UMKC Office of Undergraduate Research Announces 2024 SEARCH Grants

Grant recipients represent students from across campus

The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship has awarded 23 students with SEARCH grants.

Started in 2000, SEARCH stands for Students Engaged in the Arts and Research and represents UMKC's first structured undergraduate research program. Initially offering small grants to a handful of students, the SEARCH program now awards up to $1,500 in reimbursable research expenses to more than a dozen students each year. Each SEARCH grant recipient is also mentored by a UMKC faculty member.

This year's awardees represent:

• School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences
• School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Henry W. Bloch School of Management
• School of Science and Engineering
• School of Medicine

SEARCH grant recipients will present their work as part of the 25^th Annual Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship on April 24, 2025.

Julia Bruno | Major: Geology

"Understanding the Eruptive and Thermal History of Dotsero and Cerro Overo Maars"

Faculty Mentor: Alison Graettinger

Chloe Craig | Major: Geology

"A Record of Paleohurricanes from Grain-size Analysis of Sediment Cores, Clear Pond, The Bahamas"

Faculty Mentor: Tina Niemi

Andrew Custis | Major: Geology

"Enhancing Analytical Techniques for Faster and Accurate Estimation of Microplastic Concentration in Groundwater"

Faculty Mentor: Jejung Lee

Johnny Diep | Major: Physics, Computer Science
David Keltner | Major: Physics

"Linking the Atomic and Electronic Structure of Amorphous Silicon Rings"

Faculty Mentor: Paul Rulis

Sienna Ficken | Major: Biology

"Investigation of PKA dependency of Bru1 nuclear translocation in Drosophila muscle"

Faculty Mentor: Maria Spletter

Olivia Fritz | Major: Biology | Minor: Biotechnology

"Investigating the Structural Basis of Lomitapide Inhibition of the Ceramide Transfer Protein CERT"

Faculty Mentor: XiaoLan Yao

Yasmeen Hanon | Majors: Political Science, Environmental Studies

"Swimming Upstream: Water Conflicts as Resource War Outliers"

Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Best

Ruweyda Hassan | Majors: Chemistry, Political Science

"Media Framing and its Impact on Muslim Political Ambition"

Faculty Mentor: Debra Leiter

Marc Herman | Six-Year Medicine program

"An Epigenetic Approach to Controlling Cytokine Release Syndrome in CAR-T Cell Therapy"

Faculty Mentor: Daniel Scott

Sam Herman | Major: Biology
"Investigation of How Axon Guidance Molecules Operate in a Lineage-Restricted Manner"

Faculty Mentor: Haluk Lacin

Z Kemp | Major: Civil Engineering

"Properties of Kaolin Slurries and Burned Soil: Applications in Post-Wildfire Debris Flow"

Faculty Mentor: Megan Hart

CJ Kreeger | Major: Environmental Science

"Assessment of Macro- and Microplastic Pollution at Beaches and in Beach Sand on San Salvador Island in The Bahamas"

Faculty Mentor: Tina Niemi

Rachel Marquart | Major: Geology

"Characterization of the Elm Branch Shale in Kansas City, Missouri"

Faculty Mentor: Tina Niemi

Raine Morrigan | Major: Computer Science

"FocusPocus"

Faculty Mentor: Jesse Lowe

Cadao P Nguyen | Major: Chemistry

"Investigation of anti-fogging properties of surfactants"

Faculty Mentor: Xiaobo Chen

Spencer Norman | Major: Urban Planning and Design

"Public Transportation Stop Improvement within Kansas City"

Faculty Mentor: Sungyop Kim

Vari Patel | Majors: Finance, Political Science

"State Legislative Term Limits and Representational Loss"

Faculty Mentor: Greg Vonnahme

Ainsley Pickering | Majors: Psychology, Criminal Justice, Criminology

"Dreaming, a Reflection of Mental Health"

Faculty Mentor: Westley Youngren

Wylie Putnam | Majors: Physics, Chemistry

"Characterization of Malassezia pachydermatis Isolates from the Oral Cavity of Kansas Canines"

Faculty Mentor: Brooke Esquivel

Alex Rose | Majors: Biology, Chemistry

"Solar-Powered Reactor for Clean Energy"

Faculty Mentor: Xiaobo Chen

Mya Thomas | Major: Geology

"Field and remote identification of small diameter lava tubes from 1961 lava flow at Askja, Iceland"

Faculty Mentor: Alison Graettinger

Gabriel Worcester | Major: Biomedical Engineering

"Physics-Driven Force-Feedback Haptics for Augmented Reality Mid-Urethral Sling Surgical Training"

Faculty Mentor: Antonis Stylianou