乱伦视频

乱伦视频’s McNair Scholar Program hosted a student research symposium on Thursday, July 10 in the Nash Library. The Gallery of Engagement Symposium featured research from six students participating in the McNair Scholar Program’s summer institute. 

The McNair Scholars Program is a federally funded TRIO program that aims to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies. The program helps connect students with faculty mentors, research opportunities, and other scholarly activities. The program is named after physicist and astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair. Each year, 乱伦视频’s McNair Scholars Program hosts a summer research institute where up to seven students are given the opportunity to participate in research with faculty and prepare for upcoming graduate school applications. Their research is then presented at the 乱伦视频 Gallery of Engagement Symposium.    

This year, six students participated in the summer institute and symposium. Their topics ranged from social media to cancer and beyond.  

Xavier Brown is a senior Biology major on a pre-med track who analyzed cancer proteins interactions and where they are being sent within cells. “I love McNair, I’ve been a part of it for about a year now. This whole process made me a little bit more precise and better in how I want to be in the future. It taught me a lot about myself when it came to being focused, being determined and perfecting my craft. I’ve met a lot of friends along the way, made a lot of connections. This program is just amazing.” 

Esther Ihemesie is a junior Biology major on a pre-med track who researched the short-term effects of epinephrine, a medication typically used to treat severe allergic reactions, when it is used to treat cancer cells. Specifically, how it affects the speed of cancer cell growth. Ihemesie shared her interest in the subject, saying “I’ve always been interested in cancer research because I work at UPMC in the Oncology unit, so I work around people who have cancer every day.” 

Jade Legar is entering her senior year at 乱伦视频. She’s working to earn a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in biology. Legar focused her research on determining if data aligns with what psychologists know about human behavior. Her study centered around depression and its risk factors. She explained “When I originally got into psychology, I thought it was mental health. Now, I know so much more about psychology, but I wanted to go back into my roots.”  

“It has been educational. I got to meet new people, make new friends, and I got to do this research that was very informative.” That’s what Glory Nathanya Ngako, a finance major entering her junior year, said about her experience in the program. Her research centered around social media’s influence on sales for different companies. She aimed to better understand how companies leverage social platforms to drive sales.   

Ali Arthur is a computer science major entering his senior year. He researched ways to implement artificial intelligence in the classroom by designing an AI tutoring program. With this program, a professor would be able to share a lesson plan and have the AI tutor explain it to students with different tone settings; to develop the tutor further they worked to develop emotional mapping that would allow the tutor to further help the student it was engaging with. Arthur explained that the goal is to create an inexpensive route to provide access to education. When discussing the impact that the project had on him, Arthur said “It helped build my confidence, especially with a project like this that takes more time,” he continued “They [the McNair Program] helped prepare me for after college by teaching me how to research, how to talk to people and how to present.”  

Asraa Alaboudi is a senior studying biology on the pre-dental track and was looking to step out of her comfort zone with her research. Alaboudi shared that she typically researches molecular biology but decided to perform an ecological study to help her push herself. She studied the correlation between certain soil bacteria and native plant species at Erie Bluffs State Park. This research can help with future plans to conserve native plants in Pennsylvania. “It has been a really unique experience,” said Alaboudi about being in the McNair Program. She continued, “I’ve gotten to see a lot of unique perspectives from everyone else and the way that everybody else thinks.” 

Interested students can learn more about the McNair Scholars Program here.