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Meet the UMBC Review Editors for the 2019 Edition... Michelle Guldan (STEM Editor) is a junior who is studying biology and environmental science. She is interested in pursuing a career in scientific research and is grateful for the many research opportunities she has had at UMBC, including assisting in Dr. Leips' lab and working as the STEM editor for the UMBC Review. Maxi Wardcantori (Arts and Humanities Editor) is a junior studying English Literature and Medieval & Early Modern Studies. In addition to working as the Humanities editor for the UMBC Review, she is also Junior Managing Editor of Bartleby Creative Arts Journal. She hopes to attend grad school and pursue a career in academia.
Ghina Ammar (Social Sciences Editor) is a junior majoring in Political Science and History. She is interested in pursuing a career in law and higher education. Ghina has learned and grown through her experience working as a lead research assistant with the SoDHI lab under Dr. Beatty Moody, UMBC Department of Psychology, and looks forward to working as the Social Sciences editor for the UMBC Review. _______________________________________________________________________ Have you completed research that you want to refine and publish? Would you like to be able to put “published author” on your resume? Would you like professional criticism on your writing from peer and faculty reviewers? The UMBC Review is a peer-reviewed publication, completely directed by UMBC undergraduate students. All of the articles published in the UMBC Review go through a rigorous peer review process. The Review is indebted to the anonymous off-campus faculty reviewers who volunteer their time to assure the high quality of our publication. We are proud to produce the publication in print format. Free copies of the current issue are available for pick up at the Office of Undergraduate Research (located in Sherman Hall-A Rm.114).
Submit your paper!
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Direct all questions to our editors at umbcreview@umbc.edu. | ||
The iOme (I OWE ME) Challenge is a national competition operated by The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) to raise awareness among college students about the impact of financial security in retirement on the social and economic well being of our society. Students from across the country respond to the annual iOme Challenge question in the form of a policy and research paper and a promotional video. A blue ribbon panel judges the submissions and selects the winning team.
This year, students were asked to imagine that they have been invited by Congress to join a Special Bipartisan Task Force to address the nation's growing retirement crisis. Their task was to develop ideas and solutions for increasing retirement savings opportunities for millennials.
Evan’s essay, Rethinking Millennial Retirement: Policy Recommendations for a Gig Economy, “demonstrated great policy depth, a keen understanding of the challenges millennials face, and creativity in devising solutions that are achievable for this age cohort” said David Wegge, Interim Dean of Schneider School of Business and Economics, St. Norbert College, one of the founders of the competition, and a member of the judging panel.
Cindy Hounsell, President of Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, sponsor of the competition said, “We are impressed by Mr. Avila’s response to the more complicated challenges and deterrents millennials face in preparing for their future retirement. We look forward to his presentation and policy discussion at our upcoming symposium.”
As the winner, Mr. Avila will present his paper at a symposium on Capitol Hill and have an opportunity to discuss it with public policymakers. The faculty advisor for the project, Professor Douglas J. Lamdin, department of Economics at UMBC, will also attend and participate in the panel. The symposium, "The Millennial Perspective: An Intergenerational Discussion on Retirement Solutions" will be held on June 20, 2018 and is sponsored by WISER. A keynote speaker, panels of experts and congressional staff leaders will also discuss current issues and legislative proposals. A reception will follow honoring the iOme Challenge winner.
Congratulations, Evan!
Darius McKoy is a Biological Sciences (B.S.) major and Psychology (Minor) who will graduate in Spring, 2020.
List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Meyerhoff Scholar, HHMI Scholar, President's List, Dean's List, LSAMP Participant
Title of your research project: The Role of Protein Synthesis in Cellular Arrest and Organismal Survival Under Anoxia
Describe your project: The phenomenon is that zebrafish can survive up to 50 hours by halting their development to converse energy. In the lab, we are analyzing the signaling pathways that allow this arrest to occur.
Who is your mentor(s) for your project? Dr. Rachel Brewster, Biological Sciences. I became interested in Dr. Brewster because of recommendations from past students. I chose her because from meeting with her and talking to the graduate students, it was clear that she would push me to become the best researcher that I could be.
How did you become interested in this project? I became interested in the project because I realized that it can have some real medical applications and can impact human health which aligns with my career goals.
What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The hardest part has been managing time in lab with classes and other commitments but keeping track of my time can greatly benefited me. I had to learn that patience was key to survival in a research lab.
What has been the most rewarding part? Finally getting things to work after troubleshooting for a long time and gaining approval from graduate students.
How will you disseminate your research? URCAD Presentation and a future publication
What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? At UMBC, the opportunities are endless. A simple email asking to meet with a faculty member to discuss their research can do the trick.
What are your career goals? Obtain a MD/PhD in neurobiology and become a successful neuroscientist and anesthesiologist, then start a medical company.
Want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week? Email: aprilh@uumbc.edu
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Meet Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman!
Your major(s) and minor(s): Mathematics and Economics
Your expected year of graduation: 2019
List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Honors College, Meyerhoff Scholars Program, MARC U*STAR Scholars Program
Title of your research project: The Impact of Early Childhood Malaria on Educational Attainment in Ghana
Describe your project: I am using two datasets from Ghana household survey data from 2012/2013 and malaria incidence rate data from 2000, to determine whether early childhood malaria increases the likelihood of a child dropping out of school or being held back a grade.
Who is your mentor(s) for your project? I am conducting research under the guidance of Dr. Tim Gindling, a UMBC professor in the Department of Economics, and Dr. Lauren Cohee, a researcher and infectious disease pediatrician at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine Institute for Global Health (IGH). I am also collaborating with the Ghana Health Service. After speaking with Dr. Gindling about his research and involvement with the World Bank, I realized that he possessed the expertise and experience to provide sound mentorship on my project. I have worked on Dr. Cohee’s project for nearly two years. Her study, which focuses on low-density malaria infections among school-age children in southern Malawi, inspired me to look into the long-term educational implications of the disease. I knew that she would help Dr. Gindling and I better understand the epidemiological data as well as hone in the public health focus of my research. Also, I really enjoy my lab and our team, they’re pretty awesome.
How did you become interested in this project? I have always wanted to understand barriers to education for children and youth in Ghana, my homeland. My interest in public health, and eventually, infectious disease, emerged after working at the Institute for Global Health and learning about the hundreds of millions of children impacted by malaria worldwide. As I worked with Dr. Cohee on her project, I began asking questions about the long-term impact of our work and the role of disease in determining the educational outcomes of children. I also saw that there remains a significant gap in the literature and conversation surrounding malaria and school-age children. Typically, when we talk about malaria, we focus exclusively on children under the age of five. Research about how school performance and educational attainment are affected by malaria is sparse. I hope that my work begins to scratch the surface in understanding the long run costs of malaria among young children.
What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The hardest part about my research has been data collection. Obtaining data from a sub-Saharan African country is very difficult. I had to call in some favors to get the contact information for the Ghana Health Service and jump through a couple more hoops to get the data that I needed. Moving forward, my mentors and I anticipate that controlling for many different confounding factors will be the hardest part about my research. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the challenge. In general, the unpredictability and timing of research is what can make the process a bit stressful. I think many people come into research with a plan of how things are supposed to go, but then reality hits. It’s best to patient with the process and yourself.
What has been the most rewarding part? I love talking to laymen about the work that I am doing. The most satisfying feeling is to see the light bulb go off in someone’s head or entertain questions that I had not previously thought about. For this project, I am really excited to explore how this research informs the decision-making of educators and health workers in Ghana.
How will you disseminate your research? My aim is to share my research with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and the Ghanaian community at large. I also plan to present at URCAD next year and submit my work to a number of undergraduate and public health journals.
What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? I want to encourage students to be bold and reach out to people who are conducting research that interests them. Oftentimes, students will assume that they cannot join a lab or with a professor because they don’t have the highest grades or the most experience. While there is definitely a learning curve, I think that it is important to identify mentors who will tap into your potential; this means putting yourself out there, calling a PI (Primary Investigator), and/or attending conferences on and off campus. UMBC is unique because information about undergraduate research can be obtained through a variety of different programs and campus-wide initiatives made available to students. This kind of a luxury is scarcely available to students who attend larger institutions. Many of these programs (e.g. Meyerhoff Friend Program, McNair Scholars Program, MARC U*STAR Scholars Program) offer resources and advice for those who are new to research. Also, if a student is not interested in any of the research on campus, I recommend off-campus research. I know some people who work remotely with their PI.
What are your career goals? Currently, I would like to obtain a Ph.D in Economics. I hope to work at the intersection of academia and policy and research the barriers to human capital accumulation in sub-Saharan Africa and Black America.
Photo: Anna presenting her researcher at URCAD 2018
Want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week? Email: aprilh@umbc.edu
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