Kristen Barwick
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Antje Heese
Why is undergraduate research at Mizzou important?
“There are a lot of unanswered questions we have about biological systems and in biological research that need to be answered. I want to help to understand our growing population, and understand how to improve biochemical processes we already have.”
Leah Lepore
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Chris Lorson
Why did you want to become an Ambassador?
“The task of finding your niche of research can be a rewarding feat, but also serve as a daunting task. Being a point of contact as someone who has gone through the experience, I hoped to do something to make it more navigable for students who want to learn more about the realm of possibilities in research. By becoming an ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Research, I can do just that.”
Luke Marx
Year in School
Junior
Major Degree Program / Department
Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Aaron Stoker
How did you get started with undergraduate research?
“I first got started with undergraduate research through the Discovery Fellows program which allowed me to find a research path that fit my interests and skills. After interviewing with a few labs, I found that the Thompson lab was a great fit for me.”
Maxwell Daubert
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Scott Peck
How did you get started with undergraduate research?
“My undergraduate research journey started when I learned about the FRIPS program, which is Freshmen Research in Plant Science. I joined and learned a lot about what it generally takes to be an undergraduate researcher and how research might eventually look as a career. I was matched into the Dr. Scott Peck lab which is a plant biochemistry lab focusing on plant immunity and now I love the people there and the mentorship and it’s been probably the touchstone experience of my undergraduate career.”
Meaghan Fleming
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Digital Storytelling
Faculty Mentor(s)
Katina Bitsicas
How did you get started in undergraduate research?
“I took Video Art II my sophomore year with Katina Bitsicas, and she actually organized for us to be part of a huge film festival in Florida, “Digital Graffiti.” She got our student work in the festival, and throughout that trip she was talking to me and another classmate of mine about research and encouraged us to apply for the ASH Scholars program, so I applied.”
Morgan Linneweh
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Communication Science and Disorders
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale
How did you get started in research?
“Going into college, I had no idea what undergraduate research was. Frankly, I didn’t care either. I thought it was just one of those lines on college tours that would get you hooked and make you go to school there. I didn’t see research in my future, and I didn’t think twice about it.
Well, that’s until I thought twice about it. At the end of my first semester at Mizzou, I got an email from a professor that came and spoke in one of my classes. She mentioned that the essay I turned in caught her eye and that she could see me fitting in well in her research lab. It made me excited that she saw my genuine passion for speech pathology in just a short, 1-page essay. After a few emails back and forth, we met over zoom to discuss her lab and the opportunities it may present in the future. Just like the cheesy line on the campus tour, I was hooked, and I started in the lab the following semester.”
Randi Noel
Year in School
Junior
Major Degree Program / Department
Plant Sciences
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Richard Ferrieri
How can students get started with undergraduate research?
“Go to all the research fairs you can and all the career fairs you can. They always have something going on at Mizzou that connects you to clubs, opportunities, and specific organizations here on campus.”
Reese Betts
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Film Studies
Faculty Mentor(s)
Katina Bitsicas
How did you get started in undergraduate research?
“I had a class with Katina Bitsicas, and that was a video art course, and we went to the festival “Digital Graffiti” a couple years ago with that class, and it was really the first big networking opportunity I had. Then, when I came back the next year, I wanted to get as involved as I could, and I really just was so inspired by everything that Katina was implementing in her artistic practices and her focus on trying to help younger people get started. That year, she told me about the ASH Scholars program, and she told me about the different directions you can go with it, and she told me about the team Art of Death, and I decided to apply, and that was the start of my research on campus.”
Tanner Smith
Year in School
Senior
Major Degree Program / Department
Communication
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Christoper Josey, Dr. Julius Riles
How did you get started in undergraduate research?
“I got started in Undergraduate Research right away in my freshman year. I joined the ASH Scholars team with Dr. Josey and Dr. Riles and it was just a really fun experience. I kind of applied on a whim, and it’s been a really transformative experience to get to see the research that I’m doing actually be presented and stuff like that so it’s been a very cool experience for me.”
Vishvi Aurora
Year in School
Junior
Major Degree Program / Department
Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Gavin King
What made you want to get involved in research?
“I was very curious about it, I knew what I wanted to do in research, but wasn’t sure about where do I start. I ended up attending a workshop with Dr. Linda Blockus with the UGR Office, and she guided me to look at faculty and research areas. It’s helped me expand content knowledge as well as to form those basic skills you need to advance in research. It teaches you things not taught in the classroom.”