Current Scholars

Blessing Afolabi

• Major: Biology, Pre-med
• Classification: Senior
• Researching: Antibiotic resistance in Sinorhizobium meliloti as a selective marker
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Catalina Pislariu, School of the Sciences

Christopher Bacidore

• Major: Biology
• Classification: Junior
• Researching: The People Behind Prosthetics
• Faculty mentor: Dr. David Gardner, Computer Sciences

Sara Castillo

• Major: Biology, Pre-med 
• Classification: Junior
• Researching: Developing a machine learning approach to predict Ames toxicity in food | Studying plant extracts to investigate their potential anticancer and antiviral activity additives  
• Faculty mentors: Dr. Shiru Lin & Dr. Laura Hanson, School of the Sciences

Rachel Dehesa

• Major: Nutrition, emphasis in Dietetics
• Classification: Senior

Alexia Del Vecchio

• Major: Political Science
• Classification: Senior
• Researching: Juror bias and the effectiveness of their approaches across different trial contexts
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Wouter Van Erve, Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies 

Natalie Engelhardt

• Major: Political Science & Sociology 
• Classification: Senior
• Researching: The impact of Congressional voting patterns on American public opinion on sociocultural issues. 
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Amy Friesenhahn, Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies 

Kayla Ferguson

• Major: Food Science
• Classification: Sophomore

Wendy Gonzalez Romero

• Major: Biochemistry-ACS Certification
• Classification: Sophomore
• Researching: Examining the biochemically active compounds in traditional Latinx remedies for blood sugar regulation
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Catalina Pislariu, School of the Sciences

Ashley Hernandez

• Major: Medical Spanish Interpreting & Translation 
• Classification: Junior
• Researching: How do government-funded program application forms like SNAP forms intimidate Hispanic households?
• Faculty mentor: Dr. William Benner, Department of Language, Culture & Gender Studies 

Emily Machado

• Major: Psychology
• Classification: Senior
• Researching: Cyberbullying within Adolescence,  Barriers within higher education for DACA and Immigrant Students 
• Faculty mentors: Dr. Lisa Rosen, Psychology & Dr. Emarely Rosa Dávila, Social Work

Isabela Muniz

• Major: Psychology
• Classification: Junior

Fatouma Nambouri

• Major: Communication Sciences
• Classification: Sophomore

Whitni Newbill

• Major: Kinesiology Pre-Physical Therapy
• Classification: Senior

Zoey Ortiz

• Major: English Literature
• Classification: Sophomore
• Researching: Exploration of different forms of English Pedagogy
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Rima Abunasser, Division of English, Rhetoric & Spanish

Guadalupe Perez

• Major: Healthcare Administration
• Classification: Junior
• Researching: Healthcare laws and policies, and the impact on information and resources available for college women
• Faculty mentor: Amy Allison, Student Health Services

Kaila Quijada

• Major: Biology Pre-Med
• Classification: Sophomore
• Researching: The role of gonadal hormones in sex differences in oral facial pain
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Dayna Averitt, School of the Sciences

Venessa Sagako

• Major: Psychology
• Classification: Senior
• Researching: Epigenetic factors and the impact on obesity and autism spectrum disorder
• Faculty mentor: Dr. Elisa Na, Psychology

Carolyn Tran

• Major: Biology, Pre-med
• Classification: Junior
• Researching: Sex Differences in Gonadal Hormone Modulation of TMJ-Associated Orofacial Pain
• Faculty mentors: Dr. Dayna Averitt, School of the Sciences