INTERSECTIONS MAGAZINE FALL 2024 / ISSUE 2

Standout Students and Research Events

Student presenting at CSU Student Research Competition — Biological sciences student Lily Nielsen earned first place in her research category at the 2024 CSU Student Research Competition held at Cal Poly. Photo by Alexis Kovacevic.

38th Annual California State University (CSU) Student Research Competition

April 8, 2024, Cal Poly Campus

Bailey College research students made an impressive showing at this year’s CSU Student Research Competition held at Cal Poly in April. First- or second-place recognitions were awarded to five Cal Poly teams, each of which included Bailey College student researchers.

Hundreds of students from across the 23-campus CSU system competed in 10 categories at the 38th iteration of the statewide contest.

Awarded Student Teams and Faculty Mentors

(Bailey College students and faculty in bold.)

James Roake, Kate Mayeda, Nicholas Elich, Anna Dion | “Chronic Disease Prevalence among Patients attending a Free Clinic on the Central Coast of California” | 2nd place: Behavioral, Social Sciences and Public Administration (undergraduate) | Mentors: Suzanne Phelan, David Parro

Lily Nielsen | “Evaluating the effect of YB-1 phosphomimetics on HIV virion assembly” | 1st place: Biological and Agricultural Sciences (undergraduate) | Mentor: Michael Black

Emily Prince, Adam Marin, Serena Jenson, Chris Athens, | “Inhibiting Iron Acquisition: A Novel Approach to UTI Treatment?” | 2nd place: Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences (undergraduate) | Mentor: Alejandra Yep

Jonah Adams, Harrison Oen, Isabelle Starr | “In vitro silicone-based blood vessel mimics to evaluate devices used to treat stroke” | 1st place: Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences (undergraduate) | Mentor: Kristen O’Halloran Cardinal

Xavier Aguilar, Chanel De Smet, Hector Reyes | “Nuestra Ciencia: Empowering bilingual students as scientists” | 1st place: Education (undergraduate) | Mentors: Alejandra Yep, Jasmine Nation

See more about the 38th Annual CSU Student Research Competition and winners

Lily Nielsen at research competition — From left: Dawn Neill, Cal Poly’s interim vice president of research; Nielsen; and Jane Lehr, Cal Poly’s director of the Office of Student Research.

Bailey College student winners at research competition — From left: Biology student Emily Prince and microbiology student Adam Marin accepting their awards from Lehr.

Nuestra Ciencia research group at the competition — From left: Liberal studies student Xavier Aguilar, liberal studies Professor Jasmine Nation, biological sciences Professor Alejandra Yep, Hector Reyes (Pschology, ’23), Brenda Mungarro, liberal studies student Ana Bañuelos and education master’s student José Hernandez Domitilo at the competition. Aguilar and Reyes earned first place in their research category. Photo by Eileen Odanaka Vavra.

32nd Annual Bailey College Student Research Conference

May 16-17, 2024, Baker Center, Cal Poly Campus

The annual Student Research Conference is a longtime Bailey College tradition occurring on campus each May in the Baker Center. Poster presentations and student talks on innovative and relevant projects provide undergraduate researchers the opportunity to share and communicate their work with peers, faculty, graduates and professionals from various fields.

Throughout the multi-day conference, students engaged with alumni and industry professionals, receiving mentorship and career advice, along with strengthening their Mustang network.

The event kickoff featured two student speakers — public health student and Frost Research Fellow Edgardo A. Hernandez and liberal studies student and Frost Research Scholar Marisa Ritchie. With an audience of Bailey College alumni, supporters, faculty and students, Hernandez and Ritchie each gave moving remarks on how their research experiences at Cal Poly impacted their academic and personal paths.

The conference continues to expand in size and participation each year. For this year’s event, more than 450 Cal Poly student participated, representing a growing culture of learning and discovery through research. More than half of those students were involved with the conference for the first time.

Bailey College faculty members and staff worked tirelessly to organize the research event, encourage student registration and arrange alumni mentor conversation sessions. Biological sciences Professors Dena Grossenbacher and Elena Keeling were key to the planning along with Adrienne Seiler, events coordinator in the Bailey College Dean’s Office.

The 2024 Bailey College Student Research Conference was generously supported by Sarepta Therapeutics.

Learn more about getting involved with the Bailey College Student Research Conference