Butterbach’s path to research started in a cell biology course taught by Assistant Professor of Biology Efrain Rivera-Serrano, where she consistently asked questions and engaged deeply with the material. This curiosity led her to join the interdisciplinary project.

“It was a very ‘right place, right time’ circumstance,” Butterbach said. “This research was exactly the sort of thing I was looking to get involved in.”

Through her Lumen Prize, Butterbach is working alongside two faculty mentors from different fields of study, Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu and Rivera-Serrano, to study viral myocarditis, or heart inflammation, that occurs during the infection of many viruses. Her research is focused on examining the pathways that lead to excessive inflammation and how inflammation can be reduced without compromising the immune system’s ability to clear the virus.

“My research focuses on creating math out of biological reactions,” Butterbach said. “Ultimately, the goal is to create a framework that helps us better understand and predict how cardiac inflammation progresses.”

Viral myocarditis occurs when inflammation damages heart tissue, sometimes leading to long-term complications or sudden cardiac failure, particularly in young, active individuals. Although inflammation is a natural immune response, Butterbach’s research is exploring what causes that response to become excessive.

Butterbach uses mathematical modeling to integrate biology and immunology into a modeling framework to identify factors that most strongly drive harmful inflammation, revealing pathways that could be therapeutically targeted.

“It’s a balancing act to use equations to model what’s happening,” Butterbach said. “If the model is too simple then it is not realistic to the human heart, but if the model is too complex, it becomes difficult to work with.”

Taking an interdisciplinary approach

This research project’s strength lies in its collaboration and intersection between mathematics, biology and engineering. Mathematics offers the language and tools to create the models, while biology provides the foundation for understanding the disease. Engineering ties it together through design, problem-solving and a systems-level mindset.

“This project works precisely because it sits at the intersection of all three areas,” Rivera-Serrano said. “Elise is especially well suited for this work because she is genuinely interested in connecting these disciplines rather than treating them as separate silos.”

Ryu echoed this statement on Butterbach’s interdisciplinary approach.

“Elise approaches research with a rare combination of intellectual curiosity, maturity and persistence, and she is genuinely committed to understanding how mathematics and biology inform one another,” Ryu said. “Her ability to engage across disciplines and contribute thoughtfully at that intersection is what makes her such a strong and promising researcher.”

Butterbach, Rivera-Serrano and Ryu meet weekly to refine their model, troubleshoot challenges and discuss literature.

“The steady back-and-forth is one of the strengths of the project,” Rivera-Serrano said.

For Butterbach, working across disciplines has shaped how she approaches problems.

“I’ve always found that when different disciplines collide, it actually becomes easier to understand complex concepts,” Butterbach said. “Working across engineering, mathematics and virology is fascinating because each discipline approaches the same problem in a completely different way. Learning to think adaptively across disciplines and translate between them has been one of the most valuable parts of this experience.”

Butterbach is motivated by the possibility of using interdisciplinary research to better understand human disease.

“The interdisciplinary nature and the way the team bring together mathematics, biology and engineering is not always easy to achieve, but Elise has embraced it fully and become an essential part of that process,” Ryu said.

Collaborating on this research has been rewarding not only for Butterbach, but for her mentors as well.

“Working with Elise has been incredibly rewarding,” Rivera-Serrano said. “She approaches a difficult project that requires her to be conversant in multiple disciplines with curiosity, maturity and persistence.”

One takeaway she learned from working in disciplines outside of her major is that discoveries in one field almost always influence others.

“By learning how to think like a biologist, a mathematician and a physicist, I have become much more comfortable applying ideas from one subject to another, even when they seem unrelated at first.”

She also values the work with her two mentors, Rivera-Serrano and Ryu, as they have helped her grow as a researcher.

“Dr. E spends a lot of time looking for resources that I can use to calculate the values of different parameters,” Butterbach said. “Similarly, Dr. Ryu works tirelessly to not just improve my mathematical skills but also teaches me how to see mathematical theory working in the real world. They’re not just dedicated to this project; they’re also thinking about what comes next for me.”

Expanding her research

Butterbach was recently selected for a competitive Physical, Engineering and Biology Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Yale University, focused on physics, engineering and biology. Butterbach hopes to expand her research on the cardiovascular system.

“Elise’s acceptance is especially meaningful because it reflects national-level recognition of her promise as an undergraduate researcher in an interdisciplinary space,” Rivera-Serrano said.

For Butterbach, the opportunity was surprising and motivating.

“I tried not to set any grand expectations for myself, so when I received the email I was genuinely surprised to be selected for the program,” Butterbach said. “It felt incredibly validating of the hard work and dedication I’ve put into my studies.”

At Yale, the program, like her research, is interdisciplinary covering biology, physics and engineering. She will expand her experience in computational and biological modeling while working alongside researchers.

“To me, this program represents the opening of new doors,” Butterbach said. “It’s an opportunity to continue growing as a researcher, meet people working at the forefront of interdisciplinary science and explore new directions that I may not have encountered otherwise.”

“I wasn’t really interested in chemistry whatsoever when I enrolled. I was a lot more interested in sports. That’s really where my heart was at the time,” Seitz said.

Pursuing his current major in exercise science as a freshman, Seitz was enrolled in a required chemistry course when his professor called him to meet in his office.

“He wanted to have a one-on-one meeting, which, as a freshman only two months into college, was a little bit intimidating.”

Unsure of what his professor wanted to discuss, Seitz recalls, “He thought I had a lot of talent and potential in chemistry. He wanted me to take it seriously, and also to think about taking more chemistry classes that weren’t required, just to explore and see if I enjoyed it more than I thought I did.”

Having his potential recognized led him to take his professors’ advice. It was halfway through his second chemistry course that Seitz decided to change his major to chemistry.

“I got into chemistry with the broader goal of trying to help people in some way,” Seitz expressed.

During his time at ������Ƶ, he took full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. He studied abroad in Europe during Winter Term, conducted research through the Lumen Scholars program, completed two internships and immersed himself in service learning, where he taught children who were struggling to read.

Striving to gain experience in his field, Seitz dove right into his internship abroad. He attended RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany, for the summer, contributing to their research efforts.

“This was my first real research experience, and it made me realize that I enjoy research so much that I’m still a researcher today,” he expressed.

The following fall, he started his research with the Lumen Scholars. Alongside his mentor, Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry Joel Karty, Seitz conducted a project that earned the 2014 Lumen Prize. Focused on expanding research on the reaction preferences of an enolate anion, in both gas and aqueous environments, he aimed to understand why it behaves differently in different environments, with the end goal of other scientists further optimizing the usage of this molecule when they need it.

Seitz’s passion for chemistry research continued the next summer when he was selected to participate in an internship at the California Institute of Technology. This further learning encouraged his eagerness to contribute to research.

“Going to Caltech, I was intimidated by being around so many geniuses. This internship was a good confidence-building exercise. It proved that even though I come from a small school with a tiny science program, I can fit in with these types of people and communicate and share ideas with them. That internship gave me the confidence to go to graduate school and then beyond,” he said.

Right after graduating from ������Ƶ, Seitz went to the University of California, San Diego, and completed his Ph.D. He then went to the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Lab to work on a project where researchers work with the World Health Organization to create a list of ten viral diseases with the greatest potential to cause a global pandemic.

The virus that would later mutate into COVID-19 was on this list, which became a global pandemic just a year later. Due to this, there was more interest from foreign governments to fund this type of work to make vaccines for the remaining viruses on the list and distribute them to prevent the next pandemic.

Joining this team in 2023, Seitz’s work is focused on two viruses: Lassa Fever, which affects people in West Africa, and the Nipah Virus, which affects a few countries in Southeast Asia. The Lassa Fever is very transmissible, but often non-lethal; Nipah is the opposite. Not many people get sick with Nipah; however, when they do, it is often lethal.

Both viruses are concerns for a possible pandemic and require preventative research to fully understand, for a vaccine to be created.

“Those countries in West Africa and Southeast Asia do not have the healthcare capabilities or biotechnology to develop these vaccines themselves,” he said. It’s private U.S. foundations and Western European governments that put money into this non-profit, which is funding my research through the University of Chicago to develop these vaccines. Once the vaccine is successfully developed, they will go to these countries and give them out for free.”

Connecting his current work back to his time at ������Ƶ, Seitz noticed that his ability to work with diverse groups of people and social connection skills that he strengthened at ������Ƶ served him in his current role. He notes, “Because I talk with different types of people who don’t have the experience that I have, I have to accurately communicate what I’m doing, why I need to do this, and so on. So that’s certainly something that helped quite a lot from ������Ƶ, being able to communicate what I’m doing.”

Seitz’s published chemistry research is  available online; he hopes other chemists can read these manuscripts and learn something from them, and hopefully build off of that.

“I’m contributing to advancing science in small steps. Even though I’m doing more of the basic research of trying to find stuff, the overall goal is that people are going to use these to discover stuff that will directly help people,” he added.

Seitz hopes the future of his career holds opportunities to take up a leadership and mentor role for other chemists.

“I really enjoy mentoring and teaching people, I want to have my own research group where I have some people working below me so I can mentor them and help them advance science as well,” Seitz said.

In May, Seitz will be awarded the Top 10 Under 10 Award. This award is given to 10 Alumni from the past decade who have bettered their community and serve as alumni role models.

At this conference, three ������Ƶ students and two faculty attended and presented.

Student Accomplishments:

• Kelly Donovan ’26, a double major in applied mathematics and statistics, a Lumen Scholar and College Fellow, presented her Lumen project titled “Novel Deep-Sea Coral Imputation Technique: Filling in Missing Data to Further Coral Conservation” in a poster session. Her research is mentored by Assistant Professor of Statistics Nic Bussberg.

• Lisa Kranec ’28,��a double major in engineering and applied mathematics, presented her recent project in a poster session titled, “ Mathematical Modeling of Cardiac Macrophages in COVID-19.” Her research team is mentored by Associate Professor Hwayeon Ryu and their work has been supported by the  (under Ryu).

• Pagnapech Ngoun ’26,��an engineering major, presented her collaborative research in an oral session titled, “ Mathematical Modeling of COVID-19 Reveals Immune Cell Dysfunction.” Her research represents recent findings based on a new mathematical model that accounts for the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and the human immune system. Her research team is mentored by Associate Professor Hwayeon Ryu and their work has been supported by the  (under Ryu).

Faculty Accomplishments:

• Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Keta Henderson gave an invited talk on her collaborative work titled “Analysis of trade-off between dispersal and patch intrinsic growth for a landscape ecological model” in a session “Women in Mathematical Biology”. Henderson also served as a moderator and co-organizer for the Association of Women in Mathematics Panel: “Shattering the Myths—Hiring Women in Mathematics.” In addition, she participated in a professional development session focused on teaching multivariable calculus using CalcPlot3D and 3D printing. She plans to incorporate these strategies into her MTH 2520 Multivariable Calculus and Analytic Geometry in Spring 2026.

• Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu co-organized a special session titled “Women in Mathematical Biology,” in which a total of 16 invited speakers presented a variety of life science questions through the lens of mathematical modeling to understand complex system dynamics. The goal was to highlight the new developments or advancements along with the diverse group of researchers who drive innovation. In this session, Ryu presented her recently published paper, “,” partially supported by ������Ƶ Faculty Research & Development Full-Year, Full-Pay Sabbatical Award with Financial Assistance.

“I had a very fulfilling time while at JMM. Althe l presentations I was able to attend, all conversations I had with professors from different programs, and all pieces of feedback I received on my poster were very enriching. I’m very grateful I was able to attend the conference and I’m excited to hopefully attend in the future,” said Donovan ’26.

Otten and Zito’s project uses a survey-based experiment to explore how a perpetrator’s gender and physical appearance shape the way people interpret heterosexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Using original data from a nationally representative sample of 935 U.S. adults, they examined how respondents assessed culpability, the harm experienced by victims, deserved punishment, offense severity and the extent to which violent behavior was viewed as “normal” within relationships.

Their findings show that perpetrator gender influenced judgments across all of these areas. They also found evidence of an “attractiveness premium,” in which physically attractive perpetrators were viewed as more justified in their actions or as engaging in behavior that was less troubling, but only when female. Drawing on a feminist criminological perspective, Otten and Zito suggest that cultural norms surrounding gender and violence can lead observers to minimize violence committed by women who fit conventional standards of femininity.

These patterns help explain why some male victims of female-perpetrated IPV struggle to identify their experiences as abuse and often hesitate to seek support. This research is part of Otten’s larger, ongoing research program on perceptions of IPV, supported by the Lumen Prize.

When Sam Hinton ’25 decided to pursue ������Ƶ’s Year of Service Fellows Program, she knew it was more than just a year-long placement; it was an opportunity to deepen her commitment to a community she had already grown to care for.

“I think that there were a lot of questions I still had about how things work and why things are the way they are here,” Hinton said. “I really wanted to get the opportunity to have a more hands-on role here as opposed to research, which is a little bit more like a bird’s-eye view.”

Hinton earned a degree in public health studies and political science, with minors in , Latin American studies, and peace and conflict studies, and now serves at the Alamance County Health Department through the fellows program. She is one of six 2025-26 Year of Service Fellows, recent ������Ƶ alumni who have the opportunity to work with local organizations to improve health education and economic development in the Alamance County community.

Rooted in Alamance County

Though Hinton didn’t grow up in Alamance County, she says it feels like home.

“My grandparents are from here, and all my extended family still lives here for the most part,” she said. “So it feels like a place where I have some roots.”

That sense of connection only deepened through her work as a Lumen Scholar, ������Ƶ’s highest undergraduate research award. Her project explored how immigration policy and discrimination in Alamance County impact the way members of the Latino community access healthcare and social services.

“I was interviewing healthcare and social service providers from across the county on where they were seeing gaps in their ability to provide care,” she explained. “Through that research, I got to meet a lot of the people that I work with now and familiarized myself with the different service provision organizations throughout Alamance County.”

That familiarity helped ease the transition into her current fellowship.

“I felt already decently familiar with the organizations that are doing the work of providing care,” she said. “It also kind of gave me the motivation to get to be a part of it.”

At the health department, Hinton’s days are varied, and that’s part of what she loves most. Her responsibilities range from administrative and event planning tasks to opportunities to engage directly with the community. She primarily works with the Behavioral Health and Substance Use Division, which works to address the opioid crisis and addiction services. The work has also given her a new appreciation for the people she serves alongside.

“It’s been really great to see how deeply everyone there is motivated by the mission of providing healthcare and improving the lives of people in Alamance County,” she said. “Despite the fact that everyone there has so much work to do and is incredibly busy, people are really committed to improving conditions for people across different communities.”

The ������Ƶ difference

Hinton credits ������Ƶ’s Public Health Studies program for preparing her to step confidently into her role.

“They do such an incredible job at situating students in the context of what’s going on in Alamance County, in North Carolina, and then on the national or international level,” she said. “They make sure students leave ������Ƶ aware of the disparities and inequalities that exist and really gear the program toward a health equity lens.”

Her required public health studies practicum, completed with the Burlington Housing Authority, was another pivotal experience.

“That helped me get familiar with the area and how things work in terms of healthcare and social services, as well as giving me connections in the community that I am able to use now,” she said.

Hinton credits Molly Green, associate professor of public health studies, as one of her most influential mentors.

“She really helped guide me through the process of figuring out what I was going to do post-grad,” Hinton said. “Her encouragement to pursue a project that was so specific to Alamance County helped me develop the ability to ask good questions and figure out how to answer them. I use that every single day at the health department.”

Prepared for service

While much of Hinton’s academic and professional journey has been rooted in North Carolina, her curiosity has taken her beyond. She spent a semester abroad in Cusco, Peru, studying maternal health and traditional medicine practices.

“It was an awesome experience and helped me figure out what hands-on research looks like in communities,” she said.

For Hinton, the Year of Service Fellows Program is both a continuation and a new beginning, a way to bridge the gap between the classroom and the community she has studied and come to care for deeply.

“I feel like the hands-on nature of all of my education at ������Ƶ has really come in handy as I’m transitioning into the workforce,” she said. “I feel really adequately prepared for whatever projects are being thrown my way, which has been great.”

This story is part of a series of features on the 2025-26 Year of Service Fellows, highlighting the work they are doing in the Alamance County community.

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With a dancer mother and a math teacher father, it seems like the perfect fit for Lila Snodgrass ’26 to study dance and math at ������Ƶ. But her desire for research as a Lumen Scholar comes from a deep passion for both subjects.

“Dance has always been part of who I am; I’ve been dancing my whole life,” said Snodgrass, who is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I’ve always liked math out of all of the subjects, and my senior Calculus teacher opened my eyes to how math can be more than just the numbers.”

More than the numbers

Seeing her passion, a faculty member recommended Snodgrass to Nancy Scherich, assistant professor of mathematics, who also happens to be a dancer.

“You might think that math and dance are totally different. How would you combine those? But there’s actually quite a large sub-community in mathematics of people who dance,” said Scherich.

The pair have been working on research in the field of topology, specifically knot theory, a subfield of mathematics dedicated to the study of knots.

“We are all familiar with the mathematical field of geometry as the study of shapes. We can geometrically think of shapes as being made of rigid, unbendable wire. This perspective is limiting because if a circle is made of rope, it can bend and fold and will not be a geometric circle anymore, but it is still a perfectly good loop. This is how the mathematical field of topology thinks of shapes in a different way than geometry- shapes are bendable and flexible,” said Scherich.

According to Scherich, as a dancer travels the stage over time, their path traces out a knotted curve. If multiple dancers are on stage, and it is assumed that each dancer ends in the starting position of another dancer, the total paths danced by all dancers form a large knot. The danceability of a knot is the minimum number of dancers required to create the knot.

Connecting the dance

Mathematicians use tools called “invariants” to distinguish knots, so Snodgrass, along with her research collaborators, have developed a new knot invariant called the “danceability index” and are comparing it to other invariants.

“We’re connecting this one idea of the dancer’s paths on the floor with these other ideas which are more connected to the greater idea of knot theory,” Snodgrass says.

But applying for the Lumen Prize wasn’t initially on Snodgrass’ radar. The Lumen Prize is ������Ƶ’s premier undergraduate research award that includes a $20,000 scholarship to support and celebrate their academic achievements and research proposals.

It wasn’t until her modern dance professor, Keshia Wall Gee, assistant professor of dance, encouraged the class to apply, she brought it to Scherich and was eventually awarded the honor.

From theory to the stage

Lumen Scholars work closely with their mentors during their final two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts traditionally include coursework, study abroad, research both on and off campus, internships locally and overseas, program development, and creative productions and performances.

In August 2024, Snodgrass, Sol Addison ‘25 and Scherich presented this research at two conferences, and their research article on the subject has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. They also demonstrating the danceability of twisted virtual knots.

“I’m really excited to be able to connect these two things that feel so me, but so different worlds,” said Snodgrass. “It’s crazy that this is possible and that I’m given the opportunity to do this and be able to present it for other people.”

For her senior year, Snodgrass is hoping to create a movement study and eventually a full-length performance demonstrating her research.

“It’s illustrating these mathematical ideas that I’ve been researching for the past year through movement with live dances and hopefully projections to show audiences this deep math research in a more accessible way,” said Snodgrass.

In June, Bogart studied abroad in Rome, Italy as she worked on a feminist translation and re-vision of Virgil’s “Aeneid,” the Latin epic poem that tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and went to Italy.

“The work I’m doing this summer is rooted in my being in Rome,” said Bogart, who is also minoring in women, gender and sexuality studies. “I’m looking at writing in place and the aspect of writing in the place in which the original author of an ancient text, like the ‘Aeneid,’ was written as I tell it in my own way.”

Last summer, Bogart translated more than 1,000 words of the nearly 10,000-word poem for her work, which focuses on retelling the stories of characters Dido, the queen of Carthage, and her sister Anna. Bogart’s interest in the “Aeneid,” and the characters, began after taking Latin in high school.

“We were studying book four, which is the big Dido chapter and it’s a tragedy in a lot of ways because Dido does die in the end and her sister is left with the great repercussions of everything that had built up in the book,” Bogart said. “I’m a younger sister myself and I see a lot of my own relationship with my sibling reflected in Dido and Anna.”

While Bogart, who is also an ������Ƶ College Fellow, is doing this work as a Lumen Scholar, ������Ƶ’s highest undergraduate research award, she will present during the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) presentation on July 24 in the Snow Atrium of Schar Hall.

SURE provides an opportunity for students to work with faculty and gain meaningful research experience over the summer, without the pressure of other courses during a typical semester. Students apply for the opportunity, which usually takes place during the summer before the junior or senior year.

“Because this has been a new aspect of my Lumen research, it has been so fascinating to be able to do this,” Bogart said. “I feel very fortunate that I can be here and do this work and receive a stipend from ������Ƶ. I feel like a very lucky undergraduate student to experience this and I’m excited to share my work at the poster session.”

Undergraduate research and global engagement are two of the five ������Ƶ Experiences. Students are expected to complete at least two of the experiences before graduating. Bogart is also working closely with her faculty mentors from both majors: Kristina Meinking, professor of classical languages, and Margaret Chapman, senior lecturer in English.

“Once I started talking about my interest in classical, feminist retelling in Virgil’s “Aeneid” and the Dido and Anna characters, there was a pretty instant connection where they both were so truly interested in the interdisciplinary work I was seeking between classics and creative writing,” said Bogart. “There’s just this great match of energy when discussing what I’ve been learning and seeing with them.”

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April was a busy time at ������Ƶ as students prepared for the end of the semester and spring came into full bloom.

View some of the most impactful moments of the past month through the eyes of staff in the Office of University Communications.

Ending with Elder

The 2024-25 ������Ƶ Speaker Series wrapped up on April 3 with the James P. Elder Lecture delivered by Frederick M. Lawrence, CEO of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Asian Pacific Islander Month

������Ƶ kicked off Asian and Pacific Islander Month with an event on Medallion Plaza on April 3, hosted by the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education. Nationally recognized during May to commemorate the arrival of the first immigrants from Japan to the United States in May 1843, ������Ƶ celebrates the heritage month in April.

CAA Champions

The ������Ƶ Men’s Golf team and Women’s Tennis team each took home CAA championship titles.

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Dave Porter P’11 P’19, owner and managing partner of Baystate Financial, received the ������Ƶ Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership on April 23 inside LaRose Digital Theatre.

Party for the Planet

������Ƶ celebrated a multitude of Earth Week events, including welcoming keynote speaker Bill McKibbon and launching the Sustainability Master Plan 2025.

Special Olympics at ������Ƶ

The Kernodle Center for Civic Life hosted the Special Olympics of Alamance County in Schar Center.

A blooming celebration

On April 25, 2025 the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life hosted an indoor version of Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, due to an unpredictable weather forecast.

Time to SURF

Student research was on full display during the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 29. Every year, ������Ƶ suspends all campus activities to highlight undergraduate research – one of the five ������Ƶ Experiences. Students present their work through both poster and oral presentations across campus.

Some of the 268 presentations included research on the impact of tariffs,��how a book cover impacts reader choice,��a board game to help students adjust to college,��using soft robotics to help with hand mobility and examining behavior changes and long-term health risks related to a student’s transition from high school to college.

McCall connected with Associate Professor of Biology Robert Vick who studies how a variety of factors, from anxiety, music, religious beliefs, and more can impact heart rate variability. Vick and McCall are examining the cardiac effects of COVID-19.

To measure heart rate variability, McCall used software to analyze electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, the time in between heartbeats. McCall says if you have more variability, you have a healthier heart. This information was combined with survey data to get a better understanding of a person’s experience with COVID-19 and vaccination.

But the project took on a different meaning when McCall was diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart. According to the Mayo Clinic, myocarditis is serious, but rare, affecting 10 to 20 out of every 100,000 Americans, mostly younger adults. The National Institutes of Health says viral infections are the most frequent cause of myocarditis in the U.S. Symptoms can vary greatly, including fatigue, malaise, chest pain, congestive heart failure, even cardiac arrest. After three months with the condition, McCall made a full recovery.

In his research, McCall, who is an Honors Fellow and Lumen Scholar, found a correlation between exposure to COVID-19 infection and vaccination, and lower heart rate variability. However, he cautions that there are other factors[CM2]  they were not able to take into account due to time constraints

“It’s hard because I love doing this research, but I don’t have as much time as I would like to give to this project,” he said.

During the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 29, McCall will give an oral presentation –  his first SURF Day experience. During SURF, all other campus activities are suspended so the ������Ƶ community can come together around students’ creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five ������Ƶ Experiences, which provide a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensure that ������Ƶ graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

This is not the first time McCall is presenting his work. Earlier in April, McCall was one of more than 40 students to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He is also presenting his work at the American Physiological Society meeting in Baltimore in late April. This fall, McCall will be returning to Pittsburgh after being accepted into the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine.

“I grew up playing sports, so the team-oriented nature of a dental office and nutrition are big factors in dentistry and that’s something I’ve always been passionate about. I think you can transform someone’s life by changing their smile,” he said. “So having those three qualities, I think dentistry is the perfect career for me.”

And as he continues through his educational career, the lessons he has learned at ������Ƶ, specifically through his research, can help guide his future.

“When you start a project, your initial plan is not always what you end up doing,” McCall said. “You have to go with the flow, if something’s not working, you have to be okay with making minor adjustments.”

Lumen Scholars will work closely with their mentors during the next two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts traditionally include coursework, study abroad, research both on and off campus, internships locally and overseas, program development, and creative productions and performances.

“It was a very competitive pool this year and we had to make more than a few difficult decisions on strong applications. Those that made it to the winners’ circle have truly exceptional project proposals that we are excited to support and watch unfold over the next two years,” said Michel Carignan, director of the Lumen Prize and professor of history.

The name for the Lumen Prize comes from ������Ƶ’s historic motto, “Numen Lumen,” which are Latin words meaning “spiritual light” and “intellectual light.” The words, which are found on the ������Ƶ seal, signify the highest purposes of an ������Ƶ education.

2025 Lumen Prize winners

Nicolas Alvarez
Mechanical Engineering & Mathematics
“Learning to Walk: Applying Lessons from Infant Motor Development to a Reinforcement Learning Policy for Locomotion of Quadrupedal Robots”    Mentor: Blake Hament

Izzy Bennett
Public Health Studies
“Sexual Reproductive Health Knowledge and Counseling: Perspectives of Emerging Adult Women with Sickle Cell Disease and Healthcare Providers”
Mentor: Cindy Fair

Jonathan Berkson
Astrophysics
“Peering into Dust and Gas: Improving Environmental Modeling to Identify Intermediate-Mass Black Holes”
Mentor: Chris Richardson

Gage Brinker 
Exercise Science
“Evaluating Sleep and Recovery in Firefighters: A Comparative Analysis of Shift Scheduling Using WHOOP Wearable Technology to Optimize the Efficacy of the First Responders in Our Community”
Mentor: Madison Chandler

Elise Butterbach
Biomedical Engineering
“Mathematical Modeling of Viral Myocarditis to Investigate Excessive Inflammation in the Heart”
Mentors: Hwayeon Ryu and Efrain Rivera-Serrano

Jaylem Cheek
Astrophysics
“Unveiling Ancient Seeds: An Improved Physical Framework to Detect Relic Black Holes in the Local Universe”
Mentor: Chris Richardson

Jack DeLucco
Engineering & Computer Science
“Isolating RF Signals Subject to Electromagnetic Interference”
Mentor: Richard Blackmon

Makenna Grozis   
Biology and Public Health Studies
“The Hidden Link: Endocrine Disruptors, Autoimmunity, and the Oral-Gut Microbial Axis”
Mentor: Jen Uno                                                                 

Monika Jurevicius
Journalism & Public Health Studies
Soviet Legacy and EU Influence: Examining Lithuania’s Media Landscape from 1990 to Today
Mentor: Alex Luchsinger

Aubrey Koscis
Acting and Music in the Liberal Arts
“Fight Club or Boys Club? Examining Structural Inequality and Gendered Movement in Stage Combat Choreography”
Mentor: Lauren Kearns

Lola Moore
Creative Writing & Literature
“The Falling and the Fallen: Interconnected Short Stories on American Identity and the Restless Nature of Happiness in a Patchwork Narrative”
Mentor: Drew Perry

Adam Reisman
Exercise Science
“Menstrual Cycle-Based Periodized Training on Performance, Muscle Soreness and Rates of Recovery in Active Females”
Mentor: Titch Madzima

Sophie Remisio
Environmental Engineering and Applied Mathematics
“Filtering the Future: A Regenerable Approach to PFAS Filtration Using Non-Conventional Sorbents”
Mentor: Will Pluer

Aidan Spoerndle
Computer Science
“Design and Implementation of a Computer Vision-Based Robot to Assist Row-Intercropping Farming”
Mentor: Joel Hollingsworth

Muhammad Awal Tahiru
Physics and Applied Mathematics
“Decoherence and the Arrow of Time: Investigating the Quantum Origins of Temporal Asymmetry”
Mentor: Martin Kamela