UNCG Celebrates Undergraduate Researchers and Their Mentors
Posted on April 14, 2026
On April 7, 2026, students across campus gathered in Cone Ballroom for the Thomas Undergraduate Research and Creativity Expo. At this annual event, students engaged in faculty-mentored research, scholarship, and creative activity share the results of their projects, celebrate their accomplishments, and compete for prizes in seven categories.
The event also recognizes the faculty whose guidance makes the expo possible, honoring recipients of the 2026 Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards.
Visual Arts Exhibition Cole Smith, Senior (Media Studies) Faculty Mentor: Paula Damasceno (Media Studies) Community Hub: Entrepreneurship and Black Los Angeles
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Janae Wofford, Senior (Biochemistry) Faculty Mentor: Nadja Cech (Chemistry and Biochemistry) Addressing the Global Antibiotic Resistance Crisis: Isolation and Characterization of Antibacterial Metabolites from Fagus grandifolia
Humanities Sheza Khurram, Senior (Archaeology) Faculty Mentor: Geoffrey Hughes (Anthropology) The Write Way: Re-Evaluating Writing Systems on Palm Leaves
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences Ellie Acree, Senior (Political Science) and Ramon Almeida, Senior (Political Science) Faculty Mentor: Michael Broache (Political Science) Cold War Alignments and Constitutional Design in Post-Independence African State Formation: Liberia, Angola, Tanzania
Performing Arts Ainsley Goodyear, Junior (Drama) and Caleb Van-Doornewaard, Junior (Drama) Faculty Mentor: Mya Brown (Theater)
Mentor award, Tenured category
Dr. Jennifer Toller Erausquin, associate professor in the Department of Public Health Education, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the tenured faculty category.
An epidemiologist whose work centers on HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health, and health disparities among marginalized populations, Erausquin is known for the rigor of her research and the depth of her mentoring relationships.
Visual Arts Exhibition Shayla Scales, Senior (Art) Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Meanley (Art) A Southern Love Letter
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Sydney Jones, Senior (Biochemistry) Faculty Mentor: Mitchell Croatt (Chemistry & Biochemistry) Towards the Total Synthesis of the Novel Antifungal Natural Product Jesterone
Humanities Alex Parsons, Senior (Nursing) Faculty Mentors: Tiffany Gibson (Nursing) and Sarah Apel (Nursing) Minerva Mobile Health Unit (MMHU): Sustainable Mobile Health Care Delivery
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences (tie) Kennedy Strong, Post-Baccalaureate (Human Health Sciences) Faculty Mentors: Andrea Lewis (Public Health Education) and Jeannette Wade (Public Health Education) Created for Us, by Us: The Construction of Sexual Health Education [SHE Rises] Intervention for Sexual Violence among Black Women
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Nikolai Tassin, Senior (Psychology) Faculty Mentor: Kari Eddington (Psychology) Testing the Impact of a Self-Regulation-Based Micro Intervention on Depression and Subjective Well-Being
Mentor award, Tenure-Track category
Dr. Eric Drollette, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the tenure-track faculty category.
Drollette’s Exercise and Neurocognitive Health Laboratory uses neuroimaging to explore the relationship between physical activity behaviors and cognition and brain function in children and young adults.
Visual Arts Exhibition Summer Null, Senior (Interior Architecture) Faculty Mentor: Asha Kutty (Interior Architecture) The Hour of Bloom Birth Center
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Keesha Jazzlyn Go, Junior (Computer Science) Faculty Mentor: Sarah McClymont (Biology) Computational Prioritization of Schizophrenia Risk Variants via Integration of GWAS and Open Chromatin Annotations
Humanities (tie) Victoria Charles, Senior (Liberal & Interdisciplinary Studies) Faculty Mentor: Robyn Le Blanc (Classical Studies) How It’s Made: The Craftsmanship and Daily Use of the Etruscan Bronze Mirror
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Lila Thomas, Junior (Arts Administration) Faculty Mentor: Marian Taylor-Brown (Art) The Value of The Nutcracker: An Exploration of the Value That the Asheville Ballet’s Nutcracker Creates & Captures
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences Daijah Elliott, Senior (Public Health Education) Faculty Mentor: Andrea Lewis (Public Health Education) The Burden of Being the ‘Only One’: Hyper-Visibility and Invisibility in the Career Trajectories of Black Women Physician Assistants with Doctoral Degrees
Mentor award, Professional-Track category
Dr. Jessica Caporaso in the Department of Psychology has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the professional track faculty category.
Caporaso, who is an academic professional assistant professor, serves as co-primary investigator of the Development and Understanding of Children’s Knowledge Lab in collaboration with Dr. Stuart Marcovitch and Dr. Janet Boseovski. She specializes in experimental research with young children, studying the development of children’s regulatory capacities and how it relates to peer conflict resolution, moral reasoning, and temperament.
