Student Research Day (SRD), CSUDH’s primary showcase of student research and scholarship, held its 17th annual competition on Feb. 16 and 17. Despite the obstacles presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a large cohort of Toro student researchers descended on Loker Student Union for the yearly event–with a smaller contingent participating virtually.
Over 100 projects were presented in oral presentations or poster sessions. Of those, 28 were selected for honors at the Reception and Award Assembly that closed the event (see list below). Up to ten of the honored presentations will be chosen to participate in the CSU Statewide Student Research Competition, hosted by San Francisco State University on April 29 and 30.
SRD co-chair and judge Cheyenne Cummings, an earth sciences lecturer, was impressed with the results. “Even after ten years of judging, I am still awed by the amazing, high-quality presentations,” he said. “Our students consistently perform well and produce outstanding, original ideas.”
Lamiya Hoque, a graduate student in the Master of Public Administration program, won first place in the “Behavioral and Social Sciences I – Graduate” category with her project, “Public School Leadership During a Pandemic.” A first-time presenter, she “found it to be an insightful experience. To be around so many gifted students was incredibly inspiring!”
“SRD was an opportunity to develop the expertise needed to discuss my research in a meaningful way, she added. “Learning how to answer specific questions and present data to a broad audience helped me develop my presentation and communication skills. I am deeply honored and humbled to have been selected in first place, and I am grateful for the help I have gotten and the circumstances that made this accomplishment possible.”
Associate Professor of Psychology Philip Vieira, who served as a judge for the event, was delighted to see students back on campus, presenting the hard work they accomplished during such a chaotic year. “The excitement and enthusiasm from student scholars were a reminder of what we value at CSUDH. It was clear that some projects were heavily impacted by the pandemic, but I was impressed by how effectively students and their faculty mentors were able to adapt to the circumstances and produce important scholarship.”
Senior biochemistry major Lari Smith opted to present her poster in person rather than virtually, as she had done last year. “It’s just a different feeling,” she explained. “Being online is just not the same as getting dressed up, walking around, and actually being able to walk up and talk to someone. Online, you have to try and do side chats with people, and the poster is tiny on your little screen. When you’re in person you can actually see everything, you can go up to a person and talk to them and actually get to understand their research. It’s just an amazing feeling.”
Michelle Mohr, a graduate student pursuing a degree in environmental science, took first place in the “Natural Sciences – Virtual – Graduate” category with her project, “Tree-Ring Growth Response of Pinus ponderosa (PIPO) to Climatic Variability in Prescott National Forest, Arizona.” Mohr has presented at the last four SRDs, and was happy to be back. “SRD was a great way to kick off the first week of all of us being back on campus! Seeing people present research in a face-to-face format was something I really missed.”
Mohr added that for her, “SRD is a great way to practice talking about my research, as well as answering questions. The questions from the audience are not always ones you can anticipate, which makes it an important aspect of student research.”
Undergraduate clinical science major Alexander Camarillo was presenting at his first SRD, and was enthusiastic about the experience. He summed up the feelings of many students: “Being able to discuss the research I’ve done here at DH, in an environment where I feel safe, I feel like I can develop my skills beyond what my environment has provided me, in the comfort of students like me, and faculty who support me, as well.”
Cummings, who has been involved with SRD as a student, judge, and event co-chair, highlighted the event’s importance to the students competing. “As a student, I found the most rewarding and educational period of my bachelor’s degree to be my involvement as a presenter in one of the first SRDs at CSUDH. As a volunteer faculty judge, I gain inspiration and become energized by the passion our students express presenting their research.”
2022 Student Research Day Winners
Session 1
Behavioral and Social Sciences I – Graduate
First Place: Lamiya Hoque, “Public School Leadership During a Pandemic”
Faculty mentors: Rui Sun and Hugo Ascencio, public administration
Second Place: Jasmine Hannani, Jessica Chan, Rachel Garcia, Kayla English, “The Lived Experiences of Neurotypical Individuals with Autistic Siblings: Occupational Participation and Balance”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Session 2
Natural Sciences – Graduate
First Place: Angelo De Guzman, “Wildland-Urban Interface Controls Vegetation Recovery after Fire – A Case Study from the Station Fire”
Faculty mentor: Parveen Chhetri, earth science
Session 3
Health, Nutrition, Clinical Sciences I – Graduate
First Place: Mina Kim, Roy Jeon, Lydia Lee, Mohammad Maabreh, “Perceptions of Male Occupational Therapists on Delivering Hands-on Care to Pediatric Female Clients”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Second Place: Ria Glassman, Nina Hoang, Kristina Ballard, Caitlin Terry, “My Therapist Is the Trees: A Phenomenological Study of Experiences of Spirituality in Nature”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, Occupational Therapy
Session 4
Natural Sciences I – Poster – Undergraduate
First Place: Kevin Mosquedo, Kelsie Kaufman, Raven Nolasco, “Pervasiveness of Microplastics in the Southern California Bight”
Faculty mentor: Samantha Leigh, biology
Second Place: Joie Luna, “Urban Coyote Project at CSUDH: Using Urban Ecological Research to Guide Wildlife Management”
Faculty mentor: Justine Valliere, biology
Session 5
Health, Nutrition, Clinical Sciences II – Graduate
First Place: Adriana Del Barco, “Cervical Cancer Screening in Patients on the Female to Male Transgender Spectrum”
Faculty mentor: Payman Nasr, health science
Second Place: Emily Acker, Hannah Chang, Annabelle Clegg, Megan Gibson, “Exploring the Mothering Occupations of Women with Physical Disabilities”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Session 6
Natural Sciences – Virtual – Graduate
First Place: Michelle Mohr, “Tree-Ring Growth Response of Pinus ponderosa (PIPO) to Climatic Variability in Prescott National Forest, Arizona”
Faculty mentor: Parveen Chhetri, earth science
Session 7
Behavioral and Social Sciences Poster – Graduate
First Place: Jennifer Marie Correa, Nasim Karimi, Christian Riley, Julissa Magana, “The Impact of COVID-19 On CSUDH Students”
Faculty mentor: Steven Frieze, psychology
Second Place: Denise Aguiluz, Antonio Romero, Taylor Duff, Daniel Correa, “Type 2 Diabetes Threat Appraisal & Exercise-Self Efficacy as Predictors of Vigorous Exercise Among At-Risk Latinx Students”
Faculty mentor: Silvia Santos, psychology
Session 8
Behavioral & Social Sciences II
First Place: Ramon Ronquillo, Celine Rezvani, Chris Simmons, Khanh Phan, “Tattoos and Six-inch Heels: A Visual Exploration of the Meaning of Clothing for Adults with Mobility Disabilities”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Second Place: Ji Won Ahn, Larissa Arakaki, Jennifer Eo, “Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Experiences with Compassion Fatigue and Its Effect on Occupations”
Faculty Mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Session 9
Natural Sciences – Virtual – Undergraduate
First Place: Alexis Widmann, Chandra Jones, “Corona Coloration of Encelia Farinosa”
Faculty mentor: Sonal Singhal, biology
Session 10
Behavioral and Social Sciences – Poster – Undergraduate
First Place: Leslie Gomez, “Lidar Study of Agricultural Landscape Usage & Food Security in the Northern Maya Lowlands”
Faculty mentor: Ken Seligson, anthropology
Second Place: Aliza Potter, “Are You the Culprit?: How Workplace Incivility Impacts Black LGBTQ Members”
Faculty mentor: Ashley Membere, psychology
Session 11
Health and Clinical Sciences – Virtual – Graduate
First Place: Jennifer Robbins, Andie Cano, Monica Craft, Catherine Cummings, “Occupational Justice for Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence”
Faculty mentor: Sheryl Ryan, occupational therapy
Session 12
Natural Sciences – Undergraduate
First Place: Jeisson Pulido, “Magnetic Flux Rope Reconstruction in the Heliospheric Current Sheet using Parker Solar Probe Data”
Faculty mentor: Kristoff Paulson (Harvard University), physics
Session 13
Behavioral & Social Education and Social Sciences – Virtual – Undergraduate
First Place: Claudia Blandino, “First-Year Pandemic: Virtual Learning Experiences in the K-12 System”
Faculty mentor: Corina Diaz (Compton College), sociology
Second Place: Jennyfer Ibarra, “Southern California ESL High School Teachers: Examining Curriculum Placement and Implicit Bias with Latinx ESL Students”
Faculty mentor: Alfredo Gonzalez, chicana and chicano studies
Session 14
Arts & Humanities – Undergraduate
First Place: Caitlin McClister, “American Duplicity: How the FDR Administration and American Red Cross Voluntary Aid Bypassed Millions of Jewish Refugees During World War II”
Faculty mentors: Andrea Johnson and Christopher Monty, history
Session 15
Health, Nutrition, Clinical Sciences – Graduate
First Place: Michael Wood, Kimberly Campos, Cindy Munoz, Hussam Alghamdi, “Air Pollution Distribution Among Vulnerable Populations in the South Los Angeles Region”
Faculty mentor: Parveen Chhetri, earth science
Session 16
Natural Sciences – Poster – Graduate
First Place: Elizabeth Hernandez, Angelo De Guzman, Maria Joyas, Astrid Molina, “Using GIS to Assess Vegetation Structure, Composition, and Recovery in the Angeles National Forest”
Faculty mentor: Parveen Chhetri, earth science
Session 18
Education & Social Sciences – Graduate
First Place: Kelsie Traylor, “CRT and the Fight for K-12 Education”
Faculty mentor: Katy Pinto, sociology
Session 19
Natural Sciences – Poster II – Undergraduate
First Place: Jorge Hernandez Garcia, “Identification of Putatively Novel Natural Products from a Marine Derived Geotrichum silvicola Fungal Strain”
Faculty Mentor: Erin McCauley, chemistry and biochemistry
Second Place: Nathan Williams, Amber Alvarado, Arrianna Lister, “Characterization of HIV-1 P17 Interaction with Heparan Sulfate”
Faculty mentor: Kari Pederson, chemistry and biochemistry
Session 20
Behavioral & Social Sciences – Undergraduate
First Place: Tracy Bertka, Anita Kapila-Ramirez, “Morning versus Evening Exercise – What’s Better for Your Diet? Evidence From an Event Related Potential (ERP) Study”
Faculty mentor: Kaylie Carbine, psychology
