Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center
N e w s l e t t e r | M a y / J u n e 2 0 2 1
|
|
May the Research
Be With You!
|
|
From Left to Right. Top Row: John Banks, Eric Barajas, Natasha Oehlman. Middle Row: Jessica Bautista, Corin White, Heather Haeger. Bottom Row: Suzanne Ocegura |
Congrats to all our Graduates! |
We want to recognize the achievements of our UROC students and thank colleagues, friends, and families for their tremendous support. This year we are proud to celebrate the scholarly and creative activities of CSUMB undergraduates spanning a range of scholarly fields including Kinesiology, Psychology, Biology, Computer Science, Environmental Studies, Humanities and Communication, Marine Science, Mathematics and more. These students, which include UROC, McNair, and Koret Scholars; Researchers, African Heritage Research Collaborative Researchers, LSAMP Rising Researchers, Research Rookies, and Certificate earners, have demonstrated -- via both internal and external measures -- the powerful transformation that engagement in activities such as undergraduate research can bring about. This work is not easy- it takes tremendous effort, discipline, and passion, along with a supportive and nurturing community – even during non-pandemic times. And so, we take this time to celebrate their accomplishments.
As we say goodbye and offer congratulations to our graduating class, we look forward to hearing about their future adventures and achievements. For our continuing students, we look forward to working with them in the coming years as they forge ahead building a thriving network of peers, colleagues, mentors and friends, all while contributing greatly to the scholarly vibrancy of our campus and local community.
Dr. John "Buck" Banks
Director
|
|
Cameron Battersby, UROC Scholar
Psychology
Jada Carter, McNair Scholar
Biology
Sebastian Mireles, McNair Scholar
Human Communications
Casey Juliussen, UROC Scholar
Biology
Arlene Diazleal, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Janae Caldera, Researcher
Mathematics
Gabriel Chavez, Researcher
Mathematics
Brandon Garcia, Researcher
Psychology
Akshata Melanahalli, Researcher
Psychology
Sarah Munro-Kennedy, Researcher
Environmental Science, Technology & Policy
Angela Steele, Researcher
Human Communication
Phuong Stephanie Tran, Researcher
Mathematics
Hannah Carrell, Researcher
Biology
Tzu Ling Tseng, Researcher
Collaborative Health & Human Services
Jessica Uhlenhop, Researcher
Psychology
Emily Beasley, McNair Scholar
Statistics
Selina Espinoza, McNair Scholar
Psychology
Briana Azevedo, Researcher
Psychology
Ashley Belknap, Researcher
Marine Science
Eva Bernal Campos, Researcher
Psychology
Lea Carrasco, Researcher
Psychology
Seaenna Correa-Garcia, Researcher
Marine Science
Rachel Durand, Researcher
Biology
Trinity Gomez, Researcher
Environmental Studies
Chenelle Gueverra, Researcher
Biology
Alicia Khuon, Researcher
Environmental Science
Zaida Lopez, Researcher
Psychology
Yazmin Macias, Researcher
Humanities and Communication
Christina Magana-Ramirez, Researcher
Psychology
Kevin Pilotzi, Researcher
Kinesiology
Maxwell Rudelic, Researcher
Marine Science
|
|
Maximillian Gastelum-Morales, McNair Scholar
Kinesiology
Trevor Stevens, UROC Scholar
Psychology
Jasmin Johnson, UROC Scholar
Marine Science
Samantha Miller, UROC Scholar
Biology
Ally Morris, UROC Scholar
Marine Science
Rebecca Munster, McNair Scholar
Biology
Maria Reyes, McNair Scholar
Psychology
Bryant Taylor, McNair Scholar
Humanities & Communication
Nicholas Heyer, UROC Scholar
Biology
Darchelle Burnett, Koret Scholar
Social and Behavioral Science
Courtney Crouse, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Melissa-Ann Lagunas, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Claudia Rocha, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Xochitl Saldaña, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Agston Stephenson, Koret Scholar
Psychology
Krissi Alari, Researcher
Mathematics & Statistics
Taylor Smith, Researcher
Biology
Emma Teall, Researcher
Biology
Cassandra Tice, Researcher
Biology
Isaac Tuazon, Researcher
Kinesiology
Natassia Aleman, Researcher
Psychology
Saul Garcia, Researcher
Biology
Ekaterina Patrice, Researcher
Environmental Studies
Teresa Marquez, Researcher
Biology
Cheyenne Sheckells, Researcher
Biology
Anthony McKay, AHRC Researcher
Social and Behavioral Science
Judah Young, AHRC Researcher
Environmental Studies
Siana Fields, AHRC Researcher
Global Studies
Rodi Edil, Researcher
Global Studies
Victoria G Ordaz Garcia, AHRC Researcher
Biology
Alan Sevin, Researcher
Environmental Studies
|
|
|
*McNair Scholar -- Nested in the UROC Scholars program is the McNair Scholars program. A subset of UROC Scholars who meet the necessary requirements, are invited to the McNair program as well. The McNair Scholars Program’s ultimate goal is to diversify the faculty at colleges and universities across the country.
|
|
MEET YOUR UROC MENTOR OF THE YEAR |
|
Dr. Cheryl Logan
Dr. Cheryl Logan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marine Science at California State University, Monterey Bay. Her research group studies the physiological mechanisms that marine animals use to cope in changing environments, from the biochemical to the whole organism level. Their focus is on measuring species’ physiological capacity for acclimation and adaptation to future climate change. This information can then be incorporated into predictive models of how species will respond to rising ocean temperatures, hypoxia and ocean acidification. Understanding the mechanistic basis for why species ranges are shifting is fundamental to predicting which species will be the “winners” and “losers” in the face of climate change.
Dr. Logan was born and raised in Kansas City, MO before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area at age 11. She attended University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Integrative Biology and Molecular & Cell Biology. She completed a PhD in Biological Sciences at the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Logan was a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Scholar to Ecuador in 2019 and recently served on a U.S. National Academy of Sciences committee studying human interventions to increase the resilience of coral reefs. Her research program has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), California SeaGrant, NOAA-Coral Reef Conservation Program, the Coral Reef Alliance, and the National Geographic Society.
Mentoring undergraduate research is one of Logan’s most rewarding activities as a professor. She has served as a faculty mentor to 26 students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) programs (16 Scholars and 10 Researchers). Sixteen have gained acceptance into MSc or PhD programs while others have positions in industry or at governmental agencies. Her mentees have received significant recognition for their research, including NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, Sally Cassanova Pre-doctoral Fellowships, and the Goldwater Scholarship. Logan has also mentored more than 60 undergraduates as part of her research-based course in Marine Experimental Physiology where students do hands-on research using RNA sequencing and big data informatics. Dr. Logan is grateful to UROC, and especially to Dr. Bill Head, for pivotal guidance in becoming an effective and compassionate research mentor early in her career. In her free time, Logan enjoys running, yoga, and exploring nature with her husband and two young children.
|
|
CSU Student Research Competition
2021 Winners!
|
|
The CSU Student Research Competition is held each spring to promote excellence in undergraduate and graduate scholarly research and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments across the 23 CSU campuses. Eight student teams were selected by the Committee on Research, Creative Activity, and Scholarship (RSCA) to represent CSUMB at the virtual competition hosted by Cal Poly Pomona on April 30-May 1st.
Congratulations to psychology majors and Koret Scholars Claudia Rocha (1st place; Session 18) and Paul Dommert (2nd place; Session 19) for placing in the Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration category. Check out the full slate of winners across the CSU.
Congratulations to all our CSUMB Delegates along with their faculty mentors! We hope to see you at the 36th Annual CSU SRC hosted at San Francisco State University.
|
|
 |
Claudia Rocha, 1st Place
Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration Category
WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS!: Using Youth Participatory Action Research as a Tool to Advocate for Latinx Youth During the COVID- 19 Pandemic
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
“I would like to recognize Dr. Jennifer Lovell, UROC, and the Koret Foundation for their guidance. With their guidance and support, I have grown as a researcher.”
|
|
|
|
Paul Dommert, 2nd Place
Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration Category
Understanding the Psychology of Transformation: A Mixed Methods Investigation into
the Dynamics of Significant Psychological Change
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christine Valdez
"Placing in the CSU Research Competition is an honor and something I will utilize as motivation for my future endeavors. I owe much gratitude to my mentors Dr. Nick Fortino, Dr. Christine Valdez, Dr. Jennifer Dyer-Seymour and all of the wonderful advisors at UROC!"
|
|
|
|
Provost's Award for Exemplary Academic Achievement |
Congratulations to Koret Scholar, Melissa-Ann Lagunas on being awarded the Provost's Award for Exemplary Academic Achievement!!
The student who receives this award has demonstrated exemplary achievement in his/her major; stands out personally and academically; contributes to the learning community of CSUMB; and has achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (includes transfer credits), not including Spring 2021 grades.
|
|
|
"I am honored to have received the Provost's Award for Exemplary Academic Achievement because I take pride to know that I have made a positive contribution to the learning community at CSUMB, and I also recognize that CSUMB has r impacted my future. I dedicate my success to my undergraduate institution where I leave a lasting legacy to other students wishing to make a similar impact. I thank my mentors Dr. Jennifer Lovell and Dr. Renee Penalver for helping me through my journey to higher education and nominating me for this award; my parents for pursuing the American Dream and creating a better life for their children; and my sisters for being exceptional role models. As I move forward, I hope to use my education as a tool to give back to my Latinx, first-generation community by using research as a form of advocacy and promoting culturally competent mental health interventions." |
|
Last month, Gretchen was awarded the 2021 Carmel-By-The-Sea Garden Club Scholarship which is awarded to continue undergraduate or graduate students working with native plants. Gretchen was awarded two more scholarships: The June Stock Scholarship which is awarded to CSUMB students with a focus on watershed or terrestrial environmental science and the Association of California Water Agencies Clair Hill Scholarship awarded to undergraduate students pursuing a degree in a water resources-related field.
Congratulations, Gretchen!
|
|
UROC is proud to play a role in the development of education ownership, intellectual vibrancy, and scholarly identity in our CSUMB students. That growth allows students to not only move into the next phase of their academic careers, but feel a lot better prepared for the rigor they will encounter. Though not all are represented, we want to congratulate and wish the best of luck to some UROC Researchers and Scholars who are off on a whole new adventure somewhere around the country. |
|
Jada Carter
McNair Scholar
MSc in Organic Agriculture
Wageningen University & Research
|
|
Samantha Miller
UROC Scholar
PhD in Biological Anthropology
Yale University
|
|
Ally Morris
UROC Scholar
PhD in Ocean and Resources Engineering
University of Hawaii at Manoa
|
|
Selina Espinoza
McNair Scholar
PhD in Health Psychology
UC Merced
|
|
Bryant Taylor
McNair Scholar
PhD in Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies
University of Oregon
|
|
Melissa-Ann Lagunas
Koret Scholar
PhD in Clinical Psychology
Seattle Pacific University
|
|
Claudia Rocha
Koret Scholar
MS in School Psychology
CSUMB
|
|
Krissi Alair
UROC Researcher
MA in Statistics
UC Berkeley
|
|
Eva Bernal Campos
UROC Researcher
Masters in Social Work
San Jose State University
|
|
Judah Young
African Heritage Research Collaborative
Secondary School Teaching
Credential Program
CSUMB
|
|
Zaida Lopez
UROC Researcher
PhD in Clinical Psychology
Cal State Northridge
|
|
Looking Forward to the Summer |
|
Jocelyn Chavez-Diaz, McNair Scholar; Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures
“This summer, I will be attending my first summer research experience virtually with the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I will be working alongside Dr. Lamar E. Graham, Assistant Professor of Hispanic Linguistics, on a research project looking at Bilingualism: Spanish and English. After MURAP, I hope to rest before the semester starts, and take a trip to Southern California and explore new restaurants.”
|
|
Samuel Perrello, UROC Researcher, Marine Science
“For the summer, I plan to continue my research of kelp forest ecology by working with Dr. Stephen Palumbi from Stanford's Hopkins Marine Labs. In addition, I was selected to play for the all-star NorCal Pelicans rugby team and am going to compete at a National tournament in New Orleans at the beginning of June.”
|
|
Spencer Winter, UROC Scholar, Psychology & Biology
“I'll be at UC Davis this summer working in Dr. Tim Hanks' lab on the biomechanics of decision making. I'll be using optogenetics, which is where neurons are altered so they activate or deactivate when exposed to light. I'm hoping to have some spare time here and there so I can take my kayak out.”
|
|
Charles Scrivner, UROC Scholar, Marine Science
“As part of the Mystic-UConn REU, I will be conducting research to monitor invasive Cladophora species in the New London, Connecticut area using remote sensing methods. The REU is in-person, and I am most looking forward to getting out and exploring the east coast as this long pandemic starts to come to a close.”
|
|
Jade Betancourt, UROC Researcher, Biology
“This summer I will assist Dr. Cheryl Logan with fieldwork collections from Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County. The samples will be used to determine where shifts between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism are occurring using data from lactate assays. This will contribute to locating the threshold at which the fish respond physiologically to different levels of hypoxia.”
|
|
Matthew Dunham, UROC Scholar, Statistics
“This summer I'll be participating in a virtual REU looking into what it means to be computationally literate in various fields of study. My mentors, Dr. Tony Wong and Dr. Ben Zwickl - mathematics and physics professors at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, New York - and I will be investigating what types of computation students in math, stats and physics use and how they relate to one another. Aside from that, my family and I will be resuming our yearly beach vacation after it got put off due to the Pandemic. I'm eager to dive into this new area of research and ecstatic to finally take a vacation again!”
|
|
Meg Dearie, Koret Scholar, Psychology
“This summer I’m excited to be continuing my virtual research under Dr. Jennifer Dyer-Seymour about career preparedness in psychology majors. I’ll also be spending my summer preparing for the GRE and grad school applications. I’m pretty excited for a small vacation to Big Sur in July where I’ll be camping with my friends for the weekend. Summer is looking busy and productive, but I’m excited for it nonetheless!”
|
|
Mariana Duarte, McNair Scholar, Computer Science
This summer I will be doing research with Dr. Jean Paul Allain in the Nuclear to Sustainability program at The Pennsylvania State University. Although the research will be remote, I will have an opportunity to get hands-on experience in Computational Nuclear Engineering research. While in Monterey County this summer, I hope to cross off my bucket list trips to local beaches and famous Monterey hot spots.
|
|
|
|
Chat with us!
Want to get involved in research but don't know where to start? Set up a virtual consultation on the UROC website!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
