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
鈥淎mbience of Silence鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Malis (Photography)
Second Place
Felisa Velasco
鈥淪tories in Solidarity鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Malis (Photography)
Business
First Place
Jamie Grasing
鈥淢onetary Policy and Inflation: Lessons from 1999-2001鈥�
Faculty Mentor: John Burger (Economics)
Second Place
Kristen McNeill, Juliana Marothy, Mark Scovzen, Mary DeGregorio, Taylor Morello
鈥淒oes today鈥檚 hookup culture among Loyola undergraduates differ from what past Loyola
students experienced?鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Third Place
Noelle Rodriguez-Diaz, Kellie Rose, Chelsey Puglisi, Thadd Williams, Rich Avvento
鈥湷扇硕兑�'s Water Consumption Habits鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Humanities
First Place
Thomas O鈥橠onnell
鈥淰arious Interpretations of Genesis 18:1鈥�15鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Claire Mathews McGinnis (Theology)
Second Place
Joshua Ziesel
鈥淎 Corpus-Based Linguistic Study of the Distal Demonstrative Pronoun and Adjective
Ekeinos in Lysias鈥�
Faculty Mentor: David Jacobson (Classics)
Third Place
Giuliana Caranante
鈥淭he Effect of Procrastination on the Writing Process鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Zimmerelli (Writing)
Mathematical & Natural Sciences
First Place
Jaquelyn Zoine
鈥淎nalysis of a potentially activating NTRK2 mutation in non-small cell lung cancer鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Birgit Albrecht (Chemistry)
Second Place
Alexa Giammarino
鈥淢orphological and Molecular Effects of Entinostat on Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Cells鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Armina Kazi (Biology)
Third Place
Kaitlyn Smith
鈥淚dentification of a Rationally Designed LPS Molecule that Outcompetes Naturally Occurring
Pro-inflammatory Forms of LPS鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Erin Harberts (Biology)
Social Sciences
First Place
Angelica Puzio
鈥淪exual Assault Resource Knowledge: Survey and Analysis鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Amanda Konradi (Sociology)
Second Place
Kellianne Hickey
鈥淗ungry for Justice: The New Roles of Religious Non-Profits in Preventing, Serving,
and Advocating for American Hunger Relief since the 2008 Recession鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Maiju Lehmijoki-Gardner (Theology)
Third Place
Lauren Meyer
鈥淎ssessing Mass Rape as a Crime Against Humanity at the ICTY鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Moira Lynch (Political Science)
Poster Presentations
Business
First Place
Amanda Adsit
鈥淗ow do workout habits and goals differ between genders?鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Trump (Marketing)
Second Place
Sarah Kosciewicz, Chris Baranyay, Andrea Bodine, Katie Raymond
鈥淪tatistically Determining the Significance of Variables Expected To Have Impacts
on Obesity in the United States鈥�
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鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Yoon Shin (Finance)
Education
First Place
Tara Kneafsey
鈥淓xecutive Functioning and Elementary Education鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Wendy Smith (Education)
Mathematical & Natural Sciences
First Place
Nicholas George
鈥淭he Effect of a Combined Cisplatin and Sulforaphane Chemotherapy on Epidermal Squamous
Cell Carcinoma Cell Survival鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Armina Kazi (Biology)
Second Place
Mary Kamos
Effect of Jarid1C gene on Mouse Stem Cell Properties鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Theresa M. Geiman (Biology)
Third Place
Christopher DelBello
鈥淩educing Energy Consumption of Mobile Phones During Data Transmission and Encryption
for WBAN Applications鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Glenn Kohne (Engineering)
Social Sciences
First Place
Diana Dautzenberg
鈥淭raining Parents to Enhance Narrative Language Development in Children at Risk for
Language Disorders鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Schoenbrodt (Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology)
Second Place
Laura Andrews
鈥淔ear of Being Single: The Effect of Self-Perceived Mate Value and Heterosocial Competence鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Theresa E. DiDonato (Psychology)
Third Place
Meghan Lawrence
鈥淗ealth Literacy in Developing Countries: Social Patterns in Common Illnesses and
Patient Response in the Dominican Republic鈥�
Faculty Mentor: Maiju Lehmijoki-Gardner (Theology)
Event Information
Friday, April 17, 2026Application 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 13, 2026
Application Process
Volunteer to Judge
If you are a faculty member willing to serve as an abstract reviewer and/or a judge (either for oral or poster presentations at the Colloquium on April 17th), please submit your contact information here to register your interest.