This presentation investigates the relationship between attention and numerical cognition, exploring how spatial attention shapes the way people mentally represent and estimate numbers on a number line.

Investigating the Role of Attention in Number Line Estimation

Matthew Ventola, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Melanie Palomares
Second Reader: Christine Vahlstrom

These presentations examine the neurobiological mechanisms underlying aging and Alzheimer's disease, exploring how changes in brain chemistry, stress systems and diet contribute to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.

Divergent Regulation of Hippocampal D-serine Metabolism Distinguishes Aging from Alzheimer's Disease

Michael Pitre, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Joseph McQuail
Second Reader: Dr. Mark Sarzynski

The Role of the Locus Coeruleus in Working Memory During Stress and Aging

Elise Quartaro, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Joseph McQuail
Second Reader: Tyler Cox

Feeding the Mind: Dietary Consumption and Neural Aging

Bhavani Tuppale, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Joseph McQuail
Second Reader: Dr. Fabienne Poulain

This panel explores how data analytics and artificial intelligence are reshaping business operations –– from inventory management and retail optimization to investment strategy and the visual presentation of design.

Interior Design, Revolutionized by AI

Rollins Ortmann, Finance; Marketing
Thesis Director: Courtney Worsham
Second Reader: Anne Wagoner

Which Factor Investing Strategies Delivered the Strongest Performance over the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries and Which Factors Look Most Promising Under Realistic Future Scenarios?

Ibrahim Alimohamed, Finance; Accounting
Thesis Director: Dr. Hugh Kim
Second Reader: Dr. Brandon Mendez

Data Tracking and Analytics in Inventory Management: Coffee Shop and Retail Store Optimization

Mateo Moyon, International Business; Marketing; Information Science
Thesis Director: David Precht
Second Reader: Dr. Keith Skowronski

This panel investigates how personal identity –– encompassing academic achievement, religious faith and philosophical worldview –– shapes students' choices and experiences within higher education.

The Impact of Identity on Matriculation to and Engagement in the Top Scholars Program

Virginia Arnold, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis Director: Dr. Laura Brashears
Second Reader: Brett Williams

The Influence of Neuroscience and Physicalism on Spirituality at USC

Benjamin Deaton, BARSC: Neuroscience Applications and Ethics
Thesis Director: Dr. Patrick Brissey
Second Reader: Dr. John Ceballes

These presentations address gaps in health and wellness programming for two at-risk groups –– college students struggling with eating disorders and justice-involved youth –– proposing evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes.

Eating Disorder Prevention and Early Intervention in U.S. Higher Education: A Senior Thesis Benchmarking Study

Jake Arcement, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Toni Torres-McGehee
Second Reader: Dr. Brian Lusk

Breaking the Cycle: Implementing Journal-Based Emotional Regulation Workshops at South Carolina's Department of Juvenile Justice

Sarah Hobson, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis Director: Mike Ottone
Second Reader: Kristine Laca

This panel examines sustainability from multiple angles –– fiber arts and slow fashion, environmentally responsible filmmaking and campus transportation –– highlighting creative pathways toward more sustainable everyday practices. Presenters received funding or project support from the Center for Sustainable Growth in the Darla Moore School of Business.

Crafting Sustainability: Fiber Artists and the Limits of Sustainable Production

Hallie Cole, International Business; Marketing
Thesis Director: Dr. Priyank Arora
Second Reader: Dr. Dorothée Honhon

A Guide to Producing Environmentally Sustainable Films in South Carolina

Christina Dobrowolski, Environmental Science
Thesis Director: Dr. Kelsey Cameron
Second Reader: Dr. William Diebel

Fast and Furious, USC: Moving Students Around Campus Sustainably

Gwendolyn Smith, International Business; Marketing
Thesis Director: Dr. Kealy Carter
Second Reader: Beth Renninger

These presentations explore the intersection of communication, cognition and vascular health, examining how aphasia manifests after stroke –– including racial disparities in outcomes –– and how hypertension damages the brain's protective endothelial lining.

Main Concept Analysis as a Predictor of Aphasia Severity: Semantic, Phonological, and Executive Influences on Main Concept Performance

Chathurvedi Ganguru, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. William Matchin
Second Reader: Dr. SigfusKristinsson

Racial Differences in Post-Stroke Aphasia Severity

Chitra Nanda, Public Health
Thesis Director: Dr. Sigfus Kristinsson
Second Reader: Dr. William Matchin

Hypertension-Like Stretch Induces Brain Endothelial Damage

Sriya Pallapothu, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Camilla Wenceslau
Second Reader: Paul Townsend

These presentations investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying neural recovery, examining how the nervous system responds to spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury and what cellular and biochemical factors may influence whether neurons survive and regenerate.

Noggin Attenuates BMP4-Induced Autophagy Inhibition and Apoptosis in an In Vitro Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Pranav Kalaga, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Swapan Ray
Second Reader: Dr. Narendra Singh

Elp3 Regulates Axonal Integrity and Neuronal Survival Following Peripheral Nerve Injury

Emily Michenfelder, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Jeff Twiss
Second Reader: Dr. Lauren Vaughn

These Guided Pathway presentations investigate how undergraduates navigate two pressing challenges of contemporary campus life — the ethical and academic implications of the use of generative AI in higher education and the stigma that discourages students experiencing mental health concerns from seeking treatment.

Examining Generative AI Use in Higher Education: The Role of Ethics, Academic Resources, and Perceived Major Difficulty

Bonnie Adams, Biological Sciences
Owen Chapman, International Business; Finance
Jackson Hansel, Accounting
Thesis Director: Dr. Andrea Kornegay
Second Reader: Dr. Sei-Hill Kim

Mental Health Stigma and Willingness to Seek Treatment: An Examination of University of South Carolina Undergraduates

Madelyn Davidson, Neuroscience
Nevaeh Harden, Psychology
Soup Lindsey, Statistics
Thesis Director: Dr. Sei-Hill Kim
Second Reader: Dr. Andrea Kornegay

Students in international business bring a global lens to a range of questions, examining how U.S. export controls on semiconductors shape domestic innovation, how emotional and cultural intelligence influence outcomes in cross-cultural negotiation and how women are navigating and reshaping careers across the finance industry.

The Implications of Semiconductor Export Controls on the Innovation Activity of Domestic Manufacturers

Mary Compton, International Business; Economics
Thesis Director: Dr. William Hauk
Second Reader: Dr. David Hudgens

The Silent Language of Success: Analyzing the Impact of Nonverbal Behavior, Cultural Intelligence, and Emotional Intelligence on Negotiation Outcomes

Francesca Cumello, International Business; Marketing
Thesis Director: Dr. Nancy Buchan
Second Reader: Phillip Chritton

Pathways: Conversations with Women Across the Finance Industry

Alyson Pearce, International Business; Finance
Thesis Director: Dr. Tara Mortensen
Second Reader: Dr. Eric Powers

Students in the Accelerated Pre-Medicine BARSC cohort bring an interdisciplinary perspective to a range of health research questions –– from evaluating diagnostic tools for sleep apnea and identifying early biomarkers for autism, to proposing a new macro-level framework for understanding the societal determinants of health.

Reframing Health Determinants: A Narrative Review and Introduction of the Macro-Level Determinants of Health (MLDH) Framework

Nithin Bommareddy, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Andrew Kaczynski
Second Reader: Dr. Burke Dial

Evaluation of WP200 in a Community Sleep Lab Setting: A Retrospective Chart Review

Rita Elya, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Sarah Burkart
Second Reader: Griffin Randolph

Associations Between Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Joint Engagement in Infants with Autism Likelihood

Prisha Patel, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Jessica Bradshaw
Second Reader: Tessa Djiko

These Guided Pathway presentations examine how undergraduates make sense of the information and financial environments they inhabit — one exploring how social media literacy shapes susceptibility to disinformation and political polarization, the other investigating the gap between students' perceived and actual financial knowledge and its implications for risk tolerance and decision-making.

The Feed Fueling the Fire: How Social Media Literacy Affects Polarization in College Students

Josefin Eraula, Hospitality
Bevin Hunter, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Sei-Hill Kim
Second Reader: Dr. Andrea Kornegay

Confidence and Competence in Personal Finance: The Relationship Between Actual Knowledge, Perceived Knowledge, and Risk Tolerance Among Business and Non-Business Undergraduates

Frank Estock, Biological Sciences
Caroline Smith, Accounting; Management
David Stark, Finance; Accounting
Thesis Director: Dr. Sei-Hill Kim
Second Reader: Dr. Andrea Kornegay

This panel investigates how biological stress systems interact with neurological processes, exploring adolescent opioid exposure and the integrated stress response, mathematical modeling of the HPA axis and immune system and the physiology of misophonia.

Chronic Opioid Exposure During Adolescence and the Integrated Stress Response

Karson Hodges, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Rosemarie Booze
Second Reader: Dr. Charlie Mactutus

Sensitivity Analysis of Neuroendocrine Components of the Integrated Inflammatory Stress (ITIS) Model

Aubrey Ayres, Mathematics
Thesis Director: Dr. Mitchel Colebank
Second Reader: Dr. Paula Vasquez

Developing a Coding System to Record Orofacial Movements for Misophonia with Verification from Physiology Data

Rachel Sellers, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Svetlana Shinkareva
Second Reader: Xuan Yang

This panel investigates physiological and psychological factors affecting athletic performance, examining how blood flow restriction training influences post-activation performance enhancement and how sleep quality, stress and mood correlate with outcomes in collegiate equestrian athletes.

Blood Flow Restriction May Elicit Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Resistance-Trained Adults

Spencer Barnwell, BARSC: Human Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Sten Stray-Gundersen
Second Reader: Dr. James Stampley

Associations Between Sleep, Stress, and Mood with Performance in Equestrian Athletes

Alexis Daugird, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Shawn Arent
Second Reader: Gianna Mastrofini

These presentations center the experiences of people navigating profound disruption — Ukrainian women rebuilding identity and community after wartime displacement, Spanish-speaking domestic violence survivors encountering language barriers in South Carolina courts and individuals experiencing homelessness in Columbia –– whose stories reveal critical gaps in local policy and resources.

Language Access and Justice: Interpreter Availability and Its Impact on Domestic Violence Victims in South Carolina Courts

Santiago Avendano Palacio, International Business; Finance
Thesis Director: Prof. Lisa Martin
Second Reader: Marie Maness

Unnoticed Witnesses of History: First-Hand Accounts of Ukrainian Women in South Carolina During Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Madeline Fyock, Russian Studies; Music Performance
Thesis Director: Dr. Olesya Kisselev
Second Reader: Dr. Magdalena Stawkowski

The Space Between: Identifying Gaps in Resources and Policies Affecting People Experiencing Homelessness in Columbia, SC

Taylor Petrosino, BARSC: Public Policy and Social Services
Thesis Director: Dr. Jennifer Augustine
Second Reader: Dr. Candice Morgan

This panel explores education as a site of cross-cultural encounter and meaning-making, examining how Holocaust history can counter contemporary disinformation, how cultural competency training can improve health care delivery and how usage-based approaches can improve second-language acquisition.

Combatting Disinformation Through the Lens of Holocaust Education: Developing Resources for the Anne Frank Center

Savannah Bornheim, History; Anthropology
Thesis Director: Dr. Doyle Stevick
Second Reader: Frank Baker

The Importance of Cultural Competency in the Medical Field: A Pre-Health Undergraduate Course Design

Kaitlyn Guild, Exercise Science
Thesis Director: Dr. Bridget Miller
Second Reader: Ashley Hubbard

Where Evidence-Based Research Meets L2 Pedagogy: Classroom Instruction of Russian Case Morphology

Ryder Myrick, Global Studies
Thesis Director: Dr. Olesya Kisselev
Second Reader: Dr. Lara Ducate

These presentations examine how policy and information shape dietary behavior and health outcomes. One investigates how social determinants influence Type II diabetes in South Carolina; the other asks whether France’s approach to nutrition labeling might offer a model for improving nutritional literacy in the United States.

The Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Type II Diabetes Outcomes in South Carolina

Alexander Downs, Public Health
Thesis Director: Dr. Edena Guimaraes
Second Reader: Isabella Alonso

Labeling for Change: How France's Nutrition Labels Could Transform American Eating Behaviors

Casey Fitzgerald, International Business; Marketing
Thesis Director: Dr. Christine Blake
Second Reader: Chris Pardi

These presentations explore the biology of cancer at the cellular and molecular level, investigating how tumor suppressor function might be restored in colorectal cancer cells, how early antibiotic exposure may contribute to early-onset colorectal cancer risk and whether cryptophyte-derived natural pigments could serve as safer alternatives to synthetic food dyes.

The Remediation of ING4 Tumor Suppressor Function in HCT116 Colorectal Cancer Cell Line

Kathryn Walbridge, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Katie Kathrein
Second Reader: Dr. David Reisman

Early Life Exposure to Antibiotics and Risk for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

Shyam Ganesh Babu, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Marj Pena
Second Reader: Qiuyi Mao

Evaluation of Cryptophyte-Derived Phycobiliproteins as Natural Alternatives to Synthetic Food Dyes

Savannah Robinson, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis Director: Dr. Francisco Leon
Second Reader: Dr. Lorne Hofseth

This panel examines the evolving landscape of U.S. immigration policy from ethical and legal perspectives, exploring how AI-powered digital surveillance is being deployed in immigration enforcement and how changes in criminal prosecution of illegal entry and reentry are unfolding in federal courtrooms.

Algorithmic Immigration Enforcement: Digital Surveillance and the Ethics of AI Policing in the United States

Tammy Nguyen, Cyber Policy and Ethics; Psychology
Thesis Director: Dr. Austin Crane
Second Reader: Dr. Garrett Pierman

Reflections from Courtroom Observations of Evolving Illegal Entry and Reentry Criminal Prosecutions

Tina-Maria Sandoval, Anthropology; Environmental Studies; Spanish
Thesis Director: Dr. John Doering-White
Second Reader: Dr. Christi Metcalfe

These presentations scrutinize how law and political pressure shape governance in the United States, investigating digital accessibility compliance under the ADA, congressional influence on EPA Clean Water Act litigation and the Supreme Court's growing reliance on its shadow docket.

Digital Accessibility: A Roadmap to 21st Century Compliance

Emma Carter, BARSC: Disability Advocacy
Thesis Director: Dr. Rebecca Smith Hill
Second Reader: Taylor Camidge

Congress, Conservation, and Compliance: A Statistical Analysis of Political Pressure on EPA Clean Water Act Litigation

Thomas Holter, BARSC: Political Analytics
Thesis Director: Prof. Josh Eagle
Second Reader: Dr. Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod

Analyzing the Supreme Court's Shadow Docket: Politics, Procedures, and Power

London Patel, Economics; Operations and Supply Chain
Thesis Director: Dr. Kirk Randazzo
Second Reader: Greg Nelson

This panel examines how AI and telehealth are reshaping medicine from two perspectives: patient and bystander perceptions of AI and robotic technologies in clinical settings and the preparation of medical students to practice in an era of digital health tools.

Perception of Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Technologies (AIR) in Medical Scenes

Madelyn Haynes, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Melanie Palomares
Second Reader: Dr. Vanessa Kitzie

Assessing Medical Students' Comfort with Telehealth and Artificial Intelligence

Taylor Mitchell, BARSC: Accelerated Pre-Medicine Concentration
Thesis Director: Dr. Zachary Winkelmann
Second Reader: Dr. Amy Fraley

These presentations highlight the range of methods and questions that drive discovery in the natural sciences — one examining archived shark vertebrae to assess the viability of DNA extraction from preserved specimens of an endangered species and the other exploring crystalline properties of synthetic macrocycle compounds and their potential applications in host-guest chemistry.

Suitability of Preserved Shark Vertebrae for DNA Isolation and Subsequent DNA Amplification

Jasmine Earp, Biological Sciences
Thesis Director: Dr. Joseph Quattro
Second Reader: Dr. Jerry Hilbish

Crystallization and Utility of Brominated Phenylethynylene Bis-Urea Macrocycles

Paras Srivastava, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis Director: Dr. Linda Shimizu
Second Reader: Vaibhavi Samant

This panel explores how cultural expression and social identity are shaped by –– and respond to –– political conflict, examining protest music as a barometer of armed conflict across history and how political identity is performed differently in partisan versus neutral social settings.

Rock On! Examining the Relationship Between Armed Conflict and Rock Protest Music

Dylan Dunn, Political Science
Thesis Director: Dr. Kirk Randazzo
Second Reader: Dr. Christine Rinehart

Performing Politics: Contextual Shifts in Political Identity Expression Amongst In-Group and Neutral Settings

Geri Johnson, Journalism; Sociology
Thesis Director: Dr. Laura Brashears
Second Reader: Dr. Elizabeth Connors

These presentations examine the brain from complementary angles — modeling the biomechanical forces that compromise cerebrovascular health, reviewing lifestyle strategies that may delay cognitive decline and developing assessment tools to distinguish normal aging from early Alzheimer's disease.

Computational Modeling of Cerebrovascular Biomechanics in Small Vessel Disease

Shriya Gandham, Cardiovascular Technology
Thesis Director: Dr. Mitchel Colebank
Second Reader: Dr. Laena Pernomian

Lifestyle Interventions to Prevent/Delay the Onset of Alzheimer's Disease: A Literature Review

Abby Jones, Psychology
Thesis Director: Dr. Jim Fadel
Second Reader: Dr. Joseph McQuail

A Translational Dual-Task Paradigm for Assessing Executive Function in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

Audrey Mahoney, Neuroscience
Thesis Director: Dr. Joseph McQuail
Second Reader: Dr. Steven Harrod