Eleven WVU undergraduate researchers, one graduate student, and an Office of Undergraduate Research staff member presented their research at the annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research and an annually selected hosting institution, NCUR is the largest assembly of undergraduate researchers in nation and promotes a unique opportunity for students to interact with students, disciplines, and perspectives outside of the WVU community.
This year’s WVU presenters included:
Chaysee Putnam (Biology), "The Effect of Immunotherapy on the Cardiovascular System," Poster Presentation, Brijesh Patel (Faculty Mentor)
Cooper Coursey (Biology), “Evaluation of Nematophagous Fungi Capture Efficiency and Immobilization of Parasitic Nematodes,” Poster Presentation, James Kotcon (Faculty Mentor)
Chyanne Reid (Biochemistry), "Lipid Modification of Cone Phosphodiesterase is Crucial for Color Vision," Poster Presentation, Visvanathan Ramamurthy (Faculty Mentor)
Emily Duckworth (Biochemistry), "Deconvoluting the sesquiterpenoid biochemical pathway of Artemisia annua," Poster Presentation, Vagner Benedito (Faculty Mentor)
Ethan Nylander (Music Performance: Instrumental), "Compact Disc Album: Solo Works for Alto and Bass Flute by Francophone Composers," Performance Presentation, Nina Assimakopoulos (Faculty Mentor)
Jacob Smothers (Biology and Chemistry), "Site-Selective Nickel-Catalyzed C-H Nitration of 8-Amidoquinolines," Poster Presentation, Jessica Hoover (Faculty Mentor)
Justin Hickey (Biology), "Multi-Omics Immune Interaction Networks in Lung Cancer Tumorigenesis, Proliferation, and Survival,” Oral Presentation, Alexey Ivanov (Faculty Mentor)
Kallie Schafner (Healthcare Informatics and Information Management), "PROPYLENE GLYCOL AND VEGETABLE GLYCERIN INHALATION EXPOSURE INCREASES CIRCULATING XANTHINE OXIDASE IN PREGNANT DAMS," Oral Presentation, Elizabeth Bowdridge (Faculty Mentor)
Taya Sullivan (Neuroscience), "Lenition is Scalar Across Spanish Consonant Sets: Implications for Mental Representations of Language," Oral Presentation, Jonah Katz (Faculty Mentor)
Wren King (Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies), “Harm Reduction in West Virginia: Awareness in Action,” Oral Presentation, Kelly Watson (Faculty Mentor)
Zoey Lim (Music Composition), “Creating Music That “Causes a Scene”,” Oral Presentation, Matthew Heap (Faculty Mentor)
Dr. Carinna Ferguson and Kevin Walden (Learning Sciences and Human Development), “Undergraduate Researchers Activities and Autonomy: Strategies for Tracking and Assessing Student Engagement,” Oral Presentation
This year, NCUR was centered around UW-Eau Claire’s land acknowledgement, which recognizes it occupies that the sacred and ancestral lands of the Indigenous Peoples and honors the land of the Ojibwe and Dakota Nations. The opening ceremony, plenaries, and keynote speakers invited guests to reflect on their identities and intersection of the Ojibwe and Dakota lands.
Much of the travel support came from private donations and the WVU Office of Undergraduate Research would like to thank the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the Canady Creative Arts Center, and the WVU Foundation for making this trip possible.
