2025-2026 URSA Grants
Research in Biology
Student: Mahika Palani
Mentor: Dr. Dwayne Simmons
Department: Biology
Title: Investigating the Role of the Inflammatory Mediator, TLR4, in Cochlear Inflammaging
Student: Rachel Thornton
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Taube
Department: Biology
Title: CTCF Impacts E-cadherin and N-cadherin Expression in a Model of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
Student: Rebecca Tietze
Mentor: Dr. Katelyn McKindles
Department: Biology
Title: Variation amongst both toxic and non-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa isolates results in the failure of previously published Microcystis PCR primers for the microcystin
Research in Data Science
Student: Roy Cannedy
Mentor: Rachel_Wilkerson@baylor.edu
Department: School of Engineering and Computer Science
Title: Beta-Divergence for Flexible Model Selection in the Chain Event Graph
Student: Anika Dachiraju
Mentor: Rachel_Wilkerson@baylor.edu
Department: School of Engineering and Computer Science
Title: Improvements Upon Healthcare Metrics to Better Account for the Impact of Chronic Disease in Geriatric Patients: An Expert Elicitation Study
Research in Engineering and Computer Science
Student: Nicholas Storti
Mentor: Dr. Emmanuel Agamloh
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Superconductor AC Losses for Electric Machine Applications
Research in Health and Human Sciences
Student: Miriam Cobb and Team
Mentor: Dr. Richard Sanker
Department: Office of Prehealth Studies
Title: Exploring Women’s Health Outcomes Among Victims of Sex Trafficking
Student: Riley Davis, Anne Howard, and Ryan Rohrlich
Mentor: Dr. Richard Sanker
Department: Office of Prehealth Studies
Title: Measuring for Inflammatory Cardiotoxicity in the First 90 Days of Monotherapy vs. Dual Immunotherapy Oncological Treatment Using Routine Laboratory Markers and Echocardiography
Research in Psychology and Neuroscience
Student: Clara Burns
Mentor: Dr. Michael Scullin
Department: Psychology and Neuroscience
Title: An Experimental Investigation of Roommate Sleep Schedules, Relationship Quality, and Flourishing
Student: Cassey Dillenbeck
Mentor: Dr. Michael Scullin
Department: Psychology and Neuroscience
Title: The Effects of Sleep Restriction on Task-Specific Productivity
Student: Aliyah Ogden
Mentor: Jacques_Nguyen@baylor.edu
Department: Psychology and Neuroscience
Title: Investigating the Impact of Nicotine Vapor Inhalation on Neuroplasticity and Opioid Self Administration Behaviors