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The annual ����Թ� State Salem Undergraduate Research Conference showcased students’ research projects in a variety of topic areas and allowed them to share what they learned through discussions with the academic staff.

The conference is held each year and is open to all undergraduates in any discipline and in any for-credit course on any ����Թ� State campus. Faculty judges evaluate the presentations based on originality; significance; evidence of learning about the research and information gathering process; and overall quality.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Stacy Miner, a faculty member in ����Թ� State’s College of Nursing. Her experience as a neonatal intensive care nurse at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland “sparked a passion for questioning symptomology and disease processes in pediatric patients” and led to research nursing at University Hospitals. She earned a certification in clinical research and her PhD dissertation evaluated sleep disturbances and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Miner intends to continue evaluating and finding ways to improve the clinical symptoms and comorbidities associated with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

The URC committee includes Dr. Rachael Blasiman, chair; Dr. Kristenne Robison, Dr. Omid Bagheri, Cyndi Peterson, Dr. Tsunghui Tu, Dr. Steve Toepfer and Krista Hawkins.

The winners of the 2023 ����Թ� State Salem Undergraduate Research Conference are:

Poster Presentations:

• First Place: Samantha Wehr for “The Examination of Death Anxiety and Religiosity, Irreligiosity and Spirituality;"
• Second Place: Brooke Dustman for “The Effects of Social Media Usage on Aggressive Behavior;”
• Third Place: Jessica Palo for “Huitlacoche Inoculum;”
• Honorable Mention: Alicia Costello for “Effect of Secale Cereale (cereal rye) and Trifolium incarnatum (crimson clover) cover crop on Cannabis sativa (industrial hemp) and Lihum usitatissium (flax) germination in greenhouse pots.”

Oral Presentations:

• First Place: Hope Hughes for “Feminism in Healthcare and How it has Changed;”  and Wyatt Beight for “Crisis in the Classroom: How to Keep Kids Curious ����Թ� Knowledge and Engaged in the Classroom.”
• Second Place: Nicole Stoffer for “Parental Effects of Children’s Behavior;” and Kirstie Perkins for “Libraries are Helping to Eliminate Health Inequity, One Community at a Time.”
• Third Place: Haley Hazelbaker for “The Effectiveness of Mobile Health Screenings;” and Gavin Sefsick for “An Epidemic Ravaging the American Family: Opioid Addiction and Its Impact on Families Across the United States.”
• Honorable Mention: Samantha Lovesee for “Does Humor Play a Role When Adjusting to a Loss?” and Ashley Vitullo for “The Need for Facial Modifications in Society.”

Photo A: Participants of the 2023 Undergraduate Research Conference at ����Թ� State Salem.

Photo B: Isabella Baird explains her research to committee member Dr. Steve Toepfer.

Photo C: Keynote speaker Dr. Stacy Miner with Dr. Rachael Blasiman, conference chair.

Photo D: Poster winners from the 2023 Undergraduate Research Conference at ����Թ� State Salem include (from left) Samantha Wehr, Brooke Dustman, Alicia Costello and Jessica Palo.

Photo E: Oral Presentation winners from the 2023 URC include (from left): Nicole Stoffer, Ashley Vitullo, Gavin Sefsick, Samantha Lovesee, Haley Hazelbaker and Kirstie Perkins.