EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Canada’s role in international affairs, how DNA repairs itself and a special kind of box turtle.

Those are just a few of the topics among an extensive series of research awards intended to facilitate partnerships between undergraduate students and Eastern Michigan University faculty that were approved by the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents today (June 22). 

Student awardees in the Undergraduate Research Stimulus Program will receive a $2,000 fellowship in support of their research efforts. This award will be in the form of a credit to the student’s university account. The collaborating faculty member may receive $500, to be used for lab/studio supplies or equipment, professional travel, or other professional expenses. 

The awards, which come from the office of the Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, total $52,000 to 26 undergraduate students and $11,412 to 23 faculty members. The awards are divided into Winter 2018 and Summer 2018 winners.

The cost of Undergraduate Research Stimulus Program awards will be funded from the Provost's indirect cost recovery.

The awardees and their faculty mentors include:

Winter 2018 Winners

1. Matt Beadle (majoring in Economics and Political Science). “Talking the Talk & Walking the Walk: Evaluating Canada’s Role in International Politics Post-World War II.” Faculty mentor: Volker Krause (Department ofPolitical Science).

2. Sadaf Dorandishyazdi (majoring in Biochemistry). “Discovery of Novel Antibiotic.” Faculty mentor: Paul Price (Department of Biology).

3. Thomas Klemm (majoring in Social Work). “Guaranteed Monthly Income: Benefits and Challenges for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.” Faculty mentor: Perry Silverschanz (School of Social Work).

4. Kangkana Koli (majoring in Political Science). “Beyond the Generalization of Racial Categories: How Voters React to Different Asian Identities.” Faculty mentor: Jeffrey Bernstein (Department of Political Science).

5. Jacob Kowalczyk (majoring in Environmental Hydrology). “Using Inorganic Chemical Constituents to Determine Extent of Landfill Leachate Plume.” Faculty mentor: Christopher Gellasch (Department of Geography and Geology).

6. Nikkolo Romero (majoring in Nursing). “Dietary Acculturation and Health Literacy of Filipino-American (FA) Students in Michigan.” Faculty mentor: Meriam Caboral-Stevens (School of Nursing).

7. Sarell Shaw & Kristal Serna (majoring in Fine Arts). “Joining Together: Japanese Joinery in a Modern American Context.” Faculty mentor: John DeHoog(School of Art and Design).

8. Tilmira Smith (majoring in Biology). “Timing of cell-cycle events during pre-replication.” Faculty mentor: Hannah Seidel (Department of Biology).

9. Alyssa Swinehart (majoring in Biology). “McCord’s Box Turtle (Cuora mccordi) Parentage Analysis.” Faculty mentor: Katherine Greenwald (Department of Biology).

10. Harel Tanjong (majoring in Geospatial Information Science and Technology). “Assessing the Relationship between Conflict and Agricultural Productivity in Syria.” Faculty mentor: William Welsh (Department of Geography and Geology).

Summer 2018 Winners

1. Asra Akhlaq (majoring in Biology). “Testing Morphological Hypotheses in Humbertiella (Malvaceae) Using RAD Sequencing” Faculty mentor: Margaret Hanes (Department of Biology).

2. Shanti Bernstein (majoring in Biology). “Effects of Tumors on Surrounding Non-tumorous Tissue in a Model Organism” Faculty mentor: Hannah Seidel (Department of Biology).

3. Marisa Gilliam (majoring in Biochemistry). “The Mutational Effects of the Cancer-Related UHRF2 Protein” Faculty mentor: Brittany Albaugh (Department of Chemistry).

4. Kelsey Hawkins-Johnson (majoring in Anthropology). “Identity, Power, and Resistance: Climate Change Narratives in the Conservancies and NGOS of Namibia” Faculty mentor: Maria Garcia (Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology).

5. Patreice Maier (majoring in Professional Chemistry). “Chemical Conditions for the Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles of Various Sizes” Faculty mentor: Timothy Brewer (Department of Chemistry).

6. Jocelyn Marsack (majoring in Environmental Science and Society Biology Concentration). “Does Salt Pollution Interfere with the Capacity for a Plant to Defend Itself?” Faculty mentor: Brian Connolly (Department of Biology).

7. Rachel Merz (majoring in Geology – Hydrogeology Concentration). “Emplacement and Alteration of the Deer Lake Peridotite, Northern Michigan” Faculty mentor: Christine Clark (Department of Geography and Geology).

 8. Stephanie Overla (majoring in Earth Science). “The Benthic Foraminiferal Record of Paleoenvironmental Changes at the Blake Outer Ridge During the MIS 13-12 Time Interval” Faculty mentor: Serena Maria Poli (Department of Geography and Geology).

 9. Kristine Platt (majoring in Chemistry). “An Investigation of the Role of Amino Acid Aspartate in Preventing Amyloid Plaque Formation in the Brain” Faculty mentor: Maria Milletti (Department of Chemistry).

10. Roxanne Reinhardt (majoring in History and Anthropology). “Women Rising: The American Revolution and Evangelical Thought” Faculty mentor: John McCurdy (Department of History and Philosophy).

11. Ryan Sean (majoring in Geography), Madeline Ligotti(majoring in Nursing). “Black Museum Geographies: Analyzing Current Injustices” Faculty mentor: Matthew Cook (Department of Geography and Geology).

12. Joseph Stewart (majoring in Biology). “Solving a DNA Repair Mystery” Faculty mentor: Anne Casper (Department of Biology).

13. Alicia Stier (majoring in Electrical Engineering Technology) “Molecular Dynamics Based Assessment of a Shockwave-Augmented Electroporation on Cell Membrane” Faculty mentor: Qin Hu (School of Engineering Technology).

14. Guadalupe Vazquez-Perez (majoring in Biology) “Development of a Structure-Activity Relationship of a Novel Biphenyl Amide Inhibitors of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)” Faculty mentor: Cory Emal (Department of Chemistry).

15. Kathryn Wilson (majoring in Nursing) “Nursing Students’ Perceptions and Beliefs Regarding Vaccinations” Faculty mentor: Jennifer Avery (School of Nursing).

16. Dorothy Zahor (majoring in Environmental Science and Society) “Relationships Between Metal Contamination, Health, and Plumage Characteristics of the American Goldfinch (Carduelistristis)” Faculty mentor: Jamie Cornelius (Department of Biology).

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 20,000 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; Health and Human Services; Technology, 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.