Senior Rebecca Shannon is conducting research to investigate stigma in relation to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). She is interested in looking at how age, sexuality, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and diagnosis mediate HIV/AIDS stigma for both PLWHA and those who do not have HIV/AIDS (non-PLWHA). Increasing knowledge is the traditional approach to decreasing stigma and she is trying to ascertain what other variables are at play in stigmatic attitudes. For her research, she surveyed PLWHA and non-PLWHA nationwide as well as some Roanoke College students. After analyzing the data, she presented her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Wonderful work!
Senior Caylyn McNaul’s research has involved using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to discern the identity of potentially falsified pharmaceuticals from lower to middle income countries. Throughout her research, she has analyzed samples and was able to calculate some statistics based off the results that she has obtained. These results have shown that nearly 25% of all the antibiotics tested were substandard. Recently, Caylyn presented at the American Chemical Society Symposium. From her experience presenting, she has gained the ability to be more comfortable presenting her research as well as gaining experience speaking to those in the industry. Great work!
Repost: Sophomore Katherine Vaughan works at the Dilly Dally café in Salem and demonstrates her business background through her involvement in their Reading Rewards initiative. Katherine says, “The Reading Rewards promotion is a part of our effort to ‘spread some sunshine’ [Dilly Dally’s tagline]”. Here’s how Reading Rewards, which is open to preschoolers through fifth graders, works: Students can pick up a bookmark at the Dilly Dally. Once they’ve read five books, they write on the bookmark the titles of those five books. They can then bring the bookmark back to the Dilly Dally and receive a free kiddie scoop of ice cream. Through creating colorful bookmarks for kids, Katherine hopes, “that the project inspires kids of all ages to form a lifelong love of reading.”
Senior Selma Sosic has been working alongside Dr. Chad Morris to research the perceptions of mammography screenings from women in Palau. This past fall, Selma and her fellow research team analyzed survey data received from Belau National Hospital and created the data into a preliminary report which allowed the research team to establish significant barriers that women face when trying to receive mammograms. This summer, Selma plans to go to Palau with Dr. Morris to help conduct focus groups with Palauan women, as well as interviews with the medical staff and key stakeholders on the island. Using a Community-Based Prevention marketing framework, Selma will be using the data the team collects to create a preliminary report to be shared with the Palauan Ministry of Health and Human Services and other stakeholders. Great work!
Repost: Back when she was a freshman, Charissa Roberson ‘22 wanted to write a bilingual play. The French and creative writing double-major was researching World War II to find storylines to inspire her when she found two photographs that grabbed her attention. Three years of research later, Roberson has created an immersive, bilingual experience that she will present at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Wortmann Ballroom at the Colket Center. The presentation, “The Crossroads of Saint-Lô”, examines the lives of two men — Major Thomas Howie, U.S. Army Infantry Officer, and French resistance fighter Raymond Robin — who died in that area during the war. Wonderful work, Charissa! Find more about Charissa’s work here: https://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/charissa_roberson_french_crossroads_of_saint-lo_presentation?fbclid=IwAR0UiMExKVt–AONvSDb1GvJq9rXDB3IcXLQIPSvBaFNv1ajvVDnQ-hpc6k
Roanoke’s Public Health Studies is an interdisciplinary approach to the health care arena, offering students diverse perspectives on health through courses in both life and social sciences. Public Health Studies also helps students find a niche in the health field that matches their own personal passions, and gives an advantage over those who’ve pursued a purely technical approach to health education. Through rigorous investigation and analysis, Public Health Studies provides individuals with a strong foundation for a range of careers in the health field, such as administration, advocacy, counseling, medical practice, public policy, research & analysis, social work and occupational & physical therapy.
Repost! Environmental Studies senior, Vashawn Gray learned much about the complexities of running a museum from his internship at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville. He converted an existing pollinator garden into an exhibit display, adding educational information about the plants in the pollinator garden and the types of native pollinators in the local area and created a mascot graphic for the pollinator exhibit to help make the information more colorful and attractive to children. Wonderful work!
Bella, a Senior at Roanoke College, is conducting an independent study and honors in the Art History major with a continuation of her summer work. Bella’s semester work will result in a paper that allows her to elaborate upon her research and compile her findings into an academic paper to submit for publication in a peer-reviewed journal in the field of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology. From this project, Bella presented her independent research at the Showcase of Experiential Learning this past September and placed second overall. She gained experience presenting with confidence and authority and it helped her think about her project big picture while explaining complex concepts to people with no previous experience learning about archaeology. Great work!
This past week, two current students (Hannah Petty and Jacob Barret), four former students (Erin Kosmowski, Dandre Amos, Sean Ryan, Lucas Jones), and Dr. Lassiter had their manuscript accepted for publication in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. Follow the link in the profile to find the publication. Congratulations!
This semester Ethan is researching gender conformity and how it may predict poor adjustment in young adults. Also, he is researching whether relational aggression (i.e., gossiping, spreading rumors) plays a role in this relationship. Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand and Ethan are working on drafting an abstract to submit to the Reid Conference at UVA for undergraduate psychology students. Wonderful work!
Michael Santoroski 
