Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities

FY26 Awards List

Student Awardee	Degree & Program	Project Title	Faculty Mentor
Ahmed, Arif	PhD, Environmental Science & Management	Independent and combined effects of herbicide and road salt on freshwater phytoplankton	Matthew Schuler
Berger, Sidney	BA, German	Beyond the 90/10 Rule: How German Instructors Negotiate the Use of German, English, Anglicisms, and Cognates in Classroom Speech	Pascal LaFountain
Birnbaum, Aliya	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Rapid Capacity Screening Tool: Prototype Development and Testing	Tina Zottoli
Daniel, Amy	PhD, Mathematics Education	Investigating the Learning Math Anxiety Experiences of Mathematically Underprepared First-Year STEM Majors	Mika Munakata
Dyson, Eshariah	PhD, Environmental Science & Management	Metal complexation and soil particle size in an urban brownfield soil	Nina Goodey
Echevarria, Nicolina	BA, Psychology	Social Influence on the Discounting of Environmental Outcomes: Insights into Sustainable Decision Making	Michael Bixter
Fatima, Sadaf	MS, Pharmaceutical Biochemistry	“Development of Rapid Field-Testing Kit for Detection of Ranavirus and Other Viral Aquatic Pathogens”	Nina Goodey
Gallagher, Alexis	MA, Speech-Language Pathology	Self-Perception of Articulatory Accuracy in a Child with Residual Speech Sound Disorder: Does the Accuracy of What You Hear Affect How You Speak?	Elaine Hitchcock
Infante, Oriannys	BS, Molecular Biology	Importance of a Conserved Acidic Residue and Substrate Specificity in Cytochrome P450	Jaclyn Catalano
Ishiguro, Yuki	MFA, Dance	Echoes of Tranquility	Maxine Steinman
Lahiere, Elise	PhD, Mathematics Education	Perseverance as an Individual and Collective Enterprise	Joseph DiNapoli
Lourenco Da Silva, Fernanda	MA, Applied Linguistics	The Acquisition of English Vowel Contrasts by Brazilian Portuguese Speakers: A Study of Brazilian Au Pairs in the U.S.	Jonathan Howell
Marcy, Jenna	BA, Communication and Media Studies	Unpacking Gendered Political Performance: Kristi Noem’s Self-Presentation and Its Effects on Online Extremism Among Young Voters	Martina Santia
Marino, Allison	MA, Psychological Sciences	Prioritization Effects on Sensory and Motor Processing	Akina Umemoto
Napoli, Danielle	PhD, Family Science and Human Development	Sexuality and Mobility Disability: The Road to Sexual Pleasure	Brad van Eeden-Moorefield
Nin, Jessica	AuD, Audiology	The Relationship Between Speech-in-Noise Perception and Anxiety in Adults with Single-Sided Deafness	Ilse Wambacq
Ofori-Koranteng, Ben-Ryan	BS, Biochemistry	Structural Characterization of M. tuberculosis IGP Synthase (IGPS) Variants Using Circular Dichroism (CD) Spectroscopy	Nina Goodey
Okafor, Kamsy	MS, Molecular Biology	Synthetic Lipid Membrane Systems Elucidate Protein Interactions in HIV Envelope-Mediated Coreceptor Fusion Informing Subtype Infectivity	Eli Lee
Peters, Arabella	PhD, Clinical Psychology	A Transdiagnostic, Neurobiological Approach to Psychopathology in Autism Spectrum Disorder	Erin Kang
Provost, Amanda	PhD, Mathematics Education	Studying Students’ Systems Thinking in Mathematical Modeling Activities of Science Phenomena	Nicole Panorkou
Ray, Madison	BS, Sustainability Science	Wildfire Impacts on Soil and Vegetation Chemistry in a Northern NJ Watershed	Greg Pope
Steedman, Lily	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Examining Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse	Nicole Lytle
Thevaraja, Anglin	PhD, Family Science and Human Development	Character, Connection, and Collaboration: Faculty-Student Dynamics in Higher Education	Miriam Linver
Zumba, Ruby	BS, Business Administration	Benefit-Based Retail Displays for Brand Extensions	Gabriel Gonzales

FY2025 Awards List

Student Awardee	Student Degree & Program	Project Title	Faculty Mentor
Amadeo, Yanira	PhD, Family Science and Human Development	Catalysts of Change: The Impact of Alumni Philanthropists of Color on Diverse Families and Student Achievement at a Hispanic-Serving Institution	Pauline Garcia-Reid
Arif, Shibbir Ahmed	MS, Data Science	Accelerating Patient Screening for Clinical Trials using Large Language Model Prompting	Hao Liu
Balasuriya, Divomi	PhD, Environmental Science & Management	Human and Natural Influences on Sediment Composition, Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Morphology of Cape May and Wildwood Beaches: Implications for coastal management and habitat restoration	Greg Pope
Barbosa, Jennifer	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Perinatal Complications and Child Development: Associations between in-utero Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Language Development	Laura Lakusta
Bayron, Jizette	BA, Psychology	Investigating the Development of Spatial Language in Children: The Role of Mechanistic Language and Event Consistency	Laura Lakusta
Cifuentes Macias, Natalia	BA, Psychology	Social Reward Positivity Event-Related Potential in Youth: Differences by Gender and Sexual Orientation	Erin Kang
Guzman, Avelisse	BA, German	Studying Student Outcomes of SPARK for German World Language Enrichment Program	Pascal Lafountain
Judd, Emily	PhD, Clinical Psychology	Engaging College Students with Eating Disorder Symptoms in Digital Mental Health Interventions	Jazmin Reyes-Portillo
Lentine, Nicolina	PhD, Environmental Science & Management	Comparing coastal soil functions across natural and artificial salinity gradients	Nina Goodey
Perry, Yasmine	PhD, Family Science and Human Development	Undergraduate Student’s Perceptions and Experiences using AI in Higher Education	Miriam Linver
Pride, Evangelina	PhD, Teacher Education & Teacher Development	Investigating the Teacher-Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Engaging in Relational Teaching with Students of Color	Emily Hodge & Monica Taylor
Spigelman, Melissa	MS, Molecular Biology	Inducible Gene Expression in Zebrafish: A Novel Approach to Precision Fertility Research	Carlos Molina
St. Pierre, Delaney	MS, Marine Biology & Coastal Sciences	Benthic Habitat and Invertebrate Community Assessment of Seagrass beds in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey	Paul Bologna
Walsh, Samantha	MA, Psychological Sciences	The Role of Endogenous Estrogen in Effects of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation on Cognitive Performance	Alexandra Gaynor
Wowk, Janyce	BS, Chemistry	Comparison of artificial root exudates (AREs), soil builder product, and ammonium nitrate chemical fertilizer	Nina Goodey
Zaheer, Naima	PhD, Environmental Science & Management	Investigating the effectiveness of different artificial root exudate combinations on soil function and plant productivity in metal-contaminated soil	Nina Goodey