Eighteen Longwood University undergraduate students presented their work in undergraduate research and creative scholarship at the 40th annual National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

Established in 1987 by the Council on Undergraduate Research, NCUR exists to highlight and support excellence in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative endeavors across all disciplines and varieties of institutions of higher education.

Participating in NCUR allows students the opportunity to share their research, hone their communication skills, and receive feedback from and engage in discussions with students and faculty from myriad fields of study.

The Longwood students who presented at NCUR 2026 are:

• Camille Adenauer (Faculty mentor, Dr. Kenneth Fortino)

  Characterization of microhabitat variation associated with tick questing behaviors: implications for alpha-gal syndrome exposure risk

• Laura Bisaillon and Luke Clemmer (Faculty mentor, Dr. Kathryn Miller)

  The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children

• Austin Burnett (Faculty mentor, Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell)

  Abortion Funds: An Unexplored Keystone of the Reproductive Justice Movement

• Jaedyn Colon (Faculty mentor, Dr. Amorette Barber)

  Anti-Cancer Properties of the Acacia raddiana Acacia Tree Extracts

• Rachel Danzitz (Faculty mentor, Dr. Bjoern Ludwar)

  Isolation of Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria from Environmental Sampling

• Nicholas Duellman (Faculty mentor, Professor Jameson Hinkle)

  Development of Environmental DNA Toolkit for Freshwater Mussels

• Jackson (Jay) Geeslin and Emma Snead (Faculty mentor, Dr. Amanda Starr)

  Environmental Pollutants and Pathogen Behavior: The Role of Microplastics on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Impacts of Polyethylene on Batrahochcytrium dendrobatidis 

• Kyra Johnson and Audrey Thompson (Faculty mentor, Dr. Heather Kissel)

  * Psychophysiological and Self-Reported Reactions to Sensory Stimuli in Neurotypical vs. ASD Young Adults

• Trinity Luxeder and Alexis Pastore (Faculty mentor, Dr. Kenneth Fortino)

  Algal Growth and Macroinvertebrate Community Structure in a Piedmont, Urban Stream

• Lina Mohamedhaj (Faculty mentor, Dr. Benjamin Topham)

  Using aromaticity to design single molecule electronics

• Christian O’Neill (Faculty mentor, Dr. Yulia Uryadova)

  Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

• Gabrielle (Gabi) Quaresma (Faculty mentor, Dr. Amanda Starr)

  Microbial Resistance in Livestock Communities

• Emily Serrano-Orellana (Faculty mentor, Dr. Brandon Jackson)

  The Role of Middle and Hind leg in Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) Gait: Insight from Induced Autotomy

• Ryan Smith (Faculty mentor, Dr. Ravi Sankar)

  Examining The Kyanite Mining Corporations Land Use Change and Mine Reclamation

Applications for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research open annually in early Fall. Travel and hotel accommodations of students who present at NCUR are provided by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

If you would like to learn more about getting involved in research at Longwood University, please visit Longwood’s Office of Student Research website http://www.longwood.edu/office-of-student-research/

or contact Amorette Barber, Director of the Office of Student Research (osr@longwood.edu or barberar@longwood.edu).