SAMURS

2025 Autumn SAMURS will be held on

Friday, December 12 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM on the Ground Floor of TPS

Welcome to the Sciences and Mathematics Undergraduate Research Symposium!

The University of Washington Tacoma Environmental Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Environmental Sustainability, and Mathematics majors host an Environmental Research Symposium, Sciences and Mathematics Undergraduate Research Symposium (SAMURS). This event showcases the capstone research projects of our undergraduate students. The presentations by our undergraduate students, cover a broad range of questions and projects related to the environment, mathematics, sustainability and much more. Projects are conducted in the lab, in the trees, in the mud, in the classroom, at an aquarium, on the water, underwater and on land. Some are original research with a faculty mentor, pushing the boundaries of what is known in their fields. Others participate in internships, where they help community partners further their missions through service. What all these diverse students have in common is the determination and dedication to complete an independent study as part of their undergraduate education. We hope you are inspired and educated by what they have accomplished.

Students presenting at Autumn 2025 SAMURS can use Student Submission Portal (CLICK HERE).

Future SAMURS Dates (subject to change):

Spring 2026: June 11th at MLG 110
Summer 2026: August 21st at MLG 110
Autumn 2026: December 18th at TBD
Spring 2027: June 10th at TBD
Summer 2027: August 20th at TBD

SAMURS Archives

Each year, SAM posts the results of our student work. Within the SAMURS Archives you can find a variety of research that our students and faculty have engaged in throughout the years in the Puget Sound and beyond.

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Autumn 2025 - Abstracts and Posters

Biomedical Sciences

Student Name	Mentor	Capstone course	Title and Abstract (click on title for abstract)
Ever Alves	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Arsenic-Induced Gut Dysbiosis and Behavioral Activity in Chinese Mystery Snails: Exploring the Microbiome–Nervous System Link
Chayse Bono	Megan Schwartz	BIOL 432	Neurotoxins in Nemerteans: An ELISA exploration for the presence of Tetrodotoxin
Le Phung Chang	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Behavioral and Gut Microbiome Impacts of Arsenic Exposure in Chinese Mystery Snails
Maya Dietz-Hillaire	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 492	The Science Behind the Squeeze: Neurosteroid Control in Foal Recovery from NMS
Sofiya Dunajski	Jack Vincent	TBIOMD 495	CRISPR Mutagenesis of Phosphorylation Sites T380/T386 in Dsn1 Protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Tsz Mei Fong	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Arsenic Bioaccumulation Leads to Behavioral Impairment in Chinese Mystery Snails
Alejandra Gonzalez	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Arsenic-Induced Gut Dysbiosis and Behavioral Activity in Chinese Mystery Snails: Exploring the Microbiome–Nervous System Link.
Zabrina Haro	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 492	When Oral Pathogens Meet the Brain: Exploring Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer’s Disease
Kaylin Huynh	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Behavioral and Gut Microbiome Impacts of Arsenic Exposure in Chinese Mystery Snails
Tori Jensen	Sarah Alaei	TBIOMD 495	Arsenic Bioaccumulation Leads to Behavioral Impariment in Chinese Mystery Snails
Jack Johnson	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 492	Feasibility of Phage Therapy as a Targeted Approach Against Periodontal Disease
Soliyana Kidane	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 410	The Role of Oxidative Stress in Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery
Kimberly Ling	Joan Bleecker	TBIOMD 492	What are the most reliable and valid methods for assessing the severity and improvement of atrophic scars in clinical and research settings?
Kylie Manuel	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Chinese Mystery Snails Exhibit Behavioral Changes Potentially Linked to Gut Microbiome Disruption Following As Exposure
Ngoc Han Nguyen	Hannah Baughman	TBIOMD 495	Optimizing cell lysis for human NF-kB p50/RelA protein yield
Stella Nyambura	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 492	Lifestyle Change, in addition to Pharmacotherapy, enhances Seizure Control in Young Adults
Isabella Raflowski	Sarah Alaei and Marc Nahmani	TBIOMD 495	Chinese Mystery Snails Exhibit Behavioral Changes Potentially Linked to Gut Microbiome Disruption Following As Exposure
Vincent Salazar	Tawanda Chivese	TBIOMD 492	A Mechanistic Review and Comparison of Achiral Helical Polymers to Conventional Chiral Stationary Phases for Enantioselective Separation
Roman Tanner	Marc Nahmani	FHL 342	Environmental Stressors Shift Microbial Influence on Sea Star Wasting Disease
Amy Troung	Hannah Baughman	TBIOMD 495	Plasmodium BEM46-like Protein (PBLP) from the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium yoelii: From Computational Prediction to in vitro Hydrolase Activity

Environmental Sciences

Student Name	Mentor	Capstone course	Title and Abstract (click on title for abstract)
Robert Jordin	Jim Gawel	TESC 499	Abundance of Invasive New Zealand Mudsnails in Coldwater Lake and Coldwater Creek, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Kyle Nelson	Eliza Heery	TESC 495	Temporal Trends Reveal an Urban Marine Ecology Research Gap
Vernon Reed	Cheryl Greengrove		Herbert Inlet Clayoquot Sound Phytoplankton and Water Properties 2014-2024 Comparison
Victoria Simms	Julie Masura	TESC 499	2024 Analysis of Grain Size and Total Organic Content Analysis of Bed Sediment from Bellingham Bay, Salish Sea, Washington
Sawyer Townsend	Cheryl Greengrove	TESC 499	Bedwell Inlet Clayoquot Sound Phytoplankton and Water Properties 2014-2024 Comparison
Nicole Van Geel	Peter Selkin	TESC 499	Sedimentary Petrology of Silt in the Puyallup River Watershed