2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium-Winners and Runners-Up

Congratulations to the category winners and runners-up from WVU's 13th annual, virtual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium. Thank you to all of our presenters for making this our best virtual event yet!

Biological & Health Sciences (7 presentations)

• Winner: Emily Adis presented: Tracing Retinal Metabolism Through Intravitreal Injection of Labeled Glucose. Mentor: Jianhai Du. Emily is a Biochemistry major at University of Tampa and is from Scotia, NY. 

• Winner: Sarah Francis presented: Relationship Between Parent-Child Relationships and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms. Mentor: Amy Gentzler. Sarah is a Psychology major at WVU and is from Frederick, MD. 

• Winner: Sparrow Roch presented: Gravitational Wave Detection with Pulsars. Mentor: Maura McLaughlin and Manjari Bagchi. Sparrow is a Physics and Computer Science double major at University of Wisconsin and is from Milwaukee, WI.

• Winner: Lydia Nicolai presented: Effects of Water Deficit on the Growth of Appalachian Tree Species. Mentor: Brenden McNeil. Lydia, an Environmental Geoscience major at WVU and is from Woodbridge, VA. 
• Runner-Up: Savannah Mead presented: Horticultural Performance of Ethylene-Insensitive etr1-1 petunias. Mentor: Nicole Waterland. Savannah is a Horticulture major at WVU and is from Lancaster, PA. 

• Winner: Anna Phillips presented: Chronic Stress Initiates Superoxide Production in the Liver of C57BL/6J Mice. Mentor: Paul D Chantler. Anna is a Biomedical Engineering major at WVU and is from Murrysville, PA. 
• Runner-Up: Rachel Morris presented: From Here to There: Transporter Expression through Tsetse Fly Development. Mentor: Rita Rio. Rachel is a Biology major at WVU and is from Charleston, WV. 

• Winner: Raimah Hossain presented: Using Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Coupled to Ferric Reduction (Feammox Bacteria) to Treat Domestic Wastewater. Mentor: Lian-Shin Lin. Raimah Biomedical Engineering major at WVU and is from Morgantown, WV. 
• Runner-Up: Ashley McCullough presented: Renewable Energy Data Mapping and Integration for the PJM Region. Mentor: Fernando Lima. Ashley is Chemical Engineering major at WVU and is from Lumberport, WV. 

• Winner: Riley Kane presented: Synthesis and Purification of Novel mitoNEET Ligands, Therapeutic Potential for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Mentor: Werner Geldenhuys. Riley is a Biochemistry major at WVU and is from Morgantown, WV.
• Runner-Up: Emily Lecea presented: Transcription signature of CD138low/- Multiple Myeloma Cells. Mentor: Gangqing Hu. Emily is an Immunology and Medical Microbiology major at WVU and is from Macomb, MI. 

• Winner: Benjamin Menarchek presented: Characterizing Opioid Receptor Modulation of Monoamine Transporters: A Potential Avenue for Treating  Neuropsychiatric Diseases. Mentor: Vincent Setola. Benjamin is a Biology major at Saint Vincent College, PA and is from Parkersburg, WV. 

• Winner: Jordan Stanley presented: Searching for Fast Radio Bursts in Messier 82. Mentor: Duncan Lorimer. Jordan is a Physics major at WVU and is from Parkersburg, WV.
• Runner-Up: Nathaniel Wesnak presented: Predicting Low Energy and Stable Spherical Allotropes of Transition Metals by Metaheuristic Methods. Mentor: Aldo Romero. Nathaniel is a Physics major at SVU and is from Pittston, PA. Page Break

• Winner: Grant DuVall presented: Exploration of Cognitive Impairment Variability in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder. Mentor: Erin Winstanley. Grant is a Biology major at WVU and is from Bridgeport, WV.