2015 Undergraduate Research Colloquium
Celebrating Loyola's Commitment to Undergraduate Research and Scholarship
On Friday, April 10, 2015, the Undergraduate Student Research & Scholarship Committee
held its annual Colloquium. The competition establishes a campus-wide forum in which
undergraduate research and scholarship can be presented before the college community.
This event not only contributes to the professional development of participants, it
underscores the importance the college places on student involvement in creative intellectual
endeavors.
The finalists below presented their research in open competition for first, second,
and third place cash awards.
Oral Presentations
Arts
First Place
Gabriel Carter
“Ambience of Silence”
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Malis (Photography)
Second Place
Felisa Velasco
“Stories in Solidarity”
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Malis (Photography)
Business
First Place
Jamie Grasing
“Monetary Policy and Inflation: Lessons from 1999-2001”
Faculty Mentor: John Burger (Economics)
Second Place
Kristen McNeill, Juliana Marothy, Mark Scovzen, Mary DeGregorio, Taylor Morello
“Does today’s hookup culture among Loyola undergraduates differ from what past Loyola
students experienced?”
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Third Place
Noelle Rodriguez-Diaz, Kellie Rose, Chelsey Puglisi, Thadd Williams, Rich Avvento
“Loyola University Maryland's Water Consumption Habits”
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Humanities
First Place
Thomas O’Donnell
“Various Interpretations of Genesis 18:1–15”
Faculty Mentor: Claire Mathews McGinnis (Theology)
Second Place
Joshua Ziesel
“A Corpus-Based Linguistic Study of the Distal Demonstrative Pronoun and Adjective
Ekeinos in Lysias”
Faculty Mentor: David Jacobson (Classics)
Third Place
Giuliana Caranante
“The Effect of Procrastination on the Writing Process”
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Zimmerelli (Writing)
Mathematical & Natural Sciences
First Place
Jaquelyn Zoine
“Analysis of a potentially activating NTRK2 mutation in non-small cell lung cancer”
Faculty Mentor: Birgit Albrecht (Chemistry)
Second Place
Alexa Giammarino
“Morphological and Molecular Effects of Entinostat on Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Cells”
Faculty Mentor: Armina Kazi (Biology)
Third Place
Kaitlyn Smith
“Identification of a Rationally Designed LPS Molecule that Outcompetes Naturally Occurring
Pro-inflammatory Forms of LPS”
Faculty Mentor: Erin Harberts (Biology)
Social Sciences
First Place
Angelica Puzio
“Sexual Assault Resource Knowledge: Survey and Analysis”
Faculty Mentor: Amanda Konradi (Sociology)
Second Place
Kellianne Hickey
“Hungry for Justice: The New Roles of Religious Non-Profits in Preventing, Serving,
and Advocating for American Hunger Relief since the 2008 Recession”
Faculty Mentor: Maiju Lehmijoki-Gardner (Theology)
Third Place
Lauren Meyer
“Assessing Mass Rape as a Crime Against Humanity at the ICTY”
Faculty Mentor: Moira Lynch (Political Science)
Poster Presentations
Business
First Place
Amanda Adsit
“How do workout habits and goals differ between genders?”
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Second Place
Sarah Kosciewicz, Chris Baranyay, Andrea Bodine, Katie Raymond
“Statistically Determining the Significance of Variables Expected To Have Impacts
on Obesity in the United States”
Faculty Mentor: Frederick Derrick (Economics)
Third Place
Kevin Sikora, Malorie Moran
The Effect of Rising Interest Rates on a Portfolio of U.S. Corporate Bonds”
Faculty Mentor: Yoon Shin (Finance)
Education
First Place
Tara Kneafsey
“Executive Functioning and Elementary Education”
Faculty Mentor: Wendy Smith (Education)
Mathematical & Natural Sciences
First Place
Nicholas George
“The Effect of a Combined Cisplatin and Sulforaphane Chemotherapy on Epidermal Squamous
Cell Carcinoma Cell Survival”
Faculty Mentor: Armina Kazi (Biology)
Second Place
Mary Kamos
Effect of Jarid1C gene on Mouse Stem Cell Properties”
Faculty Mentor: Theresa M. Geiman (Biology)
Third Place
Christopher DelBello
“Reducing Energy Consumption of Mobile Phones During Data Transmission and Encryption
for WBAN Applications”
Faculty Mentor: Glenn Kohne (Engineering)
Social Sciences
First Place
Diana Dautzenberg
“Training Parents to Enhance Narrative Language Development in Children at Risk for
Language Disorders”
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Schoenbrodt (Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology)
Second Place
Laura Andrews
“Fear of Being Single: The Effect of Self-Perceived Mate Value and Heterosocial Competence”
Faculty Mentor: Theresa E. DiDonato (Psychology)
Third Place
Meghan Lawrence
“Health Literacy in Developing Countries: Social Patterns in Common Illnesses and
Patient Response in the Dominican Republic”
Faculty Mentor: Maiju Lehmijoki-Gardner (Theology)
Event Information
Friday, April 25, 2025Application Proposals
All currently enrolled undergraduate students at the University are eligible to submit a presentation proposal to the Colloquium for research performed on or off campus, including during the summer.Deadline: March 21, 2025
Application Process
Volunteer to Judge
If you are a faculty member willing to serve as an abstract reviewer (March 21-31) and/or a judge (either for oral or poster presentations at the Colloquium on April 25th), please submit your contact information here to register your interest.