Senior Honors Profiles

Jonathan Gilman

Jonathan Gilman

Major: Environmental Science

Minor: Sustainability

Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Tank

Project Title: Investigating the effects of nitrate and labile carbon inputs on nitrogen removal in four experimental streams

Career Plans: Gap year and then grad school

Summer Experiences: COS-SURF undergraduate research program in the Tank Lab


Cameron Mackenzie

Cameron MacKenzie

Majors: Biology and ACMS

Mentor: Dr. Chris Patzke

Project Title: Synaptic Deficits of Fragile X Syndrome in Patient-Derived Isogenic Induced Neurons

Career Plans: Medical School

Summer Experiences: I did two summers of SURF-funded research on my project in Dr. Patzke's lab


Jimmy Twist

Jimmy Twist

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors: History

Mentor: Dr. David Hyde

Project Title: The function of β1 chain-containing laminins in the regenerative response of Müller glia in the zebrafish retina

Career Plans: Medical School

Summer Experiences: Ross Eye Institute Intern - Buffalo, NY (2021); Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2022)


Mary Chen

Mary Chen

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors: Glynn and Theology

Mentor: Dr. Hsueh-Chia Chang

Project Title: Capture and Characterization of PDL1-Exosomes Using Magnetic Nanoporous Membrane 

Career Plans:  Gap year then medical school

Summer Experiences: SSLP as a reading teacher (2021) COS-SURF undergraduate research in Chang Lab (2022)


Ian Shuman

Ian Shuman

Majors: Biological Sciences and Spanish

Minor: Glynn Family Honors Program

Mentor: Dr. Jason McLachlan

Project Title: Applying a Generalized Joint Attribute Model to the Historical Vegetation-Environment Relationship in the Midwestern United States

Career Plans: I am currently applying to PhD programs in ecology and evolutionary biology, where I plan to focus on understanding how environmental and anthropogenic changes affect species distributions. 

Summer Experiences: Restoration ecology internship at a conservation non-profit, COS-SURF grant to work in the McLachlan lab


Marliece Barrios

Marliece Barrios

Major: Biological Sciences and Philosophy

Minor: None

Mentor: Dr. Jason Rohr

Project title: Investigating Influence of Agrochemical Pollution of Freshwater Sources on Schistosomiasis Transmission and Population Dynamics Among Intermediate Hosts

Career plans:  MD/PhD 

Summer experience: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow at Mayo Clinic (2021, 2022)

Interests: I love baking, reading classic literature, and watching baseball!


Madeline Johns

Madeline Johns

Major: Biological Sciences

Minor: International Development Studies

Project title: Investigation into Novel Drug to Treat Visceral Leishmaniasis

Career plans: Next year, I will be completing a Masters in Control of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. After that, I hope to work for an international public health organization. 

Summer experience: 2021, virtual intern at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent working for their Covid-19 Immunizations Team; 2022, independent research project studying malaria knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Mankranso, Ghana

Interests: I am an avid reader and runner


Meghan Swantkowski

Meghan Swantkowski

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors:  Anthropology

Mentor: Dr. David Hyde 

Project Title: Discovering the Role of the Extracellular Matrix Protein Nephronectin in Retinal Regeneration 

Career Plans: Pursue graduate school for a Master's in Genetic Counseling

Summer Experiences: received an HYSP grant to perform undergraduate research in Hyde Lab; Naughton Fellowship recipient to conduct bioengineering research at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland 

Other interests: Outside of lab time, people can find me at my intramural sports games, designing The Shirt for the upcoming football season, attending most trivia nights across South Bend, or watching new movies


Jack Sauter

Jack Sauter

Majors: Biology

Minors: Studio Art and Theology

Mentor: Dr. Hyde 

Project Title: The Role of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor in Regeneration of the Zebrafish Telencephalon following Severe Blunt-Force Traumatic Brain Injury

Career Plans: MD/PhD 

Summer Experiences: COS-SURF, Physician Shadowing 

Other Interests: Painting, Music, Interhall sports


Noah Baca

Noah Baca

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors: Compassionate Care in Medicine

Mentor: Dr. Holly Goodson

Project Title: Effects of Kinase Inhibition on the Formation of Biomolecular Condensates, Microtubule-Regulating Structures Composed of Plus-End Tracking Proteins

Career Plans: I plan on taking a gap year before medical school.

Summer Experiences: Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy (Virtual), SSLP at Hilton Head (VIM Clinic), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Notre Dame

Other Interests: Rowing, boxing, lacrosse, hiking, painting, reading, and gardening!


Emily Kozlowski

Emily Kozlowski

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors: Theology and Health, Humanities, and Society

Mentor: Dr. Richard Dahl

Project Title: MicroRNAs as Therapeutic Targets for Aplastic Anemia

Career Plans: Medical school following a gap year

Summer Experiences: CRND-SURF summer research at Notre Dame


Logan Barrios

Logan Barrios

Major: Biological Sciences

Minors: Theology

Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Archie

Project Title: Estrogen and progesterone predict gut microbiome alpha diversity across reproductive states in female baboons

Career Plans: Gap year in research before graduate school/medical school

Summer Experiences: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Summer Research Internship (2020), Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center NSF-REU (2021), Counselor at Camp Sweeney (2022)