Six College of Sciences graduate students were awarded $1,000 in research travel grants after presenting their research at the 16th annual Career, Research, Innovation, and Development Conference (CRIDC) poster competition. The grants will cover expenses related to research trips or travel to other conferences (domestic or international). 

Eighty-four graduate students from across the Institute participated in the poster competition, presenting their research to faculty and staff judges.

Congratulations to the poster competition winners from the College of Sciences:

Isabel Berry, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

A second-year Ph.D. student in computational chemistry, Berry works in the Sherrill Group.

“My research focuses on advancing computational quantum mechanical (QM) methods to feasibly model biological systems,” says Berry. “A specialized QM method developed in our group, F-SAPT, has the potential to reveal why certain drug molecules are favored over others, advancing the field of rational drug design. If we can accurately model protein-ligand interactions using quantum mechanics, it could ultimately pave the way for integrating these methods into computer-aided drug discovery workflows.”

Gretchen Johnson, School of Biological Sciences

Johnson is working on a Ph.D. in ocean science, studying how corals respond to environmental stressors as part of the Kubanek Group.

“Corals can't move,” says Johnson. “Instead of hiding when it is hot or bright out, they must respond physiologically. I use a technique called metabolomics to study the cellular physiology of corals and look for metabolic changes over time. Understanding what makes a coral more resistant to stress is useful for protecting and restoring coral reefs."

Shreya Kothari, School of Biological Sciences

Kothari conducts research for the Kubanek Group and is pursuing a Ph.D. in biology. She attempts to discover natural dispersant-like biomolecules helpful for oil spill remediation.

“While some microbes can degrade and clean up oil from the contaminated sites, the process is often slow,” says Kothari. “However, dispersant-like biomolecules can speed up oil degradation by breaking oil into smaller droplets and increasing its availability to oil-degrading microbes. I aim to determine the chemical structure and function of such biomolecules and test their effectiveness in treating real-world environmental spills by applying them in small-scale experiments that mimic oil spill conditions. These biomolecules may offer an eco-friendly alternative to toxic chemical dispersants and improve existing bioremediation strategies to mitigate environmental damage caused by oil pollution."

Monica Monge, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

As part of her Ph.D. studies, Monge works in the Garg Lab and focuses on understanding marine bacteria community dynamics.

“I am specifically trying to decipher how disease-causing bacteria (pathogenic) and bacteria that doesn’t harm its host (commensal) communicate with one another via chemical signals and the metabolic changes resulting from those interactions,” says Monge. “My ultimate goal is to identify beneficial traits from commensal bacteria that we can leverage to alleviate coral diseases.” 

Sidney Scott-Sharoni, School of Psychology

Scott-Sharoni is earning a Ph.D. in engineering psychology and works in the Sonification Lab.

“My research focuses on human interaction with AI technologies,” says Scott-Sharoni. “Specifically, I examine how different features of AI agents, such as anthropomorphism and social intelligence, impact how people psychologically perceive and behave in collaboration with these agents. This work helps improve the effectiveness of AI systems by aligning them to human social and cognitive expectations, leading to better joint performance and proper trust.”

Maggie Straight, School of Biological Sciences

A third-year Ph.D. student studying ocean science and engineering, Straight conducts research in the Kubanek Group.

“Sometimes I consider myself a microbial spy as I listen in to the chemical conversation between microbes and analyze how each microbe is affected by the interaction,” says Straight. “My current work is focused on the interaction between two types of marine microbes, bacteria and microscopic algae. By understanding how bacteria can be good or bad for algal growth, I hope to shed light on the mechanisms by which bacteria can help algae form algal blooms, including harmful algal blooms. This understanding could help scientists predict the beginning and ending of harmful algal blooms and keep beachgoers and shellfish farms safe from harmful algae.”