Summer Research Platform Spurs Undergrads’ Love of Discoveries

Hundreds of students participated in a daylong symposium at The University of Texas at Dallas, where they presented research on topics ranging from disease screening to sound-sensing systems.

The Summer Platform for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) symposium held Aug. 1 provided students the opportunity to present summer capstone projects and to gain experience conducting and presenting research. Students made scientific discoveries as well as personal ones, including whether to pursue graduate or doctoral degrees.

“It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done,” said Matthew Salinas, a biomedical engineering junior whose project focused on women’s reproductive health. Salinas designed an experiment to examine on a cellular level what causes changes in vaginal tissue as women age.

“This is the perfect field for me because I love to design experiments,” he said.

More than 300 student abstracts, including videos, were featured at the Activity Center. In total, 274 were produced by UT Dallas students, and 26 additional ones came from 21 other institutions, including a high school. Some students worked on more than one project. All groups were expected to prepare a poster that outlined their hypotheses and to explain how they conducted their research and what they discovered.

One hundred and two total awards were presented, including President’s Awards for the top three posters. Recipients of the President’s Awards were molecular biology senior Ashley Cua, whose research focused on causes of preterm births in older women; biology senior Claire Nguyen, who researched part of the brain; and biomedical engineering senior Piper Welsh, whose research focused on colon inflammation.

Three students made oral presentations to an audience in the Student Services Building Addition Auditorium: Healthcare management sophomore Malini Rudra focused on societal sustainability; computer science junior Vishwa Kumaravel used artificial intelligence to analyze parent-child interactions in science museums; and neuroscience senior Matthew Cadena analyzed differences in proteins.

“Student research is one of the most important academic and life experiences you will have,” Dr. Douglas Dow, associate dean of the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College and a clinical professor of government and politics in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, told the participants. “You will look back on this time in summer as a pivotal time in your life.

“Some may have found a new passion in an area they knew little about; for others, the experience may have redirected their interests.”

Izabella Chaverra, a biomedical engineering senior, worked on two projects, including one focused on identifying prostate tissue characteristics to determine whether cancer is benign or malignant. Her interest in noninvasive cancer screening stemmed from the prevalence of the disease.

“I really like research,” she said. “It’s really rewarding being able to do something new.”

Rebecca Beights, a philosophy and psychology senior, said her project evaluated the effects of social media on young adults.

“I was looking for a lab to get involved in and contribute to at UTD,” she said. “This is so relevant to my degree.”

The keynote speaker for the symposium was Dr. Gabby Everett, director of business operations and strategy and site head for BioLabs Pegasus Park, a coworking lab and office space supporting early-stage biotech companies in North Texas.

The symposium included several ongoing research programs at UTD, including the Clark Summer Research Program and the Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Thirty-seven video poster presentations were from the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program.

The Honors College organized the event with help from many UT Dallas schools and programs, including the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and the Office of Research and Innovation. SPUR is the brainchild of Dr. Benedict Kolber, associate professor of neuroscience and the Dean Bert Moore Distinguished Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and Ben Porter MS’08, PhD’11, associate professor of instruction in bioengineering. Several summer research initiatives at UTD are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.