April 14, 2025
St. John’s University students flexed their research muscles during the University’s annual Student Research Conference on April 9, where work from all Schools and Colleges was showcased in an event designed to inspire student creativity and research engagement.
The D’Angelo Center ballroom was filled with 140 undergraduate and graduate projects, including a best-ever 13 from first-year students. Projects ranged from biology to education, music, and more, with prizes awarded after oral presentations later in the day.
Students, who chose the research topics themselves, were challenged to create a poster summarizing their findings.
Rigel Baron, pursuing a Master of Science in Neuroscience, examined the link between music and neural responses in his project, “Sleep’s Impact on Music Processing in the Developing Brain.” He used an electric organ to create sounds that can expand to include other noises.
According to Rigel, who hails from Los Alamos, NM, children who sleep better and longer have enhanced reactions to music, and perhaps other neural stimuli. With further study, conclusions can perhaps be applied to adults.
“There are a couple of different ways to look at it, but, in general, children enjoy a greater brain response and more brain action as they get more sleep,” Rigel explained. “It is important to clinicians, diagnosticians, and other scientists to determine how sleep affects their results.”
Thomas Minunno, who is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Psychology, showcased a project that examined trust and purpose among teachers in Vietnam. According to Thomas, without the trust and support of colleagues and administrators, teachers are subject to burnout, anxiety, and depression. Preserving teachers’ sense of self-worth is essential to maintaining an inspired work force in Vietnam and the larger world.
“A lack of trust among teachers in, for example, their principals, makes teachers feel as if they are not fully able to do their jobs,” Thomas said. “That affects their overall sense of purpose.”
Several research projects focused on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), including one from a mix of undergraduate and graduate school researchers titled “AI Tutor: Advancing Education Using Context-Aware AI Tutoring Systems.” The group, which includes alumnus Sebastian Chalarca ’23CCPS, ’24MS, studied the feasibility of an AI tutor app for high school and college computer science students.
According to Sebastian, the study underscores AI’s potential to revolutionize computer science education and support diverse learning needs.
“The tutor would have the ability to personalize the teaching environment for computer science students so each student can get a better grasp of programming,” Mr. Chalarca said. “It would behave as if it were a real-life tutor, where a student would have a conversation, and the app would guide the student toward the concepts until they reach a solution.”
Among the 13 students participating through the First-Year Research Opportunity program was Austin Groves, a Government and Politics student whose project, “Danger Zone: Managing Terrorism Risk Throughout History,” challenged insurers to employ data-driven modeling when considering risk.
“I gained many valuable insights about the industry and learned so much about the history behind the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science,” Austin said.
Jenna Tuffnell, a first-year Mathematics major, worked on an energy sustainability project with Malek Abunaemeh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Physics.
“Working with a professor on something they have been passionate about their entire career was invigorating,” Jenna said. “Seeing someone else’s passion for a cause personally inspired me to find my niche in the future.”
According to Christine Costello, Director, Office of Grants and Sponsored Research, the conference is a platform to inspire creativity and engage students in research. It also offers students an opportunity for valuable mentorship with faculty and advisers.
“Hosting a dedicated event to showcase student research is invaluable, not only for their academic growth this semester, but for their future career trajectories,” Ms. Costello said. “The ability to effectively present their work is a critical skill in the job market, and the mentorship and support from faculty equip students with the essential tools they need to succeed.”
The winners were as follows:
Undergraduate Poster Competition
Student: David Anderson
Title: Purification of Sortase A from E. coli
Faculty mentor: Shanzhi Wang, Ph.D.
Graduate Poster Competition
Student: Vasili Koutouratsas
Title: Understanding Treatment Patterns in Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and an Assessment of Economic Burden of Opioid-Associated Inpatient Admissions in New York
Faculty mentor: Rajesh Nayak, Ph.D.
Overall Panel Presentations
Student: Danielle Rouse
Title: Epigenetic Intervention in High-Risk Neuroblastoma: The Role of DNMT1 Inhibition in Tumor Suppression
Faculty mentor: Saurabh Agarwal, Ph.D.
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