Fall 2023 URCA Recipients
East Carolina University’s Office of Undergraduate Research announced that 54 student investigators received Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) awards for the Fall 2023 semester.
The award provides support for faculty-mentored research and creative projects led by undergraduates in four categories:
- Biomedical Science – Any science that applies principles of the natural sciences (life or physical) to medicine or health
- STEM – science*, technology, engineering, and mathematics
*Any science that does not apply principles of the natural sciences (life or physical) to medicine or health - Social Science
- Arts and Humanities
Students apply for the award with a defined project narrative and budget justification summary that they’ve developed in collaboration with a faculty mentor(s).
Awards range from $1,000-$2,000 for each project. The awards may go toward project materials and an assistantship for the student(s).
Award recipients are required to present their findings at venues such as ECU’s Research and Creative Achievement Week (RCAW), the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS), or other scholarly venues deemed appropriate by their mentors.
The Fall 2023 URCA award recipients are:
| Principal Student Investigator | Major | Co-Investigator | Project Category | Mentor's Academic Unit | Faculty Mentor | Faculty Co-Mentor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adgate, Sophia | Special Education: AC and Hispanic Studies | Humanities/Arts | Foreign Languages and Literatures | Levi-Altstaedter, Laura | ||
| Apodaca, Marcus | Neuroscience | Biomedical Sciences | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Perry, Jamie | ||
| Arensman, Rebekah | Nursing | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Tillman, Jan | ||
| Arruza, Sophie | Engineering | STEM | Engineering | Lee, Jinkun | ||
| Bagwell, Faith | Public Health | Social Sciences | Health Education and Promotion | Richman, Alice | ||
| Bauer William | Biochemistry and Chemistry | Nipper, Mason | STEM | Chemistry | Collins, James | Sargent, Andrew |
| Becton, Maelee | Neuroscience and Psychology | Biomedical Sciences | Physical Therapy | Szatmari, Erzsebet | ||
| Bista, Aliza | Biochemistry | STEM | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Anderson, Eric | ||
| Boromisa, Stefan | Biology | STEM | Biology | Baohong, Zhang | ||
| Briggs, Lauren | Nursing | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Larson, Kim | ||
| Bryson, Toby | Nursing | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Larson, Kim | ||
| Castro, Jasmine | Molecular Biology | Biomedical Sciences | Physiology | Ellis, Jessica | Pereyra, Andrea | |
| Cleary, Ellie | Exercise Physiology | Biomedical Sciences | Kinesiology | Moore, Whitney | ||
| Coates,Trinity | Biology and Chemistry | Biomedical Sciences | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Abdel-Rahman,Abdel | ||
| Cook, Sydney | Art | Humanities/Arts | Kinesiology | Das, Bhibha | Sastre, Lauren | |
| Curtis, Eleanor | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Anthropology | Wolfe, Christopher | ||
| Darby, Leah | Communication | Social Sciences | Kinesiology | Das, Bhibha | ||
| Davis, Allison | Recreational Therapy | Social Sciences | Recreation Sciences | Loy, David | ||
| Davis, Kai | Biology | STEM | Biology | Peralta, Ariane | ||
| Davis, Logan | Fine Art | Humanities/Arts | School of Art and Design | Wells, Angela | Kariko, Daniel | |
| Dedakia, Dhanushi | Physics | Biomedical Sciences | Physics | Beltran-Huarac, Juan | ||
| Donnelly, Holly | Exercise Physiology: Exercise as Medicine Concentration | Biomedical Sciences | Physical Therapy | Surkar, Swati | ||
| Dracup, Erin | Nursing | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Speight, Chandra | ||
| Ergenzinger, Ellie | Dance Performance and Choreography | Humanities/Arts | School of Theatre and Dance | Dixon, John | ||
| Faulkner, Dane | Theater Arts: Concentration in Professional Acting | Demolli, Sara | Humanities/Arts | School of Theatre and Dance | Scott-Mobley, Jen | |
| Garrett Sage | Biology | STEM | Biology | Field, Erin | ||
| Gentle, Bailey | Biochemistry | Biomedical Sciences | School of Dental Medicine | Geraldeli, Saulo | ||
| Hindi, Alqasem | Engineering | Werts, Danielle | STEM | Engineering | Chen, Jinbo | |
| Jackson, Luke | Neuroscience & Psychology | Biomedical Sciences | Psychology | Tran, Tuan | ||
| Landreth, Camryn | Environmental Health | Brown, Paige | STEM | Health Education and Promotion | Iverson, Guy | |
| Makanangot, Neha | Nursing | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Larson, Kim | ||
| McNeill, Jade | Public Health | Social Sciences | Educational Leadership | Breeden, Roshaunda | ||
| Messaoui, Grace | Multidisciplinary Studies: Concentration in Environmental Studies | Social Sciences | Geography, Planning, & Environment | Popke, Jeff | ||
| Muhammad, Kamilah | Neuroscience & Psychology | Biomedical Sciences | Kinesiology | Murray, Nicholas | ||
| Nixon, Samantha | Exercise Physiology | Biomedical Sciences | Kinesiology | Habeeb, Christine | ||
| Nwadiaro, Kenechukwu | Biomedical Engineering | STEM | Engineering | George, Stephanie | Bahmani, Fatemeh | |
| Outlaw, William | Biology | Biomedical Sciences | Biology | Ables, Elizabeth | ||
| Pakulniewicz, Emma Lou | Biology | STEM | Biology | Thompson, Beth | ||
| Patel, Mithil | Neuroscience | Biomedical Sciences | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Zeczycki, Tonya | ||
| Patel, Soham | Biology | STEM | Chemistry | Offenbacher, Adam | ||
| Perez, Gabriela | Biology | Piner, Emma | STEM | Public Health | Sousan, Sinan | |
| Reardon, Tierney | Political Science | Social Sciences | College of Nursing | Pestaner, Mitzi | ||
| Rivenbark, Chloe | Dance Performance and Choreography | Humanities/Arts | School of Theatre and Dance | Dixon, John | ||
| Simmons, Allison | Biology | STEM | Biology | Ables, Elizabeth | ||
| Simpson, Lauren | Engineering: Concentration in Biomedical Engineering | STEM | Engineering | George, Stephanie | Bahmani, Fatemeh | |
| Smith, Rachel | Biology | STEM | Chemistry | Allen, William | ||
| Stafford, Samuel | Nutrition and Dietetics | Biomedical Sciences | Nutrition Science | Baybutt, Richard | Hines, Ian | |
| Strandberg, Anna | Biology | STEM | Biology | Brewer, Michael | ||
| Tiet, Alex | Neuroscience | Biomedical Sciences | Internal Medicine | Lee, Myon Hee | ||
| Vithalkar, Saumya | Neuroscience | Biomedical Sciences | Biology | Ables, Elizabeth | ||
| Walker, Daniel | Public Health: Concentration in Pre-Health Professions | Tart, Amelia | STEM | Public Health | Sousan, Sinan | |
| Weglarczyk, Paulina | Public Health | Biomedical Sciences | Physiology | Ellis, Jessica | ||
| West, Tyler | Public Health | Social Sciences | Health Education and Promotion | Cofie, Leslie | ||
| Yendamuri, SriPallavi | Biology | Biomedical Sciences | Biology | Pan, Xiaoping |
