About the Fellows

Xitlalli Villanueva

Microbiology

Xitlalli joined the Research Scholars as an incoming sophomore during the 2019-2020 academic year. She became interested in the Scholars program when she dove into doing research with Dr.Nicole Berthelemy. Their Research focuses on understanding the effects of methylmercury on artemia of the great salt lake. This is important because of the major role of artemia in the great salt lake ecosystem. Their research involves using field research at the Great Salt Lake and using a laboratory environment and equipment to study the effects of methylmercury on artemia. This research is just one step on the way to understanding how humans are affecting a unique wetland ecosystem. For her junior year, she hopes to combine social, physical, and natural sciences to understand how scientific research is communicated and perceived in the eyes of the public. During the fall semester of 2019, Xitlalli received a grant to continue her research. She presented her research entitled, “The Effect of Mercury Chloride and Methyl Mercury on Artemia franciscana,” at the 2020 Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research). She plans to present this study at the 2020 National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Montana State University.

Rei Olsen

Philosophy and Ethics

Rei joined the Research Scholars’ program as a freshman during the 2019-2020 academic year. Rei is interested in Queer Theory. Ironically, Rei was told she wasn’t allowed to talk about queer theory when she joined high school debate, yet she wouldn’t listen to this normative claim like queer theory taught her too. She currently uses queer and trans theory in her college debate career. Rei has recently started researching why queer books get challenged and censored under the guidance of Dr. Richard Price from Political Science. Further, Rei is researching queer (auto)biographies to understand how books effect queer people’s perception of themselves and life around them and to understand the full effect of queer censorship on queer people’s lives. Rei hopes to research the intersection between transgender theory and pessimistic politics. She wants to understand how trans theories' ability to deconstruct gender norms affects the idea that the future has no way to get better, and that we all live in the order of the same.

Niharika Mishra

Microbiology

Coming all the way from India, Niharika joined the research scholar program as a freshman during the 2019-2020 academic year. Her desire to study microbiology was driven by her interest in understanding why certain microbes can cause health problems in some people, whereas for others are important for survival. During the spring semester of 2019, Niharika found herself at Weber State University to do research with Dr. Craig Oberg. Under the guidance of Dr. Oberg, for her research entitled, ”Fermentation of Plant-based Extracts by Dairy Lactic Acid Bacteria," she explores using plant-based fermented foods to replace milk-based fermented foods, such as yogurt and cheese, which have become a growing cultural necessity. These products are currently being produced using dairy fermentation cultures and processing equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to determine if dairy-derived lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures can effectively ferment plant-based milk substitutes. We received results that promise probiotic survival in plant extracts. We presented the results of this research at the 2020 Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research at Utah State University and will present it at the Weber State University 2020 Spring Symposium and at the conference for the American Society of Microbiology. Niharika has started an independent research project under the guidance of Dr. Oberg, where she will be analyzing the shelf-life stability of eight commercially used probiotic strains in refrigerated plant extracts at different pH levels. Her goal is to find ideal pH and most suitable plant extract for each strain.

Braxton Tonks

Psychology and Neuroscience

Braxton joined the Research Scholars as a freshman during the 2019-2020 academic year. During the summer of 2019, before his freshman year, he began work with Dr. Todd Hillhouse in the neuroscience lab at Weber State University. Growing up, Braxton was extremely interested in studying and doing science with the goal of becoming a medical doctor someday. After taking a trip to the cadaver lab, Braxton was in awe after holding a human brain, and instantly knew he wanted to go in the direction of neuroscience. Luckily, he was able to secure a spot in the neuroscience lab conducting experiments. Some of these experiments include but are not limited to: Chronic Nicotine exposure, Pain LMA (Locomotor Activity), Pain depressed feeding, Long term vaping (addiction and effects), and other experiments in the realm of behavioral neuroscience. His primary research is conducted on pain LMA and the effects of long-term nicotine exposure. To study pain LMA, he and others in the lab started with habituation. The subjects were given a dose of MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, and then an injection of acetic acid. This experiment was conducted to show how pain would depress the subject’s natural instinctive movements. The drug MK-801 was used to counter the effects of acetic acid. This experiment as a whole gave the researchers data to conclude how MK-801 works in the body primarily on pain and behavior. Braxton and other lab research assistants will present research on “Pain LMA” at the Weber State University 2020 Spring Symposium 2020; he and his lab partners were invited to present the results from the pain LMA study (as well as other experiments) at the 2020 Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research, but were not able to make it due to complications in data presentation mediums. Moving forward, Braxton plans to continue his research in the neuroscience lab, and eventually pilot his own projects going into medical school.

Breanne Jones

Zoology

Breanne joined the Research Fellows program as a freshman during the 2019-2020 academic year. She hopes to do research in shark behavior and eventually pursue a graduate degree studying sharks and shark behavior. Her passion for sharks started back in third grade, and ever since, it has been her goal to be a shark researcher. She spends her summers traveling to areas that allow her to scuba dive and tag sharks. In the summer of 2019, she interned for Coastal Marine Education and Research Academy, assisting with their population study of the sharks around Clearwater, Florida. She plans to intern with them again this summer. Currently, she is working with Dr. Brasso in Zoology. Together they are delving into the literature and doing research to uncover an independent research project related to social learning in fish and the possible effects of toxins in information transfer. She hopes to later study social information transfer in juvenile sharks.

Bailey O'Leary

English

Bailey O'Leary is currently a sophomore planning to major in English Literature. During her freshman year, she worked with Dr. Michael Wutz, helping to edit The Contemporary West, a peer-reviewed journal of regional and international photos and texts. She was also able to work closely with Michael and other students in his (not so) arbitrary triumvirate English course studying three eminent, contemporary American fiction authors. Bailey put her schooling on hold while she traveled to João Pessoa, Brazil to serve a religious mission. Due to COVID-19, she has since returned and will begin school again in the fall.

Catherine Dunbar

History

Catherine is a senior at Weber State and is studying history.  She started the Scholars' program during the 2017-2018 academic year.  She has been working under the advisement of Dr. Brandon Little and conducted research on humanitarian efforts during WWII.  She presented her research at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research.  She has begun undertaking a new research project. Her research question is, "To what extent did awareness of the Holocaust alter anti-Semitism in America?"  What a fantastic and interesting question. We wish Cathrine the best of luck and look forward to hearing what she discovers.

Abbey Dunford

Radiologic Technology

Abby became a scholar as an incoming freshman during the fall semester of 2017. Immediately, she began working with Professors Ward and Nolan by completing literature reviews and diving into laboratory work and doing medical imaging. She presented initial findings of their work during the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research held at Weber State University in the Spring of 2019. She is continuing to work with Professor Ward by doing statistics and data analysis of the measurements she has taken of athlete's mandible, and is currently doing work in her field.

Lia Jenson

Psychology/Interior Design

Lia became a scholar as an incoming freshman during the fall semester of 2017. Like all scholars, she took WSU 1560, "Research, Creativity, and Exploration among the Disciplines." In this class she expressed interest in learning about the relationship between colors and emotions. She began working with Dr. Aaron Ashley in Psychology. Last semester, Spring 2019, she presented their research at the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Education that explored how background color for product placement affects a person's valuation of the product. She is combining here experience with this research with her major field of study, interior design. In one of her classes (and to be considered for an interior design competition), she is designing a hotel from an abandoned brewery in Kansas City and which embraces environmental sustainability. She plans on creating an experiment and survey to explore how various designs affect a person's emotions. She will draw on prior literature that has explored the "Language of Color" and how room colors can affect our emotions.