Student undergrad research yields presentations, funds
Student-faculty collaborative research mini-grants were awarded through the University of North Georgia (UNG) Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) for the 2025-26 academic year. Ten students with seven faculty mentors represented three UNG colleges and the Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA).
"We are once again thankful to Provost Chaudron Gille for supporting our programs with additional funding. It was a tough process to select the winners, but I think it speaks highly to the dedication of our students and faculty that the seven awarded projects come from five different departments," Dr. Diogo Pinheiro, CURCA assistant director and associate professor of sociology, said.
Among the 10 students is Sofia Quiros, whose research looked at hosting the FIFA World Cup to craft an international image. Dr. Bibek Chand, her faculty mentor, said Quiros is "a prolific thinker and writer who is independent, driven and dependable."
"Sofia's research is impactful as it uses a comparative case study to assess how countries use hosting the World Cup as a means of expanding their image and place in the world. The project has the potential to give us insights into how different countries use the same event to pursue similar goals in international politics," Chand said.
Quiros, a Cleveland, Georgia, resident and lifelong soccer fan, said she knew she wanted to research something with international presence and how countries use soft power — a country's ability to influence countries and people through non-coercive means — unlike hard power, which includes factors such as military size, technology and weapons.
Quiros is a junior pursuing a degree in political science. Her plan is to earn a Master of Arts degree in international affairs from UNG and work in diplomacy — ideally as a Foreign Service officer in the Department of State.
"This research paper will prepare me to pursue graduate work, and it will hone my research, writing and speaking skills, which are quintessential for work in diplomacy," she said.
Future presentations include the Atlanta Symposium on Political Science at Georgia State University and the CURCA Annual Research Conference, both in spring 2026. Based on the feedback from the conferences, Quiros said she will be refining her manuscript and will be submitting it for publication to peer-reviewed journals.
Two different research projects on the effect of e-cigarette exposure were also funded by mini-grants and are being supervised by Dr. Cathy Whiting, professor of biology: Jada Ayers and co-applicants Emily Reedy and Josie Thompson for "Investigating the effects of e-cigarette exposure on pulmonary inflammation in the lungs of the house mouse, Mus musculus" and Lindsey Malcolm for "Examination of e-cigarette exposure on skeletal demineralization in the bones of the house mouse, Mus musculus."
Malcolm, a junior from Nicholson, Georgia, hypothesizes that e-cigarette exposure will increase inflammation of bone tissue and increase mitochondrial activity, both leading to bone mass loss. She is analyzing data from her study.
"It's scary to think that vaping could damage and weaken your bones," she said. "I hope research like this will help people understand that there are dangers to vaping, and they are potentially weakening their bones."
She added that other studies she came across during her research found that e-cigarettes caused inflammation in intestinal tissues and led to testicular shrinkage in mice.
"The wide range of findings is very surprising to me," she said. "When people think about vaping, they think it's just hurting your lungs."
Other recipients include:
- Brooke Karmilovich for "Female exercise, mood and menstrual effects via accelerometry and cycle tracking (FEMME-ACT)." Faculty mentor: Balea Schumacher, assistant professor of kinesiology.
- Michael Manzanarez for "Innovative machine learning approaches for mineral identification in Barrovian metamorphic rocks of Scotland." Faculty mentors: Adrianna Rajkumar, lecturer of geology, and Dr. Katayoun Mobasher, professor of geology.
- Rowan Ponelis for "Engineering a dynamic Strandbeest mechanism." Faculty mentor: Seth Mallett, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.
- Miguel Vilchis Tinoco and co-applicant Madeline McCloskey for "Escape response and velocity analysis in the invasive red swamp crayfish." Faculty mentor Amanda Reynolds, assistant professor of biology.
Each project can receive up to $1,000 for materials necessary to complete their undergraduate research and creative project. Each project is required to be presented at either a CURCA-sponsored event, external disciplinary conference or be published. Additionally, students will present their research at the 31st Annual Research Conference on March 20 at UNG's Gainesville Campus, Pinheiro said.
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