Southern Miss Students Excel at Graduate Research Symposium
Tue, 05/06/2025 - 12:54am | By: Shaadi Shoubaki
The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ Graduate School hosted the annual Susan A. Siltanen Graduate Research Symposium on Thursday, April 3, at the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus. The event offered graduate students a valuable opportunity to present their research to faculty, staff and peers in a supportive yet competitive environment through oral, poster and virtual presentations.
The symposium serves as a platform to showcase the innovative scholarship of Southern Miss graduate students, fostering both intellectual growth and a vibrant scholarly atmosphere. This year, 74 graduate students participated in the event.
The Graduate School expresses its gratitude to the 30 faculty members who volunteered as judges for the symposium. Special thanks are extended to Mississippi INBRE for loaning easels and backboards for the poster presentations. Appreciation is also extended to the Office of the Vice President for Research for contributing monetary prizes to the symposium’s winners.
Winners of the symposium, along with recipients of the Graduate Mentor, Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant of the Year awards, were recognized during the Symposium Awards Luncheon.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Arts and Humanities
First Place: Jayitha Gaggenapally, M.A. student in anthropology, A Study of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Program at Â鶹´«Ã½â€‹
Second Place: Fernanda Veiverberg, Ph.D. student in communication, Telenovelas and Gender Stereotypes: A Critical Look at Brazilian Media
Life, Health and Environmental Sciences
First Place: Shazeed-Ul Karim, Ph.D. student in biological sciences, Modeling Chikungunya Virus-Induced Cardiac Disease and Interleukin-17A Based Therapy
Second Place (tie): Marwah Walid Ali Alzara, M.S. student in biological sciences, Investigating the Effect of IFNγ on Antibacterial Responses of Mouse Trophoblast Stem Cells to Listeria Infection
Godspower Okeke, Ph.D. student in biological sciences, Developing Reversible NIPP1-Mediated PP1 Inhibition as a Novel Tool to Decipher PP1 Function​
Physical Sciences and Mathematics
First Place (tie): Leah Case, Ph.D. student in chemistry, Detection of Cyanide Using a Para-bis-coumarin-enamine Fluorescent Sensor
Evan Stacy, Ph.D. student in polymer science and engineering, Sustainable Manufacturing of Carbon Fiber Precursors via Aqueous Photoiniferter Polymerization
Social and Educational Sciences and Business
First Place: Lindsey Ostermiller, Ph.D. student in psychology (counseling), Feasibility and Acceptability of a Brief App-based Mindfulness Intervention for Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals
Second Place (tie): Haeden Overby, MBA student in business administration, Revisits From Reviews: Service Robots' Effect on Brand Equity in Hospitality
Josselyn Telule, Ph.D. student in psychology (clinical), Investigating Racial and Ethnic Differences in Help-Seeking Recommendations and Intentions for Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Life, Health and Environmental Sciences
First Place: Baileigh Fagan, M.S. student in nutrition and food systems, Optimizing Healthcare-Integrated Dietary Interventions: A Clinical Study on Improving Dietary Behaviors in Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations in Mississippi
Second Place: Emilee Holderness, M.S. student in biological sciences, Mate Choice Between Two Species of Topminnows from Dissimilar Hybrid Zones
Physical Sciences and Mathematics
First Place: Penelope Jankoski, Ph.D. student in polymer science and engineering, Combating Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) with Antioxidant Supramolecular Polymers
Second Place: Anwaoy Pandit, M.S. student in physics, Topological Characterization of 3D Disordered Structures Using Voronoi-Volume Analysis
Social and Educational Sciences and Business
First Place: Lillian Hammer, Ph.D. student in psychology (clinical), Disparities in Subclinical Schizophrenia-Related Symptoms in Sexual and Gender Minority Adults
Second Place: Susan Dobson, Ph.D. student in human capital development, Exploring Influences of Generation Z’s Early Career Intentions
Mentor of the Year
Dr. Donald Sacco, associate professor, School of Psychology
Research Assistant of the Year
Cassi Springfield, Ph.D. student in psychology (clinical), School of Psychology
Teaching Assistant of the Year
Meshari Alotaibi, Ph.D. student in communication, School of Media and Communication