The Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (URSCA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 URSCA Awards. These awards, totaling $133,000 in funds, provide support to undergraduates in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences who wish to pursue independent, student-designed research projects over the course of a one-year grant period, from Summer 2025 through Spring 2026 (or a two-year grant period, in the case of the Ethan M. Posner Fellowship). URSCA awards several different grants and scholarships for research and creative activity across all disciplines of the Krieger School. Each awardee works with a faculty mentor in their discipline, and with research mentors in the URSCA office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below is the list of this year\u2019s URSCA Awardees and their project titles. Stay tuned for a list of additional awardees — and more than $150,000 more of funding — as we are still finalizing the Kelly-Clyne Grant, the Meg Walsh Award, and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dean\u2019s ASPIRE Grants<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ben Andreesen ’26<\/strong> (Anthropology) Julie Fang ’27<\/strong> (Molecular and Cellular Biology) Ido Harlev<\/strong> ’26 <\/strong>(History) Anika Kale ’27<\/strong> (Public Health Studies) Harmanpreet Kaur ’26<\/strong> (Biophysics) Prarthana Sanjay Daswani ’27<\/strong> (Molecular and Cellular Biology) Hailey Saya Tomlinson ’26<\/strong> (Sociology) Lara Stevens ’26<\/strong> (Chemistry and Biology) Trace Terrell ’26<\/strong> (Public Health Studies) Ember Ye ’26<\/strong> (History of Art) Jessica Zhang ’27<\/strong> (Molecular and Cellular Biology) The Albstein Research Scholarship<\/a> (up to $5,000) is open to undergraduate and graduate students in both Krieger and Whiting who are pursuing intensive research in brain science, especially Alzheimer\u2019s research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hanish Edupuganti ’27<\/strong> (Neuroscience) Xiping Le ’27<\/strong> (Neuroscience) Justina Miao ’26 <\/strong>(Neuroscience) Jack Shi ’27<\/strong> (Applied Mathematics and Statistics) Sonya Zhang ’26 <\/strong>(Neuroscience) The Bander Family Fund<\/a> Award is intended to encourage students to think creatively in defining work that can only be done outside the classroom. The work may be independent research, a creative venture, or an internship directly related to a field of study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrigaanka Sharma ’26<\/strong> (Molecular and Cellular Biology) The John Camp and Mindy Farber \u201974 Endowed Award<\/a> (approximately $4000) was created to support undergraduates conducting research in brain science, with preference given to students performing research related to brain cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jean Michael Ashby ’26<\/strong> (Molecular and Cellular Biology) The Jeffrey Ma Shiu & Emily Liu Endowed ASPIRE Award<\/a> (Arts and Sciences Projects, Investigations, and Research Endeavors) is designed to promote exploration among exceptional undergraduate students in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences who are determined to pursue original research in the brain sciences, especially in areas related to developmental and behavioral psychology in children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sonny Ravinder ’26<\/strong> (Neuroscience) TC Taylor ’26<\/strong> (Neuroscience)
“Painting into Prescence: Muralism in Cartagena”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Facial Emotion Processing in People with HIV: Elucidating the Differential Impact of Threat- and Deprivation-Related Adverse Childhood Experiences”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Historical Memory, or Lack Thereof, of the American Loyalists before the First Centennial”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Exploration of the innovation and adoption of Mobile Ophthalmic Units that provide eye care to reduce blindness in rural Maharashtra, India”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Identification of SOX2 Transcription Factor Binding Partners during Zebrafish Hearing Regeneration”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unveiling the Role of Senescent Cells in Muscle Regeneration and Fibrosis: A Path to Regenerative Medicine”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Polyvictimization as an Incarceration Determinant for Transgender Women of Color”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“CHIP phosphorylation protects ovariectomized mice following ischemic cardiac injury”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Light, Body, Burning Touches: The Materialization of Memory in Body Casts by Marcel Duchamp and Alina Szapocznikow”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Investigating the potential role of GPR39 in Lithium-Induced Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus”<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlbstein Research Scholarship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Investigating the Effects of CUL1 Haploinsufficiency on Neurodevelopment in Mice”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Investigating the involvement of medial prefrontal cortex to sensory cortex projections in contextual flexibility”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Neuroprotective Role of Mast Cell-Specific Receptor (Mrgprb2\/X2) in Multiple Sclerosis”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“PAANIB-1, a MIF nuclease inhibitor’s effects on cognitive deficits in mice with Tauopathy”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unraveling the Connection Between IGF-1\/mTOR Pathways and APOE4 in Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: A Study Using Human iPSC-Derived Hippocampal Organoids”<\/p>\n\n\n\nBander Family Fund Award<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“The Third Place Project”<\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn Camp and Mindy Farber \u201974 Endowed Award<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Investigating the Role of XBP1 in Modulating the Immunosuppressive Phenotype of Recurrent Glioblastoma”<\/p>\n\n\n\nJeffrey Ma Shiu and Emily Liu Endowed ASPIRE Award<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“3-Dimensional Computational Modeling of Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors Using Machine Learning”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“miR-16-5p and miR-124-3p block the immunosuppressive phenotype of GBM cells in vitro”<\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Saraf Memorial Award<\/h2>\n\n\n\n