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As the College is operating remotely due to COVID-19, students this year presented their research virtually via video.

Distinction in the Field of Study is an honor for Emmanuel students. The opportunity to conduct and present a significant research project is only granted to senior students who hold a 3.5 grade point average or higher in their major course of study. It is representative of the candidates' dedication to their field and commitment to academic excellence.

This year's projects spanned a wide range of academic areas, including graphic design, mathematics, political science, biology, history, business and economics, education and more. 

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES

Megan Kimball
�Representations of the Rural Poor in Popular Culture�
American Studies
Advisor: Matthew Elliott, Ph.D.

Lucy McGing
�The Ravensbruck Portraits of Jeannette L'Herminier: Bearing Witness to the Holocaust through Clandestine Art�
Art History
Advisor: Cynthia Fowler, Ph.D.

Caitlin Amorin
�Spend Big, Princess: An Examination of the Ethics of Commodity Feminism in Marketing�
Communications & Media Studies
Advisors: Andrea McDonnell, Ph.D. and Mark Flynn, Ph.D.

Angela Romilla
�Like a Good Neighbor: Exploring Parasocial Relationships between Politicians and College-Aged Twitter Users�
Communications & Media Studies
Advisors: Andrea McDonnell, Ph.D. and Mark Flynn, Ph.D.

Christina Eng
�Editorial Merchandising: �What The Good Word?�
Graphic Design
Advisor: Erich Doubek, M.F.A.

Alexandra Mezzo
�The Civil Rights Movement and its Impact on the Democratic Party in the 1960s�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Lucy McGing
�Problematizing Progressive: Reevaluating Frances Benjamin Johnston's Advocacy for Women Photographers at the turn of the 20th century�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Michael Montesanti
�The Balance of Power during the Russo-Japanese War�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Theodore Miele
�Syrian National Identity Past and Present�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Jessica Gavin
�What I Told You Is the Truth: Survivor Narratives from the Khmer Rouge�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Ava Doogue
�Was Urban Renewal Good or Bad?�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Megan Kimball
�Transcendentalism, Fruitlands, and Louisa May Alcott�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Shai Palmer
�Worshipping the Leviathan: The Lake Champlain Cryptid and Religion�
History
Advisor: Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Duvall
�The Dark Side of Fashion: The Globalized Effects of the Fast Fashion Industry�
International Studies
Advisors : Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Rose Gould, M.A.

Lama Jaber
"Fear of Multiculturalism Leading to Far-Right Immigration Policies: Us vs. Them"
International Studies
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Katrin Križ, Ph.D.

Rahel Sirack
�The Consequences of Chinese Infrastructure Investments in Africa�
International Studies
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Lenore Martin, Ph.D.

Emery Veilleux
�Rewilding Life: Responding to the Biodiversity-Poverty Relationship with Agroforestry and Nature-Based Economies�
Individualized Major: Global Sustainability
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Katrin Kriz, Ph.D.

Robert A. Columbus
�European Union Intelligence Agencies' Incoherencies�
International Studies
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Adam Silver, Ph.D.

Dillon Williams
�Jose Marti: A Contested Legacy�
International Studies
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Mia Ghigliotti
�Made in America: MS-13 as a Product of U.S. Intervention�
International Studies
Advisors: Laurie Johnston, Ph.D. and Violetta Ravagnoli, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Duvall
�Los beneficios de la inmigración latinoamericana a Estados Unidos en su contexto histórico y en la situación actual�
Modern Languages: Spanish
Advisor: Jose Álvarez Fernández, Ph.D.

Michael Legere
�In Defense of Altruism�
Philosophy
Advisor: Michelle Maiese, Ph.D.

Jillian Fino
�Democratic Responsiveness, Congress and Climate Change in the United States�
Political Science
Advisors: Adam Silver, Ph.D. and Catherine Bueker, Ph.D.

Christina Heiler
�Exploring the Effectiveness of the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in the Middle East North African Region�
Political Science
Advisors: Adam Silver, Ph.D. and Lenore Martin, Ph.D. 

Theodore Miele
�On the Notion of Peace in Syria�
Political Science
Advisors: Adam Silver, Ph.D. and Lenore Martin, Ph.D.

Jessica Gavin
"Ordinary Equality: Anti-Discrimination Laws in the United States"
Political Science
Advisors: Adam Silver, Ph.D. and Petros Vamvakas, Ph.D.

Ben Craig
"Citizen Competence in a Polarized Informational Environment"
Political Science
Advisors: Adam Silver, Ph.D. and Marie Natoli, Ph.D., J.D.

Jorian Gallucci
"School connectedness among new Americans in a public high school"
Sociology
Advisor: Catherine Bueker, Ph.D.

Jenny Marie Jobe
�To be or not to be insured: A critical assessment of barriers to healthcare shaped by medical capitalism�
Sociology
Advisor: Katrin Križ, Ph.D.

 

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & HEALTH

Melissa Allen
�Polycomb Group Proteins in Drosophila S2 Cells � Using TurboID to Find New Interactors�
Biology
Advisors: Janel Cabrera, Ph.D. and Mitzi Kuroda, Ph.D. (Brigham & Women Hospital/Harvard Medical School)

Sam Tierney
�Responding to mitochondrial damage: Implications for neurodegenerative disease states�
Biology
Advisors: Jill Falk, Ph.D. and Thomas Schwarz, Ph.D., (51���� Children Hospital/Harvard Medical School)

Ashleigh Meyer
�It Raining MEN: Elucidating the Impact of the Mutant NUD1 Allele on the S. cerevisiae Mitotic Exit Network�
Biology
Advisor: Anupama Seshan, Ph.D.

Cameron Goldsmith
�Neuroprotection against zinc- and copper-mediated apoptotic cell death induced by oxidative stress�
Biology
Advisor: Paul A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., (51���� Children Hospital)

Jenny Marie Jobe
�Let talk about X baby � Spreading mechanism of the MSL dosage compensation complex�
Biology
Advisors: Janel Cabrera, Ph.D. and Mitzi Kuroda, Ph.D. (Brigham & Women Hospital/Harvard Medical School)

Rachel Corsetti
�Investigation of a Potential Secondary Function of Mitotic Exit Activator LTE1 in S. cerevisiae�
Biology
Advisor: Anupama Seshan, Ph.D.  

Moriah Murphy-Thornley
�Detection of Red Blood Cell and Plasma derived Extracellular Vesicle microRNAs by Molecular Beacons�
Biology
Advisors: Getulio Pereira De Oliveira Jr., Ph.D. and Ionita Ghiran, M.D. (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)

Maggie Loiselle
�Examining the role of an uncharacterized gene in Shigella flexneri pathogenesis�
Biology
Advisor: Christina Faherty, Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital)

Rachel Pierce
�Lineage Tracing of Chondrocyte Stem Cells and Their Regenerative Response to Growth Plate Injury�
Biology
Advisor: Andreia Ionescu, Ph.D., (Harvard School of Dental Medicine)

Melanie Bruno
�Design of a Risk Stratification Tool for Emergency General Surgery Patients�
Biology
Advisor: Joaquim M. Havens, M.D., Ph.D., ( Brigham & Women Hospital/Harvard Medical School)

Gandolina Melhem
�TORC1 Inhibition Promotes Treg Viability and FOXP3 Stability through Downregulation of Granzyme B�
Biology
Advisor: Jamil R. Azzi, M.D. ( Brigham & Women Hospital/Harvard Medical School)

Megan Goncalves
�Confidence Breeds Success: How self-perceptions and self-confidence affect math anxiety�
Mathematics
Advisor: Rebecca Hehn, M.A.

Patricia Steinhagen
�Amplifiers and Suppressors of Selection on the Spider-Islands Graph under Birth-death Updating�
Mathematics
Advisor: Benjamin Allen, Ph.D.

Julia Shapiro
�Investigating the effectiveness of a public health approach for suicide prevention at 51�����
Mathematics
Advisors: Benjamin Allen, Ph.D., Yulia Dementieva, Ph.D. and Helen MacDonald, Ph.D.

Sydney Iacoi
�Differences in Cognitive Deficits between Patients with Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Bipolar I Disorder with Psychotic Features�
Neuroscience
Advisor: Melanie Leussis, Ph.D.

Amanda Perez-Rodriguez
�The Effect of Self-Defeating Humor on Individuals with Depressed and Euthymic Mood�
Psychology
Advisor: Samantha Moshier, Ph.D.

Liam Arteaga
�An analysis of the association of parenting style on executive functioning within Autism Spectrum Disorder�
Psychology
Advisor: Melanie Leussis, Ph.D.

Skylar Steffes
�The Effect of Target Gender on Perceptions of Orthorexia�
Psychology
Advisor: Linda Lin, Ph.D.

 

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT

Gisselle Gonzalez
�An Analysis of the Impact of Fintech on the U.S. Digital Economy�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and John Barrett, M.S.

Ian A. Tait
�Investing in Green Initiatives: The integration of ESG into investment decision making�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and John Barrett, M.S.

Robert A. Columbus
�Wars, Terrorism, Financial Markets & Defense Industries�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and John Barrett, M.S.

Erin Umlauf                                                                                                            
�Rules of Resettlement: Analyzing economic integration of refugees�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and Florencia Gabriele, Ph.D.

Hayley Deluca
�A New Britain: An Analysis of Brexit's Effect on Trade in the United Kingdom�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and Florencia Gabriele, Ph.D.  

Katie Thompson
�Requiring Financial Literacy: An Approach to Improving Consumer Behavior�
Economics: Finance
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and Florencia Gabriele, Ph.D.

Mariella Louisa Hansen
�The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Income Inequality Given the Absorptive Capacity of the Host Country�
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and Shuyi Jiang, Ph.D.

Rahel Sirack
�Race and income inequality in 51�����
Economics
Advisors: Rebecca Moryl, Ph.D. and Shuyi Jiang, Ph.D.

Giana Cofman
�Direct-to-Consumer Advertising in the Pharmaceutical Industry�
Marketing
Advisor: Jing Yang, Ph.D.

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Kelly Bagdonas
�Continuing Equitable Education Opportunities in BPS by Engaging with the Science Practices�
Education
Advisor: Sr. Karen Hokanson, SNDdeN, Ed.D.

Bryanna Guarnieri
�Rethinking Literacy to Foster Empathetic and Understanding Readers: A Curriculum Design Project Focused on the Integration of Inclusive and Culturally Relevant Texts in Elementary School�
Education
Advisor: Christine Leighton, Ed.D.

Amie Knowles
�Teaching Equity: How School Environments Effect Identity Formation�
Education
Advisor: Lisa Schneier, Ed.D.

Emily Hanson
�Teacher Talk: How it can Help First-Grade Students to See Themselves as Scientists�
Education
Advisor: Christine Leighton, Ed.D.

Samantha Onessimo
�Equality and Equity: Ensuring Success for All Students�
Education
Advisor: Lisa Schneier, Ed.D.

Mary Kate Harper
�The Impact of Interest: An Aspiring Teacher Reflection on Incorporating Interest to Promote Engagement�
Education
Advisor: Christine Leighton, Ed.D.

Elisa Welch
�Teaching Kindness in the Classroom: The Importance of Fostering Empathy and Self-love in Students�
Education
Advisor: Lisa Schneier, Ed.D.