Senior Honors Profiles
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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