EMU Today

YPSILANTI – The annual Graduate Research Conference (GRC), one of Eastern Michigan University’s marquee academic events, exhibited more than 100 scholarly and creative research projects of EMU graduate students during the day-long event, held virtually on Friday, March. 19.

Recordings of all oral sessions can be viewed on the GRC website.

During the event, attendees were able to vote for their favorite live poster and recorded poster presentation to win the People’s Choice Award. The winners will receive a monetary award from the Graduate School. The winners are:

Live Poster Winner: Kendra Perkins, "Comparative Analysis of Metabolic Rate and Growth Rate in the Sexually Dimorphic Species Curly Hair Tarantula (Tliltocatl albopilosus)."

Recorded Poster Winner: Sadaf Dorandish & Sarah Atali, "Regulation of Amyloid Beta Interactions with Humanin and Acetylcholinesterase in Lung Cancer Cell Media."

Additionally, the conference featured an abstract award contest open to all GRC applicants. Criteria included completeness of the research, impact in the field of study, and potential for future research. The recipients will receive a monetary award from the Graduate School.  The winners are listed below, along with their college, academic program and faculty mentor:

College of Education: Christina Armbruster, “Mindfulness-Based Interventions in a School Setting,” Leadership and Counseling Program; faculty mentor: Dr. Patrice Bounds.

College of Health & Human Services (Health Promotion and Human Performance): Naiomi Wilson, “Black Female Athletic Training Students and the Effects of Racism in Athletic Training Programs,” Athletic Training Combined [BS + MATR]; faculty mentor: Dr. Aaron Struminger.

College of Health & Human Services (Health Promotion and Human Performance): Sarah Thomas, “Proposed Treatment of Congenital Muscular Torticollis when Paired with Moderate to Severe Craniofacial Asymmetry,” Orthotics and Prosthetics Program; faculty mentor: Rebecca Spragg.

College of Arts & Sciences (Natural Sciences): Cody Ladd, “One Gradient to Rule Them All: The Role of Elevation in Floral Distribution,” Biology; faculty mentor: Dr. Steven Francoeur.

College of Arts & Sciences (Humanities): Alyssa Allen, “Analyzing Female Subservience Stereotype Reinforcement in Virtual Assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa,” Linguistics Program; faculty mentor: Dr. Eric Acton.

College of Arts & Sciences (Social Sciences): Rachael Schnuur, “Race, Womanhood, and Adaptation to Settler Colonialism in the Diaries of Mary Hobart Williams,” History Program; faculty mentor: Dr. John McCurdy. 

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 16,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.