Graduate Research Forum 2025: Top presenter awards
Top oral and poster presentations selected from the 17th annual forum held Nov. 7
Graduate Research Forum 2025: Top presenter awards
Dozens of graduate students presented their work at the Miami University 2025 Graduate Research Forum held Nov. 7. The top oral and poster presentations were selected by Graduate School alumni and faculty judges.
The four top presenters in each category — oral and poster — each receive $300 in professional funds. The forum and the awards are sponsored by the Patricia and Stephen Lang Graduate Research Support Fund, the Paxton Graduate Research Fund, and the Miami University Graduate School.
Kelly Knollman-Porter, professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology, and Claire McLeod, associate professor of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, were recognized during the forum for receiving the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate Instruction and Mentoring.
Top Oral Presentations
Taylor Barber, third-year doctoral student in Chemistry
- Presentation: Adjuvant-Based Therapy Abolishes Antibiotic Resistance Conferred by Methyltransferases
- Advisor: John Alumasa, assistant professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Alexandra Bros, second-year master's degree student in Biology
- Presentation: Daily Phytoplankton Dynamics During a Wet Spring-Summer and Subsequent Late-Summer Drought in a Hypereutrophic Reservoir
- Advisor: Lesley Knoll ’01, Ph.D. ’11, assistant professor of Biology
Alexia Inman, second-year master’s degree student in Sport Leadership and Management
- Presentation: The Impact of Trauma and Mental Health Literacy on Mental Well-Being in Division I Collegiate Athletes
- Advisor: Christine Pacewicz , assistant professor of Sport Leadership and Management
Jenna Lickovitch, second-year master’s degree student in Sport Leadership and Management
- Presentation: The influence of body-related self-conscious emotions on female young adults' physical activity and eating behaviors
- Advisor: Christine Pacewicz , assistant professor of Sport Leadership and Management
Top Poster Presentations
De-Graft Boateng, Master of Fine Arts degree candidate
- Presentation: Fragments of Progress: Exploring the Human and Environmental Cost of Global Consumerism and Resource Extraction
- Advisor: Geoff Riggle, associate teaching professor of Studio Art
Michaela Levendoski, second-year masters student in Physician Associate Studies
- Presentation: Tackling the Opioid Crisis: Addressing Substance Abuse in Rural Communities
- Advisor: Chris Grimm, assistant teaching professor of Physician Associate Studies
Keiana Mazzio, first-year master’s degree student in Geology
- Presentation: Investigating Human Induced Seismicity in the Eagle Ford Shale Play: Evidence for Hydraulic Fracturing Correlating with Increasing Magnitudes of Seismicity
- Advisor: Mike Brudzinski, professor of Geology and Environmental Earth Science
Emily Medema, first-year master’s degree student in Geology
- Presentation: The Moon’s Return: A Geologic Investigation of Dominion Range (DOM) Lunar Meteorite 18262
- Advisor: Claire McLeod, associate professor of Geology and Environmental Earth Science
