Student Research Assistants

Meet our Spring 2026 Student Research Assistants. Throughout the semester, these students contributed to faculty-led research projects while gaining valuable experience in their fields of study. Their work reflects dedication, curiosity, and commitment to learning that are central to undergraduate research.

Prasiddha Adhikari

Prasiddha Adhikari photo

Major: B.S. Computer Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mahanthesh Basavarajappa

Research: Prasiddha's project focused on developing and analyzing a mathematical model that explains potential pathways leading to the onset of diabetes.

Aleck De La Cruz

Aleck De La Cruz photo

Major: B.S. Systems Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mahanthesh Basavarajappa

Research: Aleck assisted in modeling heat and mass transfer in nanofluid flow through a stationary cone-disk system (SCDS).

Alejandro Diaz

Alejandro Diaz photo

Major: B.S. Computer Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Deepak Ganta

Research: Alejandro assisted with a project at the intersection of Physics and AI to improve autonomous vehicle sensors with a focus on making perception systems resilient to "edge cases", such as extreme weather.

Julia Flores

Julia Flores photo

Major: B.A. Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Mendez

Research: Julia assisted in performing a greenhouse project, looking at the effects of antimicrobials on the growth of onions and cilantro, while also examining the antimicrobial biodegradation potential of bacteria.

Marianna Gamboa

Marianna Gamboa photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose Moris

Research: Marianna assisted in a project examining the relationship between prefrontal cortex function and cognitive function, and its relation to the perception of caloric intake.

Marcela Guadiana

Marcela Gonzalez photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose Moris

Research: Marcela's research involved focusing on the temporal dynamics of blood flow, particularly, how latency values correlate with performance during cognitive testing.

Ava Herrera

Ava Herrera photo

Major: B.A. English

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nathanial Racine

Research: Ava assisted in the preparation of Volume 24 of The Complete Works of Jack London to be published by the Oxford University Press.

Amanda Johnson

Amanda Johnson photo

Major: B.A. Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ray Garza

Research: Amanda assisted in eye-tracking research and survey setup for her project involving visual attention to infant facial expressions.

Fatima Lopez

Fatima Lopez photo

Major: B.A. Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anna Cieslicka

Research: Fatima's project explored whether bilingual executive control (EC) affects language processing. Specifically, the study aimed to determine whether bilinguals with higher EC are more efficient in resolving lexical ambiguity.

Samantha Martinez

Samantha Martinez photo

Major: B.S. Pre-PT/Occupational Therapy

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose Moris

Research: Across two research studies, Samantha provided hands-on assistance ranging from data collection to logistical coordination. Additionally, she developed best practices for disseminating research findings to participants.

Sara Montiel

Sara Montiel photo

Major: B.A. English

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Adam Kozaczka

Research: Sara assisted in two book editing projects where she checked AI-transcribed text line-by-line to ensure minimal errors. One project will be published by Edinburgh University Press, the other by Chawton House Press.

Grecia Morales

Grecia Morales photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology, Pre-PT

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose Moris

Research: Grecia led a project focused on food preception and vascular health. More specifically, she investigated the physiological correlates of caloric estimation accuracy.

Miguel Nieto

Miguel Nieto photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kyung-Shin Park

Research: Miguel was involved in a project titled "Development of a BMI-Based Fat Regression Equation for Hispanic Adults", where he assisted with data collection, data coding, wrote a manuscript, and contributed to the preparation of a conference paper.

Mariana Ortiz

Mariana Ortiz photo

Major: B.A. Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Roberto Heredia

Research: Mariana's project was related to how individuals process Mexican Spanish idiomatic expressions to determine their accessibility in English and the automaticity of the literal sense under contextually biased and unbiased experimental conditions.

Mia Perez

Mia Perez photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose Moris

Research: Mia's work focused on mastering the calibration and window of analysis required for cardiac ultrasound scans. She developed advanced skills in acquiring clear, diagnostic-quality two and four-chamber images.

Danna Proa

Major: B.S. Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Monica Mendez

Research: Danna worked on two projects that examine microbiomes of environmental samples collected from the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Valley commercial farms to determine the effect of water sources on soil and plant microbiomes.

Jema Rebeles

Jema Rebeles photo

Major: B.S. Chemistry

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alfred Addo-Mensah

Research: Jema's project explored the development of high-quality, cost-effective, and stable 2D-MMXCs based on existing MXene synthesis for 3D aerosol jet printing (3D-AJP).

Aaron Rodriguez

Major: B.S. Criminal Justice

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kaitlyn Culliton

Research: Aaron's project examined the history of theater, particularly Shakespeare productions, on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Aaron assisted with community interviews, editing transcripts, and organizing bibliographic entries.

Selissa Ruiz

Selissa Ruiz photo

Major: B.S. Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kyung-Shin Park

Research: Selissa contributed to a research project "Development of a BMI-Based Fat Regression Equation for Hispanic Adults", by assisting with participant testing, data collection, data coding, and quality control.

Cynthia Sanchez

Cynthia Sanchez photo

Major: B.A. Art

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Teresa Scott

Research: Cynthia worked on a project that focused on the portrayal of immigrant women in classical (5th Century BCE) Greek tragedy. Specifically, the project focused on the depiction of Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon and Iole in Sophocles' Trachiniae.

Juan Segovia

Juan Segovia photo

Major: B.S. Kinesiology, Concentration in Exercise Science

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kyung-Shin Park

Research: Juan was part of the project titled "Development of a BMI-Based Fat Regression Equation for Hispanic Adults", where he assisted with participant preparation, data collection, and data entry.

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