The 2023 CNS Honors Thesis Symposium will take place on Thursday, April 13th and Friday, April 14th in the Willam C. Powers Student Activity Center.
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The 2022 CNS Honors Thesis Symposium Program
APRIL 28 SESSION 1 • 9:00–9:55
EMERGING MEDIA AND THEIR EFFECTS
Moderator: Gray Garmon, School of Design and Creative Technologies
Ryan Hazelwood | A Novel Approach to Computer Generated Art
Nichole Jeong | The Korean Wave: Pop Culture Evolution and Transnational Identity in the Digital Era
Adrian Luong | Technosocial Development: The Social Implications of Parental Device Use
FOSTERING INCLUSIVITY IN EDUCATION
Moderator: Shelly Rodriguez, UTeach Natural Sciences
Juan Garcia | Analyzing Factors that Contribute to Low-Income Hispanic Student Underachievement in Houston
Nisha Saif | Addressing Mental Health and Achievement Gaps in Higher Education Through Inclusive Teaching Practices
Suhaib Shah | Omission of Historical Innovation by US Minority Populations in US Curricula: A Study of the Exclusion of Ibn Sina's Medical Advancements in AP Curricula
GENETICS AND DISEASE
Moderator: Lesli Bordas, Department of Chemistry
Audrey Bahr | In-host Adaptation of Emerging Pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus
Vanessa Heredia | The Epigenetics of Depression
John Moore | T Cell Receptor Expression Variation Between Pediatric and Geriatric Individuals with Mild to Severe COVID-19
APRIL 28 SESSION 2 • 10:00–10:55
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Moderator: Rene Dailey, Department of Communication Studies
Sofia Pedroza | The Physiological Effects of Acculturative Stress on U.S. Latinx Adults and Related Mental Health Outcomes
Raul Lopez | A Culturally Adapted Intervention for Latino Immigrant Parents of Adolescents: The Need to Overtly Address Culture, Discrimination, Drug Usage and Abuse in Evidence Based Practices
Cecilia Arguelles | Disparities in Maternal Mortality: Addressing Social Determinants of Health to Alleviate Health Inequality
EDUCATION: BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM
Moderator: Fatima Varner, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences
Christine Ejiofor | Beyond the Classroom: How Do Disparities in School Punishments Influence Interactions with the Carceral System for Black Girls in the U.S.?
Melise Eyman | An Exploration of Mental Health Interventions: How to Improve School-Based Mental Health Resources for Black Adolescents
Jonathan Yang | The Utilization and Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Remote Classrooms
Katelyn Colston | Education NGOs in Kenya
APRIL 28 SESSION 3 • 11:00–11:55
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Moderator: Rachel Gonzalez-Martin, Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
Olivia Barboza | Youth Exposure to Violence: Breaking the Cycle
Richa John | Gender Paradox in Kerala, India
Grace Xiong | Asian American Stereotypes in the Media and their Effects in Politics
WOMEN, GENDER, AND SOCIETY
Moderator: Alex Huk, Department of Neuroscience
Emma Dalley Bartram | The Mental Health Implications of Gender Roles in the LDS Church
Jasmine Choi | The External Effects of Restrictive Abortion Policies on Women of Color and Women of Low Socioeconomic Status in Texas
Tien Nguyen | Supporting a Pandemic Pregnancy: A Qualitive Exploration of the Role of Birth Doulas in Reproductive Justice During COVID-19
UNDERSTANDING OUR UNIVERSE
Moderator: David Hillis, Department of Integrative Biology
Mohammadali Ghaznavi| Discovering Ancient Black Holes with the JWST
Delaney White | Identifying Overdensities of Galaxies at High Redshift
Catherine Li | Infinitely Divisible Multivariate Distributions
APRIL 28 SESSION 4 • 12:00–12:55
RESPONDING TO COVID-19
Moderator: Becky Kester, Department of Integrative Biology
Julia Zheng | Impact of Health Factor Ranking on COVID-19 Health Outcomes
Varun Elete | COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in African Americans
Dante Porras | COVID-19 as a Regulatory Trigger for Expanded APRN Authority in Texas
APRIL 28 SESSION 5 • 1:00–1:55
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND HEALTHCARE
Moderator: Craig Hurwitz, Department of Pediatrics
Brian Chavez | Importance of Incorporating Technology into Concussion-Based Legislation to Protect High School Football Players
Rhea Gogia | CRISPR: Reproductive Choice or Turning Point?
Jack Hurley | New Healthcare Documentation Technologies and their Effect on Billing Through Fee-for-Service Insurance Plans
INTERACTING WITH THE WORLD AROUND US: BRAIN AND BODY
Moderator: Michael Drew, Department of Neuroscience
Trevor Nguyen | Recording from Marmoset Visual Cortex with High-Density Probes
Priya Sarlashkar | Investigating the Relationship between Emojis and Brain Activation During Language Processing
Noor Shenaq | Effect of Different Treatments on Peri-implantitis
APRIL 28 SESSION 6 • 2:00–2:55
ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS
Moderator: Amy Simmons, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music
Iris Kim | Addressing Communication Barriers in Accessing Healthcare Experienced by Homeless Populations and Their Providers
Samuel Ma | Barriers to Liver Disease Care for People Experiencing Homelessness
Sophie van Dijke | Preventing Transgender Homelessness: A Proposed Counseling Intervention for Families of Transgender Youth in the U.S. South
APRIL 28 SESSION 7 • 3:00–3:55
BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES
Moderator: Sonia Gonzalez, Department of Public Health
Natalie Lim | Mapping the Ties Between the Built Environment and Social Capital
Sophia Zabul | Urban Development as a Commitment
Ninette Siby | Implementing a Hybrid Adult Day Center in Austin, Texas
APRIL 28 SESSION 8 • 4:00–4:55
NEW APPROACHES TO RARE DISEASES
Moderator: Madison Searle, CNS Honors Center
Tuesday Haynes| Glioma, Race, & Atopy: A Meditation Model
Michael Zuazua | Patient Preferences and Withdrawal Factors in a Randomized Diet Trial for Patients with Crohn's Disease
Shyamal Waghwala | Health-care Transition for Type 1 Diabetics: A Systematic Review and Proposal of the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Services
APRIL 29 SESSION 1 • 9:00–9:55
CURRENT POLITICS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: David Laude, Department of Chemistry
Arya Bhakare| Vilifying Vaccines: Media Misinformation, Politics, and Texas
Eduardo Levi | Presidential Responses to Pandemics: A Comparative Analysis of HIV/AIDS Under Ronald Reagan and COVID- 19 Under Donald Trump
Tien Vo | The Social Implications of Political Division in the United States
CULTURE AND HEALTH • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Rosa Schnyer, School of Nursing
Sophie Liu | Cultural Mentalities and Materia Medica: The Science of Medicine in the Ancient Greek and Chinese World
Sean Daly | Haredi Judaism & COVID-19: A View on Religion and Health from Israel
Drew Fowler | A Culturally Conscious Approach to Using Music Therapy to Treat Immigration-Induced PTSD on the U.S.- Mexico Border
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR DEPRESSION RESEARCH • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Christopher Beevers, Department of Psychology
John Henry Cruz | Quantifying the Language of Depression: Implications for Psychotherapy
Abby Rex | Generational Differences in Digital Communication, Loneliness, and Depression
Kendall Dunn | Dietary Fiber Intake and Depression in U.S. Adolescents
APRIL 29 SESSION 2 • 10:00–10:55
CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Kenneth Young, Department of Geography and the Environment
Mark DeGraff | Social Sciences and Ecological Modeling in Conversation
Caroline Cummings | Understanding the Emergence of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and Preventing Pandemics
GEOGRAPHICAL CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Greg Sitz, Department of Physics
Yash Desai | The Petrochemical Problem: Factors Driving the Existence of Cancer Alley, Louisiana
Azelia Lau | Environmental Injustice Shouldered by the Marginalized: How Telemedicine Can Bridge the Gap
Rohan Shah | The Role of Telehealth in Rural Substance Abuse Treatment
APRIL 29 SESSION 3 • 11:00–11:55
EMERGING ISSUES IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Kasey Claborn, School of Social Work
Yossef Alsabawi | Countering Medical Misinformation
Sathwik Iyer | Studying the Role of Pharmaceutical Companies in the Opioid Crisis
Doru Gucer | More and More with Less and Less: Moral Injuries in the Intensive Care Unit
MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Mark Hemenway, CNS Honors Center
Sophia Laird | The Effects of Instagram on the Development of Eating Disorders in Young Women
Ray Selinidis | From the Sopranos to Mad Men to Bojack Horseman: How Addiction, Toxic Masculinity, and Serialization Have Affected Portrayals of Depression
Michelle Yamada | Media and Mental Health: Its Unconscious Influence
APRIL 29 KEYNOTE SPEAKER • 12:00–12:55
DR. PATRICK BYRNE • WCP LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ROOM
VACCINE ANTIGEN DESIGN: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
APRIL 29 SESSION 4 • 1:00–1:55
CULTURE AND COMMUNITY IN HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Marilyn Felkner, Department of Public Health
Avery Arsenault | Community-Based Participatory Research in eHealth Interventions to Target Cardiovascular Disease
Sara Mansoorshahi | Analyzing the Impacts of Youth Participation in HIV Research
Hana Dole | Individualism vs. Collectivism and COVID-19 Response in the Netherlands and Chile
LANGUAGE PROCESSING/PROCESSING LANGUAGE • WCP 3.116
Moderator: Fernando Llanos, Department of Linguistics
Niyenth Iyengar | Language Learning, Frequency, and Being a 'Language Person'
Matthew Mun | Linguistic Properties (and Inequalities) in Chemical Nomenclature
Joshua Lattao | The Effects of Racial and Language Discrimination on Asian American Adolescents' Health
SYNTHESIZING NEW MATERIALS • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Mark Hemenway, CNS Honors Center
Sara Irvine | High Pressure Synthesis of Rare Earth Nickel Oxides
Teddy Hsieh | Enhancing Optical Nonlinearities Through Quantum Engineering of Semiconductor Materials
Rithvik Ramesh | Enhancing Second-Order Optical Nonlinearity Through the Bandgap Engineering of Asymmetric Coupled Quantum Wells
APRIL 29 SESSION 5 • 2:00–2:55
COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES TO HEALTHCARE • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Keryn Pasch, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education
Haroon Dossani | The Intersection of Complementary and Conventional Medicine in Cancer Care
Emily Samson | Using Mindfulness to Treat Chronic Pain in America
Jamil Okada | Integrating Mind and Body: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Rehabilitation for Female Athletes Post-ACL Reconstructive Surgery
CARING FOR KIDS • WCP 3.112
Moderator: Laura Colgin, Department of Neuroscience
Yukta Sunkara | Fostering Self-Efficacy in Young Children with Autism Through Early Childhood Education
Prachi Shah | Language Concordance in Pediatric Epilepsy Care: Overview & Preliminary Results
Christina Howell | Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatric Medicine
APRIL 29 SESSION 6• 3:00–3:55
IMPROVING PATIENT-PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION• WCP 3.112
Moderator: Tepera Holman, College of Natural Sciences Diversity and Student Programs
Sienna Wu | Misconceptions About Clinical Empathy
Rohan Patil | Analyzing Intervention Programs in Healthcare Settings to Decrease Stigma Against Populations Suffering from Substance Use Disorder
Faiza Sarwar | Clinician Communication Strategies to Navigate Differences of Opinion with Patients
MANIPULATING MOLECULES • WCP 3.106
Moderator: Arturo De Lozanne, Molecular Biosciences
Aidan Comiskey | Optimizing a Reversible Crosslinking System for Dynamic Polymer Gels
Ronak Desai | Production of Novel Polyketides by Combinatorial Engineering of Modular Polyketide Synthases
Tanvi Ingle | A Model of Bacteriophage ΦX174 Gene Expression and Fitness
