2025 CUR Undergraduate Research Festival

6 - 7:30 pm ALUMNI RESEARCH CAREER PANEL EVENT, Forum Theater, Campion Hall (HH) Refreshments served.

Panelists:

• Kerry Faust, Pharmaceutical Marketing, ‘22. Specialist, Communication, AbbVie LDP

• Madison Fuller, Neuroscience, ‘23. Research Specialist, University of Pennsylvania

• Alessandro Sparacio, Biology BS ‘17, MS ‘19. Product Manager, Veeva System

• Lleyton Winslow, Computer Science, ‘24. Business Process Consultant, SAP Concur

5-7 pm HUMANITIES PANEL, North Lounge, Campion

Hosted by Christine Flanagan, Professor of English, Writing, and Journalism.

Celebrate and showcase work in the humanities. Details to follow.

All events on this day will be at the Athletic Recreation Center, UC

4-5 pm UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TALKS 

Nicolas Zywalewski, Mathematics, Mentor: Dr. Saghafi

Abby Robinson, Biology, Mentor: Dr. Bhatt

Carli Caldwell, Pharm Sciences, Mentor: Dr. D’Mello

Juliette Liberatoscioli, English, Mentor: Dr. Powell

IMAGES OF RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Submit your images through the CUR website and follow the specific instructions in the Google Form. As in previous years, submitted images will be posted on Ctr_Undergrad_Research Instagram and exhibited around campus. This competition is open to all undergraduate students through Friday, April 4. Prizes will be awarded to the "Best Image" voted by SJU faculty and the "Most Popular" voted by most "likes" on Instagram.

5:30-8 pm RESEARCH DAY SYMPOSIUM: STUDENT POSTER SESSION

Submitted abstracts by faculty-mentored undergraduates should be pre-approved by mentors and follow Research Day Abstract Submissions Instructions. The Research Day Abstract Submission Site is now open through Monday, March 10, 2025. Three or four submitted abstracts will be chosen for the  Research Talks above.

POSTERS:

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

BIOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE 

Identifying Tumor Suppressors Epigenetically Regulated by ROR1 in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Eric Lalu, Victoria Reed, Norman Fultang, Bela Peethambaran     

Compound 5: A Natural Compound Targeting ROR1 for the Potential Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Nicholas Dwyer, Tram Ta, Chris Michel, Ian Pau, Bela Peethambaran     

A possible role for fatty acid synthesis by the aim33 protein in baker’s yeast

John Giovinco, Julia Lee-Soety       

The Ubiquitous Mag2: A DNA Damage Response Protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Budding Yeast

Christina DiMaggio, Lainie Galdo, Shannon Frank, John Giovinco, Julia Lee-Soety     

Do bacteriophage GC content correlate with plaque size during M. smegmatis infection?

Louise Boimah, Gianluca Cicca, MaryFrances Poterjoy, Jenna Russo, Jake Smith, Victoria Taylor, C. Nicole Sunnen, Julia Lee-Soety

Similarities in genes encoding the tail assembly chaperone in different phages, viruses that infect bacteria

Alyssa Bloxton, Melanie Hernandez Di Domenico, Ciara Hutchinson, Sarah Koh, Seamus Powers, C. Nicole Sunnen, Julia Lee-Soety

A Comparison of Tail Sheath Structure and Assembly Genes Within Myoviridae SubClusters (One Tail Fits All? Not Quite!)

Inda Bard Hennessy, Katie Harkins, Riley Joslin, Owen Monson, Brayden Torchia, Julia Lee-Soety, C. Nicole Sunnen

Mycobacterium smegmatis Phages Produce Similar tRNA’s to their Bacterial Host When Isolated in the Host

Julia Balbi, Kiley Toth, Milani Parikh, Nora Duval, Julia Lee-Soety, C. Nicole Sunnen   

The Building Blocks for DNA Replication in the C1 Phage Cluster are Conserved across the Genome

Anna C. Krcelich, Emma R. Wenzel, Alexa R. Rogers, Jose A. Torres Cruz, Reilly A. Rosato, Julia Lee-Soety, C. Nicole Sunnen

Lysin A, Lysin B, and Holin are Conserved and Essential to Lysis in C1 Bacteriophage

Cameron Fletcher, Giah Jaison, Courtney Kovacs, Kerry McCullagh, Jesse Nguyen   

Analysis of the Superinfection Immunity of PhesterPhotato's Lysogen

Farrah Ponnwitz, Julia Lee-Soety 

Saccharomyces cereivisiae's Kel2 and Its Role in Cell Division and DNA Maintenance

Farrah Ponnwitz, Racehl Vemula, Aidan Donegan, Julia Lee-Soety     

A Possible Role for Yer097w as a Regulatory Kinase in Baker’s Yeast

Annalise Thaler, Gianna Muhaw, Jailyn Parrotte, Julia Lee-Soety     

YML020W: A Gene Encoding a Protein Involved in Regulating Gene Expression

Jensine Chikkala, Sara Forsey, Grace Roth, Julia Lee-Soety     

Yeast Skg3 is required for efficient budding

Sierra Fretz, Annalise Thaler, Julianna Scogna, Kacie Kershaw, Julia Lee-Soety     

Discovering S. cerevisiae Slg1 Function Using Bioinformatics and Stress Tests

Ethan Kabel, Charlotte Kordonowy, Aubrey Neary, Julia Lee-Soety     

Investigating the Role of RNA Chaperone Protein Hfq in Citrobacter rodentium

Lianna Long, Abigail Robinson, Emily Costello, Marissa Egan, Shantanu Bhatt   

Investigating the regulation and function of diguanylate cyclases and phosphodiesterases in Escherichia albertii

Abigail Robinson, Shantanu Bhatt       

Editing the Genome of Escherichia albertii with CRISPR/Cas9

Tara Miller, Shantanu Bhatt, Edwin Li     

Role of Leu and Ile Residues in MUC16 Transmembrane Domain Dimerization

Sophia Kim, Edwin Li       

Exploring the Function of the Glutamate Receptor Glr-5 During Sleep in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Gina Gazzara, Matthew Nelson        

Bacteria are Picky Eaters Too: Finding Protein-Protein Interactions that Control Cellular Processes in Sinorhizobium Meliloti

Ignacio Llorente Fernandez, Patrick Sarosiek, Ellery Panaia, Ceclia Ouyed Hernandez, Catalina Aranga Pinedo, Preston P. Garcia   

The Role of Universal Stress Proteins and Enzyme IIANtr in Antibiotic Resistance in Sinorhizobium meliloti

Melanie Hernandez Di Domenico, Riya Sharma, Catalina Arango Pinedo       

The Role of Rho GTPase in Pigment Granule Motility and Actin Organization in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells

Malak Sebti, Mykhaylo Yanchyk, Kristina Kristo, Celine Beltran, Christina King-Smith     

Hippocampal Expression of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E-binding Protein 2 Alters Behavior Differently in Females Compared to Males

Sierra Feeney, Jordan McCarthy, Sophia Borrello, Caitlyn Dennis, Dan Vo, Walter Danker, Jennifer Tudor 

CHEMISTRY UNDERGRADUATE

Novel Benzoxaborole Antibacterials Act Through Leucyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibition

Claire Santangelo, Olivia Lutz, John Tomsho       

Progress Toward the Synthesis of a Library of Anti-bacterial Benzoxaboroles

Olivia Beddow, John Tomsho       

Finding new functions of RNA through molecular dynamic simulations of a nicked viroid RNA circle

Artiom Butuc, Michael Bruist       

Computational Method for Determining the Excess Chemical Potential Using Liquid–Vapor Phase Coexistence Simulations

Andrew Fadgen, Nicholas Pizzi, Rodney Wigent, Preston Moore   

Determination of the Mechanism of Action of BOB-2: Overexpression and Purification of E.coli LeuRS

Olivia Lutz, Dr. John Tomsho       

Polymerization of Poly-t-butyl Methacrylate on Oxidized Silicon Wafers

Joseph Kepic, Sean Kelly, Amanda Huon, Alexander Sidorenko   

ENGLISH, WRITING AND JOURNALISM UNDERGRADUATE

Sally RooneyContemporary Irish Fiction and Representations of Toxic Masculinity

Jack Kohn       

Soula Emmanuel's Wild Geese: The Creative and Critical Context for the First Irish Trans Novel

Juliette Liberatoscioli, Kersti Powell        

Contemporary Irish Cinema

Benjamin Vanelli, Kersti Powell 

MATHEMATICS UNDERGRADUATE   

Parallel Processing for Black Box Optimization in R

Meadow Monticello, Rommel Regis       

Using a Deep Learning Neural Network to Automatically Calculate Exit Velocities of Baseballs from Video Footage

Nicolas Zywalewski, Abolfazl Saghafi     

MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES UNDERGRADUATE   

Creating Critical Editions of Open Source Texts to Aid Spanish as a Second Language Readers

Caleb Datto, Claudia Paez Lotero        

PHYSICS UNDERGRADUATE

Measuring the Fluidized Region of a Sphere in a Non-Newtonian Liquid using Particle Image Velocimetry

Matthew McGrath, Shayna Bucey, Piotr Habdas       

Simulation of Electric Forces in Electrowetting

Nathaniel O, Sergio Freire      

From Forces on a Dielectric to Forces on a Water Droplet: A Modeling Journey

Colin Carey, Sergio Freire     

PSYCHOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE 

Skin-Tone Biases in AI-Generated Images

Alex Cooke, Patrick Garrigan      

Exploring the Emotional Benefits of Animated Nature-Based and Abstract Imagery for Neurodivergent and Non-Neurodivergent Individuals

Sophia Borrello, Joseph McCleery       

Measuring Dissimilarity: Semantic Distance Predicts Creative Behavior

Emily Horan, Paige Donaghy, Connor Leahy, Stephen Moelter   

Referential Cohesion Distinguishes Human from AI Generated Creative Stories

Connor Leahy, Emily Horan, Paige Donaghy, Stephen Moelter     

Predictors of Dehumanization in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Alexandra DePaoli, Deborah Ward     

SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE UNDERGRADUATE

Food Insecurity Experienced by People Participating in Medically-Tailored Meal Delivery in the Greater Philadelphia Area

Catanh Nguyen, Vianna Gendraw, Jessica Sautter       

Physical function among people participating in a home-delivered medically-tailored meal program

Sierra Riley, Jessica Sautter        

THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Designing and Implementing a Mental Health Promotion Station into a Preventive Medical Clinic

Fredy Abboud, Courtney Trohn, Christopher Antoniello, Peter Clark     

Herbal Medicine: A Path to Self-Medication or Medical Complications?

Fredy Abboud, Prenin George, Lainie Galdo, Peter Clark 

HAUB SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

DECISION AND SYSTEM SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE

Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation on Pepper Robots: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Dan Shapovalov, Adam Elm, Marcello Balduccini     

The Growing Cyber Threat in Healthcare: Challenges and Solutions for Cyber-Physical Systems

Leo John, Marcello Balduccini        

Communication with Individuals with Disabilities and the Role of LLMs

May Lutzen, Marcello Balduccini       

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

TEACHER EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE

The Impact of Utilizing the Socioscientific Issues Approach on Teacher Satisfaction

Erin Shoop, Stacy Olitsky   

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

HEALTH SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE

Development of a Low-Cost NIRS System to Measure Human Skeletal Muscle Oxygen Saturation

Justin Smith, Sinclair Smith        

Reliability and Validity of a Low-Cost Portable Indirect Calorimetry System to Measure FEO2

Kamryn Cieslik, Eshanna Kang, Sierra Riley, Sinclair Smith     

Reliability and Validity of a Low-Cost Portable Indirect Calorimetry System to Measure FECO2

Eshanna Kang, Sierra Riley, Kamryn Cieslik, Sinclair Smith   

Reliability and Validity of a Low-Cost Portable Indirect Calorimetry System to Measure Ventilation (L/min)

Sierra Riley, Kamryn Cieslik, Eshanna Kang, Sinclair Smith     

PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE

Using Halogenated Small Molecules to Induce a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Storm to Kill TNBC

Alyssa Weisberg, Isabelle Mercier       

Investigating CAPER as a Regulator of DNA Damage and Repair in Immunocompetent Murine Models of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Janet Cho, Ally Kelley, Camille Milnes, Alyssa Weisberg, Jean-Francis Jasmin, Isabelle Mercier   

Syntheses and Analytical Characterization of Aryl Adamantylamines as NMDAR Antagonists

Brendon Chin, Ibrahima Diallo, Branden Stanley, Adeboye Adejare   

Assessment of Neuroprotective Effects of Novel NMDA Receptor Antagonists Using C. elegans

Shawna Finck, Kaitlyn Dixon, Kezia Odamtten, Alyssa Eyssalenne, Liang Ren, Olasunmbo Afolayan, Adeboye Adejare   

Investigation of Lyophilized Surfactant-Protein Complexes for Reduced Leakage of Bovine Serum Albumin

Carli Caldwell, Anil D'Mello       

A Preliminary Investigation of Terfenadine-Induced Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization in Malignant and Non-Malignant Breast Tissue Cells

Grace Ho, Emma Clift, Shay Patel, Cole Dyson, Youssef Abdelmonem, Brigid Hurst, Clyde Ofner III 

Lysosomal Uptake of a 10 kDa Fluorescent Dextran in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Grace Ho, Emma Clift, Shay Patel, Clyde Ofner III     

Comparing Fluorescent Dye Pairs for Optimal FRET in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lysosomes

Megan Godshalk, Clyde Ofner III      

Investigation of Chloride Influx in Subtype, Basal-like 2, Triple Negative Brest Cancer Cells

Taliya Drummond-Cofer, Seamus Weller, Asha Suryanarayanan       

β-arrestin Biased N-benzyl-phenethylamines as Non-hallucinogenic Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Ligands

Dylan Obriski, Tilka Fananna, Jason Wallach       

Structure-Activity Relationship Study of Arylcyclohexylamines as NMDAR Antagonists

Michael McLaughlin, Adam Knapp, Philip White, Sean Cameron, Jason Wallach