Celebrating Undergraduate Student Research at Delaware Valley University

As part of Delaware Valley University’s Day of Scholarship, undergraduate students in the Student Research Program shared presentations with the campus and external community. This program developed under the leadership of Dr. Cynthia Keler, and has been supported by Dean Dr. Jean Smolen. In 2021, Drs. Alicia Shenko and Allison Buskirk-Cohen began serving as co-chairs of the program. Student work is generously supported by a grant from Bristol Myers Squibb. Each semester, undergraduate students apply to be mentored by a faculty member on an original research project. At the semester’s conclusion, they present their findings in a formal presentation and also during an interactive poster session, both of which mirror traditional, professional scientific conferences.

In the Spring 2023 semester, 14 students completed research projects. Topics varied from “Continued Analysis of Capsaicin Transfer to Better Understand Heat Inheritability,” conducted by Jacquelyn Dudley and mentored by Dr. Melissa Langston to “Development and Assessment of Positive Critical Control Points as Indicators of Animal Welfare for Swiss Mice and Golden-Syrian Hamsters” conducted by Benjamin Dodge and mentored by Ms. Kimberly Lengel. Over 60 people joined the presentations, with an option to participate in-person on campus or virtually through Zoom.

Erin Vogelsong, Program Director at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies College of Medicine Drexel University, commented, “I'm very impressed with the quality of the student presentations… They are extremely knowledgeable and very professional! Congratulations to all!"