Student Achievements
Undergraduate Grants & Awards
Our undergraduate student researchers have received competitive research grants and other awards, including:
- 2025:Â Â Â Â Ayesh Mulla received a research grant from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.
- 2024:ÌýÌýÌýÌý Amy Patel received a research grant from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.
- 2023:Â Â Â Â Ola Abozid received several grants from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and a National Eye Institute Early Career Scientist award. Read about her successes here!
- 2023:Â Â Â Â Stevie Ann Hill received a National Eye Institute Early Career Scientist award.

Student Conference Presentations
- Castro, C., Mahfouz, N. O., Prela, D., Mulla, A., Renu, S., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “A review of fixational instability in ophthalmic disease.” Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 16-20, 2025, St. Petersburg, FL. Four student co-authors traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Alcindor, B., Patel, A., Ramachandra, L., Toribio, J., Sharkly, M. B., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “Decreased eye movement is associated with perceived blurring of object boundaries in meditation.” Poster presented at the Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 16-20, 2025, St. Petersburg, FL. L. One student author traveled to Florida to present this poster.
- Spiers, J., Patel, A., Alexander, K.E., & Alexander, R. G. (2025). “Burned out but still showing up: the college student experience.” “Unconferenceâ€� presentation at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting, April 2-5, 2025, Denver, CO. Two student co-authors traveled to Denver to present this work.
- Mulla, A., Hill, S. A., Spiers, J.M., Swift, A., Hautsch, J., & Alexander, R.G. (2025). “Fans literally view images differently than non-fans.” Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting, March 6-8, 2025, New York, NY.
- Abozid, A., Renu, S.K., Safonova, E., Spiers, J., Guerras-Solares, E., & Alexander, R.G. (2024). “Microsaccades and ocular drift in ophthalmic and neurologic disease.� Poster presented at the annual Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 17-22, 2024, St. Petersburg, FL. Four student presenters traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Hill, S. A., Spiers, J.M., Ramachandra, L., Mulla, A., Hautsch, J., & Alexander, R.G. (2024). “The impact of fandom on image viewing.� Poster presented at the annual Vision Sciences Society annual meeting, May 17-22, 2024, St. Petersburg, FL. Two student co-authors traveled to Florida to co-present this poster.
- Dull, A., Borbon, B., Joseph, J., & Huey, M. (2023). “The Impact of Religiosity as a Buffer to the Adverse Effects of Internet Susceptibility.� Symposium presented at the International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS), March 9-11, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. Three undergraduate research assistants travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to present.
- Joseph, J., Borbon, B., Dull, A., & Huey, M. (2023). “How Religious Identity Buffers the Effects of Internet Susceptibility.� Poster presented at the American Psychological Conference, May 25-28, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
- Velez, C., Shumskaya, A. & Huey, M. (2022). “Optimizing the Remote Learning Environment.� Poster presented at the American Psychological Science Convention, May 26-29, 2022, in Chicago, IL.
Student Research News
Building a STEM Pipeline Through Summer Research for High Schoolers
Assistant Professor Robert Alexander, Ph.D., has opened his lab to more than a dozen high school students, giving them hands-on experience in psychological and biomedical research, as well as a path to Ä¢¹½´«Ã½.
Bridging Generations…Again
In addition to his studies, medical student John Mari (B.S. ’23) is leading the charge in making intergenerational connections.
In Demand
With the enrollment of its largest first-year class, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ finds momentum in career-focused programs, hands-on experiences, and a more personal approach to recruitment.
Fellows’ Field Notes: Dominican Republic and Greece
Over the summer and this fall, seven students traveled for their academic research projects supported by the Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship program.
Op-ed: AI Education Can’t End at Graduation
Universities have an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure their students—past, present, and future—are AI literate, writes President Balentine in an op-ed.
Turning Adversity Into Discovery
Learn about mechanical engineering graduate student Bryan Shivram’s (B.S. ’23) journey into biomechanics research.