Undergraduate Research Center
URECA Recipients (Fall 2025-Current)
Welcome to the URECA Grant Recipients Database! This table allows you to explore URECA grant recipients, view their research projects, and see their faculty mentors. This comprehensive resource showcases the diverse range of research conducted by our talented undergraduates and highlights the invaluable mentorship provided by our dedicated faculty.
| Semester | Student | Project Title | Department | Mentor | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Alissa Adkison | Effects of Dam Age on Methylation in Growth-Related Genes in Calves Using Methylation-Specific PCR | Agriculture | Logan Bowling | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Gulnur Ashyrnepesova | Stress fasting under pressure: The role of demands and control on healthy eating | Psychology | Alexander Jackson | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Skye Bendeim | Does flower abundance or color influence insect visitation to species in the daisy family (Asteraceae) on cedar glades of middle Tennessee? | Biology | Siti Hidayati | Assistant |
| Fall 2025 | Rylee Brand | Do you need a new toothbrush? Isolation and Identification of Microorganisms from Used Tooth brushes | Biology | Mary Farone | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Emily Callison | Investigating the Role of HIF-1 Induced Glcolytic Shift In Modulating Macrophage Anticryptococcal Activity | Psychology | David Nelson | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Lucas Davis | Bridging gaps among the teaching of STEM and the student perspectives | Mathematical Sciences | Sarah Bleiler-Baxter | Assistant |
| Fall 2025 | Nicholas Dutile | Indigenous Peoples and Apex-Predators in the lower Pacific Northwest: An Interconnected and Sacred History | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Rebekka King | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Ellaleigh Hall | Identifying Novel Phages in Local Environmental Sources for Potential Phage Therapy | Biology | Rebecca Seipelt-Theimann | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Chelsea Hall | Art as Human Behavior: Exploring the Role of Art in Human Society through Documentary Film | Media Arts | Allie Sultan | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Jack Kelly | Computational Investigation of Fluoride Substitution in Hydroxyapatite: Bonding, Stability, and Implications for Dental Health | Chemistry | Preston MacDougall | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Alexsa Lara | Effect of Fly ash on Compressive Strength of Pavement Concrete for Tennessee Enviroment | Concrete and Construction Management | Gauhar Sabih | Assistant |
| Fall 2025 | Marie Lowell | Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Plastic Waste Management with Focus on Climate Impact and Energy Recovery | Geosciences | Mina Mohebbi | Assistant |
| Fall 2025 | Cameron Morelli | Uncovering Candidate Alter magnets and Their Nonlinear optical applications | Physics and Astronomy | John Villanova | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Elif Nalan Mutlu | Reducing Heterogenity in Autism Neuroimaging: Subgrouping and Graph Neural Networks | Computer Science | Xin Yang | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Gregory Palm | Finding Lt. Charles Casper Winnia Jr: MIA/POW Marine Aviator from WW2 | History | Amy Sayward | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Cash Petree | Blood Pressure and Olfactory Response | Psychology | Jessica Gaby | Assistant |
| Fall 2025 | Linda Poss | Centrality in Signed Social Networks via Singular Value Decomposition | Computer Science | Dong Ye | Assitant |
| Fall 2025 | Batoul Sawas | Assessing The Relationship Between Self-Esteem, Parent-Child Relationships, and Big Five Personality Traits in College Students | Psychology | Megan Zenringue | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Taylor Tims | Anthropogenic Soils and the Amazon: An Analysis of Terra Preta in Caziuana, Brazil | Sociology and Anthropology | Andrew Wyatt | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Zoe Vecchio | Tennessee Songbirds: A Photographic Exploration of Queer Experience in Tennessee | Photography | Kristine Potter | Silver |
| Fall 2025 | Issac Puckett | Biological Evaluation of Novel pH-Sensitive Fluorescent Probes Derived from Pyridinium Salts for Cell Viability | Chemistry | Scott Handy | Gold |
| Fall 2025 | Aubrey Von Dem Bussche | The Influence of Knowledge of the Field of Speech Language Pathology and College Student’s Choice of Major | Health and Human Performance | Kathryn Blankenship | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Kayla Welker | Transparency in E-commerce Chatbots: A Multi-Method Investigation of Consumer Trust, Intentions, and Implicit Responses | Marketing | Gaia Rancati | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Amelia McGarry-Nowak | The Role of GLP-1s in Maternal Behavior | Psychology | Tiffany Rogers | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Sophie Duffy | Social Preference in Dominant versus Submissive Rats | Psychology | Ann Galizio | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Alyssa Hildebrandt | Postmortem Presence of Drug Compounds in Trabecular Bone Matric | Biology | Megan Moore | Gold |
| Spring 2026 | Jessica Pruitt | Penny Writer: A Musical Play | English | Claudia Barnett | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Sofia Cardoso Perez | Quantification of Toxicants Released from Recycled Tire Materials via Water Leaching | Chemistry | Ngee Chong | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Nyah Bentley | Development of and LCD Spatial Light Modulator and Exploration of Transport of Intensity Imaging | Engineering Technology | Hongbo Zhang | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Perihan Gazme Mert | Exploring Parents’ Journeys in Dyslexia Identification and Support | Elementary and Special Education | Karen Kehoe | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Catherine Hasan | Analysis of HIF-1 a Stabilization in RAW 264.7 Macrophages in Response to Cryptococcus Neoformans Infection | Biology | David Nelson | Silver |
| Spring 2026 | Sarah Bramlett | Assessment of Distal Humerus Anatomy in Biological Sex Estimation: A Test of Methods and Secular Trends | Sociology and Anthropology | Paul Emanovsky | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Dylan Beerman | Assessment of Photogrammetric Methods for Saw Mark Analysis | Biology | Paul Emanovsky | Assistamt |
| Spring 2026 | Monia Mohammed | The Role of Religious Sites Visits in Fostering Student Growth and Mental Well-Being | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Mohammed Meerzaei | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Pratyusha Shanker | Transforming STEM Education: Measuring Learning Behaviors to Assess Psychological Safety | Computer Science | Gregory Rushton | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Mckenna Layman | Effect of pesticide ingestion on the development of circadian neuroanatomy and honey bee workers | Biology | Manuel Giannoni-Guzman | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Darshan Patel | Phishing Detection Using Machine Learning Techniques | Computer Science | Arpan Sainju | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Rawda Ikbariah | Monitoring Molecular Circadian Rhythms in Adult Honey Bee Brains Using a Bioluminescent Reporter System | Chemistry | Manuel Guzman | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Trinity Johnson | Sleep, Family Context, and Academic Functioning in Community Youth: Extending and Ongoing Boys & Girls Club Partnership | Psychology | Megan Zenringue | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Ashley Spencer | Exploring the Impact of Temperature on the Development of the Honey Bee Neural Clock | Biology | Manuel Giannoni-Guzman | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Mark Markos | Effect of Prediction Horizon Length on Model Predictive Control Performance for an Omni-Directional Mobile Robot | Engineering Technology | Junlin Ou | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Zoee McDow | Reflect to Get Ahead: How to Use Reflection to Achieve Your Goals | English | Julie Myatt | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Hannah Osborne | Structure-Guided Adaptive Sparse Generalized Additive Models | Mathematical Sciences | Donglin Wang | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Oguzhan Rejepov | Accessible Spatial Learning Through Mobile Light Detection and Ranaging (LiDAR): A Web-Based Memory Palace Application Using Real-World Environments | Computer Science | Xin Yang | Assistant |
| Spring 2026 | Autumn Wheeler | Farming for Lolcows: The Effects of Coordinated Harassment Campaigns | Sociology and Anthropology | Rachel Davis | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Riley Marshall | Investigating housing affordability among Nashville-area renters | Journalism and Strategic Media | Ken Blake | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Keirstan Parkhurst | Emotional Recognition for Autistic Children | Engineering Technology | Junlin Ou | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Tyler Sonnett | A solar-powered long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed for persistent aerial mapping, surveying, and remote sensing missions. | Aerospace | Fernando Sanchez | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Juan Lucas de la Fuente | Geometric Design of a Constrained Formula 1 Rear Wing Using CAD Software | Aerospace | Nate Callender | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Aleeza Razzaq | Long-Term Chemical Stability of Cryogenically Extracted, Flower-Derived Full-Spectrum Hemp Distillate: A Five-Year HPLC-DAD Evaluation | Biology | Vichuda Hunter | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Kara Lavassani | Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interpretable Machine Learning Models for Botnet Traffic Detection | Computer Science | Arpan Sainju | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Aryan Seerum | Delayed Feeding Behavior in Turkey Vultures: | Nursing | Danielle Brown | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Andrew Reed | A Study on Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Anesthesia Care | Nursing | Deborah Lee | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Olivia Platt | Neurobiological Markers of Individual Differences in Reading Abilities | Psychology | Cyrille Magne | Assistant |
| Summer 2026 | Brittney Cupp | Not All Fun and Games: Investigating Toxic Elements in Children’s Materials | Biology | Susan Martin | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Skye Bendheim | Using geometric morphometrics to evaluate the mosaic evolution of four-bar linkage in the oral jaws of Neotropical Cichlid fishes | Biology | Jessica Arbour | Gold |
| Summer 2026 | Tatyana Martinez | Fungal pathogen induced dysbiosis (disturbance) elicits a response in the skin microbiome | Chemistry | Donald Walker | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Matthew Sanchez | Trends in Gender Representation in Agriculture Education Teacher Preperation Programs: A 15 Year State and Regional Analysis | Agriculture | Chaney Mosley | Silver |
| Summer 2026 | Gino Palilla | Synthesis and Characterization of Antimicrobial Peptoids against Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Chemistry | Kevin Bicker | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Miles Wine | “Dirty Fucking Clanker:” The Function and Significance of Robot Slurs on TikTok | English | Kate Pantelides | Silver |
| Summer 2026 | Luyang Huang | Quantifying Reputational Risk in Professional Athletics: A Behavioral-Actuarial Approach to Insurance Pricing and Stakeholder Payouts | Mathematical Sciences | Sooie-Heo Loke | Gold |
| Summer 2026 | Rawda Ikbariah | Monitoring Molecular Circadian Rhythms in Adult Honey bee Brains Using a Bioluminescent Reporter System | Chemistry | Manuel Giannoni-Guzman | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Pratyusha Shanker | Quantifying Connectivity: Harnessing Social Network Analysis to Measure Teacher Professional Development | Computer Science | Gregory Rushton | Gold |
| Summer 2026 | Antonious Saleh | Vision-Based AI for Monitoring Cognitive State and Enhancing Safety in Heavy Equipment Operation | Concrete and Construction Management | Jin Sol Lee | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Ava Ruzzo | Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy Analysis of Bullet Alloy Ratios on Impact Surfaces for Forensic Firearm Identification | Chemistry | Jan Halámek | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Marley Morris | Effectiveness of personal narratives in improving quality of life with an emphasis on relationship satisfaction for those with aphasia | Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology | Kathryn Blankenship | Gold |
| Summer 2026 | Isaac Robichau | LIGHT – MT IMAGINE’s Immersive Live Experience | Media Arts | Rodrigo Gomez | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Blaire Myers-Wilson | LIGHT – MT IMAGINE’s Immersive Live Experience | Media Arts | Rodrigo Gomez | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Hope Daan | LIGHT – MT IMAGINE’s Immersive Live Experience | Media Arts | Rodrigo Gomez | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Faith Daan | LIGHT – MT IMAGINE’s Immersive Live Experience | Media Arts | Rodrigo Gomez | Platinum |
| Summer 2026 | Kathryn Serrano | Investigating the Effects of Fungicide and Light Levels on Goumi (Eleagnus multiflora Thunb.) Seed Germination Behavior | Agriculture | Nate Phillips | Gold |
| Summer 2026 | James Terrell | Investigating the Effects of Fungicide and Light Levels on Goumi (Eleagnus multiflora Thunb.) Seed Germination Behavior | Agriculture | Nate Phillips | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Naime Gokce | Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel imidazoquinoline-based colchicine-binding site inhibitors | Chemistry | Souvik Banerjee | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Martene Guirguis | A Novel Innovative Approach to Toothbrush Disinfection Using Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide | Biology | Anthony Newsome | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Libby Hines | Investigating the Change in Leaf Litter Decomposition Between Oak and Maple Leaves Over a Habitat Gradient | Biology | Siti Hidayati | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Sarah Holzmann | Development and evaluation of an ICP-MS method for determining potentially toxic elements in freshwater periphyton | Geosciences | Galina Shinkareva | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Zane Johnson | Automated Spatial Analysis of LiDAR Lineament Maps in Landslide Prone Areas in the Swiss Alps | Geosciences | Mark Abolins | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Jaesung Kim | Successful Operation and Testing of a Delta Robot System for automated strawberry harvesting | Engineering Technology | Hongbo Zhang | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Kara Lavassani | Cross Region Generalization for Machine Learning Based Earthquake Detection | Computer Science | Arpan Sainju | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Juan Lucas de la Fuente | Computational Fluid Dynamics Optimization Study of a Constrained Formula 1 Rear Wing of Own Design | Aerospace | Nate Callender | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Stephen Marking | Designer Bilayer Altermagnets | Physics and Astronomy | John Villanova | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Aiden Marking | Training a Navigation Policy in Simulation and Deploying It on a Physical Robot for Guided Building Tours | Engineering Technology | Lei Miao | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Sabrina McKenna | Influence of Nitrate and Phosphorus on Microcystis and Microcystin Levels in Water, Sediment, SPATT Samplers, and Freshwater Mussels in a Central Tennessee River | Biology | Frank Bailey | SIlver |
| Fall 2026 | Saachi Patel | Effects of Physiological Lung Conditions on Gene Expression in Fetal Liver-Derived Alveolar-Like Macrophages | Biology | David Nelson | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Ally Pricer | You Belong Here: An MTSU Recruiting Video | Journalism and Strategic Media | Tricia Farwell | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Anand Raju | Training Data Diversity and Generalization in Audio Deepfake Detection | Computer Science | Arpan Sainju | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Johnathan Rogers | Analysis of the sinkholes and subterranean systems of Fall Creek Falls State Park | Geosciences | Mark Abolins | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Eliana Rumberg | Selective Inhibition of VTA and PVN and Their Contributions to Social Motivation in C57BL/6J Mice | Biology | Tiffany Rogers | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Mari Shields | Optimizing Calcined Eggshell for Multi-Contaminant Removal During Water Treatment: Extending the Function of Calcium Oxide from Biodiesel Catalyst to Adsorbent | Physics and Astronomy | Ngee Chong | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Nikhil Yelemali | AI-Enhanced Analysis of Gut Microbiome Modulation on Social Cognitive Behavior in C57BL/6 Mice: Implications for Human Gut Brain Interactions. | Chemistry | Tiffany Rogers | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Ayden Young | Prior Sensitivity Analysis in Bayesian Estimation | Mathematical Sciences | Donglin Wang | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Julio Clavasquin | Supervised Agentic AI Discharge Coordinator: An Offline Case-Based Evaluation Study | Computer Science | Khem Poudel | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Dominic Zeferin | Supervised Agentic AI Discharge Coordinator: An Offline Case-Based Evaluation Study | Computer Science | Khem Poudel | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Mason McDowell | Supervised Agentic AI Discharge Coordinator: An Offline Case-Based Evaluation Study | Computer Science | Khem Poudel | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Grace Bryant | Behavioral Investigation of Sexual Partner Preference in Female Rats | Psychology | Ann Galizio | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | Baylee Durrance | Behavioral Investigation of Sexual Partner Preference in Female Rats | Psychology | Ann Galizio | Gold |
| Fall 2026 | Yuting Shen | Structural Properties of Unimodular Graphs | Mathematical Sciences | Dong Ye | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Chengyu Yan | Structural Properties of Unimodular Graphs | Mathematical Sciences | Dong Ye | Assistant |
| Fall 2026 | Daniel Baadom | Classical Geometry-Based Multi-Agent Overtaking and Traction-Aware Speed Control for F1Tenth Autonomous Racing | Engineering Technology | Vishwas Bedekar | Silver |
| Fall 2026 | John Aduroja | Classical Geometry-Based Multi-Agent Overtaking and Traction-Aware Speed Control for F1Tenth Autonomous Racing | Engineering Technology | Vishwas Bedekar | Silver |
Spring URECA DeadlineThursday, January 28th at 4:30 pm
