This year’s University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) Grand Prizes have been awarded for research in reducing chemotherapy side effects in the science, technology, engineering, and math category, and for research in grade school education reform in the social science, humanities, and arts category.
"Each year, UURAF gives us the opportunity to see some of the amazing research and collaboration in which undergraduates at MSU engage," said Mark Largent, associate provost for undergraduate education at MSU. "This year's two grand prize winners advanced the knowledge needed to build culturally responsive classrooms and to lessen the pain experienced by those undergoing chemotherapy. To say we are proud of their ingenuity and drive is an understatement. We are delighted to acknowledge these grand prize winners and their work.”
The Editorial Board and staff members for the Red Cedar Undergraduate Research Journal (ReCUR) reviewed submissions and selected Grand Prize winners in two categories: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and SSHA (social science, humanities, and arts). The students that won first place at the UURAF competition in April contributed to the pool of entries. Each of the Grand Prize-winning teams are awarded $500.
"Adenosine Receptor Antagonism Reduces Chemotherapy Side Effects in Mice such as Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Toxicity and Painful Neuropathy," by Hariharan Ramakrishnan, a junior studying Physiology, earned the STEM Grand Prize. Ramakrishnan’s research mentors for the project were Assistant Professor of Physiology Geoffroy Laumet, Ph.D., and Jaewon Sim, a Ph.D. candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology.
Ramakrishnan’s team studied means to ameliorate the kidney toxicity and painful neuropathy associated with cisplatin, a powerful chemotherapy drug. Their research involved reducing cisplatin’s inflammatory side effects using Istradefylline, an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
The SSHA Grand Prize was awarded for a paper titled "Assessing Writing in Children Who Use African American English: The Impact of a Culturally Responsive Scoring Approach in Grades 3-4," authored by Construction Management senior Sam Bourgeois and Social Relations and Policy junior Ellie Friedman. The duo’s advisors were Dr. Adrea Truckenmiller in the College of Education and Lindy Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate in Special Education and Teaching.
The group’s research involves applying a culturally and linguistically responsive approach, which regards African American English (AAE) as a distinct rule-governed dialect system, to assessing literacy for students in grades three and four. The goal of the research is to quantify possible literacy scoring discrimination and offer tools for educators to account for dialectical diversity in the classroom.
"Each year, UURAF gives us the opportunity to see some of the amazing research and collaboration in which undergraduates at MSU engage," said Mark Largent, associate provost for undergraduate education at MSU. "This year's two grand prize winners advanced the knowledge needed to build culturally responsive classrooms and to lessen the pain experienced by those undergoing chemotherapy. To say we are proud of their ingenuity and drive is an understatement. We are delighted to acknowledge these grand prize winners and their work.”
The Editorial Board and staff members for the Red Cedar Undergraduate Research Journal (ReCUR) reviewed submissions and selected Grand Prize winners in two categories: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and SSHA (social science, humanities, and arts). The students that won first place at the UURAF competition in April contributed to the pool of entries. Each of the Grand Prize-winning teams are awarded $500.
"Adenosine Receptor Antagonism Reduces Chemotherapy Side Effects in Mice such as Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Toxicity and Painful Neuropathy," by Hariharan Ramakrishnan, a junior studying Physiology, earned the STEM Grand Prize. Ramakrishnan’s research mentors for the project were Assistant Professor of Physiology Geoffroy Laumet, Ph.D., and Jaewon Sim, a Ph.D. candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology.
Ramakrishnan’s team studied means to ameliorate the kidney toxicity and painful neuropathy associated with cisplatin, a powerful chemotherapy drug. Their research involved reducing cisplatin’s inflammatory side effects using Istradefylline, an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
The SSHA Grand Prize was awarded for a paper titled "Assessing Writing in Children Who Use African American English: The Impact of a Culturally Responsive Scoring Approach in Grades 3-4," authored by Construction Management senior Sam Bourgeois and Social Relations and Policy junior Ellie Friedman. The duo’s advisors were Dr. Adrea Truckenmiller in the College of Education and Lindy Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate in Special Education and Teaching.
The group’s research involves applying a culturally and linguistically responsive approach, which regards African American English (AAE) as a distinct rule-governed dialect system, to assessing literacy for students in grades three and four. The goal of the research is to quantify possible literacy scoring discrimination and offer tools for educators to account for dialectical diversity in the classroom.
