CUGR Announces 2025 Summer Fellowship Awardees
The UMaine Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) is pleased to announce the recipients of the CUGR and Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) Summer Research Fellowships. The fellowships were developed to enhance and increase undergraduate student involvement in faculty-supervised research and creative activity. Winners of the fellowships will receive $3,000 to put toward their research projects over the summer months.
2025 CUGR Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Recipients
Esther Biro, Biochemistry, “Understanding the Link Between Immune Cell Signaling and Mitochondrial Function: The Impact of Antimicrobial Agent Cetylpyridinium Chloride,” advised by Julie Gosse
Brynn Cleary, Marine Sciences, “Juvenile Atlantic Salmon Thermal Tolerance,” advised by Gail Schwieterman
Jenna Gallant, Microbiology, “MicroRNA MiR-146 Regulation Of Inflammation Following Influenza A Virus Infection,” advised by Benjamin King
Vejune Griciute, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, “The Effects Of A Prophage-Encoded Toxin System On The Susceptibility Of Pathogenic Mycobacteria To Lytic Phage Infection,” advised by Sally Molloy
Brady Merritt, Finance, “US State Stock Portfolios For The South & West,” advised by Sebastian Lobe
Isabella Nichols, Psychology, “Bullying As A Risk Factor For Pediatric Suicidal Ideation,” advised by Jennifer Blossom
Carly Philbrook, Secondary Education, “Comparison Of High School Mathematics Textbooks Analyzing Higher Order Thinking Skills In New England,” advised by Kamal Chawla
Sam Slavin, Psychology, Combating Maine’s Opioid Overdose Crisis: Examination of Good Samaritan Laws and Naloxone,” advised by Robert Glover
Sydney Ulland, Marine Science, “Understanding Atlantic Salmon Egg Quality Through Lipid Analysis,” advised by Heather Hamlin
Richard Viveiros, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, “Effects Of PFAS on the Behavior and Development of Mosquito Larvae (Culex pipiens),” advised by Allison Gardner
2025 MSGC Summer Undergraduate Award Recipients
Wyatt Fessler, Biomedical Engineering, “Mass-Manufactured Diffraction Pattern for Real-Time Remote Monitoring of Analytes in Seawater,” advised by Lauren Ross
Lana Friess, Mechanical Engineering, “Feasibility Study of the Wind-Electric Hybrid Ship for Improved Voyage Length,” advised by Kewei Xu
Conall Gouveia, Computer Science, “Measuring Radiation X-Ray Dose Using Three-Dimensional (3D) Printed Models to Simulate Human Tissue and Anatomy,” advised by Terry Yoo
Isabelle Irani, Biomedical Engineering, “Magnetic Field Oriented Fibril Composite Films And Resultant Mechanical Properties,” advised by Michael Mason
Juhayer Islam, Computer Engineering, “Technical feasibility of Low-Cost 3D Printed nano-textured Sensor for assessing water quality in Hydroponic Systems,” advised by Ankit Singh
Amanda Poulin, Biomedical Engineering, “Conjugating Iron Oxide Particles to Tempo-modified CNF,” advised by Michael Mason
Isabelle Puccio, Biomedical Engineering, “Color Normalization and Deconvolution Effects on the Anisotropy Analysis of Invasive vs Non-Invasive Breast Cancer Tissue Samples,” advised Andre Khalil
Tyler Russell, Biomedical Engineering, Optimizing the Thermal and Resiliency Properties of Cellulose-Based Foam Materials for Biomedical Applications,” advised by Michael Mason
Jacob White, Mechanical Engineering, “Optimizing 3D Printable Drones For Aerospace Education,” advised by Wilhelm Friess