The Office of Undergraduate Research knows that April and the end of the semester marks a time of research projects wrapping up, students visioning their next steps, and last year students readying themselves for graduation. This time of year, is festive and also filled with a ton of to-dos. 

The OUR invites the UofU community to celebrate this year’s award-winning undergraduate researchers and mentors at the OUR Awards Ceremony which will be live-streamed on April 21st from 10:30AM–12:30PM at our.utah.edu. This event is made possible due to the campus partnerships with the Office of the Provost, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, the Office of the Vice President for Research and campus leaders, faculty across the disciplines.   

Join us in celebrating the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awardees and Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardees. 

College of Architecture & Planning

Undergraduate Researcher Awardee
Kaylee Lai (Mentor: Dr. Lauren Buck) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Michael Abrahamson

College of Education

Undergraduate Researcher Awardee
Alejandra Nelsen (Mentor: Dr. Veronica Valdez) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Claire Son

The John and Marcia Price College of Engineering

Researcher Awardees
Caelum van Ispelen (Mentors: Dr. Rajeev Balasubramonian & Dr. P. Sadayappan) 
Gabriel Parra (Mentor: Dr. Laura Hallock) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Tao Gao

College of Fine Arts

Researcher Awardee
Katherine Boyce (Mentor: Professor Kiri Avela) 

Mentor Awardee
Professor Jonathan Dillon

College of Health

Researcher Awardee
Dania Paola Iniguez (Mentor: Dr. Julie Fritz) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Mohammed Sbai

Honors College

Researcher Awardee
Julia Petheram St. Andre (Mentor: Dr. Sara Yeo) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Christopher Patrick Miller

College of Humanities

Researcher Awardee
Natalia López (Mentor: Dr. Ed A. Muñoz, College of Humanities) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Matt Haber

School of Medicine

Researcher Awardee 
Pramod Karthikeyan (Mentor: Dr. Kristen Kwan)

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Megan Williams

College of Mines & Earth Sciences

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Juan Carlos de Obeso

College of Nursing

Researcher Awardee
Cate Monahan (Mentor: Dr. Lisa Taylor Swanson) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Djin Tay

College of Pharmacy

Researcher Awardee
Ayden Berndt (Mentor: Dr. Shreya Goel) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Shreya Goel

College of Science

Researcher Awardees
Wilder Dalton (Mentor: Dr. Andrew Roberts) 
Gavin Farley (Mentor: Dr. Tanmoy Laskar) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Andrew Roberts

College of Social & Behavioral Science

Researcher Awardees
Gracyn Hinojosa (Mentor: Shane MacFarlan) 
Kian Robison (Mentor: Dr. Akiko Kamimura) 

Mentor Awardee
Dr. Lee Raby

The event also recognizes competitively award scholarship and prize winners supported by the Dee Foundation Scholarship, Francis Family Fund Scholarship, Parent Fund Scholarship, the Valadi N. Venkatesan Research Award, and the Monson Essay prize.  Click here for more information on the Awards Ceremony.    

During the awards ceremony, the spring 2026 poster prize winners will be featured. Congratulations and thank you to the poster award committee: Dr. Annie Isabel Fukushima (OUR), Shane Wallace (Marriott Library), Greg Hatch (Marriott Library), Cade Faragher (OUR), and Shelly Parker (OUR).  

Spring Symposium 2026 Poster Prize Winners

Congratulations to the below undergraduate researchers for winning a poster prize!

Best Overall Poster 

JJ Snow, Climate Change and Phenological Mismatch in Native Pollinator Foraging  (Mentor: Josh Steffen)

Best in Humanities and Fine Arts 

Cecilia Root, Representing Abandoned Spaces: Juan Rulfo’s Text and Image (Mentor: Christopher Miller)

Honorable Mention: Camilla Cloward, The Use of Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War in the Palestine and Israel Conflict (Mentor: Dr. Annie Fukushima)

Honorable Mention: Natalia López, Latinx Criminal Justice Professionals: Exploring Career Motivations (Mentor: Ed Muñoz)

Honorable Mention: Kyle Tran, NextLevelMe-CHD: CHD Transition Readiness Paired with Community Presence for a Successful Serious Game (Mentor: Rebecca Delaney) 

Best in Medicine, Health, and Wellness 

Thomas Middleton, Characterizing the Structural Diversity of Cdc48 (Mentor: Peter Shen) 

Honorable Mention: Tyler Beeston, “You’re not alone”: Evaluation of a Peer Support Program Within the Differences of Sex Development Clinic at Primary Children’s Hospital (Mentor: Kristina Suorsa-Johnson) 

Honorable Mention: Olivia Leonard, Evaluation of Standard Clinical Measurements for the Pelvis Against Three-Dimensional Shape Variation Determined Using Statistical Shape Modeling (Mentor: Andrew Anderson)

Honorable Mention: Andy Nguyen, Blood Flow Restriction Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis; Effects on 3D Gait Biomechanics, Strength and Function in a Pilot Study (Mentor: Jesse Christensen) 

Best in Social Sciences 

Sydney Berg, Analyzing the Impact of Youth-Reported Camp Program Quality on Levels of Flourishing After Program Involvement (Mentor: Rob Lubeznik-Warner) 

Honorable Mention: Izzy Akers, Hailey Howard, and Abigail Simmons, Plants & Pastoralists: A Livelihood Story (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) 

Honorable Mention: Alec Roberts, Studying Visual Engagement as Linked to Social Identity In Response to Climate Change Information (Mentor: Monika Lohani) 

Best in STEM 

William Summa, Forecasting Fire-Initiated Thunderstorms (Mentor: Derek Mallia) 

Honorable Mention: Kaylee Lai, User Experience and Performance During Immersive Avatar Customization (Mentor: Lauren Buck)

Honorable Mention: Margaret Pozo, Computational Representation of Skin Patterns in Dwarf Cuttlefish (Mentor: Kelly Broadhead)

Undergraduate Research Scholar Designation (URSD)

Graduating Seniors!!!  Apply to receive the Undergraduate Research Scholar designation on your transcripts and to receive a white cord to wear at graduation.  

Final Deadline is April 21st for spring graduates!

Apply for Research Scholarships!

Is your research dedicated to furthering the growth and well-being of people in northern Utah? Then you should consider applying for the Dee Scholarship! $1,200 scholarship will be awarded at the beginning of fall 2026 semester. 

Are you a student who is interested in presenting their research at the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters (UASAL)? Apply for the UASAL Quest scholarship 

Deadline to apply: May 31  

Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters (UASAL)

IRB Summer Schedule 

Working on an Institutional Review Board application or on research with human subjects? Drop by the IRB Lab!  

Wednesdays,10:30 am to 12:00  
Marriot Library or on Zoom.  
 
Today, April 15 - Marriott Library, 2130N  
May 6 - Marriott Library, 2130N  
May 20 - Marriott Library, 5220 

Zoom registration link

Did you know that there are over 90 Education Series recordings available on-demand that you can watch on your schedule?  Learn about topics like writing research abstracts, giving presentations, crafting resumes & CVs, cover letters & personal statements. 

Host a Fall 2026 Research Tour 

Interested in welcoming students into your research this fall—or simply sharing your scholarship? The Office of Undergraduate Research’s Research Tours connect faculty with curious undergraduates, provide a platform to highlight work happening in your labs, demystify research pathways, and build campus visibility. Share your interest in hosting a Research Tour this fall! 

Click here to submit the interest form!

Drop in with your questions about applying for funds, research opportunities, and how to get started any Friday during Spring Semester, 12:00-2:00pm via Zoom or in person at 005 Sill Center.

If you have questions about research opportunities, funding, or any of OURs programs make a research advising appointment with the link below.