TREASURED RESEARCH
Each semester, East Carolina University students receive Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity awards, which provide support for faculty-mentored research and creative projects led by undergraduates in four disciplines: biomedical science, STEM, social science and the arts and humanities.
The 32 winners of the spring 2019 URCA awards are conducting research in various fields, from how aquatic conditioning improves cardiovascular fitness in dancers to how laying times in eastern bluebirds have evolved and why their eggs are blue. One student is researching how ozone inhalation impairs efferocytosis, or the resolution of inflammation, in the lung. There is even an East Carolina football player who is researching the impact and side effects of radiation on patients with prostate cancer.
Learn more about four of the student researchers and their projects below.
Sarah Bradshaw Researches Ozone Inhalation
Student Researcher:
Sarah Bradshaw
Major:
Chemistry and Public Health Studies
Classification/Year:
Senior
Hometown:
Shelby, N.C.
Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Kym Gowdy
What are your hobbies and interests?
When I am not in class, interning in Dr. Gowdy’s research lab, or at work, I enjoy listening to new music and spending time with family and friends.
Favorite place on campus?
Balcony of the Main Campus Student Center
Which professor influenced you most?
Dr. Debbie Harris-Rollins was my first professor at ECU. Coming in as a transfer student from a small university, I was afraid that the professors here would be less personable and that I would be treated as just a number. She was very tactful, intelligent. She helped me realize what my passion is. She truly believed in me which inspired me to believe in myself!
What is your favorite class?
Epidemiology
Dream job?
Pediatrician
Favorite band/musician?
Stevie Wonder
Amber Chavis Researches the Eastern Bluebird
Student Researcher:
Amber Chavis
Major:
Biology
Classification/Year:
Junior
Hometown:
Durham, N.C.
Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Susan McRae
What are your hobbies and interests?
Listening to true crime podcasts and building mini 3D models made out of metal (metal bending/metal earth)
Favorite place on campus?
Main Campus Student Center
Which professor influenced you most?
Dr. Susan McRae
What clubs/organizations are you involved with?
TriBeta (Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society) and ReLeaf at ECU
What is your favorite class?
Ornithology
Dream job?
Medical examiner
Favorite band/musician?
Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks
Alex Turner Researches Prostate Cancer Treatment Side Effects
Student Researcher:
Alexander Christopher Turner
Major:
Neuroscience and Psychology
Classification/Year:
Junior
Hometown:
Houston, Texas
Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Johanna Hannan
What are your hobbies and interests?
Reading books, working out, playing video games, teaching myself to play guitar, playing football
Favorite place on campus?
The ECU Athletics weight room and the library
Which professor influenced you most?
Teaching Instructor Kathleen Jones and Dr. Johanna Hannan
What clubs/organizations are you involved with?
East Carolina Football Team, East Carolina Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Elmhurst Gentleman’s Club Mentor, Minority Association of Pre-Health Students
What is your favorite class?
Anatomy and Physiology
Dream job?
Professional football player or neurosurgeon
Favorite band/musician?
Logic
Maddie Wells Researches Dance Conditioning
Student Researcher:
Maddie Wells
Major:
Dance Performance and Choreography
Classification/Year:
Junior
Hometown:
Richmond, Va.
Faculty Mentor:
Teal Darkenwald
What are your hobbies and interests?
Dance, cooking/baking, reading, working out, anything outdoors
Favorite place on campus?
During the spring, the mall is my favorite place to be when I am not in classes.
Which professor influenced you most?
Teal Darkenwald
What clubs/organizations are you involved with?
East Carolina Dance Association (ECDA), Dance Science Club
What is your favorite class?
Sophomore year I took an ethnocultural psychology class and it was the most interesting class I’ve taken outside of my dance classes.
Dream job?
Backup dancer for Lady Gaga
Videos by Rich Klindworth, ECU News Services
Undergraduate Research Stats