Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center

Summer Research Symposium

The Annual CSUMB Summer Research Symposium celebrates the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) and Monterey Regional Ocean Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. Over 100 students will present research conducted over the summer across 12 different academic disciplines and 14 grant-funded programs. To date, this symposium is the largest summer research program in the region. Check out what the Monterey County Weekly and our campus paper, the Lutrinae, have to say about the Summer Research Symposium. 

In addition to a summer of research, undergraduate participants also attend over 20 hours of professional development workshops spanning topics like research communication, graduate school preparation, and mentor relationships.

This event honors their commitment to diving head-first, tackling some of the most difficult questions and working with stellar faculty mentors who guide the process of inquiry along the way.

2024 Summer Research Symposium

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 11th Annual Summer Research Symposium on Friday, August 9th, 2024, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library. We hope to see you again next year!

Congratulations to all the student presenters, including the recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award.

Presenter(s) Poster Title Mentor(s)
Alex Nite AI Meets Immunology: Predicting TCR-pMHC Interactions Vanessa Jönsson Ph.D.
Anastasia Swann Genetic Species Identification of Sebastes Rockfishes in California Elizabeth Alter, Ph.D. & John Carlos Garza, Ph.D
Jasmine Maciel Community Dynamics in Bioremediating Bacteria Mary Snook & Nathaniel K. Jue, Ph.D.
Amira Colón, Madi Loewen Post-Pandemic Factors Influencing STAT250 Student Success at CSUMB Judith Canner, Ph.D.
Denisse Emeterio Comparing Brain Organoid Profiles from Different Embryonic Stem Cell Lines  Sofie Salama Ph.D.
Abraham Porras-Vargas Predictive Habitat Modeling for the Endangered Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum Elizabeth Alter, Ph.D.
Luis Ramirez-Espinoza Evaluating Cover Crop Susceptibility to Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) Daniel Hasegawa, Ph.D.
Matt Biermann Validation of Fish Hematocrit Measurements Using an ABL90 Flex Blood Gas Analyzer Cheryl A. Logan, Ph.D.
Lauren Mallicoat, Ryan Brady Investigating the Current Population Status of the Pismo Clam (Tivela Stultorum) around the Monterey Bay Olivia Beaudoin & Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
Ty Takahashi, Kaitlyn Alvarez Sandy Beach Habitat Variability of Pismo Clam (Tivela stultorum) Populations in Monterey Bay Olivia Beaudoin & Alison Haupt, Ph.D.
Eric Martinez The Development of Seed Coatings to Improve Germination and Vigor Ben Carter

Research Abstracts | Symposium Program

Oral Presentations Session 1: Room 1180 Moderated by Dr. Sherry Palacios and Adam Paganini

Time

Presenter

Presentation Title
9:15 Summer Voth Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Urchin Recruits on the Monterey Bay Peninsula
9:30 Julia Zapadka Population-Specific Plasticity of Purple Sea Urchins
9:45 Nicole Foldi Martinez Effect of Photoperiod on Reproductive Development in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus for Improved Roe Enhancement
10:00 Landen Parks Behavioral Responses of a Marine Sponge to Water Flow
10:15 Maya Clarke Temperature Impacts on the Abundance and Growth Rate of Pseudo-Nitzschia Species Local to Monterey Bay, California
10:45 Alex Washburn LiDAR Estimates of Wave Reflection and Dissipation at the Steep Interface along Rocky Shores
11:00 Karl Ventayen Development of Robust Software Aboard the Coastal Profiling Float
11:15 Maria Cecconello Lucas Variation in Rockfish Reproductive Success in Relation to the El-Niño Southern Oscillation
11:30 Cloey Parlapiano Analysis of the True Phylogenetic Relationship of the Aurora Rockfish (Sebastes aurora) Within the Genus Sebastes
11:45 Roxane Jaramillo Emperor Penguin Dive Depths in Low Light Conditions
12:15 Mateo Longoria Citizen Science Contributions to Understanding ENSO Phases and Anthropogenic Drivers to Pinnipeds in the Monterey Bay Peninsula
12:30 Noah Benasfre Feast-Fast Lifestyle: Physiological Effects of Flexibility in Daily Foraging Effort of Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus)

Oral Presentations Session 2: Room 1170 Moderated by Dr. Jessica Bautista

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15 Josie Wrinkle and Megan Staton Long term monitoring on the recovery of Pisaster ochraceus post Sea Star Wasting Disease: The Sequel
9:30 Sarah Schuster Building a Large Scale Food Quality Index (FQI) of Monterey Bay
9:45 Wyatt Milam Effects of Varying Temperatures on Regeneration of the Solitary Ascidian Species, Ciona intestinalis
10:00 Caleb Hernandez Hungry Hungry Pycnos: Understanding Juvenile Diet Preferences and Diet-Specific Growth and Mortality in the Endangered Sunflower Sea Star
10:15 Lilah Wise Social Association Analysis of Icelandic Killer Whale Population During Feeding Events as an Indicator of Social Network
10:45 Valerie Aring Comparing Feeding Frequencies of California Condor Parents to Nesting Site Distance
11:00 Paola Cabezas and Hailey Christian Modeling TSC Dependent LAM Using Drosophila Muscle Precursors
11:15 Hailie Milam and Lauren Maravilla Mitochondrial Function Alteration Results in Age-Related Changes in Regenerative Capacity of Megakaryocyte Progenitor Cells
11:30 Sameer Dingore

Curated Dataset for Benchmarking of RNA Base-Pairing Annotations Tools

11:45 Efrain Ramirez

A Proposed Demonstration of the Creation and Utilization of Embedded Inconsistency Scales to Screen for Poor Online Self-Report Psychological Data

Oral Presentations Session 3: Room 1176 Moderated by Natasha Oehlman

Time Presenter Presentation Title
9:15 Diana Mendoza

Exploring the Role Cut Scores Play in the Assessment of Invalid Responding

9:30 Alison Jensen and Sofia Campos What do CSUMB Psychology Alumni Have To Say To Current Undergrads? Take A Piece Of Advice From A Former Otter
9:45 Autumn Day Analyzing Facial Prominence and Gaze in Portrayal of University Neuroscience Researchers: Gendered Stereotypes
10:00 Maria Corral Cervantes and Aislynne Chappell Unveiling the Connection between Parents’ Education and Psychology Alumni Choice of Higher Education or Workforce
10:15 Yeritzi Victoria, Dolores Marquez, and Laura Flores The Impact of Bilingualism on False Memory and Source Memory
10:45 Kiley Appleby Representation in Literature: How Children's Book Choices Reflect in Their Social Attitudes
11:00 Levi Mahler The Activists’ Choice: Ballot Initiatives As A Step Towards Pro-Choice Efforts
11:15 Latasha Neal Sisterhood Across Oceans
11:30 Jhoana Morales-Lopez Deliberately Unplanned! Exploring the Impact of Unplanned Events on Career Trajectories in Psychology Alumni
11:45 Berelim Bautista How Does Auditor Tenure Affect Cybersecurity Risk?

Guest Judges

All research poster presenters will be eligible for an Outstanding Research Poster Award. Below is our list of judges and their affiliations.

  • Rob Drezner, Ph.D., Retired Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty, Monterey Peninsula College
  • Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina and Botanist, Bureau of Land Management
  • Fernando DePaolis, Ph.D., Faculty in the Environmental Policy & Management Program, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
  • Nina Alcaraz, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, First Five Monterey County
  • Amelia Olson, Wildlife Biologist, Padre Associates
  • Pam Marino, Staff Writer, Monterey County Weekly
  • Sarah Hulick, Faculty and Program Chair, Cabrillo College
  • Monica Urias, Doctoral Student, UC Davis
  • Colleen Courtney, Chief of Staff for Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams
  • Kelsey Nordstrom-Sanchez, J.D., MLIS,, Research and Instruction Librarian, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Erin Ramirez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education and Leadership, Cal State Monterey
  • Greg Pool, Former Director of Digital Transformation, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Joy Kumagai, Doctoral Student, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
  • Taylor Triviño, Master's Student, University of Washington
  • Chris Green, Ph.D., Director of Exhibits and Collections, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
  • Arun Jani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Science, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Paige Viren, Ph.D., Executive Director, Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Management Program, Cal State Monterey Bay
  • Cassandra Burrier, Social Media Specialist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
  • Cecilia Regalado Diaz, Plant Breeder Technician, Berry Sweet Research, LLC
  • Jissel Antonio, Master's Student, San José State University
  • Polly Goldman, Agricultural Research Science Technician, United States Department of Agriculture
  • Valarie Maestas-Chapel, Project Rebound Coordinator & METAS Grant Coordinator, Cal State Monterey Bay

UROC Scholar, Alyssa Walter, presents her research on white shark mating habits.

UROC Researchers, Katelyn Huie and Sarina Regis, were recipients of an Outstanding Research Poster Award.

Koret Scholars, Alison Jenson, C Mazariegos, and Kyle Parker present research conducted during the summer.