Students from several departments applied for funding to attend conferences to present research, compete in academic competitions, and purchase supplies to complete research. The current semester of faculty sponsors, the students, and the title of the projects are listed by department below.
Spring 2023 Awards
Biological Sciences Department
Faculty Sponsor: Swati Agrawal
Student: Jay Boudreau – Counteracting Antibiotic Resistance in Bacillus Bacteria with Phage Therapy
Student: Abigail Delapenha – Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii Calcium regulator proteins for Toxoplasma gondii growth and invasion
Student: Raesa Zia – Characterization of Jabberwock Phage proteins
Faculty Sponsor: Josephine Antwi
Student: Tessa Lanzafame – Shifts in Herbivorous Insect Host Plant Ranges within the City of Fredericksburg
Faculty Sponsor: Dianne Baker
Students: Erin Kenealy, Olivia Pierce, Katherine Scott and Max De La Cruz – Proximate cues in zebrafish reproduction
Faculty Sponsor: Bradley Lamphere
Student: Megan Carr – The Relationship Between Microplastic Load and Ontogeny in Local Freshwater Fish Species
Faculty Sponsor: Lynn Lewis
Student: Ryan Meek – Effects of Hydroxychloroquine on the Replication of EMCV Infected Cells.
Faculty Sponsor: Ginny Morriss
Student: Victoria Ashton – The Effect of Injury on PDGFRB Signaling in a DM1 context
Students: Delaney Baratka and Shyanne Michael – Localization of Transgenes for Drosophila Models of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
Student: Jada Gundy – Effect of CUG expression on vascular development in the cell culture of model myotonic dystrophy
Faculty Sponsor: Abbie Tomba
Student: Mika Bishton – The impacts of nutrient pollution on macroinvertebrate communities in Accokeek Creek and Potomac Creek
Faculty Sponsor: Parrish Waters
Students: Lilliana Ramirez – Effects of exercise on digestive health in mice
Chemistry Department
Faculty Sponsor: Varun Makhija
Student: Lana Chaleunrath-Pham – Femtosecond pulse autocorrelator
Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Smith
Student: Sierra Hunter – Quantification of Capsaicin and Dihydrocapsaicin in Beer using High Performance Liquid Chromatography
Student: Madison Minvielle – Investigation of the Use of Additive Manufacturing for HPLC Columns to Provide a More Efficient Separation
Classics, Philosophy & Religion
Faculty Sponsor: Lianne Houghtalin
Students: Shilah Morris, Vonne Daszkilewicz and Jessica Thorne – The Installation of a Roman Thermopolium in the UMW Museum of Ancient Medierranean Cultures
Communication & Digital Studies
Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth Johnson-Young
Student: Lyndsey Clark – Framing Contexts and Immersion: The Functionality of TRPG Frames in Dimension 20’s Fantasy High Series
Earth and Environmental Science Department
Faculty Sponsor: Pamela Grothe
Student: Jacob Cantor – Evaluating coral Sr/Ca using ICP-AES as a cost-effective geochemical analysis for paleotemperature reconstructions
Student: Catharine DeGoyler – Assessing the diagenetic susceptibility of the large skeletal architecture coral species Hydnophora microconos – implications for tropical paleoclimate reconstructions
Student: Jessica Oberlies – Evaluating coral Sr/Ca using ICP-AES as a cost-effective geochemical analysis for paleotemperature reconstructions
Student: Melody Zeher – Assessing the diagenetic susceptibility of the large skeletal architecture coral species Hydnophora microconos – implications for tropical paleoclimate reconstructions
Faculty Sponsor: Melanie Szulczewski
Students: Anna Velardi, Faith Jones and Katherine Cook – Factors Affecting Total and Bioavailable Concentrations of Trace Metals in Surface Soils in the Kingston, Jamaica, Region
Economics Department
Faculty Sponsor: Amrita Dhar
Students: Ravi Palat – Student presentation at Issues in Political Economy Conference
Geography Department
Faculty Sponsor: Dawn Bowen
Student: Kaleb Dunlap –Represent SEEDAG at the World Geography Bowl Competition
Student: Richard Munoz – Represent SEEDAG at the World Geography Bowl Competition
Historic Preservation
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Spencer
Student: Wilson LeCount – Independent Study in Restoration Carpentry
Faculty Sponsor : Christine Henry
Student: Brooke Prevedel and Luka Molloy – Student presentations at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference
Modern Languages and Literatures Department
Faculty Sponsor: Betsy Lewis
Students: Madeline Killian and Julia May – Student Presentations at the Undergraduate Research Symposium of Virginia
Political Science and International Department
Faculty Sponsor: Rosalyn Cooperman
Student: Joseph Zeldin – Hollywood, Heinz Field and the Hill: Analyzing Political Amateurs in Congressional Elections
Psychological Science
Faculty Sponsor: Mindy Erchull
Student: Nicole Altenberg – Sexual IPV and Psychopathology Symptoms Among LGBQ+ Women
Faculty Sponsor: Marcus Leppanen
Students: Sana Aftab, Julianna Buyaki, Allison Holden, Carla Kanupp and Robert Oehler – Higher Mindfulness Is Associated with Reduced Viewing of Chosen Distractor Faces
Faculty Sponsor: Miriam Liss
Students: 28 Students attending the Association for Psychological Science Annual
Student: Talyn Derflinger – Transgender individuals in Higher Education: Barriers and Progress
Faculty Sponsor: Christine McBride
Students: Randi Ball and Madelyn Gedney – Effect of Credibility and follower count on social media influencer trust and impact
Faculty Sponsor: Erin Palmwood
Students: Nicole Altenberg, Xavier Herring, Tyler Clift and Sophia Stil – Ambivalent Sexism Impacts Attitudes Toward Marital Surname Change Decisions
Faculty Sponsor: Holly Schriffin
Students: Delaney Boyer, Helena Nichols, Wilhelmina Solley and Emily Wilson – The Relationship of Helicopter Parenting to Academic Burnout and Disordered Eating through its impact on emerging adults’ perfectionism, self-control, and self-efficacy.
Faculty Sponsor: David Stahlman
Student Talyn Derflinger – Student presentation at the International Conference on Comparative Cognition
Theatre & Dance
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Benson
Student: Madeline Berger – Student presentation at United States Institution of Technical Theatre (USITT)
Faculty Sponsor: Gregg Stull
Student: Julia Cox – Stop Kiss
Previous Awarded Grants:
| YEAR | |||
| 2022 | FALL | SPRING | SUMMER |
| 2021 | FALL | SPRING | |
| 2020 | SPRING | ||
| 2019 | FALL | SPRING | SUMMER |
| 2018 | FALL | SPRING | SUMMER |
| 2017 | FALL | SPRING | SUMMER |