Honors Students Will Present Research at National Conference

University of Memphis honors students will present their research projects at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, which will be held April 11-13 at Kennesaw State University.

Since its inception in 1987, NCUR has become a major annual event drawing over 4,000 undergraduates, faculty, and administrators to hear and discuss undergraduate scholarly and creative work.

The University of Memphis students, their projects and faculty mentors are:

Kasyap Cherukuri, "Branched-Clusters as a Tissue-Engineered Solution to Articular Cartilage Regeneration." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gary Bowlin, Biomedical Engineering;

Emily Coleman, "Prevention of Biofilm Formation Using Local Drug Delivery." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jessica Amber Jennings, Biomedical Engineering;

Nathan Galloway, "A Student Documentary about the Meaning of Rivalry and Research Into the Phenomenon." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cody Havard, Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality & Resort Management;

Sonia Hopkins, Associations Between Early Childhood Stress, Cognitive Functions, and Marijuana Use." Faculty Mentor: Dr. James G. Murphy, Psychology;

Xin Ju, "Determining the Difficulty of Math Problems from Surface Linguistic Features." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alistair Windsor, Mathematical Sciences;

Katherine Kubicek, Robert Boyette, Veronica Buendia and Jessica McMahon, "Beyond the Bubble Bath: Circulatory System Benefits of Hydrotherapy for Elderly Long-Term Care Residents. Faculty Mentor: Prof. Machell Reifsnider;

Kelse Matthews, "Predictors of Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors in Adolescents: A Systematic Review." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xu Jiang, School Psychology;

Megan McWain, "Effects of Chronic Cannabinoid Agonists on Dopamine Release and Related Behavior." Faculty Mentors: Dr. Deranda Lester and Dr. Helen Sable, Psychology;

Brianna Miller, "Simulation of Vacancy Enhanced Diffusion Using KMC." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xiao Shen, Physics and Material Science;

Paige Murin and Steven M. Ballou, "Analysis of Morphological and Genotypic Variation among Populations of Lactuca Hirsuta Var. Sanguinea." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Mandel, Biological Sciences;

Jacob Parks, "Factors Influencing Coating Uniformity: An Analysis of Phosphor Coatings on Aerogel and PDMS Substrates." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Firouzi Sabri, Physics and Material Science;

Robyn Pennella, "Examining the Effects of Social Interaction and Nicotine Exposure on Mesolimbic Dopamine Functioning in Mice." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Deranda Lester, Psychology;

Kyle Pugh and Kami Fox, "Morality's Relationship with Spirituality and Religiosity." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cheryl Bowers, Psychology;

Mary Katherine Reynolds, "Mental Health Outcomes in Women Exposed to Abusive Romantic Relationships: Does Number of Abusive Partners Matter?" Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gayle Beck, Psychology;

Abeer Salah and Amber Love. "Instagram and Physical Appearance Comparisons." Dr. Cheryl Bowers, Psychology.

Abeer Salah, Katie Markham, Jennifer Sanders and Emily Boone. "Sex and Relationship Dyads in Texting." Dr. Cheryl Bowers,Psychology

Quivilo Sherrod, "Acute Biomechanical and Performance Effects of Training with the iTrainFundamentals." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Max Paquette, School of Health Studies;

Shelby Towers. "Examining the Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Mesolimbic Dopamine Release Associated with Addiction." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Deranda Lester, Psychology;

Johnda Washington, "Knowledge and Perspectives on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Rural Limpopo, South Africa." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Ingersoll, Psychology, University of Virginia; and

Nicholas Whitaker, "Acute Sleep Deprivation and Following Instructions." Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cheryl Bowers, Psychology.

The Helen Hardin Honors College provides support for students to present their research, creative works and community-based learning projects at regional and national conferences. For more information, call 901.678.2690.