Forensic Undergraduate Research Presentations
Research Presentations
Some of our students that conduct research are selected to speak at the conferences and meetings of various professional organizations. These presentations may be platform oral presentations or poster presentations. Not all students who conduct research will present at a conference, and not all students who attend conferences are there to present research. For students who are presenting, and those just interested in attending, there resources available to which you can apply for funding to help cover the costs of transportation, hotels, registration fees, etc. If you are a current student who is considering conference attendance, reach out to our Administrative Assistant, Tara Wales, tjm442@psu.edu, to help you begin the planning process.
Undergraduate Research Presentations*
| Class of | Name | Meeting | Title | PI |
| 2024 | Alexis Holsinger | Fall 2021 WISER/MURE/FURP Undergraduate Research Symposium | Variation in Cortical Bone Structure of the Human Upper and Lower Limb (poster) | Dr. Timothy Ryan and Dr. Sharon Kuo |
| 2024 | Shanna Turczynski | 2023 NEAFS Annual Meeting | Development of a Device to Propel a Single Liquid Drop (poster) | Mr. Ralph Ristenbatt |
| 2024 | Alyssa Ricca | 2023 NEAFS Annual Meeting | Development of a Device to Propel a Single Liquid Drop (poster) | Mr. Ralph Ristenbatt |
| 2024 | Miriam Foster | 76th AAFS Annual Scientific Conference (2024) | The Development of a Custom qPCR Multiplex to Quantify Human and Microbial DNA (poster) | Dr. Mitchell Holland |
| 2023 | Tara Lyons | International Conference of Undergraduate Research Conference 2021 | Theoretical Studies of Metallic Clusters on Nanographene for Future Materials | Dr. Julio Palma |
| 2023 | Phoebe Wentzell | 25th Annual Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium (2023) | Comparison of Phenyl and Phenoxy Stationary Phase Types based on and Pi-Pi Interactions on Chromatographic Retention (poster) | Dr. Dan Sykes |
| 2023 | Phoebe Wentzell | American Chemical Society's Spring 2023 Meeting | Comparison of Phenyl and Phenoxy Stationary Phase Types based on and Pi-Pi Interactions on Chromatographic Retention (poster) | Dr. Dan Sykes |
| 2023 | Abigail Northeimer | ACVP (American College of Veterinary Pathologists) Annual Conference 2023 | Trace Evidence Collection in Veterinary Forensic Pathology. Led workshop on usage of ALS to find trace evidence for this workshop. | Dr. Jason Brooks and Ms. Jessica Hovingh |
| 2023 | Payton Kuhn | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2022 | Effect of mtDNA to nDNA Ratio on NUMT Co-Amplification in MPS Data | Dr. Mitchell Holland |
| 2023 | Kiera Windsor | ACVP (American College of Veterinary Pathologists) Annual Conference 2023 | Trace Evidence Collection in Veterinary Forensic Pathology. Led workshop on usage of ALS to find trace evidence for this workshop. | Dr. Jason Brooks and Ms. Jessica Hovingh |
| 2022 | Megan Morris | MAAFS Annual Meeting (2021) | Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Produced by Bacteria Associated With Decomposition (platform) | Dr. Dan Sykes & Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2022 | Megan Morris | AAFS Annual Scientific Conference (2022) | Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Produced by Bacteria Associated With Decomposition (platform) | Dr. Dan Sykes & Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2022 | Adam Badinger | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2022 | Potential Two-way Toolmark Transfer on Window Screens and Knives (poster) | Mr. Ralph Ristenbatt |
| 2022 | Adam Badinger | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2022 | Toolmark Association on Window Screens (poster) | Mr. Stewart Hung |
| 2022 | Melisa Zundel | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2022 | Toolmark Association on Window Screens (poster) | Mr. Stewart Hung |
| 2022 | Melisa Zundel | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2022 | Potential Two-way Toolmark Transfer on Window Screens and Knives (poster) | Mr. Ralph Ristenbatt |
| 2020 | Nina Matulis | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2019 | Quantitation of DNA Collected on microFLOQ™ Direct Collection Device (poster) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Nina Matulis | 11th ISABS Conference | Quantitation of DNA Collected on microFLOQ™ Direct Collection Device (poster) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Mollie Comella | 11th ISABS Conference | Mosquitos and Human Identity (platform) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Mollie Comella | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2020 | Direct Amplification of Mosquito Blood Meals in Human Identification (poster) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Mollie Comella | AAFS Annual Scientific Conference (2020) | Human Identity From the Mosquito Midgut Using GlobalFiler™ Express (platform) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Mollie Comella | 2019 NEAFS Annual Meeting | Human Identity from Mosquito Midgut using GlobalFiler™ Express (platform) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Mollie Comella | ISHI 2020 | Human Identity from Mosquito Midgut using GlobalFiler™ Express (poster) | Dr. Reena Roy |
| 2020 | Troy Adams | Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition 2019 | Modeling Age Estimation Using DNA Methylation Patterns | Dr. Mitchell Holland |
*Presentation names are as self-reported by students on the Forensic Science Program Exit Survey and/or corroborated by the webmaster for this site. Class of indicates the year the information was received by the program on the Exit Survey. PI stands for Principle Investigator, and indicates the person in charge of the project. This is a partial list and does not represent the entire history of the program.