Student Research Conference Winners

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR SRC 2025 SESSION WINNERS!

Session #1: Graduate Oral Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Science

First PlaceJanna Emery

Understanding the mechanism of blood cancer cell destruction by natural killer cells using an in vitro model system

Research Mentor: Jahan Abdi (Clinical Science)

 

Second Place: Elena Murray, Kaylena Ledoux, Kacie Lackey, and Yaset Magdaleno

Technology and Independent Health Management: Perceptions of Older Adults

Research Mentor: Sheryl Ryan (Occupational Therapy)

 

Session #2: Undergraduate Oral Biological and Agricultural Sciences

First Place: Christian Pasos

Sand Dollar Survey

Research Mentor: Sonal Singhal (Biology)

 

Second Place: Vincent Espinoza

Non-invasive tracking of T-cells with CD3e PET Imaging

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

 

Session #3: Undergraduate Oral Humanities and Letters I

First Place: Hector Hernandez

Ulama: Comparisons of the Modern Ballgame to its Predecessors

Research Mentor: Ken Seligson (Anthropology)

 

Second Place (Tie):

Jose Dominguez

Media and Heteronormativity During the Pandemic

Research Mentor: Andrea Johnson (History)

 

Efraín Contreras

The Cold War, Dodger Stadium, and The Los Angeles Times: the Creation of Modern Los Angeles

Research Mentor: Kerry Shannon (History)

 

Session #4: Undergraduate Poster Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Engineering

First Place: Christopher Beauchamp

Battery Constrained Covering Salesman Problem in Robotic Sensor Networks

Research Mentor: Bin Tang (Computer Science)

 

Second Place: Kayce Herrera

Studying the Electrical Properties of a P-N Junction using Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN)

Research Mentor: To Dang (Physics)

 

Session #5: Undergraduate Oral Health, Nutrition, and Behavioral Sciences

First Place: Michelle Gonzalez, Yailin Munoz, Sebastian Molina, and Marysol Diaz

Iteration of the UNILaw app understanding litigants in the SoCal region

Research Mentor: Di Xu (Art & Design)

 

Session #6: Graduate Poster Social and Behavioral Sciences

First Place: Janna Emery

The epigenetic modifier Decitabine overcomes bone marrow stroma-mediated drug resistance in blood cancer cells

Research Mentor: Jahan Abdi (Clinical Science)

 

Second Place: Annalise Bui

The Role of Intergenerational Trauma in Substance Use Among Cambodian Refugee Communities

Research Mentor: Pari Sabado (Health Sciences)

 

Session #7: Undergraduate Poster Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Science

First Place: Arianna Peredia

Stress Reactivity During Pregnancy: Socioeconomic Status and Age-Related Differences in Response to a Real-World Stress Test

Research Mentor: Irene Tung (Psychology)

 

Session #8: Undergraduate Oral Business, Economics, and Public Administration

First Place: Dwanjai Oprien

Supply Chain Resilience Through Transportation Modal Flexibility

Research Mentor: Jian-yu (Fisher) Ke (Information Systems)

 

Second Place: Geovanny Martinez and Corvalis Cohen

Enhancing Homeland Security Career Pathways and Preparedness with A Custom-Built AI Chatbot

Research Mentors: Fynnwin Prager and Qiyuan (Roger) Jin (Public Administration)

 

Session #11: Graduate Oral Social and Behavioral Sciences I

First Place (Tie):

Alyanna Kayla Paulino, Giselle Santos, and Tracy Nguyen

Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life Amongst Filipino-American Caregivers of Older Adults

Research Mentor: Yan-Hua Huang (Occupational Therapy)

 

Nasim Karimi

Parental Acceptance as a Resilience-Promoting Factor for Mental Health Outcomes in BIPOC LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Discrimination

Research Mentor: Irene Tung (Psychology)

 

Second Place: Adrian Alcantar

Rent Control in California: A disconnect between perceived survey support & election results

Research Mentor: Elena Kulikov (Public Administration)

 

Session #12: Undergraduate Oral Physical and Mathematical Sciences

First Place: Vanessa Zamora and Jose Fabian Rodriguez

Carbon-Based Material from Waste Biomass and Its Usage in the Fabrication of Electric Energy Storage Components

Research Mentor: Lamar Glover (Physics)

 

Second Place: Emmanuel Zamitiz

Investigation into the Secondary Metabolites from Macrocystis pyrifera

Research Mentors: Erin McCauley and Amine Laradji (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

  

Session #14: Graduate Poster Social and Behavioral Sciences II

First Place (Tie):

Peter Martinez

The Effect of Language and Deprivation on Emotional Awareness in College Students

Research Mentor: David Weissman (Psychology)

 

Marilyn Felix

The Impact of Friend Support in Enhancing Maternal-Fetal Attachment during Pregnancy

Research Mentor: Irene Tung (Psychology)

 

Second Place: Jeffrey Herschler, Logan Zaks, Justin Beverly, and Kyra Westbrooks

Evaluating the Impact of “Dyvert Vue” Lids on Waste Diversion at Cal State University of Dominguez Hills

Research Mentor: Parveen Chhetri (Environmental Science)

 

Session #15: Undergraduate Poster Social and Behavioral Sciences I

First Place Winner: Veronica Ceja

The Association Between Academic Success and Structural Stigma Among Latinx Adolescents

Research Mentor: David Weissman (Psychology)

 

Second Place Winner: Rodrigo Arenas Loma

Autism representation in children’s picture books

Research Mentor: Christina Toolan (Child Development)

 

Session #17: Graduate Oral Social and Behavioral Sciences II

First Place Winner: Vivian Du, Larissa Bolanos, Cecilia Ceballos, and Hannah Garcia

The Narrative of Pet Owners and Their Perception of Chronic Pain

Research Mentor: Sheryl Ryan (Occupational Therapy)

 

Second Place Winner: Madeline Neal, Jasmine Ho, Sidney Hsu, and Nadine Herrera

Adolescents' Experiences as Language Brokers

Research Mentor: Sheryl Ryan (Occupational Therapy)

 

Session #18: Undergraduate Poster Social and Behavioral Sciences II

First Place (Tie):

Stephanie Pineda Olvera and Jacqueline Moreno

Am I a Math Person? Facilitating Abstraction with Concreteness Fading

Research Mentor: Jeffrey K. Bye (Psychology)

 

Maha El Ouaer

Motivating algebra: Building on Concreteness Fading Approach

Research Mentor: Jeffrey K. Bye (Psychology)

 

Second Place: Jose Quintero

Spatial Analysis of Xanab Chak: Insights into Social Stratification and Urban Planning in the Northern Maya Lowlands

Research Mentor: Ken Seligson (Anthropology)

 

Session #19: Graduate Oral Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Engineering

First Place: Priya Silwal

Investigating the Potential of Telecommuting to Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in California

Research Mentor: Parveen Chhetri (Earth Science)

 

Second Place: Daniel Isokpunwu

Enhancing Hurricane Prediction for Homeland Security Applications

Research Mentor: Antonia Boadi (Physics, Systems Engineering)

 

Session #20: Graduate Oral Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Science II

First Place: Kristine Yohanna

Bi-directional crosstalk between adipocytes and African American mammary cancer stem cells: role of hypoxia-induced metabolic reprogramming

Research Mentor: Shehla Pervin (Biology)

 

Second Place: Alexandra Ogar, Maureen McGarry, Ashley Alunan, and Kayla Priebe

Patient vs Clinician Education Priorities Throughout Orthotic Intervention for Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Survey Investigation

Research Mentors: Mojtaba Kamyab and Ava Hebrick (Orthotics and Prosthetics)

 

Session #21: Undergraduate Oral Humanities and Letters II

First Place: Mya Gibson

Surviving the Heteropatriarchy: Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman

Research Mentor: Helen Oesterheld (English)

 

Second Place: Diana Chávez

Usage of Psychoactive Plants in Sacred South American Environments

Research Mentor: Ken Seligson (Anthropology)

 

Session #22: Graduate Poster Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Science

First Place: Victoria Lancey, Daniel Hufnagel, Nick Murdach, and Gloria Rangel

Assessing the Effects of Induced Leg Length Discrepancy in Unilateral Transtibial Amputees Between the Prosthetic and Intact Limb Through the Analysis of Gait Symmetry and Spatiotemporal Parameters

Research Mentors: Mojtaba Kamyab and Mark Muller (Orthotics and Prosthetics)

 

Second Place: Anna Navarro, Dominique Allen, Douglas Fernandez, and Sarah Fissel

Assessment of Prostheses Priorities in Individuals with Transtibial Amputations

Research Mentor: Mojtaba Kamyab (Orthotics and Prosthetics)

 

Session #23: Undergraduate Poster Biological and Agricultural Sciences I

First Place (Tie):

Fiyinfoluwa Ojo

Culturing of Kelp Associated Bacteria Capable of Metabolizing Alginate

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

 

Vincent Espinoza

Study of Secondary Metabolites from Kelp-Derived Fungi

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Biology)

 

Second Place: Catherine Giles

Development of Novel Mitochondria-Targeted Drug (mitoGE2) as Anti-Cancer Treatment for Breast and Pancreatic Cancers

Research Mentors: Sonal Singhal (Biology), and James L. Figarola and Jyotsana Singhal (City of Hope)

 

Session #25: Graduate Oral Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Science III

First Place: Kimberly Rivera

Investigating the combined therapeutic effects of the drugs bortezomib and decitabine on multiple myeloma blood cancer cells using a GFP fluorescence-based assay

Research Mentor: Jahan Abdi (Clinical Science)

 

Session #28: Undergraduate Poster Physical and Mathematical Sciences

First Place: Tristan Partida

Identifying Novel Chemical Compounds from Macrocystis pyrifera derived Bacteria using Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

 

Second Place: Mikaela Mari Fria, Emmanuel Zamitiz, and Mariella Mendoza

Engineering an In-Situ Gelling Vitreous Substitute with Antiproliferative Properties

Research Mentor: Amine Laradji (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

 

 

Session #29: Undergraduate Poster Social and Behavioral Sciences III

First Place: Madison Bertran

Parental Emotional Support as a Predictor of Emotion Expertise and Psychopathology in Adulthood

Research Mentor: David Weissman (Psychology)

 

Second Place: Eileen Valencia

Sociopolitical Evolution of the Ancient Maya Site of Xanab Chak as seen through Ballcourt Construction Phases

Research Mentor: Ken Seligson (Anthropology)

 

Session #31: Graduate Oral Education

First Place: Breck Burwell, Maria Astudillo, Jessica Altobelli, and Jillian Caro

Coping Strategies Among First-Generation College Students and the Perceived Impact on Academic Performance

Research Mentor: Sheryl Ryan (Occupational Therapy)

 

Second Place: Alexa Martinez, Hallie Kaichi, and Naomi Kruzic

The Process of Learning and Implementing Cultural Sensitivity in Occupational Therapy

Research Mentor: Sheryl Ryan (Occupational Therapy)

 

Session #32: Undergraduate Poster Biological and Agricultural Sciences II

First Place: Thazin Yee

Identifying Novel Fungal Metabolites with Antibiotic Activity

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

 

Second Place (Tie):

Lesley Velasco

Therapeutic Potential of Small Molecule Circadian Clock Activators for Muscular Dystrophy

Research Mentors: Sonal Singhal (Biology), Ke Ma and Tali Kiperman (City of Hope)

 

Jerry Salinas

Silencing of CARF Impairs Fatty Acid Oxidation in Hepatocytes

Research Mentors: Erin McCauley (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Kamrul Hasan (Drew)

 

Session #33: Undergraduate Oral Social and Behavioral Science and Education

First Place: Diana Chávez

Cosmology of the Maya in Body, Space and Time

Research Mentor: Ken Seligson (Anthropology)

 

SRC 2025 Overall Prize Winners

Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation

Dwanjai Oprien

Supply Chain Resilience Through Transportation Modal Flexibility

Research Mentor: Jian-yu (Fisher) Ke (Information Systems)

 

Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation

Vincent Espinoza

Study of Secondary Metabolites from Kelp-Derived Fungi

Research Mentor: Erin McCauley (Biology)

 

Best Graduate Oral Presentation

Kimberly Rivera

Investigating the combined therapeutic effects of the drugs bortezomib and decitabine on multiple myeloma blood cancer cells using a GFP fluorescence-based assay

Research Mentor: Jahan Abdi (Clinical Science)

 

Best Graduate Poster Presentation

Victoria Lancey, Daniel Hufnagel, Nick Murdach, and Gloria Rangel

Assessing the Effects of Induced Leg Length Discrepancy in Unilateral Transtibial Amputees Between the Prosthetic and Intact Limb Through the Analysis of Gait Symmetry and Spatiotemporal Parameters

Research Mentors: Mojtaba Kamyab and Mark Muller (Orthotics and Prosthetics)

 

 

Sustainability Awards (Sponsored by the Sustainability Office and CalWater)

Sustainability Engagement Award

Jeffrey Herschler, Logan Zaks, Justin Beverly, and Kyra Westbrooks

Evaluating the Impact of “Dyvert Vue” Lids on Waste Diversion at Cal State University Dominguez Hills

 

Environmental Sustainability Award

Priya Silwal

Investigating the Potential of Telecommuting to Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in California

 

Environmental Justice Award

Diana Chávez and Gabriela Rodriguez

Decolonizing the Plate: Reviving Traditional Foods for Health Equity

 

CALL (Campus as a Living Lab) Award

Benjamin Luna, Alejandro Cavazos, Junior Bail, and Anthony Huizar

Tree Canopies and The Effectiveness of Reducing Urban Heat Islands on Campus

 

 

Asian Pacific Student Research Award (Sponsored by the Asian Pacific Studies Department)

Alyanna Kayla Paulino, Giselle Santos, and Tracy Nguyen

Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life Among Filipino-American Caregivers of Older Adults

 

 

Library Research Award (Sponsored by the University Library)

Eliel Dominguez

Examining the Relationship Between Life Experience Variables and Cognitive Performance in a College Population

 

 

Cap and Gown Award (Sponsored by the University Bookstore and Follett)

Efraín Contreras

The Cold War, Dodger Stadium, and The Los Angeles Times: the Creation of Modern Los Angeles

Research Mentor: Kerry Shannon (History)

 

 

Undergraduate Research Awards Sponsored by the Omicron Rho Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Excellence in Research Oral Presentation

Mya Gibson

Surviving the Heteropatriarchy: Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman

Research Mentor: Helen Oesterheld (English)

 

Excellence in Research Poster Presentation

Arianna Peredia

Stress Reactivity During Pregnancy: Socioeconomic Status and Age-Related Differences in Response to a Real-World Stress Test

Research Mentor: Irene Tung (Psychology)

 

Innovative Research Award

Tristen Landeros

Algebra Comprehension: Assessing Errors

Research Mentor: Jeffrey K. Bye (Psychology)

 

Community Impact Award

Veronica Ceja

The Association Between Academic Success and Structural Stigma Among Latinx Adolescents

Research Mentor: David Weissman (Psychology)

 

Emerging Scholar Award

Peace Clement

Comparative Effects of Synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinol Analog and Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on Oxidative Stress and Cell Cycle Regulation in Cancer and Normal Cell Lines

Research Mentor: Horace Crogman (Physics)


About the Student Research Conference

California State University, Dominguez Hills recognizes student research as a fundamental part of student learning. CSUDH continually explores new ways to provide research opportunities to students and faculty to expand their research knowledge and providing resources for their research and presentation.

The annual CSUDH Student Research Conference for undergraduate and graduate scholar activities is held to promote excellence in research by recognizing outstanding students' accomplishments across the disciplines.