Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference 2025
Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference 2025
BRUC 2025
April 10, 2025  ·  Gregory Center

Milligan University is proud to host the 30th Annual Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference (BRURC) on April 10, 2024. Undergraduate students (and NEW graduate students) from institutions throughout the Southern Appalachian region will present their research projects in a comfortable setting surrounded by other researchers and faculty. This year’s conference will be a one-day event, with sessions 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The conference will take place at Milligan University, located in northeast Tennessee.

Attendees can register free of charge.  

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Agenda
Thursday, April 10
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Check In
Check in will occur in the lobby of the Gregory Center.
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Event Start
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Poster Session 1
Posters will be displayed in the Gregory Lobby during this time period. Moderated by: Lindsey Rufenacht Judges: Trini Rangel and Ken Lang
Poster Session 1: A Healing Inheritance: Appalachian Wildcrafting Explored in Literature and Storytelling
Bethany Hicks
Humanities Milligan University Posters
Poster Session 1: Authoritarian Behaviors in Criminal Justice
Emma Bradley
Posters Social Sciences Tusculum University
Poster Session 1: Beyond Bars: Exploring the Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
Sydney Laye
Lincoln Memorial University Posters Social Sciences
Poster Session 1: Consumer's attitude towards adopting self-driving cars as a substitute for Uber.
Trey Massengil
Business Milligan University Posters
Poster Session 1: Coping with Communication Anxiety in Transplant Recipients
Lora Sylvana Lipe
Lee University Posters Social Sciences
Poster Session 1: Exploring Family Dynamics Among Caregivers of Children with Cancer
Jocelyn Ramos-Chears
Davis & Elkins College Posters Social Sciences
Poster Session 1: Food Insecurity Among Students at Milligan University
Samantha Moldanado
Milligan University Posters Social Sciences
Poster Session 1: How does Christian belief affect consumer’s response to AI-oriented service failure
Preston Miller
Business Milligan University Posters
Poster Session 1: The effect of decision difficulty on consumer purchase intention and uncertainty: The role of price divisibility and decision orientation
Azaliia Gabdrakipova
Business Milligan University Posters
Poster Session 1: The Effect of Religiosity and Hopelessness
Sophie Dunman
Humanities Milligan University Posters
Poster Session 1: The Role of Religious Aspects on Forgiveness
Kevin Watson
Posters Social Sciences Tusculum University
Poster Session 1: What's That Smell? Why the Bristol Virginia Landfill was bound for failure
William Kirkland, Tanner Hunley
King University Posters STEM
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Oral Session 1A
Humanities Oral Session 1 Reviewing Notable American Nonfiction:ETSU English Majors Give Their Takes on Important Works
Oral Session 1A: Cold-Blooded: My Experience Reading Truman Capote’s Masterpiece, In Cold Blood
Liam Shope
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1A: The Brutal Reality of Slavery: Reflections on Frederick Douglass's 1845 Nonfiction Narrative
Jonah Hilmon
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1A: The Future of Nature: Notes on Under a White Sky, by Elizabeth Kolbert
Shariah Alvarenga
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1A: Wilderness and Womanhood: A Review of Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
Jaxen Waggoner
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1B
Humanities Oral Session 2 Moderated by: Mary Jackson Judges: Lee Blackburn and Natalie Sweet
Oral Session 1B: Resurgence of Romanticism in Contemporary Times
Autumn McDonald
Humanities Lander University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1B: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Reflected in The Lord of the Rings
Gabriella Collins
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1B: The Evolution of Revenge: From Justice to Corruption in Shakespeare's Revenge Tragedies
Jessi Patton
Humanities Lander University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1B: The Original Creepypasta: Unraveling the Uncanny in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Meredith Block
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 1C
Psychology Oral Session 1 Moderated by: Rebecca Sapp Judges: Wendy Hensley and Kevin DeFord
Oral Session 1C: Roots of Resilience
Mark Matthews
Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 1C: The Influence of the Big Five Personality Traits on Mental Health Outcomes Among College Students
Trinity Caridas
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 1C: The Mind-Body Connection: Exploring Psychological Resilience in Athletes
Samuel Calini
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 1Cd: Milligan University Counselor-in-Training Self-Efficacy: A Pilot Study
Jeremy Yanopoulos
Graduate Student Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 1D
STEM Oral Session 1 Moderated by: Kelly Vaughn Judges: Logan Thomas and Lori West
Oral Session 1D: Greener Synthesis of Antimicrobial Peptides for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections
Ashley Brown
Milligan University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1D: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its Resistance Capabilities Against Lavengel.
Xavier Poore
ETSU Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1D: Sugar or Sweetener? Lipid Accumulation of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in C. elegans
Brooklynn Quark
King University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1D: The Effects of Abiotic Factors on Cyanobacteria Growth and Their Release of Cyanotoxins
Riley Hines
Ferrum University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1E
STEM Oral Session 2 Moderated by: Mark Burnham Judges: Brian Eisenback and Joseph Daft
Oral Session 1E: Enhancing Biodiversity Through Native Plant Gardening: The Role of Individual Small-Scale Actions in Landscape-Level Conservation.
Rebecca Webb
Brevard College Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1E: Exploring the Impact of Seasonal Variability on Mammalian Species Diversity in Eastern Tennessee
Jordan Rambo
Carson Newman University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 1E: Top-Down Influence of Salamanders on Soil Arthropod Abundance, Diversity, and Community Composition.
Hayden Oglesby
Emory & Henry University Oral Presentation STEM
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Keynote Address:Woodlands of the Mind: How Two ETSU Teachers Collaborated on a Book about College Forests
Dr. Kevin O'Donnell and Dr. Scott Honeycutt
ETSU Keynote STEM
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Lunch
Lunch will be served in the SUB.
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Poster Session 2
Posters will be displayed in the Gregory lobby. Moderated by: Lindsey Rufenacht Judges: Nate Wentzel, Brian Eisenback and Lindsey Rufenacht
Poster Session 2: "The Start-Stop Enigma: Unraveling the Code of Phage ELee"
Kevin Perez, Michael Baker, William Myers, Jadin Allen
Lee University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: A Comparative Analysis of Physiological Adaptations between the Native and Invasive Populations of Turtles
Phoebe Racicot
Lincoln Memorial University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Annapurna: A Phage with Altitude
Hannah Joseph, Annabelle McDaniel, Kelsey Towle and Kati Pourfarzib
Lee University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Are Naturally Derived Non-nutritive Sweeteners Better than Artificial Sweeteners?
Taylor Sharp
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Beyond Books: Libraries Empowering Communities Through Digital Navigation
Emil Orea
Posters STEM UVA Wise
Poster Session 2: Contaminant levels in King University's water
Kayla Crumley, Riley Palmer and Isabelle Clark
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Food for Thought: How Blue Crabs React to a Snack
Lily Norton
Carson Newman University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Investigating Mitochondrial Effects of Nicotine Pre-treatment as Protection from Pesticide induced Neurodegeneration
Cassie Lane
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: LC-MS Analysis of Anti-Microbial Dipeptides
Maxwell Brown
Milligan University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Mice Models and Microplastics: How Microplastics Are Disrupting Reproductive Health from the Inside Out
Heidie Aguilar and Chloe Clayton
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Microwave-assisted synthesis of ethosuximide
Grace Ellis
Lincoln Memorial University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Puff, Puff Prescription: A Toxicological Look into Medical Marijuana versus Recreational Marijuana
Aleya Ebner
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Quality of life of Leiomyosarcoma survivors: Continued screening for recurrence
Caroline Brown
Johns Hopkins University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Synthesis and lipophilicity of the trifluoroacetamido derivative of actarit
Jacqueline Medellin
Lincoln Memorial University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: Synthesis of the trifluoroacetamido derivative of acamprosate
Jeanpaul Santamaria
Lincoln Memorial University Posters STEM
Poster Session 2: The Darkside of AI in Cybersecurity
Jalyn Thompson
Posters STEM UVA Wise
Poster Session 2: Tickled Pink: Uncovering the Illusion of Glamour and Highlighting the Risks of Pink Cocaine
Ashlee Slick and Brett Miller
King University Posters STEM
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Oral Session 2A
Humanities Oral Session 3 Moderated by: Natalie Sweet Judges: Craig Farmer and Mary Jackson
Oral Session 2A: Domestic Abuse in Susan Glaspell's Trifles and Sophie Treadwell's Machinal
Alia Serrano
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 2A: Laura Wingfield's Distortion of Character in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie
Allie Elmore
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 2A: Til Death Do Us Part: The Entrapment of Women in Machinal, Trifles, The Glass Menagerie, and The Iceman Cometh
Bethany Marsh
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 2A: Twenty-five years in one job an I never missed a day: Technology, Automation, and Social Degradation in Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine
Jacob Link
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 2B
Social Sciences Oral Session 2 Moderated by: Lori Mills Judges: Trini Rangel and Kevin DeFord
Oral Session 2B: Location, Location, Location: How Young Adults and Eating Disorders are Impacted by Geography
Haylee Gomez
Oral Presentation Social Sciences UVA Wise
Oral Session 2B: Relationships between Social Identity and Heart Rate Variability in Female College Athletes
Baylee Reasor
Emory & Henry University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 2B: The relation of Social Media and Social Anxiety
Emily Ward
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 2C
Social Sciences Oral Session 3 Moderated by: Paul Blowers Judges: Paul Blowers and Stacey Kastens
Oral Session 2Ca: Racial Bias: How Judgements of Size Effect Perceived Threat
Mikayla Nidiffer, Alexandra Hayashi, and Delia Ard
Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 2Cb: Police Corruption: Criminal Justice Majors’ Perspectives on the Origins of Misbehavior
Janelle Zirger
Posters Social Sciences Tusculum University
Oral Session 2Cc: How to not commit genocide for dummies
Samuel Hauser
Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 2Cd: The relevance of Karl Barth in our time: Barth's influence in South Africa
Megan Depler
Graduate Student Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 2D
STEM Oral Session 3 Moderated by: Destini Petitt Judges: Kristen Mudrack and Destini Petitt
Oral Session 2D: Effectiveness of Novel Peptide Antibiotics Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilms
Josh Carrico
Milligan University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2D: Synthesis and physicochemical properties of the bis(para-fluorophenyl) derivative of phenytoin
Briana Martinez
Lincoln Memorial University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2D:FlameThrower Host Range Assessment
Jacob Riggs
Lee University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2D:Host Range Studies with bacteriophages isolated against the host Microbacterium foliorum
Kayle Davis
Lee University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2E
STEM Oral Session 4 Moderated by: Kelly Griffith
Oral Session 2E: Fish and Food: Sustainable AI Hydroponic
Xander Stephens, Jackson Parmer, Mary Custodio
Milligan University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2E: Reduce the Impact of Malaria by Targeting Infected Mosquitoes
Zachary Nelson, Jordon Moore, Cameron Shockey
Milligan University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2E: Waste into Energy: Advancing a Sustainable Future Through Gasification
Conner Mowell, Jake Littlejohn, Jackson McRae
Milligan University Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 2F
Graduate Theology Oral Session 1 Moderated by: Kip Elolia Judges: Lee Blackburn and Wendy Hensley
Oral Session 2F a: Karl Barth’s Theology of Resistance
Anthony Bandera
Graduate Student Milligan University Theology
Oral Session 2F b: Karl Barth Influence in South Africa
Megan Depler
Graduate Student Milligan University Theology
Oral Session 2F c: Karl Barth and the Confessing Church: What Lessons can we learn today
Anna Miller
Graduate Student Milligan University Theology
Oral Session 2F d: Karl Barth and the Prophetic voice of the Church
Priviledge Yesaya
Graduate Student Milligan University Theology
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Graduate School Fair
Local graduate schools will be set up on the Derthick Hall 2nd Floor for you to stop by.
Graduate School
Technical Demonstrations
Technical Demonstrations will be on Derthick Lawn during this time. Moderated by: Landon Holbrook Judges: Matt McDonald, Brian Eisenback and Lindsay Worley
Technical Demonstrations: Solar Powered Charging Station
Mykael White, Samantha van Vuure, Joshua Lail, Mackenzie LaFrance, and Sean Clark
Milligan University STEM Technical Demo
Technical Demonstrations: Solar Powered Cookstove
Albert Montragull Roca, Ty Yurkovich, Jacob Russell, Adin Papell, and Corey Greeson
Milligan University STEM Technical Demo
Technical Demonstrations: Solar-Powered Grinding System for Turkana, Kenya
William Seitz, Ty Lamb, James Verkheimer, Andrew Norman, and Megan Miles
Milligan University STEM Technical Demo
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
Oral Session 3A
Education and Social Sciences Oral Session 1 Moderated by: Amy Edmonds Judges: Stacey Kastens and Mary Jackson
Oral Session 3Aa: A Public Health Investigation into the Effects of Food Deserts on Rural Emerging Adults’ Health
McKenna Boykin
ETSU Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3Ab: Food Insecurity Among Students at Milligan University
Samantha Maldonado
Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3Ac: The Implementation of Teaching for Transfer Curriculum
Laci Newsom
Education Lander University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3Ad: Feedback Practices in the Secondary English Classroom: Written and Oral Corrective Feedback on Writing Assignments
Alayna Butler
Education Lander University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3B
Humanities Oral Session 4 Moderated by: Todd Edmondson Judges: Craig Farmer and Natalie Sweet
Oral Session 3B a: "Sometimes I'm Not Happy Being a Bloke in the Late-Twentieth Century": Nick Hornby, Margaret Thatcher, and the Neoliberal Consensus
Seth Bible
Humanities Milligan University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3B: How Cringe Humor Can Lead to Social Change
Hannah Turner
Humanities Lander University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3B: My Group Me Too: David Mamet's Oleanna
Meredith Block
Humanities Lee University Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3B: On Relearning the Sense of Self: Another View of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild
Oliver Gragg
ETSU Humanities Oral Presentation
Oral Session 3C
Social Sciences Oral Session 4 Moderated by: Trini Rangel
Oral Session 3C: How Athletes Manage Their Identity and Stress in Sports
Rowan Phillips
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3C: Relation between Sport Injuries, Psychological Responses,and Recovery among College Athlete
Cassie Lowe
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3C: The Effects of Positive Feedback on Self-Efficacy in College Athletes
Alexander Panner
Milligan University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3C: The Influence of Sleep Disturbances on Positive Feeling, and Sport-Related Satisfaction, Frustration, and Fulfillment
Grayson Stoudt
King University Oral Presentation Social Sciences
Oral Session 3D
STEM Oral Session 5 Moderated by: David Frazier
Oral Session 3D: Confirmation of the Approaching Negative Extremum of Xi1 CMa
Larra Fouch
ETSU Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 3D: Potential Binarity Detected in the Luminous Blue Variable Candidate Hen 3-519
Faith Simmons
ETSU Oral Presentation STEM
Oral Session 3D: Small Language Model for C++ Assistance
Abby Bentley and Julia Kessler
Oral Presentation STEM UVA Wise
Oral Session 3D: The Free Energy Principle: A Mathematical Model for Self-Organizing Agents
Ryan Rasco
Davis & Elkins College Oral Presentation STEM
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Poster Session 3
Posters will be displayed in the Gregory lobby. Moderated by: Lindsey Rufenacht Judges: Destini Petitt, Matt McDonald and Nate Wentzel
Poster Session 3: A Toxicological Epidemic: The Effects of Long Term Opioid Use on the Brain
Grace Beatty
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Antimicrobial Peptide Synthesis to Combat P.aeruginosa
Elizabeth Bonaminio
Milligan University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Clean-up of water contaminated by nitrates in agriculture
Erika Tocholke
ETSU Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Cystic Fibrosis Antibiotic Testing
Haley Crozier
Milligan University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Deciphering the Time Window of Caffeine Toxicity in the Development of Xenopus laevis Embryo
Kylie Haas
Milligan University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Host range study of Bacteriophage WomenEater: Infectivity and Efficiency of plating on Microbacterium species
Ashley Shearer and Evan Moore
Lee University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Medicine in Manure: Proving the Protein Functions of the Pasture Phage ELee24
Emme Clowdus and Sallie Hicks
Lee University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Rate of Erosion affected by Weather Events
Abby Shipman
Brevard College Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Silent Battlefields: The Role of DDT in War and its Aftermath
Jude Kerr and Mia Zuniga
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: Smoke and Stardom: Unveiling Short-Term Health Impacts and Projecting Long-Term Health Consequences from Urban Wildfires
Alexa Mathews and Makenzie Templeman
King University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: START Smart: Codon Calling For The Win
Shelby Stone, Sarah Pritchard, and Kinley Shelton
Lee University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: The Impact of Developments in Large Language Models on Learning in Mathematics
Emma True
Milligan University Posters STEM
Poster Session 3: The Impact of Modern Applications on Consumer Driven Sustainability.
Marcella Steele
Brevard College Posters STEM
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Closing Ceremonies
Winners of the conference awards will be awarded. Door prizes will be given out here - winners must be present to win!
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
Event End
Exhibitors

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LOCATION
Gregory Center, , Elizabethton, TN
Map
Location: Gregory Center, , Elizabethton, TN

DATE

April 10, 2025

LOCATION

Gregory Center
Elizabethton, TN
Gregory Center, , Elizabethton, TN

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