Researchers of Emory

 Nia Dubon-Robinson  is a Senior double majoring in Environmental Science and Sociology. She was awarded a Fall 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Sustainability  and Development Conference at the University of Michigan . Participating in the SIRE program during my second year at Emory opened many doors for me. I was introduced to the various components of what it meant to be an undergraduate research assistant, which led me to working with my current advisor, Eri Saikawa, in the Environmental Science department. My research in Tibetan cookstoves and household air pollution while participating in the SIRE program, brushed only the surface of this growing topic in environmental health and sustainable development. I wanted to go more in depth with my past SIRE research and having spent the summer at the University of Michigan, I was aware of the international  Sustainability and Development Conference that the university would host in November. Prior to the c

Shiyu Lin  is a Senior majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. She was awarded a Fall 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Neuroscience 2018 Conference. “The figure is not properly aligned.” “The font color is not consistent.” “ Is this dotted line horizontal?” … I stared at the screen with eighty eight comments from my principal investigator (PI) on my first draft of poster, sighing. If at that point I knew what I would be looking like three days later, I would not sigh that early because the second poster draft received another twenty comments. However, when I finally hung the poster which had my name, my lab name, and my school name up on the board, I was so thankful for my PI and myself for making this poster closer and closer towards perfect. 

This month's URP featured researcher is Mariah Dozé, an undergraduate student whose research in the discipline of rhetorical studies was published in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, Young Scholars in Writing. Mariah Dozé is a Missouri native and a third-year in the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University. She is double majoring in sociology and African American studies. Her plans after graduation include attending law school. Upon graduating from law school, Dozé plans to pursue her passion for social justice by practicing human and civil rights law. On campus, Dozé is involved in many activities. She works with Dean Elliot as a dean's racial and social justice intern, is a member of the Emory Scholars Program, is the vice president of VOIS gospel choir, is a writing tutor in the Emory Writing Center, is the managing print editor (VP) of Black Star Magazine, is a member of the University Senate, is a member of the Center for Ethics Ethics and Servant Leader

Maggie Kyle  is a [year] majoring in Psychology. She was awarded a Fall 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Society f or Neuroscience Annual Meeting. Since the beginning of my sophomore year, I have spent much of my free time researching rhesus monkeys at the  Yerkes National Primate Research Center . Like many Emory undergraduates, I came to college planning on studying medicine. I wanted to study Neuroscience and follow the pre-medical track. But when I took an introductory NBB course my freshman year, Foundations of Behavior, I was surprised to find myself just as fascinated to learn about primate behavior and the origins of human evolution as I was to learn about the workings of the brain. I realized how fortunate I was to be at Emory, with  one of the seven national primate research centers on our campus, and I began reading about Yerkes scientists as I resolved to get involved with the plethora of research going on there. Soon after, I came upon Dr. Mar Sa

Jacob  Kasel  is a senior who is a double  major in  Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese . He was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector's depiction of time and images and the political implications of such perception of time and images  under Dr.  Elissa Marder. In my research, I aim to develop a mode of considering our perception of time and how images are key to our perception of it. To do so, I examine the work of two writers, Clarice Lispector and Marcel Proust, and one filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky. Doing so not only allows me to work with three languages I have studied (Portuguese, French and Russian), but also to consider how, across various cultures, artists have questioned our relation to time and to the images we use to define and conceive of it—that it is, to make time something conceivable and visible, to give it a body so to speak.              

Eungjae (NJ) Kim is a senior who majoring in Biology. He was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on human metabolic pathways under Dr. Brent Morgan .  Dear future researcher: My research investigates the  pharmacokinetic mechanism  of a drug metabolite in human metabolic pathways. I am examining the  cross-reactivity between lidocaine and cocaine metabolites  filtered through the excretory system. My interest in the research experience stemmed from the classes and labs I took at the college. In laboratory courses, I was given directions to follow. After sufficient practice and experience, I had more ambition to create my own study and protocol to see if I could execute the action items in a larger group setting.

Jesse Steinman  is a Sophomore with an undeclared major in the college. He was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on the  history and memory of the Holocaust  under the Director of Centropa, Edward Serotta. One of the things I have had to get used to in Europe is that AC and ice aren’t standard during the summer. This makes for steaming hot work days, where I am cramped in a stuffy archive for the day. Regardless, my research keeps calling me back for more, and I am always eager to return to work. 

Camila Reed-Guevara  is a rising senior double majoring in Classics and Philosophy .  She was awarded a Summer 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the  Congresso Internacional de Literatura y Estudios Hispánicos . “Philosophy neither rejects nor chooses anyone: it shines for all.”  Seneca the Younger  I presented my paper titled, “Three Stoic Exemplars: Julia Álvarez’s Mirabal Sisters and Their Place in the Ethical World” at the twenty-second  Congresso Internacional de Literatura y Estudios Hispánicos in Granada, Spain this June.  This conference  is directed by Enrique Herrera, a professor at Lock Haven University, it is bi-annually held in locations in the Hispanic world (Spain, Central, Latin America, and the Caribbean.) I presented on a panel on the subject of female literary figures in Hispanic literature. Two professors from Spanish universities were on the panel with me and I presented second. 

Elizabeth Ejzak  is a senior majoring in Chemistry. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on the effects of plant extracts on health span under Dr. Daniel Kalman and Dr. Cassandra Quave.  Have you ever wondered why we cannot remain springy, spry, and free of illness forever?  If so, you are in luck.  In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of studies into aging mechanisms, and delaying their onsets.  While there are theoretically infinitely many approaches, we fortunately have some insight on the keys to  longevity .   Cultures in regions such as the Mediterranean who consume higher quantities of plant-based foods, healthy fats and whole grains and lower quantities of animal-based foods tend to live the longest, while also delaying the onset of  senescence,  or age-related deterioration.  

Amber Feng  is a senior majoring in Biology. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on gene expression in cancer cells under Dr. Hyunsuk Shim. When I first joined Dr. Shim's lab, I had no research experience other than one and a half semesters of introductory biology lab. Although I felt comfortable with pipetting and counting C. elegans under a microscope, I had little understanding of the larger implications of research and what it truly meant to be a scientist. I have always learned about the “scientific method” which, to me, meant reading literature, performing experiments, and writing papers. I thought the process would be relatively linear, rather than branched and filled with unexpected turns.  

Sierra Stubbs  is a rising senior majoring in Human Health. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Agriculture, Food, Human Values, and Society Conference . For the last year, I have had the opportunity to assist Dr. Reznickova with her research on the participation and/or exclusion of low income people in farmers’ markets around Atlanta. I took a class with Dr. Reznickova, and because I loved the class I frequently went to her office hours. The topic of research came up, and when I told her I was interested in learning how to conduct research, she told me about her study. I am so glad that she offered me the opportunity to assist her with this research, as this study is very unique and important. During our literature review, we found that many studies about farmers’ markets, the local food movement, and low income participation typically implied that low income people feel excluded from alternative food spaces, or do not want to attend farm

Julia Durmer  is a rising senior majoring in Human Health and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the SLEEP Conference . Between June 2 nd  and June 6 th  I was in Baltimore, Maryland, attending and presenting research at the 2018 Associated Professional Sleep Societies’ (APSS) annual meeting, which is referred to as  SLEEP . SLEEP is an annual scientific and clinical conference for sleep medicine physicians and sleep and circadian researchers, featuring lectures and an exhibit hall. During my time in Baltimore, I had the pleasure of presenting my research two times, once in a poster exposition and a second time when I was invited to take part in a symposium on the topic of sleep duration’s impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health. I gave a talk on my study, entitled “The Association Between Sleep Duration and Excess Heart Age Among U.S. Adults.” What made this meeting extra special was that I got to a

Somin Kim  is a rising senior majoring in Biology. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on myopia under Dr. John Nickerson.  It was in seventh grade when I first wanted to become an ophthalmologist. My mother’s vision had been deteriorating to the point of legal blindness, and it was around this time that my mother’s optometrist confirmed that this deterioration would continue until she was completely blind. It was the classic, “Someone dear to me is suffering; I will become the solution so she and others like her don’t have to” that drives so many into the field of medicine. But it wasn’t until I joined my lab at the Emory Eye Center that I became truly enamored by the eye. My drive towards an MD/PhD was no longer a one-dimensional desire; it was now rooted by my complete fascination on the organ that lets us perceive reality.

Hayley Moyer  is a rising senior majoring in Biology. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Experimental Biology Conference . If you’d have told me when I started college that I’d find a home in a renal physiology research lab by the end of my undergraduate career, I wouldn’t have believed you. I never in a million years considered research to be something I could actually conduct and present to others myself. While I’d always loved science, I was sometimes intimidated by its uncertain, always-developing nature. Three years into my undergraduate career, however, here I am with two solid years of research under my belt, planning to continue my investigations into my senior year and even possibly beyond. 

Wendy Zhan  is a rising junior majoring in Biology. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on single-celled amoebas under Dr. Adam Marcus.  When I first got an email back from Adam (my PI) saying that I could start going into lab, I was extremely excited. I had been assigned my own project where I was going to use Dictyostelium discoideum, a single-celled amoeba, to model cancer metastasis and tumor heterogeneity. As the only lab experience I had at the time was high school biology and chemistry lab, I expected that working in an actual lab would be a similar experience - that I would follow some procedures and get my results. However, as I quickly learned, I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

  Brandon Chen  is a rising senior majoring in Biology. He was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on proteins in cancer cells under Dr. Lawrence Boise.  Research is a constant interplay between breaking known knowledge and establishing new knowledge.  The molecular biology textbook you read today can be outdated at this moment when you’re reading this post.  These incessant challenges  of what we  know,  and the pursuit of  truth  are the motivations that drive me into research. I am curious about the cell, the grandiose interconnectivity that drives cellular functions, and molecular mechanisms that make a cell a cell!   

Birk Evavold  is a rising senior majoring in Biology and Chemistry. He was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on the protein Galectin under Dr. Sean Stowell.  Like many kids, my interest in science was piqued by the renown first grade baking soda and vinegar volcano. But why does this tried-and-tested combination make children love science? For some, maybe it’s the lovely smell of acetic acid, but for me, it was the unexpected results. Fifteen years later, unexpected outcomes still fuel my passion for scientific research.  Now, my research focuses on a carbohydrate-binding protein called galectin-1 and its redox potential.  Galectin-1 has many previously identified important immunomodulatory roles, but its high-propensity to undergo oxidative inactivation is the focus of my project in the lab. Though my work fortunately has not yet recreated the explosive effects that initially kindled my scientific interest, the scientific process

Yaw Kumi-Ansu  is a recent graduate who majored in Biology. He was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on Monarch butterflies under Dr. Jacobus de Roode.  I had my first taste of biological research in my introductory biology classes at Oxford College and my interest was built further in the research club established by the Biology department. This served as an avenue to discuss research from many different fields with Emory researchers and hopefully help us (students) identify labs or projects that may be of interest to us. It was at one of these meetings that I got the opportunity to meet  Dr. Berry Brossi  through a Skype meeting. I took an interest in his research into bee ecology and pollinator behavior due to the multidisciplinary approach of his work. Upon interviewing with him some weeks later to join the lab, I realized that though I had interest in his work,  I preferred something more related to immunity and disease.  Based on this

Marissa Russell is a senior majoring in Linguistics and Spanish. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on attention under Dr. Lynne Nygaard.  When I first pursued undergraduate research at Emory, I was unsure what to expect. I knew I had a strong interest in language and was intrigued by the research process, but I questioned how much meaningful experience I could gain (and how much I could truly contribute) as a junior in college. Now, looking back over the past two years in the Speech and Language Perception Lab, I can confidently say that research has been the most significant and rewarding aspect of my academic career.

Amina Dunn  is a senior majoring in Sociology and Theater Studies. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on campus political engagement under Dr. Irene Browne.  After two years at Emory, I noticed that political discussions between individuals with differing opinions were rare. I, myself, was having most of my political conversations within my friend group and, even then, I felt I was the one who was instigating most of the discussions. When I saw political demonstrations on campus, usually something very big had happened on campus to motivate students to act: “Trump” and “Build a Wall” were chalked all over campus, DACA was potentially going to be rescinded, Black Lives Matter art was washed off of Asbury Circle by the university, or Milo Yiannapolous was invited to speak on campus. Each of these incidents led to short-lived protests on campus; but generally, campus was and continues to be a peaceful place. At the tail-end of my s

Latha Karne  is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on opioid addiction under Dr. David Weinshenker.  Before entering college, students are required to take a series of tests to educate us on the dangers of abusing drugs. I've always known that prescription drugs should not be used by anyone except the individual for whom it was prescribed to, but had never  seen  up close the devastating effect that misuse can have. The summer before I started college, I was shadowing a trauma surgeon. A patient came in who was addicted to morphine, and I saw the difficulty of being able to treat their pain. Because the patient was addicted to a pain analgesic, he had developed a tolerance to the drug, which caused him to escalate his use and led to dependence. This “double hit” of the medication losing efficacy to treat the pain, while at the same time causing the addiction, was having a ma

Abdulaziz Aldakhel  is a senior majoring in Economics and Political Science. He served as a Research Ambassador for the 2017-2018 school year and has close to 2.5 years of experience as an undergraduate researcher at Emory. Emory prides itself on being one of the best research institutions in the country –and it is. With approximately $630 million in research funding, Emory University has the financial means to devote many resources to research. Undergraduate Research Programs (URP) is a great resource that allows undergraduate students at Emory to benefit from all these opportunities. In order to ensure that students are aware of these opportunities, a team of  Research Ambassadors work together to accomplish the mission of URP and support the mission of the program  by getting students engaged in different research fields. To help students make the most out of these resources and to start working on research projects, the team collaborates to make research accessible and to as

Amy Krivoshik  is a senior majoring in Psychology. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on how we process spatial information under Dr. Stella Lourenco.  My project addresses the question of how it is that we see the world, not as an amorphous blob of visual input, but as organized into objects units. To know where one thing begins and where another ends, we must individuate objects, establishing whether there is one cohesive object, or separate objects, in a scene. Visual cues, including features like color and shape, and particularly spatial cues, such as distance, may be important for individuating objects. 

Courtney Shin  is a junior majoring in English. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the Native American Literary Symposium . This March, I was honored to attend the Native American Literary Symposium (NALS, nativelit.com ) held in Lake Prior, Minnesota. The previous fall, Professor Mandy Suhr-Sytsma, had encouraged me to apply for the conference with a paper I had written for her Contemporary Multiethnic American Literature course. My research explored Susan Power’s most recent novel, Sacred Wilderness, and how holistic self-understanding results in the deconstruction of narrative borders . With a letter of acceptance, an essay, and a generous conference grant from URP, I found myself with a round-trip plane ticket to Minnesota. However, after months of excitement, a sense of dread filled the final weeks before my flight. I had never attended a conference before, never presented any research, never even been to Minnesota. It seemed that while N

Cameron Frostbaum  is a senior majoring in Theater Studies and Political Science. He was awarded a Fall 2017 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on microtheatre in Miami, Florida under Dr. Brent Glenn.  My honors thesis project explores and analyzes the Microtheatre movement as a new theatrical experience for the next generation of spectators as well as producing two nights of Microtheatre on Emory’s campus. A study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the three greatest obstacles affecting attendance to performing arts events are limited leisure time, inconvenient event locations, and costs associated with participation [1] . The Microtheatre movement in Spain has revolutionized the spectator experience by addressing these challenges and reinvigorating the performing arts. Recognized this year by the preeminent American Theatre Magazine [2] , Microtheatre has taken Spain and South America by storm. While no academic definition exists for M

Kate Norton  is a sophomore double majoring in Psychology and English. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the American Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference. My colleague Lauren and I attended the  Southeastern Writing Center Association’s  2018 conference in Richmond, Virginia. At Virginia Commonwealth University, we presented original research about the  Emory Writing Center  to a group of confederates who were interested in our particular topic, which was “Exploring Attitudes About Conventional Writing Center Sessions and Workshops.” When we began our research, we didn’t have a good handle on what our purpose was, but as we analyzed our data, we came to enlightening conclusions concerning our Writing Center and steps we would like to take to improve it. 

Natalia Brody is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. She was awarded a Fall 2017 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on the relationship between estrogen and fear generalization under Dr. Brian Dias.   The first (and most important) thing a young scientist is taught is “the hypothesis.” In middle school, we are taught that a hypothesis is a potential explanation for a scientific phenomenon. Once a little older, if you’re lucky, the abstract idea of a hypothesis comes to life as you write your own research proposals, posters, and even lectures on these “potential explanations.” But, in perhaps the most important lesson of all, you’ll eventually learn that these hypotheses change— their potential nature comes crashing down just as easily as they were created to begin with. This is an in valuable lesson my participation in the research grant program allowed me.

Mia Morrell  is a sophomore majoring in Physics. She was awarded a Spring 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the American Physical Society Meeting in Los Angeles. When shaking parmesan cheese on your pizza, have you mused in frustration why the cheese always seems to clog up in the holes of its container? Have you ever clogged a toilet and wondered what led to this most unfortunate form of humiliation? Or on a more serious note, have you contemplated the arterial clotting of human blood cells in the early phases of a stroke? Our plexiglass hopper chamber displaying hydrogel particles in a clogged state. These questions have fascinated me ever since I was introduced to soft matter physics upon my freshman year at Emory. During my time in Emory University’s  Weeks lab , which focuses on soft matter and complex systems , I have studied soft particle clogging in two dimensions , devising experiments which can be applied to the previously cited situations of blood c

Tristan Yates is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. She was awarded a Fall 2017 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on child development and memory under Dr. Patricia Bauer. In my honors thesis work, I am investigating whether the structure of newly-learned information impacts preschoolers’ abilities to extend that information to produce novel understandings of related concepts.   A large part of this journey has been discovering what it is that preschoolers actually know and care about , and as an aside, it is not always listening to a college-aged researcher, regardless of how many stickers she offers during a session. Prior to entering the Bauer Memory Development Lab, I had little experience within the world of child development. Thus, while developing and validating new stimuli for the lab’s memory integration paradigm, I overestimated the types of information four-year-olds could hold in their little brains. This summer, my graduate