Undergraduate Research Symposium: Spring 2026
Each Semester the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) hosts an Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) featuring student posters and presentations highlighting their work. Students and faculty came together to celebrate the Spring 2026 session at the Oplin Student Union this past April.
Congratulations to the undergraduate students in the College of Humanities who presented this semester!
Poster Prize Winner - Honorable Mention in the category of Best in Social Sciences
Izzy Akers (International and Area Studies and Anthropology), Abigail Simmons (Spanish and Anthropology) & Hailey Howard (Political Science and Anthropology)
Plants & Pastoralists: A Livelihood Story
Research Mentor: Shane Macfarlan (Anthropology)
Naomi Rowley (Spanish and Linguistics) & Sal Benich (Classics and Linguistics)
Bolognese Vowel Space; Understanding the Sounds of an Italian Language
Research Mentor: Aaron Kaplan (Linguistics) and Ed Rubin (Linguistics)
Katherine Berensen (Philosophy of Science and Biology) & Peyton Cooper (Philosophy of Science and Biology)
A New AI Crisis in Mental Healthcare
Research Mentor: Matt Haber (Philosophy)
Joan Boulds (Linguistics), Jarely Cruz (Linguistics) & Soren Callo (Philosophy of Science and Mathematics)
The Impact of Social Bias on Adults’ Learning of the Pronunciation of Words in an Unfamiliar Language
Research Mentors: Shannon Barrios (Linguistics) & Rachel Hayes-Harb (Linguistics)
Parker Bowden (Spanish)
Understanding Metabolic Regulatory Functions of Wildtype and Mutant Calreticulin
Research Mentor: Shannon Elf (School of Medicine)
Elly Carlton (International and Area Studies and Political Science)
Utah’s African American Newspaper and Its Coverage on National Parks
Research Mentor: KangJae Lee (College of Health)
Poster Prize Winner - Honorable Mention in the category of Best in Humanities and Fine Arts
Camilla Cloward (Middle East Studies and Political Science)
The Use of Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War in the Palestine and Israel Conflict
Research Mentor: Annie Fukushima (Ethnic, Gender & Disability Studies)
Lina Denys (French)
Discovering Domains in the Overdrive Protein that Drive Hybrid Incompatibility in Drosophila Pseudoobscura Hybrids
Research Mentor: Nitin Phadnis (Biological Sciences)
Megan Goode (English)
Visual Art Presentation
Presenting Femininity: Book Covers and Perceptions of Women’s Writing
Research Mentor: Marnie Powers-Torrey (Marriot Library)
London Hunter (History) Teaching
Bridging Borders: Enhancing Intercultural Competence Through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
Research Mentor: Udita Gupta (College of Education)
Sam Ivie (History)
Utah’s Public Sector Unions: A Historical Exploration
Research Mentor: Matt Basso (History)
Kori Johnson (Anthropology with a minor in Gender Studies)
Oral Presentation
Mapping Queer Cannabis Histories
Research Mentor: Magaly Ordonez (Ethnic, Gender & Disability Studies)
Teyanna Kaibetoney (History Teaching)
Somehow to Blame: Life and Faith among the LDS Women Married to Queer Men from 1950-1990
Research Mentor: Elizabeth Clement (History)
Emily Kelley (Communication) & Courtney Sturm (Communication Sciences & Disorders)
How Are We Evaluating Listening Behaviors? A Semantical Content Analysis of Early Childhood Listening Questionnaires, Parent Interviews, and Checklists
Research Mentor: John Whicker (College of Health)
Euna Kim (Communication), Trực Nguyen (Communication) & Jiwon Park (Communication)
Privacy Concerns vs Actual Behavior on AI Driven Platforms
Research Mentor: Chong Oh (David Eccles School of Business)
Austin King (History)
Heavy Metal and Its Influences
Research Mentor: Lepa Marinkovski (English)
Poster Prize Winner - Honorable Mention in the category of Best in Humanities and Fine Arts
Natalia Lopez, (Bachelor of University Studies in Humanities)
Latinx Criminal Justice Professionals: Exploring Career Motivations
Research Mentor: Ed Muñoz (Ethnic, Gender & Disability Studies)
Andee Lyons (Communication and Psychology)
Perceptions of a Caring, Task, and Ego-Involving Climate on Positive Youth Development
Research Mentor: Maria Newton (College of Health)
Martina Martinez (Ethnic Studies and Electrical Engineering)
Factors Impacting Attrition in STEM Majors: Case Study and Auto Ethnographical Pieces
Research Mentor: Annie Fukishima (Ethnic, Gender & Disability Studies)
Poster Prize Winner - Best in Medicine, Health and Wellness
Thomas Middleton (Chinese)
Characterizing the Structural Diversity of Cdc48
Research Mentor: Peter Shen (School of Medicine)
Melody Nelson (World Languages and Cultures and Biology)
cBIN1 Facilitates Mitophagy in H9C2 Cells
Research Mentor: TingTing Hong (Pharmacy)
Edie Raines (English and Geoscience)
Identifying Earthquakes Induced by Geothermal Energy Exploration
Research Mentor: Keith Koper (Geology and Geophysics)
Ady Stokes (Philosophy and Political Science)
State Policies to Address Racial Health Disparities in COVID-19
Research Mentor: Phillip Singer (Political Science)
Hannah Teo (Spanish and Biomedical Engineering)
Healthcare Decision Making in Complex Cases
Research Mentor: Tanya Flores (World Languages & Cultures)
Kathleen Williams (Middle East Studies)
Middle East Micro-Narrative: Tracing the 20th Century Life of Aziz S. Atiya
Research Mentor: Annie Greene (History)
Jevan Winn (Classics)
Women and Text in the Roman Empire
Research Mentor: Jordan Johansen (World Languages & Cultures)
Learn more about undergraduate research from URS, Fall 2025.
See Full List of Spring 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium