Student Scholars Symposium spotlights more than 350 students’ academic scholarship
From artificial intelligence to art therapy and the impacts of gardening, the annual symposium highlights the diligence and creativity of Lipscomb students.
By Janel Shoun-Smith |
This year’s 15th annual Student Scholars Symposium in April not only drew more freshmen and more graduate students, it also hosted timely and thoughtful conversations on everything from the use of AI in warfare to gluten-free recipes.
More than 350 students participated in the two-day conference, featuring academic oral presentations, poster presentations, creative works and special exhibits. Students from all nine colleges participated, and topics ranged from beet juice and honey water as pre-workout fuel to specific proteins and a molecule’s role in cancer.
"How Much AI Art is Too Much?", a digital poll regarding the use of artificial intelligence in illustration and design, by arts students.
Eight presentations and exhibits explored the impacts of artificial intelligence; nutrition students handed out samples of their research studies comparing various sugar, flour and fat substitutes; 23 students read and performed creative writing, music and theatrical works; and attendees were able to give their input on how much AI is too much in visual art in a digital survey.
Keynote speaker Jeannette E. South-Paul, the executive vice president and provost at Meharry Medical College, brought an inspiring message to students, and the Beaman Library hosted a Holocaust-themed quilt and an art exhibit featuring a house made of hundreds of pages of books.
“Over these two days, we will encounter work that spans many disciplines and ways of knowing, but what holds all this together is something profound, and that is curiosity and wonder,” Provost Jennifer Shewmaker told the students gathered at the Thursday opening ceremony. “This day is about curiosity made visible.”
The Freshman Orientation to Collaborative Scholarship (FOCUS) sessions of the conference, established last year as a way to get freshmen excited about conducting scholarly research during their undergraduate years, grew from one to two sessions this year, with 20 freshmen selected to present their work. Presentations covered areas of biology, history, education and computing,
Almost 300 undergraduate students presented posters and oral presentations, and the number of graduate students presenting at the conference grew to 52 this year, with students from archaeology to dietetics, from pharmacy to management presenting.
“There’s some really exciting research being shared across all disciplines. Some of the undergraduates research panels come out of our CUREs classes, which is really exciting to see the work of the classroom translated into scholarly projects and artifacts,” said Jan Elaine Harris, professor of English and undergraduate research coordinator for the humanities and the arts.
Keynote speaker Jeannette E. South-Paul.
CUREs, Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences, is a model where creative inquiry is embedded into course curriculum through a research project required of the entire class of students.
Also this year, the first student in Lipscomb’s IDEAL (Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb) program, Phillip Borgman, presented at this year’s symposium, winning his poster presentation group with.
Out of 207 presentations, 35 presentations were chosen as outstanding in their group and the presenters honored in an awards ceremony. The winners and their topics are listed by academic discipline below:
Accessibility and Learning Supports
Resilience and Representation: A Qualitative Study of Student Perspectives in IPSE Programs, Phillip Borgman
Archaeology
The Ark in Absence: Sacred Memory and the Top Panel of the Magdala Stone, Samuel Becker
The Collision of Israel and Judah: the Region of Benjamin as a Borderzone in the Divided Kingdom, Gabrielle Graber
"Imaginate Other Worlds: What We Make of Books" by Hannah Fritsch.
Bible
Garden Fellowship: An Introduction to Starting a Church Garden, Caitlin Vanderkamp
Biology
The Role of Neprilysin in Regulating Triple Negative Breast Cancer Invasion Through CK2-Mediated AKT1 Activation, Kai Lam, Elise Griner
δ-Valerobetaine as a Novel Inhibitor of Breast Cancer Cell Migration: Hinders Cellular Migration of MCF-7 Cells Through Reducing ATP Concentrations and FAK Activation, Braxton Ivie, Isabella English
Early-Stage Development of a Mosaic Nanoparticle Platform Targeting RSV and hMPV, Katherine Kidd, Alexis Sher
Dose-Dependent Effects of Human Alpha Defensin 5 on TGF-β Expression and Wound Healing in Colonic Epithelial Cells, Gabriella Longoria, Savoie Bryce, Kyle Meadows, Mariam Basta, Kerolos Ghobrial, Trevor Keele
Investigating the Role of HD5 in Cytoskeletal Regulation During Colonic Epithelial Wound Healing, Sandra Masad
Chemistry & Biochemistry
HdcB, a mystery protein from probiotic bacteria, Riley Robertson
Computational Investigation of Platinum-Based Anticancer Drugs and the Design of Less Toxic Metal-Based Alternatives, Isabelle Riera, Elena Harvey
Communication
Chilling Dissent: Executive Power and the First Amendment, Ameila Babb, Emy Fawzy, Hannah Owensby, Madelyn Newsom, Gabriela Pinheiro Barreto, Andrew Forney
Reducing Food Waste and Expanding Healthy Food Access, Hayden Cassetto, Christopher Ferguson, Gabriela Pinheiro Barreto
Conflict Management
Creative Arts in Peacebuilding: Practices from Dance, Theatre and Storytelling, Lily Corley
Dietetics
Position-Specific Body Image Dissatisfaction and Body Composition in NCAA Division I Football Players, Madison Stanzell, Mikayla Vacek
Environmental Factors in Toddler Eating Behaviors: A Video-Based Observational Study, Mary Watkins, Julia Chandler
Education
Pathways to Hope: Analyzing Goal-Directed Thinking in K-5 Picture Books, Allison Croft, Jillian Verver, Ruby Bills, Chandler Bell, Kayla Hill, Katerina Contreras
Twenty-three students read and performed creative writing, music and theatrical works.
Engineering
Intelligent Transportation Systems: Proof of Concept for the Truck Parking Availability System, Anthony Buckland, Britney Sosa, Mark Smith, Koral Quezada-Mendoza, Bryan Beasley, Javier Gutierrez
Accessibility in One’s Own Space: An Accessibility Lock made for Disability Friendly Bathroom Stalls, Audrey Curtis
ADICAY & Peugeot Center Solar Power Project, Yoshiro Saito, Matt Holdren, Eduardo Jimenez, Micah Nelson, Petsimnan Dayit, Caleb Demas
English & Modern Languages
French Language Usage in Imperial Russia, Diane Brown
Leaving the Tower: Gender Performativity and Resistance in Tangled, Ellie Heslon
History, Politics & Philosophy
The Marginalization of Religion in International Relations: A Content Analysis of International Organization (2000-2024), Oreoluwa Sharon Ajiboye
Measuring Implicit Associations involved with militarized and non-militarized law enforcement equipment, Cambryn Crumpler, Katherine Haralson
Kinesiology
Comparing the Effects of Beet Juice and Honey Water as a Pre-Workout Substitute on Exercise Performance in Upper Body Muscular Endurance, Isabella Gilbert, Maggie Payne, Sarah Froemming, Macey Ogle, Elle Smith
Nursing
Artificial Intelligence Charting and its Effect on Nursing Burnout: An Integrative Review, Ellie Moen, Abigail Fisk, Lacy Kaufman
Risk Factors Contributing to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears in the Female Population: An Integrative Review, Delaney Hawthorne, Courtney Sauer, Finley Elder, Alexis Sher
Twenty freshmen selected to present their work at the Freshman Orientation to Collaborative Scholarship (FOCUS) sessions of the conference.
Nutrition
Effects of flour types on texture and sensory characteristics of blueberry muffins, Bella Burdette, Audrey Jackson, Abigayle Thornburg
Pharmacy
Pharmacokinetic-guided optimization of weight-based, high-dose oral montelukast in children with acute asthma exacerbations, Dana Dishman
Dupilumab for Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Characterizing Symptoms and Clinical Outcomes in a Real-World Pediatric Population, Charlotte Haskell
Expanding Point of Care Testing as an Active Learning Intervention with First-Year Student Pharmacists, Seth Meyer, Jessica Rezk
Physics
The Behavior of Hyperspheres: Volume Formulas and Dimensional Scaling, Deron Young
Students in the Food Production course served samples of their gluten-free blueberry muffins during their poster presentation.
Psychology
Prosperity Beliefs Under Stress: Relations with Religious Doubt and Well-Being, Claire Simmons, Shiann Roker, McKenna Buz’Zard, Mary Evans Cooper, Grace Henry, Aaron Barnes, Douglas Krull, Joseph Horton
Visual Arts
Benefits of Art Therapy Practice for Prison Inmates and Their Families, Eliana Bowman, Emily Derrick
Ward Research Fellow
Crystal structure of the nucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphohydrolase (NTPH) from Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vina Nguyen