Press Release

September 16, 2021 | By Cole Hatcher

Ohio Wesleyan’s Schimmel/Conrades Science Center is home of the university’s annual Summer Science Research Program (SSRP). Students participating in this year’s 10-week SSRP and in other on- and off-campus research programs will present their findings Sept. 27. (Photo by Mark Schmitter)

Finding Answers

Ohio Wesleyan Students to Present Summer Research Results at Sept. 27 Symposium

DELAWARE, Ohio – Fifty-three Ohio Wesleyan University students will share the results of their on- and off-campus summer research experiences at the university’s 29th annual Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium.

Students will present information and answer questions about their projects during the hour-long symposium from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 27 at Ohio Wesleyan’s Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, 90 S. Henry St., Delaware. Facial coverings are required for everyone attending the event, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status.

“The crises that are upending our world – from the immediate dilemma of the COVID-19 pandemic to the long-term existential threat of global climate change – have boldly reminded us of our reliance on science, mathematics, and technology,” this year’s abstract booklet states. “We turn to scientists and their research to help us understand and solve such global challenges.”

Laura Tuhela-Reuning, director of OWU’s Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), said she is pleased to see so many students completing research experiences and becoming scientists.

“One of the most rewarding parts of SSRP for me is watching the students grow as scientists, seeing them take command of a research project, and knowing that they are gaining the confidence to speak and act as scientists,” she said. “Science cannot be learned solely from a book. Science must be experienced through research, and at OWU, we encourage students to plunge in, preparing them to be successful researchers both at OWU and at other universities.”

Ohio Wesleyan students participating in on- or off-campus summer research programs and their projects and mentors are:

  • Sharique Ahmed of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Ahmed completed “Fragmentation in Computational Quantum Chemistry: Developing Pyfragment,” mentored by John M. Herbert of The Ohio State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
  • Ali Amer of Lahore, Pakistan. Amer completed “Interactions Between Ibuprofen and Phospholipid Monolayers in Cell Membrane Model Systems,” mentored by Bethany Rudd, Ohio Wesleyan Department of Chemistry.
  • Lydia Arnold of Tiffin, Ohio. Arnold completed “Reverse Genetics to Investigate the Roles of Two Genes in the Biosynthesis and Export of Nonribosomal Peptide Natural Products,” mentored by Yitao Dai and Alessandra S. Eustaquio of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy.
  • Love Ayinde of Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria. Ayinde completed “Artificial Intelligence for Battle Line,” mentored by Sean McCulloch, Ohio Wesleyan Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
  • Lauren Barnes of Groveport, Ohio. Barnes completed “Association Between Fish Oil Supplements and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” mentored by Elizabeth Kantor of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology.
  • Leanna Bauer of Columbus, Ohio. Bauer completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Emma Blackburn of Frederick, Maryland. Blackburn completed “Overexpression of Quorum Sensing Transcription Factors Nrg1 and Cqs2 Affects Filamentation in Cryptococcus Neoformans,” mentored by Xiaorong Lin the University of Georgia Department of Microbiology.
  • Isaiah Brant of Columbus, Ohio. Brant completed “Reducing Cloud Computing Costs Through Compression of Genome Sequencing Data,” mentored by Patrick Brennan, Samuel Franklin, Ben Kelly, and Alejandro Otero-Bravo of The Institute of Genomic Medicine.
  • Joy Buraima of Abidjan, Lagunes, Cote D Ivoire. Buraima completed “Reward, Sociability, Affective Behavioral, and Functional Neuroimaging Differences in Young, Middle, and Aged C57BL/6J Male and Female Mice,” mentored by Marcelo Febo and Marjory Pompilus of the University of Florida, Gainesville’s Department of Psychiatry, McKnight Brain Institute, College of Medicine.
  • Regina Campbell of Plain City, Ohio. Campbell completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Madi Cartnal of Newark, Ohio. Cartnal completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Justice Clark of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Clark completed “Medical Education in the Time of Covid-19: A Didactic Curriculum for Rising Urology Rotators,” mentored by Tasha Posid of The Ohio State University Department of Urology.
  • Alan Cohn of Newton Falls, Ohio. Cohn completed “Defrosting Seward’s Icebox: Climate Change and Museums in Alaska,” mentored by Lisa Tabak and Dustin Reichard of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Cece Colwell of Hilliard, Ohio. Colwell completed “The Physiological Adaptations of Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizards) in Urbanized Localities” and “Scanning Electron Microscopy and Podarcis Muralis,” both mentored by Eric Gangloff and Laura Tuhela-Reuning of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Ale Coronel-Zegarra of Dania Beach, Florida. Coronel-Zegarra completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Brianna DeMuth of Findlay, Ohio. DeMuth completed “Explaining Support for Human Rights Actions: Experimentally Studying Accountability, Democracy, and Authoritarianism,” mentored by Nicholas Dietrich of the Ohio Wesleyan Data Analytics Program.
  • Gram Dick of Bucyrus, Ohio. Dick completed “Using a sUAS (drone) to Calculate Solar Power Potential at Ohio Wesleyan,” mentored by Nathan Rowley of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Environment and Sustainability.
  • Marquise Downing of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Downing completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Abby Doza of Plain City, Ohio. Doza completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Mayukha Dyta of Powell, Ohio. Dyta completed “Novel Role of BKCa Channels in Exosome,” mentored by Harpreet Singh of The Ohio Wesleyan University Department of Physiology and Cell Biology.
  • Ross Eggleston of Lancaster, Ohio. Eggleston completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Kaeli Evins of Grafton, Ohio. Evins completed “Characterization of Novel Nematodes,” mentored by Danielle Hamill of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Cassie Farber of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Farber completed “Examining Cognitive and Brain Functions Through Video Games,” mentored by Kira Bailey of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program.
  • Josie Fornara of Coshocton, Ohio. Fornara completed “The Hawk-Snake Game: Responses of Female House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon) to Simulated Nest Predators,” mentored by Dustin Reichard of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Max Goulakos of Solon, Ohio. Goulakos completed “Exploring Ecological Stability in Real Communities Using Mathematical and Modeling Approaches,” mentored by Craig Jackson of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and Amy Downing of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Davis Graham of Canton, Ohio. Graham completed “Drug Related Induction of PD-L1 in Cancer Cells,” mentored by Bert O’Malley, David Lonard, and Yosi Gilad of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine.
  • Kaden Hubly of Kankakee, Illinois. Hubly completed “Optical Detection of Fluids,” mentored by Thomas Weiss and Ivan Rajkovic of Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
  • Catie Hyatt of Lodi, Ohio. Hyatt completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Reagan Jennings of Everett, Washington. Jennings completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • David Jindracek of Glen Gardner, New Jersey. Jindracek completed “Entrainment of Disordered RF SQUIDS on an External Magnetic Field,” mentored by Bradley Trees of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Physics and Astronomy.
  • Bella Johnson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnson completed “The Investigation of a Hornwort Insertion Line with Rhizoids Specific GFP Expression,” mentored by Fay-Wei Li of Cornell University’s Boyce Thompson Institute, Department of Plant Science.
  • Hannah Littlefield of New Milford, Connecticut. Littlefield completed “Courtship Behavior and Paternity Outcomes in the Sailfin Molly (Poecilia Latipinna),” mentored by Shala Hankison of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Hien Mai of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Mai completed “Characterization of S1PR2 Specific Radioligand [11C]TZ34-125 in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Model,” mentored by Zhude Tu and Hao Jiang Mallinckrodt of the Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine.
  • Jay McConkey of Cambridge, Ohio. McConkey completed “Using a sUAS (drone) to Calculate Solar Power Potential at Ohio Wesleyan,” mentored by Nathan Rowley of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Environment and Sustainability.
  • Wyatt McQueen of Heath, Ohio. McQueen completed “The Physiological Adaptations of Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizards) in Urbanized Localities,” mentored by Eric Gangloff and Laura Tuhela-Reuning of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Eva Mulloy of Novelty, Ohio. Mulloy completed “Starspots on LO Pegasi,” mentored by Bob Harmon of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Physics and Astronomy.
  • Tiyinoluwa Olushola-Alao of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Olushola-Alao completed “Starspots on LO Pegasi,” mentored by Bob Harmon of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Physics and Astronomy.
  • Ciara Pettit of South Euclid, Ohio. Pettit completed “The Physiological Adaptations of Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizards) in Urbanized Localities” and “Lazarus Lizards ‘Thermoregulation and Water Loss in the Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizard),’” mentored by Eric Gangloff and Laura Tuhela-Reuning of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Josh Pletcher of Wellington, Colorado. Pletcher completed “Defrosting Seward’s Icebox: Climate Change and Museums in Alaska,” mentored by Lisa Tabak and Dustin Reichard of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Chase Reinert of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Reinert completed “Rotational Internship at South Florida Wildlife Center,” mentored by Shala Hankison of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Carly Schafer of Tiffin, Ohio. Schafer completed “Gravitropism of Root Tip Growth in Arabidopsis Thaliana (Mustard Plant)” and “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Anna Schill of Mansfield, Ohio. Schill completed “Reproductive Trade-Offs Between Costly Sexually Selected Weapons and Other Expensive Tissues in Three Species of Coreoidea (Leaf-Footed Bugs),” mentored by Christine Miller and Michael Forthman at the University of Florida Department of Entomology.
  • Navami Shenoy of Mangalore, Karnataka, India. Shenoy completed “Examining Cognitive and Brain Functions Through Video Games,” mentored by Kira Bailey of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program.
  • Isabel Solowiej of Amherst, Ohio. Solowiej completed “DKP Development as Treatment for OP Nerve Agent Poisoning,” mentored by Christopher Hadad, Ryan Yoder, and Joseph Fernandez of The Ohio State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
  • Sierra Spears of Ridgecrest, California. Spears completed “The Physiological Adaptations of Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizards) in Urbanized Localities” and “Lazarus Lizards ‘Thermoregulation and Water Loss in the Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizard),’” mentored by Eric Gangloff and Laura Tuhela-Reuning of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Myles Steed of Marion, Ohio. Steed completed “The Development of Dipyrrin Platforms for Oxygen Reduction,” mentored by Allen J. Pistner of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Chemistry and “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Sai Suresh Kannan of Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Suresh Kannan completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Athena Vakaleris of Columbus, Ohio. Vakaleris completed “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Princeton Vaughn of Bowie, Maryland. Vaughn completed “The Physiological Adaptations of Podarcis Muralis (Common Wall Lizards) in Urbanized Localities” and “Lizard Performance in Various Environments Demonstrates Morphology-Performance Trade-Offs,” mentored by Eric Gangloff and Laura Tuhela-Reuning of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Mackenzie Wade of East Liverpool, Ohio. Wade completed “Modeling a Central Ohio Regional Food Network for Sustainable Outcomes,” mentored by Ashley Allen of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Environment and Sustainability.
  • Makaila Weir of Colebrook, New Hampshire. A 2021 OWU alumnus, Weir worked as a graduate assistance to complete “Searching for Components of the Gravity Sensing System in Plants,” a NASA-funded project mentored by Chris Wolverton of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Biological Sciences.
  • Muzaffar Yezdan of Karachi, Pakistan. Yezdan completed “Inference for Regression Model Coefficients When Data has Been Subjected to Censoring,” mentored by Scott Linder of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
  • Emma Zajac of Des Plaines, Illinois. Zajac completed “Examining Cognitive and Brain Functions Through Video Games,” mentored by Kira Bailey of the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program.

For more information about OWU’s Summer Science Research Program, visit owu.edu/ssrp. For information about majoring in the sciences at Ohio Wesleyan, visit owu.edu/academics.


Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature program, The OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “Best Colleges” lists. Learn more at owu.edu.