McNair Cohort 2019

Andrea Anaya
Biology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Jacob Raber
Research Project: Cognitive and behavioral effects of six-beam irradiation on B6D2F1 mice

Liliana Brock 
International Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Jose Padin
Research Project: Characteristics or Caricatures: A Narrative Analysis of News Media Representations of The Central American “Caravans” in 2017-18

Alec Chapa
Conflict Resolution Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Albert Spencer
Research Project: In Trump We Trust: Epistemic Isolation, Conflict Narratives, and Climate Change Denial in Significant Portion of Trump’s 2016 Election Base

Maria Dizon
Community Health Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Alex Foster
Research Project: Recruiting Vulnerable Populations into Research

Kaila Fontenot
Anthropology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Megann Horst
Research Project: Blackness and Soil: The complex relationship generations of Black people have with the Portland Soil

MacKenzie Gray
Biology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Erin Shortlidge
Research Project: Examining Integration and Sense of Belonging Among Undergraduate Students Participating in STEM Support Programs
 

Amanda Grunwald 
Biology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Luis A Ruedas
Research Project: Taxonomy of the West African bat, Hypsugo eisentrauti (Hill, 1968) Grunwald, A.L.

Red Hamilton
Urban & Public Affairs Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Chivers
Research Project: Managing Resources: Limited payment options and inaccessible food on college campuses

Maria Hayes
Psychology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kerth O’Brien
Research Project: The Price of Coping: A Secondary Analysis of the John Henryism Hypothesis and Psychological Distress
 

Anthony Holmes
Geography Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vivek Shandas
Research Project: Developing a Granular Spatiotemporal Model of Terrestrial Carbon Storage and Flux in Multnomah County to Inform Policy Interventions to Meet Regional Climate Goals
 

Chanel Ison
Sociology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Julius McGee
Research Project: Mass Incarceration, Income Inequality, and Climate Change

Russell Javan 
Applied Health & Fitness Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brad Wipfli
Research Project: The impact of family income and international transfer status on stress, health behaviors, and chronic disease risk in college students

Rayna Koberstein
Environmental Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Catherine de Rivera
Research Project: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associations across multiple salt marsh plant species in mitigating the impacts of sea-level rise

Maribel Legaria Cisneros
Psychology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elena Aviles
Research Project: How do Indigenous Oaxacans view their ethnic-racial identity during emerging adulthood?

Nigel Leonis
Mathematics Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eva Thanheiser
Research Project: Using coding tool to see student-teacher connections in a mathematics classroom

Lilliana Lopez
Biology, Health Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Strongin
Research Project: Investigations of Vitamin B12 Vaping Products
 

Giselle Lopez-Ixta
Health Studies: Community Health, Social Science Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eddy Alvarez Jr.
Research Project: Representations of Settler Multiculturalism in Chicanx Muralism

Alexander Meyers
English Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Elisabeth Ceppi
Research Project: Title Queer Autobiography: The Potency of Reparative Contagion

Heidi Morgan
Child, Youth & Family Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Miranda Cunningham
Research Project: Connections Between Sensory Sensitivities in Autism; the Importance of Sensory Friendly Environments for Accessibility, as well as the Mental & Physical Health of the Neurodivergent Autistic Minority
 

Jade O’Halloran
Sociology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Derrais Carter
Research Project: Black Feminist Pleasure Politics in The Classroom: Pleasure & Personhood for Black Women & Femmes in College

Haley Okamoto
Communication Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr.  Brianne Suldovsky
Research Project: Mixed Plate: Understanding Multiracial Student Identities Within Higher Education

Paulette Renea Perry
Indigenous Nations Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Blake Hausman
Research Project: Presence: Native Americans and Alaska Natives in Higher Education
 

Jessica Rodriguez
Health Studies: Health Science, Health Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Susanne Klawetter
Research Project: Gender discrimination and the effects on maternal mortality rates in the United States, an integrative review

Sulema Rodriguez
Speech & Hearing Sciences Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Megann McGill
Research Project: Self-Disclosure and Physiological Responses among Adults who Stutter

Lindsey Romo
Social Work Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jessica Rodriguez-Jenkins
Research Project: Comparing restorative justice interventionist and school resource officers in high schools
 

Mark Sanchez
Mathematics Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lisa Marriott
Research Project: The Use of Reflectance Photospectroscopy to Characterize Skin Melanin Content for Predictive Validity of a Self-Report Sun Sensitivity Survey

Motutama Sipelii
Biology, Health Studies
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Podrabsky
Research Project: Environmental and Social Aspects of Sex Determination in the annual killifish Austofundulus limnaeus

Christopher Sirakowski
Biology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Green
Research Project: The Effects of Mixed-Severity Wildfire on Small Mammal Occupancy in Northern California and Southern Oregon

Juell Towns
Health Studies Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Raina Croff
Research Project: Assessing the Health Impact of a Culturally Celebratory Multimodal Cognitive Health Intervention

Jenna Williams
Sociology, Psychology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vicki Reitenauer
Research Project: From Shame to Resilience: An Autoethnography of Healing

Taylor Young
Sociology Major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Derrais Carter
Research Project: I Make The Clothing, The Clothing Don’t Make Me