Rehman, Senior, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, AHS
(Research Mentor(s): Megan Nickrent, Human Factors & Aging Laboratory & Wendy Rogers, Kinesiology & Community Health)
Advancements in Real-Time Captioning for Engineering Education: ScribeAR (Honorable Mention)
Himnish Jain, Junior, Computer Science, ENG
Yifan Zhu, Junior, Mathematics + CS, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Lawrence Angrave, Computer Science & Colin Lualdi, Physics)
Poster Presentations
Impacts of Climate Change on Access to Healthcare among Vulnerable Populations: A Scoping Review of Health Disparities and Access Issues (Outstanding)
Victoria Ferrara, Junior, Social Work, SSW
Ainslee Wong, Senior, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Tuyet-Mai Ha Hoang, Social Work)
Human-Centered Design in Optimizing Fitness Benches (Outstanding)
Shuoning Shi, Junior, Industrial Design, FAA
(Research Mentor(s): Suresh Sethi, Industrial Design)
Analysis of Socially Just Teacher Preparation in the State of Florida (Outstanding)
Sophia Dike, Freshman, Secondary Education, EDU
Lesly Ortiz, Junior, English, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Rachel Roegman, Education Policy, Organization & Leadership)
Small Molecule Mobilizers Outperform Chelators in Mitigating Neurodegeneration (Outstanding)
Patricia Madel, Senior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Samantha Brown, Chemistry & Martin Burke, Chemistry)
Exploring Case-Based Learning and Leadership Learning Outcome in UIUC Bioengineering Master’s Program (Outstanding)
Otniel Fernandez, Senior, Information Sciences, SIS
Felicity Tuan, Junior, Accountancy, BUS
(Research Mentor(s): Olivia Coiado, Bioengineering)
How Does America Conceptualize Democracy? (Outstanding)
Rhea Dcosta, Freshman, Finance + Data Science, BUS
(Research Mentor(s): Seongjoon Ahn, Political Science)
Transforming the Way We Learn (Outstanding)
Maksymilian Noga, Senior, Strategic Business Development & Entrepreneurship, BUS
(Research Mentor(s): Judith White, Business Administration)
Habitual Low-Calorie Sweetener Consumption and Eating Behaviors (Outstanding)
Sonja Bradley, Senior, Nutrition & Health, ACES
Hanne Livermore, Junior, Molecular & Cellular Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Yanina Pepino, Food Science & Human Nutrition & Stephanie Okoye, Food Science & Human Nutrition)
Understanding the Narratives surrounding Guaranteed Income (Outstanding)
Illakkia Ranjani, Junior, Econometrics & Quantitative Economics, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Christopher Larrison, Social Work & Chelsea Birchmier, Psychology)
Familial COVID-19 Stress and Infant Temperament through the Lens of Socioeconomic Status (Outstanding)
Regina Lapitsky, Sophomore, Human Development & Family Studies, ACES
Cate Lepinskas, Freshman, Brain & Cognitive Science, LAS
Lizbeth Ramos, Sophomore, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, AHS
Abigail Islas, Sophomore, Psychology, LAS
Hellen He, Freshman, Business Undeclared, BUS
Tianshuo Chen, Sophomore, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Nancy McElwain, Human Development & Family Studies)
Assessing the Impact of the Safe Motherhood Program on Maternal Health and Child Mortality in the Philippines (Outstanding)
Minseo Cho, Freshman, Finance, BUS
(Research Mentor(s): Abigail Stocker, Economics)
Analysis on the Feasibility of Chasqui Journies as Described by Colonial Accounts (Outstanding)
Robert Houston, Freshman, Biology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Kasia Szremski, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies)
Investigating College Readiness among First Generation College Students (Honorable Mention)
Sophie Chiewtrakoon, Sophomore, Information Sciences, SIS
(Research Mentor(s): Anna Barkley, Education Policy, Organization & Leadership)
Measuring Associations of Historic Racism and Health: Sundown Towns and Health in Illinois and Indiana (Honorable Mention)
Diego Lopez, Junior, Geography & Geographic Information Science, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Marynia Aniela Kolak, Geography & Geographic Information Science)
Exploring the Synergistic Function of Dietary/ Macular Carotenoids and Lipids on Attentional Inhibition in Children (Honorable Mention)
Sophia Ramos, Junior, Biology, LAS
Cozette Merza, Sophomore, Creative Writing, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Naiman Khan, Kinesiology & Community Health & Charlotte Román, Neuroscience Program)
Redefining Education Through Emergent Curriculum: Exploring the Impact of Reggio Emilia-Inspired Practices on Student Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation in Grades 2-5 (Honorable Mention)
Ryan McMahon, Freshman, Secondary Education, EDU
(Research Mentor(s): Ali Lewis, University Primary School)
Self-Concealment Moderates the Association between Racial Discrimination and Help-Seeking Stigma among Asian / Asian American College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Honorable Mention)
Khushi Thakkar, Junior, Psychology, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Chenhao Zhao, Psychology & Carla Hunter, Psychology)
The Effect of Oxidative Stress Sensitivity on BPA Toxicity in Caenorhabditis Elegans (Honorable Mention)
Rachel Miller, Sophomore, Integrative Biology, LAS
Sylvia Gimbel, Sophomore, Mathematics, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Eva Fischer, Evolution, Ecology & Behavior)
Citizen Voice in Climate Migration: Exploring Public Opinion’s Influence on Government Action (Honorable Mention)
Rayna Patel, Senior, Political Science, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Rana Khoury, Political Science)
Public Transportation Mobility and Social-Environmental Vulnerability in St. Louis, Missouri (Honorable Mention)
Allison Reed, Senior, Earth, Society & Environmental Sustainability, LAS
(Research Mentor(s): Constance Brown, School of Earth, Society & Environment)
Peer Problems during Early Adolescence: Mother’s Advice and Youth Responses to Advice (Honorable Mention)
Allegra Hinojosa-Cabrera, Senior, Human Development & Family Studies, ACES
(Research Mentor(s): Kelly Tu, Human Development & Family Studies)
Exploring Diverse Experiences with Anger among Incarcerated Women (Honorable Mention)
Christine Kwon, Senior, Social Work, SSW
(Research Mentor(s): Rachel Garthe, Social Work)
Review of Approaches to Modeling of Waste Resources Recovery Facilities (Honorable Mention)
Martin Xu, Freshman, Electrical Engineering, ENG
(Research Mentor(s): Ga-Yeong Kim, Civil & Environmental Engineering)
Digital Literacy: Expectations and Reality (Honorable Mention)
Arista Sudharta, Freshman, Learning & Education Studies, EDU
(Research Mentor(s): Jina Kang, Curriculum & Instruction)
How Many School Social Workers Are in America? (Honorable Mention)
Arielle Britten, Junior, Social Work, SSW
Ethan Kye, Junior, Social Work, SSW
Tracy Mason, Junior, Social Work, SSW
Brandon Seidensticker, Junior, Social Work, SSW
(Research Mentor(s): Brenda Lindsey, Social Work)
2024 Image of Research Winners
