Male Saint Joseph's student presenting his research at symposium

Saint Joseph's University Center for Undergraduate Research

The Center for Undergraduate Research promotes investigations in all academic disciplines and cultivates a passion for independent discovery by equipping students for the challenges of the future in any career or educational situation. The Center supports high-quality research and creative activities that engages students through inquiry-based learning to advance the Saint Joseph’s University's educational mission.

The SJU Images of Research & Scholarship Contest

Undergraduates are invited to submit abstract entries consisting of a high-resolution image (graph, photograph, schematic, microscope image), or 3D form (sculpture/3D printout) that relates to their research or creative/scholarly work.  You don't need completed research work to participate. Even freshmen and sophomores beginning research with a faculty mentor are encouraged to present! 

Vote for your favorite image on Instagram. "Like" the images that appeal to you by noon, Thursday, April 10, 2025. Image with the most "Like" wins the "Popular Choice Award" to be announced at the Oral Presentations (4pm, UC/ARC-MPR). VOTING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - anyone can "like"! Spread the word!

Images of Research and Scholarship 2025 Entries

(in submission order)

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

Fluorescence microscopy of MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells reveals lysosomal uptake of Alexa Fluor DAF 488, emphasizing a potential pathway for targeted cancer treatment.

Emma Clift, Grace Ho, and Shay Patel

Mentor: Dr. Clyde Ofner III, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Brightfield and Fluorescence Imaging of MDA-MB-231 Tumor Spheroids in 3D Cell Culture

MDA-MB-231 tumor spheroids were grown in a 3-dimensional cell culture and imaged using brightfield and fluorescence microscopy. Blue indicates live nuclei, while green represents dead cells.

Alyssa Weisberg, Branden Stanley, and Gwyneth Shermanski

Mentors: Dr. Isabelle Mercier, Dr. Adeboye Adejare, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Seeing is Believing: Visual Storytelling in Creative Nonfiction

An illustration inspired by Sanelli's memories of reading comic strips with his mother. Inspired by Bill Watterson.

Luke Sanelli

Mentor: Dr. Jenny Spinner, Department of English, Writing and Journalism

Unveiling Molecular Secrets: Advancing Mass Spectrometry for Surface Analysis

This mass spectrometry data showcases the development of a novel Surface Reader, designed for rapid, non-invasive detection of biomolecules and bacterial markers directly from surfaces.

Jessalyn Aquilino

Mentor: Dr. Charles McEwen, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans Isolated Under Fluorescent Microscopy with Green Fluorescent Protein

C. elegans (STR 198) showing dopaminergic neurons in ventral and dorsal nerve cords, depicting C. elegans lacking neurodegeneration. Mg x4 EVOS FL Auto.

Shawan Finck

Mentor: Dr. Adeboye Adejare, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Highlighting Dopaminergic Neurons in the BZ555 Strain of C. elegans

Image of a C. elegans treated with a hazardous compound, calcium carbide. The stain used here highlights dopaminergic neurons.

Kaitlin Dixon

Mentor: Dr. Adeboye Adejare, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Danio rerio inspection of swimming patterns.

Danio rerio are a fish who depict schooling behaviors, patterned synchronized swimming, as opposed to shoaling behavior, the loose grouping of fish.

Grace Roth

Mentor: Dr. Scott McRobert, Department of Biology

Platys in the Lab.

Platys, a species of fish that display the typical behavior of grouping together, called shoaling, come in all types of interesting phenotypes that can be used in different research assays.

Grace Roth

Mentor: Dr. Scott McRobert, Department of Biology

Flow region around a sphere

Flow region around a sphere visualized using streamlines

Matthew McGrath

Mentor: Dr. Piotr Habdas, Department of Physics

Murine hippocampal neurons and glia

Matrix of neurons and glia (A) from neonatal brain tissue (beta-tubulin, green; DAPI, blue; G3BP1, red). Individual neurons (B & C) are visualized among the nuclei from AraC-treated cells.

Bridget Magee

Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Tudor

Terfenadine-Induced Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization in Non-Malignant Breast Tissue Cells

This study tests whether terfenadine, an antihistamine drug, can trigger lysosomal membrane permeabilization in triple-negative breast cancer and healthy breast cells as a potential targeted therapy.

Emma Clift

Mentor: Dr. Clyde Ofner III, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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SJU Images of Research & Scholarship Previous Exhibits

MDA-MB-231 Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell expressing end binding protein 3 (EB3) showing microtubule dynamics

Electron microscopy reveals FoulBall to be a Siphovirus, with a long, non-contractile tail (288 nm). Average head width= 33 nm and length= 158 nm (n=4).

This image captures a unique physical structure that one of novel compounds formed.

Compound isolated from Achillea millefolium called 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (DGP) could protect neuronal cells from oxidative stress simulation, activate cell proliferation and protect mitochondria from oxidative stress damage. The compound when fed to Parkinson mutant Drosophila melanogaster improved their climbing ability and survival.

A Two-Dimensional Energy Potential Surface, formed by a 3D printer, can be used to visualize the possible escape routes of a particle from a quantum well - representing states of superconducting quantum bits - building blocks of a quantum computer.

A bunimovich stadium (top left) is slowly transformed into a circle (bottom right). Particle trajectories transition from chaotic to clean (periodic) orbits.

RNA granules (TIA1, red) are expressed in specific areas of the hippocampus and do not overlap with glial cells (GFAP, green) in a sleep deprived mouse.

The computer software (Visual3D) used to generate a model for measuring minimum toe clearance. The graph displays the path of the toe during walking.

Glial cells (GFAP, red) surround and support hippocampal neurons (NeuN, green) (A), and an adeno-associated virus causes excitatory neurons (NeuN, red) to express enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP AAV, green) (B).

Magnetic levitation of a ceramic superconductor occurs when cooled below its critical temperature, when magnetic field lines from the bottom magnets are pushed out from the superconductor, causing it to float.

Poppy seeds, the small black dots, are scattered within a non-Newtonian liquid to help visualize the liquid's motion around the moving sphere.

"The Invisible Nature of Ordinary Objects"

***BEST RESEARCH IMAGE AWARD***

Capturing normally unseen light with infrared light cameras.

Deryk McGarry (Physics) 
Mentor: Roberto Ramos, Ph.D.

"Redefining the Flow: Non-Newtonian vs. Newtonian Liquids"
In this 3D piece, individuals are able to feel the difference between Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids.
Shayna Sit (Physics)
Mentor: Piotr Habdas, Ph.D.

"Identifying processing body markers in hippocampal primary neuronal cultures"

***BEST RESEARCH IMAGE AWARD***
Processing bodies (4E-T, red) detected in the soma and neurites of hippocampal neurons (β-tubulin, green).
Alex Coleman (Biology)
Mentor: Jennifer Tudor, Ph.D.

"Actin and Tropomyosin in Fish Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells"
Fluorescent labelling of the cytoskeletal proteins, actin (red) and tropomyosin (green), in the long cellular extensions of fish RPE cells. Bar: 20 µm.
Kristina Kristo (Biology)
Mentor: Christina King-Smith, Ph.D.

"It's a Knockout! ROR1 vs CREB3L1"
***WINNER, POPULAR CHOICE AWARD***
This immunofluorescence staining image shows how the suppression of oncogene ROR1 leads to the increased expression of tumor suppressor CREB3L1, shown by the more intense shade of green in the siROR1/CREB3L1 image.
Eric Lalu (Biology)
Mentor: Bela Peethambaran, Ph.D.

"Time to Kill Cancer Naturally"
Unveiling a Natural Compound with High Potency to TNBC
Nicholas Dwyer (Biology)
Mentor: Bela Peethambaran, Ph.D.

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Expand research opportunities for students by making a gift, provide research internship and experience opportunities and volunteer as a guest speaker for students to learn about the industry. 

In celebration of undergraduate research and scholarship, the SJU CUR (Center for Undergraduate Research) enjoins the university community in celebrating the Undergraduate Research Festival.

Saint Joseph University students writing and researching on laptop

What is Undergraduate Research and Why is it Important ?

From the Council of Undergraduate Research: Undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry is fundamentally a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. With an emphasis on process, the Council defines undergraduate research as: A mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge. 

Undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry enriches undergraduate education and helps students achieve their academic and career goals through the critical skills they gain and sharpen through these experiences.

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