About the Fellows
Meet Weber State University's Undergraduate Research Fellows! In the fall of 2019, we will be welcoming our third cohort of students. Each student is paired with a faculty mentor from their area of interest to get hands-on experience and high-impact learning opportunities. In addition to monthly seminars and engagement as research assistants, the scholars also participate in group activities such as parties, community service activities, and community-based research.
2023-2024 Research Fellows
Macy McCormack
Political Science / Genocide & Mass Atrocities
Audree Clark
Musical Theatre
Julia Sarro
Civil Engineering
James Bustin
Zoology
Frances Hudson
Public Health
Parker Libby
Mechanical Engineer
Joelle Atkin
Zoology
Spencer Carter
Zoology
Jackson T. Anderson
Psychological Science | Neuroscience
Taylor Evans
Psychological Science
2022-2023 Research Fellows
Keagan Egbert
Botany
Ivy Hughes
Psychology
Ally Hunsaker
Neuroscience
Alonna Jones
Rehabilitation Science
Kaeson Severe
Microbiology
Elizabeth Stieneke
Botany
Tate Warren
Political Science/Quantitative Economics
2021-2022 Research Fellows
Hannah Dickinson
Athletic Training
Ashley McCauley
Medical Laboratory Sciences and Microbiology
Benjamin Packard
2020-2021 Research Fellows
Spencer Bowman
Forensic Science
Ceci Gibby
Environmental Science
Bailey Hall
Microbiology
Emily Hiatt
Chemistry
Avalon Marker
Microbiology
Caden Probert
Dental
Emme Schow
Musical Theatre
Madeleine Sorbonne
Zoology
Chloë Stanley
Botany
Alum Research Fellows
Nicholas Bently
Earth and Environmental Science
Catherine Dunbar
History
Abbey Dunford
Radiologic Technology
Melissa Hanni
Nursing
Lia Jenson
Psychology/Interior Design
Breanne Jones
Zoology
Niharika Mishra
Microbiology
Bailey O'Leary
English
Hannah Olsen
Web Design
Braxton Tonks
Psychology and Neuroscience
Zadoth Vazquez
Medical Labratory Science
Xitlalli Villanueva
Microbiology
Macy McCormack joined the Research Fellowship program in 2023 as a sophomore. She is majoring in Political Science and International Studies. Macy has been heavily involved in the political scene at Weber State, as captain of the Model United Nations Team and President of the IGNITE Weber State Chapter. Macy was interested in pursuing research and was invited to research under Dr. Stephanie Wolfe on the Rwandan Genocide. Macy will be assisting Dr. Wolfe in the writing and research for her second book on the genocide, specifically the memorialization process and how it differentiated for different geographical areas throughout Rwanda. The memorialization that followed the genocide is a nuanced and complex topic, with much that has not yet been researched or documented. Macy hopes to graduate as a published researcher and continue her educational journey by attending law school post undergrad.
Audree became a Research Fellow in 2023 as a Freshman. She is majoring in Musical Theatre. Audree is a dedicated actress, and has her seal of Biliteracy in American Sign Language. While taking ASL in High School, and being heavily involved in musical theatre there, she became fascinated with the idea of helping the Deaf community experience musical theatre in a way that was tailored to their unique experiences as a Deaf person. When the Research Fellow’s program reached out to her, she figured, while we’re at it, why not make a production accessible to everyone! Here at Weber State she is researching in order to put on a musical production that will be accessible to the Deaf, blind, and hearing. She hopes this opportunity will help her reach her dreams of becoming a professional actress.
After transferring to Weber State University in 2020, Ashley joined the Research Fellows Program at the start of her junior year. Majoring in microbiology, Ashley developed a keen interest in the human microbiome and medical microbiology. She currently works under Dr. Matthew Nicholaou to better understand how gut flora influence chronic diseases, and is specifically studying the role of yeasts and fungi in Type II Diabetes. After graduating with her bachelors degree, Ashley plans to attend medical school specializing in pathology. In her free time, Ashley enjoys baking, fishing, watercolor painting, and snuggling her Maltese poodle, Rudy.
Julia became a research fellow as a Freshman in 2023. Julia is planning to have a career in engineering. Julia has always loved math, science, and physics classes which is what led her to engineering. She is specifically interested in civil engineering and designing buildings, transportation, and traffic systems. Julia is going to be working towards a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and hoping to follow that up with a Master’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Julia is especially interested in engineering as it uses math and science applications to solve real life issues and has an aspect of humanity to it (helping design systems to work for a community of people). When Julia was reached out to by the Research Fellows Program in January of 2023, she was very interested! She has always loved research and understanding real life problems, so she applied. She was thrilled to be accepted into the program and is now working with Dr. Randy Hurd to redesign sprinkler heads and/or pipelines to reduce water waste and streamline the water flow more concisely. In the future, Julia hopes to use her degree to solve real world problems, make a positive impact on society, and be a part of published research papers.
Ben joined the Research Fellows program as a sophomore during the Fall 2021 semester. He has always been curious and excited about learning as much about every subject that he possibly can. One of his main interests is the medical field, especially those parts of medicine that relate to vision and the eye. The body is such a beautiful machine that functions in a much more sophisticated and organized way than any other man-made machine; and the eye is one of the most fascinating parts! With so many discoveries to be made in the field of medicine, Ben wants to add to the understanding and potential medical treatments to improve vision through research. He has begun assisting Dr. Elizabeth Sandquist in her research to uncover the mechanisms by which retinal regeneration occurs in the retina of zebrafish and the possible applications of stem cell therapy in combating degenerative diseases in the human retina. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, tennis, reading, weight lifting and pickleball.
James joined the Research Fellowship program in Fall of 2023 as a Freshman. He is majoring in Zoology. James has been interested in nature and particularly animals since he was a little kid. He hopes to get a Bachelor’s, and maybe even a Master’s Degree in Zoology. Since the beginning of 2023, he has found a specification interest in Ornithology. At the moment, he is working with Dr. Cavitt at his bird banding station. In the Summer of 2024, he will be conducting a project using radio telemetry tags to track the difference in migration decisions of adult and juvenile Lazuli Buntings (Passerina amoena). This data will hopefully provide knowledge that can be used in the conservation of this species. He hopes to take this experience into the future as a wildlife biologist and conservationist.
Frances joined the Research Fellowship program as a freshman during the Fall 2023 semester. She is majoring in Public Health while pursuing minors in Linguistics and Microbiology. Currently, Frances is working with Dr. Elaine Schnabel by collecting and organizing data for a content analysis on church architecture. She is also working as an RA for Weber State’s CER office on a community asset mapping project. Frances is a member of Weber State’s cross country and track and field teams. After graduation, Frances plans to pursue a master’s degree and a career in biostatistics/epidemiology. In her free time, Frances enjoys reading, biking, and tinkering with electronics.
Parker joined the Research Fellowship program in fall of 2023 as a freshman. He is majoring in Mechanical engineering. Parker has always been good at math and found it interesting to build or create wonders for the world. His first step is to get his bachelors then try and go for his masters. He is currently working with Dr. Randy Hurd on a project to make recyclable plastic have another use before it is ultimately used for fuel. We want to make them into a pickleball ball so it is fun and helps the planet. Though this project focuses more on manufacturing engineering he is super excited to be working on this project for him this is his first step into a career full of building and creating.
Joelle joined the Research Fellowship Program in the fall of 2023 as a freshman. She is majoring in Zoology, and she is excited to continue to pursue zoology along with the opportunities that the Fellowship Program brings. She loves the outdoors and is very interested in the many wonders of the natural world, each species working together to form an ecosystem. Joelle is currently working with Dr. Cohen, researching and cataloging plants that are specifically located in Ogden/Davis County. They are recording the differences and similarities to specific plants regarding reproduction changes throughout time. This is being researched mainly because of the possible changes to these plants through climate change over the years. She is very excited with the research experience thus far and is looking forward to it in the future.
Spencer joined the Research Fellows Program in the fall of 2023 as a freshman. He is currently getting his bachelor's degree in zoology and a minor in chemistry with a pre-med focus. Spencer first heard about the Research Fellows Program through email and knew this opportunity would be very valuable in his academic endeavors. Spencer understood the many benefits to doing research, not only academically, but also in day-to-day life. He hopes to pursue a career in medicine and has already started as a medical assistant. His research interests include medicine and physiology. Spencer hopes to soon be assisting Dr. Parkman with her research in melanoma and cancer genetics. This research aims to better understand the genetics of cancer, and hopefully ways to prevent it. Spencer is very excited to assist and learn as much as possible in any ways that he can.
Jackson entered the Fellows program during the 2023-2024 academic year, embarking on his second semester as a sophomore. His involvement in undergraduate research commenced during his freshman year, focusing on ADHD stigma. Subsequently, he was recruited to join the Department of Neuroscience’s Behavioral, Analytics, Neural, and Genetics (B.A.N.G) lab under the mentorship of Dr. T. Black in the Fall of 2023. As a first-generation student navigating a new environment in Utah, Jackson initially grappled with identifying his academic path. However, his tenure at WSU has cultivated a passion for psychological science and sparked a newfound curiosity in neuroscience. His research pursuits center around the interplay of physiological influence on behavior as a whole, but more specifically in the areas of sleep, stress, and the influence of affective states on behavior. Jackson aspires to pursue graduate studies with a strong emphasis on research, positioning himself for a future career dedicated to advancing scientific inquiry.
Taylor joined the Research Fellowship Program as a sophomore in the 2023-2024 academic year. As a freshman in 2022, Taylor became a research assistant under Dr. Sarah Herrmann, leading to Dr. Herrmann nominating Taylor for the Fellowship Program. Soon after, Taylor asked Dr. Herrmann to be her research mentor. Taylor’s interests lie in understanding the brain and how it functions, along with how the environment can influence perception and behavior. She proposed a study idea to Dr. Herrmann in which plants would be placed in certain classrooms and a survey would be sent out to assess how plants in the classroom affect growth mindset, academic performance, self-efficacy, and mental health. They are currently working on that study and have received an external grant from Nature and Human Health Utah (NHH-UT). Taylor is excited to keep pursuing more opportunities and is grateful for the chance to participate in undergraduate research.
Hannah Dickinson joined the Research Fellows Program as a freshman in fall of 2021. She is interested in Exercise Science and Rehabilitation research. She will be assisting Dr. Valerie Herzog in her research into muscle cooling and rehabilitation. Hannah never planned on doing research in college but while in high school, she received an invitation to apply and the rest is history. She wants to perform research based on rehabilitation after a traumatic injury. She is interested in this realm of research due to her personal experience with traumatic injuries and their effects on the body’s functions.
Ceci joined during the 2020-2021 academic school year. Ever since middle school she has always had an interest in the environment and the various elements that influenced/changed it. Throughout the rest of middle and high school she began narrowing down what exactly she wanted to study regarding this topic and by the beginning of college she decided she wanted to learn more about microbes and their influence on the environment. With a major in Environmental Science and double minor in Geology and Microbiology, she hopes to do research in the future based on how the changing climate and environment affects microbes. As of right now she is helping Dr. Carie Frantz with her research on the microbes that are growing in Great Salt Lake and the ecosystem surrounding them. During the summer of 2021 she participated in Weber State GETUP Summer Research Experience. This team of students has had many accomplishments including presenting their research in poster at the 2021 Rocky Mountain Geobiology Symposium and the 2022 Intermountain Sustainability Summit. The team also received the 2022 Collaborative Research Team Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at Weber State University. Ceci continued her research with another student during the Fall and spring semester, refining their research skills and techniques. This improved research was presented in a poster at the OUR 2022 symposium and they are currently working on getting it published in a scientific journal. As her current research is coming to an end, Ceci has now begun thinking about independent research projects along the topics of water quality and algal blooms.
Avalon joined the WSU Research Fellows Program as a Sophomore in the Fall 2020 semester. She desires to research brain lesions, and one day become a professor of neuroscience. She is passionate about cultivating healthy relationships, and creating a balanced schedule. She loves spending time with relatives, hiking, journaling, country dancing, and brainstorming. Currently, Avalon is combining efforts with Dr. Daniel Clark’s team for the Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Project. Avalon and research partners have presented their project “Phage and antibiotic combination leads to increased killing of MRSA biofilms” at the Fall 2023 WSU symposium, and Spring 2024 Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research. Avalon is on track to graduate Fall of 2024. She plans to continue her education to a PhD in Neuroscience.
Madeleine joined the Research Fellows Program as a sophomore in the Fall of the 2020 semester. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in the field of Zoology and is beginning her journey of undergraduate research under Dr. Clark. Her focus will be on that of DNA barcoding regarding different species of invertebrates collected from or around Antelope Island such as brine shrimp, flies, spiders, etc. This kind of research intrigues her because ever since she was little Madeleine has dreamed of working with animals or doing research to benefit both people and animals alike and idolized figures such as Steve Irwin. Her passion for animals stems all the way back to her early childhood where she grew up watching programs such as Animal Planet and Planet Earth which fascinated her as well as from growing up on a farm.