The 2022 CNS Honors Thesis Symposium will take place on Thursday April 28th, virtually, and Friday, April 29th in the William C. Powers, Jr. Building.
This year, over 80 students will present their research in 28 moderated panels.
APRIL 28 SESSION 1 • 9:00–9:55
EMERGING MEDIA AND THEIR EFFECTS • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/97462481147
Moderator: Gray Garmon, School of Design and Creative Technologies
Ryan Hazelwood | A Novel Approach to Computer Generated Art
Nichole Jeong | The Korean Wave: Pop Culture Evolution and Transnational Identity in the Digital Era
Adrian Luong | Technosocial Development: The Social Implications of Parental Device Use
FOSTERING INCLUSIVITY IN EDUCATION • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/97462481147
Moderator: Shelly Rodriguez, UTeach Natural Sciences
Juan Garcia | Analyzing Factors that Contribute to Low-Income Hispanic Student Underachievement in Houston
Nisha Saif | Addressing Mental Health and Achievement Gaps in Higher Education Through Inclusive Teaching Practices
Suhaib Shah | Omission of Historical Innovation by US Minority Populations in US Curricula: A Study of the Exclusion of Ibn Sina's Medical Advancements in AP Curricula
GENETICS AND DISEASE • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/97462481147
Moderator: Lesli Bordas, Department of Chemistry
Audrey Bahr | In-host Adaptation of Emerging Pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus
Vanessa Heredia | The Epigenetics of Depression
John Moore | T Cell Receptor Expression Variation Between Pediatric and Geriatric Individuals with Mild to Severe COVID-19
APRIL 28 SESSION 2 • 10:00–10:55
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH• https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94136120857
Moderator: Rene Dailey, Department of Communication Studies
Sofia Pedroza | The Physiological Effects of Acculturative Stress on U.S. Latinx Adults and Related Mental Health Outcomes
Raul Lopez | A Culturally Adapted Intervention for Latino Immigrant Parents of Adolescents: The Need to Overtly Address Culture, Discrimination, Drug Usage and Abuse in Evidence Based Practices
Cecilia Arguelles | Disparities in Maternal Mortality: Addressing Social Determinants of Health to Alleviate Health Inequality
EDUCATION: BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94136120857
Moderator: Fatima Varner, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences
Christine Ejiofor | Beyond the Classroom: How Do Disparities in School Punishments Influence Interactions with the Carceral System for Black Girls in the U.S.?
Melise Eyman | An Exploration of Mental Health Interventions: How to Improve School-Based Mental Health Resources for Black Adolescents
Jonathan Yang | The Utilization and Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Remote Classrooms
Katelyn Colston | Education NGOs in Kenya
APRIL 28 SESSION 3 • 11:00–11:55
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS• https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91540392911
Moderator: Rachel Gonzalez-Martin, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Olivia Barboza | Youth Exposure to Violence: Breaking the Cycle
Richa John | Gender Paradox in Kerala, India
Grace Xiong | Asian American Stereotypes in the Media and their Effects in Politics
WOMEN, GENDER, AND SOCIETY • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91540392911
Moderator: Alex Huk, Department of Neuroscience
Emma Dalley Bartram | The Mental Health Implications of Gender Roles in the LDS Church
Jasmine Choi | The External Effects of Restrictive Abortion Policies on Women of Color and Women of Low Socioeconomic Status in Texas
Tien Nguyen | Supporting a Pandemic Pregnancy: A Qualitive Exploration of the Role of Birth Doulas in Reproductive Justice During COVID-19
UNDERSTANDING OUR UNIVERSE• https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91540392911
Moderator: David Hillis, Department of Integrative Biology
Mohammadali Ghaznavi| Discovering Ancient Black Holes with the JWST
Delaney White | Identifying Overdensities of Galaxies at High Redshift
Catherine Li | Infinitely Divisible Multivariate Distributions
APRIL 28 SESSION 4 • 12:00–12:55
RESPONDING TO COVID-19 • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98198983319
Moderator: Becky Kester, Department of Integrative Biology
Julia Zheng | Impact of Health Factor Ranking on COVID-19 Health Outcomes
Varun Elete | COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in African Americans
Dante Porras | COVID-19 as a Regulatory Trigger for Expanded APRN Authority in Texas
APRIL 28 SESSION 5 • 1:00–1:55
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND HEALTHCARE • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94114026672
Moderator: Craig Hurwitz, Department of Pediatrics
Brian Chavez | Importance of Incorporating Technology into Concussion-Based Legislation to Protect High School Football Players
Rhea Gogia | CRISPR: Reproductive Choice or Turning Point?
Jack Hurley | New Healthcare Documentation Technologies and their Effect on Billing Through Fee-for-Service Insurance Plans
INTERACTING WITH THE WORLD AROUND US: BRAIN AND BODY •
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94114026672
Moderator: Michael Drew, Department of Neuroscience
Trevor Nguyen | Recording from Marmoset Visual Cortex with High-Density Probes
Priya Sarlashkar | Investigating the Relationship between Emojis and Brain Activation During Language Processing
Noor Shenaq | Effect of Different Treatments on Peri-implantitis
APRIL 28 SESSION 6 • 2:00–2:55
ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/93370022968
Moderator: Amy Simmons, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music
Iris Kim | Addressing Communication Barriers in Accessing Healthcare Experienced by Homeless Populations and Their Providers
Samuel Ma | Barriers to Liver Disease Care for People Experiencing Homelessness
Sophie van Dijke | Preventing Transgender Homelessness: A Proposed Counseling Intervention for Families of Transgender Youth in the U.S. South
APRIL 28 SESSION 7 • 3:00–3:55
BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/95238875258
Moderator: Sonia Gonzalez, Department of Public Health
Natalie Lim | Mapping the Ties Between the Built Environment and Social Capital
Sophia Zabul | Urban Development as a Commitment
Ninette Siby | Implementing a Hybrid Adult Day Center in Austin, Texas
APRIL 28 SESSION 8 • 4:00–4:55
NEW APPROACHES TO RARE DISEASES • https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98770930558
Moderator: Madison Searle, CNS Honors Center
Tuesday Haynes| Glioma, Race, & Atopy: A Meditation Model
Michael Zuazua | Patient Preferences and Withdrawal Factors in a Randomized Diet Trial for Patients with Crohn's Disease
Shyamal Waghwala | Health-care Transition for Type 1 Diabetics: A Systematic Review and Proposal of the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Services
APRIL 29 SESSION 1 • 9:00–9:55
CURRENT POLITICS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: David Laude, Department of Chemistry
Arya Bhakare| Vilifying Vaccines: Media Misinformation, Politics, and Texas
Eduardo Levi | Presidential Responses to Pandemics: A Comparative Analysis of HIV/AIDS Under Ronald Reagan and COVID- 19 Under Donald Trump
Tien Vo | The Social Implications of Political Division in the United States
CULTURE AND HEALTH • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Rosa Schnyer, School of Nursing
Sophie Liu | Cultural Mentalities and Materia Medica: The Science of Medicine in the Ancient Greek and Chinese World
Sean Daly | Haredi Judaism & COVID-19: A View on Religion and Health from Israel
Drew Fowler | A Culturally Conscious Approach to Using Music Therapy to Treat Immigration-Induced PTSD on the U.S.- Mexico Border
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR DEPRESSION RESEARCH • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Christopher Beevers, Department of Psychology
John Henry Cruz | Quantifying the Language of Depression: Implications for Psychotherapy
Abby Rex | Generational Differences in Digital Communication, Loneliness, and Depression
Kendall Dunn | Dietary Fiber Intake and Depression in U.S. Adolescents
APRIL 29 SESSION 2 • 10:00–10:55
CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Kenneth Young, Department of Geography and the Environment
Mark DeGraff | Social Sciences and Ecological Modeling in Conversation
Caroline Cummings | Understanding the Emergence of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and Preventing Pandemics
GEOGRAPHICAL CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Greg Sitz, Department of Physics
Yash Desai | The Petrochemical Problem: Factors Driving the Existence of Cancer Alley, Louisiana
Azelia Lau | Environmental Injustice Shouldered by the Marginalized: How Telemedicine Can Bridge the Gap
Rohan Shah | The Role of Telehealth in Rural Substance Abuse Treatment
APRIL 29 SESSION 3 • 11:00–11:55
EMERGING ISSUES IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Kasey Claborn, School of Social Work
Yossef Alsabawi | Countering Medical Misinformation
Sathwik Iyer | Studying the Role of Pharmaceutical Companies in the Opioid Crisis
Doru Gucer | More and More with Less and Less: Moral Injuries in the Intensive Care Unit
MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Mark Hemenway, CNS Honors Center
Sophia Laird | The Effects of Instagram on the Development of Eating Disorders in Young Women
Ray Selinidis | From the Sopranos to Mad Men to Bojack Horseman: How Addiction, Toxic Masculinity, and Serialization Have Affected Portrayals of Depression
Michelle Yamada | Media and Mental Health: Its Unconscious Influence
APRIL 29 KEYNOTE SPEAKER • 12:00–12:55
DR. PATRICK BYRNE • WCP LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ROOM
VACCINE ANTIGEN DESIGN: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
APRIL 29 SESSION 4 • 1:00–1:55
CULTURE AND COMMUNITY IN HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Marilyn Felkner, Department of Public Health
Avery Arsenault | Community-Based Participatory Research in eHealth Interventions to Target Cardiovascular Disease
Sara Mansoorshahi | Analyzing the Impacts of Youth Participation in HIV Research
Hana Dole | Individualism vs. Collectivism and COVID-19 Response in the Netherlands and Chile
LANGUAGE PROCESSING/PROCESSING LANGUAGE • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Fernando Llanos, Department of Linguistics
Niyenth Iyengar | Language Learning, Frequency, and Being a 'Language Person'
Matthew Mun | Linguistic Properties (and Inequalities) in Chemical Nomenclature
Joshua Lattao | The Effects of Racial and Language Discrimination on Asian American Adolescents' Health
SYNTHESIZING NEW MATERIALS • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Mark Hemenway, CNS Honors Center
Sara Irvine | High Pressure Synthesis of Rare Earth Nickel Oxides
Teddy Hsieh | Enhancing Optical Nonlinearities Through Quantum Engineering of Semiconductor Materials
Rithvik Ramesh | Enhancing Second-Order Optical Nonlinearity Through the Bandgap Engineering of Asymmetric Coupled Quantum Wells
APRIL 29 SESSION 5 • 2:00–2:55
COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES TO HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Keryn Pasch, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education
Haroon Dossani | The Intersection of Complementary and Conventional Medicine in Cancer Care
Emily Samson | Using Mindfulness to Treat Chronic Pain in America
Jamil Okada | Integrating Mind and Body: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Rehabilitation for Female Athletes Post-ACL Reconstructive Surgery
CARING FOR KIDS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Laura Colgin, Department of Neuroscience
Yukta Sunkara | Fostering Self-Efficacy in Young Children with Autism Through Early Childhood Education
Prachi Shah | Language Concordance in Pediatric Epilepsy Care: Overview & Preliminary Results
Christina Howell | Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatric Medicine
APRIL 29 SESSION 6• 3:00–3:55
IMPROVING PATIENT-PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION• WCP 3.112
Moderator: Tepera Holman, College of Natural Sciences Diversity and Student Programs
Sienna Wu | Misconceptions About Clinical Empathy
Rohan Patil | Analyzing Intervention Programs in Healthcare Settings to Decrease Stigma Against Populations Suffering from Substance Use Disorder
Faiza Sarwar | Clinician Communication Strategies to Navigate Differences of Opinion with Patients
MANIPULATING MOLECULES • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Arturo De Lozanne, Molecular Biosciences
Aidan Comiskey | Optimizing a Reversible Crosslinking System for Dynamic Polymer Gels
Ronak Desai | Production of Novel Polyketides by Combinatorial Engineering of Modular Polyketide Synthases
Tanvi Ingle | A Model of Bacteriophage ΦX174 Gene Expression and Fitness
