Twelve undergraduate scholars from different disciplines have been selected to join the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Simmons (SURPASs), a highly competitive, fully funded research and mentorship program taking place between May 20 - June 28, 2024. During this six week intensive, students will work with a faculty mentor to execute an independent research project of their own design and development. The SURPASs intensive culminates in a student showcase on Friday, June 28.
SURPASs is sponsored by Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, in collaboration with Dr. Arpita Saha, Department of Chemistry and Physics.
SURPASs is made possible by generous gifts from many alumnae/i and friends, including Trustee Regina Pisa and Trustee Pamela Toulopoulos '73.
The 2024 SURPASs Scholars
Tanisha Alam '26 (Neuroscience and Behavior), Project: Assessing Blood Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Mentor: Dr. Amanda Carey (Psychology)
Alejandra Castellanos Mañon '26 (Literature, Spanish), Project: El Espejo Espectral: Mexico City’s mythic landscape, from oral traditions to digital frontiers. Mentor: Richard Balzano (History)
Emily Crown '26 (Exercise Science), Project: The Forgotten Organ: A Qualitative Exploration of Women’s Views on Resistance Training and Protein Intake to Optimize Muscle Health. Mentor: Tim Hanway (Biology)
Alicia Guzman '25 (Literature, Communications), Project: Katniss Everdeen as a Sign of Feminist Consciousness: The Hunger Games’ Impact on its Original Readers a Decade Later. Mentor: Dr. Briana Martino (Communications)
Piper Kinney '26 (Neuroscience and Behavior), Project: Effect of lactate on scratch wound healing of C2C12 muscle cells. Mentor: Dr. Ling Xin (Exercise Science)
Kaycie McColley '26 (Economics), Project: The Relationship between Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Economic Growth – A U.S. State-Level Analysis. Mentor: Dr. Zinnia Mukherjee (Economics)
Celia Morse '25 (Statistics, Computer Science), Project: DeepFakes: The Consequence of Machine Learning and Audio Cloning. Mentor: Dr. Nanette Veilleux (Computer Science)
Quynh Nguyen '26 (Biology), Project: Correlating Anuran limb Positioning with Embryonic Hox Gene Expression. Mentor: Dr. John Young (Biology)
Angie O'Connor '25 (Communications), Project: Let’s Get Intimate: Evaluating Colonization’s Impact on Sexual Health Education Within Asian American Communities in Boston and Compiling Boston-Based Asian Sexual Health Resources For Community Members. Mentor: Matoaka Kipp (REEF Support Center)
Emma Parrish '25 (Sociology), Project: The Combat Zone: Social Control and Boston’s Failed Zoning Experiment. Mentor: Erin Graves (Sociology)
Sarah Samad '25 (Neurobiology), Project: Investigating the role of protein palmitoylation in an animal model of Parkinson's disease. Mentor: Dr. Eric Luth (Biology)
Chloe To '27 (Chemistry), Project: Exploring NiMn2S4 as a potential catalyst for the conversion of carbon dioxide into non-greenhouse gasses. Mentor: Dr. Joe Elias (Chemistry and Physics)