McNair-Ballotti Undergraduate Research Symposium (MBURS)

Welcome to the online home of the McNair-Ballotti Undergraduate Research Symposium (MBURS). The Symposium is designed to showcase the scholarship of Suffolk University undergraduates participating in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program housed within the Center for Academic Access & Opportunity and recipients of the Geno A. Ballotti Scholarship in the Center for Learning & Academic Success.

This year’s McNair-Ballotti Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held Friday April 21, 2023 in the Programming Space on the 9th floor of 73 Tremont.

Schedule of Events

Breakfast & Welcome 8:30 a.m.  
Session 1 8:40 a.m. Angela El-Jazzar, Nicole Kingdon, Lindsay Dieudonne, Lella Woolery
Session 2 10:30 a.m. Janice Perez-Gomez, Sarah Anne Lawton, Abigail Verfuerth, Mari Ortega
Lunch 12:00 p.m.  
Session 3 1:00 p.m. Chaimaa Mansour Hossaini, Olivia Sears, Cassandra Bertsch, Andrea Muszka
Session 4 & Closing Ceremony 3:00 p.m. Monica Prudencio, Naylene Rivera, Marcela Melendez Escobar, Johensky Etienne Celestin, Jamie Bondar, Jarvis Chen

Presentations

Jarvis ChenJamie BondarDr. Jarvis Chen, CAAO
& Jamie P. Bondar, CLAS

Cassandra BertschCassandra Bertsch
 Ballotti Scholar
“Breaking Down a Scientific Paper.”
Research Mentor: Jamie Bondar

Johensky CelestinJohensky Etienne Celestin
McNair Scholar
“Understanding the Perception of Mental Health Within the Haitian Community”
Research Mentor: Jessica LoPresti

Lindsay DieudonneLindsay S. Dieudonne
McNair Scholar
“Food for Thought: Assessing Accessibility: Using WIC and SNAP Enrollment Data and Accessibility Measures For Program Recommendations”
Research Mentor: Jarvis Chen

Angela El JazzarAngela El-Jazzar
McNair Scholar
“Administrative Impact on the U.S. Refugee System: A study on the 21st century need for restructure”
Research Mentor: Katherine Horn

Chaimaa HossainiChaimaa Mansour Hossaini
 Ballotti Scholar
“Assessment of ADHD Accommodations in Schools and How We Can Improve Them”
Research Mentors: Jamie Bondar & Andrew Cioffi

Nicole KingdonNicole Kingdon
 McNair Scholar
“Low-Income Caregivers with Young Children Experience Risk and Resilience Through Pandemic-Related Stressors”
Research Mentors: RoseMarie DiBiase and Molly DuBuc

Sarah Anne LawtonSarah Anne Lawton
 McNair Scholar
“An Examination into Critical Race Theory in K-12 History Curriculum”
Research Mentor: Jarvis Chen

Marcela Melendez EscobarMarcela Melendez Escobar
 McNair Scholar
“The Cellular Localization of a Bacterial Protein Required for Symbiosis”
Research Mentor: Vincent J Starai
Microbiology Department, University of Georgia in Athens

Andrea MuszkaAndrea Muszka
 McNair Scholar
“Psychedelics and Psychotherapy as Vehicle for Altered States of Consciousness and Metacognition in Treating Treatment-Resistant Psychiatric Disorders”
Research Mentor: David Gansler

Mari OrtegaMari Ortega
 Ballotti Scholar
“Design-Centered Learning”
Research Mentor: Jamie Bondar

Janice Perez GomezJanice Perez-Gomez
 McNair Scholar
“Social Media Usage during COVID: An Exploratory Study of Well-Being and Interconnectedness”
Research Mentor: Elizabeth J Wilson

Monica PrudencioMonica Prudencio
 McNair Scholar
“Racial Mental Health Disparities in the U.S.”
Research Mentor: Sukanya Ray

Naylene RiveraNaylene Rivera
 McNair Scholar
“The Effects of Emotions and Dreams: A Sleep Study of Primed Emotions and Dream Response Using Content Analysis and Participant Surveys”
Research Mentor: Jarvis Chen

Olivia Sears
 Ballotti Scholar
“Enhancing Student Learning and Application of R Programming Language for Biology and Environmental Science Through the Creation of a Reference Guide”
Research Mentor: Jamie Bondar & Eric Dewar

Abi VerfuerthAbigail Verfuerth
 Ballotti Scholar
“Tutoring as A Tool for Marginalized Student Degree Persistence”
Research Mentor: Jamie Bondar

Lella WooleryLella Woolery
 McNair Scholar
“Understanding Juvenile Offenders Issues of Behavior-A Multidisciplinary Perspective”
Research Mentor: Sukanya Ray