2026 SEARCH Student Showcase Participants

The annual SEARCH Symposium and competition celebrates great ideas in art and research through conversation across the liberal arts. It’s an occasion for students and faculty of every major and level of experience to come together for learning and discovery.

Student Posters

Group photo of SEARCH Symposium presenters in front of their work talking with audience.

2026 SEARCH Symposium STUDENT SHOWCASE

Student Name	Title	Poster Summary
Abigail Beck	Hidden Homelessness	Rural homelessness is a consistently overlooked social issue, especially in the Appalachian area. The limited research often redefines the phenomenon as hidden homelessness. The lack of a concise definition for the problem in rural settings means homelessness remains largely absent from official statistics. The goal of this project is to understand how practical resources align with sociological knowledge about rural homelessness. The project’s first phase, represented here, examines the current scholarly knowledge about the problem. A second phase will examine how this knowledge is, or is not, being applied by groups seeking to address the problem. In a preliminary survey of relevant literature, I find that geographical location, housing insecurity, transportation challenges, and cultural norms are prominent factors. The current social and cultural structures found in rural communities contribute to invisibility. Moreover, academic knowledge and current research suggest that rural homelessness is a more significant issue than is currently accounted for. Experts also suggest defining rural homelessness, increasing awareness, expanding community support, and strengthening local resources.
Abigail Tingle	The Ineffable Beauty of Chopin’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, – Mvmt. II”	Chopin was one of the leading composers during the Romantic Era of musical composition. While he is best known for his solo piano works, his piano concertos are equally fascinating and engaging. Both of his concertos were written at the beginning of his career as a composer and have often been criticized by scholars due to their orchestral parts, which are referred to as “boring” or not fully representative of Chopin’s compositional capacity. However, it could be argued that the simplicity of certain parts of this concerto is what makes it so beautiful. In this study, Chopin’s background as an individual, as well as his techniques, orchestration, and approaches to composition, will inform the analysis of this beautiful composition.
Bethany McMullen	Approved Unto God: How Jim Elliot’s memory is constructed by popular Christian publishers	Memory is important for framing narratives about who people are and constructing the legacy they leave behind. This project examines how Jim Elliot is remembered by popular Christian publishers who produce widely read biographies, influencing the collective memory of his life. In these texts, I find heroism, martyrdom, and idolization. Popular memory, however, is always partial. Comparison of these contemporary books with Elliot’s own memoir reveals key concepts that are overlooked in popular Christian narratives of Jim Elliot. Themes of white saviorism and white man’s burden are consistent throughout his memoir, and both biographies used in the analysis.
Bryanne McDermott	“It’s Your Own Fault” – Impact of Knowledge, Faith, & Victim Gender on Perceptions of Human Trafficking Survivors	Human trafficking is a salient and complex problem that cuts across demographic and geographic lines, affecting over 6% of the world population. In recent decades, exposure to the issue of trafficking has increased dramatically across media, academic, and political outlets, often resulting in unintended consequences and inaccurate portrayals. Research studies indicate a growing need for examining the impact of victim gender, faith variables, and knowledge/attitudes on people’s perceptions of human trafficking survivors. The current study used random assignment of a male or female vignette and two validated scales to measure attributions of blameworthiness and attitudes toward victims of sex trafficking in students, staff, and faculty at Asbury University (N = 250). Results were mixed, demonstrating generally favorable attitudes and low willingness to blame either female or male victims, while also illustrating a gap in efficacy to reduce trafficking in the sample. Additionally, participants’ self-reported faith appeared to have little effect on their attitudes toward victims. Conversely, prior knowledge in the form of coursework on human trafficking significantly influenced knowledge and attitudes. These findings illustrate the necessity for human trafficking awareness initiatives, curriculum, and anti-trafficking opportunities in higher education settings, which positively impact staff, faculty, and students over time.
Caroline Curry	Gender Roles and the People of God	There has been a lot of debate among Christians on the role of women in both church leadership and marriage. While some believe that women should have equal opportunities to serve and be seen as an equal partner in marriage, others believe men should lead and women should assume other roles. Guided by theories of gender and religion, this study looks at a small sample of the full-time faculty members and students of Asbury University and compares their attitudes toward these issues. The results reveal that faculty members are generally more egalitarian than students, with a noticeable difference between staff and students in the Christian Studies department. Other schools, such as the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences tend to be more similar in their convictions.
Caroline Richmond	eDNA metabarcoding-based microbial diversity profiling and simultaneous fecal source tracking in urban lotic systems in the inner Bluegrass.	Biological contamination in the form of feces from humans and animals is a major contributor to water quality deterioration in the U.S., particularly in rural states where water infrastructure may lag behind current standards. Fecal material provides a source of pathogen entry into aquatic systems and is therefore a source of human exposure. In particular, urban lotic systems act as conveyor belts for these pathogens, distributing them broadly throughout highly populated areas. The relatively new field of environmental DNA (eDNA), and particularly the even more recent coupling of eDNA with high-throughput sequencing, provides an emerging method of pathogen detection and fecal source tracking that is highly efficacious, efficient, and cost-effective but currently under-utilized and data deficient. We collected two-liter water samples from nine sites within the Lexington, KY urban service boundary with varying degrees of anthropogenic impact as well as from three relatively undisturbed reference sites. Samples were collected thrice annually over a two-year period. Analysis of these samples is underway: microbial diversity is being quantified utilizing universal primers spanning the V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and vertebrate DNA is being amplified using universal 12S primers. A two-step PCR approach with modified primers is being utilized for library construction and sequencing will be completed using Illumina NovaSeq. Bioinformatic analysis will be completed using established pipelines and organisms identified to species (vertebrate) or genus (bacteria). At this time, few studies have quantified microbial diversity and vertebrate sources simultaneously; these data will provide novel data concerning this emerging technique.
Danielle Coakley	“The death of a beautiful woman”: Exploring the connection between love and madness in Edgar Allan Poe’s works through a literary and psychological lens	This paper explores how Edgar Allan Poe portrays love and madness in his fiction and his poetry, looking at both through a literary lens and a psychological lens. Most critical analysis focuses on either love or on madness from either a literary standpoint or a psychological standpoint. I will be combining all four in an attempt to open up a conversation on the true nature of love and madness, looking at how they are understood in literature and in psychology and asking us to take a second look at what we call love and what we call madness in an attempt to better understand both extreme and states of mind. We will always strive to understand both, and through his work, Poe provides us with a new perspective on the roles of obsession and desire and grief and idealism that can inform future cross-disciplinary research on the subjects of love and madness.
Desiree LaChapelle	Tariffs and Taxes in U.S. Fiscal Policy: Implications for National Debt Management	This paper reviews historical developments, evaluates empirical evidence on modern tariff impacts, and examines the structural features of the U.S. tax system to assess how each mechanism influences the national debt. Through this analysis, the paper argues that while tariffs may serve specific policy objectives, they cannot replace taxes as a reliable tool for funding federal obligations or managing long-term national debt.
Emily Fox	Nuclear Resurrection: The Chernobyl Disaster and the Stories we Tell	The narrative of the Chernobyl Disaster in the American mind has shifted significantly from its sudden appearance to current retellings. This paper seeks to follow common threads in American media in order to understand and establish a framework for the changing perceptions. It analyzes popular newspaper articles, declassified CIA documents, television shows, and internet culture to see how they are affected by the continuing Chernobyl story. A narrative of the shift itself is created as the American perception of the event moves from panicked criticism of the Soviet Union to a romanticized fascination with the individualized suffering of those who were affected. This paper also analyzes the differences between the criticism and the fascination in reference to major factors in the Chernobyl story, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, construction of the New Safe Confinement facility, and the publication of the HBO Chernobyl series. The story, therefore, forms itself into a resurrection narrative of death and rebirth by virtue of the changing narrative.
Emma Brown	Evaluation of pesticide residues using Magicada septendecim samples in Wilmore, KY	Pesticides have been controversial over the years due to their benefits for food production and their harmful effects on humanhealth and pollinators. Due to the emergence of cicadas (broodXIV in 2025) from grassy areas around Asbury’s campus that were treated with herbicides, this study attempted to see if cicadas possess detectable pesticide residues on their bodies and whether such amounts can be quantified. Cicadas were collected from three different locations around Wilmore, KY, and four different carboxylic acid herbicides (2,4-D, Dicamba, MCPA, and Mecoprop-P) were derivatized to form their pentafluorobenzyl (PFB) ester forms and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The collected cicada samples were freeze-dried and underwent a solid-phase extraction procedure using QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) to extract the herbicides prior to derivatization and analysis using GC-MS. However, no herbicide peaks were detected, and several recovery steps were conducted unsuccessfully, making the results inconclusive.
Emme Johnson	Poster: In athletes with exercise-induced muscle soreness, does cryotherapy or compression devices relieve soreness better? Paper: Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cryotherapy and Compression Devices on Exercise-Induced Muscle Soreness	Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) commonly occurs 24 to 72 hours after unfamiliar or intense exercise and can temporarily reduce athletic performance due to pain and muscle damage. Cryotherapy and compression devices are widely used recovery strategies intended to alleviate soreness and accelerate return to activity; however, their effectiveness remains unclear. A literature search was conducted in Medline on October 12, 2025, to compare the effects of cryotherapy and compression devices on exercise-induced muscle soreness in athletes. Inclusion criteria required English-language randomized controlled trials that measured pain using a 100-mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Two studies met the criteria and were evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale, each scoring 6 out of 11. Results indicated that ice-water immersion did not significantly reduce soreness and showed slightly higher pain scores compared to control conditions. Pneumatic compression devices demonstrated marginally lower pain scores than compression sleeves, though differences were not clinically significant. Overall, neither intervention provided strong evidence for a meaningful reduction of DOMS, highlighting the need for further high-quality research.
Grace Mattingly	Integrative Effects of Multi-Site Transcutaneous Spinal Cord and Plantar Stimulations on Stepping Patterns in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury	Previous studies have shown that transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation, noninvasive electrical stimulation delivered through the skin, and plantar pressure stimulation, mechanical pressure applied to the soles of the feet, can independently produce rhythmic, involuntary step- like movements in healthy individuals when positioned in a gravity-neutral device. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that plantar stimulation of the sole support zones of the feet provides essential sensory input to the spinal cord and, in combination with transcutaneous stimulation, modulates stepping patterns in a gravity-neutral device in individuals with a spinal cord injury. Two individuals with chronic motor-incomplete spinal cord injury participated in a single-session experimental assessment. Participants performed voluntary stepping-like leg movements in a gravity-neutral device under multiple conditions: without stimulation, with spinal cord stimulation, after plantar pressure conditioning, and after plantar pressure combined with passive cycling. Lower extremity joint motion and muscle activity were recorded. Both participants demonstrated increases in joint excursions and muscle activation with stimulation. Conditioning with plantar pressure further enhanced these effects and reduced the difference between stimulated and nonstimulated trials. These findings suggest that combining sensory input from the feet with noninvasive spinal cord stimulation may enhance locomotor-related motor output in individuals with a spinal cord injury.
Hannah Hammer	Effects of supplementation with All-G Rich™ marine algae at 1% and 2% of hens’ diets to increase the levels of DHA and ALA in hens’ eggs.	Three coops comprised of a mix of 5-6 chickens each (various breeds) were used throughout a six-week study during the summer of 2015. Two eggs were sampled at random from each coop Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. Hens were fed a commercial, fully balanced feed during the trial. The control coop (red coop) was fed only the chicken feed, with free access, while the other two coops were fed the same feed supplemented with 1% (for example, 5 g per 495 grams of feed) marine microalgae (All-G Rich™) (shed coop) and 2% (for example, 10 g per 490 grams of feed) All-G Rich™ (wood coop) respectively, with free access to their feed. PUFA levels were quantitatively determined by first extracting them from egg yolks, followed by converting them into their more volatile methyl esters, which were analyzed using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and quantified with an internal standard. Increases in DHA levels of egg yolks were seen at both the 1% and 2% supplementation levels. While the level of DHA never seemed to reach a peak point of ‘leveling off’, significant differences were seen in various weeks between the control, 1%, and 2% coops.
Isabella DePue	Negotiating Blame and Protecting Collective Identity: A Case Study of Mission Organizations’ Responses to Abuse	Mission organizations’ responses to abuse have historically been incomplete. This study asks how do mission organizations negotiate blame and protect their collective identities when responding to abuse allegations. The analysis focuses on a case study of a Christian school in Japan and the response of the six founding mission organizations to historical abuse that occurred there over forty-three years. Methods included a content analysis of relevant public documents, including organizational inclusion in the investigation, formal apologies, documented actions, acknowledgments of abuse, and the implementation of safeguarding measures. Findings indicate that the organizations used processes of blame negotiation and collective identity protection. Blame negotiation was primarily evident in the language used in official apologies. Organizations created distance through time, maintained structural ambiguity, emphasized personal grief over clear institutional culpability, emphasized leadership transitions or immediate policy changes, and acknowledged past silence reinforced by a theology of sacrifice and missional calling. Collective identity was protected through statements that reinforce identity and legitimacy. This included the framing of MKs as part of broader mission community, references to Christian moral responsibility, acknowledgement and expressions of change without clear methods of change, and limited discussion of systems that enabled abuse. While these organizations identified and attempted to incorporate restorative justice practices, their responses overwhelmingly did not result in the development of long-term, public safeguarding policies designed to prevent future abuse. These findings demonstrate how mission organizations uphold collective identity and negotiate blame, often prioritizing institutional legitimacy and mission over structural reform and limiting the development of public safeguarding policies.
Isabella Forrest	“Entertainment Imagery and the American Political Understanding”	American political understanding held by the general populous is often informed by incomplete historical narratives and inherited biases. Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure theorizes how cultures connect images (or physical objects) to words. The theory of “Sign and Signifier” points to larger socio-political understanding of current cultural events. In this study, de Saussure’s theory of “Sign and Signifier” will be used to provide theoretical backing to interpret White American response to two politically-charged pop performances by Black American women. Two Super Bowl performances analyzed were Whitney Houston’s 1991 performance of “Star-Spangled Banner” and Beyoncé’s 2016 performance of “Formation”. This analysis will help provide understanding and critique of White American political thought, assumptions around race, and negative understandings of Black American culture.
Isaiah Grooms	Engineered Escherichia Coli for the Catabolism of Gliadin Proteins	Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder triggered and exacerbated by the ingestion of gluten. Upon ingestion, CD triggers an immune response leading to inflammation in the digestive system, damaging the villi of the small intestine. Currently, the treatment of CD consists solely of the strict adherence to a lifelong gluten-free diet. Research on the development of novel treatments for CD is currently focused on developing pharmacological therapeutics that employ gluten degrading enzymes that can be delivered orally. Inspired by current research, this work aims to engineer Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) to provide proof of concept for a novel probiotic to aid in the digestion of gluten at the molecular level. The gene for a metalloprotease (Mpr), performing an S93E point-mutated via SDM. Activity was analyzed by incubating the engineered E. Coli with extracted Gliadin and performing a subsequent Gliadin ELISA. Results showed that the engineered E. Coli was ineffective for the catabolism of Gliadin proteins.
Jack Johnson	Evaluation of feral hog (Sus scrofa) diet in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through the use of DNA metabarcoding	Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most invasive vertebrates globally, posing a significant threat to hundreds of taxa. The introduction of feral hogs in the Southern Appalachians predates the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) in 1934, and numerous studies have demonstrated the threat feral hogs pose, primarily through the consumption of park flora and fauna. Feral hog control programs were initiated in the park in 1959. However, the extensive size of the park and vast areas of rugged topography have complicated these efforts, leading to the persistence of both feral hogs and ongoing control efforts to the present day. The recent emergence of DNA metabarcoding has transformed approaches to wildlife dietary studies, providing an effective tool capable of high-resolution diet composition evaluation. Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of fecal metabarcoding in the evaluation of feral hog diets. Although previous studies in the park have focused on the impact of feral hogs to GSMNP ecosystems, none have yet applied DNA metabarcoding to evaluate diet composition. We extracted fecal DNA from feral hogs captured in the GSMNP as part of ongoing eradication efforts. Three primer sets targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of metazoan taxa, COI of arthropod taxa, and the second internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS2) of plant taxa were utilized in library construction; sequencing of these libraries is in process. These data should provide a novel view of diet composition of feral hogs in the GSMNP with species-level resolution. Keywords1: wild hogs, metabarcoding, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Keywords2: invasive species, wildlife diet evaluation Preferred format – Poster Presenting author – Jack Johnson
Julia Gaspar	The Battle of the Mind: How Are Humans Capable of Both Mercies and Atrocities?	This paper will present research regarding nazi party members who committed the act of rescuing Jewish people during the years of the Holocaust. Furthermore, this paper will focus on these stories of three nazi members and attempt to examine why they were able to commit both helpful and heinous acts specifically questioning if cognitive dissonance is a subject of influence for these men’s actions. This paper will also briefly talk about social psychology themes within the nazi party and the existence of topics such as social conformity, group think, authority, and obedience and will reveal accounts of testimony from the survivors.
Kai Ellis	Our Flag on the High Seas Means Rebellion: Pirate Culture to Pop Culture	This research examines the evolution of pirate depictions in pop culture from 1880 to the present. Arguing that these depictions serve as mirrors for contemporary societal anxieties rather than being historically accurate. While historical accounts, such as the brutal 1695 heist by Captain Henry Avery, reveal a reality defined by violent crime and social hardship, modern media has increasingly romanticized the pirate mythos to address cultural issues. This study utilizes multidisciplinary frameworks, Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis, John Higham’s Nativism, T.J. Jackson Lears’ Antimodernism, Andrew Hartman’s ‘Culture Wars’, Lisa Blankenship’s Rhetorical Empathy, and Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy Inc., to demonstrate how pirate tropes have evolved from symbols of “rugged individualism” into agents of social inclusion and resistance. Ultimately, the project highlights the real-world political impact of these fictional symbols, as evidenced by the 2025 Gen Z protests in Nepal, where the One Piece Jolly Roger flag emerged as a uniting symbol against authoritarian regimes.
Karsner Fetter	Assessing biodiversity across urban stream restoration gradients using environmental DNA metabarcoding	Despite the growing acknowledgement of the need for urban lotic system restoration, one of the recognized issues with these efforts is the lack of standardized evaluation of restoration success. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, which utilizes massively parallel sequencing to characterize community composition, has been recognized as a highly promising tool for urban restoration assessment. We utilized eDNA metabarcoding of invertebrate communities to evaluate stream restoration efforts in seven streams in Lexington, Kentucky that have undergone reforestation or reforestation and channel restoration. eDNA water samples (2-liters) were taken at the base of the restored area and at a site 100-m above the start of the restored area in December 2023, March 2024, and June 2024. In addition, samples were collected in three relatively pristine and two heavily degraded sites within the ecoregion to provide reference data. DNA was extracted following established protocols, and invertebrate DNA amplified utilizing primers demonstrated to selectively amplify Arthropod DNA (>97%). Primers were modified with tails, which include Illumina sequencing primer binding sites and spacers (0-3) to increase amplicon size diversity. Illumina flow cell binding sites (p5 and p7) and i5 and i7 indices for sample identification were added with a second PCR, and samples were sequenced to a depth of 420,000 reads/sample (Illumina NextSeq 2000). To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first utilization of metabarcoding in the evaluation of urban restoration projects. These data should provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of restoration projects and guidance for future restoration efforts. Preferred format – Poster Presenting author – Karsner Fetter, senior biology major, Asbury University
Lauren Slone	eDNA detection of four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum): Significance of mitochondrial evolution rates in assay development mitochondrial evolution rates in assay development	Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging tool expanding the scope of ecological studies. Recent works have highlighted the need for carefully tested assays for use in species-specific eDNA studies, but relatively little focus has been devoted to the region of mitochondrial DNA targeted in such studies. We developed a species-specific assay (primers and probe) for use in qPCR eDNA detection of Hemidactylium scutatum and tested these primers in silico (21 species) and in vitro (7 species) against sympatric species to ensure specificity. We field tested our assay at 15 field sites in central and eastern Kentucky and detected H. scutatum DNA at 10/15 sites in a manner mostly consistent with field observations. Additionally, we obtained DNA from eleven H. scutatum specimens from central and eastern KY, central and eastern Tennessee, New York, and Alabama; our assay was successful in amplifying H. scutatum DNA from each locality tested. A previously published H. scutatum eDNA assay was used to detect specimens from NY but failed to detect specimens from KY, TN, and AL. This assay targets the rapidly evolving intergenic spacer region (IGS), while our assay targets a section of the gene cytochrome b (cytb). We completed sequencing of the cytb region from all H. scutatum specimens, confirming conservation of this gene across the H. scutatum range. Completion of IGS sequencing is expected soon. These results appear consistent with our understanding of mitochondrial evolution and highlight the importance of locus selection in eDNA assay development. Preferred format – Poster Presenting author – Lauren Slone, sophomore biology major, Asbury University
Logan Wiley	Chemical Synthesis with K2PtCl4 and Aryl pyridines	Transition-metal complexes with organic ligands have attracted interest for their potential anticancer activity. In this study, platinum(II) complexes were synthesized from potassium tetrachloroplatinate(II) (K₂PtCl₄) and three aryl-pyridine ligands: 2-benzylpyridine, 2-phenoxypyridine, and 2-phenylpyridine to examine how ligand structure affects coordination to the platinum center. The design was inspired by previously reported gold complexes and the anticancer drug cisplatin. Reactions were performed primarily in water, with acetone used for the 2-phenoxypyridine reaction to improve solubility. Each reaction produced an off-white precipitate that was isolated as the crude product. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) indicated formation of a new compound in the 2-benzylpyridine reaction compared with the starting ligand. ¹H NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze the products, although clear spectra were obtained only for the 2-phenoxypyridine sample due to solvent limitations. Chemical shift changes suggested coordination of the pyridine nitrogen to the platinum center; however, the available data was insufficient to confirm formation of the full platinum complex. Further studies using improved solvent systems and additional analytical techniques are needed to confirm product structures.
Luke Chitwood	Microfluidic Analysis of Retinal Inflammation	Chronic low-grade inflammation is a defining feature of diabetic retinopathy, and inflammasome-dependent interleukin-1β (IL-1β) signaling has been implicated in disease progression. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are a critical source of IL-1β in diabetic retinopathy, but the role of high glucose alone remains largely unknown. A microfluidic platform engineered to mimic the polarized epithelial microenvironment of the outer blood–retinal barrier was used to monitor IL-1β release from human ARPE-19 cells in real time. Cells were exposed to high glucose (30 mM) to model metabolic stress or to the canonical NLRP3 inflammasome activators lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and nigericin for comparison, alongside normoglycemic controls (5 mM glucose). Effluent media were sampled every 10 minutes over 3 hours. Hyperglycemia alone was shown to induce detectable IL-1β secretion in the absence of canonical exogenous priming, producing a gradual increase that peaked at approximately 140 minutes and remained clearly above normoglycemic baseline. High glucose yielded more uniform responses across replicates than LPS/nigericin, consistent with a slower, metabolically driven mode of inflammasome engagement. These data indicate that hyperglycemia is sufficient to drive low-grade IL-1β release from RPE cells, challenging the assumption that high glucose is merely permissive for previously primed inflammasome pathways in retinal epithelium and highlighting microfluidic approaches as a useful means of resolving cytokine secretion dynamics in polarized retinal cells.
Marissa Yost	Attachment to God in Adoptees: Proposing Attachment Theory as a Bridge Framework	Attachment and identity are integral themes and struggles common to adoptees. Recent research in such topics has frequently utilized attachment theory to explore these concepts. Attachment theory is a developmental motivational system proposed by John Bowlby to explain interpersonal bonding across the lifespan. As it is an integrative and comprehensive framework, scholars frequently employ attachment theory to detect points of convergence across different literatures. One such example is the framing of religion as attachment to God (ATG), which proposes that human relationships with the divine is guided by similar processes as attachment between humans. A population that has not yet been studied in conjunction with ATG is that of adopted individuals. Therefore, this paper offers an overview of attachment theory and provides its foundation as a bridge framework. It then examines existing research on the separate literatures of ATG and adopted individuals. In the subsequent section, it proposes several implications of ATG for adoptees. Finally, this paper discusses current interventions, implications in clinical and pastoral counseling, and future directions for research.
Mikaela West	The Effect of Coconut Oil Pulling on Reducing S. mutans To Improve Oral Health	The strain of oral bacteria S. mutans cause cavities and are the target of oral care methods like mouthwash. Coconut oil pulling is a traditional Ayurvedic practice to improve oral health that involves swishing coconut oil in the mouth for a period of time. The purpose of this experiment is to explore the impact of coconut oil pulling when compared to traditional mouthwash on oral bacterial growth in humans using qPCR and MSB plates. This is important to the field of oral care because traditional mouthwash can be irritating to some people, and therefore alternative practices like coconut oil pulling offers a different route to improving oral health. Overall, coconut oil pulling is as effective as traditional mouthwash in reducing S. mutans and should be considered an effective alternative practice.
Marissa Green	The Eve of Knowing	John Milton’s Eve from Paradise Lost is a beautiful, controversial character. She is full of depth, and she calls into question the very ideas of knowledge, truth, and beauty. Using oil paint and inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelite art movement, I painted Eve in paradise, reaching for the forbidden fruit. I used light and shadow to portray the conflict within her; the scattered light and abundant shadows predict the outcome of her choice. In painting Eve I aimed to capture her beauty, her thirst for knowledge, and her fallibility as a human being. I also wanted to use the illuminated style of painting women seen so often in Pre-Raphaelite art to focus on an idealized, otherworldly version of Eve as she is described by both Adam and by Milton himself. Most of all, I wanted to highlight the nature of a portrait, and what we must bring to a work of art in order to understand it.
Natalie Ison	HPLC Quantitative Analysis of Phenylbutazone After its Expiration Date, an Equine NSAID	Phenylbutazone (bute) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat musculoskeletal inflammation and pain in horses and dogs. It, like all other drugs, has an expiration date based on product stability, potency, and efficacy. Bute must be prescribed by a veterinarian and has an average expiration date of two to three years. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantitatively analyze three expired bute samples. A standard curve was made that provided an equation usable for calculating parts per billion of the samples. The chromatograms showed that the calculated concentration was higher than the experimental 5000ppb suggesting the samples have retained potency after expiration. Further experimentation would include mass spectrum (MS) to identify all peaks on the chromatogram as well as comparing new bute to the expired.
Rebekah Askey	Return to Sender	Return to Sender is a short play that translates the letters to three of the seven churches in Revelation 2–3 into a contemporary college setting. The driving question: could a modern audience recognize themselves in these ancient churches if the historical distance were removed? Ephesus, Thyatira, and Laodicea become three university seniors — Morgan, Elsa, and Casey — who reunite in a childhood bedroom over Thanksgiving break. Each carries a letter about her campus ministry. Each is convinced the problem applies more to the other person than to herself. The historical research on each city shaped each character directly: Ephesus’s intellectual prestige built Morgan, Thyatira’s economic pressures molded Elsa, and Laodicea’s self-sufficiency smoothed Casey. The play uses humor and empathy, as Jesus did with parables, to close the distance that a straight argument can’t. You laugh at these characters until you realize you know them. Maybe you are one. The letters stay on the desk at the end. Readable, true, and available. The ancient churches aren’t a cautionary tale about other people. They’re a mirror.
Sara Gantz	Refolding of a Protein Switch: Focused Confinement Free Energy Simulations of the KaiB Metamorphic Protein	KaiB controls the circadian clock in cyanobacteria by transitioning between two distinct three-dimensional folds. In principle, traditional free energy simulation methods could be used to identify unknown hotspot residues that modulate this rare and dramatic switch, but such simulations are extremely challenging for such drastic changes in topology. Here we apply the recently developed Focused Confinement Method (FCM) to quantify and decompose the free energy difference between the ground and fold-switched states of KaiB. After screening 80 candidate reference states and selecting the optimal ones, the partition of active and inactive regions was obtained in 11 iterations; convergence was monitored using the Bennett Overlapping Distribution method and the Multistate Bennett Acceptance Ratio (MBAR) method. Following solvation, we performed desolvation free energy simulations through successive removal of electrostatic, dispersion, and repulsive interactions between KaiB and the solvent. Simultaneous to desolvation, restraining simulations to evaluate the free energy cost of creating mixed harmonic-anharmonic states and particle mesh Ewald (PME) switching simulations were performed; the latter resolved artifacts that would otherwise occur when desolvating a charged protein. Accuracy and convergence were gauged using the statistical errors calculated by MBAR. Our findings support the feasibility of applying FCM to highly complex conformational changes in large systems while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.
Sarah Bruns	Loving Into Damnation: a Puzzle of Desire in the Thomistic Love Model	In the Thomistic model, love is a two-part desire: a) the desire for the good of x, and b) the desire for union with x. This paper will focus on the first desire. In her book Wandering in Darkness, Dr. Eleanore Stump gives two different scenarios which show misplaced desires in the Thomistic model, touching on the ends and means needed for there to be love. Aquinas states that the ends of all desires must be union with God for those desires to be rooted in love. However, for the Thomistic model to be accurate, it must be applicable in all instances of love as it tries to prove the essence of love. For it to work, the model needs to be applicable for atheists, other religious affiliations, and those with no knowledge of God. With this in mind, is there an instance where someone desires the good of x, fully believing that x’s good is in a mortal sin? Is humanity capable to, through the action of Aquinas’ model, become damnable because of their love? This paper will attempt to answer these questions through Aquinas’ thought on eschatology, divine mercy, and the problem of perception.
Sarah Cawley	Surviving the Horror: The Evolution of Women in Horror Cinema	This literature review aims to analyze existing literature on horror films and their treatment of women throughout the decades. By synthesizing the literature, I hope to showcase how far the horror genre has come in portraying female identities in film. I will also identify existing research gaps that come up within this review, and provide some context on the horror genre becoming a communicative medium for feminist ideals.
Sarah Finlayson	Testing the antimicrobial effects of invasive Dahurian Buckthorn (Rhamnus davurica)	The Dahurian Buckthorn (Rhamnus davurica) is an invasive species native to eastern Asia that has been introduced to the eastern United States. Antimicrobial properties are common among plants, historically being used to treat infections, promote sleep, and support digestion. The antimicrobial effects of the plant leaf tissue was tested using four types of known pathogenic bacteria species, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. Dahurian buckthorn leaves were collected from Garrard county, KY and were used to create a 5, a 2.5, and a 1mg/mL solution with ground up leaves and 95% ethanol. The inhibition of growth of the bacteria was tested by saturating discs with the three leaf concentrations and air dried before placing them on a bacteria culture plate. A known antibiotic for the bacteria was used as a positive control. One disc with deionized water and another with 95% ethanol were used as negative controls. The results of the discs were used to compare the three concentrations against the positive and negative controls. It was found that the leaf tissue had the strongest effect on S. aureus, which is the only gram-positive bacteria of the four.
Silas Behnke	Chat What Do We Do? Artificial Intelligence in Academia: Ethical Risks and a Framework for Responsible Use	Artificial intelligence has rapidly become integrated into academic environments, raising significant ethical questions about its responsible use. While AI systems such as large language models offer powerful tools for writing, research, and information analysis, they also introduce risks, including algorithmic bias, hallucinated information, limited transparency, and unclear accountability. These challenges are particularly important in academia, where integrity, authorship, and independent intellectual work are central to the educational process. This project examines the ethical risks associated with modern AI systems and evaluates their implications for academic settings. It then proposes a framework for responsible AI use based on five principles adapted from the AI4People initiative: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, and explicability. Together, these principles emphasize transparency, fairness, and human responsibility in the use of AI. By grounding AI use in a clear ethical framework, academic institutions can integrate these technologies in ways that support, rather than undermine, scholarly integrity and learning.
Ruthie Williams	On Valuing Craft: Rethinking the Place of Craft in the Art World	Since the Italian Renaissance, craft has been viewed in the West as being inferior to fine art. This paper asks the question of whether craft deserves to be included within the category of art. By examining works of craft within the exhibit Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation, this study will discuss the historical, sociological, and theological reasons for rethinking the place of craft in the art world.

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