On August 3, students, faculty, staff, and friends celebrated the end-of-summer conclusion of the 2022 Summer Scholars program, showcasing collaborative research they had undertaken with faculty. Topics ranged from mechanochemistry, the relationship between the arts and public health, the influence of COVID-19 on parental mental health, to editing genes needed for spermatogenesis.
Bella Norcross 25, psychology major, conducted research for the occupational therapy program. Barriers and Facilitators to Mental and Behavioral Health in a Primary Care Setting focused on demographic groups who may be ineligible for insurance, including Hispanic communities, and the barriers that can prevent these individuals from accessing mental and behavioral health services.
We found that different barriers access, culture, and racial bias make accessing mental health services difficult, said Norcross, who collaborated with Kimberley Persons, DHS, associate professor of occupational therapy. Cultural relevance or sensitivity and collaborative care helps promote mental and behavioral health services in this population. This research found that many Hispanic or Latinx people somatize their symptoms, or manifest psychological distress as physical symptoms, which could be an indicator as to why mental illness can often go undetected in these communities.
I plan on going into therapy, so promoting mental health is something Im very passionate about. In the future I might have Hispanic clients so knowing what helps make therapy more effective will be useful, Norcross says. St. Marys Medical and Rehabilitation Therapies (SMMART) clinic hopes to open mental and behavioral health services in the fall, so this research will actually help us inform what can be done to put that into practice.
Welcoming the Dear Neighbor?: A History of Housing Inequality in Ramsey County, an inter-department project that recently shared project findings with the community, was also represented at the closing ceremony. Sophie Gibson 25 and Maya Isabel Villafuerte 24 worked with Rachel Neiwert, PhD, associate professor of history and Sister Mona Riley Endowed Professor in Humanities, to understand specific local history and its economic and housing impacts. Working with oral history interviews, the team worked to better understand how residents of Como Park remember and experience their time in the neighborhood, noting that many residents observed very little change in the neighborhoods racial demographics over the decades.
The takeaway of the work we did this summer was that ones identity is very, very influential on how they experience a physical space, said Gibson. The team worked in tandem with another Summer Scholars team from the economics department who examined the relationship between upward economic mobility and the presence of racially covenanted homes in a neighborhood.
Summer Scholars is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to gain hands-on research experience in their areas of study and work closely with faculty, while contributing to current scholarship. Many of these student teams will continue the work into the fall semester to help complete current projects, presenting their work on campus again during the 202223 school year. Scholars will apply to present their research at conferences, one opportunity being the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), a showcase of the nations best in baccalaureate-level scholarly work held each spring.
Summer Scholars 2022 Teams
Biology
Editing Rasd1 and Cdkn1a in a Cell Culture System
Stephanie Nguyen 23; Kellie Agrimson, PhD
Editing Genes Important for Spermatogenesis in a Cell Culture System
Cassandra Norbeck 24; Kellie Agrimson, PhD
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Determining the impact of phosphorylation on the dilated cardiomyopathy linked phospholamban mutants R9H and R9L
Eyerusalem Alene 23; Naddi Jillo 23; Kim N. Ha, PhD
Access to Unique Products From a Mechanochemical Synthesis
Katharine Bendel 24; Daron E. Janzen, PhD
Synthesizing, Characterizing, and Modeling Hybrid Polyoxometalate Enzyme Inhibitors
Samantha Erickson 25; Christopher D. Jordan, PhD
Economics
Welcoming the Dear Neighbor? In Ramsey County
Mikaela Campbell 23; Hailey Sexton 23; Kristine Lamm West, PhD
Economics and Political Science
Pedagogical shift and parental mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the United States
Isabel Honzay 24; Abigail Nachreiner 24; Lacey Chu, PhD
Exercise and Sports Science
The Impact of Far-Infrared Technology on Quality of Life in Older Adults
Arianna Balingit 24; Shavonnye Rath 24; Joshua Guggenheimer, PhD
The Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in Female Collegiate Athletes
Whitney Wenner 23; Emma McAfee 25; Lana Prokop, DPT
History
Welcoming the Dear Neighbor?: A History of Housing Inequality in Ramsey County
Sophie Gibson 25; Maya Isabel Villafuerte 24; Rachel Neiwert, PhD
Nutrition and Dietetics
Culturally Appropriate Fruits & Vegetables For Cardiovascular Disease In Hispanic/Latinx Populations
Kerrie Roozen 23; Ambria Crusan, PhD
Occupational Therapy
Barriers and Facilitators to Mental and Behavioral Health in a Primary Care Setting
Bella Norcross 25; Kimberley Persons, DHS
Psychology
Healthcare Experience of Transgender Individuals by Race and Location
Hannah C. Bladow 23; Alvin Akibar, PhD
Sociology
Public Health Implications of Arts in Urban Ethiopia: A Qualitative Case Study
Iyat Al-Jayashi 26; Hui Wilcox, PhD