Dr. Brian Buchanan

Nine EWU McNair Scholars Present at Baylor McNair Research Conference

10/09/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

From looking at community perceptions of reentry barriers to formerly incarcerated people to the impact of chemical weathering from Mount St. Helen’s on streams, EWU McNair Scholars have been hard at work researching all summer under the guidance of their mentors. On October 1^st and 2^nd. Nine of these scholars presented at the 2020 Virtual Baylor McNair Research Conference! This conference brought together over 350 students, staff, and faculty from McNair programs across the country. Presenting at the conference gives student practice for the future, as well as the opportunity to network with graduate programs across the country. Congratulations to our amazing student presenters and huge thanks to their mentors for ongoing support! Click on the student’s name below to learn more about them and their research.

Malachi Chukwu – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Majid Sharifi, International Affairs and Political Science

Assessing Developmental Approaches Since the Mid-20th Century and its Outcomes for the Underdeveloped Countries

Ashley Destin – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Judd A. Case, Biology

Size Scaling in the Skull of North American Felids as Adaptations for Prey Acquisition

Darlene Gilroy – Oral Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Carmen Nezat, Geology

Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry

Theresa Lee – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Lindsey Upton, Criminology

Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community

Wendolyn Martinez – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Dorothy Zeisler Vralsted, International Affairs

Propaganda: USSR and US Comparing Propaganda from the US and USSR Produced for the Advancement of Public Approval for Hydro-projects in the 1930s

Aulane Mpouli – Oral Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, Chemistry

Molecular Docking Study of ITPA Protein Substrate Complex

Rachael Pentico – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Brown, Biology

Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect

Samantha Sanchez-Garcia – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Jillene Seiver, Psychology

PsychologyTraumatic Experiences and Mental Health Among College Students

Hope Sands – Poster Presentation

Mentor: Dr. Brian Buchanan, Archaeology/GIS

Understanding the Historical Past of Fort Spokane through Landscape Archaeology

EWU McNair Scholars Continue Summer Research Despite COVID-19

06/11/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Summer Research Continues Despite COVID-19

Soon after the shelter in place began in Washington state, EWU McNair started hearing reports from our colleagues that summer research internships were being cancelled across the country. We cringed knowing that several of our students had received prestigious summer research internships or were still waiting to hear back from those they'd applied to. Fortunately, through innovation and flexibility, all of our EWU McNair Scholars will be able to engage in summer research!

EWU McNair Scholar Malachi Chukwu was accepted by Laney Graduate School Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (LGS-SOAR) Program at Emory University. EWU McNair Scholar Wendolyn Martinez was accepted into the Junior Summer Institute in Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) at the University of Michigan. Both will both do virtual research internships at these institutions this summer! In addition, new McNair Scholar Aulane Mplouli was accepted into the Ohio State University (OSU) research internship, which was cancelled due to COVID-19; however, she was invited to a summer webinar series by OSU to help prepare her for graduate school. She will also complete a summer research internship at EWU. In addition 16 other EWU McNair Scholars (new and continuing) will participate in the EWU McNair Summer Research Internship through online learning and coaching.

EWU McNair is grateful to all of the professors willing to continue to mentor students and support them through their summer research internship despite these harrowing times. Mentors for the summer of 2020-2021 include: Dr. Rebecca Brown, Dr. Brian Buchanan, Dr. Judd Case, Dr. Kevin Decker, Dr. Edwin Elias, Dr. Yao Houndonougbo, Dr. Camille McNeely, Dr. Gina Mikel Petrie, Dr. Susan Ruby, Dr. Jillene Seiver, Dr. Majid Sharifi, Dr. Lindsey Upton, Dr. Michael Winer, and Dr. Aryn Ziehnert. Check out our Spring Gathering page to learn more about our scholars and mentors!

18 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

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

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.

Hope Sands Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

05/25/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne 1 Comment

Photo of Hope Sands next to text congratulating her with red textured border.

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Hope Sands! Hope 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, 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.

Hope is a junior majoring in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology and Artifact Conservation, as well as majoring in Philosophy. Hope is an Honors student and a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi, honor societies at EWU. She was selected to present at the Western Regional Honors Conference on "Exploring the Physical Realm of History Through the Holocaust." In the Summer of 2019, Hope traveled abroad for a two-and-a-half week program, the Summer Institute on Diversity, Inclusion and the Holocaust, hosted by Hanze Honors College in the Netherlands. Hope said the institute taught her how to critically think in tough situations and how to act not as a bystander but as an active participant in the fight for social justice.

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 summer research internship to study Fort Spokane under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Buchanan. Hope will head artifact cataloging, researching, and interpreting past uses of the artifacts as they may have been used by the Fort's military inhabitants.

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