Graduate Research Symposium
Event Overview
USF's Annual Graduate Research Symposium
On March 27, 2026, The Office of Graduate Studies, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) held the annual USF Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Research Symposium.
Event Overview
Annually, The Office of Graduate Studies, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) host the Graduate Research Symposium to showcase the research of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and visiting scholars in all disciplines and allow them to obtain feedback from faculty and peers.
The event brings together graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, as well as faculty mentors and judges, in an effort to foster further academic collaboration.
All graduate students are encouraged to apply; however, students without previous conference experience will greatly benefit from participating in this event and are highly encouraged to submit. This is an excellent opportunity to practice presenting research in an audience-friendly manner. Being able to communicate science to the public is an important job skill.
| Abstract Deadline | February 9, 2026 |
| Oral Presentation Speakers Announced | March 6, 2026 |
| Poster Submission Deadline View Poster Requirements |
March 13, 2026 |
| Day of Symposium | March 27, 2026 |
| Announcement of Winners | March 30, 2026 |
Day-of-Symposium: March 27, 2026
10:30 AM: Morning Presenter Check-In Opens - Outside of MSC Ballrooms
11:00 AM: Digital Poster Session / Oral Presentations Begin
MSC 2703 鈥 Arts & Humanities
MSC 2707 鈥 Social & Behavioral Sciences + Education
MSC 3704 鈥 Physical Sciences & Engineering
MSC 3711 鈥 Health & Life Sciences
MSC Ballrooms
12:00 PM: Afternoon Print Presenter Check-In Opens
12:15 PM: Opening Remarks: Provost Dr. Prasant Mohapatra, and OGS Dean Dr. Ruth Bahr
12:30 PM: Printed Poster Session Begins - Graduate Students (All Categories)
2:00 PM: Break
2:10 PM: Printed Poster Session Begins - Postdoctoral Scholars and Visiting Scholars
Poster Review and Awards
The Research Symposium is an event consisting of graduate student poster presentations and judging. Applications that meet submission qualifications will be selected by a faculty committee. Sessions are open to the university community.
All posters will be reviewed by judges who will evaluate various aspects of the poster itself, as well as the scholars' ability to effectively present and discuss their research. Based upon the judges' evaluations, travel awards will be presented to winning participants of the research symposium.
Winners will be notified by e-mail during the week following the symposium.
2026 Graduate Research Symposium Winners
Category: Arts & Humanities
Title: The Virtues of Acknowledged Dependence as a Framework for Digital Accessibility
Presenter: Jeremy Rivera
Major Professor: Garrett Potts
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Religious Studies
Category: Health & Life Sciences
Title: Characterizing SNF2L-BAZ2A Complex Safeguards Genome Stability During DNA Replication
Presenter: Erica Quintero
Major Professor: Huzefa Dungrawala
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Molecular Biosciences
Title: Decoding Cancer Signals in Blood: Cell-Free DNA Methylation Signatures Power
Personalized Survival Prediction in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Presenter: Jodie Wong
Major Professor: Liang Wang
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Cancer Biology
Category: Physical Sciences & Engineering
Title: An Anisotropic Biomimetic Fibrous Scaffold for the Next Generation of Heart
Valve Tissue Engineering
Presenter: Mario Brock Leao
Major Professor: Neda Latifi
College: Engineering
Program: Medical Engineering
Title: Rapid Morphological Dynamics Within Terminal Brainstem Territories During Mouse
Auditory Circuit Formation
Presenter: Nahian Nabiha Hossain
Major Professor: George Spirou
College: Engineering
Program: Medical Engineering
Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Including Education)
Title: Rest or Risk: The Power of Connection: Phone Call Companionship and Its Impact
on Loneliness, Aging, and Belonging
Presenter: Aria Garling
Major Professors: David Himmelgreen
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Anthropology
Title: Trends in the Conceptualization, Measurement, and Focus of Research on Excessive
Parenting across Youth Developmental Periods: A Scoping Review
Presenter: Kellyn Kunkle
Major Professor: Wendy Rote
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Psychology
People's Choice (audience selection)
Category: Arts & Humanities
Title: From Streets to Screens: Democracy Transition in the Digital Collective Action
by the Young Generation in South and Southeast Asia
Presenter: Najah Raniyah
Major Professor: Travis Bell
College: Arts and Sciences
Program: Mass Communications
Category: Health & Life Sciences
Title: An Anisotropic Electrospun Scaffold with Improved Porosity for Pediatric Heart
Valve Tissue Engineering Applications
Presenter: Azin Ghasemi
Major Professor: Neda Latifi Alavijeh
College: Engineering
Program: Medical Engineering
Category: Physical Sciences and Engineering
Title: Turning Immune Cells into Trojan Horses for Targeted Cancer Therapy
Presenter: A. Sanem Yilmaz
Major Professor: Michael Dunne
College: Engineering
Program: Medical Engineering
Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Including Education)
Title: Can Social Activity Participation Attenuate Aged-Related Cognitive Decline?
A 12-Year Longitudinal Analysis
Presenter: Layla Katharine Santana
Major Professor: Hongdao Meng
College: Behavioral and Community Sciences
Program: Aging Studies
Statewide Graduate Research Symposium
The 2025 Statewide Graduate Research Symposium was held during the at the 91社区 Atlantic University in Boca Raton, 91社区 on April 7-8, 2025. Winners of USF's Graduate Research Symposium attend and compete at the state level.
USF 3MT庐 representative Omotayo Olabisi Osunmakinde received First place in FL!
USF Graduate Studies staff and students after the Statewide Research Symposium and 3MT庐 Competition.
Pictured left to right: Dr. Ruth Bahr, Sofia Johansson, Omotayo Olabisi Osunmakinde (3MT庐), Lubem Agbendeh, Emily Amick, Susan Rodriguez, Dr. Tracy Costello, Dr. Gary Oliver.
The following students from the USF Graduate Student Research Symposium traveled to the 2025 Statewide Research Symposium:
馃 Omotayo Olabisi Osunmakinde, 3MT庐, College of Arts and Sciences, The Hunger Games of Cancer: Nutrient Deprivation-Induced Organelle Exchange in Prostate Cancer Cells
馃 Lubem Agbendeh, College of Arts and Sciences, Development of Chimeric Multi-Epitope Spore Coat Protein Vaccine Candidates against Clostridioides Difficile Infection
馃 Emily Amick, College of Engineering, Counting the Stars: Establishment of the Astrocyte Population in the Auditory Brainstem
馃 Susan Rodriguez, College of Nursing, Rest or Risk: Exploring the Sex-Dependent Association Between Napping and Cardiovascular Function Among Older Adults
Sofia Johansson, College of Arts and Sciences, Uncovering Strategic Sustainability Messaging Towards a Culturally Diverse Audience: Through the Lens of OATLY