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2025 Fall Undergraduate Research Meeting

The Fall Undergraduate Meeting was a success!  


Congratulations to our grant recipients!

Ashley Boullt (ODU)        QUORUM SENSING AND THE STRINGENT RESPONSE CONVERGE TO REGULATE BIOFILM IN C. DIFFICILE
Harris Shook (Liberty)        Multipartite Synthesis of Molecular Imprinted Polymers for PFAS Detection    
Katriana Meiman (UMW)        Mast cell contributions to connective tissue weakness    
Aidan Clancy (Liberty)        Investigating the Effects of Enterolactone on Incretin and Satiety Hormone Secretion in L Cells    
Jaylan Garcia Martinez (JMU)    Assessing the long-term effects of sodium benzoate on ileal morphology and mucosal composition in mice    
McKenzie Cheynet (UMW)        Cytokine Expression in the Activation of Dendritic Cells in Immunogenic Cell Death    
Marco Estrella (UMW)        Exploring Phage?Antibiotic Synergy to Enhance Inhibition of Pathogenic Bacillus cereus    
Juana Al Anbari (JMU)         Characterizing small molecule/Desmoplakin interactions that prevent protein degradation?    
Akoya Bines (ODU)        Synthesis and Gelation Properties of a Series of C2-Carbamate Derivatives of D-Glucosamine    
Elini Kepler (UMW)        The Effects of Myoglianin Knockdown in Drosophila melanogaster with Myotonic Dystrophy Type One    
Preliminary program available here.


Registration now open!

Everyone attending the meeting should register.

Proposal submission now open!

Lead student authors/presenters should submit a proposal.  



Click here for meeting participant procedures.

Click here for details on poster presentations.


Save the date:  November 8, 2025, at Virginia State University, in Petersburg, VA


The Fall Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science showcases (and provides monetary awards for) undergraduate research projects across all science disciplines, and has been held annually since 2001. Students present prospective research projects in a poster presentation format to a panel of judges to compete for grants (approximately $900 in recent years - no indirect costs allowed on these small undergraduate research grants!). This conference is open to all scientific disciplines, and recent submissions include projects that explore topics in biomedical science, molecular biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, ecology, psychology, neuroscience, and physics. These grants are designed to facilitate the execution of student projects and provide recipients with the opportunity to present their results at our Spring meeting.