Anjayooluwa Adegboyo | Investigation of iATP-SnFR1.0 Activity | Dr. Minjoung Kyoung | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Fairine Ahmed | Design of Stable Antibody: HIV-1 RNA Complex Suitable for Structural Studies | Dr. Michael Summers and Dr. Nele Hollmann | Biological Sciences

Ezekial Ajayi | Simulating Cyber Attacks and Defenses with Reinforcement Learning and Prior Knowledge | Dr. Anupam Joshi & Dr. Tim Finin | Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Christopher Bain | Using Supervised Machine Learning Methods to Create a Gene-Based ALS Predictor from Postmortem Transcriptomics Data | Ernest Fraenkel | Physics & Computer Science 

Briah Barksdale | Investigating the Role of Rho1 in Bacterial Clearance Using Drosophilia melanogaster | Dr. Jeff Leips | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Sarah Bowers | Obtaining Accurate Aerosol Extinction and Backscatter Coefficients Using Ceilometers | Dr. Ruben Delgado | Physics

Duyen Bui | Dissecting the Genetic Determinants of Superinfection Immunity in Cluster K5 Mycobacteriophages | Viknesh Sivanathan | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Francesca Burton | Using Behavioral Assays To Study Genes Associated With Autism And Schizophrenia In Drosophila Fruit Flies | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biology, Biochemistry & Individualized Studies 

Enya Caballero | Defining the Toll-like Receptor Required For SARS-CoV-2 Activation of the Inflammasome | Andrea Cox and Leon Hsieh | Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Evan Carlyle | Design and Synthesis of Flex AT-527 as a Potential Antiviral Therapeutic | Charlie Waters and Katherine L. Seley-Radtke | Biochemistry 

Ridhi Chaudhary | 5′-Cap Sequestration is an Essential Determinant of HIV-1 Genome Packaging | Dr. Michael Summers | Chemistry & Biochemistry 

Gabriela Cruz | The Role of spase 22-23 In Border Cell Migration In Drosophila Melanogaster | Dr. Michelle Starz-Gaiano | Biology 

Senali Dansou | Understanding the 3-Dimensional Structure of an RNA Aptamer RhoBAST | Dr. Deepak Koirala | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Faith Davis | Characterizing Novel Bacteriophage MountainPapa | Dr. Steven Caruso | Biological Sciences

Sergio Diaz | Investigating Dynamical Error Correction with Shaped Pulses on IBM Quantum Using the Qiskit Pulse Package | Dr. Jason Kestner | Physics 

Emeka Ejimogu | Investigating Mechanistic Details of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae arginyl-tRNA Transferase Using Site-directed Mutagenesis | Dr. Aaron Smith | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Simon Ishanathan Guteng, Jr. | Drug Release of Pirfenidone in Polyurethane Nanocapsules | Dr. Erin Lavik | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering 

Casey Hanks | CyberEnt: Extracting Domain Specific Entities from Cybersecurity Text | Dr. Tim Finin & Dr. Anupam Joshi | Computer Science

Andrew Hennigan | Assessing the Impact of Phosphomimetic Mutations on Mouse Melanopsin Signaling | Phyllis Robinson | Biological Sciences

Garrett Hill | Phenotypic Characterization Of Aspergillus nidulans PrkA Protein Kinase | Dr. Mark Marten | Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering

Stephen Isabell | Does Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Status Impact The Host Response To SARS-CoV-2? | Dr. Mark Schleiss | Biological Sciences 

Nneamaka Iwobi | Sexually Dimorphic Effect of the Alzheimer’s Associated Gene APPL in Drosophila | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences

Arjun Kanjarpane | Elucidating Interactions Between the HIV-1 RRE and the Viral Proteins Rev and Gag | Dr. Michael Summers | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Madi Kore | Using Computer Aided Methods to Quantify Expression of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Proliferative Markers | Dr. Nykia Walker | Biological Sciences

Logan Lineburg | The Histological and Proteomic Effects of Hoxb13 Deletion in Mouse Prostate and Bulbourethral Glands | Dr. Charles Bieberich | Biological Sciences

D’Juan Moreland | Impact of Bias on Birdsong Research: Male and Female Syllable Categorization in Orchard Orioles | Dr. Kevin Omland | Biology

Rachel Myers | Determining the Genomic Drivers of Polystyrene Nanoparticle Interactions in Cancer Cells | Dr. Joelle Straehla | Chemical Engineering

Nithya Navarathna | Determining the Link Between Nutrient Availability and Ovarian Cancer Metastasis | Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan | Biological Sciences

Ezinne Oguguo | Could Cryoprotective Genes from Freeze-Tolerant Organisms be the Key to Longer Preservation of Human Organs? | Ed Boyden | Biological Sciences 

Firekunmi Ojo | Optimizing Evolutionary Algorithm Metaparameters for the Inference of Dynamic Models of Growth and Shape | Dr. Daniel Lobo | Biological Sciences 

Chelsea Okeh | Investigating the Expression and Potential Function of the Shroom3 Antibody in Zebrafish | Dr. Rachel Brewster | Biological Sciences

Yetunde Oshagbemi | Setting Strategic Targets for Global Tuberculosis Control: A Critical Policy Analysis | Zoe McLaren | Economics & Mathematics

Crystal Parry | Characterizing the Activity of the UAS-roGFP-GRX1 Sensor in Drosophila Melanogaster | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences

Savannah Pearson | Investigation of Set6 Lysine Methylation Targets in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae | Dr. Erin Green | Biological Sciences

Kelsey Person | Examining Hippocampus and Nucleus Accumbens Connectivity in Regulating Reward Behavior | Dr. Tara LeGates | Biological Sciences

Kennedy Person | The Influence of Maternal Stress on the Regulation of GPR158 in Adolescent Mice | Dr. Laurie Sutton | Biological Sciences

Dahne Pluck | Determination of Planetary Boundary Layer Height from Radar Wind Profilers | Dr. Ruben Delgado | Physics 

Kierra Regis | Characterizing the RNA-Protein Complex Interaction Between the HIV-1 5′ Leader and EIF4E | Dr. Michael Summers | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Christopher Slaughter | Automatic Glucose Monitoring System by Periplasmic Binding Protein-based Biosensor | Dr. Govind Rao | Computer Engineering

Viviana Smart | Synthesis of Reverse Fleximer-Cytosine Nucleoside Analogues as Potential Antiviral Therapeutics | Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Xavier Smith | A Robust, Cost-Effective, and Anatomical Myoelectric Control Interface | Dr. Ramana Vinjamuri | Computer Engineering

Sean Starkloff | Investigating the Effects of E-Cigarette Liquid and Vapor Exposure on Primary Olification Cell Mitochondria in Mice | Dr. Weihong Lin & Dr. Tatsuya Ogura | Biological Sciences 

Kaylyn Stewart | Development of Novel Tube-in-Tube Donnan Dialysis Reactor from Simultaneous Recovery of Anionic and Cationic Nutrients from Sythetic Urine | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemistry

Aris Stovall | Investigating the Inheritance of Stress-Dependent Molecular Changes through Paternal Pathways in Drosophila Melanogaster | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences

Biniam Teferedegn | Growth and Fission Dynamics During Asexual Reproduction | Dr. Daniel Lobo | Bioinformatics

Maya Tondravi | Investigating Conditioned Place Aversion and Brain Regions Involved in the Acute Stress Response | Dr. Tara LeGates | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

Rianna Zacharias | Analyzing the Expression of Shroom3 in the Zebrafish Anterior Neural Plate | Dr. Rachel Brewster | Biological Sciences

Anjayooluwa Adegboyo | Investigation of iATP-SnFR1.0 Activity | Dr. Minjoung Kyoung | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Ezekial Ajayi | Simulating Cyber Attacks and Defenses with Reinforcement Learning and Prior Knowledge | Dr. Anupam Joshi & Dr. Tim Finin | Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Olorunjuwon Ajayi | Modeling MgAl₂O₄ Motheye Structures in Solar Cells | Dr. Curtis Menyuk | Computer Engineering 

Christopher Bain | Using Supervised Machine Learning Methods to Create a Gene-Based ALS Predictor from Postmortem Transcriptomics Data | Ernest Fraenkel | Physics & Computer Science

Briah Barksdale | Investigating the Role of Rho1 in Bacterial Clearance Using Drosophilia melanogaster | Dr. Jeff Leips | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Bethel Beyene | The Molecular Basis of tRNA’s Regulatory Role in HIV-1 Viral Assembly | Dr. Michael F. Summers & Dr. Pengfei Ding | Biological Sciences

Ridhi Chaudhary | 5′-Cap Sequestration is an Essential Determinant of HIV-1 Genome Packaging | Dr. Michael Summers | Chemistry & Biochemistry 

Sergio Diaz | Investigating Dynamical Error Correction With Shaped Pulses on IBM Quantum Using the Qiskit Pulse Package | Dr. Jason Kestner | Physics

Stephen Isabell | Does Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Status Impact The Host Response To SARS-CoV-2? | Dr. Mark Schleiss | Biological Sciences 

Aaliyah Khan | Computational Discovery of New Functional Materials for Energy Generation and Storage | Dr. Joseph Bennett | Chemistry

Madi Kore | Using Computer Aided Methods to Quantify Expression of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Proliferative Markers | Dr. Nykia Walker | Biological Sciences

Chelsea Mikal | Spectroscopic Investigation of Metal-ligand Complexation of Tetracyclines with Magnesium and Calcium | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Fanny Morfin-Reyes | Differentiating Genetic Manipulations in Drosophila Flies to Investigate Synaptic Refinement | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences

Rachel Myers | Determining the Genomic Drivers of Polystyrene Nanoparticle Interactions in Cancer Cells | Dr. Joelle Straehla | Chemical Engineering

Nithya Navarathna | Determining the Link Between Nutrient Availability and Ovarian Cancer Metastasis | Dr. Achuth Padmanabhan | Biological Sciences

Ouriel Ndalamba | Membrane Selection to Optimize Ammonium Recovery by Donnan Dialysis | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Eriberto Osorio | Population Survey of Invasive Nest Predators on Andros Island in the Bahamas | Dr. Kevin Omland | Biological Sciences

Crystal Parry | Characterizing the Activity of the UAS-roGFP-GRX1 Sensor in Drosophila Melanogaster | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences 

Kennedy Person | The Influence of Maternal Stress on the Regulation of GPR158 in Adolescent Mice | Dr. Laurie Sutton | Biological Sciences

Roshnee Roberts | The Effects of Maternal Stress on the Development of Anhedonia in Offspring | Dr. Tara LeGates | Biological Sciences

Christopher Slaughter | Automatic Glucose Monitoring System by Periplasmic Binding Protein-based Biosensor | Dr. Govind Rao | Computer Engineering

Xavier Smith | A Robust, Cost-Effective, and Anatomical Myoelectric Control Interface | Dr. Ramana Vinjamuri | Computer Engineering

Sean Starkloff | Investigating the Effects of E-Cigarette Liquid and Vapor Exposure on Primary Olification Cell Mitochondria in Mice | Dr. Weihong Lin & Dr. Tatsuya Ogura | Biological Sciences 

Kaylyn Stewart | Development of Novel Tube-in-Tube Donnan Dialysis Reactor from Simultaneous Recovery of Anionic and Cationic Nutrients from Sythetic Urine | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemistry

Aris Stovall | Investigating the Inheritance of Stress-Dependent Molecular Changes Through Paternal Pathways in Drosophila Melanogaster | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences 

Diego Iglesias Vega | Spatiotemporal Analysis of Fluorescent Dissolved Organic Matter in Two Urban Watersheds In Baltimore | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Laura Ventura | The Role of Not1 in Gastrointestinal Distress in Drosophila Melanogaster: A Model For Autism and Gut Health | Dr. Fernando Vonhoff | Biological Sciences 

Dylan Chao | “Through the Lens”: An Exploration of Gender, Identity, and the Queer Asian-American Experience | Prof. Jules Rosskam | Visual Arts

Joshua Gray | Exploring Stories Of Political Activism And Ideological Perpetuation In Black Religious Institutions | Prof. Ann Sofie Clemmensen | Dance

Paul Ocone | Rhyme and Reason Have Returned! The Phantom Tollbooth as Interdisciplinary Allegory | Steven McAlpine | INDS

Paul Ocone | Contested Spaces: Negotiating Social Norms in Online Fandom | Bambi Chapin | Sociology and Anthropology

Bella Possidente | Animating Bouboulina: An Interactive Painting Project | Dr. April Householder | Undergraduate Research and Prestigious Scholarships

Hanna Tran | Sunshine | Prof. Corrie Parks | Visual Arts

Madeline Arbutus | The Life and Work of Design Professional, Alma Shon | Prof. Margaret Re | Visual Arts

Alex Armbruster | The Experience of Women in Jazz: The Genius of Ella Fitzgerald | Prof. Matt Belzer | Music

Nayimb Joyner | “TIED” Writing Skills in Honors English 9 Students | Dr. Cheryl North | Education

Matthew Kelbaugh | Coverage of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and the 2008 Russo-Georgian War in Russian and Ukrainian Print Media | Prof. Vira Zhdanovych | Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication

Gina Khan | Implications and Development of Konglish in South Korean Culture | Kyung-Eun Yoon | Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication

Avnee Sharma | COVID-19’s Effect on Elementary School Teaching | Dr. Bambi Chapin and Dr. Sarah Fouts | Sociology and Anthropology

Alexa Smith | Little Mountain Town: A Small Community’s Struggle with its Difficult History | Dr. Denise Meringolo | History

Haleemat Adekoya ‘23, political science, received a surprise phone call last Tuesday morning. On the line were both UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and Valerie Sheares Ashby, who just one day earlier was announced as UMBC’s next president. They were calling together to share, with heartfelt congratulations, her selection as a 2022 Truman Scholar. 

Adekoya has spent the last year preparing to apply for the renowned national scholarship focused on public service. After a series of rigorous interviews, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation announced Adekoya as one of just 58 students nationwide to receive the award. Adekoya is UMBC’s fifth Truman Scholar.

The Foundation selected recipients from a pool of over 700 applicants who showed a strong record of public service and also submitted a policy proposal addressing a concerning issue in society. Scholars receive $30,000 to attend the graduate school of their choice, as well as access to public service programs, mentorship, and job opportunities within the federal government.

This year also marked the second time two UMBC students reached the final round of Truman Scholar selection. In addition to Adekoya, Rehman Liaqat ‘22, political science, was also chosen as a finalist. 

Haleemat Adekoya (l) and Rehman Liaqat (r).

“Having two finalists is a huge honor for UMBC,” says April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships. “With only 58 winners selected, that means that our students are highly competitive for this award.” Other institutions with multiple finalists include Duke, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford.

Read the full story here:

Christina Dee | Mathematical Model of Cell Migration: Cell Boundaries and Force Balances | Dr. Bradford Peercy | Mathematics and Statistics 

Jacob Doody | Spatiotemporal Model for Dynamics of Covid-19 | Dr. Bedrich Sousedik | Mathematics and Statistics 

Harrison DeFord | How Maps Lie: The Spatial Patterns of Air Sensors | Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi| Geography and Environmental Systems

Shamis Hired | Being Muslim Amidst the West: The Construction of Symbols of Terror | Dr. Yolanda Valencia | Geography and Environmental Systems 

Vendela Lundgren | The Port of Baltimore through a Lens of Abolition Ecologies | Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi | Geography and Environmental Systems 

Sarah Neeves | Fruit and the City: Measuring the Accuracy and Bias of Public Science | Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi | Geography and Environmental Systems

Chelsea Mikal | Spectroscopic Investigation of Metal-ligand Complexation of Tetracyclines with Magnesium and Calcium | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Ouriel Ndalamba | Membrane Selection to Optimize Ammonium Recovery by Donnan Dialysis | Dr. Lee Blaney | Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering

Mei-Lian Vader | How and Why We Run: Investigating the Experiences of Blind and Visually-Impaired Runners | Dr. Ravi Kuber | Information Systems

Sarah Bowers | Obtaining Accurate Aerosol Extinction and Backscatter Coefficients Using Ceilometers | Dr. Ruben Delgado | Physics

Jacob Brown | Constructing a Microscopy Interface in LabVIEW | Dr. Matthew Pelton | Physics

Sergio Diaz | Investigating Dynamical Error Correction With Shaped Pulses on IBM Quantum Using the Qiskit Pulse Package | Dr. Jason Kestner | Physics

Amanze Ejiogu | Estimation of the Planetary Boundary Layer Using Ozonesonde Sounding Data and Machine Learning Networks During OWLETS-2 | Dr. Ruben Delgado | Physics

Rohan Mandayam | Developing a Neural Network Model to Predict Algal Blooms on the Surface of Lake Erie | Dr. Pengwang Zhai | Physics

Dahne Pluck | Determination of Planetary Boundary Layer Height from Radar Wind Profilers | Dr. Ruben Delgado | Physics 

Omar Rekhi | Porting Fortran Comet Simulation Code to MATLAB | Dr. Roy Prouty | Computer Science and Electrical Engineering 

Mansoor Shehzad | Creating an Asynchronous Optical Sampling-Based THz-Imaging System to Detect Defects on Metal Armor | Dr. L. Michael Hayden | Physics 

Anjayooluwa Adegboyo | Investigation of iATP-SnFR1.0 Activity | Dr. Minjoung Kyoung | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Fairine Ahmed | Design of Stable Antibody: HIV-1 RNA Complex Suitable for Structural Studies | Dr. Michael Summers and Dr. Nele Hollmann | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Brady Allen, Frank Furtado, and Nathaniel Shindell | Benzoxazole Derivatives to Combat Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance | Dr. Paul Smith | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Bethel Beyene | The Molecular Basis of TRNA’s Regulatory Role in HIV Viral Assembly | Dr. Michael Summers and Dr. Pengfei Ding | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Evan Carlyle | Design and Synthesis of Flex AT-527 as a Potential Antiviral Therapeutic | Charlie Waters and Katherine L. Seley-Radtke | Biochemistry 

Ridhi Chaudhary | 5′-Cap Sequestration is an Essential Determinant of HIV-1 Genome Packaging | Dr. Michael Summers | Chemistry & Biochemistry 

Aaliyah Khan | Computational Discovery of New Functional Materials for Energy Generation and Storage | Dr. Joseph Bennett | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Owen Sparr | The Design and Synthesis of Fleximer Analogues of Telbivudine and Lamivudine | Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke | Chemistry and Biochemistry

Ismael Watts-Ouattara | Preparation of Bifunctional Dendronized Gold Nanoparticles for Combination Chemotherapy | Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel | Chemistry and Biochemistry