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TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

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Aulane Mpouli

18 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

06/10/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

18 Scholars Present at 2020 Symposium

EWU McNair is proud to announce that 18 EWU McNair Scholars presented at this year’s Virtual Symposium. In the midst of regular reminders of the suffering from COVID-19, in particular its disproportionate effect on communities of color, as well as recent police murders, we hope that lifting up our scholars will continue to support their work and the ultimate goal of McNair – which is to increase diversity in academia. Every McNair Scholar at EWU has powerful story. It is our goal that scholars use their powerful knowledge, experiences, and voices to develop research and actions that contribute to shifts in systemic racism, economic inequality, and overall building a more just world. Read below to learn more about the research presented, including links to each student’s poster or oral presentation. A huge thank you to all of the mentors that helped make this possible. We’re so proud of all of our students’ hard work and look forward another summer research in just a few weeks!

Four of our new scholars presented posters with their research proposals for the summer of 2020. Alexandria Coronado presented, “Research Proposal: Housing and Food Insecurity Among College Students” with the mentorship of Dr. Lindsey Upton. Ashley Destin presented, “Size Scaling in the Skull of North American Felids as Adaptations for Prey Acquisition” with the mentorship of Dr. Judd Case. Aulane Mpouli presented, “Molecular Docking Study of ITPA protein substrate complex” with the mentorship of Dr. Yao Houndonougbo. Hope Sands presented, “Exploring the Archaeological and Geographical Past of Fort Spokane: A Proposal” with the mentorship of Dr. Brian Buchanan.

 

Meanwhile, four new McNair scholars Analisea Araya, Gloria Bravo, Alexis Guizar-Diaz, and Rachael Pentico presented on completed or ongoing research. Analisea presented, “An Analysis of Early Modern Philosopher Mary Astell and a Critique of the Western Canon” with the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Decker. Gloria presented, “Economic Sanctions Reproduce State Sponsored Repression, Human Rights Violations and Violence: A Case Study of Venezuela” with the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi. Alexis presented on, “Machismo, Marianismo, and The Ethics of Care” with the mentorship of Dr. Mimi Marinucci. He will continue this research in the summer of 2020 with Dr. Edwin Elias. Rachael Pentico presented, “A Review of Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Their Importance For Palouse Prairie Restoration and Management” with the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown. 

 

Four additional continuing McNair scholars presented on their research from their 2019 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship. Darlene Gilroy presented “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry” in collaboration with Dr. Carmen Nezat. Theresa Lee presented “Understanding Prisoner Reentry: Public Perceptions of Reentry Barriers Among College Students” with the mentorship of Dr. Lindsey Upton. Both Darlene and Theresa have also presented this research at other conferences around the country this last school year. Malachi Chukwu presented “Projects of Economic and Social Development in the Global South: The 20th and 21st-century developmental trends and their impacts” with the mentorship of Dr. Majid Sharifi. And Wendolyn Martinez presented “Propaganda: USSR and US – Comparing Propaganda from the US and USSR Produced for the Advancement of Public Approval for Hydro-projects in the 1930s,” with the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted. Malachi and Wendolyn had hoped to present at a McNair conference in the early spring; however, the conference was cancelled due to COVID-19.

 

Also, four graduating McNair Scholars presented their current research at the Virtual Symposium. Abdulrazik Mohamed presented “Darfurians in the Diaspora: Perceptions of the Conflict in Darfur, Sudan’s Past and the Future of Darfur Under International Response” with the mentorship of Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted. Abdu has also presented additional research this school year at the Annual International Symposium on Women and Genocide in the 21st Century: The Case of Darfur and the Black Doctoral Network Conference in the fall of 2019. Angélica García-Macías presented “Eat the Poor” under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Hawley. Last academic year, Angélica presented research from her work with EWU McNair Mentor Dr. Martín Meráz García at several conferences as well as her research with Dr. Charles Stewart III at MIT at an MIT symposium last summer. Madelyn Brown presented “Maintaining Our Land: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wildfire Prevention” with the mentorship of Dr. Christina Torres García and PhD candidate SimHayKin S. Jack. Rachel Silverthorn presented “Gender differences in confidence in jury decision making” under the mentorship of Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart. She also presented this research at the 31st Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention. Washington, D.C. in 2019. All four of these scholars will attend Masters or PhD programs in the fall of 2020!

 

Finally, two EWU McNair Alumni, current EWU graduate students, also presented their current research. Christina Ramelow presented “Oral Farnesol Administration Protects Against Inflammatory Demyelination,” research done with mentorship from Dr. Javier Ochoa-Reparaz and in collaboration with multiple other graduate students and faculty. Veronica Albrecht presented “Characterizing Two cagPAI Located Small RNAs in Helicobacter pylori” in collaboration with Dr. Andrea Castillo and “Gene Expression Regulation of sRNA Hpnc2525 in the Clinically Relevant Helicobacter pylori cagPAI Genomic Region” in collaboration with EWU McNair STEM GSA and fellow graduate student Brandon Flatgard, under the mentorship of Dr. Andrea Castillo. Christina and Veronica will both attend fully funded PhD programs in the fall of 2020.

 

To learn more about our new and continuing scholars and all the other amazing work and presentations they have done, check out our Spring Gathering page celebrating scholars, mentors, and alumni. EWU McNair is incredibly proud of the hard work of all of our scholars and we look forward to seeing their research impact higher education and the wider world.

Filed Under: 2015-2016 Cohort, 2016-2017 Cohort, 2017-2018 Cohort, 2018-2019 Cohort, 2019-2020 Cohort, 2020-21 Presentations, AbdulrazikMohamed, Alexandria Coronado, Alexis Guizar-Diaz, Alumni, Analisea Araya, AngelicaGarciaMacias, Ashley Destin, Aulane Mpouli, ChristinaRamelow, Darlene Gilroy, Gloria Bravo, Hope Sands, Madelyn Brown, Malachi Chukwu, McNair Mentors, Mentor, Rachael Pentico, RachelSilverthorn, Research, Scholars, Theresa Lee, Veronica Albrecht, Wendolyn Martinez Tagged With: Dr. Andrea Castillo, Dr. Brian Buchanan, Dr. Carmen Nezat, Dr. Charles Stewart III, Dr. Christina Torres García, Dr. Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted, Dr. Edwin Elias, Dr. Javier Ochoa-Reparaz, Dr. Judd Case, Dr. Kayleen Islam-Zwart, Dr. Lindsey Upton, Dr. Majid Sharifi, Dr. Martín Meráz García, Dr. Thomas Hawley, Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, MIT, SimHayKin S. Jack

Aulane Mpouli Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

05/26/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Photo of Aulane Mpouli next to text congratulating her with red textured border.

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Aulane Mpouli! Aulane has been selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and awarded a summer research internship. McNair Scholars must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

 

Aulane Mpouli is a student-athlete majoring in Chemistry, specializing in Analytical Chemistry. She has participated in Track and Field for 11 years and is a Hepthathlete on Eastern Washington University’s Track and Field team. Aulane enjoys traveling around the world, discovering new people, places, and cultures. Places she has visited include: New York, Montreal, London, Paris, and Puerto Rico. Her favorite destination was London where she lived for one year and had a view of the Windsor Castle right outside her window.

Aulane's research interests include analytics, biochemistry, and catalysis. Aulane is currently working on a biochemical research project analyzing the successful ways in which the substrate Inosine Triphosphate (ITP) binds to the enzyme Inosine Triphosphatase in order for it to perform its enzymatic function and prevent the accumulation and over concentration of ITP, an intermediate in the formation of Purines which help make up DNA. The accumulation of ITP could cause mutations in the DNA causing cancers and other detrimental effects to the body. Aulane also works as a Teacher’s Assistant for the Quantitative Analysis, BioChem for Health Sciences, and General Chemistry courses where she grades lab reports, prepares unknowns for students, and helps with calculations and clarifications.

 

She has already completed fall and winter courses preparing to be a McNair Scholar and is currently enrolled in EWU McNair's Research Methods and Analytic Writing courses, on top of her regular classes. This will not only strengthen her skills for graduate school, but also set the groundwork for her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship under the mentorship of Dr. Yao Houndonougbo Associate Professor of Chemistry at EWU. Originally Ohio State University also awarded Aulane a summer research internship and while this was cancelled due to COVID-19, Aulane will be participating in an online summer research weekly webinar series with OSU on top of her research with EWU McNair.

 

We're so excited to have Aulane join us as a McNair Scholar!

Filed Under: 2019-2020 Cohort, Acceptances/Awards, Aulane Mpouli, Chemistry, McNair Mentors, Mentor, Research, Scholars Tagged With: Aulane Mpouli, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, EWU McNair Program, EWU McNair Scholar, Mentor, STEM, Summer Research

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