The Dean’s ASPIRE Grants (Arts and Sciences Projects, Investigations, and Research Endeavors) are designed to promote independent research projects among our exceptional undergraduate students in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS). These awards, which range from $500 to $5,000, enable undergraduates in KSAS to pursue original research, work closely with a Hopkins faculty mentor, and advance knowledge for the world. Awardees have an entire year to use the funding.
KSAS undergraduates in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences are all eligible for these awards. First-years, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply. (Seniors are not eligible to apply for these awards.)
Funding may be used for any research-related expenses, such as travel, equipment, supplies, printing costs, and data collection. Funds may be also be used for a student stipend, if the applicant can demonstrate that a stipend is essential to completion of the project.
If your project is funded, a final product must be turned in to the Office of the Dean at the end of the funding period. This product will be the culmination of your research and may take the form of a thesis, paper, documentary film, etc. It may be posted on the URSCA website.
How to Apply
Submit a pre-application (intent to apply) by December 21, 2025, and a final application by January 25, 2026. Click here for an overview of the application process.
Current ASPIRE Grantees’ Projects
Painting into Presence: Muralism in Cartagena
Ben Andreesen ’26, Anthropology
Facial Emotion Processing in People with HIV: Elucidating the Differential Impact of Threat- and Deprivation-Related Adverse Childhood Experiences
Julie Fang ’27, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Historical Memory, or Lack Thereof, of the American Loyalists before the First Centennial
Ido Harlev ’26, History and Political Science
Exploration of the innovation and adoption of Mobile Ophthalmic Units that provide eye care to reduce blindness in rural Maharashtra, India
Anika Kale ’26, Public Health Studies
Identification of SOX2 Transcription Factor Binding Partners during Zebrafish Hearing Regeneration
Harman Kaur ’26, Biophysics
The Irrational Plurality: Fernando Pessoa’s Internal Multiplicity and the Loss of the Individual in Surreality
Janero Li ’26, Philosophy
Unveiling the Role of Senescent Cells in Muscle Regeneration and Fibrosis: A Path to Regenerative Medicine
Prarthana Sanjay Daswani ’27, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Polyvictimization as an Incarceration Determinant for Transgender Women of Color
Hailey Saya Tomlinson ’26, Sociology and International Studies
CHIP phosphorylation protects ovariectomized mice following ischemic cardiac injury
Lara Stevens ’26, Chemistry and Biology
Assessing the Cultural and Operational Feasibility of Countries in the North American Numbering Plan to Adopt the Three-Digit 988 Dialing Code for a National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline Service
Trace Terrell ’26, Public Health Studies
Light, Body, Burning Touches: The Materialization of Memory in Body Casts by Marcel Duchamp and Alina Szapocznikow
Ember Ye ’26, History of Art and Economics
Investigating the potential role of GPR39 in Lithium-Induced Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus
Jessica Zhang ’27, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Behavioral Biology
Recent ASPIRE Grantees’ Projects
Computational study of a de novo protein that phase separates in vivo into liquid and crystal states
Armaan Ahmed ’26, Biophysics
Effect of Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels on Vestibular Nerve Responses to Fast Head Movements
Daniel Ballinas ’26, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Development of an Intranasal Treatment for Neonatal Brain Injury with LM11A-31
Andrew Cavanagh ’26, Neuroscience
Mapping Polo-like kinase-dependent phosphorylation sites in C. elegans
Alicia Guevara ’25, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Regulation of the Oxidative Stress Response by Small RNAs in Archaea
Arman Kian ’26, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Graph Neural Networks to Predict Ablation Targets for Computationally Driven Atrial Fibrillation Therapy
Yash Lal ’26, Mathematics
A Road of Her Own: Women Travelers of the 1940s
Lillian Liu ’26, History
Latino Experiences at Hopkins: A Digital Library
Sandy Monter-Casio ’26, Sociology
African Americans and the Environment: The Influence of Capitalism on the Development of Public Health Issues and Interventions During The Great Migration (1910-1970)
Sidney Rucker ’26, Public Health Studies and International Studies
Understanding Visual Distractions with Alpha Brain Waves
Joshua Seewald ’26, Neuroscience
Media Perspectives of Populism: An Examination of Rhetoric Around Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Presidential Campaign
Yvette Shu ’27, Political Science
Postpartum depression in carceral settings: improving access despite inequity
Mingyuan Song ‘ 25, Neuroscience and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities
te ‘ori tahiti e te ‘ahu: Public Performances of Tahitian Dance and Costuming Innovations During the Height of French Colonialism in Tahiti, 1880-1910
Ginger Trask ’25, International Studies and History