1. Anna Gazzerro - Dr. Jun Xi - The project investigated cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions through an innovative use of the QCM-D (quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring) as a bioanalytical tool. The current focus is on the interaction between E. coli cells and A-431 cells, specifically the effect of E. coli on the adhesion of A-431 cells. Through understanding the impact of bacterial cells on the adhesion of mammalian cells, the research seeks to provide insights into bacterial invasions of mammalian hosts and their communication involved in the process. 

2. Karli Faraldo - Dr. Gwen Ottinger - Communities living near oil refineries and their advocates need open access to air quality data to understand what pollutants they are exposed to, but this information is often hard to access or interpret. Dr. Gwen Ottinger’s Refinery Air Watch aims to make available air quality data more accessible and understandable. This project involved assuring the quality of website features, and gathering outreach contacts to ensure reliable information reaches those who need it most, as well as creating context for data by tracking the status of refinery closures and identifying health-based pollutant standards to which air quality measurements can be compared. 

3. Sami Nabil - Dr. Michelle Dolinski - The nEXO experiment is being developed to search for a rare type of nuclear decay that could reveal whether tiny particles called neutrinos are their own antiparticles. This experiment could help explain why the universe is made mostly of matter instead of equal parts matter and antimatter. The researcher analyzed simulated data to evaluate how well nEXO can distinguish real signals from background events, helping to demonstrate the experiment’s potential for discovery. 

4. Shaivi Sharma - Prof. Kathleen Volk Miller - This project developed an outreach strategy to support the launch of Dr. Kathleen Volk Miller’s forthcoming non-fiction book by connecting literary media with K-12 and higher-education communities. The researcher coordinated national-level podcast appearances, managed logistics, and curated a network of 100+ educators to amplify the book’s visibility and classroom relevance. The project has already secured multiple podcast invitations and assembled an educator review panel, with ongoing work focused on tracking audience engagement and refining dissemination tactics. 

5. Jahzeel Martinez - Dr. Brigita Urbanc - This project focuses on optimizing lipid bilayer simulation initialization by modularizing the lipid box generation process for Discrete Molecular Dynamics (DMD) modeling. The researcher implemented a modular alternative to the legacy system-level tools after virtualization limits, and validated outputs by replicating original simulation inputs. The refractured pipeline successfully generates initial-lipids.dat and improves runtime. 

6. Noah Dacanay and Cassidy Joyce - Dr. Gwen Ottinger - The researchers produced a review article titled “Knowing Pollution through Community Environmental Monitoring” for the Handbook of Pollution and Society. Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM) is the practice of community and grassroots groups monitoring pollution levels in their local environments. This literature article contends that how we understand the meaning and impact of CEM depends on how we understand the nature of pollution itself. By contrasting the common, “regulatory account” of pollution to the “critical account” advanced by social scientists, this paper summarizes and theorizes CEM’s role in thinking about and acting on pollution. 

7. Lourdes Akirtha - Dr. Christina Love - HERA investigates the behavior and distribution of cosmic rays by launching detectors on high-altitude balloons reaching up to 100,000 feet. The researcher contributed to the project by leading data analysis, assembling detector systems, and mentoring first-year students by designing sub-projects within HERA. Preliminary results demonstrate altitude-dependent cosmic-ray modulation and future work will expand to multi-state launches and correlation studies of atmospheric variables during solar events. 

8. Riya Chawla - Dr. Tali Gidalevitz - This project investigates the role of ER stress sensor, PERK, in neuronal DAF-28/IGF signaling during C. elegans development. Because DAF-28, Ins-4 and Ins-6 signal redundantly during development, a strain was generated to specifically test DAF-28 in a PERK deletion background with genetic deletions of Ins-4 and Ins-6. In this sensitized genetic background, C. elegans development was delayed, suggesting that DAF-28 signaling is limited in the absence of PERK, but requires additional verification. 

9. Neetika Mishra & Angelique Atencio - Dr. Frank Ferrone - The research focuses on using novel methods to understand sickle cell anemia. The research is currently using lasers to make intracellular concentration measurements of the hemoglobin in the blood by leveling the cell surface and using an interferometric device to measure each cell's oxygenation state and intracellular concentration. Researchers will continue to adjust the laser to find the most accurate hemoglobin concentrations to further work toward the goal of understanding sickle cell anemia. 

10. Anna Zhu - Dr. Evangelia Chrysikou - This study focused on the neural basis of creative problem solving using high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS)—a noninvasive brain stimulation technique. The goal was to examine whether modulating neural activity in the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) would facilitate creative thinking in the Alternative Objects Task (AOT), a novel problem-solving task that prioritizes goal-oriented cognitive processes. 

11. Ayra Patel - Dr. Bill Vargo - The research focused on integration of AI use, more specifically use of AI detection tools, in English classrooms for students and the faculty. To that extent, outreach to third party AI detection platforms and measuring their relative accuracy through a corpus of texts was conducted. Moreover, a survey to gauge student competency and usage of AI was conducted and analyzed to better help build future curriculum. 

12. Maddie Navea - Dr. Lisa Velkoff - The current study conducted a latent profile analysis on momentary affective traits and examined its associations with self-injurious behaviors (SIBs). While previous literature demonstrates that certain individuals are more susceptible to engaging in SIBs, the current study’s findings demonstrate that in certain moments, individuals are more at risk for SIBs. Future implications include leading and lagging variables to examine what momentary affective profiles may arise before engaging in SIBs. 

13. Lola Hart - Dr. Sergei Kostiaev - This research aimed to look at the impact of coalition building on federal regulations regarding STLDI (Short Term Limited Duration Insurance) during the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. The researcher combed through public comment databases to find coalition letters, then built up a new database with information on these coalitions, including lobbying spending, political position and organization type. The researchers have finished data collection and are beginning to carry out data analysis work and supplement the data with interviews. 

14. Rahul Chowdhury - Dr. Ryan Petrie - This project focuses on understanding how fibroblasts migrate through different three-dimensional environments by harnessing the power of actomyosin contractility and protein secretion. Techniques including cell culture and microscopy were used to analyze the behaviors of fibroblasts in 2D and 3D environments. This work shows that the anillin protein may regulate the required contractility and the optineurin protein could regulate protein secretion in motile cells. 

15. Makayla Hamilton - Dr. Alexa Tompary - With the increasing reliance on technology, it is important to assess the potential effects this has on brain function. The objective of this project is to test just how great of an impact excessive screen time has on an individual's memory, using attention and mind-wandering as mediators. 

16. Hiba Ettaleb - Lotus Shareef-Trudeau, PhD Candidate - This study examines how stress and anxiety influence cognitive performance and mind-wandering during GradCPT tasks using a within-subjects design. The researcher conducted paired-samples t-tests, correlation analyses, and repeated-measures ANOVA to compare accuracy and mind-wandering qualities between low and high stress conditions. Preliminary results showed that while stress did not affect task performance, it significantly increased the emotional intensity of participants’ internal thoughts. 

17. Chris Masiello - Dr. Denise Garcia - Astrocytes are glial cells that support the development and function of the central nervous system. While some neurodevelopmental signaling pathways involving astrocytes are well understood, others are not. This research explores patterns in the expression of Sonic Hedgehog and ETNPPL in mice raised in enriched environments and treated with a viral knockdown. 

18. Miranda Soriano - Dr. Elizabeth Kimball - The Department of English and Philosophy is currently in the process of revitalizing the humanities and applying for a grant from the Teagle Foundation to launch Cornerstone: Learning for Living. A key goal of this initiative is to introduce a shared curriculum based on reading and discussion of transformative texts across human history. The researcher advocated for student voices in the grant development, compiled a list of transformative texts used at other universities, documented successful past programs, and reached out to program directors at peer institutions for guidance. 

19. Abby Holmberg - Dr. Steve Dolph - The Climate Pedagogy Incubator is a faculty-learning initiative focused on integrating climate justice education and learning from local communities for the purpose of furthering climate justice education at Drexel. The researcher started building a toolkit for relationship-focused university-community partnerships, specifically in the field of climate justice. The researcher focused on making this project mentorable, so that the next researcher can pick the project up with guidance to continue to build this toolkit to advance equitable university-community partnerships. 

20. Rose Xu - Dr. Ashley Dickinson - Using secondary data from The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), which provides information on the sexual victimization queer and heterosexual youth experience, this study observed the impact of sexual health risk on queer youth demographics and how they may be affected by these risks differently than their heterosexual counterparts. The research conducted an in-depth analysis of data related to health risk, sexual victimization, and unique identifiers related to the LGBTQ+ youth community. The findings indicated statistical significance between youth sexual identity and sexual dating violence, as well as a positive correlation between youth health risk behaviors and sexual dating violence among youth. 

21. Marianna Stepaniuk - Dr. Daniel King - This project developed predictive models based on student performance data to identify individuals at risk of academic failure in General Chemistry I. The researcher analyzed academic variables such as exam scores, practical assignments, and student mindset to uncover correlations that may signal early academic challenges. The analysis revealed specific variables that, when correlated, enabled the prediction of academic failure, providing a robust foundation for targeted interventions and data-informed teaching practices. 

22. Ella McVerry - Laura Miller, PhD candidate - The purpose of this project was to observe the cellular mechanisms that may be involved in halting egg development in Polistes exclamans as the current understanding of this process is based off Drosophila which must be placed into stressful environments to observe. The researchers analyzed different types of Polistes exclamans (queens, workers, and future queens) for the number of mislocalized oocytes to the total number of cyst clusters present. Future queens had the highest proportion of their ovarioles that were mislocalized and when compared to queens and workers this difference was found to likely not be due to random chance. 

23. Aiden Rodriguez - Dr. Shelby Rinehart - This project examined environmental differences between Bayside and Creekside habitats within a tidal marsh in Barnegat Bay, NJ. The researcher analyzed data collected from multiple field visits between May and July 2024, focusing on biotic and abiotic gradients across marsh locations. The study found notable differences in vegetation structure, faunal abundance, and environmental conditions between habitats, with future research aiming to expand site coverage and assess the influence of human activity. 

24. Sarah Sikder - Dr. Alexa Tompary - The researchers investigate whether spatial memory differs between athletes and non-athletes, with an additional focus on team-oriented versus individual sports. To assess visuospatial memory performance, participants complete a simulation of the Corsi Block Tapping Test. This study aims to uncover potential cognitive benefits of athletic participation, better understand the cognitive benefits of athletic involvement, and inform training practices, rehabilitation programs, and youth sports development. 

25. Rachel Jean-Charles - Dr. Shelby Rinehart - This project examines how urban environments influence the breakdown of leaf litter, a key part of nutrient cycling in ecosystems. Through a meta-analysis of decomposition rates across city landscapes, this research explores the environmental factors that affect how organic material breaks down in urban spaces. The project is ongoing, and our next steps include extracting and synthesizing data from included sources to evaluate global patterns of urbanization effects on decomposition. 

26. Patty Agustin - Dr. Eva Thury - Jessica Jones: The Reality of a “Hero” - This project analyzed multithreading, a modern form of narration in television, in the series Jessica Jones. The researcher’s role included following overlapping themes within a two-minute time stamp and analyzing the roles of characters and threads. The results showed the importance of multithreading, and Melanie Klein’s ideas of mother relationships, making the series, Jessica Jones seasons 2 & 3, more relatable to audiences. 

27. Neshal Kothari - Dr. Brigita Urbanc - This project explores phase behavior in lipid membranes using discrete molecular dynamics and a flexible four-bead coarse-grained lipid model with implicit water. The researcher configured the model and conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses to validate the formation of a stable fluid bilayer. The results confirmed successful self-assembly and phase transitions, supporting the model’s potential for broader use in future membrane-related simulations. 

28. Ava Scholl - Dr. Christina Love - The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a particle detector that uses thousands of light sensors buried in the Antarctic ice. The researcher has worked on understanding citizen science results and how they compare to a machine learning algorithm. The goal is to learn more about the confidence of the users' classifications and how to further improve the next iteration of Name that Neutrino. 

29. Susan Cahill - Dr. Tali Gidalevitz - This project aims to learn more about DAF-7, a growth factor in C. elegans that is secreted from neuron dendrites and promotes development to adulthood. The researcher genetically crossed worms with different mutations and then imaged the resulting strains to better understand the relationships between DAF-7 and other sensory nervous system structures. It can be concluded that normal DAF-7 secretion from ASI neuron dendrites requires the presence of the amphid sheath glia, and that DAF-7 secretion in the cilia of OLQ neurons may have a role in signaling a return to pro-growth conditions. 

30. Alyssa Luby - Dr. Charles Lane - This project focused on developing a prototype circuit for the slow controls system of the BL3 experimental apparatus. The researcher designed the schematic, built a breadboard sample, finalized the PCB layout, and tested and soldered the prototype after fabrication. Initial results showed successful gate driver performance, and future steps include high voltage testing and integration into the proton beam ramp. 

31. Steven Mangini - Dr. Tali Gidalevitz - This project aims to further understand the functions of HSP-12.6, a short heat shock protein in C. elegans that may have a role in upkeep of muscle function and reduction of toxic effects of stress, in regards to protein aggregate myopathies. The researcher genetically crossed animals containing a mutated overexpression of HSP-12.6 with animals containing mutated paramyosin in order to simulate aggregate myopathies of thick muscle filament protein, then measured motility of the resulting individuals to assess muscle function. From these experiments, it can be concluded that HSP-12.6 has a protective role against misfolded or misassembled paramyosin, however it does not protect against a paramyosin deletion. 

32. Olivia Maddox - Dr. Michelle Gannon - Salt marsh edge habitats may influence food web dynamics for key species in these ecosystems. The researcher worked on calculating the isotopic ratios of key resources and consumers in the marsh to understand the natural food web of the marsh. The hypothesized results are that there will be differences in consumption and tropic levels of fiddler crabs between the bay side and creek side of the marsh, but no such differences for mussels. Isotopic data calculations are still in progress.