EWU Summer Research Internship

EWU McNair Scholar Ian Campuzano Completes Summer Research Internship

11/22/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Ian Campuzano worked with Dr. Jillene Seiver in his Summer Research Internship on Returning Back to Campus After COVID-19: Neuroticism and it’s Correlated Attitudes.

Ian first reviewed literature with an annotated bibliography of academic articles related to his research study. He created a survey and gathered data via SurveyMonkey. The online survey had a total of 62 questions with 3 parts. The first part included pictures with masked, unmasked, social distanced and crowded scenarios. The second part was a questionnaire about views on the COVID vaccine. The third part inventoried the Big Five personality traits to discover whether patterns of neuroticism were generated by the answers to the first two sections.

Ian’s goal was to find correlations between these data points with regard to personality traits and attitudes towards mask and vaccine mandates on university campuses as in-person classes resumed.

Data collection for Ian’s project continued into the fall, and he is currently finalizing the analysis and related research paper while applying to graduate programs at several schools. We look forward to seeing what Ian does next!

EWU McNair Scholar Seth McCullough Completes Summer Research Internship

11/18/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Seth McCullough worked with Dr. Justin Bastow in his Summer Research Internship focused on The Effect of Biochar Soil Amendments on Soil Food Webs in Palouse Prairie Restoration. The internship prepared him for graduate school by providing field researcher experience, wet lab skills, and communication skills, all of which are necessary for success at the graduate level. He learned how to develop his own research project, generating and addressing specific questions and hypotheses. Seth hopes that the results from his research will help with future decision-making surrounding EWU’s prairie restoration project. His results can also be used as baseline data to track the efficacy and progress of EWU’s restoration project in the long-term.

Seth experienced a unique challenge due to COVID-19 protocols: all of the doors were locked to the science buildings, with no professors on campus. To navigate these challenges, Seth learned to pre-plan extensively before sampling events, making sure he had access to all of the equipment he would need. In doing so, he developed strong communication and networking skills by contacting the many people required to gain access to the proper rooms in the science building.

Putting his research experience and findings in his own words, Seth says:

I learned the importance of understanding community composition when working on restoration projects. I learned about how below ground food-web composition can influence above ground productivity. Regarding my specific research, I found that biochar soil amendments significantly increased nematode abundance, soil moisture retention, and pH within the soil at EWU’s prairie restoration project. Soil moisture retention and pH levels increased to conditions similar to what is found at local prairie remnants. Nematode functional group composition did not shift to being similar to the functional group composition that is found at local prairie remnants, suggesting that community structure changes on a large time scale compared to soil abiotic properties.

His next step is completing the manuscript for his research to submit for publication. Since working on soil food-webs he has become more concerned with how below ground and above ground food-webs influence one another and how they are connected. This research also sparked his interest in studying how top-down control can influence the community composition within an ecosystem.

To undergraduate researchers in similar fields, Seth recommends taking advantage of all the opportunities that come your way. He offers a reminder to stay passionate about your research, and apply for any research positions or internships that you can. They are invaluable learning opportunities that give you a competitive edge in the graduate school market.

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Completes Summer Research Internship

11/18/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa worked with Dr. Julie Keister of the University of Washington School of Oceanography on her Summer Research Internship project, Measuring from the Sky: Methods to Quantify Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia labiata) Using Aerial Photographs, in collaboration with CICOES. She contributed to research on the effect that climate change is having on jellyfish populations in the Puget Sound ecosystem. Specifically, she worked on the development of a protocol that can be followed by any researcher using image processing to collect data.

The first week of her internship, which began with remote work, included a coding bootcamp. While initially concerned about her ability to master this new skill, Lucy ultimately learned not to be afraid of something new and challenging. She came away confident that she can learn anything – a great lesson to take with her to grad school.

The last week of Lucy’s internship was in person, aboard the research vessel Rachel Carson in Seattle, which required a quarantine before sailing. For six days, Lucy and the research team conducted laboratory and field work involving Moon Jellyfish sampling.

Lucy was one of only 13 interns selected for this project. She credits her participation in the EWU McNair Scholars program for encouraging her to apply for this opportunity, and for assistance along the way with application feedback and time management support.

Lucy hopes her research and leadership in her field will come to have a global impact.

Any biological research expands our database of knowledge we have about how the world works.

Lucy encourages undergraduates interested in STEM research to remember that they are probably more qualified and competitive than they may think, and reminds them not to disqualify themselves before they have applied for an opportunity! She says that getting involved with research was a game-changer that shaped her pursuit of science. Experience in the field and in the lab helped her develop a clearer sense of what kind of work she wants to pursue as a future graduate student and beyond.

Dr. Lindsey Upton: A Thoughtful, Engaged Mentor Makes a Difference in the Lives of First Generation Scholars

11/05/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Lindsey Upton, “It was a really rewarding experience to talk through scholars’ ideas and facilitate their first foray into research.” Mentees include Alexandria Coronado and Theresa Lee

EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Lindsey Upton

by Cori Jaeger, EWU McNair Program Academic Advisor

When I spoke with Dr. Lindsey Upton about being a McNair faculty mentor, it was no surprise to me that she’d been in touch with EWU McNair alumna Theresa Lee recently. Dr. Upton mentored Theresa for two summers as she researched Prisoner Reentry: College Perceptions of Reentry Barriers in a Northwest Community. As I worked with Theresa over the last two years it was clear that she felt supported by her mentor and saw Dr. Upton as someone she could reach out to anytime.

Dr. Upton is a wonderful McNair mentor. She is very hands on with mentees, as well as supportive, open-minded and dependable. I would have had a much harder time with my McNair research project as well as graduate admission if I didn’t have her. I am grateful to have found such an outstanding mentor and friend.” – Theresa Lee, EWU McNair Alumna

Theresa was accepted to 5 graduate programs and is currently attending the Bowling Green State University Sociology PhD Program with full funding. She relayed to Dr. Upton that grad school was hard but going well and she was deeply grateful for the preparation she had at EWU, especially through the McNair program and Dr. Upton’s mentorship. In fact, one of her professors at BGSU told her that they were impressed with her level of preparedness.

Dr. Upton also mentored Alexandria Coronado who was accepted to three graduate programs and is currently attending the University of Alabama’s Political Science PhD Program with full funding. Clearly Dr. Upton’s mentorship has had a powerful impact on both of these students and made a significant contribution to their competitiveness as PhD applicants. She is passionate about teaching research and service. When asked about what her experience as a mentor was like, she said,

It was a really rewarding experience to talk through scholar’s ideas once a week and facilitate their first foray into research.” - Dr. Lindsey Upton

McNair faculty mentors formally take on their mentorship in the spring supporting students as they hone in on their research topic and methodology. Then, they meet regularly with them throughout the summer as the students conduct this research and work on a high-level research paper they can submit as an example of writing for graduate school applications. The depth and rigor of this research is what helped Theresa be so well prepared.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee presents her research poster with Mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton at the American Society for Criminology Conference in 2019.

Dr. Upton’s favorite memory of mentoring was going to the American Society of Criminology Conference with Theresa. She remembered her own first experience at a conference and how she caught the bug for research there. It was incredibly rewarding to see her scholar have that same experience and excitement as a first-generation college student. While McNair encourages and pays for students to attend conferences, not all students and mentors take up this opportunity. Fortunately, Dr. Upton helped Theresa know about and participate in this conference.

EWU McNair Scholar Theresa Lee and her mentor Dr. Lindsey Upton take a walking tour of San Francisco on their trip to the American Society of Criminology Conference.

Theresa agreed that it was momentous:

The time I spent at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference was incredible! I attended multiple university socials and was able to converse with professors and graduate students about life at their university and research opportunities. It was interesting and helpful for me to see how professionals in the field conduct, investigate, and present their research. All in all, this experience was life changing and unbelievably enjoyable.” – EWU McNair Alumna Theresa Lee

Dr. Upton recognizes that mentoring is a commitment, but she said it was a reasonable one and the benefits are high. She indicated your main role as a mentor is to facilitate the experience. You spend about one hour a week with scholars most weeks and then a few times more than that, such as to help with a particular part of data analysis that an undergrad might not know how to do yet. Further, she noted that McNair really works to prepare students for research, academic writing, and graduate level engagement and skills. Students came to her with questions and information and took an active role in their research. McNair also provides funds for students to travel to conferences and to purchase research supplies.

McNair does a really excellent job on guiding the students through research. Students would bring such amazing questions to their meetings, questions that got deeper and deeper, and this really prepares them for the research and for graduate school. It really is a great partnership between faculty and McNair. Students would constantly reflect back and what a positive experience they were having with McNair.” – Dr. Lindsey Upton

Theresa Lee Graduate School Acceptances 2021 SC

Alexandria Coronado Graduate School Acceptances 2021 TX

Theresa Lee Graduate School Acceptances 2021 01 (1)

Alexandria Coronado Graduate School Acceptances 2021 AL

McNair is grateful to Dr. Upton and all of our McNair faculty mentors. Without them, the program couldn’t run. They provide critical support and guidance for students as they grow their research skills. Moreover, it’s this research experience that allows many of our McNair Scholars to go straight from their undergraduate degree to a PhD program. In addition, McNair mentors often are able to find the perfect students for the program. As soon as I reached out to Dr. Upton about recruiting a new cohort of scholars she immediately said she had a few students she would encourage to participate as well as invited us to provide a promotional video and flyer she could share in her current online course. This kind of engagement is why the EWU McNair program remains strong regardless of the pandemic. This last year, even with scholars being 100% virtual for their McNair experience, we had 13 scholars apply to graduate school who collectively received 36 acceptances, many of which included funding.

This year, EWU McNair is recruiting for as many as 19 new scholars. If you are a student and you’re interested in graduate school, please complete our eligibility questionnaire or just stop in Monroe 107 and say hello! If you are faculty and would like to get involved, please nominate a student and send them our way, or email us. The success of McNair, reflected by our 41 (and growing!) scholars who’ve already attained their PhD’s, really does take a partnership between faculty, McNair, and the scholars themselves.

EWU McNair Scholar Ashley Destin Completes Summer Research Internship

11/05/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Ashley Destin has had the opportunity to participate in two research projects during her time with McNair, both with Dr. Judd Case. While each research project was very different from the other, both align with Ashley’s passion for improving targeted care for cats. She notes that much of what we know about cats now comes from research done with other animals. Ashley’s mission is to shift the focus to the cats themselves, contributing to our understanding of cats and improving the ways we care for them.

For Ashley’s first research project Size Scaling in the Skull of North American Felids as Adaptations for Prey Acquisition, she and Dr. Case measured close to 50 felid skulls. Ashley worked with a local large cat rescue, Cat Tales Wildlife Center, and was able to include data on a mountain lion and an African lion. Despite some limitations on the project due to COVID-19, Ashley was proud to present research at multiple virtual conferences.

Ashley’s second research project with Dr. Case, Feline Red Blood Cell Shape and the Impacts of Cytauxzoonosis, was even more influenced by COVID-19. Initially, the plan was to research feline anemia, comparing humans and healthy cats. Unable to acquire the blood samples that they had lined up, the project changed significantly. What they did notice while looking into anemia was a variation in the blood cell shape within the felid family, which led them down an entirely different research path. While well-noted, the shape variation hasn’t been studied extensively. The rest of the project was spent looking at a parasite that uses these blood cells to proliferate and cause severe infection in domestic cats. COVID-19 protocols didn’t directly affect this phase of research, yet it’s the reason they ended up focused on this specific issue.

This research is ongoing, as Ashley and Dr. Case continue to look at other blood parasites to see if a trend appears. There is currently very little research into the blood cell shape variation and the possible impacts to cat care. Ashley is looking at taking this project to graduate school. Understanding the variation and its impacts has the potential to improve how we care for our cats.

Ashley has this advice for undergraduate researchers in her field:

Be flexible, but don’t give up on what you really want. Science is a big enough field that it’s possible to study what you want, it might just take some weaving to find your way there.

EWU McNair Scholar Hope Sands Completes Summer Research Internship

06/30/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Hope Sands for completing her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship! For her EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, Hope studied Fort Spokane under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Buchanan. Hope's project looked at the historical past of Fort Spokane in an attempt to understand the archaeological and geographical significance of the Fort's construction. Previous archaeological projects at this location have focused more so on the Fort itself, rather than the Fort and its surrounding environs. Hope graduated in the Spring of 2020 from Eastern Washington University with a major in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology and Artifact Conservation, as well as a major in Philosophy. Hope was an Honors student and a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi, honor societies at EWU.

Click here to read more about Hope and her research.

Hope is taking a year off from school to explore field work in anthropology and plans to submit applications to graduate school starting Fall 2022. EWU McNair is so excited for Hope. We're confident that she will succeed in graduate school and have a great impact on our communities.