Previous Winners
2025
Best Visual Poster Presentation:
Lauren Vossen
Identifying a Chemical Adjuvant to Enhance Vancomycin and Beta-Lactam Activity Against Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus
Author: Lauren Vossen, High Point University
Mentor: Heather Miller, Chemistry
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogen that develops antibiotic resistance and
produces many virulence factors. We have performed a transcriptome-wide analysis of Staphylococcus aureus
that also has vancomycin resistance (VRSA). I will discuss findings on VRSA samples treated with antibiotic
adjuvants to uncover molecular mechanisms.
Best Oral Presentation:
Kara Bensel
Regurgitation Unraveled: Plant Microstructures and Hairball Formations in Cats
Author: Kara Bensel, High Point University
Mentors: Nicole Hughes and Megan Rudock Bowman, Biology
Cats have been observed eating grasses before expelling hairballs. We hypothesized grasses and other plant
materials play a role in the gathering of hairs ingested by diet or grooming to help facilitate their expulsion.
Hairballs were analyzed under SEM and genetically tested using DNA barcoding to identify the plant species.
2024
Best Poster Presentation:
Abigail Hyatt
Peer Review Process: AI Generated vs Student Generated Proofs
Author: Abigail Hyatt, High Point University
Mentor: Jenny Sharpe, Mathematics
When completing an introductory proof-writing course, students often engage in peer review to practice critical reading. We used ChatGPT to create multiple peer-review activities, some containing intentional logical errors. Students compared their experiences critiquing AI-generated proofs and peer generated proofs. We also discuss the learning curve associated with prompting ChatGPT.
Best Oral Presentation:
Hannah Tameling
Getting Under the Skin: Investigating Childhood Maltreatment and Implicit Associations with NSSI
Authors: Hannah Tameling & Ethan Muckerheide, High Point University
Mentor: Stacy Lipowski, Psychology
The production effect shows that actively producing an item leads to enhanced memory (MacLeod et. al, 2010). Recent research in children demonstrates memory benefits when using writing as an encoding strategy (Lipowski et al., 2022). This study aims to investigate how writing and tracing compare as encoding strategies.
2023
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Emerson Heckler
Identifying a Chemical Adjuvant to Enhance Vancomycin and Beta-Lactam Activity Against Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus
Author: Emerson Heckler, High Point University
Mentor: Aurijit Sarkar, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences
A strain of bacteria called Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus has developed resistance mechanisms against our go-to antibiotics. However, screening has identified a chemical adjuvant that in conjunction with the previously ineffective antibiotics, significantly reduces the minimum-inhibitory concentration of vancomycin and oxacillin needed to kill the bacteria, thus rendering the antibiotics useful.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Kelly Polk
Self-criticism in Anger, Aggression and Violence: A Review
Authors: Kelly Polk and Ethan Muckerheide, High Point University
Mentor: Laura Nagy, Psychology
Self-criticism is a maladaptive thinking strategy that has consistently been associated with anger, aggression, and violence. This review discusses the relationships between these constructs as well as clinical implications, potential treatments for behaviors related to these constructs, and directions for future research.
2022
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Liza Ragan
More Than Words: Do patients of different backgrounds choose different words to describe their pain?
Authors: Elizabeth Ragan, Lauren Dinkla, Amanda Heafey, and Kaitlynn Cooper, High Point University
Mentors: Alicia Emerson and Garrett Naze, Physical Therapy
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a distinctive and personal experience. Cultural background, language, and gender influences pain perception. It’s important for clinicians to understand how a patient’s primary language can influence pain description. The purpose of this study is to explore differences in pain descriptors chosen by English and Spanish-speaking patients.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Anthony Quagliata
Mixed Reality Research: An Interactive Virtual Scene
Author: Anthony Quagliata, High Point University
Mentor: Roger Shore, Computer Science
In this presentation, we will explore some of the applications that allow real world interaction with 3-D projections, focusing on the necessary hardware. Then we will showcase an interactive virtual scene where the user can interact with 3-D virtual objects on a projected 2-D surface with real-world objects.
2021
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Taylor Lynch
Measuring System Utilization During A SlowLoris Laboratory Exercise
Author: Taylor Lynch, High Point University
Mentor: Jason Pittman, Computer Science
Cybersecurity education research does not consider the system utilization needed to conduct experiments. We developed a tool to analyze the precise amount needed so no resources are wasted.
Our experiment was a DoS attack targeting a HTTP server by implementing a SlowLoris technique to capture the system utilization data.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Heather Simmons
A Review of the Education and Diagnosis of English Language Learners
Author: Heather Simmons, High Point University
Mentor: Sarah Vess, Special Education
English Language Learners (ELLs) are one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S, but they are entering into an education system that does not fully understand their challenges. The current system leads to a multitude of problems for ELLs, including inappropriate qualification for special education.
This project investigates those challenges.
Best Digital Creative Arts Presentation:
Victoria Romero
Senior Capstone – Autumn’s Song Music Video
Author: Victoria Romero, High Point University
Mentor: Joe Michaels, Pop Culture and Media Production
This music video explores broken relationships and the difficulty of moving on. Using Barbies as the main subjects of the film, coupled with miniature sets, beautiful outdoor locations, and polaroid pictures, this music video takes a unique approach encompassing the nostalgia of lost love through the use of children’s toys.
2020
Due to the 2020 High-PURCS event being virtual, no awards were presented.
2019
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Mikaela Seemann
Identification of small molecules with antibiotic activity in M. smegmatis
Author: Mikaela Seemann
Mentor: Meghan Blackledge, Chemistry
Mycobacteria have innate immunity to common antibiotics, and antibiotic development remains stagnant. To identify novel scaffolds for antibiotic development, several small molecules with varying structural components were screened for antibiotic activity against M. smegmatis. Through this screening, a structure-activity relationship was developed for a set of compounds.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Emily Burke
The Child’s Empire: Themes of Imperialism in Pre and Post-World War British Children’s Literature
Author: Emily Burke
Mentor: Matthew Carlson, English Literature
Children’s literature serves to prepare children to fit into whatever role society has set out for them. In British culture, where the empire is so ingrained into the everyday lives of people, themes of imperialism manifest themselves strongly in children’s books both before and after the World Wars.
2018
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Hannah Lee Dixon
The Mechanism of IB-DNQ-Induced Cell Death in NQO1 Positive BRCA2-Mutant Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Hannah Lee Dixon, Kristen Brokaw, Kate Hutchinson, Lindsey Palmquist, and Melissa Srougi, High Point University
Mentor: Melissa Srougi, Biochemistry
BRCA2-mutant breast cancer cells with increased expression of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) undergo futile redox cycling with hydroquinone isobutyl-deoxynyboquinone (IB-DNQ). Treatment of BRCA2-mutant cells with IB-DNQ should cause DNA damage to induce cell death. Co-treatment with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibitors should potentiate cell death. Co-treatment with NQO1-inhibitor should decrease cell death.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Kyra Gillard
Identification of a pharmacophore capable of potentiating ß-lactam antibiotics in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Author: Kyra Gillard
Mentor: Meghan Blackledge, Chemistry
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections kill over 20,000 people a year and is particularly difficult to treat because it employs virulence behaviors, such as antibiotic resistance. We have identified a class of structurally related tetracyclic amines capable of repotentiating MRSA to common ß-lactam antibiotics.
2017
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Riccardo de Cataldo
Do-It-Yourself: 3D Models of Atomic Orbitals Through 3D Printing
Authors: RICCARDO DE CATALDO and KAITLYN GRIFFITH
Mentor: Keir Fogarty, Chemistry
Electricity is the flow of electrons, which exhibit both wave-like and particle-like behavior. A 3D printer has been used to print tangible models of electron waves, referred to as orbitals. These models can serve as learning instruments to aid understanding of electron behavior.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Sarah Edmark
Methylglyoxal Sensitizes Bacillusoleronius To Topical Antibiotics
Authors: SARAH EDMARK, LEXI LAMBROS, and PATRICK VIGUEIRA
Mentor: Patrick Vigueira
Rosacea is an inflammatory disease of the skin that affects nearly 16 million people in the United States. Methylglyoxal, an active ingredient found in manuka honey, increased the sensitivity of B.oleronius, a rosacea associated bacteria, to a number of commonly prescribed topical antibiotics.
2016
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Matthew Slitzky
17β-estradiol increases the rate of skeletal calcium incorporation during early development in Danio rerio
Authors: Jimmy Rager*, Matt Slitzky, Cailyn Scanlan, High Point University
Mentor: Dr. Neil Coffield and Dr. Angela Bauer, Biology
Estrogen is known to play a significant role in bone development and ossification in mammals. To date, however, little is known about the sex hormone’s role in bone ossification in the zebrafish model, Danio rerio.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Gabrielle Hayes
Methylglyoxal Potentiates the Effect of Linezolid Against Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Gabrielle Hayes, Nicole Wright, Calla Telzrow, Andrew Wommack and Patrick Vigueira, High Point University
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Vigueira, Biology
Antibiotic resistance has become a major public health crisis, with the rise in cases of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other resistant bacterial infections. As a possible solution to increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, we investigated linezolid and methylglyoxal in an attempt to identify synergistic activity.
2015
Best Digital Poster Presentation:
Calla Telzrow
Arthropod Communities in Various Successional Forest Habitats.
Authors: CALLA TELZROW and JOSHUA CAMPBELL
Mentor: Dr. Joshua Campbell, Biology
Logging schemes can result in numerous habitats that arthropods utilize. The type of logging and state of succession can result in different arthropod communities. Arthropods play integral roles in ecological balance and utilize logged areas. This project examined the effects of various logging management schemes on insect abundance and variety.
Best Digital Oral Presentation:
Macaulley Quirk
One Vision: A Guide Dog Documentary
Author: MACAULLEY QUIRK
Mentor: Dr. James Trammell, Communications
Over a four-month period I had the pleasure of spending time with Guide Dog puppy raisers; I got to tell their story. The story about how they raise these puppies to provide someone else the freedom to live.