CSUSB’s Research Week, which saw more than 140 students from the university’s five colleges present their research and creative activities, recognized the outstanding graduate and undergraduate researchers, faculty mentors, and the Best Oral Presentations and Best Poster Presentations.

The fourth annual Research Week honored graduate student Miles Valencia and undergraduate Milli Patel as the Outstanding Student Research & Creative Activities Awardees.

Also honored were the faculty Research & Creative Activities Mentor Awardees:

  • College of Arts & Letters – Julie Taylor, associate professor, communication studies
  • College of Education – Roderick O'Handley, assistant professor, special education & counseling
  • College of Natural Sciences – Nicole Bournias-Vardiabasis, professor, biology
  • College of Social & Behavioral Sciences – Meredith Conroy, associate professor, political science
  • Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration – Nasrin Mohabbati, assistant professor, information & decision sciences

As part of Research Week, in the Meeting of the Minds, the following students were honored for the Best Oral Presentations:

Session 1

Fawn Baxter: “Physical Inactivity Increases Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease” – Faculty Mentor: Jacob Jones, assistant professor, psychology, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Session 2

Cameron Fraser: “Generation of Feline Macrophage Cell Lines to Study Feline Coronavirus” – Faculty Mentor: Laura Newcomb, professor, biology, College of Natural Sciences

Session 3

Stepfanie Alfonso: “Stigma and Sex: The Implication of Stigma on Sex Worker’s Identities and the Organization” – Faculty Mentor: Julie Taylor, associate professor, communication studies, College of Arts & Letters

Session 4

Rimie Marandy: “Republicans vs. Democrats: The Impact of COVID-19 Media Consumption on Risk Perceptions and Health Behaviors” – Faculty Mentor: Brittany Bloodhart, assistant professor, biology, College of Natural Sciences

Session 5

Andres Sandoval, Ana Villanueva: “Exploring Structures of Institutional Support to Nurture the Educational Aspirations of Latino Young Men in Continuation High Schools” – Faculty Mentor: Edwin Hernandez, assistant professor, special education rehabilitation & counseling, College of Education

Session 6

Andres Garcia Garcia (cq): “Applying the Health Action Process Approach to Responsive Feeding” – Faculty Mentor: Kassandra Harding, assistant professor, health science & human ecology, College of Natural Sciences

Session 7

Millli Patel: “Efficient Distribution of Marine Freight in Southern California” – Faculty Mentor: Nasrin Mohabbati, assistant professor, information & decision sciences, Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration


Session 8

Michelle Mejia: “Budgeting and Financial Stress” – Faculty Mentor: Kristen Stutz, lecturer, accounting & finance, Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration

Session 9

Colby Holloman, Angelica Gutierrez, Logan Ashbaugh, Samuel Jacuinde: “Honors book: A Digital Lounge for Students to Connect” – Faculty Mentor: David Marshall, professor, English, College of Arts & Letters

Session 10

Robert Tyo: “The Mg+ Layer at Mars” – Faculty Mentor: Matteo Crismani, assistant professor, physics, College of Natural Sciences

Session 11

Kailyn Alari: “Female Officials’ Perspectives on Expanding Their Presence in the Field” – Faculty Mentor: Amanda Rymal, associate professor, kinesiology, College of Natural Sciences

 

2020-21 Meeting of the Minds Best Poster Presentations

 

College of Arts & Letters

Graduate Student –  Rimie Marandy: “Republicans vs. Democrats: The Impact of COVID-19 Media Consumption on Risk Perceptions and Health Behaviors” – Faculty Mentor: Brittany Bloodhart, assistant professor, biology, College of Natural Sciences

College of Education

Graduate Student – Mackenzie Feeken: “Training Teachers to Implement Evidence-Based Practices with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review” – Faculty Mentor: Roderick O'Handley, assistant professor, special education & counseling, College of Natural Sciences

Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration

Undergraduate Student – Xavier Espinoza, Raghavendra Kumar Indla, Emiliana Merida: “Automated Prediction Tool For Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using Electronic Health Records” – Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Becerra, assistant professor, information & decision sciences, Jack H. Brown College of Business & Public Administration

College of Natural Sciences

Graduate Student – Luz Chavez: “Laboratory Investigation of Cyanide Generation During Wastewater Sanitation” – Faculty Mentor: Brett Stanley, professor, chemistry & biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences

Undergraduate Student – Anthony Castro: “Characterization of Cancer-Associated Missense Mutations in the Retinoblastoma Protein” – Faculty Mentor: Jason Burke, assistant professor, chemistry & biology, College of Natural Sciences

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Graduate Student – Melody Robinson: “Self-Blame, Shame, and Coping Self-Efficacy on Depression and Anxiety for Sexual Assault Survivors” – Faculty Mentor: Christina Hassija, associate professor, interim department chair, psychology, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Undergraduate Students – Ashley Richardson, Sara Barnes: “Associations Between Positive Youth Development and Discrepancies in Parent-Adolescent Relationships” – Faculty Mentor: Stacy Morris, assistant professor, psychology, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences