College of Arts and Sciences hosts annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

An important part of Marian University's mission is focused on providing all undergraduates with personal attention from faculty mentors and opportunities to engage in scientifically robust activities before graduation.

Each fall, the College of Arts and Sciences hosts a research symposium to showcase the breadth and depth of achievement among its students. 

Participants include students earning degrees in fields like biology, chemistry, genetics, the humanities (which typically include languages, literature, history, and philosophy, among others), mathematics, microbiology, psychology, sociology, and similar subjects.

Projects and participants

This year, there were a total of 51 unique research projects which are listed here by category. 

Advanced biology

• Analyzing Animal Intake at Indianapolis Animal Care and Control
  Whitney Zuercher, Allie Timmerman, Cassandra Vance, and Kennedy Adams

• Influence of Predator Scent in Shaping Beaver Foraging Habits
  Logan Clonce and Bradley Mullings

• Selective Inhibition of Aspartate Aminotransferase by L-Cycloserine in the Presence of Vitamin B6
  Leah Noe, Jansen Nicole, and Tretter Bryson 

• The Effects of Sexual Dimorphism on Toxic Prey Avoidance in the Chinese Praying Mantis, Tenodera sinensis
  Emma Swartz, Sophie Podgorski, and Tisa Steinmeyer

• Determining the Impact of Biological Scale on the General Public’s Understanding of Cancer Metastis
  Hagar Weinstein, Danielle Schroeder, and Ruthann Gorrell

• Investigating the Impact of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) on the Growth and Mortality of Dragonfly Larvae (Anisoptera)
  Jessica Sobers and Logan English

• Changes in Glucocorticoid Metabolites in White-Tailed Ptarmigan Following Artificial Stress Stimuli 
  Allison Bryant

• Exploring the Education of Cancer Metastasis: Development and Evaluation of Informative Text
  Abigail Burnett and Emma Carlton

Cell biology

• SF9 Cell Metabolism of Nicotine with Varying Sugar Diets
  Julia Robson, Kennedy Adams, and Siera Stuart

• Analyzing the Efficacy of Natural Baby Soaps for the Elimination of Bacterial Colonization on Bath Toys
  Abigail Rost, Jacqueline Benitez, Mira Nicpon, and Katelyn McLaughlin

• Vitamin E: A Possible Preventative Measure for CTE
  Dylan Roth and Cameron Dargis

• The Effects of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Yeast-Absorbing Creatine in Varying Concentrations of Salinity
  Kadin Abegg, Devin Humes, and Joe Happe

• The Effect that Docosahexaenoic Omega-3 Fatty Acid has on Intestinal Microbiome and its Relationship to Age-Related Macular Degeneration
  Andrea Nunez, Macy Willoughby, and Sydney Mathias

• Clostridium Butyricum: The Effect of Catalase Concentration in a Normoxic Environment
  Catherine Schmidt, Luke Sartino, Luisa Luttmann, and Morgan Raines

• The Effects of Sugars on Lactobacillus casei Growth
  Alexis Felty, Sidney Gerkin, Taylor Kowalski, and Parker Williams

• Analysis of Leaf Economic Spectrum Differences in Native and Invasive EcoLab Species
  Sarah Downing, Adam Brinkman, Claire Bossert, and Randell Bruns

Genetics and microbiology

• Cloning CCA1 in Yeast to Understand Sideroblastic Anemia
  Hali Shaffer, Brooke Spencer, and Brandi Williams

• Enhanced Surveillance of Staphylococcus spp. to Identify Targets for Infection Prevention
  Ryleigh Schwein, Journey Fischbeck, and Jacqueline Benitez

• Personal Hygiene and Occurrence of Staphylococcus spp. in our Environment
  Aidan Washer, Laura Haunert, Deena Miller, and Rayna Onate

• Using Yeast SPS1/X-Men As A Model to Study Human Immunodeficiency
  Jon Waldron, Inga VanMeter, and Monica Dudley

• Occurrence and Distribution of Bacterial Indicators and Pathogens in Our Environment
  Sydney Mahias, Kaylee Carpenter, and Devin Humes

• Changes in Glucocorticoid Metabolites in White-Tailed Ptarmigan Following Artificial Stress Stimuli
  Ariyanna Casey

• Enabling studies of Human Immune Disfunction using Yeast Gene OTS3/UNGI
  Mary Dulu and Bindiya Pandya

• Antibiotic Resistance Coming Soon to a Pathogen Near You
  Mackenzie Altman, Catherine Stone, Tamia Mills, and Lindsey Layman

Humanities

• Dramaturgy Poster
  Thomas O'Neil

• Civil Rights History Program: Birmingham, Selma, & Montgomery: The Role of Franciscan Values
  Abby Fralich

• Community Centers' Effects on the Determinants of Health: Improving Community Mental Health
  Allisandra Potts-Kummer

• Seeming and Scheming: Machiavelli’s Fox in Macbeth
  Sarah Meer

• Thomas Malthus' Theories of Unsustainabilty
  Grace Von Lehman

• Examining the Civil Rights History Field Trip
  Elizabeth Poynton and Abigail Spitler

Independent research

• Development of a Novel Laboratory Approach for the Colorimetric Detection of Vitamin C
  Paula Angarita, Devan Gabbard, Kegan Main, and Katherine Timmerman

• Thermosensitive Hydrogels Physically Linked with Chitosan-β-cyclodextrin Loaded with Curcumin Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
  Nathan Dimmit

• Effects of Cationic, Anionic, and Non-Ionic Surfactants on Oil-in-Water Microemulsions: Studies Using Turbidimetry and PFG-NMR
  Daniela Alaniz and Tuong Thai

• What Natural Soil Type Produces a High Yield for Crop Growth
  Inga VanMeter

• Studies of Radiation Damping Effects in NMR Relaxometr
  Anders Nystrom

Mathematics and internships

• Geometrical Investigations of Pythagorean Triples
  Cierra Carney

• Internship in Chemistry
  Derek Lewis

• Mathematical Investigations of Titrations in Chemistry
  Marta Morris

• Internship in Chemistry
  Melissa Sturgill

Psychology and sociology 

• Winning the Lottery: How Family Background Shapes Where Kids Go to School
  Shelby Robertson

• How Police Interactions Impact the Communities They Serve
  Maverick Bacon

• On the Impact of Academic Performance by Semester: Student Mood & Academic Self-Efficacy
  Katja Barnes and Anna Chrzanowski

• Navigating Gendered Selves in the Twitterverse: The Constructs That Bind Us
  Milo Sonntag