On December 11, 2025, students from numerous Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs will participate in the annual GIDP Research Showcase. In addition to spotlighting GIDP research, we are also showcasing undergraduate research from students affiliated with the AWARDSS and UROC programs. Guests will include faculty, staff, students, mentors, family members, alumni, community partners, and other stakeholders. The event creates space to engage in meaningful conversations about the research and problem-solving mechanism that these students are developing to address real-world problems. We are grateful to faculty, students, alumni, and staff for their commitment to improving conditions in so many important areas that are relevant worldwide. Looking forward to seeing you at Showcase!
GIDP Research Showcase
December 11, 2025
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Bear Down Gymnasium
2025 GIDP Showcase Agenda
- 10:30-10:35 AM - Welcome by Elena Chabolla, GIDP Administration
- 10:35-10:40 AM - Speaker Introduction by GIDPAC Chair David Quanrud
- 10:40-10:55 AM - Keynote Speaker, Monica Landgrave Serrano
11:00 AM -12:00 PM - Poster Sessions, Mix & Mingle
ALRS Alumna (2024): Monica Landgrave Serrano is an urban planner dedicated to creating more connected and resilient desert cities. With a background in architecture and a Ph.D. in Arid Lands Resource Sciences, she brings an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges design, research, and policy. As Lead Planner for the City of Tucson, she is currently working on a grant-funded initiative to enhance bus stops citywide with green infrastructure to make transit spaces safer and more comfortable. By supporting the mobility of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, her work fosters a more livable Southern Arizona for all.
2025 Research Showcase - GIDP students alphabetical by program
Christie Meninick - PhD minor - American Indian Studies GIDP
Native Women in Leadership: Using a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Method to Modify the Career Aspiration Survey-Revised
Michael Spears - PhD - American Indian Studies GIDP
From Time Immemorial Through the Atomic Age: An Ethnographic Study of Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Astrid Cambuston - PSM - Applied Biosciences GIDP
Evaluation of Fogging Technology for Controlling Salmonella enterica Newport on Roma Tomatoes and Extending the Shelf-Life of Berries using Edible Films
Nguyen Dang - PSM - Applied Biosciences GIDP
Comparative Analysis of Inoculation and Recovery Techniques for Better Recovery of Listeria monocytogenes from Ready-to-Eat Meats
Kylie Davis - PSM - Applied Biosciences GIDP
Evaluation of the ABBIE Gene-Editing System in Targeting GYS1 in Ovarian Adenocarcinoma Cells
Nada Elnady - PSM - Applied Biosciences GIDP
Site-Specific cis-Diabody Conjugation for Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Development
Keyania Campbell - PhD - Applied Intercultural Arts Research GIDP
Teaching Cultural Memory in Environmental Humanities: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina
Sydney Streightiff - PhD - Applied Intercultural Arts Research GIDP
Exploring Awe Through Co-Created Arts and Health Programming with Hispanic Older Adults
Diana Githu - PhD - Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP
Towards Land Degradation Neutrality: Evidence on Collaborative Governance and Sustainable Land Management in Dryland Regions
Joona Mikkola - PhD - Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP
Carbon Management in Arid Lands: Pathways to Food Security and Resilience
Akshita Sharma - PhD - Applied Mathematics GIDP
A Theoretical Model for Oxygen Transport to the Cerebral Cortex: From Microvascular Flow Redistribution to Macroscopic BOLD Responses
Sheila Whitman - PhD - Applied Mathematics GIDP
Material Informatics for Structural Alloys
Danielle DiFranco - PhD - Cancer Biology GIDP
The role of nuclear EGFR in breast cancer metastasis
Makena Manes - PhD - Cancer Biology GIDP
Estrogen Receptor Promotes Structural Memory in Breast Cancer
Vannia Puig Rivera - PhD minor - Cognitive Science GIDP
Assessing spontaneous goal-oriented cognition in relation to goal-accomplishment and well-being in younger and older adults: A Think Aloud Approach
Mandy Dhahan - PhD - College Teaching Certificate GIDP
Reclaiming Mindfulness in Educational Spaces
Marium Yousuf - PhD - College Teaching Certificate GIDP
Investigating the Success of Multiple-Choice Assessments in a Math Classroom
Pablo Arán Sekul - PhD - Ecosystem Genomics GIDP
Elevation Drives Ecological Turnover in Lichen and Moss Endophytic Communities
Zoe Jensen - PhD - Entomology & Insect Science GIDP
Elucidating the genomic basis of Vip3Aa resistance in Helicoverpa zea through GWAS and transcriptomic analysis
Marshall Ledford - PhD - Genetics GIDP
Volatile traits expand the microbial playbook
Sawsan Wehbi - PhD - Genetics GIDP
Origins of the genetic code revealed by ancient proteins
Asiya B. Sainudeen - PhD minor - Global Change GIDP
Exploring the Moisture Sources and Pathways for South American Rainfall Using Variable-Resolution CESM Simulations
Mikaila Bantugan - PhD - Neuroscience GIDP
Altered mitochondrial function and inflammation in a humanized APP/APOE mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease risk
Yu Jung Chen - PhD - Neuroscience GIDP
Arc mRNA expression pattern in CA1 hippocampal subregion reveals ensemble stability differences across age and cognition
Keila Espinoza - PhD - Physiological Sciences GIDP
Loss of Acid Ceramidase in Macrophages Alleviates Chronic Colitis
Ranon Plett - PhD - Physiological Sciences GIDP
C937 is a Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase- (MAPK-) Biased PAR2 Antagonist that Limits Alternaria alternata-Induced Asthma in Humanized Mice
Logan J. Sherrill - MA - Roshan GIDP Persian & Iranian Studies
Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī (c. 893-970 CE): Medieval Methods of Historical Narrative and Ideological Legitimation
Caroline Scheuer Neves - PhD - Second Language Acquisition & Teaching GIDP
Identity and Power in Critical Portuguese Language Pedagogies: Intersections of Sociolinguistic, Ideological, and Affective Contexts in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
Lucia Velazquez Encinas - PhD - Second Language Acquisition & Teaching GIDP
Are Occupations Gendered? A Mental Imagery and Language Study
Subin Oh - PhD - Second Language Acquisition & Teaching GIDP
Linguistic Field Leverage: Strategic Multilingualism in the Korean Feminist Response to Deepfake Sexual Crime
Serdar Sen - PhD - Second Language Acquisition & Teaching GIDP
Challenges and Affordances of Telecollaboration Projects
Evan Martin-Casler - PhD minor - Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory GIDP
Critical Youth Geographies in Turbulent Times: Alternative Practices of Spacemaking and Community Building
Huiqi Zhang - PhD minor - Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory GIDP
Fibers of Production: The Politics of Paper Recycling in China
Tim Mo - PhD - Statistics & Data Science GIDP
Shifted Maximum Subarray and Its Application in Change-point Analysis
Shudong Sun - PhD - Statistics & Data Science GIDP
Quantifying Dataset Similarity to Guide Transfer Learning
2025 Research Showcase - UROC-affiliated students alphabetical by last name
Elena Brown - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Clinical and Economic Implications of Mental Health and Gastrointestinal Disorder Comorbidity in Adolescents and Young Adults in Hospital Care: A Cross-sectional Analysis with a Focus on PTSD
Randall Candaso - UROC Summer Research Institute
Using Machine Learning to Project End of Career Athlete Trajectory: What Defines Immortal Legacy?
Nathaniel Chavez - UROC Summer Research Institute
Bridging the Gap Between Moral and Economic Disagreements of Rationalization: A Computational Methodology in Contract Jurisprudence
Dania Cruz Jimenez - UROC-PREP
Resilience and Sense of Belonging in Latina Daughters of Immigrants
Chaz DeCoteau - UROC Minimizing Heath Disparities
Using Co-Immunoprecipitation to Investigate the Potential for SNX1.3 to Disrupt the Interaction Between p120 Catenin and HPV L1
Jahaziel Galvan - UROC Minimizing Health Disparities
Photoacoustic Imaging and Spectroscopy in Quantifying Soft Tissue Constituents for Better Diagnosis of Cancer
Gypsie Giroud - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Adolescent Type 1 Diabetes Quality of Life, Internalizing Symptoms, and Predicting Social and School Functioning
Neryanne Jinon - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Exploring cross-cultural knowledge and help-seeking behavior of Filipino & Japanese American Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Implications for Genetic Counselors
Stefanie Lukomski - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
The Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Emotional Synchrony During Romantic Partner Interactions
Ntsumi Machiana - UROC Summer Research Institute
Exploring the synthesis and properties of Glyonic Liquids
Ash Maxwell - UROC Minimizing Health Disparities
An Age and Sex Structured Disease Model: Bovine Tuberculosis in Deer
Grace Mazurik - UROC Summer Research Institute
Time Interval Estimation in the TgF344-AD rat model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Julianna Molinero - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Community Support and Self-Efficacy in First-Generation College Students of Color
Natalia Morales - UROC Summer Research Institute
How Student-Centered Learning Can Be Used to Support Hispanic/Latinx Students and Instructors in Higher Education
Mila Natera - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Accommodating Neurodivergent Heritage Spanish Speakers in Higher Education Bilingual Programs
Christina Petrin - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Barriers to Student Success in Higher Education Through the Lens of Students with Disabilities: Assessment and Intervention
Elias Post - UROC Summer Research Institute
Rainfall and Runoff in the Bronx Wash
Ella Salem - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
Exploring State Mindfulness and Disordered Eating Behavior Using Ecological Momentary Assessment
Valeria Villagrana - UROC AWARDSS-Plus Scholar
The Familial Influence on Educational Aspirations and Expectations: The Roles of Familism, Feelings of Support, and Family Routines