davemontez

Sam Greenhut: Animal Caregiver to Suicide Prevention Researcher

My name is Sam Greenhut, and I am a junior at Florida State University. I am 20 years old and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. College has been a time where I have been able to explore both academic interests and hobbies that I care about, and a surprising amount of those hobbies involve animalsContinue reading “Sam Greenhut: Animal Caregiver to Suicide Prevention Researcher”

Lyons Buckley: Expanding your Research Skillset

This project represents an exciting opportunity to apply my background in biochemistry to a meaningful area of biomedical research while developing new technical and professional skills. As a senior biochemistry major at Florida State University, I am eager to contribute to a project investigating the early synaptic and cytoskeletal changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. BecauseContinue reading “Lyons Buckley: Expanding your Research Skillset”

Isabella Minderman: Alzheimer’s Disease and Synaptic Stability

In my research project with Lyons Buckley, I am excited to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease pathology, and the role synaptic stability and plasticity has in resisting key features of Alzheimer’s. Neuroscience is a relatively new subject to me, as I just started taking neuroscience classes as electives in addition to my regular biochemistry courseworkContinue reading “Isabella Minderman: Alzheimer’s Disease and Synaptic Stability”

Zoe Silva: The Greater Impact & Future Direction

Our research looks to understand whether current sodium intake guidelines should be revised to ones that are variable and individualized. Current sodium intake guidelines are the same for everybody – 2,300 mg a day – regardless of a host of physiological factors that may impact how much sodium people actually need. As previously discussed, twoContinue reading “Zoe Silva: The Greater Impact & Future Direction”

Dev Sangha: Why Tissue Stiffness Matters

Impact: One thing that surprised me was how much we can learn about our health just from tissue stiffness. When tissue becomes stiffer or softer than normal, it can be a sign of serious problems like cancer or heart disease. Studying such alterations can give us better ways of diagnosing diseases at an early stageContinue reading “Dev Sangha: Why Tissue Stiffness Matters”

Antonia Pretelt: Looking to the Future and Final Reflections

With the summer coming to a close, I am happy to report that my research project is approaching its final stages! The creatures are coming to fruition, and my painting is developing in an exciting direction thanks to the help of my family and peers. I recently moved back home for the rest of theContinue reading “Antonia Pretelt: Looking to the Future and Final Reflections”

Kellan Kissinger: Impacts and Next Steps

Hello again! My name is Kellan Kissinger and I am an IDEA Grant recipient currently working on an Honors in the Major thesis about how female utopianism appears in medieval and contemporary texts. Specifically, my thesis aims to explore the intersections between Christine de Pizan’s medieval A Book of the City of Ladies and contemporaryContinue reading “Kellan Kissinger: Impacts and Next Steps”

Morgan Krause: Changing Environments Changes Communities

Dear Reader: What does your connection with the environment look like? My IDEA Grant project examines social-ecological system connections and documents the relationship between human and environmental well-being. Inspired by my passion for environmental justice, I advocate for a rural fishery and historic community in my working paper, presenting the Apalachicola Bay oyster decline asContinue reading “Morgan Krause: Changing Environments Changes Communities”

Brooke Hagans: The Kind of Scientist I Want to Be

I am currently in the stage of data analysis, where the long hours of designing the experiment, fieldwork, and navigating setbacks begin to take shape as meaningful results. My research examines the intersection of pregnancy, immunity, and parasitic burden in Atlantic stingrays (Hypanus sabinus), offering a unique opportunity to understand stress physiology across vertebrates moreContinue reading “Brooke Hagans: The Kind of Scientist I Want to Be”

Andy Gonzalez: The Organization of Life

When I first began my IDEA Grant research project, I knew I was ultimately undertaking a project that sits at the intersection between biology, computer science, and mathematics. My project, which focuses on creating a new computational tool for analyzing spatial transcriptomics data, is not just solely about writing code or producing pretty figures. AtContinue reading “Andy Gonzalez: The Organization of Life”