College of Social and Behavioral Science Students at Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research 2026

For two decades, the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) has brought together students, faculty, and mentors from across Utah to celebrate curiosity, creativity, and discovery. Held at Weber State University, this year marked 20 years of learning, collaboration, and undergraduate scholarship.

Congratulations to the students in the College of Social and Behavioral Science who presented:

Lorena Amenero (Psychology and Biochemistry), Lily George, Ryann Winward
Playing Towards Possibility: How Hands-on Science Games Shape K–6 Students’ Perceptions of Interest in STEM Careers
Faculty Mentor: Kendra Autumn, Science Research Initiative

Sydney Brooksby (Anthropology)
Restoration of the ShoxA Box in Mosaic Turners Syndrome Patients Through CRISPR, HDR Pathway, and mRNA Delivery Methodologies
Faculty Mentor: Michael Werner, Biology

Tara Caplin (Psychology), Mattison Hillin, Ives Hong
The Role of Occupational Therapy and Child-Family Mental Health in Maternal-Newborn Care: Holistic Support for Mothers and Caregivers
Faculty Mentor: Dannelle Larsen-Rife, Psychology

Ashley Carras (Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies)
Understanding the Predictive Nature of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Attachment Quality for Adult Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review
Faculty Mentor: Marissa Diener, Family and Consumer Studies

Joseph Carter Munn (Psychology), Baisile Baisile, James Kilpack Jr., Joaquin Moreno, McCall Scharmann
The Effect of Music Type on Perceived Task Difficulty and Cognition
Faculty Mentor: Jared Branch, Psychology

Auriana Dunn (Anthropology and Biology)
Mammalian Baselines Through Time in the Bear River Range
Faculty Mentor: Kasey Cole, Anthropology, Austin Green, Biology

Carlos Flores (Psychology)
The Complex Vulnerability to Multiple Stressors of the Climate Change Crisis and Feasible Solutions for the Great Salt Lake's West Side Communities
Faculty Mentor: Monika Lohani, Psychology

Petr Horgos (Psychology), Casey Westring
Rewriting Reality: Exploring the Cognitive and Affective Relationships of Counterfactual Thought
Faculty Mentor: Jared Branch, Psychology

Diego Ize-Cedillo (Political Science)
Bringing the USS ALABAMA (BB-60) “home:”  Values-based ontological security seeking in the age of Civil Rights
Faculty Mentor: Brent J. Steele, Political Science

Kalista Leggitt (Health Society and Policy, International Studies and Biology)
Nested Pediatric Ethicality in Medical Decision Making
Faculty Meno

Kalista Leggitt (Health Society and Policy, International Studies and Biology)
Nested Pediatric Ethicality in Medical Decision Making
Faculty Mentor: Matt Haber 

Andee Lyons (Psychology and Communication)
Perceptions of a Caring and Task-involving Climate and Positive Youth Development
Faculty Mentor: Maria Newton, School of Medicine

Andrew Shackelford (Psychology, Political Science, Philosophy, and Criminology)
Investigating the Efficacy of Video Interventions for Reducing Anti-Migrant Attitudes
Faculty Mentor: Samantha Moore-Berg, Psychology, Kelsee Ure, Psychology

Monica Weedon (Political Science)
Autism Screening with the Parent's Observation of Social Interaction (POSI) Yields More Sex-Equitable Detection of Autism
Faculty Mentor: Paul Carbone, School of Medicine, Kathleen Campbell, School of Medicine

Learn more about this year's conference.