Sigma Xi Research Awards
2025
Elena Beutel (Biology)
Title of Project: Caught in the web: Investigating the molecular relationship of HAPLN1 and aggrecan in perineuronal nets (PNNs)
Research Mentor: Kristin Giamanco
Steven Pancurak (Biology)
Title of Project: Influence of warming on gill structure of Fundulus heteroclitus
Research Mentor: Michelle Monette
Sara V. Azzi (Psychology)
Title of Project: Elements of student engagement: online vs in person learning
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernie Gee
2024
Sandra Zapata-Ramirez (Biology)
Title of Project: Using tick gardens to cultivate understanding of blacklegged tick behavior at the forest-lawn interface
Research Mentor: Neeta Connally
Jocelyn Villacreses (Biology)
Title of Project: The Role of Osmotic Stress Transcription Factor in the Seawater Acclimation of Atlantic Salmon
Research Mentor: Michelle Monette
Jade e. Carriero (Psychology)
Title of Project: Mental rotation learning with task-specific interventions
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernie Gee
2023
Hannah Daly (Biology)
Title of Project: Spatial Diversity of Barnacles on nesting turtles on Casey Key, Florida
Research Mentor: Dr. Theodora Pinou
John Michael Arnett (Biology)
Title of Project:The effects of Urbanized Roadways on Northern Diamondback Terrapins
Research Mentor: Dr. Theodora Pinou
Skylar Bartush (Psychology)
Title of Project: The role of effective lecture note-taking in facilitating academic performance.
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernard Gee
2022
Juliet Barbieri (Biology)
Title of Project: Building the Perineuronal Net: Assessing the Role of Aggrecan in Molecular Assembly
Research Mentor: Dr. Kristin Giamanco
Sophia Chiaia (Biology)
Title of Project: Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together: Assessing Risk of Human Exposure to Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis)
Research Mentor: Dr. Neeta Connally
Brielle Skrutskie (Chemistry)
Title of Project: Study of Glutathione Reductase using Mass Spectrometry
Research Mentor: Dr. Helena Prieto
2021
Jacob Bethin (Biology)
Title of Project: An Exploration of Invertebrate Diversity with Podostemaceae
Research Mentor: Dr. Rayda Krell
Ashley Green (Psychology)
Title of Project: Comparing Different Online Lecture Presentation Styles
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernard Gee
Emily Hoegler (Biology)
Title of Project: The Effect of Food Quality and Exercise on High Fat Food Intake
Research Mentor: Joshua Cordeira
2019
Kayla Deguzman (Biology)
Title of Project: Satellite Tracking of Juvenile Green, Loggerhead, and Kemp’s Ridley Turtles from Rehabilitation Centers in Southern New England and Long Island, USA
Research Mentor: Dr. Theodora Pinou
Madisyn Mazik (Psychology)
Title of Project: Enhanced Whiteboard-Style Lecture Beats Powerpoint
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernard Gee
Jessica Plouffe (Psychology)
Title of Project: Mental Rotation Performance without Eye Movements
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernard Gee
2018
Shannon McFarland (Biology)
Title of Project: Expression and Regulation of the Na-Cl Cotransporter (NCC) in Ion Regulatory Tissues of Threespine Stickleback
Research Mentor: Dr. Michelle Monette
Daniel Monahan (Biology)
Title of Project: Thirty Minutes per Day Keeps the Calories Away: The Benefits of Wheel Running on Food Intake and Body Weight in Mice
Research Mentor: Dr. Joshua Cordeira
Brittany Schappach and Sandra Zapata-Ramirez (Biology)
Title of Project: A Comparison of Household Dryer-Induced Mortality on Laboratory Reared and Field-Collected Ixodes Scapularis Ticks
Research Mentor: Drs. Neeta Connally and Rayda Krell
2017
Volha (Olga) Alizarchyk (Mathematics)
Title of Project: Shock Wave Calculations in Diverse Applications: NEW Trigonometric Essentially Non-Oscillatory (ENO) Interpolation for Solving Non-linear Hyperbolic PDEs, Theory and Computations
Research Mentor: Dr. Stavros Christofi
Alexander Bieber (Chemistry)
Title of Project: Exploring Solid Phase Analytical Derivatization (SPAD) as a Sample Preparation Method for Quantitative Analysis by GC-MS
Research Mentor: Dr. Yuan Mei-Ratliff
Brittney Romagna (Psychology)
Title of Project: The Effects of Psychological and Physiological Stress on Spatial Reasoning Skills
Research Mentor: Dr. Bernard Gee
2016
Kaitlyn McNally (Biochemistry)
Title of Project: Characterization of M. tuberculosis HAD Phosphatase Rv3376
Research Mentor: Dr. Anne Roberts
Alex Potocki and Adebowale Shoroye (Mathematics)
Title of Project: Shock Wave Calculations? No Problem! Essentially Non Oscillatory (ENO) Stencil Selection Procedures: Using Excel VBA to Study & Compare ENO, Built With Various Basis Functions
Research Mentor: Dr. Stavros Christofi
Tyler Ryan (Chemistry)
Title of Project: Method Development of 1,3-Oxathiolane & 1,4-Oxathiane Synthesis
Research Mentor: Dr. Forest Robertson